Forsaken by Sophia Sharp

mid-sentence. Everybody stared at her. She quickly scanned the faces, and not seeing Hunter, she ran back out.
    She burst into another class. Hunter wasn’t there either. The teacher yelled and followed her into the hallway as she backed out. Nora ran on, leaving the cries behind. Another classroom. Quickly, she opened the door and scanned the faces. Hunter wasn’t there.
    Desperate, she ran to another class. Still, Hunter wasn’t there. Dammit , but he was taking the same subjects as her ! All of the students in her grade were. Everybody was taught by the same teachers. He had to be in one of these classrooms!
    She ran into another room. No Hunter. Another room. Still, no Hunter. The man’s presence in the office weighed heavily on her. She was getting more and more anxious. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her into a room at the far end of the hall. She was panting, and her hair was a disheveled mess. She had to catch her breath before looking up. When she did – she saw everybody gaping at her.
    “Nora?”
    It was Hunter’s voice. Hunter’s voice, from the back. She rushed over to him, not caring what anyone saw or said. He stood from his desk, and she jumped up to embrace him in a tight hug.
    “Nora, what’s wrong?” He sounded concerned.
    “I saw him,” she said quickly, the words rushing out.
    He set her back so he could look into her eyes. “Saw who?”
    “They called for me in the office. Two men. One…” She gulped. “…one was the man I saw in the dream.”

Chapter Twelve
    ~On the Run~
     
    If it were possible, Nora would have said Hunter turned even paler than usual. Suddenly, the confident young man she knew looked very frightened.
    “Are you sure?” he asked her.
    “Yes!” she practically screamed. “Would I come here like this, in the middle of class, if I wasn’t?” Everybody was still looking. The teacher started making her way over. “Miss,” the teacher began, but Nora ignored it. She had eyes only for Hunter.
    “You’re right.” He nodded. “We have to go.” Taking her hand, he led her into the hall.
    “Hunter, wait.” She tugged on his hand once they were outside the classroom. “Where are we going?”
    “We have to get away.” He pulled her with him as he continued down the hall. His hand gripping hers gave her strength. It made her feel stronger and eased some of her fear.
    “I don’t understand.”
    “I’ll tell you. Later. Right now, we need to get out of the school.” The hall forked into two, and he looked down both ways, seeming uncharacteristically unsure of himself. Finally, settling on a direction, he led her that way.
    They reached an exit door. He opened it for her. Before she stepped through, though, he stopped. “Your bag,” he said, “where is it?”
    “I left it in my other class.”
    “There’s no time to get it, now,” he mumbled to himself. “Do you have anything important in there?”
    “Notebooks, school notes, that type of thing.”
    “What about your cell phone?”
    “It’s in my pocket.”
    Hunter nodded. “Good.” And he ran out of the school with her trailing. Outside, Nora realized where they were headed: to the parking lot, where he presumably had his car.
    Sure enough, Nora picked it out, standing in that same far corner as before. Hunter was at a dead-run, now. Nora struggled to keep up. He got to the car way before her and was already in the driver’s seat with the engine running when Nora opened the door.
    As soon as Nora clicked on her seatbelt, he gunned the engine and sped out of the lot. He checked his rearview mirror every few seconds. Obsessively. There was an obvious tension he was feeling, and the silence that stretched between them didn’t help.
    “What do you keep looking for?” Nora asked suddenly.
    “If they’re coming,” he replied distractedly.
    “The men from the office?” Nora asked. Hunter nodded quickly in reply. “But how would they even know we left?”
    “Trust me. They