Chapter 139 Leaving Crescent Hollow

Chapter 139 Leaving Crescent Hollow
LYRIANNE

Lorcan closes his hand around my upper arm and tells me, "We have to keep going. Soon, there'll be a lot of people trying to leave."

I do as he says, moving forward numbly. If there's one thing I hate, it's being pessimistic in a situation that requires every bit of positivity in the world, but the screams are getting to me, and I'm terrified. 

I won't deny it. 

"Keep going," Lorcan says encouragingly as he turns his head to look back at me. I can see it in his eyes that he feels the same way I do, but he's being strong for me. "I'm sure Wallace is already waiting for us in the car. Come on!" 

I ignore the voice in my head that tells me that this won’t be as easy. By the time we reach the parking lot, I’m breathless and my mouth is completely parched from all the running. 

Unfortunately, a bunch of students are already running around and scrambling to get to their cars. 

Soon, once the whole academy becomes aware of what’s going on, it’ll be impossible to leave.

“Dammit!” Lorcan curses as he looks around for Wallace. We don’t know which car is his, so we have to stand on the sidewalk and wait. “Where is he!?”

I squeeze my fingers around his as I look around, too. I’m terrified of making eye contact with one of the Bitten. 

“Fuck,” Lorcan curses again. “I don’t even see—”

“Lyria!” someone to our left yells. We both look and it turns out to be Finn. He has an arm hooked around Wallace’s waist. It looks like Wallace got hurt. 

We hurry to their side and that’s when I see the massive red stain on the side of his shirt. Lorcan asks right away, “What happened?”

“We were attacked by one of those things,” he claims. “They’re everywhere. We have to move now!” 

Even though he’s struggling to even get a word out, Wallace directs us to where his car is. I keep glancing at Wallace, but it doesn’t look like he’ll pass out, and he’s not hemorrhaging either. 

When we get to his car, Finn takes the wheel, Wallace is in the passenger seat, and Lorcan and I sit in the back. I ask, “Are you sure it won’t be a problem that you, a student, are driving?”

“I guess we’ll have to find out,” Finn replies as he starts the car. He places his hand on the back of Wallace’s headrest and reverses out of the parking space. I shoot a prayer to the Goddess to help us get out of here as quickly as possible, then exchange a look with Lorcan. 

He looks as doubtful as I feel. 

Finn nearly crashes into the car of another student, but we manage to make it to the gate on time. Finn turns to me and says, “I think you should duck, Lyria. The guards can’t see you.”

“They’ll search the car,” Lorcan points out. “This makes no fucking sense.”

“You’re right, it doesn’t,” Finn agrees as he glances at the rear-view mirror. “Unless we manage to distract them enough to open the gate.”

Lorcan squares his jaw. “You mean attack a guard?”

“What else?” he asks wildly. “What the fuck do we have left to lose? Can’t you see that everything has gone to shit?”

Lorcan looks over at me, but I’m speechless. I don’t know what to say. We get to the gate, where there’s already a row of cars. It seems to me like the guards don’t want to open the gates. 

“Fuck,” Wallace grits out. “They’re not letting anyone out!”

Lorcan opens his door, glances at me once, then presses his lips against mine. I can’t help but ask, “Where are you going?”

“Just stay put,” he claims. “I’ll be back.”

The silence in the car becomes almost stifling when he leaves, and at some point, I lose sight of him. 

“Dammit,” I curse under my breath, worried.

“He’ll be alright,” Finn claims as he drums his fingers against the steering wheel. “He’s a Delacourt, after all.”

“I thought you said that he doesn’t have any more privileges because he’s with me,” I retort. 

“That’s not what I meant.”

At first, I’m confused by what he means, but then the gates creak open and cars start racing out. I shift closer to Lorcan’s empty seat and press my forehead against the window. 

That’s when I see him. 

Around three guards start shouting at him, but he’s a blur of black as he races to dodge them. Finn yells at me to duck, but I’m so damned scared for Lorcan that he has to yell a second time for me to put my head down. 

The windows of the car shatter and some of the shards scrape my face and arms. Bullets hit the sides of the car, but Finn steps on the gas and we’re out. 

“Wait!” I yell. “What about Lorcan!?”

“He’ll catch up!” Finn exclaims. “It’s not like we can go back for him! He knows what to do!”

I glare at the back of Finn’s head. I’m not sure about this at all. I keep looking back, wondering when I’ll see him.

We can’t be apart. Especially not at a time like this. 

But then I see him, just a dot at first before he starts to get closer. I yell at Finn to stop the car, and it skids to a halt. Lorcan shifts back, opens the door, and gets in. I search my bags—they’re the only ones here because Finn and Wallace didn’t bring any—and give him my largest jacket. It’s not much, but it’ll be enough for him to cover up for now. 

I notice a bullet wound in his upper right arm and start to worry, but he tells me, “It’s fine. The bullet went out so it’s just a flesh wound now.”

Finn steps on the gas again and says, “Not bad, Delacourt. I knew you could do it.”

“I thought you’d be disappointed, considering I didn’t die like you wanted me to.”

Finn doesn’t respond, but I catch the smile tugging at the corners of his lips.