Episode 3 - The Message (2)

-What just happened?-

Theresa was looking at me, hoping I would be able to make some semblance of sense out of this whole thing.

-I don't know. I really don't know.-

I wasn't really lying to Theresa. I knew who the man and the dog on the screen were, but none of it had any time to sink in. It was that moment after something horrible happens when you just go numb for a few moments before your brain catches up.

A few moments later, the regular morning news came back on with the host apologising to the audience for the interruption of the programme.

-You think Martin is going to be okay?-

Theresa was sitting next to me on the couch, slightly less shaken than me, but still affected by what she had just seen.

-I'll go check on him, see how he's doing.-

I got up and began looking for Martin. Our little lounge didn't really have its own bathroom so he had probably gone to the nearest one which was next to his classroom.

-Mr Ward, thank god you're here! I think Mr Rees needs some help.-

One of Martin's students was running towards me.

-I'm on it, don't worry, he'll be fine.-

I hurried towards the bathroom where most of his class was already gathered, trying to get inside.

-Guys, what's going on?-

The students moved away from the door and made room for me to come closer.

-Mr Rees locked himself inside and he hasn't been responding to us at all!-

God damn it, not now of all times. I tried opening the door but it wouldn't budge. Breaking down the door might be the only option, but I couldn't do it myself and Martin's students wouldn't be much help here as most of them weren't the strong types.

-Hey teach, need a hand?-

Tyler's voice suddenly rang out from behind me.

-Quickly Tyler, help me break down the door.-

At a moment's notice, he appeared beside me.

-On three. One... two... three!-

We both slammed ourselves against the door with as much force as possible, but it wouldn't budge.

-Shit! Again!-

We kept repeatedly smashing the door with as much force as we could muster. Meanwhile, the students outside were calling an ambulance.

-Come on Tyler, a little bit more!-

Tyler move away from the door and stepped to the opposite end of the hallway.

-What are you...-

-Outta the way teach!-

Tyler started running towards the door and slammed against it full force, finally managing to break it down.

-Fuck, my shoulder!-

He was lying on the ground in pain, his shoulder most likely dislocated from the impact. The other students rushed to him, trying to help him but he wouldn't let them. I made my way into the bathroom where I found Martin on the floor, shaking violently. He was having a breakdown and needed medical attention immediately.

-Hey, Martin, man, I'm here, everything will be okay now.-

One of the students came in from outside to let me know that the ambulance would arrive soon. Luckily, us teachers knew about Martin's PTSD and knew how to react appropriately if something like this happened.

***

The ambulance arrived and Martin was taken to the hospital. We were assured that he would most likely be back to his old self in a few days. Tyler's shoulder was also put back into place and he accompanied me to Steve's office once more.

-Well, it's a rarity to see a student back in my office again soo soon.-

This time around, Steve wasn't using his scary expression and was instead much more friendly.

-I hear you've broken down a door in my school. Congratulations, that's quite the achievement, I always believed those were quite sturdy but it seems I was wrong.-

Steve was obviously annoyed about the damage to the door, but he didn't let it show too much.

-I would also like to thank you for helping Sam here get to Martin, you've done a very good thing today Tyler. I will remember this and so will everyone else. I only ask you that this be the first of many admirable deeds of yours that both we and you can be proud of.-

Tyler stood silent for a second before giving Steve his thanks and exiting his office with me.

-Hey teach, why is everyone here so nice to me?-

I staggered for a second. What could I say to a question like that?

-Actually nevermind, forget I asked.-

***

Once back in the classroom, everyone was rushing towards Tyler to tell him how cool he was and how great it was of him to have stepped in to help me get to Martin. Meanwhile, I could barely stop thinking about what I saw on TV this morning.

I knew now that this was probably the man who killed Mr Sasaki and that he wasn't going to stop. To make things worse, David got killed by him because of what I did.

Damn it! If I don't do anything, he'll just keep on killing people, but how can I stop him? If I could find him, that would be a different story, but he's obviously got more resources than I do.

As I was pondering what to do with the situation at hand, my eyes were drawn to Benjamin who had a very familiar expression on his face. One I knew very well because it was the same expression I had this very moment.

It's probably best not to jump to conclusions. Maybe he's just deeply upset about what happened to David and Haki, or maybe it's something else entirely.

-Okay everyone, back to your seats please, we still have classes today.-

I sat down on my chair and for a moment everything was fine. In the next moment, my eyes were open as wide as they could physically go and the world around me narrowed down into a single point.

Had David taken back Haki in the meantime?

CHAPTER END