=:= Christopher =:=

Christopher pulled the sedan into the school driveway, then brought it around and backed into a spot in the faculty parking lot near the front of the building. He cut the engine and checked the time.

A minute later, Gabriel and Anthony arrived in the SUV. He watched as Gabriel did the same thing, backing the SUV into a nearby space in the faculty lot.

There were a few minutes before they began the next stage of the mission, and Christopher took the time to review the plan one more time.

It was simple, straightforward, and low risk. Of all the cultists, they were going after the three weakest targets. Not even Anthony or Gabriel should be able to screw this up.

Between Gabriel and Michael, they'd accessed the school's computers and verified the three cultists' class schedules. They knew the teenage girls were on their lunch break now, all three were in the cafeteria.

And Anthony had used his skills to see into the school and map out the lunch area. Christopher knew were three exits.

In a few moments, he and the other two men would enter the school. They'd make their way to the cafeteria, and then Gabriel, Anthony, and himself would each take an exit.

Christopher would be at the main exit from the lunchroom to the hallway. That was the expected egress point for the cultists when they were finished their meal. Anthony would be stationed at the access between the lunchroom and the kitchen and food counters, incase the girls attempted to escape that way. And Gabriel would take the emergency exit at the far side of the lunchroom.

The teens would be trapped. Then his team would wait. Christopher knew the cultists' options would be limited.

If they hadn't noticed or recognized him and his men, they'd probably attempt to leave the lunchroom normally. When they tried to get past him, Christopher would nab the closest one and lock the collar around her neck. Then he and Anthony would kill the other two.

If the cultists noticed his team and tried to just wait it out, he and his men would simply advance on them after the other students had cleared out. He'd have the three surrounded, so whichever direction they tried to flee, one of his team would be there, and they'd finish the job the same way.

If the cultists attempted to exit before the lunch period was ended, the result would be the same. The exits would be covered, one of them would wind up in his clutches.

One final possibility Christopher had allowed for, was the girls might recognize the danger and call for help. Thanks to Michael's contribution, he knew that the closest help was at their queer nonprofit organization downtown. However, that was still a fifteen to twenty minute drive away. Which meant that by the time help arrived, the mission would already be over.

The one thing that annoyed him was he still had no idea what the collar actually did. Nor did his orders tell him what to do with the cultist after he'd got the collar on them.

He assumed they'd be taking a prisoner, hence the two vehicles. If anyone was giving chase, they'd only have a fifty-fifty chance of picking the right one.

His orders were very clear on two other points though. He was not to fail this mission under any circumstances, and not to kill any cultists until after he had one of them collared.

Both Anthony and Gabriel were under strict orders to that end. No death spells, no killing anyone at all, until they'd captured one of the girls. After that, it was open season. Kill the other two, and their friends as well. And anyone else who got in the way.

Christopher checked the time again then emerged from the car. He slipped the keys into his jacket pocket, then patted his jacket, ensuring everything was ready. His Glock was secure in the holster at his right hip. The collar was safely looped through the jacket's left inside pocket.

To his right, he saw Gabriel and Anthony emerging from the SUV. Gabriel looked slovenly as usual. His hair was a mess, and that hoodie looked like it belonged on one the school children here, rather than a grown man like him. Anthony of course looked like part of the faculty, with his button-down shirt and tweed jacket.

Christopher knew Gabriel was also armed, with a pistol under his hoodie. Anthony didn't use firearms, but the old wizard was skilled with magic well beyond anything Christopher or Gabriel could do, so giving him a gun would be redundant.

Without a word, the three men turned and approached the school's front entrance. Christopher led the way, he'd memorized the layout that Anthony provided.

They passed the office unhindered, turned right, and walked past the library and directly into the cafeteria.

As they entered the lunch hall, Christopher stopped and stayed on station in the doorway there, watching the other two men as they continued on into their positions.

Anthony turned left and walked along the edge of the large room toward the kitchen, while Gabriel turned right, quietly making his way around the perimeter. His assigned location was at the far corner opposite Christopher's position.

A half minute later, Anthony reached his assigned spot at the doorway to the kitchen and food counters. And a few moments after that, Gabriel was on station as well, standing by the emergency doors.

Christopher's eyes swept the lunch hall, and quickly spotted their quarry. Gabriel had walked right past them on his way to the emergency exit.

The three cultists were sitting at an end table, along with three other girls. He recognized their three friends from Michael's briefings. The fourth seventeen-year-old was a friend of the blonde twin, and the two thirteen-year-olds were the twins' younger sister and cousin.

Christopher glanced around the room, making eye contact with his two men. Good, they'd both seen the cultists. They were ready.

None of the cultists had noticed himself or his men yet. Christopher could see they were engrossed in their conversation and their food. Typical clueless self-absorbed teens. He was looking forward to this.

Some time in the next ten minutes one of them would be Christopher's prisoner, and the other two would be dead. As would their three companions, if they were foolish enough to try anything.

=:= Bethany =:=

All six of them were sitting together again for lunch. As usual they'd taken an end table off to one side of the cafeteria. On one side of the table sat Ashley at the end, then Sadie, then Beth. The other side was Brittany, then Amanda, then Jenny.

The cafeteria had pizza today, which was Beth's favourite. She had a slice of pepperoni pizza, and a bottle of fruit juice. Jenny had the same. Amanda and Ashley were both having deluxe pizza and cola. Sadie had the Hawaiian, because she was weird and liked pineapple on pizza. And she had root beer, because again she was a little different. Britt had a slice of vegetarian and a cola.

Beth thought it was strange that Brittany was a vegetarian. She knew Ben wasn't, she remembered he liked to eat hamburgers at lunch. And she was pretty sure Brittany used to be Ben, except nobody ever said anything about that.

She wasn't sure what was weirder. That Amanda's boyfriend had just turned into a girl one day, or that nobody else ever said anything about it. It was sort of like how she suspected that she used to be Amanda and Jenny's mother, but now she was their little sister instead. Nobody ever said anything about that either, but sometimes she was sure the rest of her family knew. Maybe not, though?

Maybe no-one noticed these things but her. She frowned. That would be weird too, if she was the only one who noticed this stuff. She could probably just ask, but Beth didn't want to upset anyone. It might be another one of those things they were all supposed to keep secret. That would explain why nobody ever said anything.

So she just kept quiet, and she watched and listened to what her sisters said and did.

Right now they were talking about dating again. Her older sisters that is. Jenny wasn't dating anyone. Beth didn't even know if Jenny liked boys or girls. Or both or neither. Beth wasn't interested in dating either. She'd made a few friends here at school, people she'd met through Jenny, but she didn't want to go out with them. Life was confusing enough already, without having to try and figure out a whole bunch of dating stuff too.

Sadie and Ashley started talking about going to see a movie on Saturday, and that got Amanda and Brittany talking about it as well, and now all four of them wanted to go on a double-date. Except Amanda blushed and acted flustered about calling it a 'date'. She suddenly didn't like the word 'girlfriend' either, for some reason.

Beth had another bite of her pizza, and let her eyes wander around the cafeteria. Her and Jenny's other friends were all sitting together at a table on the other side of the room. There was a big conversation going on there, but Beth couldn't tell what it was about, they were too far away.

As she looked around, she noticed a strange man standing next to the emergency exit. He didn't look like a teacher though, he was wearing jeans and a hoodie and his hair was kind of messy. He was staring right back at her, which was odd. Maybe he knew her? She had no idea, there was so much she didn't remember. She raised her hand and waved at him, then had a sip of her juice.

"Oh fuck!" That was Sadie, and she sounded upset.

Beth turned to see what was wrong.

Sadie was staring towards the door that led back to where you got your food and drinks. There was another strange man standing there.

Beth didn't recognize him either but at least he looked like a teacher. He was tall and thin and kind of old, and he was wearing a proper shirt and a tweed jacket. Beth could imagine he probably taught latin or history. He was staring at their table as well.

Amanda whispered "There's another one!" She was looking at the main exit, out to the hallway.

Beth turned and looked. There was a third man there. He looked like a cop or a soldier. He wasn't wearing a uniform, just dark pants and a leather jacket. His hair was cut short though, and the way he stood and the way he was glaring at her and her sisters reminded her of cops and soldiers from TV shows.

Beth had another bite of pizza, while Amanda and Sadie and Ashley looked like they were starting to panic.

"They're covering all the exits!" Sadie whispered. "We're trapped!"

Amanda asked, "What should we do?"

Sadie pulled out her phone, "I'll text Maria."

"Good idea," Ashley said, getting her phone out as well. "I'll text Zoe."

Jenny glanced around then asked nervously, "What's going on? Who are those guys?"

Amanda replied "They're bad men... I think they're after me and Sadie and Ashley. You and Beth should be safe, though."

Brittany turned and looked, then said "They're not stopping anyone else from coming or going. They're just standing there."

"Yeah but they're watching us!" Sadie replied.

Britt frowned. After a moment she said, "Ok. I'm gonna go and get my car. I'll bring it around and park it just outside the emergency exit. Listen for my horn, I'll try to make a distraction or something, and then everyone try to come out the fire doors. We'll get in the car and get away."

Amanda looked worried, "Are you sure? What if they try to stop you?"

Brittany stood up, picking up her purse. "You said they're after you three, and they're letting other students leave. Once I'm out in the hall I'll be quick."

She then turned and walked away, heading for the main exit.

Beth had another sip of her juice, and watched as Brittany walked right past the angry soldier-cop-guy. He didn't try to stop her, but he did give Britt a mean look as she walked past him. Then he went back to staring at the five of them at their table.

Amanda let out a sigh of relief when they saw Brittany had gotten away. Then Sadie whispered, "Still no answer from Maria."

"Zoe just texted back, she said she's coming!" Ashley whispered back.

Beth noticed the others had all stopped eating, so she stopped too. The three older girls were looking scared, and that seemed to make Jenny scared as well. Beth still didn't know what was going on, and yet again nobody was saying anything or explaining what was happening or why.

They all just sat there quietly for a half minute or so, then suddenly the three older girls all flinched for no reason. It's like they saw or heard something that nobody else did. Yet another in a long list of strange things, Beth thought.

Then one more weird thing happened. A blonde girl crawled out from under the table, as if she'd been hiding there all along. She looked like she was in grade eleven maybe. Definitely younger than Amanda and Sadie. Maybe sixteen? The others were all staring at her in surprise as she emerged and got to her feet.

She was about the same size as Beth, and kind of skinny-looking. She was dressed in dark leggings and an oversized top, and dark sneakers on her feet. The strange blonde sat down in Brittany's seat and said, "Hi girls. Sorry for showing up unannounced. I'm Cindy. Zoe's just outside the emergency exit."

The older girls all sighed in relief, like they knew this Cindy person.

"Brittany's pulling her car around, she'll be at the emergency exit in a minute." Amanda said.

Cindy nodded, "That's good. Can one of you text Zoe and let her know?"

While Ashley sent the text, Cindy had a look around at the three strange men. Beth could tell Cindy didn't like the angry soldier-cop-guy. She looked mad when she saw him by the exit.

Sadie asked, "What's the plan?"

Beth wondered why the three grade-twelve girls were acting like this younger teen was in charge. She hoped someday somebody would actually explain everything to her. Like, at least the past two months, but maybe even her whole life. Because it felt like nothing ever made any sense.

Cindy replied quietly, "We're gonna make a distraction, cause some trouble, and then we'll all escape and it'll be ok." Cindy was looking around the table as she spoke, then she pointed at Jenny's juice. "Can I borrow that please?"

Jenny hadn't touched it yet, the bottle was still full with the cap on it. Jen shrugged "Ok?"

Amanda grabbed it and handed it to Cindy.

The strange blonde stood up, hefted the bottle in her hand, then threw it as hard as she could at the soldier-cop-guy standing by the main exit.

The girl's aim wasn't very good though and she missed him by a few feet. The bottle smashed on the cinder block wall next to him, spraying glass and fruit-juice everywhere. The soldier-cop-guy looked grumpy before, but now he looked really mad.

There was also a reaction from the other students in the cafeteria, some shouting, some laughing and clapping, from Cindy's stunt with the juice bottle. The strange men didn't move though.

Sadie whispered "Shit! He's staring right at you Cindy, I think you really pissed him off!"

"Perfect," she stated. "Maybe that means he'll forget about you lot and focus on me."

Suddenly the emergency doors both flew open at once behind the hoodie guy, and that set off the fire alarm. Beth got a brief glimpse outside the doors. Brittany was there with her car, and there was another girl out there with purple hair. Then her view was blocked by all the other students as they started yelling and laughing and running for the exits.

"Ok, let's go!" Cindy said, raising her voice over the din.

Beth hated the noise and she hated crowds. Being in the middle of a noisy crowd was the worst, and people were pushing and shoving as they all tried to get outside. She quickly lost sight of her older sisters, then someone shoved her and she lost her balance. Next thing she knew she was on the floor.

She started to curl up, trying to protect herself. Then that Cindy person was there, reaching down. "Take my hand, c'mon!"

Jenny was there too, her eyes wide. She helped as well though, and the two of them got Beth to her feet.

Most of the other students had gone past now, and they had some breathing room. Beth couldn't see their older sisters anymore, they must have wound up outside already. She could still see those three strange men though.

The hoodie guy was trying to push his way past the remaining students rushing out the emergency doors, and the tweed jacket guy was moving towards them.

Angry soldier-cop-guy was reaching into his jacket like he had a gun, but Beth saw the principal grab him from behind. The angry guy turned around and Mr. Deacon fell down onto the floor, grabbing his chest. Then the angry soldier-cop-guy started coming right at them.

"Crap!" Cindy said, pulling Beth's attention back to her. "Close your eyes kids."

Cindy had one hand on Jenny's shoulder, and her other hand still holding Beth's arm. Beth frowned, but she didn't close her eyes.

The cafeteria seemed to spin and fade, then it was gone. She and Jenny and Cindy were standing in a large living-room in a strange house. There were some big windows next to them, overlooking a bunch of grape-vines.

Yet another weird thing today. Beth had lost count now of how many weird things happened. This was probably the single weirdest lunch they'd had so far. She didn't get to finish her pizza though, which was a little disappointing. But it was mom's turn to cook tonight, which meant there was a fifty-fifty chance there'd be pizza again for dinner.

Jenny was starting to freak out, and Beth moved to her, trying to calm her down. She gave her sister a hug as she said quietly, "It's ok Jen. We're probably ok now."

There were some strange grown-ups here, but Beth didn't know them. Then suddenly mom was here too, she just appeared a few meters away. Mom came running over and pulled both Beth and Jenny into a hug as she sobbed "Thank the Goddess you're safe!"

Cindy stepped back out of the way and said, "Ok, I gotta go back and check on the others!"

Beth waved, as she watched the strange teen vanish.

=:= Brittany =:=

Her hands shook slightly as she started her car. She thought her heart was going to stop when that scary guy with the buzz cut glared at her as she walked past, but he let her go.

Fuck, that was either the bravest thing or the dumbest thing she'd ever done in her life.

She pulled out of the parking spot, then quickly drove around to the west side of the school, where the fire route went past the cafeteria. There was someone standing outside the emergency doors, some girl.

Brittany blinked in surprise as she pulled the car to a stop. A purple-haired catgirl? What the fuck?

The girl waved as Britt stepped out of her car. "You're Brittany right? I'm Zoe, here to help!"

Brittany just nodded slowly as she stared.

"Keep the engine running, and car doors open." Zoe stated. Then with a mischievous grin she added, "I'm gonna make a distraction."

Britt nodded again, and quickly opened the other doors on her car. She left the engine running, everything was ready for when her friends came out of the cafeteria.

She felt like she needed a weapon or something though, just in case. There was an unopened can of cola in the cup-holder, and she grabbed it. It wasn't much, but the weight in her hand felt reassuring.

Brittany wasn't sure what happened next. The catgirl did something, and suddenly both emergency doors flung open so hard the hinges bent and the doors wedged open. The school's fire alarm went off, and Britt could see the students inside as they started to react.

The strange guy in the hoodie was right there too, standing just inside the doors with his back to them.

Brittany got an idea, and she lined up then threw the soda can at the guy, as hard as she could. She figured if she could nail him in the back of the head with it, it might not knock him out but at least it would distract him, maybe slow him down.

The can sailed in through the open doors, but it just clipped him on the shoulder. Fuck! She used to have a way better throwing arm, now she threw like a girl.

It wasn't quite the distraction she wanted, but he did spin around to glare at her for a second. Then he turned back again and tried to force his way further inside, past the students who were now pouring out through the fire doors.

The catgirl was there directing them left and right, away from Brittany and her car. Meanwhile the guy in the hoodie was pushing further inwards, past the escaping students, towards where Amanda and the others had been.

Brittany started to panic, she moved to try and get inside but Zoe grabbed her. "No!"

Then Amanda, Sadie, and Ashley emerged together. They'd been pushed out by the other students behind them. Amanda and Sadie were both struggling though, it looked like they wanted to get back inside.

Brittany realized there was no sign of Jenny and Beth. That's why the twins were in a panic to get back in.

Zoe shouted at them, "Get in the car! Get to the vineyard!"

Sadie shook her head, "Jenny and Beth are still in there!"

The catgirl grabbed the twins and started pushing them towards the car, she yelled at Brittany "Get these three to the vineyard! I'll go help Cindy with the other two!"

With that, Zoe darted through the fire doors and into the cafeteria.

Britt just nodded, "Come on! You heard the cat, let's go!"

Amanda and Sadie both hesitated. Ashley grabbed Sadie and stuffed her into the back seat, so Brittany did the same with Amanda, shoving her into the passenger seat. She closed the door then raced around to the other side.

Ashley and Sadie were both in the back now, and as Britt dropped into the drivers seat the two back doors were closed.

She threw the car in gear and floored it, avoiding the other students who were now milling around on either side of the fire route.

Amanda and Sadie were both still in a panic, worried about their two little sisters.

"Where are we going?" Brittany shouted. "Which vineyard is it?"

From the back seat, Ashley shouted back "Get on the 406 and head south!"

Brittany nodded "Gotcha!" She pulled out of the school driveway and sped towards the highway.

A few seconds later Ashley shouted, "Sadie! Amanda! Calm down! Jenny and Beth are safe! I just did the clairvoyance spell, they're already at the vineyard."

The twins both suddenly relaxed. In the back seat, Sadie threw her arms around Ashley, letting out a sob of relief.

Brittany felt Amanda's hand on her shoulder, as her girlfriend sighed "Thanks for getting us out of there, Brittany. That was really brave of you."

Britt grinned, but asked "How did your little sisters get there ahead of us?"

"Magic." Amanda replied. "Just keep driving please, it's like thirty minutes away."