CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE - ODION

Tragedy Strikes

Odion’s head throbbed like it’d been cracked with a baseball bat.

Merely turning left or right sent shockwaves of pain throughout his skull, radiating toward his eyes and down his nose. It hurt to breathe, and the thumping bass from the electronic dance music playing in the background didn’t do him any favors either.

“You okay, bro?” Toki planted himself on the chair beside him, slightly out of breath. “You been sitting here all night,” he said, leaning into his ear.

“I think I’m gonna go home,” Odion responded, resting his hands on the side of his head. “My head’s kicking my ass right now.” He winced.

Toki’s face twisted into concern. “You want me to come with you?”

Odion looked at his watch and saw it was only twenty minutes after ten. “Nah, I’ll be okay. You and Yasmina enjoy yourselves.”

“Okay, I’ll text you when I get home.” Toki helped him to his feet.

“Bet,” Odion said, embracing Toki in a pound hug before gingerly dodging other students on his way toward the gym’s exit.

Odion would never proclaim himself to be a medical doctor, but he wondered if the two times he watched Serenity slow dance with Salamar and how his hands were locked right above her ass was what triggered his migraine. Asshole. Simply thinking about it caused his head to hurt even more. Shit.

He stumbled into the washroom and splashed some cold water over his face. While drying his hands, Odion stared at his reflection in the mirror. He must’ve been coming down with something because to say he looked like a bag of shit was putting it mildly. The eyes looking back at him were noticeably red, and there was no explanation as to why, all of a sudden, he felt as if an eighteen-wheeler had run him over.

Odion went into one of the stalls and rolled off a few pieces of toilet paper, using them to open the door. As he staggered toward the stairwell, Serenity was seated on one of the steps, conversing on her iPhone. The butterflies in his stomach started to float. A nervous ripple shook his entire body as he pushed one side of the double doors open.

Serenity looked in his direction and shot straight to her feet. “Okay, I’ll talk to you later.” She waited a few seconds before responding again, walking toward the double doors. “All right, besos.” She tapped her iPhone to hang up, and Odion stepped to the side, allowing her to pass. “Thank you.” Her words sounded forced, but at least he wasn't ignored.

“Serenity,” Odion called. She turned around, eyes narrowed. This was the most unhappy he’d seen her all night. “You look good tonight.” He wanted to say more but held off on it.

“Thanks.” Serenity looked him up and down. “So do you.”

Odion’s ears twitched as Serenity turned and headed back toward the gymnasium. “Serenity ….”

“Yes?” she sighed, impatience growing on her face.

The music playing inside the gymnasium suddenly stopped, and in the background, somewhere, it sounded like multiple firecrackers were being set off in sequence. Who would sneak in firecrackers at a dance?

“What was that?” Serenity asked.

Down the hall, a horde of terrified students sprinted in their direction, screaming at the top of their lungs. Odion snatched Serenity’s arm and dragged her back toward the stairwell to avoid being trampled over by the army of students bolting outside.

“RUN! RUN!” one student said, zipping his way past the crowd.

Odion’s heart fluttered with caution, watching the sudden commotion take place right in front of him.

“What’s going on?” Serenity asked, her voice sounding like it caught in her breath.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

Serenity almost jumped out of her skin, covering her ears as unintelligible words flew out of her mouth. Odion took hold of her hand and dragged her outside. Students were running across the field in all directions, and not one of them was wearing the red dress pants Toki had on. Where the hell is Toki!

“Listen to me, you have to get outta here!” Odion said, rushing back inside.

“Where are you going?” Serenity’s voice echoed behind him.

“GO!” he bellowed, pointing outside to her safety.

Odion pulled out his blade and hid it behind his back, crouching close to the ground as he approached the gymnasium. The only things visible as he peeked inside were the consistent flashing of strobe lights illuminating the floor and walls in red, blue, orange, purple, and green. The palms of his hands were sweaty as he slowly pulled on the handle and crept his way inside, scanning the catastrophe before him.

What the fuck just happened here? The DJ’s body was motionless and dangling face forward on the stairs leading onto the stage. A brisk chill pierced through him when he saw Damon’s body lying over Lucinda’s as if he were trying to protect her from the madness that took place. His white suit was soaked red. Several more bodies were scattered in various quadrants of the gymnasium, their blood pooling beneath them and trailing off in different directions.

Odion couldn’t help himself but stare at the horror surrounding him as if trying to figure out a math equation he couldn’t quite understand. A few minutes ago, the gymnasium was bumping with music, bodies grooving, and students singing lyrics to songs played by the DJ. There ain’t no way all this can be real.

Odion finally snapped himself out of his stupor and took a couple of wobbly steps forward, feeling something sharp stab underneath his shoe. He looked down and picked out a piece of wet glass sticking to his sole, flicking it toward the heap of glass shards scattered around the splintered punch table. Looking ahead to the emergency exit doors made his blood freeze. Odion recognized those red pants anywhere.

“No, no, no, no, no, no.” Odion hurried toward Toki, attaching the blade back to his belt buckle. “NO!” his voice seemed to escape him as he attempted to scream.

Toki laid on his back, gurgling and breathing hard through his nose. Blood bubbled from his nostrils and spilled from his mouth. The white dress shirt he wore was now the color of his pants and punctured with what looked like several gunshot wounds. Odion reached for his hand and held it tight, rocking back and forth.

“Toki, stay with me, man,” Odion said, looking around the gymnasium. “Somebody help! Help me please!” Toki was struggling to keep his eyes open. “Toki, stay with me … help … is on the way.” Odion reached for his iPhone as he looked around the gymnasium again and screamed. “HELP!” Just as he was about to dial 9-1-1, the emergency exit doors stormed open with a group of tactical officers entering the gymnasium, soon followed by paramedics. Odion wasn’t sure if the pair of hands clasped underneath his arms was a paramedic or a tactical officer, though, at this point, it didn’t matter.

“Th-th-that’s my best f-friend,” Odion mumbled whilst being dragged outside. “I-I can’t j-j-just leave him lying th-there like th-that,” he said, keeping his hand outstretched as they pulled him farther away from Toki’s body. Whatever message they were trying to deliver didn’t register.

Several red and blue lights illuminated the cool night air as Odion sat helplessly along the curb, tears streaming down his eyes. He couldn’t get Toki’s constant look of panic out of his mind. It was like Toki knew he was taking his last breaths and was waiting for Odion to arrive to wish him a final farewell.

Odion stood up from the curb and attempted to race back inside to check on Toki, only to be pulled away by a tactical officer. Someone looking exactly like Serenity appeared from around the corner and pulled him away from the emergency exit doors. For all Odion cared, it could’ve been Serenity, but at this moment and time, who knew?

“My b-b-best friend is in there.” Odion pointed toward the gymnasium. “He n-needs my h-help. I have to g-go see how he’s doing.” He looked at Serenity, uncertain if he’d said all of that out loud or in his head. It must’ve been aloud because no sooner after, he found himself wrapped tightly into her arms as she mumbled something into his ear.

This was obviously a nightmare he’d eventually wake up from. Surely none of this could’ve been real.

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