The Secret Bunker

   “Everyone off the bus!” My teacher sounded annoyed and distressed. Listening to Mrs. Lance, I stood, yanked my friend's arm, and rushed to exit the tight, cramped vehicle. 

 “Hey, Molly, stop!” I looked back at Rachel calling me to stop. I ignored her and pulled harder. Once we got off the bus, I was finally able to breathe.

“You know I hate people and crowds. It got claustrophobic and really loud in there!” I recognized a small frown creeping onto my face while she rolled her eyes. I sighed from the thought of what was ahead of us: endless woods and a full day with Vanessa Rey in the wilderness. So fun… the sarcasm stuck out like a sore thumb. I heard a very familiar, annoying voice arguing with the teacher. 

“I'm not going! My new boots could get mud on them. If I get any kind of yuk on my boots, I am going to freak!” Emphasis on the yuk. Of course the most popular girl in school was worried about getting mud on her boots. Vanessa Rey stood, pouting in her flowy shirt; every stitch more magnificent than any piece of clothing I have ever owned. Her shirt was lavender, with flowers blooming up from the bottom. Her perfect, blonde silky hair blew in the wind, and when the breeze settled, it fell to form a curtain around her beautiful, flawless face. 

 I could still hear Rachel babbling on about her boyfriend and every other boy that was remarkably cute. I wasn’t listening; I never do. Rachel was the prettiest girl I knew and, expectantly, all the boys go for her. With dirty blonde hair pulled loosely into a bun at the base of her head and piercing blue eyes as bright as the sky, there was absolutely no competition between the two of us...I on the other hand, was not that pretty. 

My brunette hair (with no highlights or beauty whatsoever) was always pulled back into a ponytail...I was one of the  quietest kids, and that’s saying something. Not to mention, I only ever had one boy ask me out (I was in second grade). 

We started walking towards the woods from the empty parking lot; my arm intertwined with Rachel’s. We crossed the field in between the dull, worn out cement and the dark, eerie forest, watching a few mice scatter away from our galumphing feet every now and then. The trees were towering over us, their dense leaves hiding the sun from our faces as we entered the woods. No one dared to make a sound, or they were too scared of what might be lurking in the never-ending stretch of timber.

“Hey Molly, wait up,” Rachel called from somewhere behind me.I glanced back to see her fidgeting with her hair. 

“Rachel, we don’t have time for this,” I groaned as the rest of the class slowly trudged on ahead of us. I kept glancing at the class and then back to Rachel; if they turned we would know which direction they went.

“Hey, can you help me with this bobby pin?” I sighed and went to help her. She flipped her head over so that I could maneuver the pin into place, and after many struggling attempts, we were able to keep the bun steady. 

“Alright, let’s-” I stood up to reunite Rachel and myself with the class, but they were nowhere to be seen. 

“Oh no,” Rachel breathed, tears forming in her eyes. “Molly, what do we do?”  

“We find them,” I said. Stay strong. Stay strong, for Rachel’s sake. I walked to where I had seen them last; Rachel followed. 

“Rachel, stop moving.”

“What?”

“Maybe I can hear them.”  I mean, they can’t be that far, I thought. As long as there was silence, I might hear Vanessa’s whiny voice, complaining endlessly. And I did hear something...but not what I had in mind. 

“Hello, girls,” came a cryptic, deep voice.   

“Who are-” as I was saying that, something hit me in the head, and everything went black.

“Molly? Molly! Can you hear me? Wake up!” Rachel’s frightened voice channeled in and out of my brain. I didn’t understand half of what she was saying; everything was blurry and muffled. 

“What?” I whispered, but my voice cracked. Everything was becoming clearer; I could see and hear, even if some of it was blurred together. I noticed that my hands had been tied together behind the back of my chair as I tried to touch my throbbing head, and yet I struggled uselessly. I looked over at Rachel, confused, and saw a boy, captured as well. My eyebrows creased with confusion and Rachel noticed.

“Oh yeah. James, tell Molly what you told me,” Rachel kept her eyes on me with a worried look on her face. The boy, James, started talking.

“I was in the woods, hunting for dinner that night, and it was going well until I lost my setup. I was wandering around, looking for any sort of tent, but couldn’t find anything. Before I knew it, I was stuck in this secret bunker with a bump on my head and questions running through my head a mile a minute,” He sounded so relaxed compared to Rachel and me. 

“James, do you know a way out?” I asked him. I was sure he wouldn’t know, but I had to ask.

“The only way out I know is over there,” he nodded his chin to the left of me; there was a ladder. “I see him come in and go out of there all the time.” 

I didn’t say anything, instead I just tried to hop up and down on my chair to maneuver my way to the ladder.

“Molly, stop.” I ignored Rachel and continued to get closer to the only out. I realized it wasn’t going to work so I stopped so that I didn’t tip over and fall over.

  “Molly, come back before you get hurt.” Rachel sounded very annoyed with me.

“Fine.” I gave in. I had nothing else to do other than listen to her. I hopped my way back to my original place and sighed. 

“Oh no. He is coming.” James said quickly.

“How do you-” before I could say “know that” I could hear footsteps down the ladder and shut up. 

“Well you're finally awake. Ha! Took you long enough.” He stared at me, making me more scared than I had ever been in my life. Then, he continued.

“While I was looking for your new friends, I realized I didn’t need anymore. Instead, I am just going to kill all three of you.” He was grinning, an evil smile going from ear to ear, and he chuckled. A horrified look struck all of our faces and they tried to escape; but  I didn’t help. 

  “And I am going to start with you.” I had my eyes closed and didn’t see who he was pointing or looking at. I thought it would help with my anxiety. I had no idea he would do it right then; the last things I ever heard were a high-pitch scream and one gun shot.