“You nearly killed me!” she screamed.
“And I saved your life!” I snapped back, stepping harder on the gas.
“Guys!” Katie screamed.
The crows were no longer behind us. There was another crash of lightning, and then an enormous crow talon tore through the hood of our car.
All three of us shrieked when a second pair of crow talons ripped through the roof, leaving very little but a mangled sunroof for us to look out of. I pressed on the gas, trying to escape the crows, but they just flapped above us, easily keeping pace with the car.
Another lightning strike crashed into the hood of the car, electrifying the hood and sending shockwaves down the outside of the car. The car jerked to one side, and tipped over, crashing and spinning along the ground, until we skidded to a stop upside down. Luckily, I was wearing my seat belt, but the air bag deployed and slammed me right in the nose.
I was dizzy and disoriented as I reached to unbuckle my safety belt, and when I unlatched it, I fell onto the ceiling. Broken glass from the windshield ground into my back as I turned over and crawled out of the car.
“That sucked,” I said to Samantha, who was lying next to me, gasping for breath.
“Tell me about it.”
“You hurt?”
“No more than expected. I feel like I just went ten rounds with Rocky, though. At least nothing feels broken.”
“Same,” I said, turning over and pushing myself to my feet. I looked up to see Katie locked in battle with the murder crows. Well, it wasn’t quite a battle. She was more evading the crows while they swarmed around her.
“What do we do now?” Samantha said, rising to her feet.
I looked around. We were at the top of a hill, and when I looked down, I could see our school, directly below us.
“I say we go there,” I said, pointing to the school.
“Are you crazy? I don’t like going to school when I have to go there.”
“There are a lot of buses down there, and it’s a heck of a lot safer with a bus than with a car. Don’t you think?”
“Not really. They don’t even have seat belts.”
“It’s a better idea than just staying here, so unless you come up with something better in the next five seconds, I’m going.” I climbed over the guard rail and grabbed onto a tree overlooking the ledge. I looked back at Katie who clearly didn’t have a better idea, and I began to slide down the hill to the school.
The hill was rocky, and my legs were torn and bleeding by the time I reached the bottom, but I survived. The school bus parking lot behind the school was protected by a chain link fence. When Samantha had fallen down the hill and landed behind me, we made our way over the fence.
Samantha looked down at her destroyed pants and glared at me. “You’re paying for a new pair of pants.”
“Sorry for saving your life. I’ll never do it again.”
“See that you don’t,” she said with a smile. “Except, please do.”
I thought we would have to break into the school, so I was surprised when I pushed the door and it opened for me. I heard crying from the moment we opened the door, and it got louder the closer we got to the gym.
“Get ready to fight,” I said.
Samantha got ready to build a fireball. “I’m ready, but I would prefer we run instead. I still don’t think we can beat a coven of witches.”
I inched closer to the gym and pushed open the door. There were no witches inside. Instead, I was surprised to find hundreds of people, nearly half the town, huddled in the center of the gym, on makeshift beds and using heat lamps for warmth. Out of the back of the gym, I heard a scream.
“Hija!” It was my mother, and she made a beeline right for me, wrapping me in her arms. “Oh my god. I was so worried. I thought you were dead.”
“I’m not dead, Mom. I had to go find Samantha, just like I told Joanne I would.”
“I nearly killed Joanne when she told me she let you go, but I didn’t have time to be that angry, because a few minutes after I got home our house started to shake and this huge bright light cracked through the sky. I think it’s the end of times, chica. I really do.”
I shook my head. “It’s not the end of times, Mom. I’m going to fix this. I promise.”
“No, you’re not.” She grabbed me tightly around the wrist. “You’re coming with me.”
I stood my ground with her. “No, Mom. You need to trust me.”
“I do trust you.” Her eyes filled up with tears. “I just don’t want to lose you.”
“You’re not going to lose me, Mom.”
She bowed her head. “That’s what your father said.”
“I’m not my father.”
“No, you’re not. You’re brave like him, though.” She shuddered and wiped tears from her eyes.
From the bleachers, I watched Joanne walk toward us. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
Samantha turned to us. “Is my mom here?”
Joanne turned around and pointed to the bleachers. “She’s on the top bleacher. She’s sleeping, but I don’t think she’d mind if you woke her up.”
Samantha turned to me. “We have time, right?”
I nodded. “Go.”
She ran away. When she was gone, tears filled Joanne’s eyes. She was looking past me, toward the door. I turned around and saw Katie there, smiling at us.
“Katie?” Joanne said, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Is that you?”
The extra magic in the air from the puncture must have made it possible for somebody without magical abilities to see Katie, because the whole town was staring at her glowing body.
“Hi, Mom.” She waved. “I’ve missed you.”
Chapter 51
I had never been so excited to eat a KIND bar than when my mother handed me one in the school gymnasium. I must have
