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Teachers began to take charge, herding people out of the hallways, and towards the cement and grass atrium of the school. The first wails of a siren could be heard in the distance.

“Jeff!” I called into the crowd. A few people glanced curiously my way, but no one responded. I could not catch a glimpse of his flat, brown hair, his thick glasses, or that ridiculous camouflage backpack he liked. I turned back to my friends, “have you guys seen – ?” the look on their faces answered the question for me.

Andrew shook his head. “He’s on his own.” When I looked at him in horror Charlotte put a gentle hand on my shoulder and patted it, “He must have managed. He is more powerful and more resourceful than you think.”

I started forward. Cameron pulled me back. “Are you crazy?” She demanded. “Don’t worry. Jeff’s here. He probably just got separated from us. It’s a big school.”

I looked into her eyes. She half believed what she was saying. I didn’t believe it at all. Jeff was just one table away from mine. I pulled out of her grasp and eyed the nearest teachers, waiting for them to look away. Andrew grabbed my hand. I bit back a gasp, fixed my gaping expression and turned to glare at him. “What?” I snapped.

“You’re not going in there.” He told me.

“But I have to find Jeff.” Months of practicing made it easier for me to whisper, even when I was seething mad.

“Then we shall help you,” Charlotte took my other hand. She turned to Cameron. “Will you do the honors?”

Cameron hesitated, and glanced around us. People were busy chattering amongst themselves or gazing at the enflamed building with glazed eyes. Cameron raised her hand. Instantly, I felt a strange sensation wash over me, as if I had skipped through the sprinklers and a heating panel in a single second. I felt the reassuring squeeze of Charlotte and Andrew on either side of me, and I heard Cameron treading behind. As we cleared the crowd and the last of the teachers, Andrew stopped. “Shoot.”

“Oh dear,” Charlotte added. The firefighters had entered the school. They spread out in a line, spraying at the flames, which had spread to the two adjacent buildings. “We will never make it past the line.”

“Yes we will,” I gritted. I broke free of Charlotte and Andrew, knowing that they would never be able to find me, knowing that I was still invisible, because Cameron could not take off the invisibility without people wondering about my sudden appearance next to the burning building. I ducked under the pressured hose, and dodged the sputtering jet of water that attacked the voracious flames. I entered through the side door of the science room just in time; flames licked along the sides of the doorway. I began to cough. The fumes and smoke of dozens of carcinogenic chemicals filled my nose and eyes. I began to regret running in here so recklessly, but I needed to find Jeff, quickly. A flicker at the corner of my eye caught my attention. A dark figure was crouched by the teacher’s desk, now cracked and crackling.

“Jeff?” I called tentatively. There was a low groan. “Jeff?” I called again. Was he hurt? I picked my way through the smoking tiles, wincing at the suffocating heat. I struggled to wave the smoke away from my eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of the figure. When I managed to finally blink away the tears in my reddened eyes, I stopped. He – the figure – was not Jeff. He – it – was something I had never seen before. A head lifted from the rest of its broken and charred body. White – pure, blazing hot white – shaped a crooked, disconnected grin. The gaping hole of a mouth opened, and I gasped as a new wave of heat slammed into me, forcing me backwards. My foot landed awkwardly on a flaming table, and I fell, staring into the mouth of the monster. I felt flames lapping at my ankles, tasting my flesh. I began to scream.