Monday, April 29

  Location: Library

  Operation: Apprehend Maddie

  Time: 16:05

  “Come on, let’s get ’em.”

  I never thought I’d be so thrilled to hear those words. The rush of adrenaline, the heat in my veins — it all hit at once. For a brief second, everything else vanished: the rumors, the whispers, the humiliation. Finally, I had purpose again.

  Mari and I broke into a jog down the library’s aisle, the soft thud of our sneakers muted by the carpet and the echo of pounding hearts. Neither of us had our wands fully drawn yet — caution mattered more than bravado. Ahead, Maddie and Elf turned toward us, their faces briefly visible through the gaps between shelves. Their expressions didn’t carry panic — not yet. Suspicion, maybe. But not fear.

  Then it all went sideways.

  Malachi, who’d apparently just finished his upgrade at one of the YMPS machines, stepped forward like a soldier marching into a warzone. With one sharp flick, his wand appeared in hand. Before I could shout a word of warning, he was charging straight toward Maddie and Elf like a storm breaking through calm skies.

  “What is he doing?” Mari hissed, her eyes darting between me and Malachi.

  But before I could answer, two more figures sprinted into view — Nikki and Tisiah, charging across the aisle like a pair of marathon runners on a caffeine overdose, both with wands drawn and faces set in grim determination.

  “What are they doing?” I hissed back, my stomach lurching.

  Maddie and Elf saw the oncoming assault and, in that instant, their confusion shattered into full-blown alarm. Without a second’s hesitation, they turned and bolted.

  And just like that — the chase began.

  Bookshelves blurred past as we tore through the corridors. Students and librarians scattered, shouting as books tumbled from their shelves. Malachi clipped the edge of a table, knocking over a stack of heavy reference volumes that crashed loudly to the floor. Tisiah, too focused on pursuit, tripped over them with a loud grunt.

  Mari surged ahead, her focus sharp and cold. “Keep up!” she barked, as we watched Maddie and Elf split at the far end of the room — two doors on opposite walls, leading to two different exits.

  “Split up!” I yelled.

  Malachi and Tisiah veered right after Elf, while Nikki, Mari, and I chased Maddie through the left door. The air thinned with tension as my thoughts began to spiral. If Elf was running too, that could only mean one thing — he wasn’t just an accomplice; he was another mole. And if both of them were involved... then maybe Jamal had been part of it all along. The thought made my blood boil.

  The door slammed open into a long, sterile gray hallway ending in two elevators. Maddie’s footsteps echoed off the walls. Mari raised her wand and, with a fluid motion, summoned a solid wall of brick and mortar that shot up to block the path.

  But Maddie only spun, flicked her hand, and unleashed a shockwave — a thunderous pulse of compressed air that exploded outward, shattering the wall into dust. The sheer power of it rattled my teeth.

  I had to admit — it was incredibly cool.

  Before we could react, she dove into the nearest elevator. Another shockwave burst from her fingertips, blasting Mari, Nikki, and me backward. I crashed against the far wall, my ears ringing. But this time, I activated my Perk.

  The familiar rush of strength rippled through my body like fire beneath my skin. My muscles locked against the blast, and though the force sent me stumbling, I managed to tumble into the elevator just before the doors sealed shut.

  Now it was just me and Maddie.

  I pushed myself upright, back pressed to the cold metal wall, breath uneven. The hum of the elevator filled the silence. Maddie stood across from me, her white hair falling into her eyes, chest heaving slightly, but otherwise calm.

  “We both don’t want this elevator to fall,” I said carefully.

  “I know,” she replied, her tone quiet, almost indifferent. “Just waiting.”

  “For what?” I asked.

  She gave a soft, humorless laugh. “You wouldn’t understand. Even if I told you, you wouldn’t be able to catch me.”

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “Oh, I’m sure I could,” I said, swallowing the lump of fear in my throat.

  Her smirk vanished, replaced by irritation. “Don’t test me.”

  Before I could answer, the elevator doors opened with a low chime. Maddie bolted out, and I followed close behind.

  The floor we emerged onto was dark and half-finished, almost like a maintenance level that existed between floors. It was dimly lit, with pipes running along the ceiling and a single metal ladder bolted to the wall leading upward — to the roof. Maddie grabbed onto it and began to climb.

  I lunged, grabbing her leg. She kicked, hard. Pain shot up my arm, and I lost my grip, tumbling backward.

  “Come on,” I groaned, scrambling up.

  I fumbled for my phone, thumbs slipping across the screen as I called Nikki. “Nikki! Nikki!” I shouted.

  Her voice burst through the receiver, breathless. “Where are you? Is she still in the building?”

  “She’s on the building!” I yelled.

  My foot slipped against the ladder, and before I could react, I fell forward — face-first into the concrete. The impact was brutal, but my Perk absorbed the brunt of it, turning pain into a dull vibration. I clenched my fist, summoning the energy through my arms, and slammed the ground. The force cracked the concrete beneath me, a shockwave that sent Maddie sprawling from the ladder.

  She screamed, spinning mid-air, and fell from the edge of the roof. My heart froze. The next sound was the heavy, sickening thud of her landing far below.

  Silence.

  Then, faintly, groaning. Somehow... she wasn’t dead.

  Mari’s footsteps echoed up the stairwell a minute later. When she reached me, she exhaled sharply, her expression dark.

  “The least you could do was catch her,” she said, crossing her arms. “You’ve got your Perk and everything.”

  “Well…” I said, scratching the back of my neck. “I guess I did catch her. Maybe a little flattened, but still caught.”

  Mari’s glare could have incinerated me. She strode to the roof’s edge and peered down. “She’s alive. Probably used that implosion thing of hers mid-fall. Let’s get her up here.”

  “Yeah, let me tell Nikki first,” I said, pulling my phone out again.

  By the time things settled, I wasn’t sure where Mari had taken Maddie. Maybe to medical. Maybe to interrogation. Wherever it was, I wanted to know.

  I tried focusing during Introduction to Self-Defense, but it was pointless. The class was less of an introduction and more of a rehash, my brain too tangled in thoughts of what had just happened.

  When it ended, I left the classroom and walked toward the stairwell — only to be stopped by two women in matching black blazers. Agents. One had hair the color of blood and the other carried a clipboard and the kind of expression that didn’t leave room for negotiation.

  “Follow us,” the redhead said.

  “Is this about the mole?” I asked eagerly.

  Her eyes darted toward nearby students. “Keep your voice down. You already attract enough attention.”

  We rode the elevator down two levels and stopped in front of an unmarked door. Inside was a plain waiting room — white walls, beige carpet, a water dispenser humming in the corner, and a few chairs lined up like obedient soldiers.

  “Wait here,” one of them said. Then they left me there — alone.

  I waited.

  And waited.

  And waited some more.

  No clock, no windows, no sound but the faint hum of the fluorescent lights. Minutes dragged into hours. My stomach growled. My patience cracked. It felt like psychological warfare.

  Finally, the door opened.

  Agent Lloyd White walked in, wearing a gray suit so pristine it might have come straight off a store mannequin. His red-and-black tie gleamed under the light, and his shoes clicked with each step. He had that kind of presence that filled a room before he even spoke.

  “Hello, Drails Jr.,” he said with a faint smirk.

  I forced a laugh that died halfway through. “Hey, Agent White.”

  He didn’t sit right away. Just stared at me like he was waiting for me to confess something I hadn’t done yet. “So,” he began, “did you find anything?”

  I blinked. “Wait, I thought that’s why you brought me here.”

  “Correct. We brought you here to ask if you found anything.”

  “I thought you brought me because you knew I did.”

  He smiled slightly. “So you did find something.”

  There was a pause long enough to make my palms sweat. “Yes,” I said finally. “We did.”

  “Good,” he said. “Let’s hear it.”

  I straightened up. “We realized they weren’t trying to kill Malachi. They were analyzing him. The mole’s goal was to understand how the MP system functions — to study the top-ranking mage and replicate that strength for the TSA.”

  Agent White nodded slowly. “That’s actually pretty smart.”

  “Thanks—”

  “Not you, donut,” he interrupted flatly. “Continue.”

  “Oh. Right.” I cleared my throat. “To get close to Malachi, you’d have to be his friend. And, well, everyone’s his friend, so it wouldn’t be hard. But if the point is to learn, then they’d probably be near the bottom of the MP list — the ones who don’t understand the system yet.”

  “Nor do most of the students,” White muttered. “Continue.”

  “So we looked near the bottom. That’s where we found Maddie Maxwell.”

  He perked up. “White hair?”

  “Yeah. That’s her.”

  He sighed. “Maxwell. Of course.”

  “We tried to talk to her, but, uh… things got intense. She ran, we chased. Elf ran too.”

  “Elf?”

  “Yeah, guy with the Goku hair. All wild and spiky.”

  “David Elfron,” White said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

  I tried not to laugh, but it came out like a muffled snort. “Sorry,” I muttered.

  “He was at the bottom too?” White asked.

  I shook my head. “No. He’s part of the trio. Jamal, Maddie, and Elf.”

  White leaned back, folding his arms. “And what exactly does this prove?”

  “She ran from us without even hearing us out!” I said. “Why else would she run if she wasn’t guilty?”

  He sighed. “Maybe because five students with wands drawn were charging at her in the middle of a library?”

  “That—okay, that’s fair,” I admitted.

  He stood, brushing invisible dust from his sleeve. “Your logic’s enthusiastic, but flawed. I’ll have other interrogators follow up. You’re free to go for now.”

  He turned toward the door, pausing just long enough to glance back. “Next time, Drails Jr.—try not to cause a scene that breaks half the school’s library.”

  He left the room, leaving me to my utter disappointment and confusion.

  What else could I do?

  And for the first time that day, I had no idea what to think anymore.