Noah Langford - March 2121
The party finishes a little before midnight, and as the room gradually empties, I stay behind with Finn to help tidy the canteen. Most people have already disappeared upstairs, exhausted from the evening, while a few of the younger ones have been practically carried away to bed by their friends and family.
Surprisingly, I don't feel particularly tired. I probably should, considering how long the day has been, but my mind is still far too active to think about sleep. After Kai was taken away before he could drink too much, I realised that continuing to drink myself probably wasn't the best idea either, so I put my glass down and haven't touched anything since.
Thankfully, Finn isn't much of a drinker, so he decided to stay with me rather than join everyone else. He did protest several times and tell me that I should go to bed, but I know him well enough to recognise that his complaints are rarely serious when he has already started helping.
The canteen isn't in as much of a state as I expected. Everyone here takes care of the place because, despite everything that has happened, this is still their home. There are a few abandoned glasses and plates scattered across the tables, some food left behind and enough chairs pushed out of place to make the room look untidy, but it doesn't take us long to restore everything to how it was before the party.
Finn carries a stack of empty plates towards the kitchen while I collect the remaining glasses from the tables. We've worked together often enough that we barely need to discuss what needs doing. He knows what I will take care of, and I know he'll complain about whatever task he thinks I've deliberately left for him.
"Surely the person whose celebration it is shouldn't be cleaning," Finn says as he sets the plates down, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm.
"It's Kai's party," I point out, continuing to gather the glasses.
"No, it's all of your party," he argues. "You were the one everyone was congratulating tonight."
"That doesn't mean I organised it."
"You still helped organise it."
"I made a list."
Finn turns to stare at me.
"You made several lists."
"Lists are efficient."
"They're excessive."
"They're only excessive when you ignore them."
He laughs and shakes his head before returning to the tables. "There he is. I was wondering when you'd start defending your spreadsheets."
"I don't have spreadsheets."
"You absolutely have spreadsheets."
"I have one spreadsheet."
"That's worse."
I can't stop the small smile that forms as I place another stack of glasses onto the tray. This is familiar territory for us. Finn has always been one of the few people who can tease me without making me feel like I need to defend myself, probably because he knows exactly how far he can push before I actually become irritated.
"Besides," I say, carrying the tray towards the kitchen, "now that we've discovered a cure, I need to keep myself busy somehow."
Finn follows behind me with another pile of plates, giving me a knowing look.
"I'm sure you'll find some new experiment to work on soon."
"I'm not looking for a new experiment."
"You're already thinking about one."
I glance at him and he smiles.
I don't bother denying it because there's very little point. Finn knows me too well. He can usually tell what I'm thinking before I've decided whether I want to admit it myself.
"The formulation still needs to be reviewed," I say. "There are several variables we haven't accounted for, and the long-term effects are still unclear."
"It's been one evening, Noah."
"I know."
"You've already started analysing it."
"I've been analysing it since Edmund told us about Bennet."
Finn laughs quietly. "Of course you have."
I continue wiping down the table in front of me, but I can feel him watching me.
"What?" I ask.
"Nothing."
"You're looking at me."
"I'm allowed to look at you."
"You're making an observation."
"Maybe."
I give him a suspicious look, but he only smiles before returning to his work.
There is something reassuring about having him here. Finn has known me for long enough that silence between us has never been uncomfortable, and tonight is no different. We can spend ten minutes cleaning without saying anything and neither of us feels the need to fill the silence simply for the sake of it.
Eventually, the last table is clean and the chairs are pushed back into place. I look around the room, checking that everything is where it should be before finally allowing myself to relax.
Finn notices.
"Done?"
"Yes."
"Good. Now you're going to bed."
I sigh.
"I suppose I am."
He gives me a satisfied smile and starts towards the door. I follow him, switching off the lights as we leave the canteen behind.
But as the door closes behind us, a soft whistling sound cuts through the silence. At first, I barely register it, assuming it is nothing more than wind moving through one of the broken vents, but the sound grows louder with every passing second. There is something about it that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, although I can't quite identify why.
Before I have time to figure it out, Finn has already turned towards me.
His hand catches my shoulder and he shoves me backwards, sending both of us crashing to the floor. He lands on top of me almost immediately, curling his body over mine and shielding my head with his arms.
"Finn, what are you..."
The explosion cuts me off.
Something slams into the floor above us with enough force to make the entire building shake. The ceiling groans overhead before a section of it cracks apart, sending pieces of concrete, plaster and dust raining down around us. I instinctively cover my head while Finn keeps himself over me, taking the worst of the falling debris.
For several seconds, I can barely hear anything except the ringing in my ears. Then the school alarm begins to scream through the building, followed by shouting and the pounding of footsteps as people start rushing through the corridors.
Finn lifts his head and looks down at me, his face covered in dust.
"Are you okay?"
I take a moment to check myself before nodding. "I think so."
He immediately gets to his feet and reaches down to pull me up with him. I accept his hand and allow him to steady me as I look around the corridor, trying to make sense of what has happened.
"What happened?"
The corridor is almost unrecognisable. One of the windows has been completely shattered, fragments of glass scattered across the floor, while smoke drifts through the opening. Pieces of the ceiling surround us, and somewhere further down the corridor I can hear people calling for help.
Finn looks towards the broken window, his expression becoming increasingly serious.
"I think it was a missile."
I stare at him.
"What?"
"A missile."
"That can't be." The words come out before I've even finished thinking.
I turn towards the damage, my mind immediately going through every possible explanation. The defensive system I designed should detect incoming threats long before they reach the building.
"It should have been stopped," I say, more to myself than Finn. "The defences should have detected it."
My thoughts begin moving faster as I try to identify what could have gone wrong. The detection network has independent power sources, multiple sensors and backup systems. Even if one part had failed, another should have taken over. There is no reason something moving towards the academy at that speed should have been able to get this close without triggering an alert.
Something has happened to the system.
Before I can work out what, Finn grabs my arm.
"Noah, we need to move."
He pulls me down the corridor, and I follow reluctantly, still trying to piece together what has happened. We barely make it a few metres before Daniel and Tessa come rushing towards us, both looking shaken.
"The whole of upstairs is on fire," Tessa says, her breathing uneven.
My attention immediately shifts to the people who aren't with us.
"Where are Ethan and Kai?"
"We checked their room on the way past," Daniel answers. "They weren't there."
Relief flashes through me before another thought takes its place. If they aren't upstairs, then where are they?
More people begin rushing past us towards the basement, following the evacuation procedures they have been taught. Those who are injured are being helped along while the younger residents are directed downstairs, everyone moving with a surprising amount of organisation despite the chaos around us.
Edmund appears at the end of the corridor and immediately begins directing people.
"Everyone downstairs. Stay together and follow the marked route. Do not stop in the corridors."
His voice remains calm despite the alarm blaring overhead and the smoke beginning to spread through the building. People listen to him because they know he won't panic, and right now that calmness is exactly what everyone needs.
Then I hear it again.
The same high-pitched whistle.
I don't have time to warn anyone, before the second missile strikes the canteen.
The explosion sends another wave of heat and pressure through the building, throwing me backwards. I hit the floor hard and struggle to catch my breath as the walls shake around us. Smoke fills the corridor almost immediately, and through it I can see flames spreading across what remains of the canteen.
I stare at the burning room in disbelief.
Only minutes ago, Finn and I were standing in there cleaning up after the party. People were laughing, talking and celebrating, completely unaware that someone was preparing to attack us.
"Noah!"
I barely hear Finn over the alarm and shouting.
He grabs my face with both hands, forcing me to look at him.
"Noah, look at me."
I focus on him.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Then go into the basement with the others."
"I need to get to the defensive systems."
Finn's expression immediately hardens. "Absolutely not."
"Something has happened to them. They should have detected both missiles, but they didn't. If I can get them back online, we might be able to stop whatever comes next."
"We don't know if there's going to be a next one."
"There will be," I say, looking towards the damaged window. "They've already fired twice. Whoever is doing this isn't finished."
The certainty in my own voice surprises even me.
Finn stares at me for a moment before shaking his head. "You can't fix the defences if you're dead."
"I know."
I pull away from him and start moving towards the opposite corridor before he can argue further. I can't simply stand in the basement while the system I designed fails around us. There are too many people here, and if another missile gets through, we may not get another chance to protect them.
Before I can get far, movement through the smoke catches my attention.
Two figures come running towards us.
Ethan and Kai. They stop when they reach us, both taking in the destruction around them.
"We're being attacked," Finn tells Kai.
Kai looks towards the burning canteen before turning towards me.
"What about the defences?"
"That's what I'd like to know," I reply.
Edmund continues directing people towards the basement, his voice carrying through the corridor.
"Everyone downstairs and follow the evacuation route. Keep moving."
Kai turns towards Ethan and grabs him by the shoulders.
"Go with them. Take Noah."
"I'm not going," Ethan and I say at exactly the same time.
Finn looks between us and lets out a frustrated breath, but neither of us pays attention to him. Kai opens his mouth to argue, but before he can say anything, Ethan's eyes suddenly flash blue.
His expression changes almost instantly as his attention shifts towards the broken window.
"Another one is coming."
Kai looks at him.
"How long?"
"Thirty seconds."
Kai doesn't hesitate. He turns towards the window and climbs through the broken frame before any of us can stop him.
"Kai!" Ethan moves forward, but Kai is already outside.
I rush towards the window and look out across the grounds. For several seconds, I can't see anything except smoke and darkness, but then Ethan speaks again.
"From the forest."
A faint whistle begins to rise in the distance. I look towards the tree line just as a dark shape emerges above the trees.
Another missile.
It is coming directly towards the academy and Kai raises both hands. The shadows around him begin to move.
They spill across the ground and rise into the air, thick black tendrils twisting upwards before racing towards the incoming missile. They reach it just as it begins its descent, wrapping around the weapon and pulling it away from the building.
The explosion happens almost immediately, but this time, the blast is contained within the shadows.
Even so, the force sends Kai stumbling backwards several steps. His feet scrape against the ground, but he manages to catch himself and remains standing, holding the darkness in place until the last of the explosion has been absorbed.
I stare at him through the broken window.
He looks small from this distance, standing alone in the middle of the grounds while smoke and fire surround him, but there is nothing uncertain about the way he stands.
"Get to the basement now!" he shouts.
Finn grabs my arm and this time I fight him.
"Kai!"
"Noah, you have to go!"
"I'm not leaving him."
Finn's grip tightens around my arm as he tries to pull me towards the stairs, while Ethan is doing exactly the same thing beside me.
"I'm not leaving him either," Ethan argues.
"You don't have a choice!" Finn shouts over the alarm.
Tessa and Daniel reach us and help Finn force us towards the stairwell. I try to resist, but the crowd behind us is already moving, and there are too many people being pushed towards the basement for us to stop.
"KAI!" Ethan shouts, reaching back towards the window.
I twist around as we are pulled further away, but Kai doesn't look back.
He's standing completely still now, facing the forest where the missile came from. His attention is fixed on the darkness beyond the trees, as though he already knows that this isn't over.
I keep watching until the crowd forces me around the corner and he disappears from view.
My mind keeps returning to the same question as we descend towards the basement.
How did they get through my defences?
I built those systems to keep everyone here safe.
And tonight, they failed.