He past another three classrooms before he heard screaming. That was-! Without another thought, he ran. He ran like he'd never ran before - that could have been Josh. Josh could have been hurt, or... No. No, Josh would never do that, he knew his own son enough to- But then again, he'd thought that Josh would never take drugs (again), and Josh had been taking skunk. Exhausted, he finally found the source of the screaming. It was Scout - Scout and Phoenix. Phoenix was on the floor, and Scout was panicking, trying to tug him up, "C'mon! We have to go- they could be comin' back anytime now! We have to get back to Denzel and the others,"
"Scout!" Tom rushed over to them, "Scout, have you seen Josh?"
Scout looked worse for wear, her uniform ripped, the sleaves hanging barely hanging on, and her hair pulled and messy, small splatterings of blood across her face. She was on edge, and Tom moved back,
"Please. I just want to know where Josh is-"
"Oh, so you can keep him hidden away with the rest of you precious teachers, is that it?!" Scout was angry, gripping onto Phoenix's arm as she tried to steady him upright, "'S not fair - the rest of us don't have teachers as parents. Why can't you help all of us? Why do the rest of us have to fight like animals while you lot live it up?" Scout started marching off, practically dragging Phoenix with her.
"And we're workin' on gettin' everyone out of here before anyone is killed. But right now, I need to get Josh out of here - he's..." Tom had to be careful of what words he used now, Josh's schitzophrenia wasn't something he wanted spreading around, "He's not well, and he needs some medication, Scout. I need to find him."
She stopped, not looking at Tom, but taking in what he said. Tom had almost given up and was about to walk off when he heard her quiet voice, "Try the cupboard near the gym room. It were the last place I saw 'im, anyhow."
Without a second to spare, Tom started back up into, what Josh had affectionally called his 'teacher sprint'. But, when he got there, all he found was Finn Sharkey.
"Sir! Thank God you're 'ere, sir, I dunno what happened, but Josh-"
"Josh, is he ok? Where is he? If you did any-" The words all tumbled out of Tom's mouth, and it was only when he took a moment to think about what Finn -once-trouble-maker-now-turned-Head-Boy - actually said, he stopped, "What happened?"
"I dunno, Sir! We were hiding from the DSC when he... He just lashed out, and ran. I... I don't know where he went, a..." Finn looked at the bag on the ground, "Is it my fault, Sir?"
Tom shook his head, "It's not your fault, you tried your best. Look, do you know what direction he ran off?"
Finn took a moment of thinking before he gave Tom an answer - "Left."
And Tom ran. He ran through the science corridors, busting open every door he could think of. He ran through the technology rooms, the English rooms, even the maths rooms. The only place he hadn't been was-
His office.
When he got there, he felt the air in his lungs try and force its way out of his body. He gripped the walls and tried to suck in as much air as he could, he felt like he was drowning, all he needed to do was find Josh and everything would feel better. And then he found Josh. Or, at least, Josh's leg, the rest of him remainded huddled underneath his desk, rocking backwards and forwards.
The Waterloo Games - Part Two
"Scout!" Tom rushed over to them, "Scout, have you seen Josh?"
Scout looked worse for wear, her uniform ripped, the sleaves hanging barely hanging on, and her hair pulled and messy, small splatterings of blood across her face. She was on edge, and Tom moved back,
"Please. I just want to know where Josh is-"
"Oh, so you can keep him hidden away with the rest of you precious teachers, is that it?!" Scout was angry, gripping onto Phoenix's arm as she tried to steady him upright, "'S not fair - the rest of us don't have teachers as parents. Why can't you help all of us? Why do the rest of us have to fight like animals while you lot live it up?" Scout started marching off, practically dragging Phoenix with her.
"And we're workin' on gettin' everyone out of here before anyone is killed. But right now, I need to get Josh out of here - he's..." Tom had to be careful of what words he used now, Josh's schitzophrenia wasn't something he wanted spreading around, "He's not well, and he needs some medication, Scout. I need to find him."
She stopped, not looking at Tom, but taking in what he said. Tom had almost given up and was about to walk off when he heard her quiet voice, "Try the cupboard near the gym room. It were the last place I saw 'im, anyhow."
Without a second to spare, Tom started back up into, what Josh had affectionally called his 'teacher sprint'. But, when he got there, all he found was Finn Sharkey.
"Sir! Thank God you're 'ere, sir, I dunno what happened, but Josh-"
"Josh, is he ok? Where is he? If you did any-" The words all tumbled out of Tom's mouth, and it was only when he took a moment to think about what Finn -once-trouble-maker-now-turned-Head-Boy - actually said, he stopped, "What happened?"
"I dunno, Sir! We were hiding from the DSC when he... He just lashed out, and ran. I... I don't know where he went, a..." Finn looked at the bag on the ground, "Is it my fault, Sir?"
Tom shook his head, "It's not your fault, you tried your best. Look, do you know what direction he ran off?"
Finn took a moment of thinking before he gave Tom an answer - "Left."
And Tom ran. He ran through the science corridors, busting open every door he could think of. He ran through the technology rooms, the English rooms, even the maths rooms. The only place he hadn't been was-
His office.
When he got there, he felt the air in his lungs try and force its way out of his body. He gripped the walls and tried to suck in as much air as he could, he felt like he was drowning, all he needed to do was find Josh and everything would feel better. And then he found Josh. Or, at least, Josh's leg, the rest of him remainded huddled underneath his desk, rocking backwards and forwards.
"Josh?"