Lockdown Read Online Free Page A

appears in the small circle of flame. “He shot out the light,” Baker says. He shovels the broken glass out of the way with his shoe.
    In the pale pool of light, the four of us stand, stunned. When I look at Natalie, I gasp. Blood is running from under her hair. Baker must see it too. He says to her, “You better sit down.”
    Natalie touches her fingers against her chin. When she sees the blood, her eyes get big.
    I grab Natalie and lower her to the floor. Zoe rips out a sheaf of paper towel and presses it to the side of Natalie’s head.
    Natalie starts to howl.
    I’m no doctor, but based on her volume, she doesn’t seem to be badly hurt. I say to Baker, “Hold the lighter up.”
    Baker says, “You want me to open the door, get the light from the hall?”
    Zoe and I reply at once. “No!”
    Baker shrugs. He holds the lighter close to Natalie’s head. Zoe eases away the wad of paper towel. The blood seems to be oozingfrom just over Natalie’s right ear. Gently, I run my hand over her scalp. Except for the blood, her skull feels like it should. I say to her, “A bullet must have grazed your head.”
    Grazed her head. As in, barely missed shattering her skull. As in, barely missed splattering her brain. I replace Zoe’s hand against the wound, pressing her hand for a moment.
    Baker whips off his shirt and wraps it around Natalie. “Gotta keep her warm.” He gathers Natalie against his chest. “Here. Lean back. I’ve got you.”
    Baker must be the most unlikely Boy Scout, but Natalie settles against him. Her howling subsides to hiccupping sobs. It’s clear now that the smell of pee was Natalie’s. If Baker notices, he ignores it. Natalie opens her cell phone and starts punching the keys.
    â€œThe bleeding seems to have stopped.” Zoe peers under the paper towel. She grabs a clean stack and hands them to Baker. He holds them to Natalie’s head. Zoe straightens up.
    I pull her into a hug and burrow my nosein her hair. “Are you crying?” I hold her so that I can see her face. “You are.” I offer her my sleeve to wipe her face. “He won’t be back, Zoe. If he meant to kill us, he would have.”
    â€œHe got Natalie.”
    â€œI think a bullet ricocheted and got Natalie.”
    â€œHe still got her. He could have killed her.”
    â€œBut he didn’t.”
    Baker looks up at us. “Weird. I wonder why he didn’t kill us.”
    I think of the way Josh looked when he found us in the stall. Gleeful. I shudder thinking about it. Then he recognized me. He was surprised at first, and then, I don’t know, the look in his eyes changed. He was disappointed maybe. Maybe pissed. Pissed that the kid he finds is the one kid in the entire school he might have been able to call a friend.
    I say, “His name is Josh. He won’t be back here, but I don’t think he’s done.”

Chapter Eight
    I feel everyone looking at me. I’m sweating again. Big fat pellets of sweat run down my face. Zoe breaks free of my hug. “It was Josh? Josh with the hamster?”
    Natalie gets very quiet.
    Baker says, “Who is Josh?”
    Baker is in my grade along with Josh. I say, “You know Josh. Glasses. Kind of big. Always wears a blue shirt.”
    Baker casts his eyes up and furrows his brow. Finally, he says, “Nope. I’ve never seen him before.”
    Baker must attend class even less than I do. I say, “Anyway, it’s Josh. He’s just a guy.”
    Zoe plants her hands on her hips. “Just a guy with a gun.”
    Baker nods. “My uncle has a gun just like he had. Snub-nosed revolver. My uncle hides it in the garage.”
    Not much of a hiding place if Baker knows where to find it.
    Baker continues, “My uncle was supposed to turn it in, but he said he forgot. He uses a half-moon clip dealie, loads six rounds at a time.”
    Zoe says,