A minute passed. Then another. Finally, the girl came back out, looking weird.
"No one is in there," she said quietly.
The words hit him like a slap. His blood ran cold.
"What?" Darius asked again, this time almost whispering.
"Maybe she le—" the girl started to say, but Darius was already gone.
He broke into a run, legs pounding the floor as he commanded his phone, "Call Carl! Call Carl now!"
The line rang once, twice, no answer. He cursed under his breath and kept running, panic clawing at his chest. If Linda's not there… then where the hell is she?
He did not stop until the roaring noise of the Year Six Arena filled his ears, louder, wilder, and far too close to chaos.
No one picked up after the second call, making Darius quicken his pace. He burst into the arena like a man possessed, but no one noticed, the crowd's attention was glued to the chaos unfolding on stage.
