Battlefield by J. F. Jenkins

There must be something going on here after all.”
    â€œWoohoo,” Orlando dead panned. “All right, so he’s in the school. How do you propose we get in there without getting caught or arrested?”
    â€œThe school’s open, duh. The football players have to change somewhere. But you gotta show us how to get in.” JD rolled his eyes, secretly pleased he knew something Orlando didn’t. He felt productive and helpful for the first time since they agreed to help.
    Orlando nodded. “This way should be open since it’s closest to the locker rooms.” He motioned to the school building. They crossed through the parking lot. The doors were open, and a handful of students lingered outside, chatting quietly amongst themselves. He motioned for them to turn left right away, and they found themselves in a barely-lit hallway.
    â€œOkay, we’re in, all right? We should probably put on our mask thingies in case we get caught,” Orlando said.
    â€œThere aren’t any cameras here, are there? This is going to be awesome,” JD said pulling his out. They’d worn their masks on duty before, he and Cadence, but it wasn’t in the midst of anything potentially dangerous. This was much different, and it was making his entire body tingle with anticipation.
    â€œNo, no cameras. School’s incredibly ghetto compared to Morningtide,” Orlando said as he dug around in his coat pocket for his own mask. JD was impressed he even brought it out with him.
    â€œSo,” JD said as he looked around the dark hallway. “If I was a super evil, super bad guy, from another planet, that was trying to wage war on a foreign planet and was using a high school for my base, where would I hide?”
    â€œWell, if we’re talking about you...” Orlando ended the thought in a quiet and private mumble. He peered ahead of them. “Why is that door not locked?”
    â€œA lead! Rock on! Let’s go look!”
    â€œI doubt we’ll find anything now that you’ve announced we’re here to everyone and their mother.”
    â€œGuys, even if there isn’t anyone there, it’s a start. If they’re running, they’ll have left everything behind,” Cadence said and moved in front of them.
    Slowly the three approached the door. With each step, they slowed and shook until they were stopped right in front of the door. Ironically enough, it was painted black to match the rest of the school spirit decor in the hallway making opening it that much more daunting of a task.
    â€œReady?” Cadence asked. She looked specifically at Orlando. It made JD’s blood boil to have her rely on him, of all people, for protection. He was the only one powerful enough for the task though. JD was worthless, and he hated it.
    Orlando nodded, and stood back as she opened the door. JD stopped her before any of them could look inside by gently placing his hand over hers.
    â€œLet me do it,” he whispered. She stared up into his eyes, and their hands lingered for a brief moment. He gave her hand a small and reassuring squeeze; then he put his hand on the door and slowly opened it. The heat from her skin still resonated against his, and he felt like that, in and of itself, gave him some kind of all-powerful super ability.
    The room was dark. The only light to be seen came from the crack in the door and the red glow of an exit sign towards the back. There must be another door over there. He took a step forward and tried not to shiver at the chaos in front of him. The room was a mess—that much was obvious—because he could make out an overturned table and a mass of papers spread out over the floor.
    â€œYeah, I think they were in here. I’m turning on the light.” He didn’t see anyone in there anymore.
    â€œWe’re clear,” Orlando said, and JD took that as a sign to go ahead and flip the switch.
    â€œOh, man,” JD mumbled and