Noel Flair: leadership
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My jaw dropped in shock.
Everyone around the table stared at Elizabeth, waiting for her to continue.
“It’s been in our attic for years. I used to play dress-up with it.” Elizabeth was practically jumping in place.
Hunter snorted at her.
“I promise!” she insisted.
Everyone looked to me to make a decision.
I shrugged. “It’s the only lead we have. So, I guess that’s where we go.”
“Or Elizabeth could be sending us on a wild goose chase!” Hunter glared at her.
Elizabeth gritted her teeth. “Will you just give me a chance? I promise there is one in our attic!”
“Really?” he stood up, challenging her. “Explain how it got there.”
She turned to face him completely. The look she gave him could have melted ice. “Explain how we got here.”
The silence that followed the argument made me want to scream.
Enoch decided to break the unbearable silence.
“It’s fine, Hunter,” he tried to keep the peace between them. “We can try.”
I nodded my agreement. “How many people can drive?”
Enoch pointed at two boys who stood among a group in the kitchen. “David, James, and I. That’s it.”
“Perfect. Can you guys help me go around and tell everyone the plan?” I asked, standing up.
The group nodded and then split up around the house, preparing for the spontaneous trip.
I gathered dishes and began a quick clean of the kitchen.
I do not know why I was cleaning, but for some reason it made me feel better.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to stop myself from crying.
What were we doing here? My heart pounded harder in my chest as I attempted to make sense of the entire situation.
Here we were, a group of teens who could not care less about the existence of each other, suddenly the only beings on earth.
I swayed slowly as I became dizzy with terror.
My Pendant caught the light from the sun, sending a blurry design onto the wall. I watched the design sway back and forth as the Pendant swung on my neck.
I reached my hand up to trace the crooked design, but it disappeared when my arm blocked the light. I quickly dropped my arm back to my side, but the light did not return. I looked out the window to find that the sun had vanished behind a cloud.
I dropped my head back and stared up at the ceiling, letting a single tear fall down my cheek.
I gripped the Pendant with my hand, feeling the indentations dig into my skin, but I did not care.
I just wanted to go home.
I wanted to go back to yesterday and never have come to this teen activity.
Suddenly, I thought came to me.
I let Grace convince me to come.
If I had not, would I still be here? Stuck in this nightmare with the rest of them? Who would be the leader without me here? Or would they even have a leader?
“Everyone is good with the idea,” Enoch came into the kitchen, disturbing my thoughts. “They’re deciding who gets to ride with who. Poor James. He got stuck with all the junior highers.” Enoch let out a shudder and then helped put some dishes in the dishwasher.
“Is this the right decision?” I asked him.
He looked at me confused. “What do you mean?”
I sighed. “Should we be taking them away from here?” I motioned to the teens that could be seen through the window, gathering on the front lawn. “This is just so scary.”
Enoch wiped his hands on a towel as he stood right in front of me, protectively.
“Yes, this is scary. But the last thing we need is a leader that doubts herself.” He placed his hands on my shoulders. “Let’s just take this one step at a time. Maybe Elizabeth is right, and there is a Pendant in her attic. We might be able to use it to find out how to get our families back.”
I nodded.
“Come on. Let’s go.” He turned and walked out of the house.
I took a quick look around to confirm the empty house before following him.
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