I've finally managed to drag myself to the end of the hallway. I pull the ceiling tile slightly up so I can peek into the hallway below me and I notice my fingers are covered in grime and blood. Never in my life did I think I would be sludging through air vents, trying to escape some drug lord maniac, but here I am.

I hear two more shots fire at the opposite end of the building and my heartbeat pulses loudly in my ears. I try and silence my heavy panicked breathing long enough to hear if anyone is in the hallway below me. I slide the tile slightly further back and my stomach squeezes when I hear Austin's voice.

"The back stairwell is clear, keep moving forward. She has to be here somewhere." I pull the tile back completely and I watch Austin direct Ryan down the hallway.

"Austin!" I whisper and both Ryan and Austin flip around toward my voice. Just the sight of them almost makes me burst into tears. They can hear me but they can't see me.

"I'm above the elevator!" I say slightly louder and they turn around and sprint down the hallway with their guns stretched out in front of them. Ryan continuously checks behind him every few calculated steps he takes. When they make it to the end of the hall, I put my non-bleeding hand out of the small square opening and they both stop under me.

"Thank you Jesus hallelujah!" Austin mummers when they see that I'm fine. I should be jilted seeing Austin with a gun in his hands but he carries it naturally out in front of him.

"Are you okay?" Ryan nervously asks me and I nod my head. Both Ryan and Austin check to see if the coast is clear and I suddenly see Ryan's eyes double back behind him. I hear a gunshot from the other side of the hallway and Austin and Ryan scurry out of view behind the wall that leads to the staircase. Ryan stretches his arm out again and blindly shoots two more shots down the hallway. I cover the small opening I created and my heavy breathing is back. I won't be able to handle it if anything happens to Ryan or my brother.

I try and think quickly, Ryan and Austin are at a dead-end, hiding between a narrow wall and a door that leads to a stairwell that I have no access to from up here. I hear voices coming from the other end of the hall, confirming that Austin and Ryan are stuck at the other end. I scramble back down to the other end of the hall as quickly as I can move in the small space, to see if I can find out who is coming toward my brother. I hear Simon's voice immediately and he is asking someone else if they have located me yet.

"No sir, she's not on the second floor and no one has spotted her on the first floor."

"She just can't disappear!" Simon shrieks and his shrill startles me, "She is our leverage! Find her!"

As I am on my hands and knees crawling back to the other side of the hallway, I notice my small silver thumb ring on my hand. I quickly pry it off my sweaty finger and launch it so it hits with a ping on the other side of the hallway, right above Simon's head. I hear muffled noises where Simon stands and they finally figure out that I am in the ceiling. I watch a piece of drywall come blasting upward from a bullet and they must not need me alive. I watch a second and a third blast of tile but it's on the opposite side of where I am crouched down. I try and think of anything else I can toss to throw them off Austin and Ryan, but I have nothing on me.

I pull the tile back again and ask Austin to throw me something I can use. He looks confused for a second so I snap, "Check your damn pockets!" He tosses me up a quarter he's pulled from his jean's pocket and I thankfully catch it on the first attempt. I scoot down the small space again and toss the quarter as hard as I can above the classroom air conditioning vent. A loud pang shoots off in the direction they think I am and I hope my distraction works. I quickly pull the tile above Ryan and Austin away and I swing both of my feet out into the opening. Ryan tucks his gun into his waistband before helping me lower myself from the ceiling.

"They are moving into the classroom I was hidden in; we have to move!" I whisper and Austin nods while Ryan grabs a hold of my upper arm. From his grip, I can tell he's not going to let go of me until we are safely out of the building.

Austin pulls the stairwell door open as Ryan and I dart inside. Right before Austin pushes the door shut, he pushes a pin down to lock the door from the inside. As Austin clicks the door into place, a bullet hits the metal door startling all of us. I accidentally let out a small scream from the thunderous noise and Ryan puts his arms over my head to shield me. I notice both him and Austin are wearing bulletproof vests and I'm thankful they are alright.

We dash down the two flights of stairs and Austin pulls the door to the first-floor open. He scans the area with his gun out in front of him while Ryan and I follow his lead. We are practically running by the time we reach the end of the hall and I see the main doors approaching. Ryan continues to check behind us but I don't hear anyone coming.

"I think most of them have already scattered," Ryan tells Austin as the pathway remains clear. Austin ducks under the small rectangular window set in the main door and uses one eye to check to see if the coast is clear. He waves us behind him and with all of his force, he kicks the heavy door open and we dash outside.

The shimmering sun momentarily blinds me while Ryan continues to pull me forward. I've been in the dark for so long that my eyes can't handle the brightness. I hear sticks and leaves snapping underneath my feet and I can finally make out the tree line in front of me. I hear a helicopter overhead but my eyes still haven't fully adjusted to the bright light.

Right as we slice into the tree line, the main doors burst open behind us and I hear gunshots fire all around. Austin turns back while running and shoots rapidly as we continue to run forward. Ryan still has a grip on my arm moving me onward and we both duck as the bullets whiz past us.

I hear sirens growing closer and I hope this nightmare is almost over. My feet have a mind of their own as they jump over broken tree logs, crunch sticks and leaves under them and I even find myself leaping over small rocks. My heart is still beating me senseless and my mind is trying to figure out where we are going. My heart leaps into my throat when I see a sliver of white poking through the bushes and I instantly spot Austin's car. The sirens are growing louder and the helicopter is now hovering over the empty schoolhouse.

Austin is the first to reach the car and he flings the back door open for Ryan and I to duck into. I watch Austin slide over the hood of his car to get to the driver's side and I am awestruck that my brother is an action star. All this time I thought he crunched numbers in a cubicle.

Austin slams on the gas sending dirt and leaves everywhere and he guns it until we reach the main road.

"Where are we going?" I ask Austin nervously and I watch his eyes quickly find mine in the rearview mirror.

"To safety." I shake my head.

"No, we still have time! I need to go to that wedding! Take me to Deerwood." Austin shakes his head while taking a sharp right and Ryan grabs my hand.

"Kenny is at the wedding. We are taking you far away from the Carmichaels."

"No, I need you to take me to Jackson! You guys know what Whitney is planning and I can't let her do that to Jackson. The Hemmings don't deserve that kind of fraud! I can still stop this wedding!"

"I thought you were okay with the wedding blowing up? Why try to prevent this, you should be thrilled," Ryan asks.

"I was okay with it until I learned of the reason it was going to blow up. It's not right for her to do this Jackson, to Mrs. Hemming," I snap. Ryan releases my hand at the mention of Jackson but I don't drop the subject.

"Austin please! I need to warn Mrs. Hemming at least! I don't care about Jackson but his parents deserve better. You know what's going to happen!"

"Karma is what's going to happen Sawyer. If he never cheated on you with her, he wouldn't be in this mess now, would he? I'm not putting you in danger again to warn that son of a bitch. And if this is about you selfishly wanting to stop that godforsaken wedding well, I am here to tell you to get over it," Austin snaps and I have never heard him talk so nasty.

"This isn't about me! I just need the marriage certificate to not get signed!" I argue but Ryan and Austin aren't having it. "Please! Please take me to Deerwood or I'll throw myself out of this car and run there myself!" I threaten and Austin shakes his head at me with a slight laugh.

"Sawyer, Ryan and I have been worried sick about you for the past two days," he says with his eyes glued to the road. "We've been trying not to be consumed by the disturbing thoughts of what could be happening to you and we haven't slept a wink since Wednesday. We are running on fumes here and we both almost got shot up trying to get you out of that building. We aren't going to willingly put you into another dangerous situation and I'd hope you wouldn't do that to us."

At that, he silences me. He's right. I can't ask them to walk into another shoot-out. While I've been knocked out for two days, Austin and Ryan have been trying to move mountains to find me. Kenny must know I am no longer at the schoolhouse but I don't know what he'll do to make sure that marriage certificate gets signed.

"Give me your phone then," I ask Ryan and he reluctantly looks at me, "Please Ryan. Please let me just try calling Jackson." Ryan looks to Austin and Austin shakes his head with disapproval. Ryan slides his hips forward and pulls his small black burner phone from his jeans pocket. I smile to him, remembering everything I wanted to tell him but I know there is something I have to do first. I quickly pluck the phone from his fingers and I dial Jackson's number that I have memorized by heart. I release a long sigh and cross my fingers that he answers.