Chase's classroom was eerily silent, with all students hiding under their desks. The door was secured and a table was positioned in front of it to block entry as a safety precaution.
Some of the teenagers were whimpering softly, some were sobbing and others were stricken with fear. It was obvious that they had heard the shooting and they had realized one thing: a school shooter was here.
"Damn," a boy whispered. "What the hell is going on? Who lost it?"
"I don't know." Erica, the class representative whispered, smoothing down her skirt. "But we have to keep quiet. I'm sure someone has called the police. We have to wait."
"What about our fucking teacher?" Prince snarled in anger. "Where the fuck is she?"
"That bitch must have hidden us," Emila replied. "She never really even looked out for us?"
"Doesn't matter," Erica muttered. "We all need to get out of this alive."
Prince was about to reply with a sarcastic comment when he suddenly heard bangs on the door that made his heart freeze in fear. The others were the same. No one made a sound.
"Oh, my God," Emila whispered, stricken with fear. "It's the shooter. The shooter's here to kill us."
Prince scurried back as if he were trying to hide himself in his own shadow.
Erica was at a loss. Should she have opened it? What if the person was the shooter and wanted to kill them? She got up bravely and walked up to the door.
"Who are you?" She confidently called out.
"It's me, Damon." A voice groaning in pain called out. "Help me, please. I've been fucking shot.
Prince looked up in shock. "Damon," he called out. "Is it really you?"
"Of course it's me, you fucking idiot." The voice snapped. "You can't recognise my voice again."
Prince chuckled, getting up. "It's definitely him."
He walked over to the door to move the table away and open it. Erica stood in his way, not budging from where she stood.
"What's your deal?" He asked, annoyed. "Get out of the way."
"Dude, don't be dumb." Emilia snapped. "What happens if he's the shooter?"
"He's my friend," Prince responded angrily. "I know he hasn't lost it."
"How sure are you?" Erica asked.
"Pretty damn sure," Prince replied. "Now get out of my way."
Erica stared at him for a long moment before she moved to the side. Prince then moved the tables blocking the door, unlocked it, and opened the door. Everybody in the classroom held their breath, half expecting Damon to come blazing in with a gun but they gasped as he stumbled in, clutching his side, his face pale and filled with fear.
His shirt was soaked with blood, the latter dripping down his jeans and onto the floor. Prince swiftly locked the door and then held Damon and gently placed him on the ground.
"I told you." He quietly spoke, placing a rag on the wound. "I know Damon very well."
Erica ignored him and turned to Damon who was softly groaning in pain.
"Damon," She spoke, softly. "What's going on out there?"
"What do you think?" Damon snapped, gritting his teeth. "People have been shot. Some are dead and I was shot too."
There was a huge pause in the classroom, almost none of them were expecting that things had become that bad. People had died and they could be next. Most of the students had never imagined that they would become victims of a school shooting and now they had paid the price for it. No guards, no metal detectors, even the CCTVs were useless. The only ones they could rely on to change this mess were the police, and they were even taking their sweet time.
"Did you see the shooter's face?" A girl tentatively asked.
Damon was silent for a moment before he replied. "Yeah."
"Then who the fucking hell is it?" Emilia asked, angrily. "Tell us who the person is?"
When Damon didn't reply, Emilia angrily snapped. She strode over, grasped his cloth, and began to shake him aggressively.
"Answer me!" She screamed. "Who the hell is it?!"
"Calm down, Em," Erica spoke, trying to shush her.
"Shut up!" Emila snapped at her, then turned back to Damon who was hiding his face in his palm. She stopped shaking him.
Damon kept quiet for a moment before he uttered a name. "Travis."
Everybody froze when they heard what Damon had just announced, clearly not expecting that. They couldn't even believe their ears. Travis. The soft-spoken kid. The weakling in the hallway. The one that was always dumped in dustbins. That same Travis.
Prince's face paled in horror just as soon as he heard that name. He couldn't even breathe. And the next thing he heard confirmed his fear.
"He's after you, Prince," Damon spoke again. "You're his main target. He's been searching for you."
Emila swallowed in fear. "Why will he be looking for Prince?"
But Damon was not listening, he was muttering to himself. Erica, who had been listening, frowned when she saw the faces of both Prince and Damon. They both looked guilty as hell. Something had happened. Something so bad that Travis had finally snapped.
"Dammit," Damon was muttering to himself. "I knew what we did was bad. God, I shouldn't have done it."
"Damon," Erica asked, suspiciously. "What did you and Prince do?"
Prince looked a bit shocked for his name to be called out but he kept silent. Damon swallowed before he started talking. He said everything, and the more he spoke, the more the students' faces in the classroom twisted in both horror and disgust. When Damon finished speaking, silence descended over the classroom for minutes then a boy broke the silence.
"Dude," he spoke to Prince. "Are you.....Uh....gay?"
Prince glanced up but didn't say a word.
Emilia sat down on the ground, shocked out of her mind. The person she had been dating had done these horrible things to Travis and made him snap so badly that he was out on a shooting rampage.
"Don't worry." Erica consoled her. "We'll get out of this. The police must be here already."
"Chase is fighting him," Damon added.
"What!" Erica exclaimed, shocked. "And you're telling us now."
The others were also shocked and were murmuring among themselves. Chase was fighting for them. They hadn't expected that. The boy they had considered weak was fighting for them while they cowered in the classroom.
"What happens if he dies?" Emilia whispered, horrified even at the thought.
The others didn't answer, unsure of what to say. Prince clenched his fists in frustration knowing he was at fault here. He cursed in his heart at Travis for doing this. Now, everybody knew that he was the one who brought this disaster to fruition.
Erica took a deep breath and then stared at the door.
"Please get out alive, Chase." She whispered.