The One He Let Live

Shh...

I covered my mouth, desperate to steady my breathing. It was dark and cold in the corner of the classroom, underneath my desk. My jacket draped over to try and hide any sign that I was there, the only thing visible were my shoes poking out at the bottom. I was hoping he wouldn't come in here to begin with, I just hoped he wouldn't see me. Whimpers, cries and footsteps could be heard in the halls of desperate students and teachers trying to escape. So much for teachers protecting students in a crisis. I peaked out from behind my jacket and could see light illuminating through the window of the classroom I was in. I saw a girl leaned against the window, trying her hardest to open the door but for some reason unknown to me she was unable to. Perhaps her hands were injured or her hand was so sweaty it slipped off the knob, but either way she was unable to get in. At this I almost felt some relief, if she was to stay with me i'd have a higher chance of being caught, I couldn't trust that she wouldn't make noise. She looked around the room with bloody hands on the window of the door, caking it in orangeish-red blood. She peaked around and made eye contact with me and got a huge smile and hope in her eyes and banged on the window begging to be let in. I tried to shush her and ran to the door, maybe if I opened it she would stop drawing so much damn attention to us. However when I reached the door a gunshot went off causing me to duck and flinch in fear, covering my ears. When I opened them the girl had wide eyes, full of shock and horror as she slowly slid to the floor, blood pooling around her back. I panicked, backing up but the killer was already standing outside the door. I quickly ducked back to my hiding spot in a panic and curled up frozen in fear. Thankfully I managed to calm my breathing rather fast because the classroom opened. I looked around trying to figure out by sound where he was in the room. His footsteps echoed through the room along with the dragging sound of a desk. He was blocking one of the doors to the classroom. He turned around and his footsteps got closer until I could see his shoes from underneath my jacket. I quickly held my breathe in a panic, I could see his shadow lower and suddenly I could see his knees on the floor as well. A hand snaked under the bottom of my jacket and yanked it up. "Hello there." My eyes widened in shock I went to scream but he quickly covered my mouth. "Relax i'm not going to hurt you, I have no need to as long as you keep quiet...the cops will be here soon, where's the nearest exit?" He had an eerily calm voice for someone who had just slaughtered so many innocent people. A few minutes ago he was a normal classmate. Decent grades, quiet, doodling cats. I always tried to talk to him but he rarely spoke back, and now here he was, shirt soaked in blood from our fellow students "d-down the hall to the left...double d-doors." I barely managed to get the words out with all the fear I felt freezing me in place. He reached a hand out and I flinced away. He rubbed the tears from my cheek with a bloody hand smearing the irony substance on my face and causing a small whimper to escape my lips weakly. "Thanks darling i'll be sure to find a way to repay you... don't worry I wont hurt you... you've done nothing to make me hate you. Here, i'll put the jacket back and you go back to playing hide and seek. I'm going to leave, be a good girl and stay here until the cops arrive. Don't make yourself a suspect darling." He stood up, pulling his gun from his pocket and put my jacket back in place to hide me. "Don't tell them I was here, okay?" I let out a weak "I won't" and heard his footsteps slowly get quieter and the door to the classroom open and close behind him. A year later I still have no idea why he let me live. He hasn't been found to this day, however I received a package from an unkown location with 10k and a note. "Thanks for the help darling i'll be sending more gifts from now on." I peaked out the door and looked around hoping to see him again, however he was nowhere to be seen. I let out a quiet "Thanks..." and went back into my house, closing the door behind me and quietly sliding down the door. I glanced at the cash. How the hell have I managed to befriend a psychopath like him?