Grey's Anatomy - No Time To Die

Dear Fear

"As long as we're breathing it is not too late to change our stories—"

Lexie had been looking at different colleges in the library for over an hour but, nothing stood out to her. She didn't even know what she wanted to study in the first place. There were just way too many options. Lexie sighted before slamming her laptop shut.
"What's the matter with you?" Rylan said as she sat down next to Lexie.
"College—"
"—how am I supposed to know what I want to be doing for the rest of my life?"
"Some people just know what they want, and others need to experiment to find their passion."
"That's easy for you to say, you have known you want to become a lawyer since middle school."
"You'll find your passion."
Rylan opened Lexie's laptop.
"University of Washington—"
Rylan was stopped by the sound of a gunshot.
"—did you hear that?"
Lexie nodded. She was scanning the room and by the look on the other students faces she knew it wasn't just them who had heard the gunshot. The room was dead silent and not a single person had dared to move a muscle. Rylan looked at Lexie.
"We'll be fine." Lexie whispered.
Rylan took a deep breath before nodding. Lexie grabbed Rylan's arm, pulling her under the table. She also pulled the chairs back under the table, for extra coverage.

After a few minutes the alarm went off and at that point it really hit Lexie. There was a shooter walking through the hallways, hunting its prey. The librarian stood up, walking over to the door. She was about to put her key in the keyhole when the door swung open. Another gunshot was fired, hitting the librarian right in her chest. She fell to the ground, gasping for air. Lexie put her hands over her mouth, trying to suppress her heavy breathing. The shooter stepped over the librarian, looking into the room, before starting to shoot around. Lexie could hear people scream in agony in between the gunshots. Tears were running down her face as she was waiting for it to be over.

Lexie remained hidden under the table, once the shooter had left the room, to make sure he had actually left. Lexie was about to get up when Rylan grabbed her arm. Lexie looked at her friend, who's eyes were telling more than enough. It felt like Rylan was staring straight through her.
"I think I might have been shot."
Rylan lifted her hand from her stomach, revealing a growing bloodstain.
"You're going to be just fine."
Lexie helped Rylan out from under the table, laying her down next to it. Lexie put her hands on the wound, causing Rylan to go gasp for air. Within seconds Lexie's hands were covered in blood.
"Dam it—"
"—I need to stop this bleeding." Lexie added
"The school nurse—"
"—it's down the hall—"
"—they have bandages." Rylan said
Lexie shook her head.
"I can apply pressure—"
"—while you go and get the bandages."
"I'm not leaving you!"
Rylan looked at Lexie. She took a deep breath and grabbed Rylan's hands, putting them on top of her stomach.
"Keep applying pressure, it will hopefully stop the bleeding—"
"—can you do that?"
Rylan nodded.
"I'll be right back."

Lexie took a deep breath before standing up. She did not want to leave that library but in order to save her friend she didn't have much of a choice. When Lexie had finally found the courage, she stood up, rushing over to the librarian. She placed two fingers in her neck, looking for a pulse but she was already gone. Lexie closed the librarian's eyes before moving on. She carefully investigated the hallway, there were people laying on the floor in a puddle of their own blood. She stepped back into the library gasping for air.
"Dam it."
Lexie took another deep breath before stepping into the hallway. She kept her focus on the door, at the end of the hallway as she made her way through. When Lexie arrived, she opened the door and quickly entered the room. She leaned against the door and took a deep breath.

"Help—"
"—please help me." a girl begged.
The girl was sitting against the wall staring at her leg. Lexie nodded before carefully approaching the girl.
"I'm Lexie, can you tell me your name?"
The girl nodded.
"Judith"
Lexie sat down beside her. Looking at Judith's leg she immediately noticed the bullet, it was right there.
"Can you take it out?"
"I could—"
"—I'm just not going to."
"What? Why not, it's right there?" Judith said in disbelieve.
"Because you're no longer bleeding—"
"—If I take the bullet out you will start bleeding again and I might not be able to control it."
"And I'll bleed to dead, just like the others."
Lexie nodded.
"Judith, you're going to be just fine. Help is on its way and until then you just have to sit tight, okay."
Lexie stood up.
"No—"
"—you can't leave me."
"I'm so sorry but I have to check on my friend"
Lexie went to the supply closet and took as much as she could carry.
"I'll come back."
Judith nodded and with that Lexie went back into the hallway.

On her way back Lexie checked the pulse off every single person she passed, and she helped those who still had a change by quickly wrapping a bandage tight around the wound. Within minutes Lexie was back in the library and she rushed over to Rylan.
"Lexie—"
"—is that you?"
Lexie sat down beside her. She noticed the blood stain had grown exponentially. Lexie lifted Rylan's hands and shirt. She wrapped the bandage tightly around Rylan's abdomen, but it was soaked in blood within seconds. It didn't take her long to realize the bleeding wasn't going to stop. Rylan had already lost a lot of blood, she needed to get it under control or else her friend would bleed out.
"Dam it."
Lexie took a deep breath before rushing over to her bag. She emptied her bag on the floor and grabbed her phone.
"Call my mom." Lexie said as she handed her phone over to Rylan.
She put her hands back on Rylan's stomach.
"Are you calling?"
"Yes—"
"—she's not picking up." Rylan said quietly.
"She will, just give her a second."
Lexie looked over at her friend as a tear ran down her face. She didn't understand how her parents could do this for a living. It was horrible.

"Are you okay?" Meredith said.
Lexie took a deep breath.
"I'm fine—"
"— it's Rylan, she got shot and I can't stop the bleeding."
"You have to apply pressure on the wound."
"I know that—"
"—it's not working, and she already lost a lot of blood." Lexie added with a shaking voice.
Lexie could hear another gunshot and Rylan didn't even seem to have noticed it. Lexie was still applying pressure on the wound, hoping for a miracle.
"Lexie—" Meredith said carefully.
"—where did Rylan get shot?"
"Her abdomen, I think the bullet damaged her aorta."
"Everything is going to be fine; we are going to walk you through it."

"What do you think you are doing?"
Lexie turned around, gasping for air as the shooter approached her. The shooter was dressed in all black, with a bandana covering the lower part of his face. Looking the shooter in the eye felt familiar and she immediately knew who it was.
"Winston—"
"—I didn't shoot her just so you could save her life." He interrupted, taking a few more steps towards Lexie.
Lexie could feel her heart pound inside of her chest. She took a few deep breaths, trying to hold herself together. Lexie was still applying pressure on Rylan's wound, but by looking at her she knew it was already too late. Rylan was constantly opening and closing her eyes, starting to lose consciousness.
"Rylan, stay with me." Lexie begged.
"Step away."
Lexie could feel Winston grab her arms, pulling her away from Rylan.
"I said step away!" He yelled as he threw her against one of the bookshelves.
Lexie hit her head before falling to the ground. Determined to do everything she could to safe her friend she stood back up. This time Winston was pointing his gun at her. A tear ran down Lexie's face.
"She is our friend"
Winston started laughing before shaking his head.
"If only you knew."
"Lexie—"
"—are you still there?" she could hear her mother say through the phone.
Another shot was fired, hitting Lexie in her right hip. Unable to keep her balance she fell to the ground once again. She placed her hands on her hip and within seconds they were covered in blood. Lexie couldn't feel a thing with all the adrenaline rushing through her body, which was probably for the best. Winston approached and before she knew it, she was staring right at the muzzle of his gun.
"Please" Lexie begged.
"I never meant to hurt you—"
"—you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Winston said.
Lexie could feel her head bang against the floor before everything went numb.

"—so, just keep breathing if this is not how you want your story to end. Keep fighting until you know that you did everything you could to change the ending."