In Life and Death

In Life And Death Brigade

In Life and Death Brigade

Kat sat waiting on the living room couch, a smile on her face when she got the text alert from Yale. She was to remain inside. There was a shooter. 

Terror like Kat hadn't felt in years strangled her. She had to get somewhere safe, she had to hide. She ran to her bag and grabbed her lock picking tools, her hands shaking. She got the cinema room door open in record time and locked it behind her, sitting half way up the stairs. She'd hear if anyone came in and could go further down. 

She took deep breaths, in for four out for eight, in for four, out for eight. Just like the therapist had said. She'd be okay. She was safe. She wasn't even on campus. In for four out for eight. 

Kats hands stilled. She might be safe but all of her friends were on campus. All of them. 

Her breaths started coming harder again. Her friends. Her family by this point. They were out there with a monster. A real life monster and she was hiding. Hiding. But she couldn't do anything else. She fucking couldn't do anything else because if he was out there…

She didn't know how long she was sat there for, trying to calm herself and then remembering her friends when she heard the door go and people coming inside. Lots of people. 

She heard sobs and cries and terror in voices. She heard disbelief and expletives and her heart sunk harder. 

Hands shaking, palms sweating Kat picked the lock, it took longer as the tools kept slipping from her hands. 

Out of the door she didn't bother to lock it behind her. The heist didn't matter anymore. It was just a stupid game and this… This was real life. Really shitty life.

"Kat!" A cry went up and people were hugging her and crying and she was trying to see who was missing. Who'd been hurt or worse. She couldn't see… she couldn't see Poppins, he was nowhere and her heart sank further. It couldn't be… no… no way. 

"What… what's happened..?" Kat asked, her voice shaking as badly as her hands. 

"It's…" Charles raised his own hand that shook harder than hers, he wiped at his face. "Bambi."

Kat thought she'd fallen down a whole for a moment. Her stomach lurched and she couldn't see through the water that was in her eyes. 

"Bambi… no… she okay? She went to get us coffee… that's all. She'll be back in a minute…" Kat said, yeah that was all, just an ordinary coffee run. Never mind that they had coffee here, Bambi liked her special coffees at times. She'd come through the door any minute with two coffees cups wondering what all the crap was about. Not that she'd say that. She'd say fuss, or whatever sweet thing she thought of. Bambi was sweet. 

"Kat… Ba...Bambi's… d…" Charles couldn't get the word out, his eyes were streaming.

"Nope. No, she can't be… she can not be… she can't!" Kat yelled, yelled at Charles, yelled at them all, they were wrong god dammit! Wrong! 

"Kat…" One of the new kids said, Fred or George, she couldn't tell them apart. 

"No!" Kat yelled at him. They were wrong!

"Where are they? Where's Finn and Poppins, where's Colin and Boss? They'll tell you, they'll tell you all! Wherever you got your information from, you're wrong! Where the hell is Bambi! She only went to get coffee!" Kat shouted storming for the front door. She was going to get to the bottom of that.

"You can't go out there!" Rose yelled trying to stop her. 

Kat stopped and stared at Rose until she backed off. "Fucking stop me," Kat spat daring the red head.