When The Alarm Sounds

Waiting

I desperately try to calm down, the last thing I need is to have a panic attack when we are supposed to be in silence so as to avoid any intruders hearing us. This isn't a drill, we would have been told through the day and the teacher wouldn't have put the cupboards in front of the door. Different news stories of terrorist  attacks flash through my mind. As awful as they were, the only one I am interested in at the moment is the one I am currently stuck in.

Are there actually terrorists or intruders in school?

What are they doing here?

What's going to happen if the find us?

How long do we wait here for?

Are all my friends ok?

The many unanswered questions whizzing round my head are brought to a sudden halt when I feel a soft hand touch my arm and gently squeeze it. My head snaps up immediately to see Cody looking at me with an expression that asks if I am ok. I can see the worry behind his eyes as they search my face for an answer. Giving him a quick nod, I hope that he doesn't remove his hand from my arm. The comfort that it offered helped to slow my breathing and calm me down slightly.

Much to my dismay, he squeezes my arm again before retracting his hand from it's position. However, after a few seconds, I feel the heat from his body next to me as he encases me in a shielding hug. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, I feel safer in his arms but I refuse to be the girl that cries at everything so I do not hug him back.

"Are you alright?" he whispers as quietly as he can. All I can do is nod, he obviously senses that I am panicking because he shuffles closer to my curled up form telling me it's going to be alright. When I have composed myself enough to speak, I tilt my head up to look at him.

"Thank you, how are you holding up?"

"You sound so casual considering our situation." He artfully dodges the question but I can see the anxious look that has taken over his features.

"I'm thinking we should move so we are more hidden, if a terrorist walks in, they are instantly going to see us." My voice is barely a whisper but Cody seems to catch what I'm saying and points to the wooden teachers desk at the back of the room. Our teacher is hidden behind the metal one near the door so we begin to silently crawl towards the back of the room, we don't bring anything with us as it will make noise.

Crawling to the point where the desk meets the wall, I press my back against the wood and listen to the silence. So many worries swamp my already panicked mind and my heart races at a million beats per minute. The only comfort I have comes from Cody holding my hand in a vice grip that gives away his uncertainty and fear.

"What do we do now?" I ask.

"We wait."