"Ew, a spider! Somebody kill it!", Abigail shouted to her peers in the senior class of Wattman High. She gazed down at the spider, unwilling to lose sight of it. It roamed helplessly unaware of the situation, rummaging about the window sill. Clueless to the predicament it had placed its self in, it casually slid down a single strand of web towards the floor. Landing gracefully, it detached itself, and walked about aimlessly. Abigail shook from head to toe, contorting in a grotesque fashion in response to the spiders rapid movements.
"Seriously, somebody kill it or-!" Jason, an average looking teen of a quiet demeanor approached slowly towards Abigail. She stared at him as he walked passed her towards the spider, and sighed in relief. Jason kneeled down, and extended his right hand down slowly to the floor. The spider stared at the foreign object closing in on it, and stopped to observe. Looking up at the hand it glanced up to see Jason's slight smirk in the corner of his mouth.
"It's okay, I know a perfect place for you." Jason whispered down at the spider. Weary of his presence the spider strafed left and right attempting to avoid the intercepting hand. Finally it gave in, placing a single leg on Jason's hand. Abigail quivered nervously, as if a predominant need to vomit, was taking hold. Careful to maintain a peaceful nature, Jason did not react to the spiders advances. Overriding an innate distrust, curiousity allowed the spider the act of climbing wholly onto Jason's hand. Standing up, he held his hand close to his chest. The spider scratched it's two front legs together as Jason walked along the east side of the room.
"That's seriously gross, Jason." Abigail protested towards the gesture. "Shhh." Jason hissed with his left index finger covering the front of his lips. Carrying the spider to the furthest window towards the back of the room. He placed it on a shelf where several bodies of deceased insects lay, whithered and fragmented. "This is where most of the other bugs come into the room. This should be a good home for you.", Jason whispered as he placed his hand gently on the shelf. The spider stared up at him, and stepped off onto the shelf. Admiring it's new environment, It began working on a small web underneath the corner of the shelf.
Returning to his seat, the other students gawked at Jason, as if his actions were unnerving. "Well that's Jason for you, he coudln't hurt a fly." Nick joked aloud to the class. "Well actually, in saving the spider, I'm probably hurting a lot of flies." Jason replied. "er, I didn't think about it like that." Nick muttered awkwardly to himself. Abigail fidgeted in her seat staring back at the spider slowly attaching strands of shining silver web to one another. Finally, she turned her attention to the front of the class, while keeping an air of angst about her.
Shortly after everyone settled down, Mr. Crawford strolled through the door with a book in hand. Taking a seat at his front desk, he yawned, and greeted the class. "Good morning," he uttered out mid-yawn. "Morning, Mr. Crawford." The class replied respectably. "We have alot to cover today, so let's jump right into it. Turn to page 381." The class followed soon, and carried on with their lesson for nearly half an hour.
Suddenly a loud pop sounded off in the distance. Catching the attention of both students and teacher, they all raised their heads in curiousity. "Probably just an exhaust backfiring, back to reading, guys." Mr. Crawford asserted. Shortly after two more pops sounded off. This time they sounded closer. The students and Mr. Crawford scanned the room in confusion. Interrupting their inquiries, and alarm sounded throughout the school building. Mr. Crawfords face sunk in realization. The alarm tone was specifically designated for the event of an intruder on school grounds. Quickly surmising the pops as gunfire, he instructed the students to be calm and listen to him.
"Those sirens, mean that someone is trespassing in the building. Everyone get under your desks and I'll shut the lights off. Be as quiet as you can, the police are already on their way." The class follows his instructions promptly with fear in their eyes. Not even Mr. Crawford was able to maintain full composure, but the responsibility for his kids, kept him cool under pressure. The room fell silent except for the labored breathing coming from under Abigail's desk. She attempted to calm herself, but without success. She looked all over the room, as if to escape from the situation. Her eyes met Jason's who was staring back at her. Pressing his finger to his lips one more time, he attempted a forced smile to calm her. She controlled her breathing, and closed her eyes to focus. Soon her labored breathing fell silent with the rest of the class.
Shot's fired off in the distance growing ever closer to their class. Soon, a series of screams from fellow students and staff could be heard in between the gunfire. The gunman was approaching their classroom quickly. Not a minute had passed before the room across the hall emanated shrieks and banging sounds. A thud from the door being kicked open could be heard from the silent class room. The inhabitants of the next room over barrelled out of the classroom towards the end of the hall. Four shots rang out as if to deafen the class still remaining in hiding. A few screams cut short, fell to silence. Only the sound of a heavy steps could be heard down the hall, ending in a single shot.
Nick whispered in an aggravated tone, "Fuck this!" He crawled out from under his desk, and ran towards the door. Flinging it open, he bolted out of the class to find the gunman facing away from him. The man slowly turned around to look up at Nick. His face devoid of any expression, he began lifting the gun towards Nick. Before the gun met his gaze, Nick sprinted and bashed into the gunman. They fought vigorously as Abigail ran out through the door in Nick's wake. She stared helplessly in shock at the two men fighting over the gun. A single shot was fired, and Nick fell to the ground with a graze over his left side. Clutching tightly to the wound, he stared up at the gunman who was reaching back down towards the pistol. Picking it up, he aimed it down towards Nick.
In fear for her brother's life, Abigail found strength, and rushed towards the gunman, tackling him with her tiny frame. He stumbled slightly, as the gun was knocked away towards the open door of the darkened class room. The class remained inside, cowering over the situation at hand. Without thinking, Jason followed suit and rushed out of the classroom. His eyes met a fallen and bleeding Nick with the gunman holding Abigail from behind with a knife against her neck. He noticed the gun on the ground and quickly picked it up. Pointing it at the gunman, he muttered, "L-Let her go." His hands shook as he pointed the gun.
A sinister smile crept its way over the gunmans face, as he looked on the now trembling Jason. Tears welled up in Jason's eyes as he pleaded once again for his classmates lives. The gunman pressed the blade closer to Abigail's neck, drawing a single drop of blood. She winced in pain. Nick grunted and shouted, "What are you doing! Shoot him!" Jason shook tremendously, unable to control the tears that began falling down his cheeks. "Don't make me do this." The gunman's smile stretched wider. "Don't make me a murderer." Jason pleaded once again. The gunman began to dig the knife into Abigail's neck as Nick kicked the inside of his knee. His grip loosened from Abigail, and she tumbled to the ground. Spinning in an explosive rage, the gunman beared down towards nick with the knife held straight down. Jason raised the gun and fired 3 rounds center mass of the gunman.
Falling over to Nick's side, the gunman lay gasping for breath. Jason dropped the gun, nearly falling to his shaking knees. He stumbled to the gunman's side and kneeled down. Watching the man struggle for life, he sat quietly. The gunman looked up at Jason's empty eyes and smiled, before breathing his final breath. Jason stayed at his side unwavering. All sound escaped his senses as he stared down at the lifeless body.
A flurry of students and teachers surrounded the scene. Nick standing up, and helping Abigail to her feet. The looked down at Jason and the body in silence. Most were in shock, but a few who knew Jason well, felt deeply for him. Going against his very nature, to do something necessary. How lost he must have felt. They attempted to bring him to his feet, but he kneeled down paralyzed by his actions. Finally the police came barreling through the hallway. They ordered the students to back away. All followed except for Jason who remained still. He was eventually dragged away by the leading officer. Nick and Abigail looked on to the officer questioning Jason. He shouted at Jason with no results. His inquiry extended to the point of harassment, before Nick and Abigail stumbled over shouting at the officer.
The officer took note of their open wounds, and ordered an EMT to tend to them. Ignoring the EMT, they held a firm gaze on the officer until he submitted and left to secure the crime scene. After Nick and Abigail were bandaged properly, they escorted Jason back to the classroom, where his peers attempted to console him. Mr. Crawford and the class huddled together with Jason, and sobbed quietly at the tragedy that had taken place. The event for class 2-B ended with them intact as a whole, but the monstrosities in this world won't simply disappear with their end. The memory remains with everyone unfortunate enough to have been forced into such a position. All that we can hope for, is for someone to take action and do the right thing. Even if the right thing hurts. Those choices and actions take place everyday. As bystanders, it is our duty to provide relief for those of us that have had to make the hard choice. We must always remember their heroism, because they'll never forget their sacrifice.
