Goodbye School (GMW)

chapter two; cornered

Maya POV

The gunshot scares me, but it's not like I'll admit that.

I'm sitting there in dead silence, my teacher, Mrs. Ridion standing against the wall, and I feel panic.

This was scary. I was scared.

Lucas has his hand on my arm, and I'm not sure if he's trying comfort me, but I'm thankful. He's the only reason I was able to keep my cool.

Most of the girls in my class were silently sobbing. One girl, Anna, had her head burried in her boyfriends shoulder, and another girl named Alexis has balled up in the corner. The only girl who seemed remotely calm was a girl named Kinsey. She was sitting next to Lucas and I, and her boyfriend Ethan had his arm around her. There are a few silent tears falling down her cheeks, and she's gripping Ethan's hand so tight I can see fingermarks, but her expression is placid and cool.

"Who? Why?" I hear her whisper in Ethan's ear.

Ethan continues rubbing comforting circles on Kinsey's lower back. "Don't worry Kinz. Whatever this is, they'll figure it out. I won't let you get hurt." Kinsey tearfully smiles at him.

"Maya?" I hear Lucas say quietly, and realize he's looking at me with a concerned expression. I probably looked like I had pulled a blank. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." I whisper back, shifting. "This is just putting me on edge."

"Understandably so." Lucas mumbles. I take it his face for a minute, trying to figure out his thought process. His expression is troubled. "This is bad."

I say nothing in response, leaving myself and him to our own thoughts. It remains silent for a moment, when there's a creak.

No one dares to breathe.

I suck in a quiet breath, hearing a jiggling from the room over. There's silence.

Then a shot. And screams.

I open my mouth, and Lucas slams his hand over my mouth. I wasn't going to scream, but I didn't protest. It was the door on the other side, I realized. At least it wasn't Riley's room. But I have a feeling of dread. Is he going room to room? Are we next?

There were some more noises, and I held my breath. Lucas and I look at each other nervously.

The door knob twisted.

There was a beat.

The person rattles it.

A few more beats.

Then craziness insured.

The attacker somehow managed to open the door. The door opened, and I feel disbelief. How could he open it? It was locked! Of course, that was a stupid question, even of me. I knew how to pick a lock.

I could barely have time to think before Lucas yanks me to the left. I'm about to hit him out of impulse, when I realize the girl behind me, Anna, is clutching her stomach. Blood is where her hand is over. The gun had gone off. I heard it. It couldn't be real.

It was real.

"Maya!" I hear Lucas yell above the screams of my frantic classmates. "Come on!"

The shooter had made his way into the room and was shooting everywhere now. I could hear people grunting and groaning as I ran to Lucas. He grabs my hand without hesitation, and pulls me for the door.

I turn to check behind us, and see the shooter looking right at Lucas and I. He doesn't shoot, but I can practically feel his stare. The shadows hide his face, but I can tell he's wearing a mask, and he has the hood of his black hoodie pulled over his head.

Then Lucas pulls me out in the hallway, and the shots resume. "Are you okay?" Lucas asks, holding my stare.

"Yeah, yeah." I hear myself say. I sound far away. "Lucas, we have to keep moving. Come on."

He opens his mouth to say something, when the door opens. I hear him suck in a breath, but Kinsey and Ethan tumble out instead of the shooter. Ethan slams the door behind us. Kinsey's eyes are wide.

"Kinsey. Ethan. Are you okay?" Lucas asks, snapping me back to reality.

"He didn't get either of us, but half of the class is dead." Kinsey says slowly, her brown eyes full of tears. "Holy shit. Ethan. He shot Alexis. Right there. She's dead."

"Kinsey, I know. But we have to keep going. Okay?" Ethan whispers to his girlfriend.

Lucas and I frown at each other. We knew Kinsey and Alexis were best friends. Kinsey looks back at us and draws in a breath. "We have to get out of here."

"I couldn't agree more." I say. The door begins to open again. None of us have to comment. We all ran off, down the stairs.

"Nearest exit is over here!" Ethan whisper shouts.

We all run after him to a door at the end of the hall.

"Okay. We leave, and then run across the street to the Walgreens. We can call the police there." Lucas suggests.

"Good deal." Kinsey agrees. She grabs the door handle, and tugs. Once. Twice.

"Kinz? What's wrong?" Ethan asks, noticing his girlfriend's pale face.

"The door." She says softly.

"Impossible." I scoff. "The door has no lock." I shoulder her aside and try to open it myself. No go. "Oh my God. This means we're stuck in the school." I realize.

Ethan glances around nervously. "Worst part is, I think he followed us downstairs."

We all look at each other before we take off running again.