the escape.

the begining of the end.

i ran down the long stretch of pavement that lead up to the school building after i slammed the car door shut behind me. it had been pouring since four in the morning, and the rain hadn't decided to stop just yet. i threw my hood on over my head as i was running towards the entrance of the school. after reaching the door, i shoved it open and went inside. my hoodie had water all over it and i couldn't see a thing due to my glasses being soaked in water as well. i quickly removed my glasses from my face and wiped the water off using my jacket sleeve that wasn't soaked in water. the sound of chatter and slamming lockers loudened as i approached the eighth grade hallway. most people were standing at their lockers with their friends and the phones hey apparently couldn't live without. after finally arriving at my locker towards the end of the long hallway, i quickly entered my combination.

30 14 32

i lifted up the small black latch and the locker opened. i took off my book-bag and set it down on the floor, and got my binder out from it. i zipped up the book-bag and stuffed it into my locker and then closed it quietly. i walked two doors down to my homeroom class and entered the room. the desks were lined up in perfect rows, facing towards the chalkboard and the smart board in the front of the room. on the left side of the room math vocabulary terms were posted all over the wall along with two windows that were covered by bamboo blinds that looked like they had come straight from a jungle of some sort. the right side of the room was rather bland, the only thing that stood out were fairy lights that hung from the ceiling.

a group of people were surrounded around two desks, probably talking about someone or something. the teacher, mrs. davis, was sitting at her incredibly messy desk. papers were scattered across it as well as writing utensils. she typed away at the computer in front of her, probably planning something for the class to do in the coming weeks. i sat down at my desk in the back right corner of the classroom, never to be seen or heard from. i set my binder down on my desk and laid my head down on top of it, staring at the blank wall. i noticed mrs. davis walk out of the room and i don't think she ever came back.

as the bell rung to signal that class would begin soon, all of us stood up to say the pledge of allegiance because... america? mrs. davis never came back and absolutely no one seemed to care. they thought of it as a free period instead of wondering where the hell our teacher went. the bell for second period rung, and people began rushing out of the classroom into the hallway. i heard an extremely loud noise come from the hallway, so i quickened my pace and grabbed my things. i walked out of the class to see everyone staring at the doorway that led into the eighth grade hall. the doors had been kicked in and a man had emergered from the outside. he was dressed in all black, wearing a ski mask to cover his face. kids began screaming and frantically running away, other frozen in shock unable to do anything while their friends grabbed them. the man held something in his hand...

the man held a gun in his hand.

the moment i realized this, reese grabbed my hand and started dragging me along to the outside doors as i tried to process what was happening. she was tall, and she had dark brown hair with dark blue highlights. she wore a plaid shirt and blue jeans paired with black high-top converse shoes. her binder was in her other hand and she had five different bracelets. i began to run along, crying and getting weaker as the seconds flashed by. the doors had already been shoved open, and when the two of us arrived outside we were soaked in water because of the rain, and my vision worsened because of the continuous rainfall on my glasses. i turned around and looked inside of our once safe school.

'n-no, where is he?' i said to reese, yanking my hand away from her grasp.