"No one has the power to shatter your dreams unless you give it to them"
-Maeve greyson
Trigger warning: Gun, knife, violence, self-harm, hospital
Word count: 850
PART ONE: JUST A CLASSMATE
Today started like any other day. I got dressed, did some light makeup, and went to school. As much as I hated school, I had never wanted this to happen. I don't think anybody did.
When my teachers loaded me with homework, I normally did it at lunch, but lunch was when it all started...
***
I gathered my hair into a ponytail, and fanned my face, but my attempts to cool down were futile. You couldn't overcome the summer heat of Florida as was known by the three thousand teens who attended my school. Today had been the start of october, and school began just a few weeks ago. Outside was dreadfully hot, humid, and rainy.
The day was like any other day, until lunch, that is. I sat in my seat as the bell rang, and set my bag on the floor next to me. As I waited for my friends to arrive, I scrolled through instagram, and then sent my streaks. Five Minutes passed. 10. A few people were missing. Some of their friends were noticing, and growing curious.I stood up, and dialed Kara. Voicemail. The halls and bathrooms were also unusually empty. As I passed the gym, the PSA system went off. The monotonous beeps rang through the air as the few people in the hall scrambled into rooms. A loud crack of thunder was heard and the lights flickered.
I opened the large door of the newly-renovated gymnasium, and stopped dead in my tracks. 50 classmates at least were shaking, a few with tears down their faces, and Wesley holding a large gun, one that I had recognized from the gun shop's window. Just down the street. The door closed loudly behind me, and everybody turned to look at me, fear evident in their eyes.
Heaps of fear filled their eyes as I stepped in, but before I could ask anything, a knife was held to my throat.
Wesley turned to me, tears swimming in his tired eyes. "Get over here, with them!" He steps with me at first, the knife dangerously poked against my skin. Suddenly the knife was removed, and he pushed me onto the floor. Ouch. I held my head as Wesley grabbed a gun out of his back pocket. An audible gasp reverberated through the large room.
"Why are you listening to him?" Jake yells from the corner. "He won't do it!" With horror, we watched him pull the trigger and before anything could happen, a loud bang echoed throughout the room, and my ears began to ring. I hugged Ashley close to me as blood splattered on a few people. Screams of surprise or fear or maybe panic were heard until he yelled "Shut-up!" He sat down, hugging his knees to his chest, his gun on the floor behind him. I wiped my cheek, and looked at the blood that covered my face.
Muttering, he rocked himself back and forth, I only understood snippets of words. "Shut-up! Shut-up! Shut-up!" He began to sob, his gun long forgotten. All of us stood still, too afraid to move, too scared to grab his gun... Too scared to die. He stood up and his shirt edged up, I noticed tiny white lines covering his stomach and fresh scabs in thin lines, which barely seemed healed enough to be a day old. He shrugged off his jacket and chills ran down my spine. His arms, which were lanky to the point where he looked malnourished, were covered in large purple handprints and scars. My heart broke as I felt nothing but pity for him.
"Where is he?" Wesley yelled outraged. "He's in this class! I checked!" he whimpers. We looked around in shock, wondering who he meant. The lights went out, the storm was getting stronger. I loved storms, and in this moment I wished only to be outside in the rain, safe, and with my sister splashing in puddles. Just like when we were little. With yellow rain boots and a thin coat. I miss those days.
"I asked a question!" He screams. Spit flew from his mouth as he raised the gun again. I felt ashley flinch against me as he cocks his gun. "Stand up- All of you!" Obligingly, we all stood up, a look of pure fury was in his tired eyes. Little crow's feet were there, as well as large purple smudges. He hadn't slept.He looked through the barrel and aimed at Ashley. For the second time that day, my sister almost lost her life. Before anything could happen, I pushed her leg, making her fall out of the guns range.
A piercing scream resounded in the cool air, and it only took a moment for me to realize it was my own. A bullet was in my stomach. The air that seemed unbearably hot earlier couldn't keep me warm enough as I gently touched my stomach, and fainted when I saw blood on my hands.
When I woke up in a hospital bed, I was shocked to find myself alive, and my sister dead.
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Yay! First chapter is up! I'm so excited to see what you guys think so leave a comment or vote. Thanks for reading. Dedicated to @manaphypokefan whos only the best editor ever <3
-Lila
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القصة القصيرة~COVER IS NOT MINE~ In which school... becomes violent A few months after writing this, a school shooting in Florida did occur. This is not a book about that incident, rather it is purely coincidental. My heart goes out to the victims and I hope law...