Her Knight In Rusty Armor

Chapter IX

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Just A Scrape
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I sprinted towards the cafeteria, gaping at the scene before me.

Oh, this was bad.

One of the windows' shattered edges glistened, jagged shards of glass jutting out of the fringes of a gaping hole like snaggy teeth projecting out of a vicious beast's mouth. Water had found its way into the cafeteria through this hole, deeming the bare floor slipping wet as thousands of fragments of broken glass adorned the marble tiles.

Dozens of students ran past me, slamming their shoulders into mine, yet the impact was nothing as compared to my distress. To my horror, another piercing gunshot followed the first one, shattering the next window into millions of pieces.

I came to my senses and did what came to my mind first: Screamed at the top of my lungs.

"EVERYONE EVACUATE THE BUILDING RIGHT FREAKING NOW!"

The few people glued to their spots in shock seemed to seep my words in as another surge of panic hit them and the cafeteria rapidly vacated, panic-stricken shouts and screams filling the hall outside.

Nate ran past me, allowing me to catch a glimpse of his expression. To my surprise, he seemed rather calm as compared to the wild youth running around the cafeteria's vicinity.

I had a slight but sneaking premonition that Nate was not the guy he seemed to be.

The atmosphere was tense, rain pouring in through the broken windows with patient fury as another sharp bullet made its way into the cafeteria. The wall parallel to the window had two deep holes in it, housing the bullets which had ripped into the building earlier.

Hastily I looked around, only to gasp at the sight in front of me, below my line of sight.

"Kate..?" I whispered.

Her form was slumped on the floor beside the cafeteria counter, her back resting against the wall as she breathed heavily while clutching her chest, seeming rather pale in the face. To my utmost fear, she began gasping for breath as if trying to summon air into her lungs.

Had she gotten...

Shot?

I ran towards her, all the sounds behind me muting. All that rang in my ears was the piercing sound of more gunshots tearing through the wall shielding us from the shooter.

Crouching down beside Kate, I gently yet hastily swooped her into my arms, carrying her out of the now completely abandoned cafeteria. Only the remnants of students' breakfasts lay on the tables, the seats completely scattered across the cafeteria floor.

Abruptly, a searing pain tore through my right arm and Kate's legs slipped out of my grasp. Whatever had come into contact with my arm did so at an immensely rapid speed, making entire body swing towards the opposite direction in an arc like a pendulum.

As I stumbled onto my knees beside the wall outside the cafeteria, I hastily dropped Kate on the floor and rest her back against the wall for support.

It felt as if my arm had been ripped out of its seams, sending waves of newfound pain crawl painfully through the entire limb, making it feel as if it would burst open about any second now. When I gently clutched it with my other hand, my hand got drenched with the warmth of the fresh blood oozing out of it.

I gasped at the scarlet liquid painting my entire palm. My breath quickened, warring to come at equals with my rapid heartbeat. As I suck in a raggedy breath through my clenched teeth, my eyelids drooped lower and lower as I glanced at Kate, her horror-struck eyes widening at my arm as she came back to her senses.