Volume III: It's Not About You

Lockdown: Part 1

(A/N) Warning: If you're not able to read about school lockdowns, please skip this chapter and possibly this arc.

It was pretty much just a normal day. I was in Spanish with Peter when suddenly an announcement rang out.

"The school is now going into lockdown. This is not a drill," was the simple statement that came over the loudspeaker. I looked around the room, fear radiating from every student as we silently shuffled to the back of the room. I made sure to stay with Peter. We were the last ones to the back, meaning we were standing in front of our peers. I clung to his hand tightly, fearing for our lives.

I looked around at everybody else, most of which were clinging to their loved ones or best friends. My gaze fell to Peter, who squeezed my hand gently. The teacher in the room watched the door intently, and I could tell she was also fearful, despite the training she'd undoubtedly received on this subject.

That's when we heard footsteps out in the hallway, and I swear everybody in the room held their breath for a moment. We couldn't see, but the intruder seemed to stop outside our door. I knew if things got bad, I might've had to use my sorcery to protect everybody.

We heard the footsteps walk away just as slow as they came. I let my head fall to Peter's shoulder in relief. However, I snapped it up  when someone's phone chimed in the room. It was on the floor, seemingly dropped in the panic. The screen came on and illuminated the dark room. Seconds later, we heard hard footsteps and a huge THUD against the door. Many of our fellow peers screamed out of surprise and horror and began crying. I looked to Peter and hugged him tightly, whispering to him as the intruder rattled the doorknob. "Don't reveal yourself."

"Kate," he whispered back. "Don't do this."

"I will if I have to," I replied. "I won't stand by. That's not who I am and that's not what a good person does."

"Kate-" Peter was cut off by gunshots. Many screamed and ducked. Peter and I crouched and I kissed his cheek, knowing it was nearly inevitable now. Everything fell silent again and the door opened slowly, just like a horror movie. I took a quick look at our teacher, who was trembling on the floor. She tried to get up, but that's when a man stepped into the room.

He didn't look well, and he had a pistol in his hand. He pointed it at our teacher, making her freeze. Then, he pointed it at me and my peers. "Ready to die, kids?"

I locked eyes with him and we stared at one another, but he looked away to other terrified students. He fired the pistol, but the bullet never reached his target. I'd made a shield just in time. I stood in front of the class, shielding them. I stared at the man, but he got angry and screamed, firing several bullets at us. The students behind me screamed, but soon realized they were protected. The man screamed again and turned the gun on our teacher who was near the door again, staring in awe.

Before he could fire, my cloak flew off my shoulders and wrapped around her completely, making her bulletproof. The bullets he fired stopped immediately in their place when they hit my cloak. The man screamed and tried to hit us again, but soon ran out of ammunition. He ran away, only to run into some officers in the hallway.

They apprehended him immediately, and I allowed the shield to fall before the officers reached our room. My cloak also returned to my shoulders in that time, shifting back into a sweatshirt.

I stood in my place, my hands over my head as the officers entered. They gave us instructions and extracted us first, making us stand in a line outside of the school. I stood beside Peter, my gaze shifted downward.

"Kate?" Peter whispered. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know," I replied in a whisper. "I don't know what's going to happen now..."