The College Experience

Everything had gone to shit pretty fast.

One moment, Laurel was sitting in the cafeteria with Tony and his shitty friends trying to pretend that she belonged there and the next everyone was running in different directions screaming.

Laurel Heim was not supposed to be in the cafeteria. At least, not with the students. As an employee at the college, she could eat in the faculty section, a poorly lit corner near the dish room. Tony's friends seemed to know this and kept shooting her looks of thinly veiled disgust. She ignored them, refusing to be the one to create any problems. She had promised Tony as much.

Tony and Laurel had known each other since third grade. They met when he moved to town a month before school began. He had nearly died that day, finding himself running from Hank. Hank was Laurel's dad's giant German Shepard. The beast was huge and ferocious, tearing after anyone who dared walk past the house when the gate was open. Laurel had watched it for a while, curious if the boy could outrun the dog. He was, but Hank was gaining fast. Just before he could sink his jaws into the boy's right flank, Laurel whistled and Hank skidded to a halt. Tony just kept running for a while, feet barely touching the ground. She whistled again and he too stopped.

He had turned around and saw her just standing there, leaning on Hank, and let out a sigh of relief.

"You're not gunna let him kill me right?" he had asked.

"Nah," she'd grinned. "I'm Lo."

"Tony," he had smiled back.

From that day forward, they were inseparable.

College had been an issue at first. Tony had been accepted to plenty of schools, earning quite a few scholarships. Laurel, however, would not be attending any sort of college. Had she actually applied herself in high school, she could have gotten a hefty scholarship of her own and gone to a pretty good college in the process. However, she couldn't be bothered, too busy running across town for money. So, Tony went to National Guard for the free tuition, then went to the local university the following year. He was getting an education while she cut grass for minimum wage. Which brought them to the cafeteria on a Tuesday in September.

Gunshots had her ears ringing as Tony dragged her beneath a table. She couldn't see anyone, at least no one with a gun.

"Jesus Christ," Tony panted.

"The fuck is going on?" she whispered. He shrugged, eyes darting across the huge room. He seemed to switch into a different Tony, the kind that she had only seen in his military photos. It was a little disarming. More shots were fired and she tried to find the source. Her eyes immediately fastened to the slim, brunette woman, overshadowed by a mountain of a man.

They were a ferocious pair. The man stood at more than six feet tall, bald, and scarred on his face and arms. The woman was beautiful in her fierceness. She held some large powerful looking gun while the man, bald and terrifying, was unarmed. Both seemed entirely too at ease with the chaos that they had created. Laurel glanced around with growing fear as more armed men filled the room, surrounding the students.

"There's at least thirty of them!" Laurel hissed.

"Thirty-four," Tony quietly corrected. He pointed up and sure enough, Laurel saw that there were several more men set up above them, guns trained on the crowds. She let out a shaky breath.

"What are-"

"Anthony Matthias!"

Laurel flinched, effectively silenced by the booming sound their captor calling for Tony. He froze beside her, no longer the steely eyed Private, but the terrified little boy that she had known growing up. He clutched her hand, his palm sweaty.

"Where, is Anthony Matthias?" the man demanded with a peculiar accent she couldn't place. There was murmuring from the students gathered under the other tables, some of them casting Tony strange looks. Most were worried, but some were suspicious and accusatory. As if he had caused this to happen. Tony didn't move.

"Come now." The woman had spoken, stepping around the man. Her voice was melodic and slightly accented. Definitely European, perhaps French. She surveyed the room with a simpering smile. Laurel couldn't see the color of her eyes, but they were bright beneath the light. "Don't let others suffer in your place."

Something in Tony broke and he tore himself out of Laurel's grip and stood up, staring defiantly up at the women. A genuine grin spread out on her lips, eyes positively dancing. The huge man grunted in approval.

"What do you want?" His voice hardly shook, Laurel noticed, but it was there. She inched forward, ready to spring should he need help. She glanced around once more and she spotted yet another that had not been there before. Lean and ruggedly handsome, he leaned against a pillar, a rifle slung on his shoulder. His finger was dangerously close to the trigger, ready to shoot. He met her gaze with sleepy eyes, and she snarled, suddenly enraged.

"You," the man said. "Come with us. Now."

"Why would I?" Laurel was vaguely exasperated beneath her fury. Why Tony would choose now to be defiant was beyond her?

"Because everyone here will die if you do not," he said simply, as if stating that tomorrow was Wednesday. Laurel couldn't watch Tony and the man with the rifle, so she snuck a hand out to his ankle, only to grasp air. She hissed and moved with her eyes never losing their target til she could reach his foot. Tony didn't even notice, but the man smirked slightly under his scruff.

"Okay."

Laurel saw the men begin to move in before she could process what Tony had said. She was up and at his back in a moment. All movement halted, looking to the giant man. She couldn't see his face, her back to him, but the man with the rifle was no longer smirking. His brow was drawn, eyes dark. She glared at him and the other armed men.

"And who are you?" the woman's voice rang out again, almost soothing Laurel's rage.

"Lo, get back down," Tony whispered fiercely.

"Fuck no," Laurel snarled, fists clenched at her sides.

"Girl?"

"She's no one," Tony insisted. "I'll go, just don't hurt them." To Laurel, he said quietly, "Laurel they want me. Don't get hurt for me." Laurel just snorted, ignoring him. The men slowly began to advance, obeying some signal Laurel didn't see.

"Please, don't hurt her," Tony pleaded. "I'll go, I promise. Just don't hurt her."

"Leave his hands be," the man instructed. "He must be able to run as well."

Laurel's mind flew to comprehend what was happening as one of them rushed her. Clearly, they didn't intend on using their guns on her. She had the chair and was swinging it at the nearest one before she had finished thinking. He fell flat, unmoving. The sudden silence was overwhelming. Everyone stared at her. The man held his rifle higher, half-aimed at her. The sound of heavy breathing filled her ears, and she regretted smoking all those cigarettes now. Tony was crying a little behind her, just breathy sobs that had her wincing.

She knew what she had to do.

With careful precision, she swung the chair once more, twisting just so she connected with Tony's left knee. There was a loud crack and he shouted in shock before dissolving into pained sobs. He crumpled to the ground and she brought the chair down on his right hand. Tony screamed while everyone watched in stunned silence. He was crying but Laurel ignored it as she went after his other knee with brutal accuracy. Another crack and then he had passed out from the pain.

Laurel let out a shaky breath and dropped the chair.

"Take me," she said wearily. "Take me instead of him."