Chapter 1- Chris Kriegman

A/N: I decided to add an Original Version edition of "The Reactions of Many" and "The Aftermath", so the project now sits at 14 stories in total. All work from Chapter 1-4 on this story is completely the original author's, and not mine. I didn't write this, but I put up back up no less than twice- once with fragments and then recovered sections, and now with the complete original story- because I believe it is too good a story for the Zero Day archive to lose.

Any author's notes that are contained in quotation marks are from the original author, and were displayed with the chapters they are included in with the original story when it was first uploaded to this site in 2011.

"A/N: First chapter in probably another 4 chaptered story. This is the sequel to "The Reactions of Many", but isn't needed to read this, if anyone decides to do so."

May 6th, 2001
12:46 PM

Chris stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom. It was a little difficult to move lately. All he could do was sit and think. He would have to force himself to go through the motions of the day, ignoring the press outside of his house, wanting an interview with the "gunman's cousin".

Gunman's cousin. That was what he had been reduced to. That's all people thought of him now. The cousin where they had gotten the guns from—never mind the fact that they had stolen the guns from him. There were still a few people standing by him, but most of his friends hadn't come to visit him. Jayme had stopped by, but he had also been there with them when they had been shooting the guns.

Jayme had said he didn't blame him. Who could have known that Andre and Calvin would have stolen the guns to do that?

Either way, it hadn't made him feel any better. If anything, it had made him feel even worse knowing that if he had just opened his eyes and looked, he could've stopped this from happening. He shouldn't have let them see where he kept the keys and the guns. They were hidden for a reason, and he hadn't even thought before showing them because Andre was his cousin and he had known Calvin for years.

Glancing over at the clock, he sighed. It was about time for him to get going to work. He supposed it was better than just laying around all day, and he knew he should be thankful for the fact that he hadn't lost his job because of his relation to one of the shooters.

The only thing was that going to work meant that he would have to brave going outside and facing the press. He would have to listen to their prodding questions and their accusations. He didn't really want to but he knew he didn't have a choice.

Even after tragedy, life went on, and Chris couldn't hide from it. It had been almost a week—a week that somehow felt agonizingly slow and painfully fast all at the same time. Time would heal, people said, but time liked to take its… well, time.

Chris let out a breath and stood, grabbing his keys. He looked over at that closet door before swallowing tightly and walking out. Taking in a deep breath—so deep it hurt—he walked out of the house, locking his door.

The loud yell of his name met his ears and he closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again, pushing past the swarm of bodies that had suddenly surrounded him.

"Chris, was there any hint from Andre and Calvin?"

"What was your reaction when you heard they used your guns to do this? Did you give them the guns? Did you know?"

"Do you condone what they did? Are you angry at them? What are your feelings about what your cousin and his friend have done? About the twelve lives that they took on that day?"

Chris swallowed, hands shaking as he unlocked his car door. He blocked out the rest of the questions, quickly getting inside his car, slamming the door shut. Hitting the steering wheel, he glared down, tugging at his seatbelt and putting it on.

He started the car, driving off, honking at the press moving close to his car. Chris only wanted to be left alone, he wanted to start getting over this, although he knew that wouldn't happen any time soon.

Chris felt a little sick knowing that he was related to Andre. He wished that this didn't taint his image of the cousin that he had known since he was a baby, but it did. How could it not? The last time he had seen Andre, they had been talking and laughing like normal and now… Andre was dead along with Calvin and twelve other people. Only the twelve other people had been killed—murdered by his cousin and cousin's best friend.

He wished he wasn't related to that… monster. It was really the only word that could accurately describe Andre, and he felt horrible about that, but it was the truth. Andre had to have known that was what he would think, what everyone would think.

Chris wondered how his aunt and uncle were doing. He had been to see them the day after but not since. He supposed he would find out tomorrow though.

Tomorrow was Andre's funeral, and although he really didn't want to see that… person's funeral for obvious reasons, he would go there for his aunt and uncle. They needed the support. He didn't know if Calvin's family would be going to Andre's funeral or not, but if they didn't, he doubted anybody else would be going. He didn't want Johanne and Gerhard to be alone on that day.

They didn't deserve the treatment they were bound to be getting because they were wonderful people. He didn't blame them for what had happened. Chris only blamed Andre and Calvin.

So far the aftermath had been horrible, but he knew there was more to come. The aftermath of what those two boys—whom he had thought he had known—would never end. How could it when what they did would forever change the lives of everybody involved?

Chris didn't see how it was possible. Yet, then again, Chris didn't see how time would ever heal these wounds either, wounds in the shape of bullet holes that just caused questions and confusion in the minds and hearts of everyone in this town, the state, the country… maybe even in the entire world.