The Light and the Shadows– Chapter 2 – Run for your Life
As she looked up, a dark shadow was peering in to the classroom. The doorknob moved down again and shook slightly making someone behind her whimper but the person outside the door luckily didn't seem to hear. The handle did not move again, but the shadow in the window did not move, the whole room stayed as silent as they could.
The silence broke as a loud ringing could be heard from the other side of the door. The whole room froze as a voice came from the other side of the door.
"Inspector Sage speaking"
The second Mr Kennedy heard the Inspectors voice; he pushed himself from his kneeling position on the floor and stood with his face in the window of the door. Looking at his friend as he spoke on the phone, Harry Kennedy tapped the glass, trying to get the man's attention without raising his voice. Sage seemed to have no idea of what was happening and that, in this situation was deadly. The Inspector finally looked through the door, right at him and frowned as he saw the panicked look on his face.
Buffy and the other students in the room nearly jumped out of their skins when a loud gunshot could be heard along with a clatter.
Mr Kennedy sat down swiftly, his eyes wide and his face white with shock. His friend of nearly 15 years had been shot dead in front of him. The blood as the bulled had entered his skull had splattered all over the wall and the door.
"Sir?"
Buffy placed her finger to her lips as Willow attempted to whisper to Mr Kennedy. Inspector Sage was dead, the gunman had shot him and that meant, he was in the corridor, right outside the door.
The handle slowly moved again, this time more rough and urgent. Then it stopped and when Buffy looked back up at the window again, another shadow stood in view but this shadow was deadly and they had to remain undetected. Everyone was as silent as possible as the gunman stood right outside the door until Mr Kennedy let out a curse under his breathe. Looking at him, she frowned and he nodded his head to the table in the middle of the room.
The key was on the table, in full view of the door, were she had hastily put it when she had gone to help Willow and Mr Kennedy with Alice. To the person outside, the key was absolute proof that there was at least one person in the room as the door must have been locked from the inside.
The shadow in the window began to move. Buffy signalled Willow and Mr Kennedy back as she predicted the man's next move. Moving as far away from the door as possible in there current positions, Buffy barely flinched as the window shattered apart with gunshots. Jumping to her feet, as the people behind her began to scream, Buffy with Willow's help managed to push a table on its side and shove it up in front of the door. Running to the window, she threw it open and her classmates scrambled out as fast as they could. After a couple of minutes, all of them were out but herself, Willow and Mr Kennedy who leaned against the wall clutching his side. A dark red stain was growing bigger and bigger on his pale blue shirt and he looked at them both wide-eyed before sliding down the wall slowly and landing on the floor behind the teachers desk.
The Gunman was still firing at door and table which was breaking more at every passing second. Looking back towards it and then at Mr Kennedy, who remained breathing heavily were he was on the floor, they all jumped as the door wouldn't budge and the gunfire couldn't break past the lab door and tables.
Through the window, Buffy could see that the Gunman wore all black; his hoodie had a red flame on the back and had had a backpack which had various other weapons sticking out of it. A rifle and a machete caught her eye and another blade, what looked like a samurai sword.
Willow grabbed Mr Kennedy, and with Buffy's help, they managed to lower him onto the lower part of roof, were many of the other students had taken cover and were attempting to get down onto the ground. Turning back to Buffy, Willow looked at her and then back towards the door was the gunman who stood behind the half destroyed table and door, with his face covered by the hood of his jacket and his sunglasses, there was no way to tell who it was. The man looked at them for a moment before walked away from the door and down the corridor leaving Buffy and Willow standing in the half blown apart classroom.
"Why did he just leave?"
"It's where we're standing. He wouldn't have got a clear shot, he would have wasted bullets."
Willow nodded her head.
Buffy frowned slightly before turning to her closest friend.
"Willow, get out of here, join the others on the roof, someone will come and help soon"
"What! Where are you going?"
She smiled sadly.
"I'm gonna go look for Gun Boy and try and stop him. He may not be a vampire or demon but it's my job to protect people. An also I think that boy has something to do with a demon I saw at the cemetery. Angel said it loved chaos and this is exactly what I can imagine it doing."
Willow bit her lip before standing at Buffy's side.
"I'm coming with you"
"No, Willow, its way to dangerous"
"Oh, so you think I'm just gonna leave you on your own"
A gunshot and a scream made both girls turn back to the door.
"Ok, but if it gets really dangerous, you get out of here"
Smiling Willow hugged her before they both together pulled the table away from the door and managed to open it. Walking cautiously into the corridor, Buffy going first, nobody seemed to be about and it seemed the gunman had moved on.
Leaning down, Willow placed her fingers to Inspector Sage's neck and neither where surprised when she found no pulse. A faint murmuring voice seemed to be coming from somewhere and Buffy for a moment was confused until she realised it was coming from the Inspectors phone.
Picking it up quickly she gently pressed it too her ear.
"Inspector can you hear me? Please answer, Sir!"
"Hello?"
The voice on the other end was silent for a moment.
"Who is this?"
"My name is Buffy Summer's. There's a man shooting students at my school. I'm sorry but Inspector Sage is dead."
"Shooting? Inspector Sage is dead?"
"Yes, I need help; my class are on the lower part of the room by the science corridors. My teacher and another student are seriously injured and need urgent medical treatment. I think more people are seriously hurt"
"I'm just looking at the calls now and it appears that Sergeant Daniels and the Principal reported the incident a few minutes ago. Help is coming, Miss Summers now please be patient and try and stay out of sight of the gunman."
Buffy knew she had to lie here or the guy would try and talk her out of finding the gunman. This was her duty and some police guy wasn't going to make her forget her responsibilities to keep herself safe. Buffy knew she had to lie here or the guy would try and talk her out of finding the gunman. This was her duty and some police guy wasn't going to make her forget her responsibilities to keep herself safe.
"Ok, me and my friend Willow will stay out of sight and hide"
"Good, you have a friend with you? What's her name please? Just for the record when I have to fill in the leading officer on the people I have spoken too."
"Willow Rosenberg"
"Ok, Miss Summers, keep this phone on you and put it on silent. I will call you to give you information"
"Ok"
Hanging up, Buffy placed the phone in her jacket pocket next to her own.
Turning back to Willow, she grabbed her hand and both of them walked swiftly down the corridor and around the corner, neither knowing what to expect.
XXXX
Angel had been asleep since 8am when Buffy had called him. He had been patrolling all night after he left Buffy, the vampires had been out in full force. He had staked over 10 of them by dawn and he was sure more would have appeared if not for the sun rising. The night before, he had gone to see Willy the snitch to see if anything bad was making its way into Sunnydale. After some persuasion, Willy finally told him about a couple of men talking in the bar about their friend, a demon who planned on causing trouble in town over the next day or so.
Angel had immediately gone to the cemetery and had found Buffy sitting on a gravestone, in front of her a Gerardo Demon; he had pulled her away before it could notice her. It would kill her.
When Buffy had called him, he had never been more worried in his life or un-life as some might say. Buffy had been whispering as she tried to stay quite so she wouldn't draw attention to herself and even though she sounded calm, Angel could hear the tiny part of panic in her voice. This incident sounded exactly like what a Gerardo Demon would do, cause ultimate chaos which it had done so quite successfully. He had made it to the museum without setting on fire once, which was a relief as weakness was the last thing he needed. It did help having a car with black tinted windows which he had spent a fortune on little over a year ago but had hardly ever used. He had only bought it in case of emergencies where he might have to leave the house in the day. He had never been more thankful at his decision.
Walking up the front steps with a massive black blanket covering him, he had entered and found Buffy's watcher studying weapons, in the ancient weaponry section at the back of the museum. Together they had both left and got into the car.
"Angel, drive to my house first, I need to collect a book that had a passage on the Gerardo Demon. After that we will go to the school by the sewers. In my office in the library, I have access to security cameras"
"Ok. Why have you got access to them?"
"The school don't know that I do, I keep them there mostly for watcher purposes, some of the books in the library are extremely valuable and it's good to see if someone is coming"
As Giles and Angel climbed out of the car, Angel once again protected by the thick black blanket, they entered Giles's house which in itself could be called a library. In every space possible, book had been crammed. The dining room table was 3 books deep. It seemed as if all of Giles possessions were books.
Placing his bag of books and weapons on his shoulder, Giles led the way to the basement in which he opened a trap door in the floor, leading straight down into the sewers.
"So, why did you get the Sewer Hatch fitted?"
"I didn't, it was here when I moved in and it's been quite handy, especially when Buffy gets into trouble down in the sewers she can get up here and be safe."
Angel nodded slowly, before jumping down and landing on the wet, grimy stone floor of the sewer. Angel caught the bag Giles threw down to him and a moment later Giles landed in a crouched position on the floor.
"There is also a hatch in the library, so we can go up that and locate Buffy and Willow"
Both headed down the dark tunnel in the direction of the school. Angel knew the sewers better than he knew the roads up above.
It should only take a couple of minutes to reach the school.
The sooner Buffy stood safe in his arms, the better he would feel.