New chapter! Took a bit longer than I had hoped. But here it is!

Shoutouts: Yashendra2797 for reviewing all the time, thats just so amazing. Also: to The Needless Lobsters and Niamh x for reviews that were a bit more descriptive than usual. Thanks guys!

Previously...

"You think we give a shit about this guy's life?" The man guarding the door snorted. "Kill him and see if we care, he's an asshole anyway." Of anything the man could have said, that was least expected. The man called Alex's bluff, and leisurely made his way towards the two.

Alex was torn. He didn't want to kill unless he had to, but if he gave up his advantage he'd see no mercy. Although at this point, it was clear he had no advantage. It seemed like a lose-lose situation. But, if he killed the leader, it could result in much less punishment for his actions. If the Scot was willing to strangle an innocent kid for doing nothing, he didn't want to know what he would do after being held at gunpoint. Alex took a deep breath, and squeezed the trigger.

Chapter 4: Bullets, Bloodstains, and a Body

Just as Alex pulled the trigger, the gun was shoved off to the left, the bullet whizzing past the leader's skull in the nick of time. It cut through the door guard's arm and lodged itself in the classroom wall. The guard screamed out in agony as his gun clattered to the carpet, but quickly shut his mouth. He must have been previously ordered to show no weakness, or wanted to save his pride, so he resorted to silently clutching his forearm. Blood coated it in an instant.

Alex was bewildered. He knew he had shot straight at the leader, why did it go off target? He looked behind him to see the American man who had previously been prowling the rows of desks. The man had snuck up on Alex and pushed the gun away. He then grabbed Alex by the shoulders and shoved him forcefully into the wall. He hit his head on the plaster and blinked away stars. The American pinned Alex in his place and smirked, ready to deliver another blow. Alex shut his eyes and braced for impact.

Alex was done for, and he knew it. He thought that the punishment for holding the man at gunpoint would be bad, but the punishment for attempting to kill him? He willed his mind not to explore the thought.

He waited for another punch, but all that came were furious screams from the leader. Alex opened his eyes to a deadly scene: the Scot had taken the gun from the ground and had it pointed straight at the door guard's face.

"YOU WERE GOING TO LET HIM KILL ME! HE TRIED TO SHOOT ME AND YOU DIDN'T GIVE A SHIT!" He ranted to the man. His voice never seemed to get hoarse.

"I- I was just calling his bluff!" The door guard stammered and wheezed as blood continued to flow from his wound and cover the floor in red. "I didn't think he would kill you if it didn't do him any good. He's just a kid!" He tried to defend himself, but the Scot would have none of it.

"YOU DIRTY BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU!" He bellowed. Alex and the American watched from the opposite wall, the man still keeping the teen in place. He considered making a move amidst the chaos, but with the leader itching to shoot, he didn't want to give him any more reason for a bullet to be fired his way.

"Hey, boss!" The American finally spoke. The Scot barely acknowledged him. "If you kill him now, it will be that much harder to... complete our job." he said, trying to both keep his leader calm and keep the kids from knowing what would happen to them. "We'd have to deal with the body, and-"

He was interrupted by the sound of a bullet being fired, and the door guard dropping to the floor, eyes frozen forever in silent horror.

"His body isn't worth a damn. Leave it here for all I care. No one can connect it to us." The leader said in an eerie, level tone. No one dared speak, but Alex caught a glance of silent tears present on some of his classmates' faces. Alex shrank back, terrified. Terrified for himself, for his classmates, for their future. A future which may be very, very short.

"Now you." The Scot said the words Alex dreaded to hear, as he turned to the teen and slowly made his way to the wall where he was pinned. The boss reached it in three large strides, then shooed the other man off. "You think you can just try and kill me, and it won't come back to haunt you?" Alex didn't know what to say, so he said nothing.

"TALK TO ME WHEN I'M SPEAKING TO YOU!" The leader whacked him across the temple with his gun, sending the boy straight to the floor. His vision went yellow and spotty, and he had trouble concentrating. More screaming from the Scot brought him back.

"WELL? DO YOU THINK THAT'S ACCEPTABLE?" He rephrased his earlier question. Fearing more punishment, Alex answered with the first thing he could think.

"No! No it wasn't!" He looked up from the ground at the man towering over him. It seemed this answer wasn't what he wanted to hear.

"Then why did you do it?!" He punctuated each word with a sharp kick to Alex's side. He couldn't breathe, but adrenaline kept him from feeling most of his pain. He stood as quickly as possible, afraid that staying on the ground would mean more kicks.

Alex struggled to get air, but breath was only coming in short, raspy intakes. The Scot went for another swing with the pistol, but Alex stuck his arm out and blocked in instinctively. He cried out at the impact, but he knew it hurt much less than his face would've.

Alex went in for a kick before the leader could retaliate, but his lack of air weakened him, and caused his leg to move slow enough to easily block it. The boss did just that, then spun Alex around, grabbed his wrists, and pulled them behind his back. He jerked him slightly backwards, then proceeded to slam Alex's face against the wall.

He lost count after four; the blinding agony became his main focus. He could feel himself beginning to slip away from reality. The Scot must have noticed how close he was to unconsciousness, because he pulled Alex away from the wall. His head left a sizeable dent in the plaster.

"Oh, no, you aren't getting off that easy." The man shook him by the shoulders until the teen became more alert. "I'M GOING TO DESTROY YOU!" The boss lifted the gun once more, but this time, he shoved the muzzle under Alex's chin; the cold sleek metal sent a chill through every nerve in his body. The Scot forced the teen's head to tilt until his eyes could see no lower than the top of the man's disguise. Alex feared the top of a black ski mask would be the last thing he ever saw.

Before the Scot took any action, he seemed to get an idea. "No." He stated coolly and purposefully. "That's too quick." The man slowly moved the gun down and stopped at his torso.

"With a bullet to the stomach you'll die a slow and painful death. I want to watch the life bleed out of you. I want to see you scream and writhe in agony until you beg me to deliver the killing shot. But no, I won't do it." His mouth stretched into a sinister grin. "I'll sit, and I'll wait however long it takes for you to meet your end. Whether it be minutes, hours or days. I'll wait, and you'll suffer."

There you go! Hey, to all you not reading it, go check out Crashing Down, my other AR fic!

Please review! Come on my fellow writers especially, you know how great that feels! Also, I may give you a shoutout!