A/N: So I have some bad news…for me anyway. My laptop is completely (pardon my language if you care) fucked up. I lost all the progress I had made on this chapter as well as my iTunes and access to videos. I had temporarily lost all access to anything on my computer. I was so close to getting a new computer altogether but then I fixed it. :( Now I'm depressed because I was going to start fresh and not install random shit to fuck up my computer but no, I had to go and FIX IT! So I may be a little slower in my updates as well as disappearing altogether from time to time. So sorry in advance for that.

Once again, how old do you all think I am?

Disclaimer: It would really brighten up my life right now. Things have just been real shitty recently.

"I have to go the bathroom." (Yes, that's a recap.)

"Fine. I'll take you." Carson turned to the students sitting silently in front of him. "Does anybody else have to use the restroom?" When nobody answered, he turned back to Tom and sighed. "Let's go." He roughly grabbed Tom by his left arm, eliciting a gasp of pain from the young man, before he shoved him forward. As they passed the men with the food, Carson grabbed a tray with his free hand and continued walking. After shooting one last glance back at Doug, Tom made it out into the hall with Carson. The older man continued shoving Tom towards the bathroom, trying to pick up speed since the injured man was limping so slow.

When they reached the doors to the restrooms, Carson shoved Tom into the wooden door, the resistance from the worn hinges making it a little more painful than it should have been. Shaking the insignificant pain off, Tom pulled away from Carson, hurrying to the urinals lined up against the wall. He held back the moan of relief that flooded through him as he finally emptied his bladder. Carson looked on smugly and Tom tried to ignore him to avoid the awkward feeling of having someone watch you pee. He distracted himself with thoughts of his mother and if Fuller had had her informed of the situation or not.

After zipping his jeans back up, Tom turned to face his attacker once more. He regarded his opponent as he slowly and carefully made his way back to the door where the other man was waiting. When he was close enough, he made, what he considered, another very stupid decision. He tensed and rammed into Carson, knocking the bigger man into a wall. He knew he was at a huge disadvantage, since Carson was bigger and had weapons, but he still did it.

Shocked at the attack, Carson dropped his gun and Tom kicked it away before he could recover it. Carson swung his fist around, nailing Tom in the stomach, and lunged for the gun again, but was pinned down by the bleeding figure above him. Adrenaline coursed through both men, temporarily relieving Tom of his various injuries and giving them both more energy. After a brief struggle, in which Tom received another broken rib and Carson a broken nose, Tom gained the upper hand and slammed Carson's head against the hard floors, successfully knocking him out. After a few seconds to catch his breath, Tom searched his companion's pockets and boots, searching for any other weapons, and came up with two knives and a lighter as well as a pair of handcuffs and a key that seemed to fit in more than one pair of cuffs. Tom cuffed Carson to one of the stalls so he couldn't get out when he came to again. Slipping the rest of his find into his own pockets, Tom stood up and grabbed the gun, exiting the bathroom to wait in the hall.

He limped to his locker, which fortunately was in the same hallway, and pulled out his gum. Popping a few pieces into his mouth, he began to vigorously chew the flavored sticks. When he was satisfied, he slowed his chomping and stood flat against the wall a little way down the hall from the bathroom. His adrenaline rush from the fight faded away to exhaustion and the pain returned with a vengeance. Grimacing at the ferocity of his various wounds and abrasions, he struggled to regain awareness so he could keep watch for curious henchmen come to investigate the elongated bathroom break. He didn't have long to wait when one of the gunmen came strutting towards the bathroom. He seemed slightly scared and hesitated when he reached an arm out to push the door open. That was his mistake as the butt of Carson's gun came slamming into his temple. The unconscious man slumped to the ground and Tom quickly searched his pockets, painfully dragging him into the bathroom and locking him at the other end of the line of stalls.

Back in the hall, Tom waited stock still, for the next idiot. Three men came down the hall after ten minutes and Tom silently swore to himself. He quickly took out the first one and the other two opened fire. Tom ducked into the bathroom and knocked the next one out as he was coming through the door. The third one was more cautious, pushing the door open but not entering. He shot through the gap in the door until his clip was empty. (I don't know gun terms so don't shoot me if I got it wrong.) Tom lunged out from his cover and finished the trio before the empty clip was even out of the gun. Dragging the three men into the bathroom, he ran out of stalls to lock them to. Grabbing another man's gun, he stood up to leave once more.

As he was exiting the bathroom, he saw six men came running down the hall, obviously alerted to trouble by the sound of gunfire and their men not immediately returning. They started firing round after round at their target but Tom was quick and managed to duck back into the facilities before he got shot. Waiting for even the slightest lull in the shots, Tom jumped out and fired a few rounds of his own, hearing the sounds of two men crying out as bullets met flesh. Three guns stopped firing and Tom jumped out again, shooting in the direction of the men and landing another shot. There were two guns left shooting and Tom waited silently for the men to stop. When they did, he jumped out once more, shooting at the men as they started up again.

There was a burning pain that ripped through Tom's right leg and brought him to his knees as he watched the remaining three men fall. They all passed out from the pain of their wounds but Tom remained where he was, a thin layer of sweat coating his forehead. He dropped his hands to his sides, trying to gather his energy for the things he still had to do. When he realized it was only going to get worse, he crawled over to the men and searched their pockets, leaving them where they were instead of locking them up, and hoping the gunshot wounds would keep them where they were. His pockets laden with knives and lighters and his arms filled with guns, Tom slowly limped towards the auditorium. He dropped most of the guns on the floor right outside the back doors, keeping one for himself, and opened the door.

As the sounds of the door being opened echoed around the room, everybody turned to look at the bloody mess standing at the source. The two remaining guards were standing on the stage, guns in hand and ready to fire. Tom paid no mind to the lethal weapons that started firing at him. Instead, he raised his own and fired off two rounds, each embedding itself into the soft flesh of his enemies' arms. The two men collapsed and Tom stepped forward toward Doug and unlocked his partner with the key he found on Carson. The crowd remained silent, watching the bloody and battered body of, who they knew as Tom McQuaid, move almost as if there were no bullet holes in his body or broken bones in his chest. When Doug was free, he leapt from the seat, catching Tom as the broken man finally collapsed.

A/N: That was short but I'm not done yet. I have a surprise or two for you all at the end. BTW, I just realized that some of the interactions between Tom and Doug could be interpreted as slash so if you swing that way, indulge yourself.

Now, I have three things for you to review about: 1) What do you think of the story so far? 2) How old do you think I am? And 3) Do you think I could become a publishing author?