19
Sirens blared all around me followed by numerous screaming and crying. Olivia was holding my left hand, Sonny was holding my right.
"I want my mom and dad." I said looking around at all the blood that was on the floor. It was so slippery and wet.
"We're going to call them, sweetheart." Olivia replied. So many people in black with guns everywhere. Paramedics were everywhere carrying people out. That's when I remembered my exam.
"I have to go back and take my test." I said in a daze. "I'll fail if I don't."
"Don't worry, we'll reschedule." Sonny said. I just nodded.
"Reschedule." I replied.
We walked out some doors and the sunlight shined in my face, and I just looked around at the many cop cars on the campus grounds following with ambulances. Neither detectives let me go. That's when I also remembered Sadie. I looked around for her.
"Sadie. Sadie, where's Sadie?" I asked. "Her alpha will be looking for her!"
"We're going to find her." Olivia said. So many people were talking. So many bodies were being carried out.
"Where are my parents?" I asked.
"We're going to call them." Sonny replied and I just looked around. People are crying and holding each other.
"Amara!" I hear Rafael's voice. I look around for him to see him trying to push past a cop.
"Let him through!" Olivia calls and the man moves out of his way. Rafael runs to me and Olivia and Sonny let go of my hands as I reach out to him. I cry harder as he catches me and holds me tight.
"Oh baby, baby, are you hurt?" he asked pulling back and looking me over. "Oh god you're bleeding!" He pulled up my sweater and saw no blood and now Fin and other police were all around me.
"It's not her blood! Can we get some help here!" Sonny yells. Paramedics were coming up to me.
"I- I shouldn't be out here. I have a test. I'm going to fail it." I said faintly looking around once more. Rafael takes my face in his hands and turns me to face me.
"Hey you're okay. You're alright. You're just in shock." he said. Another group of paramedics were rolling past us from behind and I immediately saw Sadie's body on it. I lost it.
"Sadie! SADIE!" I screamed trying to run past everyone. However, I was immediately grabbed by Oliva and Sonny. "Let me go, I have to help her! Sadie!"
"We need to get her on the gurney!" Someone yelled. Rafael stood in front of me trying to get me to look anywhere else except my friend, trying to coax me down.
"Sadie!" I bawled heavily. She was being dragged away, the white blanket now pulled over her face. It was complete mayhem and it would never end…
Normal POV
"How long do betas have to keep being victimized by these insecure alphas? Alphas run the world! They decide when we eat, sleep, when they want to have sexual relationships with us, to have power over our minds and souls! And now a shooter- a mad man has barged onto the Marymount University and opened fired on a bunch of innocent people! Lives have been lost! I can tell you one thing, I'm sure the casualties were of betas! Alpha's get to abuse us they get to kill us! I bet in the next week this madness will be swept under the rug by alpha America! It'll be a memory and the pain of numerous families will be silenced and squashed."
Rafael and Olivia watched the TV as Albert Nottingham stirred up trouble down town. A large crowd was formed in front of his podium as he gave his speech. The hospital was busy and loud. Amanda shook her head as she stood next to Olivia.
"Someone please shut him up." she told. Rafael shook his head.
"How did this happen?" he asked. Everyone was waiting in the waiting room. It was so packed. Families were looking for their loved ones: their children, their spouses, their siblings. Olivia shook her head looking down with tired defeated eyes.
"Rejection is a terrible thing." she said. Amara was behind the two doors in a room being checked. The doors of the hospital opened up and Johnathon and Leanna came running up to the clerk's desk.
"We're looking for Amara O'Neal!" Leanna said. Rafael saw them and raised his hand.
"Johnathon!" he called and the couple both looked and rushed over to the group.
"Where's Amara! What happened, she's not answering her phone!" Leanna sobbed, eyes pouring with tears. Rafael just raised his hand smiling, at least happy to be able to deliver some good news.
"Amara is fine. She wasn't hurt. She's just being looked over." he said. Relief filled their eyes as the couple embraced each other.
"We heard what happened on the news and when we tried to call her and she didn't answer…" Johnathon replied.
"Was it truly an alpha who did this?" Leanna asked. Olivia stepped beside Rafael now.
"We don't know. We are waiting to hear from the doctor so Amara can tell us." she replied. Rafael closed his eyes and looked down and Leanna looked at her.
"What do you mean? Why would she know anything?" she asked the worry filling her voice. Olivia was hesitant looking at Rafael feeling it was only appropriate that they hear from him. Rafael looked at the two.
"The gunman talked to Amara. The SWAT found them in her classroom together. Only she has the answers." he said. The O'Neal's looked at each other in shock now.
"What?" Leanna asked and Olivia nodded.
"Your daughter is a very brave woman, Mrs. O'Neal." she replied. Johnathon just held Leanna tighter. They were just happy their daughter was alive.
"O'Neal!" a doctor yelled and now everyone ran over to him.
"We're O'Neal!" Johnathon replied. The doctor looked at them.
"Relationship?" he asked.
"We're her parents. And he's her alpha." Johnathon responded and the doctor nodded.
"She's awake, but she's very shaken up." he replied.
"Well can we see her!" Leanna asked. The doctor nodded.
"Yes, but not all of you. She asks to see her parents first and then her alpha. We can only have four back here per patient." he replied. Rafael nodded expecting as much. The O'Neal's began to walk back but Leanna stopped and turned to Rafael taking his hand and pulling him along with them. Since there was room for a fourth, Olivia was asked to come along. They followed the doctor down the busy hall. Doctors and nurses were everywhere rolling patients in spouting demands to others. Everyone was looking everywhere trying to make sense of it all. The went up one flight of stairs to a hallway that was not as busy. The doctor held his hand up to a room and Rafael and Olivia looked through the window as the O'Neal's went inside. There she was sitting up in a gown. She had a few cuts and bruises on her body.
Rafael just stared at her as she embraced her parents before Leanna was peppering her with kiss and Johnathon just hugged her tight after. The doctor remained beside the two.
"Do you two happen to know any police?" The doctor asked and Olivia looked at him and flashed her badge. The doctor nodded looking at them with tired eyed. "I wanted to let you know before anyone else. The shooter survived and is in critical care."
Now both their bodies stiffened.
"Will he make it?" Olivia asked. Rafael looked down upon hearing that sentence and then looked at Amara again.
"We don't know. He's in surgery. Police will already be watching his room." he said before walking away leaving them to their thoughts. Olivia looked at Rafael who just looked at his beta with dark eyes.
"I'm glad he's alive, because there will be nothing left of him once I'm through with him." he said, his tone dangerous. Olivia looked at her friend unsure if he meant by legal means or something else.
Amara's POV
Was all of this worth it? Is being someone's beta, worth the pain. My parents were crying and wanted to question me about what the shooter and I spoke about. But I told them I just wanted to speak with the police, because I didn't want to relive everything that happened. They understood and decided to go get some coffee.
"We won't be too far, baby." Mom said and I nodded feeling her kiss my forehead again. The two left the room and just as they left, more familiar faces came. Rafael sped in like a man on a mission.
"Amara, thank god you're okay." he said taking my hand and placing his other hand on my face. I just looked at him with soft eyes.
"I'm alright." I replied gently, and he nodded and leaned in gently kissing me. I responded weakly however, due to exhaustion. Olivia slowly walked over and looked at me with gentle eyes.
"Amara are you okay with answering some questions?" she asked. I took soft breaths knowing it was time to relive what happened.
"Yes." I replied. She nodded slowly.
"Can you tell me what happened?" she asked. I nodded.
"I was taking my test when I heard the shots. We all did. My professor tried to lock the door but it happened so fast. He was shot. I had dropped to the floor trying to get under my desk when the door just slammed open." I replied looking at her now. Rafael's eyes closed in complete pain. "Then I blacked out, I was uh, I was trampled. I just saw black for a bit. Even when the firing started, I was out like a light until I opened my eyes and saw my friend, Sadie lying there."
More tears started to fall down my face and Rafael held my hand tighter. Olivia nodded.
"Okay. Just take your time. Then what happened?" she asked. Rafael looked at her with a frown.
"We know what happened, do we really need to ask again?" he asked. Olivia looked at him with a soft understanding squint.
"You know protocol." she said, and I shook my head.
"It's okay." I told him before looking at Olivia. "He came back. He was going to shoot me. But I asked him why he was crying, because he was. He was sad that his beta rejected him. From what I got from our conversation was that she rejected him and he was really hurt. I think he killed her and her family too. He may have been a student here his clothes had the school's name on it. He just wanted a beta…" I replied.
"That will never excuse what he did." Olivia said and I looked up at her.
"Is he dead?"
Olivia and Rafael looked at each other for a moment and that was an answer enough.
"Will he live?" I asked. Rafael shook his head.
"We don't know, but if he does, I am going to put him beneath the prison." he promised. I looked down some and inhaled gently.
"Olivia, can we have a moment? That's everything that's happened." I replied and she nodded.
"Of course. I'll be in the waiting room." she said and left. I just watched her leave before taking a few breaths and looking away now as I felt my mind drifting from my body. Rafael leaned in closer to me, his eyes looking me over.
"Hey. What is it, mami?" he asked. I shook my head slowly.
"Where does it end, Rafael? When will it stop, all the violence all the unnecessary death? The more violence that happens between alphas and betas, the more ammunition that AntiDom will have. More people will fight the bond and soon more alphas will just keep killing us." I said. Rafael shook his head.
"Baby, not all of us are the same. Haven't I proven that to you?" he asked, and I nodded, eyes watering.
"Yes, but you are not enough! There are not enough good alphas out there who aren't going to go crazy and do something horrible. There aren't enough good alphas in the world to stop the mass shooter alphas, the serial killing alphas, the raping alphas, the child molesting alphas! It's not enough Rafael it's not enough!" I sobbed, and he immediately wrapped his arms around me pulling me into him slowly. I cried into his shirt feeling comfort from his embrace. "Just don't turn into them, Rafael. Don't make me regret giving my life to you."
"Nunca." he replied softly against me. But who is to say that he won't? Who is to say that that isn't engraved in all alphas, that rejection will not lead to horrible things we cannot predict?
