"What....what type....of....accident?"
"A young man brought a 9 mm hand gun and broke out in fire. He aimed for a group of students that were up on stage presenting their science fair projects. He killed four out of the twenty on stage. In the process of trying to protect some of the kids, your husband was also shot. The bodies were all brought to the city morgue and the young gentlemen is currently in custody. In behalf of the San Francisco School District we send you our greatest condolences."
Piper tried to reply, but the words just didn't seem to find their way to her mouth. As she heard the phone click, indicating that the other caller had hung up, she too put the phone into the cradle. At first she just stood there, numb and shocked. Then as she went to grab her key and coat her fingers brushed the silver rim of a framed picture that sat on her desk. A picture of Leo and her girls. Suddenly, she felt the room spinning and the next thing she knew the room went dark.
When she finally came back to she was surrounded by familiar faces. She clearly saw Phoebe and Paige inches from her face, a concerned expression cast on their young faces. She also caught a glimpse of her assistant and a few other workers from P3 off in the corner, attempting to seem useful, but not really wanting to.
"Piper? Piper!" Phoebe said as she realized that Piper was slowly coming around
Piper tried to get up, but her head spun and she felt Phoebe's hand gently bring her head back down towards the sofa.
"I need to see them." Piper said
"See whom? Who do you need to see honey?" Paige asked
"Leo. Melinda. Fae."
"Honey, they're at school, they'll be home later. Now how about I take you home too. Come on, nice and easy now." Phoebe said as she slowly lifted Piper up into a sitting position, before trying to get her to stand.
"No! You don't understand!" Piper yelled angrily
"I don't understand what? Piper, what are you talking about?" Paige asked
"T.V..... turn on the T.V." Piper told her assistant
Her assistant walked over to the TV set that sat on the bar and flicked it on. The TV turned onto MTV, showing that Melinda and Fae had been the last to use it. Piper quickly changed it to the local news.
On the screen was a pretty blonde newscaster standing in front of a large brown building. Although hard to see, it appeared that a lot of commotion and chaos was erupting around her. Unable to hear what she was saying Paige turned up the volume on the small set.
"....many students left injured, both emotionally and physically....five have been pronounced dead, three are in critical condition and many more injured....more news to come, now back to you John."
"Thank you Cindy. For those of you just tuning in this morning at about 11:23 am a young gentlemen by the name of Drew Gneiss broke out in fire at San Francisco High School. Five have been pronounced dead and many more were injured. We will keep you updated as more news comes to us."
Paige and Phoebe stood there stunned. Piper had been telling the truth. Their two nieces and brother-n-law were dead. Well, actually they weren't sure that they were dead, being that the T.V had never mentioned those killed, but this would explain why Piper had fainted in her small office after having received a phone call.
"See? I told you, they're gone. They're never coming back." Piper quietly said, trying to suppress the tears that threatened to fall
"Piper, honey, it's going to be okay. We're here for you." Paige said not knowing what else to say at this moment
"How about we go home, you really need to rest." Phoebe said, trying to get Piper's mind off the tragic event
"No. I have to go to the morgue. That's where they are, I have to see them."
So that's what they did. Phoebe drove Piper to the morgue. Throughout the entire car ride all Piper did was sit in the passenger seat softly saying 'I have to see them, I have to see them.' She continued this way until Phoebe drove up to the entrance of the small gray building and they made their way through the large doors.
All around them sat stunned parents, crying their eyes out. They all seemed to have lost a loved one in the shooting as well. When they saw Piper they all grew quiet and turned to look, knowing that she had lost her entire family. The only one who noticed their piercing stares was Phoebe, but she tried to ignore it. Her family was going through too much to have to take pity from others.
Suddenly they came to the end of the hallway where an older man sat at a large gray desk.
The man was the first to speak, "Are you here to claim a body from the shooting?"
"Yes, we are."
"They're all in exam room 11."
"Thank you." Phoebe said as she took Piper's hand and led her towards room 11.
When they entered the room they saw many black body bags spread out among the room. Each bag had a tiny white label indicating the family name. As Piper walked through the large huddle she saw familiar names. 'Owen' that was the kid who lived a block away from them, 'Johnson' that was Fae's math tutor, 'Reynolds' that was one of the school's cheerleaders. All the names bringing sorrow, grief and anger to Piper's already weak soul. But, nothing was as worse as what happened when she saw those three bags right next to each other in a neat little row. Even before looking at the tags Piper knew they were hers. In these bags sat her beloved family, the reason Piper woke up every morning. And as she bent over to look at the tag, her assumptions came true. It was them.
"A young man brought a 9 mm hand gun and broke out in fire. He aimed for a group of students that were up on stage presenting their science fair projects. He killed four out of the twenty on stage. In the process of trying to protect some of the kids, your husband was also shot. The bodies were all brought to the city morgue and the young gentlemen is currently in custody. In behalf of the San Francisco School District we send you our greatest condolences."
Piper tried to reply, but the words just didn't seem to find their way to her mouth. As she heard the phone click, indicating that the other caller had hung up, she too put the phone into the cradle. At first she just stood there, numb and shocked. Then as she went to grab her key and coat her fingers brushed the silver rim of a framed picture that sat on her desk. A picture of Leo and her girls. Suddenly, she felt the room spinning and the next thing she knew the room went dark.
When she finally came back to she was surrounded by familiar faces. She clearly saw Phoebe and Paige inches from her face, a concerned expression cast on their young faces. She also caught a glimpse of her assistant and a few other workers from P3 off in the corner, attempting to seem useful, but not really wanting to.
"Piper? Piper!" Phoebe said as she realized that Piper was slowly coming around
Piper tried to get up, but her head spun and she felt Phoebe's hand gently bring her head back down towards the sofa.
"I need to see them." Piper said
"See whom? Who do you need to see honey?" Paige asked
"Leo. Melinda. Fae."
"Honey, they're at school, they'll be home later. Now how about I take you home too. Come on, nice and easy now." Phoebe said as she slowly lifted Piper up into a sitting position, before trying to get her to stand.
"No! You don't understand!" Piper yelled angrily
"I don't understand what? Piper, what are you talking about?" Paige asked
"T.V..... turn on the T.V." Piper told her assistant
Her assistant walked over to the TV set that sat on the bar and flicked it on. The TV turned onto MTV, showing that Melinda and Fae had been the last to use it. Piper quickly changed it to the local news.
On the screen was a pretty blonde newscaster standing in front of a large brown building. Although hard to see, it appeared that a lot of commotion and chaos was erupting around her. Unable to hear what she was saying Paige turned up the volume on the small set.
"....many students left injured, both emotionally and physically....five have been pronounced dead, three are in critical condition and many more injured....more news to come, now back to you John."
"Thank you Cindy. For those of you just tuning in this morning at about 11:23 am a young gentlemen by the name of Drew Gneiss broke out in fire at San Francisco High School. Five have been pronounced dead and many more were injured. We will keep you updated as more news comes to us."
Paige and Phoebe stood there stunned. Piper had been telling the truth. Their two nieces and brother-n-law were dead. Well, actually they weren't sure that they were dead, being that the T.V had never mentioned those killed, but this would explain why Piper had fainted in her small office after having received a phone call.
"See? I told you, they're gone. They're never coming back." Piper quietly said, trying to suppress the tears that threatened to fall
"Piper, honey, it's going to be okay. We're here for you." Paige said not knowing what else to say at this moment
"How about we go home, you really need to rest." Phoebe said, trying to get Piper's mind off the tragic event
"No. I have to go to the morgue. That's where they are, I have to see them."
So that's what they did. Phoebe drove Piper to the morgue. Throughout the entire car ride all Piper did was sit in the passenger seat softly saying 'I have to see them, I have to see them.' She continued this way until Phoebe drove up to the entrance of the small gray building and they made their way through the large doors.
All around them sat stunned parents, crying their eyes out. They all seemed to have lost a loved one in the shooting as well. When they saw Piper they all grew quiet and turned to look, knowing that she had lost her entire family. The only one who noticed their piercing stares was Phoebe, but she tried to ignore it. Her family was going through too much to have to take pity from others.
Suddenly they came to the end of the hallway where an older man sat at a large gray desk.
The man was the first to speak, "Are you here to claim a body from the shooting?"
"Yes, we are."
"They're all in exam room 11."
"Thank you." Phoebe said as she took Piper's hand and led her towards room 11.
When they entered the room they saw many black body bags spread out among the room. Each bag had a tiny white label indicating the family name. As Piper walked through the large huddle she saw familiar names. 'Owen' that was the kid who lived a block away from them, 'Johnson' that was Fae's math tutor, 'Reynolds' that was one of the school's cheerleaders. All the names bringing sorrow, grief and anger to Piper's already weak soul. But, nothing was as worse as what happened when she saw those three bags right next to each other in a neat little row. Even before looking at the tags Piper knew they were hers. In these bags sat her beloved family, the reason Piper woke up every morning. And as she bent over to look at the tag, her assumptions came true. It was them.