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Chapter Three: Hardly a Hero: T.K.'s Story
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BANG

T.K. ran down the hall, desperately trying to avoid the shots. A shooter had just emerged from the classroom beside him, and he ran full speed ahead to get away. The girl beside him tripped, and he stopped to help her up. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to do but she was a human being, a classmate, a friend, and he couldn't just leave her behind. She was someone's daughter, sister, cousin and niece, just like everyone else there. He extended a hand to her, which she quickly took.

"Thank you," she said gratefully. He looked at her face, and recognized her. Her name was Stacy Wellington, and she in the grade above him, a senior.

"Don't mention it," he yelled as they continued running.

He was so close to the stairs…if he could just make it there everything would be okay. He looked around, searching for anyone he knew. All he saw was the faces of classmates and strangers. He didn't really know any of them too well, but after this they would all be bonded together forever. It's sad it takes a tragedy like this to unify everyone, but there was no stopping it now.

All he could think about was his friends. Would they all make it out okay? What about Matt? Surely his brother would make it out safely, right? And Kari, he prayed that she was okay. Her classroom was on the main floor, where the shootings had started. He hoped that she had gotten out already and that the shots hadn't originated in her classroom. They had to be okay! They just had to be. He couldn't imagine what would happen without Matt, Kari, Sora, Tai, Mimi, Joe or Izzy. They were all in the high school today…what an odd twist of fate. It would almost be an ironic situation if it weren't for the fact that it could end in death.

His thoughts changed to the shooters. Who were these absolutely sick people, and why would they do something like this? Did they get some kind of twisted pleasure out of it? T.K. wanted so bad to shoot them, they way they were shooting the people around him. He wanted to make them feel the same pain and terror they were inflicting on all these innocent people. But there was a difference: T.K. could never do that to someone. He could never intentionally hurt anyone, and he could definitely never end a life. It was probably the worst thing a person could do…and it was happening all around him. Why was it happening? Who could possibly do this, and more importantly, why?

He finally reached the doors to the stairwell. They were opened, students of every grade rushing through them and down the stairs. T.K. followed suit. There were two different flights on the stairs. He made it down one and was about to start on the other when he saw a person dressed in all black, wearing a ski mask. This person was dressed just like the shooter behind him.

The man pulled out his gun and pointed it right at Stacy. T.K. didn't even have time to think about what he was doing, it was like his body just took over. He lunged at the man, and knocked him to the ground. The gun went off, and T.K. winced in pain. He could feel his left shoulder burning and stinging in pain, but he didn't stop. He wrestled the man to the floor, and took the gun from his hands, leaving the man defenseless. T.K. half-smiled, relieved he hadn't been seriously hurt by the encounter.

He looked down at the guy, and realized he knew him. He looked really familiar, but he couldn't put a name to the face. How did he know this guy? He brushed it off and punched him hard in the face. He could feel the bone of the man's nose crack and break under his powerful blow. His tiny half-smile broke out into an all-out grin as he stood up, feeling quite satisfied. Part of him felt horrible for punching another person, and possibly breaking his nose, but the other part didn't care. Hmmm...maybe he could intentionally hurt someone. He was happy that Stacy was alive, as well as the others on the stairwell, and he maybe had something to do with that.

He grabbed her hand and they ran down the last flight of stairs, reaching the main floor finally. T.K., realizing he still had the gun in his hand, threw it on the floor and continued his search for the exit. The second floor had been crazy, but there was no word to explain the scene in front of them now. Down here, people everywhere were running, screaming, dying. It was utter turmoil as people fought their way to the exit, simply trying to stay alive. Stacy turned to him, and looked him in the eye.

"Thank you, so much. You saved me…twice. Um…T.K., is it?" T.K. nodded, impressed that she actually knew who he was. "Thank you. I owe you my life," she said.

A loud gunshot rung out, and Stacy lurched forward. She clutched onto T.K.'s arm. His worried eyes scanned her body as he realized what happened. He could already see the blood…there was so much. She looked up into his eyes, and opened her mouth to say her final words. She was choking and coughing like mad, but managed to make the slightest bit of noise. He looked at her eagerly, waiting to hear what she was about to say. Her voice was hushed, barely audible.

"S…Sc…Scott."

Blood spilled out of her mouth as she fell to the floor, coughing and wheezing; she was dead.

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Somehow, T.K. had recovered from the sight of a dead Stacy, because he made it out of the school. He was now wondering aimlessly around the array of disgruntled staff and students who had reached the safety of the outdoors already. He knew he should get to an ambulance because of his shoulder, but he had something else that he needed to do first. He scanned the people, searching their faces for one in particular. He finally saw it, and ran up to the older boy.

"Scott, right?" T.K. asked the teen boy when he reached him. The boy nodded.

"Yeah, that's me." His eyes wandered to T.K.'s shoulder. "Dude, you got shot! You gotta get to the ambulances, or you'll bleed to death," he advised. T.K. nodded, and attempted to shrug it off, but it hurt way too much. He winced in pain, and smiled in an attempt to cover it.

"Thanks, I will. But first, I need you to know something." Scott nodded, obviously confused as to what T.K. was going to say.

"What is it?"

"It's about…Stacy," he said quietly. He had no idea how to tell Scott that his girlfriend was dead. He knew that Scott and Stacy had been dating; they were probably the most popular couple in the whole school. Scott's eyes grew worried, hearing his tone.

"Oh," he whispered. He already knew what the boy in front of him was going to say, but he let him continue anyway.

"Yeah. I was with her when it…happened." Scott nodded, tears forming in his eyes. "She went really quickly…she wasn't in any pain. But before she died, she said your name; I just thought you should know." He turned to walk away, but Scott pulled him back.

"Thanks," he whispered before letting go of T.K.'s shirt.

T.K. nodded, and pushed through the crowd. On his way to the ambulances, he was looking for another face: Kari's. He spotted her, standing all by herself looking worried. He jogged up to her, ignoring the almost unbearable pain that was searing through his shoulder. She spotted him right away, and gasped. She pointed at his shirt, and he looked down: It was covered in blood, but he knew it wasn't his. It was Stacy's. He had a dead girl's blood on his shirt.

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"You're really lucky, young man. The bullet only grazed you. I've managed to stop the bleeding for now, but you'll need to get to the hospital for stitches pretty soon," a paramedic told T.K. "Is there someone who could take you to the hospital?"

"Um…yeah. But I'm not going just yet. I have to make sure my brother's okay. He's still in there, I think," he said as he stood up to go find him. The paramedic pushed him back down gently by his good shoulder. He didn't have a shirt on, and he had a huge bandage over his wound.

"I'll let you stay here and wait for him if you promise me that you won't get up from this chair," the man bartered. T.K. nodded in agreement, and the man left.

Kari slowly approached him, shaking like crazy. He opened his good arm to her and pulled her into a hug.

"I was so scared that you weren't going to get out. I mean, I got out pretty quickly…my class was right by the door to outside, but you were all the way on the second floor. When I got out I looked all over but I couldn't find you anywhere and the screams…oh God the screams…I could still hear them, even from out here. Every time a shot went off I kept picturing you getting hit and I was going crazy out here," Kari whispered, still panicked even though he was right there in front of her. He tightened his grip around her.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm right here and I'm fine." Kari pulled away, a mix of fear and anger in her eyes.

"But you're not fine, T.K.! You got shot don't you get that? You don't have to act like the hero anymore, you're out and you're alive. Why don't you just act human for once? You were scared, can't you just admit it!" Kari screamed at him.

He just stared at her, unsure what to say. He was shocked by her outburst, and didn't have time to really recover. By the time her words had sunk in her eyes were watering over and her chin was quivering. He pulled her into another tight hug. She was shaking and T.K. knew why. All day she had had a weird feeling that something wasn't right, but he hadn't believed her. He wished he had believed her.

"I'm so sorry. It's just that if that bullet had been a couple inches lower…" she trailed off, breaking into another fit of uncontrollable sobs.

T.K. didn't say anything; he just hugged her and stroked her hair. He knew the end of that sentence because it was the same thing that had already gone through his mind a thousand times since he got out: Just a couple inches lower and T.K. wouldn't be sitting there with Kari. Just a couple inches lower and T.K. would still be in the school, lying in a pool of his own blood on the stairway. Just a couple inches lower and T.K. would be dead.

He sighed, dreading the moment Matt saw him and his shoulder. His breath caught in his throat as he remembered his brother. He had been so wrapped up with Kari that he didn't even have time to look for his brother. He couldn't really get up for a few reasons; he promised the paramedic, and that would mean disturbing Kari. Instead, he just sat there holding Kari for God only knows how long. It could have been five minutes, it could have been twenty; T.K. didn't know.

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When Matt finally showed up with a few of the others, he was more scared than angry that T.K. had been hit. At least until T.K. told him the story about how exactly he had gotten hit.

"Are you crazy? T.K. you could have been killed!" Matt lectured him.

"Yeah, but I wasn't. And how else were we supposed to get down the stairs? Everyone would have died; I had to at least try!" T.K. argued back. Matt bit his lip, thinking deeply.

"You're right. I'm sorry for yelling at you. It's just that if you had been hit I don't know what I would have done," Matt explained. T.K. was surprised by his brother's sudden display of emotion. Matt had always been one to keep his emotions inside, and not really let anyone see them. I guess this situation just makes us all re-evaluate our lives, T.K. thought.

"Wait," Sora cut in, "that was you?" T.K., who was now standing, turned around to face Sora. She was sitting in a chair as a paramedic tended to her twisted ankle.

"Yeah, why?"

"Matt and I were right behind you. You're right, we all would have died if you didn't take that guy out. You're a hero!" Sora praised as she pulled him closer and hugged him.

T.K. stayed quiet. He didn't really no how to respond to someone who was calling you a hero. He didn't consider himself a hero. He only did what anyone else would have done in that situation: he reacted, and tried to do the right thing. But he had to admit; it had felt pretty good to do it. Especially when he punched that guy. There were only a few occasions where T.K. had been so consumed with rage that he struck another human being, this definitely being one of them.

He could still feel the impact of the blow on his fist, and he could only imagine how it felt for the person on the receiving end of his punch. Earlier in the year he was on the basketball team—the star player, in fact—and the rigorous practices and workouts had evidently left him with some muscle. He definitely used every last ounce of strength in those muscles when he hit that kid, but he didn't care.

He had always been the modest type, never really seeking out praise or attention, but right now it felt really good coming from Sora. But that was just the way she was. She had a certain rapport with people that basically let her say anything she wanted and she could still make them feel wonderful. T.K. looked up to Sora a great deal, and he really admired her. He loved her like a best friend, and he was able to read her pretty well. He could tell that something was troubling her, but he wasn't sure what it was. Even the hug she gave him a minute ago had felt a little tense, definitely not like Sora usually was.

He looked up and saw that Kari was acting the same way Sora was. He still was at a loss as to why they were so worried. Granted, they were all shaken up from the things they had just experienced, but they were…different. What's going on? We're all safe, everyone's here…

Mimi was also being uncharacteristically quiet, as well. Maybe she was really traumatized in there…well, we all were in a way, weren't we? He thought.

Something in his head clicked, and it finally dawned on T.K. what was wrong. Sora, Kari, Mimi, Matt, Joe, Izzy and himself were there, but there was someone missing. Tai wasn't there. He felt ashamed and angry toward himself for momentarily forgetting one of his best friends.

He got a sick feeling in his stomach when he realized what probably happened to Tai. They had been standing outside for a while now and Tai hadn't come out of the school. Not that they were standing right out front watching the door or anything, but he knew Tai. He knew that almost nothing could stop Tai from finding Sora and Kari after something like this happened…almost nothing could stop him, but a bullet was definitely one of the few things that could. He shuddered, and put an arm around Kari.

"I'll be right back," he whispered before walking away from the group, leaving them to wonder where he was headed.

He found a policeman who didn't look horribly busy at the moment, and approached him.

"Excuse me," he said, getting the cop's attention.

"Yes, what can I do for you son?"

"I can't seem to find a friend of mine and I was wondering if there was a way of finding out if he was…" he trailed off, not wanting to say what he was thinking.

"Yes, of course…one second." T.K. nodded and the man walked away. He returned a minute later, with a sheet of paper. "What was your friend's name?"

"Taichi Kamiya." T.K. held his breath as the cop's eyes scanned the paper.

"Oh," he said when his eyes came to rest upon a specific spot on his paper.

"Is he…?"

"No, no, he isn't dead. But he was injured. He was taken to the hospital already." T.K. nodded again, not really sure what to do.

"Thank you," he said finally, turning to leave.

"If you could please alert his family, we'd appreciate it," the man asked.

"Yes, of course," he whispered before leaving to join the group again.

Damn! How can I alert his family? He said to himself, there's no way I can go up to Kari and Sora and tell them that Tai was shot and now he's in the hospital! God only knows what condition he was in, what if he didn't make it? No, I have to stay positive. I have to be strong for Kari, for Sora, for Matt, for everyone. Tai was like the glue that held us all together, and it's up to me to take care of the rest until he's better.

T.K. approached the group, sadness in his eyes. He was still a few feet away when Kari glanced up from where she was sitting and noticed him. She picked up on the look in his eyes immediately, and looked down. She put her head in her hands and started shaking. Sora stood up and ran over to T.K., wincing and limping the whole way.

"It's Tai…he's in the hospital," T.K. told her hesitantly. She nodded, and turned back to the rest of the group.

"Matt, we can take my car but you've got to drive," she yelled, gesturing toward her injured ankle. Matt opened his mouth to speak, confusion plastered on his face, when he suddenly understood.

"Oh shit," he whispered. He ushered everyone to follow T.K. and Sora to her car, and went over to Kari.

T.K. half-smiled at his brother. He was trying to be strong, but T.K. knew he was falling apart inside. His best friend had just been shot, and he had no idea whether he would live or not. He watched as Matt helped a sobbing Kari to her feet, wrapped his arm around her and helped her to the car.

T.K. put his arm around Sora, who was trying to limp to her car, and helped her to her car like Matt was helping Kari. Joe and Izzy walked solemnly behind them, unable to really process what was happening. Mimi followed them in body, but her mind seemed a million miles away. They were all in a state of shock; not one of them could fully comprehend the fact that Tai had been shot.

He glanced at Sora, expecting her to be crying but she wasn't. She had been surprisingly calm throughout the entire thing. She was trying to be strong for everyone else, especially Kari, and she was doing a terrific job.

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