Tragedy Strikes (Chapter Twenty)
Haley walked into school on Monday morning with an overwhelming sense of anxiety. She couldn't explain it but she felt like something bad was going to happen that day. Things seemed normal, but there was a tense feeling in school that day. She pulled books out of her locker and then went to her first period English class.
The door opened and two male students walked in. There was nothing really unusual about them. Haley had seen them before and she even tutored one of them; Jason Trip. But there was a look on his face that worried her. He looked at everyone as if they were insects and Haley was wondering why when he pulled a semiautomatic pistol out from his pocket, raised it in the air and fired three shots up in the air. "Everyone shut up!" Jason's friend screamed.
Nathan needed no encouragement. As soon as he heard the shots, he knelt down. "Sit down cross-legged against the wall and put your hands on your laps. Just in case any of you are planning to play the part of the big hero, I'm going to let you in on a little secret: I have five grenades in my backpack and I will not hesitate to use them," he said. Everyone slowly made their way to the wall of the classroom and sat down. Nathan saw Haley frozen in place at her desk, shaking. He walked over to her, put his arm around her and led her to the wall. He sat her down beside him and made sure that their legs were touching so she knew that he was there with her. She seemed to get the message and put her hands down firmly on her laps.
Jason came over to the group and stood a few feet away from Nathan and Haley and held a gun pointed at them. "If you think this is going to be one of those school shootings you see on the news, you're wrong. Our problem is not with you. We don't want to hurt any of you," Jason said.
"So, why not just let us go?" Nathan asked. Jason glared at him.
"As I was saying: we don't want to hurt any of you, but that doesn't mean we won't if you get in the way. Don't do anything stupid; do what you're told and none of you will get hurt," he said. Then the door opened and their English teacher walked in. Jason's friend walked over and stuck a gun in Mr. Raymond's face. "Put your hands behind your head," he ordered. Mr. Raymond looked confused for a minute, like he didn't think the guy was serious. "Get over to the wall," he ordered. Mr. Raymond looked at him still. The guy cocked the hammer of the gun and it made a disturbing clicking noise. Nathan knew that he had just turned the safety off.
"Do it now!" he screamed. Mr. Raymond put his hands behind his head and joined the students on the floor.
"What is going on, Ethan? Is this some kind of sick joke?" he sneered.
"That's all you think I do, isn't it? Does this look like I'm kidding?" he asked, waving the very real gun in his face. Haley whimpered as Ethan continued to threaten their teacher. Mr. Raymond wasn't the most popular teacher at the school. In fact, most of the students hated him because if you weren't particularly smart in English, he tended to humiliate you in front of everyone, which is exactly what he did to Ethan Connor. Nathan unconsciously moved his hand onto Haley's lap and gave one of her hands a reassuring squeeze. Then a gun was pointed at them. "I specifically told you to keep your hands in your lap, Scott," Jason ordered.
"I was just trying to comfort my girlfriend. And, by the way, waving a gun in her face isn't helping her," he said as he calmly moved his hand back to his own lap. Haley could tell that Nathan had hit a nerve with Jason because he just put his gun in Nathan's face.
"Do you think this is a game, Scott? It's not. So, don't push me," Ethan warned from where he was standing. Nathan looked scared.
"For god sakes, he's only trying to protect me. Please get your gun out of his face," Haley begged. Jason's face softened at Haley's voice and he pulled the gun away from Nathan. But things were far from over.