Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it. From here on out, it's pretty intense, so I'm warning you. Characters WILL die, but it's all pertinent to the story. Leave a review so I know what you think, and I apologize for any mistakes.
8:00 AM
Everything was happening in slow motion.
It was like one of those old movies in which a really climactic moment, one that the audience had waited for an entire hour and a half to watch, was slowed down a quarter the speed of the rest of the film and seemed to drag out amazingly slowly.
Except this time it wasn't amazing at all, it was purely terrifying. And as each tiny moment of time elapsed, small bits of extreme fear were beginning to appear on the students' faces, along with the realization of what was actually occurring.
The noise was the worst because it shook the entire room, barreling through the silent vacuum that the classroom seemed to be suspended within. It was the only thing that rang through the ears of the innocent teenagers, echoing around their minds and temporarily deafening them from their internal screams and heavy breaths.
Heavy breaths that were both suffocating them and saving them at the same time. Heavy breaths that had led to hyperventilating and ignored panic attacks. Heavy breaths that had caused the blonde girl, who was lying on the ground next to the source of the horrific sound, to pass out.
Time meant nothing because it was moving so terrifically slowly.
Brittany felt the warmth of the summer sun against her skin and she smiled. After all, it was her favorite time of year. And, even though her eyes were shut tightly, she could still tell where she was. She had been here so many times before as a child.
"Brittany, come on," she heard the whine of her companion standing above her.
It was a sweet, soft voice that she couldn't quite recognize. It reminded her of someone else's, but she couldn't figure out whose.
Before she opened her eyes, she felt a small hand pull at her arm.
"Come oooon, I want to show you something," the child begged. Brittany opened her eyes slowly, carefully adjusting to the bright rays shining down on her body.
A head was blocking the sun from her eyes. She couldn't make out the face because it was too dark in the shadow, but she could see the ends of blond hair flying in the breeze.
She sat up from the soft grass that her head had been lying upon, and took a moment to watch the small girl standing next to her.
She was brilliantly gorgeous—the prettiest child Brittany had ever seen. Her eyes were bright blue; a blue that Brittany was sure reflected a perfectly clear, azure ocean. Her hair was so blond that it looked almost white, and fell upon her shoulders in soft, beautiful curls. She was laughing loudly and smiling at Brittany with so much love and innocence that it took her breath away.
The small girl twirled in her place; the flowing white dress moving in circles around her. Her skin looked pale, but so warm. Brittany felt a powerful urge to reach out and touch the child. So, she did.
"What are you doing, Brittany?" The small girl stopped to stare up at the woman whose hand was placed upon her cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned her head into the palm and smiled.
"You're so funny, Brittany," she said after a moment. Her eyes were still closed and Brittany watched her fervently. The way the child said her name was so breathtaking. It was so familiar.
"I have to show you something before you leave," the small blonde said as she opened her brilliant eyes. Brittany gasped.
Brittany couldn't form any words, so she simply nodded her head.
The beautiful, angelic child took her hand and began pulling her across the open field.
It was the exact same as Brittany remembered. The last time she had been here was when she was five, but it didn't seem like anything had changed.
The clearing was filled with tall, soft grass. There were tall oak trees wrapped around the circular area, as if they were protecting the sacred place from anything and everything that had, and was, hurting her.
There were gentle hills that stretched for about a hundred feet in any direction around her. She could see the wildflowers at the edge of the space and remembered the hundreds of times she had picked them and left them for her parents or her sister at the foot of their bedrooms.
The house that had once been right behind the edge of the woods was gone, but the blonde didn't notice. The only thing she could focus on was the small body that was pulling her towards what had once been her favorite spot in the whole world. It was a shame because she had forgotten how magnificent this place had been. How magnificent it still was.
When they approached the small bed of flowers, Brittany smiled brightly.
The small girl began spinning around again, twirling in the soft breeze. Her arms were outstretched and she was laughing again.
"Aren't they so pretty, Brittany?" she asked, once she had turned back to face the older blonde.
Brittany nodded again and felt a single tear fall from her left eye.
The small girl stepped forwards again. "Why are you crying?" she asked, innocently.
Brittany wiped away the tear and laughed. "It's soooo pretty," she agreed.
The miniature blonde smiled, showing off her bright white teeth. "I told you," she bragged and then continued to spin in circles in the tall flowers.
In that instant, Brittany recognized the girl, and she let out a small sob. It was so beautiful; it was the perfect moment.
"Brittany?" the small girl said.
Brittany looked up to face her.
"I miss you," she admitted.
Brittany nodded and continued to let out small sobs that couldn't seem to stop emanating from her chest.
"I know," she said as she turned to look up at the clear sky. "I miss you too," Brittany admitted, truthfully.
"I'll see you again, right?" the small child asked. Brittany could see the sadness in hers eyes and felt another tear fall.
In that moment, Brittany wished that she could give the blonde girl anything that she wanted. She would give up everything that had complicated her life to make the child happy again. She would die for her happiness.
"Of course," she answered.
The tiny girl came running towards her and wrapped her miniature arms and delicate frame around the sobbing blonde.
"I love you, Brittany," she said into Brittany's soft torso. "And I don't want you to ever be sad," she stated.
"I know," Brittany responded, moving her arms to cradle the gorgeous girl beneath her.
After a few brief seconds, the child stepped back to look at Brittany and frowned instantly.
"Goodbye, Brittany," she said as tears began forming in her stunning blue eyes.
"Goodbye."
"He fucking shot her!" Finn yelled across the room. He was crying, just like almost everyone else.
Kurt, who was sitting closest to the teacher, attempted to crawl to her side.
"Don't you…FUCKING move," Karofsky demanded.
The gun that had been triggered only moments before was still firm in his hand. He moved it so it was directing straight at Kurt.
David was shaking immeasurably. His face was contorted in pain and anguish. His eyes were filled with such ferocity that not one student could look him straight in the eye. His stance was strong and unbreakable. He was in pain, but not because of what he had just done.
"Let her die!" he ordered, screaming loudly at the other whimpering students.
Kurt turned towards their teacher and tears flooded his eyes. He could see the blood pooling around her limp, pale body. At the center of her chest, a bullet hole was visible, and blood was flooding from it, soaking her shirt.
He wanted to do something, anything to help her, but he knew it was probably too late. She was dying and would be stone dead within minutes. He turned up to face the boy whose gun had committed this horrible act of violence.
"Why did you do this, David?" Kurt asked, his voice shaking.
David grinned and looked around the room at all the fearful students. In that moment, he felt like he had more power over these people than he had ever even had over himself. With one simple move, he could get them to do anything that he wanted. He could get them to beg for their lives; he could get them to sacrifice even their supposedly closest friends just to save themselves. That power made him feel stronger than he had ever felt before—stronger than football and bullying ever had. It was the most amazing high in the world.
"Because I felt like it," he answered, coldly and laughed.
As much as he wished that he could go about this on instinct and torture these worthless people until he was satisfied, he knew that there was a precise plan in place that he couldn't forget about. It was a plan that he had contrived so carefully it was almost foolproof. It was a plan that he couldn't back out on.
"Okay," he started, taking a few steps back so that the entire classroom was in his view.
"Here's the deal," he smiled. "I don't need all of you here for this," he pulled out a list from his back pocket that contained five names. "If I don't call your name, you are free to leave. Do whatever the hell you want, I don't care." He paused for a moment when he noticed that Brittany, the girl who had watched him pull out his gun out only moments before, was lying limp on the floor.
He was a little conflicted because the blond was, fortunately for her, not on the list. Yet, she was knocked out cold and pretty damn useless. His plan didn't involve middle-class girls who had only ever been nice to him.
He hesitated before clearing his throat and looking back up at his classmates. He unfolded the crumpled up sheet of paper and began reading the names.
"Quinn Fabray" The other blond at the front of the room winced at her name being called and fell into the tight grasp of her boyfriend next to her.
"Rachel Berry," he continued. The small brunette let out a whimper.
"Finn Hudson"
"Kurt Hummel," the boy at the front of the classroom shook his head, angrily.
"And, last but certainly not least, Santana Fucking Lopez," he sneered her name. It felt disgusting on his tongue.
The Latina who was on the floor near his feet wasn't crying or even looking up at David. Instead, her eyes were focused on the passed-out blonde lying next to her.
Santana couldn't look away when the next few words escaped her lips. "What about Brittany?"
David cleared his throat again. "If you can wake her up, she can leave with the rest. If not, she's stuck here with me," he answered. Talking quickly.
Santana was still staring at Brittany with sad, hopeful eyes. She reached for the girl.
"Brittany?" she began shaking her. "Brittany?" she asked, louder this time. The blonde wasn't moving.
"BRITTANY!" she yelled, as she began pounding her fists into the back on the girl, but no matter what she did, the blonde wouldn't move.
Santana, at that moment, broke out into a pathetic sob. She was crying profusely by the time David said anything else.
"Okay, the rest of you may leave. If you are the last person, you will lock the door behind you, or I shoot someone," he said.
The dozen or so students whose names hadn't been called got to their feet, hesitantly. They refused to turn their backs to David, afraid that he was going to go back on his word.
The six other students watched as their classmates filed out of the room. Mercedes was the last to leave, and she gave a sincerely apologetic expression as she turned the knob, locking the door from the outside.
There was a brief moment of silence that settled over the room. It only lasted about five seconds, before they heard the screams coming from the other side of the door. They were screams of panic and fear, and it left an uncomfortable atmosphere within the enclosed space.
In that moment, the blonde began to stir from her sleep. Santana could hear Brittany mumbling her own name into the carpeted floor.
She moved her hands to the girl to comfort her when she awoke.
"Brittany?" Santana said, softly.
The blonde turned to look up at the Latina and smiled. She outstretched her hand to cup the brunette's cheek.
Santana turned to face David; she was going to beg.
"Please, please, pleeeease," she whined towards him. David laughed at the words.
"No," he said, firmly and finally.
Santana let the tears clog her eyes and fog up her eyesight. In her head, all she could think was Brittany shouldn't be here, Brittany shouldn't be here, Brittany shouldn't be here… It was an endless string of the same, repeating words. She would try again.
"David, pleeeease. She…she can't be here," she began crying again.
Though David hadn't originally planned to keep the blonde around, there was no way that he was loosing control. Agreeing to let Brittany go would be the first step in crumbling, and he had worked too damn hard to get to this exact moment. To get his revenge.
"NO!" He shouted, and that was the end of it.
"All of you," he yelled, pointing at the few remaining people with his gun. "Get up and move over there," he motioned to the side of the room away from the door.
Quinn, Finn, Rachel, and Kurt all moved quickly. Santana stood up slowly, trying to help Brittany get to her feet.
Once the blonde was standing, Santana took the moment to observe her lost face. She was here, but the Latina could tell in her eyes, that Brittany's mind was somewhere far away.
She reached for the blonde's cheeks and clutched them in her hands.
Brittany's stare turned towards Santana's and she let out a shaky breath.
"Are you okay?" Santana asked, as she brushed away the few fly hairs that had escaped her ponytail.
Brittany nodded and turned away from Santana to join the others. The Latina was right behind her.
David moved to the center of the room; he kept his gun on the students the entire time. They were all standing there, huddled together in fear, and he felt that same surge of power and adrenaline rush through him.
"I'm sure that you can figure out why you're here, and not the others," he spoke with such calmness that Santana couldn't help but shudder.
He began to pace back and forth, still holding his gun, firmly.
"Why are you doing this?" Kurt asked again. He was the only one showing anger towards Karofsky.
"This is not right, this is not okay," Kurt continued.
Finn, who was still holding Quinn tightly against himself, opened his mouth to speak as well.
"Come on, Dave. This isn't you," Finn said.
David looked up to meet Finn's eyes and he shook his head. They had been friends once, through football. But now, all he could feel towards his old teammate was hatred. Hatred for what he had that David could never get. Hatred for what they all were.
"Don't pretend like you know me, Hudson," he snarled harshly.
A look of confusion formed across Finn's face.
"But don't I?" he pushed. "I've known you for a long time, David." He hesitated and looked to his girlfriend, who was holding him closely.
"I never thought you were capable of something like this," he whispered.
David caught what he had mumbled and rolled his eyes. They were all too pathetic to understand where he was coming from. They had no idea what he had been through.
"I don't care," he said.
At that moment, three other shots sounded from rooms around them. They all happened consecutively, with only a second in between each of them. The students in the classroom jolted and jumped at the horridly familiar sounds.
"Ahhh," David said, lifting his finger to wipe off the sweat that had formed on his nose. "That would be the others," he said, smiling.
"O…ottthers?" Rachel said, her voice wobbly.
"Yeah," David laughed. "The others."