I ran. Ran faster than I ever had before, my little legs pushing their hardest to keep up with Craig's larger strides, and every few seconds he shot a concerned stare back at me as if to ask whether I could keep up. Gritting my teeth in pain, as my back was still sore and bruised from the earlier fall, I looked up as I ran - out to the millions of stars which littered the sky like candles on some infinitely large birthday cake. How old must the universe have been to warrant so many? Somehow, it gave me comfort to think of that, of how our events right now were only temporary, and how eventually we'd be happier or even dead. Either way, this awful worry would not - no, could not - last forever. I soon arrived, behind Token in front and then Craig, at the lake. Jimmy, being on crutches and so slower, had obviously stayed there. He came over as we entered the opening. "W-what's the matter? C-Clyde," I asked as my eyes darted between the three of them.
Bang! Birds erupted from the trees, shooting off in all directions like comets, a stream of feathers against the moonlit sky. I jumped back, for once not the only one in my group to do so either, and gasped as I caught sight of a brown-haired teen walking out of the trees. It was Clyde! We all examined him from a distance. Except, something was wrong - very, very wrong. His face was cut and bruised, black blotches forming across it, and his shirt ripped slightly. His eyes were red; he'd been crying. In his hand, there glinted something silver. Bang! Another shot went off and the world slowed to a crawl...
There was blood. It splattered across the previously undisturbed grass, bright red blotches against shades of dark green, as though the landscape were some toddler's finger painting. Sadly, the reality was far less innocent. I gasped, at first reaching down to feel my body to check if it had been aimed at me, and then relaxing somewhat until I caught sight of the others. Token's mouth was agape, Craig's face a pasty white and drained of all colour, whilst Jimmy's was splattered with blood. The crippled teenager, weak and unable to hold his crutches properly, dropped to his feet as blood poured - almost waterfall like - from his wound. Token was the first to snap out of the trance, running over to Jimmy, looking overwhelmed as he examined the wound. "O-oh God... what d-do we do!?"
"Keep pressure on the wound," barked Craig as his gaze averted first to me, shooting a concerned look, and then across the lake to Clyde. The shooter had fallen to his knees now, crying into cut hands. Within moments, Craig had ran around the lake and grabbed Clyde by the scruff of his t-shirt collar. Crack! Craig's strong hands clenched into a fist and smashed into Clyde's already injured face. Crack. It's too much pressure. Crack. Everything's spinning around me. Crack. There's blackness, for I'm not sure how long exactly, but then there's light again. I'm suddenly lying on my back across the grass, which feels good given how running hadn't helped its pain, and looking up at Craig. His blue eyes are glistening in the moonlight, a forced grin plastered on his face when my eyes flutter open, and a cut under his eye - perhaps Clyde had hit back earlier. He pulled me into him, but I was too busy looking over his shoulder at the chaos around us. Police sirens wailed faintly in the distance. There were men - actual men, around thirty or forty, not my teenage friends - dressed in blue.
It wasn't long before we were all herded into the back of police cars.