Addison moved away from Izzie in the crowd, leaving her with the police officer. Scanning the crowd, she prayed for any sign of her daughter, searching the heads for her beacon of bright red hair. There was nothing. She knew deep within her gut that her daughter was still somewhere inside the building.

OooooooooooooooO

"You're a baby," Rich teased. "You're afraid of the water!"

Lanie watched from in the pool, moving her arms through the water so that her floaties reflected the sunlight. "Come on, Doug, it's fun!"

Doug stood at the edge of the pool, his toes curled over the side. "I can't."

"Why not?" Rich asked. "You scared?" When Doug said nothing, Rich taunted, "You are scared! I knew it, I knew it!"
"Rich!" Lanie protested, "Stop it!"

"Okay," he said. Moving so quickly Lanie didn't have a chance to cry out, he put his hands on Doug's shoulders and shoved him into the pool. Doug fell into the water, struggling for several seconds before Lanie helped him put his feet on the ground.

"See?" she said. "You can stand up. It's okay."

Rich slid into the water beside them. "You're okay, right?"

Doug grabbed his wet glasses, putting them back on his face briefly before realizing he couldn't see. "I can't see," he whispered.

"Oh, come on!" Rich complained, climbing back out of the pool and taking Doug's glasses. "Just clean them off! They're fine!"

Doug got out of the water, and Lanie slowly followed. "Give them back," Doug ordered, reaching for the glasses.

"I'm helping," Rich insisted, rubbing the lenses in the towel. "See?"

"Give them back!" Doug yelled. "Give them back now!"

When Rich pulled the glasses away out of Doug's reach, Doug balled his hand up into a fist. Drawing back, he hauled off and hit Rich square in the nose. Rich fell down; a hand to his face.

"You're mean!" he said, trying not to cry. "I was just teasing, I didn't do anything!"

Lanie hung back, afraid that if she went closer Doug would lash out at her too.

"I told you to give them back," Doug said quietly. "I warned you."

"I don't want to play with you anymore," Rich said, fighting back tears. "This is my house, and I'm telling you to go home."

Doug picked up his towel and disappeared around the side of the house as Rich and Lanie exchanged silent glances.

OooooooooooooooooooO

Doug leaned against the frame in the open door, blocking the only path out of the back room. Lanie turned to Rich and whispered, "How long has it been since you talked to him?"

Rich shook his head, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "I don't know."

"Stop talking," Doug hissed, waving the rifle in their general direction.

Cassie buried her face in Rich's shoulder, muffling her sobs. Lanie felt the cold air entering down to her bones, and dug her nails into her wrist to stop from shivering. Biting into her lower lip, she scanned the numbed faces of her classmates.

"Lanie," Doug said.

Her head snapped back in his direction, and she found herself afraid of breathing.

Doug beckoned her to come. When she didn't move, he crossed the room and grabbed her arm, yanking her to her feet. "Come with me." Steering Lanie by her arm with one hand and clutching the rifle in the other, he stepped out of the backroom. "Nobody moves," he said over his shoulder, "or I will shoot her."

Lanie took a deep breath as he shoved her forward, slamming her eyes shut and concentrated on not passing out. "What are you doing?"

"You're going to go up to the window and look outside," he said calmly. "I'm going to be behind you with a rifle in your back. You're going to tell me what's going on out there, and then we are going to walk back to the storage room."

"Why are you doing this?" she whispered.

"No questions," he answered, jamming the rifle harder into the small of her back. "Do what I say."

Lanie put her hands up to the glass, peering out.

"What do you see?"

"A lot…a ton of people."

"Police?" he asked.

Lanie nodded, becoming more aware with every passing second of the rifle pressed to the small of her back. "Can we go back now?"

"What else?" he asked.

"I…" She scanned the parking lot, her eyes lighting on the man with the bullhorn. "There's a police officer with a bullhorn. And…" She looked a little bit closer. "And…I think I might see your mom. And my mom…" Tears started to stream down her face. "My mom's out there…My mom…"

"Get back," he said, yanking her arm and shoving her back through the door. "Get away from the window, before they see you."

Lanie fell through into the backroom, as Rich came out from behind the doorframe and jumped on top of Doug.

OoooooooooooooooO

"Excuse me?" the man with bullhorn.

"My son," Izzie repeated. "Doug O' Malley, my son. I think he's the shooter."

The man grabbed Izzie by the shoulder, steering her away towards the larger swarm of police officers.

OoooooooooooooooO

"Rich, don't!" Lanie cried out.

Lanie fell on her hands and knees, rolling over into the group as people around her started to scream. Peering back, she saw Rich shove Doug out onto the tile floor, and the rifle clattered across the floor towards the main door. Grabbing Doug by the hair, Rich slammed his head into the tile again and again.

Doug closed his eyes against the pain and reached down sightlessly into his boot to pull out a small pistol. "Rich!" Lanie screamed, squeezing her eyes shut again as the pistol went off with a bang.