Hello all! I'm back with chapter two! This chapter was definitely a hard one to write, it was very emotional! But the worst is definitely yet to come. I'm sorry for any confusion with the last chapter in the way I formatted it! I hope this chapter clears up a lot of things for you all!
Well without further ado...Enjoy!
Jonas' P.O.V.
I was aware that it was only pure fate keeping me alive, with a small probability of it being luck. Why me, out of all people to be out of the room when the bomb went off? Why could it not be someone heroic and strong, like Zach, Grant, or Nick? Out of all people...I am the weakest, I can not run fast...I can only think. When it comes to hands on situations, I fail at those. I haven't taken one Cove-Opps class in my life for a reason. I do not do well with high-stress situations like this. Practically, everyone's lives were in my hands.
My feet carried me at speeds I've never reached before. It was as if some superhuman transferred all of their abilities into me for this one moment, knowing I'd need it. Although I knew it was simply a mixture of adrenaline and shock, I decided that the superhuman idea sounded more pleasant. Halting to a stop in front of the ballroom, I could feel my eyes bug out of its sockets and my jaw nearly drop to the floor. Complete destruction is what I came upon. Rubble remained scattered all over the room, overlapped between the various bodies of my friends and teachers. The desperate moans and cries coming from the room was enough to cause a nervous breakdown, but I knew I had to stay strong. To my left, the emergency button was plastered against the wall, so I quickly leaped over to it and gave it an angered punch. Sirens began to wail, causing goosebumps to form up and down my arms and legs. Hopefully soon enough help would be on its way. I was shell-shocked. There were way too many people for me to help, and I was unsure if I could even help any of them. All of a sudden, a could hear a faint voice calling out what seemed like my name. Although so muffled, I could tell it was Liz's voice. Without even thinking, which would've been a smart idea, I sprinted into the ballroom, using her voice as a GPS.
I arrived at her location, only to see her pinned underneath a small table, most likely one of the ones used to hold refreshments. She didn't seem badly hurt, which sent a flood of relief throughout my body. She had a small cut on her forehead, which seemed to have been made from something of glass, probably the punch bowl. Making sure that nothing would fall on her before I helped her out, I began to lift the table off of her. She quickly hopped to her feet, which led me to believe she was going to be okay. She fell into a desperate hug, her arms squeezing the crap out of my chest. As I began to feel the lack of oxygen flowing to my lungs, I released myself from her tight grip and pulled myself back, scanning her up and down to check for any injuries.
"I'm fine. I was lucky enough to have had a soft landing. We need to help the others, though. Jonas, I'm afraid that there's a lot of people that didn't make it. But first-I think we should find all of the professors. Especially Mrs. Morgan." Liz spoke calmly, as if she had the whole situation under control. I responded with a quick nod and began to scan the room, searching for any familiar faces. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a man approaching us from behind. Without even really thinking, I grabbed a piece of molding that must've fallen from the ceiling after the blast and swung it toward the mysterious man. My weakness proved itself as he quickly grabbed the molding and it snapped in half. Liz jumped behind me in fear but let out a soft laugh when she realized it was only Mr. Solomon.
"Sorry about that, Mr. Solomon." I spoke, completely flustered. I looked down at my feet, to avoid any more embarrassment.
"Don't worry, Jonas. Liz, are you okay?" Mr. Solomon asked.
"I'm all good. Just a little scratched up, but so many other people are in worse conditions than myself. Are you okay?" Liz asked.
"I'm pretty sure my shoulder is dislocated, but I'll pop it back in later. Right now, we need to start salvaging whoever we can. I don't want either of you two separating, because there's rubble all over the place and it may require more than one person to help some people out. We'll all go together, and help everyone out one by one." Mr. Solomon explained. Behind me, I could hear the soft clicking of heels. Every other step sounded a little softer, which led me to assume that one of the heels must have snapped. Yet the clicking was familiar. Liz spun around with a wide grin on her face as she shouted out, "Mrs. Morgan! You're okay!".
"Yes, I managed to take cover underneath the DJ's booth before the initial blow." Mrs. Morgan replied.
"That's incredible reaction timing!" Liz gaped.
"Unfortunately, I've had experience before." Mrs. Morgan spoke grimly. She quickly surveyed the room, frowning in dismay. I could hear sirens wailing in the distance, which could only mean that help was almost here. They could take care of this, they could handle the bodies...including the ones of the deceased. This was something I could definitely not handle. And I'm assuming that is where I snapped. The room began to suddenly spin, and I suddenly lost my footing. I could feel Liz place her hand on my shoulder, but it was not enough to keep me upright. Before I knew it I toppled to the ground, and the world soon began to compress until it became a tiny dot. And suddenly, the world went black. How pathetic...I'm so soft.
Liz's P.O.V.
Once Jonas went out, I completely lost it. I began to lose control of my muscles, and I began to violently convulse. My breathing became short and rapid, and I soon realized I was having a panic attack. My eyes darted back and forth, eyeing the helpless bodies scattered around the room. Mr. Solomon and Mrs. Morgan were sprinted around the room, helping the slightly injured so they could help those who were unconscious or seriously injured. A large hand found it's way on my shoulder, and when I peeked behind me, I realized it was Zach. For some reason, it felt as if the weight of the world lifted off of my shoulder. My body stiffened as if a plank and my breathing rate slowed down to its normal rate. I quickly spun around and collapsed into Zach's arms, tears beginning to stream down my face as if a waterfall.
"You're okay?" I asked, whimpering between each tear I sucked up.
"I'll be fine. Sure, the world is spinning rapidly, but I'm in way better condition than everyone else." Zach responded, peeking down at me. He craned his neck over his shoulder and looked down at Jonas, snickering uncontrollably.
"He's a wimp." Zach joked.
"Pretty much. But I still love him. Oh my gosh...Do you know where Cammie is?" I asked. I then had realized that Zach had been joking around with me to get his mind off of Cammie. His usual smirking expression sunk down into a frown. His eyes lost their normal sparkle and he took a deep, exasperated breath.
"The last time I saw her, she was being flung into a wall. It then collapsed on her." Zach spoke in complete monotone, showing no emotion whatsoever in his voice. I let out a soft gasp and then searched the room for Mrs. Morgan, and finally found her desperately throwing pieces of dry wall across the room. All of a sudden my eyes felt dry, and that is when I realized that I had cried myself dry. There would be so many more tears to shed, but just in the twenty minutes of barely seeing the damage, I lost it completely.
"And...the others?" I asked. Zach shook his head in response, which could only mean that they were scattered all over the place, their fate unknown. Before I had crashed into the table, I could see Macey and Nick out of the corner of my eye. He was holding her with all the life he had left in him, and she hung limp...already unconscious. She must've hit her head before they even hit impact. I just hope they are okay, all of them. I fear for their safety greatly. I am so fortunate to have landed safely, and my mind remains focused only on everyone else. Paramedics, among firefighters and other sources of medical and damage help began to pour into the ballroom, each person assessing the scene for only seconds with horror and immediately getting to work. I wish I was that strong, that brave. And yet, I am a spy. I can only assume this experience will help me grow stronger, more courageous. And within seconds, I was being ripped apart from Zach's grip by a paramedic. And no matter how hard I tried to fight back, to try and escape, he held me back.
"We need to get you to the hospital." the paramedic spoke calmly. He was only intending to help, but I had grown savage. I needed to stay and help my friends. But they wouldn't let me...and that enraged me.
"NO! I have to help my friends!" I cried out, snapping my head back and forth, shaking my body violently. I attempted everything to release myself from his grip, yet could only let out a soft scowl as I felt a needle prick into my arm. My muscles grew limp, and the world began to slowly fade as I collapsed into the paramedics arm.
"Please..." I whimpered weakly.
The last thing I consciously heard him say was, "It will be okay. Your friends will get through this. You need to remain content with hope, you need to stay strong for them. You need to fight for them. I understand the devastation you are going through right now, I have been through this once before in my life. I now limp everyday on a prosthetic leg, after the Circle of Cavan attacked Blackthorne back when I was a student. I understand what it feels like to feel helpless, like you are unable to help. But you have to trust me...You need to stay strong, you must come with me.". And with that, I finally stopped fighting. I let out a soft gasp when I finally was able to comprehend what the paramedic was saying. I then collapsed to my knees, allowing the world to escape from my grasps. It was true-this was not a situation that I could handle by myself. This was a job for the professionals. I could only hope that when I awake, I will find out that everything will be okay. All of my friend are safe, there were no casualties. But I know that is not true. I know the worst is yet to come.
Pretty dramatic chapter, I must say! I promise, in the next chapter you will hear from some other characters, and you will find out the fate of all those major people!
So...what did you think? Goode...bad? Love...Hate?
Let me know in a review! I'd appreciate it a ton :] I love hearing from you guys.
Well, until next chapter...Ta ta for now!