School Shootout

Chapter Four

**Sorry I'm late in updating this chapter my brother has became addicted to this site and spends anywhere from 8-12 hours a day on it. Which makes using the computer difficult.**

I slowly opened the hallway door, trying no to make a single sound. When I had it open a couple feet I glanced out. There didn't seem to be anyone in the hallway. I forced myself to slide out. God, I felt so vulnerable outside of the classroom. I felt like Rilson or one of his friends would show up any minute and shoot me. I found the strength to close the door behind me--leaving me totally alone. I instinctively tightened my grip on my cell phone, my link to Bee.

As if he was reading my mind, Bee chose that moment to send me another text.

[Stay calm, Sam, I have located you on my sensors]

Calm, calm, I could do calm. Okay, I just needed to find something to use to cut the plastic restraints. I started looking at all the closed classroom doors around me—math, social science, biology, home ec—home ec they did girly stuff like sewing in there—they had to have scissors in there. I crept slowly towards the classroom; keeping close to the wall like I was in some sort of James Bond movie though it sure as hell didn't feel like one. When I reached the classroom I saw the door was closed I prayed it wasn't locked as I reached for the handle.

I breathed a sigh of relief as it readily opened as I quickly ducked inside. The first thing I noticed was three guys lying tied up on the floor. Two of them looked like juniors and I knew one was a senior, though I had no idea what their names where.

"Hey, you guys…" I whispered.

They struggled to face me and then gave me scared looks—It stopped me in my tracks before I realized—they thought I was part of Rilson's sicko gang.

"Hey, its okay, okaaay, my name is Sam, I got tied up in my math class but I got free," I held up my bruised and scraped wrists as proof, "I'm going to help you get free, are there any scissor around here?"

"umm…yeah…over in that drawer" the senior kid said pointing with his head.

I quickly but quietly made my way over to the indicated drawer and found several scissors. I grabbed the largest one and went back to the guys on the floor.

"So what are doing in the home ec classroom?" I whispered as I started to cut the plastic restraints

"Thought good way to meet babes." The senior kid, as I named him, lamely joked.

I froze as I realized there were no girls in the classroom just these three guys.

"Where are all the girls?"

No one answered me. They all looked away. Finally one of the juniors broke.

"Rilson…he…he took them away…"

I finished freeing them though my hands had started shaking. That wasn't good, that wasn't good at all.

"Okay," I said shakily, "Do you know where Mrs. Johnson's classroom is?"

"Yeah it's just down the hall"

"Alright…okay… grab all the scissors in the drawer and go there and start freeing everyone there---Okay."

"What? We need to get out of here! NOW" The junior kid started panicking and backing away from me.

"Listen to me," I grabbed his shirt, "Mrs. Johnson is dead. They slashed her throat and a lot of other people may die if we don't help them…Do you want to live the rest of life knowing you let people DIE just because you wanted to save yourself."

"…Nooo…"

"Okay then, HELP me…"

"We will," The senior kid broke in. He crossed over to the scissor drawer and started putting bunches of them in his pockets. "Where are you going?"

"…I need to go check on another classroom…I'll meet up with you later…"

I went back to the hallway door and opened it slowly. I nodded to those behind me that the hallway was clear. We slid out and I watched as the rest of them crept towards Mrs. Johnson's classroom. I turned and started going the opposite direction…towards the chemistry classrooms. I had to find Mikaela. I had to know…I just had to…

The hallway was eerie. I was used to it being full of kids, running to class, making out, and pulling pranks on each other—now it was silent, there was no on in sight and you could a pin drop. I jumped when my phone started vibrating unexpectedly.

[Sam, where are you going?]

[to find Mikaela]

[Be careful, you are so very fragile]

[only compared to you guys] I typed back glad for the distraction.

I reached the end of the hallway. I took a deep breath before turning the corner…I had to bite back a scream. It was like Mission City all over again. There was blood everywhere and glass from a broken display cabinet. When I was able to force my eyes off the ground and look at wall I saw the fire alarm. It too was covered in blood and rivulets and ran down the wall. I slowly walked around the bodies and the broken glass. I continued down the hall.

[Sam are you alright? Your heart rate just jumped]

[fine]

Suddenly talking to Bee wasn't all that reassuring.

Mikaela's classroom was the third one down. I noticed the door was wide open as I approached it. As I got closer I realized there was no one in it. I entered it and looked around just to be sure. I felt a little hope—maybe she had gotten out when the fire alarm was pulled. She probably had…she definitely got out…

I turned and had nearly started running back to my own classroom when I heard someone start coughing. As I listened I realize it was coming from down the hall by the steps down to the first level of the school. I couldn't see from all the way down here. I was debating whether or not to creep forward and investigate when I heard the sound of someone sharpening a knife. I was definitely not going that way…

I headed back to my classroom. Terrified that every second I was going to get caught. I paused as I reached the door to my classroom I could here a soft commotion going on inside; as I slowly pushed the door open everything went silent.

"Its okay, it's just me"

As I looked around almost everyone was free and the way they were looking towards the front of the classroom I knew they had found Mrs. Johnson's body. The all looked panicky and I'm sure I did too.

"What are we going to do?" "We have to get out of here," "Won't the cops come?"

"Ssshhh, alright everyone" The senior kid whispered loudly, taking charge, "We'll sneak down the hallway, and go down and out the side doors."

"No" I whispered back, "I heard one of them on the stairs guarding it."

"Oh God, oh god,' "We stuck on the second floor?" "We're going to die here"

"Sshhh" I hissed, "We need to stay calm and think of a plan."

Everyone was staring at me again…I wish they wouldn't…it made it so much harder to think and stay calm. "Okay, so the first thing we need to figure out is how to get from the second floor to the first floor."

Everyone was silent trying to come up with a plan. The silence seemed to stretch on for hours before someone weakly suggested tied our jackets together to make a rope and then climbing down. It was ludicrous of course but as I gazed over to the window I saw the tree branches. I quickly crossed over to the window and looked out. The tree was close to the school overlooking the back football fields. As I studied the branches I realized it had been planted too close to the school. It had grow bigger and bigger and almost all the branches on the school side had had to be cut. I found the thickest one, about ten inches, and had been cut off about a two and half feet before it had collided with the school. It was on a diagonal to the window but it looked like it might work.

I turned back to the classroom.

"Anybody like climbing trees?"

It seemed like a crazy idea, a desperate idea, but as we considered our options we had very few. And we decided we might as well try it. Someone came up with the idea of using one the large bookcase shelves as a plank and another one suggested that we sent the best climbers first so that they could help people closer to the ground where there was less branches. So within five minutes we were all crowded around the window sending out our first volunteers. We watched as the carefully climb they way towards the trunk and slid down. I winced as the first one was forced to jump from the lowest branch to the ground—it look like it was a long fall. But he picked himself up and gave us a thumbs-up sign. After that everyone crowded trying to be the next to get out. But after a lot of ssshusshing and reassuring they calmed down and waited somewhat patiently.

We had about half the class out when we heard a gunshot and screams from down the hall. Oh God, No. Everyone left inside the classroom started panicking and hyperventilating and I had to clamp my hand over a girl's mouth before she started screaming hysterically. Everyone started climbing faster and crowding each other trying to get out. I prayed Rilson wouldn't come in here before we could get out.

Five more, just five more people. I realized I couldn't breathe, I was hyperventilating. I was so focused on the window I never heard the classroom door open. But the sound of the gun cocking caught my attention and I turned around just in time to see the gun come up. The next thing I knew the classroom dissolved into gunshots, screams, and flying glass.