The very first bomb to hit my home was when I was 5 years old. I remember it very clearly. The whole school shook from the shock waves. The window in my class blasted open ans hit my teacher, killed her instantly on the spot. A boy had yelled “GET DOWN,” before hunkering under his own desk. Everyone else did, I didn't. I had looked out the window and seen a soldier dressed in a funny uniform.

15 years later...


“Now class, turn to page 15 in your world books,” I said, turning to my collage students. I was about to instruct them further but a loud blast interrupted me. The blast tore through the whole school, sending my students and I scattered everywhere. I hit the glass case that held my great grandaddies shield on the farthest wall in the room. Bashing my head on impact my vision blurred and blood seeped from the deep wound on the side of my head. Groaning in pain I gingerly felt my head and looked at my fingers. So much blood... I thought, staggering to my feet. I saw the blurry figures of my students running about. “Children... Children!” I called out to them while leaning against the remaining flaming piece of something that resembled my desk. They stopped and stood looking to me while I spoke to them, stopping abruptly to inhale painfully. “The fire escape is probably cut off, along with the main hall. We'll have to use the old, blocked off hall. Tyler throw me that fire escape ax in the corner.”



I caught the ax mid-air and used it to help me walk to the back of the room. I heaved the ax up and smashed it into the wall. I hacked at the wall till I had a hole big enough to fit two people to pass through at a time. “Children hurry up, this school wont hold up any longer.” I yelled through the smoke. Hearing their approaching foot falls I entered the hall and guided them in the direction of the exit.

“Ms. Jade, are you alright?” Alyssa asked me as she passed.

I nodded and put a hand on my head “Slight flesh wound, I'll be okay. First things first is to get you all to safety.”

She had a look on her face that said “I don't believe you,” but she hurried forward anyways. The last of my students out was Tom Pithes. He saw me sway to the left and grabbed my arm.

“Ms. Jade are you okay?” He asked putting my arm over his shoulders.

I didn't reply just kept concentrating on my breathing.

“I'll get you out of here, hang on Ms. Jade.” He whispered to me and began walking to the exit. It took longer to get to the exit because of me. But Tom didn't abandon me on the floor like I had told him to. Once we got to the exit the rest of my students helped pull me out along with Tom. Paramedics had already arrived to the grounds but nobody else other than my class was out there. A paramedic came running up to us and took me from my students.

“Do you think we could come along? So that we know she's alright?” Ana asked the paramedic as he and two of his other co-workers put me on a stretcher.

“You all wont fit in one vehicle. Some of you do have cars right?” He asked once they had closed the doors on the ambulance. Several of them nodded and ran off with four other people to take in their cars. That left only four students and they were able to fit in the back of the ambulance I was in. We were off in moments with a parade of student cars behind. I hadn't been fully awake at the time. I was going in and out of consciousness from the sedative the paramedic had given me.

The very last thing I remember before entering deep sleep was the face of a soldier from my memories.