'So, this is it, I guess.'
It took us all a while to fully grasp the situation before we decided that we had to do something. We had to save as many people as we could. The brave students decided to jump out of the windows because we were only on the second floor. Others who were afraid decided to push desks against the doors so no one could get into the school library ' the place we were all trapped in. And others prayed their hearts out for everyone's well being.
But there were a few of us laboring over the girl who was shot by the perpetrators outside the library. It was a shame that this had happened to her ' someone as radiant as her. She had long exotic black hair that fell by her abdomen and deep green eyes that reminded me of the jungle. Her pale skin had a little bit of a pink color that made her seem like an unusual porcelain doll. Her clothes were covered with her blood and her eyes trembled with tears and fear.
The comfort the library held for us before held nothing for us anymore. The beautifully glittering brown and blue tiles, like the beach's sand and water, didn't remind us of comfort anymore. The sweet fragrance of fresh books and new pages didn't soothe us anymore. The comfy and cushiony chairs that sunk with our weight didn't allow you to drift to our own world anymore where everything found a way to be okay. The beautifully carved wooden desks didn't remind anyone of the sweet pine smell that would be found in the woods anymore. And the high-tech computers ' the only imbalances in a library so traditional in its fashion ' didn't distract us anymore from our troubles. Because this wasn't the Heaven that it used to be, it was a newfound Hell.
Every time she looked into my eyes with a helpless feeling, it was a cold hard slap that reminded me of the truth of the situation. We could all die.
'I-I tried t-to stop them,' the bleeding girl whispered to me as I dabbed a shirt a boy volunteered to give to us as a tourniquet on her chest. She was bleeding quickly and with every word she uttered, more fear flashed across her eyes.
'Please, don't blame yourself,' Avery demanded and I saw eyes turn in her direction. I knew that the other students were shocked to hear such worry in such an upbeat person. I could barely see Avery's eyes in the dark so I couldn't see how she felt. The worry that tinted her voice scared me.
Ms. Clementon, the librarian, decided to shut off the library's lights in hopes that people would think the library was empty. The whole atmosphere felt so much lonelier, even with rays of sunlight dancing through the room with its warmth.
The room fell silent as Avery and I were trying to stop the girl's bleeding. Others were writing letters to their parents in hopes that in some way, it would reach them.
'I w-w-wasn't the first to be shot,' the bleeding girl began. 'I w-was on the f-first floor in m-math class. The room was q-quiet and we h-heard gunshots. B-Before we could escape, two b-boys walked into the room and s-started to threaten us. They began to shoot people without r-reason and I escaped when they w-w-were too busy f-focusing on one side of the r-room. I was approaching the e-entrance of the school when I f-f-found out it was r-rigged with bombs. If I t-tried to open the doors, it would set them o-off. So I r-ran up here in hopes to hide, but by the time I g-g-got here, they found me. One of the boys had known me s-since f-fifth grade and I u-used to make fun of him b-because he used to wear the same shirt e-everyday. S-Shooting was his w-way of r-revenge. You guys came and r-r-rescued when they were on their way back to the first f-f-f-floor,' the girl slurred, finding difficulty to speak.
'Who were the boys?' Avery asked.
'Simon B-B-Bishop and Cole Johnson,' the girl responded, groaning in pain.
'Simon Bishop'is he that really lanky kid with the really greasy black hair who always spends his time in the library playing video games?' Avery asked.
'T-The v-v-very one, he's the o-one who s-shot me,' the girl stated.
The thought of it all scared me. Simon was a kid just like us, a kid who was in the library days ago playing games. And now, in his hands, he and Cole held our fate. But this wasn't a video game, this was real life and you can't restart life like you can with a game. No one had lives to spare.
'And Cole Johnson is that kid who sits at the outcast table in lunch, always sniffing his food and talking back to teachers, right?' Avery asked again.
'Y-Yes. He k-k-killed his girlfriend last y-y-year, too.'
I watched some students hide under desks now ' after eavesdropping on Avery's conversation with the girl. They were afraid now, very afraid. Ms. Clementon was on the phone with the police, after having much trouble getting connected. She was hysterical now.
'I have approximately forty kids in this room and we have a school shooting here, please help!' she cried into the phone and most of the conversation went along like this ' with a lot of cries for help and emphasis that there were forty of us in the library.
Avery and I would look at each other occasionally with a frown on our lips. We would shed tears occasionally, every now and then. I was glad that I couldn't see Avery's silver eyes well enough to see what she was thinking but I had a gut feeling that she was thinking whether or not she'd be able to fly away from here and get to see everything she left behind after this.
'Come on, Claire, keep talking to me!' Avery instructed the girl in fear that if she would stop talking, she would die. She wanted to keep her alive but I already knew that she was slipping away from us. It hurt me to look at her. I just held the shirt to her chest in hopes that I could keep her alive.
'I-I c-can't,' Claire whispered, closing her eyes for long periods of time until Avery would shout for her to open her eyes again.
'Yes, you can! What about your family? Don't you want to see them again?' Avery demanded, her voice shaking.
'I do. But I know that I can't. It's too late for me,' Claire whispered and looked at me with gentle eyes, her deep green eyes glistening with tears. My own vision began to smudge with tears. I couldn't watch her die this way. I couldn't watch her die this way and yet, she was so calm now accepting her own unfair fate.
I heard police sirens close to the building and some of the students sighed sighs of relief as they felt a stronger hope run through their minds. Maybe everything would be okay.
'Claire, the police are here! Just stay with us for a little bit longer' Avery cried.
'It's too late. Luna, tell me parents that I love them,' Claire told me.
'No, Luna won't say anything! Come on, Claire!' Avery cried but Claire kept her eyes on me with a beautiful smile. Her damned beautiful smile.
'Death isn't so bad,' Claire exclaimed with a smile and I only pressed the tourniquet tighter against her chest. 'It's just how I imagined it. Quiet and peaceful.'
'Claire!' Avery screamed. A few other students huddled around us, crying tears for the dying girl. I could hear their sniffles and sobs. And their goodbyes.
'Bye, Claire,' I said with a smile on my lips. I wanted Claire to see the world a little bit happier than it was while she was leaving it. I wanted to be the light in all this darkness.
'Bye, Luna.' I watched as she closed her eyes, her beautiful smile pressed to her lips as she took in a deep breath and exhaled it quickly. She didn't take in another breath.
I took the tourniquet off her chest and watched the crimson blood gash from her wound as I held her lifeless hand, once filled with love, warmth, and life.
'Bye Claire, watch me from Heaven, okay?' I whispered, kissing her lifeless hand. She was so cold now, so fast. But there was so much tranquility on her face. All the things that life took from her, death returned to her. What a beautiful disaster she became'.
The crowd of students dispatched as some cried once more for the lost girl and others prayed more for the well being of others. Avery went back to sit with the people who were praying aloud and joined them. But I sat by Claire's body and talked to her about everything and anything. Somehow, I knew she heard every word.
Every word.