REM

Taking Control

Highschool was supposed to be the best years of my life. I'm not entirely sure why though, considering I saw them as some of my worst when they first happened. To make matters worse, it was hard to put the shooting behind me, even though I managed to stay strong during the whole ordeal, ultimately saving some lives with my quick thinking.

It was the end of the day; I had my backpack on as I walked down the main hall to go home. The hall was crowded with other students my age, most of them unknown to me as I walked with several close friends.

Someone screamed, then people started dropping to the floor. I ducked into a doorway behind a cement wall as guns began to fire, bullets ricocheting off the lockers and walls.

As I peeked around the corner, I saw two people dressed in black with weapons, my friends and fellow students scattered on the ground. I had no idea who was shot, or even alive for that matter, many too scared to move and draw attention to themselves.

Fear kept a hold of me as I closed my eyes and prayed for them to not find me. When I opened my eyes again after what felt like several minutes, the hallway was clear of the gunmen. Students were slowly getting up, assessing their wounds and trying to help others. I checked on my friends, most of them all right, but there were some lifeless bodies as well.

Students who were able to move helped others that couldn't, clearing the hall in case the two men returned. Blood smeared over the floor, the scene by the janitor's office looked tragic. I had no idea who was dead, or just unconscious as they were carried away to seek medical attention.

The last few people who were able to move were still standing in the area when the gunmen returned. They fired at us, causing us to scatter, but the bullets didn't strike anyone. Soon I heard silence, the guns had run out of ammo. I leaped into action, striking the man on my right in the face with my elbow and stray fists, the other one unsure of what to do. He stood there as I wrestled the shotgun from his partner's hands and then started beating him in the head with it.

Before I stopped, students were pulling me off of the unconscious man, his mask hiding the damage I had inflicted upon him for being so savage to innocents. The other gunman had ran for his life, but would eventually get caught later on by Police. We stayed for a while to give statements, being released as soon as everyone had taken part.

Walking out into the school parking lot to my dad's old school car, I felt relieved to be alive, but also a sense of pride to have handled the situation so well. Cowering at first had kept me out of harm's way, but in the end I stood up to the gunmen when their weapons were no longer effective, ensuring that justice would be served, even if some of it was by my own two hands and rage, fueled by their savagery.

My two close friends got into vehicles belonging to their parents as well, then we all headed home in separate directions. Our parents needed to know what happened first and foremost. Once they were informed and all of us had had a chance to settle down, we were going to have a sleepover at my place and play video games all night. After all, it was a Friday. And even though we were all barely alive, we still wanted to have fun with the young lives we still thankfully possessed.