Operation M.I.A: Missing in Action (IN NEED OF REVISING)

Chapter X

"...Maybe the gunshots were from the SRO, and he just took down the intruder?" Luke asks hopefully.

We all give him those "Are you serious?" looks, and Skylar even says, "You're an idiot."

"I know," Luke replies.

My breathing and heartbeat start to speed up slightly. I think Sam notices this, because he then instructs everyone, "Guys, enough fooling around. We need to find a safe place to hide."

The tension in my body decreases a little bit as the six of us stand up and quickly run behind the counters where food is normally served. Thankfully, the chaos in the commons has gone down now that most of the students have fled, so we're able to safely make our way to the hiding spot.

Once we get situated, Sam and Heath start taking watch. I never let go of Sam's hand. Luke tells us, in a completely serious tone compared to earlier, "Okay, guys, no matter what happens, we have to stick together."

That only lasts for two seconds. Another gunshot goes off, this time from a little farther away. Luke's eyes widen, he yells, "EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!" and takes off for God-knows-where.

"Dumbass," Skylar mutters.

The noises from afar have died down, so I decide to take a peak for myself, and I end up instantly regretting that decision. I spot the intruder- who's wearing all black, gloves, a ski mask, and is carrying a pistol- carrying away a rather familiar face.

Brooklyn.

"Oh my God... they got Brooklyn!" I exclaim. Sam and Heath let out sighs, Skylar lets out a groan, and Avery just doesn't respond.

Speaking of Avery, she's busy trying to call someone on her phone. I hear her call go to voicemail, and she grumbles, "Ugh... why won't Brielle answer her damn phone!?" Brielle's a sophomore in high school, so she isn't in the building with us.

"Um, maybe because she's in class and can't answer her phone?" Skylar suggests.

"No... she has lunch at the same time that we do. She should be able to answer her phone right now," Avery says. Now it's her turn for her breathing to become heavier.

"Avery, don't worry about it. I'm sure Brielle's fine. She's probably just not checking her phone at the moment. Trust me, she'll get in contact with you as soon as she can," I tell Avery, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I hope you're right..." Avery says quietly. She seems like she's trying to believe me, but is having a difficult time with it.

Honestly, I'm not even sure if I'd believe myself.

BRIELLE

Music: Time Attack (Yoshi) from Super Mario Galaxy 2

It's just another day at lunch for me. I've been chatting with my usual clique for the past ten minutes about all sorts of nonsense: How our softball season is going, how orchestra is going, anything in our classes that pisses us off, stuff you'd expect people our age to find interest in discussing.

Then, out of nowhere, I hear screams from the PAC lobby upstairs. Given how far I am from the stairs leading up to the lobby, these screams had to have been pretty loud. Next, people start running into the commons from these stairs.

"What's going on?" I ask, hoping somebody hears me. A freshman girl whose name I am not familiar with stops and looks at me. Her face shows nothing but fear.

"There's a man with a gun in the building!" she yells, then goes right back to sprinting.

"Oh shit..." I mutter, standing up. I start looking for a place to hide and wait out this whole situation, and then a man comes down from the hallway connected to another set of stairs leading to the PAC Lobby. With the table I was sitting at and where he is right now, we're basically staring right at each other. He's not wearing a mask of any kind, so I see when his eyes narrow at me and he starts grinning.