[Warning! This chapter involves a school shooting. Does this trigger you in any way please do not read]
I drop down on the floor. Hiding under a table like a prey hiding from the hunter. My heart was in my throat making it hard for me to breathe. With every breath I'm taking it feels like it doesn't contain any oxygen. I hold on to the legs of the table trying to hold myself grounded. Then I hear another gun shot.
More screams are coming from the outside. My classmates are sobbing and crying. I wish I could tell them everything is going to be okay but that would be an empty promise.
Then another gunshot.
I look to my left seeing one of my classmates hiding under a table next to me. He's practically hugging his backpack as he's sobbing. In between sobs I hear some muffled word, he's praying. And he's not the only one I'm praying in my mind that the intruder will ignore us.
"Everybody stay calm" I turn my head once again to my professor.
"Stay down. Go hide in the very back and grab something that can be used as a weapon" he says quietly to us "and don't say a word. No calls, no talking".
We all follow his instructions. As I tiptoe to the back of the room I take a look around to search for something that can be used as a weapon. Some of my classmates have a small bottle of mace or pepper spray. I just have my laptop which is the closest I got to a weapon.
I sit down with my other classmates behind the desks furthest from the door. My classmates are still crying and sobbing, some are also quietly texting their family. I wanted to do the same but I left my phone in my backpack so I can't even text my friends, family or Hiccup.
Hiccup. I woke up to an amazing day with an amazing man. She sun was as bright as my mood. Everything felt so idyllic like a painting from the romantic era but it ended like a horror movie.
"There's an intruder in UCLA's humanities building" I turn my head to see our professor on his phone. He's talking quietly to the police about our situation. The police is asking some questions and he answers them with his head low trying his best not to make too many sounds. He gives the police our location and I pray in my mind they'll get here fast.
"No, we have not located the intruder. All we know is that he is in the building and on our floor" Our professor is trying his best to stay calmly while still trying his best not to draw any attention.
"Yes I have-" He doesn't get to finish his next sentence before the loud bouldering sound of a bullet goes trough the air interrupting him mid sentence.
My heart beats faster and faster as the number of gunshots go up. Many of my classmates are pressing their hands against their ears as tears roll down their faces. I feel so trapped like a mouse just waiting to be eaten by a cat.
I can overhear the police telling my professor they're on their way and we all need to stay hidden.
"Okay" was his last word before hanging up. Now all we have to do is wait. A second has never felt so long. We're all anxious and trying our best not to breathe too heavily.
But it's hard when we hear a sixth gunshot. The girl next to me starts sobbing loudly. It makes a rush of panic run through my body.
"Shh" I try to calm her down. If the intruder heard we were in here we would all be dead. I pull her into a hug and I can feel her heartbeat.
"She's having a panic attack" I whisper quietly to my professor. He looks at me shocked and quietly crawls closer.
"Look at me" I tell my classmate. I begin to take some deep breaths hoping she'll do them with me. And she does in and out. Her sobbing ends after one last deep breath. She hugs me. Even though, we're not that close because in this room, in this moment we're all in this together.
We hear another gunshot but this one is different. This one was louder than the others, which means the intruder is coming closer.
It's like the sound of thunder letting you know how close the lighting is. Until you can see it with your own eyes and you're staring straight into the silent light. My friend holds me closer and every one in the room feels more scared than ever.
But then the most horrifying thing happened. That made my heart stop beating and my eyes shoot up wide. The sound of a annoying iPhone ringtone cut through the room like a knife. It came from my bag which meant I forgot to put my phone on silent. I could see my classmates trying their best to hold in their panic. I prayed whom ever was calling right now would hang up, but they didn't it kept ringing. My professor looked at me and shocked his head like he knew what I was going to do.
And ever so quietly without touching anything but the floor, I got up. Standing up I felt too tall. The class room seemed empty from where I was standing but if you looked behind me you could see a bunch of worried faces following me as I took my first step.
The light sound the floor made when my shoe touched it made shivers go down my back. With my ringtone ringing in my ear and me walking as quickly and quietly as possible I felt like a target. A big white and red circled target waiting for someone to barge into the room.
I finally reach my phone and turn it off quickly. Letting out a breath I've been holding in since I got up. With my phone turned off I was relieved that it couldn't ring again. Yet, I still had to get back. The walk before felt like 4 fast steps but this time is felt endless. I could hear the creaking floor as I took a step. Panic and anxiety went through me like a shower.
The 3 meters from the desk to the back of the room felt like a death walk. With every step I wished to wake up from this nightmare.
But suddenly I hear more than just my own footsteps. Footsteps outside this classroom. I drop down letting gravity take me to the floor. With my heart beating a hundred miles I hide behind the nearest desk. I close my eyes wishing I had stayed in bed this morning. Just stayed in Hiccup's safe arms and slept in. We could've had breakfast in bed and chatted all day. I wanted to sleep in and not go to class yet I went.
And here I am hiding under a desk knowing that if the intruder gets in here I'll be the first to die. I open my eyes again only to see my professor's scared face. He rolls a black bottle of mace towards me. I grab it and hold onto it tightly.
Then the door opens. My blood runs cold and I stop breathing. I feel cold as I hear the footsteps getting closer. My eyes closes shut again just for a short second. But my mind travels far in that one second.
I just want to hug my mom, hold her tight and tell her I love her. What I wouldn't do to tell my brothers thanks for teaching me everything I know. Or to tell my father I'm proud of the family he builded and protected.
When my eyes open again I hear the loading of a gun. A tear falls down my cheek as I take a desperate breath.
Most of all I wish I could've said goodbye before it was too late. But that's how life goes, you never know when it is going to end.
I feel the person standing right beside me. If he looks down he'll see me. I take a breath and collect my courage. Because I might be the first to die but not the last. He'll find the others. Which means I can either hide and try to save myself or fight and try to save the others.
If I die today, I hope there's no hell and that heaven is beautiful.
In one quick move I jump out from my hiding place and spray him with the mace I have in my hand. My heart beats fast as the intruder stumbles back and screams in pain.
I hear my classmates cry as our worst nightmare just turned into reality.
I don't know who this guy is or what he went through to wanting to go through this. All I know is that I feel frozen as I sit on the floor helpless and with a man hovering above me with a gun.
"You son of a-" He yells out of anger and pain. He can't see much because of the mace and I hope he can't see me. The next 5 seconds of my life went in slow motion. My heartbeat and breathing slows down together with the rest of the world. I can see directly into his gun making my body paralyzed.
My professor grabs me and pulls me behind him using himself as a shield between me and the intruder. It all happens too quickly for me to comprehend.
"Shit" and that's the last I hear before the sound of a gunshot.
This has been the hardest chapter to write. It took me a week to finish it because I kept getting tears in my way. I know this was an emotional chapter but remember there's always light at the end of the tunnel:
If I die today, I hope there's no hell and that heaven is beautiful.
- Astrid Hofferson
I'll post the next chapter Sunday. I know you're all dying to find out if she's okay but I'll be out of town and not able to get proper service to post the next chapter early sorry guys <3
Spoiler for the next chapter:
"Would this be on the news in Missouri?"