My Fall: Part Two
Chapter 3
The rather chubby lad standing next to me was shuddering: I felt slightly annoyed at him for being such a wimp and not manning up. Bizarrely though, I was no longer scared, and yet I wasn't resigned to death or anything so pathetic. I was determined to end this: end him. I looked along the line of shaking 15-year-olds and found my two close friends huddled next to each other; Nicole and Hannah. The man all clad in black followed my gaze. I quickly looked elsewhere, instinctively trying to protect my friends from any repercussions my previous actions might now cause.
Too late, he lifted the gun and cocked it. I watched, horrified.
"No, stop", I moaned, the words escaping my mouth before I could stop them. Terror was now lodged firmly in my throat. He turned, without moving his hand, to face me. His mouth morphing into a sick, sadistic grin that resembled that of a Cheshire cat.
"You last," he stated, his eyes still on me. "You will watch every single last friend of yours die. Then you will die very painfully and I will take pleasure doing so."
His words seemed to reverberate in what continued to feel like a shrinking room.
Chapter 4
That's when things went weird. All of these black splodges appeared in front of my eyes, and I felt dizzy. I couldn't hear, I caught only glimpses of the horrific scene in front of me.
A single shot, followed by so much noise that I was ripped from my daze into a harsh reality so wild I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.
I had no control over my body, next thing I knew I was hurtling through the air, my legs launching me towards the Shadow.
Chapter 5
My elbows buckled on impact with that solid wall-like chest. I didn't stop though. I threw myself shoulder first at him. I had the element of surprise with me and he offered no resistance. Then I heard the sound of glass breaking. Daggers on my skin and pain exploding through me. I couldn't understand what was happening, oxygen burnt my lungs and I thought I must be dying. My hands were resting on something as hard as rock and I couldn't feel what it was. My eyes weren't seeing, just blurs, random colours everywhere. I felt something soft surround my waist and pull me down, I yelled. Suddenly everything came into focus, and then impact.
It felt like every bone in my body had been shattered. My limbs felt like they'd been ripped into pieces. I opened my eyes, I could see. That was a start. I couldn't tell whether I was alive or dead, but I knew I was surrounded by tarmac, and tall, ugly, brick buildings. I couldn't move my neck so I couldn't see the ground directly beneath me.
I crawled slowly and painfully across the tarmac and sat myself up against one of the buildings. Suddenly I realized where I was: my school. I looked up to see broken remnants of the classroom window. I'd fallen two stories, and survived, how was that possible? I strained my neck to scan the ground, and I suddenly saw what had saved my life; what had pulled me out of the window: and what now lay motionless on the ground.
I felt sick, his body was twisted in an impossible position, and his gun lay by his head. I groaned, heaving and gagging as I heard the gradual eruption of voices and commotion coming from inside the school building. I heard a whining alarm that seared my ears.
Suddenly it would all be over, he would probably die ( if he wasn't already dead), and I would have a brief stay in hospital. But would it really ever be over? Could I ever live this down, could I ever live again at all?
IMAGE: Trickle by Tigresblanco
