Locked In

TRIGGER WARNING: graphic violence, blood, death October 3, 3030 10:30 A.M.         Nerves bite at me as I walk into the front office. Yesterday, I had gotten an email to go to the principal's office first thing in the morning. My heart races and my eyes widen when I see President Grant Darlington smack in the center of the office. Two bodyguards stand on either side of him, with Penelope Driscoll standing in front, an evil smirk on her face.         "Scarlett Anderson?" President Darlington asks.         I press my hands against the back of my thighs to keep them from shaking. "Yes, sir," I reply, hoping my voice doesn’t sound as nervous as I feel.         "My daughter tells me you threatened her."         I immediately make eye contact with Penelope, shock coursing through me. Penelope is the president’s daughter?          President Darlington continues, "Is this true, Miss Anderson?"          I want to say yes. I want to tell him I was standing up for myself, something I never do. But the words don’t come out that way. "No," I say. "I would never threaten anyone in this school, or in this city. Your daughter is the one that threatened me."         Penelope gasps, clearly not expecting me to say something bold. She quickly turns to her father. "That's not true!"         President Darlington ignores his daughter. "Miss Anderson, I have a security tape that proves it otherwise," he says, "so I suggest you tell the truth."         "Security tape?" I echo. "But I didn't threaten her! I told you the truth, sir, she threatened me."         The President just shakes his head, then gestures for one of the guards to play the tape. I watch carefully and see that I'm the one pushing her against the wall. I shake my head in disbelief. Somehow, Penelope edited the video to make it look like I was the one threatening her.         "Is that not you, Miss Anderson?" President Darlington asks.         I sigh. "That's me," I admit, "but someone obviously dubbed it to make it look like I pushed her. I swear, sir, I would never do something like that."         "Just admit it, Anderson," Penelope spits. "The proof is right there." She gestures to the tape.         "No! I didn't threaten you. You threatened me! How many times do I have to say it? I would never hurt someone."         The school principal finally steps in and stands beside me. "Mr. President, Scarlett has never gotten in trouble in her time here," Principal Locklear defends. "And we do have the technology here for anyone to manipulate tapes."         "Mr. Locklear," President Darlington says calmly, "I suggest you expel this girl for threatening my daughter."         "With all due respect, sir, I'm not going to expel Miss Anderson. She's a bright student, and I know for a fact that she didn't threaten your daughter. I was there and I saw Miss Driscoll push Miss Anderson against the wall. Before I could step in, Mr. Hall took care of it."         Penelope is speechless, her jaw hanging open.         "Enough of this," President Darlington hisses, taking his daughter's hand. "We're leaving." And with that, he storms out with Penelope, the guards following closely behind.         Relief washes over me and I turn to Principal Locklear. "Thank you, sir."         "Of course," he says, smiling. *** 11:06 A.M.         "Bennett!" I quickly catch up to him in the hallway, panting a bit. "I never got the chance to thank you yesterday."         Bennett waves it off. "It wasn't a big deal."          "No, seriously." I look down in shame and shyness. "I never really stand up for myself." I force myself to look at Bennett again. "So I want to thank you."         "Well then, you're welcome." Bennett grins and we walk to our study hall together. "Hey, have you finished the history assignment yet?”         I shake my head and he continues as we take our seats. “You wanna do it together before class starts?"          "Yeah, sure." I take out my assignment the same time he does, scanning the questions. Multiple times we get confused or frustrated, but we eventually finish the assignment right when the bell rings.         As we put away our finished assignment, Mr. Toney moves to the front of the room. "Alright guys," he announces. "There are only two more weeks until the end of the semester. So, if grades need to be brought up, I suggest you get on top of it. I am offering some extra credit as well." Flashing a kind smile, he begins to walk to his desk at the back of the room.          A sudden loud noise echoes through the halls. My pencil drops as my head whips to the door. Other students glance around curiously, wondering if the noise was just something that fell.         But then I hear a loud bang and something whizzing by my ear. Liquid splatters on me and I turn just in time to see a student beside me fall over, blood pooling out of her head.         Panic ensues around me. I can hear the screams and footsteps of those trying to escape the room. I stay frozen in my seat, staring at the dead girl beside me.         "Scarlett!" Bennett appears in front of me, his hands on my shoulders and his face close to mine, fear in his eyes. "We have to go, now!" He hoists me up on my feet, grabs my hand, and we run out of the class.         Students scramble around, crashing into each other in their attempt to run away. I trip over a fallen body but Bennett catches me in time.          Bang! goes another shot.         Bang!         BANG!         I can hear the shots getting closer and the echoes getting louder. Bullets fly everywhere and some aren’t fortunate enough to dodge them.          I try to stay close to Bennett, try to keep my hand in his, but the crowd is too chaotic. I shout as a male student tramples me to the ground, causing me to lose my grip on Bennett. The boy doesn't even seem fazed, he just gets back up and runs again. I curl my body trying to protect my face with my arms as students stampede over me. Pain hits my body as feet trip over me.          "Scarlett!" Bennett helps me up, looking frantic. "We have to keep going! We have to get out of here!"         I almost nod, stopping when the realization hits me. "No!" I exclaim. "Our friends. We have to find our friends!"         "What? Are you crazy? No! We don't even know if they made it outside or not."         "Well, I'm looking!" I yank my hand from his. "I have to make sure they’re safe. You go ahead, try to find them outside."         "No, absolutely not!" Bennett shakes his head. "I'm not leaving you."         "Bennett." I place my hands on his shoulders, shouting over the chaos. "You gotta get out of here!" Another shot goes off, and more screams fly through the halls. "Go! We have to hurry. I promise I'll meet you out there." I don't even give him the chance to protest as I bolt in the opposite direction of the crowd. I push through waves of people, praying that I'll find my friends unharmed.         Bang!         I shout in alarm and duck low, hoping I don’t get hit. I cover my face with my arms and continue to run. I eventually round a corner, bumping into someone. I gasp in fear, thinking it was one of the shooters, but relief floods me as I recognize a familiar face.         "Ryker!" I throw my arms around my best friend. "Thank God you're okay!"         Ryker holds me tight muttering something inaudible.          "Where are Madison and Luna?" I look up at his face.         Despair washes over his face. "Luna. . .she got hit. I couldn’t help her, I--"         A strangled sob escapes my throat. “Madison?”        Ryker swallows hard. “I don't know where she is, I’m trying to find her."        I try to keep my composure. "We need to get out of here. Now!"         I grab his hand and take off just as another fire is shot.        I can see the exit inch nearer and nearer. We’re almost safe!         BANG!        Ryker suddenly collapses to the ground, dragging me down with him. The impact causes me to gasp in pain as I land on my wrist wrong. I grip it tightly and turn to Ryker. Blood gushes from his neck, his eyes dull and empty. My ears ring and everything seems to fade around me. I can hardly hear the screams anymore.          "Ryker!" I crawl to him and pull him into my arms. "RYKER!" I sob, shaking uncontrollably as I hold my dead best friend in my arms. "No, no, no, no. You're okay. You're not dead."         BANG!         More gunshots bring me back into reality. I scream in agony and frustration, knowing I have to leave him or else I die, too. "I'm so sorry." I gently close his eyes, my tears dripping onto his pale face. I carefully lay him down on the floor, get up to my feet, and run.         BANG! BANG!         I barely miss a bullet as it embeds itself into the doorway, inches from my head. I burst out the school doors, but I don’t stop running. My vision is blurry from my tears, but I manage to find an alley. I stumble against a wall, panting in exhaustion. The reality of what just happened finally hits me and I place my hand over my mouth, sobs raking through my body. There were so many bodies. Are my other friends okay? Did Bennett make it out? Is he even alive?         I allow myself ten seconds to cry, mourning the loss of my friends. Soon, I take a deep breath and wipe away the tears. I shakily stand up and begin doing the only thing I can do at the moment.          I run.