Just
moments before, the air had reverberated from the sound waves of a gunshot.
Then momentary silence. Now, the piercing screams and rushing bodies of
students and teachers alike dominated the scene at Johnson High School. Everyone
everywhere was trying to get to some place safe. But where exactly was safe?
Some knew right away and threw themselves into nearby classrooms and proceeded
to lock the door. Others followed suit and squeezed themselves in as the doors
were closing. Still others stood frozen in the halls, heads darting from side
to side, unsure of what to do.
They
were the first to fall.
The
fresh waves of screams were drowned out as shot after shot rained down on the
unlucky men and women who just happened to be walking peacefully down the
language arts hallway not five minutes ago. Observers could not distinguish the
wounded from those who ducked down away from the bullets. Everywhere people
were hit by a sudden pull of gravity and brought closer to the Earth upon which
they were born. Brought down, brought down upon the Earth they were born to,
and would eventually return to, into the Earth’s welcoming arms as their last
breath is drawn in this world.
Kendra
stood watching all this frozen in terror. Time flew around her as she stood
there. Through a gap in the crowd, she caught a glimpse of the dreaded war
machine that could only utter one word:
Destruction.
Then,
as swiftly as the hail storm had started, it ceased. As if in a dream, Kendra
saw the hand raise up, aim the gun, and fire. This bullet was aimed for one
person and one person only, and as it hit its mark, she could do nothing but
watch. Time slowed and being no longer frozen, she fought against it, but it
was as though she was walking though water. Her arms reached out to catch him,
but felt nothing but air in her grasp. His body crumpled sickeningly to the
floor.
One thought exploded through
Kendra’s head and slipped out quietly from her lips, “Jake.” And that one word
said it all.
Her eyes glazed over and she saw
the sky above her as the clouds inched across its deep blue surface. Turing her
head, she gazed at the handsome young man lying in the grass beside her. His
face was quite attractive with a strong jaw and bright, spirited eyes.
Presently, he turned to face her and smiled. Kendra remembered thinking that he
could compete with the sun with the brightness of his smile.
“I
love you and you will be mine forever,” he had said. It was those words that
rang through Kendra’s mind now as she came back to reality. Jake was her
protector, his arms were her shield. She remembered many dark nights spent
wrapped in his warmth in her bedroom as the thunder clashed threateningly
outside her window, her face pressed against his chest. He was a strong and immovable
mountain, yet he now lay before her, crumpled and broken, his face turned
towards the heavens in an impossible twist of Fate.
Kendra’s legs failed her and she
dropped to the floor. He face remained expressionless as she crawled towards
him. Upon arriving, she gazed into his sightless eyes, not even registering
that his eyes no longer gleamed with the playful spiritedness they once held.
“Stop!” Kendra glanced up to see
the gun at rest in the hands of the wielder. She could almost see the barrel
stained with the blood and gore of its helpless victims. Her eyes continued to
travel upwards until they came to rest on the murderer’s face. Her sight became
red as she slowly came to realize what this man had done.
“Don’t you touch him!” shouted
Kendra’s former friend. “You should love me, not him!”
Deaf to Zack’s requests, nearly
asking for death, Kendra placed her left palm on Jake’s chest and her right
hand on the side of his face. Then she leaned down and kissed his lifeless lips
and held the position as tears pooled in her eyes. But they did not fall, they
never fall.
All the while, Zack had raised his
gun, pointed it at Kendra’s heart, and started to pull the trigger. His hands
began to shake as he looked at her. He was locked in a battle, a battle of the
heart against the gun. As you know, the heart must always win. Zack dropped the
gun and lowered his head in shame.
Kendra heard the gun resonantly hit
the floor and pulled her lips away from her love. She stood slowly, cautiously,
and walked towards Zack. He glanced up and winced, expecting violence, and was
surprised to find Kendra’s arms wrapped around him in a hug. No words were needed;
he knew exactly what she meant. He stared over her shoulder and for the first
time, took in the destruction he had caused. A gasp escaped his mouth and guilt
overcame him. Giving Kendra a final reassuring squeeze, he turned his back on
the past and fled. However, one can never run from the past forever. In Zack’s
case, he ran for two minutes before being tackled by the police six yards
outside of the school.
Inside, Kendra stood in the
desolate hallway. Turning, she looked lovingly one last time upon the body of
her love.
“Goodbye, I love you and you’ll be
in my heart forever.”
At last she turned away and put her
hand against the blood stained brick wall of Johnson High School, the building
material of which once belonged to the Earth.
“Protect him as he once did for
me,” she said to the Earth and walked onward.
