Locked at the bottom of the school, Victoria wasn’t exactly excited for the experience in the bunker, though there were some caveats to be had; namely, many people she had known, throughout the past few days, that she had interacted with, were there, and by many, it was actually all of them, grouped together in a massive congregation in the basement, creating cacophonies of noises. Despite the layers of dirt and metal that separated them from the structures above, the dampening effect was only somewhat noticeable on the sirens that screamed their sounds above, in an endless drone. Rust collected around the rails and bars of the room, of which was clearly past its prime, and the cold air streamed out in an endless drive from the piping that led oxygen to rejuvenate the space, though it likely only contributed to the quick aging of the hollowed room. Rather auspiciously, however, was the endless amounts of snacks and heavier foods, laid upon the shelves of which were thrice as tall as she was, at least, from her perspective, with barrels of oil huddled high, and medical supplies sheltered not too far below their area. For finish touches, there was a large machine, connected to the rest with comical pipes, and doors labeled as closets, at least from a first glance. As though as another miracle, the appearance of her long-time friend, Andrew, who was huddled in a corner, with some others, of whom Victoria recognized as Kenneth and Eric, the latter related to Andrew by blood, quickly came through to her vision, in a glorious limelight, and Victoria’s other ‘friends’ laid, not too further, for she saw Amalya, and all the people she had introduced her, to, whether those people were amicable or antagonistic, and Anterior, who was a personal achievement of Victoria’s, made by her own charm and wit, and someone who she certainly didn’t expect to be there, due to Lucas’s disappearance from Computer Science, but there she had been, shining like a beacon; beckoning forth Victoria for details about the fateful day, for it was Ariannah that stood there, stoically, like a grayed statue, with not a dissimilar posture and stance.
Ariannah was far taller than Victoria, being of a complimentary combination of height and good posture, that was sorely lacking in Victoria’s department, though of which she could control, it would not matter, as Ariannah was aided in a difference of inches; sporting quite a numeration more than Victoria had to offer. On the note of differences, Ariannah had far more in myriads to compare to Victoria, being that of a darker skin, twisted and lengthy hair, and also the use of glasses, supported by a sharp, small nose. Aside from the physical appearance, their senses in fashion was clearly on the opposite; Victoria veering towards a sleeker, more revealing choice of wardrobe, while Ariannah preferred the traditional clothing options of simple shirts and pants, of which was not an unusual choice despite the many other differences she had from her peers, which did not encompass her personality, at least from what Victoria had observed. Intense, moody outbursts over minor things were fairly blatant in Victoria’s eyes, though she seemed to also have an atmosphere surrounding her; foreboding and admonitory. Needless to say, Victoria didn’t find her to be a comforting figure, though saving Raina from an attack by Lucas was a kind gesture, regardless of the execution of said gesture, which had went bloody and possibly lethal for some involved, considering Ariannah’s reentrance, and the lack of Lucas on the premises, of which likely signals his mortality, though such options were too grim for Victoria’s consideration, no matter how hateable he could be. As she walked passed Ariannah to meet up with Andrew after the fight from yesterday, hoping for some form of interaction, it seemed that she would be greeted with none, as Ariannah’s muted face and seemingly normal walk towards a gangly boy appeared to be normal and well-adjusted, completely contrary to person Victoria had made her out to be; within the mind. Though, in a similar comparison, Victoria didn’t seem to hold up to the scrutiny of her own inner talk.
Okay, Victoria, relax. This is basically the first actual time you are meeting him in real life, ignoring that time, cause, like, that wasn’t the best intro, but you know what I mean. Get it right. Or else you might lose him as a friend, permanently. Then again, we did make friends with Eric, so maybe it isn’t over for us if we make a mistake. Or what if Eric also falls out with us because of our mistake with Andrew? Calm down, this hasn’t happened. Yet. Unless we have a plan or something . . . Oh, who am I kidding? We don’t need a ‘plan’ to talk to a friend! This is a perplexingly anxious moment for us, so just realize that there won’t be much to go awry if anything does, of course. But, then again, something could happen . . . Like what if Lucas shows up randomly and starts spouting rumors out of his watermelon head . . . or what if Andrew doesn’t think of us a friend, though, then again, we did walk out, together, with Eric . . . or what if someone else does something dumb and we lose our, like, cool? Maybe Audrey. Maybe Ariannah. Maybe even someone like Raina, who might make us look dumb, or something? Maybe it could be James; after all, he did do that thing . . . well, how can he repeat that? There’s that metal detector in the entrance of the school . . . but then again, we are doing this dumb bomb procedure, as if Seviliza would even dare to drop a bomb on us . . . ah, whatever, the future is grim, isn’t it. Might as well get this trivial task out of the way. But, like, what if something does go wrong? Won’t we look like a massive idiot? Look, Victoria, we are just walking to him. Nothing else, nothing more. Well, except for the greeting, and conversing, and . . . no! That’s all just what might happen. We don’t know what will happen. Yet. Might as well try now, so we don’t look stupid just staring off into the distance. Okay, let’s start walking towards him.
With such a decision undertaken, Victoria nervously walked over to confront Andrew, and his possible other friends, which was another point of contention of Victoria’s, frightened by the possibility of the other two having higher status in his mind than her, though that was a forgone conclusion, as one of his friends also happened to be a close family member; a younger sibling. Aside from the anxiety that creeped at the back of her troubled mind, many other things had seemed to come back, and to haunt her, in the form of people. Audrey and Mia were sitting along the cold, oxidized flooring which had once been reflective and awestruck with white and orange lights from above, and it seemed that time had long moved past them, too, and had been alone with the darkness for far too long. Nowadays, it seemed, they flickered plenty, and emitted an annoying hum that even upstaged the sirens from high above. Accompanying them in their meditative pose, was James and Amalya, along with a new figure, carrying with her a wavy, brown crown atop pale skin, which matched up neatly with the rest of the group, except for Amalya, and her yellowed hair. They leaned on titanic machinery that pumped out steam at a nauseous rate, and immediately next to their small camp, in a turn of the corner was Sebastian, staring oddly in the direction of James and Amalya, with Raina and her companions behind him, sitting in a small circle surrounding a vent. As their class began to spread out into their unique cliques, it seemed that Rose had joined Andrew in a conversation, and Timothy was busy speaking towards a neutral figure; Malaya, who has been benevolent against Ariannah’s great malevolence, though her pacifism against Lucas during his outburst of violence was astonishingly uncouth for such an inane situation, though her affair with him, or rather, the other way around, was yet another nail in her coffin, planted in the grave of ‘unpleasant people to Victoria’. Luckily for Victoria, no one seemed to have caught her gaze towards them, and no suspicion was raised to start yet another fight, which seemed to be rather prone in the vicious environment fostered by the school.
As Victoria walked near Andrew, he smiled, his teeth like shiny daggers and eyes like the barrel of a glowing gun; a vortex spitting out endless reflections of the world surrounding him, including Victoria. Finishing up his conversation with his friends, he came to meet Victoria’s face, or at the very least, looked down at her, inviting her into their little group, of which consisted of many faces she liked, except for Rose. Despite their many similarities, Victoria had many glaring differences that, when added up, seemed to make her a far cry from compatibility. Rose’s face was angular and sharp; a visual warning, as if her name didn’t allude to further interpretations of Victoria and her being incongruent with each other. They did, however, seem to both be friends of Andrew, which was a trait that Victoria didn’t quite appreciate; she thought Rose was quite snobby and rude, though more fiction than reality. Victoria was welcomed in, warmly and silently, by Andrew, and the others, and she greeted back equally.
“Hey guys,” enthusiastically addressed Victoria, happy for a moment of calm, after the event in Computer Science, and the current bombing drill.
“Greetings, dear Victoria,” greeted Eric, in a cheery tune, unlike the usual monotone voice he used. “What problem has vexed you presently, dearest companion?”
“Oh, uh . . . nothing? I just wanted to talk to you guys,” said Victoria, as Rose walked up, “And, hey Rose!” Stay calm, Victoria!
“Uh . . . hi?”
“Oh, excuse my blood relative and other fellows of mine! They aren’t much verbalizers, I’ll tell you. Well, everyone except for Kenneth, who, as oneself prospectively imagines, is quite the contrast. I doubt that you two haven’t met previously, affirmative?” Oh, why do you have to talk like this . . .
“Yep,” agreed Kenneth, “I am certainly one talkative guy! And I’ve certainly met Victoria! Who could forget that red mane of hers?” Why do they all have to talk about that? I mean, a lot of people have naturally occurring red hair? Oh, Victoria, you know that’s not what they mean.
“Oh, it's not that long.”
“Mayhaps, however, I do suspect that it could be quite a few inches shorter than its current extent.”
“Maybe. Anyways, I am happy to catch up with all of you! Especially, you, Andrew,” Victoria stated, hoping for words to be espoused from his tight mouth, though it seemed to be silent, as per usual from the few times they met in real life, though she couldn’t quite believe it, as he was far more talkative within the internet than he was in person. Either way, as Victoria left, she couldn’t help but glance at the teacher who was tasked with the duty to watch over them, as she seem to be quite frail, and almost was certainly far too old to keep the job of teaching, though her stern personality certainly seemed to be mismatched with her appearance. Despite everything, however, she was usually quite upbeat, though she did seem to wear a grouchy mouth, today, that gave Victoria the impression that it was not today, perhaps due to the bomb drill, or the chatter of students, some of which she probably didn’t like, or maybe it was due to the fact that she had other business to attend to, as was usual, from Victoria’s comprehension of the school. And with that she got on the move; no notice to the students, as she approached one of the ‘closet’ doors, to only open to a winding hallway that appeared to be connected to a maze-like structure, not unlike the walls of the first floor of the Academic Building. Closing the door swiftly behind her, Victoria decided to not question such decisions, as perhaps it was important to the institution, in some form. As she stopped her viewing of the benign, usual activities of teachers, she crept her way towards Amalya, perhaps to finally tell her the truth about James, and possibly tell Sebastian, too, who wasn’t far behind their area, but she was stopped by Kennedy, who had strided over to her, perhaps directed by Giulia, who happened to fit all the boxes, of being too shy to meet, and also not as oblivious as her peers, at least from a first look.
“Hey, wanna join our little gathering?” queried Kennedy, who appeared to expect a singular, immediate response, of which she did not get, from Victoria.
“Uh, can I come in a few seconds? I have something important to do.”
“Such as?” Oh, just let me tell Amalya, this!
“Um, uh . . . Raina’s friend, Amalya, over?”
“Okay, then! But you better come soon.”
“Sure,” complied Victoria, who was deeply uncomfortable conversing with a person who she believed to still be a stranger, yet, it was still nice for her to be so friendly, especially if Raina had already told her what Victoria used to do, though Raina did promise her that the secret, in her words would be as ‘important to me to keep in my, like, little metaphorical reliquary, as, like, that very, like, preppy eyeliner I, like, use, like, everyday and put in my, like, IRL reliquary!’ As Kennedy left, and Victoria was still reminiscing over the memory, her legs involuntarily moved forth, and into Amalya’s vicinity, where she initiated a talk between James, to get Amalya’s attention away, to her, so to spill the important information that she had kept for so long, though, given new, and conflicting details about Amalya’s life, it seemed that it wouldn’t be as important as Victoria had made it out to be within her mind.
“Hey, James,” poked Victoria, hoping to snap them out of the conversation they had, which seemed fairly usual by their age and standards, though she couldn’t quite help but notice the glowing object stuffed within his backpack, though it wasn’t very important to her task at the immediate moment. This had the intended effect of putting their chat to a pause, in order for Victoria to deliver the serum of truth to Amalya, even if she had participated in the sickening behavior, as she was far more likely to be less volatile than he would be, given the information.
“Yeah?” responded James, as Audrey and Mia snickered in the background.
“Can I borrow Amalya for a sec?”
“Sure, I guess.” With this, Victoria pulled Amalya into the corner where Sebastian sat, and told her everything she knew about James and Sebastian’s relationship, with Sebastian unfortunately overhearing.
“Wait, what? So you're telling me that James is dating Sebastian, right now? While I’m dating James? And also . . . Victoria.”
“Yeah?”
“Keep this a secret, but I also am dating Sebasti-”
“Yeah, yeah, I already knew this.”
“How?”
“Uh, from what happened yesterday? I don’t mean the weird salacious tension between you and James like after the fight, I mean at the lunch table at the start of yesterday. You literally told me it, remember?”
“Oh, right . . .”
“Yeah . . . anyways, you should tell him about your findings.”
“I probably sho-”
“No!” Amalya and James turned towards the direction of sound, then looked down to find Sebastian, with an indignant look upon his face, as if it wasn’t obvious enough he was snooping upon Victoria’s attempt of persuasion, with moderate success. “Don’t you dare do it!”
“Why not? I bet you don’t kno-”
“Yes, I do! I already know about your ‘hidden’ affair with him! It’s been so obvious that I don’t know how to break it to either of you that you both are with me, too.”
“Well, then, Sebastian, I don’t know what to say. We should tell him the truth, shouldn’t we?”
“No! We should not. As much as I love him, I understand his condition, too. He’s far too dangerous for us to tell him the exact truth. Maybe we should sugarcoat it, or maybe we should just not do it at all!”
“Ugh, no. I am going to tell him, and it's going to be okay. I am going now! Bye!” departed Amalya, as she walked around the corner, with Sebastian chasing closely behind, warning her about his temper, and about the phosphorescent item inside his pack, but it was too late for him to stop her from her looming doom, for as Victoria was returning to the rest of her friends, she heard this, directly behind her:
FWH-POW!
A gunshot had been heard. With the turn of her head, Victoria saw Amalya lying on the ground, still blown away from impact, as James skidded across the corner, holding a neon gun, of the same coloration and attributes of Ariannah’s weapon, and Sebastian running faster than ever, to the behind of the metal box, with Raina awestruck by the coincidence, and small streaks of wetness sprawling from her eyes, as she settled close to Giulia, with Andrew standing on the opposite side, near the dusty walls, and Victoria, at the epicenter of the quake to come.
“What the-” Then, another shot fired forth, hitting Kennedy squarely in the chest, collapsing on the floor afterwards.
“Oh, will you give me a break, Victoria. This wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for you,” explained James, in a maniacal, insane tone that sounded as though his mind had broken out of its cage, and had flopped upon the ground in a comical sense; akin to a fish.
“What do you even mean? You shot her. You shot my-” Victoria was cut off by James aiming the gun near her head, then firing. Voices started to come, and noticed a large, void-like hole where a bullet could’ve gone through, and as more came, another gunshot sounded, and their fears had been confirmed, as panic ensued.
“No. If you didn’t exist, then I’d still have two relationships, and maybe my childhood, too.”
“What does that even mean, James?” serenely asked Giulia. “You can’t be telling me your atrocious actions are justified, just because you were dealt a bad hand in life?”
“No. Well, yes, actually,” confirmed James, though his follow up would soon change the opinions of Giulia, and everyone who thought they knew Victoria. Then, a change of perspective came for James. “I was dealt a bad hand. Orphaned by my parents . . . and now I have to live with those three. They’re mostly nice, I guess, but I was the youngest . . . they picked on me sometimes, but it’s okay, now. They are family, after all. But . . . Victoria made everything worse.”
“What do you even, like, mean, James? I thought I, like, knew you!” exclaimed Raina, in both a fit of lividness and negative astonishment, as though she was about to explode into a furious rage, though she knew better than to challenge an amateur ranger.
“You never did, Raina. Constant bullying made me like this. I guess this is the end of the road for you, Victoria,” exposited James, as he directed the final line at Victoria, staring at the pupils of her eyes. “You got out of my last attempt at you unscathed, but now you bit on me more, and I think I should beat you; everything of you.”
“And also, how did you, like, get this in here, anyways? With all the, like, metal detectors, and stuff.I knew you weren’t, like, above petty thieving, but this is, like, too far. Smuggling in super illicit items? Check. Attacking other people with it? Check. You are an insane criminal and, like, I can’t believe, like, I ever thought of you in any vein other than as the trash human, you are!”
“Firstly, this gun isn’t made of metal, it’s made of a different substance. And, secondly, you don’t even know why I did this.”
“Yes, I, like, do.”
“Nope.”
“Victoria, like, told me.”
“Did she, now?” questioned James, as he turned his attention back towards Victoria, with a face filled with content malice. Diverted, the anger was, when Giulia interrupted his likely attempt on Victoria’s life, though it was rather miscalculated for Giulia’s own interests.
“James,” started Giulia, though it seemed that James did not care for her sage wisdom, shooting directly at head, though narrowly missing, and despite the obvious misfire and warning, Giulia continued forth, “I know this can be hard to accept, but, that’s in the past, now, and . . . we need to move forward with our lives in order to improve.”
“That’s a kind sentiment, but it seems that Victoria has never taken that to heart. Moping about how sad her life is all the time. Who the hell cares if your parents got divorced or whatever, that doesn’t give you the right, from the past, to now, it doesn’t give you any right to embed so much pain into my life.”
“You. You. You,” stammered Victoria, unable to get the invidious words out to strike at James, for patronizing himself to a point of no fault; for joking about the situation he had made worse. And as her friends backed away from her, already taking what James had said to heart, at last, they came out, and in a surge: “You abominable monster. You disgusting wretch! How dare you make these comments when you are in a position of knowledge! You know exactly what you did to me, and to my family.”
“I think rather on the contrary, Victoria. You do know, I have met some of your family, and are actually in a great deal of contact with them; friendly, mind you,” said James.
“I am not falling for your bluff!”
“Bluff, you say? Was one of their names, ‘Isabella’?”
“How do you know her name?”
“I’ve told you everything you need to know.”
“You . . . manipulative freak! I know you are lying to me . . . you have to be. Why wouldn’t you be if you . . . you . . . shot my brother with that gun!” revealed Victoria, sending everyone into a gasp, as though the air supply from the vents above had been running low, though they seemed to still keep the room below oxygenated and healthy. As James’s sickly face became paler after the revelations of the others, perverting into a mangled snarl, Ariannah appeared behind the box, holding the knife with the same properties as his gun.
“So,” started Ariannah, with a dilation of her eyes, reddening, as though her skin covered her flesh boiling in intense heat. “I guess we both have the same supplier?”
“Yeah, I actually live with him.”
“You were adopted by him? What kinda lunacy is he on, having children so close to that?”
“I don’t know, your brain is probably a bit wacky if you even sell that.”
“Doesn’t he work here too?”
“Yeah, and I bet someone like you is in his homeroom.”
“Nuh uh, his homeroom is only for freshmen. And his class is tailored towards either younger students or older ones trying to meet the requirements. Maybe someone like you.”
“I see, now.”
“Anyways, whatcha doing? Holding that gun, that white girl on the floor? I thought you guys were an item, if y’know what I mean?”
“Not anymore. After she cheated on me with that boy hiding beh-”
“Oh, shut up, James,” intruded Victoria, obviously annoyed by the fraternization of Ariannah with James, as though they knew each other, which, from their interactions, seemed to be clear; they did not know each other, apart from the one class they shared. “Do you want to tell them the truth, or, uh, do you want me to do it?”
“What truth? The only tr-”
“Shut your mouth, you know exactly what I mean. You were dating Amalya at the same time as Sebastian,” which made Raina fume in the corner even to a further degree, personified by the stamping of her feet, felt even by the shelves, far behind James, where the rest of the people stood, cowering in fear of an unqualified marksman amidst their presence, except for Audrey and Mia, who frolicked around the place, before settling on the wall opposite to James’s back, as they watched Victoria and the others, held at gunpoint, quite literally.
“You know what? I think I should do the reasonable thing and just kill all of you, righ-” James would’ve announced, if not for a sprint towards James, made by Raina, and her hands planted on to James, causing him to fall over, before getting back up far after Raina had left. “Ugh! Why can’t I have one thing in this dumb universe!”
“James,” called forth Giulia. “You are outnumbered. Please, just stop . . . this. This nonsense has been continuing on a seemingly endless streak, and you; a witness to all of it. You’ve seen the possibilities, and I’d be remiss to not tell you the harsh; the brutal; the truth. Stop this, before we stop you.”
“Ha. You think you can stop me? Really?,” mockingly asked James, as his luminescent, cyan, and glossy firearm was likely enough to stop all of them, deep in their muddied tracks, with less than pacifist methods, rather easily, and, as always, James was the beholder of such a truth. “If I can shoot Amalya, my own girlfriend with this, then-”
“Then you never loved her, you-”
“Shut up, Victoria. You can’t be talking here, with your bullying ways, you disgusting worm. A squirming grub, during one o’clock, thinks she can stop me, after she forced me down this path. And now you see the truth! Everyone sees the truth. And guess, what, Victoria? I am going to enjoy destroying you! You thought I changed? Well, I thought you changed, and I was wrong, it seems to me. A leech who ‘makes’ friends through passive means, and a parasite who sucked me of my youth. I don’t think you know how much pain you gave me, throughout all those years, but eventually, I took revenge. Is that so bad?” monologued James, seemingly unaware of his own heinous actions, dealt against not only Victoria, but Amalya, as well.
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“Maybe, like, not, but you didn’t have to go, like, that far, cause, like, here, we don’t, like, condone this violence,” preached Raina, with as much flowery language as she could muster to cushion both her newfound friends’ beliefs, but also to appease her old friend, who had quickly shown his true colors, especially after such friend’s response to a simple, benign, statement.
“Oh, Raina. I thought you were better than this. Playing for both sides, I see? All I really see is just you, trying to save yourself from any scrutiny. But let me tell you this. Once I finish off Victoria and her stupid face, I am going for you, next.”
“James. I, like, know what, like, you did. To Victoria’s brother.”
“You do? How so?”
“Well, like, after that, like, fight in Computer Science, I was, like, totally vibing with Victoria and such, y’know? But, like, then, she told me something, so, like, dark, and something that, like, totally, like, ruined my vibe. She told me that your revenge against her was to kill her brother. Is that true?”
“Let me tell you this. Come closer. Let me whisper in your ears.”
“Ok,” responded Raina, as she gullibly walked over to James’s side, lending her ear to a cone structure, made with her shaky hands, as James spoke, and rather loudly, in fact, for Victoria, as well as most others in the bunker, deep below the school’s buildings, to hear.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know ‘why’? Emotion must have gotten the better of me,” James excused, as he suddenly threw his free, flimsy arm around waist, before shoving her head to the muzzle of his handgun, clenching tightly around the metallic trigger.
“What the heck are you doing?” screamed Raina, shuddering and shivering, as though the cold of the shelter wasn’t the only frosty aura that surrounded her.
“I’m doing what my emotions are telling me to do. I am taking charge of the situation, and taking revenge, once more. I did it once to Victoria. It wasn’t personal. This time, it is. I trusted you, as a friend, to stand with me. I guess not. Time to go, unless your friends have anything to say?” he paused, while muffling Raina’s oddly sized mouth.
“She ain’t trusting you cause you got a barrel to her head and Amalya’s plausibly dead on the floor right now!” shouted Ariannah, as though ardent to save Raina, despite their singular meeting, of which was also under frightening pretenses, previously.
“You murdered Lucas,” plainly stated James, despite his lack of knowledge on such a subject, that no one, at the time, knew the end of. “I am not about to reason with a murderer.”
“Well, I’m not about to reason with a soon-to-be murderer!”
“Ha. Ha,” exhaling James, as though blowing out the hot air that may have filled his mind, “Maybe you’re right about something, creature.”
“I am not a creature. I don’t act on my instincts. My emotions don’t control me. I know someone, however, who contradicts all those statements, and they are staring at me with those gimlet eyes! Look in a mirror, James.”
“I can’t listen to an animal like you,” pouted James, as Giulia’s face widened, and Ariannah’s face scrunched, going in the opposite directions of each other, though with the same intent.
“I’m going to beat the shit out of you, you nitwit,” began Ariannah.
“Well, then,” sighed James, as though a calm passed through his apoplectic body, before hatred reignited, “Let’s get on with this, then, raving beast.” With Raina slowly tearing up in the deep background, cascaded with the bellicosity of the situation, it was unlikely it could resolve in any other way, and with that, Ariannah pulled out her odd, glowing knife, a similar color and glow to James’s gun, once more, as he readied his finger and fixed his aim, onto the group. Once everyone realized the danger, they began to prepare themselves, too, and the tension in the air was thick as the fog of the antique machinery that laid at these dank levels. Within a second, or two, James fired a shot, squeezing the slick, carbon steel that made up the gun in malevolent possession, near Ariannah’s head, and though the intention was not clear on whether it was a true shot or a tease to poke the bear, it awoken, and Ariannah charged into his direction. As the crowds of students from past days looked on in their misconceived awe and wonder, and a mental duel had ended, the physical duel, had only begun.
As Ariannah raced off into James’s direction, her, bracing for the impact, James shot wildly into the distance, frenzied from the emotions of years long past, and throwing Raina onto the ground. Missing each bullet, Ariannah began to strike for impact as Giulia shepherded the crowds away from the violence, though a few outliers remained, firm in stance. James began to run, emptying his gun in crazed motions, as Ariannah attempted to dodge, holding the knife in a stabbing pose. But as James ran towards the side of the stragglers who refused removal, they revealed themselves, too. In the few who remained, one was Anterior, and she had half her mind made up, already, it had seemed, pulling out an ice pick, covered in the dried blood of her newly-made partner, as she violently drove it into one of James’s shoulders.
“Ha! I guess this is one of the times where my name and knowledge on arteries did help!”
“You-” his retort was quickly stopped by a quick plant to the face, as he stumbled on to the ground, with the hordes of voices gasping in unison, mists of gas encompassing all. Ariannah slowly creeped up over him, but he reinstated his stance with a kick upwards, sending Ariannah back a few steps. With thick, viscous blood running out from a pore made by Anterior’s ice pick, he quickly ran over to the shelves of materials and goods to find bandages. During the fiasco, Raina was helped back up by Andrew and Eric, who were both trying to distance themselves, in order to save each other. Contrasting such opinions, however, was Raina, jumping back up, menacingly, with fake nails on hands, to wipe her sorrows away. It was time for the dejection of her betrayal, to be converted to vengeful abhorrence of the one who made an attempt on her life. Now, it was pure payback.
As James spotted some bandages of age, he began to ascend the metallic pipes that made up the shelves, with Ariannah and, now, Raina, in angered pursuit. Air pouring in from the tubes of the walls fogged the atmosphere above, blinding Ariannah, who had no climbing skills of which to speak of, though, as for Raina, it appeared it was an easy task for her to complete, as she swiftly scaled the towering wires towards James. As James reached for the thinly veiled clouds, highly elevated above, Ariannah was slowly backing away, to group up with the others. Raina, however, continued her pursuit, strange as it was, considering her usual quirky demeanor. After a few more steps, he quickly reaches a sector aptly named ‘Medical Care Supplies’, and begins to snake around the crevices of the steel maze as Raina climbs around the hardened bars as though a recluse. Finding the bandages, before he nearly bleeds out, he wraps around his shoulders as she intensely scales, while the gas around thickens with oxygen and primordial nitrogen. As Raina confronts him, James rummages through his filthy pockets to find his gun, still left with some ammo and scraps, before pointing it point-blank at Raina’s head.
“Why? Why do you, you ghouls, continue to hunt me down? I spared your life, didn’t I?” questioned James, as though euphoric to find his long time friend at the stumpy barrel of his mechanical weapon.
“If, like, Ariannah didn’t initiate that attack, then I’d probably be dead, already,” glared Raina, with ferocity in every breath she took, as though the chase to James was merely an exercise for her.
“Well,” began James, fingers tightening around the diabolical tool, “I think you should be dead, already. Let’s correct that, sho-” As James continued to run his mouth, Raina smartly took the gun out of his weakened hand, before pointing it back at him. “Okay, woah there! We don’t have to do anyth-”
“I am not, like, going to execute you, myself,” Raina caustically explained, “But I might just rip off that, like, bandage you got there. I wonder how you got it?” With that notice, James scampered to the top of the iron shelves, as the people below observed in silence. Raina climbed further, reaching the mistiest regions of the dilapidated bunker that they found themselves, stuck within, with the teachers lost in the rusted doors; gateways to what appeared to be the network of basements that connected the buildings, running under the streets. At the top floor, the shelves held dusty containers of vegetable oil, and other cooking supplies, such as skillets and pans, with vents and airways leading the earthy, gaseous substance in, that permeated the space. All participants of the violence, gasping for air, but the two who climbed to the top, were the most supplied, and the ones who would be in most danger, with Raina’s actions, that is.
“Ha,” laughed Raina, trivializing all that had happened in the past few days. “We are here now, James. You made all of this happen, y’know. The threats, and all of that, but, like, actually, all it has led to, is this. You threaten to shoot me? Now, I am in, like, possession, of your gun. You hurt my friends? Now you are, like, super hurt. You called me a slow loris? I might be a loris, with those, like, totally preppy climbing skills that I could totally post on ShakeSound, but I ain’t, like, slow. You might be though.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Notice all this, like, air, everywhere? Notice these old, ugly, not aesthetic gallons of vegetable oil, everywhere? I bet time hasn’t been too nice to them, sorta like your, like, backstabbing of me. You’re such an op, may I remind you. Anyways, I got this, like, handy lighter here. I know it might look like a gun, but, like, trust me, cause, like, it's totally a lighter.”
“And,” proceeded James, but not before coughing out the unfiltered air which surrounded them, “Why are you telling me this?”
“I guess, like, it's a final gesture for a friend who will soon depart from this world, if we’re lucky.”
“How does any of the mat-” Within a few seconds of firing, the vats of oxygen diluted seed oils were set alight, with the ignition caused by the bullet of James’s gun, now controlled by a friendlier face. With the correct heat reached, the flammable material within the plastic jugs reawakened, and blazes consumed a majority of the top shelves, like an uncontrollable wildfire, of which this was an apt comparison, though perhaps too similar to the subject. But with that, it wasn’t the only impact dealt by the gunshot, as soon enough, the trapped gasses violent expanded, and with flaming oils and mixtures of vapors, the fleeing of the combination of these items soon exploded in size, literally, as the miniature explosion spread throughout the top of the environment, sparking in heavenly lights, and as the groups of people and Victoria watched on, it was fantastical, though for one individual, it seemed it was the finale to their short-lived terror, and the beginning of a new one, self-inflicted by oneself.
“Ahh!” screamed James rolling around the bumpy setting of the elevated tops, while Raina, in the background, was uncharacteristically calm, especially within this situation. “Why . . . would you do . . .” His sentence was cut off, as the inferno scorched the inside of his mouth, crawling like ants with stingers for feet, right into every opening in his head. Screaming and confused, and rolling around madly, it was fairly obvious what the conclusion to these frivolous actions could be, as he neared the edge of the now fiery, burning racks, sizzling with the oil spill that had spread throughout the structure, all the way down to the very bottom, as James would soon meet the bottom, too. With endless seconds, the screaming shrilled, and not far after, faded, as he fell the entire height of the man-made construction, towering twenty-five feets high, his body crumbling at the bottom of the concrete base. The fire having escaped his figure, at this point in time, some curious folk went and investigated the charred body of James Semper, with the crowd including Victoria, as well as the maimers of him.
His sickly, pale skin had been reduced to darkened, volcanic ash, as he flexed wildly in random ways, jerking and twisting like a cricket without its head. Skinny arms reduced to odd twigs, and fingers and toes reduced to stumps upon their burnt appendages, coal colored, with fleshy, red tones beneath; flesh appearing dark and sickly, infected by the hunger of the fires that had cooked his insides, seemingly. Skin sloughing off the blackened corpse, and teeth covered ashen plaque and inflamed gums, with eyes as white as the blinding sun, soon reaching its apex, before descending into utter blindness of the darkness that James could no longer understand or see. His clothing was now gray; smoking, torn asunder, being a quite unpleasant sight for all, when combined with the other obvious states of decay that he had undergone through in only minutes as a child, but despite everything, he could still breathe. Wispy and rapid, as an ash tree clutching onto its remainders of life, each inhale, and similarly, exhale, brought with another one, shortly following in a congregation of hellish torture, though an apt punishment, some in the crowd might have believed, including someone trapped, high above, as of current. Gasping for air, everyone turned their attentions towards the top of the flaming machinery, with air and mist, as well as, Raina, who was still stuck at the top, shouting for help from the people at the bottom floor, as she could no longer descend with the scorching landscapes that laid for feets below.
As Victoria watched, turning her posture to look forth. towards the ceiling to see Raina, with her now squashed and gaunt face, staring back, amongst sparks and light of flames yet to extinguish, and soon, with the rest of the group following; people like Anterior more stringent in the act, quickly arose a clamorous noise that settled into the background, amongst the crackling body of James, still alive, breathing barely, and burning luster dancing amongst clouds of smog, high up. At first, with no one rising to rescue Raina, it seemed that James’s condition would no longer be alone, as yet another gallon of yellowish substance soon crackled with a thunderous roar emanating, not long after, as the fire approached Raina’s location, tailing close behind. The structure itself was already a treacherous journey, from bottom to top, with the top, especially, being an unreachable mirage to save another from the horrors seen, and with danger attached, not a single person could be brave enough to also brave the deadly task of saving their savior. Fortunately, however, despite everything, yet another cynosure had caught the attention of the young minds; who would help Raina down, though, connections there were, and selfless intentions, there may not have been, but who was to say, as Victoria certainly couldn’t about any relationships, let alone healthy ones, as Giulia began, with her rock-climbing abilities, to liberate her friend from an infernal status.
As Victoria watched on above, as everyone else simple continued to stare into James’s broken corpse, Giulia rapidly scaled the inflamed rubble that was now buried in fits of darkening smoke and ash, as fire began to topple the very framework of the towering behemoth, itself, leading to more items falling into the famished fire that began not long ago; its perpetrator now unconscious amidst a sea of endless smog, encompassing all. Ghastly crackles screeched and whined throughout her ascent, with their voices radiating all the way down to Victoria’s place, beneath the angered aura that Giulia soon found herself in. As Giulia climbed, however, Victoria heard slow and intentional thumps in the floor, as it stood still in silence for the walk of the mysterious ones, though Victoria could easily decipher their source, being that of the aged teacher, who was now beginning to return to the bunker, along with her coworkers, though they were unlikely to see such a disturbing scene. Thinking deeper ahead, she quickly came to the conclusion that if no action was taken, some criminal charges might be given, if no rash action were taken eminently, and of which she performed, by going over to Amalya’s body, and hiding it in a corner near the boxes, above the ‘Muscle Cat’ poster that she has enjoyed so much; both parties. Perhaps this action was selfish, but to her, it was a necessary move by her, if she wanted to save her other friends; Ariannah and Anterior, from further scrutiny, for it was likely that James may callously blame them for his own derelict deeds, though what happened to him, wasn’t precisely just, either, but Victoria thought otherwise, as her personal tormentor had finally felt the agony that he dealt. Despite them having only spent three days together, Victoria had already felt a great connection to her, whether due to James, or their friendship together, it was a melancholy, bittersweet ending to this short friendship, taken away by her reawakened bully, similarly to some of the other things that had been good to her, and with a farewell, Victoria moved on to the next step of her newly-hatched plan, though unfortunately, it seemed for her plans, due to the damage sustained by his body, it would be very hard to remove his body without attracting the attention of the people who she had formed roots with, and to do so would be a tactical death of any relationships she had sowed, and also an unlikely way to prevent any accusations of guilt thrown at her friends. Compromising with the devilish circumstances, she decided to simply tell a white lie, of which was probably far more likely to be palatable to her friends, as well as other students, though she couldn’t help but feel something awry occurring due to presence of certain enemies that would likely sabotage this plan, such as Mia and Audrey, who also conveniently happened to be a part of his adopted family, as well as Malaya, though strangely enough, Ren huddled closely next to James, along with Mia and Audrey. But before she could crawl back to meet a shamed horde, she remembered about Kennedy, who she also dragged in a similar fashion, into the same corner as Amalya, where she encountered more difficulties due to the existence of another body in the corner, but Victoria didn’t care. She simply stacked them, and buried the sight in a mound of cardboard boxes, and other miscellaneous items found in these depths.
And as Victoria, fatigued and disgusted by what appeared to be a crime, was fumbling back towards the general direction of the numeration of other students, she watched Giulia, with eyes shined and squinting, to peer at her dangerous duel with the environment to save a shared friend. Fortunately, it seemed for both of them, her slow climb was met with few disturbances, as most of the fire had been smothered by the ashes of its own creation, and with the oxygen from the poor ventilation running out, it seemed that the inferno had ran its course, and left the charred remains of a multitude of things, of which stopped Giulia from simply climbing straight up, as was taught with her lessons. And as though the parallels to what she had been previously training for, the air was tightening around her throat; loud gasping audible, as Victoria made her way back to the commotion that had begun between Audrey, Ariannah, and Anterior. Giulia twisted and sharply turned in all directions, as though a sardonic remark by the world of James’s demise, and of the opposite of Raina’s situation, who was still peacefully resting at the top, inhaling every toxin that could be found up in the elevated reaches of the scorned steel. As Giulia reached the top, however, it seemed unfortunate that Victoria could not witness Giulia’s saving of Raina, though whether that was possible, was up to the interpretation of Victoria, though due to Raina’s shrunk size, it was likely that it would have been no more work than carrying a few weights during Giulia’s climbing classes, if, of course, what she said was truthful. Though, from Victoria’s biased perspective, it was pretty clear that Giulia’s retelling was not full of dishonesty or rumors, though that could not be said for the grim situation that Victoria had calmly strolled into, due to her fixation on Giulia, as well as some decent amount of aberrant imagination.
Aside from the periling situation they had faced only a few moments ago, it seemed that the sickening truth had gotten out, and into Victoria’s brain; most didn’t care about it, and simply continued to argue, like usual, though the escalations were far more languid than what had just happened, and even in comparison to previous fights, which, as though a scry to see forth to the future, was a rather harrowing view of the time ahead to see for the school, and onwards past the present. However, despite the forgone conclusion she had met by her own judgment, it seemed that due to the lack of care to voice said opinions, as well as the opinions held by the speakers of the opposite side, there wasn’t many people to persuade in her crusade of aid, though rather, said crusade would be for something on a more minute scale than what she had hoped to accomplish. From what she observed, she could gather that Audrey was, as per usual, continuing to spout random, capricious lines that didn’t seem to make much sense, at first, though it was likely nothing more than a distraction from the curious truth; she was quite unintelligent, at least in the department of speech. Thankfully, however, she did have opposition, and in large quantities, too, as her connections to other people were not ignored, not even by herself, who tended closely next to James, along with his fellow family members, plus Ren. She started to eavesdrop on their conversation, of which went as though two waves crashed against each other, with a violent splash to fuel to waning fire, both metaphorically, and somewhat physically, though Victoria was quite unclear on the fate of Giulia and Raina, who were both awfully silent, though perhaps drowned out by the unending drone of Audrey’s voice, as she continued to yell at Ariannah and Anterior at their defense.
“Hey, you,” started Audrey, in her usual, eccentric voice, though directed at who, Victoria wasn’t quite clear. “Throughout this entire conversation, I still don’t quite know your name, but, like, quite frankly, I don’t even care. You two are like rabid animals for me, and I daresay I must report you as soon as Ms. Cwena waddles her old-looking body here.”
“Firstly, unneeded random insult towards someone who ain’t even here. Secondly, who the hell cares?” asked Ariannah, though sarcastically, in her usual manner. “We were acting in self defense!”
“Nuh uh! James wouldn’t have even shredded a singular strand of hair off your ugly, twisty hair.”
“You don’t even know how much I want to slap your dumb-looking, baby-powdered face right now.”
“Ooo, I am so scared,” which prompted no noise from Ariannah, as though to not give in to the bellicose rage of her mood right now, entertained by the adrenaline coursing through her visible veins.
“And, also, you didn’t even use ‘shredded’ right! How dumb are you?”
“Oh, it’s supposed to be my responsibility to be the smart and clear-headed one? After you did that to James? What the hell?”
“That’s a lot of questions,” correctly understood Anterior, “And, yet, when we ask you questions, we can’t fish a single answer out of you. That’s an awful lot of hypocrisy, there, don’t you think?”
“Haha,” laughed Audrey, though it was more pitiful than what Victoria believed she wanted to pull off, “You, first tell me about my hypocrisy by asking you a question, but then you go ahead, and then ask another question? What insane world are we living in?”
“This one?” succinctly replied Ariannah.
“Just shut up, you could’ve killed him.”
“Oh, he’s probably fine!” reassured Anterior, “He’s only a medium rare! Not burnt yet! Maybe we should keep cooking,” which may or may not have sent Audrey over the weak brink of her sanity, if not for the addition of two others to the conversation, one equally as youthful, and likely, just as idiotic as Audrey, but the other was far more likely to possess more kindred traits, though despite Victoria’s thorough investigation into Ren’s personality, she couldn’t have quite parsed such particulars as easily as she did with Anterior, though that, itself, was a unique case of similar bonding; using each other’s pasts.
“Hey, Anterior,” Ren calmly said, in a peaceful, strange way, as though it was almost too forward with its intent, though due to her slight maturity, it was possible that it would have affected her in a positive way. It was soon made clear to Victoria, the others, and incoming people, that it was far from the case, and perhaps, the case itself was a bit unhinged. “I see . . . bones behind you.”
“Huh?” jumped Anterior, looking behind her, seeing the only thing resembling bones of any sort being the metallic pipes that made up the backdrop of their campfire setting. “Uh, there’s no bones behind me?”
“Yes, there is! I see them . . . I can hear the ambient clacks; demonic crunches; taps and shutters; hollow rumbling; skeletal rings; and cracking of bone. All the way from here! And you can’t see it?”
“Uh . . . no? Why would I, especially if it doesn’t, y’know, exist?”
“But it does! Ooo . . . it’s dripping gross, nasty slime now! Positively disgusting!”
“Okay,” began Ariannah, “I don’t know what your deal is, but you have to back up in the compartment you call your brain, and start thinking about what you just said. All of that. Cause I don’t know what kooky world you live in, but I am pretty sure it's not this one.”
“Yes! I see the fuchsia tentacles surrounding you; plant growth!”
“Yeah, guys, I think she’s a little out of it.”
“We are all a little, like, uh, out of it,” interjected Mia, who simply pushed Ren out of the way as she collapsed onto the floor, lying with James.
“Okay, I don’t see the need for your remarks, right now. And, anyways, what’s all of y’alls deal with him? Like you guys friends or something?”
“No,” quickly responded Audrey, “We are family, which is something that you’ll never have, you . . . uh, lemme think . . . hmmm, perhaps something mean, that’s also an intelligent word. Yeah, I’ll go with that. You are something mean, that’s also an intelligent word.”
“First of all, that’s the worst insult I’ve heard in all my years in this world that you claim to have just figured out. And second of all, why are y’alls last names different, then? Y’all parents’ divorced or something? Or maybe you are-” Victoria, unable to handle the weight of her actions, of which were greatly compounded by the constant annoyance of their childish bickering, couldn’t help but add something of substance to the situation, as Ren kneeled over James, feeling something invisible in her hands above his body.
“Yes, Ariannah, they’re adopted.”
“Well, this is the least surprising thing I’ve heard all day. Of course they are adopted.”
“What’s that supposed to mean, hmmm?” said Audrey, as she made an awkward face and gesture, before moving closer to Ariannah’s position, and reaching towards her unblemished face with her own on the opposite spectrum, before giving an eyebrow raise, tipping over her sports cap, if only by small margins.
“Ugh, you idiot. I am trying to say all four of y’all are like this because of your adoption! Or something else, I don’t know. Either way, one of you is dead, and thus is dead to me and my memory, too. Let’s all pretend this never happened, so when Ms. Cwena finally moves her old butt in here, we can just say something to the degree of ‘an accidental fire broke out, Ms. Cwena! Please feel sorry for him even though he caused the whole thing and caused one of Ariannah’s newly made friends to get injured!’”
“Yes,” agreed Victoria. Thank God, Ariannah, for your valiant sacrifice. Or maybe it isn’t one at all? Who knows. Sighing at the action Ariannah took to allow herself to step away from responsibility, though her own actions were still rather questionable. “Let’s say something like that, uh . . . minus the murder and smoke inhalation part. Which, may I remind you, everyone, Giulia’s still up there, trying to save Raina. Shouldn’t we try to, uh, help?”
“Yeah, I am going to help her instead of talking to you, you, and uh,” listed Anterior, though her pointing at each of the members huddled around James stopped at Ren, for reasons uncertain.
“Yeah, me too,” agreed Ariannah.
“Ooo, ooo!” exclaimed Malaya, greedy for more action on her part, “Me three! She sits at my table after all, unlike these two.”
“Uh-” began Ariannah, but the crowd no longer waited for their turn, as they simply motioned backwards, away for the molten creature before their feet, to spy and see forth the havoc left behind by the fire, and the light to rescue the salvageable parts of it; namely, Raina, but also perhaps including Giulia, who was having quite a difficulty in managing to remove her greatest friend from the rubble, which was still very elevated, despite the destruction of many of the beast’s pillars and support.
As they all slowly approached the tubular walling of the subterranean shelter, it seemed that their perception was being quite deceptive of the gravity of the situation, or rather, that lack of such, as Giulia seemed rather prepared for the unpredictable predicament, as though the ubiquity of these events almost made them less shocking. Raina, on a similar note, was also not in a moribund state as many had expected, though surprising considering the smoke and fire that stormed through the higher parts of where she once stood. Either way, both easily managed to save themselves from the evitable fire, of which was nothing more than a few wicks, strung about the iron maze, where Giulia and Raina soon landed at the feet of, with Giulia’s face signaling one thing to all, and Victoria, as well. Raina is safe, alive, and possibly healthy. This optimistic conclusion satisfied most, except for certain enemies of Raina, though their influence on the rest of the population of children was little to none, while people rushed forward to greet Raina, as though to examine a cadaver. Everyone but Victoria. Meanwhile the celebration occurring behind her, and annoyed grumblings of Audrey and Mia, as well as a bit of nonsensical rambling from Ren, who thought there was small humanoid with a beige tortilla for a head and candies for hands dancing around the sight and mainly around Andrew, she was quite more worried and pessimistic than the rest, quietly tiptoeing towards the ‘grave’ that Victoria amateurishly built, as though concealing her was more likely to save the others from any responsibility than not, though, however, this questioning by her own inner voice was soon silenced, as the result of James’s firearm was soon shown to Ms. Cwena, who burst through the door, toddling over in her oversized, denim skirt. As the lukewarm air that felt hollow and frozen was wafted inside the suffocating chamber, Ms. Cwena came upon a most horrendous sight; with James’s charcoal corpse, and an unconscious Raina in Giulia’s custody, it could frighten the most tough, such as Ms. Cwena, who observed the wreckage brought about by James’s futuristic firearm, no less the wiser, and whose jaw dropped, despite her apparent stiffness. Despite her obvious hatred of the bomb drill, and it having ended, from Victoria’s hearing, it seemed that there was an exiguity of joy from her part, having also been compounded by the questioning that would soon follow her evident displeasure.
“What has been going on here?” asked Ms. Cwena, clearly befuddled by the bodies strewn about, sparks beyond inky ashes, and burst pipes that may have spewed out noxious gasses, and still do, up to current time. Victoria stepped forward to tell her, but Malaya easily swept her away, before telling the teacher a falsified version, though not exactly as Victoria’s planned edition.
“Oh, nothing, Ms. Cwena. There has just been a massive fire sparked by the oil . . . uh, that’s why the shelves are all burnt up, I think James was near it . . . and the small primate one probably inhaled too much of the smoke.”
“I see now . . . thank you for your assistance. Alright, students. Since the drill is up, I hope I can entrust you in going up the elevator by yourselves.” With a resounding answer of ‘yes’. “Well, then, that’s just great, now, isn’t it? The gates of the elevator have been unlocked, so just press the button. I think we have to go by twos. Uh, all of the people just attending Geometry can go in one, and the rest of you can go in another. Does that seem like an apt solution?” Silence ensued, blanketing the whole region. “Good, then. Well, line up now! And the rest of you can sit in groups and wait until the elevator comes back down. I will see what I can do for James and uh . . . let’s see here . . . Raina, yes! I will see what I can do for James and Raina. Get in now!”
And as Victoria got into the congregation of other students, she squirmed around inside the metal containers, holding the pillars of the golden ratio. Like grubs, during one inside, it was fine and the air was still quite nice, though as more were packed in, it became insufferably stuffy, as though a punishment for Victoria. At least for her happiness, Erick and Timothy were stuck with her, and she made small talk with them. But, yet, however, during their creaky ascension, she could only think about one thing; no relations to her current condition.
What would happen to Amalya and Kennedy?