underwater
Thread Topic: underwater
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Jared found himself in the cafeteria, which had now been mostly deserted, a few other students fleeing or seeking refuge under tables. He slowly stalked in between the tables, his boots thudding heavily with each step as he reloaded his gun. His eyes darted around as he would pause, shooting underneath some of the tables. Occasionally he'd hear pained shouts and blood start to pool, flooding the floor. He skulked forward and stopped at a table, hearing a girl gasping shakily and sobbing quietly. He slowly crouched and pointed his gun, about to fire when he saw who was under the table. The girl who gave him a ride to school, fumbling with her phone.
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As the noise in the cafeteria gradually began to die down, June became acutely aware of the frantic rhythm of her own heartbeat thundering in her chest. Overwhelmed by a wave of despair, she squeezed her eyes shut, allowing tears to stream down her face like a relentless waterfall. Each breath came in sharp, desperate gasps, her chest tight and aching, yearning for the relief of a deep breath. Beside her, a fellow student leaned in, hastily covering June's mouth with a grimace, her teeth clenched in irritation. Despite the discomfort of June's tears and mucus staining her hand, she managed to hiss fiercely into the other girl's ear, "You're gonna f---ing get us killed. Shut up." With that, she withdrew, leaving June staring blankly, her eyes wide and lost.
The tense atmosphere is abruptly shattered by the sharp crack of gunfire, each shot reverberating ominously and drawing closer. June and her classmate exchange frantic glances, their eyes wide with fear, each searching for reassurance in the other's face. Unconsciously, they inch closer together, their breaths shallow and their bodies rigid with anxiety. June's classmate presses her hands together in a silent prayer as the sound of the gunman's steps echoed throughout the cafeteria. A whirlwind of thoughts floods June's mind, the weight of her reality crashing down. What about her dream of becoming a marine biologist? What about experiencing all the things she hasn't before, like dating, marriage and children? What about all the places she wanted to travel to? The teen's bottom lip begins to quiver. She doesn't want to die.
June's heart nearly stops when she sees two feet come to a stop beside the table. Glancing down, she notices the bloodstains marring the shoes, sending a wave of terror through her. Shaking uncontrollably, she grapples with the horrifying possibility that this could be her final moment. In a fleeting moment, her gaze flickers to her classmate, who had scolded her for crying just moments ago; now, it is that very classmate who is reduced to sobs, collapsing to her hands and knees in a desperate plea for mercy. Paralyzed with fear, June braces herself for the worst as the gunman crouches down. A chilling realization washes over her when their eyes meet. Jared?
"P-please... Don't..." is all the girl manages to choke out between her tears, shaking her head gently. -
Jared stared at the girl quietly, the voices flooding his head quieting for a moment. He saw that look on her face, the terror in her eyes, her shaking voice as tears rolled down her cheeks. Images of a younger self flooded his head for a moment, a young Jared crying and sobbing as he tried to stop his father from hitting his mother, before he was shoved to the ground. His hand with the gun started to shake as he blinked once, shaking himself out of his head and staring at the girl again. He let out a shaky breath and lowered the gun, standing back up. For some reason, he just couldn't do it.
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After a fleeting moment of eye contact with the man, June shuts her eyes tightly, bracing herself for the inevitable. At least it’s not the worst way to go. If he’s not a complete psycho, he’ll just shoot you a couple of times, and then it’s done. Better than drowning, for sure. Drowning would be the worst. As these thoughts swirl in her mind, she realizes that by now, he should have finished the job. Tentatively, she opens one eye, then the other. She glances at her classmate, who exhales deeply, pressing her forehead against the floor in relief. Turning back to where the man had stood, June is startled to find his feet have vanished. Did that really just happen?
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Jared stood there in his spot about a foot away from the table, exhaling shakily. He didn't know why he didn't shoot her- why he couldn't bring himself to shoot her. Maybe because he really wasn't the killer he thought he was, or maybe because she was the only person who'd shown him any kindness in a long while, but he just couldn't. He heard the sounds of heavy boots and knew the cops were chasing after him, running out of the cafeteria.
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Even though the gunman knew there were other students in the cafeteria, June's classmates still held their breath in tense silence, hoping not to draw attention to themselves even as they listened to his fading footsteps. After a few agonizing minutes of stillness, one brave student cautiously lifted their head from beneath the table, scanning the room with wide, fearful eyes. Gradually, others followed suit, emerging from their hiding spots as the wail of police sirens grew louder, signaling help was on the way. Whispers and murmurs filled the air, a mix of shock and disbelief rippling through the group. Meanwhile, June remained in a daze, unable to process what just happened and completely unaware of the reality that awaited her as she prepared to leave her shelter. The classmate who was sitting next to her this whole time also crawled out on her hands and knees cautiously, turning her head left and right, then finally looking back at June. "I think the coast is clear."
June, still caught in the aftermath of a harrowing adrenaline surge, cautiously nods and steals a fleeting glance outside. In that brief instant, the sight before her was enough to shatter her composure. The cafeteria was littered with the lifeless bodies of students, blood pooling ominously around them. Those nearest to the victims sat frozen in shock, their eyes wide with horror, blood staining their skin and clothes. A chorus of sobs filled the air as the reality of their peers' fate sank in, each student grappling with the chilling thought that they too could have been among the fallen. A few, overwhelmed by fear, screamed in terror, having never encountered a dead body before.
Amidst the chaos, one student, believing that playing dead might offer a chance at survival, finally crawled out from beneath a classmate's body. Drenched in blood from head to toe. they instinctively wiped their eyes and mouth, struggling to comprehend the nightmare unfolding around them. There's absolutely no way this is happening right now. June thinks to herself, immediately bursting into tears. She goes back underneath the table, hiding her face with her knees and covering her ears. Tears roll down her cheeks uncontrollably as she hums, trying to block out the scene around her. -
Jared exhaled shakily as he kept running, tears filling his eyes as he suddenly realized what he had done. He f---ed up and he knew it, but there was nothing he could do to take it back. He just kept running down the hall, clutching his bag as he tried to stuff his gun inside. He froze as he heard cops yelling, dropping the gun in his hand. He dropped to the floor and started sobbing, the voices growing louder as the cops walked over with guns pointed at him. Two of the cops grabbed him and cuffed him, taking him out of the building and shoving him into the back of one of the cars. He started laughing through his tears as the door shut, his own mind shutting down as he realized this was finally the end. Thank God.
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The atmosphere surrounding the school is chaotic as various groups of first responders coordinate their approach to the unfolding crisis. Outside the building, voices mingle among police officers, paramedics, anxious parents, students who managed to escape, and a throng of news reporters eager for updates. As the gunman is escorted out in handcuffs and the signal is given for action, police officers and paramedics swiftly enter through the front doors, wasting no time. Flashing cameras attempt to capture every moment, striving to document the face of the assailant. Inside, students huddled in the cafeteria instinctively retreat beneath the tables at the sound of approaching footsteps, only to feel a wave of relief wash over them as they recognize the police and EMS uniforms. June struggles to swallow, her throat parched from the tension.
"NYPD!" one officer booms, his voice loud and commanding. He's holding a pistol, his eyes wide as he scans the room. "I want everyone to come out with their hands up! Form a single file line starting from closest to the front door to furthest!" Students, just wanting this nightmare to be over, decide to comply. June sits underneath a table in the dead center of the room, watching anxiously and chewing on her bottom lip as she watches her classmates slowly start to exit the building. She can't wait for her turn. In comparison to the earlier volume of the room, similar to that of a concert, you can hear footsteps echo in the cafeteria and practically a pin drop as the teens leave silently, stunned. Finally, June's turn comes, and her knees almost buckle beneath her as she struggles to stand up. Her legs have fallen asleep by this point, but she forces herself up anyway. A cold rush flows down her legs as she holds onto the edge of the table, and she then joins the line.
The young girl tightly shuts her eyes, forcing herself to navigate through the grim scene of her fallen classmates. A deep sigh escapes her lips as she raises her hand to block the blinding flashes of cameras that surround her while she steps out of the school. As the cold outside air hits her cheeks, June remains frozen in place, lost in thought as her peers move around her, grappling with the weight of the tragedy that has just unfolded. -
(ngl dunno what to put- do we wanna do a timeskip to the next yr or smth?)
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(you’re all good, we can probably time skip to the summer after? if that’s cool)
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(yeah, that sounds good :) do you wanna start or should i?)
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(you wanna start from elliot’s pov?)
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(do you think you could start? i'm so braindead and have been kinda busy :'))
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(alr that’s fine)
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(1/3)
The media coverage of the tragic high school shooting prominently featured the moment when the gunman stepped out of June's car, with June herself seen waving him off just before he made his way into the school. This detail quickly drew the attention of law enforcement, who wasted no time in detaining her as she emerged from the building. With her eyes wide and filled with fear, the teenager frantically scanned her surroundings, desperately trying to comprehend the unfolding chaos. "Calm down," one of the officers reassured her. "We understand you didn't harm anyone, but we need to gather more information from you." After several hours of questioning, the police ultimately cleared June of any wrongdoing and allowed her to return home. By the time she finally stepped through her front door, the sun had long dipped below the horizon, casting a shadow over the events of the day.
"Where the hell were you!?" Julian practically rips the front door open, gasping and covering his hands with his mouth as he runs towards June. He pulls his sister into a tight hug before she can even react, nearly squeezing the air out of her lungs. "I saw what happened on the news, and I tried to text you, and call you, and oh my god..." Julian cries. "I thought something happened to you. But I'm just so glad you're okay." He pulls back, wiping his tears and snot with the sleeve of his sweatshirt. June scoffs, unsure of how to react to this side of him. He doesn't often cry in front of her, especially not like this.
"I'm... fine. I..." The young woman's gaze is blank as she runs a hand through her hair, looking down and sighing. "...I don't really wanna talk about it right now. What's for dinner?" Julian's eyebrows furrow, and he scoffs this time. He feels slightly wounded with his sister's lack of affection, but he tries to understand given the situation. "What the hell? Okay then, dummy. I'm making ramen on the stove. Do you want me to add a pack to the pot for you?" June nods silently. "Okay. Come on." Julian wraps his arm around his sister's shoulder, guiding her inside the house. Dinner that night was rather quiet.
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