That Year Page 10

the table in front of me.

  I walk toward the front entrance of the school to start another day. I notice a crowd blocking the entrance. I maneuver my way through the crowd, and then I see why a crowd built up near the front entrance. A dead body severely burned hangs from a rope around his neck from the top of the door hinge. Colt notices me near the front of the entrance and assists me in getting the body down.

  I sit in my first period class. I notice others looking at me angrily. I try to focus on the words coming out of my professor’s mouth. I believe that the student body will turn on me, giving in to Fontane’s demand. The television unsuspectedly turns on. Joey Fontane appears. He holds the shaking handheld camera close to his face. “I warned you more people will get hurt. Let me make this clear. Until the new president is dead, I may see the need to blow things out of proportion. Stay tuned classmates,” says Joey Fontane laughing through the television set before it goes blank.

  “Killing me won’t solve anything, he just wants us to turn on each other,” I say standing up. “Yeah and what the fuck have you and your administration accomplished. More and more are dying every day, and what have you done,” says another classmate standing up. The other classmates stand up around me in agreement. I storm out of the situation in the classroom. “There he is, kill him,” a mob of students shout near the end of the hallway. More and more students are getting out of their classroom crowding the hallway. “He’s not responsible. Joey Fontane is, you want to give into a terrorist demand,” another shouts. One student punches the jaw of another. Chaos ensues in the hallway. Fellow students and classmates are brawling against each other. A school clearly divided. “Come on we have to get out here,” Colt says tugging my arm. I follow running to the abandoned classroom. “This is not good, not good at all,” I say pacing the floor. “I’m a dead man.” “You’re not a dead man Matt, I’ll get more people on our security team to watch you,” Colt says. “At what cost, what’s the end game?” My mind races with thoughts. “Why is Fontane doing this, I mean why is he really doing this?” “Besides your motives for killing him,” Colt asks. “No, what is Fontane’s end game.” “He has no real end game Matt, the guy is unstable, is evil, evil people don’t have reasons or motives behind their actions. That’s what makes them so evil.”

  “Ah there you guys are,” Colt says as his assembled team enters the classroom. “The hallways are crazy right now,” Melissa informs us. “Robert, guard the entrance to this hallway just in case.” “Copy that Colt.” My phone vibrates. Kayla is calling me. I answer the phone. “Hello Kayla.” “Are you okay?” I can tell she is crying. “Kayla, please don’t cry I’m okay. Get in a safe place, you hear me.” “Okay,” she assures me. “Baby I love you but I have to go I’ll talk to you later.” I love you too,” she says.

  Gun shots could be heard from outside in the hallway. “Shit there are more coming,” Robert shouts retreating into the classroom. He occasionally sticks his head from the door firing his hand gun at his fellow students in the hall. “Are you killing them,” I ask. “I have no choice man they are trying to kill me,” he yells. “Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Colts says pointing to the shattered window. We race to the window and jump toward safety. Robert and Melissa are the last ones to exit from the window continuing to fire at students behind them. Finally, they land steadily on their feet from the 4 foot drop from the window and we all run in the snowy grass. Each of us is shivering because we were not prepared to go outside in the cool early February temperatures.

  We make camp in the nearby woods that surround and isolate the school campus. Colt makes a fire to warm us up. “This is lovely, a nice camp fire,” Robert says sarcastically. “We need to organize those who are on our side, the right side,” Justin says warming his hands in the fire. “I’m sure we’re all against Fontane. They are just,” I say before being interrupted. “Just wrong, and there’s nothing else to it. You’re either on the right side or the wrong side. There is no in-between,” exclaims Justin. He is convinced with his opinion so I say no more.

  “Tomorrow, we meet here. In the mean time recruit men and women who are on our side. Matt I’ll be driving you to and from school for now on,” Colt says.

  Colt drives with the car radio playing low. The trees branches covered with snow outside look so peaceful that I just gaze out my window while Colt drives. “Could you drive me to my girlfriends,” I ask. “No problem, just tell me how to get there,” he says. “Thank you,” I tell Colt before closing the car door behind me. I knock on Kayla’s front door. Kayla immediately opens the door. I embrace her and hold her against me. She wipes tears from her face. “I was worried about you,” she says. I lift her chin so her eyes lock with mine. “I’m here now,” I say as we share a passionate kiss.

  I wrap my arm around her as we lay in her bed. As we’re cuddled together in bed I admire her beauty while her eyes fight off tiredness, until eventually her eyes shut. I gently brush her hair away from her face and kiss her good night. I sleep peacefully with the girl I love beside me. I don’t want the mourning to arrive.

  18

  Colt and I arrive at the spot in the woods we made camp the day before. Over 30 men and women glance at me when we arrive. “We have gotten you an army,” says Justin. “I see that,” I say. I turn to see Colt sitting on a snow covered log observing the school ahead in the distance. “Are you alright,” I ask walking toward him. “Ah yes just sometimes my mind wanders.” I look at the school in the distance along with Colt. “I will always love this school and all the memories they hold,” Colt says. “Colt and Matt are you coming over or what,” Justin shouts. “What was her name,” I ask. “Nicole.” Colt sighs. “She always made me laugh. Great sense of humor, I always loved that about her.” I pat Colt on the shoulder. “We should be getting back.”

  Colt’s original assembled team hands out handguns and ammo to the 30 new members of the team. “Anyone who doesn’t know how to use the gun in their hands please head over there,” Samantha says pointing deeper into the woods where the rest of original team is. I wait while they teach the new recruits how to use their handguns.

  “Okay we’re ready,” shouts Justin. I get up wiping the snow off my pants. We decide to break off into smaller teams entering the building from different entry ways. I’ll be teamed with Colt and 4 other new recruits. My team is to enter from the shattered window in the abandoned classroom.

  We silently stride through the snow covered terrain toward the shattered window. I look up from cover beneath the window and spot two male students armed with semi-automatic pistols inside. Colt takes the left side of the window while I take the right. On his signal I rise from cover at the edge of the window, aim, and then fire as I kill one of the two guards. Colt kills the other as he climbs into the classroom. He tells us to stay behind. He crosses the classroom and peeks out the door into the hallway then signals for us to enter. I’m the first of the team to make my way into the abandoned classroom. “Team window in position,” says Colt into his headset. The other teams confirm they got our message. “Very creative team name we have,” says one of the new recruits. We all turn and give him a look. “What I’m just saying,” he says.

  Our team moves cautiously through the school, weaving through the halls. Colt motions for us to stop at a corner of a hallway as the voices of armed students could be heard. Colt takes a quick glance around the corner of the hall. “I see around 20 or so. Get ready,” he advises. “On three,” he says.

  “One…. Two…. Three.” We all emerge from the corner of the hallway open firing aiming at the armed students. Sounds of gun fire surround me. A smoke grenade goes off and suddenly I am blinded. I walk further into the hall feeling the walls in an attempt to find a door knob of a classroom as the sound of guns firing persist. Disoriented I find and open a classroom door and collapse onto the floor of the empty classroom and cough and cough. I shield my eyes from the bright fluorescent lights.

  Moments later I lift myself
up from the classroom floor. I hold my handgun aimed in front of me as I cautiously reenter the hall. The smoke is beginning to clear. Lifeless bodies are scattered throughout the hallway. “You’re still alive,” I hear Colt’s voice say. “Down here mate.” Further down the hall Colt lies with his head against the wall clutching a gun wound with both his hands. “Oh shit shit shit. Somebody, anybody come in I need assistance,” I shout frantically through my headset. “It’s over buddy”. I take my shirt off and wrap it around his gun wound.

  “Let me go join Nicole. Let me go Matt,” Colt says. “You’re going to make it. You’re going to be fine,” I say with my voice cracking. “A dog with a very spacious lawn because we want to invite people over for barbeques in the summer,” Colt says. “Nicole would have liked you Matt, you would definitely have been invited to our barbeques.” “Don’t give up on me Colt, not now, I need you.” Colt’s eyes close for the last time. The rest of the team or what’s left of them joins me near Colt departed body moments later. “He didn’t make it,” I say wiping my eyes dry. “What did we do,” I say out loud to no one in