Chapter 2: ERIKA NITE

2          



         I knew what it was the second the bullet left the barrel. We all did. And  we all know that gun shots are NEVER good. I instinctively threw my arms over my head for protection like they taught us.

         “Nobody move!” We heard a deep voice yell.

         There was dead silence after that except for a faint cry in the back ground and the sound of guards’ boots thudding on the ground. I looked up and scanned the area with my eyes only for them to come in contact with a small boy struggling to stand by the entry gates of The Academy. I slowly got off the fighter and stood up for a better look. I wish I hadn’t.

         I could now see the crimson blood spot on the back of the boys shirt. It was growing larger with each second. Shakily, with the aid of the concrete wall he turned around where I could see his face. I recognized him now. He was from the group of 13 year olds I talked to at lunch yesterday.

         The guards were almost to him now. But I knew they wouldn’t make it in time. The boy coughed and something red splattered on the frightened girl closest to him. I knew her as a 13 year old from yesterday to. I think they were in the same group. Wide eyed he glanced up from the ground at the horrified girl and starred at her. Finally, he trembled and choked out the word ‘sorry.’

         Then, with a thud, his body fell to the ground.

         The silence was broken by the girls’ loud shudders as the guards finally reached him. They gathered him up and placed his lifeless body on a thin, but long piece of wood. Then they took out a small black tarp and completely  covered him with it. After that, the piece of wood was carried into the building with the body on it.

         “Get back to your activities” , one of the guards commanded, snapping me out of my trance. I then realized that I wasn’t the only one starring like an idiot. But every person on the field had took notice of the shooting.

         I forced my eyes away from the crying girl, now on her knees with her head in her hands, straightened my expression and casually walked over to my group. We aren’t allowed to show much emotion. Any sign of weakness is punishable by a day in the isolation room. Which is why I now feared for the girls’ safety. Tyler put a hand on my shoulder, noticing it wasn’t an appropriate time to say ‘good job on the fight’. I nodded and cracked a smile like it was nothing. Like my head wasn’t streaming with a thousand thoughts.

         Yesterday at lunch, when I was holding a conversation with the 13 year old, he warned me this might happen. He said he was going to try to escape by making a run for it when the doors opened to let the delivery trucks out. He asked me to help him create a distraction while he hopped on the back of the truck. I just shook my head and walked away- thinking he was bluffing, though his face was serious. I thought he was smart enough to know that no one has ever escaped before and there was a 0% chance he would. Apparently, I was wrong.

         “Mr. Moore. It’s your turn to fight”, Sergeant Carl said. Jared walked up to the mat. And as the fight played out and everything returned back to normal, the only thing on my mind was the bloody face of the dead boy- now burnt into my memory. If only I had taken him seriously. If only I had informed someone that he was planning on escaping instead of keeping quiet about it. Yeah, he might have gotten a severe punishment and hate me for as long as I lived, but he would still be alive right now. And the fact that he wasn’t, was my fault.