This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp [Nijkamp, Marieke] (z-lib.org).epub

Chapter Six
10:10–10:12 A.M.
SYLV
The memories overwhelm me, and I wish I could forget like Mamá. But the
present isn’t any better.
The silence from the auditorium is tense and loaded. Except it’s not silence.
All around me there are hushed sobs, prayers, and curses—friends trying to calm
each other: “Hold on to my hand.” “Trust me.” “We’ll make it through.”
People whisper into cell phones: “Help me.” “I don’t know what to do.”
“We’ve got to fight. We’ve got to take him down.”
It’s an endless current of fear, and Tyler revels in the power. He’s the only one
who does not feel lost right now.
A cheerleader sits cross-legged on the floor, between two rows of seats. Her
bag lies in her lap, and she toys with a keychain attached to it. All the while,
tears trickle down her cheeks.
My hand creeps toward the phone in my bag. For the first time in months, I
want to hear my brother’s voice. But if he doesn’t pick up—if Tyler found him
—it will kill me.
The kid in the row in front of us doesn’t share my hesitations.
“Mom? No, no, I can’t speak up… Mom, you have to listen to me… There’s
someone in the school.” His voice trembles. “No, I mean with a gun. There’s
someone with a gun in the school.”