Sure to Shine

"I’m only going to give you these instructions once," Skylar told Eric. Eric barely reacted. He was too confused and too distraught to try and get out of the situation, or to try and reason with Skylar. "If you fuck this up, you die. Now, what I want you to do, is get where the cops can see you."

"And that isn’t going to get me killed?" Eric demanded. He felt as though he was going to throw up. He didn’t know what was real anymore.

"Not if you listen to me," Skylar told him firmly. "I’m not messing around, Eric. You need to give me your word that you’re going to do everything I say, as soon as I say it."

"I’m not giving my word to you," Eric spat. "Look at what you’ve fucking done!"

"No, Eric," Skylar said quietly, his voice now strangely patient. "Not what I’ve done. What you’ve done."

Eric stood quite still, breathing heavily.

"I don’t understand," he said.

"If you listen to me, we can get out of here," Skylar told him. "Then you can ask all the questions that you want. But, if we don’t get out of here, you’re going to die."

"I could just surrender," Eric told him threateningly.

"I could just shoot you," Skylar smiled sweetly, and Eric growled in frustration.

"Fine," he muttered, snatching up the gun from where he had placed it on the desk. "What do you want me to do?"

"Get down there and get where the cops can see you," Skylar told him again. "You’re going to have to show me your acting skills now, Eric."

"What do you want me to do?" Eric asked again, more frustrated, as he followed Skylar out of the library.

"You’re going to be having a pretty intense mental battle, and then you’re going to kill yourself," Skylar said casually.

Eric stopped suddenly, staring at Skylar.

"What?" he demanded.

"Not really, of course," Skylar called to him, still walking. Eric broke into a jog to regain the space he had lost. "Of course, they’ll just think that."

"And then we can get out?"

"Well, we’ll lay low for a little while," Skylar said. "But you must know enough about school shootings to know what’s going on."

"We’ll be in lockdown," Eric muttered, and Skylar nodded.

"Indeed we are," he said. "But, hopefully, security should lax once they think you’re dead. After all, they know by now that there’s only one gunman. They’re probably suspecting it. I expect the girl on the phone has alerted them as to what you’ve said, and now, there have been no gunshots for a while."

"I am so fucking confused," Eric muttered, as they hurried down the stairs towards the foyer. Eric felt himself pale as he saw the two bloodied bodies slumped on the stairs. Skylar, however, stepped over them as though they weren’t there.

Eric had never seen the school so quiet. It was totally deserted, eerily silent. They walked soundlessly through the foyer. Eric could see bloody footprints on the floor. The windows of the entrance had been shot out. The breeze came through the empty frames, blowing leaves into the foyer. Eric was reminded strongly of the abandoned asylum and its creepy bare windows.

They walked down the corridor, past the assembly hall where Eric tried to divert his eyes away from the many bodies, and into the main reception area.

"Careful approaching the window, they could shoot," Skylar told Eric, as Eric slowly moved over to the window.

Outside, it was nothing short of chaos. Hundreds of students were outside, littered around the car park, being kept back by the many responding police officers. Eric lost count of the amount of ambulances. Other people were there, too: Eric guessed they were parents and, possibly, the media. The media were usually here on the anniversary of Ben’s shooting anyway. Eric wondered if, secretly, they were always hoping for a story such as this.

"Shoot at them," Skylar grinned, and Eric spun around and looked at him in horror.

"What?" he demanded.

"Shoot at them," Skylar repeated. "You’re meant to be having some sort of suicidal breakdown. Suicide by cop is always what they try first."

"And what if I really do end up committing suicide by cop?" Eric hissed. "What then, genius?"

"I guess you’d better not, then," Skylar shrugged. "Now do it."

Eric sighed, but he didn’t dare disobey Skylar. He needed to get out of here and work out what the Hell had happened. He wouldn’t aim at anyone. He would just shoot.

He saw the first bullet shatter the windscreen of a cop car, and Skylar cheered from behind him.

Eric had time to squeeze off another couple of rounds before he was met with returning fire. Ducking down behind the large chairs in the reception area, he continued to fire, even if he wasn’t actually aiming. He knew Skylar just wanted him to make a point.

Then, Skylar said the four words that make Eric freeze on the spot.

"Is that your dad?" the other young man asked, and Eric’s heart skipped a beat and he suddenly felt dizzy again.

"What?" he croaked.

"Your dad’s out there," Skylar explained. "This is great; we can really use this to our advantage."

"You’re not fucking with my Dad!" Eric yelled, and Skylar turned and fixed him with that glare again.

"Shut your fucking mouth," he spat. "You’re doing what I say, or you’re going to die."

Skylar paused for a minute, looking out. Eric peeked out of the shattered window. He father was standing by one of the police cars, looking in disbelief at the school. His eyes swerved and suddenly fixed upon his son’s face, and Eric didn’t ever think he would forget the look of horror and pain on his father’s face.

"Make it clear you’ve seen him," Skylar whispered, crouched beside Eric. "Look tragic. Look like you did in the library, before you nearly topped yourself."

Eric knew Skylar was thinking he was acting, but the look on his face was no act. As he looked at his father, he did just want to kill himself, rather than live with his father’s disappointment and questions.

"Now back away," Skylar whispered. "Look like you’re giving up. Head back down to the corridor we just came out of. Make it quick, in case they shoot."

Eric obeyed gladly, thankful he didn’t have to look into his father’s face anymore. He scrambled on his hands and knees to the corridor, making himself obvious, but not an easy target. He became aware that he was sobbing as he staggered up the stairs again, not knowing what direction he was heading in.

As he rounded a corner, he spotted a young girl standing there, with another kid, a young man. They looked about freshmen year, and both froze on the spot when they saw him. Eric stopped, too.

"Scare them," Skylar suddenly giggled, his voice breathing right into Eric’s ear. The way Skylar’s breath tickled the skin on the side of his neck made Eric realise that Skylar had to be real.

He aimed the gun from the shoulder.

"You better run," he told them. He noticed the girl was bleeding from her arm. "Now. Before I change my fucking mind."

"Shoot them," Skylar hissed, but Eric blanked him out.

"Get out of here!" he screamed instead, and they didn’t need telling again. They turned and fled, just as Skylar grabbed the gun and pulled the trigger. The bullet slammed into the wall seconds after they had rounded the corner. Eric heard the girl shriek in terror, and Skylar was laughing hysterically beside him.

Eric still had the gun, as Skylar had only pulled it in the direction of the two students and pulled the trigger. Eric used this to his advantage, and turned the gun on Skylar. Skylar stopped laughing, his face becoming hard and threatening.

"Don’t even fucking think about it," he hissed.

"I don’t trust you, Skylar," Eric said softly. "You’re going to get me killed. You want to get me killed."

"Getting you killed would not be beneficial to me," Skylar replied calmly. "And shooting me wouldn’t do you any good, either. Now get back into the library."

They glared at one another for a while. Eventually, Eric let out a growl of frustration and headed back up the corridor, violently kicking the doors open as he went.

Skylar caught up with him in the library. Eric was sitting against the desk, glaring down at the floor, trying to ignore the bodies and the blood.

"So what now?" Eric asked him, and Skylar shrugged. Eric got the idea that Skylar knew exactly what they were going to do, but just wasn’t saying anything.

At that moment, he felt something strange in his pocket. Putting his hand into it, he pulled out his cell phone, which was vibrating.

It was his father.

"Answer it," Skylar said simply, but Eric didn’t need convincing. Although apprehensive, he needed to speak to his father.

"Dad?" he croaked.

"Hi, son," Matthew replied softly, and Eric winced at the agony in his father’s voice. He heard someone say something in the background. "Yeah, he’s picked up," his father replied, and Eric wondered if his father was acting as a negotiator.

"I’m really sorry, Dad," Eric said quietly. "I don’t know what’s happened."

"Eric, you’ve got to come out of there," his father told him. "Please. Put the gun down and come out."

Eric sighed.

"I can’t, Dad," he said. "I don’t want to go to prison. I didn’t do this."

"You didn’t do this?" his father repeated. "Well, Eric, who the Hell did?"

"Dad, something really weird is going on," Eric muttered, but cut off as Skylar kicked him in the shin, drawing a finger over his throat and shaking his head violently. Eric sighed again.

"Eric, son, we can talk about this later, when you’re safe. Please just come out," his father begged, and Eric felt his heart almost breaking.

"You’re going to pretend to kill yourself," Skylar said calmly, and Eric looked up, alarmed.

"No," he mouthed. He didn’t want to do that while his father was on the phone.

"It’s the only way," Skylar said firmly. "Do it. Now."

Eric felt his eyes fill up with tears. He knew he had to obey Skylar – Skylar would just find another, probably more painful way, to get him to do what he wanted if he refused.

"Dad," Eric said quietly, hoping that he would have realistic acting skills. "I’m really sorry. I really am. This wasn’t your fault."

"Eric –" his father began, but broke off. Eric heard him take a shuddering breath. "Please don’t hurt yourself, Eric," Matthew eventually begged. He could barely concentrate; he was so scared for his only child. "I love you, Eric. Don’t. Please."

"I’m sorry, Dad," Eric said again. "I’ve got to do this. It’s the only way. I love you. Tell Mom I love her too. And Adam. And tell Adam I’m sorry, too. I never meant it. I don’t know what’s happened."

Eric glanced at Skylar, to see the other young man was watching him closely. He heard someone mutter something to his father on the other side of the phone, and heard his father whisper back.

"He’s talking about suicide," his father was saying softly, and Eric wanted to cry as he heard the grief that was already in his father’s voice.

"Sorry, Dad," he whispered, meaning it more than anything. Then, he fired the shotgun with one hand, while using his other to let his cell phone drop to the floor with a dull thud.

There was a long silence, and then Matthew Jensen yelled his son’s name so loudly that Eric could hear him from his standing position a couple of feet away from the phone.

"Eric?" his father asked. "Oh, Jesus, Eric!"

Eric bit down on his fist as hard he could, but he could only stop the noise. His shoulders shook violently and tears streamed down his face, as Skylar grabbed his arm and pulled him silently away.

Eric could hear his father sobbing all the way to the door of the library.