I hear more screaming and I cover my ears. I’m scared and the bad man is saying bad words. He looks mean and scary. Even with my ears covered, I can still hear him. I can see his legs and dirty shoes from under the table but I can’t see his face. I don’t want to see his face. When I hear a loud noise and more bad words, I pee myself. I am crying and I can’t stop. The bad man is kicking tables over that the kids are hiding under.
“WHO WANTS TO DIE FIRST?” he yells.
“We have to run,” Tommy whispers.
I shake my head. “I can’t.” I peed my panties and the kids will know.
“The bad man will see us and he will kill us,” Tommy says.
Tommy takes my hand, and when the bad man gets closer to our table, Tommy pulls me with him and we run with all the other kids to another table to hide under. I close my eyes and keep my head down. I can’t look; I don’t want to see. I keep my hands covering my ears, but I can still hear the screaming and crying coming from the kids and from the adults.
Emma
An announcement comes across the radio about the Manatee County schools. “Hold on,” Brea says as she tries to hear the news announcement.
The announcement says that the Manatee County Schools are on lockdown because a gunman has entered the cafeteria of one of the elementary schools. It doesn’t say the name of the school, but it says police have set up a command center at a local community center and that all parents are urged to stay away from the schools and to go to the command center for updates.
“Oh, my God! My kids are at school,” I cry. “I have to go.”
“Wait a minute, Emma.” Brea walks to the television and turns it on to the local news station. A news reporter is standing outside giving an update. Under her on the lower part of the television is the address for the community center’s command post. I stare at the screen and I see a helicopter hovering over James and Raelynn’s school. “They’re at the kids’ school! The gunman is at James and Raelynn’s school and Alec went to the school to get James. I run to my desk and get the car keys out of the drawer. “I have to go.”
“Emma, wait up,” Brea says. “I’m coming with you. Angel, stay here with Sara.”
Angel stands and says, “I will. You guys be careful.”
Alec
Walking down the long hallway leading to the cafeteria, I hear commotion coming from inside. I back away from the door and stand near the brick wall and listen. I hear yelling, cursing, and then screaming. I call 911 and whisper quickly, “There’s a gunman at Westborn Elementary School, come quick.” Since I can’t talk for fear of being heard, I leave my phone on and place it back into my scrub pocket. Slowly, I walk closer to the cafeteria door and pray the 911 operator can hear the chaos.
I can see some kids are hiding on the floor under their tables. I also see a few cafeteria workers standing around the room. “Please, just don’t hurt the children,” I hear a woman say, right before she screams out in pain. I watch as a man dressed in a black hoodie walks back and forth in front of the doorway. He is holding a shotgun with one hand and has the older woman by the hair with his other. I scan the room as quickly as I can before he sees me.
There is only one thing for me to do and I pray it goes well. There isn’t much time to execute a foolproof plan so this will have to work. Two large double doors lead into the cafeteria. I walk quietly down the hall to the other set of doors. I need to see how many gunmen are in the room. I see Raelynn hiding under a table; she looks like she is crying. All of the kids under the tables appear to be huddled together for support. The kids all have their heads bowed and thankfully aren’t looking around the room. Good. The less they see, the better it is for them.
I quickly scan the room and see only the one gunman. A shadow is moving on the floor, so I back away from the door. The lone gunman yells something and the room erupts with screams from very small children. I peek in and he is still holding his gun with one hand, pulling the woman’s hair with his other hand, and is now kicking over one of the tables that the kids took shelter under. I watch sadly as the kids cry and crawl across the floor, on their hands and knees to hide under another table. The man curses and threatens to start killing the kids.
Deciding it’s now or never, I pray that this works. As I slowly open one of the large double doors, I pray that it doesn’t squeak and make my presence be known before I am ready. I hold my index finder to my mouth to hush anyone who sees me. The noise from the screaming kids and from the metal folding tables being thrown onto the concrete floors in the cafeteria have concealed the noise from the squeaky door if in fact it even squeaked. The adrenaline is prevalent in my sweaty palms, my racing heart, and my belief that I feel I can kill this man with my bare hands. I have never been more grateful for being a black belt as I am right now.
I have had two minutes to plan my move, and right before he kicks over the next table I chose now to put it in action. I figure that as he raises his leg to kick the table over, it will be when he is most vulnerable. It’ll be the best chance of him losing his balance, falling to the ground, and dropping his weapon. The kids scurry across the floor before he even approaches the table. As he raises his leg to kick the table over, the gun is pointed toward the ceiling, I move quickly behind him, jump, and kick him dead center in his back. He lets go of the woman’s hair and drops his weapon in an attempt to brace his fall. I land on my feet and yell “RUN!” before I wrestle the now-unarmed man.
I kick the gun out of the way before I lunge onto the gunman’s chest. I don’t see or hear the kids as the adrenaline has taken over my body. I can focus only on beating the shit out of this asshole who already has harmed or who was here to harm these small innocent children. I throw punches as I try to remain on top of him. If I get up, he’ll have a chance to run for the gun. As I punch him, my hand no longer makes firm contact — now it just slides across his face. I look at him and look at my hand and it is slippery with blood. I try to get my bearings and soon realize the gunman is motionless beneath me. I wait for him to move, but he doesn’t. I slowly lean back, but I don’t get up. I pin his hands to the ground, sit on his chest, and wait for help. I look around the room and I am pleased to see the cafeteria workers are assisting the last of the children out of the room. I wipe the sweat from my brow with my sleeve of my shirt. The door opens and in rushes the S.W.A.T. team. The initials stand for “Special Weapons and Tactics Team.” I raise my hands in the air to let them know I mean no harm.
Raelynn
When I hear a man who sounds like my daddy yell, “RUN!” I run with the kids and some adults out of the cafeteria and down the hallway. Mrs. Hernandez leads us to an empty classroom. “Kids, I want you all to go all the way to the back of the room and huddle as close as you can. Very quickly and very quietly, please,” she says as she claps her hands.
Now we all huddle together and we are all crying. Tommy holds my hand and I squeeze his hand tightly. When all of the kids get into the room, Mrs. Hernandez locks the door and makes a phone call. She hangs up and says, “Sit on the floor and look at your lap. I don’t want you to look around. Do it now.” We all sit down and Tommy still holds my hand. I stare at our hands and try not to look around. The room becomes dark and I know that Mrs. Hernandez has closed the blinds. The phone in the room rings and she talks briefly before she walks over to me. “Raelynn, come with me.”
I stand up and she holds my hand as we walk towards the door. A tall man is standing there and I back away from the door and hide behind her legs. “It’s all right, Raelynn. Mr. Smith is going to take you across the hall to see James.” I shake my head and scoot behind her even further. I don’t know that man and I don’t want to go with him. What if he is a bad man? I hear whispers between the man and her before she kneels down to me. “Raelynn, hold my hand and we are going to walk quickly across the hall where James is. All right?”
I only nod and hold on to the hand with both of mine. We run quickly down the hall to the clinic. The nurse is in the d
oorway waiting for us. “Raelynn, James is in here; stay here with Mrs. Jones.”
I nod and take Nurse Jones’ hand. The door shuts and I hear it lock. Nurse Jones kneels down to me and she has a friendly face. “James is here; are you all right?”
“I’m scared,” I whisper. “I want to be with my Bubby.”
“He’s right over there on the cot asleep. Let me get you a chair so you can sit beside him.” When she turns around, I walk over to James and lie in the cot with him. I gently put my arm around him and cuddle closely into him. He feels hot and he doesn’t move. Nurse Jones lightly touches my hair and covers us both with a soft white cotton blanket and says, “Your daddy will be here soon.”
Alec
A detective quickly and efficiently leads me out of the cafeteria and takes me into another room down the hall from the cafeteria. I look at the doors for a sign that says, “NURSE.” James should be in there and hopefully he is safe.
“Mr. Collins?” a man in a suit and tie asks.
“Yes, my children are here…” I begin to say before he cuts me off.
“We have your daughter, Raelynn, and your son, James. They are both safe. There is a sink over there; I think you should wash the blood from your hands.”
I look down at my bloody hands and I have to wonder whether the blood is from me or from the gunman. “Thank you.”
I wash my hands and he tells me the 911 operator recorded everything that was said from my phone. He also tells me my call wasn’t the only one they received.
“I would ask you if you want the nurse to look at your hands, but as you can imagine, she is busy helping others.”
I dry my hands and see that the blood isn’t mine. I have a few cuts on my knuckles, but nothing to warrant that much blood. The cuts are big enough for the man’s blood to get in my body and possibly infect me with any diseases he is carrying. Opening and closing my hand is very painful and I wonder if it’s broken. I’ll need an X-ray and an H.I.V. test before going home tonight. I disconnect the call from my cell phone to the 911 operator before saying, “I’m fine, did he hurt anyone?” Now that the adrenaline is wearing off, I hear the noise of sirens and helicopters outside.
“I’m afraid he did. We have one casualty so far.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Thanks to you, it could have been much worse. The perpetrator made his intentions very clear.”
“The casualty? Was it a child?” I ask, not sure if I want to know the answer.
“Thankfully, no, but unfortunately it was the principal. The vice-principal and his secretary are both badly injured.”
“Do you know how he got on the school grounds?”
“We aren’t sure yet. Our team is still piecing together the missing parts. He worked here at one time, so there’s no telling.”
“Where are my kids? I have a sick son and my daughter was in the cafeteria. I would really like to see them.”
The man nods to another man standing near the door. “Of course, and your fiancée is also on her way. Once you are reunited with everyone, we have a car that can drive you where you need to go. We’ll take you out the back since the front is filled with reporters looking for a story.”
“I would really appreciate it if my name doesn’t get leaked to the media. I have a family, and I would like to protect them from possible retaliation from the gunman’s family.”
“I understand. We’ll do our best to keep your name private per your request. You should be advised we’ll do our best to protect your identity, but sometimes these things get leaked and it’s beyond our control.”
“I understand and thank you.”
“You also need to know you’ll be called as a witness when this goes to court.”
The detective escorts me into the clinic where Raelynn and James are. The lights are off and the blinds are closed. It takes only a few seconds for my eyes to adjust and focus in on the kids laying on the cot. The door shuts behind us and Raelynn looks over her shoulder. “Daddy!” she cries.
I quickly walk over to her and she is already up and out of the cot running to me. I swoop her up and hug her tightly. I kiss her head, her hair, and her soft wet cheeks, and she cries, “Daddy, there was a bad man…”
“I know, Baby,” I interrupt. “It’s all right.” I hold her and notice her dress is wet and she smells like urine. It breaks my heart to think my little girl peed herself. I hold her tightly and smooth her long hair. Kissing her again, I carry her over to where James is sleeping on the cot. I say a silent prayer that he is unaware of the events at the school.
Before we leave, I ask about Braden and Briley Jamison. To my surprise both of Brooke and Brice’s kids are out sick today.
I call Mason to let him know we are on our way. I also asked him to call my parents to have them bring Rae a change of clothing. I call Molly and tell her to meet us at the office. The police offered us an escort, so I decided we would go to the office. Mason can check out the kids, X-ray my hand, and give me a rapid HIV test all in the same place. It will also be more private for the kids. Raelynn wet herself in the cafeteria from fear; fortunately, James is unaware anything even happened at the school. He can see everyone is visibly shaken, but he doesn’t ask why. James is sick and vomits in the car and the driver of the car pulls over for us.
We enter through the back door of the office, and to my surprise the building is empty except for the staff. Mason closed it and had Carla and Cathy, the office managers, reschedule all the patients for later this week. Mason examines Raelynn first as Emma sits nearby.
The back door opens and in walk my parents. I walk to the back door before they can walk further into the building. Mom and Dad both hug me and I can feel their fear in their embrace. I explain to them the condition Rae is in and say that I need them to understand what has happened and my mother needs to know to remain calm.
“We called Sam, Bridget, Danny, Cheryl, Millie, and Gene to let them know. Alec, it’s all over the news. They even have you, Emma, and the kids on video coming out the back of the school. They are calling you a hero, although they aren’t releasing your name.”
“I think Raelynn may be in shock. Mom, can you sit with Emma and the kids? Dad, will you come with me? James is sick, I think he has a fever,” I say.
My mom doesn’t answer as she takes off down the hallway in search of Emma and the kids. “Is everything all right, Alec?”
“It’s fine, come with me.” I inform the staff that family will be coming in and if they can advise them to remain calm and hide their fears, it would help the kids. Maybe they can wait in the waiting area for us. I’m not sure how many will be coming. Dad follows me into a treatment room and I close the door behind us. I show him my hand and watch his expression. With my dad being a surgeon, I figure he’ll know more about broken bones and fractures than anyone.
He touches my fingertips, fingers, and then the knuckles and the palm of my hand. He is expressionless, as I thought he would be. “Let’s get this X-rayed.” Dad X-rays it and as he waits for the film, I go and check on the kids. Molly and Emma are both visibly shaken, as is everyone else. Raelynn snuggles into Molly, and Molly rocks her back and forth singing softly to her. Raelynn is still crying; I can see the sobs as she breathes.
Mason consults with me and my dad before he treats either of the kids. Mason sees James after he sees Raelynn. He wants to give Raelynn something to calm her, and he also advises she sees a child psychologist. Dad and I both agree. James is running a temp and his flu test came back positive. Mason wants to make sure James isn’t allergic to any antibiotics before he gives him something. I’m not sure, so I’ll have to check with Emma.
Mason has a large supply of drugs stocked in the cabinets. One day a week, he allows drug reps to visit the office. They bring in and promote the newest and best drugs available to date. They also bring in various antibiotics, inhalers, and allergy meds, among other things. I am grateful that Mason has what we need already on hand.
I ask Cathy to give me a HIV test and to send it away stat. She already had everything ready for me along with the prophylactic medication starter kit. It contains a 30-day supply of HIV meds. I’ll need to take the meds for the 30 days, and if I test negative for the virus then I can discontinue the medication. Dad comes in and tells me my hand has a bad sprain and is badly bruised, but it is not broken. Finally some good news. He cleans my hand, uses Neosporin ointment, and wraps it with 4x4 bandages and gauze. My hand looks worse than it is but looks as bad as it feels.
As soon as I can, I go and sit in the room with the kids, I am relieved when Raelynn falls asleep. Mason comes in and sits down on the stool. “I medicated Raelynn and James, and Carla made an appointment for Raelynn to see a child psychologist.” He hands me the appointment card and says, “She may not need it, but I would at least take her to see. She has been through so much today. She may have night terrors and she may begin to wet the bed, but then again she may not and she may be fine. Every child reacts to trauma differently.” Emma and Molly both cry. “I gave James Tylenol for his fever and Amoxicillin for the flu. Emma confirmed he is allergy free. He’ll start feeling better in a couple days. I’m also sending you home a low dose of Phenergan for his vomiting. It’ll also make him sleepy.”
Mason hands me a bag containing the kids’ medication. I look inside; the bag also contains a supply of bandages and gauze for my hand. “Thank you.”
“It’s no problem. Carla said there’s a waiting area full of people waiting to see you.” He smiles and I know it’s not newspaper reporters.
I look at Emma and say, “Stay here and we’ll go home shortly. Let me update everyone and we’ll be ready to go.”
Emma nods as she rocks James back and forth.
I walk into the waiting area, which is full of family and friends. Brooke, Sara, Brea, my three brothers, my sister, my parents, Molly’s parents, Max’s parents, and Emma’s parents are all waiting patiently for news. It just dawns on me all of the grandparents the kids have. “I guess you all have already heard.”
Mending Hearts Page 11