I know the Columbine Massacre anniversary was Friday, so I decided to put up a story I wrote about it. I wrote this a couple months ago from the viewpoint of Craig Scott. Please comment and let me know what you think.

“Craig! Get up! We’re going to be late!“ My sister Rachel pounded her fist on my door. I reluctantly opened my eyes to look at the clock. I had only ten minutes to get ready. I cursed under my breath and got dressed quickly, not bothering to grab anything to eat. I got to Rachel’s car just before she was about to ditch me. I tried to catch up on my algebra homework on the car ride to school.

“You really should’ve done that yesterday,“ Rachel scolded me. “You’re failing as it is.“ Of course, little miss perfect always had to tell me what I was doing wrong, even if she was right. I kept my mouth shut; I still had seventeen problems to go.

I was pleased to get more than halfway done with my homework by the time we got to the school. I sighed to myself as I grabbed my backpack and slammed the car door. This week was going by so slow, and it was only Tuesday. At least today was bright and beautiful, I thought. Rachel locked her car and looked at me. I could tell she was feeling the same too. We both headed towards the school, and then went our separate ways.

“See you,” she muttered to me. I waved back, but I’m not sure she saw. Oh well. I went to my first class. My stomach churned with an unsettling feeling.

Eventually lunch time came around; better late than never, I guess. Still, it wasn’t much of a relief. I had to go to the library to study, or else I was going to fail math. It wouldn’t be too bad, I told myself, my friends Isaiah and Matt would be there studying too. I sat down at the computer and tried to stay focused.

Almost immediately, there was some loud crash. Everyone in the library stopped and waited. There was a faint sound coming from downstairs, but I couldn’t tell what it was. A teacher rushed in, frantically waving at us.

“Everyone get down! Get under the tables!“

she shrieked. None of us moved. “The students! They have guns!” I smiled and rolled my eyes. Just another senior prank, we all thought. They’d be graduating soon, and just wanted to have their last bit of fun. There was some shouting from the hallway. Two guys walked in, I recognized them as Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold; two guys who I knew were often harassed by the jocks. They were wearing black trench coats, and had huge guns in cradled in their arms. Dylan’s t-shirt had WRATH stamped across it.

“Everyone get up!” Dylan shouted at us, his voice echoed off the walls. None of us moved. I’m not sure any of us could move. Eric laughed, and they both loaded the guns and fired. The ear-splitting blasts almost made my ears bleed as they shot at the ceiling, walls and floor. They were just trying to make a point now. Tiles from the ceiling crashed down from some of the blows, some desks rattled. I stared in shock as Kyle Velasquez was shot; it was so quick. He slumped down in his chair, blood draining slowly from his chest and dripping to the floor. Matt quickly pulled me under the computer desk, in between him and Isaiah. My ears were ringing from the gunshots, which went off rapidly. Eric and Dylan seemed to just be shooting anything and everything.

“This is fun!” one of them shouted. They went over to the window and shot out the window. They turned back to us and shot randomly. Screams filled my ears, some of them being cut off suddenly. My throat was dry.

“We’ll be ok, Craig,” Matt whispered to me. “Just be quiet.” I bit my tongue as sobs tried to break through the shock. Why was this happening? Were we all going to die? Eric strolled casually over to a desk just a few feet away from me, kicking an injured kid as he passed. For just a second I made eye contact with the girl under the desk. Cassie Bernall. Her eyes were wide with fear. Maybe I should’ve screamed, to try and distract him.

“Peek-a-boo!” Eric said cheerfully as he peaked under the desk at Cassie. Tears streamed down Cassie’s face as he pointed the gun to her. “Do you believe in God?” Eric questioned her. My heart stopped for a second. Cassie’s mouth opened, but nothing came out at first.

“Yes,” she said. It was barely audible to me, but I could read her lips. She went to cover her face as Eric placed the gun right to her head and fired. The lifeless Cassie crumpled to the floor, her face still looking horrified. She seemed to stare right at me. I couldn’t bare to look at her, knowing I could’ve done something, so I looked away. My eyes fell on Bree, a girl who was sitting next to the desk Cassie was under. She couldn’t stop staring at Cassie, her blood now all over the floor. Eric smiled at her.

“Do you want to die?“ he asked. Bree was incoherent as she tried to talk to him while sobs spilled from her mouth.

“Please!“ she managed to spit out. “Don’t kill me, please!“ Eric taunted her for a while, but she kept pleading for her life. Finally, Eric turned away, leaving Bree alive and unharmed.

“You’re pathetic,“ Eric said to her before going to join Dylan in mocking some other traumatized students. After a while, it got quiet. I thought for a moment it was safe to get out and run for my life, when Eric appeared, staring us down. I was frozen still in my place. I closed my eyes and prayed he wouldn’t kill me. I never got to tell anyone goodbye. What about my parents, siblings, and friends? How could I leave them without saying goodbye? I heard Eric’s voice scream at Isaiah, shouting terrible words at him. Isaiah is one of the few black students here. I tried not to listen, but inside I wanted shoot Eric. I thought for a moment if there was any possible way to get his gun away from him, but did nothing. I was useless.

The gun went off twice.

I kept my eyes closed, and didn’t move. The footsteps retreated. Isaiah and Matt were both leaning on me. A tear escaped, dreading the truth. I felt something drip onto my hand. I didn‘t even dare look at it. I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing this was a dream. The firing and screaming continued, but I did my best to block it out. Just concentrate on staying calm. They’d leave eventually, right? The police had to be here by now; they’d stop them, right?

Who else was dying? Who else was dead already? Were there more shooters in the school?

“Maybe we should start knifing people,” Dylan suggested with a bitter laugh. “That’d be more fun.” The two discussed it for a while, only to dismiss the idea. Something was thrown, and then Eric and Dylan’s voices trailed down the hallway.

It was quiet for a long time. There were a few people softly crying, but otherwise the silence was deafening. Was this nightmare really over? I carefully moved out from under the table, my clothes stained with my friends’ blood. I stood there for a while, looking at the destruction left behind. Lifeless bodies laid strewn across the library, with blood stains everywhere; on the floor, chairs, desks, and walls. Many injured people were crumpled on the floor, either unable to move, or too afraid to. I could hear the screams of people outside the shattered window.

“Come on!” I shouted suddenly. “We’ve got to get out of here!” Some people stared at me for a while, still unmoving. A couple others got up slowly. Others darted to the door.

“Please help,” a girl whimpered. She was laying on her stomach on the floor, just a few feet from where I was standing. Me and a few other kids carefully got her to stand and helped her out to the hallway. The group from the library walked carefully and quietly down the hallway, listening for anyone else. Occasionally there was a gunshot, but I could tell it was on the other side of the school.

The hallways got more and more crowded as the other trapped students decided to make a break for safety. Another boy and I held open some of the doors as bunches of kids ran past us to freedom. The weight on my heart got lighter and lighter as I saw more friends run past. Most of the kids were stained with blood, some obviously injured, but they were alive. I looked out the shattered glass doors of the school, to see what seemed to be the entire town of Littleton waiting for me. Police were behind barriers, ushering freed students behind them. Families waited nervously, and news crews were trying to get people to answer any questions. Once the last student was out, I ran as fast as I could. I needed to find my family and friends. Was everyone else ok?

Being in so much of a hurry, I tripped over something in the parking lot, and slid across the pavement a little bit. I took the moment and looked back at my feet to see what was lying there. My sister Rachel stared back at me, with a giant bullet hole in her head.