I heard the shots coming from the principal's office. I hurried down the hallway and ordered all the teachers and students to get into a classroom and lock the door. Before I got to mine I saw that the special education teacher was having trouble getting her students into her room. I had to chase one down and drag him back.
The shooter saw me before I got to my classroom door and fired at me. I didn't have time to close the door before he got there so I grabbed my fire extinguisher and sprayed him in the face with the foam and as he staggered back I clobbered him over the head with it.
I saw him go down and I ordered my students to bring me my duct tape so I could tape his hands and feet.
Then everything got fuzzy. I saw one of my boy's kick his guns away as another secured him with the tape. Then I saw two girls looking at me with horror. No, they were not looking at me; they were looking at my shirt.
It was covered with blood, my blood.
"Well damn, he shot me," I thought. "That explains why I'm sliding to the floor with my back against the wall.
Well, I did my job so it's OK to die."
I have no idea how much time had passed but I was suddenly awake with a pretty Latina lady hovering over me. Her focus and intensity made me smile even though I felt like she had just yelled at me and slapped me around.
"I take it I'm not dead yet."
"No and if I have anything to say about it you wont be anytime soon."
I suddenly felt a needle go into my arm.
"Hey, I have a current shot record."
"You needed a booster. We are going to put you in a gurney. It might hurt but try not to move."
"Can I cuss?"
"No, all your students are around us."
I tried to focus to see them but all I got was a blurry image. I did see medics working on someone on the floor just before I was lifted. I managed to grit my teeth through the pain then I was being hurried to the ambulance. There were a lot of ambulances and police out there on that gloomy day. All those lights looked like Christmas had come ten days early. I smiled.
Things became fuzzy and I apparently lost consciousness at times. I somehow got the impression that she put an oxygen mask on me to shut me up. The next thing I knew for sure was being rushed through a hospital corridor. The pretty woman was running right alongside me holding an IV bag. I started to say something to her but could not; I still had the oxygen mask on.
I was being examined when I heard the woman tell somebody I was a hero. I started to laugh but apparently passed out again.
A nurse came in and I said "Good morning."
She was startled then ran out of the room.
"I still got it," I thought with a small laugh.
I was not a good-looking guy, I was the kind of guy everyone wanted in the picture because I made everyone feel better about their own looks.
I was already plain looking when an improvised exploding device did its thing as I peered around a vehicle to see how far it was from me. I was tending to an injured marine and had just learned that a second explosive had not detonated.
I never saw it until it went off and I was sprayed with sand and debris and many small bits lodged in my face. I was wearing prescription goggles since contacts don't work well in a desert for long. Everyone around me though that was silly but the goggles saved my eyes. As it turned out I had been far away enough. Where I was my wounds were thought of as minor and I was back on duty as a medic in a week.
I was already considering leaving the marines when my commitment was up but that did not happen soon enough to avoid another roadside bomb. I was in the vehicle behind the one that had triggered the bomb but still ended up with a piece of metal stuck to the top of my shoulder. I pulled it out and rushed to help the guys in the first vehicle.
All were alive when the helicopters picked them up. However the ones that would survive had extensive wounds they would have to cope with for the rest of their lives.
I did not like feeling helpless.
I left the marines.
I returned to college and got my teaching degree.
My appearance bothered some at first but my students got past it quickly and most had ceased to be aware of it after a semester.
Women did not hang around long enough to allow that to happen.
All my sex had come from monetary transactions and merciful women.
Two nurses and a doctor rushed in and again I said "Good morning."
The doctor said, "Good to see you awake and apparently feeling well. Lets check you out and make sure of that."
All hovered around me poking and counting and the nurses wrote everything down then left as lab technicians came in and sucked all the blood out of me.
The doctor tested my reflexes and eyes and we talked for a while and I guessed he was waiting for someone but he was in fact checking my brain function. He had a nurse bring me a cup of ice which was when I noticed I was very thirsty.
When he checked my wound I saw that I had a good size scar on my chest and apparently one on my back. I assumed the bullet had gone through me, the bastard had big guns. I was surprised to learn I had been shot twice.
I was also surprised to note that the scars had mostly healed and I saw no stitches.
Soon one of the nurses returned and handed the doctor a paper that made both smile.
"You are one though dude," the doctor said. Everything says you are fine. Tell me, what day is today?"
"December fifteenth, Christmas break begins Friday."
"What is the last thing you remember?"
"The pretty medic running beside me carrying an IV bag. That would have been yesterday."
"That was Norma running next to you. That was also twenty-nine days ago, you missed Christmas break," the nurse called Rina said.
Doctor Pierce added, " One bullet nicked your aorta and the other perforated a lung. We had to induce a coma to help them heal.
We have been waiting eight days for you to come out of it.
The good news is that your wounds are mostly healed and you have until after spring break before getting back to work. We are going to keep you for a few days as we check your progress and begin physical therapy. You should be able to go home before the end of January."
"Oh man I just thought of something. My fish are dead. I doubt they could have survived that long without food."
Rina said, "They are fine, you asked Norma to check on them and she has. You owe her money for your light bill though."
The doctor shook his head with a smile. Apparently there was a story behind my light bill.
He said, "You have a long list of people wanting to visit with you but I am going to hold them off for a few more days except for the cops, I will allow them to interview you tomorrow."
"Is my wallet here?"
"Yes, in your nightstand drawer."
"Let Norma come in so I can pay her back please."
"Rina called her, she is on the way now."
I smiled then drifted off to sleep. I awoke when somebody squeezed my hand.
It was Norma. She said, "Hi, everyone told me you were fine. Have you been caught up with the news?"
"No, but hold off telling me what happened at school for a couple of days. I am not ready for that."
