Carli climbed to her feet and walked over to Ralph cautiously. She didn't know what she was doing or why she was doing it, she just wanted to talk to him. He gazed at her coldly as she approached him.

"What is it that you want this time?" he demanded, leaning back against the wall.

"I just wanted to ask you two questions." Carli stated softly with a shrug.

"Yeah? What do you want to know?" Ralph raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you doing this?" Carli turned to face him.

"Why does anyone do anything? I'm tired of not being heard. I'm tired of people not taking me seriously. Is that a good enough reason for you, princess?" Ralph sneered at her.

"Not really, but okay. My second question is, is it worth it?" she raised a delicate eyebrow.

"Is what worth it?" Ralph made a face.

"Going to prison. Knowing that you murdered people. Is it all worth this?" Carli sighed with a shake of her head. Suddenly someone rushed into the room, carrying a gun and waving it around wildly.

"The friggin' cops are storming the building! What are we gonna do Ralph?" the young man yelled as he glanced out the window. His name was Terrence Porter. Nice enough kid. Carli was surprised that he had gotten himself mixed up in this. She glanced around nervously. Everyone was no wide awake with the interruption that Terrence had caused.

"Calm down, man. They can't do a thing as long as we have hostages." Ralph sighed with a roll of his eyes. Gun shots could be heard from down the hall.

"I told you they were storming the friggin' building! You never listen to me!" Terrence railed loudly, clearly becoming agitated through his fear. "I'm not going to prison, you hear me? I'm not!"

"Fine, you're not." Ralph shrugged as he turned toward Terrence. With a demonic smile, Ralph shot the other young man, and he crumpled to the floor. Carli gasped, covering her mouth with both her hand, retching silently in her corner. She knew she would never forget this day. Nothing could make her forget what happened, what would happen until it ended. She would have nightmares about it. The next thing she knew, she was being hauled to her feet by a man dressed all in black, wearing a bullet proof vest.

"SWAT team… now go!" he told her firmly. She nodded numbly and ran, following the other students down the hallway. Dead bodies lay everywhere, obstructing her view and soon, tears were making it harder and harder to see. She placed a hand on the wall and stopped for a moment to catch her breath and her sanity.

"Don't stop! GO!" the same SWAT team member urged her on. Gun shots echoed down the hallway, causing everyone to cry out and jump. She didn't see what happened to Ralph, and at this point, she really didn't care, though she knew it had to have been bad. She composed herself again, and continued to run. She didn't know where she was running to, she just followed the students before her. Suddenly she was outside and a relief worker covered her with a blanket.

"What's your name, Miss?" the woman inquired.

"Carli." She mumbled as a cup of hot coffee was thrust into her hands. She held the cup for warmth with gratification. Hundreds of people were spread throughout the parking lot and the nearby street. She had to find her brother. Somehow she knew he was waiting for her.

Are you okay, Carli?" the same woman questioned as she lead Carli to a ambulance to be checked out by the EMT's. Carli nodded without saying a word. She didn't think she could speak even if her life depended on it. She just wanted to be back home in the comfort of her own room with Dan downstairs, Nell sleeping in her room and talking with Justin on the phone. This was the last place she wanted to be. One of the EMT's checked her out and deemed her unharmed. She only had a few cuts and bruises that weren't serious enough to warrant taking her to the hospital. She mumbled a thank you then headed out into the crowd to find her brother. She gazed from one person's face to the next, hoping for a familiar face. Tears coursed down her cheeks silently, her shoulders wracking with the silent sobs.

The people she passed gave her sympathetic looks and let her pass without much of a hassle or jostle. She thought about calling out her brother's name, then thought against it. Her throat constricted around the words causing a strange kind of pain.

"Carli!" a familiar voice yelled. The one voice she wanted to hear most. She spun around and saw her brother standing in the street, a relieved expression covering his face. She dropped the blanket and the cup of coffee and bolted for him. Dan caught her up in a hug and held her tightly in his arms as she shrieked with tears. She finally broke down, all the terror she had stored, all the pain she had felt, and all the intense feelings that she couldn't show while trapped in the high school came pouring out.

"Sh, little one. You're okay now. I've got you." Dan whispered soothingly in her ear as she clutched at his shoulders.

Justin heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Carli in her brother's arm. He closed his eyes against the tears he felt coming on at knowing that she was now safe. He turned and saw his friends, huddled together for warmth, gazing over at him with sad smiles. He walked over to them with a sigh.

"I guess we can go. She's okay." Justin's voice broke on the words. Mike stepped away from JC momentarily to deliver a hug to him.

"You okay, old man?" she inquired in his ear as he hugged her tightly.

"I will be. Let's just go." Justin nodded as he pulled away from her.

"Don't you want to see her?" she raised an eyebrow.

"She wants to be with her family. I'm not going to infringe on that." he shook his head.

"Alright." Mike nodded, turning to the others. "I guess we're heading to the hotel now. Lance, you should deliver Nell back to her siblings."

"Dan knows that she's with me, and knows what hotel we're staying at. He'll pick her up when they're ready." Lance answered with a shrug, Nell sleeping in his protective arms. They spent the nest hour and a half driving to the hotel they had checked into, and because no one felt like being alone, everyone congregated in JC and Chris's room. JC and Mike cuddled on one of the beds, Joe and Justin occupied the chairs, Chris sat on the floor, while Lance kept watch over Janelle in the other bed. No one said a word, and hadn't said a word for nearly twenty minutes. Someone knocked on the door, causing everyone to glance at one another. Joe climbed to his feet and opened the door. Carli stood there looking like a scared kitten. Justin immediately came to his feet as her face crumpled with tears. She stepped into the room without saying a word, and walked straight into Justin's waiting arms.

He closed his eyes and rested his chin lightly on top of her head as her body shook gently in his arms.

"I was so scared." her voice sounded hoarse to his ears and nearly broke his heart. His arms tightened around her, bringing her closer to him to try and give her some reassurance that she was well cared for and loved.

"So was I." Justin countered with a whisper, his lips brushing her tangled hair. Unbeknownst to the couple, the others in the room silent walked to the adjoining room and shut the door.

"Justin, hold me. God, those kids. Dead." Carli shook her head, her fingers digging into his shoulders. Justin silently held her in his arms, wishing he could take the remnants of the night away from her; wishing that he could make everything alright. He knew he couldn't and that burned him more than her tears. He wanted to make everything right for her, though he was helpless in this instance. He brushed his lips against her temple, stroking her back to try and calm her. He knew that the road ahead of her was going to be a long and difficult one to travel. The road less traveled by. He promised himself that he would be there for her, no matter what.

"I love you." he finally whispered in her ear, her sobs the only thing he heard.

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