<blockquote><div><cite>Mute Fox wrote:</cite>"What the frack?" Jarek barely had time to turn around before the leopard girl had sprinted past him down the hall, turned a corner, and disappeared, as he simultaneously heard what sounded like gunshots coming from the direction of the cafeteria. Everyone around him flinched as they heard the shots, and then the fire alarm went off. The din of the alarm wasn't enough to cover the sounds of people screaming from echoing into the hall. It was at this point that pandemonium erupted.<br/><br/>Jarek was pushed to the floor as a crowd ran over him in their hurry to escape. Luckily he wasn't hurt, and he sprang to his feet and began running after the leopard girl. He hadn't seen exactly where she had gone, and had never seen anyone move that fast, but he guessed that there was some connection between what was going on in the cafeteria and her sudden disappearance.<br/><br/>As he turned the corner, Jarek could hear more clearly the sounds of gunfire and panicked screams. He ran to the cafeteria door, noticing that the halls on either side of him were now deserted. He stopped, his hand still gripping the door handle and his heart beating in his mouth almost as fast as the alarm bells. <span style="font-style: italic">What am I doing?</span> he thought. Normally, Jarek liked to think things through, but to turn around now seemed like cowardice. Even though he wasn't sure exactly what lay behind the door, or why he should go inside, he knew that at least he couldn't be blamed for not trying to help. Another few paralyzed seconds, and Jarek steeled himself and opened the door.<br/><br/>...he was not prepared for what he saw. Several feral students were laying on the ground at his feet in a pool of their own blood. They had been trying to get to the door, but apparently weren't fast enough. As Jarek's gaze lifted, he saw a group of human students near the center of the cafetria, dressed in masks and arm bands and brandishing guns. They were firing wildy at every feral they could see, as well as at what appeared to be a large mobile riot shield; on closer examination, Jarek saw that it was one of the metal lunch tables, and it was being carried by someone who was not a policeman. A student? A teacher? He couldn't see very well, but there were some students huddled behind it, scurrying frantically along with it as it moved. <br/><br/>Jarek's first instinct was to run. He had already decided not to, so that was out. His second instinct was to fight. He quashed that idea very quickly as he took another look at the guns. His next instinct was to help the students who lay bleeding at his feet, and he decided that this option would not only get him out the door the fastest, but with his dignity intact. He knew that even though they had been shot, the students weren't necessarily dead, so he grabbed the nearest one and began dragging her towards the door, praying that the gunmen would concentrate on the moving shield across the room.</div></blockquote>