WARNING: LOTS OF MATURE THEMES IN THIS CHAPTER

"He just fucking sat there next to me and let the dummy bleed out." Justin Foley explained to his girlfriend, Elizabeth Jensen, as they stood at her locker. In gym class, they were doing drills about how to bandage wounds and fight back against anyone who were to enter their school with malicious intent. Apparently, Clay Jensen had not done very well. "I fucking screamed at him to help me, but he just stared at his hands covered in fake blood."

Elizabeth sighed as she shut her locker. "He has a lot going on, okay?"

"The only thing he had going on was two weeks ago when he fucking crashed Zach's car and left him for dead." Justin retorted. After the Find Your Drink Party, Zach let Clay drive his car because Clay had sex, and he crashed it. Zach had broken his arm.

"Just calm down about Clay, please." Elizabeth crossed her arms over her chest. "I know he's been a lot lately, but I'm sure things will slow down for him soon, and he'll be alright."

Justin shrugged, leaning his back against a locker. "Whatever you say, babe." He pressed his lips against Elizabeth's forehead. "Are we still on for movie night tonight?" Elizabeth nodded. The two of them had told each other they would take a break from all the drama on Thursday night and watch some scary movies together. Thursday was that day. "I gotta get to class, but I'll see you later." Elizabeth watched as her boyfriend left her in the hallway. She had a free period, and she felt like spending it in the photography lab. There was no reason why. She just wanted to be there.

She set her bag down on the chair and sat down at the table, taking out of chemistry binder to finish the homework that was due the next period. Her ears perked up when she heard the door open. She looked behind her and saw Zach Dempsey. "Hey." She sent him a soft smile before turning back to her work.

"Hey, 'Liza." Zach spoke as he sat down next to her. "Did you just feel like spending your free period in here, too?" The girl just nodded in response. "Great minds think alike."

"I'm sorry about your arm." Elizabeth did not look up from her work as she spoke. "But I'm more sorry about your car. That shit must have been expensive."

Zach sighed, leaning his elbows on the table. "If I never have to see your brother again, everything will be fine."

Elizabeth looked up at Zach and furrowed her eyebrows. "You don't mean that."

"Oh, I do." Zach chuckled. "That little shit just fucks everyone's lives up and doesn't care."

"He cares." Elizabeth states, devoting her attention back to her homework.

"Well, I don't."

"Yes." The girl nodded. "You've told me this."

The two went silent as the PA system beeped. "May I have your attention, please? We are currently moving into a lockdown situation. Code Red. This is a hard lockdown. Staff, please initiate lockdown procedures immediately. Students, please do not panic, and listen closely to this announcement and the instructions of your teacher. Seek immediate shelter in the nearest classroom. I repeat. This is a Code Red. Hard lockdown."

Zach and Elizabeth exchanged looks of fear. "Code red means active shooter, right?" The girl questioned him, standing up.

"Yeah." Zach nodded. "Fuck." He ran his hands through his hair. "Lock the fucking doors."

Elizabeth made her way to the door, closing it. She looked around for a nob and found it. She turned it, hearing a click, meaning the door was locked. She turned back to Zach. "What should we do now?"

Zach looked around the room, flustered, before grabbing a desk and shoving it in front of the door. He shook his head. "That's not enough." He pick up a chair and set it on top of the desk.

"I think that's good." Elizabeth spoke.

They heard footsteps coming from the dark room, and they both froze. Zach and Elizabeth turned to see Winston Williams exiting the dark room. "Jesus. Fuck!" Zach let out a sigh.

Winston narrowed his eyes when he saw the desk they had put in front of the door. "What are you doing?" He questioned them.

"Code Red." Elizabeth answered, raising an eyebrow. "Theres a shooter in the-" She let out a scoff at Winston's blank face. "Did you not fucking here the announcement?"

"No." Winston shook his head. "I was in the dark room. I had these on." He motioned to the headphones he had around his neck.

"So...." Zach hobbled his way over to a chair and sat down. "Should we wait to die?" He opened his bottle of prescription medication he received for the pain in his arm.

Winston smirked. "Vicodin, huh? Is that for the car accident?"

"Uh-huh." Zach nodded, tossing the pills into his mouth and swallowing them with some vodka.

"And the vodka?" Winston asked, causing Elizabeth to furrow her eyebrows. "That's just for fun?" The girl grabbed the water bottle from Zach and smelled it. It was definitely vodka. She let out a cough as she put it back down. Zach sent Winston a glare. "Sorry, I can smell it from here."

Zach rolled his eyes, letting out a scoff. "Dude, you try walking around with a broken arm and a fucked up knee."

"If you keep judging him, I'm just going to lock you back up in your little cave, pretty boy." Elizabeth crossed her arms over her chest, sitting in the seat next to Zach.

"I'm not judging." Winston shook his head, letting out a sigh. "But maybe you want to try something that might actually take the pain away." He took a small bag filled with red dummies out of his pocket and smiled.

Zach let out a laugh, nodding. "Hell fucking yeah." He walked over to Winston and took a gummy from him. He turned to his friend. "You want one, 'Liza?" The girl shook her head. "Come on! You don't want to be the only one not high while we're stuck here for who knows how long, do you?"

"Yeah." Winston chuckled, holding up a gummy. "Just do it, Eliza."

*

Isabel Henry sat in the basement of Liberty High School with Jessica Davis. The two had barricaded the room, and now they were waiting for more instructions. They had both gone down there to grab something they left at the HO meeting the nigh before and were stuck there because of the drill. They were sitting at opposite ends of the room. Isabel looked down at her phone, trying to see if there was anyone she could call. She wanted to call her mother, but she couldn't because she was dead. She didn't want to call her dad. He spent every moment after her mother died trying to turn her into her mother. He would force her to clean. He would force her to cook all of the meals. He would rape her every night, as well. At this point, she had become used to it, but she still felt the pain.

The girl looked over at Jessica Davis, who was on the phone with her mother, crying, and she let out a sigh. After Jessica ended her conversation with her mother, she stood up and moved to sit next to Isabel. The two didn't say anything to each other. They just sat next to each other on the ground. Then, Jessica's leaned her head on Isabel's shoulder.

*

All three of the teenagers had taken the gummies, and thirty minutes later, they were all sitting on the ground. Winston was rocking back and forth, Elizabeth was staring up at the ceiling, and Zach had just finished all of Winston's lunch. "Dude, your shit's weak." Zach groaned as he set down the bag of food he finished. "I don't feel anything. I expected quality premium substances from you, Hillcrest boy."

"You have eaten all of the yearbook snacks, and that's the last of my lunch, so..."

Elizabeth let out a giggle as she pointed her index finger at Zach. "You're fucking stoned, my boy."

"Mmhmm." Zach shook his head. "You're talking to the guy that's been fucked up for half of a semester. I think I'd know if I was-" He paused as all of the words he was about to say left his brain. The three of them just laughed.

Winston raised an eyebrow as he looked over at Zach. "So, why are you always fucked up?"

Elizabeth's eyes widened, knowing Zach was going to talk about her, but he just glanced down at her. "It's fucking high school, man. People suck."

"I believe I am that person." Elizabeth sighed as she nodded.

"You're not wrong." Zach chuckled.

Winston leaned his head against the table they were sitting in front of. "All of your friends suck. I learned that in Burnham Woods."

"Are you talking about what happened with Alex?" Elizabeth looked towards Winston.

"You two know about it?" Elizabeth and Zach just nodded in response to Winston. "So, yeah. Come to me when your boyfriend breaks up with you for no reason and won't even look at you and basically hates your guts."

Zach shook his head. "Don't pretend to be innocent, okay? You lied to him."

"Yeah, how's anybody supposed to believe you actually gave a shit about Alex?" Elizabeth looked back up at the ceiling.

"I do give a shit about Alex." Winston retorted, causing both Elizabeth and Zach to scoff. "I give lots of shits."

Elizabeth let out a giggle, causing the boys to look over at her. "You give lots of shits." She laughed, bringing her hand to her face. She felt around her nose. Why were noses so weird?

"I wasn't playing him." Winston spoke as he looked down at his hands. "I loved him." Zach and Elizabeth frowned and looked over at Winston, not believing him. "I still do."

"Yeah?" Zach narrowed his eyes. "What did you love about him exactly?"

A small smile appeared across Winston's face. "He's, like, the kindest person I've ever met."

Zach nodded, leaning his head against the table. "Yeah."

Winston's eyes widened. "Wait, are you in love with him too?"

"No, he's in love with me." Elizabeth giggled as she tapped the tip of her nose.

"Yeah." Zach nodded, looking down at Elizabeth. "But, I- I- I do love him." He stuttered. "He's a good person, really. I've done a lot of fucked up shit, and he never judges me."

"He's done some shit, too."

Winston stared over at Zach, completely ignoring Elizabeth. "You've done some shit?" He questioned the boy. "Like what?"

Zach looked at Winston and opened his mouth, as if he was about to tell Winston everything, but someone walked by the door. "Shit." Zach gasped, pulling Elizabeth and himself further onto the ground. The three of them moved behind the desk so they were out of view of the window. "Shit, did you guys see that?" He questioned them. Elizabeth shook her head, still playing with her nose. Winston turned around and looked at the door, seeing someone walk by it again. He turned back quickly, huddling with the other three. "Fuck. This isn't a drill."

*

An hour later, they were still in the photography room. Winston and Zach were starting to come out of their haze, but Elizabeth was still going strong. She kept on getting texts from Justin asking where she was, but she ignored them, not really feeling like answering. "I can';t believe I survived a roll-over crash for this." Zach rolled his eyes. "Death is playing games with me. It's just a matter of time." He frowned. "And no offense, because you're actually cooler than I thought you were," he looked over at Winston, "but I don't want to die with you."

"Don't worry. I don't want to die with you either." Winston shook his head before glancing down at Elizabeth who was laying on the ground. "You probably want to die with her though, right?"

Zach nodded before they heard three gunshots. The three jumped a bit. "Jesus." Zach sighed, pulling Elizabeth closer towards him.

Winston let out a chuckle. "Listen, if I die, and you live, will you tell him something for me? Alex?" Zach nodded. "Will you tell him he's the first boy I ever truly loved?"

"Okay. Yeah, I'll do that." Zach spoke as he watched Winston. He let out a sigh. "I beat up Bryce." Elizabeth's eyes widened as she looked up at her friend.

"What?" Winston furrowed his eyebrows.

"The night he died." Zach continued. "I beat him up."

Winston made direct eye contact with Zach. "You killed him?"

"No." Zach shook his head. "I went to the police, and they told me that he didn't die from getting beaten up. I still feel like shit though." He let out a deep breath. "That maybe he wouldn't have died if it wasn't for me." He looked down at Elizabeth and then back up at Winston. "If I die and you live, would you tell Miss Walker that I'm sorry."

Winston nodded slowly. "Of course."

Zach ran his fingers through Elizabeth's hair as he felt his eyes begin to water. "Thanks, man."

*

Isabel and Jessica had sat with each other, not speaking for the entirety of the time they had sat in that spot. The blonde girl looked down at Jessica. "Is it because of me?"

"What?"

"That you don't want to come out? Are you really not into me, and we're just just, like, experimenting or something?" Isabel frowned. "It'll be fine if that's how it is, but I'd just like to know."

Jessica shook her head as she sat up, looking at Isabel. "No. I was really into you. I still am." She let out a sigh as she looked down at her hands. "I just thought being with you publicly would change people's opinions about me, and that won't happen when I'm with Diego."

"People's opinions of you have changed because you're with Diego." Isabel chuckled, causing Jessica's eyes to snap back up at her. "It's all the same."

"Really?"

Isabel nodded. "I think that you're overthinking it, and I understand why, but I went through coming out. Most of the time, it's not going to be as bad as you think it will?"

Jessica smiled. "Are you sure."

"I'm positive." Isabel returned the smile as she tucked a piece of hair behind Jessica's ear. "Your friends are going to love you no matter what, and that is all that matters."

Jessica nodded before her smile faded. "But I have to stay with Diego to keep him at arm's reach."

"That's okay."

*

The three teenagers had remained in the same spot for the next hour, almost completely silent except for Elizabeth spitting out a stupid comment here and there. They all jumped when they saw someone trying to break in through the window. They all got off the floor and rushed to the opposite side of the room. Zach stood in front of Elizabeth. Justin Foley slipped in through the window, and the three let out sighs of relief. "Fuck, you scared us." Winston chuckled, moving back to his original seat.

"You were answering my texts." Justin spoke as he rushed over to his girlfriend, practically throwing Zach out of the way. "You had me scared shitless that something had happened to you." He noticed her bright red eyes and frowned. He looked up at Zach. "You got her fucking high?"

"Uh, I got them both high." Winston raised his hand from his seat.

Justin wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, pulling her up against his body. "I'm just happy you're okay." The girl nodded as she took in a deep breath. The smell of his aftershave made her smile. She brought her arms around his waist, hugging him back. "I fucking love you."

"I love you-"

"The lockdown is all clear. I repeat. This lockdown is all clear. An announcement will be made shortly to provide staff and students with more information."

The girl let out a sigh as she pulled away from the hug. The four students began to pull the desks away from the door, and Elizabeth unlocked it. Her and Justin left, but Winston and Zach stayed behind for a few minutes. When Elizabeth and Justin walked into the hallway, they saw Clay screaming at Principal Bolan. "You know what would make me feel safe? Not going to a school with metal detectors or video cameras, or armed fucking gaurds!"

Principal Bolan noticed the students entering the hallways and looked around. "There's still class, folks. Okay? The bell has not rung."

"No, you're killing us!" Clay shouted as he walked closer towards the officers, causing them to disburse. "You're killing us! Don't you get that? You made a drill with gunshots and hammered down the door to prepare us for what exactly? For what it feels like to be hunted? To practice getting ready to die, to make us feel afraid for our lives?" He motioned to all the teenagers in the hallway. "We already know how that feels! You're scaring us to death! Every day! Every day! Every day!

"Calm down son." An officer spoke calmly to Clay.

Clay snapped around and pointed his finger in the officer's face. "I am not your goddamn son! Get the fuck away from me!" Students gasped. "We are children! We're kids. We should be living our fucking lives instead of practicing how to death death, because you know what? Everybody fucking dies!" Clay was in tears at this point. "Everybody dies! So, please, please, let us live!"

"We are trying to keep you alive." Principal Bolan tried to explain himself. "That's what ever minute of this drill has been about."

Clay shook his head. "No! It was about you checking a fucking box, a regulation, a law, whatever the fuck, because you know what?" Clay stepped closer to Bolan. "You know what? We're not safe."

"That's enough." An officer walked up to Clay and grabbed his shoulder, but Clay pushed him off of him. "Hey, fuck you, 'that's enough"! Who are you? Who are you to say it's enough?" Clay pushed him again. "Who are you?" The officer grabbed him, but Clay took his gun from his holster and pushed the officer away. "Am I safer now?" Clay asked as he pointed the gun into the air. "Huh? I've got your gun! Am I safer?" Students screamed as they moved back. Justin stepped in front of Elizabeth, and she grabbed onto his hand. "Look at me, I'm armed! Should I give this to a teacher so they can save their fucking class? Huh?!"

"Clay, please." Principal Bolan begged his student. "Put the gun down. We'll go to my office, and we'll talk this over, okay?"

Clay made eye contact with Tyler, who was covered in a blanket. "Tyler." He whimpered. "What happened to us? What did you do?" Clay sobbed as he continued to hold the gun in the air. "What did you do?" He repeated.

"I didn't do anything." Tyler responded.

Clay lowered the gun before being tackled to the ground by an officer. "No!" Elizabeth screamed as she tried to run towards her brother, but Justin held her back. Clay continued to scream as the officer held him back, and another hit him in the he'd, knocking him out. Elizabeth watched as they dragged her brother out of the school on a stretcher.

Rewritten
Word Count - 3273

An : This chapter is so freaking long omg. But there was no specific spot where I wanted to cut to a new chapter, so here's a long one.

I hope you all are really enjoying the final season. I'm enjoying writing it.

Please vote and comment what you want to see in future chapters.

Have a nice day, lovelies 💕