"We're here, come on, get your face out of your phone."
You look up from the bright screen of your [[smartphone]] and into the disappointed eyes of your [[mother]].A constantly updating social media feed fills up the screen. All your friends are posting about first day of school outfits and how excited they are for high school.
"Honey, [[please|mother]]."Her head was turned so she could see you clearly, her blonde bangs falling into her eyes. Her hands still gripped the wheel of the parked car. You sigh, running a hand through your hair, eyes still focused on [[your phone|smartphone]].
[[Whatever Mom.]]
[[Yeah, okay.]]She doesn't say anything back, just continues to give you those [[sad eyes]].You put your phone in sleep mode, the bright screen fading to black. You give a small, warm smile to you mom and she gives a much [[sadder smile|sad eyes]] in return."Look, I just want you to be careful. The first day of school can be the most dangerous, and I just..."
[[I get it.]]
[[I'll be okay, promise.]]"Look, Mom, I've got it okay?" You say harshly, staring intently into her eyes. "I've been briefed about all of this already, during orientation over the summer." You [[roll your eyes|comfort her]], just wanting to leave the car already."I know. I've been briefed about all of this during summer orientation. I promise, I'll be okay." You saw her eyes glisten with tears and hoped that your smile and meager words would [[comfort her]] enough."Alright," you hear her whisper. She clears her throat and says louder, "I have to get to work. Good luck, stay safe."
[[Alright already.]]
[[I will Mom, I love you.]]"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. Bye Mom." You escape the car as fast as you can. You heft your backpack over your right shoulder and reluctantly wave at the back of your mom's red minivan as it pulls out of its spot on the side of the road. You turn to face the daunting building that represented your future, the place where you would [[become an adult]].She smiles gratefully at you as you step out of the car. YOu heft your backpack over your right shoulder and wave at the back of your mom's red minivan as it pulls out of its spot on the side of the road. You turn to face the daunting building that represented your future, the place where you would [[become an adult]].High school. [[Finally]].A massive red brick [[building]] looms before you. In front of that and directly before you is a circular [[courtyard]]. In the middle of that courtyard was a small, windowless building labeled [[LOCKERS]].It stood in a u-shape, rising up in front of you to a towering four floors, with hallways leading off to the left to connect with an auditorium and also on the right to connect with a gym. The size of the building made you nervous as it was much bigger than your middle school, so you took a breath and turned your gaze to examine the rest of [[the area|Finally]].The courtyard spread out before the classroom section of the school building. It was filled with other students, all talking and meandering about the bushes and flowers that had been meticulously placed in patterns around [[the area|Finally]].It was made of the same red brick as the [[rest of the school|Finally]] and only one metal door on the front. Its windowless structure gave an ominou feeling to the school. Despite its daunting appearance, you knew you had to [[go there first]] to pick up your uniform.It took some effort to pull open the heavy metal door that led into the structure, but you eventually yank it open and enter. Inside was a small room with [[two doors]] at the back. The tiny space only contained a rectangular desk where an [[older woman]] sat.The door on your left was titled "BOYS" and the door on your right was titled "GIRLS". There wasn't much else to look at as they were as plain as the entrance, so you turn your attention [[elsewhere|go there first]].She had short, gray hair and purple-framed glasses that sat halfway down her nose, and as she noticed you, her [[eyes peeked up over those purple ridges]]."Hello, how can I help you?" She smiles at you, a smile that seemed to carry all of her heart in it.
[[Force a smile]]
[[Be genuinely nice]]You hoped desperately that this conversation would end soon as you forced the edges of your mouth to turn upwards. The old lady smelled heavily of lavender and dogs, and it made you want to gag.
"Oh, sorry, it's my first day, and-" You get cut off as someone rams into you from behind. Frustrated, you move closer to the old lady and her desk, making room for the kids coming in behind you, all filing in to the proper doors. "I need a uniform," you finish, your fake smile all but gone from your face.
"Of course, [[what's your name|Quinn Anderson]]?"You smile warmly in return as you smell a hint of lavender in return. It made you feel comfortable, as your own grandmother would often smell like lavender.
"Oh, sorry, it's my first day, and..." Your voice trails off for a second as you step closer to the desk, making room for the kids coming in behind you, all filing in to the proper doors. "I need a uniform." You continue smiling at the woman behind the desk.
"Of course, [[what's your name|Quinn Anderson]]?""Quinn Anderson."
The woman looked down below those purple rims, examining a paper packet in front of her. "Quinn, Quinn... Oh, here you are. Your locker number is 26. Go on in through the proper door and you should find it just fine, okay?"
[[Okay.]]
[[Thank you so much.]]"Yeah, okay," you mutter with a nod of your head, gravitating towards the proper door.
[[BOYS]]
[[GIRLS]]"Alright, thank you very much," you say brightly with a nod of your head, gravitating towards the proper door and going inside.
[[BOYS]]
[[GIRLS]]This door was lighter than the one to the whole building, but you still struggle to pull it open. The sound of other students laughing and chatting flows out as you walk in, glancing around for any familiar faces from middle school. Seeing none, you switch your search to lockers. There was 20, then 22, 24, and yours, [[26]].This door was lighter than the one to the whole building, but you still struggle to pull it open. The sound of other students laughing and chatting flows out as you walk in, glancing around for any familiar faces from middle school. Seeing none, you switch your search to lockers. There was 20, then 22, 24, and yours, [[26]].The locker was a flat matte gray with a black square panel on it that lit up as you approached, white words appearing that prompt you to [[PLACE HAND HERE]].You do as it says, putting your right hand against the panel. It's cold, and you shiver a bit as [[you wait]] for it to scan your hand.You remember your mom's stories about locks on lockers that had number combinations you had to input to open them, but you couldn't imagine having to remember a code like that for days on end. Ever since elementary school you've been opening your lockers with palm scans, and remembering a code seemed almost unnatural.
You see a green flash light up the previously black panel and [[remove your hand]].The locker door swings open. Inside is your [[uniform]] and a simple [[Glock 22]].This consisted of light combat gear, tailored to your measurements that had been taken during the summer orientation and brief. The gear was lightweight but sturdy enough to protect you with. You pull your new uniform out of the locker before reaching back in for [[your gun|Glock 22]].You were issued a Glock because you had trained with them in middle school. They were the weapon of choice to teach students with, as they were affordable and had three independent safeties, reassuring techers, studnets, and parents alike that nobody could accidentally fire. You would be starting new weapons classes today, and you were really excited to learn how to shoot more than just your puny Glock. Sophomores and above got to pick their weapon of choice. For as long as you could remember, you had been dying to use an M16, and as you glance around the locker room once more, you saw a couple of older kids sporting them. They looked so much cooler than you did with your Glock.
You pull your gun out of your locker and [[examine|uniform]] your uniform for a second before you start to [[put it on|start putting your uniform on]]."Quinn, is that you?"
You look up from your gear, halfway on, to see an attractive older student standing confidently before you. They clearly knew you, but you couldn't seem to remember them. You tried to examine their face, but all you really noticed was their perfectly shiny brown hair before your eyes were drawn to their blue M4A1 witha Close Quarter Battle Receiver attached.
[[Do I know you?]]
[[Sorry, who are you?]]"Yeah, I'm Quinn. Sorry, do I know you?" You give a judgemental glance to the stranger before returning to the task of putting your gear on.
"Wow, I can't believe you don't remember. It's me, Blake. We went to middle school together. Had the same weapons class? It was cool cause you were in seventh grade and I was in eighth, and I really admired you for being in the eighth grade classes. I just saw you and wanted to say hi. What's up?"
Blake smiles wide at you, eagerly awaiting a response.
[[Oh yeah, I remember you.]]"Uh, yeah, I'm Quinn. I'm sorry, I'm not really sure I know who you are." You look away from them as you continue to put your gear on.
"Wow, I can't believe you don't remember. It's me, Blake. We went to middle school together. Had the same weapons class? It was cool cause you were in seventh grade and I was in eighth, and I really admired you for being in the eighth grade classes. I just saw you and wanted to say hi. What's up?"
Blake smiles wide at you, eagerly awaiting a response.
[[Oh yeah, I remember you.]]"Oh, Blake, yeah hey!"
You were surprised to see Blake. Although they hadn't exactly been your favorite upperclassmen when you were in that advanced weapons class in middle school, you appreciated how much they knew about weapons. Blake was always talking on and on about politics and weaponry, and while everybody else had found it annoying, you saw it as a great resource to learn while you practiced your skills.
"Hey, yeah, so are you excited for school? First day is always rough but it's gonna be super fun I've loved high school. What are you most excited for? The food isn't great but... I'm sorry I'm getting chatty again. My bad. But hey, let me know if there's anything you want to know okay? I'll help you out."
[[Great, actually I do have a few questions...]]"Shoot! What do you wanna know?"
[[What's so dangerous about the first day of school?]]
[[Tell me about yourself.]]
[[Actually, I'm good.|Nah, I'm sure.]]"Ah, first day of school. Yeah, see, today is probably the worst day for intruders. All of the freshmen coming in are really new, so people come in for the typical kidnappings. Usually a big group of them split up through the different parts of the school, mostly in the freshmen sector since that's the easiest place to pick from. The intruders never have any dangerous weapons, usually just things that'll shock or incapacitate you, I've seen them use net guns before too, but you shouldn't really worry too much, they won't kill you. Problem is, they will take our teachers and will probably hurt you to do it, although some are more peaceful than others."
[[Why are they invading our schools?]]
[[Why do they want our teachers?]]
[[Why don't they have guns or kill people?]]"Me? I guess it has been a while since we've talked huh. Well, let's see, my favorite color is blue, as you can tell from my gun. Cool right? My dad got me gun paint for my birthday so I could customize my school issue. I have more at home with different colors and designs, you should come over sometime and check them out, or maybe we can customize your school issue. You have to fill out some paperwork to do it and pay a fee, but it's pretty easy and I'd love to help you out with it. But yeah, I love high school, classes are super fun, and while the intruders are scary, you get used to the tactics of it all pretty quickly. And you should be especially fine since you were so ahead of the curve in middle school, I'm sure you'll barely even flinch on the first day, maybe even get a kill under your belt already. You know, the people who get the most kills are like the coolest people in school. They're feared but totally respected and are all super popular. Maybe you could be one of those, huh? I don't have any kills myself, but there's always another day you know?"
[[Cool, what else can you tell me?|Great, actually I do have a few questions...]]"Well, see, school intruders used to come in and kill kids and as a countermeasure, teachers and students were given weapons of their own right? I'm sure you remember all of that, but anyways, this group came around that was totally against kids having guns. They invade our schools cause they want to convince us to change our ways. To do that they mostly take the teachers and confiscate guns from the kids, that kind of thing."
[[Why do they want our teachers?]]
[[Why don't they have guns or kill people?]]
[[I think I know all I need to.]]"Uh, that's a bit more complicated. No one is exactly sure. We know their end goal is to crush the system, right? Well, they seem to take teachers and do some kind of brainwashing to them to change their minds. When they come back to the schools they're really out of it and refuse to touch any of the guns and try to take the guns away from the kids. And, well, that's only the teachers who come back. Nobody's sure what happens to the teachers who don't come back to the schools. Spooky, right?"
[[Why are they invading our schools?]]
[[Why don't they have guns or kill people?]]
[[I think I know all I need to.]]"Well, their whole thing is taking the guns out of the system so they don't believe in killing or using lethal weapons. They will hurt you though, I knew a kid last year who got stabbed by one of the more violent intruders and ended up losing an eye. No kidding. Scary stuff. And you never know whether you're gonna have a nice intruder or a violent one. They all approve of varying degrees of violence. Like, sure that kid lost an eye, but I've been against intruders that run away at the sight of you, they don't want to even touch you at all. So be careful, cause they might send out their nastiest people on the first day."
[[Why are they invading our schools?]]
[[Why do they want our teachers?]]
[[I think I know all I need to.]]"Okay, you sure there isn't anything else? You know me, I could talk for days."
[[Tell me about yourself.]]
[[Nah, I'm sure.]]"Alright, well-"
Blake was cut off by the sharp ding of the school bell, playing through speakers in the locker room.
"Oh, hey, we gotta go or we'll be late. I'll see you later though for sure okay? Remember, anything you need just ask me, cool?"
Blake walks swiftly out of the locker room, and you finish putting on your gear quickly and follow. The first day of your high school career [[begins]].The day was going by fast. You had quickly made a few new friends in your classes and even seen a few of your old friends from middle school. Things were peaceful, and you felt like you were getting into the groove of high school.
But then, suddenly, an [[alarm]] goes off.Everybody in the class stands, including you, filing into two neat lines in front of the door to the room. You stand steady in your position in the left line, even though the blaring sound was hurting your head. Your teacher ran to the door and pulled it open while motioning for your team to file out. As you step out, you scan the hallway, spotting other [[classes]] and [[teachers]]. The other freshman classes around you were filled with nervous and frightened faces. You were all kids who were being put in this dangerous situation, and you felt the same as them. What were you doing out here? Part of you wanted to run and hide, but you knew you couldn't. You turn your eyes to the [[teachers]], who were much more put together than the students.The teachers of the hall stood in a small group, and you could see their lips moving as they conferred, but you couldn't hear what they were saying over the siren wails that endlessly filled your ears. When they were done, your teacher turned to your team, motioning for the right half of your team to go back into the classroom, and they promptly did so. You noticed the [[other classes|classes]] going through the same motions.
Apparently this invasion wasn't so threatening or didn't require that many people. Part of you almost wished that you were going back into the classroom too, but you keep a brave face.
[[Take a breath and follow orders.]]Your teacher motions again that your line starts moving. You are directly in front, right behind your teacher, and as the line begins moving through the hallways, you focus your attention on her, hoping that she at least will keep you safe.
But then you blink and [[she isn't there anymore]].You stop in your tracks. One of your classmates bumps into you from behind, and you stumble forward a bit. You look to your [[left]] and [[right]] trying to see where she had gone.There's only a small hallway. You peek around the corner and see a gray figure walking down it.
An [[intruder]].
But what was on your [[right]]?There she was. A thick, large net had her pinned to the wall, and she was unconscious. All of your hopes that your teacher could protect you were dashed.
But what about the intruder? What was on your [[left]]?You stood frozen with the rest of your classmates as the intruder rounded the corner. You can't see their face, but they were definitely not wearing the school's gear. They were outfitted in some strange thick, grey material that covered their whole body, even their head. You feel your heart rate pick up, racing now, and you shakily draw your Glock. You look between your [[classmates]] and the [[intruder|intruder2]] for a moment.A few stand frozen with you while some others have started to back up. With the teacher down and the intruder right in front of all of you, things had started to get real. You wished you felt like you could run, but your feet were planted on the ground, and now your hands gripped your gun. You turned your gaze to the [[intruder|intruder2]].They were inspecting the teacher, taking her pulse. Clearly they wanted her alive. You felt reassured that she wasn't dead, but were worried about what the intruder would do to you and your classmates. You remembered the stories that Blake had told you, and you shivered at the thought of this intruder hurting you or any of your classmates. You [[glance back at them|classmates]] before the [[intruder turns]] away from the teacher and towards you.They were frightening with their whole body covered in that skin tight grey material. All you could see were the faint shape of their nose and mouth behind the grey. Slowly it began to shrink back from that face, and your eyes were met with smooth, ebony skin and dark brown eyes. He was barely older than you, maybe 16 or 17. You couldn't believe that it was just another teenager on the other side, and your hands shook as they gripped your gun tighter. Could he really hurt you?
He raised one hand in the air and smiled, but reached his other hand behind his back. You raise your gun, aiming at his face, and he freezes. You could see your classmates inching further away out of the corner of your eye.
It was just you and him.
[[Shoot]].
[[Don't shoot]].You pull the trigger.
The intruder falls to the ground, not moving. Dead. You drop your gun, which had always been comfortable in your hands when you were in weapons class practicing before, but now felt too heavy to hold. You stare at the limp body before you, and your ears ring as the sound of the alarm suddenly cuts.
"He's dead... You-you killed him." You hear your classmates whispering in fear.
14, first day of high school, first kill of the year.Slowly, you lower your gun. The intruder doesn't seem surprised in the least, and finally moves their hand from behind their back. They're holding their own gun now, but it looks kind of strange. You take a step back into the wall, afraid of what it will do to you, and when he shoots a net spirals out from it and traps you to the wall. You watch helplessly as he sarcastically nods to you and takes your teacher from her own net, carrying her down the hall that he came from at a brisk pace.
You look at the remnants of your class, all cowering helplessly in the hall and wonder if you should have done more to save your teacher.{
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A siren blares overhead and your head pulses with the screaming sound. You look up from the work you had been doing at your desk and eye your teacher, who is clearly as surprised as you were to hear the noise. She looks out across the class bravely and says:
[["This is not a drill."]]CONTENT WARNING: This game contains images of violence, specifically children committing acts of violence and discussing acts of violence.
[[PLAY|We're here]]