Emergency

Trigger warning: school shooting

“911 where’s your emergency?”

“Oh my God, please don’t be dead…please…”

“Hello?”

“Oh my god…”

“Ma’am? Ma’am, I need you to talk to me,”

“Its my friend! She’s been shot! Please help!”

“Okay ma’am, please let me know your address so I can send people,”

“Red Lake Senior High School, please hurry! Oh my God, don’t be dead…”

“The school?”

“Yes, the school, send someone, quick!”

“I have police and ambulance on the way, okay? What’s your name?”

“My name?”

“Yes,”

“Cassie. Cassie Bernall…why is that important?”

“Okay Cassie, were you shot at all?”

“N..no. I wasn’t, but my friend…my friend…”

“Okay. What’s your friend’s name?”

“Rachel, Rachel Scott.”

“Where was she shot?”

“Never mind all the questions! Just send someone, please! I think she’s dying!”

“You need to listen to me. Listen to me, people are on the way, people have already been making calls before this one. You have to stay on the phone though and don’t hang up. I need to know what is going on so I can try and help both of you. So, where was she shot?”

“Um, she’s bleeding a lot from her stomach, I think that’s where she got shot.”

“Do you know how many times she was shot?”

“I don’t know!”

“What sort of gun was it?”

“Why is that important?”

“The type of gun can determine what sort of damage they would’ve done. Multiple shots in close succession, or one single shot?”

“Erm, one shot. One big shot,”

“Okay, are they breathing?”

“I…I don’t know. I can’t tell. Rachel? Rachel?! Oh please…oh God….”

“Can you see their chest moving?”

“Oh I can hear more gunshots!”

“Cassie? I need you to check for me please..”

“I’m really scared. Please, send someone to help, please..I’m going to die. I’m going to die. Tell my Mom I love her; her name is Sarah. She raised me by herself. She’s done a good job, tell her. Tell her I love her and I miss her,”

“Sweetie, you’ll get to tell her yourself, okay? But we need to help Rachel right now as well, so please check if she’s breathing for me, okay Cassie?”

“Okay…what do I do?”

“Can you see if her chest is rising and falling for me at all?”

“Uh…I can’t see. It’s hard to tell…”

“Can you put a hand on her chest and maybe feel for a heartbeat or if you can feel her breathing?”

“I…I don’t want to…there’s so much blood…oh but I should…I should to help her…I don’t know CPR, I don’t know it,”

“It’s okay Cassie, I can help you, okay? But first we need to know if she’s breathing at all. She’s not conscious, is she?”

“No. Her eyes are closed, Rachel? Rachel?! No, she’s not responding to me either. Oh she looks so cold and pale, she’s probably dead, isn’t she? O Lord Jesus Christ, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name…please help Rachel, please keep me safe, please hear me now…”

“Cassie? I’ll pray with you after, okay? I just need you to check if she’s breathing for me,”

“Oh, I can feel it! She’s still breathing!”

“Can you put pressure on the wound at all? Do you have something to cover the wound to try and slow the breathing?”

“Erm, I can use my shirt? But I don’t want to touch there…there’s so much blood…is that..her stomach? Oh my god….I think I can see an organ…I shouldn’t be using the Lord’s name in vain, I’m sorry, please forgive me,”

“I know you’re afraid Cassie, but we need to try and help Rachel as well as much as we can,”

“Oh I hear more gunshots! People are screaming! Where are the police?!”

“They’re on their way, okay? Where abouts in the school are you?”

“I’m in the library. Are people here?”

“Not yet, they’re trying to figure out where the shooter is before approaching,”

“Oh just come in!”

“We have to be careful, alright? We have to try and save as many people as possible. Now, are you able to put pressure on Rachel’s wound?”

“I…I can try…Hang on, let me take my shirt off…oh gosh, that sounds close, okay…I have it off…oh my gosh…that’s….it’s too much blood…please, help!”

“You need to be quiet Cassie, okay? You said he sounded close, do you know him? Do you know the shooter?”

“Not by name…He’s just been…around…a quiet type, you know? Always by himself. Oh my gosh, what if I could’ve stopped this by talking to him? Why is he so angry at us? What did we do to deserve this?”

“Don’t think about that, you didn’t do anything. This is all him, okay? This isn’t on you at all, alright?”

“…alright…I…I can’t remember his name. I’m trying to…I’m sorry..”

“No, don’t worry about it. It’s fine, let’s just concentrate on you and Rachel, how is she doing?”

“Erm, her breathing is quite ragged…”

“Is she having difficulty breathing?”

“Uh, I guess? It’s kinda deep…can you hear it? Its getting louder…”

“Just keep an eye on that for me. Let me know if she stops breathing, okay?”

“O..okay. Thank you. Thank you for being here with me. Can you pray with me please?”

“No worries Cassie. I’ll pray with you. Dear Lord in heaven, hear me now, please watch over Cassie and Rachel, and keep them in your arms and under your protection. Protect them from the evil that is stalking the school halls and keep them safe from harm. Watch over them during this difficult time, and give them the strength to survive this. In your name, amen,”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,”

“It’s okay, how are old are you Cassie?”

“Fifteen…”

“Is Rachel the same age?”

“No, she’s fourteen, she’s turning fifteen in a couple of weeks, oh…oh….she’s stopped breathing, Rachel! Rachel, please! Breathe!”

“Cassie, Cassie, I’m going to talk you through CPR. You need to listen to me and doing exactly as I say. You need to put both your hands over her chest with the palm facing down. You need to position your hands in the middle, in line with her armpits, okay? Then lock your elbows and push down as hard as you can,”

“I….okay…I think I’m in the right spot, oh Rachel please wake up, please! I’m pushing down…”

“You need to push down hard, as hard as you can, with all your weight. Count thirty pumps; count them out loud so I can hear how fast you’re going,”

“One, two three..”

“Slow down a little bit, that’s a bit too fast,”

“Four…five…six…”

“That’s better, keep going,”

“Seven…eight…nine...oh, the door opened. The door opened, I can’t see who it is…”

“Is there anywhere for you to hide?”

“Ten…eleven…but Rachel…twelve…”

“You need to get yourself somewhere safe first; can you see anywhere where you can hide?”

“Oh…oh my gosh; it’s him! He’s seen me! Please, no, please don’t shoot! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

“Cassie? Are you there? Cassie? Line is disconnected…shit…I’m going to have to try and call her back…She’s not answering…I think I heard a gunshot before the line died. The police are going in now? Okay. I’ll take the next call then. I hope she’s okay…”

“911 where is your emergency?”