School bell Ringing.....
"Class is about to start , let's go" Iris said. "Wait, where's Arin?" one of her friends asked. "Is he late again today ? Surely he was playing games till late night ." From a distance , Arin came running, waving his hand at them. "Hey, wait for me ! " he said. Iris folded her arms and glared at him in anger . "You're late again today! You are so reckless, playing games all night ?" Arin scratched his head awkwardly. "Sorry , sorry…. let's go , or we will really be late." They rushed into the classroom just befeore the math teacher walked in. The lecture began, but Arin, seated in the last row, quickly grew drowsy. Before long, he completely dozed off. The teacher noticed him and shout out , "arin! Stand up and answer my question." Arin's sleep vanished instantly. He stood there still , unable to reply. The teacher's face turned red with anger. "Always sleeping in class . Didn't you get enough sleep at home ?" The class starts laughing at arin , students whispering and giggling at Arin's embarrassment. His cheeks flushed with shame, and he sat down quietly. Finally , the bell rang.Maths period was over . " Okay class, see you tomorrow, come prepared for class test , have a nice day , " the math teacher said, leaving the room. The students paniced . "Why Tommorow"... One of the student said . Now I cannot play games tonight... "Leave it" ,Arin said ."It's lunchtime!" . Then he walked out of room with his group of friends. When Iris asked Arin what he brought for lunch, he just sighed and explained that he'd been late for school and forgotten to pack anything. She flashed him a quick, reassuring smile. "Don't worry. You can share mine." Relieved, Arin followed her as the group climbed up to the terrace, their usual hangout spot. The midday sun was warm, the air filled with chatter and the rustle of lunchboxes opening. They laughed, trading snacks and stories, the world outside their circle forgotten for a while. Then shouts. Loud, sharp, coming from the school gate. The laughter died instantly. All of them hurried to the terrace railing, leaning over to see what was happening. And froze. A group of masked men in black clothes were charging through the gates. Guns glinted in their hands. The crack of gunfire shattered the air, followed by the piercing screams of students and teachers scattering in every direction. Chaos spread through the campus like wildfire. Arin's stomach turned cold. His friends were already bolting for the stairs, and he ran with them, his heart slamming against his ribs. Every corner echoed with running footsteps, panicked voices, the sharp pops of gunshots that seemed to be everywhere at once. But then at the end of the stairwell, one of the men appeared. Dressed in black from head to toe, his eyes glinted like steel behind the mask. He raised his gun, steady and unflinching. "Don't move," he barked, his voice cutting through the noise like a knife. "You run, you die." Arin's breath caught. His whole body locked up, trembling as the weight of the gun bore down on them. His friends stood rooted, wide-eyed, not daring to breathe. And then, without warning..... "Iris, don't!" Arin shouted, his voice cracking. But she was already running. The moment stretched, sharp and merciless, as her footsteps echoed down the hall and the gun barrel followed her like a predator tracking prey.The terrorist pulled the trigger. The shot echoed through the hallway. Iris collapsed , her body falling slowely lifelessly to the ground in front of Arin. His world shattered in that instant. Tears blurred his vision as rage and fear consumed him, but before he could take a step, a deafening thunderstorm cracked across the sky. The world around him blurred and faded. Arin jolted awake in his bed, gasping for breath, drenched in sweat. His heart pounded in his chest. Looking around, he realized he was safe at home . "It was…... just a dream?" he whispered, in fear . He took a deep breath, drank some water, and lay back down, trying to calm himself. Slowly, sleep returned. The next morning, Arin woke up early than usual , determined not to be late this time. He took off ealy to meet his friends before class and immediately began sharing the dream with them. "You won't believe it, what i am going to tell you" he said seriously. "I dreamt that terrorists attacked the school. They shot everywhere, and… and Iris… you were killed." Iris pretended to be mad and puffed out her cheeks. "What?! Why me? Why do I have to die in your dream? Couldn't you have been the one instead?" Their friends laughing and teasing both of them. Later, they all headed to math class. The teacher called on Arin with a tough question. He stood up, but for a split second his body locked. A chill crawled down his spine. This feels… familiar. The thought struck so suddenly that his heart jumped. His mind raced back to the dream he'd had last night.....the same classroom, the same moment....but he quickly shook it off. It's nothing. Just a coincidence. Forcing himself to focus, he gave his answer. The teacher nodded, moved on, and the lesson continued as if nothing was wrong. But Arin couldn't shake the unease. The feeling clung to him through the rest of class, through the walk up to the terrace for lunch, and even while his friends laughed and joked around him. Everything looked normal. Everything was normal. But in the back of his head, the dream kept replaying like a warning he couldn't ignore. By afternoon, the classroom was alive again with the usual noise.....chairs scraping, students whispering, books slapping onto desks. The English teacher stepped up to begin, her voice calm and steady. For a brief moment, Arin felt silly for worrying. Then it happened. Bang! Bang! Gunshots. From the gates. The sharp cracks ripped through the air, so loud and violent they seemed to shake the windows. The entire class froze. No one breathed. Arin's heart stopped cold. His eyes widened as the sound dragged him back into last night's dream....the nightmare he'd tried so hard to dismiss. No… no, this can't be real. It was just a dream. It was only a dream! But the screams outside proved otherwise. Chaos exploded in the hallways. Students shrieked, chairs crashed to the floor, footsteps pounded in every direction. Panic filled the room like fire spreading through dry grass. "Everyone.....hide! Under the desks, behind the shelves.....anywhere!" Arin's voice cracked as he shouted, trembling but desperate to be heard.He remembered his dream too vividly, the way chaos unfolded. If it was repeating now, maybe.....just maybe....he could change it. But Iris, stubborn and brave, didn't listen. "I'm going to check outside!" she declared, running toward the door before anyone could stop her. "Iris, no!" Arin screemed, his chest tightening. Fear gripped him as she disappeared into the hallway. The lights in the hallway blinked on and off, making long, spooky shadows on the walls. Iris turned a corner and stopped suddenly. A man wearing all black stood in front of her. He was holding a gun, and the mask on his face couldn't hide his cold, angry stare. The terrorist's finger curled around the trigger. Iris's breath stopes for few seconds . Her legs trembled, rooted to the ground. She wanted to scream, but no sound escaped her lips. Arin burst into the hallway, his pulse racing. "Stop! Don't shoot her!" His voice cracked with sadness. He sprinted toward them, his eyes cpmpletely on Iris, his mind reeling. How is this possible? I dreamt this exact moment last night… is Iris really going to die? Tears welled up and blurred his vision. He didn't care about himself anymore. He only wanted to protect her. The terrorist sneered beneath the mask, raising his gun. "No!" Arin cried, throwing himself . In a split second, he shoved Iris out of the way. The gun roared. A searing pain tore through Arin's stomach.His body shook as the bullet hit him. Everything seemed to slow down, and all the sounds became quiet and distant. His knees gave out, and he fell to the floor.He felt warm blood spread across his shirt, soaking his hands as he pushed against the injury. He struggled to breathe, taking short, difficult gasps. "So this is the end," he thought with anger and sadness, staring up at the blurry ceiling. "My pointless life is over."I couldn't even tell her… I couldn't even say I loved her. Iris screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks. She knelt beside him, shaking his shoulders desperately. "Arin! No! Somebody help! Please!" Her cries echoed through the hall, but no one came.The world darkened at the edges of Arin's vision. His eyelids grew heavy. With the last of his strength, he tried to smile faintly at Iris, but no words left his lips. His eyes closed, and everything went black.
Silence.…..
To be continued.....