Capítulo 28: Panic

Michael was nervous when Jennifer joined him at his table during lunch. He had already made his mind up that as long as the background check comes clear, he would recruit her. Her talent was already proven in the industry. Jennifer started asking questions to start a conversation; Michael just answered them helplessly. He really did not know how to woo women.

All of a sudden, Michael's Animal Instincts flared up. He needed to get behind cover! He immediately flipped the table over and grabbed Jennifer so she would be behind cover too.

" YOU PERVERT!!! Let go of me" Jennifer screamed.

Michael ignored the screaming blonde and focused on the danger. He heard a machine gun being fired nearby. There is a shooter on campus!! Screams could be heard as the bullets found their targets.

At first, Michael thought it was a professional crew. Maybe they were trying to get hostages to extort money. But it seems to be a single maniac shooter. This is crazy; Michael felt like he was in a movie scene. In reality, mass shootings seem to happen at least once a week in America.

Michael was not scared of the shooter or worried for his own life. The bullet might not even pierce his skin and even if it did, Michael would heal quickly. The problem Michael had was that if the shooter killed everyone in the cafeteria and Michael is the only one alive then it would seem suspicious. He did not want to end up in a lab somewhere as a specimen so he could not show supernatural abilities.

The press would be waiting to interview the survivors and the more students alive the less attention Michael would draw. So he had to stop the shooter; furthermore, the shooter cannot be stopped from the outside. Technically speaking this was a hostage situation so the police could not barge in easily.

Michael looked around for anything to help. Even though he had an arsenal in his inventory he could not use it. There were cameras in the cafeteria; not to mention tons of eyewitnesses.

****

Jennifer started panicking as soon as she heard the gunshots. Her legs went weak and she lost all strength. "Is this it? Is this my End?" She muttered to herself. She always took pride in her martial arts skills but in front of a gun, she knew she was nothing.

Jennifer turned to Michael. Wait did he know what was going to happen? Is that why he pulled me behind cover? Realization dawned upon Jennifer. However, she did not understand how Michael predicted the shooter so early. He must be a combat veteran with battlefield experience. Either way without him saving her, she would probably be dead. she noticed that he was looking around trying to find something.

"Umm… What are you looking for?" She asked nervously. Maybe she can help him? She did not like the feeling of waiting to be butchered.

"Shhhh," Michael told her to be quiet.

Jennifer almost lost it right there and cursed the damn Otaku. She hated being treated like a child but she stopped herself as she realized it would not be appropriate to lash out against her savior.

Michael was busy trying to find something to use against the shooter. He had to find something to throw because he did not want to get up close to the psychotic shooter. He looked around and found nothing but chairs and tables. The chairs were too easy to dodge and the table was too big to throw properly. Then he finally spotted something heavy enough to do some damage.

Michael waited until the shooter's magazine was empty; he had a backpack with extra magazines and started reloading. Michael first grabbed a chair and threw it at the shooter. The shooter easily avoided it but Michael had already completed his objective of distracting the shooter.

Michael ran to the soda dispenser and pulled it out. It weighed nearly 50 pounds but it was easy for Michael to throw. He put all his strength in and threw it at the shooter.

The shooter was still focused on the chair when he looked up and saw a coca cola machine speeding towards him. The shooter ended up getting crushed by overpriced corn syrup; a fitting end for a fellow Texan.

The police, who were monitoring the situation through the cameras immediately barged in. They quickly disarmed the shooter and pulled him out.

****

Sergeant Anthony was having a terrible day. He was alerted that there was a shooting at the University when he was on his lunch break. He immediately drove like a maniac towards the University. A school shooting was unfortunate when it happened in someone else's jurisdiction. However, when it happened in his jurisdiction, a school shooting was Anthony's worst nightmare.

When Anthony got to the university, he immediately found his subordinates and asked for a report. The assailant had been captured. The shooter killed five students and injured ten more. He was finally stopped by a flying soda machine.

Anthony was flabbergasted as he watched the footage in a replay. He saw the teenager get behind cover before the shooter opened fire. Did the kid feel that something was going to happen? How did he know to get behind cover? The most surprising part was the way he ran to the soda dispenser and threw it. The dispenser must have weighed 50 pounds!

Throwing 50 pounds cannot be considered a superhuman act but it certainly showed remarkable strength. Anthony shook his head, the kid certainly was a mystery but he did not want to get distracted from the shooter.

The media would want to know more about the shooter and his background; specifically how he brought a gun into college. Anthony ordered his subordinate to send someone to investigate the shooter. He was not looking forward to all the paperwork this incident would bring him.

*****

Michael was happy that the incident was over; he did not expect to get into a combat situation in college. He turned to Jennifer and helped her stand up; she looked like she had not yet recovered from the attack. He looked around and noticed injured students everywhere. The paramedics were going around and making rounds checking on everyone.

Fortunately, the Police had blocked off the media so the victims had some peace of mind for now. Several Policeman came by and thanked him for his heroic act. They asked him for his name and detail; Michael answered the bare minimum while not giving anything too much away. Fortunately, his Persuasion skill helped.

One of the Paramedics came to him. "Sir we are going to do a full medical check-up" He started gathering the supplies. Michael saw a syringe for drawing blood.

" No, I am good. I do not need a test." Michael must have said that louder than he thought because people turned around and started looking at him. He did not want to make a scene; However, the syringe will break if pressed against his skin and his secrets will be spilled so he had to avoid the test at all costs.

" I am sorry but the Police chief has ordered us to do full-check ups on all the students." The paramedic replied and reached for his equipment. He reached the syringe and pulled it out, ready to insert it into Michael's arms.

It was at this moment, Michael started panicking.