Point Blank

By Mark A. Rempel

All Seth Anderson wanted to do was to graduate. Point Blank takes us into the final weeks of his senior year as Seth finishes his last assignment-a project for his philosophy class exploring the question, "What is the meaning of life?" Suddenly Seth finds himself in the middle of the worst school shooting in the history of America and forced to find meaning for his own life, while staring point blank at the barrel of a gun. What would you say if a gun was pointed at your head, Point Blank?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: Jun 30, 2002
• ISBN: 9781418556921

Book preview

POINT BLANK

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OTHER BOOKS IN THE EXTREME FICTION SERIES

Book 2: Breakout

Book 3: Real

POINT BLANK

MARK A. REMPEL

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Copyright © 2002 by Mark A. Rempel

All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured from the publisher to use or reproduce any part of this book, except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Scripture quotations are from THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Rempel, Mark A.

   Point blank / Mark Rempel.

     p. cm.—(Extreme fiction series ; bk. 1)

  Summary: A senior class assignment prompts students to consider past events that have shaped their philosophies of life, leading two troubled boys to plan what will be the worst school shooting in American history.

   ISBN 0-7852-6546-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)

   1. School shootings—Fiction. 2. Christian life—Fiction. 3. High schools—Fiction. 4. Schools—Fiction. 5. Phoenix (Ariz.)—Fiction. I. Title

   PZ7.R2838 Po 2002

   [Fic]—dc21

2002003473

Printed in the United States of America

02 03 04 05 06 QWB 5 4 3 2 1

To the families and students

of Columbine High School.

Your triumph is changing the world.

CONTENS

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 22

CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 25

CHAPTER 26

CHAPTER 27

CHAPTER 28

CHAPTER 29

CHAPTER 30

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

SNEAK PEEK

CHAPTER 1

911 EMERGENCY.

I heard shots everywhere, the caller screamed. The static coming from the connection was almost unbearable.

Come back?

Shots—they’re shooting again!

Where are you calling from?

What? What?

Where are you calling from?

School. The school. I’m in school.

What school?

Silence.

Are you injured?

Whimpering. All that could be heard was whimpering.

Can I have your name?

Oh No! They’re starting again! Help us! Send someone! I think they’re coming this way. They’re coming this way!

Who? Are you there? Stay on the line. You are calling from a cell phone. I need to know where you are so I can have a police car dispatched to your location immediately.

Please send someone. I’m scared. I can hear their footsteps.

Whose footsteps? Please settle down.

They just shot one of my teachers. My teacher. What teacher? Who? Who’s shooting?

History . . . my history teacher.

Who shot your history teacher? Silence. Hello? Two. I saw two of them.

Two?

Yeah. I think.

What school are you in?

School? It’s Lincoln. Lincoln High.

Where are you located in the school?

Janitor’s closet. I don’t know. I think I’m in the janitor’s closet. Somewhere upstairs. I don’t know. Phone static. I don’t know.

Come back?

No response, just static.

I have to whisper. Oh, no, I think I hear someone coming.

The connection was getting worse.

Are you there? Hello? Hello? Is anyone there?

Heavy breathing. Silence. Boots walking. Glass crunching.

Hello? Are you injured?

Shhh.

Silence again.

I think he’s gone.

Are you injured?

I’m bleeding. My left arm is bleeding from the glass. Can you get my mom on the phone? I just want my mom. I just want my mom. I want to talk to my mom!

Heavy breathing. Overwhelming sobs.

Can you see anything going on in the building?

What? I can’t see anything. It’s dark in this closet.

Can you tell me if anybody else in the building has been injured?

What? I told you, I don’t know. I was in class and . . .

Silence.

And what?

I think they’re coming back.

Who’s they?

They are. Please, God. No!

What is your name?

My name?

A door handle turned. The heavy door protecting Lincoln’s second-floor mop and broom closet opened slowly with a squeak.

OH NO! NO! PLEASE, NO!

The low dial tone sent the message that the phone connection had been cut off.

Hello? Hello? Is anyone there? Please tell me someone is there.

The second-floor janitor’s closet was now empty. A trail of blood was all that had been left behind.

CHAPTER 2

IS THIS THING ON? Still dark. This is crazy. What button am I not pushing? Oh, I guess it helps if you take the lens cap off. Good one, Seth. You’re bright. So bright your SAT scores will get you into the special education college of your choice. Enjoy the short bus . . .

Seth checked one more time, by waving his hand in front of the lens, to make sure the camera was working before he stood in front of it.

I think we’re in business. Uh, this is Seth Anderson. Senior at Lincoln High School. I’m 5'9, well built, dark hair, brown eyes, and presently lookin’ for a lady. No, this is stupid. Cut! I’ll start over."

Seth cleared his throat and started over.

Seth Anderson. Senior at Lincoln High School. Senior philosophy class. My senior project is to make a video that answers the question ‘What is the meaning of life?’ I’m no movie director, but it was either this or a ten-thousand-word essay on the subject. And, well, Mr. Danielson, you know how I am with words. I’m not sure how good this will be because I obviously had some issues with the lens cap.

The camera clicked off.

Oh great. Now what?

CHAPTER 3

LIZ, TIME TO GET UP.

There was no movement. Bernice Clarabough tapped on her daughter’s door again. Did you hear me, Liz?

Liz let out a big moan. Her mother opened the door wider now, only to find Liz’s short 5'4" frame sprawled out on the floor beside her bed.

Liz, what happened?

What?

How on earth did you get from your bed to the floor?

Liz opened her eyes, focusing, on her surroundings. A sock, previously left on the bed, was stuck in her bright red hair. Liz pulled it out, staring at it oddly. No idea, Mom. No idea.

Bernice started picking up the dirty laundry spread out on the floor. You know, Liz, how many times have I told you, if you’d put your clothes away when you were done with them there wouldn’t be such a big mess always left where you dropped them.

No comment. Liz only moaned again.

I mean, how many times have you worn some of these? Once?

Liz sat up. Mom, I can take care of my own room. Coming in here at 6:30 to tell me to pick up my room isn’t a great way to start my day, all right?

Well, my dear, coming in here at 6:30 to see such a mess isn’t a great way to start my day either. You’re going to have to marry a neat freak or you’ll both drown under all the laundry.

I’ll take care of it, Mother, Liz said sharply while standing and stretching.

Well, I hope so. I’ll take a load downstairs. Breakfast is ready.

Give me a few seconds, all right? I just woke up. Bernice took a load of dirty clothes in her arms and headed down the stairs of their upper-middle-class Arizona home. The family had just moved out to Chandler, a southern suburb of Phoenix, a year earlier. Although the children had thought it was for a job transfer, Bernice and her husband, Mark, knew that the reason went far deeper. It had been a last-ditch effort to save their only daughter’s life. The crowd she had been hanging out with at her private school in Denver wasn’t a positive one. Her daughter’s involvement with witchcraft had left them torn and confused as a family.

Thank You, Lord, Bernice whispered as she shoved the load of Liz’s clothes into the washer. There wasn’t a day that had gone by since Liz’s life had been changed that she didn’t thank God for the new life their daughter had been given.

Shortly before they moved, Liz had planned to run away. But after visiting Bernice’s sister in Phoenix she changed her mind. A weekend retreat with her aunt’s youth group caused Liz to make a 180-degree change in her life. One of the leaders who prayed with her at an altar that weekend said she couldn’t get Liz to stop crying. Somehow, some way, God had broken through her metal heart. She came back to Denver changed.

Liz, breakfast!

Coming.

When Bernice and Mark saw Liz slipping back into the peer pressure of the students at her school, they knew that a permanent change was needed. Although it hurt for Liz to leave, she wasn’t opposed. Besides, she liked the hot weather and the fact that she could swim just about any day of the year.

Liz finished applying her eyeliner and closed her compact, putting it in her blue Gap backpack. She grabbed it by the strap and headed down the stairs to the kitchen. Since the move, Liz had made a conscious effort to really work on what she called her relationship with God. Day after day, night after night, Liz would lock herself in her room singing and praising God. Embarrassed by her voice, Liz would sing softly so nobody could hear her singing. Also, it wasn’t abnormal to find her asleep next to her Bible, sprawled out on the family room floor in the morning. For Bernice, it had been a miracle. For Liz, she had found the truth, and that truth had set her free. Free from all the crap that she once looked to give her life meaning.

Where’s Dad?

Bernice poured herself a cup of coffee. He had to fly back to Denver today, on business. He should be back by dinner tonight.

Quick trip. I was hoping to talk to him this morning. Liz set a bowl of cereal on the island that was centered in the middle of their kitchen. Bernice had told her a hundred times not to do that.

You were? Is there anything you can talk to me about?

Not anything you won’t hype out about.

Hype out, huh? Am I that bad?

Just on the weekends, Liz said back with a smile. Is it about that boy?

Boys? Mom, I can’t talk to you about boys. You flip.

Bernice sat down at the table. I’m all ears this morning. No flips. I promise.

Cross your heart?

Bernice made a cross with her fingers over the top of her chest. Crossed.

Liz sat down now with two slices of toast loaded with peanut butter. Well, that guy that likes me, uh, Seth, you know, Seth?

Go easy on the peanut butter, Liz. Yes, I know Seth.

Well, he asked me to go with him to the prom. And, well, I’d like to say yes.

Bernice took a deep breath. She was ready to flip. Liz and her had such a special friendship. This entire situation with Seth seemed to be stretching their relationship in all kinds of new ways. Bernice sighed.

There you go already, your pre-flipping exercise, Liz said with a mouthful of bread. The statement was almost incomprehensible because along with a mouthful of bread, Liz also had a mouthful of peanut butter.

What?

You’re breathing hard. I know you’re gonna flip when you breathe hard.

Bernice took a sip of her coffee, trying to relax. It’s just that you know how your father and I feel about you dating someone who is not a Christian. Sweetheart, there are a million things that you and I agree on. But this is just one area that we don’t.

I know. That’s why I wanted to talk to Dad. To explain a few things.

Well, said her mother, taking a deep breath, give me a try. She exhaled and tried to look calm. Her frown had been replaced with a plastic smile.

Liz was quiet for a moment, and then she spoke. First of all, he’s a really nice guy. I mean, really nice. He’s not like all the other jerks at Lincoln. He’s into building a relationship, not trying to get something from me on the weekends. He opens the doors and carries my books. He’s the first guy I’ve ever met who is like that.

Now, Liz, how about the guys in youth group? Surely there is a gentleman there.

You know, you’d think that. Some of them are worse than the guys at school. They go to youth group to get one thing—

Liz! Bernice responded, banging the heavy bottom of her coffee cup on the table.

"Well, it’s true. You tell me why some of my friends at