Dinner was a blast. Kaylee was right; this burger joint was really good. The seven of us shared some laughs and a huge bucket of fries. At around 8 we left the restaurant and headed to the coffee shop.

The place was called Oddfellows; they were basically a diner. The atmosphere was nice, really inviting. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. I guess you could say I was nervous. The customers weren’t really expecting us to perform so when we walked in carrying Mike’s kit they looked at us weird. We all tried to ignore them as we set up the kit, the mics, and the amps.

We got done in about 35 minutes so we all chilled in a booth in the back of the room.

“How are you guys feeling?” Gabi asked.

“I’m not really all that nervous,” Tony answered. “This isn’t our first gig.”

“Yeah but it is your first gig in Texas, in front of people you’re not used to.” She had a point. The band took a break from performing last year so Mike and Tony could finish high school back in San Diego and so Jaime and I could focus on our first year. This really was our first performance in Texas. Shit.

“Well we have performed before so it’s no big deal,” Mike said. He was right, no big deal.

I wasn’t really one to get all that nervous at a performance. Usually I could put it out of my mind and just have fun with the boys. Tonight was different. I looked around the full room of people enjoying their dinners and cracked a knuckle. These people weren’t our usual crowd. They were people who probably listened to classic rock or country and would more than likely refuse to come back to the restaurant if we offended them with our music. I sighed.

“What’s up, Vic?” I turned to Kellin.

“Nothing, just thinking.” The rest of them turned to me. I nodded to ensure that I was okay and they went back to their conversation. Kellin kept looking at me though.

“Seriously Vic, what’s going on?” he whispered.

“I don’t know, I guess I don’t want to mess this up.” He put his hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it; you’ll do fine and everyone will love everything you guys play.” I smiled.

“Thanks Kells, you’re a great man.” He smiled shyly.

“Anything for you, beautiful.” I chuckled and checked my phone for the time.

“Shit guys, we’ve gotta get up there.” We left the girls and Kellin in the booth as we went up to space up front that we were performing on. After a quick tuning session I got on the mic. “Hello ladies and gents.”

“Hi!” Gabi yelled as she waved. There was a collective laugh in the room.

“Hey Gabs. Anyway, my name is Vic and we,” I waved my hand around the band, “are Pierce The Veil.” People clapped and of course the three in our booth cheered loudly. I laughed and made a note to throw some appreciation their way during our set. “This first song is called ‘Chemical Kids and Mechanical Brides’.” I looked at the boys for confirmation to start the song and soon we were in a groove.

After the song I went up to the speaker and plugged in my phone. “Okay guys, this next song is one we’re really proud of. Here’s ‘The Balcony Scene’.” We’d been wanting to debut it for the longest time but there just wasn’t a good opportunity. Now seemed a good a time as any.

“Yeah Boy and Doll Face” and “Falling Asleep on a Stranger” were up next. The customers were really feeling our vibe which was wonderful. Before we knew it we’d played for almost half an hour when we went to re-tune.

I looked up at the booth as I turned a peg on my guitar. Kellin and the girls were smiling at us. Honestly, their smiles could light up the entire place. I could tell they were proud of us and shit, I was proud of us too. We were killing at an unfamiliar place and no one told us to shut up. Then again we played songs that weren’t that heavy but still, it was great to see that everyone was so excepting of us.

We played “Wonderless” next and that was when I knew the crowd was in love with us. They had the same reaction Kay, Brandon, and Kellin had when we played it the other day. There was thunderous applause when we finished the song.

I laughed into the mic. “Thanks you guys, that means a lot.”

“You’re welcome!” I heard Kellin yell. I laughed again.

“Alright, this next one is call-” Just then a cop burst through the door.

“I’m sorry to interrupt but this block has to go on lockdown. Now.”

***

There was a shooting.

The entire block had to lock down and turn off all the lights.

Downtown Dallas was a hot zone.

From what we could tell there was a man on the loose with a gun shooting at cops and anyone else who was around. We had to sit in the shop underneath the table of the booth and be extremely quiet. Gabi couldn’t stop shaking.

“Hey don’t worry,” Jaime comforted her, “we’re not gonna let anything happen to you.” He put an arm around her and held her close.

“I’m not worried about us, I’m worried about Brandon.” Kaylee held her hand, the same look of concern etched on her face. Their brother was supposed to be at football practice and then come to the shop right after. He wasn’t here and neither of the girls could get a hold of him. Kaylee took her sister into her arms and rubbed her back.

I sat back against the bottom of the booth seat and sighed as I looked around the room. People were so scared. Moms had to keep their kids from crying or asking questions. Couples on dates held each other close. Red and blue lights flashed through the window. I couldn’t believe it. Never in a million years did I think that I’d be in a situation like this. I closed my eyes and quietly let out a breath.

“You good, Vic?” I turned to Kellin and nodded. “I don’t believe you.”

“Don’t worry Kells, I’m good.” I could tell by the look on his face that he wasn’t buying it. He nudged me.

“C’mon man, you can tell me.” I sighed.

“Guess I just didn’t expect this to happen.”

“Well no one expects a crazy guy to walk around downtown shooting people.”

“That’s not what I meant,” I said as I shook my head. “I just, I don’t know. I guess I just didn’t expect to be going through something like this at such a young age. And look at these kids. They just wanted to have dinner with their families but now they’re in this too. It’s not right.” I closed my eyes and leaned my head back. I could feel that Kellin was looking at me but I didn’t want his sad looks or consoling voice. I was angry. I was scared. I was…

In the distance gun shots were heard. Everything moved in slow motion. One second we heard three shots go off and the next we saw a man fall in front of the door. The seven of us huddled even closer together under the table, Gabi crying softly into Kay’s chest. I pulled Mike and Kellin close to me and neither of them fought back. Jaime and Tony just sat there with scared looks on their faces. I couldn’t blame them. A fucking body dropped a few feet away from us.

More gun shots were heard. I saw paramedics run past the door and down the street to tend to the killed and injured. They had ran about three times, meaning three people were down. Maybe more.

“Shouldn’t we evacuate or something?” Mike whisper-shouted. Jaime shook his head.

“The guy’s still out there.”

“But what about the kids here? What about the girls? They don’t know about their brother. What about these families who can’t call anyone? What the fuck are we supposed to do, just fucking sit here?” I didn’t try to quiet him down because I was just as angry as he was.

Kaylee held Mike’s hand in an attempt to calm him down; it seemed to work. I looked out the window for no reason. I just wanted to know if death would come and take me and my friends. It seemed pretty quiet out there; all I could see were red and blue lights. Then, in an instant, the world stopped.

***

It all happened so fast.

Too fast.

All I can remember are the screams of the girls and the other people in the restaurant and the faces of the guys as we sat in fear.

The gunman was here. Holding his pistol. He’d apparently snuck through the back door. I guess the cops were only posted out in the front.

He shot a warning shot in the air after the first few screams. Mike and Jaime held the girls to calm them down. Kellin and I got closer to each other until I could feel his heart racing in his chest. Tony hid behind Mike’s body as much as he could. Poor guy, he looked like he was gonna piss himself. I couldn’t blame him though. This was probably gonna be our last moment together.

A crazy guy, who hadn’t said a single word since he entered the room, was walking around with a gun, waiting for someone to give him a reason. Luckily the younger children weren’t crying, thank God. The guy walked past our booth, his boots stomping on the ground. He stopped in front of a table where a young couple was hiding under. They couldn’t have been more than 17 years old. He bent down and pulled the girl up by her arm and whispered something in her ear. She just nodded in response, tears streaming down her face. He put the pistol into her spine and walked to the front door.

After kicking the door down he called out into the street. “I have someone here and if any of you fuckers wanna stop me you’ll have to pay the consequences!” I heard him pull the trigger and push the gun into her further. Her boyfriend just looked at the two of them, his face white and wet with fear and tears.

What happened next was truly amazing. It didn’t’ take long for the cops to run in through the back door, guns cocked. The guy turned quickly and was shot in the chest six times. Everyone in the restaurant just ran out the door and into their cars. We weren’t an exception. I grabbed whoever’s hands I was close to and pulled them out the door with me. As I started the car I couldn’t help but think about the lifeless body I ran past.

Notes