It
was Saturday evening around five, the air was crisp that day, for winter was
coming to a close. The world patiently awaited spring’s arrival, but it
wouldn’t come for another month and a half. I stood outside in the cold,
wearing a jacket that was not quite fit for the harsh winds and thirty degree
weather.
“Are
you coming?” Dan asked. He was a friend of mine who I met a couple months back
when I first transferred to UMBC that spring semester.
“Yeah,
sounds fun.” I answered as a visible puff of air corresponded with my words. Earlier that week, Dan had been begging me to
see the new movie, 300: Rise of an Empire, with him and a couple of our
friends. Since I honestly had nothing planned for the rest of the day, I
thought hanging out with a few friends would be better than sitting in my room
staring at the wall all night.
“Great!
We’re going to catch the bus around 8:15, see you there.” With that, he turned
and waved goodbye as he headed down the hill to where, I presume, his classes
were. I, on the other hand, trekked up the hill towards the warmth and coziness
of my dorm room to wait out the cold winter hours until 8:15 rolled around.
Finally it was time to leave the comfort of my dorm and
head towards the bus stop. Halfway down the hill, I noticed that I had brought
my backpack with all my school supplies in it. I briefly glanced back in the
direction of my dorm and considered traveling back up the hill to drop off my
bag. I quickly shook the thought out of my head and proceeded to the bus stop.
As I neared the meeting place, I noticed that Dan, Cam, Yasmine, Tonya, Jade,
and Kim were already there, which meant that I was the last to arrive. We talked
about classes and schedules as we patiently waited for the bus. Once it arrived,
we jumped on and headed to the Anne Arundel Mills mall and theater.
At
the theater we bought tickets and snacks, then took our seats. The room was
incredibly crowded since it was the night of the movie premier. We were lucky
to get seats near each other. The movie played as any ordinary movie would, with
lots of combat and a little romance. Overall, the film was extremely exciting
and fun to watch. Only a couple of minutes remained as the two main characters
battled each other in a bloody and vicious war.
What
proceeded next took only a few seconds, but it felt as though someone had
pressed a button that made the entire world slow down. The sound was the first
thing I noticed. A bang so loud, so uncalled for and unnerving, I believed it
was a sound effect from the movie. The bang was followed by a glimpse of bright
yellow light followed by a thin trail of smoke. The light was so close to me
that I could see each and every confused, wide-eyed expression on the faces
around me. Then silence only for a moment, yet that moment felt like a
lifetime. The silence, I’ve never heard anything like it. It was so deafening,
I could practically hear the blood pump through my veins. The calm before the storm,
it was called. Indeed it was. No one moved an inch. We were all frozen in our
seats like statues, petrified with fear, yet our muscles were tense and ready
for the storm that would proceed.
Just
a mere second had passed, then the chaos ensued. All at once, as if some
imaginary siren went off, everyone was up out of their seats, scrambling to get
away. Pushing, shoving, falling, crawling, every sort of movement known to
mankind, trying to escape. Screams of blind terror filled the room, echoing off
the walls. Their cries of prayers and calls for help seemed to go unanswered.
I
had forgotten that I was part of the chaos, that what I was experiencing was
indeed real. For it felt as if I was watching some overly realistic doomsday
thriller. Then, I realized, I must find my friends. In all the chaos we had
gotten separated. I looked around the panic-stricken room desperately searching
for the six people I came with. The darkness made my searching laborious, I
squinted as my eyes tried to adjust to the pitch black surroundings. A second
shot went off, followed by an even more intense wave of screams. Luckily, a
flash lit the room just long enough for me to spot three of my friends, Tonya,
Yasmine, and Kim. Bang!
“Get
down!” Yasmine yelled to me. “Get down, you’ll be a target. Crawl! CRAWL!” It
was only then did I realize I was standing straight up. I might as well have
had a bullseye placed on my forehead that read “Shoot me.” I immediately
dropped to the ground like a lead weight. There was so much adrenaline coursing
through my body that I had barely noticed I had bashed my knee against one of
the chairs as I went down. I noticed my backpack, lying on the ground in front
of me. It was stuck, caught between two of the theater chairs. Without
thinking, I immediately reached for it, mindlessly tugging on it; trying to
free it. I looked back towards the exit, which seemed miles away, then back to
my bag. I paused for a second, then let go and headed for the exit. I dragged
my body down the stairs ignoring the people in front of me, but occasionally
looking behind me to keep track of my friends.
I
could see the exit clearly now, I could see the light protruding somewhere
beyond the confinements of the room. I began to crawl faster, pushing past
strangers who blocked my way to safety. In all the chaos, I heard a wailing
that cut so deep through my body that I couldn’t ignore it. I looked to my
right and saw a woman, not much older than I was, lying on the floor. Her hands
covered her face and chest. A waterfall of tears rolled down her cheeks as she
continued her bloodcurdling cries of despair. I looked at her longer than I
should have. I felt something grab my shirt and yank me to my feet. Terrified, I
jumped forward, freeing myself from the thing that held me. Before I could take
another step, I felt the same thing grab my arm and tug me backwards. A
familiar voice called to me from behind.
“We have to go.” I looked back to see Cam. His
hand held my arm, yet his eyes were darting around the room searching for what,
I wasn’t sure. I took one last glance at the crying woman on the floor, then
followed Cam’s lead as he pulled me towards the exit.
We
were bathed in bright light as we passed through the doors, held open by what
seemed like the manager, ushering people out of the theater. Just a few feet
away, I saw Dan, Yasmine, Kim, and Jade. They stood shaken and huddled in a
mass against the wall. Still panicked, there was no sense of relief in our
reunion. They franticly talked among themselves about what to do. I was too on
edge to fully listen to their banter. Then it hit me, someone’s missing. At
exactly that same moment, Dan asked, “Where’s Tonya?” Fear and concern slowly
began to rise in the faces of my friends as they all went silent. No one spoke,
only our thoughts went rampant as images of the worst possible scenarios
entered our minds.
After what seemed like an eternity, Cam
finally spoke, “Leave her.” His voice was dry and raw, his eyes showed no sign
of emotion or uncertainty, only the need to survive.
“She’s probably dead, we have to leave her” He
said. Stunned with disbelief, I stared around at my circle of friends waiting
for someone to object, but no one did.
“Come on!” he shouted impatiently. He took off
at a sprint, followed by the remainder of our group. Terrified of being
separated, I too took off sprinting. I ran so fast I felt as if I was flying. I
barely noticed my feet touch the ground or my heart pound in my chest. I only
felt the wind whip by my body as I literally ran for my life.
As
I ran through the mall, I saw strange faces fly past me. If only I could tell
them what was happening. Tell them to run, to get to safety, but there was no
time for that. I could not stop, I had to run, there was no other choice. I
could see the doors that lead to the outside. I pushed open the big glass doors
as easily as I could lift a finger. The adrenaline continued to race through my
body as I exited the building. The once cold and harsh winter air that stung my
face, was no more frigid than a cool autumn breeze as I fled to the parking
lot.
I
ran through an endless sea of cars that seemed to go on and on with no end in
sight. There was no destination, no plan or objective. The only solution was to
run until I could not run any more. I was not an athlete. I never ran track,
played basketball, swam or danced, the most I would do was go to the gym a
couple times a week. As a result, the effects of the sprinting began to take
hold. My chest felt heavy and every breath I took felt like burning hot
sandpaper as it entered my lungs. The muscles in my legs began to weaken as the
pain and achiness started to take over. I knew I wasn’t able to last much
longer.
“Cam!” I cried out as loudly as my lungs would
allow.
Thankfully
he heard me and stopped to stare in my direction.
“Cam…I
can’t…” These were the only words I could form to express my total and complete
exhaustion. He looked at the theater, then to me and nodded as he believed we
were far enough out of harm’s way for the moment. I leaned up against a nearby
truck for support as the group began to formulate a plan. As they conversed
over possible options, a faint and ominous noise echoed in the distance
followed by a third wave of screams. Nearly a second later a horde of people
came franticly running away from the theater where the source of the terrifying
noise originated.
“I
know a place not too far from here, come on!” Cam announced as the throng of people
closed in on us. Again we were off in an adrenaline fueled sprint. There was a
road with oncoming cars just in view, yet there was no sign of us slowing down.
With only the slightest hesitation, Cam darted across the road to a small
clearing on the other side. One-by-one each person crossed the road and made it
safely across until Yasmine and I were the only ones left. I could see the
reluctant look in her eyes as cars whizzed by. There was a small break in the
traffic so I made a split second decision, grabbed her by the arm, and dashed
across the road to the others.
Finally
we were safe and able to catch our breaths. Our emotions began to take over
everyone in the group including myself. Tears and wails of confusion filled the
night air as the realization of what just happened sunk in.
“Tonya!
What about Tonya? Cam, we have to go get her. We can’t leave her there” Yasmine
cried.
“Okay,
calm down, try calling her on her phone” he suggested rather calmly. Cam’s idea
reminded me that I had put my phone in my back pocket before the movie started.
When I reached for it, I saw it only had four percent battery life. I could
make only one phone call and it would have to be short. Without hesitation my
fingers hastily dialed an all too familiar number. I rested the phone against
my ear as I heard the systematic ringing and restlessly waited for someone to
pick up.
Finally
someone did, “Hello?”
“Mom!”
I cried out. Tears instantly streamed down my face as I tried explained to her
what happened.
“Mom
I need you to come get me, I’m at the Anne Arundel mall. There was a shooting
and I’m so scared. Oh God, what do I do?”
“I’m
on my way, stay where yo-“ was all I heard before my phone died.
“Mom?
Mom? Damnit!” I cried. I put my hands on my head, closed my eyes, and took a
few deep breaths to center myself. I turned to face the rest of my group only
to see that Cam was missing. Dan saw the confused look on my face and walked
over to me.
“Yasmine
was able to get in touch with Tonya. She said that Tonya was lying by the door
to the theater, so Cam went to go find her” he informed me. I nodded slowly,
hoping that both of them would arrive back soon and unharmed. The cold began to
sink in as the adrenaline left my system. I stayed huddled next to Dan as I
watched Kim and Jade comfort Yasmine. Time seemed to inch by as we waited for
their return.
I
wasn’t sure how much time had passed before I heard footsteps approaching from
behind. In the dark it was hard to see, but I could make out an odd hunchback
shaped figure walking toward us.
“Cam?”
Yasmine asked wearily.
“Yeah,
it’s me” he responded in a somewhat strained voice. “I found her, but she’s not
doing too well. She got trampled during the chaos.” Shocked by the news, I
inched closer to see a small limp body on the back of Cam. Tonya was fading in
and out of consciousness. He carefully laid her down on the ground as she let
out a small whimper of pain.
“I
saw an ambulance near the mall, I’m going to get its attention. Stay here, make
sure to keep her awake.” Cam once again ran off into the darkness, searching
for help. I watched as Yasmine was calmly talking to Tonya in an attempt to
keep her conscious. Another unmeasurable amount of time passed before bright
flashing lights came into view. The truck crossed the road and parked awkwardly
on the side of clearing.
We
made way for the two EMTs that withdrew from the truck, each carrying a large
bag of medical supplies. I folded my arms across my chest, desperately trying
to get warm. Cam approached me and put his jacket around me.
“Thanks.”
I said in a grateful, yet tired voice.
“No
problem. How are you holding up by the way?” The question was directed towards
me, but he kept his eyes glued to the scene unfolding in front of him.
“Shaken,
but I’m alive” I responded.
“It’s
crazy how something like that could happen in a place like this. I guess nowhere
is truly safe.” His voice reflected the sadness and anger he felt.
“I
guess.” I said in a voice no louder than a whisper. I turned my attention back
to Tonya and watched as the EMTs placed her on a stretcher. Yasmine volunteered
to ride with her in the ambulance, while Dan and the others called a cab. I
offered Cam a ride back to campus with me once my mother arrived, since I
figured there wouldn’t be enough room for everyone to fit when the cab arrived.
Eventually everyone was able to get back to campus. Tonya stayed in the
hospital overnight and was treated for minor injuries. A week later I found out
that the gunshots we heard were actually homemade firecrackers that someone set
off to cause a scene. Firecrackers.
.
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
.
In
a room packed to the brim with people, no one utters a word. I look around only
to see blank stares gazing lifelessly towards a large screen. On it plays the
summer’s number one box office hit; The Avengers: Age of Ultron. As the
last thirty minutes start to creep away, a single bead of sweat rolls down my
forehead. My heart begins to pound as my breaths become shallower. Time ticks
away on what seems like an endless clock. Seconds pass, then minutes, yet I
feel frozen in the moment. My patience withers with every passing second. I
begin to stir and twitch in my seat. My hands clenched onto the armchairs like
a drowning man would to a life preserver. I’m waiting, waiting for what seems
like hours for something to happen. For the screams of terror to begin, the
crazed running of panicked individuals, and the absentminded shoving of others
as survival instincts take over. Yet silence is all I hear. Finally the movie
ends. With a breath of relief I loosen my grip from the chair and rise from my
seat. ‘You’re safe,’ I think to myself. ‘Nothing happened. No one got hurt.
You’re safe.’
Violence is everywhere. Even when we’re not looking, even
when we don’t want to look, it’s there. It’s in the places you would expect it
to be, like down dark alleyways in the middle of the night or in old abandoned
houses, deep in the woods. Yet, it’s also in the places you believed were
without a doubt, safe. For me, I experienced it first hand while in the company
of friends and strangers, in a place I never thought would be the target of such
chaos. I will never be able to see the world the same way again,
With that final thought, I make my
way out of the movie theater and towards the safety of my car, grateful I
didn’t experience what I had before on March 4, 2014. The night that changed my
life forever. “America’s 5,700 movie theaters remain one of the last major
public gathering places without routine security…three incidents in three years
have left 16 people dead and more than 80 injured” (Time)
Sources
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