Here I am. Send me.--Chapter Eight

Evelyn deals with the aftermath of the school shooting.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Watching John charge into the school with the other two officers behind, Evelyn felt her anxiety ratchet up, causing her to hyperventilate. She knew what to do. Closing her eyes, she allowed the breathing to go at its own pace for a moment. Then she counted down the breaths with each count being just slower than the one before. By the time she reached thirty, her breathing was nearly normal although she could still feel the fight-or-flight adrenaline pouring through her bloodstream.

But she also had training, and her training told her to report in. She spoke into her phone.

"Call Amanda." It was the first words she had spoken since the radio call had come in.

Calling Amanda Burrows. The computer voice echoed back.

Amanda's voice came over the line. "Where are you?"

Evelyn failed to keep the slight shudder from her voice, "I'm at Calvary Christian Academy. My officer just went inside."

A pause. "You're first on the scene so you'll take point. I'm sending out an all-hands and we'll get everyone available to the site as soon as we get the all-clear. Let me know when that happens. Your job will be to work with the kids, note any that show signs of trauma, and get the rest safely to their parents as quickly as possible. We'll need to set up a secondary staging area for potentially traumatized students to wait for their parents and our people will speak with both child and parents when the parents arrive. No one is to have anything more than specific directions and superficial discussions with the children until their parent or guardian is present. Do you understand that?"

This was moving too quickly. Evelyn nodded and then realized it wasn't FaceTime. "Yes ma'am. I'll let you know as soon as I hear an all-clear and then I'll coordinate the process of getting the children to their parents."

"Right. I'll be waiting for your call." Amanda hung up.

There were now more than ten police cars and one van along the front of the school. The principal was pacing back and forth with tears streaming down her cheeks, the veneer of calm being stretched beyond its limits.

Evelyn got out of the vehicle and walked up to her. She tried a smile which died before it reached her lips. "Hi. I'm Evelyn Dunham with the Partner-in-Care program. We work with the police."

The other woman nodded absently. "Yes. I'm familiar with your program."

"How are you doing?"

The principal's voice came out as an irritated growl, "How do you think I'm doing?"

"I think that you're frightened, frustrated, and angry."

The woman looked into Evelyn's eyes, "Sorry that I bit your head off. Yes. I'm all of those things but I'm not ready to have a therapist session until I know my kids are safe."

"If you are nonfunctional when they come out, who's going to take care of them?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"What do you need to say?"

"I need to say that I don't understand any of this. These are children! I read about these things in the news, and we prepare and train and conduct drills, but it just seems so impossible. Who would do this?!"

"You've had the training, so you know the conventional answers to that question."

"But those were training sessions. That wasn't real. This is real!" She reiterated her question. "Who would do this?!"

"I don't know but the police are in there right now making sure that your kids are safe. They'll take care of everything. I watched you just now and you were great at keeping it together and directing the police. You did your job well and should be proud."

"I'll be as proud as you want when this is over. Right now, I'm just scared."

Gunshots erupted from inside the building and both women instinctively ducked. There were a few seconds of silence and then another barrage of gunfire.

Evelyn made her way back to the patrol car and opened the door. The radio crackled with a male officer breathing heavily, "Dispatch, Forty-Four Twenty-Two Golf Tango. 10-47. Signal Code eleven."

"Signal Code Eleven. Copy."

Evelyn knew that '10-47' meant 'medical assistance needed'. She didn't understand 'signal code eleven'. But there was no more radio traffic from that officer.

A different, female voice came on, "Dispatch, Fourteen Thirty-One Bravo Foxtrot. Disposition Code Twelve."

"Disposition Code Twelve. Copy."

'Disposition Code Twelve' meant 'location secure'. Evelyn turned around and was about to tell the principal when a policewoman came out of the door and approached the older woman. "Ma'am, the all-clear has been given. Please pass the word to your teachers to avoid the area above Old Hickory Hall. If their route from their present location leads through there and they cannot find another route, then have them stay in their location until we notify you."

The older woman nodded exhaustedly, "I understand." And she started texting on her phone.

Evelyn called Amanda, "We've got the all-clear. The kids are going to start coming out."

"I've got three other crisis-responders who will be there within a minute. Set up the special care and waiting areas and station the clinicians with the teachers at the exits from the building to collect the children at these locations for roll calls. The school is notifying parents now, and if you look up, you'll probably see a news helicopter. Within the next minute, everyone in town will know. There are still a lot of ways these kids can be emotionally injured. Keep them safe."

"Yes, ma'am."

Evelyn was now out of waiting mode and had a plan of action. As police officers darted around her, she focused on finding two locations that were large enough to hold a large number of children, near enough to asphalt to allow for pick-up by the parents, and out of the way of the police operations and the approaching ambulances, which she could now hear. She tried to put those out of her mind.

Adrienne from the CTC showed up along with Rob and Melanie. She brought them up to speed and had them stationed at the doors just in time for the first group of children to be led out by one of the teachers. The principal immediately met with the teacher and did a quick headcount before Evelyn took the teacher in tow and led her and her charges out to the large area next to the sports field.

As they walked, she spoke to the teacher, "Are any of your students reacting more strongly than the others?"

There was no hesitation. "Alex. He hasn't made a sound since it started. He doesn't move, either, unless I tug at him. He's not responding to spoken requests and isn't interacting with other children."

"Is he normally shy?"

"Not unusually so. This is unusual behavior for him."

"Do you have someone who can walk him over to that area under the trees? We need to reduce his stimuli and keep him under observation until his parents get here."

"Yes. We have a student intern." She raised her voice, "Kathy!"

A woman in her late teens to early twenties trotted up. "Yes, Anne?"

"Please go with this woman and take Alex to where he can reduce his sensory input for a while."

"Will do." Kathy went back and took a young boy of about seven by the hand. He ignored the contact until she pulled at his hand and then he docilely followed the pull. He stared straight ahead with his face devoid of emotion.

Evelyn fell in alongside. "Kathy, do you know Alex's parents?"

"I've met them twice. Once at the beginning of school and a second time at the parent-teacher conference night."

"Would you mind introducing me to them when they arrive? My name is Evelyn and I'm with Metro's Partner-in-Care program."

"Okay, I guess."

"Good. You stay here and I and my teammates may bring some other children to you. Are you okay with that?"

"Sure."

"Thank you." Evelyn headed back toward the school to see a third ambulance arriving and EMT's rushing carts into the school through the front entrance. The children had all been diverted to a side door. She noted Rob from her team escorting another child toward Kathy.

Cars were lining up, and terrified parents were honking their horns and demanding to be let through to pick up their kids. The police set up traffic control and directed them to the rally point where their children were waiting. After a few tense moments, the line settled into an ad hoc organization.

As Evelyn worked her way through the larger group of children, she kept an eye on Kathy and four children under the trees. When she saw a woman exit from a car and run toward the group, she headed back over, arriving at the same time as the parent.

Kathy was facing the woman and pointed to Evelyn, "Mrs. Landers, this is Evelyn..."

Evelyn broke in, "I'm Evelyn Dunham of the Metro Partner-in-Care Program." She looked back at Kathy.

Kathy understood, "Mrs. Landers is Alex's mom."

Evelyn nodded, "Mrs. Landers, we noticed that Alex was reacting very strongly to what happened here today..."

"Shouldn't he?!" The woman was nearly hysterical herself. "I mean... shouldn't he?!"

"Yes, ma'am. It was a very traumatic event. I believe that you should get your son to the doctor as quickly as possible and discuss with them therapy or mental health care."

"Do you think he's okay?"

"We think that he might need a little extra help to process what happened today."

The mother was calming down. "We'll go straight to the doctor's office. I'm sure they'll squeeze him in if I explain the circumstances."

"That sounds like the best plan."

"Thank you." Mrs. Landers took her son in tow and headed to their car.

Evelyn was turning back to the school when she saw Melanie, her fellow social worker, bringing a young girl toward them. A double take confirmed that the child was Leyla.