Over the clamor and general chaos created by a mass of highschool students stuffed in a clammy chemistry room. It was nearly awe-inspiring to watch as a curiously bright-eyed student continued to turn the pages of a novel steadily as she read on despite all the noise, seemingly unperturbed. even as a craftily created paper airplane soared to land with a rude crash between her pages, she continued to read, merely brushing away the offending object when she came across those words unfortunate enough to be covered by sharply folded paper wings. Not even the shrill bell signaling the long awaited end of class could lift her warm brown eyes from the delicate print on age-worn cream pages. Soon enough every seat was claimed by one of the swarm and all subsided into tense silence, mouths clamped shut agianst urgent desires to continue talking to their neighbors and comrads, but they knew if they wanted to get out of the classroom anytime within the next century they'd hold their tounges for now. They nearly squirmed in their seats until the long-anticipated word finally slipped past the teachers smiling lips.

."Dismissed.".

The state of the room before was nothing compaired to what erupted now. Bodies and bags justled together in organized chaos, everything and everyone pushing towards the door, sweeping nerve-wrecking voices with the flow out and away. Orderly rows of desks surrendered to disorder in the haste to leave the classroom and all its burdens of respect and responsibility, cooperation and consideration. There was only one who stayed seated calmly until the others had squeezed past the door.

And that was Rose.

Already she was quite accomplished, but that didn't stop her curiousity of the unknown from pressing her further into her studies, quickly rising her ever nearer to the top. Already she had been skipped into highschool territory prematurely, but so far had she gone she was listed as an 'average' junior three years ahead of her original class, thus gaining her respect mingling with distaste and envy from her peers. But this didn't matter at the moment. All that did was finishing this last page, paragraph, sentence, word before the next chapter plunged into a beginning. When she finally closed the book with satisfaction, it was to a quiet and bare room aside from the teacher who was buisily planning for the next day that would come all too soon, as it always did.

Rose, You're-" But whatever wisdom her beloved teacher was about to part with was lost as an explosion followed by screams snapped the quiet, happy moment in half. A plume of smoke snaked it's way through the hallways and seeped into the room through the open door. That was all it tookFire sirens droned out whatever paniced noise could be heard before, a shrill pulsing so heartlike that set the teeth on grind. Rose made it through the door just in time to glimpse two stuggling figures take a vicious turn into another hallway. Her heart leapt in recognition and dread. Her pulse seemed to stop and speed all at the same time, and she was soon found sprinting down the hall despite her teachers screams...

The sickening stench of blood was nearly enough to bowl her over. A foot came into contact with it's source all too soon. Her mind went numb, utterly numb in realisation before limbs started striking out in random forcefully. Tears stung her eyes and left wet trails down her face. Throbbing black smoke choked off all intellegent thought and added fuel to the sheer instinct which controlled her now. Flames licked and devoured everything in it's path. All that could be seen or felt was dominated by fear, anger, and desperation so palpable as the waves of scalding heat blasting in her face, and the cold,cold gleam of steel in the firelight..