The Metropolitan Museum of Art was an ideal place for the day. The sun filled the skies and the light wind caressed every individual's skins. Hoards of people from all over the country came in all directions. Families, tourists, schoolchildren on a field trip; everyone was filling in into one of the world's finest art museums.
You look around, wondering what you should do first.
[[Just head inside]]
//or//
[[Look at the flowers outside]]Lingering outside in the nice sunshine, you look at through the nearby flowers. The nice collection of different flowers are aesthetically pleasing to the eyes and you give a small smile.
The nice aroma of the flowers lightens up your day.
//[[Reach down and pick a flower]] or [[Just head inside]]//You walk into the Met Roof Garden Bar and walk into the cafe.
The surroundings are nice and serene, even if the hundreds of other people surrounding you. You pop in your earbuds and walk over to the register and order a nice calming tea.
You look around to see there were barely any guards in this area. There was one broad shouldered guard standing at the far corner of the fake grassed balcony. You find a seat in the middle of the bustling cafe.
...//10 minutes later//...
With your clear cup delicately placed at its table, you flip through your book.
The sunny day's air was still crisp from the autumn season and slight breezes ruffled through your hair and danced along your skin.
//This is nice// you simply think to yourself, feeling as though you were part of a movie.
You continue to read and maintain your seat until you finished your tea. After finding a good stopping point, you look around and start people watching. There were probably over a hundred or two hundred people, all chatting and having a nice time.
The cafe balcony was packed, everyone sitting at such close proxmitity that if one person leaned back in their chair, they may hit the person sitting behind them.
Right near you, you see two groups.
//Who do you watch?//
[[The family of 5 with a cute baby]] or [[The attractive couple having a romantic date]]You glance around, wondering if anyone saw you; yet everyone was minding their own business, not caring to give you a second glance. You nodded to yourself and placed the flower into your jacket pocket.
You started heading into the museum with a smile on your face, greeting the guards who were posted throughout the entire lobby.
//Are you friends with the guards?//
[[Yes]] or [[No]]You swiftly go into the museum.
You look over to see guards posted in uniformed spacings all over the lobby. In front of you were hundreds of people bustling, trying to swiftly get into the building.
The incredibly building with high ceilings and vast space was enough to take your initial breath away.
As you walk through, you watch in amazement at the numerous paintings and sculptures; an incredible quantity and quality of cultures. You wonder how much more exquisite and expensive could the pieces be when the ones in the way front of the building were already so breathtaking.
You walk through the lobby and look at a directory.
//Where do you head to?//
[[Go to the museum's cafe]] or [[Examine The Ancient Egyptian exhibition]]The family of five were the epitome of what a family in an outing looked like. The children was restlessly playing while the baby in the stroller was loudly cooing at her mother, who was trying to make the baby laugh.
You continue to watch and the little boy, who was restlessly playing with his brother, looks over to you.
With a wide grin, he smiles and waves at you.
His brother, next to him, looked over and gives you a shy smile.
You let out a small chuckle and wave back.
Now the parents look over and give you a small nod with a bright smile as well.
//Such a bright family//, you thought.
[[Go over to the cute family]] or [[Examine The Ancient Egyptian exhibition]] You watch the couple keep looking into each other's eyes as they were dripping honey. The couple couldn't stop playing with each other's fingers; if not the fingers, they were touching each other's faces.
You let out a small chuckle and shook your head.
You continue to look around, thinking of what to do next.
[[Stay and continue your serenity]] or [[Examine The Ancient Egyptian exhibition]] You wave your hand and greet the guards you are friends with.
"How have you been doing?" one of the guards asked with a wide smile. "It's been a while"
"I know," you give a fake pout, then smile again.
You and the guards have a nice conversation about current happenings. They ask why you're back and you tell them you have to grab a couple things from your old locker.
They nod and hope you the best at your new job. With one last smile, you wave and head over to the "Employees Only" room.
You go to your old locker and grab your stuff; shoving it all in an old duffle bag you left in the tightly packed locker.
You pull out your phone and decide you want to get a cup of tea.
[[Go to the museum's cafe]] The guards give you a simple nod and you, just as simply, go through.
You adjust your large bag that you carried with you, and watch the guards as they half-heartedly let people in.
//Must be a hard day for y'all//, you think to yourself and shake your head slightly.
The incredibly building with high ceilings and vast space was enough to take your initial breath away.
As you walk through, you watch in amazement at the numerous paintings and sculptures; an incredible quantity and quality of cultures. You wonder how much more exquisite and expensive could the pieces be when the ones in the way front of the building were already so breathtaking.
You walk through the lobby and look at a directory.
//Where do you head to?//
[[Go to the museum's cafe]] or [[Examine The Ancient Egyptian exhibition]] You continue to relax as you continue to people watch when you heard that first bang.
You look around confused and watched your surroundings all collaspe.
The ground grew puddles of scarlet red and you froze as your brain was trying to process what was happening.
You look at the source of the craziness and see a person holding an automatic weapon.
Your brain then jerked into realization
//This is a [[Mass Shooting]]//You stroll through the countless amazing artworks. You continue your deep thoughts, admiring the work as if you were lost in your own world.
''//However...//''
You heard shrieks filling the museum.
You run out to see thousands of people sprinting out of the doors.
//What's going on?// you ask yourself.
Slightly scared, you head to run out of the museum as well.
''THERE'S A SHOOTER AT THE CAFE!''
Shivers ran along every inch of your skin and my breath caught in my throat. Sounds of continuous gunshots jerked me back and soon I ran with every bit of energy I had left.
[[Leave the Metropolitan Museum of Art!]]You walk over to the cute family and greet them.
The parents gives you a friendly greeting as well and you notice their deep southern accent.
The boys soon started to show off the newly bought toys from the museum's gift shop, with their own cute southern accents.
You act amazed for the boys and clap your hands together, making the boys even more excited about the new toys.
You look down to the adorable baby girl and wave with your index finger.
The baby coos loudly and gives the cutest giggle.
You continue the small talk with the family, who you soon find out that they came from the Tennesse.
You glance up at the security guard, who was close by to this table, leaving his post. You turn your attention back to the family.
After a little while, you get up and reach into your large bag. You hand over the book you were reading.
"This is a gift," you tell them.
With a confused look, the parents still thanks you with their great southern hospitality.
You nod and walk away from the table.
You plant your feet when reaching to a corner of the cafe, on the opposite side of where the family you just talked to are.
[[You then reach into your bag again]]You pull out the cold metal from inside your bag. No one noticed until you pulled the first shot.
''//BANG//''
[[You're a killer]]Golden status of pharaohs, a huge replica of the Temple of Dendur, and just the richness of ancient Egypt's history oozed out of the air.
//Magnificent//, you thought as you looked around.
You brush past the many people within this exhibition as well.
//There's so many people...//, you think to yourself as you squeeze past a crowd. However, after finding a nice empty space, you continue to browse and look through the amazing historical artifacts. As you continue, you then find yourself at the crosswords of the museum.
Do you [[Go to the museum's cafe]] or continue on to [[Examine The Renaissance exhibition]]? When I was outside in a safe distance, I watched as police sirens rang, ripping the air around me. Minutes passed, everything happening so quickly, and I heard more gunshots after SWAT stormed the building. I watched in horror as hundreds of people spilled out of the building covered in blood; a few were carried out with a white sheet covering them.
Out of sheer luck, you survived a mass shooting. You turn around to run and try to hold in your screams, hoping that the shooter somehow wouldn't notice you amongst the hundreds screaming.
However, the bullets rained through the air as if it was a shower.
Suddenly, a piercing pain.
You drop onto yourself, getting crushed by others in the process. You lay on your side, weakly reaching over to your stomach. Pulling your hand away, you see it covered with your own scarlet red and watch it spilling through your fingers
Your breath catches and starts to slow.
//No...// you think.
But even if with your denial, you start to fade.
//Please...//
............ Confusion.
Blood.
Screams.
Chaos.
You pulled the trigger again.
''//BANG//''
and again
''//BANG//''
and again
''//BANG//''
You watch as the family you just talked to watches you in horror. They quickly run off and get lost within the group of people who were all running away.
You shrug and start to spray the bullets into the crowd, wondering who would get hit.
Bodies continued dropping like flies.
The runaways' fears fueled your adrenaline.
You kept shooting until you got shot yourself.