�Oh, God, Ally!� Tara panicked.
Madison looked around frantically, trying to see over the heads of all the students standing in a huge cluster on the sidewalk. Where was the emergency crew? Finally, she spotted swirling red lights. Supporting Siobhan with one arm, she grabbed Tara�s wrist, �Okay, we�ve got to get Syvanni to an ambulance. Then you can stay with her and I�ll find Ally, okay?� Madison said, and she and Tara began heading over to the cluster of emergency services near the auditorium doors.
A paramedic spotted the three girls heading through the crowd towards the ambulance. He noticed the unconscious girl right away, and ran over, �What happened?� he asked.
�She...she fainted or something. Our friend...she�s in there!� Tara cried, nearly hysterical.
�Okay, just put her on the stretcher.� the paramedic directed, �We�ll get your friend out, I promise.�
Madison and Tara laid their friend down, �Okay, you stay with her, Tare, and I�ll find Ally, okay?� Madison suggested, and stroked Tara�s hair. �I�m sure she�s okay. We�d be able to tell if she wasn�t.� Madison assured her, hoping her friend wouldn�t sense her fear.
Surprisingly, Tara didn�t seem to, �Okay. I love you.� she whispered, shakily.
Madison hugged Tara briefly, �Love you too, sweetie.� Tara watched as Madison weaved through the crowd towards the yellow police tape outside the auditorium.
Siobhan stirred on the stretcher, �Tari?� she asked softly.
�Hey, honey, I�m here.� Tara said softly, as Siobhan tried to sit up, �Honey, lie down, you need to rest.�
�No, I�m fine. Where�s Ally?� Siobhan asked.
�Maddi�ll find her. Just sit here with me, honey.� Tara said softly, as Siobhan lay her head on Tara�s shoulder. Tara began rocking her back and forth slightly as the paramedic checked Siobhan�s vitals. Siobhan tensed as he did, and Tara rubbed her back.
�I want her to sit here for 10 minutes then I�ll let you take her, okay?� the paramedic asked.
Siobhan nodded and Tara smiled, �Thanks.� she turned to Siobhan, �You�re okay, honey.� she whispered. Siobhan just snuggled into Tara�s shoulder some more, not wanting to leave the comfort of her friend�s arms. She just needed Alyson and Madison and then she would feel complete again.
Madison scanned the students being led out by the paramedics. There had been about 30 in the auditorium at the time, and Madison only counted 14 coming out on their own. Alyson wasn�t one of them. Her heart plummeted inside her chest as she realized Ally was either unconscious or...dead. She fought back tears as she watched. One. Two. Three stretchers with students on them. None of them was Ally. She knew from the looks of the auditorium that some students had probably died. Her hopes were raised as a fourth and a fifth stretcher came out, but neither student had red hair. Not Alyson either.
Come on, Ally. We need you. We can�t live without you, please be alive. Madison�s thoughts screamed. She knew any student still in there wasn�t going to be alive much longer with the thick smoke and the flames.
Come on, Ally. I�ll do anything. Just please be okay. Madison�s thoughts screamed out to her friend.
Then a sixth stretcher came out. Madison�s hopes rose, but it turned out to be a boy with black hair. Her heart plummeted again as tears squeezed out of her eyes
A seventh stretcher. Long, red hair. Madison hopes rose as it came nearer. It was her. That was the face of her dear best friend, and she was alive and moving.
�Ally!� Madison screamed and rushed towards her, not caring that she�d crossed the police tape, �Ally!�
She reached her friend in less than 5 seconds, as the paramedics stopped next to an ambulance, �Ally!� she leaned over, and took her friend�s hand in hers.
Alyson looked up, her emerald eyes filled with pain and confusion, �Mads?� she asked.
�Yeah, Ally, it�s okay. I�m here, I�m here.� Madison noticed out of the corner of her eye a paramedic about to stick Alyson with a syringe, and cringed.
Alyson�s eyes immediately filled with tears and she began to whimper, �Maddi!� she cried.
�Shh, it�s okay, sweetie. I�m here. I�ll stay with you, I promise.� Madison whispered, her face close to her friend�s.
�Tari? Syvanni?� Alyson asked tearfully.
�We�re here!� Tara said as she and Siobhan came up behind them. Siobhan�s complexion was pinker and she looked much better.
�Tari! Syvanni!� Alyson said, smiling weakly.
�Heya, honey.� Tara smiled, sitting next to Alyson and taking her hand.
�I don�t want to go to the hospital.� Alyson moaned as the paramedics climbed in and shut the doors. The ambulance hurried off, the sirens wailing.
�Honey, they just want to check you out. You�ll be fine, I promise.� Siobhan reassured her.
�Stay with me?� Alyson asked, her eyes beginning to droop.
�Always.� Tara answered, and smiled.
�When you�re down and troubled and need a helping hand....� Siobhan began. Tara and Madison quickly joined in, all singing softly.
�...and nothing, whoa nothing, is going right.
You just close your eyes and think of me,
and soon I�ll be there to brighten up even your darkest nights.
You just call out my name and you know wherever I am,
I�ll come running, oh yeah baby, to see you again....�
Alyson smiled and allowed herself to drift off to sleep, clutching Tara�s hand tightly.