Chapter 16, which covers from 10:32 to 10:35 a.m., opens as Tomas realizes Sylv has reached the stage stairs and is approaching Tyler. Tyler shoots at random into the crowd, increasing body count. When Tomas tries to save Sylv, Fareed grabs his arms and stops him. When a girl next to Tomas is shot, her blood splatters on Tomas’s face. “You can’t help […] if you get shot” (183) Fareed says.

The chapter closes as Sylv, after confronting Tyler and making comments about the horror and loneliness of grief, dashes out of the auditorium into Tomas’s arms after Tyler shoots at her. In between, the first students reach safety in the parking lot, as newscasters descend on the scene. Claire wonders if her parents are present and if her brother, Matt is safe. Claire hopes her parents are not there to see how Claire fears she’s not as brave as her sister, Trace, who enlisted in the military.

In Chapter 17, which covers from 10:35 to 10: 37 a.m., Tomas, Sylv, and Fareed meet outside the auditorium, while