Shoot

## Variant Covers

* "Spirit of America" Variant
* "Metaphorical Abyss" Variant

 *{{{1}}}*

**Please read this** before continuing with the story. This story deals with heavy themes that might trigger some individuals by mentioning the terms. I won't list these terms but understand that this story isn't for the faint of heart. It is not written to be a send-up or a parody. This was written as a commentary of **the real world** as **Chas Constantine** is the real-world aspect of Europa. He ages in real-time. This is a very political story and deals with things that occur within our actual lives. It is for this reason that this story is omitted from Chas' history on his character page. Do not read past this point if you are easily offended or triggered. This is a warning. To reiterate, **this story is not for the faint of heart.**

## **Synopsis**

It is easy to forget that **Chas Constantine** - at this point - was still in high school. He had lost much and felt worse. That is why when his foster family sprung up a family retreat, Chas was adamant about not going on a foster family retreat. Already an emotionally dying adult within the body of a teenager, Chas had no interest in bonding with a family that he would never see again. However, he had no choice because it was either them or Social Services. Barring him potentially missing out on occult cases, Chas would miss the first two weeks of school due to this, which would weigh on Chas for the rest of his life.

The first week of the new school year was routine. Freshmen being rambunctious and confused, the older students messing with each other, and the historical "Fast Times" relationship drama. All of which Chas avoided with his life. However, the second week was darker. Sinister and malicious. Big Luke had bullied a student named Gerald LaRoche for the past year. Gerald believed he would be fine since his death had just happened, but Big Luke's friends continued the torment. The first week was the worst it had been. Big Luke's friends took their grief out on Gerald as "Men in rage strike those that wish them best."

Gerald's father, Cameron, was a retired army veteran turned hunter. Cameron did not want his son to join the war effort but did instill within his son a sense of self-worth and resilience. Gerald wanted to be a screenwriter. Chas was a friend of Geralds and often gave feedback on his scripts. Gerald was even voted "Most Likely To Write For The Simpsons" in the yearbook the previous school year. But Gerald didn't go to school the second week. Monday, Gerald was at home, writing. Tuesday, Gerald was found by his father crying in the shower. Wednesday, Gerald had ventured into the self-harm territory. Thursday, Gerald found a key to his father's old hunting equipment, and by Friday, Gerald walked to school with weapons that no child should have.

Later that Friday, Chas returned from his family trip and went up to the school to meet with a friend, Marcello Julio. The police were still there, along with the paramedics, by the time Chas arrived. Marcello tried to tell Chas what happened, but Chas watched as they carted Gerald's body out alongside other students he was friends with, and he knew what had happened. Chas frowned as his head somberly lowered to the ground, as did his emotions. He sank deep within his mind as a school counselor approached the two. The counselor discussed what the school would do to protect students further, who they could talk to about this, and things relating to mental health crises. She spoke about how individuals usually process feelings, but Chas wasn't a typical high-schooler, and he walked away as she asked him a question about Gerald.

Chas took his foster parents' car, claiming it was for college visits. Instead, Chas utilized divination to attempt to predict incidents like these and to stop them. However, Chas was young. He was bright-eyed. He was not nihilistic yet but bordered on cynicism with glimmers of hope. Chas was doing this for selfish reasons. He wanted to absolve himself of this guilt that had clawed its way into his mind. But, it was a systemic issue.

One week later, there was an FBI in Las Vegas whose only job was to find a link between children and these incidents. Her name was Mona Sparks, and she was failing. Every day for twenty-four hours a day, Mona would review footage of the incidents, pouring over every single and minor detail within them. If a child was wearing a shirt relating to video games, if a child had an iPod in their pocket, grasping at straws for any semblance of a reason. Today was different.

Mona came into her office with five new videotapes. Not uncommon and indeed not the record she held. Warm coffee in her hand and the tapes in the other, Mona opened the door to her office to find Chas sitting there, smoking and within tormented thought. As she sat at her desk, she remembered Chas' face. He had been in the background of every single videotape for the past week. She commented on it, and Chas spoke softly, agreeing that he had been at each one, admitting that he had attempted to stop them. And as Chas looked over his mind's metaphorical abyss, he jumped.

Chas explained that he had read her published works on school shootings—all of her notes, theories, and thesis' on the topic. Mona went to reply, but Chas stopped her, plainly stating that it was all bullshit. She became appalled, demanding an answer, and Chas launched into a passionate rant of shouts. He verbally raged against her job, about how Mona believes it is the video games, food coloring, shitty music, or even anti-social tendencies. But Chas stated that it wasn't any of those things. Now offended, Mona sarcastically screamed for Chas to enlighten her.

Chas retorted that Mona had been looking for months for the answer. Stating that she looked like she hadn't slept in days, attempting to find any solution to put the American public's mind at ease. Chas snatched the small remote for the TV off her desk and turned it on. He pointed at the television, specifically the child with the gun in his face, and screamed for Mona to look. She shouted back that she saw another senseless, mindless child killing. Her response led to a deeply enraged and hurting Chas attacking a poor woman over guilt that had nothing to do with her.

He threw the remote, shattering it against the cold, barren white wall. Chas screamed at the top of his lungs for Mona to honestly look at what was on the screen. He stormed over to the television, pointing at the child's face. Chas declaimed as the tape played, nearly going horse from his shouts, hoping Mona or anyone in the office building heard him. He stated that his generation doesn't even know what human emotion is anymore because they were all raised by talking heads on television and pop culture. Further, saying that his generation was born into a world that doesn't care about them, ushered into a society that teaches them to hate differences, and then forced into a school system that doesn't teach them.

Chas finally stopped screaming and exhaled, telling her the world already knew this. The American public knew this, but they kept letting it happen without changing it, and Chas genuinely asked her to look at the child on the screen. To look at the child's face right before it is blown to smithereens and traumatizes the other students. And when Mona narrowed her tired eyes at the screen, she gasped and covered her mouth, quietly sobbing as the child whispered, "Shoot."

## **Notes**

* This story marks the shift in Chas from cynical optimist (a person who has hope but understands the full picture and that things are unlikely to change) to existential nihilist (a person who believes that life has no objective meaning or purpose but creates their own subjective meaning and purpose to life nevertheless).
* Mona Sparks (Debut)