Skylar and Melissa were talking to each other back in the room, but Jon couldn’t make out what they were saying through the door. Jon hoped it was Melissa explaining to Skylar how Hunter was talking while she was in the bathroom. He hoped this would be the final straw for the two and maybe Skylar could try things out with good ole’ Jon.
“Alright guys let’s check these fools,” Hunter said, punching his fist into his palm. He was ready to give a pounding.
“Let’s just see what they’re up to. We don’t have to get physical,” Brandon said.
The three of them started up the steps to the third floor. Brandon and Hunter were chatting back and forth as Jon stayed at a reasonable pace behind them, trying to get his mind straight.
“Sorry, what I said to Melissa, man. You know I didn’t mean that,” Hunter said to Brandon as he was still giving punches to his palm.
“Shut up! Of course, you meant it, asshole,” Brandon said. “You were trying to blow my cover!”
Jon looked out into the giant grass circle as he climbed up the steps of the building. There was no longer anyone sitting crisscross-applesauce on the grass and talking. Only a girl walking on the asphalt path on the other end of the grass by herself. The loud music played. Another yell. Screaming. Laughter. More screaming. Where are the campus cops? Tires skidded beyond the campus trees. Horns blared into the night. It made Jon jerk around for a moment.
Something was going on, and it wasn’t only on campus.
The guys made it to the third floor. The smell of smoke still lingered, but not as strong as it had below. As they approached the door to room 303, they could hear two people arguing inside. It sounded like a man and woman in the middle of a heated debate.
CRASH. It sounded like a plate shattered against the wall inside.
Hunter was in front. Brandon was standing over Hunter’s right shoulder. Jon stood further back behind Brandon on the other side of the hall in case a plate came hurling out. With his luck, Hunter and Brandon would duck and it would still have enough momentum to smash him in his face. Jon didn’t want that. He already had enough problems.
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK. Hunter mashed the side of his fist on the door. The arguing continued inside. KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK. Still, no one answered as the shouting match went on.
“HEY! WE CAN HEAR YOU IN THERE! OPEN THE DOOR! YOU GUYS ARE AWFULLY LOUD!” Hunter said in a loud, commanding voice. He seemed serious and not as drunk or high as before. Sobered up. Now he was banging with both of his fists, so much so that the little lamp on the wall beside the door flickered with each pound. He pounded out each syllable. “O-PEN THE DOOR!”
The yelling inside stopped for a moment and Hunter looked back at Brandon with his eyebrows raised as if he had just performed a magic trick. Brandon looked back at Jon, who was waiting for the plate to launch out.
Footsteps marched to the door. They weren’t the same excited footsteps of Melissa who was happy to see Brandon and Jon just a moment ago but pissed off and unwelcoming. It sounds like a goddamn elephant in there, Jon thought to himself as his nervous fingers were now running along the rough, white lines between the bricks.
The door yanked open and there stood a short, black-haired guy with sweat on his beat-red forehead. His height surprised all three of them considering the sound of his stomps. You’d think it would have been a great big, burly man. The opposite was true. Even Jon was taller than him.
“What the FUCK are you guys doing banging at my door?” the short man yelled up at Hunter and Brandon. Jon moved up closer because he almost couldn’t see him with those two towering over him. The short man didn’t look familiar to Jon. The same went for Hunter and Brandon as they didn’t say his name or appear to have recognized him.
“Hey man, we were in the room below and heard a ruckus coming from up here. You mind knocking it off? If you d-”
Suddenly a girl came up from behind the short man and SMASHED a plate over the back of his head. Hunter and Brandon jumped back and covered their faces. Shards of white porcelain flew and bounced off their arms. Jon was behind them with both of his hands covering his eyes. The short man hit the floor face-up while the girl stood above him kicking the side of his chest.
“How do YOU like it you piece of SHIT. HUH?” The woman screamed as she kicked and kicked.
“Kat?” Brandon said, brushing off his arms.
“Kat, what the hell is going on here? What are you doing? Who is this guy?” Hunter asked after.
That’s Kat? Jon thought to himself as he checked himself for any cuts.
Kat stood bloodied and battered in the doorway to room 303. She was short, just like the man whom she just blasted with the plate. She had a chubby look to her. Not fat, but not skinny. Full figured you could say. Her curly, black hair looked like it had been tugged on as strands shot out in every direction. Her eyes looked red from crying. There was dried blood under her nose and red scratch marks on her neck and arms. The yellow shirt she wore had been torn almost completely in half and her plump stomach was out. Her large, purple bra was exposed. Her black yoga pants were also ripped. She looked better in the photo that Brandon showed Jon on his phone earlier.
“Get the FUCK out of here you guys, RIGHT NOW!” Kat screeched at them.
The short man on the ground jolted his head up and grabbed Kat’s legs, causing her to fall to the ground, hitting her head on the side of the coffee table on the way down. She was knocked right out. Her body fumbled and slumped down next to the table with the guy’s hands still wrapped around her legs.
Hunter and Brandon jumped onto the guy, pulling his hands away from Kat’s legs. They pinned his arms down on the carpet of the living area. They had to be careful as shards of plate stuck out from the floor. It wasn’t easy to restrain him. His body squirmed and his legs kicked up in the air, trying to get his body free. Hunter gave him a slap across his face that didn’t seem to settle him down in the slightest.
“Did YOU just FUCKING slap ME!?” the short man shouted.
Jon stood in the doorway, frozen in time again. Instead of being trapped in the beauty of Skylar Doyle, he was trapped in the ugliness of what had happened to Kat. She remained on the floor, appearing lifeless. The kitchen area looked like a tornado blew through it. The furniture was shoved around. The cushions were strewn. Dishes were shattered everywhere, making little white paths of jagged edges in the carpet. Forks. Spoons. Knives. All were ripped from their drawers and scattered across the room. Glass cups were shattered by the hall. The fridge door hung open. What on earth led to this?
With the scene overwhelming him, Jon didn’t realize Brandon was calling out to him.
“Jon. JON! Close the door! See if Kat’s alright. JON!” Brandon said as he crouched and pressed down on the short man’s right arm. He threw in a slap or two to his face, making him shout.
Jon snapped out of his funk. He turned and closed the door, not locking it. Then, he stepped over the guy’s leg when it wasn’t kicking up. Watching himself, he got down to the ground and grabbed Kat’s wrist to check her pulse.
“She’s alive,” Jon said.
“What?” Brandon said as the short man was now trying to bite at Brandon’s hands.
“She’s OK! She’s ALIVE. She has a PULSE!” Jon said speaking up, his voice almost cracking.
“That BITCH!” the short man said with spit flying off his lips.
“Thank God,” Hunter said, still struggling with the guy. “Call 911! We need police and a fuckin’ ambulance!”
“Shit! I don’t have my phone on me,” Jon said, patting all the pockets on his jeans. “I left it in my room. Shit!”
The door swung open.
“Oh my god!” a female voice screamed from the doorway. They all looked over to see a bald police officer was standing there with Melissa’s head peeking around his chest. There was a look of absolute horror on her face. “What the fuck happened?” She scooted around the police officer before he could stop her and hopped over the guy’s
leg, almost tripping over one of his kicks. She crouched down with Jon, nudging him out of the way. “Kat? Kat are you alright? Katie? C’mon Katie. It’s Lis, okay? It’s me.” She was too upset to hear Jon trying to explain that she had a pulse and was breathing. She turned her head to the short man on the ground who looked like he was having a seizure.
“Michael?” she asked in an angered whisper.
The site of the police officer appeared to make the short man angrier. His legs jolted up, trying to kick at him.
“What the HELL did you do to her?” Melissa shouted as her mascara was now running down her cheeks. She got up to go towards him, but Jon held her back.
The officer turned his head into the radio on his shoulder and clicked the button on the side. “10-47, we need an ambulance at the LeRone Dorm Building.” He leaned back to see the room number. “Unit 303. White Haven College. We have an unconscious female student and a male student having a violent mental breakdown.” There was a cut of static. A voice came back through the radio, but Jon couldn’t hear what it said. It sounded like another number.
“What’s going on here tonight, folks? We’ve been getting calls all over,” Officer Cherry, one of the local White Haven cops, said in an almost too calm and friendly manner. He pulled out some blue, latex gloves from his back pocket and snapped them on both of his hands.
Hunter and Brandon explained what had happened as best as they could and remained on the ground, pinning the flailing psycho. Officer Cherry got down with them, assessing the situation. Michael’s eyes were bulging from their sockets. “If you don’t get them off of me I’m gonna shoot you with your own FUCKING gun!” he shouted at Officer Cherry.
“Sir, I’m gonna have to ask you to you calm down for me okay? Stop kicking your legs for a minute,” Officer Cherry said. He was reaching behind his back to get his handcuffs out from his other back pocket. No compliance from Michael, aka the short man. “This will be a whole lot easier if you’d relax. I’m not going to hurt you.” Hunter and Brandon moved back slightly, still pinning him down so that Officer Cherry could get a grip on him himself.
Michael turned his neck and took a bite out of Hunter’s left hand.
“Ah fuck!” Hunter pulled his hand back. Blood oozed out between his pinky and ring finger. “He just fuckin’ bit me! Jesus Christ!”
Michael’s top teeth were dipped in red. “That’s what you get! I told you!” he shouted.
Officer Cherry threw his handcuffs beside him and hovered his hand over his taser. Michael, now with a free right hand, lunged his arm out, attempting to grab Officer Cherry’s gun on his belt.
ZAP ZAP ZAP ZAP ZAP. Officer Cherry unleashed the lightening wire into Michael’s upper chest. His body shook and contorted all around the carpet like a fish out of water. Both of his eyeballs rolled to the back of his head.
“Agh agh agh agh agh!” Michael squirmed. Officer Cherry released the trigger. Brandon let go of pinning his right arm as it went limp from the shock.
“Out of the way please, out of the way from him!” Officer Cherry shouted. Brandon popped up and moved from Michael’s body toward the kitchen area where Hunter was wrapping paper towels around his hand that was still fresh from Michael’s bite. Melissa and Jon were still sitting by Kat’s body as it remained by the coffee table. Her breathing remained.
Officer Cherry put his taser back in its pouch on his belt, opposite side of his loaded Glock 22. He grabbed Michael’s shoulders and flipped him over on his stomach. Michael made weak and angry groans. The groans you’d hear from someone not wanting to get out of bed in the morning. Click. Snap. Lock. Officer Cherry had Michael’s wrists locked together with nickel cuffs. He clicked on the radio on his shoulder again. “10-23, we have the male suspect in custody.”
“10-4" the voice replied from the speaker.
“Alright buddy, let’s go. Come on, stand up. Can you stand up?” Officer Cherry asked, pulling Michael from the floor. He started to chuckle. “You were just using your feet a second ago, what happened tough guy?” Michael still made groaning noises as he tried to get up on his jelly-like feet. “C’mon, up. You can do it.” Officer Cherry motioned over to Jon and Brandon. “You two mind helping me get him downstairs?”
Jon turned back to Brandon.
“Sure, come on Jon. Lis, you stay with Hunter and Kat until we get back alright?” Brandon said, walking back over.
“You guys will be fine, the ambulance should be here any second. We have extra units out tonight. For now, we just have to get this guy in the back of the car before he starts using those feet again. Keep that thing wrapped tight for me okay?” Officer Cherry said to Hunter. Melissa got up and went towards the kitchen to assist Hunter, whose hand was wrapped in a blood-soaked mitten of paper towels.
Jon and Brandon helped Officer Cherry take Michael down the steps to the building. Michael jolted a bit at them as they lowered him down the three sets of stairs, but his energy was still too low to rattle them around again.
“Too bad this had to happen on the top floor of all places,” Officer Cherry said, chuckling again. “This could’ve been a whole lot easier. But we’ve been getting calls like this all night, so I guess you could say we’re used it by now. Must be something in the water tonight with all the ruckus.”
As they descended the steps, Jon glanced out at the giant grass circle. There was still no one sitting there but he noticed a group of people standing in the hallway of the dorm building across from them. They all stared at the scene of two students and a cop dragging a short man down the stairs. Jon could hear them trying to shout things out like “Hey! What happened?” along with “Ooooo what did he do?” and “Is he dead?” None got a response. There was an ambulance siren playing out into the night, making Jon feel calm and the people more curious. They began to shuffle down the steps toward Jon and them.
They got Michael down from the third floor and to the police cruiser on the crosswalk that connected the dorm area to the school buildings. The group of students grew larger as they all stood back, watching Michael getting placed into the back of the police vehicle with its blue and red lights beaming onto the walls of the surrounding buildings.
The ambulance siren got louder and louder until it appeared on the road. It pulled beside the police car, blocking the crosswalk. A man and woman EMT jumped out right as the ambulance came to a halt. They were both wearing grey polo shirts and navy pants. One was holding a black bag filled with equipment.
“Where to?” the woman EMT asked Officer Cherry.
“Follow these guys. The girl is right up there. She’s breathing,” Officer Cherry said, pointing to the LeRone Building and motioning over to Jon and Brandon to take the lead.
“This way,” Brandon said to the EMTs. He was trying to break up the large crowd of students that were standing on the asphalt path. “Excuse us, please move. There’s an emergency. Out of our way!” Brandon shoved someone out his way.
“Hey, don’t shove me you ASSHOLE!” the shoved guy said.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, you have to get ou-”
Brandon got punched right in his jaw. The person he shoved was now attacking him, pushing him, punching him more until he fell back hard on his back. Then someone else joined in and began thrashing Brandon while he was still lying on the asphalt. The EMTs tried to stop the two guys but were met with fists to their faces instead.
“Officer!” Jon shouted back as he ran and knocked the two guys back as best as he could away from the EMTs and Brandon. They both tripped backward over Brandon’s body and into the crowd, causing some to fall over each other like dominos.
A girl got pushed down. She screamed, then got slapped in the face from a guy standing above her.
“Get the FUCK off of me” a voice in the crowd cried.
“Get up, you BITCH,” another girl’s voice said.
Officer Cherry rushed over, having to push more people aside from the crowd. There was an all-out brawl starting to take place within the
students. Punches. Slaps. Kicks. Grabs. Twists. Shoves. Pulls. Anyone was fair game.
Then, someone slipped Officer Cherry’s Glock 22 from his pouch as he tried to control the crowd. BANG. A shot rang out over White Haven College. A gush of blood burst out of someone’s head standing in the middle of the crowd, spraying down on the rest of them like rain. Jon’s included. He squeezed his eyes shut to prevent the gore from blinding him. Officer Cherry went for his gun not realizing that it had been his own that had just gone off. His fingers glided over the pouch beside it, feeling for the taser. That was missing too.
ZAP ZAP ZAP ZAP ZAP ZAP ZAP. A girl screamed and flailed to the ground. BANG. Another gunshot, only this time no rain of blood. Students scattered and ran in different directions, some being chased by other students. BANG. A girl got shot in her back. She fumbled to the ground.
“10-81! 10-81! Requesting immediate backup at White Haven College. Rioting with armed suspects. Rioting with arm-”
BANG. BANG.
Officer Cherry got shot twice in his chest. One bullet blasted his radio, destroying it in an instant.
Jon screamed out to him, but it was short-lived as he got shoved by an Indian student wearing glasses and pajama pants.
“I don’t want any trouble,” Jon said to him, putting his hands up. He got shoved again.
“FUCK YOU!” the Indian man said with a crazed look in his eye and went at Jon again. Another person joined and tried to grab Jon’s face, making his glasses crooked. Brandon was still on the ground with his arms over his face. Three men were kicking him with no signs of stopping.
Jon broke for it towards the dorm building that they pulled Michael from. The Indian man followed him and almost caught up until he got pummeled by a blonde-haired girl. She jumped on his back, wrestling him to the ground. Jon didn’t have time to look back another second to see that the girl who pounced on the Indian man was Ashley Tolsen, the pretty girl he walked back to her dorm room after the fight outside the cafeteria.
When the Sky Goes Dark Page 5
