by Glenn Wood
With Callum no longer in their path, the bullets from Parson’s gun slammed into the opposite wall. The first round stopped dead, burrowing into the mortar between two bricks, leaving nothing behind but a small hole in the wall.
The second slug hit an exposed solid steel support girder and ricocheted back at Lucy, Lester, Parson and Cain.
None of them had time to react and the spent bullet grazed Parson’s forehead. The round didn’t have enough velocity left to do any serious damage but it had enough power to startle and wound the man.
Parson fell backwards, colliding with Cain, and the two of them fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs. Parson’s head smacked into the wooden floor, the impact sending a spasm through his body. He still had his finger on the trigger and, as his arms flew in the air, he accidentally fired the weapon before losing consciousness and dropping the gun.
The new round sped through the air and slammed into a heating pipe, centimetres from Lester’s head. The pipe ruptured and sent a scalding blast of steam directly into the man’s face.
Lester screamed, clawed at his burning flesh and lurched backwards. Acting purely from instinct, he grabbed Lucy’s shoulder, dragging the terrified girl with him as he fell. The two of them smashed violently into a window beside the elevator, Lester’s body taking the worst of the impact. The window frame exploded with a crack and Lester and Lucy disappeared from sight in a hail of glass.
Sixteen
Callum hurried back to where Sophie sat shakily on the floor.
“You all right?” he said, concerned. “Can you think properly?”
Sophie nodded, apparently still disoriented. Her brow wrinkled in concentration. “In physics the law of momentum conservation is for a collision occurring between object one and object two in an isolated system. The total momentum of the two objects before the collision is equal to the total momentum of the two objects after the collision. That is, the momentum lost by object one is equal to the momentum gained by object two.”
Callum whistled. “Bloody hell, Soph! I have no idea what you just said but I think we can assume your brain is working just fine. Oh, and by the way, what on earth did you do to my chair?”
Sophie used the side of the Thunderkit to pull herself upright. “I put in a compressed air booster. I know you don’t want a motor on your chair, but I thought this might be a good alternative for moments when you want a burst of speed.”
“Like when I’m about to try to jump a river on a mountain bike track.”
“Exactly. It’s a pretty small canister, only good for one or two uses, but I’m pleased it worked.”
“So am I,” exclaimed Callum. “You saved my life.”
Sophie smiled. “Seems fair. After all, I did try to kill you with an axe.”
“I know that wasn’t you, Sophie. Don’t worry. I know exactly who to blame for that attack.” Callum wheeled the Thunderkit away from the wall. “Now, let’s finish this thing.”
Callum looked around. The situation was one of complete confusion. Jets of steam still shot from the wall where Lester had stood. The window behind was shattered and broken glass littered the floor. Parson’s unconscious body lay nearby with Cain trapped beneath it. The boy was struggling but was unable to shift the big man’s bulk. Jinx had recruited a group of students to trap the six bullies who still had chips in their brains; they were backed into a corner and had no escape.
A thought struck him.
“Where’s Lucy?” he asked Sophie.
The girl’s brow furrowed. “I don’t know. She was standing in front of Lester when the pipe burst, then everything was hidden by the steam. I heard him smash through the window but I didn’t see where Lucy went.”
“He must have grabbed her as he fell,” said Callum. “Soph, can you help Jinx’s crew to short-circuit the chips in the last bullies, then evacuate everyone? We should probably call the police as well.”
Sophie nodded. “I’ll take care of that. What are you going to do?”
Callum picked up the fire axe, laid it on his lap and headed for the elevator. “I’m going after Lucy and Lester.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Shouldn’t we let the authorities deal with it?”
Callum shook his head. “No time. And there’s no way I’m going to risk letting Lester hurt Lucy, or escape.”
“Okay,” said Sophie. “But please be careful; that man’s dangerous.”
Callum entered the lift, a hard look on his face. “So am I,” he said.
Jinx saw what Callum was up to and ran over. “I’ll go with you,” he called, but by the time he got to the elevator, the door had shut and Callum was gone.
The ground beneath the shattered window was littered with splintered wood and broken glass. Sharp shards twinkled in the grass like stars. Callum could see blood speckles on some of the shattered window framing. What he couldn’t see was Lester or Lucy.
That man has more lives than a houseful of cats, thought Callum.
He scanned the school and caught sight of a dark figure dragging Lucy through the boiler room door. Without hesitation, Callum pressed hard on the rims of the Thunderkit and sped after them.
Minutes later he hit the ramp that led to the basement. Red marks were smeared on the wall where either Lester or Lucy had leaned against it. The amount of blood splattered on the paintwork indicated that one of them was badly injured. Callum prayed it wasn’t Lucy.
The boy rolled cautiously down the dimly lit ramp, wary of a trap, and then emerged in the boiler room.
He saw Lester and Lucy straightaway. The thin man was slumped against the wall by the heating system control panel. The heavy padlock that had secured the plexiglass cover lay on the ground. Lucy sat at Lester’s feet; she seemed shaken and scared, and judging by the unfocussed look in her eyes, she was probably suffering from concussion. Her hands were still tied but the gag had slipped from her mouth.
Lester was in a far worse state. Callum thought it was a miracle he was still standing. Blood trickled down his right cheek from a deep gash in his forehead, his left eye was already swelling shut and his face was burned and puckered from the scalding steam, his clothing was stained and torn and his left shoulder hung low in its socket, dislocated or possibly broken.
Callum ignored the thin man for a moment and concentrated on the girl.
He called, “Are you hurt, Lucy?”
The girl licked her lips and gave a small shake of her head. “Not too badly.” Her voice was slurred.
“Stay calm. I’ll have you out of here soon,” reassured Callum.
“Oh, will you now?” sneered Lester. “And just how are you going to manage that?”
The boy didn’t respond. Assessing the situation, he noticed that the door to the prison cell was open and Darryl was nowhere to be seen. This was worrying. Callum peered into the dark recesses of the room but couldn’t see him anywhere.
“Where’s your thug?” he called to Lester.
The thin man was confused. “Who? Darryl? I don’t know. I’ve been looking for him all night. I assumed you got him.”
“We did.” Callum pointed to the empty cell. “We locked him in there.”
Lester gave a rattling chuckle. “Looks like he got out. He must have done a runner. Pity, I could use him about now.” He punctuated the statement with a blood-speckled cough.
Callum wheeled cautiously towards the injured man. “You need medical attention. Why don’t you give up and come with me?”
Lester shook his head. “And spend the rest of my life in a prison cell, if I even survive? I don’t think so.” He snorted. “I’d be known as the guy who got beaten by a crippled kid. I couldn’t live with that.”
Callum offered Lester a grim smile. “You weren’t beaten by someone who is disabled. You were beaten by someone who is better.”
Lester put his hand on the boiler temperature control and wound it to full. Almost immediately, the hum in the room increased in volume and the pipes started rattling.
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“You think you’ve won?’ he cackled, almost hysterically. “I disabled the cut-off switch on the heating system.” He gave the control knob a vicious twist, snapping the metal. “No way to stop it now. When the boilers overheat, they’re gonna blow this school and everyone in it sky high.”
“Including yourself?” said Callum, incredulously.
Lester put his hand to his chest and winced with pain. “I doubt I’ll make it anyway, but if I take you with me, I’ll die happy.”
“At least let the girl go.”
Lester shook his head. “She stays with me.” His eyes shone with madness. “We all die together.”
Callum gave a bitter snort and put his hands on the chair’s push rims. “You’re more deluded than I thought. I’m just going to come over there and take her. You’re in no condition to stop me.”
“Want a bet?” growled Lester. He flicked his right arm and a small silver pistol appeared in his hand. He pointed it at Callum’s chest. “Raise your arms and keep them up. And don’t even think about hitting that booster button. I’ll put three bullets in you before you can move.”
Callum knew he couldn’t activate any of the chair’s defences in time. He lifted his hands above his head, desperately trying to work out his next move. The pistol in Lester’s hand had changed the balance of power.
Lester pushed himself off the wall and swayed on his feet. “You kids amaze me with your arrogance. Did you really think you could beat me all by yourself?”
Suddenly, a screeching wail cut through the air, an unholy sound that came from the darkness at the rear of the boiler room.
Lester reacted instinctively, shifting the barrel of the gun to the source of the sound. It was the opening Callum had been waiting for. He dropped his hand to the Thunderkit’s right armrest and hit the small lever on the inside. The grappling hook blasted from the front of the chair and slammed into Lester’s chest, sending him flailing into the wall. His head hit the bricks, the gun flew from his grip, and he slumped to the ground.
Jinx stepped out of the shadows, kazoo in his hand. “He wasn’t by himself,” he called to Lester’s fallen body. “He never is.” Jinx ran to his friend and spoke loudly above the rumble of the overheating pipes. “Are you okay?”
Callum heaved a sigh of relief. “Yeah, thanks, Jinx. Where did you come from?”
“I followed you and hid in the shadows while you and Lester were talking. Then, when it looked like you needed a distraction, I brought out this baby.” Jinx held up the kazoo.
“I thought I was toast for a moment there.” Callum laughed. “I can’t believe I was saved by a kazoo.”
Jinx stroked the musical instrument with pride. “Underrated instrument,” he yelled. “I knew it’d come in handy. I can’t wait to tell Soph.”
The hum in the boiler room was approaching a thundering rumble. The pipes shook and the heat was intense.
Callum bellowed over the noise. “We better get out of here. Go help Lucy.”
Jinx ran over to the shaken girl, cut through her bonds with the sharp edge of his screwdriver and helped her to her feet.
“Can you run?” he asked.
“I think so.”
“Good,” said Jinx as he helped Lucy over to Callum’s wheelchair. “Hold onto the side as tightly as you can. We’re going to have to get out of here quickly.”
A loud clank from one of the pipes accentuated Jinx’s point. The temperature was rising rapidly.
Callum retracted the grappling hook and the chair’s trailing wheel, lifted the axe from his lap and cast it away. It landed on the floor with a metallic clank. Jinx grabbed the rear of the Thunderkit, ready to push.
Callum pointed to Lester. “What about him?” he shouted.
Jinx looked at the rattling pipes. One of the large water cylinders expanded with a disturbing screech. Jinx shook his head. “No time, and I’m not sure I could shove the chair up the ramp with him on board as well.”
Callum agreed. Lester had made his choice. “Go!” he cried.
Jinx pushed hard, his legs straining as he propelled the wheelchair up the ramp. Callum was helping as much as he could; pressing hard on the Thunderkit’s push rims, arm muscles straining, sweat on his brow. Lucy clung to the side, trying to keep pace with the chair. She wasn’t able to push; she was barely able to hang on.
Callum didn’t know how much time they had before the boiler blew but he guessed it wouldn’t be long.
Seventeen
Back in the flooded dorm room Sophie had her hands full. She’d finally destroyed the chips in the last six bullies but not before a scuffle had broken out between the chipped and de-chipped kids.
She’d also had to deal with tears and apologies from the students who had bullied her, as memories of what they’d done came flooding back. Sophie had finally calmed them all down and reassured them that they weren’t to blame for what happened. She had called the police and told them there’d been an accident at the school. It was easier than trying to explain what had really happened.
The police dispatcher said they were on their way and the fire brigade were almost there. The alarms were linked to the fire station and engines had been dispatched as soon as the bells went off. Sophie was pleased to hear this. The more people in authority that made it to the school the better.
The students were lost, unsure what to do next. Sophie pointed to a group of four large boys. “You stay with me. The rest of you head out to the main gate. I’ll meet you there shortly.”
The students muttered their agreement and began filing out of the dormitory. When the last pupil had departed, Sophie called to the group of boys she’d kept back. They huddled around the much smaller girl. She looked over at Parson and Cain. The big man was still unconscious and the boy had stopped struggling, but Sophie was under no illusion as to how dangerous they could be. One of the first things she’d done after Callum and Jinx left was to pick up Parson’s pistol and put it in her back pocket.
“I’m going to search the big man on the ground,” she told the boys. “I think he has some plastic handcuffs in his pocket. If he or Cain move so much as a muscle, I want you to pin them to the ground. Do you understand?”
The boys nodded, and the biggest amongst them spoke.
“If they try anything, can we hit them?”
Sophie considered this. As tempting as it was to say yes, she decided against it. “Just hold them down,” she replied. The large boy looked disappointed.
Sophie and her gang moved over to Parson and Cain. The boy on the floor regarded her with baleful eyes but said nothing.
Sophie searched Parson and found what she was looking for in his rear trouser pocket – a handful of plastic handcuff straps. She quickly drew the dreadlocked man’s arms behind his back and slid the plastic strap around his wrists, locking it tightly in place so that she was sure he wouldn’t be able to break free. Parson offered no resistance, mainly because he was currently dwelling in la-la land.
Cuffing Cain was going to be more difficult. She’d have to move Parson to get to his hands. She decided to try diplomacy over force to begin with. She kneeled close to the boy’s head.
“We’re going to roll Parson off you in a minute and then we’ll cuff your hands behind your back. There are five of us and one of you, so do you want to do this the easy way or the hard way?”
The boy on the floor replied calmly. “Oh, I most definitely choose the hard way,” he said.
Sophie sighed; she thought that’d be the case. She stood and spoke to her helpers.
“Roll the big man over and hold on to Cain,” she told them.
The boy on the ground fought like he was possessed by a demon that had just completed a cage-fighting course. It took all four of Sophie’s helpers to hold him down and Cain fought them every inch of the way. He kicked and punched and, if any of them came in range, he bit. However, the result of the struggle was inevitable and before long Cain was cuffed. Sophie motioned for the ex-bullies to let the
boy up and as soon as he was released, he lunged at her head. The bigger students grabbed him but not before he came within centimetres of Sophie’s face.
Cain boiled with rage, his eyes bulged and the veins in his neck threatened to burst out of his skin. “Lester’s going to make you pay for what you’ve done today, and if he doesn’t, I will,” he shrieked.
His anger was so intense that Sophie took a step backwards. She quickly recovered her composure. “I doubt that,” she fired back. “When the police get here, you’ll be going straight to jail.”
Sophie wasn’t sure if this was true but it felt great to say it. What she did next also felt good. She refilled her water pistol and emptied it into Parson’s face until the man came around.
To make extra sure Parson and Cain wouldn’t escape, she had the boys attach another plastic strap through both the prisoners’ wrists, so not only were they handcuffed but they were handcuffed together. She told her helpers to escort the captives to the school gates and this time she authorised violence, should it become necessary. The boys were stoked.
Compared to the dramas in the dorm room, the march to the front gate was uneventful. Neither Parson nor Cain tried to escape; they were too closely watched.
When they arrived, Sophie was surprised that Callum, Jinx and Lucy weren’t waiting for her. She had assumed they would have captured Lester by now and taken him to the rendezvous point. Worry gnawed at her as she heard the moan of a siren approaching in the distance.
“I’m going to see if I can find my friends,” she called to her gang of boys. She waved her hand at Cain and Parson. “Do not, under any circumstances, let them escape.”
The big kid who had assumed a commanding role replied, “Not on my watch.” Clearly he’d seen far too many war movies.
