by Travis McBee
“Keep going,” Sean advised him, “There might be blast doors on the lounge doors.
Will pulled his fist back and continued crawling down the shaft in answer. The next spot of light was fifty feet away but in the confined space of the shaft it seemed to be closer to a mile. Will had wanted desperately to drop back out of the space, he had always been mildly claustrophobic, but Sean hadn’t been wrong yet and Will was more than willing to take the boy’s advice.
When Will reached the next grate he peered through it and saw the empty space that was the foyer of the third floor which had all of the dormitories, except for the senior’s, branching off of it. He also saw a group of five boys standing in the center, wearing snow white suits, casually chatting away.
Will turned around towards Sean and put a finger over his lips for silence and whispered softly, “Starview guys down there.”
Sean turned about and echoed the call for silence down the line until the shaft seemed to be filled with a second breeze as the whispers hissed against the walls. He looked down at the students turned sentries to make sure they hadn’t heard the fervent warnings and was reassured as he saw them continuing their conversation without pause.
“What are we going to do?” Sean hissed.
“Do you think we should keep going?” Will asked starting a perverse version of a Socratic seminar.
“No,” Sean replied after only the briefest of pauses, “They’ll probably hear us if we crawl all the way across and we’ll only end up in the sophomore dorms if we do.”
Will thought for a second and then gave a shrug, “I guess we’ll just try and overpower them. There are only five so I should be able to keep them busy while more and more of you drop down until we can handle them.”
Will swung his legs around so that they were facing the grate as Sean relayed his message back through the shaft full of boys. Will readied himself to stand up on the grate and send it and him down into the foyer.
“Come quickly,” Will said with a smile and stood up.
The grate gave away as easily as its predecessor in the dormitory and it fell through the air and cascaded onto the floor with an amazingly loud crash. Will followed it directly and realized a massive flaw in his plan the second his head left the vent with a whoosh.
The ceiling had been twenty feet high in the dormitory and, strangely enough, it was twenty feet high in the foyer as well. He dropped for what seemed like an eternity feeling his body pick up speed as it went. Several times he thought he was about to hit and found only more empty air under him. After what seemed like an age he saw the ground coming up and braced for impact.
He landed with knees bent and rolled forward to take all of the kinetic energy out of the fall. It was a move he had seen superheroes makes countless times on television and as he sprang to his feet without injury he felt like one.
The five white clad Starview boys jumped in fear and alarm as the grate smashed into the floor and bounced back into the air in a clang of noise. They spun in place in time to see a streak of silver land and roll to his feet without missing a beat. Will snatched up the grate and ran towards the boys who stood petrified by the sudden interruption in their conversation and none of them moved an inch until Will cracked the first one in the head with the grate, sending him sprawling.
The ring of metal against skull brought the Starview boys to their senses and they dove for Will trying to rip the flailing piece of metal from his grasp. Will managed to connect on another massive swing and another boy fell to the ground missing copious amounts of hair and spilling blood across the gray floor. He was the last to fall to Will before they two of them grabbed his arms leaving the third to produce what Will recognized instantly as a Zegma club.
“Oh you’re going to get it Bridger,” The boy growled and charged the club up with a sizzle before raising it over his head.
He was about to bring the club crashing down when a scream arose behind him. He turned to see another silver figure drop from the hole in the ceiling and land with a resounding crack. The new figure screamed in pain and Will groaned as he recognized the slight figure of Sean clutching a newly broken leg.
Will took advantage of the distraction and used the two boys who held him as a base, lifting both of his legs and smashing his tennis shoes into the side of the club wielding boy’s head. The boy fell like a sack of grain as consciousness left him in a blaze of black. The two holding Will lost their grips and Will ran over to Sean to drag him out of the way as more boys spilled from the vent in a torrent of silver. Some of the boys landed as cleanly as Will but most landed with a crack as a bone gave way.
“Start catching them as they come down,” Will shouted to two boys who had come through without injury.
The two boys stood under the vent and caught another dropping figure as Will raced after the two remaining Starview players who were beginning to make a run towards the central stair case to raise the alarm. Behind him he heard the pounding feet of one of his class mates.
He overtook the first one after only a brief sprint and spotted the other one farther ahead and running fast. He tripped the trailing Starviewer with a slap to the legs as he ran past him and the Viewer went down in a mass of limbs. He ran past the fallen figure and thrust his feet as hard as he could into the floor to catch the retreating white figure. As he ran he heard the sounds of his comrade fall upon the downed boy and wished him the best of luck as the distance closed between him and the faster white figure.
The Starview boy had almost reached the staircase when Will dove at him wrapping his arms around the boys waist. He spun as he fell and hung onto the boy sending him sprawling across the floor. Will jumped to his feet as the other boy rolled over to get his feet under him. He managed to ascend to his hands and knees before Will rocketed a foot upward into his chin knocking the boy out as quickly as a toddler extinguishes birthday cake candles.
“You have a knack at knocking people out mate,” A voice said over his shoulder
Will turned and saw Ryan smiling at him. Will glanced behind him and saw Corey holding down the figure he had tripped. All around him were freshman boys who had managed to drop from the ceiling. Nearly twenty had come through the vent so far and more and more were descending from the distant hole as Will watched.
“What do you want to do with him Will?” Ryan asked motioning towards the struggling boy that Corey was holding down.
Will glanced at the Starview student. The boy had black hair and panicked brown eyes and was wearing a suit that sported thick pads on the chest, stomach, and shins.
“He’s wearing a zegma suit,” Will observed, “They must be on the team.”
“Aye, that would be a fair assumption,” Ryan agreed.
Will looked at the white suit he had last seen in a Starview hall way and glanced back towards the knot of three unconscious boys laying by a large grate and a black club.
“Drag them over here,” Will said pointing towards the group.
Corey dragged his victim over with the help of Ryan and Will grabbed the ankle of the faster escapee and was relieved to find that the boy slid smoothly across the floor leaving a red trail from the blood that seeped from his broken nose.
When the two runners were returned to their comrades Will stooped and picked up the club. He turned it on with a quick press of the button and felt it warm in his hands as it activated. He walked over to the still struggling figure that Corey and Ryan were holding down and prepared to give him a sharp jab with it to magnetize the boy to the floor. The boy saw the club approaching and his eyes emptied of the anger they held and were refilled by fear.
“No please don’t!” He shouted making Will frown in confusion.
Getting magnetized didn’t hurt as he well knew and the clubs only gave a slight shock when they touched naked skin as he had found out one day after practice when he had picked up an activated club on accident.
“And why not?” Will asked despite his resolve to ignore the plea.
“
Because it’s not a normal club,” the boy besought him, “They’ve had their voltage increased.” His eyes danced fretfully over the end of the club which sparkled with electricity
“Well considering the fact that you took over our school, locked us in our dormitory and tried to use it on me, well I guess I should consider your request.” Will said mockingly and smacked the boy in the side of the head.
The boy let out a shriek of horror as he saw the club coming and it was cut short as the club made contact with his skin. An arc of electricity zapped across his skin with a loud whap and the boys head lolled into unconsciousness even as the suit stiffened as he was glued to the floor.
“Neato!” said Corey with a laugh
“Yes indeed,” Will said staring at the boy, “Search the others for clubs.”
Hands turned over the bodies that Will had single handedly knocked unconscious and produced four more clubs.
“Magnetize them to the floor and let’s see if we can get everyone else out.” He motioned towards the doors to the three other dormitories.
“We don’t have time for that Will,” Sean said as the others clubbed the Starview players with more force than was necessary.
“We might have…” Will began
“No Will, you have to get there before they knock us out of orbit. We’ll be hard pressed to right ourselves if we do. Not to mention if it’s their zegma team doing this there can only be thirteen people, well eight now” he said observing the five unconscious boys, “so we outnumber them, just go and I’ll try and get the doors open. Not going to do much good on this leg anyways.”
“Alright,” Will agreed, “Try and get the doors open. The rest of you come with me we have to get into the dean’s office and stop this fool.”
He gripped the handle of the club tighter as he imagined Abby locked in her dormitory panicking with the rest of the girls. He didn’t like the idea of not getting her out first but what would be the point if they were floating around in space, lost forever?
Will assembled his army of freshman, about twenty in all, the rest had either been injured or hadn’t made it through the vents yet, and led them up the steps to the fourth floor. He had motioned for them to keep silent and hoped that the ruckus of the fight hadn’t awoken the rest of the intruders to their escape from captivity. When he reached the fourth floor he peered around the corner and saw five more white-clad captors sitting in ease on the floor in front of the door that lead into the senior lounge
Will pressed a finger to his lips and began to creep on the ends of his toes towards the white backs that chatted idly across the room. Behind him and next to him his freshman army was doing the same. Even though they were all moving as quietly as possible, twenty shuffling boys makes some noise and one of the Starview players turned around and spotted the group of boys sneaking up on him. He shrieked in alarm and jumped to his feet and his fellow guards did the same.
“Get them!” Will bellowed and rushed towards them raising his club as he went.
Will ducked under a swung club and hammered his own up into the gut of the attacker. The boy let out a gasp as the electricity knocked him unconscious and his suit magnetized, crumpling him to the floor in a heap of white fabric. Next to Will a Starview player smacked one of Will’s men in the side of the head with a whap of electricity, The boy crumpled instantly and Will poked his club into the boy’s thigh incapacitating him. The sounds of struggle died out after Will took him down and Will glanced around the room.
Five white bodies were stuck fast to the floor but five silver clad boys accompanied them having fallen where they were when they got clubbed by the weaponized sticks.
“Five of you take them back downstairs and then search the lower floors for more intruders,” Will ordered, “There should only be three left since we’ve taken out ten.” He added feeling confident
Five of the smaller boys grabbed their fallen companions and began to drag them towards the staircase. Will watched as they disappeared and then motioned for the rest to follow him upstairs. The five remaining boys who didn’t have clubs paused to pick up the dropped clubs before following Will up the stairs. Will was smiling to himself as he rose the stairs and passed the fifth floor. He had ten men with clubs against three men. He couldn’t get beaten now.
The entrance to the administration wing opened with a touch of his finger as if nothing was awry. He smiled at the simplicity and motioned for his army to follow him inside.
The desk that the secretary normally beamed from was empty as Will passed it and opened the door that lead down the long hallway to the Dean’s office. It slid open at the touch of his finger as simply as the outer door and he peered down the hall way in delight as he saw the Dean’s office door was open and a white-clad figure was looking at the approaching band with an interesting expression on his face that Will assumed was horror.
Will smiled and began walking confidently down the hall buzzing up his club as he went. Behind him he heard the buzz spread amongst the group as they powered up. He walked towards the open doorway without pausing to inspect the side doors that he was passing. It didn’t matter because his goal was in sight and only three Starview people remained, one of which he could see.
He heard the door behind him hiss closed as the last of his band entered the hall way. He was half way down the hall way and could see the expression on the Starview boy’s face now. It wasn’t abject horror like Will had initially thought. Instead it was the cunning smile of victory. Did he already send us off course? Will thought dreadfully and tightened his grip on the club in his hand.
“Now!” The smiling boy shouted from the office
Will heard the multiple hisses of doors sliding open all along the hall and felt like he was in a nest of snakes as he turned to see a club streaking towards his head from his left. He managed to duck under it but the one that came from his other side made contact on his arm and William Haynes knew no more.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Crunch Time
Will revolved in a black pit of unknowing, slowly turning around and around in a blissful state of ignorance where nothing could touch him. Slowly that ignorance bled away and he became aware of a sharp light cutting into his mind. He struggled to swim away from it longing for the simple ease of blankness but the light did not falter and with great regret Will opened his eyes.
Light flooded through his squinted eyes and his head felt as if it was about to split open along his forehead. He let out a moan to ease his pain and attempted to pull a hand to his temple to massage away the ache. His hand did not move and Will discovered that it, along with his other arm, had been securely tied down.
“Ah awake are we?” A falsely kind voice said from his right, “Surely you didn’t think we had only brought our zegma team instead of nearly twice that number?
Will opened his eyes wide, ignoring the pain that flooded his head as he did so, and saw the smiling face of the Starview student whom he had seen in the cafeteria looking at him with apparent concern.
“I thought you might have gotten zapped a bit too hard.” The boy said, “Are you feeling alright?” he added with a sarcastic smile
“Never better,” Will answered in his best sneer but his gummy lips forced a croak instead
The boy smiled, forcing his shadow of a goatee higher on his face. Will looked around the room and discovered that he was tied to a chair in the Dean’s office. The boy was regarding him from the massive computer bank that controlled the school. Tied in other chairs or lain on the ground without ceremony were the unconscious figures of his army that had been ambushed less than twenty feet away.
“I must congratulate you on your escape from your dormitory.” His captor said drawing Will’s attention back to him, “I never dreamed someone would crawl through the vents like James Bond. Where I’m from they would have patted you on the back for such an act. It’s strange to see a Bridger have such cunning however.”
“You know who James Bond is?” Will asked
temporarily amazed.
“Of course. How do you?” The boys head tilted sideways in curiosity.
“I’m from Earth,” Will replied simply.
“No way? A fellow terry! Well it is good to see you. Not an American I presume?” The boy suddenly seemed downright friendly .
“I’m from Alabama,” Will answered and despite himself felt himself warming towards the boy who held him captive. “Where are you from?”
“New York,” The boy sneered and all of the amiability left the conversation, “Stupid redneck.”
“Stupid Yankee.” Will shot back hating the boy once again.
The boy rocked his head backwards and let loose a laugh that would have cowed the wicked witch of the west. The laughter brought alertness to many of the bodies around him and Will saw a struggling bundle roll over on the bed in the far corner. He turned his head and saw Dean Norris restrained roughly with her hands behind her back and a cloth wrapped about her mouth.
“Who are you?” Will demanded interrupting the laughter.
“Oh how rude of me. Let me introduce myself. My name is Arnold Sorrento.” The boy replied.
“All ready Arnold,” A familiar voice called behind Will.
Will turned and saw the familiar and still odious pimples of Brandon staring at him. Will’s eyes widened in surprise as he realized the ramifications of the boys appearance.
“You’re helping them?” Will said in amazement.
“Of course I am!” Brandon laughed, “Why I positively jumped at the chance to get back at this crap hole of a school. You all thought it was dreadfully funny to pick on me and belittle me. Now let’s see who’s laughing.” He made his point by starting a ridiculous bout of high pitched laughter
“I take it you know each other?” Arnold said with a smile.
“Unfortunately,” Will answered with a frown of loathing sent towards Brandon who had walked up to stand at Arnold’s side.
