Fallout - 2016 - Matchmaker Chronicles Vol 1 CG3 12/16
Previously
Bud and his gang could hear the music from the gym and knew that the dance was in full swing. To enter the school building, they were using the same basement window that Jack had used when he broke into the school to steal the algebra test answers. After he slipped in, Bud passed the gas canister in to him and then they all passed in their firearms. Once they were all inside they reclaimed their guns.
Bud pulled out some additional things from the bag. Holding up two bottles, he said, “I brought these along. Let’s drink them before we start.” He opened one bottle and took a long swig as he handed the other bottle to Jack.
Once Bud had swallowed some of the fiery liquid he handed the bottle to Ben. As he accepted the bottle, Ben pulled his hand out of his pocket and popped something into his mouth and then took a drink.
Seeing what he did, Bud challenged, “What’d you take?”
Reluctantly, Ben put his hand back into his pocket and pulled out a handful of pills. “These are some uppers my old man had. He uses them to lose weight. I’ve been taking them a couple at a time and saving them. They’re great!”
Sticking out his hand, Bud said, “Don’t hog them all to yourself. Hand some over.”
Ben handed Bud four pills and the bottle of liquor.
Grabbing both, Bud tossed the pills in his mouth and washed them down with the liquor. He wiped his mouth and asked, “What kind of pills did you say these were?”
“Common name? Christmas Trees or Uppers. They’re a form of meth that you can get with a prescription. My dad got them to help him lose weight.”
They tarried in the basement until they had finished the liquor and negligently left the bottles sitting on top of a box. Picking up their burdens, they headed for the cafeteria.
The pills were starting to take effect, and their judgment was being impaired by both them and the liquor that they had consumed. The effects of the alcohol were manifested by slurring of their speech and a slight unsteadiness in their gait. The effect of the pills was to make them jumpy and fidgety.
Paranoia started to set in and Bud called a halt. “I think we need to get out the guns. We should have them in case someone tries to stop us.”
Bill echoed the sentiment, “Yeah, Jack, open the bag so that we can get them out.”
Jack set the bag down and they all delved in to grab their own weapons. Once they were in hand, Bud said, “Yeah, now I feel better. Now we have the power, not the teachers or the Principal. I wish I had him here now. I’d show him a thing or two. Kick me off the team, will he? I’d fix him.” Bringing up his gun, he pointed it at the door that they were standing next to, which happened to be the Principal’s office. He mimed pulling the trigger and said, “Pow.”
Jack asked, “Do you think that Spargo will be one of the chaperones for the dance? If she is, we can get even with her tonight too.”
“I don’t know. It’d be nice, but I think that Kaplin and Kent put her up to trappin’ us. They’re the ones I want to get even with. Kent especially. I had to do that cockamamie counseling because of him and his stupid pumpkin. And Kaplin, she tripped me and made me fall into that locker.” The more he talked the angrier he got. Finally he stopped talking, picked up the tank, said, “Let’s do this,” and they started their ‘mission’.
Moving stealthily they headed for their first objective, the cafeteria. Moving in the dark since they didn’t dare use flashlights they could almost feel the darkness pressing in on them. Hugging the walls they traversed several corridors. Hopped up as they were on drugs and alcohol, each time one of them or the propane cylinder banged into one of the lockers which lined the walls, the sound echoed down the corridor and seemed much louder than it actually was, they all froze in place. After what seemed like an eternity they reached their objective. Unlike the classrooms, many of which were locked when not in use because of the valuable equipment contained in them, the cafeteria was unlocked. Once in the cafeteria they moved between the rows of tables and chairs and into the kitchen area. Once they were in there, Bud hefted the propane tank onto the range. In the dark, not being familiar with commercial equipment, it took several seconds to find the right control. When the flame sprang into existence, Bud smiled in satisfaction and said, “There. Now all we have to do is put the cylinder on that like a pan.” Suiting his actions to his words, he hefted the tank into place.
Ben asked, “How big should the flame be?”
Bud bent to look at the flame under the tank and replied, “I don’t know.” His thinking processes were fuddled from the alcohol and drugs and the answer eluded him for a time. Finally he said, “I guess we don’t want it too high because then it might go off too soon.” He reached for the knob and turned the flame down somewhat. “There, that should be a slow boil and give us plenty of time to do what we have to do. Let’s go crash the party.”
There was a chorus of “Yeahs” and they headed out.
Before they had climbed the stairs from the basement, they had each donned their ski masks and as a result they almost completely blended into the shadows.
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As time went on, more and more couples had been arriving. Being a major metropolitan school the total attendance was measured not in the hundreds, but not quite thousands either. It wasn’t too long until the gym was pretty well packed. The bleachers had been pushed back to make room for the tables and chairs. The bleachers formed a solid wall around the perimeter of the room.
Seeing the need for more room on the dance floor a majority of the tables were pushed back making an almost impregnable barrier around the gym floor Because of this the emergency exits and even the access to the rest rooms was blocked. Anyone needing to use the rest room had to leave the gym and go down a hall.
And now
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Chapter 12 –
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Universal Locator designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 – Prime%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
By the time that Bud and his cronies started their assault on the gym they were even more sloppy and jumpy than they had been when they had been placing their propane tank bomb.
Since there was a need to leave the gym to use the rest rooms, there were some couples just outside the doors to the gym. One of the girls spotted them as they approached. They were hard to spot since they were all dressed in black and had on black ski masks, but she thought she had detected movement. Her curiosity was piqued and she looked closer and pointed, saying to her date, “I thought I saw something move down there.”
He peered into the gloom and said, “I don’t see anything. It must be your imagination.”
“No, I’m sure I saw something move.” She squinted and concentrated on movement rather than shapes and, “Yes! There. I saw it again. There’s somebody there! They’re all dressed in black.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I see it now. What could it be?”
When they got closer the girl could make out weapons in their hands. She panicked and grabbed her date and shouted,
“Guns!” Realizing that they had been spotted, Ben brought up his Glock and snapped off a shot.
The shot went wild and impacted the wall five feet over their heads and three feet to the side, between them and another couple.
At the sound of the shot, all of the girls screamed and their dates grabbed them, pulling them into the ‘safety’ of the gym.
The sound of the shot had registered on all in the gym and a panic ensued in all but a very few attendees.
Hattie was instantly alert. The only thought in her mind was to get the story. She and JJ stopped dancing and Hattie headed for the table where she had left her purse. In that purse were her cell phone, pad pencil and tape recorder.
Already panic was setting in and the crowd was moving, but the movement was like the Brownian movement of molecules in a volume, without definite direction. Panic started to set in when it was realized that they had blocked the exits when they had moved back the tables to make more room on the dance floor. Worried, JJ followed her.
Jon had been dancing with Morgana, but at the sound of the shot, he stopped, pulled Morgana to the side and as he pushed her under a table whispered, “Stay here and be quiet.”
She started to ask, “What about you,” but realized that he was already gone.
As Jon ducked behind some decorative flats, he sent a mental summons, /”Lara we need to change clothes!”/
Her reply was immediate, /”Already doing it. I was in the Ladies’ room. I think I’m behind them.”/
The panic was contagious and everyone started running. In the crush, Hattie and JJ were separated and Hattie was knocked off of her feet. As she fell, her head hit a table and she was stunned. As she fell she was bumped again and rolled under the table, out of sight because of the table cloth and was as effectively concealed as Morgana where Jon had placed her.
When the panic started, Mike became worried about Lara. She had left him at the punch table saying that she would be right back after visiting the facilities. He started calling her name, “Lara! Lara Kent! Where are you?”
Jon sent out another mental summons, /”Mom, Dad, we need you.”/ Receiving no reply he sent to Lara, /”Mike’s worried about you.”/
There was no reply from their parents. Either Jon’s telepathy wasn’t carrying far enough or else they were away on a mission. Lara replied, /”When it’s all over we can make excuses. I don’t think I want to bring him in on the family secret, just yet.”/
Realizing that they were on their own, Kam-El came out from behind the flat, just as Bud and his team were entering the doors. Bud and Mike each fired a shot into the ceiling. Those first couple of shots were designed to create terror in those in the gym and they surely accomplished their purpose. The panic that had already been spreading swept over the crowd like a wave and they all fled to a far corner, but were blocked by the bleachers and tables.
Suddenly, between Bud and his cronies and their victims appeared Kam-El
Crossing his arms over his chest the same way he had seen his father do so many times, in an attempt to intimidate his opponents, Kam-El spoke, in a commanding tone “Put down those weapons!”
Bud was aware enough to realize that they had numbers on their side and commanded, “Spread out. Keep your guns on the crowd. He won’t do nothin’ as long as they are hostages.” Since they all were now inside the door they were able to do as Bud commanded.
Jon realized that even at super-speed it would be difficult for him, even with Lara’s help to protect the crowd from four guns at four different locations, widely spread as they were.
Morgana, hearing Kam-El speak and recognizing his voice, came out from under the table that Jon had thrust her under. As she stood she was spotted by Bud who shouted, “There’s one of them!” He swung his gun in her direction.
As he did, Kam-El glanced in the direction that he was looking and saw Morgana in the open. At super-speed, Kam-El ran and interposed himself between Morgana and the assailant that threatened her. Just as he got into position, Bud fired. In the training he had received from his mother and father he had been taught to instantly analyze the situation. There were times when simply allowing bullets to bounce off his chest would be appropriate and other times when a possible ricochet could be a problem.
In this situation, he couldn’t afford to miss in his attempt to snag a bullet out of the air so he stood close to Morgana, facing the gun and allowed the bullet to bounce off of his chest.
Seeing this, Bud snarled and shouted, “Not again! You interfered with me once before. You’re not gonna do it again!” Bud started firing, but the shots, because of his inebriated, drugged condition went wild.
This time it required Kam-El to use his hands to snag the slugs from the air. He was fortunate that there were only four bullets left in his revolver. He intercepted two with each hand before the hammer of his revolver fell on an empty cylinder.
Opening his hands he allowed the slugs to fall to the floor, hoping to intimidate the shooters.
The immediate threat was over and before Bud had a chance to reload, Kam-El started to move in his direction to disarm him, but he hadn’t reckoned with his accomplices. Jack fired into the crowd.
That shot connected. As Jed collapsed to the floor with a bullet in his shoulder, Carol Lombard screamed, “
Jed! He’s been shot!”
Jack had pulled the trigger for the shot, but he then proved that all of his practice was on video games. He was thinking that he was holding an automatic weapon whereas it was a semi-auto which required a trigger pull for each shot. When it failed to continue to fire, he looked at it in consternation. Releasing the trigger he used the heel of his right hand to hit the forward assist, thinking that the round simply wasn’t chambered. Without thinking or aiming, he pulled the trigger again. This time the shot went over all of the heads of the partygoers and buried itself in the wood of the bleachers behind them. A couple of people were injured by splinters thrown out as a result, but his first shot had wounded one of the guys.
Jack was staring at his recalcitrant rifle, trying to figure out what was wrong and that was when Ultra Woman 2 made her move. All of the weapons were dangerous, but the rifle had a larger magazine than the rest so at super-speed she entered the fray, running in and snatching the rifle out of Jack’s hands.
After snatching the rifle she had continued until she was standing at the side of Kam-El and holding the rifle over her head so that all could see, she bent the barrel, making it unusable. Dropping the now useless hunk of metal to the floor, she quipped, “Now you can shoot around corners, maybe, or maybe not. I don’t know if I’d risk it.”
The shot that had hit Jed had arrested Kam-El’s motion. He knew that he had to protect the crowd so he had fallen back to a position between the crowd and the gunmen and even with Lara now at his side it was a virtual standoff.
He sent a thought, /”Lara, we’re on our own. Mom and Dad aren’t answering.”/
/”We’ll just have to do our best. How about using your heat vision?”/
/”Good idea.”/
Jon concentrated on the Glock in Ben’s hand and trying to focus the beam on the slide poured what heat he could into it. As long as Ben didn’t move he thought he might be able to disable the weapon. Slowly a spot on the side of the slide started to glow red.
Ben noticed it and demonstrating just how muddled his thinking was, jerked the gun away and shouted, “Hey, none of that!! You ruin this gun and I’ll never hear the end of it from my ol’ man.”
Bud had finished reloading by this time and again threatened Morgana. “She’s one of them, but the ones I want are really Kent and Kaplin.” Addressing the crowd, Bud announced, “I want Kent and Kaplin. Send them out and I’ll let the rest of you go.”
The words finally solved the puzzle of who this was for Jon. The voice had been somewhat muffled by the ski mask, but the animosity toward him and Hattie were a dead giveaway. He just hoped that no one would really die.
Over his shoulder, Jon said, “Stay close to me, but behind me. I won’t let him hurt you.”
Morgana replied, in a heartfelt whisper, “I know. This isn’t the first time.”
Kam-El replied, “I remember.”
“Looks like I’ll owe you another kiss.”
“Looks like.”
Just then, Bud loosed another fusillade at Morgana. This time, knowing that Morgana was close behind him and protected by his body, he again snatched the bullets from the air. It was comparatively easy since Bud was using a revolver as opposed to an automatic weapon.
When Bud had finished this cylinder, Kam-El said over his shoulder, “Start moving back, away from him. I’ll stay between you, don’t worry.”
Meanwhile the crowd was shouting, some incoherently, for Jon and Hattie. Fortunately Hattie was still unconscious and out of sight of the fear deranged crowd or they might have done as the gunman had asked.
Even with all the shouting, Jon heard Morgana say, “I stopped worrying as soon as you showed up,” as she slowly started to back up, putting additional distance between her and the gunman. His plan would work as long as the gunmen maintained their position, near the doors.
Jon was happy to see that the shooters realized that the doors were their only exit and instinctively were staying near them.
Jon smiled at this although, Morgana could not see it. He could hear her moving and kept pace with her. Jon’s hope was that by increasing the distance the angular difference in their relative positions was reduced and he would be able to more easily defend against all of the shooters at once leaving Lara free to deal with them, and possibly disarm them.
If he could keep their attention focused on him, Lara might just have a free hand.
Suddenly, Bud dashed his hopes by shouting, “Keep an eye on that miniature copy of Ultra Woman. You saw what she did to that gun. Don’t let her get near you.”
Indignantly, Lara replied, “The name is Ultra Woman 2, buster and I’m not a miniature copy of anyone.” She decided to play a bluff, “She happens to be my role model, like a mother to me and she and Superman should be here any minute.”
Jack, now weaponless and feeling very vulnerable, cried out, “Hey, she’s right. They could show up any second!”
Jon sent, /”Good goin’, sis. They’re starting to panic.”/
/”Yeah, but we know they aren’t on the way. What can we do?”/
/”I just had an idea. Watch them, closely.”/
Looking off slightly to one side and up, Jon focused his heat vision on the bell on the wall. That bell was used to signal class changes during the school day. It wasn’t supposed to ring on the weekend or at night. By heating up the coil he caused it to start to ring.
When it started to ring, the shooters became unnerved and in something barely less than a panic fled out the doors, slamming them closed and using poles to block the handles, effectively locking everyone in the gym.
Lara sped to the wall and pulled the fire alarm. Immediately the fire siren started and the enunciator stated “Fire, please evacuate the building!” The announcement looped.
Lara sent, /”That should bring out Mom and Dad.”/
/”Yeah, along with the fire company. Good thinking. I’m going after them.”/
/”Not without me, you’re not!”/
/”No, you need to stay here and make sure everyone gets out safely, besides, there’s an injury. You need to get him to the hospital.”/
/”Oh, okay, I’ll take care of the injured. Go get ‘em.”/
Moving to the doors, Kam-El pushed and the doors flew open, almost leaving their hinges, as if an explosive charge had been used. He did the same with all of the doors.
As he started down the corridor there was a concerted rush behind him as the hostages, seeing that escape was now possible, headed for the parking lot.
Breasting the wave of humanity, Ultra Woman 2 moved to the side of her injured classmate. He was unconscious and his date was pressing a linen napkin against the wound, but he was losing a lot of blood. Lara could see the fear and panic in the girl’s eyes as she knelt next to her. In a soothing tone, she said, “You can let go now. I’ll take it from here. I need to get him to the hospital.”
Carol was in shock about what had happened. She had had presence of mind enough to try and stop the bleeding, but she had fixated on that activity. “Oh, what? Oh, yes, yes, of course. Hospital.”
As Ultra Woman 2 picked him up, the girl’s hands dropped to her sides and Lara recognized her as Carol and the guy in her arms as Jed. Reassuringly, she said, “Don’t worry; I’ll take good care of him.” As she finished speaking, she shifted into super-speed and carrying the unconscious football player she started to run toward the hospital, dodging around their classmates as she exited the building.
As the crowd in the gym started to thin, JJ could be seen looking around and calling, “Hattie? Hattie?” Frantically, he grabbed arms as people passed and asked, “Has anyone seen Hattie?”
No one answered, concerned as they all were with escape.
When there was almost no one left he heard a groan and looking toward the sound saw part of a royal blue dress sticking out from under a table only a very few feet from the pool of blood from Jed. Rushing to it, he threw up the table cloth to reveal a still somewhat stunned Hattie, starting to sit up.
Kneeling beside her he helped her to her unsteady feet. Looping an arm around her waist, he started walking them from the scene of carnage.
They emerged from the building along with most of the rest of the attendees to see fire trucks and ambulances screaming up and Ultra Woman landing. Most of the attendees were single-mindedly scattering and heading for their cars so that they could get away.
Spotting her JJ bent their course in her direction.
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