Mr. Clark.
Mr. Clark raised his visor and smiled without
showing his teeth. “You did good in there, kid. That was a mean trick they
pulled.”
Her mom grunted. “Yeah. Mean.”
“Did I do okay?” Ani tried not to sound sheepish.
Her mom patted her knee and put her head on Ani’s
shoulder. “You did fine. Better than I would have under the circumstances.”
Chapter
8
The next day Mr. Foster was out sick,
and instead of calling a sub the principal turned the class over to Miss
Pulver. They spent the morning playing Jenga. Mike laughed as the pile crashed
down, Kyle’s hand still holding his piece. Of all the kids, Ani had the best
remaining dexterity, with Mike a close second. Lydia had been a bit twitchy
even when she was alive.
As they walked down the
deserted hall toward PE, Teah kept bumping into Ani’s back. The third time Teah
stepped on her heel, Ani whirled around. “What is your problem?” She enunciated
each word through the bite guard. It wasn’t Teah’s fault she was in such a bad
mood, but she made a convenient target.
Teah bounced on her heels. “I
just have to see him, you know? It’s been two days.”
Behind Teah, Devon rolled her eyes.
“Wow, you made it a whole weekend.”
“Keep walking,” Mr. Benson
said.
They passed the art room. Six
out of seventeen kids wore black and bowed their heads as they clanked past.
Mr. Frazer put an easel in front of the door, blocking the view.
Once outside under the black
clouds, Teah shuffled to the fence to see Bill, while the rest of them hung
near the door. Devon unfolded the chess board and challenged Sam, while Mike
and Kyle squared off against Joe and Ani in euchre. Lydia stood next to Sam,
humming and rocking on her heels.
After a few minutes, Bill’s
voice drew their attention. “Hey, asshole, you dropped your rock!” Ani looked
up in time to see Bill throw a pebble at the small group of protesters. A
volley of pebbles responded, most of them directed at Teah. Pastor John hefted
a marble-sized rock and whipped it overhand. Teah cried out, her hand going to
her face.
Kyle leapt to his feet,
scraping up a handful of gravel as he did so. He took three running steps and
threw. The rocks pinged off the chain-link fence. Kyle threw another pebble
while Joe and Ani ran toward Teah. Bill retreated to his car under a hail of
stones. Kyle grabbed another handful.
Devon screamed at Kyle while
Joe sheltered Teah with his body. Together with Ani they retreated toward the
school building. Devon slapped the pebbles out of Kyle’s hand just as he went
to throw again, and it spun him off balance. He stumbled. His shoulder erupted
in a spray of bloodless meat, and then they heard the gunshot.
Devon put her hands on top of
her helmet and dropped to her knees. Sam copied her, then so did everyone else.
Everyone but Kyle. Kyle writhed on the ground, his mouth opening and closing,
his dead eyes rolling in their sockets. Silence reigned.
The door flew open and four
soldiers piled into the yard. Led by Mr. Benson, they half-circled the group,
assault rifles raised.
Mr. Benson cleared his throat,
then spoke in a flat voice devoid of his normal drill-sergeant bravado. “Violence
against the living will not be tolerated. Offenders will be incinerated, as per
policy.” He stepped back and called out. “Mr. Clark.”
Behind him, Mr. Clark’s stepped
out of the doorway, the pilot light on his flamethrower stoked to an angry
blue. Ani saw her own terrified face reflected in his mirrored visor. Gravel crunched
under his boots.
“ No !” Lydia cried. She
dove on Kyle and wrapped him in a hug. Defiant, she snarled at Mr. Benson. “If
you burn him, you have to burn me, too.”
Nobody moved. Mr. Benson’s eyes
moved back and forth between Kyle and Lydia. He nodded. “Mr. Clark, proceed.”
“Me, too,” Joe said, though he
didn’t move. “If you try it...I’ll stop you. I’ll try. All he did was throw a
rock. They threw
Mr. Clark raised his visor and smiled without
showing his teeth. “You did good in there, kid. That was a mean trick they
pulled.”
Her mom grunted. “Yeah. Mean.”
“Did I do okay?” Ani tried not to sound sheepish.
Her mom patted her knee and put her head on Ani’s
shoulder. “You did fine. Better than I would have under the circumstances.”
Chapter
8
The next day Mr. Foster was out sick,
and instead of calling a sub the principal turned the class over to Miss
Pulver. They spent the morning playing Jenga. Mike laughed as the pile crashed
down, Kyle’s hand still holding his piece. Of all the kids, Ani had the best
remaining dexterity, with Mike a close second. Lydia had been a bit twitchy
even when she was alive.
As they walked down the
deserted hall toward PE, Teah kept bumping into Ani’s back. The third time Teah
stepped on her heel, Ani whirled around. “What is your problem?” She enunciated
each word through the bite guard. It wasn’t Teah’s fault she was in such a bad
mood, but she made a convenient target.
Teah bounced on her heels. “I
just have to see him, you know? It’s been two days.”
Behind Teah, Devon rolled her eyes.
“Wow, you made it a whole weekend.”
“Keep walking,” Mr. Benson
said.
They passed the art room. Six
out of seventeen kids wore black and bowed their heads as they clanked past.
Mr. Frazer put an easel in front of the door, blocking the view.
Once outside under the black
clouds, Teah shuffled to the fence to see Bill, while the rest of them hung
near the door. Devon unfolded the chess board and challenged Sam, while Mike
and Kyle squared off against Joe and Ani in euchre. Lydia stood next to Sam,
humming and rocking on her heels.
After a few minutes, Bill’s
voice drew their attention. “Hey, asshole, you dropped your rock!” Ani looked
up in time to see Bill throw a pebble at the small group of protesters. A
volley of pebbles responded, most of them directed at Teah. Pastor John hefted
a marble-sized rock and whipped it overhand. Teah cried out, her hand going to
her face.
Kyle leapt to his feet,
scraping up a handful of gravel as he did so. He took three running steps and
threw. The rocks pinged off the chain-link fence. Kyle threw another pebble
while Joe and Ani ran toward Teah. Bill retreated to his car under a hail of
stones. Kyle grabbed another handful.
Devon screamed at Kyle while
Joe sheltered Teah with his body. Together with Ani they retreated toward the
school building. Devon slapped the pebbles out of Kyle’s hand just as he went
to throw again, and it spun him off balance. He stumbled. His shoulder erupted
in a spray of bloodless meat, and then they heard the gunshot.
Devon put her hands on top of
her helmet and dropped to her knees. Sam copied her, then so did everyone else.
Everyone but Kyle. Kyle writhed on the ground, his mouth opening and closing,
his dead eyes rolling in their sockets. Silence reigned.
The door flew open and four
soldiers piled into the yard. Led by Mr. Benson, they half-circled the group,
assault rifles raised.
Mr. Benson cleared his throat,
then spoke in a flat voice devoid of his normal drill-sergeant bravado. “Violence
against the living will not be tolerated. Offenders will be incinerated, as per
policy.” He stepped back and called out. “Mr. Clark.”
Behind him, Mr. Clark’s stepped
out of the doorway, the pilot light on his flamethrower stoked to an angry
blue. Ani saw her own terrified face reflected in his mirrored visor. Gravel crunched
under his boots.
“ No !” Lydia cried. She
dove on Kyle and wrapped him in a hug. Defiant, she snarled at Mr. Benson. “If
you burn him, you have to burn me, too.”
Nobody moved. Mr. Benson’s eyes
moved back and forth between Kyle and Lydia. He nodded. “Mr. Clark, proceed.”
“Me, too,” Joe said, though he
didn’t move. “If you try it...I’ll stop you. I’ll try. All he did was throw a
rock. They threw
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