The Bullworth Never Ending Story

[BloodChuckZ]

Tony had located Ms. Phillips’ apartment.  He stood before the door on the second-floor landing and turned the knob.  It turned easily under his touch and he pushed the door open with a sigh of relief.  He was afraid that he was going to have to break in, and was glad the door was unlocked.  Ms. Phillips hadn’t mentioned anything about keys, and he had forgotten to ask.  He did wonder briefly if Mr. Galloway had gotten out somehow, but as he approached the bedroom door, he heard mumblings from the other side in Mr. Galloway’s voice.  Ms. Phillips had fortunately forgotten to lock the door when she had went out last night.  Tony eased the door open.

A quite appalling sight greeted him.  Mr. Galloway lay sprawled crossways on the bed, sheets and blankets in disarray.  There was a strong smell of shit mixed with the fainter smell of alcohol in the stuffy air.  Tony almost wanted to barf at the stink.  He crossed the room quickly and went to the room’s lone window.  Struggling, he got it raised, and the summer air wafted into the room, diminishing the sickening stench somewhat.

Tony’s struggles with the window had brought Mr. Galloway to a certain level of awareness.  “Hi-Ho, who goes there ?”, he inquired, his watery eyes just open to slits against the light.

Tony turned back towards the bed.  “It’s...Uh...It’s me, Mr. Galloway....Tony.”

Mr. Galloway blinked several times. “To-ny....Ah, yes...The Don Quixote of Bullworth....Tripping against those Windmills today ?....Where is....Your Sancho ?....What are you....Doing in La Mancha ?”

“Um....Ms. Phillips sent me”, Tony said, “She said to look after you.  Mr. Galloway....You look like you need something to eat....”

Mr. Galloway’s blue eyes stared off across the room.  “Deidrie ?”, he said, so low that Tony could barely hear.  “I need.....”  He cut off abruptly and peered down at himself, taking in his rumpled nightclothes.  “I’m....A mess...”, he groaned.  “Tell....Deidrie....I need...Fixed up...”

“Yes...You do”, Tony observed, “And I’m gonna help you, Sir...Ms. Phillips is...Um, not able to make it back here right now....She sent me to help.”

“I...I don’t do...Boys...”, Mr. Galloway mumbled.  Tony had no idea what that meant. 

“Uh...First, I think we should get you cleaned up, Mr. Galloway”, Tony said.  Mr. Galloway made no comment to that.  In fact, his eyes were beginning to flutter slightly.  Tony rose and started looking around.  There was no Wardrobe or closet in the small room, so he started looking in other places.  Out in the short hallway, he came across the closet in an area with cheap double sliding doors.  Inside, he saw suits and dresses on hangers, and some shelving with other folded things.  He poked around until he found some fresh nightclothes.  He also grabbed a fresh clean sheet, pillowcase, and blanket.  These items he returned to the room.

It became obvious that Lionel Galloway had soiled himself, in not one but all three directions...Piss, Shit, and Vomit.  Tony was able to hoist Mr. Galloway off the bed and place him on the straight-back chair by the room’s desk.  He then stripped the bed of all the sheets and blankets, tossing them in a pile on the floor.  Tony proceeded to flip the mattress over, them re-made the bed, changing out the pillowcase as well. 

He carried the soiled bedding to the bathroom.  There he found a small tub under the sink and filled it with water.  Finding some rags and towels, he carried everything back to the bedroom and began the grim task of changing and cleaning Mr. Galloway up.  While he worked at this disgusting job, Tony kept his mind on other things as to not be upchucking his own stomach.

It was clear that Mr. Galloway had been drinking lately.  Tony knew he had been out of school all week, and he knew Ms. Phillips wouldn’t have been the one providing him with any alcohol.  His mind fastened on something Ms. Phillips had said....What that Skank did to him....And slowly realized there was a whole lot more to Ms. Phillips’ drama than he knew about.  There were three players to this little tragedy, he thought...And the third person involved in all this had to be none other than that Miss Jones, who was now laying unconscious in the Clinic.  In a flash of insight, Tony thought that Bethany Jones could also be the one who had engineered the nude posters that had been plastered about the Towns. 

It was all a mystery to Tony, but he was sure of one thing....These two of his favorite teachers were in deep shit.  Was it something that could be easily explained if he knew more facts, or was it something more sinister ?  Was there another plot afoot to take over the school ?  And if so, who was behind it ?

Tony finished re-dressing Mr. Galloway as he was thinking those last thoughts, and he got him back into bed and settled.  Tony next went out to the kitchen to see what he could find.  After washing himself up like a surgeon, to ensure that all the crap he had cleaned off of Mr. Galloway was not on him, Tony checked the refrigerator and pulled out a few items, which he carried to the stove. 

Like most boys, Tony wasn’t exactly a cook, but he knew how to make some food to be able to get by.  He had selected some eggs and bacon, and began frying them, also popping some toast in the Toaster.  He wound up making some bacon & eggs sandwiches, of which he ate a couple.  Taking the food into Mr. Galloway, he also brought some Milk and Juice he’d found in the fridge along. 

Mr. Galloway was compliant, and wasn’t saying much, to Tony’s relief.  He had the idea that Mr. Galloway was somewhat embarrassed by the state he was in and what Tony had to do for him.  As Tony fed him small bites of the sandwiches he’d made, his mind returned again to his mission set for tonight.  He’d have to get back to the school soon and get his forces lined up for the assault on the Chem Plant, plus he needed to round up a whole lot of weaponry and ammunition.  He had already taken almost two hours tending to Mr. Galloway, and he would have to find someone he could trust to look after him later tonight....Maybe longer, depending how the mission went tonight.  He had promised Ms. Phillips.

Tony made sure Mr. Galloway drank enough juice and milk.  When he could hold no more, Mr. Galloway laid back and sighed.  His color already seemed better.  He looked at Tony with clearer eyes and said, “I guess....I’m in a real mess this time.”

“You’ll get better, Sir”, Tony assured.  “This will pass and you’ll be fine.”

“I think....It was the Delirium Tremens”, Mr. Galloway said sadly.  “So many times.....”

“You’re gonna be fine”, Tony assured again, eager to get going.  “Just need some rest, you’ll see.”

“Yesss....Rest....”, Mr. Galloway murmured, closing his eyes.  Sooner than Tony thought, he drifted off to sleep.

Tony took that opportunity to leave quietly, leaving the door unlocked.  He already had in mind who he could get to take on Mr. Galloway’s care, but she would have to promise to keep her mouth shut.  Tony walked down the steps from the second story apartment, intending to get back to the School.  At that moment, his Cell Phone rang.

Tony pulled it out of his pocket, thinking it was probably Nick, wondering where he was.  Instead, the caller I.D. that flashed on the screen was totally unexpected: KAREN.

Hand shaking, he depressed the answer button and brought the phone to his ear.  “Karen ?”, he said hurriedly into the Phone, “That you ?  Where are you ?”

But instead of Karen, a muffled voice spoke ominously.  “We Have The Girls.  We Demand One-Hundred Thousand Dollars Cash Ransom.  You Have 24 Hours.  We Will Contact You Then With Further Instructions.  Do Not Call The Cops Or The Feds, Or They Will DIE.”

“WHO IS THIS ??”, Tony screamed into the Phone, but it was too late.  The connection was cut.
____________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Nick led Ray out to the back Quad after the Greasers had left the School.  They held back as the Greasers trooped south, to where the Fountain used to be, and turned right to the Autoshop area.  Ray didn’t quite understand what Nick was doing, since he hadn’t revealed any details about the mission he had been asked him to join.   

“Don’t you want to...Talk to them....About maybe joining the mission ?”, Ray ventured nervously.

“Nah”, Nick replied, “I don’t think they’d be in any mood to be talking to me.”

“Uh...Ok”, Ray said, confused.  “Umm....Why not ?”

“I made Ricky drink a can of piss a few months ago, after I beat him up”, Nick said.  “They haven’t been real friendly every since, for some reason, unless Tony is along with me.”

“Oh...Yeah, guess that would...Uh, kinda put a damper on things....”, Ray remarked.  “So....Where are we going then ?”

“To see the Jocks”, Nick replied.  “Com’on, let’s go.”

Nick headed off to the Football Field with Ray trailing behind, trying to keep up.  He marched past the former fountain looking neither right to the Autoshop nor left to Harrington House.  Ray could tell Nick apparently didn’t have an interest in talking to the Preps either.  Purposely, Nick strode past the Gym and Pool and didn’t stop until he reached the steps that led down to the Football Field.  The Jocks were out, just starting their workout exercises.  As Ray caught up, he saw that Nick was scanning the field, obviously looking for someone.

“There he is”, Nick murmured.  He waited until Laurent appeared to be looking in their direction and then waved and signaled him to meet them by the North Bleachers.  Laurent waved back, and Nick abruptly started down the steps.  Ray scrambled to follow.

Down near the Bleachers, Mandy was working out some Cheerleader moves with a group of the new girls.  The girls who had always been on the squad in seasons before...Pinky, Lola, and Christy....Were otherwise occupied these days, so Mandy was having to break in a whole new crop.  Nick walked past them, and Mandy saw him and waved.  “Hey, Nicky !”, she called.

Nick stopped and waved back.  Ray almost ran into the back of him.  Nick seemed to be thinking about something for a second, then motioned Mandy over.  She told the newbie Cheerleaders to take a break and came over to meet Nick.

“Mandy...Can I talk to you a minute ?”, Nick asked her.

“Sure”, Mandy said brightly.  “What’s up ?”

Nick indicated they should sit in the Bleachers, as Laurent came trotting up to join them.  When they were gathered in one spot, Nick said, “Laurent....Mandy....We need the Jock’s help for an important mission tonight.  Tony and I....Well, we think we’ve found out where Karen and Melody are being held at, and we’re gonna go in and try to free them...”  Nick briefly explained about their suspicions and what had led them to discover the Townies at the Chem Plant.  “So, it’s going to be dangerous.....We’re gonna need some backup”, Nick went on.  “Tony thinks to bring the Bullies....But I think we’ll need somebody who can actually BEAT those fools.”

“Why sure, the Jocks will come help !”, Mandy exclaimed.  “If those reject Townies are the ones responsible for taking Karen, then we have to rescue them....And, Melody too, of course”, she hastily added.  “I’ll talk to Ted, and tell him what’s going on.  I just know he’ll agree to help.”

“What about La Police ?”, Laurent spoke up.  “You say they have guns of some kind, would that not be dangerous ?  Should not we let them go and raid this Chem Plant ?”

“Oh, Right”, Nick said sarcastically, “Let those bumbling Idiots roll up there with their lights and sirens going, then get on a megaphone and ask them to pretty please come out and surrender ?  Yeah, that’ll work out real fine.”

“Well...I did not mean it in that way...”, Laurent said.  He had just momentarily forgotten where he had been living for this past year.  “But, you are right, of course.”

“We need stealth”, Nick said.  “To take them by surprise, all at once.  It’s our only chance against those Air Rifles.  Hit ‘em hard and quick, overwhelm them with force.  That’s the only way for it to work.  Those Cops....”  Here he laughed harshly.  “They’ll just muck it up.”

Nick told Mandy and Laurent the particulars of where they were to meet and the approximate time that the mission would be carried out.  Then he and Ray took their leave from the Football Field.  Their next objective, Nick told Ray, was to see the Nerds once school was over for the day.  They would need extra weapons, and Nick was sure he could convince them to donate to the cause.
______________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Tony sat down heavily on the steps, his knees suddenly weak.  He felt like some big fist had suddenly punched him in the guts.  He was stunned.  Why, after all this time, were the Kidnapers demanding ransom ?  Had something happened to the girls ?  Were they still alive ?

Tony fingered his Cell Phone as he stared at the blank screen.  His thoughts swirled.  Maybe, the call could be traced, like he had heard about.  But that would mean....He would have to tell Chief O’Rouke about the call.  Maybe even turn over his Cell Phone to the Feds.  But wait....The Caller had said no Cops and no Feds, or the girls would die.  They wanted $100,000 ransom.  Where was he to come up with that on his own ? 

As these frantic thoughts were zooming through Tony’s head, the Cell Phone suddenly rang again.  Startled, Tony jumped and damn near dropped the phone.  With shaking hands, he sought the answer button.  The screen flashed a new name:  ALGIE.

Pushing the button, he brought the phone to his ear with a numb hand.  “Algie ?  That you ?”

“Tony....There was a Townie Here !!”, Algie’s voice spoke hurriedly.  “Up by the entrance inside the Freakshow House !  I could see him from my Station !”

“Could you tell...Who is was ?”, Tony asked, his head swirling.  “What was he doing there ?”

“I think it was....Jerry”, Algie answered, “And....It looked like....He was making a call on a Cell Phone !”

Tony felt a surge run through him.  That must have been the call he just got !

“Algie”, he spoke into the phone, “Is he still there ?  In the Freakshow House ?”

“No, he just left, right as I was calling you”, Algie related.  “He just came inside a little ways, I could see him down the hall from where me and Paris are at, and....”

“Algie, can you follow him ?”, Tony interrupted, “Find him and tail him ?”

“Uh...I don’t know”, Algie said, “He’s gone....But, I can try.”

“Alright, Listen !”, Tony told him, “I’ll be right over, quick as I can !”

Tony cut off the connection, and jumped up from the steps.  He certainly couldn’t run over to the Carnival, it would take too long.  He needed transportation, and fast.  He began moving down the street, looking around for an bike to swipe.  As he was doing so, he called Nick.

“Yo”, Nick answered on the second ring.  “Where you at ?  I been gettin’ some things set up for tonight....”

“Nick, there’s a Townie over at the Carnival !”, Tony interrupted in a rush.  “He just made a ransom call to my phone !  Algie just seen him over there, doing it !  Grab a bike and head that way, maybe we can catch the Bastard !”

“Ok, I’m on it”, Nick answered tightly.  “Meet you there.”

“Take the Vale Valley Boulevard”, Tony said, “In case he makes a run for it, you can spot him, or maybe catch him before he clears the tunnel.  I don’t think he’ll hang around the Carnival long.”

“Gotcha”, Nick replied, and cut the connection.

After like what seemed too long, but was only minutes, Tony found an untended bike behind the Oil Spill Gas Station.  He hopped on and began to pedal.  The bike was slow as crap and was a piece of shit, but Tony pushed it to it’s limits.  Taking the shortcut off the North Bridge through the Vale, he was soon breezing through the tunnel leading to the Carnival.
_____________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Stuffing the Cell Phone back into the Zip Lock baggie and dropping it into his pocket, Jerry climbed unseen over the short bridge just outside the Carnival entrance South of the tunnel, at the bend of the road.  He dropped down out of sight under the bridge, which spanned a small creek that led out to the bay.  The sides of the gorge was steep-ish, and Jerry had to splash the fifty yards or so until the creek came close to a small strip of beach at an inlet, where a small boat was pulled up onto the sand.  The boat was outfitted with a small 7hp motor, and Jerry had 'borrowed’ it from one of the Boathouses along the docks at Blue Skies. 

Jerry pushed the boat out into the water and climbed in.  Checking the Cell Phone to make sure he had shut it off, Jerry then fired up the small motor and put some gas to it, heading out of inlet into the bay.  Soon, he was lost to sight, mixing in with the other pleasure boaters out on the bay.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

When Tony arrived and dropped his 'borrowed’ bike, Nick was already there at the Carnival Gates, having arrived just a bare couple of minutes before Tony had.  Tony quickly filled Nick in about the message he had been given and the ransom demand as they moved inside.  Partway down the Midway, they came across Algie, dressed in his Carnival outfit.

“Where is he, Algie ?”, Tony asked.  “Did you find him ?”

“N-No”, Algie stuttered, clearly high-strung, “I looked all around, he’s not here !”

“Maybe he’s on a ride, or hid out in the Fun House”, Nick said tersely.  “We should check everything to make sure.”

“That’s a good idea”, Tony said.  “Call on the phone if any one of us finds him.”

The three split up, with Nick going to check the rides, Algie going to the Fun House, and Tony going out to check the newly-rebuilt Go-Cart Track.  But after more than a half-hour, it was obvious that they had missed their prey.  They all met back up under the shadow of the Roller-Coaster.  The Carnival was crowded, not overly so, but it seemed that the Carnival-goers were packing in their fun early on this day in the face of an expected summer storm that was due in later in the evening. 

“Looks like he got away”, Tony said. “But we know where he went....Right back to where they’re holding the girls.”

“He musta took off right after making that call”, Nick said dejectedly.  “We woulda caught him if we’d got here sooner.”

“I...I...I called as soon as I seen him”, Alige said, “Really !”

“I know you did, Algie....Nobody’s blaming you”, Tony said.  “Just...Uh, go on back to your station, I guess.  If you see any of the other Townies over here, just let us know....Though I don’t think any will be back here.  At least not today.”

“What ?  Y-You think they will be back tomorrow ?”, Algie said nervously.

“Not if we can help it”, Nick vowed.  “We’ve gotta get them before they decide to kill the girls.”

“Kill ?”, Algie gulped.  “What do you mean, Kill ?  They’re not Killers !”

“That’s what they just threatened in that call”, Tony said, darkly.  “I wouldn’t put anything past them.”

Algie was shocked at this turn of events.  He knew the Townies, not well of course, but didn’t really think of them as Killers.  There had been that Murderer, Big Darrell, everyone had heard about that right after Jake was defeated and Jimmy Hopkins had been cleared of the involvement of the murders of Gary and Edgar....But Darrell hadn’t been a true Townie, but a Punk as it turned out.  Algie had associated with the Townies in the past, even before being tricked by Jake into joining up with them and taking a part of the failed school invasion last Easter.  They were rough young men, but Kidnappers and maybe Killers ?

“I...I...Uh, guess....I should get back to Paris”, Algie said, looking sort of white-ish in the face.

“Yeah, you do that”, Nick said, trying to keep the disgust out of his voice and failing.  He had no sympathy for the likes of the Nerd who had brought such misery on others himself, then expected to be forgiven for his crimes.

Tony watched Alige slink off dejectedly.  He wondered then what time it was.  He had used up most of the afternoon on tending to Mr. Galloway, and then this.  There was still the matter of arraigning the Bully Army for tonight, seeing Mr. Riddle, gathering ammunition for tonight’s raid, and getting a caretaker for Mr. Galloway.  “Let’s head back....Class is probably over for the day, and we got lots to do yet.”

Nick then told him of bringing the Jocks in on the planned assault for tonight.  Tony liked that idea, but they would still need the Bullies for the initial frontal assault.  Tony had a twinge of moral misgivings for setting them up to be sacrificial lambs, but reasoned there was little choice.  This was War, and the girl’s lives hung in the balance.  He would have sacrificed every kid in the school to get Karen back, if it came to that, no question.  Even his friends.  Even himself.

Tony and Nick retrieved their stolen bikes and headed back to Bullworth Academy.
_______________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Streaking Eastward on Vale Valley Boulevard, The boys heard someone calling over the traffic.  “TONY !  Hey, TONY !  STOP...Stop, Please ?!”

Tony spotted Pinky on the sidewalk, near the Boar Inn, jumping and waving.  Reluctantly, he pulled over to her, followed by Nick, who was saying to him, “We should just move on, y’know ?” 

Tony screeched to a stop in front of Pinky.  “What do you want, Pinky ?  We’re kinda busy today.”

“I just...Want to talk with you....”, Pinky said, somewhat wistfully.  Tony sighed.  “Just for a moment....Please ?”, she entreated.

Nick lurked in the background, shaking his head.  Tony eyed Pinky and sighed again.  To Nick, he said, “Go on ahead....I’ll catch up.”

“You sure ?”, Nick asked, a tone of doubt in his voice.

“Yeah...It’ll be all right”, Tony replied, looking at Pinky.  “Go ahead, start getting things set up...I’ll be along soon....Really.”

“Well....All right then”, Nick said, casting a snide look at Pinky before pedaling off.  Pinky watched Nick go with puzzled eyes.  “What’s with him ?”, she asked.

“He...Uh, kinda knows what you’ve been doing, um...To me”, Tony said.  Pinky frowned, and Tony added hastily, “I didn’t tell him anything....He just figured it out on his own.’

Pinky’s face cleared somewhat.  “That’s what....I wanted to talk to you about, Tony....Listen, I’ve been thinking....About what you said....”

“Yes ?”, Tony said, expecting some more crap, or maybe blackmail. 

“Well....”, Pinky said slowly, choosing her words, “I....I think you’re right...About what you said....And....I want to help.”

The last thing Tony expected to hear from Pinky’s lips was an offer of help.  “Well...Um, I don’t think there’s anything you could do, Pinky....Unless you’ve got a Hundred Thousand Dollars for the ransom those pricks want.”

“They want....Ransom ?”, Pinky asked.  “You didn’t tell me that before.”

“Just found out”, Tony said without elaborating.  “I can’t imagine just what the girls have had to go through, and now this...”

“You forget....I was kidnapped, once....”, Pinky said.  “I know what....Karen and Melody....What they’re going through....I can help them, maybe....”

“We gotta rescue them first”, Tony said.  “And it has to be tonight.  We’re getting a mission together....”

“A Mission ?”, Pinky said, surprised.  “I thought your mission was...Last night ?”

“An exploratory mission”, Tony said.  “To see what we are up against....Top of the Chem Plant....And it’s bad, real bad...They’ve got Air Rifles, like what shot Pete.  We have to fight them....And get in.  Still...There’s no guarantees we’re gonna find Karen and Melody alright....They’ve threatened to kill them.”

Pinky was stunned at that last statement.  “Kill them ?  Oh, they wouldn’t....”

“Wouldn’t they ?”, Tony asked, not really expecting an answer.  “People get desperate enough, they’ll do anything.”

“Maybe....I can still help....Do something....”, Pinky said uncertainly.

“Well....If you think of anything before tonight, let me know”, Tony said, tired of this parlay.  “I’ve got to go now, really....I got a lot to get ready.” 

Tony peddled off, not waiting for anything else Pinky had to say.  It was ridiculous to even consider that Pinky, or any of the Preps, would put up the ransom money for anyone not of their own kind.  In fact, with all the financial mess the Preps must be in lately, it was doubtful that a hundred grand in cash could even be raised among the lot of them.

Pinky watched Tony go.  Standing on the sidewalk, a germ of an idea bloomed in her otherwise self-absorbed mind.  Maybe there was a way to help, after all.  She couldn’t go to Tad with this, that was over and done.  No, for what she was thinking, she would have to talk to the least offensive Prep there was.  Maybe he could convince the others.  It was worth a shot, at any rate.  It could lead to her redemption.  She began walking to the Prep's Boxing Gym.
_______________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Tony hurried to the school.  He had been right, classes had let out.  As he neared the front entrance, he could see a few kids leaving school, some headed for Bullworth, some for the Vale.  He also spotted one other, and he changed course to intercept her, catching up to her before the big bridge.

“Hey, uh, Christy...Wait up !”, Tony said as he biked up alongside her.

Christy stopped and turned.  “Why, hello, Tony !”, she stopped and said. 

“Look, Christy...Or should I call you Miss Martin ?”, Tony asked, mindful of her new Teacher’s Ade status.  “I need you to do me a favor.”

“No, just Christy is fine”, Christy laughed.  “What favor do you need ?”

Tony got off the bike and indicated they should walk.  “Well...It’s actually for Ms. Phillips”, Tony said, and went on to describe Mr. Galloway’s state, and how Ms. Phillips couldn’t get home to care for him, seeing as how she was injured and in the Clinic.  By the time they had walked to the other side of the bridge towards Bullworth Town, Tony had revealed his suspicions about Miss Jones, how she was probably the one behind hanging the posters about the towns, and most likely the one responsible for Mr. Galloway’s condition. 

Christy was shocked.  “Why would she do such things ?”, she asked, and then stopped an put her hands to her face.  “Ohmigod...I was the one who told her about those nude drawings in the first place !   It’s all my fault !”

“No, it’s not, don’t be thinking that”, Tony said, “You’re not responsible for what other people do.  But Ms. Phillips really needs help now, and I can’t do anything about taking care of Mr. Galloway tonight...I was over there earlier, and he’s all set for now, but he’ll need fed and all...”

“Why, of course I’ll help”, Christy said, “I’ve always liked Mr. Galloway.  I’d be happy to look in on him...Except...”  Christy’s face clouded.  “Except maybe, I shouldn’t be going over there alone...”

“Just take Winkie with you”, Tony said.  “He can help out too...You think he’d be Ok with that ?”

“Why sure !”, Christy’s face cleared.  “He can come with me....We haven’t anything to do tonight, and his next Gig isn’t until next weekend.”

“It’ll only be for a couple days”, Tony said.  “The sooner he can get back to school, the better for everybody, I think....Given all these rumors going around.”

“Sure, no problem”, Christy said, “I’ll bet he just needs some Chicken Soup !”

Tony told her the address, and that the door was unlocked, so she wouldn’t need a key.  Before he left her, he said, “Oh...Christy, keep this on the down-low, alright ?   We don’t need any more rumors feeding the fire, y’know ?”

“Cross my heart !”, Christy told him, “I won’t say a thing !”

Tony took his leave of Christy, biking back across the big bridge, headed once more to the school.  Seth the Prefect was still patrolling the front gate, seeing that no outsiders came in.  Tony thought it was kind of ridiculous, as he hadn’t seen any reporters or news people all day.  Still, strangely it was serving the best interests of the school....To keep things under wraps.  Seth didn’t bother with him, and Tony hurried in.  He had someone to see, whom he hoped had important information for him.
_____________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Firstly, though, Tony looked around for Nick.  He found him in an unlikely place, outside of the Library, talking with the Nerds....Or rather, dictating to the Nerds.  “.....And we’ll expect those weapons and ammo over at the Boy’s Dorm tonight, understand ?  Don’t make me come looking for you all, or there’ll be real trouble !!”

“You don’t have to be a Big Bully about it !”, complained Fatty.  “You could have just asked nicely !”

“I don’t have the time to be nice”, growled Nick.  “Melody and Karen’s lives are in danger...Don’t you pencilheads understand that ?  We need that stuff tonight, and if we don’t get it, I’ll have to come looking for it with my Fists !”

Fatty, Melvin, and the other Nerds who were there were getting fearful looks on their faces.  They had never heard threats from Nick before, and it was scaring them.  Why, he could take the whole lot of them apart and never even break a sweat.  “Well, I...Um, we...Uh.....”, Melvin stammered.

“Hey, uh....Nick ?”, Tony interrupted.  “Say, um...Listen....Why don’t you go round up the Bullies ?  We’re gonna need to talk to them, too....Over by the Dorm...Ok ?  I’ll handle things here.”

Nick stuck a clenched fist in front of Melvin and Fatty’s face.  “Yeah...You do that.  I’m about done talkin’ to these Pencil-Neck Geeks !!”  He turned and stomped off.

Tony waited until Nick left the Library area, and then spoke to Melvin.  “Uh...Look, Melvin, Nick’s just a little worked up....But we really need that ammo.  A few extra weapons we’ll need, but it’s the ammo we need most of all.”

“Well....I don’t know....”, Melvin said nasally, a little braver now that Nick was out of sight.

“Look, it’s real important, like he said”, Tony said.  “And...I’ll see to it you guys get compensations, alright ?  We got to go out at midnight on an important mission....And we got to fight the Townies, and they’ve got some heavy firepower, those stolen Air Rifles....Can I count on you fellows ?  Will the Brave Knights come through for us ?”

Melvin appeared to give it some thought, but he really had no choice.  “Well....Ok, we’ll get you some ammo and a few weapons.....”

“Good”, Tony said, relieved.  “We’re gonna need plenty of M-80s and Stink Bombs, most of all...Enough for a siege....It might be a long one.  And, enough backpacks to carry it, we have to go to the top of the Chem Plant to ambush them.  Bring the stuff around to the back of the Dorm about 10 o’clock....Got it ?”

Melvin nodded, even though Fatty looked on in disapproval.  “Fine....See you then”, Tony said, patting Melvin on the shoulder and moving off.  The Nerds watched him go down the steps and disappear around the stone wall corner beyond.
_______________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

While Tony was waiting for Nick to gather the Bullies, he headed into the school.  Still wearing his preppie outfit, he wasn’t challenged by Edward the Prefect, who was patrolling the Great Hall.  Tony headed for the School Store, and was relieved to see Mr. Riddle still there behind the glass.

“Ah, there you are, kid”, Mr. Riddle said, “Been waitin’ on you.”

“Umm...You got anything for me, Mr. Riddle ?”, Tony asked hopefully.

“Yeah, kid....Go over through the basement door over there, be with you in a minute”, Mr. Riddle said, and began closing up, rolling down the metal louvers to cover the windows.  Tony went around to the basement door and entered the room.  In a few seconds, Mr. Riddle entered by the access door from the School Store. 

Tony waited expectantly. “We got to the top of the Chem Plant last night”, he said, “But they’re guarding the entrance, at what looks like some kind of Shack.  They had weapons, so we sneaked back away without being seen....We’re getting a bunch of help to go back in tonight.”

Mr. Riddle had grabbed a paper drawing pad  that he had apparently stashed, and pulled up a crate next to Tony.  “Just a little while ago, I heard back from my....Contacts”, he told Tony.  “It took quite a bit of digging to find anything on that rustbucket place...Seems the Chem Plant was listed as an asset of a corporation called ‘The Camelot Corporation’, which is a dummy corporation set up under the Harrington Enterprises umbrella of questionable Tax Write-offs.  It’s listed as the 'Chem-O-Lot Research Facility’ on the records, which was its original name.  The Blueprints for its construction were buried in the Department of City Planning, not at Bullworth Town like one would think, but in Warwick, which was the biggest city around these parts at the time.”

“So, you have these Blueprints ?”, Tony asked eagerly.

“No”, Mr. Riddle said regretfully, “They weren’t able to be scanned properly since they are quite a bit degraded....Weren’t really stored properly, y’see....But, I have descriptions of the insides of the place, including the underground floors.”  Mr. Riddle began doodling on the drawing pad, which Tony could see already had a bunch of round circles drawn on it, with squiggles and notations.  “See, each of these represent the floors of the Chem Plant”, he went on.  “On this page, there’s the five floors of the Plant, the ones that are above ground.  On the Top of the building is that Access Shack....Get through that, and there’s a circular ramp that goes around the fifth floor and comes to an electronic double-door.  The plans showed a keypad next to it, so there’s probably a code to be entered.  Those boys ought to know what it is....Capture one of them and make him let you through.  Then, down a long corridor, is an elevator.  If it’s working, take that to the first floor.”

“What if it’s not working ?”, Tony asked, reminding Mr. Riddle of the possible damage from the explosions the Punks had rigged up inside the Plant.

“Then, you have to go down these Catwalks and Ladders”, Mr. Riddle said, pointing to the different drawings.  When you get to the first floor, you’ll know....It has a depressed area that sort of looks like your fighting 'Hole’ here in the basement, only bigger.  Around the perimeter, there are offices, storage rooms, and such.  The plans don’t show it, but there has to be an access to the below ground floors from one of them....Probably camouflaged. You’ll have to find that.  On the Blueprints it wasn’t shown.  But there has to be a way they access it.”

Tony mulled all that information over, then asked, “What about the underground floors ?”

Mr. Riddle flipped the page over on the next drawing, which contained three circles.  “The first underground level was mostly blank, and the sources think...”  Here he paused... “Um, they think that it’s probably used for....Storage or something.  There’s stairs over on the South end, though...They go down to the second underground level.  There’s a large room there, more than half the floor, that was marked 'Testing’....I don’t know just what they tested there.  The rest appear to be offices and Lab spaces, from the size of them.  Now, at the same part on the South end, the stairs continue down to the third underground level.  As you can see, there’s a lot of rooms and such here.”

Tony bent low to get a closer look.  “It looks like a....Well, circles within circles”, he commented.

“At first glance...But they seem to contain...Rooms”, Mr. Riddle said.  “There’s this large one in the middle, then the next circle is divided up into large, and then larger, rooms.  The next circle is also divided up into rooms, somewhat smaller.  But see here, on the outer circle, it appears that this one is divided up into really small rooms.  My....Sources...Believe that this last level may be a living area of some sort.”

“That’s where they have the girls !”, Tony exclaimed, in a flash of clarity.  Looking at the third level drawing again, he said, “What’s these....Paths....Here ?”

“They should be hallways”, Mr. Riddle said.  “The big one leads, apparently, to those tunnel doors you saw, welded shut.  Those are here, and also here”, he said, pointing to spots on the drawings of the other two levels.  This smaller hallway here goes to the stairway, and the other one....”  Here Mr. Riddle hesitated.  “Goes somewhere.....No one is quite sure where.”

Tony studied the drawings.  “Well....This sure will help tonight, Mr. Riddle....Thanks.  I can take these along, can’t I ?”, he said, indicating the drawings. 

“Well...Sure”, Mr. Riddle said.  “But...Tony, are you sure you don’t want to go to the Police or the Feds on this ?  This whole thing could be more dangerous than you think.”

“That’s just it....I can’t”, Tony said.  “I got a ransom call today.  They threatened to kill the girls if we did that....And I....I just can’t risk that.”

“Ransom ?”, Mr. Riddle said.  “What kind of ransom ?”

“A Hundred Grand”, Tony replied.  “And they only give us until tomorrow.”

Mr. Riddle shook his head.  “Amateurs”, he said in disgust.  “You know, it looks like they’re desperate....They got themselves into a hole with this kidnapping business and don’t know how to get out.”

“They aren’t too bright”, Tony conceded.  “That maniac Jake paid them to invade the School so he could take over, and they wound up in Jail over it.”

“Sounds like they have no, what’s called, ‘Exit Strategy’....No cohesive plan for after”, Mr. Riddle postulated.  “So, they’ve suddenly decided to get out of their mess by demanding all that money, so they can disappear and get a stake for somewhere else.”

“I’d pay them the Hundred Grand, just to get the girls back, if I had it”, Tony said with conviction.

“Wouldn’t do any good”, Mr. Riddle said sadly, “If your girls know who they are, they will kill them anyway.  There’s life sentences for Kidnapping....They’re not that stupid that they don’t know that.  They can’t afford to leave witnesses.”

Deep down, Tony knew that was true....And although he didn’t even want to think that, there it was.  He looked at Mr. Riddle with curiosity once again.  He sounded like he had experience with such things.  Just who was this man, anyway ?

“Um....Mr. Riddle....”, Tony started to say.

Mr. Riddle held up his hand.  “Tony, I’m gonna give you my Cell Phone number.  If you run into serious trouble tonight, call me.”  He rattled off the number and made Tony memorize it. 

Tony rose, stuffing the drawings in hi pocket.  “Um...I have to get a couple sacks of Spuds from the basement”, he said, “For...Tonight.”

“Sure, kid....I’ll help you”, Mr. Riddle said, and together they walked down the stairs towards the Hole, then detoured to the short tunnel where the Potatoes were stored.  There were plenty of Potato Bags located there, and Tony filled a couple up to the max.  Then they walked back the way they had come, accessing the other stairs that went to the Furnace Room and beyond, back into the bowels of the basement and winding up in the open area where Mr. Riddle (and Mr. Luntz before him) bunked out.  Mr. Riddle let him out the basement door.  Before leaving, Mr. Riddle admonished him again to call if there was serious trouble.  “I can maybe get some of my....Associates....To come help”, he said.

Tony stopped, full Potato Bags slung over each shoulder.  He just had to ask.  “Mr. Riddle....Just who are your....Associates ?”

“Just some people who are concerned about your welfare”, Mr. Riddle answered.  “That’s all there is to it.”

“But...”, Tony said, then shook his head.  It was useless.  Crossing the threshold, he turned back to ask one more question, one that he asked before.  “Mr. Riddle....Are you SURE you don’t know Mr. Luntz ?”

“Like I already told you, kid....I don’t know anybody by that name”, Mr. Riddle said, gently closing the basement door, leaving Tony standing alone on the steps.
________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Tony returned to the Dorm, slinging the bags of Potatoes over the wall at the shortcut first.  Off to the side he saw Nick and the Bullies assembled in the yard at the South side of the Dorm, but he went inside first to change out of his preppy clothes and into something more tough-looking.  Clothes still made the man at Bullworth, and he wanted to impress on the Bullies the urgency of his mission.  He headed outside then, and went around to where they were gathered.

The Bullies were talking among themselves as Tony came out.  Nick was standing off to the side, arms crossed.  “They’re all yours”, he said, gesturing to the Bullies.  Tony cleared his throat and called, “All Right, Listen Up !”

“What did you have us all come over here for ?”, Trent spoke up.  “Your henchman over there all but threatened to beat us up if’n we didn’t all come over here.  What Gives ?”

Ignoring Trent, Tony announced, “Gentlemen !  You’ve been gathered here for the chance to participate in an honorable mission tonight.  Under the terms of our agreement when we provided you funds to buy your weapons, I am activating the Bully Army !”

“What For ?”, Russell bellowed.  “What We Have To Do ?”

“Tonight, you will have the opportunity to fight in a glorious battle against a dastardly foe, one who has bedeviled Bullworth for a long time now”, Tony spoke, he hoped enthusiastically.  “If you win, you will become the Heros of Bullworth and gain much respect and honor !”

“A Fight ?  All Right !”, shouted Wade.
“Get to Kick Some Ass !?”, Tom Exclaimed.
“We been Waitin’ for This !”, Ethan yelled.
“Let’s Tear 'em Up !”, yelped Davis.

“Hey, Wait !”, Trent spoke up.  “Who is it we gotta fight ?’

“Oh”, Tony slapped his head in mock forgetfulness.  “Didn’t I say ?  It’s those dastardly Townie boys, those ones who caused you so much trouble....That’s who you have to fight !”

”WHAT ?”, Trent said, stunned.
“The...The Townies ?”, Tom said uncertainly.
“Are you...Uh, Sure ?”, Davis cried out.
”You....You Crazy ?”, Tom said fearfully.
“Aren’t they...L-like...In Jail ?”, Troy stuttered.
Russell was shaking his head.  “No Can Do !”

“Whoa, Whoa, Whoa !!”, Tony said, holding up his hands.  “Don’t you see what a grand opportunity you have here ?  Don’t you want revenge on those despicable bastards who beat you down last fall ?  Who raped Zoe ?  Who held you hostage in your own Dorm last spring ?  Who disrespected and humiliated you, not just once, but many times ?  Here’s your chance to get Payback !”

There was mumbled grumbling from the Bullies.  Their pride, already low to begin with, was being called into question.  They didn’t want to appear as scaredy-cats, they fancied themselves as the toughs of Bullworth....Even though it had been a very long time since they had been able to bully anybody except the Nerds and some of the Non-Clique kids. 

“Boys...Here’s what you’ve waited for”, Tony said grandly, “To get back at those Townies and show them just what steel you’re made of !  What they’ve done is an Insult to you and everyone at this school.  Now, they’ve gone and taken our own girls and are holding them hostage.  Once and for all, YOU can be the ones wipe their scourge out of the Valley for good !”

“Do we...Have to go in this fight...Alone ?”, Trent asked.  “Is that what you mean ?”

“No...Not at all !”, Tony exclaimed.  “The Jocks are going to be our backup, and the Nerds are bringing plenty of ammo for us to use.  Me and Nick will be there, also, fighting alongside.  We’ll surprise attack them on their own turf and beat them down so they’ll never get back up.  Com’on, whadda say ?  Are you Mice or are you Men ?”

The two Bully girls were there too, Paige and Amber.  The Bully boys could ill-afford to look like pussies in front of girls, especially the newest members of their Clique.  They stared pointedly at their two new boyfriends, Trent and Russell.

“All Right”, Russell boomed, giving in.  “We Bullies Go To War !”

There were no cheers, just mumbled assent at the announcement.  Tony decided to sweeten the pot, as it were.  He said, “And....For your successful participation in this mission, you all will be freed from your obligation to provide further compensation in the form of payment for the weapons you received last month.  In other words, we will be even, and you will no longer owe me anything.  What do you think of that ?”

This made the Bullies feel better.  They were used to taking and stealing, not owing.  They made noises of acceptance, and Tony gave them final instructions.  “We move out at Midnight.  Meet here, and we will load up on weapons and ammo.  Dress in black, if you can, or at least dark color clothes.  This is going to be a stealth mission.”

Tony and Nick left the Bully gathering then.  Nick then told Tony that Laurent had been by, saying he was going to go and talk to the Greasers and try to enlist their help, and maybe find out the latest on just what they were talking about in the School Office with Mr. Neil.  Tony told Nick he was going back to the School for a little while to check on some things in his Mediator’s Office, and he would be back later.  Strolling off, Tony felt a bit better about their prospects of success, and his mind was beginning to envision a strategy for tonight’s mission.
_________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Up in the Mediator’s Office, Tony looked up at his wall.  He had taped some connection papers up, from the time of Karen’s kidnapping.  There was that, and connections to the Church and the Asylum they had found, then the Tunnels and finally the Chem Plant.  Tony made out a couple more, about the call from the Carnival today and the Mystery Contacts that Mr. Riddle had made reference to.  Everything that led to his Mission tonight. 

Tony flopped down in his chair behind his desk and sighed.  There were many who were going to aid him this evening, but he had never felt so all alone.  It just wasn’t, and never would be, the same without Karen.  He closed his eyes, and in doing so, could envision her, sitting perkily on the desk in front of him, laughing and joking as they used to do, to ease the tension over the long hours they had spent together in this very place, when it seemed the fate of the School and the entire Vale Valley was in their hands. 

Without her, he was nothing but an empty shell, a tumbleweed in the hollow wind in an empty ghost town.  She was everything, and everything was her.  If he did not find her, could not rescue her, he would forever walk the Earth a lonely man for the rest of his days.  This mission tonight must succeed at any cost, any sacrifice.  He would send the entire school into the line of fire, if that was what it took, to save her....The grateful and ungrateful alike. 

He leaned back wearily in his chair, eyes closed, and soon dozed.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 
Tony was back in the Dome.  He knew it, although he could not see it.  Everything was dark.  He was inside a strange place, circular, enclosed.  There was danger here.  He could feel it, bleeding into the confined space he was in.  Under his feet was some sort of Catwalk, and he was carefully stepping along, feeling his way.  A railing was felt beneath his hand, and he grasped it.  In his other hand was a weapon, but he did not know which kind. 

Abruptly, his way was blocked.  Tony felt out with his hand and encountered a steel door of some kind.  As he felt around the edges, the palm of his hand burned.  Reactively, he pulled it to his face, and in the darkness he saw a glow within his fist.  He opened his hand to reveal the glow and saw them to be letters....VX-CHNOPS. 

As his eyes adjusted further to the darkness, Tony could make out a square shape set next to the steel doors.  Setting down his weapon, he fumbled in his pockets and came up with his lighter.  He flicked it on, and the brightness that flared showed him a keypad.  It was similar to the keypad at the Nerd’s gate, but square, and instead of numbers showing on it, the pad was full of a jumble of different letters.  Tony punched in the letters that were glowing but fast fading in his palm, and at once the doors unlocked with a metallic ‘chink’ and rolled open.

Out before him was a long, dimly lit hallway that seemed to stretch the length of the enclosure.  Picking up his weapon, Tony moved silently down the hallway.  At the terminal end was an elevator shaft, enclosed in metal mesh wire.  A red call button was at the ready, and Tony pressed on it.  The elevator motor whirred to life as something moved far below.  At that moment, a scream rose up the shaft with the force of a tidal wave.........."HELP !!!  TONY, HELP !!!!  HELP !!!!!"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Tony awoke with a start, the scream echoing through his mind as if it were real, right here in the small room.  He caught his breath, his heart pounding.  Karen, he thought wildly, That Was Karen !!  He shook his head to clear the dream, but before he forgot, he grabbed a pen and pulled a piece of paper towards him, writing down the fading letters he had seen in the dream, before they were lost to him. 

What time was it ?, Tony thought to himself.  How long have I been asleep ?  It didn’t feel like too long, but sleep was funny sometimes....It could have been only minutes, but it could have been hours.  He rose shakily to his feet, and shook his head to clear it.  He had to get back, and right away.  He had an Army to lead.
_____________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

The predicted summer storm had arrived, late but in force enough to spawn high winds, lightening, and thunder.  Rain fell in sporadic bursts, but was not constant, as the Eastward-pushing low front ground up against the warmer high front, stalling for a few hours and making little headway.  As the warmer air slowly retreated, the cooler air rushed in to fill the void. 

Huddled in the front of the Chem Plant were Tony, Nick, and the assembled Army of the Bullies, headed by Russell and Trent.  Close behind were the Jock Clique, with Ted, Bob, and Laurent in the lead.  The winds whipped down through the Industrial Complex, the narrow spaces between the buildings acting like a vortex, making hearing difficult.  Tony had to huddle everyone and talk loudly in order to be heard, as he issued instructions and laid out his plans for the assault.

“Ok, Listen Up !”, he began.  “First off, we need to maintain complete silence as we ascend the ramp to the roof.  We don’t want to give ourselves away.  The winds are gonna help mask our presence, but I don’t wanna take any chances on them hearing us before we attack.  Is that understood ?”

Tony waited until he was sure that everyone had gotten the message.  The Leaders indicated that everyone had heard and understood, and Tony continued.  “Right before we would come out in the open, there is a long shed attached to the ramp tunnel.  Inside are a whole bunch of wood crates.  The plan is to move out these crates and stack them across the point where the ramp meets the roof.  This will serve two purposes....It will be a defensive barricade for us to fire at them while protecting ourselves, and it will prevent any Townies from leaving.  Your Cliques need to form a line and pass out the crates where we will be building the barricade.  Now, as soon as we start building the barricade by moving out the crates and stacking them, they’re gonna see us and probably start firing on us....So, me and Nick are gonna be laying down cover fire.  Now, this is real important....Stay BEHIND the crates at all times while moving them, so you don’t get hit.  Once we have the crates stacked for cover, we can cut loose and hit 'em with all we got.  Does everyone understand all that ?”

A couple minutes went by as the groups conversed among themselves.  Tony wanted to make sure that everyone knew the plan, so there would be no mistakes.  Finally, Laurent and Trent made known to Tony that everyone was aware of what they had to do, and Tony signaled that they should move out.  The entire group began moving up the ramp that wound around the Chem Plant.

Laurent came up beside Tony and Nick.  “Where is Constantinos and Ray ?”, he asked in a low tone.

“We left them behind at the underpass, to guide any of the stragglers to where we’re at”, Tony told him.  “Nick gave them his Cell Phone to keep in contact with us.”  A few of the Jocks, notably Bo, Lance, and Kirby, had not made it when the Jocks had moved out through the Nerd’s Observatory gate (Which Laurent had the access code for), and then then through the tunnel to the Boardwalk.  “Also, maybe the Greasers will show up, like you said.”

Laurent had tried to get the Greasers to come along on the mission, but something was decidedly strange in the way they were acting.  They gave no indication one way or another whether they would join the mission or not.  They seemed to be a bit uppity, so odd for a Greaser to be.  Laurent left empty-handed without a commitment, but thought there was still a chance they would come.

“Oh...Yes”, Laurent said. “I forgot for the moment.”  He shrugged.  “Maybe, they will still decide, but I do not know.”

Also left behind there were the Girls, Mandy, Paige, and Amber.  It was deemed too dangerous for them to be involved in what was sure to be a firefight, although Mandy protested that she had already been in a dangerous fight, thank you very much, and she had no fear of fighting.  Also, she was afraid of Ted being shot again.  She was persuaded to remain behind, however, on the promise she could join them later, after the fight was over.

Tony and Nick had led the Bullies through the Nerd’s gate and down to the tunnel, then on to the boardwalk.  The Nerds had delivered the needed weapons and ammo as promised a couple hours earlier, and had left without comment.  Tony hadn’t even considered asking them to join in, given that the only assaults they ever made were on the imaginary Grottos and Gremlins battlefield.  And outside of telling Pinky, Tony didn’t bother trying to recruit the Preps to their cause, seeing as how they never allied with anyone and only cared about themselves.

As the group reached the top of the ramp, stealthily moving, all was going well.  Everyone was maintaining silence.  The wind, however was the big noisemaker, making an eerie howling sound as it blew through the entrance from the rooftop.  Crashes of thunder were also making noises, coming at the rate of two or three times a minute.  Tony and Nick reached the end first and cautiously peered around the corner.

Around the entrance to the Access Shed, more crates had been piled, three boxes high.  A large tarp had been thrown over the tops of them and secured down, having the effect of making the whole place look like a small fort between the stacked crates and the wall of the Access Shed.  The boys watched for awhile, even though it was hard to see anything in the cloudy, dark night.  They were only able to get a good look when the lightening would flash.  For long minutes, they saw nothing, then Nick detected some movement during one flash.  When the lightening flashed again, the boys saw a head poking up over the tarp.  They quickly shrunk back out of sight.

“They’re there”, Nick whispered. 

“Yeah, I saw”, Tony whispered back.

Without a word, he motioned the Trent to lead the bullies into the side shed, where those crates were stacked, and to start moving them out.  The Jocks, Tony had line up to pass the crates forward to just out of the sight of the Access Shed.  If the Townies who were guarding the entrance were mostly staying under the tarp so they wouldn’t get rained on, it was going to make it easier for many of the crates to be moved into position before they were spotted. 

Tony felt that luck was at last aiding them.  Last night, it wouldn’t have been possible for them to build a defensive position to attack from...They would have been spotted right away.  Tonight, as long as the winds and rains kept up, they had a chance.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Inside the tarp, striving to keep dry, were Sam, Ian, and Nate.  Being the lower-ranking of the Townies, they consistently drew the night guard duty.  Usually, it was just two of them, but tonight Omar had ordered three of them up.  They loosely held their Air Rifles at the ready, but really, they weren’t expecting any kind of attack in this sort of weather, no matter what Omar thought.

These newer Townies, younger as they were, had not been allowed to participate in the assaults on the two prisoners like the older Townies were, and somewhat resented that they had to bear the brunt of being nighttime watchdogs.  Plus, they weren’t being told of everything that Omar was planning.  After almost two weeks, something had changed suddenly.  There was tension in the air down at the third level today.  The only real thing they had overheard was something about a ransom.  Even so, Omar’s paranoid precaution of having three guards tonight seemed nonsensical.  Nobody even knew they were still in the Vale Valley.  What could happen ?
___________________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Something was up, Karen knew.  The Townies had become careless.

It had started a few days ago.  The first crack was when they started leading her to a small bathroom to do her business, instead of making her use the ‘Chamber Pot’, as it was called.  At the time, she thought it was just because they were getting tired of emptying the Pot every day, something she knew they all disliked.  But other things began happening too.

Yesterday, as she reckoned time, they had put Melody back in the room with her, and had not removed her after a few hours, as they usually did.  In fact, Karen was sure more than a day had passed since then, much more.  And then the biggest strange thing of all happened...Or rather, had not happened.  In all that time since Melody had been put back in the room, neither of them had been assaulted.

It had been the longest period of time since their captivity began they had gone unmolested.  Even so, Melody was still bearing all the signs of what Karen thought was probably Rape Trauma Syndrome...Her mind had basically cut itself off from the horrible events and dissociated itself from reality.  Her eyes stared out onto nothingness, although she could see.  When spoken to, she would not respond, although when told to do something, she would do it, in a eerie robotic, mechanical way.  She would not respond to conversation, but would obey....When told to eat, for example, she would dutifully do so.  The way she acted reminded Karen of an old Star Trek episode she had seen back home (where they were always in constant reruns) entitled 'Spock’s Brain’....Aliens had somehow stolen Spock’s brain and used it to power a giant computer on their homeworld.  Melody acted just like Spock’s body, minus his brain, had done.  It was chillingly similar to Karen.



But Karen had not let her opportunities go to waste, as she was still intent on escape if at all possible.  While in the small bathroom the second time they took her there, Karen had managed to remove the Spindle from the Toilet Paper Roll Holder mounted to the side of the stall, and extract the Spring from inside it.  The Spring she hid in her hair, and she then arranged the Spindle back in place.  The Toilet Paper was just stacked on the floor by the toilet anyway, and being just boys, nobody had ever bothered to put a new roll in the Holder.  Karen was sure the theft would go unnoticed.  When they had taken her back to her room, she had managed to hide the Spring under her mattress before being handcuffed back up again.

Their biggest mistakes happened this evening, though.  The Towine who had brought in the last meal to eat had somehow forgotten to handcuff her arms back to the chain around her waist.  Karen had put her arms back to her sides when she had finished, but the Townie had overlooked locking her cuffs back to chain.  She was unsure just who the Townie was, as Omar was still forcing them to undergo being blindfolded in the presence of everyone but himself, but she thought it was probably one of the newer ones.  He had only uttered the words “Eat” and “Hurry up, Bitches” in an irritated manner, so it was hard for her to tell.

After he had gone, Karen waited for a long time before moving.  She was fairly sure that it was nighttime, as the meals roughly corresponded to a daily schedule, about six hours apart until the third meal, then a long stretch of about twelve hours before the next one came and the cycle would start again.  This had been the third meal.  Usually sometime after, the assaults would take place, so Karen waited.  But for the second 'night’ in a row, none of the Townies entered her room to rape her, nor did anyone come to take Melody away.

When she judged enough time had passed, Karen removed her blindfold and dug under her mattress for the Spring she had stolen from the bathroom.  Pulling part of it straight, she begin the slow process of picking the chain lock that was secured around her ankle.  It took a good 15 minutes, but her lock-picking prowess was good enough to finally spring the lock and release her shackle.  She then moved over to Melody and began picking at the chain lock that was fixed around her leg.  Karen spoke softly to Melody as she worked, but her conversation was one-sided, as Melody neither replied or showed any indication she even heard Karen.  But Karen fervently hoped that somewhere inside her seemingly shut-down mind, Melody could hear her, and understand.

It took her less time to unlock and remove Melody’s shackle, about 10 minutes.  It was then that Karen noticed that Melody’s wrists were not cuffed to the chain around her waist either.  Melody just about always kept her arms down around her waist, unless being told to do something, as a result of her Catatonia anyway.  That had been the second mistake by the greenhorn Townie, if that’s who it was.  As Karen snuck to the door to try to figure out how to start picking that lock, she discovered a third mistake....The door was unlocked.

This was the most dangerous part, Karen knew.  There was always a guard outside the door, no matter what the time.  But Karen had gleaned through snatches of conversation she had heard that sometimes the door was unguarded for short stretches, and that sometimes whoever was on duty nodded off and went to sleep.  When Karen first gripped the doorknob and found to her surprise that it would turn, she held her breath.  Slowly, ever so slowly, she turned the knob with the same finesse as a Safecracker would, until she could rotate it no further.  Then, with equal stealth, she edged the door open a crack and peered out.

The Townie on guard was slumped in a chair by the door, lightly snoring.  Karen watched for several minutes through the crack to make sure.  Finally, she broke her paralysis and went into action.  It was now or never, it seemed, their only chance.  Karen quietly went back to Melody.  Removing Melody’s blindfold, she whispered, “Come on Mel...It’s time to go.”  Melody gave no indication she heard, he eyes staring ahead in the gloomy room, but she mechanically stood up. 

Karen took her hand and gripped it.  “Com’on Mel....Go this way”, Karen told her.  Melody began to walk across the room in the direction Karen was tugging her.  When Karen reached the door, she held up and Melody stopped behind her.  Karen edged open the door ever so slowly.  The Townie, who was Duncan, hadn’t moved.  Karen tugged on Melody’s hand, and stepped into the hall.  To her relief, Melody followed along.  The two girls move soundlessly around the sleeping Duncan and moved down the hall, with Karen looking for the way out.
______________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Omar stayed awake long after the others had gone to sleep, some on a few chairs in the Common Rec Room.  He was thinking about the coming day, and about the possible ransom he could get for those two little bitches.  It was the group’s only hope to get out of this mess, to take the money and run, off to a new city, far away, to find a place to go to ground once again.  Omar had in mind the Hartford Park Housing Projects neighborhood in Providence, an ugly place where they could lose themselves with little trouble.

That one little yacky bitch, Karen, knew who he was, who they all were.  Once he realized that his original plan to release those two after he and his boys raped them repeatedly and broke them was doomed to failure, he had finally come up with demanding a ransom.  The only other option was to murder the little cunts, but the Townies were not killers, unlike the Punks, who’s leader Sid had gone on to his just reward, as he had heard the story.  No, that was not an option he ever wanted to consider, for once the Townies crossed that line, they would be finished.  There was no Death Penalty in Rhode Island, and no prisoner had been executed since 1845, but for murder, they would be incarcerated for life at the State Prison at Cranston. 

They had succeeded in breaking the dark-haired bitch, Melody....She was the weaker of the two, and had broken in a matter of days, her mind shutting off against the horror and becoming Zombie-like.  But the other girl, Karen, had proved far more resilient, even correctly identifying Omar and the others despite being blindfolded.  That information Omar had kept from the others, and Karen had wisely refrained from revealing to the other Townies that she knew who they were.  Omar still nursed hopes that Karen could be broken, but as the days wore on, that became more and more a remote possibility.  It was then that Omar came up with the alternate plan of demanding ransom.  He had sent Jerry to the Carnival to make the ransom call from the remaining Cell Phone...That way, it would throw off anyone who might be remotely tracking the phone to a bogus location.  After Jerry had completed that mission earlier that day and had returned the stolen small boat to the Blue Skies Docks, Omar had directed him to steal a larger boat, one that could hold them all, from the big Boathouse along the Docks, and pilot it down the river towards the Narragansett Bay to a small dock that was nearby where the Escape Tunnel from the underground third-level of the Chem Plant led out.  Jerry had carried that out with ease, and had returned just a few hours ago.

Their escape route boat gassed up and awaiting them, Omar had turned his thoughts to how to collect on his ransom demands.  It was only then that he had divulged to his more trusted Townies his latest plan, saying the risks were just too great for them to continue staying in the Vale Valley.  Sooner or later, he told them, the Law would catch up to them if they continued to stay here.  Better to get a stake and establish a new base of operations, far enough away.  They could even take over where the Punks left off, robbing places over a wide area and raking in the cash. 

The Townies in the know reluctantly accepted Omar’s plan.  The lure of quick cash was hard to resist.  Plus, they all knew that when the EPA and the Feds arrived to do clean-up on the Chem Plant, they would lose this secure hideaway.  It might take years, or only a few months, but it would happen.  They would have to leave, why not leave with a stake to start fresh ?  That decided, they got down to a discussion of how to collect the ransom money and make their escape. 

Omar knew that dickwad Tony would never be able to come up with a hundred grand.  Only the Prep families could afford that kind of cash, and they were in dire straights these days, so he heard.  Most would be able to buy their way out of trouble, but for now, Omar couldn’t see that there was anyone who would pony up that kind of scratch for two little nobody bitches like Karen and Melody.  No, Omar knew there would be negotiations for far less, possibly he could get as much as ten grand, maybe.  When he sent Jerry out tomorrow to make the followup call, they would see. 

But these next few days would be dangerous for them.  Despite the death threats, if that prick Tony decided to go to the Cops or the Feds, it would be all over and the Townies would have to flee empty-handed.  In that case, they would have to drag those useless bitches along with them as hostages.  That was something Omar really didn’t want to do, although strangely, he wouldn’t mind at least taking Karen along with them.  Because, for some unexplainable reason, although he had assaulted both girls multiple times, he felt himself being inexplicably drawn to Karen. 

Omar rose and began pacing.  Walking to the wide-open West side of the Common Rec Room, he stopped, gazing at the gaming tables set in a arc in front of him and down the wide hallway that divided them, lost in thought.  Deep within him, although he would never admit it to even himself, he had always craved a more normal life like other, better people seemed to have.  A normal life, with a girl much like Karen, with hopes and dreams of the future.  What he despised most about others who were not his kind was the type of life he knew he could never have....And that was precisely why he hated them so much. 

His gaze swept across the area in despair.  It had come to this, his entire existence, surviving but never really living, feeling but never being loved, not ever.  And now ?  He shook his head to clear the images from his mind.  It would do him no good to dwell on what would never be.  It would do him no good whatsoever.  Standing at the apex of the three hallways, he turned to go back deeper into the Rec Room, and as doing so, movement caught his eye down the narrower hallway that went to the South.

At first, he couldn’t register what his eyes were seeing.  He stared down the hallway intently, and then it became clear to him.  In the alcove at the end of the hallway that led to the stairs that went to the second level above, their two hostage girls were moving silently, heading for the stairs.  Omar’s eyes bugged out as the reality sunk in.  Those two little bitches were trying to escape !!

Omar turned and ran full into the Rec Room, where Gurney, Jerry, and Otto were sleeping, slumped in chairs.  Shaking them awake, he yelled, “Them Bitches Are Loose !!  They’re Headed Up To The Second Level !!  Stop Them !!  Stop Them NOW !!!”
_______________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Karen heard Omar’s voice yelling.  She had just found this alcove and saw the stairs leading upward.  There were no stairs going down, but she had apparently run out of time to look for any.  “Com’on, Mel...We got to climb...Hurry !”, she whispered fiercely, tugging her forward.

Karen had quickly learned one thing about Melody in her present condition....She could only move at Zombie-like walk, which wasn’t very fast at all.  Karen urged Melody up the steps, practically dragging her up each one after another.  It seemed agonizingly slow, and Karen knew that their chances of escaping were growing less and less by the second.  It took fully a half a minute for the girls to reach the landing on the second level.  The girls were in another alcove, and Karen saw no more steps going up.  She pulled Melody out of the alcove and onto the main floor of the second level.

It was dimly lit.  Karen could see lots of desks and what looked like lab tables scattered about in the huge area, which seemed to be circular in diameter.  Across this large room, on the farther side from where they were, a long straight wall that bisected the circular room.  The long wall was composed mostly of glass windows, and it was dark on the other side, as no lights were on.  Karen’s eyes moved up and down the length of the wall, and she saw a door. 

From out of the alcove behind them, Karen heard voices, getting closer.  They were out of time.  Karen grabbed ahold of Melody’s hand and pulled her towards the glass wall towards the door she had seen.  There was no choice now, they had to hide, and quick.  The girls reached to door and Karen pulled it open, thankful it wasn’t locked.  Karen dragged Melody inside an closed the door. 



Once inside, Karen could see from the dim light filtering in through the windows in rows upon rows of what looked like cages of some sort.  Dim, unmoving objects lay within, but she couldn’t tell what they were, and she had no time to investigate.  She pulled Melody deeper into the room, looking for a darker place to hide them both.  There was the smell of death and decay in the room, which grew stronger the farther back they went.  Karen wrinkled her nose at the stench and pushed in deeper to where no light penetrated.  Feeling around the cages, she urged Melody into a squatting position behind them, and they hunkered down.  The smell was so powerful here that Karen felt like gagging.  Holding her nose, she breathed through her mouth and hoped for the chance to sneak away as soon as they could.

No sooner had the girls entered the Animal Lab had the Townies had burst from the alcove.  “Find Those Bitches !!”, Omar ordered.  Jerry and Gurney he sent to the first level, on the chance that the girls had found the alcove that contained the stairs to it, which were just a few yards away from the alcove they had just exited.  Leon and Otto began methodically searching behind the lab tables and desks in the outer room as Omar followed behind, getting closer to the Lab area.  Within minutes, Jerry and Gurney returned from the first level.

“All clear”, Gurney grunted, shaking his head.

“What about the access to the ground floor ?”, Omar asked.

Jerry shook his head also.  “Ain’t been touched.  Be hard for them to find, being in a hurry and all, anyways.”

Omar directed his attention towards Otto and Leon, who were just about done with their search.  “Anything ?”

Both answered in the negative as they finished the last row.  “Nothing”, Leon answered.  Otto shook his head and rose his arms in the air, shrugging.

Omar eyed the Animal Testing Lab, searching the darkened windows.  “They’re in there”, He said.  “Have to be.”  To Leon, he said, “Get the lights.”

Leon strode to the light switches by the door, flicking them on.  Like tumbling dominoes, the lights flickered on in sequence, throwing the lab into brilliant brightness. 

Inside, huddled behind the cages in the light, Karen came face to face with one of the sources of the horrible smells that pervaded the large room.  There, mere inches from her face lay the corpse of a putrid, bloated, dead animal that she couldn’t identify.  Bile rose suddenly in her throat and she gagged.  She struggled to her feet and looked around wildly.  All around her were cages full of rotting animals of all shapes and sizes, their eyeless sockets mocking her. 

Karen failed to notice Melody, who was staring into the cage.  As the image worked it’s way past her retinas, the trauma that had closed her mind was broken.  Melody’s eyes widened at the horror she was seeing, and she cut loose with a scream. 

“AIIIIEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”, she gasped, her shaking hands rising to her face, her features a mask of terror.  “EEEEIIIIIAAAAAAAAHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!!”
______________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Under the tarp, the younger Townies were playing an on-again, off-again game of Craps, rolling the dice by the fading glow of Ian’s flashlight to pass the time.  They had been on duty for about 2 hours, and it was approaching 1 AM.  There was still a lotta hours to go until morning. 

“Snake Eyes”, intoned Ian, as the dice bounced off the side of the shack.  “Next shooter.”

Nate rolled the dice.  “Boxcars !”, Ian exclaimed.  “Winner !”

Sam took the next roll.  “Acey-Ducey”, Ian said, and then stopped, listening above the wind.  “Hey....You guys hear something ?”

“What’s to hear ?”, Nate said.  “The wind ?  The rain ?  Ain’t nothin’ out there.”

“No...I heard something too....Like a scraping sound”, Ian said.  “I’m gonna take a look.”

Sam scooped up the dice as Ian threw back the tarp and poked his head up over the barricade of crates.  He squinted intently out into the black night.  The sound came again, that scraping sound, coming over the wind, off to the left. 

“Whatsmatter, you a Nervous Nellie”, Nate jerreed.  “Nothin’ ever comes up here. I think Omar’s got his panties in a twist over them two snooty bitches....”

“SHUTUP !”, Ian hissed.  “I hear somethin’, I tell you !  Keep Quiet !”  Ian resumed staring at the place where the sound came from.  A few moments went by, then a flash of lightning illuminated the rooftop. and Ian saw what looked like a row of crates, stacked two high, extending out from where the ramp came out onto the roof. 

Ian Blinked.  What the Fuck was that ?  He reached back quickly for his Air Rifle.  A few seconds went by, then thunder crashed as several flashes of lightning, looking like a Strobe Light flickering, lit up the rooftop.  The stacked crates were clearly visible now, as were figures moving behind them. 

“Shit !!  Shit !!”, Ian exclaimed.  “There IS Somebodys Out There !  Get Ready !”

Nate and Sam grabbed their Air Rifles and stood up, pushing back the tarp.  Ian gestured to where he had seen the row of crates.  The three stood ready for the next lightning flash, and when it came, Ian ordered, “Start Firing !!!”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

POW-THUNK !!!!  POW-THUNK !!!!   POW-THUNK !!!!  POW-THUNK !!!!  POW-THUNK !!!!  POW-THUNK !!!!

“They Spotted Us !”, Nick said.  “They’re Shooting !”  A round caught Wade in the shoulder, throwing him back.  The others ducked and fell back.

“OPEN FIRE !!!!”, Tony yelled, the need for silence gone.  “ATTACK !!!”

The Bullies, and the Jocks behind them, unlimbered their weapons and took aim over the top of the crate barricade they had constructed.  When the lightning lit up the area again, they unleashed a barrage of Spuds and Bottle Rockets in the direction of the barricade in front of the access shed.  The Battle was on.

SPLAT !!!  SPLAT !!!  SPLAT !!!  SPLAT !!!  KA-POW !!!  KA-POW !!!  KA-POW !!!  KA-POW !!!  SPLAT !!!  SPLAT !!!  SPLAT !!!  SPLAT !!!  KA-POW !!!  KA-POW !!!  KA-POW !!!  KA-POW !!!

POW-THUNK !!!!  POW-THUNK !!!!   POW-THUNK !!!!  POW-THUNK !!!!  POW-THUNK !!!!  POW-THUNK !!!!

SPLAT !!!  SPLAT !!!  SPLAT !!!  SPLAT !!!  KA-POW !!!  KA-POW !!!  KA-POW !!!  KA-POW !!!  SPLAT !!!  SPLAT !!!  SPLAT !!!  SPLAT !!!  KA-POW !!!  KA-POW !!!  KA-POW !!!  KA-POW !!!

Ian grabbed a Walkie-Talkie from his back pocket.  Depressing the Talk button, he screamed into it, “WE’RE UNDER ATTACK !!!!!  WE NEED SOME HELP UP HERE !!!!!”
_________________________________________________