Meanwhile, many janitors were swarming over the soccer field, looking for Chris. Chris had hidden underneath a bench, but that would not hide him for long. Becky and Brad, who had chosen a better hiding place in some trees, called out to him.
�Come on, Chris,� Brad hissed, gesturing frantically. �Over here.� Chris shook his head slowly, then began traveling in the opposite direction.
�What does he think he�s doing?� Becky asked. �Is he nuts?�
�He�s leaving,� Brad said, a stunned expression on his face.
�Well, then, we�ve got to go after him,� said Becky darting out from behind her tree. The Garbagemen spotted her instantly and changed course.
�Now you�ve done it,� Brad said. �We�ll just have to try and lead them away from Chris.� He darted off towards the soccer wall, Becky right behind him. The Garbagemen gave a howl of triumph and surged after them. Brad stumbled over something and went down. Kevin groaned and stirred, standing up dizzily.
�What a bad hangover,� he moaned. �This is why I switched to weed - you don�t get this.�
�Would you snap out of it?� Becky demanded, slapping him lightly on the face. �There are Garbagemen right behind us.�
�What?� Kevin asked, his face lighting up. �There�s a fight?� He swiftly pulled out his two-handed sword and faced the Garbagemen.
�Come on,� said Brad, pulling out his pistol. �We�ve got to help him; he can�t take all those by himself.�
�Sure he can,� Becky said offhandedly. �Let�s get out of here. He�s just following the recurring trend of sacrificing himself to buy us some escape time.�
�OK, we�ll compromise,� said Brad. �We won�t run away, and we won�t help. We�ll just stand here and watch.�
�Agreed,� said Becky, sitting comfortably on the grass. �I�ve got twenty on the Garbagemen.� Kevin blew his cornet desperately, calling for help as he started into the fray.
�Zullo, go! - We�ve got this bunch tied down,� Nokuma called as he smacked a Garbageman with his baseball bat.
�You�ve got them tied down?� Zullo asked. Nokuma only smiled as he disappeared under a horde of Garbagemen. Zullo realized that Ryan and Nokuma were buying him some time, and he ran off in the direction of Kevin�s cornet.
Brad had got a fire going, and Becky was cooking some popcorn.
�Ooh, he got him a good one there,� she commented as Kevin got in a particularly good swing.
�Yeah, but here comes a garbage truck,� Brad pointed out. �I bet the one with the blood-red paint on his face is the leader.� And it was.
Teddy-Ugluk shifted into high gear and drove straight for Kevin, ignoring the janitors in his way as he drove over them. Kevin turned to face this new threat. Realizing that he could not possibly win, he dove out of the way. It wasn�t quite quick enough, and one of the wheels went over his left leg. Kevin grimaced and went down. Teddy-Ugluk roared and came around for another pass. Kevin desperately tried to hobble out of the way, but with his mangled leg he was no match. The front of the garbage truck slammed into Kevin�s back and sent him flying like a rag doll.
As Teddy-Ugluk put the truck into park and got out to finish the job, Brad and Becky hurled themselves into the fray. They fired again and again, but the janitors seemed to ignore the bullets. They were surrounded and disarmed. The janitors tied them up and threw them into a garbage truck, driving away as quickly as they could.
Teddy-Ugluk reached down and slung Kevin�s body over his shoulder, striding purposefully towards the back of his garbage truck. He threw him roughly on the ground and was opening the back when he felt something slam into him from behind, knocking him down. It was Zullo, rushing heroically, if somewhat belatedly, to the rescue.
Teddy-Ugluk jumped up and ran to his truck, throwing it into drive without wasting time to shut the door. He pulled around in a wide circle, coming straight at Zullo, who stood calmly waiting. Almost as the truck was upon him, he threw himself to one side and viciously slashed one of the tires with his sword. The truck gave a horrible screech and fishtailed madly. Teddy-Ugluk grunted and slammed on the brakes to try and stop the truck. The front of the truck screeched to a halt, but the back whipped around and pulled the garbage truck onto its side. Teddy-Ugluk was thrown clear from the smoking wreck.
He had just picked himself up again before Zullo was upon him. They battled fiercely across the soccer field, back and forth, giving no mercy. Zullo managed to drive Teddy-Ugluk back against his truck. Teddy-Ugluk, realizing the danger of his position, fought with redoubled vigor, but Zullo�s adrenaline was flowing and he countered every swing Teddy-Ugluk made. Finally, Zullo swung viciously and knocked the sword from Teddy-Ugluk�s hand. As Teddy-Ugluk rushed madly at him, Zullo calmly thrust his sword out and drove it through the Garbageman�s midsection.
Zullo ran over to Kevin, who was still breathing erratically. He tried to turn him over to assess the extent of the damage, but Kevin shook his head, grimacing with pain that the effort entailed.
�Leave me,� he gasped out. �It is finished.�
�No,� said Zullo. �We can still save you. I�ll call Lifeflight right now.� Kevin smiled weakly.
�It�s a spinal injury,� he said sadly. �I can�t feel anything below my neck. And I�ve lost far too much blood to make it to a hospital. We are all doomed . . . North Olmsted will fall before the might of Conner, and Students will be oppressed forever. . .� he trailed off.
�Honestly,� joked Zullo, �I didn�t think you could be that egotistical. Doomed, just because of your death?� Kevin looked at him, evidently not finding the jest humorous.
�We. . .have failed,� he whispered.
�No,� said Zullo, serious now. �You fought bravely, Kevin. With courage such as yours, how can we lose?� But Kevin could no longer hear. His eyes stared vacantly ahead, and Zullo knew he had gone to the Big Weed Party in the Sky.
Chris ran to the back door of the high school and tried the door. It was, not surprisingly, locked. As he shook the handle angrily, he heard a voice behind him.
�Look out, Mr. Chris, I�ll get it!� Dan came charging recklessly up, then threw himself violently against the door. Nothing happened. Dan backed up and charged again. Nothing happened, and Dan was beginning to look slightly worse for wear.
�Stop it!� shouted Chris. �I�m going to the High School alone.�
�Of course you are,� said Dan, charging again and banging his head futilely against the door.
�You can�t break down the door that way,� said Chris. �It�s reinforced steel.� But Dan kept trying, until he collapsed unconscious with a large purple bruise on his head.
�Oh, for heaven�s sake,� said Chris, throwing up his hands. He brought out a vial of ammonia and held it to Dan�s nose. Dan inhaled sharply and looked up groggily. Chris grasped his hand and pulled him up. �Well, I guess if you�re so determined, you can come with me,� Chris said, giving a martyred sigh although he was secretly glad to have him along.
�I made a promise,� slurred Dan. �A promise. . .and I don�t mean to break it.�
�Fine,� said Chris shortly. �Now, this is how you do it.� He pulled out a set of lockpicks. Fifteen minutes later, he heard the satisfying snick�of the lock clicking open, and he pulled the door open. �After you,� he said grandly.
�No, after you,� said Dan, bowing low.
�Fine. We�ll go together,� said Chris. They linked arms and walked into the high school together.
The outside of the high school was deserted except for the unburied janitor bodies. Dan and Chris were facing the fires of the High School. Zullo, Ryan, and Nokuma, battle-scarred but unshaken, had set off to rescue Brad and Becky from the clutches of Merrill and the tortures of English. As such, there were no witnesses but the crows to a small black figure sneaking into the High School, hot on the trail of Dan and Chris.
�They stole it from usss. . .� it whispered hatefully. �It took our preciousss . . .and we will get it back.�
Onward to Book III, Part I !