Adventure at Yeager High

Chapter 1

By the time the alarm had sounded Shilo was wide awake. It had been hours since the house was finally quiet and the lights were turned off. Sussie stirred ever so gently as the breeze caressed her soft skin parting her champaign blonde hair as it cascaded upon her forehead, the bandage on her ear seemed so out of place. She was beautiful, and Shilo thought at one point that they may never be together again. The events over the past 24 hours had brought them full circle. The school was again still, and would remain that way until the morning bell Monday. But this Saturday morning was special, and Shilo would try to stretch it into a "forever... until deaths do us part" kind of weekend. Never had it come so near to that. Touching her hand.....a sigh told the story. Mother nature took over and Shilo knew that the visit to the bathroom would break the moment, but what can one do? Slipping from the cool crisp sheets and into the restroom, he could hear the playful voices of Dawn and Lynn, and the thumping of Danielle's footsteps running through their house next door. The laughter and giggles make the mind take a journey back through time... into a period when life was so complete and simple...into his childhood. The childhood that so many attending Yeager High School thought had drawn to a close. Friday was a life experience, one that would hopefully never be repeated again. Making the coffee in his usual clumsy manner, with the noise, spills, and banging....nothing seemed to stir Sussie.......and Shilo was glad. Rest is what she needed. Shilo crept onto the back porch deck with coffee in hand. The

morning was beautiful.

Chapter 2

Whip-Poor-Will farm was slowly coming alive, with the doves making their usual visit to the walk area surrounding the bird feeders that were woven throughout the growing area of the backyard. The grandchildren were having breakfast, judging by the sound of the plates and bowls in the kitchen loft. The dogs were too sleepy to attend to their master...recovering from a night on the hunt, no doubt. The yard needed attention in the way of a trim. The thought of the rider mower and how it had wintered though the off season filled Shilo's mind. He loved to ride the mower, and Sussie had scoffed at the manner in which he would take the turns, employing his best Earnhardt lean with each rotation of the wheel. The creek that lazily meandered past the yards' end was briskly rushing down the hollow past the culvert rock-covered drive of Russell and Denise, the son and daughters' in-law of the Pathways. Several deer trotted off as Shilo reached for the mug of hot coffee as an interpeace was felt. The sound of the water pump kicking on gave indication that Sussie was up and she would soon find her way to the deck area, wondering where Shilo was keeping himself. She had grown used to some of his antics and she had come to expect just about anything from him, but this morning would find him still, sipping coffee, and smiling. As Sussie joined her husband with a fresh cup of Java, they sat quietly enjoying the spring like morning. The days' plans were covered, of which there were none, and the discussion soon turned to the events of yesterday. Neither one had an explanation for what had happened. Before they could get into rehashing the occurrence, the neighbor drove down from the head of the hollow to place out going mail into the boxes located at the end of the Pathways drive. Cars came by so infrequently it was common for Buffalo Creekers to stop whatever they were doing to view the event. The dead end hollow road was still covered with dirt and dust, kicked up only by the occasional car, and during the summer months four-wheelers....with a rare occurrence of a horseback rider enjoying the day. As the Pathways stumbled into the house breakfast was on their mind. Sussie provided Shilo with wonderful meals during the week and Shilo returned the favor on Saturday mornings.

Mean while, a dozen students were leaving the hospital preparing for travel to their homes. The local hospital had treated and released several law enforcement officers as well as two teachers. The community had been taken by surprise by the events. The State Pen had been fought for to help the depressed area recover economically. The risks involved had been long discussed and cussed with the end result being a 250-bed facility located down Mud River Road approximately 3 miles from town. The facility had come through with jobs and an increase in the local tax base. The businesses that had started up as a chain reaction created a boom in the economy which was more than welcome. Dairy Queen had even invested in the development of a super store. The one stop light town would be in the headlines around the country for the next several days, but soon everything would return to normal. Some changes would be made in the security of the facility, but all in all, this would pass. Russell and Denise were preparing to take the girls to Silly Billies for the afternoon (Sillie Billies was a pizza/recreation establishment oriented toward younger children). So the farm would remain pretty much quiet and peaceful for the day....something the Pathways embraced.

Chapter 3

Willie Groomes, the local undertaker, was busy preparing for the day, and what a busy day it would be. Willie had been the towns only Funeral home for years but now the new spacious Home on the West end of town was ready for business. There was enough business for both. The students of the school had escaped death. The escaped convicts were not so lucky. There were four corpses to be prepared, two each. Willie had been doing this for years and was not one to be spooked by his customers. One of the bodies just didn't seem right, there was something odd and Willie just couldn't figure out what it was...

Chapter 4

At Yeager High, plastic covered the gaping holes in the side of the school, mainly on the west end by the elevator and weight room. Yellow strands of "police line" plastic roped off the alley by the school and the perimeter of the facility. The sign on the board in the front lawn still read "Dance Friday Night." The dance had been canceled, and the only beat that would be heard in the school gym that night would be from the sirens and colored lights provided by the police and emergency crews. The local Tutors Breakfast restaurant would be buzzing with the events from the day before. The family trips to the grocery might be postponed, but not for long. The news crews were still swarming the area looking for stories from anyone who may have seen or heard something...a different angle to the same story. Parents would answer their door on this morning to find reporters and cameras....some would respond, some wouldn't. School would be in session the following Monday with a section of the school off limits. Councilors would be available to students and staff alike. Some would make use of them...some wouldn't. The local school maintenance men were called in to prepare and repair as well as the school custodians. Teachers would be asked to check their rooms, the principal would be busy with reports and public relations, and students interacting with one another working out the details.

Chapter 5

In the State Pen there would be four empty beds to make and to fill with new inmates. The facility, built only three years earlier, would have to under go security measures, and investigate the situation. There were tunnels to fill and seal off, and visitor passes to check and revoke. There will be more scrutiny given to the service vehicles as they come and go from here on out. The women who visit will be given a through search, at least in the short run. The warden would face an inquiry, and possibly be suspended. These are all events after the fact. The fact remains four men are dead, 13 students of Yeager High were injured and/or taken hostage. The exchange of gun fire and destruction of the west wall to the school had taken place. Lives would be forever scared. A small community in the hills of West Virginia would be obscure no more.

Chapter 6

The escape had taken the small rural West Virginia town by surprise. It was a town where everyone knew one another....which had its advantages as well as its disadvantages. The tunneling of the inmates was something thought to happen only in the movies, who would fall for such an old trick? The inmates worked in the green house within the facility. As Christmas, Valentine's Day, and birthdays came and went, so did the dirt from the tunnel. The dirt was passed out through the potted plants sold to the community by way of the open door policy for the green house. The customers would smile as they rushed away with the bargain, and the prisoners would inwardly suppress that smile knowing another 8 ounces of dirt was being carried out. The prison supplied the green house with top soil for the plants, unknowingly providing only 1/3 of the amount passing through the gate. Twelve hour days were the rule in the growing facility. On special occasions the men assigned would work eighteen hours to meet the public's demand. In the farmers markets located along the highway running to Charleston to the East and Huntington to the West, the shelves were stocked with the low-cost plants. Trucks by the dozens came and went daily with the goods. The inmate in charge of the mapping of the tunnel was under the impression he was mining his way toward Mud River and the sewer pond located there. When the tunnel was complete, they had no idea the metal cover was not that of the sewer man hole cover, but that of the bottom plate to the local High School elevator shaft. The timing was perfect as the Easter rush would provide the needed time in the green house to finalize the escape. Four men, three convicted of murder and one for repeated sex offenses. Four men crawling through the dark, damp tunnel, Following one another as rats leaving a sinking ship. The trip down the path seemed longer than planned, but the metal cover was there, just as hoped for. Armed with the sharpened handles from the toilets within their cells, freedom was only thought of as a moment away!

Chapter 7

The first block (class period) at Yeager High was in full swing and Coach Pathway had his class completing the Friday workout. The last workout prior to a much anticipated weekend break! The teens were into the motivational prodding and cheering for their friends who were taking maxs on the bench press. With the radio pumping out the tunes quicker that the students were pumping iron, little attention was given to Group One. Group One was in the hall finishing the cleans for the day. Group One was made up of seven teenage girls, of whom most all were involved in athletics. Elvy had her back to the elevator door as she completed the lift and was removing the belt to hand to Smithy. The noise from within the elevator was given no attention as the elevator was used for special education students, students on Crutches etc.. Throughout the first semester the door had opened on the basement level only once...............Before now..... The convicts were startled to find the metal plate opened to the base of the elevator shaft. One way out, to pry open the elevator door and run. But their plans would soon change! As the door sprang open, Elvy was grabbed from behind. Just as quickly, Smithy, along with the others were taken into the 6x6 room and forced into the tunnel. The screaming didn't arouse the males in the weight room as much as the sound of the weights crashing to the floor and rolling down the hall! Pearl was first to respond, as he was usually closest to the ladies. Leaping for the elevator door, Pearl managed to place a hand between the door and the wall. The position wasn't held for long as the homemade weapon sliced the tips of three fingers from Pearl's hand. The door slammed and burgundy colored blood covered the blue and gold tile of the basement hallway. Soon the hallway was full of students along with their Coach, trying to figure out what in blue blazes was going on! Several helped Pearl to the office, cradling the hand, and wrapping a towel around the jagged edged wound. Within the tunnel, fear was abound....the teens fearing for their lives in the musty hole. The cons were just as confused. The plans to run were altered with the sight of the girls in the hallway. Killing was easy for them, and inflicting pain was something they had come to enjoy over the years. Moundsville was a thing of the past, but the horrors within the walls of the new State Pen were the same, only the location had changed. Lil' B and T Rex, the two largest students in the room, quickly placed a weight bar into the crack in the door and began prying open the tall slender doors. Others soon joined in ....and slowly the doors began to bend. DW and Sugar Bear ran up the stairs to the parking area where Sugar Bear parked the 3/4 ton Chevy he had brought to school. DW soon had him backing up to the west wall of the school where the elevator shaft was located. The bricks and mortar began to fly as time and time again the heavy Chevy slammed into the school. The door to the elevator had been pried open and the Creep, being the slim one in the room, crawled head first into the hole where the girls were being held. Just as quickly Creep came scampering out with boot prints upon his freckled face. A slight trace of blood began dripping from his nose, as it was obvious the Creep's nose was broken! The Principal was away for the day, and with the Dean of Students holding in-school at the Junior High, the fate of the girls...as well as the class was in limbo. Soon the bricks came tumbling down the shaft of the elevator, and dust added to the confusion. Coach Pathway quickly organized the class in removing the Debris from the shaft where the girls were being held. A chain dropped from the opening in the wall, and DW came scurrying down to hook the chain to the metal plate covering the tomb where the girls were now crying out! With a sudden revving of the motor, the chain drew tight and brought the metal from its resting place. Three of the men scrambled to the sight of light only to be met with the force of 45 pound plates coming down on them. Again and again the weights inflicted harm to the cons, slowly dropping the men to their knees, and then the only movement of the bodies was from the constant pounding provided by the students of the Advanced Physical Education class. The fourth con was not to be found, as well as the girl known as the Beast. The other members of Group One clawed their way from the hole and terror. Finally........the sounds of approaching state police vehicles were heard, along with the whine of the ambulance making its way to the school.

Chapter 8

The gym soon became a first aide station for the students, as Coach and Tadpole were busy placing what was left of the bodies upon what were once the shiny buffed floors of Yeager High. The attention was turned to the missing girl, the Beast, and the con who somehow got away. The prison had been alerted and the tunnel was being flooded with corrections officers from the prison side. From the school side the state police were bringing in the dogs. No one knew exactly where they were, but it couldn't be long. Deep from within the tunnel the Beast clawed from fear. Her nails parted the toughened flesh of the last con. Little did the rescue teams know they were hustling to end the cries of the con, not the student. Soon the shots rang out from the prison side. The fight in the con was gone. The State Police struggled to bring the Beast back through the tunnel and into what was once the elevator shaft. As the bright sunlight splashed upon the Beast, she came to realize the pain she was in. Her ankle had been bitten severely, the human tooth's imprint was clear as the paramedics treated her as she was being prepared for the trip to the hospital. The body of the fourth man was added to the others. Their freedom was attained. Somewhere their sprits were free from prison, but bound up in hell.

Chapter 9

As the body bags were being removed from the school no one paid any attention to the lady in the white Ford Ranger sitting by the cafeteria doors.

Dreama was from Kentucky. She had met the cons during a career day at WVU. Dreama was majoring in criminal ology and the day at Moundsville stimulated her interest in several inmates there. She began making weekly visits, until she rented an apartment nearby to make daily contact with her new found lovers, per say. The plans had been in the works for almost a year, but the move from Moundsville to Mud River force them to begin anew. This was the day she worked toward for several years. She would soon be with her lovers in body and soul forever. The cabin in the woods on the Cranberry was well stocked, and well removed from the beaten path.

As she watched the bodies being removed, tears and anger covered her face. The pistol, a .357 magnum, filled the palm of her hand.

Nearby Sussie sat in the Buick enjoying the Tom Boy and Tilly Show on the radio. The granddaughters were running late and she had brought them to school. Suddenly Sussie felt the cold barrel of the .357 at her neck. The woman pulled Sussie from the car screaming at the school and the police officers in the school yard. Quickly Trooper Carsons dropped what he was doing and freed his weapon. The students both inside and outside the school stared at the woman. The woman began shooting. Windows were shot out and bodies hit the ground. Trooper Carsons took aim and fired one round. Sussie winced as the bullet pierced her ear as it found its way into the center of the lady's forehead. The woman who no one noticed, now had everyone's attention as she fell back onto the black top, releasing the weapon as well as Sussie.

Willie turned the body of the con onto his side to drain the blood from the carcass. It was then that he noticed the plastic baggy protruding from the dead man's hind quarters. Carefully he pulled out bag after bag, nine in all and each containing $3,000 in cash. $27,000 lay in front of Willie and for an instant the thought crossed his mind to keep the money. After all, no one was there but him. Willie's Baptist up bringing took over. He chose to take the hard right and not the easy wrong.

Upon handing the money to the police, it was agreed that after the money was cleared by the courts, it would go toward repairing the school. Since the Advanced Physical Education class played such a major part in the events of the day, a $5,000 amount was set aside to restore the weight room. Mr. Triburn, the school Principal, even went so far as to treat the class to Logan's Steak House.

Chapter 10

Sussie and Shilo spent the day working in the flower beds and trimming the yard on the rider mower. After all, the weekend is short and Monday will arrive with school as usual.......well......not quite.