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Chapter 4: Stranger Things
Howard looked after Dave, furrowing his brow in consternation.
Again, he found himself unsettled, taken aback by the man. Such an amiable, affable person. It seemed mad to think...
But this morning, it had seemed mad to think Phyllis Hendricks had a deceitful bone in her body.
Howard followed Evans out of the room, looking around at their paltry surroundings... There was his daughter, sitting next to Brooke Maddox. Not entirely poor company he supposed... Noah, he saw, was speaking to Emma. Perhaps he should too, if only to offer whatever scrap of consolation he could.
It was to Audrey, though, that he went.
***
"Then you tell him," Brooke said at once, "You tell him, and you don't look back until after it's been told. Even if it feels like the worst thing in the world. You get through it, and at least then it's done."
She bit her lip, "God knows there's things I wish I told my Dad. There's a hell of a lot more I wish he'd told me, but I digress. It's all the same, anyway. And...you will feel better for it, Audrey. Even if it hurts at first."
***
"You know, I never took you for the 'punching' type," Eli propped his head up on one hand, "Not that you aren't gloriously muscled and all, but we've established that."'
He looked across the room, "The cousin who tried to kill me is back, and the cousin I've busted my ass trying to keep in line all this time is ready to sell her soul to him all over again. Either I've died and gone to a karmic hell, or it's the old Hudson family luck kicking back in."
With a labored sigh, he admitted, "I don't know what to do."
***
"Well, that's the trouble, isn't it?" asked Theodora, "He's dangerous. Honestly dangerous, but dangerous still. And with way of alerting the authorities, I don't know if I like the notion of camping out with him till dawn."
She paused, "But, of course, that discounts the known murderer in our comp..."
A raised voice diverts her attention, and that of about everybody in the hall.
***
"You stay out of this, kid, this isn't about you," snarled Tina, "You want to be buddy-buddy with your brother, fine by me. You're welcome to him. You're a giant dumbass with worse judgment than I ever had, but it's your call."
She turned back to Kieran, "I don't want to kill your fruity smelling shrink, KeeKee..." she took a step forward, "I want to kill you!"
In the next moment, she raised the gun that had been Kieran's and pressed it to his forehead.
"You're right, doc..." she told Nicodemus, without looking at him, "Prison's no place for a guy like him. He should be free, riding the wind, forever."
She cocked the gun, "I've half a mind to send him off right now."
-Howard, Brooke, Eli, Theodora and Tina
"Señora, this isn't the place or the time," Pedro's voice came firmly, without hesitation as he appeared behind her, "Put down the Pistola."
Teague was about to intervene when he saw the stranger already behind Tina Hudson. He started making his own way over as well.
Before Audrey could reply to Brooke, she saw her Dad walking over. Her hand went to Brooke's and she firmly said, "Dad, there's something I need to tell you. Something I should have a long time ago."
"Maybe you ought to take up boxing. It's a great stress reliever."
Deanna had her own gun out and pressed against her aunts temple in a matter of seconds.
"Seriously Aunt Tina....drop it...or our whole family will go sky high together." She growled out, not liking her aunt much right now.
She didn't care about anyone else, but nobody was killing Kieran, not until she had her answers.
***
Aleks gasped at the scene, looking up and shrinking back even smaller than she presently was.
She definitely didn't want a part of any of this.
***
Emma looked over at Noah, than blinked.
"God...how many people have stupid guns?"
She reached out and took hold of Noah, moving off and away from everyone else.
***
Tracy just stared at the scene, leaning against Drew.
"Well this is entertaining now."
She commented dryly, tilting her head.
-Deanna, Aleks, Emma, Tracy
"Seems like a nice guy," Leslie commented, nodding. Figuring she was just dodging it at this point, she said, "Look, Carl, I...I wanna say I'm JESUS CHRIST!"
It was suddenly a goddamn Western, two people threatening to blow each other to sky high. "Only this fucking town..." She shook her head at Mexican standoff in front of them.
***
Dave returned to the common hall, only to find death threats being exchanged so much so, he expected Tina and Deanna to take ten paces in opposite directions and fire!
"Peace, friends!" He begged, but he knew they wouldn't listen. Not when anger dominated the mind.
***
"Whoa, take it easy, man!" Nicodemus held his hands up to the crazy chick, only to look at the crazy chickadee next to her. "Whoa, take it easy, man! Vio-lance isn't goin' to stop mo' vio-lance! Why do we have to build these walls, man? Can't we just talk things out, like chill daddyos!" And realized he was talking to some ladies. "I mean, mommas."
Kieran's eyes went to the gun aimed at his forehead and then to the gun at Tina's temple. He took a deep breath, rationalizing, "Yeah, Aunt Tina. If you wanna put me down, don't do it in front of the kiddies."
Nicodemus cheered in support. "Yeah!" He blinked. "Wait, what?"
"I'm saying..." He stepped towards the gun, pressing it closer to his head. "...if she wants to Old Yeller me, do it outside." Kieran stared his aunt down. "C'mon, Tina. Commit to something." He tilted his head. "Or is that all talk you got loaded in there?" He recalled what he said to Nat, before she died. He'd redeem himself his own way.
They say purification by fire was the swiftest. Kieran wasn't sure how much a bullet in the brain compared to that. If he lived, he'd go through the trial he never got, with all his enemies there before him. If she killed him...well, he'd skip the trial to when they would draw and quarter him.
-Leslie, Dave, Nicodemus and Kieran
"Oh, forget it," said Eli, "I'm a lover not a fight..." he trailed off, eyes going wide, "Oh shit."
He turned to Stavo, "Excuse me. Family emergency," he got hastily to his feet and hurried toward the rapidly unfolding scene between mother, cousin, and cousin.
***
"Can somebody tell Ricky Spanish over here to fuck off?" asked Tina.
"Ms. Hudson!" and here was Theodora Kellerman, hurrying over toward them, "Put the gun down."
"When I'm done with it."
Despondent, Theodora whispered to Teague, "The gun you gave me. I told you, she took it and ran."
***
"That is enough!" Howard put a staying hand on Audrey's arm, going over to join the fray, "Tina, I understand, you want your justice..."
"Don't you? After all the shit this one and his horsey girlfriend put your kid through? If you dropped the Mr. Beaver act long enough to get your blood hot, might be it'd be you standing here with the gun..."
"I had a taste of that tonight," said Howard grimly, "I didn't like it."
"Goodie for you..." she pushed the barrel against Kieran's head, looking him right in the eyes, "Your mother was a sweet lady, you know that? Best damn friend I ever had. It's only for her sainted ass I took pity on you. Sure...maybe you killed my brother. That's fine. He got himself wrecked and left me with a baby to raise and too many bills to pay. You could've killed him a hundred times over and I would've sat by watching with a Mai Tai in hand."
She leaned forward, "But you went after my son. The one thing I've got left in this world, and you put him at death's door. So, sorry, Dr. Psychadelic, if I don't share your rosy views of the American penal system. Some things you've got to handle yourself. So, Dee, if you really are gonna pull that trigger, you might as well..."
"Drop the gun, Deanna."
Eli stood over his cousin's shoulder, another gun pressed to the back of her head.
They can hear Kellerman's voice, "Oh...no, that's the gun you gave me," she turned to Teague, "Then her gun must be his gun..." she points from Tina to Kieran.
"We can do gun calculus later," said Eli, "Dee, I don't wanna shoot you, but if you shoot my mother, I will."
"Thanks for the save, sweetie," said Tina coolly.
"Ma, don't you shoot him either!"
"Oh, for God's sake..." Theodora raised her arms, "Nobody shoot anybody!"
***
Brooke watched the whole scene with raised eyebrows, "Anybody else got a gun? I kinda want to get in on this."
-Tina, Eli, Howard, Theodora and Brooke
Without a word, Teague pulled out his airhorn and let it ring.
As soon as he did, in the confusion Pedro had Tina in a headlock.
"Everyone, drop their guns now!" ordered Teague in a tone that left no room for argument. The same voice he used when he fired Harold.
The harsh, blaring siren had never been a more welcome sound, inches from Theodora's ear or not. Pressing a hand to her heart, she heaved a deep breath, and made to collect the gun Tina had dropped on the floor.
"Get your greasy mitts off of me!" Tina cried out, making to bite at Sanchez's hand.
Theodora, holding the gun cautiously in both hands, locked eyes with the man, "Ahora," she said curtly, adding, with some reluctance, "Por favor."
Eli lowered the gun with a relieved sigh, giving Deanna shove, "That's enough, Sharp Shooter."
"This is unacceptable!" Theodora rounded on them all, speaking in ringing tones, "As if things weren't bad enough. There's a killer loosed among us..."
"You think I don't know that?" demanded Tina, "I'd have shot him for ya, done for you all a favor..."
"And given us another body to explain to the police," finished Theodora, "If we are to be trapped here for any amount of time, we must have order. Do you think running around with weapons strapped to your sides will be of any help? Was it before?" she looked around at all of them...her colleagues, her students, their parents...a mass of the frightened, the angry, the grieving.
"The number of times the lot of you nearly shot an innocent tonight alone!" she looked piercingly at Howard, who lowered his eyes, abashed.
"You think those things protect you? That they'll save you when the time comes? All it does is make you brave and stupid, and gets the rest of us walking in terror of you. I won't have it!" she had rarely ever been so vehement. Not just cross, not just anger, but outraged.
"I won't."
-Theodora, Tina, Eli and Howard
Pedro let go of Tina without a word.
Clearing his throat, Teague said, "I want any student here who's armed to put their guns in the kitchen, now."
Without a word, Carl got up and walked to the kitchen. Going through the motions, Carl pulled the 92FS from the small of his back, ejected the mag and the round in the chamber, and placed it next to the bloody knife.
Without a word, he walked out and sat down next to Leslie.
Lance considered protesting, but didn't. The look on Teague's face left no room for argument. So he repeated what Carl had done, and set his .38 next to Carl's gun.
Tracy seemed to ignore what Teague had said, opting for the comatose patient look and pretend that she didn't have her gun in her waistband.
Like hell would she give that weapon up right now, and she was stupid to have just chucked the knife, now it was on the table in front of everyone. Oh well, things happened, just meant more weapons to choose from should the killer manage to get inside.
With a little help, that could always be arranged...
***
Deanna lowered her gun, narrowing her eyes as she moved to her brothers side and shoved her duffel into his arms.
"Go wait in that stupid room with that will you? I need to give up my gun..."
She moved for a moment, before shaking her head.
"Actually...I'd rather not give up my only means of protection, and to be quite frank...you will have to forcefully remove it from me, which would mean hurting a student, something you don't want on your hands. And I am not one to give things up easily." She was persistent, and right now she wasn't giving up her gun. So she tucked it into her waistband and turned her back towards everyone.
She walked over to her brother, pulling her duffel from his arms and walking into the room behind him and turning to look at him.
"You coming Kieran? I need to talk to you, like I said."
-Tracy, Deanna
"I suppose I should tell you that if you don't, you will be expelled," Teague countered. He was not having anybody's bullshit right now.
"Great, expel me! I hate this stupid school anyways!" Deanna called out, shrugging as she stayed in the room where Nicodemus had treated Kieran.
She placed her duffel behind her, and leaned against it while she waited for her brother.
There was a silence. Theodora turned to Teague, "You know...I've lived a long time. I've worked almost as long. I am very tired."
She nodded, "Very tired."
Turning to Teague, she said, "She's right, though. We can't hurt her. But...you've been a soldier as long as you've been a teacher. You must know some ways."
"Only one comes to mind," he turned to his fellow adults and asked, "Any volunteers?"
Tina shrugged, "I would, but I'd definitely end up hurting her."
Howard steeled himself, "Ed, I'd be glad. So long as it means..." he heaved a breath, "We're all kept safe."
Theodora looked her colleague over, "I don't want to make you do something you don't want to do."
"Is this really necessary?" asked Eli, "She's stubborn and annoying, but...she's..." he paused, "She's a victim too."
"Maybe so," allowed Theodora, "But she's armed and shouldn't be. No more than your mother ought to have been. Or you."
"Okay, that's...that's not totally fair, I was trying to keep people from being shot..." but he relented.
-Tina, Howard, Theodora and Eli
Deanna was listening, they wanted to do something, and she didn't want any part of it.
"You want my damn gun, fine."
She called out, picking the piece out from her waistband and removing the clip before chucking it out of the room.
"Now leave me the fuck alone already. I want nothing to do with this stupid ass retreat or you people anymore." She called, slamming the door and shoving something in front of it so they couldn't get into the room.
-Deanna
"That...was easier than I thought," Teague picked up the pistol, magazine, and ejected the one in the chamber.
Tina snorted, "Can we lock her and the brother in there together?"
"I'm strict," said Theodora, "I'm not merciless."
"For him or her?"
Theodora ignored that, "Good, then. That's his gun," she nodded to Kieran, "My gun," she nodded to Tina, who had taken it in the first place, "Deanna's gun..." she paused, "That leaves yours, Edward, your spare..."
She turned to Howard, who said, "I gave it to Dave after..." he cleared his throat.
"Understood," Theodora turned to the English teacher, "Can you handle a weapon, Mr. Evans?"
"No!"
Theodora rounded on Howard, who had spoken explosively. He quieted, visibly abashed, "Er...I mean to say, I'm not sure what a good idea that would be. Right, Dave?" he turned to the other man, fixing him with an eye.
Theodora turned to Sanchez, "Then there's you."
"If you let this guy keep the piece," said Tina, "I'll riot. Who the fuck is he anyway?"
"An excellent question with an awful answer," said Theodora, turning to Teague in silent question.
It was probably in everyone's best interest they know who Sanchez was, or who he said he was. Yet at the risk of causing another panic...
***
"Wait a second..." Zach leaned forward.
"Oh, I'm waiting," said Brooke from next to him, "This ish's better than cable."
He looked around at the lot of them, "Tracy's got a gun."
"Oh, of course she does," said Brooke blithely, "Wait, how do you know?"
"She aimed it at me. And Leslie."
"What're you doing with Leslie?"
"Not the point! She's got a gun, and she isn't saying anything about it."
He looked from Brooke to Aleks, "She's lying."
-Theodora, Tina, Howard, Zach and Brooke
Aleks looked at them, before nodding towards Zach.
"We can't let her keep a gun...what if she's the killer?"
Her eyes widened a moment, tilting her head as she looked at Zach and Brooke a moment longer.
"Okay..." Zach nodded, "I'll handle this."
"What, you're going to go over to her and ask politely?"
"I wish," Zach deflated, "Uh...there's got to be some way to..."
And, with that, he got to his feet, and announced in a loud, but robotic tone, "Tracy's got a gun!"
Another silence. The interested observer would note Fitz Smith beginning to slide under a table as if to shield himself.
-Zach, Brooke and Fitz
Tracy glowered over at Zach, reaching behind her and gripping her gun in one hand.
"I do not! Your lying!" She called out, sounding not as sober as she should.
Part of her needed to hide the gun somewhere, but damn it if Zach hadn't ruined her options.
***
Aleks blinked at Zach, reaching out and tugging his wrist to pull him down.
"Zach...are you crazy?!" She blurted out, looking towards Tracy.
-Tracy, Aleks
"Good Lord, did we have to search all your bags?" demanded Theodora, "Treat you like prisoners? Hostages?"
"It's true!" Zach continued, more emboldened now, "She aimed it at us before. Right?" he turned to Leslie.
Fitz, meanwhile, was now shuffling with little dignity to a corner, like a child afraid of being called on in class.
-Theodora, Zach and Fitz
Tracy looked over at Mr. Smith, before focusing on Zach and holding her gun in her hand.
"Honestly....I need to tell you that I don't have a gun."
She was lying of course, but right now she didn't want to do much of anything.
-Tracy
Kieran's eyes widened as Eli put a gun to Deanna's head. "You son of a bitch..." He mouthed, wanting badly to leave Deanna out of this but knowing if he moved, a chain reaction would happen with him and his sister dead.
And then the dominoes fell, but not in any uniform order. Tina was in a headlock, Deanna was disarmed, and Kieran was left amazed that he still managed to be alive after all that.
Nicodemus gawped at the display that just occurred once Kieran's sister slammed the door. "Wow. You folks are drownin' in negative waves, man. This is the most anger I've seen concentrated in one place. And I work at a prison."
Kieran blinked. "Wait...didn't she want to talk with me in there..." He trailed off, turning to face everyone who wasn't Deanna. In other words, the vocal majority who hated his guts.
He seriously considered banging and clawing on the door to get back in but with the Marine principal and the Mexican mystery-man right there, Kieran didn't want to take any chances.
Long trial it was.
***
Dave glanced at Howard's outburst. Not wanting to make a scene of it, he nodded. "Howard's right. I-I'm in no fit state of mind. Best pass me over."
Dave gave one more look to Howard, trying to read his thoughts.
Or maybe he did, and he was not too fond of what he read. Dave looked away.
***
Leslie looked to Zach. Throughout the demilitarization of the public, she almost forgot about that other incident from today.
She stood up herself and proclaimed, "Zach's right! Today, Tracy pointed her gun at Zach and me! She can't be trusted!" Leslie looked towards Tracy, vindictive finger pointed to her. No way she was consciously letting some junkie roam around with a gun while a killer was on the loose.
Besides, Leslie had to do something. She had to be proactive. She had to be useful.
-Kieran, Nicodemus, Dave, and Leslie
Deanna opened the door, grabbing her brothers arm and yanking him back into the room with her.
"Get your ass in here." She grumbled, shaking her head as she turned a moment.
She looked at her brother, moving to start barricading the door once more so the two of them were alone without anyone else to bother them.
***
Tracy narrowed her eyes more, pulling her gun out and holding it into the air.
"You mean this gun?"
She called out, firing one off into the air a moment, before holding it outwards.
"You want it, come get it than."
-Deanna, Tracy
An electric charge went through the room. Zach visibly flinched.
"That can be arranged," Brooke got to her feet, hips cocked to the side in an outrageous expression of defiance.
"Brooke..."
"Don't start, Zach, I've wanted to kick this girl's ass for years."
"She's got a gun!"
"I've got weaponized outrage! I am not about to be held hostage be a hysterical pill-popper on top of everything else!"
"Brooke..."
"Hold my earrings, Zach..."
"But Brooke..."
"Audrey, hold my earrings," she foisted them into the girl's hands.
"That is enough!" declared Howard, "All of you, this is shameful!"
"In more ways than one," said Fitz, "Tracy, drop the gun, you're well outnumbered!"
-Zach, Brooke, Howard and Fitz
Tracy looked at them all, eyes narrowed as she tilted her head.
"I may be outnumbered....but I am not letting go of my gun."
She looked at Brooke, as if daring her to come at her, all the while she still leaned against Drew as if nothing was wrong.
***
Aleks found herself cringing in the corner, moving to grab onto Zach.
"Zach..." She murmured, shaking her head as she grabbed onto his arm tightly.
-Tracy, Aleks