horrors2

HastyDeparture.A_Red_Sky_.tex

  1\chapauth{HastyDeparture}
  2\chapter{A Red Sky at Night}
  3
  4
  5The sun slowly sinks in the sky, an orange halo telling of the the
  6morrow's forecast. The forecast is always the same.
  7
  8
  9
 10The forecast never changes, not for me, at least. Every day, I rise
 11with the sun, and step out the door of my small ranch-style home as
 12the sun clears the trees of my small suburban neighborhood. Every
 13day, I grab a large, black coffee and the morning paper from the
 14gas station on the corner. Every day, I park my black and white in
 15the side lot of Lakeview Central High School. Every day, I sit down
 16at my desk as Connie waltzes in the door, says, ``morning, Officer
 17Bavarious'', and moseys on over to the copy machine.
 18
 19
 20
 21My name is Luke Bavarious, and I am a School Resource Officer. I'm
 22a cop in a high school. I wear a badge, I carry a Beretta, and I
 23don't take shit from anyone, especially not people half my
 24size.
 25
 26
 27
 28They said that the regular doughnut-munchers weren't close enough
 29to the people, not tied-in with the community, and unfamiliar with
 30the hooligans in our fair town. They said that we needed someone to
 31fill that role, to keep tabs on the kids, to keep our children in
 32school and out of trouble. That's where I come in. I deal with the
 33kids who have a streak, and who, without help, are likely to become
 34the next generation of scum that plagues our streets. I keep the
 35peace; I enforce the law.
 36
 37
 38
 39I know all the bad seeds, the troubled families, the broken homes.
 40I get to know them, I lend them a hand, and I set them straight. I
 41know them all like family. So when a young voice says ``hey, Officer
 42B'' as I'm looking out the window at the setting sun, it's no
 43surprise that I know who it is before I turn to face the teenage
 44boy in a hoodie and baggy jeans.
 45
 46
 47
 48``Hello, Marcus. How was your day today? You go to class?''
 49
 50``Of course, Officer B. You know me.''
 51
 52``I know I know you. That's why I'm asking. You go to every
 53one?''
 54
 55``Yes, Officer.''
 56
 57
 58
 59Marcus was a good kid with a bad streak. I've known him since he
 60moved here his freshman year of high school. He moved out of a
 61trailer park with his mom and younger sister to avoid their
 62drunken, estranged husband. A rough upbringing; not uncommon. He's
 63got a record like many of the others I've helped, ranging from
 64little things like skipped classes and tardiness to a few more
 65serious infractions involving alchohol and marijuana. The same old,
 66tired shit. But he's been getting better.
 67
 68
 69
 70``That's good, kiddo. That's good. You heading home? You know
 71nobody's supposed to be in the school this late. You gotta study
 72for those tests next week.''
 73
 74``Well, you see{\ldots} I was wondering if you could, uh{\ldots} come look at
 75something.''
 76
 77``What is it? You getting into trouble again?''
 78
 79``I don't know, Officer B. That's what I want to you come
 80see.''
 81
 82
 83
 84I look back out at the flaming ball in the sky, and remember that
 85even though my day is coming to a close, my job never ends.
 86
 87
 88
 89``OK, Marcus. Show me.'' He nods solemnly. We walk out the door of my
 90office.
 91
 92
 93
 94In silence, he leads me down the hall to the right, and up the
 95stairs to the second floor. We make a left, and start down the next
 96hallway. Marcus jogs ahead, and stops when he gets to the boys'
 97bathroom halfway down on the left. ``In here,'' he mumbles, almost
 98inaudibly. He goes in.
 99
100
101
102I step up to the door, held open from the inside by a beat-up
103garbage can. It's almost pitch black inside; the lights are
104out.
105
106
107
108``Marcus?'' No answer. ``Marcus? You in here?''
109
110
111
112A chill creeps up my spine, an unwelcome feeling that's all too
113familiar for someone in my line of work.
114
115
116
117I step into the shadows, and undo the strap on my holster. I hope
118I'm just being paranoid, just feeling a little scared, but I know
119it's not true. The door suddenly swings shut with a slam, and the
120world as I know it is plunged into darkness. In an instant, I'm
121gripping the Beretta tight in my sweaty hands; exactly the last
122thing I want to have to do.
123
124
125
126``What's going on, Marcus?'' I call out. The void answers, ``What's
127going on, Marcus?'' It sounds just like my voice; an echo. A soft
128sound appends the response; a shoe scraping the floor in the dark.
129My eyes slowly adjust to the dark, and I notice a small window on
130the far wall, just below the ceiling. The faint light coming
131through reflects off something to my right - mirrors above the
132dirty sinks. Another noise; my eyes dart back to the left.
133
134
135
136I should have seen it coming, but it's too late; I feel the breath
137in my lungs explode. I'm slammed into the nearest mirror. The glass
138cracks, and so does my skull. I push away from the wall, repulsing
139the weight of two, maybe three kids. I should have known. The
140weight shifts, and my body hits the opposite wall and the urinals.
141The nasty water splashes across my hands and stomach. Disgusting. I
142turn away from the wall, to face the kids. Disgusting. The weight
143hits my stomach, shots ring out in the darkness, and my breath
144bursts forth like doves from a magician's hat. I'm no
145magician.
146
147
148
149I drop to one knee, my head turns toward the mirrors above the
150brown stained sinks, and in an instant, I see all those young faces
151I've helped staring back at me, their faces blank, emotionless. I
152collapse on the floor.
153
154
155
156As I lay on the cold, damp tile, I can see out the window. The sun
157slowly dips below the horizon, painting luscious red streaks across
158the sky. Red streaks the color of blood. Red streaks like the ones
159painted across the walls of the boys' bathroom on the second
160floor.
161
162
163
164
165
166e: As I wrote it, the story drifted away from the theme, but that's
167what happens. I'm sticking to it. 
168 
169
170
171
172
173
174