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are in their position and ready. “Mission is a go,” Leo says. Marcus and Nick surprise the five guards guarding the front and take them out with ease and head inside. Once inside there is more resistance. They take cover behind a desk. Joey Fontane’s compound is decorated with many fine furnishings. Not what I expected the compound to look like. Instead it resembles a successful office lobby you would see in a city. “Nice set up he got,” I say out loud. Leo turns to look at me before turning his attention back to the televisions. From the televisions I notice the team has the room surrounded. Sounds of firing guns ring through my headset. Finally the sound stops. Marcus steps over dead bodies in the center of the room. “No sign of Fontane,” he says. “Please don’t shoot,” an unarmed man lifts his arms up. “Hold fire,” Leo shouts through the headset. “Do you know him,” I ask Leo. “That’s Jerry Manual, one of the smartest kids in this school.”

  “Search the rest of the compound for Fontane, and come back to base with that unarmed man unharmed,” Leo demands through the headset. “Copy that,” Marcus says. “What the fuck is he doing there,” Leo mumbles to himself. I watch Marcus’s television. He walks to other rooms searching for Fontane. “If he’s not there, then where is he,” I ask Leo. “I don’t know.” “We need to go more armed men will surely come,” Jerry tells the team while Olivia holds his arms behind his back. I hear a gun shot through my headset. There are more armed men coming. “Shit no sign of anybody else but we got resistance on the way, blocking the front door,” Marcus tells Leo. “Copy, your new mission is to get Jerry safely back, I need to know what he knows,” Leo says. “Leave through the vents you came from, I’ll hold them off,” Marcus shouts. Everyone looks at him for a moment. “Go. Fucking go,” he shouts. The resistance has arrived and Marcus fires his pistol from behind cover while the rest of team safely enter the vents they broke in from leaving Marcus alone to fight an entire army. Marcus is successfully maneuvering around the room, finding cover behind furnishings and killing targets. The resistance keeps coming though. Marcus is out of ammo. He slides his pistol away in frustration and takes out his explosive grenade. The room explodes in front of him. He now has time to make a run for the vents.

  Everyone has survived the mission. The bad news is Joey Fontane wasn’t in the compound he was thought to be in. The only thing gotten out of the mission is a man named Jerry, thought to be one of the smartest in the school by Leo.

  Olivia pushes Jerry into the room. Leo see’s the rest of the team arriving and gets up from his chair. He studies the prisoner closely. Marcus arrives last. The rest of the team gives him a head nod, glad that he is still alive.

  “This shit is crazy. All that security in there and he’s not even in there,” Marcus says tossing his headset to the side. “Take a seat Jerry,” Leo demands. I pull up a chair for him to sit in. “What the fuck were you doing in Joey Fontane’s compound.” “We are all in danger,” Jerry frantically yells. “Calm down Jerry and explain yourself.” “I was there working on a weapon. A weapon that could kill us all,” Jerry says taking off his glasses wiping sweat from his forehead. “This weapon will blanket the entire school from the air vents in the ceilings throughout the school. I’m sorry I’m not making any sense. This weapon will spread orange vapor through the air vents, and anyone who breathes it in will become addicted to Fontane’s orange drug or whatever street name they had given it. Whoever breathes in this orange vapor will become severely weakened with their entire body system dependent on this drug, in essence making them a constant buyer of Fontane’s new drug. If the drug is not consumed they will die. In how much time I’m not sure, but they eventually will die within 1 or 2 weeks at the most,” Jerry tells us. “Get the fuck out of here,” Olivia says out loud. “Jerry, are you telling me you helped built this weapon,” Leo asks. “No I’m telling you I did build it.” “Why would you do this Jerry?” “I don’t know,” Jerry looks down at the floor panicky.

  Leo pounds his fist forcefully onto his desk. “Is the weapon ready to be used at this moment,” Marcus asks. “It’s in the testing stages, but yes I do believe it works. I was working on it today downstairs. I came upstairs to leave to gun fire all around me,” Jerry says. “Well that’s just too bad for you. I’ll send you flowers in the mail you fucking idiot,” Marcus says angrily. “What do you mean downstairs,” I ask. Everyone turns in my direction then back at Jerry. “Yeah I don’t remember seeing a downstairs,” Olivia says. “In the center of the room there is code pad, once the correct code is entered the small circular hidden elevator goes down,” Jerry answers. “So you know how to get to the weapon, and destroy it,” Leo asks Jerry. “Yes there is a way to turn off the reactor to the weapon. There is only one side effect of doing that.” “And what is that,” Leo asks. “The reactor will explode and set off bombs throughout the school, as the weapon extends through the school’s air vents,” Jerry answers. “It’s a dam suicide mission and we need to clear the school before attempting it,” Marcus says pointing out the obvious.

  Leo talks to the rest of the team about a strategy about how to deal with the weapon that would make anyone who breathes in its vapor dependent on Fontane’s drug and if they don’t comply ultimately will die. “Why did you do it,” I ask Jerry standing next to him. “No reason is good enough to explain my actions.” I nod in agreement. There is nothing he could say to justify what he did. I stand reflecting on the situation around me and am startled when I hear shouts coming from the hallways. All of us including Jerry enter the hallway to orange vapor coming toward us down the hallway from the left. Leo runs down the opposite end of the hall and pulls the fire alarm. The sound of it rings through my ears. Marcus fires rounds into the grimy window in the classroom. The window shatters and the cool December air chills me. We make our way outside through the now shattered window. We run through the snow covered grass only slowing when we’re a safe enough distance away from the school. We make it to the front of the building with other members of the student body. I notice some students crawling on the ground, shaking. Jerry points to one of them and tells me he is affected by the weapon. “I have to go back in and destroy it,” Leo says frantically. “I’ll go too, you’re going to need my help in destroying it,” Jerry says. Leo nods in agreement. “I’ll go too, you’re going to need someone with a good shot,” Marcus says. “The rest of you stay here Matt is going to need you,” Leo says before anyone else volunteers for the suicide mission.

  Marcus talks with the rest of his team for the last time. Jerry stands by himself ready to die destroying the weapon he helped create. “This school is going to need you more than ever. Promise me that you will finish what we started and not let Joey Fontane scare you or the rest of the student body into giving in,” Leo asks of me. “I promise,” I tell him assuredly. “It was a pleasure meeting you,” he says extending his hand. He turns to Marcus, “are you ready.” “Yes.” Marcus takes the pistols and clips still in the teams procession and hands some to Leo. Marcus turns to look at his team and I one last time with a smile on his face. Leo, determined to destroy the weapon doesn’t turn around. Soon they are gone from sight as they make their way back into building. I will know if they succeed in destroying the weapon by the explosions that follow. I look around at the student body that was able to make it out to the front of the building. I notice the ones affected by the weapon and call an ambulance. I check my phone; I received a message from Kayla asking if I’m okay. I text her back telling her I’m alright. She tells me she is on the left side of the building, so I go there to meet her. I see Victoria talking with her friends and I feel relieved that she is okay. Kayla see’s me first and hugs me from behind.

  “I thought I lost you,” she says. While we share a passionate kiss I hear the chain reaction of explosions go off in the school letting me know that Fontane’s weapon was destroyed.

  16

  I sit in a chair next to Steve lying on his hospital bed. Many fellow classmates were affected by the orange vapor they
inhaled. Many of them are about die; others were able to pay a premium price for Fontane’s drugs to keep them alive longer. The drugs will keep them alive, but they never will be the same people they were. Steve decided he didn’t want to rely on Fontane’s drugs to keep him alive, so Steve lies in the hospital bed on Christmas Eve prepared for death’s arrival. His family enters the hospital room. I get up from my chair to apologize to them about the situation that confronts them. “I’m so sorry,” I say standing alongside Steve’s older brother. He just stares at his younger brother not taking his eyes off of him. “You didn’t do anything, just make sure Fontane pays for what he has done,” he finally says. “He won’t get away with it. I’ll make sure of it,” I say. He smiles. “Good.”

  I’m seated on my living room couch near the Christmas tree. My dog lays his head on my lap as I pet him. My sister and I wait for my parents to come in from the kitchen. I remember when Christmas used to be a magical day. As I have gotten older though the day feels like any other day, and the