POWER RANGERS: LAST ENGAGE: ROTATION: SEPTEMBER'S SANDS
1
Tessie stood with Elena Kosumova and her nine-year-old son in front of the school, where Elena was the vice principal. Tessie had nowhere else to go and Elena wanted to house her until they figured out how to handle her situation. Tessie didn't reveal anything to her regarding her ranger powers. The only thing she told her was that she was abducted, which wasn't necessarily a lie. The nature of the abduction was the only thing she kept secret.
Today was the first day of school, which was a big day for people here. Tessie was told there was a big ceremony on the first day of school. Elena oversaw the ceremonies.
"The students prepare for the Day of Knowledge ceremony quite thoroughly," Elena said. "The first graders are entering school for the first time and they will remember it forever."
"We really don't get anything like this in the States," Tessie said. "The first day of school for us in any grade is like any other day."
"That's too bad," Elena said. "The first day should be a day of celebration."
"I know a few people would disagree as they think they lose the freedom they had during the summer vacation," Tessie said with a chuckle. Elena also laughed. While Tessie didn't really enjoy school, she could appreciate days such as this. She could see prideful looks on parents' faces as their kids were now entering their school careers. She saw two little girls walking out of the school and up to their parents with a poster and balloons. It was written in Russian so Tessie couldn't read what it said.
Elena noticed Tessie trying to read the poster.
"It reads 'first time to first grade'," she said.
"I really don't remember being this excited about entering school," Tessie said. Tessie realized that these kids were about the same age as her, in her time. She wondered if any of them would come to the States and if she had encountered them. The likelihood of that was very slim but it was an interesting thought to entertain.
Tessie watched more kids pour out of the school. It was just about time for the ceremonies to begin. Everyone had smiles on their faces and looked to be enjoying themselves. She saw everyone start taking their positions. Parents started gathering to one side, older students lined up near the front gate and the younger students were gathering in front of the school. Tessie acknowledged their preparation for the event. She oddly felt relaxed considering her situation. She wasn't sure why she ended up here but things weren't so bad. Granted, she had been abducted by Bandora and thrown into the past and into another country that she knew nothing about.
Suddenly, a truck pulled up and heavily armed men and women jumped out of it. Several shots rang out causing everyone to flinch. A security guard and police officer ran up to the armed group but were gunned down immediately. Tessie was about to pull her morpher out but realized she may put more people in danger by morphing. People were being herded into the building. Just before Tessie was pushed into the building, she saw a second truck pull up and more armed men and women rushed into the courtyard of the school. More gunfire erupted, people screamed in terror.
The people were pushed into the gym. They were rough with them. Tessie had to control her anger for the sake of everyone else. She hated being pushed around like this but if she lost herself then other people may pay for it. Everyone was ordered to surrender their cell phones and sit down. Tessie didn't have a cell phone and luckily her morpher was on her belt which looked like a belt buckle. The gym was packed to the point that people were practically sitting on each other. The heat was another factor. It was almost a hundred degrees outside. People shoved tightly into a hot room with scorching temperatures outside was turning the gym into an oven.
She looked around to see parents and students alike were now held prisoner. She noticed that most of the students were younger. The older students were by the gate and must've been able to get away. She saw Elena and her crying son on the other side of the gym. She was surprised she could spot her in a crowd of about a thousand people. They locked eyes and Tessie was trying to convey to Elena through her eyes that everything will be fine. She wasn't sure if she got that message or not.
"You all are now hostages," one of the terrorists said. Tessie surveyed the situation, she counted sixteen terrorists including two women. They took positions in random areas of the gym. One of the female terrorist stood in the corridor outside the gym. Tessie could have sworn they locked eyes at one point. She felt the woman's eyes were icy as if she wasn't human and during their moment of staring, Tessie felt as though the woman could see into her soul. That's how menacing these eyes appeared.
"We came here to die," another terrorist said. "No one will leave here alive. You will die with us."
Tessie knew nothing of this event as history wasn't one of her strong points. This was Ryan's area of expertise. Due to her ignorance of this event, she had no idea how it would end so the terrorist may be correct and everyone in this room will die.
