Chapter two

Finding the nurse's office was easy. Several signs pointed her in the general direction and everything was unlocked. There was however, no nurse there. Javelin laid her out on the exam table in the back, before racing out the door, plunging into the school. Her dirty clothes contrasted sharply with metal glass interior of the school as she opened and slammed doors, searching for anyone.

Having searched the first few classrooms and finding them empty, she noticed how bizarrely quiet it was. The rooms she passed were dark and there was no one on pass to go anywhere. After several minutes of fruitless searching, she heard a faint bass coming from somewhere deeper in school. There didn't seem to be anyone else there, so she went towards the sound. She came to a door labeled 'Gym' and slipped inside.


It looked like the entire school had packed themselves into the gym and it was probably true. Cheerleaders were flipping and zooming around the ceiling, while supers did demonstrations on the floor.

Teachers were intermixed into the crowd and she couldn't see anyone resembling a doctor. She stepped forward and was swept into a crowd of students making their way toward the bleachers. "Excuse me?" she tried to ask, but was ignored by the cheering, noisy crowd.

She found herself getting pushed from several directions and was suddenly standing on the cheer mats in the center of the gym. The crowd began to notice the dirt covered stranger in their midst and hushed, all eyes centered on her. "Another hobo?" A cheerleader asked.

"Ron, another one snuck aboard the bus!" Someone jeered from the crowd.

"I'm not an intruder, and what bus could get up here?" She snapped.

"I'm looking for a nurse, or a doctor. Are there any here?" Behind her a guy chuckled, "I'm the Doctor of Love. What can I do for you?"

Growing impatient, she snapped around, catching the boy by his shirt collar and holding him up to her savage face. "I said a doctor, and I want the doctor or the nurse of this campus, now!" Her last words were a bark of command and she dropped him, spinning back around as a hand touched her elbow.

"I'm Nurse Spex. If you will please put a lid on the temper, we can discuss our business in my office."

"My business, ma'am, is already in your office." With these final and curt words, she strode away, just behind Nurse Spex. After a moment, the rally continued, but buzzed the remainder of the time about the mysterious girl who shown up, covered in who knows what and had then collared Will Stronghold.


People were still talking about it by lunch and students were passing by the nurses office in a steady stream, hoping to catch a glimpse of what was going on inside. But the door remained shut and the glass was fogged over, leaving it to everyone's imagination.