Chapter 3 - Recovery
"Excuse me?" Mrs. Short asked.
"Get the HELL out of this school right now all of you. Ashlee, Mrs. Short, James, Scott's brother and family are here and the locker and Zack has a gun on him!"
"What is going on here Mr. Stevens?" the administrator asked.
"We need to get out NOW!! I MEAN IT GO!!" Cameron began yanking at Ashlee and glaring at James, whom followed. "Davis, Josh, Sarah, come on!!! There won't be any survivors!!"
He yanked everyone out when Zack got out of the classroom. "What's the deal here Stevens?"
Tempted to blast Zack for his deed not done yet, he walked past him. "It's none of your business," he mumbled under his breath.
He yelled out to the principal's office and went on the PA by pushing Ms. Howards out of the way. He didn't think too highly of the old bitch anyway. "Listen all Mt. Abraham students get out of the high school now, bomb threat!" he thought about it for a minute then rushed outside leaving Ashlee, Davis, and James in the principal's office. He pulled the fire alarm and everyone rushed outside.
"Why is there a truck backing up? Is it for after the assembly snacks?" asked Ashlee.
"We have no time for snacks, Ashlee, get the hell out!" Cameron ran out with his friends with a brush past Zack.
"Now, how the fuck did you know my plan?" Zack cocked the gun at him, but Principal Wilson grabbed it from him.
"Now Zackary Hutchens, what do you think you are doing?" Principal Wilson hid the gun sneakily into his vest, putting it on safety mode all in the same motion. "Is there anymore violators on the premises?"
"You gotta warn the people on the bus! Jordan's on there!" Mr. Wilson pulled out his Walkie Talkie and advised everyone who was pulling up to turn around immediately.
"Now everyone get outside right now and I mean it!"
***
Stepping outside, Cameron felt awkward by Ashlee and Davis now. Zack then walked up to them. "I hope you know, I'm claiming insanity and psychiatric help. I know how to manipulate people and I know how to make them follow me, " Zack ghastly said.
"Yeah well you didn't know how to get what you wanted out of my sister!" Cameron yelled.
Zack grabbed the scruff of his t-shirt about to say something, Cameron punched him in the face and ran off behind a tree. Zack glared the distance. "Cameron, me and death have a little something in store for cheaters and losers…"
The shaking movement of the ground beneath their feet while the flowers whistled slyly in the wind.
"Now Cameron, you do know you're going to a psychiatric ward for bluffing the school right?" Ashlee whined with a hand on her hip and her mini pigtails drowning in her clump of soft blonde hair.
"You…don't get it…we're going to die. WE'RE GOING TO FUCKING DIE I SAW HIM HAVE THE GUN ZACK HAD THE GUN YOU STUPID BITCH!" Cameron's body was drenching in sweat and his palms were frozen. In the corner of his eye he saw a reflection in the school window. The "A" in Abraham posted on the front of the school doors cut off and looked like a "4", but he was panicking and wasn't thinking straight or seeing too clearly. Then there was a yellowish orange blaze right by the front of the door.
"SHIT DUCK!"
RACKABOOM! The main door flew out at Cameron but he rolled away just in time and the school went up in flames, but the Firefighters were already there. BOOM! The school blew up a harder time this round and the Firefighters were smothered in flame. Ash was falling from the sky and people were crying-not everyone was actually saved only the one's Cameron pulled out and whoever was on the opposite side of the school. Hopefully there were more survivors, the school consisted of over 21, 000 students and as it looked only forty people or so escaped through the front. Cameron had other friends in other areas of the school that he probably couldn't save. He tried his best though and he made sure the fire alarm went off and used the speaker, but was that enough? He foretold it and he knew that this would happen and it was. I should've risked his own life, he kept thinking.
There was an infinite scream coming from the building and the whole school shattered and started to slowly collapse with windows breaking and the screaming of many students. Police officers were running around talking to their radio and lots of ambulances and cop cars were there, this left nothing but Cameron falling down to his knees and huddling up in a tiny ball weeping. Zack stepped over him.
"Well Camy-you may not have died yet, but you are supposed to and you will," Zack wittingly barked.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Cameron stuttered between tear-filled eyes. "Your life must really be pathetic if you HAVE TO DESTROY OTHER PEOPLE'S LIVES."
"What can I say Stevens, it's my lifeless gift to all of you."
***
There was a police report meeting and many were questioned, Cameron and Zackary mostly. Cameron was sitting at a table alone and in came the deputy.
"Hi, I'm Deputy Burke and I guess you know you're in for questioning. Are you okay?" (Thomas Burke had matured even more, looked more vibrant and restful. Though he wasn't an officer anymore, he was promoted to deputy by the support and concern of the deaths in New York.) Looking at his clipboard Deputy Burke stared at him, waiting for a response. "Well what has happened today? Did you see something bizarre?"
"He came in and almost began shooting at me. The click and the screams and the blood were all real. I smelled the stench of dead bodies and the chemicals from the science room in 180. I went to the gym and I saw a little seven year old boy drown in his own SHIT!" Cameron's eyes were bold and he was holding back his emotions. "And then the other kids took over the bus, it was like his posse-his mafia members to destroy the school. He must have planned it because there were over five kids that knew what they were doing with buckles holding bombs and grenades and holding guns and they were going to take over this school no matter who died-including themselves."
"You do know this happened over two years ago and before that a year ago, right? A teenager named Alex Browning escaped off a plane that blew up on take off killing over 200 passengers three and some years ago, a year later a college girl named Kimberly Corman was caught up in a car accident that killed over 20 in the most massive pile-up ever to occur in recent times-one which I was a part of. So you can be sure that this guy will be stopped as well as the followers. Obviously he didn't care about keeping a low profile but the others did."
"Wait what do you mean that this has happened before? Are you telling me accidents happen all the time because I think you just said that," Cameron boldly stated. "And besides my cousin Alex is dead."
"No, I mean that they had visions or premonitions or something that messed with the control center of the brain where there's an outside force letting you in on a secret."
"Yeah well the outside force also lead on Zack to bring the gun to school and shoot us, right? It's just like my parents said about you cops, you could give a shit whether or not who dies as long as you get your paycheck. No one paid attention to Alex's death."
"Wait, are you talking about Alex Browning the Flight 180 survivor who died almost a year after his premonition? He's your cousin?"
"Notice the resemblance? We're half cousins really. That's not the point though."
"Yeah it is the point. Cameron Stevens-I'm Deputy Burke one of the deputies of this area now. I used to work in Albany where I was caught up in a messed up design involving Kimberly and I met Alex' girlfriend Clear."
"They weren't going out and yes I know both are dead, just like my sister and just like my whole family. It's like I was meant to be torn apart," Cameron stifled.
"No but see two years ago we cheated Death-if you will. We threw the balance by testing fate and manipulating it."
"If they're sending me to some institution then you better be going too, you need more help than me. My cousin said the same thing and look where he ended up, dead."
Deputy Burke sighed and pulled out a photo. "This is your sister, right?" Cameron looked at it and stayed frozen in his chair.
"She looks so happy, yeah, why."
"Cecelia Stevens? Your mom's brother married a lady and had an only child, which is Alex. The Browning family, and your mom got married to Devin Stevens?" Deputy Burke softly muttered.
"How the fuck do you know about my family situation," Cameron yelled, jumping up from his seat and grabbing his bag heading out for the door. Burke blocked him.
"Because without hope there is no evil and I've been on both ends of that buddy, so get your ass back in that chair and talk things out," Deputy Burke said with strong authority.
Cameron plopped back down in his chair and stared at him, glared at the deputy.
"Two and a half years ago, about in the summer time, an accident happened and people survived by Kim taking her car and blocking the on-ramp to the highway. The highway had big problems like potholes and over-speeding drivers and unsafe people. All those elements formed together and caused a massive 23-car pile-up. It was the worst thing to ever witness. That same night when everyone went home from the long day a guy named Evan Lewis died that night in his apartment. Maybe it was stress-related for his mistakes, but we do know after that--people who survived kept dying. The girl with the premonition, Kimberly, figured out a way to cheat death by cheating it in reverse like how the order was. She tried to kill herself in a van, thinking the signs were telling her to do that. I rescued her though, and she came back to life. But during those twenty minutes she was declared dead.
She was dead and Death thought she screwed up the design, but with her giving her life up to save me-made the grim reaper think twice about coming after us again. And the only near accidents we've had so far are just normal human errors, it looks like the devil has finally left us alone."
"I feel like I'm listening to some fucked up video game like Doom or something. The grim reaper? Designs? Signs? What the hell is this a night at the Parker Brother's house?" Cameron boasted.
"You know what happened, it's hard to make someone believe until you see who you saved are either better off dead in the school or better to live their life if you can dedicate yourself to helping them," Deputy Burke insisted.
"Wait you said she tried to commit suicide so that way she could be brought back to life and save both of you? Suicide eh?"
"New life defeats death is what the mortician told us, this towering black guy who works downtown in the city morgue, he collects all the dead bodies apparently and keeps it to himself."
"So I guess I better go down there and see all 20, 000 students DEAD in his little laboratory!?" Cameron walked off again but this time looked Deputy Burke in the eye. "So where is she? Other than you that Kim chick is the only one who had to deal with this, and she's the one who saw the premonitions right? Where is she? A mental institution?"
"Actually-no, she's in Daytona, Florida. That was her original final destination," Deputy Burke calmly replied.
"Well I guess I'm going to Daytona then, if my final destination was a school trip and my fucking poem award than I guess I'll have nothing better to do." He grabbed his jacket and walked off.
***
Officially the school was closed and with three days left until Winter Break, the School Board let them off early to recover and sympathize, of what was left of the school anyway. A memorial was established and there was lots of paper work and files to look over before placing a judgment, but Zack was pulled into a help center. Cameron stayed at home during the memorial and knew after the New Year would begin, his life would be put smacked down in a new school. He sat on his bed in his room flipping channels until he saw a report on the memorial. He watched his remaining teachers and Principal Wilson have their head down in respect.
His TV started getting a little fuzzy, it was the one in his room, which was pretty damn shitty. He flipped the channel up and some winter movie was on, they were showing icicles. He tried to get back to the memorial in frustration, but instead the two channels blended together, showing an icicle on top and a giant tombstone memorial on the bottom. The way it was angled, it kind of looked like the icicle was moving up and down in a violent motion towards the rock. He slammed his hand on the TV and instead showed PBS and some dancing happy Teletubbies.
Outside snowflakes were falling down. Cameron glanced over and noticed that they were swaying out his bedroom window. Those were the first snowflakes ever in Mt. Abraham this year and for living in New York, that's kind of rare. December fourteenth was the date and try imagining having no snow until then.
Curious of how this year's snow would be and if the affect would make his sadness go away, Cameron grabbed a windbreaker jacket and headed outside from his apartment building door, living on the first floor. He walked out and looked at the snow, which was already massively pouring down. In fact it was downright fucking cold enough to wear two pairs of socks, thick boots, three shirts, long johns, pants, a coat, a scarf and a beanie. He didn't care right now though; he was wearing shorts and the windbreaker.
He stepped outside and noticed a formation of an icicle. They were melted frozen into the balcony of the neighbors above him. On the edge, he jumped up to grab one being a not so tall guy-and he had one in his hand. On his way down his foot made contact with a small puddle of ice, which yanked him down backwards. He gasped on the ground, his head having just a little injury. Through the whole time he took a breath, no fog would exit out of his mouth. On the ground he took a breath and a smooth icy cloud of fog escaped from his mouth, and the icicles were loosening from where he grabbed them. In fact about twenty of them small and large toppled down on him with the base being sharp and pointy. He turned and some icicles cracked beside him being week, while the larger ones landed inside a groove between the cement. That could've hit him, but the pain would be acute. He walked back inside and his breath wasn't as cold as it was while he threw down his jacket and went back to watch television.
As he plopped down into bed his eyes grew wide for a short second, Cameron realized he felt something outside that he hadn't felt before. Sure, maybe it was winter, but it was a darker more chilling sense on the skin. Memories-flash back to a few minutes ago with the busted TV. He looked and saw the icicles and the building the icicles looking as if it were about to jab something. Was that…a divination? A sign? A clue? Is this really happening again like the last two times?
"Excuse me?" Mrs. Short asked.
"Get the HELL out of this school right now all of you. Ashlee, Mrs. Short, James, Scott's brother and family are here and the locker and Zack has a gun on him!"
"What is going on here Mr. Stevens?" the administrator asked.
"We need to get out NOW!! I MEAN IT GO!!" Cameron began yanking at Ashlee and glaring at James, whom followed. "Davis, Josh, Sarah, come on!!! There won't be any survivors!!"
He yanked everyone out when Zack got out of the classroom. "What's the deal here Stevens?"
Tempted to blast Zack for his deed not done yet, he walked past him. "It's none of your business," he mumbled under his breath.
He yelled out to the principal's office and went on the PA by pushing Ms. Howards out of the way. He didn't think too highly of the old bitch anyway. "Listen all Mt. Abraham students get out of the high school now, bomb threat!" he thought about it for a minute then rushed outside leaving Ashlee, Davis, and James in the principal's office. He pulled the fire alarm and everyone rushed outside.
"Why is there a truck backing up? Is it for after the assembly snacks?" asked Ashlee.
"We have no time for snacks, Ashlee, get the hell out!" Cameron ran out with his friends with a brush past Zack.
"Now, how the fuck did you know my plan?" Zack cocked the gun at him, but Principal Wilson grabbed it from him.
"Now Zackary Hutchens, what do you think you are doing?" Principal Wilson hid the gun sneakily into his vest, putting it on safety mode all in the same motion. "Is there anymore violators on the premises?"
"You gotta warn the people on the bus! Jordan's on there!" Mr. Wilson pulled out his Walkie Talkie and advised everyone who was pulling up to turn around immediately.
"Now everyone get outside right now and I mean it!"
***
Stepping outside, Cameron felt awkward by Ashlee and Davis now. Zack then walked up to them. "I hope you know, I'm claiming insanity and psychiatric help. I know how to manipulate people and I know how to make them follow me, " Zack ghastly said.
"Yeah well you didn't know how to get what you wanted out of my sister!" Cameron yelled.
Zack grabbed the scruff of his t-shirt about to say something, Cameron punched him in the face and ran off behind a tree. Zack glared the distance. "Cameron, me and death have a little something in store for cheaters and losers…"
The shaking movement of the ground beneath their feet while the flowers whistled slyly in the wind.
"Now Cameron, you do know you're going to a psychiatric ward for bluffing the school right?" Ashlee whined with a hand on her hip and her mini pigtails drowning in her clump of soft blonde hair.
"You…don't get it…we're going to die. WE'RE GOING TO FUCKING DIE I SAW HIM HAVE THE GUN ZACK HAD THE GUN YOU STUPID BITCH!" Cameron's body was drenching in sweat and his palms were frozen. In the corner of his eye he saw a reflection in the school window. The "A" in Abraham posted on the front of the school doors cut off and looked like a "4", but he was panicking and wasn't thinking straight or seeing too clearly. Then there was a yellowish orange blaze right by the front of the door.
"SHIT DUCK!"
RACKABOOM! The main door flew out at Cameron but he rolled away just in time and the school went up in flames, but the Firefighters were already there. BOOM! The school blew up a harder time this round and the Firefighters were smothered in flame. Ash was falling from the sky and people were crying-not everyone was actually saved only the one's Cameron pulled out and whoever was on the opposite side of the school. Hopefully there were more survivors, the school consisted of over 21, 000 students and as it looked only forty people or so escaped through the front. Cameron had other friends in other areas of the school that he probably couldn't save. He tried his best though and he made sure the fire alarm went off and used the speaker, but was that enough? He foretold it and he knew that this would happen and it was. I should've risked his own life, he kept thinking.
There was an infinite scream coming from the building and the whole school shattered and started to slowly collapse with windows breaking and the screaming of many students. Police officers were running around talking to their radio and lots of ambulances and cop cars were there, this left nothing but Cameron falling down to his knees and huddling up in a tiny ball weeping. Zack stepped over him.
"Well Camy-you may not have died yet, but you are supposed to and you will," Zack wittingly barked.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Cameron stuttered between tear-filled eyes. "Your life must really be pathetic if you HAVE TO DESTROY OTHER PEOPLE'S LIVES."
"What can I say Stevens, it's my lifeless gift to all of you."
***
There was a police report meeting and many were questioned, Cameron and Zackary mostly. Cameron was sitting at a table alone and in came the deputy.
"Hi, I'm Deputy Burke and I guess you know you're in for questioning. Are you okay?" (Thomas Burke had matured even more, looked more vibrant and restful. Though he wasn't an officer anymore, he was promoted to deputy by the support and concern of the deaths in New York.) Looking at his clipboard Deputy Burke stared at him, waiting for a response. "Well what has happened today? Did you see something bizarre?"
"He came in and almost began shooting at me. The click and the screams and the blood were all real. I smelled the stench of dead bodies and the chemicals from the science room in 180. I went to the gym and I saw a little seven year old boy drown in his own SHIT!" Cameron's eyes were bold and he was holding back his emotions. "And then the other kids took over the bus, it was like his posse-his mafia members to destroy the school. He must have planned it because there were over five kids that knew what they were doing with buckles holding bombs and grenades and holding guns and they were going to take over this school no matter who died-including themselves."
"You do know this happened over two years ago and before that a year ago, right? A teenager named Alex Browning escaped off a plane that blew up on take off killing over 200 passengers three and some years ago, a year later a college girl named Kimberly Corman was caught up in a car accident that killed over 20 in the most massive pile-up ever to occur in recent times-one which I was a part of. So you can be sure that this guy will be stopped as well as the followers. Obviously he didn't care about keeping a low profile but the others did."
"Wait what do you mean that this has happened before? Are you telling me accidents happen all the time because I think you just said that," Cameron boldly stated. "And besides my cousin Alex is dead."
"No, I mean that they had visions or premonitions or something that messed with the control center of the brain where there's an outside force letting you in on a secret."
"Yeah well the outside force also lead on Zack to bring the gun to school and shoot us, right? It's just like my parents said about you cops, you could give a shit whether or not who dies as long as you get your paycheck. No one paid attention to Alex's death."
"Wait, are you talking about Alex Browning the Flight 180 survivor who died almost a year after his premonition? He's your cousin?"
"Notice the resemblance? We're half cousins really. That's not the point though."
"Yeah it is the point. Cameron Stevens-I'm Deputy Burke one of the deputies of this area now. I used to work in Albany where I was caught up in a messed up design involving Kimberly and I met Alex' girlfriend Clear."
"They weren't going out and yes I know both are dead, just like my sister and just like my whole family. It's like I was meant to be torn apart," Cameron stifled.
"No but see two years ago we cheated Death-if you will. We threw the balance by testing fate and manipulating it."
"If they're sending me to some institution then you better be going too, you need more help than me. My cousin said the same thing and look where he ended up, dead."
Deputy Burke sighed and pulled out a photo. "This is your sister, right?" Cameron looked at it and stayed frozen in his chair.
"She looks so happy, yeah, why."
"Cecelia Stevens? Your mom's brother married a lady and had an only child, which is Alex. The Browning family, and your mom got married to Devin Stevens?" Deputy Burke softly muttered.
"How the fuck do you know about my family situation," Cameron yelled, jumping up from his seat and grabbing his bag heading out for the door. Burke blocked him.
"Because without hope there is no evil and I've been on both ends of that buddy, so get your ass back in that chair and talk things out," Deputy Burke said with strong authority.
Cameron plopped back down in his chair and stared at him, glared at the deputy.
"Two and a half years ago, about in the summer time, an accident happened and people survived by Kim taking her car and blocking the on-ramp to the highway. The highway had big problems like potholes and over-speeding drivers and unsafe people. All those elements formed together and caused a massive 23-car pile-up. It was the worst thing to ever witness. That same night when everyone went home from the long day a guy named Evan Lewis died that night in his apartment. Maybe it was stress-related for his mistakes, but we do know after that--people who survived kept dying. The girl with the premonition, Kimberly, figured out a way to cheat death by cheating it in reverse like how the order was. She tried to kill herself in a van, thinking the signs were telling her to do that. I rescued her though, and she came back to life. But during those twenty minutes she was declared dead.
She was dead and Death thought she screwed up the design, but with her giving her life up to save me-made the grim reaper think twice about coming after us again. And the only near accidents we've had so far are just normal human errors, it looks like the devil has finally left us alone."
"I feel like I'm listening to some fucked up video game like Doom or something. The grim reaper? Designs? Signs? What the hell is this a night at the Parker Brother's house?" Cameron boasted.
"You know what happened, it's hard to make someone believe until you see who you saved are either better off dead in the school or better to live their life if you can dedicate yourself to helping them," Deputy Burke insisted.
"Wait you said she tried to commit suicide so that way she could be brought back to life and save both of you? Suicide eh?"
"New life defeats death is what the mortician told us, this towering black guy who works downtown in the city morgue, he collects all the dead bodies apparently and keeps it to himself."
"So I guess I better go down there and see all 20, 000 students DEAD in his little laboratory!?" Cameron walked off again but this time looked Deputy Burke in the eye. "So where is she? Other than you that Kim chick is the only one who had to deal with this, and she's the one who saw the premonitions right? Where is she? A mental institution?"
"Actually-no, she's in Daytona, Florida. That was her original final destination," Deputy Burke calmly replied.
"Well I guess I'm going to Daytona then, if my final destination was a school trip and my fucking poem award than I guess I'll have nothing better to do." He grabbed his jacket and walked off.
***
Officially the school was closed and with three days left until Winter Break, the School Board let them off early to recover and sympathize, of what was left of the school anyway. A memorial was established and there was lots of paper work and files to look over before placing a judgment, but Zack was pulled into a help center. Cameron stayed at home during the memorial and knew after the New Year would begin, his life would be put smacked down in a new school. He sat on his bed in his room flipping channels until he saw a report on the memorial. He watched his remaining teachers and Principal Wilson have their head down in respect.
His TV started getting a little fuzzy, it was the one in his room, which was pretty damn shitty. He flipped the channel up and some winter movie was on, they were showing icicles. He tried to get back to the memorial in frustration, but instead the two channels blended together, showing an icicle on top and a giant tombstone memorial on the bottom. The way it was angled, it kind of looked like the icicle was moving up and down in a violent motion towards the rock. He slammed his hand on the TV and instead showed PBS and some dancing happy Teletubbies.
Outside snowflakes were falling down. Cameron glanced over and noticed that they were swaying out his bedroom window. Those were the first snowflakes ever in Mt. Abraham this year and for living in New York, that's kind of rare. December fourteenth was the date and try imagining having no snow until then.
Curious of how this year's snow would be and if the affect would make his sadness go away, Cameron grabbed a windbreaker jacket and headed outside from his apartment building door, living on the first floor. He walked out and looked at the snow, which was already massively pouring down. In fact it was downright fucking cold enough to wear two pairs of socks, thick boots, three shirts, long johns, pants, a coat, a scarf and a beanie. He didn't care right now though; he was wearing shorts and the windbreaker.
He stepped outside and noticed a formation of an icicle. They were melted frozen into the balcony of the neighbors above him. On the edge, he jumped up to grab one being a not so tall guy-and he had one in his hand. On his way down his foot made contact with a small puddle of ice, which yanked him down backwards. He gasped on the ground, his head having just a little injury. Through the whole time he took a breath, no fog would exit out of his mouth. On the ground he took a breath and a smooth icy cloud of fog escaped from his mouth, and the icicles were loosening from where he grabbed them. In fact about twenty of them small and large toppled down on him with the base being sharp and pointy. He turned and some icicles cracked beside him being week, while the larger ones landed inside a groove between the cement. That could've hit him, but the pain would be acute. He walked back inside and his breath wasn't as cold as it was while he threw down his jacket and went back to watch television.
As he plopped down into bed his eyes grew wide for a short second, Cameron realized he felt something outside that he hadn't felt before. Sure, maybe it was winter, but it was a darker more chilling sense on the skin. Memories-flash back to a few minutes ago with the busted TV. He looked and saw the icicles and the building the icicles looking as if it were about to jab something. Was that…a divination? A sign? A clue? Is this really happening again like the last two times?