Thanks to "Spinelli Woods, Esquire", "Shadw", "lilvickiryan", and "goofy monkey child" for all of the reviews! I'm glad all of you are enjoying the story.
Chapter Twenty Two: You Never Know How Far Kindness Can Go For Someone
Location: At Fort Tender, a little after 8 PM Monday
Not knowing Stacey's danger, the gang was at Fort Tender trying to gather up their toys and other possessions since the cold and previous snowfall had forced them to stay inside most of the time because of their parents' worry. The gang had just snuck out of their homes and began surveying their things.
Spinelli somewhat annoyed being outside in the cold, "Teej, why did you have to drag us out, right now?"
T.J. ignored Spinelli, and pressured them saying, "Guys, we gotta get our things and take them back home! Quick!"
Gus, worried about T.J.'s plan, said, "Teej, a...um...are you sure our parents won't know?"
T.J. assured Gus, "Don't worry Gus, our parents won't be back at our homes until 11!" The gang's parents had all attended several different holiday parties around the neighborhood and downtown.
Gus asked, "What about our baby-sitters?"
T.J. slyly responded, "That's what the pillows and tape players were for! They'll think that we're fast asleep!"
Vince interrupted, "Hey guys, how are we gonna take all these things back to our homes with them noticing?"
T.J. explained, "Vince, Vince, Vince....don't worry! We'll store them all in my tree house, and when you guys come over to my house, next time, like around....the next day....you guys, can take them! Guys, don't worry, really... I thought of everything!"
Gretchen added, "Precisely! I was a bit hesitant to agree with T.J.'s plan but once I heard the details, I knew it would be effective and inconsequential!"
The gang was gathering all of their possessions and toys inside Fort Tender into a large plastic shopping bag for a few minutes, when Mikey stumbled upon something interesting. Mikey softly exclaimed, "Guys! Look what I found! Who knew that a cherished Mr. Monk Monk is here?!?" Mikey held it out in his hand as if he was offering the Mr. Monk Monk.
T.J. and Spinelli both quickly turned their heads, each thinking it was theirs and before they could have a chance to see it, both of them shouted, "That's mine!!"
T.J. and Spinelli looked at each other in surprise that they both had a Mr. Monk Monk and they both questioned each other at the same time, "YOUR MR. MONK MONK?!?"
Vince teased them, "You guys still have a Mr. Monk Monk?!?"
Spinelli and T.J. both looked around the fort in embarrassment but Spinelli snapped back at Vince, "Hey! You got some stuffed toys also!"
Vince explained while trying to end his laughter, "Yeah, but my parents keep them for some memories and junk. You two acted as if you lost it or something. Don't tell me you guys still sleep with that thing...do you? I mean you're 10 years old!"
Spinelli barked, trying to avoid the issue, "NO!! Now what else do we have to get?" T.J. just remained silent and blushed in embarrassment.
Mikey tried to comfort Spinelli, "Spinelli, we won't tease you if you do...in fact, sometimes we all need a little warmth and comfort before we drift off into our comfy, warm world of our dreams."
Spinelli waved her fist, threatening, "Mikey, you're on REAL thin ice! Ya know that?!?"
Mikey remembered the night of the snow storm and dreamily sighed, "It was so beautiful...seeing you and T.J.'s backs together....sleeping so peacefully. There was a harmonious serenity between you two that my eyes had never beheld...the cold blistering night outside, but the warmth inside---" T.J. and Spinelli were nervous and stood stiff hearing what Mikey was saying since they didn't think anyone else saw them that night. For the past few days, they each thought about trying to forget and ignore what happened that infamous night.
T.J. saw Spinelli, and knew he had to changed the topic, and cut off Mikey, "OKAY, Mikeo.....um, let's finish this up!"
Vince became interested and asked, "Wait....what happened that night?" T.J. and Spinelli were looking around Fort Tender trying to think of something as the rest of the gang looked deeper into them expecting an answer.
Gus cut off the anticipation, and shouted, "GUYS! LOOK! There's somebody or something hanging from the roof!" Gus had been playing with his binoculars (used to spot Lawson's gang whenever they would try to take over it) and just so happened to look through them toward Third Street. He couldn't get a clear view since the darkness of the night made it difficult to identify who or what was on the roof.
The rest of the gang immediately faced Gus, and looked in his direction while Spinelli and T.J. looked at each other and sighed in relief. They all went up to Gus and looked through the fort window, squinting to see what it was.
Gretchen cried out, "Egad! There is somebody hanging from the roof!" She could make out that based on the movement and size of the object that was moving; she determined that it was an actual person hanging from the roof. They all rushed out of Fort Tender and soon ran toward the school to help whoever it was that was hanging on the roof.
T.J. shouted to the gang, while sprinting, "Guys, we gotta hurry! Who knows how much time that person has left!" The oppressive wind blew against them, trying to stop them, as the coldness was pressed against their faces took their breath away. The beating of their hearts, their footsteps that cracked the ice-glazed sidewalks, and their panting filled their minds as the only sounds they heard as they were determined to save the person on the roof.
Meanwhile, Stacey's arms were quivering and straining to hold on as she became more and more energy deprived. The sensations of the cold seemed like her skull was a frozen ice block and her spirit was plunging like the temperature. She looked up at the crystal clear starry sky, closing her eyes and praying...for something miraculous as heavyhearted as her soul was. Before she could focus on it, she heard a voice shout down below from her and she looked down, stunned that someone showed up.
It was the gang and T.J. shouted, "STACEY! STACEY! HOLD ON! We'll save ya! Just don't let go!" T.J. instantly took charge of the situation and commanded, "Gus! Go to someone's house and ask for help! Mikey, you stay here just below Stacey in case she can't hold on so you can catch her. Remember how you saved Cornchip Girl after eating those 'chips'? The rest of you, follow me! We'll try to pull her up!"
T.J., Vince, Spinelli, and Gretchen ran up the stairs and tried to budge the outdoor playground doors but it was useless since they were locked. T.J. panicked, "What do we do? Maybe we should break a window..."
Spinelli calmed T.J. and ran over to the lock saying, "Teej, I got it! See...no problem!" Spinelli managed to unlock the doors by taking a bent paper clip and forcing the lock open. They all soon quickly rushed inside Third Street attempting to find their way in a dark, unfamiliar maze of hallways and stairways.
Back outside, Mikey called out to Stacey, "Stacey you must hold on! Don't give up!"
Stacey whined, as the torment and struggle shook her entire body, "I don't know Mikey....ugh, it's too hard..."
Mikey pleaded, "You must Stacey! You just gotta!"
Stacey just closed her eyes trying to ignore the increasing pain that radiated all over. Her arms were becoming weak as she lost strength and suddenly her right arm flinged off from indescribable exhaustion.
Mikey shouted, with all of energy despite having a sore throat, "HOLD ON STACEY! OH, PLEASE STACEY HOLD ON!"
Her left arm, the only thing that made her from falling, was now uncontrollably shaking as the weight of her body was now depended on just one arm that amplified her agony. Her left hand had now bonded onto sheet metal of the gutter as if her hand was frozen onto it. Mikey just looked up engrossed on Stacey's perilous situation; he also obsessed on making sure he was at the right place to catch her if she couldn't make it.
The four of the gang (T.J., Spinelli, Vince, and Gretchen) had finally reached the roof on top of the cafeteria and made their way toward Stacey. Before T.J. could think of a plan, Spinelli just rushed into helping Stacey. Spinelli carefully climbed on the gutters and went to Stacey.
T.J. cried out, "SPIN! WHAT ARE YOU DOIN'?!? IT CAN'T SUPPORT YOUR WEIGHT!" Spinelli wasn't paying attention to T.J. as her mind focused in on helping Stacey and continued balancing herself on the gutters.
Stacey looked up and gasped, "Spinelli!?! What are you doing here? But I thought after I yelled, you wouldn't like..."
Spinelli harshly cut off Stacey saying, "STACE! Now ain't the time! Give me your hand!"
Stacey tried to warn Spinelli that it was dangerous because of the increasing weight on the gutters and the slippery icy roof. Stacey, in a shaky voice, said, "But Spinelli...."
Spinelli shouted and demanded, "JUST GIVE ME YOUR HAND!"
Stacey struggled to give Spinelli her ice frozen hand and Spinelli grasped it tightly despite the rushing heat loss that ran out of her hands. Spinelli yanked Stacey up and yelled, "NOW PULL YOURSELF UP STACE!"
Stacey grunted and although her body already gave up, her spirit infused her with the energy to pull herself up. An energy that seemed to come from deep inside her heart that the coldness and exhaustion could not penetrate. In the middle of her struggle, Stacey glanced up and stared at the sky for a second or two and she was rejuvenated. She boldly climbed her way up and met up with Spinelli on her side. Stacey tried to absorb what had just happened, not on her perilous situation, but that Spinelli saved her life because no peer she knew would sacrifice themselves for her. Her mind was frozen seeing how kind and determined Spinelli was to ensure her safety. She softly said, dumbfounded, "Thanks Spinelli...."
They slowly and carefully crawled their ways back to the roof of the cafeteria but they heard the gutters behind them moan, as the nails supporting them, gave way to their weight. In an instant, the end of the gutter, behind them, snapped and fell. Spinelli and Stacey both screamed as Spinelli lunged toward edge of the cafeteria roof while Stacey clasped onto Spinelli's legs, and shut her eyes tightly.
T.J., Vince, Gretchen, and Mikey shouted in fear, "SPINELLI! STACEY!" Spinelli held onto the bitter cold stony edge of the roof tightly while Stacey just grasped onto Spinelli's legs trying ever so hard not to let go.
Mikey adjusted his position down below while the three above on the roof darted toward Spinelli. T.J. took Spinelli's right hand and Vince took Spinelli's left while they tried to pull Spinelli up. T.J. hurriedly told Vince, "At 3 we'll lift them up, in 1....2....3!" They grunted and strained to lift Spinelli and Stacey up and finally they did. T.J., Vince, Spinelli, and Stacey all collapsed on the top of the cafeteria roof as they recuperated from their exhaustive ordeal. Gretchen carefully inspected Stacey's condition since she was exposed to the cold environment for so long.
In a few minutes, they heard Gus call them from below, "Guys! I got the firefighters and an ambulance! They're here to help you out Stace!" Gus ran back toward the street where the emergency workers were getting ready to bring the kids down.
Stacey was huddled with her knees pressed against her chest to keep warm. There was a silence in the air with only their panting and the winds making noise; she looked around and deeply looked into the faces of the gang. Stacey didn't say a word. She couldn't comprehend how the gang had saved her because back in Detroit, no one would sacrifice themselves for her or go that far for her. It was something completely foreign to her and her emotions. She stuttered trying to say the words, because what she had just experienced had shattered all of her conceptions on what friendship was, "Thanks guys....for everything. Not only for saving my life, but saving my hope... it may not make sense.... but really, I can't thank you guys enough." She said that looking deeply into all of T.J.'s, Gretchen's, Spinelli's, and Vince's eyes with a heartfelt look of spiritual appreciation. The four looked at her curiously on why she felt so moved because they could feel that they not only saved her life but something she had inwardly given up on. Before they could say a word about why she was moved, the emergency workers came through the door and rescued the five of them. As the emergency workers took Stacey and the gang, the gang stared back at Stacey as if she was a lost kid that had been found somehow. Little did the gang know, nor could they know that they had saved her in more ways than one...
To Be Continued…