(Ugh… I have to stop updating this so much… Thanks, Servo; the thought of dodge ball just popped into my mind…)

The Extremely Crappy Days at Ashfield High:

Chappy Seven: Exploding Chickens and Sushi; Part ONE

Joshua sighed and leaned his head against the window of his corresponding door. His mother and Myron were chatting away about something as important as a paint bucket with no paint inside it.

"Y-Yeah, my p-p-parents are b-b-b-both d-d-doctors at 'S-St. J-J-Jerome's'…"

"Really? That's very good; it's not easy to become a doctor… It's a pretty stressful job…"

He fidgeted in his seat and stared out at the passing vehicles and buildings; a slight drizzle had begun to fall from the bleak and cloudy sky.

Mr. Wells began to slowly approach his student, his arms folded. "I've known your father, Joshua, for quite sometime…"

"Oh, really? I never knew that… Were you guys, uh, friends, or something…?"

"I suppose so, in a sense…"

"Okay…"

"Tell me, Joshua, have you ever been to a town called Silent Hill?"

"Silent Hill? Um… never heard of it before…"

"Too bad… It's a nice little town, not too far off from here, actually…"

The exchange he had shared with Mr. Wells the evening before was most definitely strange. The man had seemed tense in those few minutes, but the fact that Henry claimed never knowing Sydney Wells was what truly bothered Joshua.Why would his Mathematics teacher lie? And if it was intentional, what could his motives be?
Suddenly, a question sprang up in his mind. It wasn't really one of that much importance, but it was something he would have never thought of.
"Hey, Mom, have you ever been to a town called Silent Hill?"
Mrs. Townsend was instantly jolted out of her conversation with Myron, her head turning quickly to meet her son's gaze. "Wha… What?"
"Have you ever been to Silent Hill?"
Her previous expression of cheerfulness dissipated as she heard the question. "Why… would you ask that, Josh?"
"I was just curious… Have you?" Mrs. Townsend thought for a moment, her green eyes staring straight ahead. "I went there once… when I was a kid. I remember going to the amusement park and getting a stuffed toy… A, 'Robbie the Rabbit' doll, to be exact…"
"S-Silent H-H-Hill? I w-w-went there before…" Myron stated.
"Yes, it's a nice little town… a little foggy, though…"
The sound of sirens forced all three of them to look up and notice the ambulance speeding by. The music from the radio faded just as the vehicle disappeared behind a building.
"This just in: a mysterious explosion has injured twenty- one people in North Ashfield. No citizens have been killed, but the police are investigating the source of the blast…" spoke the anchorman as Joshua's mother turned the car down another street.
"B-B-Blast? We're in t-t-the n-northern area of A-A-A-A-Ashfield…"
"Hmm… Don't worry about it; we'll be okay."
"Still, Mom, it's a little weird…"

"So, sir, what do you need?" asked the Japanese man behind the sushi bar. He was looking curiously at the hooded, black- robed man standing before the counter. "Look, you little Jap! I just want to know where the chickens are!""So, sir, what do you need?"
"The chickens! Where are they!"
"So, sir, what do you need?"
"Do you understand what I'm saying!"
"So-,"
"Quiet!"
The man removed a small, rectangular device from a pocket of his robe. "Look, I have the power to make this place go sky high, and I need the chickens to complete my plan! I know you have some of those birdies around… so let me have them!"
Now, this was all taking place within an oriental, Japanese restaurant, so almost the entire amount of customers eating inside had ceased that activity and were now staring, either frightened or bewildered, at the strange man and the clerk behind the sushi bar.
However, a man stood, clutching a pair of chopsticks in his left hand. "Hey, you can't just barge in here demand chickens! What type of psycho does that type of thing?"
The robed man turned to look at the man. "Did I tell you to talk back to me! NO! As for the chickens, no one would ever expect chickens, that are just mindlessly wandering around, to blow up! It's a brilliant idea, and if you'd like to contradict it, do so somewhere else, or I'll be forced to blow everyone here up!"
The opposing man quickly sat back down, but the one responsible for the commotion, noticed something outside the window. "I got here too late! Dammit! Okay, everyone stay still! I have to go and see a client…" He made a short, maniacal laugh before darting out the entrance and out to the street.
"Okay, I won't be gone for that long, so you guys could stay in the van or go look around at some of the shops, alright?" confirmed Mrs. Townsend as she looked back into her mode of transportation. Joshua nodded from the passenger seat. "Yeah, I guess we'll look around; that okay, Myron?"
"Y-Yes…"
"There you go, then, Mom."
"Okay, but be careful." And with that, she left and started walking to the somewhat large building looming over the otherwise small parking lot.
"So, Myron, there's an electronics store nearby; you want to go and check it out?" The geeky boy nodded while unhooking his seat belt. "Y-Yeah, l-l-let's go…"
The two teenagers exited the vehicle and began the walk over to the 'Ned Dowry's' a block away.
North Ashfield was usually very active, as a majority of the city's stores, movie theaters, and other facilities were located there. Today, however, was more or less an exception, as it was much quieter than normal. Only a handful of citizens were completing errands or just buying stuff, and some of the shops were even closed for the day.
"That's kind of weird…" Joshua muttered as they neared the electronic store. Suddenly, though, a series of explosions occurred throughout the various buildings surrounding them. Most of the citizens yelled and screamed in panic, running in all directions as concrete, brick, and steel collapsed.
"What the hell!" Joshua exclaimed while running back to his mother's van for protection. They both hopped in, apparently out of pure fear, but the doors closed and suddenly locked by themselves.
"What the hell is this crap?"
"U-Uh oh…"
"I wouldn't try escaping… you little incoherent flies!"
A peculiar figure wearing a black robe with the hood down rose from the floor, sitting down in the driver's seat.
Instead of screaming in terror, Joshua stared at him strangely. "Hey, aren't you that guy that wanted to blow that restaurant up…?"
"Yes, and I knew you'd remember because it was you who foiled my previous plan!" he retorted back. "But… I get my revenge now; that first wave was only an appetizer; the main course is on the way!"
Now that Joshua could look at the man at such close range, he knew he was serious. "Wait, you were behind those explosions? And I have no idea what your talking about; I didn't do anything to get in your way."
"Oh but you did! You distracted me while that stupid Chinese fly called the cops! So, you shall pay the ultimate price!"
"Uh… dude, who are you anyway?"
"Me? Well, I am Zeik, Bombing Extraordinaire!"
"No offense, but that sounds completely made- up…"
"Well it is! And stop changing the subject! Once I get rid of you and your sidekick, I'll commence with my plot! I just have to get everything ready… but I'm missing the chickens…"
"W-W-Wait, w-what exactly is g-g-going on…?"
"Okay, hold on!" Zeik warned. "Both of you will shut up unless I say so, okay!"
Joshua yawned. "Guy obsessed with explosives, calm down! Myron, I'll deal with this, 'kay?"
"All r-right…"
He yawned again before facing Zeik. "Good, now, I'm curious; what exactly do you have planned? I wasn't trying to stop it in any way, so you can't just kill me, or Myron, 'cause he didn't do anything."
"I don't have time to explain something like that to you! It's a very complex scheme!"
"Making things explode is complex?"
"Well, yes!"
"Right…"
"Stop acting like you're the one in charge!" Zeik removed the same remote controller from his cloak. "I can easily detonate the mine under this little van!"
"Wouldn't that mean you go with us too?"
"Well… damn…"
Myron chuckled at this but Zeik only fell back into the seat. "I can't just leave you idiots here… you'll get away…"
"W-W-We're s-stuck h-h-h-h-here, then…?"
"I guess so…" Joshua answered. He glanced at the, seemingly in thought, pale- faced, twenty- one year old man. "At least for now…"

(…sigh… Another crappy chapter alert!)