CHAPTER 25: WORLD WAR T

It was 12:00 PM when Johnny, Edgar and I met up in Crabblesnitch's office to discuss what happened hours ago. We already let Peanut, Ricky, Omar and Duncan out of the cell since then. I've told them not to cause anymore trouble. I just hope they don't.

"You guys need to get your boys under control", I told them. "If this gets out to either group, then we're going to have a problem in our hands". "But what could we do?" Johnny asks me. "You're their leader. You need to talk to them", I suggested. "Trust me, I tried talking to Peanut after letting him out a while ago and he wouldn't listen to me", Johnny says. "The same with Ricky. They said that I was a Judas. I'm worried that they might take things in their own hands". I turned to Edgar and asked him, "What about you? Can you talk sense into your group?" "Not really", Edgar says. "I haven't exactly been on good terms with my friends since we left the asylum. But I did talk to Omar and Duncan. They claim that Hal was grabbed and dragged into the horde and that they were innocent". "Do you believe them?" I asked him. "I can tell when they are telling the truth and believe me, they were telling the truth", Edgar answers.

"Okay, so you guys can't talk sense into them. So I guess there's only one thing to do: we need to discuss peace negotiations between all members of the group", I suggested. "Sounds like a smart plan. What should we do?" Johnny asks me. I was just about to make a suggestion when Zoe came bursting into the room. "You guys need to get out there", she tells us. "The Greasers and the Townies are fighting one another". "WHAT?" I yelled. "Where is it happening?" I then ask her. "It's pretty much happening in the parking lot", she answers. "Damn it", I said outloud. "Zoe, you monitor the rest of the groups. We're going to stop the fighting", I told her. "Alright. Be careful", she tells me.

I went up to her and kissed her on the lips before the three of us left the office. Once we exited the office, we pretty much ran all the way to the parking lot. Once we got there, we saw the two cliques fighting each other. It was hard to tell if they had any switchblades on them. "We need to get this rumble under control", Johnny says. "What should we do, Jimmy?" Edgar asks me. "You guys try to get them to stop fighting. I'll go back and see what I can find", I told them.

I ran back to the office to look for something that Crabblesnitch might have had in case something like a rumble happened on campus. "What are you looking for?" Zoe then asks me. "I need to find something to help stop the rumble", I told her. "Haven't you checked out the Prefect's Lounge on the third floor yet?" she asks me. "The Prefect's Lounge, of course", I said to myself. I ran out of the office and went to the nearest flight of stairs. Once I climbed up to the third floor, I ran straight to the Prefect's Lounge. I opened the door and found alot of good weaponry in there. Batons, tazers, tear gas, I can't believe that I haven't paid attention to this room since clearing the Main Building. I grabbed three tazers, three batons and just for desperate measures three cans of tear gas. Once I got everything that I needed, I ran out of the room and returned to the parking lot.

Once I got back to the parking lot, I noticed that Johnny and Edgar weren't doing much of a good job at dispersing the crowd. When they spotted me, they got out of the crowd and approached me. "It's no use, we can't get them to stop", Edgar says. "I have some toys for you guys to use", I told him. I then handed them a tazer and baton. "I think I'm going to enjoy these toys", Johnny says in a joyful tone. I took out my tazer and ran up to the crowd. I tazed the first few teens that I could get my hands on, and then started beating some of them with my baton. Johnny, Edgar and I continued to beat and taze everyone until it was down to the last few brawlers. Before I could do anything to the last few fighters, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and it was Zoe with an electric blowhorn. I took the blow horn out of her hands and then pressed the button, making a siren kind of sound. Everyone then covered their ears right before they looked up at me.

I pressed another button on the blowhorn and then spoke through the thing. "ALL GREASERS AND TOWNIES WILL REPORT STRAIGHT TO YOUR ROOMS IMMEDIATELY", I said through the blowhorn. One of the Townies then said, "What if we don't?" I took out a tear gas grenade and threatened the pull the pin. "What do you think?" I told them. It was after that that the two different groups dispersed from the parking lot. "So what now?" Edgar asks as he and Johnny approached me. "We need to set up a meeting, discuss what happened and see if we can resolve it", I told him. "We should set it up around 7 PM, give everyone time to cool down", Johnny says. "Hopefully by then, they'll be reasonable", Edgar says. "You guys go head and rest. I'll handle the rest of the school along with Zoe, Pete, Russell and Clayton", I told them.

After Edgar and Johnny went back to their rooms, I sat down on the ground and thought about how all that I worked for is falling apart. I went through Hell and back just to give all these cliques a safe place to escape the horrors of an untimely death by a walking corpse, and it's quickly falling apart. Being king of the school was one thing, but to have everyone relying on you for their survival is just a whole different ball game. I don't know what to do next if this meeting doesn't work. I'm hoping Clayton or at least someone else in the council knows what to do.

After a while of thinking, I heard a voice coming from outside the gate. "HEY, IS ANYONE GOING TO LET ME IN?" the voice says. Knowing who it was, I went over to the gate opened it. Clayton, covered in blood, came walking into the parking lot with his crossbow still in hand. "What happened to you?" I asked him. He looked at his blood-stained clothes before replying, "Let's just say I got into a HAIRY situation and leave it at that". "Hairy situation?" I asked him. "You would not believe me if I told you anyway", he tells me. "So, what happened here? Why aren't the Greasers patroling the gate like they should?" he then ask me. "We have a situation", I told him. I then explained to him everything that happened while he was out in the woods. "Well, that's just great", Clayton says in a sarcastic tone. "Any ideas?" I asked him. "We just have to go through with the meeting then, hopefully things will be sorted out by then", he suggests. "And if it doesn't?" I asked him. "Then we have a bigger problem in our hands", he replies.

"I'm going to go check up on the other groups and see how they're doing", I told Clayton. "That would be a wise thing to do. They probably heard all the shouting during the brawl. I'll just stay here and guard the gate for any unwelcomed guests", he says. "Oh and while you're at it, take these squirrels and put them in the freezer. I'll get to them when I get the chance". He handed me his bag of squirrels, which I then took the kitchen to store them. Once they were in the freezer, I went to check on the Bullies and the Non-Cliques. For the rest of the day till the meeting, I went to my room and took a nap. I needed it after taking a few blows during that rumble.