Chapter 36
Lucas was unconscious, he had been taken by surprise, but it wouldn't be long until he woke up.
"Are you ok? What did he do to you?"
"Nothing, I'm fine."
Damien leaned closer towards me; I could see the tears at the corners of his eyes, the red of his nose, just how upset he was. "Jesus Christ Phillip! You're bleeding. Shit! We've gotta leave now!"
"What about him?"
Damien shook his head, "I'll get the gun, meet up with Kenny at the cafeteria, he's hiding with Karen there. Those other two... they're looking around here, but they're elsewhere."
"R-right," I stuttered as I moved out of the room and into the hall, a few minutes and I was at the Cafeteria, Kenneth was nowhere in sight, I dared not to call out.
It was desolate; the tables had been moved so that they were at the side of the room, leaning against the side windows that made up near to all of the walls. To save space the janitor and dinner ladies flipped the tables on top of each other, making the room just that more open.
"Pip?" Kenneth's questioning voice echoed, around and around, as if I were in a great cave system and not a simple cafeteria. "This is the ghost of Kenny speaking, telling you to stop being such a fag and get the fuck over here!" I took a long look around me until I noticed him in the far side of the room, in the north-east corner, having used some of the tables as a place to hide/cover.
He was glaring at me, arms crossed, his face in the same way that told me he was faking something. So I went to join him, and immediately I understood what he was faking, not being horribly scared, Karen lay behind the upturned tables, asleep but with her entire right arm wrapped in bandages.
"Are you ok?" I asked him, even though he wasn't, he really wasn't. I woulden't be surprised if he was near snapping.
"Do you remember when I asked if it was supposed to hurt when I saw Carol?"
I nodded, "Yes."
"That didn't hurt because she was an uncaring piece of shit. Karen though... god! THis hurts! This is what hurts... but!" he grinned and he stared at me wide eyed, the same madness that I saw when he asked me if I had seen him die. "Those fuckers want the fires of hell? We're going to give them the fucking fires!" He laughed then, stumbling backwards and nearly bumping into the wall, he was not only laughing hysterically though, he was crying.
"Wh...what do you mean?"
He stopped laughing and reached into his pocket, bringing out a lighter, "You know the Bunsen burners?"
"Yes."
"Did you know that they're linked to a bunch of fuck off massive tasnks under the school?"
I nodded again, worried at what he was getting at.
"If we just make a nick in the tubes under the desks, one spark will send this place sky fucking high," he whooped in cheer and pointed right, where the sciance block was.
"Jesus Christ Kenneth! That's insane!"
"nothing's insane when it comes to keeping Karen safe, even if this leaves me dead for good, I know you'll find a good place for her. I know you'll keep her safe if I stay dead."
I was already at the end of my strings, and without thinking, I screamed: "KENNETH, LISTEN TO YOURSELF YOU FUCKING NUTCASE, I'M NOT LETTING YOU DIE. BECAUSE YOU. WILL. DIE!"
He was silent for a second and guilt came over him, the tears welled now and he began sobbing, "Pip, man, I have to... I fucking have to because... because if I don't... if I don't they'll kill her. They'll actually fucking kill her! I have to!"
I stood over him and sternly looked down, "You're not killing yourself... if anyone's doing this then it's me..."
He shot up to his feet, "NO!"
I laid a hand on his shoulder, "I said if, I'm not planning on it... but what do I have out for me? You have Karen and Damien doesn't deserve death. Who am I? Really, who am I? That one in the background, that's who I am, I'm unimportant, I can be forgotten. That's brilliant though, because you, you, Kenneth McCormick, you, Karen and Damien, the important ones, can live."
"And you called him the nutcase?"
"Damien!" I exclaimed, turning around to find him only a few steps away.
"You do understand, 'be quiet' don't you? Because I'd think you would have guessed that we need to be."
"Oh shit! Them!" Kenneth whispered.
"They're on the other side of the school luckily, at least they weren't in the English block, but we better go moving. Where to though?"
Kenneth immediately responded, "The science block."
"No!"
He pityingly looked at me, "If it comes to it, it's a better plan then nothing."
"Better plan then nothing?" Damien asked.
"Nothing," Kenneth responded, picking up the pale, sleeping Karen and he began walking away, to try his mad plan. There was nothing I could do to stop it.
