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Evolution: Change in Times - Chapter 5 - High School part 1
By Hero(Raptormark
“Man’s worst fear should be that which he has no understanding of.”
The warning bell signaled the beginning of a long, tiresome day of the first day of school. Students from grades seven through twelve fluttered throughout the halls, rushing to get to their first period class. There was a fairly noticeable difference in the number of students that had attended school that day from the number last year. The hallways, usually cluttered with people, now were easily maneuverable. With the slew of attacks growing each day, parents refused to allow their child out of the house. Those, though, were the same parents that kept their children home a week for the slightest bit of a cold.
A second bell rang, signifying the start of first period. First period math was always a bore. Mark sat there, his eyes rolled back in his head from a lack of sleep, waiting to see what idiocy or ingenious would be joining him in this class. As he had figured, the stereotypical drug addict, along with a few jocks, the usual preps and one or two of Mark’s personal friends entered the classroom. It started to become sickening when Mark could figure out the layout of his classes before they even began. The druggy would sit in the back left corner, his feet propped up by the seat of the person in front of him. The unfortunate bastard next to him would be a prep, and to the right of the prep, the usual large chested, no brained bimbo, of whom I will need not grow to dislike. Each day would be like this, or at least it should be like this. Yet with the events outside, everything could change. Mark woke from his angered, yet tired, daze when the hand of Christopher Richards smacked him on the shoulder.
“Summer went a little quick this year.” Chris stated, taking his all ready planned seat next to Mark.
“Never a dull moment in it.” Mark mumbled.
“Yea. I guess with all that bullshit going on, it would go quick.”
Mark paused, squinting his eyes as if thinking, then spoke again. “Do you request that you have classes with me?”
Chris raised an eyebrow and looked around the classroom as if the answer were floating in it somewhere. “What?”
Shaking his head, Mark shrugged. “Nothing.”
“Christ… this business with dinosaurs and all must be really getting to you. You look like you’ve had about four hours of sleep in the past month.”
Mark ignored his last statement. It had been exactly a week since he had spoken to anyone about the incidents occurring daily. Frankly, he was tired of hearing everyone’s theories, including his own. He just wished it would all stop.
The last person to enter the classroom was the teacher. Mr. Hallsmen, his name was. Judging by the facial expression he had on all ready, he was not the type of teacher to know the difference between a joke and a real statement. He turned his back to the class, fiddling with something on the edge of the chalkboard. His hand rose up to the highest point he could reach on the board, and he began to write. The sounds of notebooks opening and pages being ruffled followed. The words that ended up being written on the chalkboard were far from a math subject.
Mr. Hallsmen turned to the class, the most serious of looks on his face, and spoke. “Close your notebooks. Writing this won’t be needed.” A sigh escaped his lips, and he went on with his lecture. “I’m near positive that you have all heard of the events over the summer. Well, I am curious to hear all of your opinions on the matter, so raise your hand and share what you wish to say.”
Mark’s head rose, his eyes finally reading the words placed upon the chalkboard. He whispered to himself what he was reading. “Evolution: truth or fiction.” His eyebrow rose. You’ve got to be kidding me. Can you even say that in school? He shrugged and looked around the room, counting a total of four hands in the air. This should be fun.
Hallsmen pointed to one student, his name was Jack Leave. Nobody knew entirely how to pronounce his name. There was an accent or something in the middle of it.
Jack spoke, but as softly as he could. “I think that the lab in Brookhaven released some sort of toxic chemical, which the birds got a hold of, and that’s what caused them to mutate.”
There were several simultaneous agreements in the room, one of them being Chris. Mark turned his head to his friend, a look of surprise in it.
“It’s liable.” He replied, knowing Mark’s question before he even asked it.
“Yea… for a B-movie.” Mark snorted.
“Gentlemen, do you have something to add to Mr. Leave’s idea.”
Crap… “Um, no sir.” Mark spoke softly. He hated having his side conversations heard.
“C’mon Mr. Laurence. I’ve heard some of your theories, why don’t you share them here?” Hallsmen taunted. He really was not a fun guy.
“Okay… To start off, Jack’s statement is utter stupidity; something a four year old would come up with.” He knew this was a bad idea, but he couldn’t resist. Before Mr. Hallsmen or Jack could respond, he continued. “If it were toxic chemical waste, then why hasn’t anything else mutated along with the birds? Are they immune?” Something clicked inside of Mark’s head. He was pissed. “And I’m a bit disappointed, Mr. Hallsmen, that someone as educated as you would fall for such an inane theory. If you ask me, sir…”
“That kind of disrespect is not appreciated in my classes. Please make your way down to the main office!” Hallsmen snapped, pointing directly towards the door as if showing Mark the direction of his life.
“For what, speaking my mind?”
“For talking back to a superior in a rude and unacceptable manner.”
Mark stood. What a wonderful first day of school. As he made his way towards the door, he turned to the class. “You all know what is truly happening. Don’t let some fucked up theory about toxic waste change that.” He left, slamming the door behind him. Standing to the side of the door where he couldn’t be seen, he listened in for a moment. It was silent, completely silent. Toxic waste… that’s funny. As he made his way down the hall, he turned his head left and right to catch quick glimpses of other classrooms. Every topic being taught was the same one he had just been kicked out of class over. Even the damn school system is changed. Just as he reached the stairs, which would lead him directly next to the main office, the P.A. speaker crackled and beeped once. The voice of his principal came over it, breaking up slightly at first, and then coming in clear.
“Would all teachers please gather your students into one corner and follow lockdown procedures… this is not a lockdown drill. The school is currently under lockdown.” His voice quivered and shook as he spoke.
Mark’s ears perked up. Lockdown? I’ve got to see what this is about. Mark heard a door open behind him, and the voice of a sweet old teacher following. She spoke to him in a soft and polite manner.
“Excuse me son. You need to be in the closest classroom right now. Please come in here.”
His head turned slowly, catching the teacher out of the corner of his eye. He sighed and spoke. “I’m sorry.” Without another word, he started down the stairs. He moved fast, yet carefully. He knew what this was over, and he wanted to see it. Behind him he could hear the teacher calling to the main office over the intercom. This is worth an expelling from school. He jumped over the last two steps of the stairs, moving as quickly as he could past the main office and to the main entrance doors. He pressed himself directly against the first set of glass doors, growing disappointed when he found that they were locked. His best view would have been from the set of doors that would lead him outside, but since he couldn’t get to them, his best view was from where he was. He peered outside, gasping when he saw what the lockdown was over.
Directly outside the school, a herd of velociraptors stalked the parking lot. The group of them, being ten all together, looked as if they knew the one thing their appetites craved was near by. The rounded snouts of each dinosaur sniffed at the ground, their tails pointing diagonal towards the sky. The dinosaurs moved slowly, their snouts dragging gently along the ground as they followed the scent of their prey.
Finally, one of them caught on. Its head snapped up, the beast’s snout aiming directly towards the school. The yellow, shifty eyes stared directly into the main entrance of the school, falling directly upon the prey that watched them. A snarl rumbled in the small throat of the raptor, its lips curling as the sound echoed in the air. The other members of the herd responded by snapping their heads up towards the building and emitting a series of high pitched howls. Slowly, the raptors made their way to the school, moving like a crane would.
Mark stood there, feeling a bit foolish for letting himself be seen. He started to back up from the door, and ended up falling into the tight grips of the school’s principal.
“You are in direct violation of the school’s lockdown codes. Do you have any idea what the punishment is?” Principal Walling’s voice echoed within Mark’s mind. He hated the old bastard.
“An expelling from school, sir?” Mark answered, making it seem like he was just an innocent.
“Get into my office!” Mark coiled back. He was not expecting Walling to yell, especially as loud as he did.
Mark nodded his head toward the main door. “They know we’re in here.”
“They can’t get in. We're completely locked up. Quit stalling and get into my office now.”
Mark sighed and did as he was told, making his way down the small strip of hall until he reached the door with an engraved gold plate upon the face of it. He stared at the gold plate for a moment, shaking his head. Is the gold really necessary? He pushed open the door, taking a seat in the first chair he came across and waited patiently for Walling to come in and deliver his punishment.
The herd of velociraptors stalked along the outer walls of the school searching for their way inside. The lead of the herd was much different from the others. Not only being larger in size, the small row of feathers that ran from the top of the other raptor’s snouts to their necks was missing. As it led the rest of the herd around the school it checked for ways inside, pressing it’s snout against anything that gave a clear view inside. Half of the school had all ready been sauntered before a multi-colored window had been reached. The lead raptor knocked its head against it, causing the window to push open slightly. The raptor let out a small chirp and pressed against the window again, pushing it open more.
The other raptors cawed loudly, watching as their lead stuck its snout inside first and then pushing it up by placing its forearms against the window sill. With several small jumps, the raptor leapt inside of the building. Once inside, it howled once, following the howl with a low pitched growl. Several responses echoed from outside, and soon the raptor herd was making their way inside one by one.
7/26/2002 10:44:37 AM
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