The Super Spies and the High School Bomber (2 page)

“Yeah.”

“The line was busy. The phones are probably out, but that doesn't mean your uncle's hurt.” She said this last part quickly as if she were trying to calm Sarah. Aunt June coughed and cleared her throat. “I know he had a faculty meeting this morning.”

“Yeah,” Sarah replied in a shaky voice.

“I'm going to leave here in just a few minutes. I want you girls to sit tight. Okay?”

Sarah nodded.

“Okay?” Her aunt raised her voice this time.

“Yeah, okay.”

Sarah disconnected the call and looked over at Lacey. Both girls burst into tears. Rushing over to the couch, Sarah sat with her sister. She was careful to avoid the glass. After taking a ragged breath, Sarah put her arm around Lacey and they cried together until Sarah was sure she couldn't have any tears left.

“Okay, okay,” Sarah said, drying her eyes with the sleeve of her T-shirt. She took a couple of deep breaths and glanced up at the ceiling. Her stomach twisted tighter, forming a more painful knot.
Where is Uncle Walt
?

“I'm so scared.” Lacey sniffed and clung to her sister.

“Yeah, me too.” Sarah stood and paced, chewing on her thumbnail.

“What do you think we should do?” Lacey dried her eyes with the back of her hand.

“I think we need to look for Uncle Walt.”

“You mean, go up to the high school?” Lacey looked at Sarah as if she had just jumped on the train to Crazy Town.

“Yes, that's exactly what I mean.”

“Sarah, the cops are going to be all over the place.”

“Big deal.” Sarah brushed her hair out of her eyes with her trembling hand.

“They'll never let us close enough to the school to look for him.”

“So what?”

“So how are you going to look for him if you can't get close to the school?”

“We don't know that we can't. We only know they won't want us to.”

Lacey gave Sarah a perplexed look. “I don't get it.”

Sarah sighed. “We only know that they probably won't let us. That doesn't mean we can't get in.”

Lacey gasped. “You're going to sneak in?”

“That's right.”

“But—”

Before Lacey finished her protest, there was a knock at the door.

“That's probably Jackie,” Sarah said, glad for the interruption. She raced to the door.

Opening it, Sarah greeted her friend, a tall, skinny girl with curly hair. “Hey, Jack.”

“Can you believe what's happened?” Jackie pushed through the door and past Sarah. Her brown eyes had that wild-eyed look of a horse ready to bolt, and her grim expression contrasted with her dark curls that danced with her movements.

“No, I can't. We were just talking about going up to the school.”

“I don't think it's a good idea.” Lacey frowned. She had climbed the stairs behind Sarah.

Sarah clenched her teeth. “I just can't sit here and do nothing.”

“We'll get grounded,” Lacey insisted.

“So what? We've been grounded before. We survived. Besides, Uncle Walt's up there!”

Lacey exhaled a long sigh and nodded. “Just let me call Scott and see if he's found out anything.”

“All right, but we're leaving as soon as you get off the phone.”

Lacey's shoulders sagged. “I know, I know.” She left the room to call Scott, one of her closest friends and the final member of the Super Spies
.

For a moment, Sarah reflected back on the first time she had met Scott. The three girls had just formed their own detective squad, the Super Spies, and were investigating the Cat Lady mystery. Lacey had brought Scott down to their secret meeting place at the creek and asked if he could be a member of their squad. Sarah had hesitated. Disappointed, Scott had gone for a swim so the three girls could discuss his membership. While swimming, he had stepped on the weapon used in the Cat Lady murder. She shuddered as she remembered the severe cut on his foot.

Sarah shook her head, needing to clear her thoughts, and faced. Jackie. “Have you heard anything at all?”

Jackie shook her head. “Nothing. Maybe Scott's dad will have some info, being the Chief of Police and everything.”

Sarah clenched her fists. “We've got to get up to the school.”

“No doubt.”

Lacey walked back into the room, frowning. Sarah guessed the conversation with Scott hadn't gone well.

“Anything?” Sarah demanded.

“Nothing.” Lacey shook her head. “The cops have been trying to keep people away from the school ever since it happened. They haven't had a chance to look for anyone yet. The State Police are coming with the bomb squad. That's all he knew.”

“Are they sure it was a bomb?”

“No, but they're not taking any chances.”

“Let's go,” Sarah commanded.

“Sarah.” Lacey pouted.

“I don't want to hear it, Lacey. You can stay home if you want, but we're going.”

Lacey sighed. “What if it was a bomb?”

“What if it was?”

“That means someone set it on purpose.”

“That's right.” Sarah nodded, her mouth set in a grim line. “That's why we need to find Uncle Walt.”

“First Mom and Dad, now Uncle Walt. What is going on?”

Sarah frowned and shook her head. “I don't know.”

The sound of sirens multiplied. More police cruisers were rushing to the high school. A shiver ran down Sarah's spine.

“I'm going crazy just sitting here. We've got to get moving,” she said, her voice cracking with restrained emotion.

Sarah walked out the front door and was shocked to see the air filled with ash and dust. She couldn't see more than three feet in front of her. Coughing, she covered her face with her hands. “We need to put a wet towel over our noses and mouths.” Tears welled in her eyes and she coughed once more. “Let's go back inside and get some.”

Jackie and Lacey covered their faces with their hands. They rushed back into the house to get the towels.

Armed with their makeshift masks, the girls rushed toward the school. They came across people running away from the scene, choking and coughing as they stumbled along the sidewalk. Sarah watched as these victims pushed past her. She stared into their empty, terror-glazed eyes and shivered.

They were covered with ash. Some of them were bleeding and Sarah guessed they were close to the explosion and had been struck by flying debris. Sarah envisioned a cattle stampede as she watched the people run without a destination in mind. Worry for her uncle consumed her.
Where is he
?

As the girls traveled toward the school, the atmosphere grew hotter. Even with the mask the air seared Sarah's nostrils when she breathed in. She gulped air through her mouth and the heat dried her throat, but at least she could swallow—that eased the parched feeling.

The girls finally reached the school, sweaty and out of breath. Sarah's shoulders slumped when she witnessed the devastation, and a sob rose in her throat.

The explosion had ripped the two-story structure in half. The north side still stood and seemed untouched, but the south side had crumbled. Smoke and ash hung in the air around the wreckage.

“What side of the school did your uncle work in?” Jackie whispered.

Sarah shook her head. “I don't know. The real question is where was the faculty meeting this morning?”

She stared at the north side of the institution. Even though that side of the building was erect, it had been weakened by the blast. Mesmerized by the gaping hole where the blast had done the most damage, she wanted to scream but didn't dare. A shudder ran through her body as she took in the steel girders sticking out of the broken concrete. They looked like deformed fingers reaching for the sky.
How could anyone survive this
?

Trembling, Sarah looked past the people, and searched the rubble for a sign of her uncle. The irrational hope that he would magically appear and they could all go home filled her heart. The blaring horns of the fire trucks made her jump and drew her attention to the debris where the fire raged.

The fire trucks pulled up to the wreckage and joined a group of firefighters that were already there, fending off the blaze. The second wave of firemen scrambled from their trucks, connecting hoses to fire hydrants, while others got the truck ladders into position. Within minutes, water burst from the hoses onto the blazing ruins.

Policemen ran and shouted commands. To Sarah, it seemed like they were attempting to control the mass confusion. People stumbled from the rubble, some of them injured and bleeding, wearing the blank expressions of survivors surprised they were still alive.

Across the street, a makeshift hospital had been assembled. Emergency personnel placed cots underneath the tent for the injured. Next to the tent sat three ambulances. When Sarah spied them, a tremor ran through her body. Fear squeezed her heart and she took several deep breaths to ease the pressure. As they moved through the crowd, Sarah scanned the faces of students and faculty trickling from the school. Shouts and hysterical cries filled the air.

“I don't see him,” she said, her voice choked with emotion.

“I don't either.” Lacey gulped.

The girls came to an abrupt halt. A construction sawhorse blocked the road. Police officers stood in front of it and kept people from passing.

“Looks like this is as far as we go.” Sarah grimaced.

“Yep.” Jackie nodded as she looked around her.

Sarah continued to scan the crowd for her uncle.

“Hey,” someone shouted from behind.

Turning, Sarah's spirits soared.
Uncle Walt
! She found Scott, standing behind her and her hope smashed to the ground. A sob escaped her lips and she turned away, determined to control her emotions.

“Hey,” Lacey said.

“I figured you guys would be down here.”

Sarah faced Scott and nodded. “Yeah, we're worried about my uncle.”

“Yeah.” The fourth Super Spy scuffed his shoe on the tarmac. “The police are trying to get everyone out of the building right now. They brought in the Staties—”

Scott's statement was lost when another explosion ripped through the air. The blast pushed the teens back, as clouds of black smoke billowed toward the sky. Sarah's world tilted as she fell to the ground. Landing with a thud, she turned her head looking for her companions. Sprawled next to her were Lacey and Jackie. Ash and debris descended on them, covering them like powder.

Sarah's throat constricted. Coughing, she tried to ease the tightness. “I don't believe it.” She pulled her mask off her face and wiped her eyes. They were stinging from the polluted air.

Looking over at Lacey, Sarah cringed as her sister coughed spastically into her mask. Tears ran down Lacey's cheeks and her long blonde hair had turned white from the ash. Her little sister looked like she'd aged thirty years.

“Everyone, back!” a police officer screamed through a megaphone.

The Super Spies helped each other up before stumbling away from the barricade. Sarah barely heard the officer—her ears were ringing from the blast. She checked them for blood. When she didn't find any, a wave of relief flooded her body.

“Holy crap!” She shook her head.

“What are we going to do?” Lacey spat out, in between coughing fits.

“Hey, you guys, follow me,” Scott sputtered as he gestured with his hand.

Lacey and Jackie threw their makeshift masks on the ground, useless against the thick black smoke.

“Where are we going?” Sarah asked.

“I know a back way to the school.”

“I'm scared,” Lacey whined.

“Trust me.” Scott put his arm around her and gave her a quick squeeze.

He motioned again for the girls to follow him. They took off down the road that led away from the school.

“Where are you going?” Sarah grumbled as she fought to keep her irritation from showing.

“Just follow me, you'll see.”

They jogged away from the scene and then turned the corner and proceeded up a huge hill.

The hill turned out to be Broadway Street and it led them out of the small town of Harrisburg and into the country. It wasn't long before they encountered rolling hills of long grass and wild wheat.

After a half-mile they stopped where Broadway intersected a dirt road. Scott rounded the corner and proceeded down the road. His hair was damp from the jog, and his face streaked where sweat had run through the filth. The Super Spies looked like they had painted their faces for some strange tribal dance from the mixture of moisture, dirt, and ash.

Trees grew along the edge of the road, providing shade from the blazing sun. Scott stopped, breathing hard, and peered into the woods.

“What are you looking for?” Sarah gasped.

“There used to be a path around here, somewhere.” Scott walked into the woods for a short distance.

“Do you see it?” Sarah asked.

“Nope, we'll have to make our own.” He picked up a small branch, the size of a walking stick and forged his way deeper into the forest.

The girls followed him. Sarah was grateful for the shade—it was a nice reprieve from the hot sun. After traipsing for several minutes, they came upon a field. Scott pointed to the smoke in the distance.

“Let's hurry,” Sarah urged.

Scott picked up the pace and led them through a field of dry grass and wheat. The sun had leached all of the color from the meadow long ago, and the grass had faded to a lifeless beige. This patch grew at the top of a hill behind the school. When they reached the crest, the teenagers stopped and stared down at the debris that had once been the high school.

“Look at that,” Sarah muttered

“I can't believe it,” Jackie said.

“The only thing that could cause this much damage is a bomb,” Scott said.

Lacey whimpered and twisted the hem of her shirt in her fingers. “Where is Uncle Walt?”