Part 09: First Climax

ACT 1: CLIMAX

Christian’s Perspective:

“So… Now what?” Margaret asked, as she flipped through the notes she had scribbled down from Wilbert. “Where do we head next?”

“We are going to Horizon Primary School.” Christian said, starting up the engine and taking off. “I just had a call from Rahul like 10 minutes ago.”

“What is their situation there?” Margaret asked.

“Never asked.” Christian said. “But if he could call me, then he should be fine.”

“Right… how great of a friend you are.” Margaret said, slouching back while sipping on some juice she had in her purse. “From what I read, Li Peng went to this school, right? If they knew where he went, then he wouldn’t be missing anymore.”

“I know.” Christian groaned. “But I am sure there is something that was missed out there. I just have to take a look at it myself…” Christian looked at his GPS and found that the path was blocked off by Dozers.

“Tch, I have to take a long detour.” Christian said. “But Rahul called me for something else… saying that Neva’s sister is in danger or something.”

“Neva’s sister?” Margaret said. “That is a coincidence… what happened exactly?”

“Something about her taking Neva’s weapon charger to school.” Christian said. “Sounds like there might be a crisis on our hands.”

The two drove backwards, avoiding the path of Dozers and took a longer route to the school.

Meadow’s Perspective:

“Vice-President of the Student Council, pass me the books on the left shelf. I can’t reach it!” Meadow grumbled, as she called her friend for help. Meadow was the president of the Student Council, a Primary 5 student, who is currently in the Student Council room with three of her other friends, including the Vice-President, Wei Ken. Meadow was also the younger sister of Neva.

“If you can’t reach the books there, then don’t ask me to put it back there again…” Wei Ken said, climbing up a chair to reach for it. He took the books down as she started to write things down.

“The principal wants a consolidation of the school rules that should be added to ensure safety or whatever.” Meadow said, as she pointed to her friends. They were also part of the Student Council as ambassadors.

“Ehh? Us?” One of the girls replied. “I don’t know? Like implementing more recycling bins?”

“Is that even a safety issue?” Wei Ken asked, as the girls looked at him angrily.

Wei Ken was Chen Kwang’s younger son, and was very bright for his age. He was a boy full of promise and scored well for his academics. There was a reason why he was the Vice-President of the Student Council.

“Then do you have any bright ideas?” A gloomy girl who was one of the ambassadors asked.

“Well, the floors in the bathrooms are always wet.” Wei Ken said. “And if we want to talk about the rubbish and littering in school, it can become a health issue and bad for the environment.”

“Your point?” Meadow asked, tapping on her notebook.

“What do you think, Miss President?” Wei Ken asked, sighing as he sat down in front of her. “Don’t you have any ideas?”

“Shush, you! I am thinking…” Meadow said, cracking her head. “Hmmmmmmmmmm. AHHHH! I got nothing!”

“Keep your noise down, the principal will come.” One of the other girls cried. “Mandy, say something.”

“I am not part of this conversation. I am a chair.” Mandy replied, putting her head on the desk. “Olivia, you suggest something other than recycling bins.”

“That was my best idea.” Olivia said, pointing to the gloomy girl in the corner. “Ask Tracy!”

“We can just hire an assistant robot that can clean up all the mess in the school.” Tracy said, not giving a serious answer. “After all, with technology nowadays, it is a piece of cake.”

“You three aren’t helping!” Meadow yelled, scratching her head. “Wei Ken, you can do all the brainstorming.”

“Alright.” Wei Ken said, giving up on any more arguments. “We can just make a rule where all rubbish should be cleared by every class on a monthly basis. Bathroom checks are also done by every class through rotation too. Spring cleaning is held every 6 months, which does not elevate the situation of rubbish.”

“Wow. Great idea. As expected of Wei Ken!” Meadow cried, slapping his back hard. “Alright, time for a break!”

“Are you really the president of the Student Council…?” Wei Ken sighed, as Meadow took out something from a bag.

“Look girls, what I have in my bag!” Meadow said out loud. “This necklace is so beautiful that I had to show it off!”

“Whoa, where did you get that?” Olivia asked, as Meadow snickered in excitement.

“My older sister gave it to me.” Meadow spun up a lie, as the other girls took turns to look at it.

“The gem is really pretty.” Mandy said. “Beautiful like you!”

“That must be expensive… to think your sister can afford this. She must be rich.” Tracy said, as Meadow held her chin out proudly.

“My older sister works in one of the top companies in Singapore. Of course, she is rich!” Meadow said as the other three girls were in awe.

“Which company does your sister work in?” Wei Ken asked as a sweat flowed from her brow.

“Umm… I don't know… but it doesn’t matter!” Meadow grinned. “I love my sister after all. She works hard to take care of me!”

“That’s mad respect!” Olivia clapped her hands as the others followed along.

“That crystal… something isn’t right…” Wei Ken thought to himself. “What is this uneasy feeling?”

“My father always taught me to be cautious about everything… but maybe I am overthinking this…” Wei Ken continued to ponder. “Yeah… it should be fine.”

Meanwhile, supporters of Parc Centros, Louis Loh, Samera and Desmond Bo were patrolling the school as usual since they were put in charge of taking care of Horizon Primary from any Dozer activity. However, it was rare for any Dozers to appear in this school, as they would be taken care of by other proprietors anyways.

Louis took care of the first and second floor, Samera the third and fourth floors, and Desmond the fifth and highest floor.

“What a humid day as usual.” Louis thought. “Would be nice to have a cool drink, or even rest in my bed…”

A sudden loud noise was heard outside the school, near the foyer where the school flags were hung.

“What the hell was that?” Louis was in serious mode, as he peered outside the window. He noticed a horde of wolf Dozers that were coming towards the school, as he called the other two to come down and meet him.

They seemed aggressive, as Louis realized that they were all attracted by something in the school. But he had his doubts, as there were no Hub Crystals installed in the school. The school bell rang and it was the end of recess, as Samera informed the teachers to hide the students inside their classrooms through the telecoms.

The Wolf Dozers barged in through the tall walls that surround the school, as Louis readied his weapon that was charged with electricity. It was like a block with an electric grill on four sides, and a special weapon that was built by Parc Centros themselves.

“Oi oi, what is the meaning of this?” Louis felt the urge to run away, as the incoming wolves were stacking on top of one another like zombies.

In the Student Council room where Meadow was, a bunch of Dozers were stacking up the windows as Wei Ken told the girls to hide under their tables. Meadow tried to hide too, but she realized the Dozers were attracted to the necklace that she was wearing.

Meadow started to realize that this might be her fault, as she dashed out of the classroom in fear. Wei Ken gave chase, as he ran past Desmond who was patrolling the third floor.

“Wei Ken, why is she running away-” Desmond saw the wolves outside the classroom windows, chasing after her.

“Do something… about this.” Wei Ken said, feeling rather exhausted as Desmond gave chase. A few Dozers broke through the windows, as Desmond charged up his weapon. He struck the Dozers that were chasing her, unleashing electricity that blew up a few bulbs.

“I can’t use it in such a tight space.” Desmond thought. “Neon-mode.” His bat started to glow like a lightsaber, as he sliced through the remaining Dozers. Meadow was gone, as he called Louis for help. But he was too preoccupied to respond.

Wei Ken picked himself up and ran to Desmond, as they both climbed down the stairs to the first floor.

“Go back to one of the classrooms, it is dangerous.” Desmond cried, as they reached the ground floor. Louis' right arm was wounded, as there were still a couple of Dozers that remained.

“Electro-swing.” Desmond swung his bat as the electricity shocked the wolf Dozers. They collapsed to the ground, but there were at least a horde of 10 more.

“Where could Meadow go?” Desmond asked, as Wei Ken thought of the most logical place she could go.

“The Police Station is nearby…” Wei Ken said as Desmond sighed from the whole commotion.

“You shouldn’t be involved in a dangerous task.” Desmond said, as the wolves started to gather around them. “But… Meadow is in danger.”

“I’ll go with him.” Samera joined them at the ground floor as he released a shockwave that blasted an opening for them to run out.

“Stay safe. Come back in one piece.” Desmond said, as Louis got up weakly from his spot. “We’ll handle this.”

The two ran off to chase after Meadow, hoping that she would be fine from the wolves.

“What in the world is going on?” Wei Ken thought. “That necklace… I was definitely right… but… to think she would run away… I don’t know if it’s stupidity or bravery…”

“You can explain everything to me later.” Samera assured him. “Let’s find Meadow first.”

“Yeah, right.” Wei Ken said as they continued towards the station. They noticed the claw prints on the concrete that showed the sheer size of that mob.

Following the footprints and signs of lead that scattered across the floor, they were brought to the Punggol Police Station. There was a dark alleyway where scraps of lead could be seen. Wolf Dozers definitely squeezed through here, but a locked door was seen on their right. Samera readied her weapon as they slowly opened it.

There she was, Meadow hiding against a wall as she felt relief seeing two familiar faces.

Meadow hugged Samera, but she soon realized they had entered a strange facility. It was all connected to the Police Station above, but in it, was a bunch of tubes and glowing neon lights. Samera asked about the situation and where Meadow got that necklace from, and she said it was from her sister. Samera realized something was off about this room, as the wolves had given up on finding her. The smell of chemicals might have caused the wolves to pass by her, and she also recognized that necklace as some sort of weapon charger.

They remained in this facility as Samera decided to go up to the Police Station to report on the situation but a large explosion was heard from inside the basement.

Meadow was scared, as Samera went down to see what happened, only to discover many Dozers preserved in glass tubes like a sci-fi movie.

Samera knew they were not allowed in there, and told the kids to head back out. But a gas flowed from the bottom, as the security guards started to run upwards.

“Get out of here now-” Suddenly, a growl was heard at the top of the stairwell, and slowly a ton more trapped them in. The gas beneath was toxic and radioactive, which meant that they were now attracting more of these wolves.

“What are you guys doing down there?” Samera asked as the guards opened up a hatch with gas masks and suits in them.

“Wear them now.” The guards said. “There are kids here! What are they doing here?” They argued among themselves.

“Give it to them, and lead them down to the bottom.” Samera was given the suits, as the guards armed themselves with electric batons. “We’ll stop them from entering. GO NOW!”

They rushed down as the gas filled the chamber. At the lower levels, the gas could not reach them, but many of the guards fainted from the toxicity.

The security guards tried to take down the Dozers, but a few of them scratched the pipes letting out steam. One of them chased after Meadow who still had the necklace with her. She refused to let it go as she and Wei Ken got separated from Samera.

They kept running and bumped into a weird tall looking man wearing a labcoat.

“Ah… the smell of gas just makes me happy.” The tall man exclaimed in awe at the destruction. Wei Ken snatched a long pipe as Meadow hid behind him.

The man smiled and said that they were doing him a huge favor. They realized a large monster was standing menacingly right behind him.

He told them how he released the toxic gas and shattered the glass as the commotion was happening and held a chip next to its heart. He whispered something into it, as the beast awakened and the man laughed saying that the Wolf Tamer will be rejoiced.

This Dozer was powerful, as it went for Meadow with a huge strike of its paw. Wei Ken blocked it with his pole as the man told the beast to calm down and it did.

He decided that he did not want to kill those kids as it wasn’t his objective to harm them. Instead, he took the necklace from Meadow’s pocket and kept it for himself. Meadow was upset, and threw into a fit which Wei Ken held her back for fear of making the man angry and change his mind. He disappeared through a back door, and ran off with the monster.

Wei Ken felt powerless but knew it was the right thing to do. He shouldn’t engage in a fight against someone he couldn’t win. He also could not use his Hibiscus Technique without a long needle.

As the gas slowly cleared off, the two ran towards Samera, who had her weapon ready against the remaining Dozers scattered across the lab. Samera knew she had to protect these kids with all she had.