“What the hell is going on?” Tom asked Lela.
“I don’t know but there’s a lot of commotion out there.”
Their classroom overlooked the army base. The Accounts class came to a halt as the activity outside became manic, beyond any normal training activity. Their teacher was not the most dynamic man. Tom was sure that he read spreadsheets like other people read novels. In any event, with open warfare apparently breaking out just beneath his classroom, he had no idea what to do.
As they continued to watch events unfold, helicopters started to arrive. Tom assumed they came from the naval base seventy five miles to the North West. Ten minutes and ten helicopters later, a naval frigate pulled into the bay just outside the barracks. Whatever was happening was serious.
The students had received emergency procedure training on their second day at school. They had been in the middle of a French lesson when two fully armed soldiers rushed into the class and ushered them out of the building and through a network of tunnels under the school. They continued to usher the students through until they emerged at a dock where a flotilla of naval boats was waiting for them and which they promptly boarded. It was only once all the students were on board that the Headmaster announced that they had taken part in an emergency evacuation exercise and that they should congratulate themselves on completing the drill two minutes faster than the time required by the Health and Safety manuals.
The following day, a similar incident occurred during their Biology lesson. Again, two soldiers rushed into their class but this time, they were dressed in full biological warfare clothing. The soldiers pressed a button and their classroom was instantly sealed. Chemical warfare suits dropped from the ceiling and the soldiers instructed the students to put them on. The room was then unsealed and the students were ushered into an enormous underground chamber which sealed shut when all the students were accounted for. They were then allowed to remove their suits. By that point, a number of students were traumatised and the Headmaster’s confirmation that this was yet another drill did little to calm them down.
Many students reported sick the next day. Mr Sakamoto received hundreds of complaints from parents and he assured them that all future drills would be announced in advance. After fielding the last call of the day, Mr Sakamoto sought out Weadle who claimed that the second drill had been a clerical error. Mr Sakamoto smelt a rat and Weadle was one of the biggest and dirtiest rats he had the displeasure of coming across. He knew, without doubt, that Weadle had set up the second drill but could not prove it.
“Sir?”
“Yes… hmm…Tom,” hesitated the Accounts teacher who had to check the seating plan for Tom’s name.
“Is there another drill today?”
“Nope, definitely not. After last week’s fiasco, I imagine it’ll be at least a year before we have another one of those.”
“So what’s happening out there?”
The teacher looked out at the chaos for the first time.
“I don’t know, but I know who will.”
He picked up the phone and dialled a number and listened. He dropped the phone, “Oh my God.”