Nope, Still Thursday: Is Today Over Yet...?

The sounds of fighting and the smell of smoke assaulted Alex's senses the moment he entered the building.

The next sense to be assaulted was his sight, the lockers all standing bare with their doors thrown and dented on the ground.

Fire blazed in every trash can, the resulting smoke triggering fire alarms, but the sprinklers seemed to be either malfunctioning or turned off.

Alex sadly followed the trail of celebrity reading posters to what remained of his hallway. The library, where he had spent so many lunches and recesses, was now a husk of what it once was with books, computers, and even librarians laying blackened and unrecognizable.

Across from the burned memory was Alex's kindergarten classroom where his teacher had taught him creative writing and had once told him that if he put his mind to something, he could do anything.

"Thankfully that teacher left that same year..." Alex whispered to himself, happy that that teacher wasn't one of the charred corpses in that classroom.

"Hey, you!" a voice snapped Alex back to reality.

"Looks like fried pipsqueak is on the menu!" the short kid, who couldn't have been more than ten, said as he raised his flamethrower and began to release the deadly flame.

"Seriously?!" was what Alex found himself asking in disbelief as he picked up a sharp piece of locker door and threw it, severing the tubes connecting the child's flamethrower to the pack on his back, sending flammable fluid everywhere.

While the child was busy trying to stop it, Alex used the distraction to bridge the gap between them. He grabbed his attacker's head and tripped him into the brick wall where he knocked himself unconscious.

Alex pulled his victim out of the deadly liquid and examined the weapon on his back.

"How did he manage to get this past security...?" Alex muttered to himself in thought before the shadows of four individuals, all armed with flamethrowers, too, danced across the wall.

Thinking fast, Alex ran into the Lost and Found room and locked the door, keeping quiet as he watched the shadows under the crack of the door come to a stop.

With no chance of escaping, Alex began to look at all the lost coloring books, clothes, and toys that were collected over who knew how many years.

He remembered when he began going to the school three seemingly endless years ago. He had a small stack of Yu-gi-oh cards that he lost on the playground.

Poor little Alex had cried for days when his parents refused to replace them.

That's when Alex wondered why he had started to reminisce all of a sudden while the enemy lurked just outside.

"Probably because I'm going to die..." he said to himself with a shrug before making sure his out loud thinking hadn't alerted the firebugs.

"I wonder if my cards are still here..." Alex whispered to himself as he began looking through the several shelves of miscellaneous items. That's where he came across an oversized marionette stage.

"Who could possibly lose this?" Alex whispered to himself once more.

Suddenly the corpse of Vlad popped up as the curtain was drawn upward.

"I know we've had our differences, son, but I love you!" dead Vlad "said".

Ivan was the next corpse to appear, making Alex tremble in horror.

"Dad... That's all I ever wanted!" Ivan "said" before his jaw fell off and plopped on the floor.

Alex muffled his scream of terror before the third person to appear was Sherri. She was covered in blood with her arms wedged inside both bodies, using them like puppets.

"Cool, huh? I'm a little rusty, though," she chuckled with her usual twisted smile looking even more demonic.

Alex, still with his hands clamped over his mouth, watched as Sherri grabbed a glass and filled it with the blood dripping from Ivan's mutilated head.

She then proceeded to drink from that very glass as she continued to play with the lifeless males.

"Alex, I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you, and I hope we can still be friends," Ivan said, despite the missing jaw.

Alex remained silent, unable to even breathe.

"Come on, Alex, Ivan is being the bigger man here! I want you two to shake hands like men and squash this beef... Is that what you kids call it these days?" Sherri said as she dropped Ivan and Vlad to the ground and pulled a measuring tape from one of the shelves.

Alex didn't react as she began measuring his body.

"Stop shaking, would ya?!" she snapped.

"Why are you covered in blood...?" Alex asked in a soft whisper.

"I got you something, Alex... Something cool," she answered, ignoring his question.

Alex is still as she strapped light metal to his torso and limbs.

"This looks like SWAT gear..." Alex blinked blankly.

"Psssh, those guys wish they had this shit. What you're wearing is the most elite in experimental body armor. The odds of anybody outside of a government organization having this is slim to none...but I called in a favor," Sherri explained with confidence as she put the black featureless mask over Alex's face.

"It's a little heavy...and big," Alex mumbled with a much deeper voice.

"You'll grow into it, now hold still!"

"F-For wha--" Alex started to ask before she pulled her gun out and shot him in the head.

"Ow!" Alex immediately said out of surprise more than actual pain as he laid on the ground from the force of the bullet.

"It works!" Sherri exclaimed. "Bishamon will be happy to hear that! If he was to get the prototype back..."

Suddenly, the sound of the door rattling and the impact of the four firebugs slamming against it filled the room.

"Ugh, I can't get up, Sherri!" Alex whined as he tried to struggle off his back.

"Bullshit, that armor is extra lightweight despite being virtually indestructible!" Sherri argued, not seeming to care about the others.

"Well, why can't I move then?!"

Alex's panicked yells made Sherri smile slightly. Hearing such deep, childish cries amused her more than words could explain.

"Maybe the joint movement needs work after all..." Sherri wondered as she pulled the suit off Alex, who happily sprung up.

"Sorry..." he muttered, brushing himself off

"Nevermind, just...here," Sherri sighed and grabbed random items, putting them on him.

Now fitted in a baggy green sweater, bunny slippers, Under Armor style pants with a leopard speedo on the outside, and a koon skin on his head, Alex stared down at himself in utter confusion.

"Um...why?" he blinked up at his evil ninja nanny, not really that surprised at this point.

"The stuff I brought was state of the art. Fireproof and bulletproof, even shitstorm proof! It would easily let you walk out the front door unharmed. This crap will give you some protection...I hope," she reasoned. "Besides, it kinda makes you look like a super hero."

Alex peered at himself in the mirror, both of them still ignoring the banging on the door.

He struck a heroic pose before grabbing a piece of green cloth, poking eye holes into it, and tying it around his face.

He peered over to Sherri for approval, who just rolled her eyes and gave him a thumbs up.

"Hold still," she said and quickly sewed the letters RQ into the chest of his shirt.

"RQ?" Alex asked, cocking his head in thought.

"Ragequit," Sherri grinned, which made Alex shiver at the memory of that phrase. He tried to tug the logo off, but it stayed firm.

With an annoyed sigh, he approached the noisy door.

"Oh, one more thing," Sherri stopped him, tossing a jet black staff across the room. Alex caught it and briefly looked it over, admiring its lightweight form and perfect balance.

"The same people who make those suits also work on weapons like that," Sherri explained, motioning for him to get going as she grabbed a fire extinguisher from the wall.

Alex threw the door open to the surprise of the firebugs, who were just about to light the place up when Alex whipped his staff across the gas covered floor, soaking the kids.

Sherri then threw one of her knives into the puddle, causing a spark which erupted all the kids in flames.

Alex looked at Sherri for what felt like an eternity before her demonic smile faded.

"Pssssh, you're no fun," she whined and sprayed them with the extinguisher, providing Alex with the distraction he needed to knock them unconscious.

"See you at home," Alex said calmly, trying not to look at the slightly charred children.

"I'll bring the milk and cookies!" Sherri snickered back as he walked to the door.

"Oh, that reminds me! Loser says what?"

"Wha--" Alex began, but was interrupted by Sherri flicking something across the room and directly down his throat.

"What was that?!" Alex choked out as he erupted into a coughing fit.

"See you at home!" Sherri grinned.

• • •

Alex walked through the main corridor, being careful about being in the open. The piles upon piles of dead bodies, both children and adults, were staggering. The amount of weapons littering the ground was even more so.

Alex soon came to the security gate, which was installed shortly after his suspension and around the time the school started to get worse.

"Ivan must have had the back door held for him and his gang," Alex muttered.

"The front door was so the rest of us couldn't sneak these in," a voice suddenly said, causing Alex to whip around to see a familiar face.

There, pointing a security guard's issued pistol at him, was the same kid that Ivan had beat up in the very beginning of all this.

"You're that unconscious playground kid!" Alex exclaimed.

"Lennord!" The boy responded with anger in his gaze.

"Lennord... What are you doing here?" Alex asked calmly, eyeing the gun.

"I told my mom that I went to school, but I actually went to the park... I told her not to worry because I was studying hard and was earning that scholarship..." Lennord explained, narrowing his gaze, trying to fight back tears.

"I'm sorry, Lennord... It's gone. There isn't anything left for us to go back to..." Alex said in a soft voice, taking a step forward.

"That's easy for you to say!" Lennord exclaimed, raising the gun higher. "You go home and then get to go to another school! I have nothing..."

"We will get through this, just put the gun down...." Alex said soothingly, stepping closer.

Lennord, as if noticing the gun for the first time, put the barrel to his temple.

"No... I won't tell my mom what happened!" he cried, pulling the trigger.

A mist of blood crossed Alex's face and the metallic taste coated his mouth. He looked down briefly at the dying Lennord, who was barely able to speak.

"I...hate...you..." he mumbled, twitching as he bled out.

Alex said nothing as he kicked the gun away and walked to the exit before stopping to look at the padlocked and reinforced door that led to Mr. Travis' office.

He began digging through the multiple weapons littering the floor until he found the combination that fit his needs.

The grenade was easy enough to figure out, simply pulling out the pin and rolling it under the door.

A few seconds later, the once solid metal door burst open.

Alex wasted no time in running inside with a tazer and incapacitating one of the two police officers that Mr. Travis had in his waiting room. The other officer, fired at Alex, fearing for his life.

The first two bullets missed Alex by inches, and the third would've been a direct hit had Alex not blocked it with his staff, the bullet ricocheting off and into the man's knee.

The normal Alex would have marvelled at his quick thinking, or even check on the collapsed and screaming guard, but as Alex gazed at the door that read, TRAVI$, he felt a sudden drive to action.

With one swift kick, Alex flung the door open to see his cowering principal in the fetal position in the corner and Sherri sitting on his desk.

"Out!" Alex demanded her, and without a word, Sherri stood up and walked out with Mr. Travis attempting to follow.

"Not you, sit down!" Alex barked. "Now show me that list again!"

"A-Alex, please, I wanna go home!" he begged from his chair before Alex's staff slammed down on the desk.

Without any more protest, Mr. Travis quickly obeyed.

Alex looked over the list before pointing at the first name.

"Johnathan Lewis, his father beats him, he came to school on his scholarship and hoped he could study hard and go to Wattacon someday," Alex said, pointing to another name.

"Marry Winston, former gang banger who left her old life behind and saw this school as her only hope... She's the one Ivan and his friends took turns beating when she wouldn't fall in line. She got expelled for fighting and sent back to the streets to die."

Mr. Travis tried to cover his ears, but a swift blow to his hand stopped him.

"Christopher Collins, both of his parents gave up on him. He saw his education as a way to earn back their love. Wanna guess what happened?" Alex scoffed to his sobbing principal. "He was the example in Randy's little detention show! Think he just walked away from that?!'

"How do you know all this?!" Mr. Travis sobbed, wishing he had died too.

"You hear a lot when you aren't part of the conversation. I was like you, I didn't learn names, I didn't remember faces, and I would try not to think about those who were hurt, but I realized that that's wrong if you wanna help those in need! You, Ivan, and Vlad wouldn't acknowledge them and I chose not to, and now they are all gone thanks to you and your greed! The thing that was supposed to give them a better chance at life has instead made them feel more isolated, different, and unbelonging! Not to mention really dead!"

Suddenly Mr. Travis reached for the knife that Sherri had left behind, but Alex brought his staff down on his hand, breaking the bones as if they were glass.

Alex picked up the knife as Mr. Travis screamed in pain.

"You were a good man, Mr. Travis, but you let yourself forget these children for your own profit. I'm not going to kill you..."

Mr. Travis looked at Alex in confusion, but saw only a blank stare from the young child.

"...but I am going to make sure that you never forget these kids," Alex said as his principal's screams echoed throughout the school.

• • •

Alex stepped through the door and looked around his home.

'How many of those kids will never go back to their homes...? How many of those kids' homes were so bad that they never wanted to go back...?' Alex thought as he took in the familiar surroundings that he had so often taken for granted. The same surroundings that other children would have done anything for.

"Hey, shithead, how was school?" Sherri asked from the armchair, as if nothing had happened.

"I want answers!" Alex found himself yelling at her, the rage directed more at what happened than at her.

"Well, those books they give you to read in class usually have a few buried in them," she smirked.

"Don't play dumb! Where did you get that armor, and my staff, and what were in those pills, and how did I deflect bullets, and punch peoples' bones in two?!"

"You deflected bullets?" Sherri blinked and raised her eyebrows in genuine surprise.

"Sherri!" Alex whined out of frustration.

Sherri placed her hand on Alex's shoulder before speaking in a soothing tone.

"It's okay, Alex. You don't need to know that, just trust me when I say that I know what's best. If you listen to me, I won't let anything happen to you."

"That's just it, Sherri. After everything that's happened I don't think I can trust you...not anyone. Not even my parents. You are too violent and unpredictable...and I want you to go," Alex whispered.

"Do you really mean that...?" Sherri asked, showing no sign of emotion.

"Yes..."

Without protest, Sherri turned and walked toward the door.

"Ya know, I've done this more times than I can count and you're the only person I would ever even consider leaving," she said before walking out the door, leaving Alex alone and confused in an empty house.