//------------------------------// // Chapter Twenty-One: Being watched and going back to school // Story: Gleaner Chronicles: American Monsters // by sevenofeleven //------------------------------// Washington DC Outside Del Ron neighborhood Predawn When Margot stepped out of the van, she could feel the crazy muttering of the black sun at the edge of her mind. Dark buildings loomed over the grey metal fence that divided the Del Ron neighborhood from whatever neighborhood she was standing in now. The only difference was that the streetlights and traffic lights worked. Nga'Devro tapped Margot with his left fore hoof. “Nga'Devro wishes you well on your mission.” Margot nodded. He then went back into the van and it drove away. Scootaloo grimaced. “Why does the sun sound so angry?” Margot shrugged. “When the sun rises you won’t hear it anymore. Well, unless you take off your clothes and goggles.” “Please, I’m keeping those on,” Scootaloo said and shook her head. Mackie walked up to the fence. He used his telekinesis to lift one of the metal plates. There was a hole cut into the fence. Tibbs went through first. Scootaloo followed then Margot and Mackie was last. The fence creaked as the metal plate was lowered back into position. At least the area looks normal, Margot thought. She was getting used to empty streets but the lack of morning birdsong was adding more creepiness to the area. The group crossed the street to the first block. Other than hooves hitting the sidewalk, it was pretty quiet. Only their reflections moved as the group walked down the block. When they got to the second block, Margot’s hackles started to rise. It felt like something was watching them. After she looked around and just saw buildings, Margot cast a passive life scan. At first, she sensed nothing then it seemed like the very air was full of life! The life signs faded away. Margot stopped and looked around, she was still confused by the results. Mackie looked back. “Hey, we can’t stay here.” Margot nodded and cast the spell again. This time the spell returned no results. Again, she wondered about the results, but she hurried after Scootaloo. The next block was a bunch of small stores. All of them were empty. This time Margot’s hackles were up. The feeling of being watched intensified, and there was another thing. She kept feeling that there was something at the corner of her eyes. A few quick swings of her head didn’t find anything. Even Scootaloo was turning her head to find out what was watching her. “Scootaloo, stop that. You’re going to hurt your neck,” Margot said. Flick. There was this feeling that something moved at the edge of her vision. Flick, again it felt like something moved. Again, she looked and there was nothing. Scootaloo stopped looking around, and just fixed her gaze straight ahead. “You take me to such wonderful places,” Tibbs said and then grimaced. Mackie just nodded. “Yeah boss, only the best for you.” Hearing the banter between Mackie and Tibbs lightened Margot’s spirits a bit. Finally, they stood in front of their target. It was a public school. PS 167 the sign over the metal sheet covered door said. Grey metal sheets covered all of the windows. Seeing the covered windows made another chill race down Margot’s back. She wondered what was in the school that the Gleaners had to make metal plates to keep contained. Scootaloo pointed at the building. “How many ponies went to this school?” Mackie just shrugged then he walked up to the entrance. Margot followed him while Tibbs kept watch. The plates were screwed into the door, not bolted. That made things somewhat easy. Mackie’s horn began to glow red as he unfastened the screws. The plate floated up while Margot picked the lock. In a few moments the door was open. It was totally dark until Margot conjured up a light spell then she walked inside. For some reason as the rest of the group entered the entranceway, Margot felt the feeling of being watched go down a bit. Mackie closed the door and screwed the bolts back on the door. Scootaloo looked around. “It’s been awhile since I was in school. Can I see what this one is like?” Tibbs shook his head. “I want to get this done and be gone. Mackie what do we do now?” Scootaloo frowned. Mackie started rooting through his saddlebags. “I think we should go to the generator room and restore power.” Tibbs grimaced. “The gleaners cut the power to this neighborhood for some reason. Maybe lighting this school up like a christmas tree is a bad idea?” “Yeah boss, but the servers won’t work without power,” Mackie said while looking at a map of the school. Margot looked around the hallway. In front of them, was a large display of trophies the school won in various events. One either side darkness seemed to press in on them. She figured that there were classrooms to the left and right. Scootaloo walked up to the display and peered at the trophies. Margot faced Mackie. “How about we go to the server room and just use enough power to get one server up. That should allow us to get what we want.” Mackie shrugged. “That could work unless they liked to spread stuff across different servers. Then again just powering a few servers wouldn’t use that much electricity.” Tibbs looked up and down the halls. “Fine. Which we way do we go?” Mackie pointed down to the left. “We go that way and take the stairs down. There should be a security door in the basement.” Scootaloo gulped. “Basement?” Margot understood her fear. In a lot of horror movies, all sorts of nastiness was down in the basement. “Don’t worry Scootaloo, TIbbs will shoot any monsters we find down there. I will help.” Tibbs smiled. “Heck yeah!” Then they headed down the hall. Scootaloo stopped at a few doors to peer into the dark empty classrooms. Other than their hooves striking the floor, the hallway was deathly quiet. “Mackie, how long have you worked with Tibbs?” Scootaloo asked. Margot figured that the silence got to her and she needed something to push back the fear. “Well, Scootaloo, Tibbs, Emily and I used to work for NCIS.” Mackie said. “NCIS?” “Yes, Naval Criminal Investigative Service.” “Really? Navel Criminal Investigative Service? You check ponies belly buttons? How do they do crimes?” Tibbs and Mackie laughed. Tibbs faced Scootaloo. “That’s another part of the government. We just investigate crimes done to or done by naval personnel.” Mackie faced Tibbs. “You know, Tibbs, I always felt I was destined for something more. Maybe navel gazing is in my future?” “No Mackie, I have a gut feeling that you’re destined to be a member of NCIS,” Tibbs replied. Scootaloo laughed. “How big was the offices and how many ponies worked with you?” Scootaloo said. In a split second, the levity was gone. Mackie faced away from Scootaloo. Tibb’s ears and tail drooped. “We lost a lot of friends that day when the Gleaners came.” Margot’s tail and ears drooped too. “My condolences.” Scootaloo looked down. “I’m sorry I asked.” Tibbs walked back to Scootaloo. “Don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault. Don’t be sad.” Scootaloo looked up and they continued to the stairs leading to the basement. When they got down to the basement doors, they were locked. Mackie’s horn glowed green then red and the door opened. Tibbs looked at Mackie. “You’re losing your touch, you used to open doors much faster than this.” Mackie just shrugged. “Yeah boss.” Tibbs led the way into the basement and the rest of the group followed. There was a lot of junk. They walked around piles of chairs, desks and even books. Margot wondered if there was enough room for a monster. Unlike other basements, this one was quiet. No hiss of steam or clanking metal somewhere. Also the basement was devoid of life. She did a passive life scan and it came up empty. Even a basement has some sort of life in it. Waterbugs, rats or just mold. All she could smell was a bit of rust, some standing water and books dry rotting. After walking for a bit they found an oval copper door. There was a keypad right next to it. Margot had a feeling that maybe they should just leave. Then again, they need the specs for the weapons to fight the Gleaners. She wondered how much they would have to sacrifice to get what they wanted.