Rhombus [h.s]

17

"Step down, now," I could hear the anger.

"Make me."

The burly Neon Vest took a step forward and his fist struck hard on Murdock's face. Murdock fell on the floor; his nose started to bleed, but he got up. He struck back with all his strength and made the muscle machine take a couple of steps back.

My heart began to race. Gasps and murmurs revolved around me.

Liam freed himself from Garfunkel's grip, jumped over the liquor table and attacked three guards at once. Everything happened in slow motion. This pudgy Neon Vest tried to yank off Murdock's mask, but Garfunkel sped off like a gazelle and slapped the guy's face hard with his walking stick.

A huge brawl broke out. Everybody was fighting everybody. The boys were relentless. They all got sick from the pestilence curse.

Then I heard desperate whistles behind me. I turned and saw more Neon Vests hurdling toward the fight, raising their batons in the air. Were batons really necessary? I mean, they're just students for crying out loud. Not violent prisoners in Alcatraz.

"Move out!" I heard one yell.

"Get off me!" screamed another.

It was just total mayhem. Complete pandemonium. Students—drunk—went up on the stage and fought. It was like one of those Wild West saloon brawls. All hell broke loose when the rowing team started swinging and throwing chairs around. This one guy was kicking a Neon Vest's teeth out of his mouth and another cannonballs from a tree to a ten man street fight. In the middle of that chaos, I saw Walter grab a bottle of liquor, laughing. He then dashed off and hit some guard's head with the bottle. Out of nowhere, this big Neon Vest barreled straight into him like a fullback. I guess Walter was knocked out cold.

I ran toward the stage. "G! We have to go!" I yelled.

He placed Murdock's arm around his neck and helped him off the stage.

Then, not too far away, I saw Liam straddling a guard's chest.

"Liam!" I shouted. He whipped his head around to look at me, surprised to see me standing there. "You have to get Walter. He's been knocked out. We'll reconvene in George's place," I said.

He nodded and broke the guard's nose with a single punch.

Garfunkel and Murdock and I shoved through the crowd and out the garden. We ran toward the parking lot and scanned the area, and then we hurried to the Mercedes Benz parked in the corner. Murdock sat at the rear seat, coughing like mad. He took out an orange prescription bottle from his pocket and popped three pills in his mouth. That seemed to calm his breathing a little bit.

Garfunkel then drove us out of East Campus. He was going as fast as he could, like a kamikaze pilot.

"What the fuck happened out there?" I said once we were on the road.

"When push comes to shove, that had to be done," Murdock replied.

I frowned and looked at him in the rear-view mirror. "You just love putting your own Operation in jeopardy don't you?"

"That was all part of the plan, Howler," he said.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"The brawl," he said and coughed, "was part of Exploitation. You'll see."

I sighed heavily. "I am so gonna get expelled."

"If that happens," Garfunkel said, "the entire student body will go down with you."

"Goddamn!" Murdock shouted. "That was so fucking exhilarating. That went well, didn't it, Gar?"

"Broken bones and ribcages aside, I guess it did." Garfunkel replied.

"Howler. Did we kill Seth?" asked Murdock.

"I guess we did," I said and bit my inner cheek. "I can't believe I went all prozzie just to persuade him to drink."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," said Garfunkel.

I looked at Murdock in the rear-view mirror. He leaned back and placed his hands behind his head. "Many don't realize, the revolution has already begun. It's time to unfuck this university."

Then G said, "It's V for Vendetta shit now. I hope Becka's getting the masks ready."

I sighed. When did I ever become an activist? "An anonymous revolution. Fiction turned reality. I hope it works out."

Murdock gripped my seat's head rest. "Next up, Eradication. I'm so close to the ultimate society, Gar. Here's to a happy afterlife."