Legion of Lawndale Heroes v1

8.1 - Ill Wind

(Note: this story was written sometime after 2005, but the timeline has been altered since then. Chronohistorians from the future permitted similar events to happen despite the timeline adjustment. – JB)

LLH 8.1 - Ill Wind

Late August 2005

The last two months had been good for Jane Lane. 

After months of chaos, there had been a long period of routine. Stacy Rowe didn't change the routine -- she had been part of it for months, and Jane had always thought of Stacy as a Legionnaire, even though Stacy was with "the other group". Brittany joined right in with the others in training. But Brittany had flunked the intelligence test and joined the Fashion Club in that Class From Hell with Sergeant Nemec that Jane preferred not to think about.

The only time Jane saw Brittany during daylight hours was during the killer physical workouts. Brittany had endurance but had some problems with..."top-heaviness"...that made it a chore for Brittany to do any kind of running. Brittany didn't give up, though, and ran with the rest of them, huffing, puffing, and stumbling until she could catch up with what the rest of the Legion had achieved.

Then Brittany disappeared again. While Jane and Daria worked with the Marine, and the Fashion Club played with their racecars, and Upchuck played pilot, Brittany made the decision to train in Advanced Life Support. She would learn how to start IVs, give injections, and use a wide range of medications to pull someone from the brink of death. She would learn how to intubate someone in case of an emergency. The thought of Jane's life depending on Brittany -- literally -- gave her pause, and Jane prayed that Brittany's instructors would be as tough on her as the Marine was tough on Jane in hand-to-hand combat class.

There was one more cot in the women's tent. The place was getting crowded. Furthermore, Brittany seemed to want to hang out with Jane and Daria and not with the Fashion Club. Jane could sense Daria's annoyance with Brittany reaching red-line levels at times, with Brittany throwing herself with abandon into Jane and Daria's conversations. Brittany seemed clueless, trying to win Daria over with charm.

It was weekends that Jane lived for. No responsibilities, and two dates a weekend. Both with Tom Sloane. Friday and Saturday nights. She had invited Daria the first few times, but Daria was the mongoose to Tom's cobra. Frankly, it was more fun when Daria didn't come.

(* * *)

"Oh, lad-ieeeEEES!" sang Upchuck, as he worked at the computer.

"What is it, Upchuck?" Jane barely looked up from her construction, trying to sew a cloth covering over plastic molds of the bones of the human forearm.

"The Mayor of New Orleans just called for people to get out of New Orleans." Upchuck wore a headphone, listening to Internet radio while he slaved away at his 3-D modeling.

"As it finally dawns on the Mayor that New Orleans sucks," said Daria, immersed in The Mysterious Stranger. "This 'news' has a name. Cover Your Ass. Nothing's going to happen."