Kenna ushered the frightened junior student from her room, murmuring comforting words until they reached the stairs, where the girl was able to run down without issue.
She felt the vibration of her phone ringing and she picked up without even glancing at the caller ID; she knew who it was.
"Kenna, listen carefully," Michael's voice spoke into the phone. "KITT's managed to disarm every bomb in the building except for the one on your floor, the fourth. You've got three minutes before it goes off, you grab whatever you need and you get out here, okay?"
Kenna sighed. "Okay! Okay, I got it!" She said, hanging up before he or KITT could say anything else.
She ran for the fourth floor, quickly checking the rooms. No one had considered locking their doors when they left, and she was able to check every room. However, her own was still locked, and she fumbled to unlock it and burst inside the room.
The first thing she saw was the empty room. She began to gather her belongings; laptop, important things she kept there, and her course work binder.
That's when the sound of fearful sobbing came to her, and she froze mid-stride towards the door. The sound was muffled, and was coming from the bathroom.
Kenna put down her bag, carefully going over to the bathroom and opening the door, shielding her eyes slightly.
She spotted Faith, huddled in a ball in the corner of the room in front of the tub, her eyes wide and red, and her face stained with tears. She looked up, looking even more alarmed when Kenna entered.
"What are you doing?!" Kenna demanded urgently. "Come in, this floor is gonna blow in two minutes let's go!"
But Faith shook her head, seemingly frozen in shock and fear. Kenna glanced at the door, then back at her roommate with an exasperated sigh.
"Ugh, come on!" She insisted, quickly moving forward and grabbing Faith's wrist. She tugged her to her feet, not letting go as she helped Faith gather her stuff. Her roommate was slow and wobbly, and looked about to pass out by the time her stuff was gathered and she was ready to leave.
"Come on, run!" Kenna urged, shoving Faith out the door. Her roommate didn't move at first, swaying in place, her face pale.
Kenna cursed, shoving Faith so hard she had no choice but to move.
"Go! Go!" Kenna screamed, relieved that Faith finally started running. She ensured that she kept going, running slower behind her. She glanced back to make sure no one was left behind in the hall, before turning to follow her roommate down the stairs.
But she didn't get very far, because a deafening, sonic boom filled her ears, the sound sending a horrible jolt of pain through her head. A shockwave shoved her hard to the ground, and Kenna only remembered seeing the bars of the stair-case handles getting closer, before everything stopped, and turned to blackness.
⛦⛦⛦
They watched the monitor as it displayed the explosion of the bomb, and KITT desperately scanned the students escaping the building. None of them were Kenna, and he started to feel a kind of cold horror he didn't know he could experience.
Michael suddenly jumped out of the car, calling out to a red-haired girl whom KITT recognized as Kenna's roommate, Faith. She was clearly crying, and she looked pale and ready to pass out. She looked over at Michael's call, running over and nearly collapsing. Michael steadied her, positioning her to lean against KITT's hood. Normally he would've hated it, but now wasn't a time to hold grudges.
"Where's Kenna? Faith, where is she?"
Faith looked up at him in terror, her words high-pitched and panicked.
"She was upstairs with me... I thinks she... She was still on the floor when... When it went off-I-I don't know!" She explained, and her words only increased the cold horror that swept through KITT's circuits.
Michael took off at a run, meeting up with the first paramedics that had arrived on scene. KITT, in the mean time, had been scanning the building. His spirits fell as he scanned the two top floors. The top most floor was carnage; no one had expected the bombs, of course, so no one had thought to leave their dorms. Too many rooms on the top floor held bio signs even KITT felt incredibly sickened to see, and he'd never felt such a way before.
The second floor wasn't as bad, and he was able to inform the paramedics, with Michael's help, of the students who needed attention.
The other floors were empty, except for the fourth floor. One bio sign stood out, just at the entrance to the stairs, faint yet noticeable.
Kenna...
He urged Michael to tell the paramedics to rescue her; she needed immediate attention. He promised that they would, but his driver quickly became focused on something else as a police officer approached him, saying something KITT couldn't hear over the surrounding noise.
Michael turned and jumped in the car with haste, keying the engine on and throwing the car in reverse to pull out of the drive way.
"The cops spotted the perpetrators in hoods and dark clothing leaving the scene, they have them going west on Cityview road at high speed. Check your scanners, see if you can find them!"
KITT did so immediately, spotting a speeding vehicle on the aforementioned road.
"I have them Michael."
Michael threw the car in pursuit mode, flooring it onto the road and gaining on the perpetrator's vehicles with ease. They drove a large pick-up truck, driving dangerously as they swerved between cars on the road, and blew stop signs.
As they approached an intersection, the pick-up blasted the red light, managing to squeeze through before the oncoming traffic began to flow on the intersecting road.
"It's time to show them who we really are." Michael declared, his fingers hovering above the most used button on the dash.
At the right moment, he pressed the red button, and KITT felt the helium in his tires build up until, at last, the build-up sent his nose upwards, propelling the car clean off the ground. They soared over the traffic, his wheels still spinning in the air as they began the descent. They came down with a soft thud and screech of tires, the pick-up still in clear view. It turned, making its way onto a much less used road surrounded by fields of polluted and dying grasses and patches of dirt and dust.
"We can easily overtake them now, Michael. Please!" KITT urged, his fear for Kenna adding extra determination.
Michael agreed, twisting the steering yoke and pressing the gas pedal, swerving the car around in front of the pick-up.
The truck screeched, spinning out of control and slamming into KITT with a smash, causing an unpleasant rocking sensation to shudder through him. KITT was easily able to identify the three people in the car. It were the three from the Azure Vipers. His scanners locked on the one leading the operation: Carlos Freeman.
"You take Carlos?" Michael asked, as he hopped out of the car.
KITT responded with a determined wirr of his scanner, as the three men took off from their truck in opposite directions. Michael tackled the nearest, while KITT threw his gear throttle forward to the maximum gear, driving forward and chasing Carlos as he booked it across the dusty, open field.
He remembered Kenna, and her bio-signs on his scanners; her pulse weak, and breathing shallow. He was truly unsure if she would make it, and this thought sent a shiver of cold hatred and anger through his circuits.
He overtook Carlos, swinging himself around so that the man crashed straight into him. The man scrambled to get up, but KITT reversed, opening his door so that it slammed into Carlos from behind, causing him to tumble to the ground. Uncharacteristic anger had taken over KITT's actions, and he slammed his door closed, driving forward with as much force as he could, swinging the steering yoke so that he slammed into Carlos with his rear fender.
The man was already exhausted, hardly able to get up anymore as KITT swung around, facing him nose first. Kenna was the only thing going through his circuits, and he revved his engine aggressively, creating a growl as his rear tires worked the ground mercilessly, advancing towards Carlos in short, mock lunges.
That's when Michael's voice came through suddenly from his comlink.
"KITT, stop! I know he hurt Kenna, but don't forget your dominant program! You have to protect human life!"
KITT's scanner was a solid red, the lights shimmering in an angry glow.
"Michael, she could-" he cut off, unwilling to say it. "He's responsible for her state now, Michael," he said slowly, his tone laced with such a venomous drawl that it could've scared even his closest friends.
He revved the engine again, advancing closer still towards the exhausted and passed out Carlos. He repeatedly pressed the pedal, his sheer willpower being the only thing keeping him from running the man over as his rear wheels gorged the soil beneath him.
"KITT, don't. You'll never forgive yourself," Michael's voice was calm. "Don't you remember when Stevie died?" He asked. "I wanted to kill the man who took her from me. You stopped me then, reminding me that I couldn't live with myself if I did. I'm returning the favour, buddy. Please, don't do something you'll regret."
Somewhere deep within his wirring circuits, Michael's words struck something in KITT. An understanding that his actions had helped his beloved driver, and now he was returning the gesture the same way. The realization of how far they'd come was enough to convince KITT to shut his engine. He brought the gear back into neutral, ceasing the flow of gas to the engine and allowing his wheels to come to a stand still in the dirt. Silence fell, apart from Michael's running footsteps as he came to collect the exhausted Carlos Freeman and stick him with his goons.
And finally, KITT felt he'd gotten the conclusion, and the peace of mind he needed.
⛦⛦⛦
Kenna wasn't exactly sure when the blurry images had begun to turn to memorable moments. She remembered choppy, unclear images, but they only started to register properly after what felt like ages. When she asked, the nurse told her she'd been in and out of consciousness for two days, and it was the result of a concussion she'd received from the blast of the explosion. Her eardrums had been ruptured by the explosion, and after about a week, Kenna was deemed to be hard of hearing. She received special hearing aids, which took some getting used to, but also allowed her to hear things more clearly when she had them on that she could before.
Her parents had come to visit her in the hospital, and they were a mixture of worried, proud, and emotional all at the same time. It seemed they finally accepted her, and while she found it saddening that it took her nearly dying for that to happen, she found some peace knowing they saw her for who she truly was.
Faith had come around as well, incredibly apologetic and grateful to Kenna. She'd even brought the other girls, who showed something close to respect when Faith explained how Kenna got her out of the dorm and to safety.
Now it had been two weeks since the attack, and the entire college was gathered outside in a mass assembly. Mrs. Greys stood at the front of the masses of seated students and family, speaking from a podium.
"May 14th was a day of tragedy for Cityview College," Mrs. Greys began. "A day where lives were lost. Five students, who will live in our hearts for as long as we live, and in the hearts of people they touched. But, as I stand up here today, gazing out at all of you, I'm reminded that this college has not lost. In fact, we've done quite the opposite. You all sit here today, alive and well, because of the actions of individuals who came to our aid."
She gestured towards her left, where Kenna spotted Michael seated beside her podium. He and KITT had come to attend the assembly as per her request; KITT was parked just to the side on the grass.
"Thanks to Michael Knight, our college is once again a safe haven for all of you!" Mrs. Greys announced. The crowd erupted into applause, and Kenna stood up, cheering aloud for Michael. A few other students stood as well, as Michael hopped up onto the podium.
"Ah, thank you," he said quickly. "But, I couldn't have done it without my trusty side-kick," he gestured to KITT; he'd become somewhat popular since the attack, according to Michael's stories to Kenna.
"KITT helped with not only putting out the fires and disarming the bombs, but also with capturing the perpetrators for their arrest," Michael explained. "So, for that reason, I think he's the true hero!"
At this, even more of the assembly sprang to their feet, cheering and clapping joyously. Kenna was among them, her smile wider than she knew possible as she cheered.
"Really, Michael, I don't need more recognition!" KITT spoke up aloud enough for the assembly to hear. His shy tone earned laughs from the crowd, as Mrs. Greys returned to the podium.
"One other hero needs to be given credit as well," she continued when the crowd settled down. "Or, should I say, heroine," Mrs. Greys grinned as she turned her gaze pointedly onto Kenna.
"Miss MacKenna Thatcher, a student of our very own college, who not only helped Michael Knight in discovering the criminals behind the attacks, also used this knowledge and her knowledge of the criminals' manners of attack to effectively and bravely evacuate the building before more harm came to the students, including risking her life for some of them. That, in my opinion, makes her the true
Heroine."
Kenna gasped as she stood up slowly, looking over at the podium. Suddenly, Michael jumped up, and began to clap. Mrs. Greys joined in, and slowly, one by one, the entire assembly stood up in waves of motion, their clapping filling the air and cheers echoing across the campus. Kenna couldn't believe it, as she covered her mouth with both her hands, tears pricking her eyes. She'd never thought of her actions as heroic, but as she stood there now, surrounded by the people giving her her first ever standing ovation, Kenna realized that maybe, just maybe, she really deserved it.
And that maybe, life wasn't so bad.
(A/N: Yes this chapter is short. Yes there will be a final chapter after this one. I wanted to split them up because the next one contains some INTERESTING stuff. Hehe ;))