War of the schools (Revisited) II

War of the schools: episode 2

Certificate of the angels is seized.

Horns blew throughout the school as Kyle rushed through the science block and into the courtyard. Rishic and the other scouts barricaded the gate with the nearby scaffold poles. Ivan had his unit stationed at the front of the school at the St. Patrick’s gate and Darren had his at the main gate. Whipping out his cellphone, he sent a text message to Samuel Lee. Samuel a.k.a Sam, Smazmuel or Smaz was a quiet person. In class, he was the quiet one who lived within his own mind. However, in that mind, brewed the best battle plans and strategies anyone could ever come up with. Standing in Kiely Square like a statue as the Patricians ran past him he waited. Eventually from around the corner, a lanky but tall figure emerged with a wooden blade which hung from his waist and dragged on the ground.

Kyle: Sam. Shamrock Garden will not hold. The only thing separating us from the attackers is a chain-link fence. We have to prevent them from concentrating their attack there.

Samuel: Ah. In other words, we need a diversion.

Kyle: Kind of. Actually yes. And since you know so much, it would help a lot if you could think something up now.

Samuel: Way ahead of you.

Kyle: Well?

Samuel: You know that value added award KC keeps yammering about. I mean it’s a good thing but it’s kinda overrated. All we have to do is hit them where it would hurt most.

Kyle: I don’t see where you’re going with this.

Samuel: You idiot! We take the damn certificate of that value added thing and-

Kyle: Relax man I was only kidding.

Samuel: -_-

Kyle: Geez cant a guy try and cheer up when he’s been acting serious the whole day?

Samuel: This isn’t the time to joke. Save that for when we steal the cert. We need a small group of us to traverse into their school. You and me, that’s two. Go get Shane and Ryan and meet me at the foyer. Make it quick.

Rishics troupe of scouts had just finished barricading the gate and were moving into the field to set up the catapults. Theodore Khng, a senior scout and prefect looked across the road. The armies had not moved yet. They were waiting with intent like a cat stalking its prey.

Theodore: Rishic. They havent begun the attack yet. They might be scouting our weak spots.

Rishic: They may have scouts of their own nearby. Theodore, take 10 men and search the area. We can’t let them find anything they could use against us.

In his office, Lak the wise ordered Randall Lee, the schools best long distance runner to report to him.

Lak the wise: Randall. I need you to run a big errand and a few miles for me.

Randall: What for?

Lak the wise: I need you to send this dispatch to St. Joseph’s Institution. We need their help or at least some of their forces to hold off the hostiles from taking St. Patrick’s.

Randall: uh…alright. Sir must take off 6 hours of my CIP ah?

Lak the wise: I think you meant that as a joke but if you can do this, consider it done.

Randall: Okay sir. See you soon.

Shane Meyer, the captain of the St. Patrick’s school cricket team met up with Kyle and Samuel in the foyer. Shane was a warrior of his own kind. He could throw a cricket ball with dead accuracy, power and speed making him useful as a long distance attacker. Ryan Bartushock followed close behind. He wasn’t in any school team of any sport, but he was a 6 foot 3 heavyweight powerhouse. Who wouldn’t want someone like that on their side?

Shane: What is it? What are we gonna do.

Kyle: According to Samuel’s plan we’re going to have to infiltrate Katong convent and steal their value added certificate to create a diversion from the back gate.

Shane: Are you stupid? You know how tight the security there is now?

Ryan: Yeah. They probably have prefects and councilors on every level.

Samuel: I’m willing to take that risk if it’s going to save us from losing our school.

Kyle: Shane get your cricket bat or your cricket ball, anything you want. Ryan grab anything you can defend yourself with and bring it along.

Shane: Done

Ryan: Okay, don’t worry I have my brass knucks.

Kyle: Ryan go easy on them. They are girls after all.

Samuel: Kyle, no time for compassion-

Suddenly, the whole of St. Patrick’s fell silent. As did the other two schools.

Ryan: Its so quiet all of a sudden.

Samuel: It’s the deep breath before the cry of battle.

Shane: What are we waiting for lets go?

Kyle: Wait. We can’t enter the school until they begin the attack.

At that moment, the sound of a rusty gate creaked open and once again, the air was filled with shrieks and shouts. Katong convent had begun to advance. They sounded like a thousand hawks screeching as they descended upon St. Patrick’s. And to the left, the cream coloured shirts started to cross the road at the traffic light junction. They ran across the road, the thousands of them, blocking off the route of the oncoming cars.

Justin: Guys! This is the time to defend our school with all we got. Front line! Ready your gala sticks! Hold them back and don’t let them get to the fence! Ready? Forward!

The front line of Patricians moved up to the fence, pressing the gala sticks through the chain-link fence. 100 gala sticks protruded from the fence.

Justin: The rest of you! Stand fast!

The screeches and cries grew nearer and nearer until it was deafening. At the sound of a patrician yelling in pain and grabbing his arm, the armies had reached the fence. Pellets flew from the gunners and water balloons pelted the 100 strong unit in Shamrock Garden.

Andre Wee: Justin! We cannot hold them (yells in pain as a pellet strikes his arm)

Justin: Get a hold of yourself Andre! The fence will hold!

A rivet popped out of the fencepost as Justin said that.

Andre: The fence will not hold! We need some help!

The front wave of the KC and VJC armies were pressing hard against the fence. It was bending sharply and looked as if it wouldn’t stand for long.

Rishic: Justin! The fence wont hold. Your unit needs to push back for at least a small chance!

Justin: Okay. Guys! On the count of three, we shall press hard against the fence.

The 100 patricians charged forward and rammed themselves into the fence. It caused a knock back effect on the first wave of the KC-VJC army. The front line fell and so did the second, like dominos they collapsed far back to at least the fifth rank. They had gained the upper at least for this period of time. They leant hard against the fence with their shields of cardboard to protect them from the onslaught of the pellet guns. The situation was as volatile as possible and as the counter attack from the armies came, the patricians were thrown off their base.

Justin: Get up people! Do not worry we can hold them here! Use your strength!

The patricians quickly got up and held the fence again, hoping that their combined efforts would be enough to prevent the swirls of blue, white and cream from engulfing Shamrock Garden. The attack had officially begun. It was time for Kyle, Samuel, Ryan and Shane to move out.

Samuel: Let’s go. I don’t know how much time we have left.

Kyle: We’ll go out by St. Patrick’s road, through our telok kurau 2.4 route and into KC by their east entrance.

Ryan: Sounds good.

Swiftly, they ran through St. Patrick’s road and turned right into telok kurau road. They crossed the road into marine terrace and dodged behind the walls of KC’s east entrance.

Samuel: Ryan, see if there are any prefects there.

Ryan: (squints) nothing in sight.

Shane: Those idiots! We can just send our whole army in and take their school by the ass.

Kyle: (creeps around the corner) seriously there aren’t any prefects there.

Samuel: Alright lets go.

The four of them slowly walked around the wall and through the gate. Suddenly, a piercing squeak broke the silence.

Kyle: It’s a trap! They put rubber ducks on the ground!

Samuel: a simple but efficient intruder alert system.

About ten convent prefects came rushing toward the gate with pellet guns in hand.

Convent prefect: Who are you? What are you patricians doing here?

Ryan: I was wondering what those ducks were doing on the floor.

Shane: You saw them and you didn’t tell us?

Convent prefect: Foolish patrician. Heh. Girls take them to the hall for detention.

The prefects enclosed on the four of them.

Samuel: (Unlatches his wooden katana) you think you can capture us?

Convent prefect: Why not? (Fires a pellet at Sam’s head)

Samuel fell to the ground after taking the hard pellet shot to the head but got up almost immediately.

Kyle: Oh. Now you’re in for it.

Samuel charged at the prefect as she opened fire upon him. He rolled to the ground to avoid the shots and nipped back up. With one blow to the prefects hand she dropped the M4 carbine replica to the ground in a whimper of pain. He grabbed the gun before it fell to the ground and pointed it at the prefects head. As he did that, 9 other guns cocked around them.

Shane: Hey Kyle watch my off-spin ball.

Shane lifted his arm with a cricket ball firmly clasped it his hand. As if he was bowling for the national final, he flung the ball directly at one of the prefects. It hit the ground before the girl closest to him, causing her to lose her balance as it headed in her direction. Without notice, the ball kicked sideways to the right and knocked the gun out of another prefect’s hand. Shane grabbed the two guns and held them at gun point.

Shane: I don’t care I’m just gonna fire.

Kyle: Not yet-

But before he could say anything, Shane unleashed a barrage of pellets on the two girls and then switched his targets to the remaining ones. They returned fire, the 7 remaining guns against 3.

Kyle: (gets hit by multiple pellets) Arrggh! Shane you idiot!

Ryan: No problem. I’ll handle this.

Ryan ran forward with his doorway wide frame shielding the others. Like a golem moving through a deadly sandstorm, he ripped the guns out of the hands of 2 girls. Breaking them over his knee, he went forward but the pellets were taking a toll on him.

Ryan: I can’t take it no more!

Samuel: We may have to retreat. We still are outnumbered.

Kyle: (draws his sword) No we have to try. Remember potest qui vult!

All of a sudden one of the prefects gave a yelp and the 2 beside her stopped firing.

Convent prefect #1: What is it?

Convent prefect #2: I think she’s been hit by an air rifle. That pellet is from a Feinwerkbau rifle.

Another 2 shots were fired and the two that were standing fell to the floor.

Kyle: Where did those shots come from?

Shane: (notices a rustle in the tree above) Joshua.

Ryan: Joshua Siow?

Samuel: No doubt.

The sniper jumped from his vantage point and landed behind the four of them. Holding a Feinwerkbau rifle comfortably, he advanced. It was Joshua Siow, member of the Air rifle team.

Samuel: Josh. Where did you come from?

Joshua: That tree?

Shane: Obviously the tree right but how did you get there?

Joshua: Tell you later. Well miss prefect from KC, it seems like you are outnumbered now.

Convent prefect: You don’t know what you have gotten yourselves into. Your school will fall no matter what. We have a greater power coming this way.

Kyle: Greater power? What do you speak of?

Before he could get an answer from her, the 2 of them ran into the school building. 8 of them still were left at the entrance, they were all unarmed.

Samuel: Tell us now. What is the greater power she was talking about.

Convent prefect #1: I don’t know.

Convent prefect#2: Neither do any of us. She is in charge of the prefects. We only know what we need to know.

Kyle: Very well then, if what you say is true, then we shall find out for ourselves. Let us go in. (Takes a few steps forward)

Behind them like a thousand drum rolls, a whole unit of at least 200 Katong convent students were rushing in their direction.

Samuel: I think that may be the greater power she was talking about. Run! Inside the building!

The five patricians dashed inside the school building. They slammed the great double doors together and barricaded it with the plank of wood. Outside they could hear the unit screeching like hawks once again.

Kyle: Let’s hope it holds long enough for us to get the certificate.

Shane: I don’t think they’ll be stupid enough to break down their own door anyway.

Joshua: Oh yeah and about me being in the tree, I was on the overhead bridge and someone shot a water balloon at me and I fell out onto the tree.

Ryan: Hahaha. That’s a new one.

Kyle: Well at least we are together now. Lets make haste.

At the front gate, Darren Ho and Ivan Reddy began to plan their movement. They needed to assist Justin’s unit. Each of them had a unit of 200 patricians.

Ivan: We could help to lighten the attack on the fence if we flank them from the canal walkway and from marine parade road.

Darren: So they would be sandwiched between us. But still, we are heavily outnumbered.

Theodore Khng: Darren. I just got word that some of them had retreated into their school hall for further briefing. Their numbers should be significantly lower. We could stand a chance there.

Ivan: Okay, I’ll take my unit through St. Patrick’s road and then through telok kurau road to attack from the right.

Darren: And I’ll go through East coast road and cross the Siglap canal walkway and attack from the left. Theodore, tell Christopher to move out his NCC unit and control the gates.

Theodore: Okay. (Runs off to the field)

Ivan: People, we are moving out. Draw your weapons!

Patricians: OHHHHHH!!!!!!

In the field, Rishic and his troupe had begun construction of the catapults. At least 5 of them were being built simultaneously.

Marc van Huizen: Rishic I need about 20 of your men to fill up the water balloons.

Rishic: Go ahead. But do it quickly, we need the catapults up as soon as possible.

Marc: Don’t worry we’ll be done in no time at all.

Samuel carefully climbed the stairs and signaled for the rest to follow. They needed to get to the general office, where the certificate was kept.

Samuel: According to the signs, the general office is straight ahead.

Joshua: So how are we going to take it?

Kyle: I don’t think any of them would expect us to take it. So most likely, we’ll just have to barge in and grab it.

Shane: And if there are prefects there?

Samuel: Then we fight. This time I’ll scout the area (glares at Ryan)

Ryan: What?
He tip toed across the corridor and looked around the corner. On the floor lay the same rubber ducks as before.

Samuel: Rubber squeaky ducks. This time, we’ll step over them.

Joshua: Are those glass doors the entrance to the office?

Samuel: That’s what the sign says.

They managed to cross the field of ducks and entered the office. Surprisingly there was no one inside.

Kyle: Is it me or does this seem too easy.

Shane: Just be wary.

They approached a glass case in the center of the office. Shining like the gold of a hundred kingdoms, it stood alone. The value added certificate.

Joshua: The value added award. Nice.

Ryan: Some call it the certificate of the angels.

Samuel: Overrated.

Kyle: Pfft.

Shane: Grab it!

Kyle: The case is locked!

Ryan: So what? (Punches the case)

Ryan’s mighty punch shattered the glass case and with a loud crash, it was reduced to shards.

Samuel: Ryan, are you always the one who messes up?

Joshua: Someone’s coming!

Kyle: Quick! Take it! Take it!

They dove under the cover of the front desk as the footsteps got closer.

Prefect: Who’s in here? Anyone? Oh my Gosh… (Takes out her cellphone) Nadia, someone has stolen the value added cert! Yes. Okay. A search team will be deployed.
After she hung up, she ran out the glass doors and down the stairs. The five patricians got up quietly and proceeded out the door as well.

Shane: Great. Now we got a search team looking for us. Thanks Ryan.

Ryan: No problem.

Samuel, Shane and Joshua: -_-

Kyle: Guys take a look at that. (Looks out the window) We can see the warfront.

Joshua: Check it out; we got them sandwiched between our units.

Darren Ho and Ivan were leading their units toward the mass of the VJC and KC army. The fence was still holding up as the two units prepared to attack.

Darren: Ready for charge!

Ivan: Prepare to charge!

Patricians: OHHHHHH!

They ran at full speed toward the blue and cream swirls knocking back the ranks as they collided with them.

Ivan: Fight! Fight for our school!

Darren: Gunners! Fire at will! The rest of you, just attack!

From the window, they watched as the white uniformed patricians sifted through the blue and cream attacking them from both sides. The advance on the fence suddenly stopped as they fought back.

Kyle: Yes! We have a chance yet.

Samuel: Once we deliver the news that we have this little piece of paper, we will be victorious.

Ryan: Hahaha. Serves them right for thinking they can pick on St. Patrick’s.

Joshua: Our forces still are out numbered though.

Kyle: We are still holding them. That’s a good sign.

Shane: But right now its only 500 against like 2000 plus?

Samuel: Will you relax? Lets just get this back to our side.

Kyle: I think the search party is behind us. We have to hurry.

They ran straight ahead until they came to another set of stairs. They proceeded down and came to the landing, from there; they could see the podium in the courtyard and the armies across the road from it.

Samuel: Okay we’ll make a left here and go out the east exit.

Joshua: Sam, don’t you think, that unit of students is still waiting for us there. I don’t think we can exit from that way.

Samuel: Damn. Okay, Kyle, How many exits does this school have?

Kyle: I don’t know. Theres one at the overhead bridge which leads back to our school. But it’s always locked and probably barricaded by now.

Samuel: Crap! How are we going to get out now?

Kyle: I don’t think we can. We’ll be caught if we try.

Samuel: Ugh. Come on Samuel. Think!

The catapults were ready and were being moved out from the field.

Rishic: Marc, are you done with the balloons?

Marc: We have filled 50 big ones. Will that suffice?

Rishic: For now, yes. Bring them in the trolleys to Shamrock Garden. We will station 3 catapults there.

Marc: Okay. And tell your scouts, job well done.

On marine parade road, the battle still raged on. The sandwich strategy of Darren and Ivan was working well.

Ivan: Darren. Find the commanders and take them out.

Barry Lee: Looking for me?

Darren: Barry. You will pay for what you’ve done you treacherous fool.

Barry: Is it not you who will pay after we tear open your fence? I see through your plan. Your units are just a distraction. I bet you thought a four point o’ level grade wasn’t good enough for you. But you were wrong!

He blew on his brass trumpet. And then shouted his order.

Barry: Men and women! Do not engage the patricians. Tear down the gate! Use everything you got!

Suddenly the disorganized swarm looked forward and then began to charge at the fence, ignoring the two units one either side of them.

Ivan: You son of a switch, I’m going to kick your naz!

Ivan pounced on Barry, showering him with punches and headbutts. Darren fought off the oncoming VJC students who tried to help him. With his wooden lance, he pressed them hard.

Justin: We need some help here! The fence is going to collapse!

Another rivet popped out of the fencepost.

Justin: Ivan! Darren!

His cries were muffled by the ruckus. The fence was on its last legs.

Rishic: Justin we have the catapults ready!

Justin: Rishic, go back! The fence is about to fall!

Rishic gave a look of distress as he ordered his troupes to move back.

Justin: Patricians! Fall back! Fall back into the school!

The 100 strong unit dispersed in all directions as they retreated to the school building.

Rishic: Close the shutters! Close them quickly!

The steel shutters came down with a loud crash as the scouts ran beyond it. And the very next moment, the last rivet popped out of the fencepost. The fence was breached. The hundreds at the frontline scrambled into Shamrock Garden. The enemy was now upon the white citadel.

Darren: Ivan! What do we do now?

Ivan: Just keep attacking! They won’t get past the shutters yet.
Across the road Samuel was still at a loss of what to do.

Samuel: What now? We have the cert but no way to announce its capture.

Kyle: Sam. I have an idea. The podium in the courtyard. The microphone is still attached. Use that.

Samuel: Kyle that’s suicide! We’ll be surrounded.

Shane: But Kyle has a point. They may surround us. But their attention wont be on attacking the school.

Joshua: Even if we get captured, it will give our units some time to fight back.

Samuel: It’s a bit far fetched. But that’s the only thing we can do. Alright. Kyle. Go and announce our hostage.

The sound of footsteps was heard and the search party had found the 5 patricians. They stood behind them on the stairs.

Samuel: Oh crap.

Nadia: Kyle, I know what you have in your hand. Give it back

Kyle: No way. Finders keepers!

Nadia: Finders? You broke the glass case and snatched it. That’s not finding it! Give it back and we’ll let you go.

Kyle: I appreciate your terms but unfortunately Im not going to give it back. Not to you, not to her and not even to your principal over there.

Nadia: Huhs? My principal? Where?

Samuel: Go! Run to the mic!

Nadia: Ugh. That dongdong tricked me! Chase them girls!

Kyle ran ahead of the rest as the search party followed not too far behind. He hopped up onto the podium and took the microphone out of its stand. With that, his raspy voice announced.

Kyle: Students of Katong Convent! We have your value added certificate! It is in the hands of Patricians! Halt the attack, or it shall be destroyed!

Once again the armies fell silent. Kyle had just hit them where it hurt most. The certificate of the angels had been seized.

Stay tuned for episode 3