Slow Dance in Purgatory

"Just let it go, Johnny,” Billy pleaded. "We shouldn't have come here at all. I have the willies about all of this, like cooties marching up my spine or somethin'."

"Just stay out of it, Billy!" Johnny insisted again, releasing Billy’s shirt and shoving his brother back towards his car. "Take my car and head down the road a ways. I'll meet you in an hour at The Malt." The Malt was an ice cream parlor where the kids liked to hang out and flirt. It wasn't really Johnny's scene, but he knew Billy would be safe there.

"What if I get caught? You know I ain’t got proof!" Billy hated getting in trouble, and driving without a license would definitely garner some unwanted attention if the cops pulled him over. "And what if I wreck your car?" Billy's voice rose in panic at the thought of putting even a scratch on Johnny's car. That would be even worse than getting caught driving.

"You'll be fine! Just go!" Screams and shouts pulled Johnny's attention from his little brother, and he shrugged out of his leather jacket, threw it at Billy, and took off at a run, barely intercepting an attempt to brain Carter with a piece of a two-by-four someone had snagged from the construction debris.

Alarm sounds were jangling through Johnny's head as he realized these guys weren't playing around. In his periphery, he noticed cars peeling out as the ladies apparently realized this was not a place they wanted to be. Good. One less thing he had to worry about. And there was plenty to be concerned about, because Johnny and his friends were sorely out numbered. What was supposed to be a man to man brawl had turned out to be 3 or 4 to one. Johnny felt himself go cold as he cranked up the volume on the intensity of his own attack. So where the hell was Carlton?!

Then, as if his question had been overheard and answered by some unseen power, Johnny saw him. The walkway to the entrance of the school was lit up, and Roger Carlton was running towards the front doors at full speed. Johnny forced his way through the swinging arms, landing a few shots and taking more than a couple on his way out of the writhing mass of fists and feet. Just as he thought he would break free, someone flew into him, knocking him down and wrapping him up in the thrashing legs and arms of several people. By the time Johnny had fought his way back out, Carlton was gone.

Johnny raced toward the entrance of the school, eyes swinging left and right, and then swinging right again and stopping cold. His baby was still parked where he had left her, but the driver's side door was hanging open as if Billy had suddenly changed his mind about leaving and bailed out in a hurry. The front head lights were broken in. It looked as if someone had taken a bat to the windows, too. Rage pounded in Johnny's temples. He had no doubt who had inflicted the damage.

Looking back at the ongoing fight, there was no sign of Billy, but it was hard to see which way was up in that mess. Billy wouldn't have been able to hold his own for too long with those guys. He was better at using his brain than his fists, and from what Johnny could see, the guys trading blows knew what they were doing. In fact, Carter, Jimbo, and the rest looked like they had turned a corner and were more than holding their own. He would give the fight about 30 seconds more before Carlton's goons started running and pleading uncle. But where was Carlton, and more urgently, where was Billy?

From somewhere far off, Johnny thought he heard the sounds of sirens. Heat. He had to get Billy and scram. Running on instinct, he headed for the entrance to the school. Just as he had feared, the door was unlocked. Either someone had a key, or the construction crew had been negligent and left the school opened, which didn't make any sense. He needed time to find Billy, teach Carlton a lesson, and get out before the cops thought to sniff around INSIDE the school. The unlocked door wouldn't afford him much time, but hopefully the cops would assume the school was locked up tight and the fight had remained outside.

The entrance opened into a large three story rotunda with gleaming tiles and a great staircase that swept upward to twin balconies that edged the second and third floors.

"Billy!' Johnny called out, suddenly uncertain as to where to go. The school seemed silent and untouched, and all at once he doubted the wisdom in coming through the doors. If the cops caught him in here he would have more than a few bruises and a black eye to explain. Breaking and entering maybe, even though the door had been open...