They found a stretcher in the nurse's office, probably used for sporting events. JJ dragged it down to where Alex was sitting, laying it out on the floor beside him. Shannon had cleaned up the wound and covered it with a thick gauze pad, and was giving him some pills to take.
"Gently now," Shannon said, "don't jostle him."
"Yes ma'am," JJ said as he lifted Alex under the arms as gently as he could.
"Easy now."
They got him on the stretcher with minimal movement, and the nurse insisted on strapping him into it. She said that it was to keep him steady, but Alex suspected that she rather enjoyed tying him down. Either way it was extremely difficult for him to lie still and not be up and doing things.
"Don't even think about it," she said sternly as if she could read his mind.
"Yes, Doctor," he said with a smile.
"Don't you forget it," she chastised him, "always do as the doctor orders."
"Any chance one of you has some rum?" he asked hopefully.
'I don't think so, but I'll check," JJ promised.
John headed to the auto shop to work with Karen's help while the others got Alex up to the nurse's office where there was an exam table. It would give him some peace and quiet while they all did other work.
The problem was that when they got back to the chemistry lab, the entire room was in flames. they had never extinguished the fire that started when the bullets ripped through the room earlier. The three ran to find fire extinguishers, which were easy enough to find these days, being clearly marked and regularly spaced in most businesses, especially government buildings.
It was quite an undertaking, but they finally got the fire under control.
Before dawn the next morning, John appeared, covered in sweat and grease, and obviously exhausted. "It's done enough for now," he sighed as he sank into a chair.
"Well let's see it," JJ said excitedly, jumping to his feet.
"Go ahead," he said tiredly, "I need to rest."
JJ ran down the stairs and towards the back of the school where the shop classrooms were located. It didn't take much to find the auto shop. It had large double doors that were painted with black and yellow diagonal stripes, and cut metal letters spelled out 'AUTO SHOP' above them.
When he pushed through the doors, the first thing he saw was a variety of cars and trucks in various stages of disassembly. The only whole vehicle was a Chevy Suburban just inside the garage doors. Except that it wasn't a Suburban anymore.
The entire outside had been covered in pieces of other vehicles, adding a layer of armor to it. Actual steel plates had been welded over the windshield and windows, with slits cut into them to allow vision outside. A cowcatcher was mounted to the front bumper, just like they used to put on the front of trains.
A hole had been cut in the roof, and a makeshift turret installed, complete with a bullet shield. the whole thing had been painted a mat black, and the letters I.C.E. had been painted in red along the sides. Somehow JJ didn't think that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency would be very amused if they ever saw it. And yet it was oddly appropriate.
It wasn't pretty; there were rough and uneven edges, and it looked very awkwardly put together in places, but at the same time it was beautiful. The ingenuity that went into building it was amazing. If they ever managed to throw these aliens back, they might have to submit it to one of those concept car programs. Hell, they'd probably get rich from it.
They had apparently also taken the time to load up most of their stuff into the cargo area of the Suburban. Duffle bags, coolers, and loose stuff were packed neatly in. It had more storage space than Alex's Explorer, so there was even room to spare.
There was snoring coming from inside, so JJ gently opened the back door to find Karen asleep on the seat. Apparently she hadn't made it the entire night like John had. He just closed the door and left her there. She obviously needed the sleep.
Back upstairs, JJ woke Tony up and guilted him into helping him take Alex to the new truck. They each took one end of the stretcher and hauled him down to the auto shop, then into the back seat, displacing a grumpy Karen from her makeshift bed.
"Give me my rifle," Alex said as they loaded him in, "I don't want to be unarmed if we run into trouble."
"How about a pistol instead?" JJ suggested.
"That'll work."
"Tony, you drive," JJ said, "I'll ride shotgun. Literally."
The door to the garage burst open, and Alex and JJ were immediately pointing weapons towards it. Shannon was backing through the door dragging a blanket with something heavy on it. She turned around and squeaked in panic, raising her hands and dropping the end of the blanket.
"Sorry," they said at the same time, lowering their weapons.
"Geez! Jumpy much?" She said, grabbing the blanket again.
"Not jumpy enough," Tony said with a wry grin, "let me help you with that."
"Thanks," she said as they muscled the dead alien into the back of the truck.
"Are we ready to go yet," John asked sleepily.
"I think we're about ready."
They piled into the truck, which was a bit roomier than Alex's Explorer. Shannon planted herself on the floor beside Alex so that she could monitor him.
"Drive carefully," she told Tony.
"Really?" he said, "I thought I'd take us off road and find some aliens."
"I mean it. As few bumps as possible."
"Right. Tell the invaders and the Manhattan Road Works department."
Starting up the truck, it was unfortunately loud, because it had a large engine in it. If they had to run, it would be a good vehicle to have. They pulled out of the high school parking lot and onto Sunset Avenue.
The tension was thick in the truck. Occasional gunshots or explosions made everyone jump, except Alex who was strapped down. He began sweating, and his eyes glazed over, twitching from side to side. He started panting and struggling against his bonds.
"Calm down, Alex," Shannon whispered to him, "you're safe."
"No," he breathed, "they're in trouble. We were ambushed."
"No Alex, that was a long time ago."
"I'm too late. They're all dead." tears began to streak from his eyes as he squeezed them shut.
"Which way?" Tony asked, coming up to a stoplight.
"West," Alex shouted blindly, "the only way out is west."
"West it is," he said, turning that direction.
"They're coming from the east. We have to go west."
They were all looking over their shoulders towards the east, waiting for the invaders to come up on them, but the way remained blissfully clear. For the moment, at least.
"We've got to go," he yelled again, struggling to get free.
"Alex, stop. You're going to make it worse."
Tony was driving as carefully as he could, which was only moderately careful considering he was pushing the truck to almost 60 mph on city streets. There were only two corners to take on the way to the hospital, and they had nice wide roads all the way there.
