Middle School Heroes

Chapter 37 - Bringing the House Down

The island seemed calm now. All seven kids were still huddled together by the plane watching as the teachers milled about inside and outside of the building. Occasionally, one of them would walk out with a box or an item that would be taken toward the dock or on to the plane. Professor Richards passed out bottled waters and snacks to the kids, which was nice since they hadn't eaten since breakfast.

Professor Coulson stood close by, keeping an eye on them, and Dr. Storm hovered over each of them in turn, looking for any wounds that needed to be treated immediately. She inspected Skye's hands before moving on to Scott. When she got to him, Brock insisted that he was fine, but she handed him an ice pack for his head.

"You know that cut is going to need stitches when we get off this island. You need to keep the swelling down," Dr. Storm insisted.

"Really, I don't need this. The bleeding's stopped and I'm fine," He was holding the ice pack in his hand.

"Just use the ice pack and stop complaining, Brock," Skye chided him. She took the pack from him, and held it up to his forehead. He flinched at the cold, but didn't argue as she held it there.

"Looks like they are rounding everyone up now and moving them toward the boat." Clark was using his x-ray vision to give the kids an update on what was going on in the building. "Jim and Joe too."

Skye was relieved that they were not going to have to ride with their captors, dead or alive, but she noticed that Rumlow tensed at Clark's words. "What's wrong? You don't actually want to ride back with them, do you?"

Surprisingly, he looked at her like he might be sick. "No, it's just that I've never been on a plane before." He glanced back at the plane behind them and grimaced. "Never been on a boat before either, but I'm not afraid of water."

Skye had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing. "Why Brock Rumlow. Is there actually something that you might be afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid. I'm just not real excited about the idea of hurling through the sky in a metal container, that's all."

She smiled kindly at him and patted his arm with the hand that wasn't holding the ice pack on his head. "It's okay. I've flown a few times. It's actually pretty fun once you get used to it. We'll get you through it. I promise."

Before he could respond, Coach Garrett walked outside from the building and Rumlow immediately grabbed the ice pack from Skye and pushed her hand away. "Get off it, Sunshine. I can handle it myself," he grumbled. Skye gave him a look of understanding and turned her attention back to Dr. Storm, who was now looking over Clark.

Coach Garrett made his way over to them, and stopped in front of Rumlow. "I'm going back in the boat with some of the other teachers to keep an eye on the prisoners, so I'll see you when you get back to school. If you need anything, you let me know, alright?"

"Yes, sir."

He turned his attention to Skye. "What about you, Sunshine? You doing okay?"

Skye nodded. "Yes. I'm fine, thank you."

"Good. Glad to hear it. Any messages that you want to pass on to anyone back at school?"

"No, thank you." She shuddered and wondered if he thought she'd want to send a message to Ward.

"Okay then. See you all soon." He turned and walked back toward the building.

Once Coach Garrett was gone, Rumlow handed her the ice pack back and she gave him a perplexed look. "It's not as uncomfortable when you do it," he shrugged. She rolled her eyes at him, but resumed holding the ice pack to his head, silently. A short time later, they saw the boat pulling away from the island.