Free Hurricane Power by Sigmund Brouwer

the guy with the cell phone said.“Someone is watching him and will call me if he gets too close.”
    Oh.
    So I did the next best thing.
    I ran.
    They thought there was nowhere for me to go. But there was one place they hadn’t covered: the open door to a classroom right beside me.
    I slammed the door shut. A desk was nearby.
    In one motion I pulled it toward the door. I tilted it and wedged it under the handle just as they reached the door.
    Through the door’s window, I saw them laughing.
    They weren’t worried that I’d get away.
    I heard the guy on the cell phone tell someone where I was.
    One of the others rattled the handle. The door was stuck. He pushed hard and the door gave a little. I could see that the legs of the desk would probably slip on the waxed floor. I guessed I had less than thirty seconds to do something.
    I ran to the desk at the front of the classroom. There was a telephone that I hoped was connected to the office. And I hoped the gum-snapping secretary was still there.
    I picked it up.
    It dialed automatically.
    It rang.
    No answer.
    Three rings. Four. Five...
    The desk slipped, and the door opened slightly as all four guys pushed.
    I dropped the phone and ran to the window.
    The school grounds were nearly empty. This wasn’t the type of place kids hung around if they didn’t have to.
    I looked down. I didn’t like what I saw. Two long stories down to the bushes that grew along the building.
    But more banging at the door made me act.
    I opened a window.
    I stuck my head out and looked to the right.
    A drainpipe!
    The rusted drainpipe was easily within my reach. Even if I only had time to crawl halfway down, I could get close enough to the ground to jump safely.
    Bang! Bang! Bang!
    They almost had the door open wide enough to get in.
    I couldn’t wait. I stretched out to reach the drainpipe, hoping it would hold my weight. I got my hands on it and let my body slide out the window.
    It held! So far, so good.
    I began to lower myself, scraping my knees and elbows against the rough sandstone wall.
    Five seconds later, I heard voices above me.
    I expected someone to reach out to try and shake the drainpipe. I was still too far off the ground to jump. All I needed was five more seconds.
    Then I heard the guy on the cell phone.
    â€œCall them in from all points,” he said calmly from above me. “Get them to the back of the school. He’s climbing down thewall. You should be able to trap him on the ground.”
    All points? How many were there?
    I found out seconds later.
    Halfway down the drainpipe, I looked around. The once-empty grounds outside the school were no longer empty.
    At least a dozen guys were jogging toward me from different corners of the school.

chapter twenty-one
    I didn’t have much choice. I had to get to the ground as quickly as possible. I scooted down the drainpipe a few more feet.
    I checked the ground.
    I was right above a bush.
    As I pushed off the drainpipe, I caught the edge of the bush and rolled onto the grass. Then I scrambled to my hands and knees.
    It didn’t feel like I had broken any bones. That was the good news.
    The bad news was that three guys werealready so close I didn’t have a chance. I couldn’t possibly get up and run before they caught me.
    Then there was the other bad news. It was a smell I wished I didn’t recognize. I looked down.
    Sure enough, my nose had not lied. Half of it was still on the grass beneath me. The other half was smeared on my shirt.
    What was it with Florida dogs? Were they all huge and able to eat like elephants? And do other stuff like elephants?
    I raised my head again. Two guys stood right in front of me.
    I knew a third one was behind me. That wasn’t hard to figure out after I felt him kick me.
    â€œGet up,” one of them said. “It’s time for a talk.”
    Farther away, I could see that the others had slowed down. After all, now that I was trapped