The Bomb and the Cage: Doree Anne Read Online Free Page B

have been a transformer.”
    “A transformer, are you serious? I heard it loud and clear from at least four miles away.”
    “Okay, maybe I’m just underestimating it a little. I’ll see you soon.”
    I pulled out of the parking lot when there was a second bang. The world slowed down for a moment and became blurry. Then it began to spin. I had forgotten to check traffic before pulling out. There was a semi-truck in the South bound Howard. He clipped the front of my cruiser, and sent me into a spin. I was lucky that it was just my front bumper.
    The semi-truck stopped about a hundred yards down the road. I opened the driver side door to the sound of metal scraping metal and got out. I checked the damage to the cruiser and there wasn’t much, except for my front bumper and metal bars being ripped off completely.
    I heard the sounds of the emergency tone, which was a series of long drawn out notes coming through my car alerting that there was an emergency. The dispatcher I knew as Edna came through after the emergency tone ended.
    “All law enforcement, fire fighters, and ambulances report to the area of Clearwater Correctional Institution to assist.”
    I heard the sounds of an ambulance and looked north to see one coming from the direction of Leefield . They pulled up next to me.
    “Hey!”  I yelled at them while the passenger side window came down.
    “You okay?” The passenger asked. I could barely make out the question because he and everyone else inside were wearing gas masks. It was standard post 9/11 procedures for paramedics when there was a risk of terrorist activities and/or chemical weapons.
    “Yeah, just shaken up a little.”
    “Meet you at the prison then?” Before I could respond he continued. “A bunch of people injured. If you’re not hurt too bad we’re going to keep heading in that direction.”
    “Go ahead; I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
    The ambulance pulled onto Highway 27 kicking up loose gravel. I needed to check on the semi driver before I left for the prison. I got in my cruiser and drove to the semi while staying on the side of the road. The short ride there felt all right except for the steering wheel, which was badly out of alignment.  I stopped just behind the semi I was left with the sinking feeling that I was going to see a large suspension for this accident, because the truck was painted a bright red color. How could I have missed this? I took a deep breath and got out of my car as the driver side door of the semi opened and a large man got out and ran over to me as I got out.
    “Are you okay Officer?”
    “I was about to ask you the same thing. I am so sorry; I didn’t even see you coming.”
    “It’s okay, I wasn’t paying attention either. I got distracted by that explosion out there.” He pointed towards the smoke that was coming into view. I handed him my information for insurance purposes. He took it and wished me luck. I got in my car, stepped on the gas, and took off down the road the half mile towards the smoke, towards the prison.
     

 
    Chapter 7
    09/18/2004 0911 Hours
    Sgt. John Williams
    I checked my watch and it was 9:11 A.M. It was my smoke break . At least that’s what I called it anyways because I didn’t smoke. Smokers may get lung cancer and die a slow and painful death but because they smoke they always got more breaks, and that just wasn’t fair. So every day I would make sure to go outside and take a deep breath of fresh air while enjoying a fruit of some kind. Today was an orange day.
    In front of confinement was a set of stairs that went to the second floor. At the top, there was a large metal cage. Once that cage opened, there is a large metal door had two locks. Inside was an area where we kept spare mattresses, linens, and a few inmate uniforms. Directly across from where you entered were stairs that went to the attic. The attic stretched the entire length of the dorm and had wires and pipes that sprawled across the floor which made