Our Generation:The Soap Opera The Devil’S Ropes

Mon., Aug. 9, 1999

Theresa Hoath, 14

Part 3

The third murder this month. Why did it have to be Laura?

Zeus had been working as a janitor at St. Attila High for five years, and nothing ceased to amaze him. A retired Mafia adviser, he was right at home at this school of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Sirens could be heard approaching in the distance. He smiled wickedly to himself, it was music to his ears, for it brought back memories of the good old days of doing thievery and murders of his own.

Knowing the routine, people waited for the questioning, while doing their share of gossip.

Footsteps could be heard running down the hall. The police stormed into the gym.

“Someone called about another murder?” Officer Zebina Johnson shouted, her steel blue eyes searching the room for the criminal. They landed on the tangled mass of ropes.

“Officer Johnson, this is just terrible…” the boy’s football coach, Zoey Starr, started to ramble.

“Did anybody see anything? Or have any idea where the killer went?” Officer Craig Azeral interrupted.

Silence.

“Anybody?”

“I’m sorry officer, it must have occurred when I came into the gym with Counselor Quorn. We were putting on quite a …,” said Nathanial Attila III, a major benefactor for the school.

Johnson interrupted, carefully walking up to the body, examining the scene. “It appears she’d been crawling her way to the ropes, after getting shot in the thoracic vertebrae by a .44 with a silencer, from that direction,” she pointed to the back entrance of the gym.

“Where does that doorway lead to?” she asked.

“The boys’ locker room,” Slate Gravel, St. Attila High’s star quarterback, snickered.

Johnson looked at her partner. “I’ll back you up.” Her long-time partner and friend nodded and walked over, feeling uneasy, gun ready, to the entrance of the locker room. Entering, he could hear something slam shut in the far back.

Meanwhile, when Slate Gravel snuck out of the gym, Gwenn Petors, undercover for the FBI, careful not to be noticed, followed.

Sensing her presence, Gravel turned … To be continued

CONTINUING SAGA NOW WHAT? What happens next? Send your version of the continuing saga of St. Attila High to Our Generation/Soap, 999 W. Riverside, Spokane WA 99201 or fax it to (509) 459-5098 or e-mail ourgeneration@spokesman. com. Keep your story to no more than 400 words. It should be complete fiction. Avoid references to real people and real situations. Stories must be received before noon Thursday to be considered for publication next week. Include your full name, age, school and home phone number. You must be between 13 and 18 to enter. And be sure to leave a suspenseful ending. Previous “episodes” can be found online at http://ourgen.spokane.net

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