A Cry for Help!
by Paladar`
After boarding the bus, the thirty-two students of the Fourth Grade Class from Angel Grove
Elementary School, were beginning their last field trip of the year. Serving as chaperones, along
with the teacher, Mrs.Miller, were seven seniors. . . Rocky DeSantos, Kimberly Hart, Aisha
Campbell, Tommy Oliver, Adam Park, Kat Hillard, and Charlie Watkins.
After leaving the parking lot, Bus Driver Ben Tanner knew something was wrong! The school
bus was the *new* one, computer controlled, and programmed to seek out police and/or fire
department vehicles if the driver became incapacitated.
Before Ben was able to call for help . . .
It was Rocky who grabbed the steeling wheel of the bus while the others attended the injured.
He made several attempts to contact the police department, but not knowing if his cry for help
was heard, Rocky concentrated on driving the bus!
The computer program was useless, and he discovered early that the brakes were gone! "We
ain't got any brakes!" Rocky yelled.
Screams of terror echoed throughout the bus, as it raced down the streets of Angel Grove.
Two attempts to put a *driver* aboard the bus failed, sending the men to the hospital.
Rocky secretly contacted the Command Center, and Billy was trying to override the buses'
computer. He did gain access, but none of the override commands worked! Billy and Alpha 5
rushed to complete their initial work . . . the monthly maintenance on the teleportation
system.
At Phil's house . . .
A small gold, black, and white bird awoke startled!
The little bird could normally access the Hollsworth Manors' power systems with ease, but for
some reason today she could not !
The Hollsworth Manor property was purchased more than three hundred years ago, and
concealed beneath its security field was a portal through which Phil/Paladar` could travel, a Wild
Animal Preserve in which many of Earths' endangered animals lived on the eight thousand acres
of land in complete safety, and an entire fleet of Zords.
On a normal day, travelers on the road between Stone Canyon and Angel Grove saw a house in need of repair, and a
chain-link fence that had barbed wire at the top. However, today two road-closed signs' forced travelers to use a
fifteen mile detour.
Something was wrong at Hollsworth Manor! Ru had confirmations from the backup systems (all
six of them), and that was it! The main system and the auxiliary systems were DOWN.
The only thing that was operational was the security field surrounding the property.
All Ru could do was begin transmitting a desperate cry for help!
On The Planet of Ninjara . . . . Twenty years in Future. . .
Things had been quiet for several days, and the desperate cry for help sent the next generation of
"Rangers" scrambling into action!
"I've found it!" Matt DeSantos yelled from his console. "But it doesn't make any sense!"
"Why?" Samuel Oliver asked as he joined his lifetime pal at his console.
"The message is coming from Earth . . . Earth of the past!"
"Lord Zedd and company?" Michelle DeSantos inquired.
"No . . . It appears to be coming from the house . . . from Ru to be exact!"
"I can't understand a word she's saying," Benjamin Park said shaking his head.
After what seemed like hours, the upset bird calmed down long enough to be understood.
"That's impossible!" Michael DeSantos said in disbelief, as he checked the status of Hollsworth
Manor! "She's right, only the backups are operational!" Mike's voice was now laced with
fear.
"Tell Ru to reset the system!" Sammy said.
"She's tried that three times, but it didn't work!" Matt added as he pulled up the blueprints for
the Hollsworth system on his terminal.
"Can you determine the cause of the power failure?" Sammy asked!
"Not yet!" David Cranston answered. "Wait . . . We've got a major problem!"
"What?" Matt inquired.
"I'm going to send a charge through the system to clear away the pests!" David said as he keyed
in the commands. "That's the problem!" He displayed a thermal scan of the property which
clearly showed the presence of people. "I'd say they're with the electric company!"
Within 5 minutes, the thermal scan indicated the departure of the people from the area.
"I think they might have damaged the power conduits." David said with a groan.
"Why is that bird so upset?" Matt asked puzzled.
"I think I know," Michelle sadly replied. "I've been scanning the historical archives and I found
this!" She pushed several buttons and displayed on the screen was:
*****
FalconZord Pulls School Bus from Jaws of Death!
" . . . . Seven students from Angel Grove High School (Rocky
DeSantos, Kimberly Hart, Aisha Campbell, Tommy Oliver, Adam Park, Kat Hillard, and Charlie
Watkins) received praise from Mrs. Helen Miller, the Fourth Grade teacher."
"Mr. DeSantos was credited for his driving skills by the Chiefs of
the Police and Fire Departments."
"The Chief of Police stated that the brake lines had been
cut."
******
There was a picture of the FalconZord carrying the school bus with an additional header which
read: The Rangers Came Through Again!"
The minutes seemed like hours as they stared at the screen.
"That's not the Ninja Falcon!" Michelle said realizing the fact.
Before anyone could argue, Sammy said "She's right . . . It's the Quasar!"
"Who's flying it?"
"Matt, my best guess would be . . . Ru!" Sammy stated.
"Folks . . .," Ben yelled "Our time line may change, if the Falcon doesn't fly!"
Reality set in fast!
******
Aboard the speeding school bus. . .
"Some guy on a motorcycle just jumped over that police car!" One of the kids yelled trying to
follow it.
"Where'd the guy go?" Carol Maxwell asked looking around.
"He's right here!" Rocky said catching sight of the motorcycle.
"I think he's going to try getting aboard!" Cindy Harper said excitedly.
"Great . . . Another person is going to the hospital!" Adam thought aloud.
The driver of the motorcycle jumped on top of the bus, and then back-flipped in to the moving
bus. The doors groaned loudly as they were kicked open!
*****
"I think the driver and this child are dead!" Aisha sadly informed the man as she and Tommy
continued to do CPR on the driver while Kat and Adam did the same on one of the
children.
The man bent down to check for vital signs.
"What about her?" He asked as he saw Kimberly holding a injured girl.
"She hit her head before we got control of the bus." Rocky said trying to drive and watch the
stranger.
The man stood up, and pulled several small calculator-sized objects from his pocket. He bent
back down and placed one of the objects on the man's chest. The device registered a faint
heartbeat, and then it began to charge.
Kat took the second object, and placed it on the little girl chest. A faint heartbeat was detected
and the second object also began to charge.
When the devices turned red, each delivered an electrical charge much in the same way a
defibrillator did.
****
After the injured were treated, Tommy, Adam and their visitor gathered in the front of the bus
with Rocky to discuss their options.
"Our only chance is to fix the brakes!" Tommy stated as the bus rounded a slight corner. "We've
got three major right turns coming up and without brakes we'll never make them!"
"We'll probably tip over at the first turn!" Rocky added as he straighten up the speeding
bus.
"And the shattering glass will cut everyone on the left side of the bus to ribbons." The man said
looking at that side of the bus.
"We better get busy!" Adam commented as he started down the center aisle.
Some progress was made before the first turn, but not enough to effectively use the brakes.
And even with everyone on the right side of the bus, one of the children screamed "We're gotta
tip over!"
"You got the wheel?"
"Yeah . . . I got it!"
The man stood over by the door, and by some miracle his added weight pushed the bus back
down onto its' right tires.
A sigh of relief momentarily cheered everyone up!
*****
Charlie Watkins had been complaining since before boarding the bus. He didn't want to be
there!
Both Tommy and Adam had told him to shut up, so this time it was Mrs. Millers' turn. "Charlie,
shut up!" Her words were spoken in a growl.
He kept quiet for several minutes, but . . .
This time however, he found himself smashed up against the bus wall. "You were told to shut up
by a teacher, didn't your mother teach you any manners?"
"Let me guess, you'll use Power Ranger wannabe crap on me if I don't?" Charlie grumbled at
the man who had him pinned.
"Maybe I will, maybe I won't . . . that's not the issue. You were told to shut up' by the teacher,
so I suggest you do it!" The man angrily said as he released the whining teen.
Charlie flopped down in his seat.
At the moment, Rocky yelled "Here comes the second turn. Everybody hang on!"
This turn was even worse then the first one, as the bus began to tip!
The man touched something on his watch, and soon the bus returned to it's upright
position.
A condemned building at the end of the street marked the final turn . . . left or right . . . it made
no difference!
Ambulances were gathering at the end of the street, and the town braced for the crash.
Even through the roar of the speeding bus, that sound could still be heard!
Screams of joy echoed as the bus rose above the smoking remains of the condemned building
which fell victim to a bird with an attitude!
'The End'
