Snow Day.v1 (Thomas, Bill, Bryn, Julian, Kent)

Intro: 19 December 1985, the day before Christmas break has all the kids in town glued to the TV, anxious for a snow day. Meanwhile, strange things are afoot around town. Pets and people are going missing, Mom says something weird is going on at The Loop, and Dad is worried about the pack of wolves rumored to be roaming around the outskirts of town. Can a rag-tag group of kids find out what's going on before it's too late?

12yo Frank/Computer Geek (Thomas): quiet kid slowly coming out of his shell. Resents mom still shopping the Sears’ little kids’ cloths department. Never call him “Francis”; not sure what he’d do in return. Frank is a latch-key kid and his friends his surrogate family.

13yo Jimmy/Hick (Bill): average student, “trailer trash from Arkansas.” Always tinkering with his dirt-bike he rides everywhere after chores. He received school detention for making ‘donuts’ in front lawn. Which introduced him to Rod and thus the car incident.

14yo Jack/Weirdo (Bryn): socially maladjusted from a broken home. Angers quickly if teased for his last name “Loveday.” Such as suspension for throwing that blackboard eraser at the kid teasing him but breaking the window instead. And thus, his part in the car incident.

14yo Joshua/Bookworm (Julian): smallish, knee-knocked with braces. Withdrawn, plays the violin. Scholastic achiever partly due to his mom as head librarian and his dad the high school principal. Secretly wants to be rebellious. Forlornly listened as the others plotted the car incident.

15yo Rod/Troublemaker (Kent): short and young looking for his age. Not a bully, just impulsive lashing out in unhealthy ways. Such as the car incident. Parental problems: mom works all day at the Loop and thus has no time for dad who expects to be waited on hand and foot.

 The Car Incident: A day suspension for Jack busting a school window?! Followed with 3-days of detention hall. Quiet Jack who only ever was in study hall…well to study. As Jack spewed disgust at authority, Rod listened and consoled his best friend, “I got your back.” Jimmy just thought it was bluster as he suggested ways to sabotage the principal’s car. Joshua quietly listened, visioning himself joining in. But then to hear Rod and Jack actually trashed the principal’s vehicle?! Damn, ballsy move.

Friday, 19 Dec, 7am: The kids woke early, anxious to hear the news:

• Rod closed his bedroom door trying to muffle his parents already fighting as he listened intently to the radio for the closure announcement. He then climbed out his window, pausing at dad’s ‘project’ car where he stashed his gear (cigarettes and lighter) before riding off on his bike to join his friends.
• Jimmy hustled to complete his chores but paused when he found crushed chicken wire and 2 dead birds. Mangled beyond recognition. Even dad noted, “Not even meat for stew. That weren’t no wolf attack. Yeah son, you can take your 22-pistol along. Just be careful.” Jimmy fixed the chicken coop before riding off on his motored dirt bike.
• Frank woke to his alarm and immediately logged into the computer bulletin-board for any news of school closing. He peeked at his ant farm before settling at the breakfast table where his parents chatted about Loop work, “Are the power surges affecting your area too? We had a robot fried during one surge.” But mother was distracted by a coworkers’ call, “Dorothy? No, there’s no bears in Nevada.” Frank used the distraction to slip out the door.
• Joshua was a ‘creature of habit’: bathroom, two shakes, and brush his teeth before breakfast. Dad was already on the phone to the news outlets, “This is Mr. Hutsenpilar. Please post school closings due to snow. I’m sure all the kids will be thrilled.” Josh already had his coat on and was headed out the door when his dad warned, “Stay away from that Rod. No good; bet he smokes. That Jack is also a hothead to avoid. Stay close as the news reports someone from the plant gone missing.”
• Jack had to step over and around the musicians asleep on the Livingroom floor. Another party night thrown by his dad. So much for turning on the TV and catching the latest MTV video and school news. At least the radio interrupted the music with news. He grabbed his dictionary as he snuck off on his BMX.

The radio and TV announced a “snow day.” Thus, the boys soon gathered at the junkyard - their favorite hangout. Jimmy couldn’t wait to tell them about the mangled chickens. Jack added, “Did you hear about Mike Reed, from the Loop, gone missing north of town? We could join the hunt.” 

Josh pulled a flyer out of his pocket, “I passed the community center and found this post. Reward for a missing dog.” Rod looked it over, “Slick how you took the entire post and all its pull-tabs.” Frank added, “Hey, I know the Evans family. They live in a ritzy part of town. Let’s ride over there and offer our help.” Jack chuckled, “Yeah, the ‘Snow Days Detective Agency’ at your service.”

Missing Dog: 70yo Nickolas Evans answered the doorbell, “Francis my boy, what are you doing here?” Frank cringed at the name but kept his cool, “Josh found your flyer and we decided to help find your dog, Juneau.” Evans let the boys in as he hobbled to his chair on crutches, “I’d look for her myself but when she spooked and ran off, she jerked the leash out of my hand, and I took a tumble. We were ‘shrooming’ up on the Loop’s western access road, beyond Echo Gate. I’ll show you on a map.” Rod put on his charm, “She has to be cold, tired, and hungry. Do you have treats we can offer? Does she answer to a special name? We just hope we can find her in time.” Nickolas choked up, “Juno is a good girl. A husky. I’ll add another $10 to the reward. Here’s some milk-bones she loves.”

As they rode their bikes thru town, they were drawn to the crowd gathered at the gas station. Beside the pumps was a Loop truck pulling a trailer with 2 large robots strapped in place. Each at least 15 ft tall! With spherical heads made of a clear plastic that revealed its wired and geared interior. But what was most impressive: each robot had twin 40 caliber automatic weapons instead of arms! Jimmy jumped up on the trailer for a closer look and read the stenciling, “VOSACA-SCR71 models. Hey, these fold up just like my transformer toys! [they came out in 1984]” Frank pulled out his portable TSR80 computer to research and gasped, “Those were experimental weapons designed for patrolling Africa during the last war. But the War Council deemed them inhuman and banned them just like they banned chemical weapons.”

And that’s when the truck driver appeared, “Hey, kid! Get off that trailer. That’s top-secret stuff.” Jimmy snickered, “Oh yeah? Well, your secret is out.” The driver snorted, “You heard about the …wolves… killing livestock in the area? Well, these babies will take care of them.” Josh elbowed Jack, “I heard my dad talk about some ultra-rich folks using those for guard duty. They have a special targeting system – just feed them a picture of their foe and they’re on the hunt like a bloodhound.”

As the truck pulled away going north, the boys naturally followed. Thankfully the truck had to go slow with its precious cargo. About a half-hour later, as the boys crested a hill, they spotted the truck stopped. After unstrapping the robots, 2 men hooked up cables, powered the robots on, and began feeding pictures they pulled out of a bag. Rod was already planning, “Sure would be nice to see those target pictures.” Jimmy started up his bike, “I’ll provide a little distraction so you can sneak up.”

Soon the robots activated and silently moved out. The men climbed back into the truck and left. Rod opened the backpack he lifted from the truck… and stared at pictures of dinosaurs! Josh was more exact, “Those are velociraptors!” Frank injected, “I read a science magazine that talked about DNA cloning. Is that what the Loop is working on?!” Jack scoffed, “They probably have metal targets painted as raptors to test the robots. There aren’t any dinosaurs around here.” Jimmy fingered his pistol, “I hope not, because I think my 22 will only piss them off.”

They continued north toward the access road still on the hunt for Juneau. Birds led them to a deer carcass beside the road. “Look, 3-toed tracks. Just like a raptor. But these are WAY BIGGER! Look at those broken branches way up in the trees! I’d guess this was a T-rex kill. And from the freshness of the blood, only hours old.” Jimmy knelt beside the tracks, “Looks like it came in from the north but left going west.” Jack adjusted his theory, “OK, not metal targets. They’re robot dinosaurs that shoot laser beams.”

They finally arrived at the access road and found another Loop truck with attached trailer. Abandoned. Josh looked inside the cab, finding a folio labeled ‘Mike Reed.’ Josh read the work order, “He was sent out here to investigate the power outages. Something is drawing power off their grid. He’s narrowed it down the line to substations 20-24. I guess one of the substation ‘penguins’ is malfunctioning. He took off on a 3-wheeler.” They all agreed: follow the tracks in the truck with Rod driving. Frank opted for the truck bed, “What if we hit a deer or something? I’ve read about deer crashing thru the front windshield. Besides, I can see the sides of the road better. I can look for dog tracks.”

They loaded their bikes on the trailer and took off. They ignored the sound of Rod grinding the gears till he got into a smooth rhythm. It wasn’t long before they came upon the 3-wheeler rolled on its side in a shallow side-ditch. From his higher perch, Frank pointed out boot prints, “I can see a hunting cabin up the road. And, and, there’s more 3-toed tracks following the boot prints!” As they got closer, they saw a cabin wall knocked down. Josh entered the cabin as the others circled the cabin, following the 3-toed tracks. And a trail of blood! But stopped short of the snow-covered mound. They returned to the cabin where they found Josh listening to a handheld voice recorder.

“Maintenance log, 17 Dec… [static]… I’ve narrowed it down to stations 21-24. Must be 23. I saw a husky, but it ran away. I found tampering at station 23… [more static] … Thing is keeping pace with me. One jumped at me, but I swerved away. Now hiding in this cabin’s bathroom. Waiting for them to lose interest and leave. I’d swear them dinosaurs. 5ft tall, blue body with purple spots and red strip. Been hours and no sign of them. I’ll make for the truck… [background crashing noise] … Oh God! [crash]”

Jimmy offered to fix [tinker] the 3-wheeler as the others collect Mr. Reed’s body. Frank initially objected, “That’s tampering with evidence. Shouldn’t we leave it for the police?” He reluctantly joined the others plodding toward the mound where they found a pool of blood and the eviscerated body of Mike Reed. Most contaminated the blood with their upchuck. Wiping his chin, Josh checked the man’s coat pockets and displayed a short-range walkie talkie. And that’s when Jimmy puttered up on the 3-wheeler, “Over half its gas dripped out but nothing damaged. And look, I found this claw imbedded in the collapsed wall.”

[result of Josh’s extreme investigation success] They compared their notes and opinions. The warmth of the cabin (despite the downed wall) meant the attack happened only hours ago. So, the raptors must be nearby. Tracks around the body angled west, back toward ‘penguin’ 23 per Reed’s maintenance map. Juneau must be nearby…if not dead.

And that’s when the radio crackled to life, “Help! Anyone out there? [background sound of dogs furiously barking] There’s creatures stalking us.” Frank spoke up, “That’s Mrs. Dorothy Jackson! Mom was talking with her this morning. Their farm is west of here. Where the tracks lead.” Everyone spoke at once: “What are we waiting for, let’s help the Jacksons.” “Are you crazy?! The raptors are there.” “They come near, and I’ll run them over.” “I’ll shoot them.” “You said your 22 will only piss them off!” “Let’s unhitch the trailer so we can go faster.”

Jimmy followed on the 3-wheeler as the others rode in the truck. They arrived at station 23 first. Odd that its hatch was open with a thick cable snaking out and stretched out northeast into the woods. Frank climbed inside and fiddled with the internal computer keyboard and screen. “Says the hatch is closed and systems normal but we know that’s incorrect. Someone HAS tampered with this penguin.” Jimmy spoke up, “Reminds me of dad running his own line to the cable box so he could get free HBO.” More keystrokes opened a list of files: Spark Power, Peterson Farm, Readings, The Rift. Rod suggested, “Bet if we followed the cable, we’d find the Peterson farm.” Jimmy nixed the idea, “Sounds like The Jackson's problem is more urgent. Can’t we just shut this thing down?” Jack obliged by pulled the master circuit breaker inside the penguin.

Rod lit a cigarette as they proceeded west. Frank coughed at the smoke wafting from the cab into his face in the bed. Jimmy puttered behind on the 3-wheeler. They drove down the Greens’ dirt driveway to the sound of the dogs (inside the house) madly barking at something moving just inside the treeline. As Rod pulled to a stop, Jimmy drove around to yell at the Jacksons as he held up his claw prize, “Get into the truck! Those are dinosaur raptors!” Everything happened at once. The raptors charged, Mr. Jackson stepped onto the porch holding a shotgun, a pack of dogs came charging out, Rod put the truck in gear and sped toward the raptors as Frank bailed out of the bed to hid in a shed, Jimmy tried to level his pistol at a raptor.

Rod slammed into one raptor, pinning it against a tree. Smoke poured from the cracked engine block. “Blam!” The shotgun blast crippled another raptor, finished off by the dogs. Jimmy missed the one charging him. Then again, maybe he hit it but just pissed it off. Its claw raked his shoulder and was ready to strike again till the dogs chased it off.

Dorothy stood in the doorway aghast, “Poor Ms. Peterson. She could be under attack too. Crazy science woman lives northeast of here. Used to work at the Loop till they fired her. Said she was stealing company equipment. She now a recluse at her farm. Strange to call it a farm considering she never worked the fields. Oh my, boys, you’re hurt!” She tended to Jimmy’s arm and Josh’s forehead bashed on the dash during the crash. “Climb into our station-wagon and we’ll take you into town with us.” The boys declined as they got onto their bikes, “We’ve a dog to rescue. And hopefully Ms. Peterson too.”

But Frank had already linked the mad scientist to the penguin’s computer file, “Peterson Farm. She must be stealing the power. What else did she steal?” They swung by station 23 to verify the power still off before continuing toward the farm by following the cable. Which led into a large red barn. Lights shone from an adjacent house. No movement. Silence. Parking their bikes, they snuck toward the barn. “Snap.” So much for sneaking. They passed a large hover tractor that obviously hadn’t been operated for years as it nestled on the ground and was covered by weeds.

They peered into the barn with jaw-dropped expressions as they soaked in the sight of a huge, suspended ring [think Stargate]. Frank and Jack were drawn to its design and thus in search of an operation panel or desk. But all paused when they looked closer at the vertical ring… almost a painting of a far-off jungle scene. Till they saw large birds swooping above the trees, “Hey, those are Pterodactyls! This is some kind of time machine. It’s like that Jules Verne movie with the carriage except this uses a gate.” Rod threw a rock at it, but it bounced off. “The ring of lights is off. Remember, we killed the power back at station 23.”

Frank found the control panel and a diagram of the machine, “It uses 8 magnetrine disks just like those used on hovercrafts. Hey, I just realized that tractor was missing its disks. Copper plating and wiring, and 2 silver tubes labeled ‘the rift’.” Frank hit the up button on the keyboard to view the last entered commands, “Says Spark successfully closed.” Jimmy had to ask, “Yeah, but did we close it when we cut the power?” Jack stepped up to the ring screen, looking left and right. Small cat-sized critters scampered across the landscape. 40 yards in stood a crude hut. With a Pterodactyl perched above. And human footprints going in and out, “I wonder if Ms. Peterson is in that hut?!”

Frank hit the up button again, “Gate Open. In fact, multiple attempts to open the gate. A string of failures but 4 successful openings from Nov 20^th to the last on 15 Dec.” Out of curiosity, Frank entered the “Open” command: “Insufficient Power.” They debated what to do, “Let the robots kill off any remaining dinosaur.” “No, we should open the gate to let them get home.” “Are you crazy?! More might come thru.” “What about Ms. Peterson? She might try to open it again.” “Where is she?” “Why is there a child’s play piano next to the operation keyboard?”

They finally entered the unlocked 2-story farmhouse. And found her office and her journal. “Her name’s Diane. She named her time-travel machine ‘The Spark’. Her ‘rift’ began as a 1.5 inch diameter peephole. She tapped into the Loop station for more power and uses the magnetrine to stretch the rift wider. She installed a password based on melodies. That must be why the kid-piano is next to the keyboard! And she has already gathered dinosaur eggs she is incubating to hatch pets!”

Sure enough, a search of the house found an upstairs bathtub filled with 3 large eggs bathing under a heating lamp. “The largest one must be a T-rex.” They found 2 more smaller eggs warming in a kitchen crockpot. Meanwhile, Jack found a Walkman with a tape labeled “Greatest Hits.” He put on the headset and keyed “Play.”

But that's when they felt the tremor and heard a thrashing sound outside. Dare they look? In the front  lawn, a Stegasaurus tried desperately to dislodge a string of barbed wire wrapped around its spiked tail.

[the Dino Whisperer] Rod was already outside with his hands raised, “Stay calm girl. I won’t hurt you.” It took some effort and a few cuts but he was able to remove the wire. The Stega nudged him as if thanking him. Rod took that as approval… and climbed on its back, settling between its huge spikes lining its backbone. “Giddy up girl.” Jimmy searched and found a polaroid camera to document the scene. Josh spoke up, “I bet some of those eggs are hers. We can’t just leave the gate closed. Come on guys, we have to get her home.”

They concocted their wild plan and set it in motion:

CLIMAX: need 10 successes

Rod (Lead) tried to encourage his team but failed to overcome their doubts: failed, used luck to reroll but still failed.

Jack (Restore Power) rode his BMX back to station 23 to reset the circuit breaker: 3 successes. Except the last raptor appeared. Jack was trapped inside… till both robots appeared and gunned down the raptor. They left to hunt more which gave Jack the opportunity to collect a few claws as souvenirs.

a-ha - Take On Me (Official Video) [Remastered in 4K] - YouTube

Frank (Open Gate) used his own TSR80 to help program the gate. From Jack’s discovery of Diane’s favorite songs (there was only one on the tape: A-Ha’s “Take on Me”), he correctly entered the password, via mini-piano, to enter the open command: 4 successes.

Jimmy (Bait) took off on the 3-wheeler with the largest egg, cushioned in a blanket, strapped in the bed. He drove off toward the deer kill hoping the T-rex still in the area and would catch scent of the egg. Hopefully it was his/hers. 2 successes.

Rod (return Stega) carried the crockpot of smaller eggs to lead Stega into the gate jungle. Both he and Josh tried to approach the hut in search of Diane but were deterred by the bird. Till Josh used his stealth (2 success after using his lone Luck) to move behind the hut and distract the bird. Which allowed Rod to enter where he found Diane sick on a cot. Josh rushed in and immediately had them “Mask up. We don’t want to get infected.” They found 2 more eggs beside her that she was warming with her dwindling body-heat. They rolled the eggs out the back of the hut. As predicted, the Pterodactyl swooped down, nestled the eggs in its beak and flew away. Allowing the boys to lift Diane and aid her stumbling out of the gate.

Jimmy (return T-rex) raced toward the barn with the T-rex in close pursuit. The original plan was to hand off the egg to Rod still inside the gate. Change of plans when he saw Rod and Josh aiding a woman out of the gate. He drove up the ramp… and at the last second dove off the 3-wheeler as it sped into the gate. The T-rex in hot pursuit. 1 success based on a reroll of his failed die from his original attempt.

EPILOGUE

Juneau jumped into Mr. Evans’ waiting arms. “She’s a little malnourished but she looks great! I can’t thank you enough. Is $50 enough reward?” The boys beamed with pride and thoughts of how each would spend their hard-earned cash.

When a red-light indicator flashed on at the Loop Maintenance Operation Center, a team was sent out to station 23 to investigate. They soon radioed in the open hatch and power cable leading into the woods. Further reports were coded over a secure line. Obviously they found the Peterson barn and its strange device.

The Boulder City newspaper included Mike Reeds’ obituary. Police had already called the boys in and briefed them to agree with the coroners’ report. “You wouldn’t want to frighten the entire city would you?” They knew but kept quiet when they read “heart attack. Yeah, I’d probably have a heart attack seconds before my heart and spleen and lungs were ripped out by a T-rex.”

Rod beamed with pride as he viewed the polaroid picture of him atop Stega. It helped distract him from his parents’ arguing downstairs. “About the only thing I’ll get out of their divorce is you girl.” He tucked the picture back into his car stash.