by Sydnie MacElroy
>"What ya got Chief?" Leo asked as they clambered out of the Swift.
>"More cows," Jordan replied with a wry grin.
>"Have you noticed them?" Zenya asked pointing to the kids in the store.
>Jordan nodded, "We did. Can you and Agent Jones check it out?"
>"Sure," Leo replied for the two of them.
Leo and Zenya made their way across the parking lot, winding through the herd of cows, toward the store where the group of kids stood transfixed. As they did, Zenya was thinking about the cows, the computer program, the kids they'd talked to and Vanessa, among other things.
"What," Leo asked. When Zenya looked at him inquiringly, he just smiled. "You were frowning. So what's on your mind?"
"I don't think its the kids who are.." She tried to think of just the right word, and finally gestured toward the group they were heading toward. "..in trances that we have to worry about. In all four cases where they acted on the impulse to violence, the kids reported active involvement with the cows."
Leo nodded and glanced around at the few young people among the volunteers trying to get the cows moving. "Over there," he muttered and directed Zenya's gaze with a shake of his head.
Zenya looked past him to the edge of the herd where a familiar figure was leaning against one of the cows in a vain attempt to move it. "Mike Pruitt," Zenya observed, recognizing the boy who had been with the sheriff's daughter at the diner. "I wonder if you ever get used to the smell of cattle."
"I guess so. I hadn't really noticed it this time. 'Til you pointed it out. Thanks a lot," he said.
Zenya elbowed him lightly as they stepped up onto the sidewalk, out of the herd. "Misery loves company."
The store where the largest group of teenagers was gathered was in the center of the strip mall. Going inside was like walking into some kind of surreal wax museum. Everyone inside, including the very young looking clerk behind the counter was standing frozen in place, staring blankly in the general direction of the parking lot. There was no reaction when Leo and Zenya entered the store.
Leo stepped in front of one of the kids, a scrawny boy who looked to be about fourteen with a bad complexion and the fashion sense of Jed Clampett. The boy had no reaction to his view of the cows being blocked. He continued to stare straight ahead.
Meanwhile, Zenya turned her attention to the clerk. From where she was standing, the crowd of human statues by the windows made it impossible to see the parking lot, but that didn't seem to matter.
"Excuse me," Zenya said to the young woman, but nothing happened. She tried waving a hand in front of the girls face, then snapping her fingers. Nothing worked.
"The cows are moving off," Leo commented.
Just as Zenya was turning to say something to him, the rest of the room came alive and went on about its business as though nothing had happened. The clerk gave a startled gasp and Zenya turned back to her.
"Sorry," the clerk said, "I didn't see you there."
"So I noticed. Fascinated by the cows, no doubt."
"The.. Yeah, I guess so. What can I do for you?"
Zenya put her ID down on the counter and let the girl get a good look at it. "Answer a few questions."
*****
"The clerk had nothing new to say," Zenya reported when the team had regrouped in the parking lot of the mall.
"Neither did any of the others," Leo said. "They all know Jessie Colquitt and the others. At least they know of them. They're all familiar with RPG Universe."
Jordan nodded. "They all go to the same high school, have the same history teacher and hang out in the same places, too. Not many choices around here. The sheriff called in the local vet to take a look at the cows. Maybe that'll get us somewhere."
"What I'd like to know," Jim said, "is how are the cows getting out? Aren't most cattle ranches enclosed in barbed wire or something."
"Usually."
"So the cows are just breaking through it? Or someone's letting them out?"
"Worth looking at. We know the cows yesterday came from the Laughton place. We ought to go out there and see what we can find."
"I'd like to talk to the administration at the high school," Zenya said. "I'm still suspicious of this computer program."
"No point narrowing down our options until we have more answers," Leo agreed. "And if the DOD's involved.."
Martin nodded. "Be nice to know who approved the program. And how it works."
"I agree," Jordan said. "The connection to the cows is obvious, but the whole thing with this RPG Universe is too strange to ignore."
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NRPG: Hmm.. I haven't had an original thought in weeks, but I figured I ought to at least write something to let everyone know that I'm still alive. ;)