The Cokeville Miracle 2015

Here is the rephrased section:

In May 1986, Cokeville’s quiet streets are disrupted by Ron Hartley’s inner turmoil. As a cop, he’s witnessed unspeakable atrocities, leading him to question the existence of a just God. His faith waning, Hartley (Ron Hartley) stops attending church services with his family - a decision that troubles his wife Claudia and children Cindy and Jason.

Meanwhile, in Tucson, Arizona, David Young (David Young), a former town marshal from Cokeville, is concocting a sinister plan. He tests a homemade bomb on an old bus, annihilating it completely, before sharing his triumph with his second wife Doris. Joining forces, the trio - including Young’s daughter Penny from his first marriage - embarks on a journey to Cokeville, where Young stockpiles supplies and recruits Gerald Deppe and Doyle Mendenhall to help him execute his scheme.

As Hartley is called away from town, Young and his accomplices travel to the local elementary school. Under the guise of taking the school hostage, David announces his plan to blow it up, convinced that he’s mathematically calculated a way to cheat death and return in a “brave new world” where he’ll reign supreme. Deppe and Mendenhall are horrified by their friend’s delusions, but Young handcuffs them and leaves them stranded in his van. With the bomb at the ready, David, Doris, and Penny infiltrate the school.

Penny’s conscience eventually gets the better of her, and she confronts her father about his plans. Refusing to participate further, she commandeers the van and drives to town hall, where she joins forces with Deppe, Mendenhall, and authorities. Meanwhile, Young takes control of Room 4 at the school, using Doris to lure the remaining students and teachers into the room. With over 130 people trapped inside, including Hartley’s children Cindy and Jason, Young reveals his sinister plan: the bomb is rigged with a dead man’s switch tied to his wrist, which will detonate if anything happens to him - or anyone tries to escape. He demands that Principal Max Excell (Alan Peterson) call the authorities and deliver a ransom demand of $2 million per child, sealing the school in a desperate standoff.

As news of the harrowing hostage situation reverberates throughout Cokeville, anxious parents and emergency responders converge outside the school, their collective worry palpable. Unbeknownst to them, Ron is racing back to the scene, his conscience plagued by doubts about a higher power’s existence. He can’t help but wonder why such an atrocity would be allowed to unfold.

Meanwhile, inside the school, the air thickens with tension as gas begins seeping from the bomb, leaving the children reeling and their teachers struggling to keep them calm. In a desperate bid to clear the air and prevent further chaos, the educators convince Young to permit them to open doors and windows, allowing for some semblance of ventilation.

Young’s instability grows by the minute, his erratic behavior manifesting in an attempt to create a “magic square” with masking tape on the floor – a futile effort to keep the children at bay. As he disappears into the bathroom, Doris unwittingly triggers the bomb’s detonation mechanism, inadvertently setting off a chain of events that will leave devastation in its wake.

The room erupts into pandemonium as flames engulf the area and shrapnel rains down upon the helpless victims. In the chaos, teachers frantically work to evacuate the children through the open doors and windows, while Young returns from the bathroom, his eyes fixed on the burning figure of Doris before he delivers a fatal bullet. John Miller, another teacher, is also struck in the back by Young’s gunfire before the perpetrator retreats into the bathroom, taking his own life.

In the aftermath, Jason and Cindy struggle to recover from their burns and minor injuries, while their parents fret over Jason’s apparent trauma – a concern that prompts them to seek professional help. Following the visit with the psychologist, Jason confides in Ron and Claudia about the mysterious figures he saw in white, claiming they were angels who whispered reassurances to him amidst the chaos. He specifically identifies one of these apparitions as his deceased great-grandmother, whose presence had seemingly foretold the impending disaster.

As Ron grapples with the unexplained events surrounding Jason’s story, Claudia urges him to seek out additional proof to substantiate the account. Ron embarks on a journey of discovery, visiting other families who had eerily similar experiences in the days leading up to the explosion. Each family shares tales of their children having fleeting encounters with deceased loved ones shortly before the blast, leaving Ron no choice but to confront the improbable nature of these coincidences. The school’s principal and the bomb expert tasked with investigating the incident provide a detailed account of the numerous unlikely events that contributed to everyone’s survival. Ron is left grappling with the inexplicable: wires on the bomb mysteriously being severed before it detonated, the absence of casualties from flying debris, and the unexplained activation of the school’s fire alarms in the days preceding the bombing. Furthermore, Ron uncovers information suggesting that despite being designed to explode outward, the blast force was largely directed upward into the ceiling, aligning with Jason’s vivid description of a ring of angels surrounding the bomb as it erupted.

Despite being presented with this plethora of unexplained events, Ron remains skeptical, his doubts and concerns simmering beneath the surface. The following Sunday, Jason persuades Ron to accompany him to church by refusing to attend unless Ron joins him. As they enter the church building, Ron finds himself unable to fully participate in the service, his emotions still reeling from his discoveries. He confesses to Claudia that he harbors resentment toward the Youngs and is relieved they are no longer alive. Claudia issues a stern warning, cautioning Ron that if he allows doubt and anger to consume him, he risks losing everything dear to him – including her and their children.

As Ron navigates this emotional turmoil, he inadvertently overhears part of a sermon delivered by their bishop, reminding the congregation that hatred serves no one, least of all the innocent victims of the bombing. The sound of children singing in the youth room, many of whom were present during the devastating event, only adds to the emotional weight Ron is carrying. In a poignant moment of introspection, Ron turns to God and his family, asking for forgiveness for his doubts and seeking a path forward characterized by faith, compassion, and redemption. As he renews his commitment to prayer and church attendance, Ron begins the arduous journey of healing and personal growth.