Wacko Academy (7 page)

“I don’t think I was supposed to bring you here,” Dustin murmured.

“Then why did you?”

As he shrugged at this question, we heard voices.  He pulled me behind a bush.  Two men and two women, all wearing starched white jackets, came into view.  They appeared to be pushing something.

“Move over,” I hissed.  “I can’t see a thing.”

I gave him a little shove.  I focused very hard on what they were pushing.  It looked like a stretcher.  Wait a second—I thought the hospital was in the other direction.  A little girl was lying there.  From where I was sitting, she appeared to be unconscious, her long brown hair dangling off one end of the stretcher.  Her arms were folded across her chest.  She was perfectly still.  The only way I knew she wasn’t dead was because of her rosy cheeks.  The men opened the door to the tall building and the women wheeled her inside.  The men looked back, as if making sure that nobody had seen.  I ducked down.  Then they closed the door behind them and all was silent.

“Dustin.” I turned to face him.  “Explain.”

To my dismay, he seemed as confused as me.  “I don’t know, all right?  Dad doesn’t tell me everything.  But I do have a theory.” He paused and shook his head.  “Never mind.  It’s probably nothing.”

“Come on.  You have to tell me.”

He bit his bottom lip, unsure.  I stared at him in that pleading way he always stared at me when he wanted something.  He cracked.  “OK.”

Dustin told me his father was a scientist.  Before his mother died, his dad used to do these experiments on stuff like how much intelligence you can cram into someone’s brain before it all becomes too much.  There was some kind of experimental steroid he had been working on to enhance your brain functions, but it was too dangerous to test on anyone but rats.  However, Dustin had an idea that since his father had access to all of these kids, he’d taken the liberty of experimenting on them.

Dustin looked straight into my eyes when he said, “I’m not really sure what’s going on.  I’ve seen some kids being led away by people in white coats like those people we just saw, pretending to be doctors, but I don’t think they were.  Some kids never even came back.  The ones that did refused to talk about it.  In a way, it was like they couldn’t.  It was really weird.  Lily, I…I don’t know what to do.”

I stared at him, completely at a loss for words.  Then we both turned our attention to the tall building that now seemed so sinister.  A dark shadow loomed above it.  I started to imagine the screams of innocent children.  Quickly I gave myself a good shake, looking away.  Dustin’s “theory” was already getting to me.

He tugged at my sleeve.  “Let’s go.  It’s getting late.  My father will be wondering where we are.”

I willingly followed.  A plan began to take shape in my head.  Somehow I knew that I was going to get those kids out of there and shut that whole horrible place down.  I just wasn’t sure how yet.

Nighttime Run

That night, instead of lying in bed, I sifted through my new clothes for anything black.  I eventually found a black turtleneck and pants.  After quickly changing, I tried the door.  It swung wide open.  They trusted me too much.  With a sly grin, I quietly slipped out of the room.

Although I didn’t really have a plan, I did have an objective.  Find a way out.  There was always a loophole.  I just had to find it.  Then, once I was out, I could blow the whistle on this place, and the others like it.  Dustin had told me about some kind of barrier.  Was he just saying that to keep me from trying to escape?  Well, it was time to find out.  

The lobby was dark and silent.  The receptionist was nowhere to be found.  Good.  I needed all the luck I could get.  Since Dustin had led me outside through the shooting range, I would have to go that way.  I hurried through the large gymnasium and into the shooting range.  

I reached for the door.

“Lily?”

Dang it.  I turned around.  

Dustin stood before me, arms crossed and eyebrows raised.  “What are you doing here?”

I squared my shoulders, refusing to be intimidated.  “I could ask you the same thing.”

Looking slightly abashed, he nodded sheepishly at one of the gun slots.  “I come here to practice sometimes.  Helps me think.”

I nodded.  “Well, I was just going to check out that basketball court.  I’ve always liked basketball.  Care to join me?”

Dustin’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.  He and I both knew that I didn’t have an athletic bone in my body, but he complied.  “OK.  Let’s go.”

“Lead the way,” I insisted.

With another suspicious glance at me, he stepped in front of me.  His back was turned!  I had about ten seconds to make a run for it.  But he would probably catch me before I could get too far.  Thinking fast, I searched for some kind of object.  A flashlight!  Dustin had put down his flashlight when we were talking.  As quietly and quickly as I could, I grabbed it.  Before I could have another second to think, I swung.

Dustin became aware that something was wrong a little too late.  Just as he turned around, the flashlight connected with his head.  He crumpled to the ground.  In sheer panic, I dropped to my knees to check if he was dead.  Nope.  Just knocked out.  He was going to have a serious headache when he woke up.  I could already see the lump forming where I had hit him.

“Sorry,” I whispered, knowing that he probably couldn’t hear me.  

After dragging him into a corner, I made a beeline for the door.  The cool air felt like a refreshing smack in the face.  It woke me up.  The adrenaline was pumping now.  I still clutched the flashlight, my only weapon.  

Taking a deep breath, I headed for the entrance of the school.  I had seen people go that direction during the tour.  A few people still walked about the grounds, but they were all students.  I wasn’t surprised that others had decided to break the curfew.  However, I couldn’t understand why they didn’t just leave.  

I hurried along, making sure to remain invisible.  As I got closer to the entrance, I noticed that I hadn’t seen another person for quite some time.  That was not a good sign, but I pushed ahead anyway.  

“Hey, wait!” someone called.

Without looking back to see who it was, I broke into a sprint.  I hadn’t gone more than thirty yards when I was suddenly airborne.  Then I hit the ground with a sickening thud.  The wind knocked out of me, I gasped for air.  My head was spinning.  When I tried to sit up, my chest burst into a flaming pain that I had never experienced in my life.  I clutched at the pain in my chest, continuing to cough and splutter.

I thought I heard some kind of alarm off in the distance somewhere, but there was no way to be sure.  My vision was getting blurry.  I could no longer form any coherent thoughts.  Suddenly all I wanted to do was go to sleep.  My eyes drooped until I could see no more.  

The first thing I heard was voices.  All around me.  They sounded so far away and muted, like I was under water.  I got the strange feeling that someone was right there beside me.  I tried to turn my head, but it was too heavy for me to move.  I couldn’t even open my eyes.  Trying to calm myself, I focused on the voices until they became clear.

“Doctor, you’re needed in the emergency room.  There was another…incident.”

“Get a sedative.”

“Lily?  Are you finally awake?”

Using all my strength, I turned my head to the voice calling my name.  I lifted one heavy eyelid, and then the other.  As my eyes cleared, a face came into view.  I blinked.  

“How are you feeling?” Dustin asked, sounding more amused than worried.

I glared at him.  “I feel like crap.” Eyeing the big bandage on the side of his head, I fought a grin.  “How are
you
feeling?”

His hand flew up to his head, eyes turning into slits.  “Like I just got hit over the head with a flashlight.  Thanks.”

My smile faded.  “Yeah, I really am sorry for that, but I had to try.”

He nodded.  “I know.”

“So, could you tell me what happened?  Everything is kind of a blur.”

Dustin’s crooked grin grew wider.  “Well, after you knocked me out, I suppose you ran for the entrance.  Then you hit the barrier.  There’s a large dome encircling the whole campus.  To protect us.  Basically, it’s a force field.  A very strong force field.  Everyone knows about it.”

I frowned.  “Well, how come nobody told me?”

“I did tell you,” he patiently reminded me.  “Obviously, you didn’t listen.”

Ignoring his scolding, I tried to prop myself up.  I wanted to get a better look at my surroundings.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Dustin warned.

He said this a little too late.  My chest did not agree with what I was trying to do.  Although it wasn’t as bad, the pain was still there.  Coughing, I fell back in the bed.

“You might have cracked a rib or two,” Dustin informed me.

With a groan, I closed my eyes.  This could not be happening.  “They have a force field around this whole place that’s strong enough to crack someone’s ribs, and you think it’s to keep us safe?  You are one messed-up kid.” My eyes snapped open to glower at him.

He didn’t looked fazed by my insult in the least.  In fact, he seemed to be kind of amused.  “Lily, of course it’s there to protect us.  Why else would it be there?”

Not having the energy to argue, I simply shrugged my shoulders, and then winced from the sudden shock of pain.  Now that I was more awake, a whole bunch of different aches and pains had started to become very evident.  

“I want you to leave now,” I said through gritted teeth, trying and failing to hide the agony in my voice.

“Do you need me to call a nurse?” Dustin asked quietly, his amused expression turning into one of pity.

I shook my head.  “Please, just go away.” I couldn’t stand him looking at me like that.

He nodded, starting to get up.  “OK, if that’s what you want.  Don’t worry.  You’ll be out of here in no time.”

I simply stared up at the ceiling and continued to do so until he left.  As I listened to the sound of his shoes smacking against the floor, I fought the urge to cry.  Was I ever going to get out of this place?

The Other Girl

In addition to my two cracked ribs, my body was riddled with cuts and bruises.  It took me several weeks to fully heal, but I was eventually released from the campus hospital.  Almost immediately after my release, I was measured, weighed, and put through multiple fitness tests.  I also took testing on school stuff like English, social studies, math, science, and decision-making.  Some of the decision-making questions were weird, like “If you were stuck in a metal box, what would you do?  Explain in full detail.”

After the testing, I had a brief meeting with each teacher, where they explained to me what the curriculum would be like for the semester.  They all seemed nice enough, some more than others.  Like Dustin had said, I was able to choose my curriculum.  Since I’ve always loved a challenge, I chose just about everything that was available: home ec, the normal subjects, Japanese, Latin, dance, martial arts, as well as a few unusual classes, like Hand-to-Hand Combat and Poison 101.  

I was enrolled right away.  The students I met ranged from six to seventeen.  To my surprise, many of them were happy with their current situation.  Of course, not everyone was just fine and dandy.  Some seemed bitter and angry and kept to themselves.  You could see the hatred burning in their eyes every time they would walk past.  I didn’t blame them, because that was exactly how I felt.  Many of them looked at me with pity and hopelessness, like every new kid that came added to their despair.  So not everyone had fallen for the trick.  They knew something was very wrong.

There was one girl that I especially liked.  She was kind of in the middle.  She seemed to have come to terms with the fact that there was no escape and had decided to live day by day.  She was totally cool.  All the kids respected her and came to her for advice.  Even the older ones.  She would always sit and listen patiently, and all of her answers were wise and calm.  It was fascinating just to watch her at work.

One day she approached me.  I was sitting on a bench, finishing up an English assignment.  Well, at least I was supposed to be.  I had begun to draw dresses and outfits of my own creation in the margins.  It was free period.  She quietly sat down next to me.  Up close, she looked surprisingly young.  About thirteen or fourteen.  Her eyes were a warm chocolate brown.  She wore her hair in a loose ponytail.

“Hello,” she sang with a friendly smile.

I put up my hand in a greeting.

“You’re new here.  Correct?”

I nodded slowly, wondering where she was going with this.

“The word around here is you’re The Girl,” she told me, leaning in.

I stared at her.  “What?”

She sighed.  “The one that’s supposed to take over this whole place with Dustin.  You know, and eventually marry him.”

I stared at her with my mouth hanging wide open.  My heart flew right up into my throat.  Gripping the chair, I stammered, “Did you say ‘m-marry’?”

She cocked her head.  “I’m sorry.  I thought you knew.  He should have told you that.”

“But that can’t be.  I’m only thirteen!  I never even wanted to come here!  This cannot be happening.  When I find Dustin, he is so dead.”

She put her hands on my shoulders.  “Whoa.  Calm down there.” She studied me.  “What’s your name?”

I told her my name, instantly relaxing.  Wow.  She really did have special calming powers.  

“That’s a pretty name, and it’s probably partly why you were chosen,” she commented.

I looked at her in utter confusion.  “What does my name have anything to do with it?”

“Well, you and Dustin’s mother share the same name.  His dad never did get over her.  When he saw your name on your school’s roster, it probably caught his attention immediately.”

I sat back, the wind knocked right out of me.  This just kept getting better and better.  “How do you know so much, anyway?  Oh, and what’s your name?”

The strange girl took a second to collect her thoughts.  “First, my name’s Cameron.  Second, I know so much because I was supposed to be The Girl.  You see, he led me away from my home when I was about nine years old.  I was one of the first kids to come to this place.  Dustin told me all about himself and his father.  I met him about a year after I first arrived.”