The Prisoner of Cell 25 (18 page)

“Why would they do all that?”

“Because we’re the special ones. Out of billions of people in this world there’s only seventeen of us. Well, actually, thirteen of us now.”

Taylor wondered what she had meant by that.

“We’re like royalty. Try it. Just ask for anything.”

“Okay. I want to go home.”

Tara sighed. “Except that. Taylor, give it a couple weeks. If you are still so unhappy then I’m sure they’ll let you go.”

Taylor looked at her with surprise. “Really?”

“Of course. I don’t have a lock on my door. I come and go as I wish. The thing is, they have to protect themselves too. They have a lot of money invested in all this and they’re working with kids. It’s a big risk. Does that make sense?”

Taylor looked down for a moment. “Yeah, I guess it does. But then why did they kidnap me?”

“They didn’t want to. They invited you to come to the Elgen Academy, didn’t they? And everything they promised was true, the best schooling, and the college of your choice. In fact, when you turn sixteen you can have any car you want. A Ferrari, a Rolls-Royce, Maserati, anything. But your adopted parents wouldn’t let you go, would they?”

“No.”

“They don’t even know about your powers, do they?”

“No.”

“Exactly. They have no idea how special you are.”

“How do you know all this?”

“Because you’re my sister.” Her eyes moistened with emotion.  “I’ve waited a long, long time for you.”

Taylor felt a little better. “So, are you . . . electric?”

She nodded. “Of course.”

“What can you do?”

“Well, we’re twins, so my powers are like yours, but a little more refined. I’ve had years to practice them here.” She sat back on the bed. “Okay, want to see something?”

“Sure.”

“Okay. Here goes.” Tara closed her eyes.

Suddenly, Taylor felt a warm rush of happiness flow through her.

Taylor laughed. “How did you do that?”

“Cool, isn’t it? I’ve learned to stimulate the part of the brain that produces serotonin—kind of a happy drug. I can also do the opposite, but you don’t want to feel that.”

“What do you mean the opposite?”

“I can make you feel the negative emotions. Like rage or incredible fear.”

“How much fear?”

“Black-widows-crawling-all-over-your-body fear.”

Taylor bristled.

“Like I said, you don’t want to feel that.”

Taylor shook her head. “No, I’ll pass on that.”

“You’ll learn too. Part of our education at the academy is working with scientists to develop our powers. They have also found that eating certain things enhances our abilities.”

“Like bananas?” Taylor asked.

“Yeah. You can have all the banana shakes you want. Banana cream pie, banana smoothies, the list goes on. Also minerals help. We take special supplements three times a day. Supplements made especially for us. They also avoid refined sugar. It gets in the way of things.

Once I gave up soda pop for a month and I doubled my stretch.”

“Stretch?”

“That’s some of the jargon they use here. You’ll learn it. Stretch is how far you can push your powers. One boy here has such a powerful stretch he can reach airplanes.”

”What does he do to airplanes?” Taylor asked.

Tara shook her head. “Nothing,” she said.

“So can you read minds?” Taylor asked.

Tara’s expression fell. “No. Can you read minds?”

Her reaction worried Taylor. “Uh, no. I mean, I just thought with what you can do, you might be able to.”

“No. None of us can read minds. I think they’d freak out if someone could. I mean, if they could, just imagine what they could do.”

Taylor nodded. “What about Nichelle?”

She grimaced. “No one here likes Nichelle. She’s a beast. Just stay close to Dr. Hatch and she’ll keep her distance. She used her power on me once and Dr. Hatch disciplined her.”

“Why didn’t you just do something to her?”

“Our powers don’t work on her. She’s like a vampire. She sucks our power.”

“That’s what she told me.”

“Yeah, she thinks it’s cool. She’s such a loser. The thing is, around us she’s powerful but in the outer world she’s nothing. Like Kryptonite can kill Superman, but you and I could wear it for jewelry.  In the outer world she’s just another Goth. Anyway, it’s against the rules to use our powers without Dr. Hatch’s permission. And we’re never allowed to use our powers on each other. Just the GPs.”

“What’s a GP?”

“You’ll find out.”

“What time is it anyway?”

“It’s around ten. Bedtime. So you better get some good rest. We have a busy day tomorrow.”

“Doing what?”

She stood. “I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but trust me, you’re gonna love it.” She leaned forward and kissed Taylor on the forehead.

“Sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite.” She walked out and the door clicked locked behind her.

Taylor lay back on her bed and looked up at the camera’s blinking red light.
Wasn’t worried about the bedbugs
, she thought. 

26. Harry Winston

Taylor only knew it was morning because a nasal voice over the room’s speaker told her it was time to wake up. She was still lying in bed when the lock clicked and Tara walked in. Her arms were full of clothing. “Get up, sleepyhead.”

Taylor sat up rubbing her eyes. “I didn’t sleep much last night.”

“Well, you’ll have to nap later, because right now we have a lot of fun to get to.”

She laid the pile of clothes at the foot of Taylor’s bed. “Fortunately we wear the same size in everything so you can borrow my things for now.”

Taylor looked down at her smock. “You mean I don’t have to wear this thing?”

Tara stared at her. “You’re kidding me, right?”

Taylor shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Wow, you’ve got this place all wrong. This isn’t a prison. That’s just an examination smock. We all wore them the first day they were establishing baselines. But that was yesterday. Today’s your lucky day.  Dr. Hatch said to take you shopping for a new wardrobe. And guess where?”

Taylor shrugged.

“The Miracle Mile . . .”

“Huh?”

“Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills. Heard of it? If you’re anything like me—and you are—you are going to have the time of your life.”

“I don’t have any money,” Taylor said.

Tara laughed. “You don’t need money here. Now get dressed.”

Taylor looked through the clothes Tara had brought. None of them looked as if they’d even been worn. “Wow. These are some expensive brands.” She picked up a pair of jeans.

“You can keep whatever you like, I’ll just get more. Actually, you’ll get whatever you need today.” Tara held up a blouse. “I love this one, it looks great with my . . . our complexion. Do you like it?”

“Yeah.”

“Try it on.”

Ignoring the video cameras, Taylor slipped off the smock and put on the blouse.

“You look ridiculously beautiful,” Tara said. “You’re the most beautiful girl in this place.” She laughed. “Oh, that’s kind of like com-plimenting myself, isn’t it?”

Taylor grinned. “Yeah, it is.”

After Taylor was dressed, the two girls walked outside the cell to an elevator. Tara put her finger on a fingerprint sensor pad. The screen turned green and the elevator door slid open.

“We’ll stop by the cafeteria and get some breakfast on the way out,” Tara said. She pushed the button for floor one and they descended two levels to the main floor. “This way to the cafeteria,” she said.

The cafeteria looked less like a school cafeteria than a restaurant in a fancy hotel. They were met at the door by the restaurant’s maître d’, a short, Italian man with silver hair and a black tuxedo.

“Good morning, ladies. You both look bellissima.”

“Yes we do,” Tara said. “Thank you for noticing.”

“Thank you,” Taylor said.

“What will it be today? Crab Benedict and banana-and-candied-walnut oatmeal are today’s chef specials.”

“I just want a banana smoothie,” Tara said. “We’re in a hurry.”

“I guess, me too,” Taylor said.

“Will you be having that to go, then?”

“Yes,” Tara said. “And fast.”

“Yes, very well.” He ran back through the kitchen doors and just a few minutes later a waiter brought out their smoothies in crystal goblets with small, silver spoons. Tara took both glasses and handed one to Taylor. “Let’s go, sis. We’re burning daylight.”

“Where are we going?”

“I already told you. Shopping.”

“Outside?”

“Well, duh?”

Taylor looked around. “No one is going to stop me from leaving?”

“Why would they do that?”

“Dr. Hatch said—”

“Oh,” Tara interrupted. “That reminds me. Dr. Hatch is going to meet up with us a little later. He said he has a surprise for you.” Her eyebrows rose. “So get excited. His surprises are epic. He doesn’t do things small.”

Taylor followed her out the front door. It was the first time Taylor had seen the sun for several days. Her instinct told her to bolt, but she was still surrounded by fences and Tara’s happiness and reassur-ances had calmed her some. A Rolls-Royce Phantom was waiting for them at the curb. The driver stood at the back door, holding it open for them. “Good morning ladies.”

“Morning, Griff,” Tara said.

“Good morning,” Taylor said.

“Welcome to the academy, Taylor,” the driver said. “My name is Griffin. If I can do anything to make your day more pleasant please let me know.”

Taylor wondered how he knew her name. The two girls climbed into the backseat. Taylor had never been in such a luxurious car. The interior was all leather, glass, and highly polished burled wood. A glass partition separated them from the driver. In the center console was a telephone. Taylor’s heart jumped. “Can I call my parents?”

Tara shook her head. “We’ll have to ask Dr. Hatch. But it’s probably too soon. There’s still too much of that still in you.”

“Too much of what?” Taylor asked.

Tara pointed to the world outside the compound. “That.”

The drive from Pasadena to the palm-tree-lined streets of Beverly Hills was only twenty-five minutes. It was a bright day and the sidewalks were crowded with both the glamorous and those seeking it.

Griffin parked the Rolls in a reserved spot on South Santa Monica Boulevard, then followed a few yards behind the girls as they shopped.

“Why is he following us?” Taylor asked suspiciously.

“Duh,” Tara said. “Someone’s got to carry our bags.”

Rodeo Drive started at the Beverly Hills Hotel and stretched on for nearly a mile. Tara explained that the district took up three city blocks and had over a hundred boutiques, hotels, and salons. Every fashion designer worth visiting had a residence in the neighborhood.

In the first block they passed stores Taylor had only heard of: Lacoste, Juicy Couture, Chanel, Hugo Boss, and Giorgio Armani.

Tara pulled Taylor toward Juicy Couture, a tall glass store with a window display of mannequins in jewel-studded tracksuits with purses, patterned with Couture’s trademark crowns, slung over their shoulders. Tara wanted to look at the swimsuits and pulled a floral print tankini from the rack.

“What do you think of this?”

Taylor looked at the price tag. “Two hundred and thirty dollars for a bathing suit?”

Tara shrugged. “I know. A bargain, right?”

They crossed Brighton Way and continued down Rodeo Drive.

Tara pulled Taylor into Salvatore Ferragamo. At Tara’s insistence, Taylor selected a pair of sunglasses in red and Tara got the same ones in purple.

Outside a store called Dolce & Gabbana, Tara squealed, “They have their new collection in! Come on!”

A woman standing near the front of the store smiled as the girls entered. “There are two of you! Which one of you lovely ladies is Tara?”

“I’m Tara,” Tara said, curtseying. “This is my twin, Taylor.”

“Twice the charm. It’s such a pleasure meeting you, Taylor. How may we serve you ladies?”

“We’re here to dress Taylor up,” Tara said.

“Our pleasure.” The woman snapped her fingers in the air. “Marc, bring Tara and Taylor some sparkling water.” She turned back to the girls, smiling unctuously. “This way, please.”

Taylor whispered to Tara, “She knows you?”

“Of course. I’m one of her best customers.”

The woman led them to dressing rooms where her staff delivered outfit after outfit of gorgeous fabrics and light dresses. They spent more than five thousand dollars and the salesladies waved happily to them as they walked out, the girls’ arms heavy with shopping bags, which they surrendered to Griffin.

Taylor trailed behind Tara all morning as they walked through Tara’s favorite stores: Bebe, Gucci, Chanel. Even though they were the identical age, Taylor thought Tara acted more like a twenty-one-year-old than a fifteen-year-old. She knew her way around the stores and if they didn’t already know her, all she had to do was say that she was with the Elgen Academy and the employees tripped over each other to help them.

At Tara’s urging, Taylor purchased nine pairs of jeans, six skirts, four pairs of shoes, eight shirts, two leather jackets, and three bags of accessories. Just for fun, Tara picked out three identical outfits.

Taylor was nervous about all the money they were spending. She had once used her mother’s credit card to download an album, without asking, and she’d been grounded for a week. “Whose credit card are we using?” Taylor asked.

Tara held it up. “American Express Black card. It’s mine. I just have to ask first. But they’ve never turned me down. I think it has like a two-hundred-thousand-dollar limit.”

Taylor’s jaw dropped. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Nope. Far cry from Preston Street, eh?”

Taylor looked at her. “How do you know where I live?”

“I asked, of course.” Tara smiled. “Sis, you just don’t understand how excited I’ve been to have you here. You coming
home
is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me.”

The way Tara said “home” scared her. Taylor wasn’t sure how to respond to Tara’s excitement. Finally she just said, “Thank you.”

A few minutes later Taylor was looking at a diamond necklace displayed in the window of Tiffany & Company when Tara said, “Dr. Hatch said to not buy any jewelry.”