Nightmare Academy (3 page)

The front door rattled open. It was Consuela. “Good morning, boss.”

“Good morning,” he half muttered, trying to think.

She paused to stare at him with her large, Latin eyes. “Is there trouble?”

“Maybe.” He thought a bit. “Yes.”

“I'll make the coffee.”

“Please.”

“Oh!” She came into his office. “You left your paper by the fax machine.”

She brought him the morning paper he'd forgotten about, unfolded it, and—

An envelope fell to the floor.

“Oops,” she said.

Morgan stared at it for a split second, then stooped down, picked it up, and carefully opened it as Consuela watched.

Inside, he found a DVD in a white, windowed envelope. A small note was attached, bearing only two words: CALL THEM.

“Consuela,” he said, an incisive glint in his eye, “call the airlines, book me a flight for Missoula, Montana.”

She sprang for her desk.

Morgan pulled out the materials he'd gotten from his dinner with Madison and thumbed through them once again. “The Springfields need to see this one firsthand.”

With his finely toned muscles straining and sweat on his brow, young Elias swung the iron door shut and dropped the bolt into place as the rest of his family scrambled about the lab in search of anything they could use to barricade the door.

The beast was coming down the hallway. They could feel the pounding of his footsteps shaking the floor.

Elias's sister Lisa brought a chair. As she brushed her long blond hair from her face, Elias could see that fear filled her eyes.

Even so, she was still beautiful.

Elias took the chair and braced it against the door. “Thanks.”

She answered, “I'm not doing this for you.”

“So you're still angry?”

“This is all your fault! You should have selected a better brain!”

Elias was offended. “I selected the best brain money can buy. It's highly intelligent, highly rational! That beast can solve the most complicated equations in mere seconds!”

“But it doesn't care about people!”

“Who cares? Besides, I'm not interested in your notions of
should
. I did what I thought was right.”

“But you were wrong.”

“In your opinion!”

Just then, their parents came with a large table, and all four of them leaned the table on end against the door.

BOOM! BOOM!
The sudden pounding told them where the monster was at: just outside the door, trying to smash it open.

“This is all your fault!
You should have selected a
better brain!”

Norton, the father, marveled. “What intelligence! What power! We've created a magnificent new creature!”

Susan, the mother, looked at him in horror and anger. “A magnificent new creature? Norton, we've created something evil and now there's no controlling it!”

He sneered at her even as they braced their backs against the door to keep it shut. “Evil? Come now, my darling! Since when have you adopted such old, antiquated notions? Good and Evil are only an invention of our society, a matter of opinion.”

“But that thing wants to kill us!”

” W e l l . . . “

“And that's evil!”

He thought it over even as the door thudded against his back with each impact of the beast's angry fists. “Well, I can't say it's evil, but I'm not comfortable about it.”

“Neither am I,” said Lisa, helping to hold the door shut. “Perhaps we should have given the beast a, a conscience.”

They all looked at her as if she were mad.

“Based on what? Feelings?” Elias shouted.

“Self-interest?” Norton fumed.

“Oh, he has that!” Susan sneered.

“Well, morals then.”

“Morals?” Elias scoffed.

“Whose morals?” Susan snorted. “We went through all that, remember? We couldn't decide.”

“We had no right to decide!” Norton objected. “We can't impose morality on something we created. We can't impose right and wrong on anything! There is no truth! What a monster believes is true, is true for him.”

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The door and the barricade were weakening.

“So here we are,” said Susan.

“No,” said Lisa, backing away from the door. “Here you are. You made the creature, you can live with it—or die with it. I'm getting out of here!” She ran for the stairway on the other side of the lab, the stairway that would lead to the outside, and freedom.

“Hey,” Elias yelled angrily, “you were involved in this project just as much as we were!”

“In your opinion!” she called back.

“But you aligned all the joints and synchronized the cardiovascular system! You, you even sewed his outfit!”

“That was then. This is now!” With that, she ran up the stairs, through the outside door, and away, leaving them behind.

CRACK! GROAN!
The door was coming apart.

” I , I just can't stand it any longer!” Susan cried, moving away from the door.

“Susan!” Norton shouted desperately. “Susan, don't go! Stand with me! Help me!”

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The door
and the barricade were weakening.

She kept backing away, shaking her head. “No, Norton, no. There are too many things more important to me. Our house. Our money. The Gladiola Society. I was going to have my eyes lasered. I can't miss all that!”

“But I need you!”

“Oh, Norton, you're resilient, you'll recover, you'll see! I just need to find my own path—such as, out of here.”

“But, but you can't do that!”

She looked at him quizzically. “I can't? Who are you to tell me I can't?”

“If this monster gets loose, he'll terrorize all mankind!”

“I suppose you see something wrong with that?”

Norton had to think about it. “ W e l l . . . I can't say there's anything wrong with it—but I'd feel uncomfortable about it.”

“Well, those are your feelings.” She headed for the stairs.

CRUNCH!
The table barricade was bending like weak cardboard. The door was breaking open.

“Susan!” Norton screamed.

As Susan ran up the stairs, leaving them behind, Elias admitted, “She has to do what's right for her.” He stepped away from the door. “And so do I.”

“Not you, too!” Norton exclaimed.

Elias was backing away quickly as pieces of plaster and fragments of doorframe began to fall around him. “It's been fun, Dad, working on a family project together, creating a whole new breed of man. But I think Lisa may have had a point. We gave our guy incredible strength and terrific brainpower, but you know, a sense of right and wrong would've been a good idea—even if there is no such thing.”

“Son! Don't leave me here alone to face this monster!”

“Well Dad, I would stay, really, but it's starting to get uncomfortable. I'm not happy here anymore.”

“Son!”

“Besides, who's to say there's really a monster crashing in here? Maybe that's just a matter of opinion, too.”

A rivet bounced off Norton's head as he marveled at such a thought. “Opinion? You call this a matter of opinion?”

“Can't call it a matter of truth, now can I?” Elias headed for the stairs. “Looks like a nice day outside. Of course, that's only a matter of opinion.”

“Son, have you no honor?”

Elias stopped to think about that. “Well, I really don't like running out on you like this, but I can't say it's wrong.” And with that, he was up the stairs and gone.

Norton knew it was useless to resist. He dashed away from the door and turned to see the iron door flex, warp, and give way with a crash.

The monster, towering and mighty, entered the room, looking about for helpless human flesh to devour. The huge red eyes immediately focused on Norton, who was shaking with fear, but resolute. The thing took one step forward.

“Stop!” Norton yelled. “I command you to stop!”

The monster raised an eyebrow. “Are you talking to me?”

“Yes!” Norton replied. “I am your master! You have to do as I say.”

The monster was obviously amused. “This is a joke, right? Me, do as you say? Take a look, buddy. I'm stronger than you. I'm bigger than you. End of discussion.”

The monster, drooling hungrily, moved forward