The Boarding School Experiment (23 page)

I shrugged out of my jacket and folded it into a square. It would make a decent pillow but I was too wired to sleep and too scared to stop talking. “I knew the boarding school was weird, but I never thought it was criminal.”

“We signed a lot of consent forms,” Kaitlin said. “I’m not sure what they did
is
criminal.” She shrugged out of her own jacket and sank back against it.

“They didn’t disclose this,” Rhys said. “I read every page of their stack of forms.”

Thane said, “They pulled a gun. That’s end game.”

I stared at him. A horrible suspicion filled my stomach, and a headache knotted my temple. Trallwyn Thane, I hated. This Thane, I adored. I pulled my knees to my chest. My breath quickened. “I like you here, and that’s odd too. Maybe it’s because of the drugs.”

Thane stopped struggling with the laces on his hiking boots and stared at me. “I’m still me.”

I searched his light blue eyes, looking for something to explain the change.

He touched my cheeks. I jerked at the cold but didn’t pull away. “Don’t I feel the same?” I stared back without answering. He brushed the back of his knuckles over my jaw. “I know because my feelings haven’t changed. Not at all.” His forehead dropped to mine. “I’ve always liked you.”

I felt shock coupled with exhaustion, but his closeness comforted me.

Thane half-laughed, and pulled me into him so we were sitting together. He stuffed my jacket behind us and draped his over our legs. “We had no shot in Trallwyn. That’s why we weren’t together. We’re together now because we can be, not because of some drug compound.”

“Less than no shot,” I said.

Thane tightened his arms and lay back, tugging me down with him. “I know we’re wired, but we have to try to sleep.”

Rhys got up and hit the light. I snuggled into Thane and let the rise and fall of his chest soothe me.

***

For the first time in my life, I awakened with a gun pointed in my face. Coordinator Steele held the weapon. “Get up.”

I rose and a jolt of adrenalin replaced my exhaustion. I wished we’d fallen asleep with a better plan. Whatever enhanced talents we had did not include plotting or making food from thin air. My stomach knotted in hunger.

Thane pulled on his shoes and we all took turns in the bathroom and shoved into our gear.

The Scientist stood in the doorway, looking torn. The clock on the wall in the overheated room read four a.m. “It pains us to do this, but you have to understand that for the greater good, when specimens go bad, they have to be removed from the pool. It’s basic science.”

“We’re people, not specimens.” I swallowed and backed up until I could retreat no further, taking small comfort from the warmth of the radiator behind me. “The other students and coordinators, they’re expecting us to come back.”

The Scientist said, “You were coming back, but you begged us to let you climb down to the baggage trucks to see if you could salvage anyone’s luggage. Coordinator Steele says you’ve been on her about your stuff since you got here.”

As if saying her name made her appear, Coordinator Steele stepped into view behind the Scientist. She carried the gun. “Yes, she’s asked numerous times to make the climb.”

Kaitlin frowned and looked from her to me. “What?”

Coordinator Steele twisted her mouth into a tight grin. “We had a special staff meeting about it the first week. Ms. Carlisle was not the only one who suggested a strategy. More than one kid has begged for an expedition to save their Samsonite and Louis Vuitton. The staff voted it down.”

The Scientist said, “I led the veto. Homogenizing your pool of specimens as much as possible helps your data.”

Coordinator Steele motioned with the gun, silently directing us to the front door. “We never should have given in to your pleas and never would have, had we known it would lead to such a tragedy.”

The Scientist shook his head. “The loss of all four of you in a tragic Alaskan climbing accident.”

I jerked as if he’d punched me. Rage filled my body at the thought of my family having to hear about another accident. I lunged.

The muzzle swung toward me.

Thane grabbed me tight in his arms. “No need for the gun. I got her. We’re going to go with you. Everybody keep calm.” Anger tinged his voice, defying his words.

I struggled against his restraint.

“Shh,” he whispered in my ear. “We need you. We’re climbing and we need you to help us. We can’t get out without you, okay?”

“Enough,” Coordinator Steele said. “Move.”

The Scientist seemed to want us to understand. He held up a hand. “Your progress is significant, your grades, your physicality. And, after the cupcakes, I now know it’s a matter of dose. I can start new with a fresh group of kids with measured doses.”

We walked out without taking anything from the room. Nothing there would help our situation—nothing would defeat the fact that Coordinator Steele had a gun.

My mind raced with inadequate plans, challenging them, discarding them. The trucks had fallen less than a mile from school. On a non-snowy, high visibility day, if anyone were outside, they’d see us and help.

We stepped out of the hanger. White defined the early morning hours: snow falling from the sky, snow covering the ground. The backdrop made the harsh grey metal of the gun stand out clearer. Coordinator Steele said. “Move out.”

Chapter Fourteen

They drove us to the school and parked behind the Christmas trees at the base of the crevice where the baggage trucks had fallen. Seeing the habitat so close gave me a sense of hope. If we could get away from the gun, at least we’d know where to get help.

Coordinator Steele threw a pile of straps at our feet. “Put these on.”

I grabbed the equipment and helped my friends gear up.

“How many of you are testing on us?” Rhys asked. “Is it just you two?”

The Scientist rubbed his temple. “You don’t understand. My project showed so much promise in animals, and we had batches of the drug stored. We were ready to start human trials. Then, the market crashed and the board cut our funding. What would you do? You’ve got the drug. You’ve got the population to test it on.” He held out his hands. “You could change the world.”

“Enough.” Coordinator Steele jerked the gun. “None of it matters now.”

The Scientist looked torn. “I hate to lose the knowledge they have, the skill sets, the promise they show. The long term data would be useful.”

Coordinator Steele seemed fed up with his half-hearted protests. “There’s no good science here. They’re just liabilities.”

I checked the equipment carefully. The harnesses seemed new and undamaged.

Around us, the snow had stopped falling. The white fluff covered the ground evenly, edging the enormous dark hole. We moved closer. Split earth and roots were visible here near the surface. To the far right, a flash of aqua caught my attention—the entrance to a cave. Its walls were coated with ancient teal-blue ice. Spectacular.

“The mouth of the dragon,” Coordinator Steele said.

The Scientist knelt beside the hole and peered in for a closer examination. “The earthquake opened access to an underground cavern. Fascinating.” He looked up at us, speaking as if we sat in class. “When the temperatures are just right, ice worms come out of the walls. Life’s a miracle in all its forms.”

I shuddered.

“We’re down with that,” Thane said. “Let’s respect some life and head back.”

“Yeah, you kick us out.” Rhys shrugged. “Say we cheated. Everyone will believe you.”

Rhys had a great argument. I closed my eyes, praying they’d jump on it.

“You would have had such genetically superior babies.” The Scientist shook his head. “Such a waste of potential.”

We all flinched.

“Four kids went down to get everyone’s luggage. They just wanted to make up for cheating. To win their classmates trust back. Heroic really.” Coordinator Steele’s smile made a mockery of the words.

I stared out at the wilderness and my stomach knotted as a thought occurred to me. My eyes burned. “What happened to Geneva?”

Thane grabbed me again, as if he suspected the answer would be bad.

Coordinator Steele shrugged, “Resistance. She had to go. She saw too much in the clinic.”

The Scientist stared at her as if surprised by the answer and made a small sound of distress. Kaitlin echoed the sound and put a glove over her mouth. Rhys pulled her to him. I welcomed the rage because fury beat fear in a pick-your-sucky-emotion contest any day.

The Scientist stared at the ground then crossed his arms over his chest. But when he raised his gaze, he appeared dead convinced. “We can do miraculous things with this drug. Create an amazing world full of amazing people. Sometimes you have to do things for the greater good. When the most people benefit, you know the choice is right. It’s basic ethics.”

Coordinator Steele said, “Time to get in.”

“Wait, we can—” Kaitlin’s voice held an edge of panic.

“Enough. Move.”

We moved.

“I don’t know how to rappel,” Kaitlin said.

Coordinator Steele shrugged. “That should make things go much faster.”

I wanted to hit her.

Rhys shifted and Coordinator Steele adjusted the gun so it aimed at Kaitlin’s chest.

“Come here, Kaitlin.” I didn’t know how much longer they’d stick with their plan before Coordinator Steele got impatient and shoved us into the hole or shot us. With the equipment, we had a chance at putting distance between us and the gun. I took Kaitlin’s shoulders between my hands. “You’re a dancer, so you’re strong, really strong. Just stay calm and listen to me, and it’ll all be fine. Can you do that? Can you listen to me and keep Rhys calm for me?”

Kaitlin swallowed and nodded.

“Good.”

I let go and waved Thane over to secure rappel anchors. I knotted the rope into position and attached rappel devices to each of our harnesses, moving fast but checking everything twice.

Coordinator Steele frowned at the anchors, but The Scientist nodded. “An experienced climber would set up anchors with backups.”

“Okay. I’ll go down with Thane. When we reach a ledge, we’ll set this up.” I held up the belay device. “It will guide you down.” I didn’t let myself think about it, I just triple-checked the equipment and moved to the edge, watching for jagged bits of granite in the earth.

I didn’t do what I said once we were over the edge. Instead I motioned for Thane to screw in the extra anchors, and I used the natural grooves to make my way down to the first significant ledge—a jagged outcropping of dirt, rocks, and roots. Thane made his way down slowly while I set up.

I shoved the toe of my boot into a jagged groove. “Okay, Kaitlin first. Don’t worry if you swing out. You’re small and with this equipment, I can hold your weight.”

Kaitlin stepped forward.

“Wait a moment.” Coordinator Steele dropped a pack straight at me. “You wouldn’t climb without provisions.”

I fought my instincts to dodge and the pack landed hard on the edge of our pitch. I tried to hook the canvas with my other boot, but the bag fell over the ledge, scraping and thumping its way down into the dark hole.

“Oops,” Coordinator Steele said.

The falling sounds made me want to throw up, so for the first time, I was glad they’d deprived us of breakfast. I took a few shallow breaths to calm and checked on Thane. He had almost reached me.

“All set now,” Coordinator Steele said. “You four keep going down until I say stop. Then climb back up. I’ll give you more supplies if you make it. Then, you’ll get to go down again.” She waved the gun, pointing at each of us in turn. “You’ll keep it up until you can’t.”

“Exertion,” The Scientist said. “The exertion in these conditions will be draining.”

Coordinator Steele’s voice had an almost hypnotic quality, “Or you could let go now. Let go and drop back. You really don’t want to be the last one hanging. The one who witnesses all your friends fall first while you watched and did nothing to help.”

“Don’t let her into your head,” I whispered to Thane and shifted carefully on the rocky outcropping. Pebbles dislodged with our movements and pinged as they hit the wall on the way down. The sound carried on a long time, indicating an almost unending chasm. The thought chilled me and I saw Kaitlin flinch at the noise.

“You’re doing fine, Kaitlin, a few more feet.”

“Get going,” Coordinator Steele said to Rhys.

“One at a time,” I said.

Coordinator Steele said, “Go.”

We were only twenty feet or so down and I could hear impatience clip in her voice.

Rhys slipped over the edge, using the anchors. He braced his feet on the wall and started down.

“Careful, Rhys, slow and easy.” I released the friction, lowering Kaitlin faster.

The coordinators moved above us, and while relieved not to have the gun pointing at our heads, I couldn’t see what they were up to.