The Prisoner of Cell 25 (32 page)

“Nice shootin’, Tex,” Ostin said.

“Thanks.”

“Okay, let’s go,” I said. “I’ll go first. Zeus, you and Taylor behind me, Ostin lock the cell then come up behind us.”

“On it,” he said.

We ran single-file down the hall to Ian and the girls’ cell door.

Zeus blew out another three cameras as he and Taylor crept to the end of the hallway. Taylor cautiously peered around the corner. “It’s clear,” she said.

I pounded on the cell door. “Ian. Can you hear me?”

I heard a faint pounding back.

“He sees us.”

“How are we going to open it?” Taylor asked.

“Zeus, can you concentrate your electricity and cut through it?”

“No. That’s Bryan’s gig.”

“I know how to open it,” Ostin said, winded from running back to us. “You can use your electricity.”

“But Ian said it’s an air lock,” I said. “It doesn’t work by electricity.”

Ostin smiled. “That’s the flaw in their design. The lock is air, but how does the lock get its air?”

I shrugged. “An air tank?”

“Yes, with an electronic valve. While I was locked inside I asked Ian to follow where the hose went. There’s an electronic valve above each cell door. If my calculations are right, all you have to do is blow the switch and the air pressure drops.”

“He’s good,” Taylor said.

“Where’s the valve?” I asked.

Ostin pointed above the door. “Right about there. A strong enough pulse should knock it out.”

It was at least four feet above me. “I need a lift,” I said.

“On it.” Ostin got down on all fours.

“You sure?” I asked.

“Just do it.”

I stepped on his back and reached as high as I could but it still wasn’t high enough. “This isn’t going to work.”

“Wait,” Taylor said. “We do this in cheerleading. Come here Ostin.”

Ostin stood.

“Take my hand like this.” They locked hands. “Now, Michael, step right there and we’ll lift you up.”

“You sure you can lift me?”

“Oh yeah, this is how we make our pyramids in cheer.”

I stepped on their arms.

“Lift!” Taylor said.

I rose higher than the door. “Awesome.” I put my hand flat against the wall above the doorjamb. “Here, Ostin?”

“That’s about right.”

“Here it goes.” I pulsed with all I had. The light next to me flickered.

“Now what?”

“Wait for it,” Ostin said.

Suddenly we heard the hiss of escaping air. The door clicked.

“You did it,” Ostin said.

“No, you did,” I said.

Taylor and Ostin let me down and I pushed open the door. Ian, McKenna, and Abigail were standing in the middle of the room waiting for us. Seeing them filled me with strong emotion. I ran up to Abigail and put my arms around her, then McKenna and Ian. 

“You guys saved my life,” I said.

“You were very brave,” Ian said. “Amazingly brave. I don’t think I could have survived what you went through.”

“We’re proud of you,” McKenna said. Abigail nodded.

“Thank you. How can I ever repay you?”

“I think you just did,” Ian said, looking at the open door.

In the hallway an alarm went off, a bright red strobe accompanied by a deafening, shrill siren. Everyone covered their ears.

“Taylor, Ostin!” I shouted. “Give me another lift!”

They lifted me again. I reached up, grabbed the alarm, and pulsed. 

The alarm wound down with a sound like a sick cow.

“Thank goodness,” Taylor said. “That was annoying.”

“Okay, let’s make a plan,” I said.

As we were talking, Ian was frantically looking around, up and down the ceiling then to the walls. “The guards are collecting,” he whispered. “There are two coming down the front hall towards us right now.” 

“Where?” I asked.

He pointed toward the far wall, moving his finger along with them. “Right there, on the other side of the wall.”

“Ian, keep telling us where they are. Taylor, when they get close, reboot them. Zeus, the second you see their gun barrels blast them with electricity.”

“You got it, chief.”

I walked out into the corridor with Ian. He was now facing the far cell wall, following the guards’ movement. “They’re about at the corner,” Ian  whispered. “Now.”

Zeus and I backed against the wall, just at the corner. I saw the glint of metal from two gun barrels and Zeus shot electricity from both hands. Both guards dropped to the ground. “You got ’em,” Ian said. “Two guards down.”

“Are there any more down here?” I asked.

“Not yet. But there are some moving down the stairwell.”

“Let’s take care of these two,” I said. Zeus and I dragged the two guards into the farthest part of the cell and handcuffed them together to the toilet, then gathered again outside the cell. “We’ve got to free Jack and Wade and the rest of the GPs.”

“There’s a problem with that,” McKenna said. “They control all the collars from the command center. They could just set them all off and kill them all.”

“Where’s the command center?” Ostin asked.

“Fourth floor,” Ian said. “Next to the guards’ barracks.”

“Oh, great,” Ostin said. “We’ve been there.”

Ian smiled. “C’mon, Ostin. You didn’t want it to be too easy, did you? The honey’s always in the center of the hive.”

“So we’re headed to the fourth floor,” I said.

Ostin said, “Trust me, don’t take the elevator.”

“Then the only way out is the stairwell.”

“Which,” Ian said, “they’re covering.”

“Why haven’t they sent Nichelle down?” Taylor asked.

None of us knew. “Ian,” I said, “do you know how many guards there are?”

“I counted this afternoon and there were twenty-nine. Usually there are thirteen on duty during the day, and the other sixteen are sp lit up between the other two shifts. But they all live here and right now they’re all on alert.”

“How do you know all this?” Ostin asked.

“I watch everything in the building. It’s kept me sane for three years.”

Just then the entire floor went black. We could see nothing but the glow of each other.

“They must have cut the power,” Ostin said. “That’s going to hurt them.”

“They have night-vision goggles,” Zeus said. “I’ve seen them run drills.”

“Oh. Then it’s going to hurt us.”

“No problem,” McKenna said. She immediately began to glow, lighting up the corridor.

“That’s so cool,” Ostin said. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

McKenna smiled.

Taylor rolled her eyes. “Not now, Ostin.”

“Sorry. Back to business. There were twenty-seven guards, we’ve taken out five, so there’s twenty-two left,” Ostin said. “I’ll keep count.”

“Ian,” I said, “what’s going on?”

“Six guards are covering the stairwell. There are three above us; the others are gathering on the second and fourth floor by the elevators.”

“Which elevators?”

“Front and back. They might be getting ready to stage another attack. Or they might be waiting for us.”

“What about the other electric children?” I asked.

“Hatch has them gathered on two.”

“What powers do they have?”

“Quentin can produce a small EMP.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Electromagnetic pulse,” Ostin blurted out. “It can knock out radios and stuff.”

“Bryan can burn through things. Tara can manipulate emotions . . .”

“Wait,” I said. “Can she create fear?”

Ian nodded. “Unfortunately.”

“She’s the one who was torturing you,” Abigail said.

“She’s as bad as Nichelle,” I said.

Taylor looked at me but said nothing.

“Speaking of which, where is Nichelle?” I asked.

“She’s on level two next to Hatch.” Ian looked straight up. “Two men just went up top. I think they’re getting the helicopter ready.”

“I bet Hatch is going to run,” I said. “How big is the helicopter?”

“It’s pretty big. It will hold Hatch and all the kids. If things go bad, Hatch will probably take them with him.”

“Well, things are going to go bad for them,” I said. “Let’s go.” We turned the corner and ran down the next length of hall to the stairwell. Zeus continued down the hallway past the stairwell, blowing out five more cameras, which he could see from their glowing red diodes.

With McKenna’s light we could see both elevators from where we stood, one in front of us, the other at the end of the hall—the same elevator Ostin and I had come through when we first entered the building. I could see under the door that the stairwell was still lit and as I opened the door bullets immediately began to fly. I jumped back and I could hear bullets ricocheting inside. 

“Where exactly are they?” I asked Ian.

Ian looked up and down. “They’re on floors one, two, and four. There are six of them.”

“What are they doing? I mean, what are their positions?”

“Two of them are coming down the stairs. The rest are leaning over the railings with guns.”

“Taylor, do you think you could reboot them all at once?”

“I’ll try.”

“I’ll open the door,” Abigail said.

“Ready?” I asked.

Taylor nodded. She put her hands on her temples. “Go.”

Abigail pulled open the door and this time there was no gunfire. I slid my hand inside and grabbed the railing and pulsed with all of my power. There was a loud chorus of screams and I could hear guns and men falling down the stairs.

“You got four of them,” Ian said. “One of them crawled out of the well onto the second floor, and the other ran back out on the fourth.”

“How bad are the four?”

“They’re not moving.”

“Eighteen left,” Ostin said.

“Let’s move,” Zeus said.

“How many are on the next floor up?”

Ian looked back and forth. “Three.”

“Near the stairwell?”

“No. That’s the GP level; they’re guarding the prisoners.” He cocked his head. “Wait, there’s some motion on the third floor.”

“The kids?” Taylor asked.

“Maybe. I’m having trouble seeing through them. Nichelle must be near.”

“Let’s move up to the next floor.” We all started to climb the stairwell. Suddenly I stopped.

“What are you doing?” Zeus asked.

“It’s no good,” I said. “This isn’t going to work.”

“What?” Taylor said.

“We can’t make it,” I said. “We’ll never make it out of here. They’re going to kill us.”

“Stop talking that way,” Taylor said.

“No, he’s right,” Zeus said. “It’s hopeless.”

Taylor’s eyes flashed. “No,” she said, “it’s Tara.” She looked back.

“Abigail, take Michael’s and Zeus’s hands. Quick.”

Abigail ran up half a flight. The instant she touched my hand the fear left. “What happened?” I asked.

“It’s Tara. My sister.”

“Tara’s your sister?”

“She’s my twin. I’ll tell you about it later.”

“She’s your sister?” I repeated.

“I can handle her,” Taylor said as she looked up. She put her hands on her temples and concentrated. A scream echoed down the stairwell. “Stop it, Taylor!” Tara shouted.

“You stop it!” Taylor shouted back. “Leave my friends alone.”

“Your friends are going to die.”

“No they’re not. Why are you helping Hatch? You’re better than that.”

“Dr. Hatch is better. He’s doing the right thing.”

“Hatch is evil. He killed your parents.”

“They weren’t really my parents.”

“You don’t really believe that. Think for yourself, Tara.”

“You can’t change the world without casualties.”

“You’re saying everything he’s brainwashed you with. What do you believe?”

“You’re the brainwashed one.”

“Hatch told you that too, didn’t he? The first thing you tell someone you’ve brainwashed is that everyone else is brainwashed.”

Tara didn’t answer.

“C’mon, Tara. You’re better than that. Join us.”

“I’m not one of you. I’m special. I have special abilities.”

“You do, Tara. And you used those special abilities to hurt that man on the motorcycle. What good have you ever used them for?”

“That man on the motorcycle was just human.”

“I’m human, Tara. And so are you. Would you kill me if Hatch told you to?”

She didn’t answer.

“Would you?”

“You can keep pecking in the dirt, Taylor. But I’m not a chicken. I’m an eagle.”

Then there was silence.

“She went back inside,” Ian said.

I touched Taylor’s shoulder. “I didn’t know that you had a sister.”

Taylor’s face bent in anger. “I don’t.” 

47. The Escape

We crept up to the GP level: me and Zeus in front, followed by Ostin, Ian, and Taylor, with McKenna and Abigail bringing up the rear. The cameras inside the stairwell were panning back and forth like animals, heads up, watching for danger.

“Zeus, take those things out,” I whispered.

“On it.”

One by one Zeus blasted the cameras. Their blinking red lights went dark and they drooped, as if hanging their heads in defeat. Then the stairwell itself went dark.

“I think they’re trying to make this difficult,” Zeus said.

“No problem,” McKenna said. She began to glow again.

“McKenna,” I said, “stay close to the wall. You make an easy target.”

She pressed back against the wall.

“Ian, where are they?” I whispered.

“Three guards on GP, two guards on level one and six on two—three guarding the doors and three with Hatch and the children.  They’ve abandoned the third floor. There are seven guards on four and three scientists. It looks like they’re preparing for a battle on the fourth floor.”

“They must have guessed that’s where we’re going,” I said.

As we came up to the first level I whispered to Ian, “How close to the door are they?”

“One’s touching it, the other’s standing by the elevator.”

I put my hand on the door and pulsed. We could hear the guard’s gun hit the floor.

“Seventeen,” Ostin said.

Suddenly Ian shouted, “Move, move!”

We scattered. Bullets started ripping through the door.

When the gunfire paused, Zeus asked Ian, “Where is he?”

Ian pointed. Zeus shoved his finger through one of the holes and fired back with a bolt of electricity.