There was a large two-way mirror as well as two monitors mounted to a console. The gunman, Clyde, was sitting in a chair on the other side of the glass, his hands handcuffed behind his back.
Seeing him filled me with anger.
“This is Detective Muir,” Lieutenant Lloyd said, gesturing to a man sitting in front of the bank of monitors. He’ll be recording everything.”
I turned back. “You record what happens inside?”
“Every word,” he said.
I hadn’t thought about that. I wouldn’t be able to speak freely.
Lieutenant Lloyd looked into my eyes. “You’re still sure you want to do this?”
“I’m sure,” I said.
“You’re a brave young man,” he said. “Okay, then. We have Stuart in handcuffs, but if you feel threatened at all, let me know.” He patted his gun belt. “I have my Taser.”
Me too, I thought. “I’m ready.”
As we started to walk out I brushed by the recording console and pulsed. Suddenly all the screens in the room went blank.
“Wait,” Muir said. “We just went down.”
Lieutenant Lloyd groaned. “What timing.”
“It’s like we got a power surge or something,” Detective Muir said, flipping a few switches. He spent the next five minutes trying to get the system back up.
Finally Lieutenant Lloyd asked, “Does the phone still work?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll use the intercom on it. We won’t be able to tape it, but at least we’ll hear what’s going on.”
We walked back out to the hallway. Lieutenant Lloyd unlocked and opened the door. The interrogation room was rectangular with bare white cinder block walls. Clyde sat at the opposite end of a long, wooden table. He wore an orange jail jumpsuit with the name stuart and a number printed above the left breast.
“Hello, Clyde,” Lieutenant Lloyd said.
Stuart didn’t look at Lieutenant Lloyd, but glared at me.
“I’m sure you remember who this is.”
He said nothing.
“Let me help you. This is Michael Vey. He’s the son of the woman you helped kidnap.”
He scowled. “I know who he is.”
“Good. Because you owe him an explanation.”
Clyde turned his body sideways. “I don’t owe him nothin’.”
Lieutenant Lloyd shook his head. He whispered to me, “Like I said, he’s not cooperating.”
“Maybe if I talked to him alone.”
He thought about it for a moment then said, “I was afraid it might come to that.” He walked up to Clyde. “I’m leaving Michael alone with you. Don’t try anything crazy.”
Suddenly Clyde’s expression changed from anger to fear. “No!
You can’t leave him alone with me. I have rights against cruel and inhumane punishment. I have rights!”
Lloyd looked at him. “I was saying, I’m leaving him alone with you. But I’m watching you carefully through the glass so don’t get any ideas . . .” Lieutenant Lloyd turned back to me and shook his head. “Be careful,” he whispered. “The man’s nutty as a bag of trail mix. Good luck.”
When the door shut, Clyde looked up at me and our eyes met.
“Where’s my mother?”
His lips pursed. I stood up and took a few steps toward him. I knew the police were listening so I chose my words carefully. “Do you need something to jog your memory?”
“You stay away from me, electric boy.”
“What did you call me?”
“I know all about your kind, you glowing freaks.”
“My kind?”
He scowled. “Yes, your kind.” For the first time I noticed the scars running up his arm. He followed my gaze, then looked back up at me. “Yeah, that’s from one of you. You Glows are all alike.”
“How many are there of us?”
“Too many. One of you is too many.”
“I only did what I did because you pulled a gun on my mother.
You made me do it.”
“They made me do it.”
“Who made you?”
He didn’t answer.
“You know, I can reach you from here,” I said, which wasn’t true but he didn’t know it.
He sneered at me then said, “Hatch.”
“What’s a hatch?”
“Hatch isn’t a what, you idiot. He’s a who.”
“Who is Hatch?”
He didn’t answer.
“Is Hatch the guy with the sunglasses?”
“They’re not sunglasses. It’s how he sees the Glows.” He said the word as if it were bitter on his tongue.
“What’s a . . . Glow?”
“You’re a Glow.”
“Who were those other two kids with him?”
“Glows. Zeus and Nichelle.”
“I saw what Zeus does. What does Nichelle do?”
“She’s Hatch’s protection against Glows.” His face bent in a dark grin. “Oh, you’re going to like her. Trust me. She’s the nastiest of the whole stinking, nasty bunch of you.”
“How long have they known about me?”
“Since you were a baby. They just couldn’t find you. You and the other.”
I guessed he was talking about Taylor. “Where is she?”
“You’ll have to ask Hatch.”
“Where did they take my mother?”
“How would I know that? They left me.”
“Where did they plan to take my mother?”
“You’ll never find her,” he said, and a dark smile crossed his face.
“You have no idea what you’re up against, glow worm. They have private jets and hidden compounds. They’re all over the world. Your mother could be anywhere by now.”
“Where is Hatch?”
He looked away.
“Where is Hatch?” I said louder. I began rubbing the table. “Do you need some persuasion?”
“What are you going to do, kill me? You’d be doing me a favor.
They’re going to kill me anyway. You’ll see. To them we’re all expendable. Even the Glows.”
I decided to change my tactic. “If I can stop Hatch . . .”
He interrupted me with laughter. “You think you can stop Hatch?
The U.S. Marine Corps couldn’t stop Hatch.”
“ . . . If I can stop Hatch, I’ll be able to prove that they forced you into this. Help me find my mother and I promise I’ll testify for you and get you out of here.”
Clyde’s laughter only increased. “You think I want to go out there with them? I’m safer in here.”
I leaned forward and whispered, “Is Hatch at the school in Pasadena?”
He looked down.
“Is Hatch at the school in Pasadena?” I repeated.
Without looking up, he said, “It’s not a school.”
“Is that where he is?”
He looked up. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
I looked at him for another moment, then over at the mirror. “I’m done,” I said.
When I turned back Clyde was smiling. “Hatch is waiting for you, you know. He’s been waiting a long, long time. He really wants you.”
Just then the door opened and Lieutenant Lloyd walked in. “All right, Clyde.”
“You know who this kid is, don’t you?” Clyde shouted. “He’s a Glow. He can shock you worse than that Taser you’re wearing. He can kill you. He can kill all of us. They’re going to take over.”
I looked up at Lloyd and shrugged.
“Shut up,” Lieutenant Lloyd said.
“They’re going to take over the entire world!”
“Save it for the judge,” Lieutenant Lloyd said.
As I walked out of the room Lieutenant Lloyd put his arm on my shoulder. “Sorry, kid. That’s what I was afraid of. Ever since we brought him in he’s been ranting about hatches and glow worms.” He shook his head. “The man’s insane.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jack
Ostin came to my apar
tment directly from school. I was on my knees filling my backpack with clothes.
“What are you doing?”
“Packing. They’re in Pasadena.”
“Clyde told you that?”
“Sort of. The man in the sunglasses is named Hatch.”
“Hatch?”
“And you were right. There are more of us electric children.”
“Did the police hear all that?”
“Yeah. But they just think Clyde’s crazy.”
Ostin sat on my bed. “So now what?”
“I’m going to Pasadena.”
“How do we do that?”
“What do you mean, ‘we’?” I said.
“You can’t go alone. What if you need help?”
“This isn’t a video game, Ostin. It’s real danger. If something goes wrong we can’t just push a reset button.”
“Which is precisely why I need to go. What good is being here without my best friend?”
I looked at him. “Thanks.”
“So how do we get there?”
“Jack.”
Ostin’s eyes widened. “Jack the bully?”
“Yeah, he’s perfect. He’s got his own car.”
“There’s no way my mom will let me go with him driving.”
“Your mom can’t know.”
“You’re right. She’d freak no matter what.” He looked down.
“What makes you think Jack will drive us?”
“He owes me.” I rubbed my hands together and they made the crackling sound of electricity. “I think I can persuade him.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Tara
Taylor was sitting on her bed eating supper when she heard her door unlock. A voice from a speaker said, “Enter.”
The door opened and Tara walked into the room. She was smiling.
“You finally got some food, huh?”
Taylor looked up. In spite of her mistrust of the place, she felt a natural kinship to Tara. “Yeah. What’s with all the bananas?”
“High in potassium. It’s good for us.” She shook her head and her smile grew. “Crazy, huh? You must feel like you fell down the rabbit hole.”
“The rabbit hole?”
“You know, Alice in Wonderland. But really, it’s not as bad as you think.”
“I’ve been kidnapped, tied up, tortured by some deranged Goth chick, and locked in a cell and you say it’s not so bad?”
“You’re right, Nichelle’s pretty awful, isn’t she?” She swayed a little. “As far as the cell, it’s just temporary. It’s just until you see that they mean you no harm. They have a lot of experience with this.”
“Kidnapping?” Taylor asked.
Tara shook her head. “Look, sis, I understand why you’re so upset.
I really do.” She walked over and sat on the bed next to her. “And I’m sorry if I don’t seem more sympathetic, but I’m just so happy you’re here. My own sister. I’ve waited for this day for so long.”
“How long have you known you’re a twin?” Taylor asked.
“Nine years—since Dr. Hatch found me. He promised me that someday he’d find you. And he did.”
“I didn’t even know I had a sister.”
“It’s kind of cool, isn’t it?”
Taylor pushed away her tray. “I’m sorry, I’m just scared and I don’t know what I’m doing here.”
“I really do understand,” she said. “But it will be okay. Trust me.
They just want to know why we’re so different. The research they do here will save millions of lives someday. And they take really good care of us. Really good care. We even have our own concierge service.”
“What’s that?”
“You know, like at fancy hotels. You can ask for pretty much anything and they’ll get it for you. Clothes, front-row concert tickets and backstage passes, gadgets: almost anything, within reason. I mean, if you asked for a jet they’d probably say no. But I asked for a diamond bracelet once and they got me one.”
“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 Kryp-tonite 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.
Chapter Twenty-Six
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.
The Prisoner of Cell 25 Page 14