The Prisoner of Cell 25

by Richard Paul Evans

  “Still not interested,” Taylor said.

  “On the other hand, for Mr. Vey, this copper helmet is the worst thing I could be wearing.” He leaned close to me. “If he could get his little hands on this he could fry my head like a Sunday roast. That’s why we have him strapped down to a plastic chair.” He smiled at me.

  “I do hope you’re comfortable.”

  “What are you going to do?” I asked. “Kill us?”

  “Just some of you. Let me be clear about this. I want you, Michael. I want you to join us. I want to understand your power. But you’re not cooperating.” He stepped away from me. “Like you, during your vacation in Cell Twenty-Five, I’ve had a lot of time to think about things. I’ve decided that our problem here is really just a matter of credibility. You, Michael, won’t cooperate because you lack trust. Trust that I will do what I have threatened to do. I’d like to show you otherwise. Like they say in the old movies, I need to show you that I mean business.

  “So we’re going to have a demonstration with a couple of your friends. Proof of what I’ll do to your mother if you choose not to cooperate.” He took a step toward the door. “You may come in now.” He turned back to me. “Michael, I think you remember our friend Zeus.”

  Zeus walked into the room. His long, oily blond hair was partially concealed beneath a copper helmet similar to the one Hatch wore. The last time I saw him he’d shocked my mother. I desperately wanted to get my hands on him.

  “You creep,” I said.

  “The name is Zeus,” he said.

  “Your name is Zeus,” Taylor said. “Like the Greek god?” She rolled her eyes. “Puhleeeeeze.”

  I could see Taylor trying to get to him but she couldn’t.

  “I told you, Miss Ridley, you can’t get through our helmets,”

  Hatch said. “And as far as the name, that’s not the only similarity my boy here has with his Greek counterpart, is it Michael? Michael’s seen a demonstration of his gift. Like the Greek god, Zeus also throws lightning bolts.” He smiled at us. “So, Michael, to put it bluntly, Zeus is going to fry your friends.”

  “You won’t do that,” I said.

  “There you go,” Hatch said, flourishing his hand. “Lack of trust.

  You’ve just proved my point. Yes, I can do that and believe me, I will.”

  “But you need them.”

  “Wrong again. The truth is I’m only annoyed by your chubby little friend and frankly, Miss Ridley isn’t really of as much value to us alive as we thought she’d be. Fortunately, we have a carbon copy of her, so she is quite expendable. Our research team thinks an autopsy will prove most valuable. We’ve never dissected a Glow before; it could help the cause immensely.” He turned to Taylor. “Did you ever dissect a frog in science class?” He smiled. “Of course you did. Now you’re the frog and some parts of you will be kept in little jars.”

  Taylor looked pale, like she might throw up.

  “I’ll give you whatever you want,” I said.

  Hatch looked at me, his eyes narrowed with contempt. “You had that chance twenty-six days ago. Maybe now you’ll learn that, unlike you, I am a man of my word. We’ll discuss a new deal after my demonstration.”

  He walked toward the door. “So, if you’ll pardon me, I think I’ll leave.” He looked at Ostin. “I hate the smell of burnt butter.”

  “You’re a psycho!” Ostin shouted at Hatch.

  Hatch grunted. “Little man, do you really think you could say anything that I would find remotely hurtful? It’s like being insulted by a slug. You are a donkey among thoroughbreds. How sad that there is nothing even vaguely special about you. You’re just so . . . average.”

  “No he’s not,” Taylor said. “He’s brilliant. He’s a member of the Electroclan.”

  Hatch grinned. “The Electroclan. That’s almost comical.” His expression darkened. “Too bad you got in the way of the big boys, Ostin, or you could still be home with mummy and daddy eating pizza. Good-bye.”

  Hatch turned to Zeus. “When you’re done cooking our friends, call the guards and have Vey returned to Cell Twenty-Five to con-template the consequences of his choices.” He looked at the guards.

  “You might want to wait outside. Zeus is very powerful but not always accurate. Come with me, Nichelle.”

  Nichelle smiled darkly at Taylor. “I’ll miss you so much,” she said sarcastically, then she followed Hatch out. The guards followed her and shut the door behind them, leaving the four of us alone. A wicked smile crossed Zeus’s face. “All right, kiddies, it’s playtime.”

  Taylor said, “Why are you doing this? You’re one of us.”

  “I’m not one of you.”

  “You could be,” I said. “You could join the Electroclan.”

  “What’s that,” he said laughing. “Your club? That’s like booking a ticket on the Titanic after it hit the iceberg.”

  “What’s your real name?” Taylor asked.

  He turned to her. “Zeus.”

  “What’s your first name?”

  “Zeus.”

  “Your last name?”

  “It’s Zeus, Zeus, Zeus. First, last, middle, that’s it.”

  “You really think you’re going to kill us?” Ostin said. “Dude, you’re like fifteen.”

  “Shut up,” he said.

  “No,” I said. “He’s right. Think about it.”

  “Yeah, think about this.” He raised his hands and a quick burst of blue electricity arced between them. He stepped toward me. “Like that, electric boy?”

  It was obvious that his electricity was different than mine. Mine came from within my body, while his seemed confined to the outside. I wondered how much he had to give. I, on the other hand, couldn’t even stand under my own power.

  He turned back around. “So who wants to go first? It’s usually ladies before gentlemen, or maybe that doesn’t apply to executions.”

  He walked over to Taylor. “Does it?”

  “Go ahead,” Taylor said.

  He touched her cheek. “It’s a shame you didn’t decide to join us.

  We could have had some fun. We’re going to rule the world, you know.”

  “Why would you want to do that?” Ostin asked.

  “I thought you were supposed to be smart,” Zeus said. “Oh, you have no powers at all. Except eating.” He laughed.

  “Hey,” Ostin said. “Before you fry me, tell me something. I mean, unless they don’t trust you with the scientific stuff.”

  Zeus looked at him angrily. “What?”

  “I can’t figure out how Hatch made that helmet work. I mean, the science of it doesn’t make sense. Why doesn’t the copper actually conduct the electricity and amplify Taylor’s electromagnetic waves?

  Is there like a radio converter inside it?”

  “It’s just a helmet, doughboy.”

  “No, there’s got to be something inside it. You probably just don’t know that much about electricity.”

  Zeus’s face turned red. “I’m made of electricity, idiot. It’s just a stupid helmet.”

  “It couldn’t be. You must not have examined it. There’s got to be a little electric converter inside, maybe a little black pad with some circuit board. Did you notice some wires?”

  “There’s not a stupid black pad inside—there’s no wires! It’s just a copper helmet, like a football helmet made of metal. Look, chubster.”

  He started to pull off his helmet but noticed Taylor, who was looking a little too eager. He stopped. “Oh, I see. Well played, fat boy. You almost got me. You’re not as dumb as you look. Now prepare to fry.”

  He lifted his hands.

  “You surprise me, Zeus,” Taylor said. “You’re obviously really powerful. More powerful than any of us.”

  He turned to her. “You said it.”

  “You’re named after a god. You could be, like, the ruler of the world.”

  He dropped his hands to his side. “What’s your point?”

  She shrugged. “No
thing. I’m just surprised that you’re taking orders from Hatch. He should be taking orders from you. He tells you to kill us, you obey like a dog.”

  Zeus looked confused. “Enough talking.” He turned back to Ostin.

  “You’re a nobody. You go first.” He again raised his hands.

  “Hey, Zits,” I shouted. “What kind of electro wimp picks on kids without powers?”

  He turned back to me. “What did you call me?”

  “Zits,” I said. “Z-I-T-S. Actually, I don’t think you even need electric bolts. You could just breathe on us.” I looked him in the eyes and smiled. “Seriously, dude, when was the last time you brushed your teeth?”

  “Shut up!”

  “No, really. Did you eat a diaper?”

  “Shut up!” he shouted. He squinted. “Do you know how much I enjoyed guarding your mother? I shocked her at least a dozen times just to watch her squeal.”

  “Yeah, well you could have just sat next to her and let her smell you. That would have been much worse. I’ve had hamsters with better hygiene.”

  “Enough! Don’t think I won’t electrocute you, Vey!”

  Taylor looked at me as if I’d lost my mind. “It’s his Tourette’s, he can’t help it.”

  “I’m scared, Zits,” I said. “You know Hatch would have your head if you did. But here’s my promise: after I’m in charge, my first command is to make you my shoeshine boy. You’ll be following me around with a towel.”

  “You’ll never be in charge.”

  “No, that’s what Hatch said. You heard him. He wants my power. I’m not kidding, Zits. When Hatch was trying to get me to join you guys, he promised me that you would be my servant.”

  Zeus looked at me with a worried expression. After a moment he shouted, “Shut up! And stop calling me Zits!”

  “I don’t think I will. In fact, it’s going to be the first rule I make.

  I’m going to have everyone else call you that.”

  “I don’t care what Hatch says. I’m gonna fry you, Vey.”

  “Oooh, now I’m really shaking. You don’t have enough juice in you to light a flashlight.”

  “Michael!” Taylor shouted. “Stop it. He’s got a temper. I’ve seen it.”

  “You should listen to the cheerleader, Vey.” He stepped toward me. “You think you’re so cool. But you can’t shoot electricity like me, can you? You’re just a flesh-covered battery.”

  “And you’re a flesh-covered outhouse. You should tie a couple hundred of those car air fresheners around your neck.”

  “Last warning!” Zeus shouted.

  “I’m not kidding, Zits. There are porta-potties with better aromas.

  Would a little deodorant kill you? What was the last year you took a bath?”

  “That’s it!” He lifted his arms in front of himself and electricity arced between his fingers. “You’re gonna die!”

  He pointed his hands toward me, letting loose a storm of crackling blue-white electricity. I surged at that precise moment and the sound of his electricity hitting the field of my electricity was like the crash of two cymbals. The room lit up as bright as a welder’s lamp.

  To my surprise, I felt absolutely fine. Not only was my surge protecting me, but it wasn’t going away either. The longest I had ever held a surge was ten or fifteen seconds, but I wasn’t tiring at all. In fact, I was growing stronger. I was absorbing Zeus’s electricity. Even the weakness I felt from before was leaving me.

  There was so much electricity in the room that all of our hair was standing straight up. I looked over at Taylor. She stared at me in disbelief.

  It’s not hurting me, I thought.

  She nodded.

  Can you read my mind?

  She nodded again. The electricity in the room had caused some kind of bridge.

  I can, I heard her say, even though her lips didn’t move. Now I could read her thoughts as well.

  Zeus could see that his electricity wasn’t hurting me and he was getting angrier. He looked like a crazy man, his hands raised and moving. “Burn, Energizer!”

  The foul stench of burning plastic filled the room. I looked down to see that my chair was melting. The plastic ties that the guard used to bind my wrists and legs had melted through and the vinyl band around my waist had melted as well. I was free.

  I looked back up and smiled at Zeus. Rage burned in his eyes. He clenched his teeth and intensified his assault. But the force of his electricity only added to mine. I was getting stronger, and, from his appearance, he was growing weaker. Sweat was beading on his forehead and his breathing was heavy.

  My skin began to glow a pale white, growing brighter and brighter until I was lit up like an incandescent lightbulb.

  “Aaaargh!” he shouted in exhaustion, and the electricity stopped.

  He flicked his hands as if his fingers had been burned. “Okay, then I’ll burn her!”

  He turned toward Taylor.

  “No you won’t,” I said, standing up. He turned back to looked at me. I was now glowing brighter than the overhead lights. I lifted my arms and held my palms out toward Zeus. “Try this.” I pulsed.

  A bright flash of light burst from me like a shock wave and Zeus screamed out as he was thrown against the wall. Taylor’s and Ostin’s chairs also flipped sideways. Zeus slid to the floor unconscious.

  I ran to Taylor’s side. “Are you okay?”

  It took her a moment to answer. “I think so. I can’t get loose.”

  I grabbed the plastic ties on her hands and surged and they melted in my hands. She reached down and unfastened her legs.

  Then I ran to Ostin. He was lying still. I knelt down by him. “Ostin?”

  He wasn’t breathing.

  “Buddy!” I put my head to his chest. His heart had stopped.

  “Ostin!” I shouted. I burned off his bands and began to administer CPR. “His heart stopped,” I shouted.

  Taylor came to my side.

  “Come on, Ostin,” she said.

  I put my ear to his chest. Nothing. Tears began to fill my eyes.

  “You can’t die, buddy. You can’t.”

  I continued pressing his chest but nothing I did seemed to have any effect.

  Then Taylor said, “Shock him.”

  “What?”

  “Shock his heart. That’s what doctors do when a heart stops.”

  I put my hand over his heart and pulsed. His whole body shook. I put my head to his chest, but there was nothing. “Ostin, buddy. Hang in there.”

  I put my hand on his heart again. “Surge.” His body shook again.

  Suddenly his body trembled. I put my head on his chest. “His heart’s beating!”

  “Yeah!” Taylor said.

  A moment later Ostin groaned and his eyes opened. He looked at me, then said, “That hurt.”

  I exhaled in relief. “Oh, man, that was close. Don’t ever scare us like that again.”

  “Don’t ever shock me like that again.”

  Zeus started to come to, groaning lightly. Taylor walked over and pulled off his helmet, throwing it behind her. He looked up at her.

  “Where am I?”

  “You’re on the ground,” she said. He began to lift his head but Taylor squinted and knocked him back down. “Don’t even think about it. And you better behave or Michael’s going to finish you.”

  Ostin sat up, rubbing his chest. “How did you create a shock wave?”

  “I’m not sure,” I said. “I think Zeus’s electricity made me stronger.”

  Ostin smiled. “Just like I was theorizing, you can absorb electricity.”

  Taylor pointed to a camera. “Hey, guys, whatever we’re doing we better hurry. We’re being watched.”

  “No,” Ostin said. “The light’s off. Michael must have blown the camera with his surge.”

  “Still, Taylor’s right,” I said. “We’ve got to move fast. There are guards outside the door.”

  “What should we do with him?” Taylor asked, looking at Zeus.
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  Zeus looked up at me fearfully. Don’t hurt me.

  I heard his voice clearly but his mouth hadn’t moved. There was still enough electricity in the room that I could read minds without touching.

  “Please don’t hurt me,” he said aloud.

  “Why shouldn’t I?” I asked.

  He just stared at me, unable to come up with a reason.

  I leaned close to him. “I’ll tell you why. Because I’m not you and I’m not Hatch.” I leaned in closer. “Think of a number between one and a million.”

  He looked at me. “What?”

  “Think of a number,” I said.

  Five hundred twenty-six thousand and twelve, he thought.

  “Five hundred twenty-six thousand and twelve,” I said.

  He looked at me in astonishment. “How did you do that?”

  “I can read your mind, Zeus. And if you so much as think of shocking one of us, I’ll fry you like a chicken nugget. Do you understand?”

  He nodded.

  “Why are you loyal to Hatch?” I asked.

  He didn’t answer in his thoughts or otherwise. I guess he didn’t know.

  “He’s worthless,” Ostin said. “We can’t trust him.”

  I am worthless, Zeus thought.

  Taylor looked at me. Did you hear that? she thought.

  I nodded. What has he done?

  Let’s find out, Taylor thought. I’m going in deep.

  Taylor knelt down next to Zeus and put her head against his. We watched as she went through him, like she was reading a book. After several minutes, her expression changed and she sat back up. “I see.”

  “What is it?” Ostin asked.

  Taylor said to Zeus, “When you were a child did you kill your family in a swimming pool?”

  The statement seemed to hit him as powerfully as my shock wave. He began trembling and he covered his face with his hands.

  “Yes.”

  “Are you sure about that?” she asked.

  He peered up at her. “What do you mean?”

  Taylor looked at me and then back at Zeus. “I looked through your memories but I couldn’t find a memory of the swimming pool.

  Any swimming pool. I only found what Hatch told you when you were little.”

  “That’s the way Hatch works,” I said to Taylor. “He makes people think they’re bad so they’ll do bad things. Zeus thinks he’s evil so he’s acting the part. Can you do anything with it?”