Psi Another Day (Psi Fighter Academy)

by D. R. Rosensteel

“Okay, Bobby,” Kathryn sang as he approached. “What’s your secret? You’re smiling!”

  I didn’t see any smile.

  “S-s-secret?” he stammered.

  “You know, Bobby, the Spring Fling is coming. I think you’re out here deciding who to ask.”

  Bobby turned a morbid shade of purple. His scalp glowed under his buzz cut. His eyes went wide with fear.

  “You are as subtle as a pipe bomb,” I told her.

  “Hey, I was simply inquiring as to what was on Bobby’s brilliant mind while we were in chemistry boiling gookem puckey. I mean, it’s not like he’s only an awe-inspiring specimen of virility. He has a mind, too, Rinnie. I utter a gasp of dismay that you only see his outward hunkness. That’s just shallow.”

  Bobby scowled. His eyes narrowed. “Gookem puckey? They’re making lysergic acid in that lab!”

  “May I inquire as to what your brilliant hunkness means?” I asked. Kathryn elbowed me.

  Bobby shook his head. “I wasn’t certain before, but now I know. You hydrolyze ergot to make lysergic acid. That’s what Miliron sends to Old Torrents. He’s too harebrained to realize what they’re doing. Lysergic acid is only one step away from LSD, which was originally developed to treat mental patients. But in the lab at the Old Torrents Mental Facility, they change the chemical structure to make it do things LSD was never meant to do.”

  “And you know this how?”

  “Plenty of research. And I overheard Tammy Angel bragging about how she made Kent Gable stash it in my locker for the cops to find. The real thing, not the harmless stuff from the Class Project. Angel is smart. She knows somebody at the Old Torrents lab. Now she has Chuckie and Art pushing this poison on us. It turns people nasty. Look at what it did to Erica Jasmine before she quit. And Agatha Chew. Chuckie Cuff has always been weird, but now he’s just mean. And it’s not because he hangs out with Rubric.”

  Suddenly a light went on in my head, and my stomach knotted. I remembered Andy’s words. The Walpurgis Knights kidnap children and train them to be Knights. They use mutated hallucinogens to change their personalities. Nice people can’t be Knights.

  “See?” Kathryn said. “I told you he’s brilliant.”

  Yes, Bobby was brilliant. How could I have missed it? The Knights were making Psychedone 10 right under our noses. And Mason had just invited me to help, although I wasn’t convinced that he knew what he was asking.

  …

  The next morning, lost in thought, I drifted down the hall to meet Kathryn for language arts. I was pretty sure I finally understood, and I didn’t like it at all. The Knights were manufacturing Psychedone 10. The Class Project was the precursor. And, if what Bobby said about Angel was true, the Red Team was in charge of distribution. Angel’s stash in the SSA was actual vitamin supplements, a nice ruse to cover her if anyone questioned the garbage she was pushing in school. But judging from Mason’s sincerity when he talked about helping the mentally ill, it was unlikely that he knew anything about the Class Project other than what he had told me. He really believed he was producing the first stages of a miracle cure.

  According to the Book of Lore, the real truth about Psychedone was frightening—after extended use, it caused physical addiction and altered the users’ personalities, breaking down their mental defenses. They couldn’t think for themselves, and became almost totally unable to disobey the commands of a stronger personality. It was a very powerful mind-control drug. And the formula had advanced over the years.

  When I was kidnapped, it was called Psychedone 5. Each version became more deadly. The Knights forced their victims to take the drug, then trained the strongest to become Knights. The rest were used as scapegoats for the Knights’ crimes.

  I also now understood how Captious knew of the Walpurgi. I was worried that Munificent had let secrets slip, so I asked during practice. Andy assured me it wasn’t so. Apparently Munificent had told the police force that the Knights were a powerful street gang called ‘The Walpurgi.’ And even if Captious had knowledge of the Psi Fighters’ existence like I feared, that didn’t automatically guarantee our destruction. The Whisperers spread rumors about us on purpose. That’s how we let the Knights and the rest of Greensburg’s underworld know that they were being watched. By the time we were done talking, Andy had confirmed what I already knew. In my exhausted state, I let my real fear surface—the fear that I would lose my family. Again. Andy told me that the time would come, probably sooner than I wanted, when I would have to stop suppressing my past. All well and good, Dr. Phil, but first, I needed to figure out Mason’s part in all this.

  My assumptions had been totally wrong. I assumed Mason and Captious were in this together. But when Captious took Christie, Mason was angry. It seemed that Mason was as surprised by Christie’s kidnapping as he was clueless about the Class Project.

  A strained voice around the corner broke into my thoughts. I flattened myself against the lockers and listened.

  “No, it’s illegal and I’m not doing it.”

  “It’s not. I think you should reconsider, little guy. You are the best we’ve ever had.”

  “You never had me. Did you make Gable plant that stuff in my locker? Angel said it wouldn’t have happened if I had listened.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You’re a liar. I’m outa here. Leave me alone.”

  “Please, Bobby, this is important. The work we do here is completed at Old Torrents. They have equipment we don’t. They use our product to make medicine that helps the mentally ill. I doubt that you can understand it, but this means a lot to me. My mother was mentally ill. If I can help people like her, I will do whatever is necessary. Please reconsider. We really need you.”

  “No, you don’t understand. Talk to Angel. She’ll tell you. I’m done.”

  A dull clang, like the striking of a gong with a stale loaf of bread, echoed down the hall. I sprinted around the corner. Bobby crouched on the floor in front of a dented locker, holding his forehead, Mason towering over him. Mason turned at the sound of my footsteps.

  “Lucky you, Bobbykins,” he said, smiling at me. “It appears that it’s time for me to go to class. We’ll have to reschedule. Have a lovely day.”

  As Mason turned to leave, Bobby leapt to his feet, grabbed him by the shoulder and shoved him. Mason’s face brightened with an admiring expression that said, You are extremely cool for a four-eyed dweeb, but I can’t honestly believe you did that and expect to live!

  “Touch me again and I’ll knock your teeth out,” Bobby growled. He looked tiny next to Mason, but I had never seen such fire in his eyes. He was shaking with the force of his anger, both hands tightly clenched, and his chin raised, daring Mason to hit him.

  “Ooh,” Mason said, reaching out with his pinky. “How tempting. But I think I’ll have to decline for now. I have other duties at the moment.”

  “Like pushing drugs?” Bobby snarled.

  Mason cocked his head like a bird and looked sideways at me. “Wherever does Roberto get his imagination, Miss Noelle?”

  Mason was acting like a jerk, but Bobby was off base. I thought maybe this one time Mason deserved the benefit of the doubt. “I’ll talk to him.” Then I pointed at Mason, not in a mean way, but so he would know I meant it. “But you’d better stop hurting him. There is no excuse for it. You told me you liked Bobby. You told me that being nice would become a habit. I’d like to see it. Please?”

  Mason bit his lower lip. He looked right into my eyes, and said, “For you.” He turned to Bobby and extended his hand. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. Can you forgive me?”

  Bobby glared at Mason, but didn’t say a word.

  Mason’s eyes flashed sadness, but he smiled, dropped his hand, and walked away. As he rounded the corner, I heard him mumble, “Everybody deserves a second chance. Even me.”

  “I’ll give him a second chance. Next time he touches me, I’ll knock his teeth out,” Bobby whispered, still glaring as Ma
son disappeared. “Twice.” Then he turned to me and smiled. I noticed the swelling redness on his forehead. “Kathryn says you do kung fu. I’ve been researching on the Internet and already know a little. I need you to teach me a little more. Just one punch? Or a death ray. That’s all I need. Pretty please?”

  “Hey, hey, hey!” Kathryn waltzed down the hall toward us. “What did I miss? Fill me in!”

  “Hi, Kitty,” Bobby whispered. Except for the red bump on his forehead, his face had lost all color. He appeared to have forgotten Mason and acted like he was about to barf.

  “Hi,” Kathryn said quietly, looking at the floor, smiling like a Barbie who had just discovered she was a real girl. She shuffled her feet and slouched slightly, like she was trying not to be taller than Bobby. For the second time since I had known her, Kathryn appeared speechless. Something was up, and she had not told me about it.

  To my complete astonishment, Bobby turned to me, and looked straight into my eyes. He tried to speak, then stopped. He tried again, and this time succeeded with all the grace of a person in mid-vomit.

  “Ummm, would you…ga…ga…ack!…go-to-the-Spring-Fling-with-me?”

  “Huh?” I said. I felt my face flush. I turned to Kathryn. She stared dreamily at Bobby like I wasn’t even there.

  “I mean, if you don’t want to, that’s okay.” Bobby continued to stare right at me.

  “But—” I desperately needed my armor’s Shimmer mode, or someone to beam me up.

  “It’s just that, well, you mentioned that the Spring Fling is coming, and you thought I was deciding who to ask, and I was, deciding I mean, so I was wondering, you know…”

  Oh. Relief flooded me like a long overdue bathroom break. I reached out, took Bobby by the chin, and turned his head. “She’s over there.”

  Kathryn squealed like a hamster who had run too many circles on its exercise wheel. “Oh, Bobby! Oh, Bobby! Oh, Bobby!”

  “I believe you can take that as a yes,” I said.

  Bobby suddenly appeared very calm. Color returned to his face and one corner of his mouth smiled slightly at Kathryn. “Cool. Umm, would it be okay to meet you there?”

  “No driver’s license?” I asked.

  “Can’t afford insurance.”

  “I feel your pain.” Same reason I didn’t have one. Fortunately for me, Kathryn did.

  The bell rang, and people popped out of nowhere like cockroaches.

  “Seven-thirty?” Bobby asked.

  “She’ll be there!” I took Kathryn by the hand. “Come on, we’ll be late for class.”

  Kathryn squealed again as we skipped along the hall. “Bobby asked me! Bobby asked me! I’m going to the Spring Fling with Bobbyyyyyy! Rinnie, I didn’t think I would get to go at all.”

  “You turned down six other guys.”

  Kathryn giggled.

  “You’re obsessed.”

  “I am,” she sighed. “Isn’t he beautiful?”

  Suddenly the crowd of students parted, and a blond head made its way toward us.

  “Rinnie, wait up!”

  Egon waded through the pack and stopped right in front of me. Breathing suddenly became difficult, and everything started to fog up.

  “Hi,” he said, smiling.

  My legs turned to noodles. “Hi.”

  The late bell rang. Egon looked at the clock, then at me. “You. Me. Spring Fling. You in?”

  My tongue suddenly became a mass of stupid. “Blahr,” I said.

  Kathryn burst out laughing. I punched her in the arm, blushed, and smiled at Egon.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Attack in the Park

  I walked home from school that afternoon, totally elated. Kathryn was overjoyed too, but she took the bus. Go figure. She lived closer to the school than I did. Each of us handles our bucket of bliss differently, I suppose. Strolling through the park made my life seem like a fairy tale. The flowers, the trees, the tombstones—well, maybe not the tombstones.

  I was going to the Spring Fling! Everyone would talk. Tammy Angel would be outraged. Boot Milner would be jealous. And I would be oblivious to it all. I would only see Egon. I couldn’t believe it! Bobby said Egon had approached him and asked if I was going with anyone. He and Bobby knew we would be headed for language arts. It was a setup! A wonderful setup!

  I imagined Egon and me sitting on the chairs lining the walls of the gym floor. Everyone else would be dancing, but we would be sitting. Sitting, staring, thinking… Then he would reach over and touch my hand. I would smile. A slow song would come on, and Egon would look into my eyes. May I have this dance? he would ask. I’d love to, I would say. Then he would lead me to the center of the dance floor, taking me in his arms. His arms would be strong, his embrace overwhelming. He wouldn’t notice my shaking, because he would be looking so deeply into my eyes. We wouldn’t talk. There would be no words to express what we felt…he would lean down, bring his lips close to mine…

  “Get away!” a voice screamed. I was jerked from my fantasy like a bad act from America’s Got Talent. Directly ahead of me, Mason and Rubric had Bobby pinned against a tree. Mason leaned on a baseball bat. Rubric was empty-handed, but he swayed unsteadily, and had a dazed, angry look in his eyes. He was definitely high. This was so not good.

  “Leave me alone,” Bobby snapped. Blood ran from his nose, but there was no fear in his voice.

  “I wanted to be ladylike and give you another chance,” Mason said. “You were the best we ever had. Almost as good as me.”

  “If I were only as good as you, I wouldn’t have figured out that your wonderful Class Project was part of a drug ring.” Bobby stepped toward Mason, fists clenched. “I guess you never talk to Angel.”

  “Au contraire, mon Frère,” Mason said, wagging a finger, his speech almost imperceptibly slurred. “I asked her. She said you were a dweeb!” Mason suddenly became furious, like he’d lost his mind. “She gave me the stuff you’re all girly frightened of, and I tested it. It’s nothing, Bobby! Nothing!

  Bobby jumped back. “I see that,” he snapped.

  “Do him,” Rubric muttered. “He deserves it.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do,” Mason growled. He shoved Rubric, staggered, then turned to Bobby and said softly, “You don’t trust me. You won’t give me a second chance. Everybody deserves a second chance, Bobby.”

  “Earn it,” Bobby said. “Fight me without the bat, coward.”

  “This is for the greater good, Bobby,” Rubric said. “He doesn’t want to fight you. He wants to make an example of you. He wants to show people how serious we are about the Class Project. Right, Mase?”

  Mason turned to Rubric, the pain in his face unmistakable. “Shut up, Art. Just shut up.” He gripped the bat in both hands and stepped toward Bobby.

  Suddenly, Andy’s words flashed through my mind. Mason has killed before. I had no idea what was wrong with Mason, but it was time to move. I sprinted toward him. My mind quickly calmed. I would take him out first. A few pressure points, and nighty, night, little Mason. Once he was down, Rubric would probably take off. If not, so much the better.

  Just then, Mason noticed me. “Rinnie,” he whispered. He suddenly looked like he would cry. “Bobby was wrong. I tried it, Rinnie. Why won’t he believe me?”

  Understanding slammed me in the gut. Mason was high on Psychedone 10.

  “Howdy there, Peroxide.” Rubric grinned and blew me a kiss.

  I scowled. “I’d rather kiss a rhino.”

  Rubric made a grunting sound that I can only assume was meant to be a rhinoceros, but sounded like a heifer with four upset stomachs. He puckered his blubbery lips at me. “Come get some!”

  “Don’t make me sick.”

  “Why don’t you rush on home, now, Peroxide?” Rubric slurred. “Your mommy’s calling, and you might get hurt here. Oh, did I say ‘might’?”

  “Yo, babe,” Chuckie’s voice boomed in my ear from behind. Suddenly, I was in his powerful grip, jerked off my feet.

  Rubric gr
inned. “By the way, your bodyguard isn’t around to protect you, so you might want to watch your back.”

  “Put me down,” I yelled, totally miffed that I’d let Chuckie take me by surprise. His cheek felt like a cactus against mine, and his breath was horrible. “Don’t you people use toothpaste?”

  “I don’t like the taste,” Chuckie said.

  Obviously.

  “Chuckie!” Mason roared. “Don’t touch her!”

  Chuckie inhaled sharply, and his grip loosened, which I totally took advantage of. I shifted so that my arms were partly free. Chuckie would soon be in for an unpleasant surprise.

  “It’s okay, Mase,” Rubric said. “Remember, we have to set an example.”

  Mason gritted his teeth. “If you hurt her, I’ll kill you.”

  Rubric staggered to Mason and put his hand on his shoulder. “For the greater good. She’s not the problem.”

  “Leave him alone!” Bobby shoved Rubric. “Let him think for himself. Is this what that garbage does?

  “Mase,” Rubric said, ignoring Bobby. “For the greater good.”

  Mason glared fiercely at Rubric, then stepped into Bobby’s path. “Why did you lie to me?” Mason poked Bobby hard in the chest. “Why won’t you give me another chance?”

  Bobby’s fist moved like lightning. He punched Mason square in the teeth with a sharp crack. Mason’s head snapped backward, and he stumbled, blood trickling down his chin.

  “I told you not to touch me!” Bobby yelled. His fists clenched, his knees bent, he looked like a small tiger ready to spring. “And I told you the truth. You just didn’t want to hear it.”

  “Do him,” Rubric said.

  Mason raised his bat.

  “Do him,” Rubric repeated.

  Mason wiped the blood from his lips and lowered the bat. “No.”

  Bobby held his fists ready to strike again, so tiny next to Mason, like a mouse defending itself against a lion. Just then, Rubric stumbled forward. I screamed, but it was too late. He punched Bobby right between the shoulder blades. Bobby’s knees buckled, and Rubric grabbed him from behind, pinning his arms against his sides.

  “Do him, Mason.” Rubric’s voice was low, intimidating. “For the greater good. Do him. He lied to you.”