Variant

by Robison Wells

Page 14

 

  The wind picked up and I had to squint to keep bits of sand and leaves out of my eyes. It stung as it blew against my legs and arms, and I stopped walking so I could turn my back to it.

  “I’m going to go check on the doors,” I said as the gust faded.

  I jogged across the field, leaving Mason and Lily on the track.

  It was dumb that they locked us out. I made a mental note to prop one of the doors open the next time we had to come outside. But that would probably be against some stupid rule, too.

  I passed the crowd of waiting students and hopped up the front steps.

  “It’s still locked,” someone said. I turned to see Becky, her hands rubbing her arms to stay warm. Her bare legs were speckled with goose bumps, as were mine.

  “Hey,” I said. “You’re admin. Can’t you get them open?”

  “I wish,” she said, her tour-guide personality shining brightly. “I really should be back there jogging. ”

  “Me too. ”

  She took a step toward me, inspecting my face. “I heard about last night. Sorry about the nose. ”

  I shrugged. “Things happen. ”

  Becky leaned forward and whispered, “I shouldn’t say this, but Oakland was in the infirmary this morning. I think you might have cracked his rib. ”

  I couldn’t help a smile from breaking across my face, and it spread to hers. “Am I going to get in trouble for it?”

  She shook her head. “Probably not. The V’s might lose a few points, but if it was anything serious it would have been announced this morning. I’d watch out for Oakland, though. ”

  “Okay. ” I looked back at where Mason and Lily were waiting on the track. “Well, I might be in the infirmary tomorrow if these doors don’t open soon. ”

  She nodded and rubbed her crossed arms with her hands. “Me too. ”

  Becky moved back to her friends and I trotted across the grass to the track. Mason and Lily started walking again before I even got to them.

  “Is she still trying to recruit you?” Lily asked when I reached them.

  “Becky? No, just talking. ”

  “They’re all like that, you know,” she continued. “Becky, Laura, all the Society girls. Sweet as pie, and fake as Mouse’s boobs. ”

  Mason snickered.

  “Becky seems nice enough,” I said.

  Lily pulled her arms inside her T-shirt. “Yeah, Becky’s nice. And she’d send you to the gas chamber if the school told her to. ”

  Mason laughed. “That’s an exaggeration. ”

  “Says you,” Lily said. “And the guys in the Society are worse—arrogant and holier-than-thou. They’ve turned obedience into a sport. ”

  Just then the bell rang, and we immediately turned and ran back toward the school. But as we got closer, it was obvious there was a problem. No one was going inside. The doors were still locked.

  Lily swore and turned away, looking at the forest.

  “They do this, too,” Mason said to me, his voice a little more serious than usual. “The school, I mean. Sometimes the doors are locked. Sometimes the power goes out. Sometimes there’s no food. ”

  A voice was shouting over the crowd, and I turned to see Isaiah standing on the steps trying to get everyone’s attention. “The doors appear to be locked. I’m sure that this is just a malfunction in the mechanism. ”

  The other gangs booed him. The Society was mostly quiet, though it was obvious that they weren’t happy, either.

  I turned to Mason. “Is it really a malfunction? Maybe the power is out or something, so the doors can’t read our chips. ”

  “I doubt it. I swear it’s another of their stupid tests. ”

  “Could it be punishment?” I spun, looking for Curtis and Carrie. They were still sitting on the grass, their T-shirts stained with dirt and sweat.

  “Maybe,” Mason said. “But I bet they’re just screwing with our heads. ”

  I gazed out at the western horizon. The sun was dipping behind a distant mountain. “You know how I said that I should be liking this place?”

  He gave a short, humorless laugh. “Yeah. ”

  “I do not want to spend the next month or year or who knows how long in some crappy experiment. ”

  He nodded, watching the doors. “There aren’t even security cameras outside. If it’s an experiment, then what are they watching?”

  “There aren’t?” Why hadn’t someone mentioned this before? “Maybe they’re hidden?”

  “Could be. People out here still act like there are cameras. Of course, the Society will rat us out, cameras or not. ”

  I nodded, not thinking about the doors anymore. “I’ll talk to you later, Mason. ”

  Jogging, I headed back to the track where a few of the students were still trying to keep warm. I got onto the track, surveying the edges of the forest, noting areas where the trees were closest.

  I did two more laps, finding new energy as I psyched myself up. I watched the mass of students near the door—most of them were huddled together to stay warm, and no one seemed to be looking at me. As I started the third lap, I veered off the track running for the forest.

  It was almost instantly warmer there, out of the wind, but I didn’t slow down. I sprinted over the rough, rocky ground, bobbing between the trees and around fallen logs. It was getting darker, and I slowed enough to pick a good path. I didn’t want to fall and ruin my chance for escape.

  My chest was burning as I pushed myself to keep jogging. From the drive in, I guessed that it was about a mile from the school to the wall, and maybe another half mile to the fence. Then again, there was no way of knowing whether it formed a perfect circle around the school. Maybe the wall encompassed other things, too?

  I could hear the revving engine of a four-wheeler somewhere behind me. This was it. Trying to escape was one of the big rules. It meant detention.

  I was gasping for air by the time I reached the wall. But there was no way to climb it. Twelve feet up, solid brick.

  I tried finding a foothold, but it was smooth, the mortar coming out to the edge of the bricks. There were no gaps for my fingers or shoes to grab on to.

  The engine was getting close. And I thought I heard a second—or were there three?

  I stared, silent and desperate. Fifty yards to my left a fat raccoon sat on the wall, nervously eyeing me in the twilight.

  How did you get up there?

  Turning my attention to the trees, I looked for one that I could climb—maybe I could get over that way. But someone had planned for that: Between the wall and the nearest trees was a fifteen-foot gap where the vegetation and rocks had been cleared away, leaving only barren dirt. The narrow tire tracks of the four-wheelers were rutted into the earth.

  There had to be some way. I climbed up into the closest pine, slowly grappling with the sticky, sap-speckled limbs. It was difficult in the low light, but in a few minutes I got high enough to see over the wall. There was nothing on the other side but more trees.

  I could hear the engine below me now—not just the engine but the rough sound of tires crunching over rocks and dry sticks. I didn’t waste time looking for it.

  I climbed higher, now almost thirty feet in the air. There was no way I could jump. Even if I miraculously made it over the wall, I’d have broken legs or ankles. And there was still a chain-link fence somewhere on the other side.