The Trial (The Tree House)

by Shay Lynam

  “Can you stand okay?” I ask her and she nods. Carefully, I set her down and try to massage my aching arms without her noticing.

  “It’s locked, Ben,” Ryan says. “How are we supposed to get in if it’s locked?”

  Zack didn’t mention anything about the door being locked. It’s not something that can be opened with just a key card either. This is one of those locks where you have to have a metal key or something to pick it with. I learned how to pick locks back in London. There has to be something around here I can use.

  “This is probably a leap, but are either of you wearing any jewelry?” I ask feeling stupider with every word that leaves my mouth.

  Anna shakes her head and Ryan raises an eyebrow. “Do I look like someone that would wear jewelry?” he asks me.

  I shrug. “I don’t know what kind of person you are.”

  “Yeah, Ben. I’m a Russian mob boss. Sorry I left all my rings and gold chains at home. Why don’t you just kick the door down?”

  “That’ll make way too much noise.” I say shaking my head. Ah, it still hurts. I should have let Zack inject me with that serum stuff when he offered.

  Wait.

  Quickly, I pull the syringe out of my pocket. This could work. A quick glance at my watch tells me we’re almost out of time. I need to act fast. The needle is really long but broken in half, it’s perfect. My hands are shaking as I put one piece of the needle into the keyhole. Sweat threatens to fall into my eyes and blur my vision as I insert the other piece but it doesn’t get a chance to before I hear the soft click of the last key pin go into place. The knob twists easily and I turn to find Ryan staring at me with his mouth hanging open. Anna crosses her arms and smiles from behind him.

  “Alright,” I say. “Let’s go.”

  The cover to the vent is held on by screws but one of the rigid corners of Zack’s keycard quickly takes care of them. They clatter to the floor and I pull the grate off. After I’ve climbed in, Ryan hoists Anna up and I pull her in with me.

  “Are you doing alright?” I ask her quietly as Ryan pulls himself up after us.

  She smiles and leans in to kiss me on the cheek. I really hope Zack’s plan works.

  It’s definitely a tight fit but all three of us are able to make our way through the tunnel quickly. I’m in the lead so I’m the first to reach the end. The air shaft splits off two ways. One way goes right along the adjoining wall and the other goes up to the floor above us. That’s where we need to head. And we only have two minutes.

  It takes me a second but I’m able to work my way around so I can stand. Dim light filters in through the vent covers fixed to the wall every five feet or so but it’s still too dark to see the top. It can’t be more than ten or twelve feet up.

  “Ryan.” My voice echoes through the metal tunnel.

  “Yeah?”

  “Once I get to the top, I want you to lift Anna up as far as possible. Anna, you need to reach as high as you can so I can grab onto you and pull you up. Got it?”

  Both of them agree.

  The metal is slick when I try to push myself up with my hands. That’s not going to work.

  When we were younger, Jack and I used to take turns scaling the kitchen doorway at our house. He’d always try to pull himself up with his hands and feet sprawled out and Mom would say he looked like a monkey. I just thought he looked like a moron. His method didn’t usually work very well. Mine was a little more successful. I’d rest my back against one side and push hard with my feet against the other. My back would slide easily while I walked up. I’d always make it to the top and Jack would always end up pouting.

  I’m a lot bigger than I was then and the tunnel is a lot smaller than our kitchen doorway but I’m still able to maneuver myself into position. The climb is slow and I slip a couple times but after a bit I’m able to reach up and grip the ledge. I’m hot and dripping with sweat and my legs are wobbly but I made it. Now I just need to pull the other two up.

  “Alright, Anna. Your turn,” I whisper leaning as far as I can over the ledge. I extend my arms down into the dark and wait.

  Ryan grunts as he lifts her up and I hear him curse. “Sorry,” she says softly and I feel a smile twitch my mouth up. After a few seconds, her hands finds mine and I wrap my fingers around her small wrists. Good thing my arms aren’t as tired as my legs or we would be stuck like this for a while. Instead, I’m able to pull her up beside me.

  “Are you still doing okay?” I ask her as Ryan works his way up the duct.

  In the dim light I can see Anna’s shoulders rising and falling. “Yeah,” she sighs heavily.

  Putting my hands on either side of her glistening face, I steady her head so she’s looking at me. “We’ll be out of here soon,” I assure her. “Just hang on a little bit longer.”

  I feel her head nod in my hands though I can tell she’s terrified. I hate that she’s scared, especially since we’re not out of the woods yet. There has to be something I can do. I feel Anna’s hand reach up to her face to cover mine and I lean in until my mouth touches hers. Sure, we’ve only known each other a couple of days but I can’t help the overwhelming need to protect her.

  When I pull away again, I keep her head in my hands. “Look,” I say. “I can’t promise we’ll make it out of here, but if we do, I can promise I’ll keep you safe.”

  Ryan taps his hand against the wall right below us. “Ben?”

  Anna scoots back out of my way and I get onto my stomach so I can reach down into the darkness. My fingers brush his and I’m about to steady myself when he clutches onto my hand and pulls hard. Before I go tumbling down on top of him, I throw my other hand against the wall in front of me. “Hey,” I bark. “Hang on, will ya?”

  Bracing against the wall actually makes it easier to pull him up, though he’s a lot heavier than Anna. I feel the muscles in my arm strain and I have to grit my teeth against the burn as I pull, but finally he’s up and we both slump against the wall. “How much time do we have?” he gasps.

  The face of Zack’s watch glows in the darkness and I feel my heart skip. “Less than a minute,” I say. “We need to move.”

  We reach the vent in record time. My legs and strained arm burn like mad but I shove the pain down as best as I can. I’ll let myself feel it when we’re safe.

  Looking through the slats in the vent, I’m relieved to find the hallway is empty. We have just barely over thirty seconds to get out of this vent and into a different hallway before the security guard gets here. Now the question is how am I going to get this cover off? There’s no time. There’s no time. Without thinking too hard, I push myself back against the wall and kick my feet out. They hit the cover hard and the sound ricochets through the tunnel. There’s no way the security guard didn’t hear that. I kick it again and see Anna slap her hands over her ears. One more hard kick and the vent cover goes crashing out into the hallway and slides across the floor.

  “Hey!”

  They’re coming.

  “Come on,” I yell grabbing onto Anna’s arm. “We have to go.”

  I pull her out after me and Ryan scurries close behind. Out in the open, I can see the light from a flashlight bobbing up and down toward us from the other end of the hall. The security guard is making his way toward us and he’s coming fast. There’s no time to try and remember Zack’s map. There’s no time to look for signs pointing to the elevator. There’s just no time.

  Our shoes squeak as the three of us bolt in the opposite direction from the oncoming security guard. I hear him yell something into his walkie – surely calling for backup or assistance or whatever – as I take a sharp left. I’m practically dragging Anna and Ryan is right at my heels. Without thinking, I take the next available turn and skid to a halt just in time to keep from smacking into another security guard.

  “You two, stop!” he yells reaching out for me. I skip back and his hand clutches at air as we double back into the other hall. That’s when I realize Anna is the only one with me.

&nb
sp; “Ryan?” I call out frantically. Anna is gasping for air as we continue to run and I scoop her up into my arms without slowing down. We get to the end of the hall and it splits off to the left and right. Now we have two guards on our butts. This is a nightmare. “Ryan?”

  “Over here!” I snap my head to the right to find Ryan jumping up and down and waving his arms at the far end of the hall. “I found some stairs!”

  That’s all I need to hear. With the guards’ footsteps growing louder behind me, I tighten my grip on Anna’s frail body and take off toward Ryan. He’s waiting anxiously in front of a heavy locked door. One quick swipe of the keycard and he pulls it open, pulling me inside after him.

  Surely the guards have the same keycards so we don’t waste any time trying to catch our breath. We just need to make it a couple floors up. My legs are already on fire and my veins pump battery acid as Ryan and I take the stairs two at a time. Anna’s eyes are closed and her breathing is ragged and I don’t even think she’s conscious. Sweat is pouring down my face and I’m tired and my arms ache and Anna is growing heavier by the second, but I have to keep going. There will be time to rest later. I just have to keep telling myself this.

  I can rest when we’re safe.

  And you can bet I will. Just the thought of falling onto my bed back at the Tree House and sleeping for days gives me the energy to get up the last flight of stairs. Both Ryan and I are gasping for air by the time he pushes the door open for the fourth floor. The hall is empty.

  We’ve made it. We’re so close. We’re so close.

  I can see the elevator down at the end of the hall and somewhere in my foggy memory I recall Zack’s directions to the fire exit. Take a right then a left. Somehow I scrape together the last bit of energy I have left and jog down the hall. We hang a left just before the elevator and we’re back on track. Through some of the glass paned walls, I can see windows and through those windows I can see the night sky. It’s blurry and I can’t tell if it’s raining or snowing or if there are any stars but it’s the most beautiful sight I’ve ever experienced. Anna groans in my arms and I clutch her tighter to my chest. “We’re almost there,” I whisper and she nuzzles her head under my chin.

  I can see the hall we’re supposed to turn down up ahead and I feel my stomach flutter as if my insides have grown wings and are preparing to take off. Ryan shoots past me with his own bit of renewed strength and disappears around the corner. We’re actually going to make it out of here. Ryan will be reunited with his sister. I’ll be with my brother again and Sy and David and the rest of the patients. And Anna will get a chance at a new life. We’re going to be free again.

  The feeling in my stomach grows until it reaches up into my head and my mouth widens into a smile. Almost there. Just around this corner.

  Then I see Ryan in a crumpled heap on the ground and everything in me falls to the floor and shatters.

  I lift my head and meet the eyes of the two people standing behind him blocking our path to the fire exit. Blocking our only chance to freedom. To my friends. To the only family I have left. My heart sinks so low, I’d step on it if I was walking.

  “You really are remarkable, Benny Boy,” Eli says to me with his hands folded in front of him. He turns to the man next to him who’s holding a needle. The plunger is compressed. Whatever was in the syringe must be what knocked Ryan out. “Do you believe me now?” Eli asks him. Zack’s mouth twitches but he doesn’t respond.

  “You lied to me,” I say though my voice is so low and shaky it comes out as a whisper. “You said you were on my side.”

  “Of course he said that, Ben,” Eli says with a shrug. “I told him to.”

  My eyes don’t leave Zack. “Why?” I hear footsteps coming closer and then stop right behind me. The two guards finally caught up. Took them long enough.

  “I’ve been keeping close watch on you ever since you came to join my team in London,” he continues and nods at the guards behind me. One of them grabs onto my shoulder while the other comes around and pulls Anna out of my arms. When I go to grab her, I feel a sharp jab in my kidney and my knees hit the tiled floor.

  “Believe me,” I mutter painfully. “It wasn’t willingly.”

  “Nevertheless,” Eli says. “I knew there was something different about you from the start.”

  “I never even met you before this. How have you been watching me?”

  He turns to Zack and puts a hand on his shoulder. “I had your partner here check in with me regularly as you progressed.”

  If it’s possible, my heart drops even lower as I finally realize why my phony ally looks familiar. My mouth forms the letters and my shaky breath produces the name. “Meyers.”

  Now his hair is sandy blond and he looks different in the gray scrubs but his face is unmistakable. How did I not recognize the man that forced me at gunpoint to kill until it became easy for me? His mouth widens into a smile showing his white teeth. “How’s it going, lab rat?”

  That’s it.

  I lunge forward, a savage scream ripping from my throat. But I don’t make it far when a heavy blow to the back of my head sends me crashing again to the ground. Before I can even blink away the darkness, there’s a knee on my back and my aching arms are twisted behind me. “What do you want from me?” I finally yell, forcing the words from my crushed lungs.

  I can’t lift my head very high so I fix my eyes on Eli’s shoes as he steps toward me and crouches down. It’s still hard to crane my neck up that far but I manage to look him in the eyes. “You’re a perfect candidate for my new creation.”

  “Yeah, I heard about your little weapon.”

  “Little?” Eli lets out a chuckle. “You underestimate me, Benny Boy.” Then he straightens back up. “Let him up,” he says to the guard holding me down. The knee lifts from my back as he jerks me up and to my feet. Now I’m standing a whole foot taller than Eli so I have to dip my head to look at his eyes. I feel a bit better. Only a bit. With a jerk of his head, Zack approaches us and trades places with the guard holding onto me. “Get them out of here,” Eli says motioning to Ryan and Anna.

  Zack’s grip on me tightens as I struggle to get free. “Where are you taking them?” I demand watching in horror as the guards disappear around the corner with my unconscious friends.

  “We’re going to take good care of them for you, Benny Boy,” he replies with a nod of his head. “In fact, we’re going to let them go.”

  This takes me by surprise. “What?”

  “But first,” he holds up a finger. “We’re going to wipe you from their memory.”

  I feel a pang in my stomach as I remember kissing Anna first in the hallway outside of our cells and then again in the air duct. I promised I’d keep her safe. She isn’t going to remember any of it. But they’re going to be free. If I’m not part of their memories, it’s okay. Maybe it’s for the better. “It doesn’t matter,” I say shaking my head. “They’ll be better off anyway.”

  “Not for very long,” Zack says from behind me. “Have you seen those two? They’re in no shape to survive out there. I give them three days, tops.”

  Anger is welling up inside me again but I keep it down and stare straight ahead at Eli. “So why are you telling me this? After everything you’ve put all of us through, why would I agree to do anything for you?”

  Eli smiles causing the skin around his shining eyes to crinkle. For a split second he looks like a normal, not totally psycho, sad excuse for a human being. “Well, here’s the thing, Ben. We’re going to wipe your memory too.” A choking sound escapes me throat and I feel sick. He seems satisfied with my reaction and smiles wider. “That’s right. You’re not going to remember any of this conversation. We’ll keep some things in there though, you know, for motivation.”

  “Like what?” I ask through gritted teeth.

  “Well, Anna, for one. I think the relationship you two developed will help move things along nicely. And we can’t forget the fact that your brother just left you to bleed to deat
h that night.”

  “No.”

  “Oh yes,” Eli says nodding his head. “You and I are going to make a great team.”

  I feel a sharp tick in my neck and then warmth spreads down through my body as Zack pulls a needle back out of my skin.

  This can’t happen. I can’t forget. The dim lights above me are growing dimmer by the second. I have to stay conscious. I’ll remember. I’ll make myself remember everything. Eli did this to Anna and Ryan. They’re going to die because of him. We’re all going to die because of him. I can’t forget. Eli is bad. Eli is the enemy. Jack is my brother. He’s good.

  I blink hard trying to focus on the red neon sign above the fire exit.

  Eli is the enemy.

  We were so close.

  Eli is the enemy.

  I can feel myself floating even as my knees hit the tiled floor.

  Eli is the enemy.

  Eli is…

  An image comes into my vision like the opening scene of a movie. It scrolls across the darkness.

  Memories, faces of people I know and love roll past me like a train on tracks and then curve around and pass in front of me again in a loop. It’s getting hard to focus on each picture as they gain speed until the memories begin to blur and melt together. They’re going by too fast and I can’t focus. I try to shake my head but I’m paralyzed. Then the first image, one of Jack and I learning to ride our bikes, flashes past me again, but this time instead of looping around, it continues straight on then suddenly shatters like glass against an invisible wall.

  And it hurts.

  It hurts worse than jabbing a finger into a bullet wound or hitting your head over and over against a bed frame. Memory after memory now is hurdling past me and shattering into a million pieces. Faces, names, places breaking apart and it feels like someone is dropping a cinderblock onto the top of my head. I want to scream but I can’t move.

  An image of my parents faces appear for a split second before blasting apart and I’m slammed again on the top of my head. I don’t know which feels worse; the pain or suddenly not being able to recall who my parents are.