by Wells, JB
“He created the game. That was never going to end well!” Owen sneered.
“Professor Wing checked it all himself. He knew there could be a backdoor in there somewhere, but he didn’t think Adam would try and risk being caught.”
“So, he can get back in?” Kieran asked.
“Not now that Wing has changed the security wall. It would take Adam hours to get through it. By then,” Seal looked sad and sat down next to Isabelle, who was still hugging Kieran, “an alarm would have alerted us to his presence.”
“It was well crazy, mate.” Dexter’s eyebrows were nearly touching the ceiling. “Seriously, Ex grabbed a chair and he was bouncing it off the windows with help from two of the officers.” As he re-enacted the commotion his hair bounced all over.
“Yeah and then Alpha One used his shoulder and started to barge the door open.” Isabelle started to giggle and swoon with Kaitlyn, “He’s so strong.”
Kieran couldn’t believe that his superiors in the Institute had destroyed a room to save him, and his best girlfriend was in love with their Chief. To top it all off, Kieran and the Pied Piper shared something.
“Come on, its lights out time.” Officer Seal seemed to stand quickly, as if she couldn’t get away fast enough. “Girls, back to your room now please.”
The room was quiet. Neither Kieran nor his friends could understand the sudden change in atmosphere. The boys dutifully obeyed her commands and sat on their beds, whereas Isabelle and Kaitlyn were pouting.
“None of that tonight, please. Kieran’s here and safe. You can all catch up in the morning before training.”
Officer Seal was by the door, her hand poised over the light switch as she watched the cadets take up the sleeping position. The girls’ door closed after they skulked back to their beds. The light went out and the door shut behind the young officer. Kieran jumped up and opened the door. Seal was in the hallway leaning against the wall. She looked to be collecting her thoughts “Seal?”
She jumped. “Kieran, you need to be in bed.”
“I just wanted to ask you something.”
Seal frowned and watched him. Her face seemed to say the answer before Kieran had asked it. She looked sad, confused and more than anything, she looked worried.
“Why am I the only other one that has the same ability as Adam?” Kieran looked at her, pleading for an answer.
“You’d have to speak to Professor Wing or Alpha One.” She turned away from him and headed to the lower officers’ quarters situated at the far end of the Year One barracks.
Kieran watched as she left, then he saw her stop. Without turning to look at him she raised her hand and flapped towards Kieran.
“Bed, now please.”
Kieran slipped back inside the room, closed the door and headed for his section. Once under the rough feel of the standard issue blankets that kept him warm, he slowly started to drift off.
His dreams, filled with the static noise that surrounded the Pied-Piper, became clearer. He could hear voices, whispers of people calling him, begging him for help. The closer Adam got in his sleep, the louder the voices became. They were scary, shrill screams that were making Kieran shudder. Drenched in sweat, and his covers all heaped on the floor, Kieran continued to toss and turn. He would wake with a start and lie staring at the ceiling just waiting for his heart to relax, and then every time he closed his eyes, there he was again, the Pied-Piper. In the next few dreams he was running again, but not from the Pied-Piper, he was running to his friends. They were calling his name, shouting for help but every time he got there, he was too late. Adam had beaten him to it. His friends were under his control.
Thomas’s alarm went off and he was only too happy to get up.
13
Inspection over, and the corridors were swarming with cadets rushing to get to their lessons before the bell. As Churchill Barracks made their way through the crowd, Kieran thought about the outside world. They had only been in the Institute for a little over a week, but time was going so quickly. The generated daylight and night-time dark was close to the real thing but Kieran couldn’t help but wonder what the real weather was like. In the confines of the WIPI underground lair it was cool, not cold but not warm, it was just right so there was no way of telling, just guessing.
The class room was bright. There were fifteen tables set out and each a tablet set on top of them. Kieran and his friends walked in to take a seat, when they spotted names holographically projected on each table. Cadet Walker and his friends had already huddled in the corner and they continued to make faces and noises as other people walked in.
“Right,” Ex called from the front. “I notice that some of you have ignored the names on the desks.” He sighed, “I will ask you for the first and last time to sit where your name is.”
Richard wasn’t too happy about being bossed around. He acted as if he owned the Institute.
He stomped across the room to his seat and slung himself into the chair.
“I think Ex has a wardrobe full of just black t-shirts and brown combats,” Isabelle laughed as they were moved around.
Kieran was between Owen and Felix. He was happy about Owen but Felix was Richard’s best friend. Dexter was sat between Joey and Richard, Dexter looked as unhappy as Kieran felt. With Izzy sitting the other side of Owen, she had some other new girls behind to keep her company. Kieran couldn’t have been in a worse position, Felix was one thing but Richard was nearly right behind him.
“Open the tablet and you will see all the books you need to know. This is a compilation of the enemies we have to date. It is called ‘The Directory’. Adam is forever creating new opponents and this book will be continuously updated. For now I want you to learn what’s in this book, I want you to understand what you will be possibly faced with in Plantranet.” Ex took his seat behind his desk and clicked on the Holoscreens. Only a few came on, he huffed and fiddled around with something on the desk.
A few jolts came from the back of Kieran’s chair, making him jog. Kieran spun around and caught sight of Richard laughing. Kieran turned back and tried to shrug it off by opening the first book.
On each page was a picture of a computerised monster, names and details were listed below it. He looked over the details and at the bottom of each list was a number followed by the letters LP. Whilst Ex was busy, Kieran nudged Owen and pointed out the LP.
The Holoscreens appeared on all the desks, there was nothing to look over, just a green mist.
“The next book is the weaponry list.” Ex’s voice came from under his desk, he then stood and rubbed his hands together with a self-congratulatory smile. “Each of you have certain tasks in your clans. Medics are those who are sent in to retrieve the taken and our boys. Hunters accompany the medics for safety. They clear up the created and restrain the Taken for returning. TakeDown is sent in to specific places to return certain people and take out generals within Adam’s army. Now, each Squadron has different weapons, but every cadet will carry a basic automatic Antigen rifle. Without getting too excited, this is a war yes, but we do not harm anyone. Our job here is to return the Taken and stop Adam. So at no point will you be able to harm the opposition, you can stun them, freeze them, contain them and return them. The only things that can be destroyed are creatures like Biters, Psyphons, Zwerms and I-85’s. So, you all need to look over the weaponry list and memorise what is what. Of course Adam has weapons of his own, and we have listed what we know of in here. Some weapons work differently and have a different outcome. If you are caught behind enemy lines, for example Sector Z, and you run out of ammo, you can use their weapons, but you need to know how to use them first.” Ex sat back in his chair. His elbows were propped on the desk as he looked around the room. “Any questions so far?”
Kieran raised his hand, trying to ignore the looks that were burning into the back of his head from Richard.
“191?”
“What are all the LP numbers at the bottom of the pages?”
“Right.�
�� Ex tapped something on his desk and the green mist on the Holoscreens turned to writing. “As you will have read in the manual, each cadet has stripes and a rank, which of course you have to earn. On the screens in front of you, you will see the points on moving up the cadet scale. Once you reach 1,500 LP you earn your first stripes. LP stands for Level Points, and in Plantranet you gain the points by returning, destroying and picking up things. Things like guns or hidden objects that Adam may have hidden for his own use. Sometimes rare things are thrown up by a slight malfunction in the coding of Plantranet. LP is also awarded within the Institute, but for bad behaviour LP will be removed. At the end of every camp the LP is added up and the squadron with the most points get a prize. Last year, each of The Guiders won a WiiU. So if that’s not an incentive for you all to work hard, then I don’t know what is.”
On the holoscreen was a list. All the cadets studied what it said:
NOVICE - NO STRIPES -> 1,499 POINTS
APPRENTICE – 1 STRIPE – 1,500+ POINTS
SOLDIER – 1 STRIPE + ARROW 4,000+ POINTS
GUARDIAN – 2 STRIPES – 8,000+ POINTS
TITAN – 2 STRIPES + CROSSBAR – 14,000+ POINTS
LEGEND – 3 STRIPES (ELIGIBILITY FOR SQUADRON LEADER) 50,000+ POINTS
SUPREME MASTER – 3 STRIPES + STAR (OPPORTUNITY TO BECOME INSTITUTE OFFICER) 185,000+ POINTS
“Wow,” Owen laughed. “Well, it looks like we will be here until we’re eighty, trying to become Supreme Masters.”
Kieran laughed until another huge jolt came from the back of his chair. Turning, he saw Richard sneering at him. He lowered his foot away from the back of Kieran’s chair. Kieran stared at Richard in confusion.
“Right!” Ex shouted. Richard snapped his eyes from Kieran and glanced up at Ex, he looked like the perfect student as he smiled at the teacher. Inevitably it looked like Kieran was at fault. “Are you finished talking, 191?”
Kieran spun back around in his chair and lowered his head, “Yes, Sir.”
“Good. Okay, I want you all to spend some time now reading over the first two books. We will get onto the other books later. As you read them, key in the word on the interactive desk keyboard and it will bring up the creature or weapon on your Holoscreen. ”
Kieran glanced down and reopened The Directory and started on destroyable enemies. Reading each page carefully he studied all the enemies he would face, how to destroy them and what damage they could do in return.
“As you will see, creatures like Zwerms are blind, so you have to play on that weakness. Whereas I-85s only pose a threat if they go undetected and give away your position. Again their weakness is the frequency that you hear, so you must use that to your advantage.” Ex continued to tap on his keyboard, causing the creatures to appear in their full form.
“Freaky,” Owen whispered and studied the I-85, which was a giant eye.
“Next is the section on returnable enemies. Here we are referring to the Taken, so infected soldiers and sometimes creatures too, will be controlled by a person. It’s not easy to tell but once you’ve hit them with the Antigen rifle you will know.”
Kieran continued to read each page. His mind was swarming with other information and he could still hear the buzzing of Adam’s noise but what he read was being stored, he hoped.
“You will note,” Ex placed his hands on the back of his head and relaxed, “it says: Must be immobilised and a Medic must be called ASAP. If no Medics are available Antigen must be administered to slow the Infection until help is on its way. This means you, if you’re not a medic then this is the rule you live by. You call for a medic or restrain the infected and hold them until one of the greens arrive. Clear?”
“Yes, sir.” The cadets were sliding through the pages and looking at the holograms on their desks.
“There are a further forty types of destroyable enemy and fifteen returnable enemies. The main thing I want you to know is this. Your Antigen Rifle is your lifeline and so are your whole team. Use them, all of them.
Kieran pulled his head out of the book and puffed out his cheeks. He dropped his elbows on the desk and buried his face into his hands, the information was over whelming.
“Kieran?” Isabelle whispered.
Kieran dragged his face away from his hands to find her motioning at the door. He looked and saw Private Officer Seal standing there.
Ex jumped up from his chair and a small smile crept across his face and then it vanished. She slowly walked into the room and all the cadets watched as she spoke to him. The bell rang. An hour and a half had passed in a flash.
“Right, most of you now have physical education with PTI Rickman. Hunter 239, TakeDown 381 and Medic 747 have all been selected for Skill Progression. You will be taking extra credit classes with the opportunity to become mentors for the next summer camp. Or, should you be offered a scholarship, you will be eligible to be prefects for your year.” Isabelle looked around in shock, Kaitlyn gasped with excitement but Rhys sighed and mumbled to Richard. “301 Hunter, you are having extra maths tuition with Corporal Chumly he will be expecting you.”
“What?” Dexter’s voice was extremely squeaky.
Ex ignored him and carried on, “After lunch I will see you all down in The Arena. There will be no excuse for tardiness, you have been here a week now and you all know the rules. Off you go.”
“She likes him,” Isabelle sung as they left the room, her tablet tightly hugged to her chest. “It’s so romantic.”
“I think it’s sweet,” Kaitlyn giggled and they linked arms.
Dexter looked like he was going to be sick. Kieran laughed and tucked his tablet under his arm, “You’re just jealous!” he laughed.
“No,” he squeaked. “Anyway, I don’t have to do physical training now…so there!”
They changed and headed off to the area aptly named ‘The Sweat’. As Kieran, Owen, Alfie and the other boys stood sheepishly in the half open gymnasium, a short bald man made his way in.
“Good morning, cadets. Some of you already know me, but for those of you who don’t, I am Lieutenant Rickman and I am the PTI who is going to get you all into shape. If you are asking yourself why this place is called The Sweats, let me show you. This is my friend, The Bleep Test.”
Kieran groaned. He hated running.
14
“I can’t…I need…” Alfie was holding his chest and gasping for air.
“Where’s your inhaler?” Kieran was also trying to catch his breath.
“My bag…In the locker…”
“Don’t talk, mate.” Kieran had Alfie by the shoulders and he helped him into the changing room. “Ziggy?”
“Huh?” Owen stopped suddenly and tripped up the people walking behind him.
“Can you run over to Alfie’s locker, he needs his inhaler.” Kieran turned to Alfie who was pale and sweaty, “You could have done this before the bleep test. I would have liked to have missed that.”
Alfie laughed but held himself rigid as he desperately tried to slow his breathing.
Owen returned in a flash and gave Alfie his inhaler. “Does old Rick know you’re asthmatic?”
Alfie nodded and took a deep breath on his puffer, holding his breath he shrugged his shoulders and released.
“We should probably get him off to Dr Satchell to be checked out.”
“I can take him if you want?” Owen offered.
The boys opened the changing room door and Private Officer Seal was outside talking to PTI Rickman, their talk already looked heated. Officer Seal took one glance at Alfie, “What on earth has happened?”
“He just started having an attack,” Kieran helped him into her arms.
“What plan did you do for them?”
Rickman gave her a funny look, “I am a lieutenant, and I do not answer to Private Officers!”
“Kieran, what were you doing in there?”
“The bleep test.” Kieran could feel the daggers from Rickman’s eyes.
She probed further, “How long
for?”
“Erm…” Kieran could sense the heat of anger that was being reflected towards him.
“Cadet?”
“Thirty minutes or so.”
“The boy is fine!” Rickman exclaimed.
Owen bent over and clasped his knees, “I think I may need to see the doctor.” He laughed and grabbed at his side to supress his stitch. The evil stares were also being thrown at him by Rickman. Owen gave an apologetic grimace.
“This is unacceptable, Lieutenant. The General will be hearing about this. This cadet has severe asthma and he was on strict light exercise only!” Alfie began to cough and wheeze more. “Thank you boys, I’ll get him to the doctor now.” Officer Seal turned and put her comms phone to her ear.
Kieran and Owen went back into the Changing rooms but before the door closed Kieran saw the look on Rickman’s face, and he was not happy. There was something about Rickman that put him on edge. It may have been the way Rickman was always giving Kieran the sideways glance or how he would give every response through gritted teeth.
“Whoa, I wouldn’t like to be alone with him…ever.”
“No,” Kieran felt uneasy, “I don’t think he’s a fan.”
Less than twenty minutes later, the boys had showered, grabbed a tray full of food and found their friends on the lawn eating.
Thomas was sitting quietly, his eyes continuously looking around. Isabelle and Dexter were fighting over some food, which was no surprise.
“Alfie’s been taken to the sick bay again. Rickman ran him too hard and Alpha One is going to go mental.” Owen spilled the past thirty minutes out in thirty seconds.
“Poor Alfie, is he ok?” Isabelle was genuinely concerned. Alfie was so small, even smaller than Owen and as a team they looked after him. “Shall we go and visit him later on?”
“Yeah, that sounds good,” Owen mumbled between chewing his food.