Kill School: Slice

by Karen Carr

  Demi, Vanessa, and I fall to the ground and slide down the tunnel on our backs. I join the screams as our speed increases. Demi’s feet are coming down on my head, mine on Vanessa’s head.

  Tree roots smack me in the face and tear my clothes as I go down. The tunnel turns and the walls become smooth. We’re in an old Vactube. I feel relief. The tube has to go somewhere. I cross my arms across my chest and hope for a smooth landing.

  Seconds later, I land with a thump on top of a pile of kids at the bottom of a pit. Demi comes down on top of me, and a few more thumps follow. I am bruised. My nightshirt is ripped. I taste blood in my mouth. I am alive.

  “Is everyone alright?” a girl asks.

  Moonlight comes from a hole on top of the pit. I glance around at the dirty faces. Most of us are standing. Other kids help those who aren’t up to his or her feet. The ground is flat. No monsters. Air enough for all of us to breath. Some initiation.

  “How do we get out of here?” Demi asks. I can see her profile in the faint light above us.

  A beam of light shines in my face. “Sorry,” Mateo says. “Flashlight.”

  “Give that to me,” Erwin says.

  “Not a chance,” Shah says. He grabs Erwin by the shirtsleeve. “Mateo, shine it on the walls. All around us. We have to get out of here. Fast.”

  Shah’s urgency makes me nervous. We are stuck, but we are safe. Mateo highlights our pit. Metal rings circle the wall up to the top. The pit is about fifteen feet high with an opening at the very top that leads outside. Hence, the moonlight.

  “Shah, what’s wrong?” Demi sounds on edge.

  “I think I know where we are,” Shah says slowly, as if he’s still figuring it out. “My father works for the city. Underground maintenance crew.”

  “So, where are we?” Demi asks.

  “Can I see the light?” Shah asks.

  Mateo hands Shah the flashlight.

  He highlights the tunnel leading to the surface. It looks old and roots have grown through it, but there are metal rods attached to the side that could be used as a ladder.

  “It’s an old heating duct,” Shah says. “Hopefully one that is not in use anymore. The caldron fills with water and the metal rods around the bowl heat it to boiling. Steam emerges from the chimney.”

  “Great, we are going to be boiled alive,” Aisha says.

  “We can climb out,” I say more bravely than I feel. “If we can reach the top.”

  “Pyramid,” a boy says. “Just like in gym class.”

  “It’s getting hot in here,” Priyanka says.

  “And wet,” a boy says.

  They’re both right. Water pools around our ankles and the metal rings on the wall begin to glow.

  “Crap,” Shah says. “It’s active or someone has just made it so.”

  “Hurry,” I say. “Mateo, Shah, on the ground. You too, Erwin.”

  To my surprise, all three boys and a couple more follow my directions. Demi, Vanessa, and a few more kids make a second layer. I help the remaining kids scramble up the two layers of people. The first girl reaches the top and is able to pull herself up the ladder. We cheer and shout for her to get help as she reaches the top. The moonlight silhouettes her body and then she disappears. I hope that Chopstix isn’t waiting for us up top.

  The last of the third layer makes it up the chimney, only the first and second layer are left.

  “Come on, Aria,” Demi says. “Your turn.”

  “You think I’m going to leave you down here?” I ask. “You go.”

  “Quit arguing,” Shah says. He glances at me. “Get out of here, Demi.”

  “What about the rest of us?” Erwin asks. He breaks the pyramid. “How do we get out?”

  “Go, Demi,” I say. “I’ll meet you up top.”

  “I’m going to get help,” Demi says. She scrambles up Shah, and the remaining pyramid pile with the grace of a squirrel. Soon, there are just a half a dozen of us left, too few to reach the ceiling.

  “Now what smarty pants?” Erwin asks again, at the same time he shoves me and I slip into the water. The water is hot and tastes like metal.

  “I’m getting out of here,” I say.

  The water is now up to our knees. I’m sure those kids wouldn’t let us drown in here or be boiled alive. There must be another way out.

  “The metal bars,” Mateo says. “Some of them aren’t glowing.” He shines the flashlight on the far wall of the cauldron. Sure enough, patches of the metal rings are dull.

  Shah wades over to the metal. “If they’re sturdy enough, we can climb the walls.” He tugs on a metal ring, and then hangs on it. “Sturdy.” He jumps down and ushers the rest of us over. “Come on. Quick.”

  “Aisha, Priyanka, come on.”

  Shah helps the two girls up the ladder. They have trouble climbing the curve of the wall, but are soon climbing out to safety. I am left with Erwin, one of his cronies, and Shah.

  “Ladies first,” Shah says.

  I wade over to the wall and grasp the metal rails. They are slimy and hot in my hands. I grit my teeth and curse the kids who led us down here as I slowly make my way up the semi-circle cave walls and to the tunnel. When I reach the ceiling, I have to monkey-bar it over to the tunnel leading out. My hands are so burned and my muscles so soar, that I don’t know if I can make it.

  “Hurry up, girlie,” Erwin says.

  He’s right on my tail. I want to give up. To fall in the water and start all over again. However, steam rises from the water and it’s getting unbearably hot. We don’t have much more time. I manage to make it to the tunnel and use my feet as braces against the wall. I rip off some fabric from my already-torn nightshirt and wrap it around my palms. This helps, and I am able to climb to the surface in minutes.

  Strong arms pull me out of the last part of the chimney. It takes me a minute to adjust to the bright and unnatural light. I realize we are standing on the far corner of the campus between two buildings. Bright lights shine on us from above. Several counselors and teachers surround us, including a few I recognize—Mr. Wassillie and Vladimir Korchev. I scan the crowd for Burke, but he is nowhere in sight. I am mad at him for letting us suffer.

  Mr. Wassillie helps pull Erwin from the hole and then helps Erwin’s goon. Shah comes out last without any help from anyone. Demi rushes to his side.

  “Well,” Mr. Wassillie says as he examines us. “This is not a good thing.”

  My hands are burning. I crouch down and stick them in the snow. I swear that I can hear them sizzle as the snow melts around them. After I cool my hands off, my teeth begin to chatter. I am freezing.

  “You are all out past curfew,” Mr. Wassillie continues with a look of disapproval as if this nighttime adventure was our idea.

  “It’s not our fault,” Demi says. She presses into Shah’s body for warmth.

  Vladimir steps forward and turns Shah’s palms over.

  “Look at them, Frank. These kids are hurt.” He gestures to the hole. “They would not sneak down there for fun.”

  I can see Shah’s blisters in the moonlight. I hold up my hands for Mr. Wassillie to see as well. Several teachers and counselors whisper together. Mr. Wassillie listens to them as if he can’t decide what to do on his own.

  “You are right, Vladimir,” Mr. Wassillie finally says. “It’s Burke’s fault. He should have been watching these kids.”

  I blamed Burke a few minutes ago but hearing Wassillie blame him makes me mad.

  “It wasn’t his fault either,” I say. “Why don’t you go find the kids that did this to us?”

  “Burke is on assignment,” a woman says. “He left with your orders.”

  Mr. Wassillie kicks the snow. “I wish he’d have told me. All of you, back to your cabin, except for you four.” He points to Shah, Erwin and his sidekick, and me.

  “Take them to the infirmary. They need to be better for their inclination test tomorrow.”

  “I’m fine, Sir,” Shah says. He glances at Demi. “I’d p
refer to go back to the cabin.”

  “Fine,” Mr. Wassillie says. “You, three then.” He points to Erwin, his sidekick, and me.

  Going to the infirmary with Erwin doesn’t appeal to me. It turns out Erwin is too scared and burned to give me any trouble. We walk across the warm campus and into a building that I presume is the infirmary in silence.

  Chapter Twelve

  This morning is our inclination test. Inclination. Where our natural tendencies will be evaluated to determine our preferred killing method. Will we kill with a knife or a gun? Perhaps we will poison someone, or choke him or her to death with our bare hands.

  After last night, I have no desire to get out of bed. My face still hurts from where the tree roots smacked me. My hands are raw and wrapped in bandages from the burning pipes. The nurses have already come in to tell me that I must get ready.

  I hear the nurses talking to someone, telling them that they can’t come in. I think the voice is Burke’s but when he pulls the curtain aside I still don’t believe he stands before me. I feel betrayed by the fact that he wasn’t with us last night. He should have protected us. By the look on his face, especially when he sees my bandages, he feels awful.

  “Where were you?” I ask. “We needed you last night.” I sound like my mother scolding Sebastian. It feels wrong being mad at a complete stranger, but it feels worse being alone for the first time. I miss my parents. They’ve always been around to support me when I fall. Now I am left with someone the same age as my brother.

  He sits on the side of my bed and stares at me. I am intensely aware that I only have a hospital gown on, and one that barely covers my body. I pull the sheet up over my chest.

  “Well?” I ask, embarrassed by his lack of verbal response and by his attention.

  He heaves a sigh and takes my bandaged hand without taking his eyes from mine. I feel like prey, locked in his gaze, but refuse to look away.

  “Am I going to have to answer for you? What? You had a date? Helping another killer?” The words come out in a jumble.

  “That’s not fair,” Burke says. He squeezes my hand so hard that it hurts.

  I pull my hand away without an apology from him. The way he helped the girl on the mountain, the way he looked at me then, made me feel like we were connected.

  “I am not here to protect you,” Burke says slowly. “I am only here to guide you.”

  I feel hurt. Let down. If he’s not here to protect us, who is? I turn my gaze out the window. “Why don’t you just go?” My tone comes out a little pathetic. I want him to help me as he did the girl. I don’t want to do this alone.

  “You have your bunk mates to protect you. I heard they did a good job.” I feel Burke’s warmth leave the bed as he stands up. “Sorry you were hurt. The leaders will punish the others. Initiation rituals are forbidden.”

  “They’re going to be gone by Friday,” I say. “How can they be punished?”

  I don’t have to look at Burke to know that he has stiffened.

  “Then I will find them on the outside,” he says. “For I am not your protector, but they still disobeyed camp rules. They need to understand. We are not here to hurt one another.”

  I cut him off with a glare. “We’re not? We are here to learn how to kill. How is that not hurting one another? You helped that girl kill a newborn. Her own brother.”

  He gives me a disgusted look and walks out of the room. I jump out of bed to follow him. It’s not his fault. I went too far. I have to apologize. Except, I’m not racing down the halls in my hospital gown.

  I look for my clothes; find underwear, a tracksuit, socks, and shoes, all with turquoise touches. With a sink bath, I rapidly change into them.

  Shortly after, a nurse comes in to take off my bandages. Remarkably, my hands are almost as good as new.

  “Genetics,” the nurse says. “Amazing genetics. Now get dressed and meet the others in the courtyard.” She smiles at me and leaves the room.

  I walk toward my cabin mates at the center of campus. The air is warm and the mood is jovial. It’s as if we became a team overnight. Shared near death experiences will do that to you. I hope it is our last one. Burke stands with the rest of the group huddled around him. He doesn’t greet me as I approach, but Demi and Vanessa do.

  “I’m so glad you weren’t hurt,” Demi says. Her thick dark hair falls in a single braid down her back. A red scarf accents her turquoise tracksuit. I think she’s even wearing makeup.

  “We were worried about you,” Vanessa says. “Let me see.” She holds my hands and wrinkles her button nose as she examines every crevice and red mark.

  I wiggle my fingers. “Good as new.”

  “Oh thank goodness.” Vanessa wraps her arms around my waist and hugs me. The warmth of her gesture makes up for Burke’s frostiness.

  Burke stands on a bench to get our attention. He’s wearing shorts. In this weather. His legs are muscular and strong. A runner’s legs. A scar runs from his knee down his shin.

  “Inclination test time,” Burke says. “Remember, Inclination tests aren’t tests of your ability, they are tests of your desire.”

  “What are we going to do, screw each other?” Erwin asks. “Boys against girls? I desire her.” Erwin points to Demi.

  “Screw you, Erwin,” Shah says. He reaches over two other people to slap Erwin in the back of the head.

  Burke ignores both Shah and Erwin and continues talking.

  “First, we’re going to see how healthy you are. Then, we’ll see if you have any particular skills. Finally, the scientists will shrink your brain to find out all of your dark secrets. After that, maybe we’ll give you lunch. Time to go for a run.”

  Without warning, Burke hurdles over the back of the bench and takes off running.

  Twenty kids suddenly rush after Burke. Some try to hurdle the bench, which is a big mistake. Others go around it. We all dodge trees and other campers to keep up his pace.

  This is what it is like, to run with a pack. We have no form. We shove and push one another to get to the front. A girl falls into a boy and knocks him down. When the boy stands, Aisha crashes into him. The unity we felt last night becomes an awkward tangle of limbs as we try to keep up with Burke.

  Burke takes us to the far side of campus between two buildings. We emerge on the other side in the frigid cold and jogging toward a forest. I am used to running. My parents always encouraged it. Track, long distance, and sprinting awards line my shelf at home.

  I sprint around the other kids and catch up to Burke.

  “You’re pretty good,” Burke says as we duck under a tree branch.

  I don’t answer him, because unlike Burke who is not even breathing hard, I am gasping for air.

  “Keep it up, we’re almost there.”

  Burke takes us across a wooden plank placed over a stream and stops in the middle of a grassy field surrounded by pine. I am one of a handful of kids that has kept up with Burke. We wait a few minutes for the others to arrive, which gives me a chance to examine my surroundings.

  Four teachers stand in sections of the field. One teacher stands behind a long white clothed table, the other in front of a pyramid of wood. The third teacher stands near a clearing with targets in the distance, and the fourth is all on his own.

  By the time all twenty join us, I have caught my breath.

  “We’re going to break into teams of four,” Burke says.

  Several kids start forming groups of their own. Burke stops them.

  “No, I get to select.”

  Burke groups us together into teams of four. He groups me with Aisha, Mateo, and another kid whose name I don’t remember. When all of the groups have formed, Burke blows a whistle to get us to stop talking. He points to the different teachers.

  “Force. Fire. Slice. Stealth. Grace.” He smiles at the last teacher, Vladimir Korchev.

  “What, no archery?” A boy asks Burke.

  “Just for you, we’ll haul out the bows and arrows.” Before the boy says th
anks, Burke adds, “Not. You really want to kill someone with a bow and arrow? Pure torture. We are not here to teach painful ways to kill.”

  The boy lowers his head. “Sorry,” he murmurs.

  Burke sends my group to force first, with instructions that we rotate on the sound of a whistle. The four of us walk over to the teacher, a small yet muscular man with no shirt on, even in this cold. What is up with people in this camp wearing no clothes? Looking at him makes me freeze.

  “My name is Yip Chan,” the man says. “Today I will teach you nothing. You show me what you got. Tomorrow I will teach you everything if you make it into my class. I see you do not know much by the way you stand in front of me.” He approaches us, and like a whirlwind, topples us all to the ground. “See what I mean?”

  “Names,” Yip asks. We all say our names together. He looks to the sky. “What am I going to do with these four? Names, one at a time, starting with you.” He points to Aisha.

  “Aisha Khan,” Aisha says.

  “I don’t care about your last name,” Yip says. “Aisha is good. Next.”

  “Mateo,” Mateo says.

  “Mal,” the other boy says.

  “Aria,” I say.

  “Great news,” Yip says. “Aisha. Mateo. Mal. Aria. You know each other?”

  We look at one another with questioning faces.

  “Get to know each other today,” Yip says. “Mateo. Aria. Now. Up front.” He points to a grassy patch in front of him.

  Mateo and I stand across from each other wondering what to do. My hands are still sore from the burning metal and I am exhausted. It’s bad enough that I didn’t sleep in my own bed last night. Spending the night in a stinky-hot caldron and then the infirmary has me on tilt.

  Mateo’s dark hair hangs in his eyes. Not much of an opponent, one who can’t even see me. He crouches down and then jumps to his feet, no closer to me. I twist my hips and kick toward him, but don’t even come close to contact.

  “Hit, go.” Yip claps his hands. “You two are so bad.” He comes up behind me and pushes me toward Mateo.

  I take a little jog-step and then punch him in the face. My fist barely touches his cheek. The truth is, I can’t get enough adrenaline going to want to hit someone on queue—especially someone I like. Mateo lunges at me as if I were a turtle. I move to the side and he ends up on the ground. This goes on for a few more minutes. Mateo and I both try half-heartedly to take each other down and neither one of us succeeds.