Kill School: Slice

by Karen Carr

  Instead of arguing, I just go in and grab the bracelet with my token securely inside. I’ll think of something to distract Burke when the time comes.

  We walk toward the campus together. While we walk, he explains to me what we are going to do. He wants to go to the science library, which is way up on top the tallest tower of the Kalstein Barstow Science building. Burke explains to me how there are a bunch of research scientists here who have offices in the tower. We will have to sneak past all of them to get to the library.

  “Today you are going to pretend to be a scientist,” Burke says.

  “That’s stealth?” I ask.

  He smiles. “Stealth is many things, Aria.”

  “I’m finding that out. How’s Vanessa doing with trickery and poison?”

  “She’s remarkably talented,” Burke says. “Be glad she is your friend. You might have to watch what you eat around her if she wasn’t.”

  Instead of entering the warm campus, Burke takes us around the rear of the buildings until we reach the science building. He stops me and pulls me behind a large oak tree.

  “Get comfortable with your surroundings first. Look at the building. Watch the people.”

  I press my body against the tree and watch the people. It’s hard to concentrate with the warmth of Burke’s chest against my back.

  The tower is five or six stories tall. The windows become smaller and smaller toward the top. Several lights are on in the tower windows, scientists working in the early morning. We are near the gully of mist and the entrance to campus. From here, I can see the glass bridge. Several adults are walking across it. Some are in groups of two or three. Others walk by themselves.

  “Vactrain must have just arrived,” Burke says in my ear. “There will be lots of people for you to practice on.” He takes out a cap from his pocket, puts it on, and tucks his blonde hair under the rim.

  “Ready?” Burke asks.

  I nod. “Ready.”

  “Back straight. Chin up.”

  I follow Burke’s directions and he guides me to the path. We join the others walking toward the Kalstein Barstow Science Building. I overhear conversations about nucleuses and formulas. Two people are in a deep discussion about viruses. Others mention the food supply and experiments they are conducting. One person brags about his new invention.

  It’s exciting to hear their conversations. I want to be a scientist after I am done with this token. I want to work right here. With Burke.

  “Stop grinning so much,” Burke says.

  “Oh. Sorry.” I frown. “Is this better?”

  He takes my elbow and whispers in my ear. “Scientists are not silly.”

  He’s right. I’m blowing my cover. As we enter the building, we make small talk with some of the people next to us. Burke brings up something about high and low pressure zones, the snow, and other scientific sounding weather related stuff.

  I tease him about his weather conversation as we enter the large tower. I stand in the open atrium in the middle of the tower and look up. A spiral staircase winds up the tower to each floor. The staircase’s iron spindles look fragile and strong at the same time. I turn a few times to get a different perspective.

  Burke grins.

  “You make me crazy. You know that?” Burke says.

  “Where’s my lab coat?” I ask as we begin our ascent.

  “Somehow I think you are going to flunk this challenge,” Burke says.

  “Sorry,” I say. I’m actually hurt.

  It’s hard to act like an adult when you don’t know what it’s like to live in an adult world. I channel my inner grownup and fantasize about passing my token years and taking the flex exams for medical school. I am a doctor. I will behave like one.

  About half way up the stairs, Burke pulls me into a doorway so fast that I almost fall down.

  “In here,” Burke says. “That’s a Regulator.”

  Someone in a purple cloak is coming down the stairs. I didn’t get a look at his face, so I don’t know which Regulator it is.

  Burke pulls me into one of the office corridors. A couple of women outside a restroom pause mid-conversation to look at us.

  I smile at the women and turn to Burke.

  “I have to check my rejuvenation. Be right back.”

  Burke tilts his head. “I’ll wait for you right here, Dr. Nova.”

  Before I can enter the bathroom, the tall brown-haired woman stops me.

  “Who does your work?” she asks.

  Her friend examines my skin. “Flawless. Too bad they can’t make skin regenerate like the rest of our organs. Old fashioned skin replenishing can look so leathery.”

  “Soon they will,” the brown-haired woman says. “Just a few more tweaks to our DNA and skin regeneration will be a part of our future.”

  The brown-haired woman looks at me quizzically. “Who did your work?” she asks again.

  I dash past into the restroom without answering her question.

  This restroom is much nicer than our outhouses back at camp. Since I’m here, I may as well use it. I enter one of the stalls. The seat is warm. Another woman comes in. She’s talking to someone on a Flatpad. I pull my legs up on the seat so that she cannot see them.

  “It is Regulators Krish,” the woman says. “I can tell them apart. Those beady eyes of his. I am sure it is him.”

  Regulator Krish is the one my mom spoke of, the one who wants us to stop procreating.

  “He’s probably here checking on his experiment,” the woman says. “That poor boy in the lab.”

  Another woman enters the restroom. The two women greet each other and then I hear a tinkling noise. Time to get out of here.

  I find Burke leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. A favorite pose of his. I am anxious to tell him what I overheard.

  “What took you so long?” he asks.

  “They have toilet seat warmers,” I say. “Can we go now?”

  Burke checks the stairwell through a small glass window in the door and nods. We take the remaining two flights of stairs quickly. I’m excited to tell Burke about Regulator Krish.

  I make the mistake of looking down the circular atrium at the top of the stairs. Heights make me sick to my stomach. I step backwards into Burke’s arms. He gives me a puzzled look.

  “Sorry about that,” I say. “Heights make me dizzy.”

  He smiles. “Want to check out some books?”

  “Is that why we came here?” I ask.

  “Yes,” Burke says. “I ran out of reading material. I need more books.”

  We walk across the stairwell to a set of double doors. A sign above the door reads Kalstein Barstow Library.

  “Does he have to have his name on everything?” I try the handle to the library door. It is locked.

  Burke takes out a small device from his pocket. “It’s always locked. You need a code to get in. Or this.”

  He uses the device and a long metal pin to open the doors.

  “Let me guess, stealth is lock picking?”

  Burke nods and puts the pin away. “Old fashioned tricks still work today.” He holds open the door. “After you.”

  The library’s soaring atrium and rows of books makes me feel at home. I’ve always loved libraries and the smell of old books.

  Burke obviously enjoys this space as well. He picks up a book that was lying open on a table, bends down the corner of the page, and takes me into an aisle. He picks out a few more books, one on birds, and the other on astronomy.

  “They don’t allow electronic copies of these.” He presses the books to his chest.

  “You’re funny,” I say.

  “Why?” Burke asks.

  “You’re holding those books so…” I can’t think of the exact word. “Lovingly.”

  “Take these,” Burke says with a glint in his blue eyes. He hands me his books so that he can pick more. “Let’s go into a reading room where we can talk in private.”

  I follow Burke, both of us wi
th an armful of books, into one of several glass-encased room on the far side of the library. I get nervous when I see a terminal on the table. I hope he’s not going to make me login with my code.

  Burke dumps his books on the table and closes the door.

  “Well?” he asks.

  “Well what?” I ask. I glare at the terminal.

  “Are you going to put the books down?

  “Oh yea,” I say. I dump my books on the table. “I was just distracted by what I heard in the bathroom. Are these walls soundproof? I wouldn’t want anyone to over hear us.”

  Burke tilts his head. “What did you hear?”

  I look around and watch a woman enter the library.

  “The walls are soundproof,” Burke says. “I’ll prove it to you.”

  Burke steps to the glass wall separating us from another soundproof room. Several people sit around a table in an animated conversation. I can’t hear their words, but I can see their arms flying around in gestures.

  “Your hair is on fire,” Burke shouts them, but remains calm. “I’m telling you. There is a bomb. We have to evacuate.” His words don’t match his peaceful expresson.

  The people in the next room do nothing. Burke sits down.

  “Ok. So. You know Regulator Krish,” I begin.

  Burke cuts me off. “They may not be able to hear you, but they can see you. Relax. Sit down. Stop being so lively.”

  Burke’s eyelids lower as he pats the chair next to him. His breathing changes when I sit down, deeper and distracting. I tell him all about what I overheard in the bathroom, trying to look as scientific as possible. When I am done, Burke says nothing.

  “Well?” I ask. I’m waiting for him to say something. Anything.

  “Regulator Krish’s lab is in the Mothers Aide Research Pavilion. That tower is off limits to everyone.” Burke’s voice is rough and the way he stares at me makes me uncomfortable.

  “Except us, right?” I ask.

  He smiles. “Now you’re thinking stealth.”

  “Stealth is doing stuff illegal?” I ask.

  “Sometimes,” Burke says. He doesn’t look very happy. “We’re not going to do any more sneaking today. It’s too dangerous with Regulator Krish here.” He turns to the terminal. “Let’s get to the real reason we are here.”

  “What?” I shake my head vigorously. “No.”

  “No?” Burke says. He’s puzzled. “I don’t want to hurt you, Aria. I want to help you. If you login with your token, I can teach you how to look at your targets with logic.”

  “I’m not very logical,” I say.

  “You’re being very difficult,” Burke says.

  “I don’t mean to be, but this is something I want to do on my own. I’m not ready to show you.”

  “Alright. Suit yourself.”

  Burke picks up the book that was lying on the table when we first arrived. It’s a biography on Kalstein Barstow. He goes to the earmarked page. I look over his shoulder. The page describes Barstow’s token algorithm.

  “I think Krish was reading this before he left,” Burke says.

  “What does he want with the algorithm?” I ask.

  “I don’t know,” Burke says. “But with what you have just told me, it can’t be good. Maybe he is trying to break the code.”

  “Maybe he already has,” I say.

  “What do you mean?” Burke asks.

  “Why all the turquoise tokens all of a sudden?” I ask. “Why for years has the algorithm only produced sapphire and emerald?”

  “Your theory from the cabin,” Burke says. “Teenage extinction.”

  I nod.

  Burke tilts his head.

  “Maybe Krish wants to help us.” He frowns as if he doesn’t believe his own words. “If you are right, we are in some serious trouble.”

  I think I may need Burke’s help after all.

  “What if I am right?” I ask. “Maybe Regulator Krish needs to die.”

  Burke looks at me as if I am crazy. He then looks around the room as if he expects someone to overhear even though we are in a soundproof room. I scan the library for microdrones, but see none.

  “Killing a Regulator means control.” Burke’s voice comes out in a growl. “Believe me, I’ve thought about it. It is not worth it. You will be sent there. Your family will be sent there. Everyone you love, including your brother and Baby, will be doomed. Trust me. I know.”

  I take a deep breath and watch Burke. The fear in his eyes, the fact that he seems to be intimately acquainted with control and doesn’t want me to go there. He is scared. For me. Maybe he would protect me.

  “I lied to you,” I say.

  Burke looks at me, puzzled. “How?”

  “I don’t have a ruby token.” I snap the bracelet off my wrist and dislodge the turquoise painted token.

  “What do you mean?” Burke asks. He looks puzzled and relieved at the same time.

  “I have an amethyst token.” I place the token on the table in front of him.

  I can tell Burke’s trying to compose his face in case any one looks in. We are just two scientists discussing a possible adjustment to a theory.

  “I’ve heard rumors.” Burke pauses. His fingers tremble as he reaches for my token. He pulls his hand away. “But I’ve always thought those rumors were wishful thinking.”

  “You don’t believe me?” I take my token and move to the terminal. “Let me show you.”

  “No,” Burke says. He grabs my fingers. “It’s too risky. Someone may see the screen over your shoulder. Put your token away.”

  “You believe me?” I ask.

  He looks into my eyes. “I believe you. Maybe there is something in the biography.”

  I put my token back in the bracelet and strap it on my wrist.

  Burke and I flip through Barstow’s biography. We find a section on the Regulator’s robes and their history. We skip to another section on the building of camp. There is so much information, it is impossible to go through all of it.

  “I think we’re going to have to check this book out.” Burke looks around to make sure no one is watching and then slides the big book into a pocket on the inside of his jacket. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  Burke and I exit the library. Sneaking down is much easier than sneaking up and we are out of the tower in no time. Burke decides to take us across campus because it is faster.

  When we enter the warm grounds, Mr. Wassillie spots us.

  “Hey there,” Mr. Wassillie says. “Aria. I heard you were too sick for slice.” He eyes me suspiciously. “Feeling better?”

  “Much,” I say.

  “I was just getting her from the infirmary,” Burke says.

  I glance at Burke. I hope he has ways of covering for me in case Mr. Wassillie checks out the infirmary records.

  “Great news,” Mr. Wassillie says. “We’ll get you into one of Messier’s classes this afternoon. He taps his watch. “Your next class is starting.”

  I grumble. I don’t want to do slice. At least my next class is regular high school stuff, so I can pretend to be a normal teenager for a while. Burke says goodbye to me. I go off to the English building and he runs across campus. Back to the cabin, no doubt.

  Chapter Eighteen

  I wake up the next morning without having talked to Burke. The rest of yesterday was busy with class, including the makeup class for slice. I was stuck with a bunch of kids from second week whom I really didn’t like. I accidentally stabbed my hand with the switchblade, which required another visit to the infirmary and a few stitches.

  My hand throbs, but it was worth it to get out of the remainder of my makeup slice class. I heard they started practicing techniques on rabbits after I left, which gave me nightmares of stabbing cute little bunnies and pinning them to a tree.

  I crawl out of my bunk to the crowded table. It’s Friday. Everyone is excited and talking about game day and graduation for the kids who have been here four weeks. The seniors. I won’t be sorry to see them go. With
the new recruits coming on Monday, it’s going to be a busy day. I’ll probably not be able to talk to Burke in private until the weekend.

  I sit in between Demi and Vanessa and grab a biscuit, jam, and an orange. Vanessa pours me coffee. I grab the cup without taking a sip. Holding the warm cup makes my hand feel better.

  Vanessa has already told everyone about my hand.

  “It’s only four stitches.” I show them the bandage. The cut runs an inch down the side of my palm near the pinky. “No big deal.”

  “We missed you in slice,” Demi says. “Messier assigned dueling partners. I get to be with Shah.”

  “And I get to be with Mateo,” Vanessa says. “Just like our plan, right Mateo? Duel to the death.” Vanessa chuckles.

  Mateo shakes his head rapidly several times.

  “No way. I like it here. Not in camp. On earth. You know—breathing.”

  Vanessa folds her arms across her chest and pouts, as if she’s serious about the duel.

  “Really, where were you, Aria?” Demi asks. “You are not sick. Except for the hand thing. You wouldn’t have gotten that if you didn’t cut class. Those second week kids are creeps. I can’t believe you were stuck with them. I accidentally wandered into their camp and they chased me out of there with sticks on fire.”

  I glance at Burke’s bunk. The curtains are closed. I wonder if the Barstow’s biography is in there. I’m listening to Demi, but I have other things on my mind.

  “He’s not home,” Demi says. “Don’t tell me you were with him.”

  “I had some other stuff to do,” I say when I cannot think of a good lie.

  Demi lowers her eyes at me. “I’m not going to bug you about it. Just be careful.”

  I cast my eyes toward Shah who is talking to one of Erwin’s goons—Tane I think. I don’t need her giving me advice about Burke. There is nothing between us.

  “You be careful, too,” I say.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Demi snorts back.

  The truth is I don’t know what it’s supposed to mean. I should be warning Shah about Demi. After her little adventure here in camp, she’s just going to go back to Clarkhaven House. She’ll probably hire Burke to kill for her. I can’t say this to her. She’s my friend, at least for now. I wonder if I’ll ever see her again.