“I’m coming with you.”
I shook my head. “I said I’ll meet you back at the cabin.”
She nodded to Alexis, Rob, and Duncan. “How do you know them?”
“We used them for Capture the Flag, remember?”
“Of course I do,” Rylee said, “but why did we use them?”
“I will meet you back at the cabin, Rylee.” Each word was punctuated with my irritation to the point that she finally understood. I shoved past her and crossed the rest of the distance to the trio. I glanced at the trail when I got to them. Rylee and the rest of my team were just disappearing around a bend.
Rob handed me the cell phone, and I shoved it into my pocket. “You got them?”
He nodded. “Piece of cake.”
“Really? Even the video of what happened during Capture the Flag?”
“The video was tough,” Rob said, “but we got it. What are you going to do with them?”
I’d prepared for this question. “I’ll delete them as soon as I check that you actually took them.”
“So this was a test?” Alexis asked.
I nodded.
“So we’re still good? If the Delta event happens, you’ll use us?”
“I said I would, didn’t I? But you heard Dalson; it’s canceled.”
Rob snickered. “I doubt it. Those rumors of abductions are stupid. No one gets abducted. If you believe that, you’re a—”
Alexis elbowed her teammate as a group of campers headed toward us.
“Okay,” Alexis said, looking at me. “We’ll wait, then. If the challenge happens, you’ll tell us how we can help, right?”
“Sure.” I patted the phone in my pocket. “Good job, guys.”
I ducked into the bathroom on my way back to the Delta cabin and locked myself into a stall. When I checked the pictures, I had to smile.
These kids were smarter than I’d thought. The pictures were clear as day, and each one looked like the counselors had posed individually for them. Which, clearly, they hadn’t. The last picture in the series was of the Camp Friendship accreditation brochure. Somehow Rob, Alexis, and Duncan had gotten hold of the material used to make it and uploaded it to the phone.
Smart.
They also had a dozen pictures of Chase, each appearing to have been taken from bushes or behind buildings. Some of them were pretty bad, but there were a couple that were pretty good. And to cap it off, there were quite a few pictures of my team. I felt a bit silly for not having seen them when the pictures were taken.
I texted Jason with the pictures attached and told him I’d be in touch and that he should not, under any circumstances, text me back.
He instantly texted back, Okay.
Then, Oops.
And finally, Sorry.
Only Jason could read a message that said Do not text me back and promptly send me three messages. I had the phone on silent mode, but it wasn’t worth the risk. I took the battery out and stuffed both pieces into my pocket.
If they think they’re going to catch us off guard, they’re underestimating how badly I want to be here.
It was time to get training.
Chapter 31
I hit the ground hard. My breath came out in a single gush, and I lay there, looking up at the trees while I tried to will precious air back into my lungs.
“You’re letting your emotions get the best of you,” Juno said.
I rolled and pushed myself up but stayed hunched over, hands on knees, while I caught my breath. “Th-this sucks,” I said. “They really did cancel it. The camp’s almost over.” It had been six days since the last Delta event had been canceled, and every day since, my team and I had expected news that it was back on.
Yaakov landed in a heap at my feet and groaned. Rylee walked over and pulled him up and helped dust him off. Then she looked at me. “Why are you still mad? Tomorrow’s Friday. There’s only a couple days left. They’re not going to cancel two events in a row. They do that, and there’s no time to have a clear winning team. I think we have a great shot at winning.”
“Or at least not losing,” Yaakov said. He picked a couple twigs and dried leaves from his hair. “What we need to know is, are they going to eliminate just one team tomorrow or two? It’s usually just one elimination per event, but since they missed last week’s …”
“Let’s just not end up in the bottom two,” I said.
Juno nodded and then tapped his watch. “C’mon, it’s time to get cleaned up. We’re already going to be late for breakfast. Angie might clean the kitchen out of all the food before we get there.”
We laughed, and then Rylee said, “I’m going to tell her you said that.”
Juno’s smile dropped dramatically. “Don’t. I might be a pretty good fighter, but she’s got that crazy streak in her.”
Rylee nodded. “It’s called psychopathy.”
I shook my head and wondered what the chances were that Angie really was a psychopath. Probably wouldn’t get past a psychological screening if she was, right?
It didn’t matter. What mattered was tomorrow. Another scheduled competition and there had been no word that it would be canceled. I was determined to make it through. At first, all I’d cared about was staying in the camp until the end of the session. Being able to tell my friends that I’d been in a real spy training camp would have been awesome. Having some skills of a spy would’ve been even better. But now I wanted more. I wanted to actually be a spy. If I could just win a couple events and prove myself, when they discovered my true identity they wouldn’t kick me out. They might be mad. I might get in trouble. But they’d see my potential and let me continue.
At least, that was what I told myself.
The rain started about mid-morning, and became a full-blown thunderstorm by late afternoon. I ducked into the cabin after getting caught in a downpour on my way back from Arts and Crafts.
“There you are,” Juno said, poking his head into the cabin. “You coming?”
“Where?”
“Self-Defense, of course.” He shook the rain out of his hair. “Did you forget or something?”
A clap of thunder rattled the windowpanes, and I gestured outside. “We still have the class? In this?”
Juno laughed. “Are you kidding? Hurry up. I don’t want to get in trouble for being late.”
I grabbed my jacket and jogged after him. It didn’t take long to get to the clearing, but I was so wet that it looked like I’d swum there.
“Cambridge,” Ms. Davis shouted over the din of the rain. “Get in here.”
“Good luck,” Juno said.
I shrugged off my coat. It wasn’t keeping me dry anyway.
“Pick your opponent, Mr. Cambridge.”
I smiled and pointed at Chase. “Him,” I said. I glanced back to Juno. His face was scrunched up, and he shook his head.
“I can’t believe you picked me,” Chase said. I turned back around. He was standing opposite me with a huge grin. “I mean, it’s almost as if you enjoy getting your butt kicked.”
“Fight!” Ms. Davis said, her word punctuated by a clap of thunder.
Chase swung for my head, and my arm went up, blocking the punch. Just like Juno had taught me, my other hand flew out and caught Chase in the chin. He staggered back a step, eyes wide, as though me connecting a punch was the last thing he’d expected.
Juno whooped.
I seized my chance and lunged forward, aiming for Chase’s head. I wanted to make him hurt as badly as he’d hurt me. Finally, I was in a position to do it.
Chase caught my arm and yanked me off balance. Then his foot hit my knee and dropped me to a crouch. I was just standing back up when I realized Chase’s foot was on its way to my face. And then I was in the air, looking up through the canopy of trees while droplets of rain pelted my face.
I hit the ground hard, and in a single beat, Chase hammered me in the stomach. I rolled, struggling to catch my breath, and Chase kicked me in the ribs. Coughing, I tried to push mys
elf to my feet, but he kicked out my arm and then stomped me in the stomach. Then he leaned over and brought his face beside mine.
“Two weeks learning basic fighting moves in the woods and you thought you had a chance against me?” He laughed right in my face. “How did you even get in to this camp?”
“That’s enough,” Ms. Davis said. “Erickson, fall back.” Chase did as he was told and returned to the perimeter. I pushed myself to my knees. “Cambridge,” she said, “I saw some improvements.”
Yeah, I’d stayed conscious this time. I didn’t get it. I’d worked so hard with Juno, and even after all that, Chase had pummeled me just as easily as he had before. What was the point of all the lessons if they didn’t help me become a better fighter?
“Keep at it,” she added.
While I half crawled, half staggered to the edge of the circle, Ms. Davis called out another couple names, and two other campers fell into combat.
“What were you thinking?” Juno asked when I made it beside him.
“What do you think I was thinking?” I snapped. “I thought you’d given me some training that actually worked!”
“You’ve been at it for a couple weeks, Matt. You don’t even know the basics. Maybe if you keep at it for the rest of the year, you’ll be ready for next year. But Chase trains too, remember.”
I spat out a mouthful of blood and watched as the two other campers scrapping it out in the center of the clearing pounded each other. “I just wanted some payback.”
“Well, you got it,” Juno said. “I think he really hurt his foot on your face.”
“Shut up.”
Chapter 32
I was getting really tired of having Chase stomp me every chance he got. As I showered and cleaned myself up, I wished for the Delta challenge we’d be facing in the morning to be something I could really destroy him in … but off the top of my head, I couldn’t think of anything I could do that he couldn’t. It made me hate him even more, if that were even possible. My foul mood continued into dinner and made eating impossible. My appetite came in waves; one minute I’d be famished, and then the next, the idea of eating made me want to vomit.
I stabbed the piece of chicken with my fork and twisted the prongs into it.
“I don’t think it’s going to tell you what you want to know,” Rylee whispered across the table.
“Yeah, well,” I said, “maybe it just needs more incentive.” I took my knife and stabbed the tip into it.
Rylee grimaced. “You and Angie could develop some interrogation protocols.”
I looked up and realized she and I were the only two left at the table. The team table to my right was mostly empty, as well. In fact, with the exception of a dozen campers scattered among the tables, the dining hall was deserted.
How long had I been zoned out?
Rylee eyed me suspiciously, and she must’ve seen my confusion on my face because she answered as if reading my mind, “A while. Are you finally ready to tell me what’s going on, Matt Cambridge? We’re in the final days now. I think it’s about time.”
“What are you talking about?”
She leaned across the table. “Look, Matt,” she said my name like she was saying a made-up word. “I wasn’t kidding about how good I am at reading people. I’m really good. Scary good.”
I leaned back, putting a bit of distance between us. “Well, I’m starting to believe you about the scary part.”
“I’ve been watching you the past few weeks. When you talk about never having been to one of these camps before, you’re not lying.” She pointed to the empty chairs around our table. “They all think you’re just playing it cool, that you’re pretending to be inexperienced. You have scores from previous camps, but I don’t think those are real. I think you manipulated the system somehow. I’m not sure how or why, but I’m impressed enough to think you probably deserve your spot as a Delta. But most other times, well, you’re completely out of your depth.”
I forked another piece of chicken into my mouth. I couldn’t respond with food in my mouth, right? My mother taught me that was rude.
“And that display on the soccer field,” she continued. “I’ve watched it a dozen times, and you know what I’ve noticed?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “You were utterly terrified.” She shook her head. “You did what you did because you had no idea there’d be danger on the field. And you managed what you managed on sheer dumb luck.”
I didn’t speak. I chewed.
She leaned forward and grabbed my hand. I hadn’t had a bandage on it for a few days, but there was a nasty scar. “This injury is from someone who’s never held a real gun or someone who hasn’t held one enough to develop a habit to do it properly.” She shook her head. “How could you be a Delta without practically being an expert in firearms?”
I swallowed my food and searched my plate for more.
“Look. We’re almost done here. Just a few more days. Tomorrow’s probably going to be our last challenge, and then it will all be over. But if there’s something I need to know, you need to tell me. If you fail, we all fail, and I’m not about to fail. I can always have Yaakov dig up every scrap of data on you. And he can do it, you know. He can find out who you really are. He’s that good.”
“Who I really am?” I muttered to myself. That was new. That was something I hadn’t considered. I hadn’t outright lied about who I was, but as I stared at the girl across from me, I realized it was entirely possible that she had. Maybe everyone had. Maybe that was how it was supposed to work at these camps. Anonymity. At camp, Rylee was “Rylee,” but outside of camp, she might be someone else entirely. My whole team might not be who they seemed. The more I thought about that, the more it made sense.
Long seconds passed before I made a decision on how to deal with Rylee. I stood up from the table, wiped my mouth with a napkin, and left without uttering a single word.
Chapter 33
As I made my way back to the Delta cabin, I hoped I’d done the right thing by just walking away. I liked Rylee. She had my back. I thought I could trust her. She could’ve made things very awkward and asked her questions in front of everyone, but she hadn’t. Still, the way she’d said that she’d have Yaakov find out who I really was had put my mind into overdrive.
My dad had forced me to watch a documentary once about people who lie. It was all about how their friends and family don’t trust them and stuff like that. But there was one part I remembered most. Some professor who specialized in psychology or lies or something said that people who lie see lies where there are none.
Rylee might have been good at reading people, but I wasn’t lying, at least not about being Matt Cambridge, and she still thought I was. That made me think she was lying about who she was. It made me think that everyone was lying about who they were.
I stopped a dozen or so meters from the cabin. The lights were on inside, and it sounded like my team was getting amped up for tomorrow’s event. I shook my head. I should have just talked to Rylee. She wanted to help me.
A twig snapped behind me, and I smiled. “Rylee,” I said, turning around, “I was thinking about what you asked and—”
A gloved hand clamped over my mouth, and an arm, covered by a leather jacket, wrapped around my chest and yanked me back toward the trees. I tried to shout, but as soon as I drew a breath, my nose and throat burned with a toxic scent that made the world around me swirl. I flailed my fists and kicked my feet. But everything around me continued to spin, faster and faster with each second.
As I was dragged into the forest, everything went black.
Chapter 34
“Wake up!” The words sounded like a bark from an angry dog.
I groaned. My head felt like it was moments away from splitting open and spilling my brains onto the floor. I tried to raise my hand, but my arms wouldn’t move. Couldn’t move.
Something had happened. I tried to think. I’d been outside the Delta cabin when … when someone had grabbed me?
There
was a slosh and then a blast of ice and water hit my chest and face.
Any lingering dullness in my senses vanished in an instant. I had been grabbed and drugged.
It wasn’t an urban legend.
Abductions were real, and I was a victim of one.
I gasped and blinked rapid-fire, doing my best to make sense of where I was. The room was well lit and posh, like one of those apartments you see on the covers of magazines. Elegant frames filled with images of happy scenes and content people hung on the walls. Bright, modern light fixtures hung from the ceiling. Along one side of the apartment, large picture windows bordered a sliding glass door, and sunlight poured in. Dark hardwood covered most of the floor except on the square I was on, which had thick white carpet. I was seated in a stiff, high-backed armchair. Rubber cords bound me to the armrests. I tried to move my legs, but realized they were tied down too. The same rubber cords were cinched tight around my chest.
Panic coursed through my veins like liquid fire, and I thrashed against the restraints. I tried to twist my arms and kick my legs, taking deep breaths to stretch out the rubber cords. Nothing worked, and each time the bands bit into me farther. Tears blurred my vision as I became more and more desperate. This wasn’t a stupid game. This was for real.
I had to hope that someone saw me get snatched. It was a CIA camp, after all. They had access to satellite imagery. They’d realize I was gone, play back the satellite images, and follow the kidnappers. Wasn’t that how it worked? Could they rewind and zoom in anytime? Or did they have to be recording it? I was just about to rethink my decision not to scream for help when I heard footsteps behind me. Slow, careful footsteps. I couldn’t see directly behind me, but the room went far enough back that the footsteps I heard belonged to someone who had just watched me thrash around in the chair.
“What is your name?” The man stepped into view. He had a stubbly face and dark hair, and he wore a black three-piece suit and a black tie. He looked like he was on his way to an awards ceremony but had stopped by to check on the old kidnapped kid to make sure he was still tied to the chair.
Disruption Page 17