As Heidi regained control of her spacecraft, Will breathed a sigh of relief, which quickly turned to a gasp of horror as he watched Spencer flying over to help, his own rocket hit by a cluster of debris from the dismembered security bots. The impact of the collision sent Spencer into a tumble, his rocket somersaulting as he headed straight for the glass biodome that encased the school.
Will didn’t know what would happen if Spencer crashed into the dome, but he wasn’t willing to find out. Acting on impulse, he sped in Spencer’s direction, pulling up alongside him at a safe distance to ensure the spiralling wings of his rocket didn’t hit him. With only a matter of seconds to make his calculations, Will began counting in his head, keeping track of how long it took for the rocket to make one full rotation. After watching Spencer spin twice, Will made his move, gently nudging the left wing of his rocket into Spencer’s right one, tipping it back into the correct position. As the spacecraft steadied, Will peered inside the glass, realising with alarm that the shifting G-Force inside the revolving rocket had caused Spencer to fall unconscious. Knowing there was no feasible way to help him whilst they were both mobile, Will began looking around desperately for help. To his relief, he caught sight of Mr. Zeppler speeding towards them, followed by several of Will’s concerned teammates.
When he reached the scene, Mr. Zeppler pulled his rocket alongside Spencer’s, matching his speed with expert precision. In a few quick motions, he popped open his emergency seal and produced a chain from inside his spacecraft, attaching it to Spencer’s rocket and towing him towards safety. Will and the other racers followed suit, heading back through the long tunnel and into the Academy, eventually arriving at the Launch Bay. Will and his teammates parked their rockets and disembarked, rushing over to where Mr. Zeppler was heaving a semi-conscious Spencer onto his feet just as the Weltraumschule students arrived from the tunnel behind them. Before Will was able to speak, Miss Fortem burst into the room, striding over and parting the group of worried bystanders as she swiftly assessed the situation, Herr Weber hot on her tail.
“Is he alright?” Miss Fortem demanded, her voice strained as she regarded Spencer’s condition.
“He’ll need a trip to the Medic Ward on the Mayfly, but he should make a quick recovery,” Mr. Zeppler replied, puffing with the exertion of holding Spencer’s weight.
“What in the Universe happened out there?” Herr Webber exclaimed, his boyish face transforming into a picture of anger. “Why were your security bots attacking my team Captain, Miss Fortem?”
“I can assure you, Herr Webber, what happened on that course was a terrible accident. I’m having our Technology teacher determine what caused the robots to malfunction, as we speak” Miss Fortem answered, doing her best to reassure the furious Headmaster, whose cheeks were beginning to turn purple with anger.
“I sincerely hope that you can provide us with a detailed explanation which proves that you were not deliberately sabotaging the race!” Herr Webber shot back, spittle flying from his mouth as he enunciated each word with rage.
“Do you honestly believe we would put the lives of young students at risk simply to win a friendly Rocket Racing competition?!” Miss Fortem snapped. “Please, Herr Webber, be reasonable. Will’s attempts to intervene in the situation should serve as enough evidence that we at the Academy put each other’s safety before the glory of winning a competition.”
“It is true your student was very brave,” Herr Webber admitted, his expression softening as he turned to address Will. “Of course, it goes without saying that you shall receive the Blitzrackete as a reward for your courage.”
“That’s very generous of you Herr Webber,” Will swallowed, a lump forming in his throat as he prepared for what he was about to say, “but you should give the rocket to Spencer. He tried to save Heidi from the robots. That’s how he ended up losing control.”
“How noble,” Herr Webber replied, drops of sweat appearing on his brow as he began to fluster. “As you wish, then. The unconscious boy may have the rocket.”
He nodded in Will’s direction before hastening over to the gathering of Weltraumschule students to check on a shaken Heidi. Once he had gone, Miss Fortem put her arm around Spencer’s shoulders, supporting one side of his body while Mr. Zeppler kept hold of the other.
“There’s no need, Veronica, I can escort him to the Mayfly myself,” Mr. Zeppler said gallantly.
“No, I must come with you,” she insisted. “Spencer’s father is a very prestigious member of the elite society. It’ll be best if I’m there to speak to him in person when he finds out what happened to his son.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Will asked, watching with worry as the two teachers hauled Spencer away, his feet dragging across the Launch Bay floor.
“No, Will, just go back to your dormitory with the rest of the students,” Miss Fortem replied. “You’ve done enough to help today.”
Will nodded his compliance, following Miss Fortem in the direction of the door. He was just about to leave when he turned to see Heidi standing behind him, her face ashen with shock.
“I owe you my gratitude,” she said, her voice shaking. “If you hadn’t managed to save that boy, I could have been responsible for something awful happening.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Will re-assured her. “You were in danger. You did what you had to do to escape.”
“It was so frightening,” she said, her eyes full of tears. “Do you know if your friend is going to be alright?”
“Mr. Zeppler said Spencer will be fine after a brief rest in the Medic Ward,” Will told her. “There’s no need to worry. Everything’s going to be alright.”
“Thank you,” she smiled. “You are very kind. I hope your Headmistress finds out what happened to her robots. Perhaps it had something to do with the men in red.”
“The men in red?” Will repeated with confusion.
“Yes,” Heidi frowned. “I saw them in the grounds the other night when I got lost walking back to the dormitory. They were out by that artificial lake, hiding amongst the shadows. At first, I thought they might be some of your teachers, but now I’m not so sure. Do you think I should have told someone?”
Her eyes widened with fear as she began to realise that she had made a terrible mistake.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure it was nothing,” Will said as convincingly as he could manage, his stomach churning uneasily as he processed the meaning of Heidi’s words.
“Well, if you’re sure...” she replied uncertainly. “I’d better get back to my team. It was nice to meet you.”
She flashed him a grin and bounded off, leaving Will stood frozen to the spot. His mind raced as he attempted to make sense of what Heidi had told him. The idea of ominous men in red lurking on school grounds gave him a deep sense of discomfort, and he was reminded of the terrible events that had unfolded last year, the grisly climax of which had occurred by the very same artificial lake that Heidi had mentioned.
As the knowledge of how to use his feet came slowly back to him, Will walked hurriedly from the Launch Bay, trying without success to quiet the fear that was spreading through his body. Surely, he told himself, the chances of there being yet another threat lying in wait at the Academy were slim, and even if something were going on, nothing could ever be as bad as what had happened with Admiral Allance.
As he made his way with haste out of the main school building and into the grounds, he did his best to convince himself that none of the strange things that had been happening at the school posed any real danger to him or his friends. Even if his suspicions were correct, and the Society of the Enlightened were indeed making plots at the Academy, it didn’t necessarily mean that anybody was going to get hurt. After all, the Society had been at large for several months now and had done nothing to harm any citizen on the Mayfly. The rogue security bots must have been a freak accident, he surmised. He highly doubted that the Society’s leaders would bother to get involved with a school racing event, and
in any case, it was difficult to think of a single reason why attacking Heidi would have any benefit to the secret organisation.
His fear somewhat quelled, Will entered the second-year dormitory and headed across the foyer, his mind occupied by thoughts of Earth Wars and the several virtual games he intended to play upon reaching the safety of his bedroom. Despite his assurances that all was well, Will couldn’t help but feel on edge as he embarked into the lift, watching the doors snap shut with force in front of him. Pressing the button that would take him to the correct floor, Will desperately tried to shake the feeling that had been with him since he had left the main school building, the hairs on the back of his neck still stood on end as he was haunted by the powerful conviction that someone, somewhere was watching him.
14.
The Intruder
Emily rested her head in her hands, trying with all her might to concentrate on Mr. Krecher’s lecture about the many-tentacled alien he had on display at the front of his classroom. Her eyes felt heavy in their sockets, and she fought hard to keep them open, stifling yet another yawn as she dreamed wistfully of her bed. For the past three nights, she had been out late, investigating the school grounds with Will and Lois in search of any suspicious activity. After being informed by Will of what Heidi had seen by the lake, Miss Fortem was unable to deny that something strange was going on, and had ordered them to double their efforts, promising that she would also look into the matter whenever time would allow it. During their most recent meeting, Emily had noticed the Headmistress’ stoic attitude slip as she succumbed to the vulnerability she had felt since the security bots had been forced to leave the school, their programming being held under investigation by I-Tech.
Despite their best efforts, Emily, Will and Lois remained unable to persuade Finley to join them on their late-night excursions, the purpose of which had grown more serious since their initial desire to take advantage of their special privileges. Lois had presented Finley with a convincing case as to why they needed his help, reminding him of all the unexplained incidences they had experienced so far. He had looked at her blankly, refusing to acknowledge that any of the occurrences were connected, and had declined to give in to her persistent begging for him to see sense. As a result, the three of them had headed off into the grounds each night, while Finley retreated to his room, his mood darkening each time the topic of their night-time trips was mentioned.
That morning at breakfast, Emily had tentatively broached the subject, sharing the concerns she had developed during her most recent attendance at the Technology Club. She had signed up for the extra-curricular activity at the start of the new term, hoping to deepen her knowledge of the field and keep herself in good stead with I-Tech. Rather than being the insightful learning experience that she had envisioned, her time spent in Mr. Mayhem’s Tech Lab after hours had been stressful and disconcerting. As the weeks had passed, Mr. Mayhem’s behaviour had become increasingly strange, with him twitching and jumping at every sound, and looking over his shoulder as if convinced of a constant presence behind him. Emily didn’t know any of the other students at the club and was extremely relieved when a boy she recognised to be Madison Jacob’s older brother, Saul, sidled over to her during one of Mr. Mayhem’s unsettling episodes and whispered in her ear to inquire about what was wrong with the eccentric Technology teacher. She had replied with a shrug of her shoulders, after which Saul had raised his eyebrows with amusement, expressing that he hoped they would eventually learn something useful from the babbling man before them.
As it turned out, Mr. Mayhem was yet to teach the club anything of significance. Emily had considered quitting the activity more than once, but her fascination for the subject stopped her each time. It had only occurred to her in the most recent session that Mr. Mayhem’s obvious terror may in some way be linked to all the other odd events that she and the others were supposed to be investigating. She communicated these thoughts to Will and Lois, suggesting that they cover the Tech Lab that night during their search of the grounds. Will had agreed readily, keen to get to the bottom of whatever was going on. Finley frowned as he always did, shaking his head and declaring himself as unwilling to participate.
“I think I’ll give it a miss tonight as well,” Lois announced, regarding Finley with concern. “I’ll stay with Fin. We can make a start on some of our final projects.”
Will opened his mouth to protest but decided to hold his tongue upon seeing the happiness that Lois’ announcement had given Finley. He looked at Emily and shrugged with resignation.
“Looks like it’s just me and you tonight then,” he observed.
“Looks that way,” Emily replied, careful to hide the excitement in her voice.
As Mr. Krecher’s lesson drew on, Emily’s eagerness for the evening to arrive increased steadily, elation peeking through her exhaustion as she envisioned herself and Will solving the mystery together. Her conviction of their victory kept her spirits high for the remainder of Alien Studies, easing the torment of being forced to sit next to Rudy after Mr. Krecher had insisted they work with their partners from first year. True to form, Rudy had already made several cutting remarks in the forty minutes since class had begun, mostly centring around Will’s heroics at the Rocket Race. Indeed, the first time he had seen Will after the event, he had sauntered over to him with his cronies in pursuit, his face twisted with disgust as though he were smelling something extremely unpleasant.
“Well if it isn’t Will the saviour,” Rudy had sneered, his voice dripping with malice. “Did you not get enough glory being part of the Famous Four? You had to go and pull another stunt to remind everyone that you’re the real star of the show.”
“Honestly, Rudy, what are you suggesting I should have done?” Will sighed with exasperation. “Sit there and watch Spencer crash into the school? Is that what you would do?”
“No,” Rudy said defensively, “but I don’t see why it always has to be you saving everyone. Why don’t you give someone else a chance?”
“A chance for what?!” Will exclaimed.
“You know what,” Rudy snapped, turning on his heel and storming away without another word.
“Does anyone want to explain what he was talking about?” Will asked, his brows knitted together in confusion.
“I’m not even sure if he knows,” Finley replied, regarding Rudy’s retreating back with bewilderment.
“It feels like I can’t do anything right where some people at this school are concerned,” Will frowned, his eyes full of defeat.
“At least Spencer was grateful for what you did for him,” Emily pointed out. “Especially giving him the Blitzrackete.”
“Spencer might have been pleased” Will acknowledged, “but the rest of the Floor One clique certainly weren’t. They still haven’t forgiven me for my perceived crimes against them.”
“Some people never change,” Emily shrugged. “You should be proud of yourself for what you did. Not many people would have shown the same courage and generosity. Alasdair and the others don’t even know the meaning of the word.”
Will nodded in appreciation, but Emily could tell Rudy’s comments were still bothering him. It couldn’t be denied that Will’s actions had thrust him back into the spotlight, and he had received a huge amount of attention since the race. Emily knew that Will had acted on impulse when he had seen Spencer lose control of his rocket, but there were some who had begun to think he deliberately flung himself into danger, in order to make himself into something of a celebrity. Even her brother, Charlie, had made a passing remark about how Will seemed to be at the centre of every drama, his voice betraying a hint of suspicion as he spoke.
Someone who was most definitely not irked by Will’s return to the public eye, however, was Matina, who had taken to parading around the corridors on his arm, smiling regally as passers-by stopped to gawk at them. Emily was rather hoping that Will would see through her shallow behaviour, but to her dismay their relationship had only become stronger over th
e course of time, lasting far longer than any of Will’s friends had thought it would. Most bitter of all over the pairing was Cara, who had lost her best friend to the romance. Oftentimes when Emily found herself glowering at the happy couple, she would look around to see Cara mirroring her stance, her arms folded and her face set into a scowl of deep resentment.
A quick glance at her Personal Device told Emily that Alien Studies was nearly over. She stretched her aching legs as she prepared to move them, rubbing her bleary eyes in an attempt to force herself awake. The artificial lights in Krecher’s classroom were buzzing noisily, their dim illumination of the room lulling Emily into an even sleepier state than when she had first entered. The last five minutes of the lesson seemed to drag on for an hour, with Emily’s tired mind unable to retain any of the information Mr. Krecher was sharing with his students. When he finally dismissed the class, Emily got to her feet in a rush, feeling the sensation of needles pricking her arm, as the blood she had cut off from resting on it all lesson returned in a painful tingle.
Her face haggard from the effort of not drifting to sleep, she shuffled over to Lois, Will and Finley, who were gathering their things from their desks. Too weary to make conversation, she fell into step next to them without saying a word, listening to the distant sound of their voices as they made their way to where Jeff was waiting in his shuttle, ready to escort the class back to the ground.
The last lesson of the day mercifully over, the four of them headed towards the Dining Hall following their short descent, seeking the sweet, warm comfort of a hot chocolate to reward themselves for making it through the afternoon. Sitting down at an empty table, they made light conversation until dinner was served, avoiding the sensitive topic of Emily and Will’s imminent investigation. When their evening meals were finished, they decided to head back to their rooms early, with Emily expressing the desire to fit in a nap before meeting up with Will after curfew.
The Secret Society Page 18