Numb

by Isabelle Carey

  He eyes her with a vacant expression. "I have specific orders to keep him here, Agent Hendricks. He's not going anywhere."

  "Actually, he is." And she suddenly grabs his hand and holds it between hers, just like I did with Charlotte's hand last night. "Right?"

  To my surprise, Agent Riggs nods. "Of course. You can take him outside, Agent Hendricks."

  "I'm glad you see things my way," she comments, releasing his hand. Agent Riggs watches us quietly and remains in the lobby as Agent Hendricks and I outside to blazing sunlight. Dozens of patrol cars are parked out front and twice as many cops have secured the area. I hear more sirens in the distance. More law enforcers are coming and I also hear the thundering engines of Zeppelins.

  "My name is Agent Hendricks," the girl introduces herself to me without warning. "Agent Lilly Hendricks." I'm beginning to wonder why in the heck she's telling me this when she adds, "I'm Charlotte's friend. I know she's inside of BioLife and I have stopped the cops from clearing out the facility momentarily. An empty building will help the Zeppelins confirm a great deal faster that she's in there. But she can't be found yet. She needs to obtain the information your mother left behind. It'll take the cops inside a while to find her though. She can get out of there way before then. If anyone can pull off a daring escape, it's Charlotte."

  I'm flabbergasted. This is the person who Charlotte was speaking to earlier on the phone. Charlotte never told me that Lilly was a White Agent.

  "How are you her friend when you're a White Agent?" I can't help but ask quietly.

  "I'm a double agent. I'm working undercover as a member of SAFE. But this is not the place to discuss this, not with all of these ears around. We need to get out of here."

  "Why are you helping me?" I ask suspiciously.

  "I'm helping Charlotte because I need to know what Dr. Cato found out too. My job depends upon it."

  We walk through the patrols of cops. A few attempt to stop us but Lilly manages to talk them out of our way. She touches everyone she addresses and they all seem to do as she says, as if she's in charge. Cops are supposed to listen to White Agents but I find it odd how easily we maneuver through the barricade.

  "Your job?" I echo, as she leads me to a black car bearing a peculiar emblem on one of the doors. The emblem contains a map of the world and a strange-looking cross. I've never seen the design before and this is definitely not a patrol car.

  Lilly nods and walks around to the driver's side of the vehicle. "Yes, my job," she says simply. "Get in."

  I hesitate. Nothing about this feels right. Charlotte might trust Lilly but I don't know if I do.

  "Agent Cato, get into the car. We must leave now. I'll explain everything to you once we're gone."

  "We can't leave Charlotte."

  "She'll be okay. Trust me."

  I don't trust her but what other choice do I have? Lilly must knows something I don't know and I want to find out what's going on around here. None of the cops have tried to arrest me or anything. Why are they ignoring me? This is unorthodox.

  Against my better judgment, I open the door and slide into the car. Lilly sits down next to me and starts the car. "Thank you for your cooperation, Agent Cato. I'm glad you will do anything for Charlotte. This will make the next part easier."

  Before I can even try to work out what she said, she moves. The thing I know, I feel her warm hands pressing up against my neck. Then, I experience an electrical sensation before a voice—Charlotte's voice—fills my head and tells me to go to sleep. I comply at once and everything goes dark.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Charlotte

  Currently Listening To: "Hands Held High" by Linkin Park

  My heart aches for leaving Liam downstairs.

  It was a stupid idea for us to separate after he wanted us to stick together earlier. He knows that but yet he coerced me into going on to Dr. Cato's office alone. After being alone for so long, trying to do everything with minimal help from others, I suddenly hate being alone. I need Liam. I need him here with me.

  The elevators doors open when I reach the twentieth floor and they beep several times before I realize that the elevator has come to a stop. I exit cautiously, peeking my head out first. Liam warned me to avoid all cameras and even though I don't currently look like myself, I try to follow his advice. There's nothing I can do to avoid the camera inside the elevator, as it whines mechanically overhead. A few guards downstairs saw me and can easily identify me now since my image popped up on tape; however, if I can avoid more cameras then hopefully it'll take them longer to work out where I've gone. There's a swiveling camera to my left at the end of a white hallway. I don't know where Dr. Cato's office is so I glance to my right quickly when the camera turns away from me. At the end of another white corridor, I see a digital sign with arrows pointing in two directions. To the left reads: Pharmaceutical Development and Sales. The right arrow displays the words Cancer Research.

  Either path could lead me to Dr. Cato's office, as she was involved in projects concerning both before her arrest.

  Her arrest . . . I can't believe that Liam arrested his own mother but then again, I can believe it. The Purge destroys familial ties and Liam was only doing his job. To him, Dr. Cato wasn't his mother but just another criminal who broke the law. He used to view the world in black and white and now, I'm finally glad that he sees everything in a different light now. All it took was one day off the Purge. Even though, he inhaled a dose of the gas this morning, I can tell that he's a changed man. I don't know if it matters anymore with the deep pile of crap we're in, but maybe one day Liam can make it up to his mother for what he did to her.

  I move out of the elevator quickly, walking away from the camera on the opposite end. The corridor is empty and I'm glad. I don't want to run into anyone and have to explain why I'm up here.

  When I reach the intersection, I have to make a quick decision. Do I choose the pharmaceuticals hallway or the one dedicated to cancer research? I try to think. Dr. Cato is known for perfecting the Purge but does that mean her office is located in Pharmaceutical Development? I'm not sure because the last project she worked on was trying to cure the Black Death.

  Not wanting to dilly-dally for too long, I head down the Cancer Research hallway. This corridor is white—the walls, the ceilings, and all of the doors. Even the lighting is white. I pass by closed doors, moving quickly but slow enough to read the nameplates next to each door. Some doors lead to offices, others to conference rooms and laboratories. I wish I can see inside some of these places but there are no windows. Whatever goes on up here is kept secret from people without the proper credentials.

  Then—

  "Attention all security personnel, there is still a code three in progress. Some of the delinquents have been apprehended but most of them are still on the loose. Code three in progress. All security personnel please respond to the first floor corridors."

  My heart feels heavy yet again as I whisper, "Emma."

  For I know who was the ringleader of the distraction that aided Liam and me. Emma and the Free Spirits were in the lobby earlier. I saw them when Liam held me captive. Today is the day of the field trip she mentioned to me and that's why she's here, along with members of her secret club. She knew that Liam and I were in trouble and she rushed to help us. Now, she's being pursued by BioLife security. I doubt she and the others will be able to escape and it's all my fault. I knew it would be a matter of time before I lost someone else close to me. I didn't think that I would lose both Liam and Emma in the same day. What am I going to tell Papa Rosenthal or Granny Rosie if I ever see them again? What a way for me to thank them for their hospitality by getting their granddaughter arrested.

  The hallway dead ends at an office where two cameras on opposite walls are pointing their glass eyes. This office appears to belong to someone important. As I drift closer but remain behind the cameras, I expect this to be Dr. Cato's office. However, I am mistaken. The office belongs to Dr. Greyson Prescott.

>   That name sends off all kinds of bells of recognition inside my head. Dr. Prescott is my father's doctor and he's the one in charge of the cancer research program now that Dr. Cato is in prison. If I could have a peek inside of his office, maybe I can find out what they're doing to my father exactly. Maybe I can find a way to break him out of here. I hold up Liam's ID card. His credentials can get me inside. It's all here right at my fingertips. All I have to do is swipe this card, enter a code, and I'm in.

  No. I can't do it. Not today. What if Prescott is inside of his office? How would I explain my sudden entrance? This is not a good idea. As much as I want to see my father again or find out what these bastards are doing to him, it would be stupid for me to enter Dr. Prescott's office. As much as I hate to do it, I turn away and backtrack back down the hallway to try my luck on the Pharmaceutical Development side.

  This hallway doesn't disappoint. At the end of it stands Dr. Cato's office. Just like Dr. Prescott's office, twin cameras guard its entrance. I have no choice but to enter the line of sight of both cameras. I just have to be quick. Hoping that Liam was right about his credentials, I dart forward and swipe the card at the reader beneath the nameplate still bearing Dr. Cato's name—Emilia Cato, PhD.

  "Credentials accepted but you are not Agent William Cato," a computerized voice tells me suddenly. "If you are a White Agent, please enter Agent Cato's access code."

  A mini keyboard opens up on the side of the reader and I input the code in as quickly as I can. The stupid keyboard is too small for my fingers so I hope I typed in the code Liam gave me correctly. At first nothing happens, except for a series of digital beeps and then—

  "Access granted," the voice confirms.

  I open the door and hurry inside, taking a moment to briefly appreciate that I made it.

  Dr. Cato's office look just as it did on the vid I watched inside of Aidan's RV—part lab and part office. Various lab equipment liters the area, some of which are arranged in odd places, such as graduated cylinders on bookcases and a spectrophotometer in the middle of the desk, surrounded by a stack of folders. Her computer is easy to find and I spy a huge viewscreen affixed to the wall by the desk. Liam was right. There aren't any cameras in here. How much time I have left before someone discovers I'm in this office? I have no clue. Maybe they have some way of tracing me when I start using Dr. Cato's computer or something. That thought heightens a sense of urgency in me but it doesn't stop me from starting up the computer.

  This is it. The moment of revelation. I suddenly feel extremely nervous but inquisitive as well. What did you know Dr. Cato and how will it hopefully help my dire situation?

  The computer boots up swiftly and after a brief pause of a loading screen, a main window opens up on the screen.

  "Enter your password, Dr. Cato," the computer requests.

  Crap. I don't have Dr. Cato's password. Don't panic Charlotte. Think. There's a hint button. I use a wireless mouse to click on it.

  The computer speaks to me again. "I am a strong-willed warrior. I am a conqueror who seized England during the Battle of Hastings in 1066. I am the name of royalty and you can trace my bloodline throughout history as ruler of various nations. I am an archbishop of Canterbury, a historian, a monk, and a chronicler of the Crusades. I am a duke, a philosopher, a theologian and a poet. What is my name?"

  Now I'm wishing I had indeed paid more attention in school. Granny Rosie may be right in her assessment that history is mostly lies told by the winners, but all of those history lessons I practically snoozed through would come in handy right about now. I try to think and break down the information the computer gave me. I also see that the password is seven letters long so I need a name that contains that many letters.

  A strong-willed warrior . . . I have no idea what that means. I am a conqueror . . . Battle of Hastings . . . I do remember learning something about that battle in class but all I can recall is that it was pivotal to the development of the English language perhaps? I don't know. Maybe I'm confusing this point in history with another one. They are all a blur. All of the other descriptions leave me at a lost, except for the word Canterbury. I recognize it from a series of tales I've read before that was written by a man named Geoffrey Chaucer. But none of those tales can help me.

  I wish I had help to figure this out, but I remind myself that I'm alone. I wish Emma was here, or Lilly, or Aidan, or Liam. Someone, anyone that could help me . . . Wait a minute.

  Liam. He is Dr. Cato's son and his first name is William, which has seven letters. It's worth a shot. I type in "William" and then I hold my breath.

  "Password accepted," the computer voice informs me, my lungs starting to burn. I breathe a sigh of relief. After that temporary setback, I am in.

  I hurriedly connect the tiny drive that Aidan gave me to the computer and I tell it to open up any files saved to the external disk.

  "One moment," the computer tells me. I can hear it working, scanning the files on the disk. Then, it tells me, "I have found two video files. One is encrypted but can be open only with this system. Which video do you require playing?"

  "The encrypted one," I tell it, my heart hammering madly. This is it . . . .

  A vid made by Dr. Cato is displayed suddenly on the viewscreen. I watch it carefully, afraid that I might miss something if I don't.

  Dr. Cato stands before the camera, her dark hair pulled up into the same bun as before. She stares at me with the same eyes that Liam have and I feel a pang of regret yet again for leaving him behind. He sacrificed himself for me and I will never forget that.

  "Noah, if you are viewing this vid, then you have seen the first one and perhaps you have gotten Liam to help you get this far." She sighs. "What I'm about to tell you is difficult for me because I'm still mostly in disbelief myself. This is stuff that you and I have sat around and joked about, but I never imagined any of it to be true."

  She pauses after a tiny chuckle and she adjusts her white lab coat. "This is unreal, greater than anything I have ever concocted in my wildest dreams. Based off of what I have learned from my visits to the Core and from intel provided by Aidan Richardson, a kid who is a genius with a computer and a former member of the Amber Army, I have to come right out and tell you this—Paradise is a lie."

  She stops speaking for a moment but I'm turning her recent words over and over and over again inside of my head. Aidan was an Amber Army soldier? Liam was right. And Aidan and Dr. Cato were acquaintances? So, how much did he know about all of this? Why couldn't he just tell me this and save Liam and me the trip here? What else was Aidan hiding from me or Lilly about his secret past? So many questions and no answers. Well, at least Dr. Cato will provide some of the answers but Aidan's gone. I can't talk to him anymore and learn what all he knows or don't know. He helped Dr. Cato though, so he should know enough and I want to blame him for all of the trouble Liam and I have faced trying to infiltrate BioLife today. We both may end up in jail because Aidan couldn't tell me anything about the information he already knew we were seeking.

  I focus my attention on Dr. Cato again.

  "Yes, that's right, my sweet Noah. Paradise is a lie or multiple lies. It was built upon lies and those lies persist even today. We have all been duped into believing that the entire world is like this, that all of the world's governments came together because they were sick of fighting wars and decided that the Purge would help end it all—wars, political bickering, crimes, evil, etc. This is not true. Paradise is the only nation governed by the Core and the Purge, the only place where emotions are forbidden. Now, you're probably wondering why Paradise is this way, why did the government here decide to create an emotionless society? Is it because they feel that emotions are the bane of civilization, that emotions cause people to think irrationally or behave erratically? Perhaps the government does feel this way but the real reason why is because the citizens of Paradise are a part of an experiment. Ironically enough, I remember that you previously suggested Parliament pass a bill to allow people not taking
the Purge to be studied. Who would have thought this was happening all along, though not in the way you proposed of course?"

  Silence. Dr. Cato allows the gravity of her words to sink it. Experiment? So, we're all nothing but lab rats being studied? It makes sense to me. Somehow I always believed that there was more to the perfect society that the Core sought to create.

  "Now, Noah, you're probably not believing anything I'm telling you right now, but it's true my love," Dr. Cato continues. "And only a handful of people know about this—the Chancellor, of course, the Director of the White Agency, a couple of large business owners, and the Chief of Police. They all answer to an outside source called the Coalition. The Coalition created Paradise and they are the true authority here, although the Core, the Amber Army, the police force, and the White Agency act on their behalf. The Coalition has invested billions of dollars to study how humans react in certain situations. They start with an emotionless society and they constantly change the laws and other rules to see how people adjust to new regimes. These laws recycle from time to time, whenever they find it necessary to retract a law or reintroduce the same law. They are manipulating us, toying with us, as if we are nothing but play things, deciding who we marry or who we mate with for reasons beyond me. Remember those marionettes I showed you once, well, we are the marionettes and the Coalition is pulling the strings."

  The Coalition? That sounds familiar. Where have I heard about or seen those words before? I try to think but my mind is numb with everything Dr. Cato has told me so far. Everything makes perfect sense now. That's why the citizens of Paradise were allowed to wear provocative clothes or colorful garments before. The Coalition allowed it so they could study us and find out what type of people resisted the Purge enough to find a woman displaying cleavage attractive or someone who enjoyed rebelling by wearing odd colored clothes. And that's why they instituted the law that certain colors were allowed to be worn after news about the Free Spirits started to spread. They contained the situation before it got out of hand but I bet it was fun for them, watching a group of kids participate briefly in a silent rebellion.