Scarlet's Escape

by Katrina Cope

  Jayden cast his eyes around, looking for his friends and backup. To his dismay, they were all wiped out and unconscious on the ground, though the dogs barked frantically at the stranger from their tree. Unfortunately for Jayden, Barney and Bessie were still tied up. Barney was doing flips around his harness, trying to break free.

  He put on a brave face. “I thought you were supposed to be locked up with the authorities after your evil stunt trying to kill all those people in that ceremony?”

  Professor Eric Showden threw his head back and laughed loudly and mockingly. Jayden silently pleaded that someone would hear the laugh or at least the wildly barking dogs. “My dear boy. I have not been near any authorities for a long time.” He was obviously proud of himself as he paced tauntingly in front of Jayden. “Who do you think has been floating around the school and causing your missions to fail, among other things?”

  Jayden thought he had a pretty good idea what he was talking about. The more he thought about it, the more it was all starting to make sense. Nevertheless, he needed to buy more time, so he asked, “What do you mean?”

  “All your little rescue episodes that failed. Saving that plane full of people, for instance.” He looked as though he was about to do a little dance. “Oh, how I loved crashing that one. The reaction I saw from your little group of friends was priceless. I also loved seeing how upset my meddling little wife was from your failure. I watched her cry her heart out in what used to be our bedroom.” He smiled broadly to himself with a distant look on his face and then continued, “Oh, not to mention your little ‘simulation.’” He acted out the inverted commas with his hands. “The one you came away from with a concussion. Did you really think a simulation could cause you to be thrown like that?”

  “I also really enjoyed reprogramming that know-it-all, Scarlet. That AI is getting too big for her britches. Not allowing her to tell you what she knew was so much fun.” He paced proudly in front of Jayden. “Oh, and my favorite was getting cute little Shelly to kill the Prime Minister.” He sighed, looking happy. “Shock is always dished out with more oomph when it comes from a vessel so cute and adorable. Oooh!” He did a jig, looking ridiculously awkward and lanky. “I must remember to tell Robert how thankful I am that he made something that was so easy to control. She did my tasks for me without having to be in the same room. It was so easy to spy on you all and mess things up on you. I had a good old laugh when I tripped the security wire on Aaron’s surrogate that time when he and his college friends broke into the underground at Ernest State College. That one didn’t really benefit me in any way, except it was good for laughs.” He cackled out loud, remembering the entertainment he had received at that moment.

  The professor continued his ranting and boasting as Jayden started to tune out. His regular brain activity was slowly returning as he breathed more oxygen. The ability to think returned, even if it was hazy. He was becoming tired of listening to the pompous, arrogant professor. When he looked around at the group around him, his hopes of getting help were squashed. There was no action coming from Robert, Aaron, Eva, or Professor Anna. Barney and Bessie were still on their leads, growling furiously at Professor Showden.

  Seeing that Jayden was not listening properly, the professor stood firmly on Jayden’s foot, bringing back his full attention as pain shot up his leg. “I see you are not paying me the respect and attention that I deserve.”

  Jayden shook his head in disagreement. “That’s not true. I was listening carefully to what you were saying,” he lied.

  “I’ve taught classes long enough to know when someone is not listening,” the professor hissed. “Don’t lie to me!” He twisted his foot on Jayden’s, causing more pain to shoot through his leg, pass through his body, and move up to his temples. “Now, what am I going to do with the lot of you? Thanks to your little group, I am no longer welcome inside the Sanctum publicly, although I have been paying visits privately.” The smug look returned. Jayden watched his eyes behind his glasses squint in thought. “Hmm.” His face brightened conceitedly. “I know.” He lifted Jayden by the scruff of his neck so that he could peer at him face to face. “I will get you all to walk the plank—and I will start with you.” He continued holding Jayden’s collar and kicked each of the unconscious people individually to see if they were waking up yet. Not getting a response, he started to walk away through the trees.

  At first, Jayden didn’t understand him, but as they marched closer to the edge of the mountain in an area that couldn’t be seen from the Sanctum, he began to piece the missing information together. His heart pounded furiously, and he started to struggle with what little strength he had left following the gas attack.

  He flung his arms wildly, trying to hit the malicious professor. To his dismay, the man warded off all of his attacks. He tried again for the eyes, ears, nose, anything he could manage. Nothing. He continued, aiming below the belt. The professor blocked him.

  “Tut, tut, tut!” the professor scolded. “After our last little disagreement, I have learned to protect that area considerably more.”

  When they reached the edge of the mountain, Jayden’s anxiety increased. Professor Showden was forcing him toward the cliff face. Peering over the side at that angle didn’t provide the magnificent sight he had grown to love. Instead, it was a petrifying height that shouldn’t have been approached without a safety boundary. Having not managed to score a blow that would have enabled him to escape and save his life, he was desperate to flee before he was forced to plummet to his death. He pushed his feet backward and away from the edge, feeling his shoes slip on the rocks and grass in the wrong direction. The professor still had him in a strong grip at the back of his neck. It seemed that it would only take one firm push and that would be the end. Jayden gulped, trying to swallow the lump in his throat that was growing bigger by the second.

  He made another attempt at a fight, twisting dangerously close to the edge of the cliff, a precipice that hang-gliders would love jumping off, but with the wings of their gliders attached. He swung around and punched the triceps of the arm that clung on to him, causing it to go limp. The professor’s hand let go of his collar. Jayden twisted his foot too far, and in the same movement, he slipped on some loose rocks. He crashed down and hit the ground face-down with his legs dangling over the rim and his upper body just staying on top of the edge. He scrambled for something to hold on to, ignoring the pain from the cuts and bruises he had just received, while he tried to stop the remainder of his body from following his legs to certain death. Every rock he tried to grab caused fresh wounds to line his fingers. Finally, he managed to scoop his arm around Professor Showden’s leg, holding on tight.

  He looked up at the professor’s face, searching for mercy—instead, he was met by disdain. Bracing every muscle in his body for the worst, he hung on tighter, giving the professor a challenge as the man shook his leg to be rid of the pest around his ankle.

  Despite grabbing on with all of his strength, Jayden’s fingers started to slip. It wasn’t long before he felt himself falling. His face, arms, and hands scraped across the rough rock faces. If it wasn’t for his long pants, he was certain his legs would also be feeling the pain of raw and abraded skin. Forcing himself to ignore the pain, he reached out and clawed over the rock face, trying frantically to find a hold. It felt as if several feet of rock face passed by him.

  Despair was starting to sink in just as he managed to find purchase, grabbing a notch that didn’t give way from his fingers. Sinking his raw and bloodied fingers into the crack, he was determined not to let go. For fear of scaring himself into weakness, he refused to look down. Instead, he let his feet search around blindly for a ledge to dig his toes into.

  Looking up, he saw he hadn’t fallen as far as he thought. A few feet had felt like a thousand with his life at risk. Managing to find a toehold, he allowed himself to breathe a small sigh of relief.

  Although sore, battered, and bruised, he didn’t give up. He had never gone rock climbing before, a
nd he was certain it was as good time a time as any to start. With aching and fatigued muscles, he explored above for the next anchor point for his fingers. He found a few points to use to start climbing up to the top slowly. It was a huge effort to go such a short way. He was glad for the core strength he had managed to build up from Tae Kwon Do.

  He found a ledge a little bigger than the others and rested. He hoped that by the time he managed to climb up, Professor Showden would be gone.

  Grabbing on to a secure tree root that hung on to the rock face, he worked up enough courage to look back at the open air and the distance below him. His legs trembled, and a gust of wind blew his hair up and away from his face. He pulled his vision away and felt a little relief from the coolness of the breeze against his damaged skin.

  He thought he heard a bark echo through the valley, originating from the bank above. As he gazed up, surprise shook his body, and he dove back into the rock face, clinging onto anything he could as he braced for a hit. The large form of Professor Showden fell from above. He watched horrified as the man’s body bounced from rock to rock, with the professor calling out in agony at every hit and from the terror of the fall.

  When he narrowly missed being knocked from his little rock shelf, he breathed a sigh of relief. He looked up when he thought he heard a dog barking again, but he couldn’t see anything.

  He could no longer see or hear the professor even when he peered over the edge. He started his climb back to the top. After he had gone a few more steps, something tapped lightly on his head. He glanced up, surprised to see a rope dangling from the top. It looked like a dog lead. It lengthened past him, and he grabbed the extended piece, wrapped it around his waist, and tied it into a tight knot.

  “Jayden?” Aaron’s voice echoed over the edge. Relief filled Jayden’s body.

  “Yes?”

  “Great, you’re okay! Let me know when you’re secured, and we’ll pull you up,” Aaron said.

  “Okay, I’m ready to go!”

  A moment later, he felt the rope being pulled up the face of the cliff. He grabbed on to anything he could on the side of the cliff at the same time, just in case the rope snapped or they dropped it.

  When he reached the top, Aaron and Eva grabbed him by the arms and dragged him over the final stage of the precipice—the rope was still pulling. Confused, he looked ahead to see Barney and Bessie pulling the rope together in the opposite direction. Despite his pain and what he had been through, he smiled. With Barney’s weight and size, it was no wonder he was pulled up so quickly.

  “Thanks,” he murmured, not knowing what else to say when someone saved his life.

  Aaron called out for the dogs to stop pulling.

  “Did you see Professor Showden while you were down there?” Eva’s face was full of worry.

  “Yeah, I did,” Jayden said, surprised by the question.

  “Is he okay?” It was more a question of curiousness rather than concern.

  “I don’t know. He kept going.”

  “Oh.” Eva’s frown deepened as her dark-brown eyes darkened with concern.

  “What happened?” Jayden wanted to know.

  “Barney was following your scent. When he found you, the professor had just kicked you off the edge. By the time he reached the edge, the professor was looking over the rock face to see if you had fallen very far. Barney bit him on the butt, causing him to fall forward from shock, and he fell over the edge.” Aaron filled him in.

  “Really?” Jayden had trouble believing the story.

  “Yeah, really.” Aaron chuckled.

  “How can you laugh?” Eva asked angrily, slapping him lightly on the arm. “I feel sick at the thought.”

  The dogs came bounding back over, and Barney smothered Jayden with licks all over his wounded skin.

  “Are you okay?” Eva asked, noting his wounds more since Barney was giving them special treatment. “You look terrible!”

  “Gee, thanks,” Jayden said sarcastically. “I’ll be fine.” He looked around the grassy area again. “Where are Professor Anna and Robert?”

  “They are still back above the underground room,” Aaron said. “They were still out of it when we left to find you and Showden. Hopefully, they are safe, and he didn’t have an accomplice.”

  “In the conversation I had with him, he was boasting about all the things he had done. So I think they’re safe.” Jayden rubbed his arms.

  “Then we should go and find some help,” Eva said.

  Jayden continued to describe the conversation he’d had with the professor as they strolled to the main building. He was sore and exhausted, but he continued, as he felt the information was too important. He staggered with them toward the grassy road that very few cars traveled on. In reality, it was more like a flat, short, grassy plane that weaved in between the trees, just wide enough for a car or small pickup truck.

  Jayden heard the humming of a car behind him and turned to see Avando’s private car driving slowly along that almost nonexistent drive. Hoping it was Avando, he stopped and indicated for it to stop. When it pulled over, the dark tinted window in the front passenger seat lowered automatically.

  Niles stuck his head out and asked, “What are you three doing? Aren’t you supposed to be in cla—” He stopped when he saw Jayden’s condition. He slapped a hand over his gaping mouth. “What happened to you?”

  “A long story.” Aaron brushed off the question. “Right now, though, we need to find Charlie and Doctor Rachel. Have you seen Avando?”

  “He is supposed to be here.” Niles frowned. “That’s why I ran the errands.”

  “Well, we couldn’t find him before,” Aaron said. “We could’ve used his help.”

  “Hmm! Avando doesn’t usually like dogs in his car, but looking at the state of you, you need a lift. So scramble on in.”

  “It’s okay, Niles,” Eva said. “If you can just take Jayden and Aaron, I’ll take the dogs and go and see if Professor Anna and Robert are all right until the doctor sees them.”

  “What do you mean ‘all right?’”

  Aaron helped Jayden into the back seat then climbed into the front passenger seat. “I’ll explain on the way. Right now, we need you to drive so that we can get them proper help.”

  Jayden listened as Aaron explained to Niles what had happened. He filled in any parts he thought Aaron had forgotten. At one point, Niles was so shocked that he nearly drove into a tree. He was glad that Niles was driving away from the edge of the cliff. Grateful for the snail’s pace, he wondered how good Niles was at driving in the city when he was distracted.

  When they finally made it to the main building in one piece, Niles parked at the front door and helped Aaron take Jayden to Doctor Rachel.

  When they arrived, the doctor commanded them both immediately, “Right, Aaron and Jayden, after you’re clean, you need to bag your clothes up and dispose of them correctly. You need to take away the exposure to your skin from the gassing and stop it from floating into the air that you breathe. We can’t have you letting other people breathe it in either, now, can we?”

  Once they were cleaned, Niles helped Jayden to lie on the sick bed to be observed. Doctor Rachel was in the next room with Aaron explaining what happened when Scarlet appeared next to Jayden’s side.

  “Thank goodness you’re okay.” Her perfect porcelain face creased in a frown, and relief showed in her blue eyes.

  “Oh my lord!” Niles jumped when the figure suddenly appeared next to him. “Who are you, and where the heck did you come from?”

  Scarlet turned her crimson head with her blue eyes piercing Niles in exasperation and asked, “Really?”

  Despite his raw, bruised, and scraped face, Jayden smiled. “Niles, this is Scarlet. In a way, this is your doing, as you programmed her with the ability to evolve.”

  “Wow! I had no idea.” He was running his hand playfully through her holographic body.

  Scarlet frowned at him. “Stop that!” she snapped.

  Nile
s cocked an eyebrow. “What are you going to do about it?”

  Her eyes turned cold. “I have my methods,” she said threateningly.

  Niles’s face turned white, and he placed his hands by his sides and sat up straight. “Right. Then I hope you heal quickly, Jayden. I’m going to help Aaron find Avando and Charlie.” He stood to leave.

  Jayden didn’t know why, but he figured that she must’ve done something to him in the past that made him go white in terror. “Why don’t you just ask Scarlet?”

  “Oh, yes, right! Good idea.” Niles turned and faced Scarlet.

  She sighed at his gutlessness, shook her head, then said, “Avando has returned to his office, and Charlie is in his shed sharpening his tools.”

  “Thank you, Scarlet.” He bowed his head in respect. “I’ll collect Aaron on the way, and we’ll go get Professor Anna and Robert.”

  “What did you do to him?” Jayden asked when Niles had left.

  Casually, she pretended to lean against Jayden’s bed. “Let’s just say I embarrassed him a little when he was a student here.”

  “That’s nothing new. What did you do?”

  “Well, when he was one of the oldest students, Avando bought him a reward when he had achieved a really special technical achievement. It was of Niles’s request, I might add, and he requested a Superman suit. You know, those dorky ones with the red undies on the outside?”

  Jayden nodded. “But lots of people wear them.”

  “Not at that age. Niles used to pretend he could fly and act like he was Superman with the way he spoke and stood. He did all this when he was in private, and I recorded it. One day when he annoyed me too much, I put it up on all the screens for the whole school to see,” she said proudly. “There was lots of laughter that day.”