Schooled

by Pamela Ruth Foland

  Lyla reached out to touch one of the weapons. “Is this our only option?”

  Milo grimaced and Millie flinched, “I think Beaker and Goru are right. These men are not going to let a group of children negotiate an end to this.” Goru blinked he had never seen Millie express a thought she claimed as only her own.

  Milo seemed less than thrilled at the event, “I don’t like it. I worry that even armed we are at a disadvantage.”

  Millie blinked at Milo and Goru could feel her shock at Milo’s active disagreement. Goru would place a bet on it being a first. “Should we vote?”

  “Does anyone have an alternate plan?” Lyla asked. Goru suddenly realized she hadn’t been trying to undermine, just trying to open a dialog. She was brainstorming.

  “We could try sneaking in and releasing the kids, but that won’t solve much. The thugs will just steal them back, and probably take us too,” Goru offered.

  “They seem to have some kind of biological surveillance. I doubt we could manage stealth enough,” Beaker admitted.

  “I vote we go in the morning fully armed with what little element of surprise we might have,” Lyla suggested.

  Goru smiled at her, “Does anyone want to stay behind?”

  Everyone else either shook their heads or shrugged. “Who want’s to be first watch tonight?” Lyla asked. Goru cleared his throat. Lyla held up her hand preempting him, “No, Goru you didn’t sleep last night. Someone else needs to take first watch tonight.”

  “Whoa, dude you didn’t sleep?” Beaker blurted, “I’ll go first.”

  “We are at significantly more risk tonight, perhaps two of us should be at once tonight.” Milo suggested, “I will sit with Beaker.”

  “Fine, Stone and I will go second,” Millie argued.

  “Then Fubar and I will sit watch until dawn,” Scout added.

  “What about Faith and I,” Lyla argued.

  Goru set his shoulders, “Lyla, you strained your reserves teleporting us here and if anyone gets hurt, we will need Faith fresh and energized to heal us.”

  “Okay, but let me feed us dinner first!” Beaker stated as he kneeled down to prepare the food he had gathered.

  Goru began gathering up the weapons and storing them. He was going like spending time with these people, no matter who their parents were. Goru flashed a smile at Lyla and she smiled back.

  Chapter Eleven

  Day 3

  Fresh as an uncut daisy, Lyla marched at the head of the group, just behind Sport who knew the way to the mine. Goru brought up the rear and the rest moved through the ranks freely. Lyla glanced over her shoulder. Millie was again walking with her brother, but that had not been exclusively the case. She had also spent time walking and speaking softly with Beaker. Lyla knew in her gut that Milo felt Millie’s apparent interest in Beaker was a painful betrayal. Even that slight disharmony in their group was an empathic stone in the shoe of Lyla’s mental state. Subtle examination of Goru during breakfast left Lyla certain that he no longer thought of her as public enemy number one. Another burr in Lyla’s thoughts was the way Faith anxiously rubbed her fully covered forearms.

  Lyla worried that they were still covered despite fact their slow hike through the warming day had everyone else shucking their long-sleeved outerwear. Something seemed significantly wrong with that. Did Faith have a problem with showing skin? Or was there another issue? Lyla brushed that thought to the back of her mind to admit to herself the thing that really bothered her. How would nine adolescents armed with very few nonlethal weapons stop dozens of armed adults holding children captive?

  Before they broke camp to begin their hike, Stone had made a quick trip to the village. She had made one one last attempt to communicate with the adults in the village. She attempted to tell them if they didn’t communicate then she and her friends would go back to where they come from. It was a lie, but Stone was not the only one to worry the villagers might warn the thugs if she told them of the rescue.

  When Stone returned empty-handed, Lyla brought up an idea which had occurred to her. There were dozens of able-bodied students back at the elevator shaft. Milo had grumpily shot her down with, “They wouldn’t come with us to rescue themselves. Why should they think the dorm group would help others?”

  Goru’s diplomatic response to Milo’s argument had shocked Lyla, “Hey it was a good idea! But Milo you are probably right. Even about my sisters.” Only two days before, Goru had glared daggers at Lyla and practically accused her mother of being the Antichrist.

  Sport stopped suddenly ahead of Lyla, “Find cover, I smell men coming!”

  Lyla and the rest of of the team ducked into the brush. Sport hid behind a boulder. A wagon with a cage on it, manned by two large men, rolled past them headed down the road towards the village. After it passed but before it was out of range, Milo, Beaker and Goru leveled their weapons and stunned the driver and his partner. They fell out of the wagon and Millie and Stone were quick to bind them with superhuman strength zip-ties.

  “Let the wagon go. We can hide these guys in the brush. In case someone comes looking for them,” Beaker suggested. He and Milo started dragging the first man off the road. Faith stepped up to the second. With a grunt she threw him over her shoulder and carried him into the bushes. When she returned Milo and Beaker gestured to the man they still struggled with. Faith smiled and threw him over her shoulder. She deposited him with the other one.

  “I hope I end up that strong after my metamorphosis,” Beaker grumbled.

  “Don’t worry, your smell probably will be,” Fubar said with a wrinkled nose before busting out laughing. Everyone joined in the laughter.

  Goru whistled to get their attention, “We’re on a mission here people. We need to pay attention.” He gestured at the road in front of them. Scout headed out in front of them and they all continued on their way, sometimes chuckling softly. Beaker took Goru’s place at the rear.

  - - - - - - -

  Goru was near the rear of the group after the wagon. He was doing his best to keep himself on alert. The trouble was that after they passed the village the setting was full of plants and animals that were very much a distraction. He had been raised in Sanctuary. There was no nature in his upbringing, even the sky was artificial. After the wagon he was more able to focus, they were getting closer to their goal. A short time after stunning the two men Sport led them off the road. Going cross country, Goru found himself surrendering once again to distraction.

  He was tired, he wasn’t used to this kind of physical activity and certainly not with so little sleep. Despite not being allowed to sit watch over everyone, Goru had not been able to fall asleep. The idea of mounting a rescue mission terrified him. The only people he had ever aimed to protect or help before now was his sisters. He thought of Lyla’s suggestion before they left camp. It made him think about his sisters. This was the longest they had been apart. He felt abandoned by them despite the fact of his departure. They had followed him since they were young. Was freedom from their mother all they needed to decide they wanted free from him?

  Goru looked ahead. Lyla was right behind Sport the rest with the exception of himself and Beaker were clumped together behind her. He should hate her. He did hate her. Her mother was why his father was dead. Goru couldn’t muster up even a twinge of malice towards Lyla. The past few days, these people had treated him with more decency than anyone ever had, including his sisters. No matter how many beatings he took for them, it never really felt like they cared about him as much as these people he had known less than a week.

  Goru felt physically exhausted. A glance in Lyla’s direction left him half wishing she could just teleport them all there. A flash of sudden worry hit him. That would cause too much strain on her. That concern stopped him cold. He could accept not feeling hostile towards her but the idea she had moved into the group who’s welfare he fretted over was new. He shouldered his stun rifle and stared at her. Who was she really, aside from her mother’s daughter.

&n
bsp; - - - - - - -

  At the rear of the group, Beaker was maintaining focus the way he always did on long hikes. He carefully attempted to catalog the plants and animals they passed, mostly in terms of physical resources. Goru was directly in front of Beaker and when he stopped to stare at Lyla’s back, Beaker felt a flash of fear that Goru was contemplating harming her. He came up even with Goru and was instantly reassured by the look of confused admiration on Goru’s face.

  Still Beaker reacted cautiously, “Problem Dude?”

  “Only with my own attitude. You were the first one to listen to me without hostility, why?” Goru responded.

  Beaker smiled and nodded, “You were making sound sense. I will always listen when someone has a good well founded point. Look how screwed we would all be right now if we hadn’t listened.”

  Goru scoffed loudly, “Yeah, and we also wouldn’t be on a nearly hopeless mission.” “Hey, don’t call it hopeless until we fail! My parents raised me on stories of factors managing to beat impossible odds before breakfast and helping lost causes for lunch without failing,” Beaker encouraged.

  Goru blinked at him, “Those are factors. We are basically children. Don’t even ask how young some of us are!”

  “Goru, we are all practically mature. Over half of us could begin our metamorphoses any minute. Faith, Fubar and Scout are all fully mature! We can handle more than we think we can.”

  Goru eyed Beaker then laughed, “I have always been the one in charge of pep talks. I feel like I should be saying those things to you.”

  “We are undeniably a team now Goru. You should know that, you are one of our illustrious leaders. We are just following your lead, but if you need encouragement too no prob bub. I am here for you dude,” Beaker slapped Goru on the shoulder and continued after the others before they could get out of sight.

  - - - - - - -

  Faith was towards the front of the group when they came to the canyon edge. Where they stood it was a steep drop from the edge to the floor. Faith could see the easy slope down for the passage of the wagon to their right. The children shuffled in and out of small openings in the cliff below them. Faith could sense no emotions from the children and guessed they were too exhausted to feel much of anything.

  Faith rubbed her forearms, the cuts she had inflicted that morning in the bathroom were healed. She guessed from how they felt that even the slight scars had faded. Faith glanced guiltily at the others, she felt sure that they could read her thoughts and knew she had cut herself. She wanted to slap herself for adding paranoia to her list of psychological symptoms.

  “Milo, Beaker, Stone and I will use the stun rifles to take out the guards on watch,” Goru instructed, “Then the rest of you rush down the ramp and take out the rest. Millie you let Milo know when you are in position.”

  Millie and the others nodded easily. Faith hesitated, “I don’t even know if I can fire this thing.”

  Stone smiled at her and joined her, “It is really intuitive. You hold it like this,” Stone stated positioning Faith’s arms and hands. “Aim along the sight, and pull the trigger. There is no recoil. It’s easy.” Stone’s fingertips glanced over Faith’s bare neck as she pulled away and Faith suppressed a shiver. She blinked at her own interest, but this was not the time for starting a relationship.

  “I understand the mechanics,” Faith stated, “I am not sure I can bring myself to shoot a person.”

  Stone nodded, “It is just a stun capsule. These are adaptive ones. They only administer as much sedative as it takes to put them out. Even if more than one hits a person. They are foolproof.”

  “So if I miss and hit a child they will be okay? What if the person is allergic to the sedative?” Faith questioned.

  “It tests their system in a split second before administering the sedative and only delivers a safe cocktail of sedatives,” Stone reassured. She placed a hand on Faith’s shoulder and squeezed.

  Faith smiled, “You aren’t just telling me that so I will shoot them are you?”

  “No,” Stone blurted, “I have the technical specs in the database I downloaded from my father. These are really reliable weapons.”

  Faith reached up and tentatively patted the hand still gripping her shoulder, “I was kidding.”

  “Okay, kids are we ready to proceed?” Goru asked.

  Stone slowly withdrew her hand and nodded. Sport, Lyla, Millie and Fubar began walking towards the ramp. Faith momentarily wished she were in Stone’s group but shook it off and joined the others headed to the ramp. The walk was slower than the hike here, but they were being careful not to be spotted from the road or the canyon floor. When they reached the top of the ramp Millie’s eyes went slightly unfocused for a moment and then the guards in the canyon began dropping silently. About half of the guards, starting with the ones nearest the ramp, had gone down before the others began taking note, by that time Faith and the others were halfway down the ramp and firing on the remaining guards. By the time they reached the bottom of the canyon all the visible guards were unconscious, and Goru and the others were starting down the ramp.

  Faith set foot on the canyon floor and headed for the first guard she saw. She began going through their pockets and belt loops looking for the keys to the chains. She found a set at almost the same time Lyla ad Millie found sets. Then the three of them began unlocking the children's’ chains. The children stood numbly blinking upon release. They milled about, not even attempting to run away. Faith tried to shoo them off up the ramp. They just cowered and blinked.

  “They aren’t moving!” Lyla yelled to Goru as he reached the bottom of the ramp, “How are we supposed to rescue them if they won’t go!”

  Goru threw up his hands and closed the distance between them. Faith and the others quickly congregated around their unofficial leaders. “What now?”

  “Do not move!” Angry male voices shouted from within the tunnels. Out of the mines came almost as many guards as the team had brought down. Milo raised his rifle to fire, but one of the guards aimed at the weapon with a long wand and Milo dropped it like it was hot. Faith felt an electric shock from her weapon and couldn't help but drop it in surprise. The others soon dropped theirs as well. “We only fire one warning shot!”

  Goru’s face showed an anger Faith had only felt in her mother’s nightmares. “Let these children go!”

  “They are unchained, do you see them fleeing?” A guard asked stepping up behind Lyla. He wrapped a device around her neck and chained her wrists together before she could react. Milo and Millie dodged guards trying to do the same to them. Eventually they were overcome. Faith avoided several guards aiming for her and watched as they re-chained the children they had freed. A young blonde boy who was about to be chained suddenly straightened and made a run for the ramp. Before he could clear the crowd of children, the nearest guard leveled his wand at the child. A visible bold of energy flew at the child and the child gasped in pain and fell dead to the ground.

  Faith released a primal scream and lunged at the guard. She dug her fingernails into the fabric of his uniform and pounded on his chest. She didn’t notice the other guard coming up behind her. His wand impacted the back of her head with an unaccountable force, spreading stars through her vision. Her vision swirled down to a pinprick and she was almost aware when she hit the ground.

  Chapter Twelve

  The Real Test

  Goru paced the back of the stone cell. He wanted to scream, to rail at the unfairness of the situation, but the device around his throat prevented any sounds more coherent than a groan. Lyla was very clearly not taking the situation well either. She paced in front of the bars and slapped at them. It was too much to see her so angry. Goru couldn’t help but fear she was angry at him. The rest of the team sat dejectedly against the side walls of the cell. Goru felt certain they all hated them for what he had led them into.

  No one could contradict his fears. They were all equally unable to speak. Everyone was left to stew in the results of their personal
failure, except for Faith who was still disturbingly unconscious. As their healer and medic nobody had a clue what to do for her, not that anyone could communicate any ideas. Goru slapped the back wall and turned because Lyla had smacked the bars at the exact same time. They had both successfully communicated their frustration and anger without words. Goru stopped pacing and crossed the cell to Lyla.

  He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Then he beckoned her to come sit with the others. She shook her head no, pointed to the device around her neck, and threw her hands up in frustration. Goru used his hands gently to lower hers to her side. Then he pointed to his mouth and shook his head no before holding up one finger and pointing to his temple then hers. He then gestured at their hands with his chin.

  A light went on in her eyes. She placed her hands over her mouth and shook her head then raised them and gestured randomly then she nodded. She sat with the others. Goru sat next to her together they got everyone’s attention. Goru noticed the floor was covered in a light dust. He used his finger to write the words, “We need to get our heads in the game! This isn’t over!”

  Milo smoothed the dust and wrote, “Hmm, we’re in a cell, this seems pretty over to me…”

  “We are still communicating, and they unchained our hands. We have a lot to work with,” Goru wrote.

  “So, what do we do captain?” Stone scribbled.

  “Put our heads together, “Lyla wrote.

  Goru nodded and everyone seemed to settle in to brainstorming.

  - - - - - - -

  Goru’s message had been clear it was time to consider all of the angles. Scout did just that. He had felt something was wrong from the first time they encountered the town. He just couldn’t place a paw on it. He pawed at his nose trying to scratch up a solution. Then the reality of his intuitive understanding exploded through his mind. His nose was it. None of the people they had encountered had smelled like people. They looked like them and to most degrees sounded like them, but none of them smelled like any kind of person he had ever met. Even Tawny, their faculty adviser smelled like a person, she was a biologically fueled android. Another inspired connection crossed his mind, all of these “people” were androids. Beaker had been right this was a part of the test. The whole scenario was just a play put on by androids for their benefit.