Schooled

by Pamela Ruth Foland

  Scout whimpered, how could he pass the message on? He didn’t have the fine control of his paws required to write anything meaningful in English. The whimper inspired him. Fubar was a razorwolf too and every pup in every clan learned the expressive means of communication they inherited from their ancestors. He whimpered then softly whined, to draw Fubar’s attention. Then he began scratching his revelations into the dust with his paw using the alphabet developed by the earliest packs of razorwolves. She blinked then moved over to his side to read his words properly.

  Then she gestured wildly to gain everyone’s attention. she cleared a wide area of floor and began translating his words into English. Everyone read and rocked back on their heels. Scout knew that much of their tactics had been to keep collateral damage to a minimum. But if the slaves were on the side of the captors in that they were all a part of the same test, then all bets could be off. Scout watched Fubar finish her translation and waited for the reaction.

  - - - - - - -

  Lyla was livid. She had realized the whole situation was their test since the night before, but she had assumed they had just been placed somewhere where there was a legit wrong to right. Really the guards, villagers and the slaves were just props used to test them. Lyla had felt terrible, thinking their actions had gotten a child killed. Lyla leaped to her feet and crossed the cell to the door of their cage. She slapped it and shook it. She snarled wordlessly and squeezed her fists around the bars. Her rage built uncontrollably until sparks shot from her hands into the bars of the door. She pulled away but the door continued to shake even without her touch. Lyla reached out to touch the center of the door and both hinges and lock shattered. The whole door slammed into the wall across from the cell.

  Lyla glanced over her shoulder, not relieved to see everyone was as shocked as she was by the event. She had hoped passingly that one of them was responsible. She remembered the exploding power transformers back home and decided she had to be responsible. She turned back to the doorway in time to spot guards running up from both directions. They leveled their weapons at her and Lyla didn’t give one care if it could kill her or not. She stepped out to face the guards. A guard on each side fired their weapons. The energy bolts hit her from both sides and passed through her without sensation.

  The guards stiffened and backed out of her way robotically after the bolts dissolved into thin air. At the same moment the collar preventing Lyla from speaking fell away. She heard the clangs of everyone else’s collars falling away too. Lyla looked back, Faith was beginning to stir. “Help her up and follow me!” Lyla stated and then turned left to follow the reverse of their path into the cell.

  Lyla made sure they were following before she turned the first corner. Then stopped at each turn to make sure they were still behind her. They emerged from the cliff face opposite the ramp. All the androids were neatly lined up along the canyon walls, both slaves and captors. Directly in front of the mine they were exiting stood Tawny and a stone portal arch. Lyla strode directly up to Tawny, Goru was less than a footstep behind her. They stopped even, right in front of Tawny.

  “I hope we have been entertaining!” Lyla snarled with her arms crossed.

  Goru crossed his arms in symbolic agreement.

  Tawny allowed a smile to form on her artificial lips, it almost looked natural, “Actually we are rather impressed with your performance as a whole, and by a whole I mean as the unit you have spontaneously formed.”

  Beaker stepped forward to join Lyla and Goru, “Did we pass your stupid test?”

  Tawny nodded, “Though it was not precisely pass-fail, your performance was more than satisfactory.”

  Millie stepped forward, “Was it necessary to break my arm and concuss Faith and I?”

  “All injuries incurred were calculated to be non-life-threatening. Actually the only one in serious jeopardy was Lyla, and Faith intervened in exactly the proper manner without coaching.” Tawny explained. Her calm emotionless voice was grating on Lyla’s patience.

  “Would you have helped us if we needed it?” Lyla snarled?

  Tawny blinked, a gestural affectation since her android eyes needed no lubrication, “Of course, we were monitoring you the entire time.” Tawny touched the crown of Lyla’s head and the liquid quicksilver of a survival suit covered Lyla briefly then retreated to Tawny’s fingertip. Tawny walked around and touched each of them in turn and Lyla saw the same effect from the outside.

  “I can see the electronics again! These androids are really advanced,” Stone blurted after her turn. She went in for a closer look at the props for their test.

  “How did Lyla not teleport us out of them?” Beaker asked.

  Tawny again flashed an unreal smile, “They were tested thoroughly against that slim possibility. If she had left them behind, we would have ended the test immediately.”

  “When does the test end for the ones that didn’t come with us?” Goru asked. Lyla guessed he was concerned for his sisters.

  Tawny released a forced yet almost convincing laugh, “They have been back on campus for two days your time.”

  As a group, they grumbled at the unfairness. Lyla turned back and smiled at the others for their instant support.

  Beaker raised his hand, “Our time? When and where are we?”

  Tawny nodded at his question, “You already surmised that this was an earth. Well, this is the primary earth within the Preserve. The when requires a little more explanation. Right now we are approximately one thousand years In the past, from where you departed Sanctuary. Aspirations Academy exists a few decades in the future of this moment. This portal will return you to the campus the evening of the day you thought you were waking up to when you woke up here. Your fellow dorm mates will have arrived an hour before you do.”

  Beaker held up his hand, “Wait, we are in the past of the Preserve? Does that mean the old omniverse still exists out there?”

  Tawny nodded, “Technically yes.”

  “So why don’t we just go out there and find a way to keep it from being destroyed?” Beaker asked.

  Tawny dropped her chin and shook her head no, “No, there is no way out of The Preserve into the omniverse at this point in its history. We are sealed in. Actually, it was rather remarkable that Lyla managed to teleport herself, twice. Crunchspace is very difficult for organics to move through at this point in its history.”

  “Really?” Goru asked, he looked at Lyla as though he were reevaluating her.

  “So what? Am I some kind of freak?” Lyla asked.

  “No, just uniquely abled,” Tawny laid an artificial hand on Lyla’s shoulder, “Now, if you will proceed through the arch. Your instructors need to discuss your performance. You have the rest of the day to pursue your own interests, though there really won’t be much of the day left when you arrive.” The portal shimmered to life.

  Lyla nodded and stepped through the portal, knowing the rest were literally and metaphorically behind her. On the other side of the portal Lyla opened her eyes to their dormitory unit. She stepped out of the way for the others to have room to follow. The all came through behind her and milled around the common room. None of the group they left behind were present. The time code on the media screen suggested they might have already gone to bed for the night.

  “I think we should head to bed, we can talk in the morning,” Goru suggested.

  Lyla found herself nodding with the rest while stifling a yawn. She had things she wanted to discuss but morning sounded like soon enough.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The Next Morning

  Faith awoke and climbed from her bed, feeling real relief that everything was as she had left it the night before. She slipped her feet into slippers. The rest of the bed curtains were still drawn closed and the room’s lights were on dim. “Maeve could you bring the lights up a little at a time?” Faith nearly whispered. The lights came up slowly in response. When they reached a comfortable brightness for Faith’s morning activities she whispered, “That’s goo
d.” The lights set in at that level. Faith went to her closet and chose a long sleeve dress and pulled her knife from its hiding place. She wrapped it in the dress and headed to the bathroom.

  Faith abandoned her slippers next to the bathroom door and left the bundle of clothing and knife on the dressing bench outside of the showers. Then she headed to the toilet. After taking care of business Faith showered. Then she grabbed the bundle and went back into the toilet stall to dress. She unwrapped the bundle and held the knife. As was her ritual, Faith looked over the knife for any signs of blood. It was clean. She checked the sharpness of the blade, and felt the heft of it. Just holding the knife was almost enough to soothe her. She held it for a long time trying to resist the building urge to release the tension. Just a few cuts would cause enough physical pain to dull the horrid ache in her psyche. Her hand clutched the handle of the knife, she drew the blade across the other arm. The pain was inexplicably soothing. The knife passed to the other hand, and she had cut three parallel lines into her dominant arm before forming the intention. She breathed in slowly and deeply through her nose.

  Finishing the ritual, Faith meticulously cleaned the blade before teleporting it back into her bag. Faith wiped the blood trails from her arms and everywhere it had dripped with toilet paper. The bleeding had already stopped, but the pain lingered. She flushed the toilet paper. She could still smell the blood and that smell was just as reassuring as the pain, but just as likely to out her dark secret. She focused her mind on the scent molecules. This was her second attempt at collecting the smell of blood from the air with her telekinesis. She swept a mental net through the air and found herself successfully gathering the smell. She compressed it down into a point and captured the condensed scent in a wad of toilet paper. That too ended up in the toilet.

  Feeling guilt and shame, Faith dressed, she made sure the dress covered her fresh cuts. Then she stepped back into her slippers. Faith stepped out of the bathroom into the bedroom. By the sounds of slow even breathing, the rest of the girls were still asleep. Faith knew if she stayed in the room she risked waking them all, and she knew her friends at least needed some sleep. Faith left the girl’s dorm and headed out to the main room.

  She headed directly to the catering area. Faith was still not used to not being ravenous in the morning. She ordered up a small feast and carried it to the long table. Placing the tray in front of her, Faith simply stared at the food. She heard footsteps from the hallway and debated retreating back to her room before small talk could commence. Realistically she had as much chance of running into small talk there as at the table.

  - - - - - - -

  Lyla sluggishly entered the breakfast area. She blinked at Faith who was already there with the look of a deer in the headlights. Lyla almost wanted to retreat to give Faith more time to wake up and settle her own thoughts, but it was too late. Milo and Millie came up behind her and almost pushed Lyla into the food processor.

  “Sorry,” Millie said.

  “Excuse…” Milo started.

  "Us,” Millie finished.

  “Great,” Lyla thought they were back to that shtick. She had thought they were becoming individuals over the course of the test. “Good morning?” Lyla offered.

  Millie and Milo were tapping out a large order on the screen of the delivery cupboard. Faith was in a world of her own, picking at a tray overfilled with food. None of them seemed to pay one bit of attention to Lyla. The smells coming from Faith’s tray drew Lyla in. She was starving. Despite herself Lyla sat next to Faith and began devouring Faith’s tray full of food. Faith grimaced and leaned away from Lyla. She pushed her tray over in front of an empty chair. Lyla sat. “I am so sorry. I can’t stop eating your breakfast!” Lyla apologized around mouthfuls of food.

  Faith nodded at her, “Been there, done that, but I didn’t think Porusans went through metamorphic growth spurts.”

  “What is a Porusan?” Lyla asked. She had never heard of that species. Honestly she still thought of herself as a human from earth, despite her obvious displays of power.

  “You are a second generation Porusan, post-Agurian hybrid,” Faith stated.

  “I am?”

  Faith nodded and handed Lyla a napkin from the dispenser at the center of the table. “Yeah, I mean given who your parents are or at least who your mother is… I mean your dad is named Imhay, right?” Faith asked.

  “Yeah, but most people back home just called him Tim,” Lyla admitted.

  “Well, he is a post-Agurian experiment. The Tanerians were trying to engineer and breed weapons,” Faith informed her.

  Lyla was angry, but not angry enough to stop eating, “Why does everyone know more about me and my parents than I do! It isn’t fair. My parents have lied to me my whole life. By omission if nothing else! if this school didn’t already require it, I would be seriously contemplating changing my name just to spite them!” Faith held both hands to her temples, “Lyla, could you calm down a little. I am a very sensitive empath…”

  Faith’s clear distress brought Lyla’s emotional eruption to a full stop, “I am sorry Faith. As far as my study of history went, time stopped when your nephew did what he did. I mean I know the old omniverse came to an end and the factors found the Preserve and tried to rescue as much as they could, but I don’t have details beyond that.”

  “I get it Lyla, really I do. I think when it comes down to it all of us face some kind of handicaps because of how we were raised. Heck, my mother took over for Satan,” Faith stated, “We all need to remember that and give each other a little space to correct the damage.” Faith rubbed her forearms.

  Lyla sat back with a burp. She looked at the empty tray and then at Faith. “Okay, I’ll try if you will.”

  - - - - - - -

  Milo and Millie pushed into the breakfast area past Lyla and both begin ordering huge breakfasts. They were aware their hunger was likely tied to their bodies preparing to go through the massive growth spurt natural to briaunti. A metamorphic growth spurt took children from prepubescent with limited psychokinetic powers to adults with fully bloomed telepathic, and telekinetic abilities. Milo and Millie were aware they must begin building up a fat reserve to survive it. That was why neither of them balked at the full trays the cupboard delivered to them.

  They made note that Faith was briaunti as well. Non-verbally they mutually expressed the intent to inquire about the process as she obviously went through it recently. Together they sat at the opposite end from Lyla and Faith. They were back to their usual synchronized behavior. Millie felt a certain level of relief at their reunited purpose. Millie could sense that relief was mutual. Silently they ate as they contemplated what the day would hold. Most likely they would be receiving their personalized curriculum today. Milo seemed sure they could count on similar educational paths. Dissonantly Millie wondered if that would be the case. Milo stopped eating and pointedly stared at her. “What?” Millie blurted aloud. Faith and Lyla looked at her with surprise. Millie stared down at her plate, “Sorry.”

  Lyla stood and moved down the table to sit on Millie’s other side. Faith walked around to sit across from her. “Millie, if you need to talk something through we are here for you,” Lyla stated. Faith nodded in agreement.

  Millie opened her mouth, closed it. Her mouth was dry at the thought of expressing a personal thought. She took a big drink of her juice and looked at Milo who was still indignantly glaring at her. She turned away from him, ending up facing Lyla. Lyla had an open encouraging expression on her face. “Lyla, do you think they will put Milo and I in the same classes?”

  Lyla looked to Faith, “Tawny was pretty clear about emphasizing individualized educational paths, but you and Milo are so similar…”

  “So we…” Milo began, he waited for Millie to continue the thought she didn’t, “might not be in the same classes?” Milo glared at his sister.

  Faith shrugged.

  “What do you think they will put me in? I didn’t do much during the test. I can’t see ho
w they got enough information to place me,” Millie asked.

  “I don’t know,” Faith stated.

  “You spent time with Beaker,” Lyla stated, “What did you do?”

  “He showed me edible plants and things. I helped him gather our meals,” Millie answered.

  “There ya go,” Lyla said. Faith nodded in agreement. Millie mulled over the possibilities. For the first time she considered a life separate from her brother with something less than terror. She went back to eating and tried not to notice Milo glaring at her with hurt in his eyes.

  - - - - - - -

  Stone yawned and stretched as she shuffled down the hall to the main room. Her nanites were still attempting to simulate properly the outfit Goru had loaned her. She was starving, well a hair away from literally starving, but quite hungry. She made note of part of her team seated at the far end of the table. Her real focus was the food processor. She ordered up enough food for a sumo wrestler and waited with her palm to a charging panel. The panel fed her a stable flow of energy to supplement her food intake and the charging she had done overnight. The delivery cupboard pinged and Stone retrieved the two layer stack of trays it produced. She carried it to the table and put it in front of the chair next to Lyla.

  Remembering the promise to her mother that she would make social interaction a priority. Stone greeted everyone, “Good morning everyone.”