by Emery Hale
‘Can you slip away yet? There’s a turn up ahead and you could get into one of the classrooms. There’s one on your right that should be empty.’
Jackie had a firm grip on my hand, how could I slip away?
‘I have to go to the bathroom, I’ll catch up,’ I said, quickly pulling my hand back.
‘Really? You sure it isn’t just nerves?’ she asked.
‘Yeah, one hundred percent,’ I said to her, before pointing a finger behind me. ‘I saw a sign back there, don’t wait.’ With a forced smile and eyes pleading for her to leave, I turned my back and started heading the way we came.
I thanked my shorter stature because it meant Helen was less likely to see me pull away from the crowd. I took a couple of paces before I looked. Thankfully, Jackie had caught up with the rest of the first years and was whispering something to the other girls. Was she talking about me? Telling them how weird I was? Aw who cares Naomi! You’re probably never going to see them again.
Once I knew Jackie was preoccupied I spun around and marched into the classroom on the right. I didn’t even look to see if it was empty, I just shut the door behind me, thanking my lucky stars for some respite.
‘You’re safe,’ Quinn said. I was never going to get used to having a voice in my ear; it was like she was inside my head.
The classroom I had ended up in actually looked like a regular science lab. It had high white desks, stools and a couple of Bunsen burners connected to gas taps. On the board was some fancy chemistry equation – yeah, I sucked at sciences.
‘OK, so you should wait another couple of minutes before getting out of there. A class is going to start in fifteen minutes so you don’t want to hang around too long.’
Fifteen minutes? I could ransack this place for a little while before anyone would notice. I ran over to the filing cabinet and starting flicking through the different folders trying to find something. I mean, it was a science lab – they could be building bombs in here for crying out loud.
‘Uh, what are you doing?’ Quinn asked.
‘There might be something in here.’
‘These are the second-year labs, there won’t be anything.’
THUD
I pulled back, thinking I’d dropped something out of one of the folders, but when I looked there was nothing. Slowly I knocked my knuckle against the bottom of the drawer and it sounded again. A hollow sound. As I took a closer look I noticed a faint square shape with a small strap at the side. This drawer had a false bottom – it was just like the movies!
‘Now Quinn, I’m not an expert, but people with nothing to hide don’t usually have a secret compartment,’ I said, trying to keep the excitement out of my voice.
‘Over comms you call me Pilot, we don’t use our actual names,’ Quinn scolded.
OK miss fussy pants.
I lifted the latch, pulling up the lid of the drawer. Inside was . . . a camera? Oh god a camera! I dropped the files and shoved the drawer shut with a clang. Was that live? Was that a camera placed by the Academy?
‘What? What happened? Was there a spider?’
‘A camera.’
‘What? What’s a camera doing in there?’
‘Quinn – Pilot – how the hell am I supposed to know?’
There was silence for a couple of seconds before Quinn let out a sigh of relief. ‘There’s not a live feed signal coming from it, it’s just an ordinary camera.’
Why was a camera stashed there? Did it belong to the science teacher? Did this place even have proper science teachers? They were probably just insane scientists with a degree in how to blow things up. I didn’t get a chance to ponder on the thought any longer because the door opened and Kayson walked in.
‘Oh crap, cause the camera’s looped I didn’t – sorry, I didn’t know he was coming,’ Quinn said, but I didn’t answer.
The guy looked at me almost analytically, but what surprised me was the blotchy bruising on his face. Not him too . . .
‘You lost or something?’ he asked.
Part of me wanted to answer, but the other instinctive part knew I should stay quiet. He could recognise my voice and put the pieces together, so I just nodded.
Kayson groaned.
‘First years, always getting lost.’ He held the door open pointing out it. ‘Well go on then, what you waiting for?’
He didn’t recognise me, should I be offended? Of course I didn’t want him to know it was me because that would blow this whole thing open, but still!
I ducked my head and quickly walked past him out into the corridor that was slowly building up with students. Most of them weren’t in uniform, they were in workout gear or comfy clothes. I didn’t see the first years ahead of me, which was a good sign – now I could go wherever I wanted.
‘OK that was close, I don’t trust Kayson as far as I can throw him and believe me, I’m not athletic in the slightest. Since you’re closer to the medical wing you can go there first, so after the next couple doors, go left.’
I could get used to this – Quinn was like an on-the-go satnav. I had a quick glance around to see Kayson staring directly at me. I whipped my head back around and continued down the hall. I didn’t need him breaking my cover, even if I secretly wished he’d recognised me.
If Quinn didn’t trust him then that was good enough for me. What did I ever see in that guy? Of course, none of what happened between us could have been genuine, but there were facts, and then there were feelings. There was a connection between us, I felt it. Did he?
‘OK, now there’s a lift at the end of the corridor, take it to floor four, that’s where the medical wing is. I’ve got you covered with cameras, don’t worry you can move freely.’
Four floors? Was that just above ground or did they have more?
I followed the directions and pressed the button for the lift, fiddling with a loose thread on my skirt while I waited. My knee started to bounce as paranoia crept up on me. How did the girls do this? It was worse than going through airport security, even though the worst thing I’ve ever done is stolen my granny’s bag of Murray Mints. When the lift doors opened I stepped inside, looking at all the buttons.
F 4
F 3
F 2
F 1
G
B -1
B -2
This school covered seven levels? No wonder they needed all the money. Jackie had said they were expanding – what for?
You know that little voice in your head – the one that tells you to jump from really high places or smash something? My gut was telling me there was something going on in the basement, so without another thought, I pressed B -2 and with that the lift doors closed.
Here goes nothing.
‘What in the holy cow are you doing?’ Quinn squealed. ‘No one goes to that level, I don’t even know what’s down there!’
‘I have a feeling,’ I said aloud, knowing that this was one of the only times I could talk. ‘Ya know, a gut feeling.’
‘Well me and your gut are going to have words when you get back here,’ Quinn muttered. ‘You can’t just – right, just stay low, I guess. Oh . . . ’
‘Oh?’ I asked. ‘What do you mean, oh?’
‘There aren’t any cameras down there, not on this laptop anyway. Whatever happens down there, you’re on your own.’
Those were the words I didn’t want to hear today. I couldn’t be on my own – what was I supposed to do? Stay low? There better be a good wall for me to hide behind somewhere.
That was when the lift doors opened and I was greeted with pure silence. There was a smell of damp coming from somewhere but there was light, dimmer than the command room upstairs for sure. There were small bulbs every five metres but I still couldn’t make much out.
I pressed my hand against the wall: bricks. Was the camera that I saw on the laptop, the one that looked to be underground, on the floor above? Course I had to go and pick the one where there weren’t any cameras. I made my way along the dingy corridor, wal
king on my toes so the shoes didn’t smack. No use in hiding if the enemy can hear you coming. Was that what the Academy was now, my enemy?
‘Can you use the camera phone?’ Luckily Quinn’s voice sounded in my ear. ‘To film it.’
I reached a hand into my pocket to pull out the camera phone, would this even register a picture? It was ancient. I pressed myself against the brick wall, loading the phone up and pressed it to my chest to hide its glow.
The next thing that happened made me want to run away – a blood-curdling scream tore through the corridor, crashing off the walls. The air chilled around me as I clamped a hand over my mouth and a weight sat dead in my chest. My gut was right, why did it have to be right? I didn’t recognise the scream but Quinn did.
‘T-that’s Lily.’ Her voice shook.
As another scream crashed through me I realised that the most fucked-up thing in the whole situation was that Quinn knew it was Lily. How many times had she heard this? What the hell was I doing here? I couldn’t fix this.
‘You need to see what’s happening,’ she said.
‘I can’t,’ I whispered, as quietly as I could. ‘What if someone’s torturing her?’
‘Then . . . you need to video it. That sounded horrible, I didn’t mean it like that.’
I knew she was right – if someone was torturing students then it would be damning evidence – but was it right to stand there and watch? Shouldn’t I try to do something, rather than become a bystander to someone else’s trauma? I sucked in a breath, pushing myself off the wall and towards the screams.
‘When I checked the cameras at the back of the school Jess and Lily weren’t there; the class wasn’t either. Why would he do this down here?’
I knew she was thinking aloud and didn’t answer. As I turned the corridor at the end of the hall it opened up, and the top half of the brick wall was now glass. I pushed into the corner to keep myself hidden, but there were rough voices coming from inside. From what I could see through the glass the room was pure white, the bright lights blinding me for a moment. Then I saw the walls were padded. What the hell?
‘What’s going on?’ Quinn asked. ‘I can’t hear anything. Record what you can see, and if it’s too risky get back to the lift.’
My whole body shook in that moment – I didn’t even think I could hold the camera straight never mind film something.
‘Now you’re going to answer me, or the next thing that will go down your throat is water.’ The low growl of Harkness gritted its way through the glass.
Water?
‘It was there from my last op, I forgot to take it off,’ I heard Lily say, but it was soon followed by gargling and choking sounds.
I pushed the phone from my chest, clicked record, then got on my hands and knees. Crawling forward using the brick as cover, I slowly pointed the edge of the camera at the glass. What I saw through the lens made me want to scream. Harkness had Lily strapped to a chair with a cloth over her face, while he poured a large bottle of water over her mouth. He was waterboarding her. This wasn’t a class, it was an interrogation. Behind them stood Jessica, hands clasped behind her back, watching, her face dripping blood. I couldn’t make out details because of the crappy camera quality but what I could see was red.
Harkness tossed the bottle to the man beside him; he was a little taller, with a beard. As soon as he caught the water he stepped back, remaining as silent as the students. Harkness took the cloth off Lily’s face before he gripped her throat.
‘Answer me. Why do you have a wire on?’
Shit. He saw the wire? This was my fault?
Lily got a few words out as she coughed and spluttered.
‘I-I had it on f-from the last op. I-I swear.’
As I watched through the screen I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, or what I heard next.
‘Ames, get me the scalpel.’
The man with brown hair, Ames, was shocked at the request. ‘Lily said she forgot to take it off, you know how kids are.’
‘But she’s not a kid, she’s an agent. She will tell me or she won’t walk for the next fortnight.’
‘Their medic will be stretched as it is with the next op, she doesn’t need to be caring for two others.’
‘Agents, Ames. Besides they should have thought about that before lying to me.’
A scalpel – why did I have to watch this? It was inhuman. I couldn’t sit here and do nothing, I couldn’t be a bystander – but what was I supposed to do? If I charged in there no one would be better off.
‘Please,’ Lily begged. ‘I just forgot it was there.’
That was when I heard a phone ring. I yanked mine down, but all I saw was the camera menu – oh thank God it wasn’t me. Luck must be on my side today. I would touch wood but, ya know, there’s none down here. I slowly moved the phone back up and watched him answer the phone.
‘Ames?’
I heard Lily let out a few coughs, her head turning to the side, and I also noticed it wasn’t just Jessica there, it was the whole class. What? There was what twenty of them, thirty? Couldn’t they overpower the two men? It was two against a whole group, why weren’t they fighting back?
‘What?’ Ames asked, alarmed. ‘I’ll send her up.’ Then he hung up.
‘Is Helen making a fuss again?’ Harkness asked, condescendingly.
‘No, it’s James Winters,’ Ames said, and my eyes widened. I even saw Jessica turn. ‘He’s at reception, he wants to see his sister and wouldn’t take no for an answer.’
James was here?
‘You’ve got to get out of there,’ Quinn said urgently. ‘Now.’
I didn’t need to be told twice. I tucked the phone back into my pocket and power walked down the corridor towards the lift, as soon as I pressed the button the door open and I threw myself inside and a cry slipped from my mouth. I couldn’t hold it in any longer.
‘Are you alright?’ Quinn asked. ‘Come in.’
‘He was torturing Lily, waterboarding and a scalpel,’ I managed to get out. ‘Those weren’t scare tactics. He was torturing her because of me.’ Guilt flooded over me: if I hadn’t pushed things so quickly we wouldn’t be in this situation. Lily wouldn’t be drowning and Jess wouldn’t be covered in her own blood. This was all my fault. I caused this.
‘No, it’s not.’
‘It is,’ I cried, shaking my head.
‘Get back to the house as soon as you can. Don’t run but hurry.’
When I reached the first floor the doors opened, and I ducked my head, keeping low, no one needed to see how much of a mess I was. Quinn directed me to the main doors and thankfully no one asked me any questions. Not that I would have answered, my thoughts consumed me so much I wanted to give myself up. Anything to stop what they were doing to Lily. All she had been was kind and now she was strapped to a chair because of me.
Me.
* * *
An hour later, I’d told Quinn everything as she took off all the make-up. Then I showed her the video. Her lips trembled the entire time. Did she blame me for this? Because I did.
Now I sat in her room on the bed, my back against the wall, as Quinn uploaded the footage to her computer. She was telling me she would encrypt it so it would take Thompson a couple of hours if he tried to break in. But that didn’t matter now; all I could hear were Lily’s screams and all I could see was Jessica’s face.
What would her brother say when he saw her? Could he help us? I didn’t even think to look for him when I left, I couldn’t bear being in that place for one more minute.
I didn’t know what to do, how could I stop this? Was this place too far gone? Was this fortress really unbreakable? I didn’t want answers, not anymore. I just wanted it all to stop.
I couldn’t keep doing this.
CHAPTER 17
Coronach
A funeral song.
JESSICA-GRACE WINTERS
‘What?’ Ames asked. Then, ‘I’ll send her up.’
‘Is Helen making a fuss again?�
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‘No, it’s James Winters. He’s at reception, he wants to see his sister and wouldn’t take no for an answer.’
‘James knows the protocols, he can’t just –’
‘Well, Daniel, he has, so what the hell are we going to do?’ Ames asked. ‘Considering she looks like that!’
Nothing, absolutely nothing. I didn’t know anything, I only knew what I was told by my superiors. How could I know anything? Everything from intel to possible operations were always on a need-to-know-basis and I didn’t need to know. My position was Team Lead; my role was to deliver results without fuss, complaint, or defiance. My priority was my team; anything else was either a privilege or an honour. I should be thankful of my place here because without it I had no purpose, no motivation and no use. Without the Academy I would be out on the street; my brother couldn’t take care of me. James . . .
‘What are you staring at?’ Harkness barked, and it took me a couple seconds to realise he was talking to me. I hadn’t even registered turning my head. ‘Don’t just stand there, go and get cleaned up.’
I nodded. If my brother saw me like this he would ask too many questions – after all, he was trained, but not here. Some other institution. I didn’t know how bad it was, but every so often I felt blood thicken my lashes then drip down my cheek.
I took a step forward but a sharp pain lashed through my knee, singeing like lighting.
‘What the fuck did you do to her while I wasn’t here?’ Ames asked.
I grabbed my leggings and pulled them up past my knees, and saw the vicious slice marks going back and forth, some deeper than others. He’d twisted the knife in; he was the one that did this. How could I forget that? I glanced over to the scalpel on the metal tray and saw that it was doused in blood; my blood.
‘Winters, get up,’ Harkness said to me and I nodded straight away, using my stronger leg to stand to attention.
I needed to be strong, an unbreakable force like him. I wasn’t any use otherwise.