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by Emery Hale

  ‘See, this is what they do to you, they make you into something you’re not. Three years ago you would never have done this,’ I tried, fear gripping my throat.

  ‘I would have. I just pitied you too much.’

  I stayed flat against the wall trying to swallow the tears brimming in my eyes. I wouldn’t let her see me like this; wouldn’t give her the pleasure of my tears. She’d pitied me for all these years. That was probably the only reason she hung around with me; pity. Everything I’d feared for years had finally come to light.

  ‘Jess, you need to come quick – Harkness is on the hospital ward, he’s got a gun,’ Quinn said, but came to a halt at the sight of us.

  Geez, I thought I could be left with some dignity.

  Jessica didn’t respond, but as the clammy palm vanished from my neck, her footsteps retreated out of the door, followed by others. I didn’t move.

  ‘What happened?’ Quinn asked.

  I pushed away from the wall, swallowing the sob and rubbing my eyes, trying to stop my tears crashing down like a wave.

  ‘Nothing. Uh, come on, we should get to the ward.’

  Jessica was past saving, the others weren’t.

  * * *

  As Quinn and I ran through the Academy doors I felt nothing but exposed. The last time I was here I’d been hidden behind a disguise but now my true face was bare. Even though I was under the protection of James’s boss, it no longer gave me security. What was worse? Trojan or the wrath of Harkness? Right now they could be the same thing.

  We ran up the stairs to the fourth floor, cause we didn’t want to make it obvious if a teacher was swinging a gun about. As we entered the stairwell I heard the smacking of feet a couple flights above – I saw a flash of Kayson’s jacket and knew they had the same idea as us.

  With each step I took the paranoia and fear dug deeper and deeper into my brittle bones – what awaited us on this ward? I assumed it was Grace who raised the alarm; I feared what she considered an emergency.

  Kayson and Jessica were nowhere in sight so Quinn cautiously stepped towards the door, opening it slowly at first but then darting through. I followed suit. The ward looked like a real hospital, even the stink of disinfectant was strong, stinging my nose. The sun had begun to set, casting an eerie glow, shadows dancing along the floor.

  Quinn crouched low as she tip-toed behind a medical cart. I looked around and quietly ran to the nearest pillar, pressing my back against it.

  The only sound was the steady heartbeat from the monitors: no breaths or clicking shoes. I pressed my lips together trying to peer around the corner but Quinn waved her hand, shaking her head. From her position she could see straight ahead, and by the look in her eyes, what was about to happen wasn’t good.

  ‘Explain to me why your test results are faked,’ I heard the voice of Harkness demand. ‘Williams, answer me.’

  ‘They’re not faked,’ a voice replied.

  ‘We just took Aspin’s blood, there are no traces of the drug.’

  ‘She was shot, we had to pump her with fluids, it would have flushed it out of her system.’

  No . . . Harkness was onto us.

  ‘Dr Williams, if you want to keep your head, I suggest you start telling the truth.’

  Doctor – he was talking to a doctor like that?

  I slowly crouched down onto my hands and knees, shifting myself round so I could get a better look. I needed to see how bad this situation was. The camera was still pinned to my jacket, so at least it would record this.

  In front of me were more beds, most of them filled. Grace sat upright in one of them, but that was when I saw Harkness, his blue shirt covered in blood as he pointed a gun at a man in scrubs – presumably the doctor. He had his hands against his head but his face remained stoic.

  Then I saw the reason Harkness was covered in blood: two nurses lay next to doctor, dead.

  He was shooting the staff.

  I wanted to run out, draw his fire, but what good would it do? The idea of a gun pointed in my direction terrified me. Everyone really was replaceable.

  ‘We had to give Grace fluids,’ Dr Williams said, his voice wavering. ‘They would have flushed the drugs out of her system. Ask Dr McKay, he’ll tell you the same.’

  Harkness knelt down behind the doctor, placing a hand on his shoulder, the gun now pressed intently on the man’s temple. Not a tremor or flinch in sight.

  ‘I’m not asking him, he’s busy with surgery. Now do you want to end up like your nursing staff or do you want to tell me the truth?’

  Dr Williams shook his head. ‘I’m telling you the truth.’

  He was covering for us; he didn’t go back on the lie. Did the doctor believe he was doing the right thing? He’d gone along with our plan in the hope that no one would notice – how did Harkness even know to check?

  When I looked over to Quinn she was gone – she must have moved somewhere else, but as I lifted my gaze I saw Kayson hiding behind a medical partition, gun in hand. Would he do it? Would he shoot Harkness? Then to my left, Jessica was hiding behind another pillar, gun raised, pointed right at Harkness. It wasn’t a question of if with her, it was when.

  Lily was nowhere in sight – she must have been at the other side of the ward, but I knew this team would put a stop to this madman, he couldn’t –

  BANG

  Kayson yelled out and fell to the floor, clutching his side, his gun clattering on the hard laminate. His eyes screwed shut, his fingers pressing intently to the wound, his teeth audibly grinding together.

  BANG

  Jessica spun around, dodging the bullet. Now holding the gun to her chest, she went to spin back round but stopped as more bullets clipped the concrete.

  I wanted to run to Kayson but Harkness had seen him, and he would annihilate me.

  If I ran, I would die.

  I slammed my hand over my mouth to silence my breathing, crushing my back against the wall, my knees to my chest and eyes screwed shut. I couldn’t move – everything was happening at double the speed, bullets falling all around like broken glass.

  As I forced my eyes open, Kayson caught them. He grimaced, starting to mouth something to me but I couldn’t make it out. Dust from the concrete was flying everywhere and he was too far away.

  What could I do? I wasn’t a doctor – but then I remembered, there was a medical cart next to me. It must have packing material inside.

  ‘Jess!’ I called over the gunfire.

  She quickly whipped round and saw my motion to the cart and then Kayson. She nodded before pushing away off the pillar and firing multiple shots.

  BANG

  BANG

  BANG

  BANG

  BANG.

  I darted to the medical cart, rifling through the drawers, trying to find anything, then I came across some medical gauze: there weren’t any sutures or needles so this would have to do.

  I peeked up but saw no one, there were patients at the other side of the ward ducking for cover. I was no longer in the line of fire – time to get to work. I took that as my chance and dived over to Kayson’s side.

  ‘You need to get out of here,’ he said through gritted teeth.

  ‘Well, you need to stop bleeding.’

  ‘Oh yeah, right, let me just turn the tap off,’ he groaned.

  I didn’t know what the hell I was doing but I packed the wound, hoping it would stop. All bleeding had to stop eventually, right?

  ‘Naomi, go,’ Kayson said, taking my hand.

  ‘What, and leave you to die a hero? No chance.’

  I kept adding packing and pressure to the wound but the bleeding didn’t stop. He needed a real doctor, not me who’s watched a couple of Holby City’s with my mum. I had to go in deeper. When I pulled up the bottom of his shirt I was greeted with a shallow bullet wound and a set of abs – well, nothing new there.

  ‘How we looking doc?’ Kayson asked.

  ‘Well, unfortunately you’re not going to die. I don’t think.’ />
  ‘I wanna see your diploma.’ He cracked a smile.

  The white net of the gauze seemed to be soaking up the blood fairly quickly so I kept adding more, while Kayson kept a hold of everything. That was when a bullet shot past my head, the metal shooting through the thick strands of my hair – a squeal leapt from my lips and I ducked – Kayson’s arm shot up, his hand cupping the back of my neck as he held me down.

  My head lay on his warm vibrating chest, and I could hear his strong heartbeat.

  THUMP

  THUMP

  THUMP.

  Despite the yells and bullets whizzing through the air my eyes slowly trailed up to meet Kayson’s. he gave me a soft smile and placed something in my hand.

  ‘Run,’ he said. ‘Go out the way you came, keep low. Go home.’

  ‘Kayson, you’re bleeding.’

  ‘I’m well aware, you beautifully stubborn woman. Now get out of here.’

  ‘Kayson –’

  ‘Get out, while you have the chance.’

  Would I be trapped here if I stayed?

  I shared a moment with Kayson in the midst of the carnage; a simple glance and firm nod. I’d see him again. I pushed up off the floor, keeping low and ran for the cover of the medical cart. Bullets flew into the walls behind me – I bit back a scream and ran from the cart to the pillar.

  Now I just had to get to the door.

  Just as I lifted my foot, I saw Grace scrounging for cover through the crossfire, sliding under one of the beds. Jessica and Lily stood in front of Harkness, guns raised, but none of that seemed to matter as the man in question pulled the trigger, killing Dr Williams.

  The entire scene played out in slow motion, his whole body jolting like it had been struck by lightning, before plunging to the ground. Blood spattered in droplets to the floor and sprayed from his head to the curtains behind. His eyes were lifeless and dull, but for some reason they pierced mine as his head battered against the cold floor. I couldn’t pull myself away, even when I heard Kayson’s yells, there was just something deep inside that forced me to stay.

  ‘Go!’ Kayson yelled, the low growl in his voice now booming.

  My feet remained firmly planted on the floor, even when Duke and other faculty members ran in from the other side of the room. Even when Jessica was restrained and another person in scrubs injected something into Lily’s neck.

  ‘You continue to disobey me, Winters,’ Harkness said. ‘Now you’ve forced my hand.’

  Suddenly I could move my feet and I felt the concrete pillar underneath my hands. I sidestepped slowly, eyes focused on the door. This wasn’t the life I wanted; this was my way out. Then I noticed what Kayson had slipped into my hand: a gun. The weapon rattled in my fingers but I kept it close. Now I had a choice. Shoot or run?

  ‘Don’t touch her!’ Jessica screamed.

  ‘I’ve wanted to try the new batch of drugs for some weeks now.’

  The new drugs? The untested ones? Weren’t they meant to go through the water first?

  Lily’s whole body suddenly dropped, going limp – she could barely keep her head up. What did they do to her? What was running through her head?

  Duke marched over, grabbing Grace from the floor, holding her out to another man in scrubs. I couldn’t help the tears that fell as I watched the injection spike into her neck. I should do something, what could I do?

  I couldn’t just leave, but if I didn’t, would I ever get out? Would I end up just like them? I tried to find Quinn but she was nowhere in sight, so without another thought I ran towards the door, slipped through before it shut and barrelled down the stairs. My heart leaping into my mouth as I heard the ward door open from above but I was already one flight down.

  All I knew was, I had to keep running.

  CHAPTER 26

  Sanguineous

  Accompanied by bloodshed.

  NAOMI JADE

  30 April 2016, 18:00

  Scotland, The Jade Household

  Halloween, Guy Fawkes Night, Christmas, Boxing Day, Hogmanay, Burns Night, Valentine’s Day and Easter Sunday – all those holidays had passed, and not a peep from the Academy. Absolutely nothing.

  How I managed to get out of there I’ll never forget: after bolting through the school, past reception and out the front door I managed to stop one of the cars, claiming I was Marsha Evans of Thames House and needed to be taken into town immediately. The driver didn’t even question it, I think he was just thankful he didn’t run me over. An hour later I was in the heart of Glasgow and taking every back alley and quiet street I could think of – if Quinn taught me one thing, it was that cameras saw everything. I needed to disappear. Well, that was a little dramatic, I just needed to get a bus back home, they were quieter than trains and had fewer cameras. Whatever I did worked because I got home without so much as a glance from anyone.

  My mum was glad to have me back while my dad was more than confused to learn that I hadn’t been on an internship course in Edinburgh. Apparently my mum was serious about keeping this story from him. It took a lot of explaining, over three and a half hours in fact (especially with my mother interrupting with more questions). All of the footage I’d collected was stored on Quinn’s computer, and the videos and backups had disappeared from Mum’s as well. We had no case – now it was up to Jessica.

  I’d hidden the gun Kayson gave me under my mattress just in case – there was no way I was throwing it out. Even though owning a gun without a license was illegal, I thought that given the situation, we were probably all past that point now.

  I wondered if Jessica ever release the videos: maybe one day I’d turn on the TV and the Academy would be breaking news. I’ve hoped that for over seven months now. With each passing day I waded my way through the internet to see if Quinn had uploaded them, frequently refreshing news outlets, but there was nothing. It was like they’d given up on the entire thing. Harkness had disappeared the day after I left, mum had been looking – she even asked her boss but it was like he’d dropped off the face of the Earth. A new Head of Scotland Yard took his place a few days later.

  My life when I was with the Academy was exciting – there was always something to do, something to plan for. But now, as I lay on my parents’ couch, the experience seemed terribly short-lived. I should never have run that day, but deep down I knew I’d had to – what would I have become if I stayed?

  My mum told me I’d done the right thing and so did my dad, but it didn’t feel right. Sure, it was what I needed to do, but it wasn’t what I wanted. I knew one of the Government’s best-kept secrets and I couldn’t do anything about it. We had no proof, my mum’s life was on the line if Thompson ever figured it out, and if I ever tried to contact anyone myself, it would raise the red flag. After the incident on the ward I had a strong feeling security was more of a priority than ever. I just hoped they didn’t come for my family.

  I instructed my mum to keep her head down at work and my dad to do the same, we didn’t need to attract attention. That and I’d bought them all burner phones, paid for in cash. . . being around the Academy had made me paranoid. The phones were for emergencies only, but it made me feel more secure.

  I worried for Quinn, though – would she ever see her mother again? I worried for Kayson – did he survive that bullet? I was fraught with fear for the entire team – the new drugs would have been injected into all of them, who were they now? Did they even know?

  ‘Move over would you?’ my dad muttered, sitting down as his stupid war movie started.

  I pushed up from my lying position, grabbed a cushion and sat back. One of the new traditions was to watch a movie every Saturday, apparently it was a bonding experience, to try and forget about the Academy. How could I, though?

  Even though I was only there for a short time I saw so much, but did so little. I still felt responsible, I knew the torture and abuse they suffered. I was sure it would be near-impossible to get back inside. Besides, would anyone want me there in the first place? Jessica was going to
throw me out and Grace, the second in command, was indisposed at the time, so as far as I was concerned, no one would want me. I wasn’t needed, and in Jessica’s eyes that meant there was no point in being there. She was like a machine, probably more so than ever now. I wondered if she even remembered her own name?

  ‘Naomi, are you watching the movie or doing that lovely Judy Dench stare out the window?’ Even though I only heard half of what he said, the sentence confused me enough that I turned to him.

  ‘What?’

  ‘You’re thinking about the Academy again. Let me tell you something, you’re better off now you’re rid of the lot of them.’

  ‘Dad.’

  ‘No. Don’t defend them. You know what’s going on in there, and one day it’ll come out. Except you will have nothing to do with it.’

  ‘Someone has to do something. I can’t just sit here watching movies with you every week and hope.’

  ‘What’s the alternative?’ Dad asked. ‘Your mother and I attending your funeral.’

  ‘I’m going to be attending at least five if I just sit here.’

  ‘Of people you barely know.’ Those words struck hard in my chest.

  Sure, I didn’t know everyone’s entire backstory but I knew them well enough. Quinn, she was kind, caring, sensitive and smelled like flowers wrapped in caramel. Grace didn’t like me much but if she was studying medicine and the second in command she was smart. I’d also noticed the chain around her neck – Grace was religious, Roman Catholic at that. Lily was a Runner, her room was bright red and she had a tongue like fire. Kayson was a complete asshole but for some reason he had a caring side and Jessica was . . . my friend. Did you need to know someone’s full life to trust them? I didn’t think so. Trust takes years to build but that entire team trusted me to do a job, even though they’d only known me a couple of days.

  ‘You’re better for it, it would have broken your mother’s heart if something happened to you.’

  ‘I think it would break Quinn’s mum’s heart too,’ I answered plainly.