Claire rested inside one of the huts that afternoon, only rising for a small meal in the early evening. Jack and his mother walked through the compound and then stayed up in the evening talking. The boy would bring Jack and Claire back to the main gate the next morning.
“You never introduced me to her,” Jack’s mother said.
“Who, Claire?” Jack asked, lying on his back in the grass and looking up at the stars. “You just met her.”
“I mean when you started hanging out together in sixth grade. You never brought her to the apartment.”
“We didn’t live in a great neighborhood, Mom. I didn’t want to freak her out.”
“I really am sorry about that,” she replied. “But that’s where Freddy lived, so that’s where we went.”
Jack sat up next to her. “What does Freddy have to do with this?”
She seemed surprised. “Why do you think Hans called him in?”
“Because he was my friend and close to his breakthrough?” he guessed.
Jack’s mom squeezed his shoulder and rocked him slightly. “Oh Jack, you’re sweet. Freddy is a Gray. How did you not see that?”
Jack furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
“And not just any Gray. Freddy is a great prophet. He is the first of the next generation. One day Freddy Sanchez will help found the next Hadley Academy. In the rebuilt world.”
Jack stared at her. “You’re messing with me.”
She cocked her head at him. “How did you think he knew all those things? He used to come over to our apartment every night with his visions. We talked for hours.”
“I thought you were humoring him.”
“I love that boy, but I wasn’t humoring him,” she said. “Didn’t he do a presentation on the Hadley Academy?”
“He said he researched all of that on the Dark Web.”
She laughed. “How would Freddy gain access to the Dark Web? He didn’t even have Internet access in his apartment. And I doubt the public library or St. Paul’s had access to the Dark Web. No, dear. Freddy has a gift.”
“So it wasn’t a coincidence that we were both brought into Hadley.” Jack thought about that for a while. “I don’t think I’ll tell him that yet. About how he’s destined to lead the next generation.”
“I think that’s very wise.” She took his face in her hands and planted a kiss on his cheek before she rose to her feet. “I love you, my sweet boy. Get some sleep.”
CHAPTER 28
LAST ONES OUT
Jack and Claire approached the main gate, unsure how to make it open. They didn’t have to wonder very long. As Jack reached for it, the gate groaned open on colossal hinges. They were met by a startling sight: a two-story semicircle of gigantic steel vines, riddled with metal thorns the size of traffic cones. It looked like an enormous bear trap ready to slam shut on them.
“Hey!” Jack shouted, panicked. “It’s us! What is this thing?”
Lady’s little bug face appeared, having zipped over the steel vines and down to greet them. The drone beeped happily and zipped back up and over the bear trap. Freddy’s voice came from the other side. “Jack! Awesome! Lucent told us to open the door for you.”
The steel in front of them began to soften, then slowly turned green. The vines peeled back to create an entrance. Ivy and Lucent pushed their way through, followed by Boris Kleptov and Core. Bound leapt over the vines, landing and bouncing slightly on the ground next to Claire.
Claire motioned to the vines that Voss was pulling apart to create a wider entrance. “What was all that for?”
“Precaution,” Ivy told her. “Ice told us you’d gone over the wall. Lucent said you’d be coming through the main gate. So we built an extra line of defense in case any dragons tried to get through. I provided the vines and thorns, and Alchemy here toughened it up a bit.”
“It was very beautiful, no?” Boris asked, beaming.
Freddy came running up and slapped Core on the back. “And Core figured out how to change metal back to organic matter,” he hooted. “In his first few days at Hadley! That’s talent.”
“Welcome back you guys,” Asha said, striding up with an excited wave. “We were worried about you, even Voss.” She nodded back at Voss, who was busy tearing down the vines.
Ivy and her team left with Core after many thanks from Thirteen. When they were out of earshot, Voss looked at Jack and pointed back to the gate. “I thought I saw a kid behind you.”
“He’s probably just one of the Grays. I bet they’ve been living out there all along, right?” Freddy offered. “But I’m just glad you guys are back!”
“Actually, yeah,” Jack said. “That’s crazy that you know that.”
Jack thought of all the ridiculous things Freddy had told him over the years, all the things he had been so quick to dismiss. Like the family of yetis living in northern Canada. What was he supposed to do with that information?
Voss stared past them at the closed gate. “The Grays are still alive,” he said thoughtfully. He turned to Jack and Claire. “But forget the Grays, how are you guys still alive?”
“Seriously!” Asha exclaimed. “We found the trail—the Bulgarian’s monster left a wide one—all the way to the wall. From the scratch marks, we figured you went over. How did you survive the dragons?”
Jack and Claire told them everything. When Jack relayed how Hans had saved them from the dragons, Freddy jumped up. “That’s the guy who brought you in here, right? I gotta meet him.”
Then Claire explained that the Order of the Grays weren’t extinct after all. “And,” Jack continued. “My mom was there. She’s a Gray.”
Asha’s jaw fell.
“Wait. The Grays have your mom?” Voss asked, completely lost.
Freddy, though, merely squinted thoughtfully. “Yeah . . . that makes sense,” he said. “I miss her. She totally gets me. And those chocolate chip cookies she makes are genius.”
“What’s happening with Pacifica?” Claire asked when they had finished updating the rest of the team.
“Nothing good,” Voss muttered.
Asha turned to Jack and Claire. “You remember that before the Bulgarian attacked we lost communication with Instructor Santori and his team?” she asked.
“Yeah, our communications went offline,” Jack finished. “What about it?”
“Our communications haven’t come back,” Voss answered. “That was nearly forty-eight hours ago. And it wasn’t just that satellite over the CDC in Atlanta. It’s everything: audio and visual from all surveillance equipment in the dormant world. I tried to bring stuff online, but we’ve lost power to a ton of systems too. Something happened out there. But we’ve got zero idea what it is.”
“It’s actually worse than that,” Freddy said. “Nobody has come back through since you left.”
“Alexander says the reentry function on the portal is on a separate power structure,” Asha explained. “And that structure seems like it’s been permanently disabled. But how, Alexander doesn’t know.”
“It happened simultaneously to the communications system going down,” Voss added.
“So Santori and the others—they can’t get back?” Claire asked. “And we can’t even talk to them?”
Voss shook his head. “It’s bad. Hadley’s got almost no manpower left,” he said. “Two days ago they started sending out recruits, starting with Team One. They let Ivy’s team and Core stay behind to help us get you guys back inside the wall, but that’s it. The Council announced that we aren’t doing any good keeping our warriors here on Elk Island when the world outside must be falling to the darkened. One Life for Many, right? This is the time for sacrifice. We all have to be ready to go fight.”
“We’re the last team of recruits left at Hadley, Jack,” Freddy told him. “We get sent out in a couple days. We just have one more thing to do. Alexander is going to tell us about it tonight.”
“You’ll be shipped out right after the final simulation,” Alexander told th
em that evening in the Watchtower.
“What are we supposed to learn from a final simulation?” Voss asked. “We’re about to go out and fight the real thing.”
“This isn’t a physical simulation,” Alexander said. “It’s a mental one: the Death Simulation.”
“The Death Simulation?” Voss asked.
“Every operative must learn to die before they go out on an engagement,” Alexander explained. “The Dome gives you a simulation with no solution. You have to die to complete it. Operatives must to be willing to sacrifice themselves if the time comes. That doesn’t come naturally to most people. You have to learn it.”
“How can it teach us how to die?” Asha asked.
“Well, practice is probably the better way to say it,” Alexander said. “It’s the final test. The simulation prepares you to do the right thing when the time comes. That’s why there’s a twenty-minute time limit. You can’t hesitate.”
Freddy whistled under his breath. “You think it works?”
“I know it does. We’ve all been through it. But every Death Simulation is different. You’ll find out for yourselves tomorrow night.”
Jack couldn’t sleep. For one thing, the dragons were trying to get in the main gate. Jack had gotten used to the slamming. But now that he had seen them, he wasn’t sure whether the sound was more or less frightening. Probably more.
Freddy snored on the bunk below. How could he sleep? Tomorrow they would face the Death Simulation. Then they would be sent through the portals, with no idea what they would find.
Jack couldn’t lay still any longer. He got dressed and went outside. He had no particular destination in mind. He only wanted to breathe some fresh air and not go crazy lying in his bunk bed. If he could have found a way through the gate and the dragons, he would have gone to visit his mother beyond the wall. His mother, the Gray.
Jack passed the portal courtyard. It was the first thing he had seen of Hadley, and now it would be the last thing when they went out. He put his hands on the gate that led into the courtyard. Then he turned to head back to the Watchtower. He would see enough of this soon.
A voice came from inside the portal courtyard. Jack froze. The voice was weak, as if the person was injured.
Jack pressed his ear to the gate. A man was calling Jack’s name.
The portal courtyard was all shadows, only dimly lit by the lamps that ran along the wall. Something moved near the statue.
A man about the age of Superior Blue slumped on the ground. His broad back rested against a bench and his arms hung limp at his sides. His shirt was torn and bloody, and under rough stubble, his face was thatched with deep scratches.
The gate closed behind Jack with a soft ding. Jack and the man studied each other. Then Jack’s chest seized up as he recognized the face. He was alone in the courtyard with the Bulgarian. Jack backed up. He reached behind him for the panel to open the gate.
The Bulgarian let out a labored breath and spoke with a voice like gravel. “I’ve got to hand it to you, Jack Carlson—you’re difficult to kill.” He looked half dead.
“How did you get in here?” Jack asked. “Nobody’s been able to reenter the portals. They’re an exit only.”
“I did not use the portals.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out something small and silver, like a thin deck of cards. “An instant portal.” Pride cracked through his exhaustion. “My own invention, back when I was a cadet. It takes you anywhere and doesn’t need a linked portal on the other side.”
He shifted his weight and groaned. “The tech at the time confiscated my first one. She hid it in the Requisition building with so many other promising prototypes. But I was able to make a second one.” He turned it over in his hand. “It’s almost out of power. Useless now. Like me, I suppose.”
Jack stayed where he was at the edge of the courtyard. He peered around the empty area; it was the first time he had been here since he had arrived. This didn’t feel like a trick or an ambush.
Jack took one step toward the Bulgarian, his sudden rage defeating his fear. So many people darkened and operatives missing.
“What made you do it?” Jack asked angrily. “Do you know how many people have suffered because you joined Wyeth?”
The Bulgarian lifted his head. “What?”
“You swore an oath to fight the Reaper King!” Jack continued.
“And I have never broken it.” The Bulgarian stared at Jack suspiciously. “This is a trick,” the Bulgarian said. “This is what you do.”
“What trick?” Jack’s blood surged in his ears.
The Bulgarian sat up. “I have never broken my oath. I have risked my life again and again to stop you. You are the traitor, Jack. You have beaten me, but you have not deceived me as you have the others.”
“I haven’t deceived anyone.” Jack stiffened.
“I should have seen it earlier,” the Bulgarian went on. “I should have known it when a dormant bypassed the Dome and talked his way into Hadley. I should have seen it when, that same day, the Hadley Asylum staged a rebellion. I should have understood it when you brought in Thayer’s daughter, and the hacker who funded Pacifica, and the prophet who would follow you blindly.”
The Bulgarian shook his head vigorously. “But I only realized it when Cynthia Thayer went public. Everything led back to you: the boy with no biological parents. The boy with no spade. The boy who broke into Hadley to deceive us all.”
Jack listened in stunned disbelief. He didn’t know if it was the ramblings of a crazy person or a trap. The Bulgarian could be trying to get him to lower his guard. He was a master manipulator. He had recruited an entire team of operatives to Wyeth’s side.
Jack’s hand went to his blade hilt. “We’re under surveillance here, you know,” Jack said. “The systems may be down in the dormant world, but communications inside Hadley are functional. All of this is being projected back to Darius in the Bunker. They’ll be here any second.”
“Another distraction.” The Bulgarian sounded tired. “Just like the silo coin you created. Like the story of the legendary Gray, Hans, personally recruiting you. Like the illusion of a team of operatives who had turned against Hadley to fight for Wyeth.”
“Hans did recruit me,” Jack said. “And you recruited the Rogue Team. You’re denying even that?”
The Bulgarian squinted at him. “You’re serious?”
“You gained the operatives’ trust. You turned them to Wyeth’s side.”
The Bulgarian stared at him for a long moment, as if trying to read Jack’s mind. “There is no Rogue Team, Jack.”
“I’ve seen them myself, in the mirrored engagements,” Jack said.
“Then how has Hadley not unmasked them? Hadley can’t identify one of their own teams of operatives with all their resources? Is the Rogue Team made up of ghosts?” The Bulgarian closed his eyes. “No. You, Jack, invented the Rogue Team to keep people looking away from you.”
Jack shook his head. “I don’t know if you’re crazy or a liar, Vladimir. But I don’t believe you.”
“Do your teammates suspect you? Does Link know you brought him in because he would trust you implicitly? Does Ice know she is a hostage, used to blackmail and control Cynthia Thayer? Does Torque know he was brought here because he is the only one who could shut down the power grid?”
“You belong in the Asylum. They never should have let you stay on Elk Island.”
“If they had sent me to the Asylum, I would have stopped Thayer,” he spat out. “Instead Wyeth found Thayer, and she handed him the Dark Virus. And that is not even the greatest threat.”
Jack didn’t know what were lies and what was the truth. But the Bulgarian knew something. Jack waited for it.
“The vaccine!” the Bulgarian said passionately. “The darkened are herding millions of civilians into the arms of Pacifica. Dormants are begging for the vaccine—a vaccine created by Cynthia Thayer can only be disastrous. And you have orchestrated it all.”
The Bulgar
ian pushed himself to his feet. A gleam flashed in his eyes. He moved toward Jack. Jack backed away, instinctively deploying his blade.
“You have been in the center of everything, Jack. You invented the myth of a Rogue Team. You distracted Hadley just enough to allow Wyeth to unleash the Dark Virus, to allow Pacifica to rise to power. Everything points back to you.”
Jack stopped. The Bulgarian’s words sparked something in him.
“Wait . . . You’re right. Everything points to me.” Jack retracted his blade. His arm dangled by his side. “Somebody has set me up.”
The Bulgarian was still walking toward him. “You’re lying.”
“No, listen to me.” Jack talked quickly. He reattached the blade to his uniform. “Everything does point to me, but Wyeth or Thayer or someone set me up.”
“Why would they—?”
“So you would kill me.”
The Bulgarian stared at him for a long time. “You said Hans brought you here,” the Bulgarian said quietly.
“He did,” Jack said.
“What did he say to you?”
“He said I was the Guardian and that I would save everyone.” Jack looked directly in the Bulgarian’s eyes. “Somebody thinks I am a threat to Wyeth, Vladimir. And whoever that person is, they want you to kill me. This is the setup. This moment, right here.”
“Why should I believe you? Why shouldn’t I kill you right now?” Vladimir stared back at Jack with equal force in his gaze.
Behind Jack the courtyard gate opened. Darius marched in, flanked by Alexander and several instructors. Darius’s face contorted in fury. “Vladimir Petkov,” she hissed. “You should not have come back here.”
Jack turned to the Bulgarian. “You don’t have to believe me, Vladimir. You just need to trust me.”
“I don’t trust you.”
“Then I’ll trust you first,” Jack said. “Go. Now.” Jack pulled his blade and stood between Darius and the Bulgarian. Darius hesitated for just an instant. Vladimir leapt for the nearest portal.
The Hadley Academy for the Improbably Gifted Page 24
