“Um, just headed to the bathroom.”
“Right. Well, don’t let me keep you, then.” She tucks hair behind her ear.
As I step around her and continue, the urge to tell her the truth aches in my chest. Bianca is a good person. She can’t really know what’s going on here.
Can she?
~~~
An uneasy hush falls over the group after Trina, Michael, and I finish telling the others what we saw on Forrest’s tablet. Sho, Leo, and Boyd stare at me blankly, huddled close together. Mo and Enid both study the floor, leaning against a wall. Enid had been standing close to me at the start of the meeting, but as we go on, she shifts further away as if I have something she could catch by proximity. I can’t explain why, but it hurts.
Miller leans against a sink, arms crossed, jaw set tight. The anger burning in his eyes reflects the anger deep in my soul. For once it feels like we are entirely on the same page.
And then he asks the question I don’t want to answer.
“What about Murphy?”
Everyone else glances around at each other, confused.
But Miller doesn’t look away from me, and the pure rage in his eyes feels directed toward me. Murphy is the only person ever to have walked through this program that Miller cared about. But he disappeared.
“I—I didn’t have time to search for his file,” I admit, flinching as Miller shifts upright.
“Then we get the tablet again,” Miller says. “Now.”
“It’s not that simple,” Trina says, shrinking back at the glare Miller shoots in her direction. “Sorry. It’s just… if we do this to Forrest again, he’ll know.”
“I don’t think you understand.” Miller stalks toward her, arms still over his chest, fire burning in his gaze. “If you want to get out of here alive, we need to get that tablet again. And for longer than we had it before.”
To her credit, Trina stands her ground. “It’s impossible.”
“Nothing is impossible.”
No one else dares to move or speak. But I know that Miller is right. If we want to get everyone out of Paragon safely, we need to know more about the security systems. Camera placements, locked doors, the best route for everyone out of the building. Getting that information from a tablet carried by a researcher is a stretch, but it’s the best option we have right now.
“He’s right,” I say.
Trina turns to me, her eyes full of shock. “Who put you in charge?”
“That tablet has information. And we need it. It could have something to help us get out of here, and I don’t see anyone else stepping forward.”
“If we do this and Forrest figures it out, we are all in serious trouble,” Trina protests. “We could be the next ones strapped to that table. Most of us already have weak Powers. What if we aren’t strong enough to satisfy Paragon?”
“We are in trouble even if we don’t try,” Enid says. She moves to stand beside me again, and her presence is warm. “At some point, any one of us is likely to be strapped to that table.”
Her dark eyes turn up at me, and the faith in me makes me hesitate. What if I lead her to that table?
“We don’t even know how subjects are chosen for the experiments,” Leo says. “What qualifies one for selection?”
“Expendability,” Sho snorts. “And let’s face it, most of us are. At least to Paragon. They probably choose us once they can’t get any more of their precious data from our tests.”
Anxiety suddenly fills the room, thick and palatable. No one could know how the selections are made, which means they are right. Anyone could be next. And if it fails like Jade or Vicki…
“I’ll do whatever Ugene thinks is best,” Enid says. “He stepped forward and helped me when anyone else would have abandoned me. Twice. I’m still standing here because of him.”
Boyd nods, and the others slowly agree. Please don’t let their faith in me be misplaced.
“But we need to try something different to get that information,” Mo says. “Trina is right. We are in real trouble if this fails. And so is everyone else.”
“I’m open to ideas,” I say.
Silence. Everyone shuffles, uncertain.
Dave frowns and looks toward the doorway, drawing my attention that way as well.
Bianca steps around the edge of one of the stalls. “I’ll do it.”
In an instant, blue lightning streams from Miller’s fingers, forming a cage around Bianca. She freezes, raising her hands in surrender.
“Is it true, Ugene?” Bianca asks.
“How long have you been listening?” Dave asks, and he appears personally affronted. Probably because his one job in our group is to listen for unexpected visitors.
“Long enough. Sorry. I just…” Bianca turns her attention to me. “I worry about you. In here. Around all this Power.” Pain shimmers in her dark eyes—not from any Powers, but from what she overheard. “Did he really do that to participants?”
I walk toward the cage and stare into it, captivated by the way the lines of worry etch her forehead and the corners of her lips and eyes.
“You are treading dangerous ground,” I say softly.
“Did he?” Her eyes plead for the truth.
“Miller, let her go.”
“Nope.” He stands at my shoulder like a watchdog.
“She won’t do anything.”
Bianca keeps her hands up, glancing from one of us to the other. “Do you remember that time I broke my arm at the creek?” She waits for my recognition before continuing. “Forrest blamed you. He told my parents that you pushed me, and I fell into the rock.”
“But I did.”
“That isn’t what broke my arm.” Bianca edges closer to the bars, and her black hair charges with static. “I hurt it, yes. And Forrest marched me home, leaving you behind. But it was him.”
I recoil. “What?”
“The whole way home he was yelling at me, calling you names. I tried to fight back, to run because I was so angry with him. But he grabbed my arm as I ran. It twisted the wrong way. The pain was so intense he had to carry me home. Before I could say anything, he poured out this whole story about how you did it, and I couldn’t get in a word. I tried to tell my parents the truth later, at the hospital, but by then it was too late. They wouldn’t listen, said you always found trouble and I was better off without you.” Tears well in her eyes. “They forbid me from hanging out with you and wouldn’t hear your name anymore.”
All these years, she let me think it was my fault. I blamed myself for hurting her and assumed that she just didn’t want to have anything to do with me anymore because of what I did. She could have at least said something. “But you never told me.”
“Because he was always watching.” Bianca’s words catch in her throat. “I tried a couple times, but Forrest always stopped me. By the time he graduated and moved out, you hardly spoke to me anymore. I figured the moment for truth had passed.”
All this time…
“Don’t you see? I know what my brother is capable of. How cold and calculating he can be. And I won’t let him scare me into submission again.”
“I don’t trust her,” Enid says, hovering at my shoulder, Miller at the other.
“Let her go,” I say.
The cage disappears. Bianca reaches for me, but I walk away. Enid puts an arm around my shoulder and shoots Bianca a dirty look.
“What you are offering is dangerous,” Miller says. I can’t see his face, but I can almost hear the smug satisfaction in his tone.
“I understand the risks.” Bianca’s voice is tight. “And I know how to do it right.”
“Then let’s talk,” Miller says.
Everyone is attentive as Bianca explains her plan to get security information from Paragon and help us get our hands on Forrest’s tablet again. Enid stays close to me, and her presence is oddly comforting.
29
“Ugene, I said I’m sorry,” Bianca says, following me into my room.
&nbs
p; I don’t stop until I reach my bed. Even then, I can’t bring myself to face her, so instead, I just stand there, staring at the tan wall, hands clenched into fists at my side.
Her warm hand rests on my shoulder.
I shrug it off and move to my shelf, grabbing the journals and stuffing them into my messenger bag. The notebook with the map of the floor is heavy in my hand.
“Ugene, please, talk to me,” she says.
The desire to keep Bianca safe and out of trouble with Paragon disappears, replaced with a twisting pang of betrayal. All these years, she let me think it was all my fault. But it never was. Maybe I’m overreacting, but I can’t help myself. I worshipped Bianca, and all this time, I thought she hated me or dismissed me from her life or something because I hurt her. Seems ridiculous now that I think about it. I thought she hated me, but she didn’t. It was her brother and her parents that kept us apart.
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” I say, snatching the pen off the desk and kicking the bag under it.
“But clearly it does!” Bianca grabs my arm and forces me to turn and face her. “Because you can’t even look me in the eye. It was stupid. I was a stupid girl.”
“But you could have done something,” I say, gripping the journal tight. “Slipped a note in my locker, caught up with me between classes. Something. But you didn’t even try! I thought…” I heave a sigh. “I thought we were best friends, but if so, you would have done something to let me know the truth. And you didn’t.”
“What can I do to make this right? Ugene, I’ll do anything.”
“Get me off this floor,” I whisper, glancing around for signs of Overwatch.
“To where? It’s nearly lockdown, so late.”
Something tickles my memory, like reality obscured by stained glass. Telepathic pain. Forrest’s voice. Cold tiles. A number.
“Floor 189. Before the Survival test, they gave us all a blue pill. I think answers are on that floor.”
Without waiting for her answer, I march out of the room with my notebook and pen in hand, ready to make notes and map out the mysterious floor. Bianca will take me. I need her to. I have to know what is happening on that floor. And it may have been a few years since we were close, but I know her. The guilt is eating away, and she will do anything right about now to make up for it—I hope. The sound of her boots jogging to catch up confirms it.
“This is a terrible idea,” she hisses. “If everything you said earlier is true, they will know what we’re doing.”
We reach the elevators near the center of the floor.
“Then you have to make it look like you are doing your job,” I say. “Forrest takes people to that floor. I know it.” My gut instinct is telling me it must be where the experiments are performed. “So take me up there and make it look like he asked you to.”
Bianca pushes the button and swipes her wrist. She doesn’t ask questions, but the way she looks sideways at me makes it clear she has questions. A moment later the lift hums to life, and the doors open. I frown, stepping in with her.
Bianca stands behind me, watching me like some nature documentary, waiting to see what I’ll do next.
After punching in number 189, I swipe my wrist. I already know what will happen, but I want her to see it herself. To confirm what the rest of us already suspect.
The access panel buzzes and flashes a red DENIED on the screen.
Miller warned me more than once to leave the elevators alone. I look up, heart thumping in my ears, seeking out a security camera. Bianca hesitates, clearly debating whether she should try swiping her own wrist. Her shoulders square and with a quick motion, she swipes her wrist.
“Let me do my job,” she roars. For anyone listening, I assume.
DENIED.
Whatever is on that floor, even Bianca doesn’t have access to it. Which means our plan is foiled… and Paragon must be hiding something there. The question is, how do we get there?
The elevator lurches into motion, and my heart leaps into my throat. If we didn’t make the selection and start the lift, who did?
Legs leaden, heart pounding, I know what I have to do.
I give the best shove I can muster. Bianca’s back hits the back wall of the elevator, but as I hoped would happen, her Muscle Memory kicks in almost instantly. Before I have a chance to process her move, Bianca grabs my arm and wrenches it behind my back, slamming me against the side wall, pressing tight and close. The proximity and heat from her body almost make me forget my next move, but the slack as she starts to let go snaps me back to attention.
“Don’t let go,” I mumble, cheek pressed to the wall. It needs to look like she is restraining me now, or she could be in bigger trouble.
Bianca’s grip is so tight I couldn’t break it if I wanted to. She pulls me back from the wall, holding my arms behind my back. “I’m sorry,” she whispers in my ear.
A metallic taste hits my tongue. Blood drips in from the corner of my mouth. Not much, but it should make the whole thing more believable.
The elevator stops and both of us look up at the floor number on the digital display. The blood drains from my face, and everything goes cold.
We’ve gone beyond 189.
The doors slide open and Hilde Long—Joyce’s assistant—waits with her tablet perched on her arm, lips drawn together in a thin line making her narrow face seem more severe despite her young age. A security guard stands at each shoulder, hands on the holsters of their stun guns. My stomach twists in knots and my palms sweat. My breathing is more labored.
“Mr. Powers.” Hilde sighs and waves at the guards to stand down. “What are you doing up and around this time of night?” The tension in her shoulders melts away as she turns to Bianca. “Miss Pond, correct? You can let go of him.” Hilde turns away from the elevator and heads toward the glass office on the far side of the floor.
Bianca hesitates beside me inside the elevator.
Hilde pauses in her stride, glancing over her shoulder at us. “Come along. Dr. Cass wants to speak with you.”
I scoop my journal off the elevator floor, clutching it to my chest with one hand as Bianca steps out. The elevator doors start to slide closed, and I slip out just in time.
In the artificial lights of the building, the reds and whites that color everything on this floor contrast against the darkness of the night beyond the far windows. Like standing in a bright dimension on the edge of darkness. Bianca and I follow Hilde. Behind the glass walls, Dr. Cass sits at her desk, reviewing electronic files on the reflective surface. It doesn’t escape my notice that she hasn’t lifted them off the desk for everyone to see like she did with me last time. Whatever she’s looking at, she apparently doesn’t feel like sharing. That doesn’t help the anxiety twisting in my gut.
Behind me, Bianca softly huffs out irregular breaths. A sentiment of fear I can share.
Security holds the door open as Dr. Cass looks up. Bianca steps through first, and when I step forward to follow, a guard holds up a hand to my chest. No doubt he can feel my heart hammering hard.
“We’ll just be a moment, Ugene,” Dr. Cass reassures me. Can she see the fear on my face?
The glass door closes in front of me, leaving me in the hallway with the security guards. A lump rises in my throat, and I watch as Bianca approaches the desk. Dr. Cass doesn’t invite her to sit, and Bianca stands with her back to me, so I can’t try to guess what’s going on. The expression on Dr. Cass’s face is cordial, friendly. Her lips move, and I strain to hear, but no sound escapes the room. Not even muffled voices. Right. A privacy barrier. I won’t hear anything no matter how hard I try.
“You can take a seat,” one of the guards says, motioning toward a vacant red chair in the waiting area.
It doesn’t feel like a request.
Trying not to shake, I move to the chair and sit, watching the glass wall. It’s just Bianca, Dr. Cass, and Hilde, who stands close to Dr. Cass’s shoulder. Unlike Dr. Cass, Hilde’s expression is more severe, but she doesn’t
say a word. She only watches with intense interest.
Bianca’s hands clasp behind her back, and after a few statements from Dr. Cass, Bianca nods, possibly speaks, but Dr. Cass’s reaction doesn’t change. She’s so hard to read.
After a few minutes of this, Bianca and Hilde walk to the door.
“Mr. Powers, Dr. Cass will speak to you now,” Hilde says, holding the door open as Bianca walks out.
My legs are shaking as I stand and walk to the door. Bianca doesn’t even look at me as she heads to the elevator, which makes my gut sink. But her face is pale, and the set of her jaw is familiar enough to me. She’s fighting to contain her emotions. What just happened?
As I step through the door, my journal is still clutched in my sweaty hand. I try not to hold it too close. If she takes it from me and reads my notes, she’ll know what I’m up to.
Dr. Cass is sitting on the other side of her desk now, reading an electronic file on the surface. I try to peek, but it’s hard to make anything out.
30
“Ugene.” Dr. Cass smiles brightly at me as she swipes a hand over her desk. The files disappear, and the desk is just a desk again. “I apologize for the distance I’ve been keeping from you,” she says. “Though I am a little concerned about what has you off your floor tonight. Miss Pond said she was bringing you in for special testing, but I can find no record of special testing requests from anyone.”
I just shrug, trying to act as clueless and casual as possible.
Dr. Cass clicks her tongue, studying me. “Well, no matter. I’ve meant to speak with you anyway. I wanted to wait until the initial beta testing was completed before reconnecting. I’ve been following your progress. Interesting, but sadly not quite what we were hoping for. Your claim to be Powerless appears to be true.”
“Sorry I’ve disappointed you,” I say with some sincerity, though a bit of sarcasm bleeds through.
“Not at all.” Dr. Cass shakes her head and rests her forearms on the desk. “You are hardly a disappointment. Having you here makes a huge difference.”
Ordinary Page 18
