Enid isn’t the only one looking at me. They all are. All my friends. All the test subjects hovering near the group. But my ideas have led us to this—to fifteen dead. Stop looking at me like I know what to do!
I sigh. “I don’t like it, but Miller’s right. Most of these people won’t make it to another exit. If we go to the tower, it’s probably a trap. If we carry on and seek out another exit, PSECT will close in on us again. And splitting up isn’t happening, either.” I couldn’t live with myself if I made it to the exit and any of them didn’t. Living with fifteen dead is bad enough.
All fall into silence.
Bianca shifts beside me and takes my hand. “I’m with Ugene.”
“Of course you are,” Enid snaps. But she sighs and nods in agreement.
“There’s an exit there, for sure,” Leo says confidently, staring at the shimmering tower in the distance, one of the glass cards in his hand. The corners of the tower twist up into the sky like a helix. Like Paragon Tower. “Once we’re inside, I can probably pinpoint where it is.”
Something tells me the exit is in one of three places. Our floor. Floor 189. Or Joyce’s office. None of them will be easy to get to over a hundred flights, at least, up in the sky.
One by one, everyone agrees.
“The tower it is,” I say, exasperated. I’m tired of leading. But this is what they all want. “Do we have anyone in this group who can manipulate electronics? Because I have a feeling we will need a few.”
“I can find out,” Mo says. “But it will take time.”
“Then that’s your task while we make our way to the tower,” I say. “Find as many as you can and send them to the front of the group. I want anyone strong enough to defend the group—Strongarms, Telekinetics, Naturalists—organized in ranks around us in case of another attack. We can’t let the group scatter like that again. When we get to the tower, a group of Strongarms will clear the lobby, then we will figure out what step to take next.”
With a pitiful plan of action, we begin moving the horde of test subjects toward the tower, and I can’t help but wonder what kind of tests the building will have waiting for us.
41
Just over a quarter mile left to the tower. It looms high in the sky, the only bastion of safety in this dead world. But does it indeed offer safety? The wind picks up, making my clothes ripple and pull against my body. Sand and dirt kick up from the ground as the wind swells. In a matter of seconds, our path to the tower is obscured.
I raise an arm to block the blowing sand from my eyes, leaning into the wind to keep from falling over. A cry calls out to the left. I stumble toward it, helping a girl to her feet, pulling her along with me as we blindly make our way ever forward. No one else is visible in the dust storm. Nor is the tower. Are we headed in the right direction?
The sand stings as it hammers against my skin, like a bombardment of a thousand needles all at once. I would pull out my blanket and attempt to cover the assault—thought I doubt it would help much. Besides, I gave my bag to Boyd for supply replication. And if I stop, I’m afraid I’ll lose my way. Maybe I already have.
Voices rise in the chaos, muffled by the howl of wind and sand. I squint into the dust storm but can’t see anyone. Just the girl pushing through the storm with me. If anyone else is in danger or has lost their way, I would never know.
Just when I think I can’t take another step, the storm in front of us breaks just feet from the doors into the tower. A group is amassing there. I look back to where we came from and suck in a breath.
The storm rises in front of us, climbing high into the sky, rolling up against an invisible barrier around the tower. Another simulation. If Paragon can create such a storm in the simulations, why don’t they use that to their advantage? They could separate us all…
Or maybe they already have. A quick count shows that our number is cut by a quarter. Where is everyone else? What will Paragon do to them?
Paragon Tower looms over our ragtag horde of frail miscreants. Last time I looked up at the shimmering windows of the tower, hope had filled me. Hope that I would make a difference, save my father, gain an ability, find out what’s wrong with me. So much has changed since I walked through those doors. So much of that hope has died.
Staring at the glass windows rising high above, I realize I no longer care what happens to me—as long as these people can escape and find a new life outside these walls. That’s my goal now. The only hope that remains, feeble as it may be.
Everyone files through the doors without an ounce of hesitation. The exhaustion from the journey here makes hesitation impossible for everyone—except me.
“It’s not a real building, you know,” Miller says beside me. “Let’s get this over with.”
“I know this is a trap,” I say, meeting his gaze.
“Probably.”
“You know it’s a trap.”
“Sure.” Miller holds open a door. “But do we have another choice?” He waits for me to enter.
Every instinct is screaming at me, telling me not to walk through those doors, that this won’t end well. There is always another choice, usually buried deep beneath the worst option. I shake my head.
Miller sighs. “Murphy is out there, and I’m going to find him. Whether you come with me or not. Ugene, I know you don’t trust me, but we’ve come this far. I would rather finish with you than without you.”
It would be easy for Miller to walk through those doors and leave all of us behind. He could find the exit and get himself out. We are this close. He doesn’t need us anymore. “Why?”
“Because I…” Miller chews his bottom lip, looking through the open door. “I’m scared, okay? And we’re, you know, friends.”
I almost laugh. “You said you don’t make friends.”
“I’m also an idiot. Don’t listen to me.”
Friends. I can’t accept his friendship, even though I want to. Not after what he did to Trina, Dave, and Mo. And if it meant getting to Murphy, he would do it to me. There’s no doubt of that in my mind now.
But everyone else is inside. Enid stands in the lobby, watching Miller and me, waiting for us. For me. I have to get everyone out. No matter what. And for some reason, they are following my lead. I only hope I don’t lead anyone else to their doom.
I look toward the dust storm, still rolling up the invisible barrier, hoping others will step through. But none do.
“Ugene,” Miller says behind me.
Shoulders slumped, I turn my back to the storm and step past Miller into Paragon Tower—or the simulated version of the tower.
Cold air hits me, offering relief from the heat outside. Some of the subjects are sitting on the floor in clumps. Three subjects—those Mo found with potential Electromancy capabilities—walk along the walls, their hands brushing the seamless surface. Celeste stands in the dead center of the lobby, staring into open space that rises five floors up. I do a quick scan. Maybe a hundred of us remain. That means we lost nearly a fourth of our comrades in that storm. So many still out there, wandering or worse in the torrent.
The lobby is empty, with no tables or chairs anywhere. The building appears completely vacant. Only the long, built-in reception desk, currently unoccupied, and the bay of elevators on the far side of the lobby are present. It’s a plain, pristine, white space.
“We should look for them,” I say to no one in particular, watching the storm.
Enid stands beside me, shaking her head as she gazes out the glass doors. “We have no idea how long that storm will last, and we can’t send anyone into it. They could get lost.”
I turn my attention to Sho. “He could. He has Psychic Navigation.”
“That doesn’t mean he could survive the storm,” Enid says. She places a gentle hand on my arm and turns me to face her. “You can’t save everyone.”
But I have to. I’m responsible for them. They accepted that when they chose me to lead, as did I.
Bianca waves her wrist at the elevators, but
nothing happens. Leo is bent in front of one of the elevator door panels, probably trying to use his Atomic Vision to figure out why it doesn’t work.
“We all need rest anyway,” I say. “We can wait out the storm for a few hours.”
I make the announcement to everyone, and many of the test subjects either let out a sound of relief or their shoulders sag as they slump down and close their eyes.
“You need rest, too,” Enid says.
I shake my head. “Go sleep for a while.” I couldn’t sleep now if I wanted to.
Enid doesn’t appear pleased, but she moves to the side of the room and lays on her side with her head on her arm, watching me until she falls asleep. But I continue watching the storm, praying for more to come through.
Exhaustion pulls me down, and I move to the reception desk, sitting on the cool tiled floor with my back to the counter, watching. Despite my best efforts to remain vigilant, I drift off to sleep.
~~~
A voice startles me awake. Celeste’s voice.
“All the stars will fall,” Celeste whispers, but the emptiness of the lobby makes her words echo. She gazes up at the ceiling of the lobby again.
A few of the others are awake, waiting for us to move on, looking for a way to exit. I scan outside, but no one has come, and the storm hasn’t let up. We will have to move on, leaving about thirty people behind. It fills me with anger and a sense of failure.
I move beside Celeste, staring up to see what she sees. But the only thing above us is a ceiling with lights covered by semi-transparent images of the sky, creating the surreal effect of standing outside.
Like stars.
A sudden sickness twists my gut.
One of the Electromancers working with Leo on the panel screams, then collapses on the floor, seizing. The sound stirs everyone to their feet, alert.
“Rosie!” I point toward the boy, but she’s already moving toward him.
Bianca kneels beside the boy, tipping his head back to open the airway as much as she can. Saliva froths and bubbles from his lips, then he stops moving.
“It’s too late,” Bianca says, meeting my gaze with tears in her eyes.
A rattling behind me makes me spin around, searching for the source, hoping others are trying to get in.
Miller is at the door, pushing, pulling, throwing his shoulder and hip against it. But he doesn’t need to say anything to confirm what we already know. It’s locked. There is no escape, which also means there’s no way for anyone else to get in even if they do materialize out of the storm.
Rosie kneels beside the boy, putting her hands on his chest, over his heart.
“Rosie, don’t waste your energy,” I say, walking toward them. Another life I failed to save.
The boy sucks in a deep breath as if breaking the surface of water. Rosie wilts at his side. What just happened? He was dead. A small crowd has gathered around Rosie and the boy, and everyone stares with wide eyes. Resurrection? Did she just… but that’s not possible.
The elevators all ding at once. Four of them open.
“That can’t be good,” Enid says, staring at the open door beside her.
Four. Enough for all of us to go up if we really pack in tight.
“Sho, have you found the exit?” I ask, holding an arm out to stop a few of the subjects who moved toward the open doors. “Wait.”
Sho heaves a sigh. “Up. That’s all I know.”
“Do we have any telepaths in the group?” I ask, turning to the other subjects.
Everyone shuffles, moving toward the open doors, eager to go up now that Sho said it’s the way out. I can’t hold them all back.
A girl—about twenty by my best guess—steps forward and brushes her matted, dirty, dark hair away from her face. “I’m a telepath. Not very good, though.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I say. “You go with Sho.” I look at my companions. “Everyone split into even groups of four. Celeste and Miller are with me.”
“I’m coming with you, too,” Enid says.
“No. I need you and Boyd to lead another group. Bianca, Rosie, and Mo, another. Sho and Leo can lead the last to work on the exit and opening it. Anyone with Manipulation Powers or Enhanced Sight should go with them to help.”
Everyone eagerly files into the elevators in groups. Bianca looks at me, waiting for her group to load.
“What’s going through that head of yours?” she asks.
“I want you to check the other floors to make sure there aren’t any test subjects left behind,” I say. “Take your group to each floor, together, and sweep them. I don’t think the exit will be on any of them. Too easy.” Bianca nods at that as if she expected it, too. “I’m going to check Dr. Cass’s office.”
“What about the other two groups?” she asks, glancing at Enid, who is watching and listening from her own elevator door.
“Enid, go to our floor and check for any stray subjects. Telepath… Girl…” I snap my fingers at the girl with Leo.
“Madison,” she says.
“Madison, your job is to make sure each of us knows where to go once the exit is found. That’s your only job. Can you handle it?”
Madison nods, but she looks uncertain. I can’t do much about it. She has a booster, and she’s our only hope.
I kneel beside the Electromancer who had collapsed before. “You good to try again?”
“You serious?” he asked, rubbing his chest.
“I’m afraid there isn’t much choice,” I say. “We are getting out of here, but your group needs you to operate the elevator in case something else takes over. Go in Rosie’s group, in case you need medical attention.”
He is clearly displeased but nods and turns to Rosie’s elevator.
“I want one Electromancer with each group,” I say.
“We don’t have enough,” Bianca says.
“I have Miller,” I say. There’s no way I’m letting him lead another group. He’s staying close to my side, and I know he has electric capabilities, so hopefully, that will be enough. “Let’s go. We’re wasting time. Look for other test subjects, then report to the exit. No pit stops.”
I head toward my elevator, but Bianca pulls me in for a hug and whispers in my ear. “Be careful.” When she steps back, the sadness in her eyes makes me afraid I won’t see her again. No time to think like that.
“Ugene.” Enid rushes over to my elevator, rubbing her hands nervously together. She bites her lip, then kisses my cheek. Where did that come from? “I’ll see you later.”
I nod, heat rising to my cheeks as Miller smirks at me and the doors slide shut in my face.
The elevator lurches into motion.
42
The elevator is packed as tight as it begins to rise, but somehow everyone has given Celeste her own personal bubble of space. All of them appear anxious or afraid of what awaits us on the other side of the elevator doors. Except for Celeste. Her expression is just as curious and innocent as always. Like she doesn’t realize we are in peril. Maybe she doesn’t.
“I didn’t select a floor,” Miller says, pulling my attention away from my thoughts.
Yet we are already moving up.
“We need to get to Joyce’s office, at the top of the tower,” I say. “Can you find out where it’s taking us? Change it?”
Miller shifts, raising his hand to the access panel. His brows pull tighter as all his Power focuses on the task at hand. It only takes a few seconds, then his eyes snap to me.
“It’s taking us all the way to the top.”
“Well, there’s that.” I offer a smirk, but it’s half-hearted. They already wanted us at the top. Why?
Silence falls over the elevator as we climb. No one even moves. All is still as if frozen in time. I’m thankful this doesn’t make just me terrified. My knees are weak, my stomach in endlessly tugging and shifting knots. I cross my arms over my chest, hugging tight to keep them from shaking. This is way out of my league. I have no Powers. I can’t fight for these peopl
e. I can’t do anything.
Why am I even here?
The elevator lurches to a stop at floor 200. I take a moment to focus on calming my frayed nerves, eyes closed. The door dings and slides open. I step out, careful not to trip over my own feet.
Even in the simulation, this floor is immaculate and impressive. Tall ceilings. Glass panel walls. Polished white tile floors. Brilliant light making everything seem to sparkle. Miller lets out an impressed whistle.
“This what it really looks like up here?” he asks, moving out of the way so everyone else can file out.
“Yes,” I say, moving toward the glass doors to Joyce’s office. “Except not vacant. Hold the elevator doors.”
“Right.” Miller moves toward the elevator. “What are we looking for?”
“I’m not really sure,” I admit. “Signs of an exit. Anything that might give us more clues about what’s really going on.” It’s a stretch, but it’s all I have to go on.
Last time I stood here, Bianca was in the office, and I was afraid of what Dr. Cass was saying to her, what she might do to her. What am I hoping to find here? Answers? Dr. Cass wouldn’t leave them in a simulation for me to notice unless she wanted me to see it.
Summoning all the courage I can muster, I push open the glass door and enter the office. It clicks shut behind me. I’m not sure what I’m looking for, but I begin circling the room, fingertips sliding along the walls. The desk is gone. The chairs, too. Nothing but four walls and that one door.
Sho found the exit on Floor 189. Room 6B. Madison’s Telepathic voice startles me, and I jump, spinning around before remembering who it is. I breathe out a sigh of relief and try to tell her we will be down shortly, unsure if it worked. It’s no surprise that the exit is on 189. I assumed it would be either there or here.
Ordinary Page 25
