“No way,” Caroline said, attention straying back toward Munchem. Most of the windows were dark, but orange light still escaped the gym’s new skylights. The scientists were working late. “If we break into Rooney’s office again, we’ll get caught for sure.”
Again with the cheery, but Mattie had to agree. “There is that.”
He sat back on his heels and considered the meadow. It was a perfectly good meadow with lots of grass and lots of flowers, but because it was also a Munchem meadow the grass was filled with prickers and the flowers made Mattie break into hives.
Mattie stood and brushed off his pants. Maybe they were too far to the west. Maybe if they tried going—
Clunk.
Mattie’s sneaker caught on something and he pitched face-first into the grass. Milkweed went up his nose. Mattie rolled over, rubbed his now stinging elbows, and tried not to sneeze. “Found it.”
Mattie pushed to his feet and Eliot and Caroline helped him pull up the metal cover, revealing a narrow ladder leading down into an equally narrow tunnel. Small lights flickered and flickered and finally caught, illuminating the ladder’s metal rungs.
Eliot cleared his throat. “Is it just me or does it look darker than it did last year?”
It wasn’t just Eliot. Mattie agreed. Even with the lights, the narrow tunnel looked forbidding, like somewhere you would stick someone so you could take his fortune for yourself.
“How much do you really want to check the basement?” Eliot asked.
Mattie lifted his chin. “A lot. If they’re planning to do something to us again, we have to know.”
He scooted closer to the tunnel’s opening and swung one leg down, feeling for the first ladder rung with his foot. Mattie looked at his friends. “Are you coming?”
“Of course,” Caroline said, following right behind him.
And down they went.
Down…and down…and down…and…
“I forgot how long this ladder was,” Mattie muttered. Above him, the Spencers grunted. Eventually Mattie’s feet hit steps and, after an equally interminable time descending those steps, they reached the basement.
Or, rather the door that led into the basement. It was slightly ajar. Mattie peeked through the sliver of space between the door and jamb.
“What do you see?” Eliot whispered.
“Nothing.” Which wasn’t precisely true. Mattie saw pipes, power lines, two smokestacks, and row after row of black-screened computers. The generators were still near the wall. The electrical panels were still closed up tight, and there wasn’t a single scientist in sight—and no clones either, which was a bit of a relief actually.
Mattie took a deep breath, smelling machine oil and cold concrete. He nudged the door open so they could creep inside. The ceiling was as cavernous as Mattie remembered, so high and so shadowy it looked like it was made from darkness. And the machine? The machine was even bigger than Mattie remembered. It spread from wall to wall in a tangle of computer bits and electrical parts.
“No one’s here,” Mattie whispered. For some reason he couldn’t bring himself to lift his voice. Maybe it was because the basement brought back so many memories.
Had it only been five months since Mattie and the Spencers had discovered the cloning machine in the basement? Only five months since Carter had chased them down here and gotten stuck and had to turn himself in to Headmaster Rooney in order to save Mattie?
It sounded rather complicated when put like that.
Mattie looked at the Spencers. Everything seemed complicated these days. He sighed and turned to the huge computer screen and equally huge keyboard. Mattie studied the red buttons. There were the usual numbers and letters, but also strange symbols and fractions. “Who needs an eleven and two-tenths button?” he wondered.
“Same people who need personal tornadoes,” Eliot said.
“No one needs personal tornadoes,” Caroline told her brother.
“I do. I need a personal tornado—and I still want a clone.”
“You’re impossible,” Caroline retorted.
“And you’re—”
“Has the machine been modified?” Mattie interrupted before the Spencers could get going. “Can you tell if anyone’s used it?”
Eliot stared at the closest keyboard like it was everything he’d ever wanted. His fingers twitched.
“Go ahead and touch it,” Mattie said with a sigh. Eliot flung himself into the black desk chair, and the computer screen brightened, revealing a row of files and programs. Eliot began to open them. For several moments, there was only the sound of Eliot’s fingers flying fast and sure over the keyboard. Caroline and Mattie glanced at each other and then glanced around them. There was something spooky about being in that dimly lit basement again, something that made Mattie’s skin crawl like it was covered in spiders. Even Beezus seemed to agree. The fat, molting rat scurried under Caroline’s sweater again.
“I want to check the wiring,” Eliot said, ducking underneath the computer desk. His butt wiggled from side to side until he disappeared entirely behind a blinking electrical panel.
Caroline gave Beezus a scratch. “If the tornadoes aren’t coming from here, where do we look next?”
“I don’t know.”
“There’s nothing here,” Eliot said, popping up from under the tangle of piping. He had dust on his nose, chin, and shirt. The rest of Munchem might be clean, but the basement was as dirty as ever. “It’s the same machine.”
For the first time ever, Eliot sounded disappointed in the cloning machine. It was a dead end. They were no closer to discovering what was really going on than they were before.
“We better get going,” Mattie said, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice.
“Five more minutes?” Eliot asked, eyes huge and hopeful.
“NO!” Mattie and Caroline yelled. Eliot grumbled, but he followed Mattie and his sister to the steps, and the three went up, up, up, which was far more tiring than going down, down, down. Mattie didn’t mind it too much though. It gave him plenty of time to consider tornadoes and cloning machines and how an elevator would have been a much smarter investment for the Munchem basement.
Eventually Mattie did reach the very top. He pushed the trapdoor aside and peeked around the meadow. He saw weeds, weeds, and more weeds. Mattie pulled himself onto the grass and leaned back down to help Caroline. She grabbed his hand and he heaved her up; then they both pulled Eliot.
Caroline tugged so hard Eliot fell on his face. “Sorry about that,” she said.
“No, you’re not.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
Mattie and Caroline dragged the trapdoor back into place while Eliot kept watch. “We good?” he asked.
Mattie nodded, and the Spencers followed him up the hill and toward Munchem. What a disaster, Mattie thought. No leads on the tornadoes. No ideas where to look next.
Eliot rammed his shoulder into Caroline’s and she staggered sideways. “You jerk!” she hissed and shoved him.
Mattie sighed.
At least we aren’t going to get caught, he thought.
And that was when he saw the shadow moving toward them.
THERE IT WAS AGAIN: THAT prickling on Mattie’s skin, that spray of goose bumps between his shoulder blades, and just like before, there was that itching in his teeth. Of course, this time, Mattie was too scared to scratch it. He was too scared to move period.
Mattie stared and stared into the dark. Maybe it was the wind in the trees. Maybe the branches were shifting in the moonlight.
Maybe you’re seeing things, Mattie thought. But he wasn’t, because the shadow kept coming. It darted between flowering trees and manicured bushes and cold sweat popped up between Mattie’s shoulder blades. It wasn’t just shadows. It was a person. Someone else was out here.
Mattie shuddered as the shadow glided on. It’s not rushing toward us, Mattie thought. It’s going somewhere though—fast too.
Everyone stayed still as they w
atched the shadow creep along very…well…creepily. Caroline leaned close to Mattie’s ear. “Is it a student?”
Mattie shook his head. “I can’t tell,” he whispered. “A teacher?”
Caroline shifted. Mattie was pretty sure she was shrugging. “Maybe, but why be so quiet if it’s a teacher?”
And Caroline was right (again) because the shadow person was being very quiet. Just as quiet as Mattie and the Spencers were being. It didn’t want to be caught either.
They watched the shadow creep closer to the school. It paused under one of the windows and looked up. It stared for several seconds.
“Guys?” Caroline whispered. “Isn’t that your dorm?”
Mattie craned his head to look. It was. The shadowy person was looking up at 14A’s second window—looking up at 14A’s second window like he or she was thinking about breaking in! Mattie held his breath, and after his very own personal forever, the shadow turned and moonlight caught its shiny blond hair.
“Delia,” Mattie breathed. “It’s Delia.”
Indeed it was. Delia stood beneath their dorm window for another agonizing moment before disappearing back into the shadows.
“What’s she doing out here?” Caroline whispered. “Why’s she sneaking around?”
The clouds slid away from the moon and Mattie could see the Spencers again. Eliot’s eyes were round and Caroline’s mouth was open.
“What do you think she’s looking for?” Eliot whispered.
“Us?” Mattie guessed. “The clones?” The idea made his heart double thump. The clones! Was Delia heading for the woods?
“C’mon.” Mattie motioned for the Spencers to follow as he trailed behind Delia, sticking close to the wall and deep in the dark. They crept along and crept along and finally reached the tidy patch of grass by the gym. Mattie huddled by a marble statue of Mr. Larimore, and the Spencers hid next to the rosebushes.
If Delia’s sneaking into the woods, she’s going the wrong way, Mattie thought. There was a bark of laughter from above, and he glanced up. On the second floor, uneven windows cast yellow light across the stone trim and mossy gargoyles. There was nothing—no one—here.
Did we pass her? Did we— Mattie froze as moonlight slithered over something white. It moved along the gym’s wall. Mattie squinted. It wasn’t Delia. It was one of the scientists.
But which one? The scientist paused, the moon dipping him (her?) in silver and black, and as Mattie and the Spencers watched, Delia tiptoed out of the dark, careful to avoid the security cameras perched on the gym’s gargoyles.
“What are they doing?” Eliot whispered.
Mattie shook his head. “Dunno. Too far away to hear.”
They were also too far away to see. Moonlight caught the scientist’s white lab coat and Delia’s pale hair, but not much more. Delia and the scientist talked briefly, and then went in opposite directions. Two more heartbeats, and they both vanished completely into the night.
Mattie slumped down. “Pretty sure that wasn’t a question about homework.”
Caroline shrugged, her tangled hair even darker than the dark. “I bet she’s after the clones. Just because you wouldn’t help her doesn’t mean she’s going to stop searching.”
Mattie frowned. It was a perfectly reasonable assumption, but it didn’t feel like the full answer and he couldn’t explain why. In later years, Mattie would call this “trusting my gut,” but right now it just seemed like something was plucking at him, something that didn’t have a name. Yet.
“This isn’t good,” Caroline continued, hugging both arms around Beezus. The rat’s eyes bulged. “This soooo isn’t good. One of the scientists is helping her.”
Eliot nudged Mattie with his elbow. “You know, I recognize the hypocrisy when I say this, but your dad really needs to upgrade the security around here.”
“He had to take the cameras down! Professor Shelley told him hackers could look through the cameras to spy on our technology and…” Mattie trailed off, skin going cold. “What if Delia was meeting with Professor Shelley? She would know exactly where they could meet to avoid the security cameras. Plus, she’s into robots. She had a whole lab full of them back at the Larimore Corporation. What if she told my dad the security system should be taken down?”
In the moonlight, Caroline’s downturned mouth turned into a slash. “But why would she do that?”
Mattie paused. “I don’t know. I do know she sided with Delia even though you two swore I had nothing to do with the glitter, and she was also involved with the security system being taken down, so that’s something, right?”
Slowly, the Spencers nodded. Everyone looked at the shadowy spot where Delia had met the mystery scientist. “What if,” Mattie continued, “Professor Shelley didn’t advise my dad to take down the security cameras because she wanted to keep people from spying on Munchem? What if she had him take them down because she wants to keep what she’s doing a secret?”
MATTIE DIDN’T SLEEP MUCH THAT night. He tossed. He turned. He was about to flop on his stomach again when Eliot kicked him from below.
“You’re shaking the whole bunk,” Eliot whispered. “Knock it off!”
Mattie did, but he still couldn’t sleep, and by the time the alarm went off Mattie’s eyes felt gritty and his legs felt ten times heavier.
Across the room, Doyle bounded out of bed. “Going to be a great day!” he said with a maniacal gleam in his eyes.
Probably means he’s plotting something with Delia, Mattie thought as he dragged himself into his clothes. It was even more disturbing when Mattie considered Professor Shelley might be helping.
Everyone dressed in silence, and just before Doyle banged out 14A’s door, he pointed finger guns at Mattie. “Be seein’ you, Little Larimore.”
Yippee, Mattie thought. He stared at Kent’s empty bunk for a long moment. The dorm felt extra quiet without the other boys. Until now, Mattie didn’t realize silence could have weight. “Eliot?” he asked at last.
“Yeah?”
“I want to see what’s inside the gym.”
“And I want to see what’s inside the clones.”
Mattie sighed. “I’m not kidding.”
“Neither am I,” Eliot said.
Mattie sighed again. “The only thing still protected at Munchem is the gym. Whatever’s in there must be pretty amazing.”
Eliot tucked his Munchem T-shirt into his pants. “Yeah,” he admitted.
“If Shelley’s involved, it’s probably a computer.” Mattie paused. “Wouldn’t you want to see it?”
Eliot looked at him, eyes narrowed. “Well played, Little Larimore.”
“Shut up. I’m serious.”
“I am too.”
The boys looked at each other as the late bell began to chime. Mattie trudged after Eliot. It was a quiet breakfast. Caroline spent most of it passing food to Beezus while the boys stared into space. Everyone picked at their food, and no one said anything on the way to class.
In fact, it seemed like it was going to be just another day at Munchem—until Mattie pushed through the doors to see clouds swirl over the morning sun. The lovely spring morning suddenly turned dim and the sky went dark as wet concrete.
“It’s going to rain,” Caroline said.
A cold, cold wind nudged under their clothes. Mattie shivered. “I don’t think that’s rain.”
And, as the friends watched, neon yellow snow began to fall from the sky.
All the students stopped and all the students stared. It wasn’t that snow is unusual at Munchem. The academy was known for blizzards that will freeze your pipes and your eyeballs. Icicles would form on the gargoyles that were so thick and sharp they could be used as weapons—the absolutely most perfect weapon too, because the icicle will melt away after you stab someone with it. So, yes, in short, snow was not unusual at Munchem.
But it never snowed anything yellow.
“Ohgross-ohgross-gross-gross-gross!” Caroline danced in a circle as she banged pee-colored
snowflakes off her sweater. Mattie agreed, but apparently Eliot did not.
He opened his mouth and caught a fat flake on his tongue. “Looks like snow,” Eliot said. “Tastes like snow.”
Caroline gagged.
“Look!” Doyle shouted and ran past them. He spun in circles on the lawn, arms outstretched like he belonged in a musical with lederhosen and hills that were alive. “It’s snowing!”
Something heavy plowed into Mattie. It was Maxwell, galloping to join Doyle. A dozen Munchem students followed him. Everyone danced around, shrieking and laughing.
Everyone except for Caroline and Mattie, that is.
And Lem.
Just like when the thunderstorm erupted, Lem didn’t seem surprised. He caught a single snowflake on the tip of his finger and pulled out his pocket recorder. He muttered something into it. Lem was calm. Lem was thoughtful. It lasted two heartbeats before he announced very loudly, “What a strange storm! It must be from global warming!”
The Spencers and Mattie exchanged a glance. “Is it just me or does Lem seem to be trying a little too hard?” Mattie asked.
Caroline nodded. “Totally. He’s being even weirder than usual.”
“Yellow snow falling from the sky is a good reason to be weird.”
“True.”
Eliot licked another snowflake off his finger. “Delia’s going to be bummed she missed this.”
Caroline and Mattie ignored him. They dusted snow out of their hair and off their shoulders and—
What’s that? Mattie wondered. He paused, mid dusting. The gym’s frosted-glass windows were a dusky, flickering pink. Like something’s burning.
Mattie looked from the yellow snow on the ground to the pink-illuminated windows on the gym, and his teeth began to itch. Mattie elbowed Eliot. “Still don’t want to take a look inside the gym?”
The Girl Who Knew Even More Page 11
