by Ramona Finn
“What? Oh!”
The walls of the hallway had, up to this point, been opaque. Ahead of us, they gave way to ceiling-to-floor transparent windows. Sunlight flooded into the area. If we went forward, we would be seen by everyone in the neighboring Labs.
We hadn’t risked everything to get here for nothing. I wasn’t going to turn back now. And, we didn’t have much time before the medics would notice we were gone. But what could we do? It took about three long seconds for me to come to a conclusion. We’d escaped our beds where the Farrows had been experimenting on us. My parents were probably still stuck down in the Geos, and my mother was still dying. I needed evidence to show everyone that the Farrows were deceiving us. I was here, this close to getting what I needed. I had no choice, and little to lose.
“Just fake it,” I said, standing up straight and walking right into the bright hallway. I could feel Kev following behind me. “Act like we belong.”
We walked for a few minutes, going straight down the hallway. Someone was coming towards us. She was dressed in the white lab coat that had become so familiar to those of us who watched the show. She had her eyes glued to the pad she was reading, and her lips were moving in silence. Just as we passed, she looked up. Her brows knit together as she looked at me and Kev from bottom to top.
I smiled at her. “Er, hi!” I sounded so dumb, but my mind was racing. “We…we were instructed to come up here?”
The girl’s lip curled into an ugly sneer. “You must be extras. Your room is down that way.” She pointed with her chin. “Second door on your left.” And, with that, she carried on going her own way.
I exhaled as Kev leaned into me. “What’s an extra?”
“I have no idea,” I said. “Maybe they’re extra people to make a scene look busier.”
Kev groaned. “I remember seeing extra people in some episodes. Mainly the outdoors ones. They never said anything, just milled around watching the scientists work. I can’t believe none of it was real.”
I raised my finger to my lips. “Let’s just get inside.”
Kev’s words reminded me of my best friend Viv and her obsession with the show. She’d seemed to know that those background people were just there to populate a scene, and that none of the main characters would even care about them or bother to get to know them. But she’d longed to be one of those people anyway, simply so she could be in the same room as Ben Farrow. She was convinced that if they met just once, he would somehow fall in love with her. It was crazy, but it was her dream.
I wondered what Viv would think about him, and all the Farrows, if she knew what I knew now.
We made our way past the transparent walls, doing our very best to look like we belonged here. It took a lot of effort for me to not squint from the brightness of the sunlight flooding the hallway. Several times, I had to slap Kev’s hand away from his eyes. Elites didn’t react to bright sunlight, so neither should we. Finally, we came to a door marked “Extras.” I knocked first, just in case. When there was no answer, we entered slowly.
The room was empty, thank the earth. But what a room! It was filled with clothes and a row of chairs, each in front of a large mirror. Each mirror had large, bright bulbs around its perimeter, lighting up the image in its reflection. I caught sight of myself in one of them and gasped. My face was so gaunt, as if I’d been starving for days. There were shadows under my eyes, and my eyeballs had streaks of red in them that looked like spiderwebs.
“Why didn’t you tell me I looked this awful?” I asked Kev.
“I didn’t notice,” he said. He was busy rummaging through the racks of clothing on the other side of the room. He pulled out a pair of dark slacks, a blue top, and a white coat. “Try these on. They’re better than these green things.”
I ducked behind a rack of clothes and removed my scrubs. Then I slipped into the trousers and the shirt. The scrubs had felt so good against my skin, but these new clothes took that experience up several notches. The fabric was like nothing I’d felt before. There wasn’t a single wrinkle to be seen, and nothing was stained. Even without a shower, this outfit made me feel clean. I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt this clean.
On this side of the room, there was a counter with all kinds of objects that seemed to have no other purpose than to beautify people. I picked up a brush and ran it through my tangled hair, pulling it back into a low ponytail.
I walked back to where Kev was, slipping my arms into the white coat. He had on a long-sleeved shirt and khaki pants. He slung a white coat over his shoulder and posed, one hand in his pocket.
I laughed. It felt good to laugh. Kev twirled in his new clothes and then made me do the same thing.
“We’re missing one more thing,” he said.
From a box behind him, he produced two pairs of shiny, black shoes. He slipped into a pair and handed me another. I put them on, relishing the feeling of my feet being so cozily supported. In the Geos, we wore heavy, clunky boots because they lasted the longest against the rough ground and damp environment. Often, our boots started out being too big and then, years later, got too small, too tight, or just fell apart from overuse. These black slip-ons were the first new shoes I’d had since childhood.
“Come on,” I said. “We’d better go find the studio.”
“What kind of evidence are you trying to get?” Kev asked, holding the door open for me.
I shook my head. “I don’t know, but maybe if we could get hold of a copy of their script, that would prove that this show’s fake.”
We followed signs that said “Studio One.” This time, walking past the transparent windows, we didn’t feel so out of place. We were dressed like those we’d seen on The Cure so many times. Surely, no one would look twice at us.
The door to the studio was different from all the others I’d encountered up to this point. This door was wide, with two almost black glass panels. I stepped closer to find a way to open it. Instead, it slid open as soon as we reached its threshold. The room inside was dark and cavernous. Everything was black—the walls, the thick curtains that hung from ceiling to floor everywhere, and even the equipment. The ceiling was so high that I couldn’t see the end of it. What I could see, from the small pinpoints of light that peeped out between curtains, was that there was a whole second level above us. Planks of wood and metal ran parallel to the path on the ground but were suspended at a height of at least two floors above us. They seemed to be held in place by thick cables and ropes attached to bags bulging with something inside.
All kinds of equipment hung from above with more of it on the ground. Some had legs, and some had wheels, as if waiting to be moved. Voices echoed through the room. Someone was barking orders at another. A man approached us wearing all black. He had a bulky headset on and was talking to someone through a microphone that appeared to be attached to his face. He looked at us.
“Extras?” I tried this new word out on him. Hopefully, that girl had been right.
He pointed in the direction we’d already been headed. “Check in with the casting director.”
It had worked.
We moved a little farther into the room. Kev tugged at my sleeve.
“We’re not really going to try and get on the show, are we? Surely, they’ll recognize us.”
I pulled Kev into a dark corner, between two curtains, and pointed up. “We’re going up there. It seems to me that there’s a whole level up there that might look down on all of this. We might get a better view of how things are laid out. Maybe we can spy on them from up there.”
Kev gulped. I knew I was asking a lot of him, but we had come this far. I found a ladder that went up into the darkness above and started to climb. The planks that made up the flooring up here were grated and narrow. The entire floor wobbled with each step we took. I signaled to Kev to tread carefully, and then stepped in a way that would balance out our weight from side to side. That way, the floor would remain as steady as possible.
I stopped over a bright spot in the room and
looked down. There it was—the lab. It was nothing more than a giant box! Not much bigger than our Union Hall. Even the windows that on TV looked like they overlooked the entire Greens were just squares of green fabric. They weren’t real. A few people in lab coats milled about the rows of counters that were filled with glass bottles and lab equipment. There were cameras pointed at different parts of the box-room, and chairs with names of characters on the backs. The one in the middle had Ben’s name on it, and something squeezed my chest. He had been faking it all along. Had he faked his interest in helping me? I’d thought he was starting to like me, for real, for me. But now I wondered if he had just been a good actor. I kicked myself for falling for his tricks. I wasn’t any smarter than Viv and all those other girls who fawned over Ben.
On a few of the chairs below, I spotted one of those small computer pads. I nudged Kev, who was wide-eyed and staring at everything below.
“That’s the girl,” he mouthed, pointing to a light-haired woman in a lab coat below. “The one who cheated on her match.” He looked excited to see her.
Someone below clapped, and everyone’s attention—including ours—turned to her. A woman wearing a headset and carrying an extra-large pad told everyone to go get a snack, as shooting would start in half an hour. As she spoke, I recognized her voice. She was the woman who’d told Lou to increase the romantic tension in the show and ignore the science. She had to be the person in charge of the whole show.
My eyes zoomed in to the pad she carried. That was going to be our evidence. Who else would have the most information about the show, if not its chief manager, or whatever they might call her? I elbowed Kev and pointed to her. She removed the headset and placed it and the pad on a chair marked “Director.”
“You stay here and keep watch,” I whispered to him. “I’m going to go down and take that computer.”
Kev’s face went pale again. He shook his head. “It’s too dangerous.”
I looked down at the box-room. It was empty now. There wasn’t a soul in sight. It would be easy. “If you see someone coming, just cough, and that’ll signal to me to get out of sight.”
Kev grabbed my arm. “Please don’t. There has to be another way.”
I patted his hand and gently pried off his fingers. “I’ll be super quick. No one will know what’s happened.” I looked him in the eye with as firm a glare as I could muster. “We have no choice.”
There was no ladder on this side of the studio, so I walked back the way we’d come. The climb down was harder than the climb up earlier. The ladder swayed under my weight, and maybe I was shaking, too, from fear or the adrenaline rush. The floor was dark, but I knew my way now. I made my way as quickly as I could to the box-room. All the lights had been dimmed. I was glad for that bit of cover. When I reached the very edge of the fake lab, I stopped to catch my breath. The director’s chair was within my reach. I would just take the two or three steps to the chair, grab the pad, and head back to the ladder. I visualized it all in my head. Easy. I could do this.
I counted to three to steady my nerves. One…two…. A loud screech of metal rubbing against metal came from directly above me, followed by a cry for help. Kev!
“What are you doing up there?” A man’s voice echoed through the whole studio. Other voices expressing shock and curiosity rose up into the air.
The director and the other actors began to reappear in the fake lab. This was my only chance. I dashed forward, grabbed the pad, and bolted for the ladder. Kev was already on the ground floor—how had he made it down the ladder so quickly? He was being held down by a large man dressed all in black. The man looked furious, and Kev was clearly terrified.
Without thinking, I ran straight at the man in black and threw my body against him. My shoulder connected with his back, and a bolt of pain shot through me. I dropped the computer pad, but I didn’t care. I’d gotten Kev into this mess, and I would get him out.
“Hey!” the man cried as he lost his balance and tipped over, releasing Kev momentarily. Ignoring my pain, I grabbed Kev’s arm and pulled him up. With my other hand, I snatched up the computer pad. Without my letting go of Kev, we ran back out the studio door, down the hallway, and straight for the stairwell.
“They’re going to put this place on lockdown!” Kev yelled as we ran.
As if he’d made a prediction, the hallway filled with a blaring alarm. I would’ve plugged my ears if I had a spare hand, but I was holding onto Kev and the pad at the same time. The whole place went dark for a second and then lit back up in a red glow. It was disorienting, but leaning against the wall helped me to focus on which way was up. I practically felt my way to the staircase door. People behind us were yelling for us to stop. I sure as the Virus wasn’t going to do that.
“Come on, Kev!” I yelled. There wasn’t any point in staying quiet anymore. Kev seemed to come back to life, and I let go of his arm. He ran ahead of me to the door and pushed it open. It wasn’t locked, thank the earth.
We ran down the three flights of stairs faster than our hearts could beat. The steps blended into a blur as we slid, jumped, and hopped off several at a time. When we reached our medical bay floor, I yanked at the door handle.
It wouldn’t budge.
“It’s locked!” Kev cried when he realized what was happening. “They’ve locked down the whole area. We’re finished!”
I slid down to the floor, pressed up against the wall and clutching my knees to my chest. I didn’t know what to do. Kev’s hands pushed against the sides of his head as he paced back and forth in a panic. His breaths came short and fast as he mumbled something about his life coming to an end and him being taken apart for body parts. I was afraid he was going to topple over. But that’s not what happened.
He stopped pacing and glared at me for a long five seconds. Something in his eyes sent chills through me. I knew he was blaming me for all this, and I tried to show him in my expression that I was sorry. But his expression didn’t change. Then he turned to the door and began to pound on it with all his might. “Help me!” he screamed.
“No, Kev!” I cried out, jumping to my feet and prying him away from the door. “That’s not going to help us.”
He shoved me backwards with his body and I flew across the small landing, slamming my back against the wall. I was winded, and it took a few seconds to regain my composure.
That’s when I heard a click on the other side of the door, and we both froze. The door opened, with Kev right at the threshold. Whoever had opened it could only see him. I heard the thud of the EF’s boots, followed by the familiar whirring of their weapons charging. It took me a moment too long to work out what Kev was doing.
He roared at the EFs and charged at them with his entire weight. There was a stunned cry from the EFs, and Kev cried out one word.
“Run!”
Chapter Nine
For the longest second of my life, I didn’t know what to do. Should I run and let them take Kev? Or should I do something to save him? I knew the second choice was the selfless, yet impossible choice. Kev was struggling against two EFs, both of whom were armed to the teeth, and at least as big as him, if not far bigger.
“Go!” Kev snarled at me, and he landed a blow to one EF’s helmet. Neither EF had seen me yet, and Kev was keeping them on the far side of the hallway. They were too busy trying to hold him down to even notice me.
Kev had made the decision for me. He’d given himself up to save me. Why? I looked down at my hands. The computer pad was gone. Somewhere in this flight, I’d dropped it. Now, I didn’t even have the evidence we’d set out to get. I’d dragged Kev into a failed mission.
I didn’t deserve to be saved.
But if I didn’t run, then what? Kev’s sacrifice was going to come to nothing. So, just as the second EF threw himself on top of Kev, I dodged their pile of bodies and ran.
I ran straight back to the only place I was familiar with—my room.
The door slid open, thankfully, and I found that it was still
dark inside. I slipped inside and watched the door whoosh shut. Before I could even turn around, though, someone grabbed me from behind and clamped a hand tightly over my mouth. I screamed, but it came out muffled. I struggled against the person’s hold.
“Stop it, Ty! It’s me!”
I froze.
Skylar Two?
No, that wasn’t his voice. Why had my mind gone there? It was Ben. I relaxed into his grip and felt his hand release me just a little. With my back up against his chest, the heat of his body seeped into mine and our pounding hearts beat in unison.
“Don’t scream, okay?” He sounded nervous.
I nodded. He let go.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. I realized it was a dumb question, because of what I’d just done, but what else was I supposed to say?
He was probably there to help them arrest me. But he wasn’t his authoritative, cool self. He looked frazzled. His hair was mussed and he was out of breath, as if he’d just run all the way there. Like me. What was going on? Why would he have come to my room alone if he was going to arrest me? Too many thoughts raced through my mind, making me feel sick.
“I’m here to give you an alibi,” he said, sounding a little annoyed. “I saw what you tried to do. That was really stupid.”
“Well, I’m sorry you don’t approve of my life choices,” I blurted out, crossing my arms and turning toward the bed.
“You should take your clothes off.”
“What?” A cold tingling spread up my back and across my face. All kinds of images flashed through my mind before I realized what he’d meant. I was still dressed in regular clothing and a lab coat that wasn’t mine, and EFs would surely be storming my room soon. Ben walked over to the closet and pulled out a medical gown. I went into the small bathroom to change.
“Hurry,” Ben said through the door. “They’ll be he—”
The sound of boots clomping into my room finished his sentence. I slipped out of my clothes and back into the gown in record time, stashing the evidence in the small supply cupboard under the sink. I hoped the EFs weren’t going to search the bathroom. Then I flushed the toilet for good measure. As I opened the door, I remembered to walk slowly, as if I had only just gotten out of bed five minutes before.
