Pandora Jones: Reckoning

by Barry Jonsberg

  But she was wrong. The group had only climbed three or four steps when a muffled crump broke the night’s silence. For a moment, Pan had difficulty making sense of the sound. Her brain and her limbs froze, one foot in midair, caught between steps. Around her, the group reacted similarly. Then, at the same moment, they all turned and scrambled down the steps towards the clearing. Sam and Karl had brought up the rear, so they were the first to turn the corner of the cliff. They stopped in their tracks and the others skidded to a halt beside them.

  Far off, to the right of where the waterfall lay, a red smudge flickered and bloomed against the night. It seemed, from their distance, nothing more than a crimson bruise, fading even as they watched. But then a second explosion came. This time it was much more violent. The smudge expanded, flowered and rushed towards the sky, the sound following moments later. Within a minute, the blaze was raging and it was possible to see the rocky mountainside illuminated behind it, shadows and light dancing across its face.

  ‘Jesus,’ Pan breathed.

  Jen laughed. ‘Okay. I take it back. Eric is not a douchebag. Well, he is, but I’m prepared to forgive him.’

  Wei-Lin could not take her eyes away from the inferno.

  ‘What is that?’ she said.

  Jen put a hand on her shoulder.

  ‘That, Wei-Lin, is my birthday present from Eric, our pet pyromaniac and self-styled bomb expert. I asked for a show and I got it.’

  ‘Your birthday?’

  ‘Forget it. I wanted a diversion and he did the business.’

  ‘What did he blow up?’ Karl also couldn’t take his eyes away.

  ‘Nate’s cabin,’ said Jen. ‘The one place we could be sure was going to be empty. And it’s set apart from the others, so there’s not much chance of anyone else being caught up in it. We didn’t tell you because, frankly, I doubted the guy could deliver. Seems I was wrong. Seems . . .’

  A siren, shockingly loud, blared from the Infirmary above. It was difficult to tell, against that onslaught of decibels, but Pan thought that other sirens had also been activated, possibly from the watchtowers on the wall.

  The School was coming to life. Students were running towards the blaze. One by one, flame torches were lit. Their small patches of light bobbed and gravitated towards the distant fire.

  ‘Right. Let’s go,’ said Pan. She turned on her heel and ran towards the steps, but Jen overtook her within seconds. The rest of the group followed.

  The team raced up the steps towards the Infirmary and whatever fate held in store for them.

  Chapter 14

  ‘Medical emergency!’ yelled Jen as they approached the summit.

  Pan was glad it was Jen doing the shouting. She had no breath to cry out after the steep climb. The group thinned out as they ran. Nate and Jen, of course, made it to the top first, though Pan and Wei-Lin were not far behind. Sanjit was on their heels and Sam and Karl some distance behind. She shouldn’t be doing this to her body, thought Pan. And Karl won’t leave her side. Pan was glad Sam had someone to look after her.

  The guard had moved away from the final step into the Garden on Top of the World, perhaps to get a better view of the blaze below. He didn’t even hear Jen’s shouts over the siren which made Pan’s ears ring the closer she got to the summit. The boy didn’t turn as the group headed for the Infirmary’s doors. One problem solved, thought Pan. She hadn’t worked out how to deal with the boy if he offered resistance, and she didn’t relish the idea of violence so early in the mission. She didn’t relish violence at all, but knew there was virtually no chance of avoiding it. Now it seemed that slipping past him was going to be one confrontation evaded.

  Jen rattled the doors of the Infirmary, but they were locked. She fumbled in her pocket for her lock picks, but a light suddenly blazed from the building’s interior, just as the rest of the group caught up with her.

  ‘What’ll we do?’ said Jen.

  ‘Wait,’ said Pan. ‘I think someone’s going to open up for us.’

  ‘I hate waiting, Pandora.’

  ‘Wait, Jen.’

  But waiting proved difficult. Jen rocked from foot to foot, one hand clenching and unclenching. The others kept glancing over their shoulders. Nate placed himself to the side, out of view of anyone inside the Infirmary. Who would be approaching from inside the building? Dr Morgan? Or a squad of armed guards? It was only a matter of seconds before a shadow loomed against the walls of the Infirmary’s corridors – but the seconds seemed unforgivably slow.

  And then Dr Morgan bustled around the bend and up to the plate glass doors. He was alone. The doctor’s face was anxious and puzzled as Jen motioned him to open up. Her movements were urgent and she kept looking back. Everything about her said, Hurry. The doctor hesitated and then flicked the lever inside the doors. Jen pushed inside, the rest of the team following. Dr Morgan stumbled back.

  ‘What on earth is going on?’ said Morgan. ‘What are you doing here?’

  Karl engaged the lever immediately after Nate slipped inside. The doctor’s eyes widened as he saw him.

  ‘What the . . . ?’

  ‘We have company,’ said Nate. He jerked his finger over his shoulder. The guard had finally wrenched his eyes away from the show down below and had rushed over to the group entering the building. His face was pressed against the glass and he kept trying the doors. He was shouting, but it was impossible to hear him above the siren’s blare.

  Jen slipped the knife from the waistband of her pants and held it up.

  ‘Back the way you came, Doc,’ she said. ‘We need to talk.’

  Dr Morgan’s face drained of colour as he looked at the blade and he made no movement at all.

  Jen stepped closer to him. ‘I mean, now,’ she yelled.

  ‘I don’t understand . . .’

  ‘You don’t need to understand. All you need to do is move. This guy is starting to freak me out.’ Jen used the knife to indicate the guard who had now plucked a walkie-talkie from his pocket and was yelling into it.

  ‘Oh, crap,’ said Pan. ‘Let’s hope he can’t make himself heard over the alarm.’ But even if that were true it would buy them only a few extra minutes.

  Dr Morgan gave an almost imperceptible shudder and turned from the doors. He moved towards the nurse’s station that lay just around the corner. Pan was relieved when she could no longer see the guard. At the juncture of the corridor and the ward, Jen turned to Wei-Lin.

  ‘Stay here and watch both the front door and the entrance from the ward,’ said Jen. ‘The guard might try to force his way in. I doubt it, but if he does, then kill him. Understood?’

  Wei-Lin unhitched the bow from her shoulder and nodded. If she felt any fear or trepidation Pan couldn’t detect it. This was what they had become; she knew that. Nonetheless, she mourned their loss of innocence. Dr Morgan did look scared. He glanced at Wei-Lin’s expression and skittered along the corridor. Jen followed closely, her knife poised.

  ‘Where are we going?’ he said over his shoulder.

  ‘To the elevator,’ said Jen.

  Dr Morgan laughed, but it sounded like a nervous squeak.

  ‘Are you crazy?’ he said. ‘There’s no elevator. It’s a single-storey building. Any idiot can see that.’

  ‘This idiot can’t,’ said Jen, her tone even. ‘We’ve seen it, Doc, so cut the shit, okay? I’ll even tell you how to get there. Turn right at the end of this corridor. Straight to the end. The door facing you.’

  Dr Morgan didn’t reply, but he followed the directions. Pan glanced down the corridor to her left as they came to a T-junction. There were doors there, she remembered. At least one operating theatre and other rooms containing who knew what. Guards, maybe. Soldiers. But the corridor was deserted and the group moved on.

  Dr Morgan stopped at the plain door at the end of the passageway. He turned to the team and gave a nervous shrug.

  ‘I’ve never been through this door,’ he said.

  Pan noticed his eyes shift almost imp
erceptibly to the side. He’s lying, she thought.

  ‘I assumed it was a cleaner’s closet,’ he continued. ‘I don’t have a key.’

  ‘How do you know it’s locked?’ asked Pan.

  The nervous flicker of the eyes again. ‘I assumed,’ said Morgan.

  ‘A cleaner’s closet. Locked?’ Pan replied. ‘A strange assumption.’

  ‘Open it,’ said Jen.

  ‘Seriously, I don’t have a key.’ Dr Morgan raised his arms. ‘You can search me if you don’t believe me.’

  ‘No time, no inclination,’ said Jen. She made to hand her knife to Sanjit, then thought better of it and gave it to Karl. ‘Out of the way, Doc. And, Karl? He moves, you cut him, understand? A slash across the throat should do the trick, but, hey, wherever you fancy. I’m not particular.’

  Dr Morgan turned even paler.

  Karl nodded and took the knife dutifully but without enthusiasm. The doctor pressed himself against the wall, arms raised, while Jen took her lock picks from her pocket and knelt in front of the door. Pan turned and scoped the corridor. The lights were off in this area of the Infirmary, but there was still sufficient illumination from the main corridor to see if anyone tried to sneak up on them.

  It didn’t take Jen as long as last time. Twenty seconds and there was a snick as the lock unlatched. Pan glanced over her shoulder and saw Jen get to her feet, put the picks back in her pocket and open the door. Immediately, a light inside turned on and there was the elevator, just as Pan remembered it. The clear glass door, the panel on the right with the outline of a hand that acted as the key, the small lobby and the elevator with its four buttons clearly marked. The group stared for a moment in silence. They haven’t seen this before, thought Pan. Me and Jen have, and even I find it hard to believe.

  ‘Sanjit, get Wei-Lin,’ said Jen. ‘Be quick.’

  Sanjit nodded and darted off along the corridor. Karl handed the knife back to Jen, clearly relieved to be rid of it.

  ‘Okay, Doc,’ said Jen. ‘Simple enough. Put your hand on the outline and let’s get this puppy moving.’

  ‘I don’t . . .’

  Jen sighed and held up one hand, her palm facing Dr Morgan.

  ‘You’re not going to be trouble, are you, Doc?’ She lifted the knife up and examined its edge. ‘We just need your hand. I imagine that’ll be fine whether it’s attached to your wrist or not. But frankly, it’s your choice and we’re running out of time. I’m counting down from three. Three . . . two . . .’

  Dr Morgan stepped forward and put his hand against the outline, just as Sanjit and Wei-Lin ran along the corridor towards them. For a moment, nothing happened, then the glass beneath Dr Morgan’s palm glowed a pale blue and there was a faint whirring noise. The door slid noiselessly into a recess in the left wall.

  ‘A cleaner’s closet, huh?’ said Jen. ‘Strange that you’ve never been in here, but it recognises your fingerprints. Let’s cut the bullshit from here on, Doc. Okay?’

  ‘Let me go,’ said Dr Morgan.

  ‘Sorry?’

  ‘You’ve got what you want. There’s no reason for me to come any further.’

  Jen sighed and stepped forward. The knife flashed so quickly that Pan wasn’t sure she’d even seen it move. Dr Morgan flinched and lifted a hand to his cheek. A thin smear of blood oozed between his fingers. He took his hand away and looked at it in disbelief.

  ‘You don’t listen too good, Doc,’ said Jen, her voice calm.

  Pan closed her eyes and swallowed. Nausea welled in her stomach. She felt a touch on her arm. When she opened her eyes again, Nate slid his hand down her arm and fleetingly gripped her hand. Fingers interlaced.

  ‘Trust her,’ he whispered.

  ‘We’re all staying together,’ Jen continued. ‘Maybe there’s another lock inside the elevator. And sure as hell, there’ll be locks down below that we’ll need you to open. So, for the very last time, cut the crap.’

  Pan almost felt sorry for Dr Morgan. Almost. He had been friendly to her since she arrived at The School. They’d spent hours together on his experiments into her intuitive abilities during week after week of personal development sessions. It wasn’t possible to spend so much time together and not build up an empathetic bond. He had appeared genuinely fond of her. And maybe Dr Morgan was one of those people that Professor Goldberg had referred to – a member of staff who’d been duped along with the entire student body. Someone who believed The School’s lies because he had been implanted with the same memories that everyone else had received. A victim.

  But he had access to the elevator, and he had lied about it. There could be no doubt he was part of the problem, not the solution.

  Dr Morgan looked dazed. He stepped into the small lobby and the rest of the group crowded in behind him.

  ‘Okay,’ said Jen. ‘Four floors. What’s in them?’

  Dr Morgan had his hand pressed against his face and when he spoke his voice was strained and weak.

  ‘Two floors of accommodation,’ he said. ‘Showers, toilets, common rooms. The bottom two floors are both labs.’

  ‘You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?’

  ‘No. It’s the truth.’

  ‘Then I guess that’s where we’re headed,’ said Jen. ‘Going all the way down. Press the button, Doc.’

  Dr Morgan reached out and pressed the button marked 1.

  It seemed to take an age for the elevator to reach their floor, but finally the metal door slid open. Only when she saw the elevator was empty did Pan let out her breath. She hadn’t been aware she was holding it. Morgan entered first, Jen close at his side, the knife still raised, its blade glistening red. Wei-Lin and Sanjit went next, then Sam and Karl. Finally, Pan squeezed in. The elevator was tiny and Pan wondered if it would take their weight, whether it had an overload system. But the doors closed and the elevator lurched into motion.

  It was surreal. They were crowded in together like workers going to an office. It was all she could do to stop herself sniggering at the thought. How are you today, Wei-Lin? Going out for lunch later? Give me a call, maybe we could meet up.

  But Pan didn’t have time to let the absurdity sink in, because two things happened. The elevator came to a jarring halt and at the same moment the lights went out.

  Chapter 15

  Pan’s heart lurched and she had difficulty drawing breath. She tried to be logical: it’s only the dark. It can’t harm you. Breathe. But her lungs refused to obey and the harder she tried to force them, the more constricted her airways became. Flashes of light played against her eyeballs and her legs felt weak, on the point of collapse. Inwardly, she screamed. Outwardly, she gave the tiniest squeak of terror. This felt like death.

  A glow appeared in the ceiling of the elevator and suddenly Pan’s lungs expanded again. She took in deep breaths and resisted the urge to sink to her knees. Only a second or two must have passed, but it felt like hours.

  ‘They’ve cut the power,’ said Nate. At least he appeared calm. The fact he could even speak seemed miraculous to Pan. ‘That’s probably what the guard was doing – alerting the authorities that we were inside the Infirmary. So they’ve pulled the plug.’

  ‘In that case, why is there light?’ Wei-Lin asked. She gestured towards the panel in the ceiling, which emitted a creamy glow.

  ‘Emergency procedures,’ said Nate. ‘Think about it. There are four floors, buried in tons of rock, carved out of a mountain. How do you get fresh air in? Especially if the electricity fails. Backup power, that’s how. A generator for an emergency, so no one dies down here because air isn’t getting through.’

  ‘You seem to know a lot about this,’ said Jen. Her voice wasn’t friendly.

  Nate sighed. ‘Look,’ he said. ‘I know you don’t trust me and I don’t blame you. But this isn’t insider knowledge, Jen. I’ve never been here before. At least, not that I remember. It’s just common sense. There has to be backup power. And that’s good for us. They can turn off the main switch, but the emergency power
has to be independent. Probably a generator that kicks in automatically.’

  ‘This is all fascinating,’ said Sam, ‘but it doesn’t exactly help us, does it? We’re stuck in an elevator and the emergency power doesn’t appear to be making us move.’

  ‘Back in the real world,’ said Karl, ‘you’d press the button marked with a phone and wait for rescue. I guess that’s not an option available to us right now. Especially since there isn’t a button marked with a phone.’

  ‘No,’ said Nate. ‘But I’ve watched movies and so have you. There’s got to be a way to access the lift shaft.’ He examined the ceiling and smiled. ‘For example, a panel exactly like that one.’ He pointed.

  It was a recessed section next to the emergency light. Metal seams marked it as different to the other panels in the ceiling.

  ‘Okay,’ said Jen. ‘So we climb up a greasy cable to the next floor, swing to the lift entrance and force our way in through the sliding doors. Is that how it goes?’

  Nate smiled. ‘You remember the movies as well.’ There was a pause.

  Jen handed the knife to Karl. ‘I’ll do it,’ she said.

  ‘No,’ said Nate. ‘I’ll go.’

  The two looked at each other for a few seconds and then Nate smiled again.

  ‘This’ll be dangerous,’ he said. ‘Easy to slip. Maybe the power will come on again and the elevator will go up, crush me to death. Look at it this way, Jen. I have nothing to gain by trying this and everything to lose. It’s not a question of trust, because you’re not trusting me with anything. Except danger.’

  ‘So why do you want to do it?’ said Jen.

  ‘The truth?’

  Jen shrugged.

  ‘I have something to prove to you,’ said Nate. ‘All of you. I’ve seen the way you look at me. And I think I owe you.’ He shrugged. ‘Simple as that.’