Pandora Jones: Reckoning

by Barry Jonsberg

Jen gazed at him for a few seconds and then took the knife back from Karl.

  ‘Prove something to us,’ she said.

  Nate’s smile broadened.

  Karl linked his hands together to give Nate a boost. He knocked the panel out on the first attempt. It clattered against the roof of the elevator, leaving a small and completely black hole. On the second boost, Nate clung to the edge of the hole and then lifted himself up and through. He had to squirm a little, but he made it. He disappeared for a second and then his face hung over the gap. He gave a thumbs up.

  ‘Darker than hell up here,’ he said. ‘But I think we’ve struck it lucky. As far as I can tell, the elevator stopped a few metres below the first-floor entrance. I can see a sliver of light – really faint.’

  ‘Can you reach it?’ asked Pan.

  ‘Just. But I need something to slide into the gap, force the doors open. Jen, hand me the knife.’

  Jen glanced at Pan. It was clear what she was thinking. Could they trust him? Was it sensible to hand him a weapon? Pan nodded and Jen shrugged almost imperceptibly. She flicked the knife over, caught it by the blade and extended the handle towards Nate. He had to wriggle the upper part of his body down from the hatch to take it. He grinned as he grasped the handle.

  ‘Back in a moment,’ he said. ‘Entertain yourselves.’ And then he was gone.

  Jen turned to Dr Morgan.

  ‘Don’t try anything, okay?’ she said. She held up her hands. ‘I might not have a knife, but trust me. These can do as much damage.’

  Dr Morgan slid down the wall of the elevator and hugged his knees. When he spoke he sounded tired, defeated and old. The red line on his cheek was livid, maybe more so in the dim light which washed the rest of his face and painted it pale and sickly.

  ‘Where would I go?’ he whispered.

  Pan glanced around the rest of the team. Their nervousness was apparent in the shuffling of their feet and their drawn expressions. Stuck in an elevator. For some people this was the stuff of nightmares. And as Karl had pointed out, it wasn’t like they could wait for the fire brigade to show. Pan knew, however, that this challenge was going to be just the first in a succession. Would they cope or would some crack under pressure? Time would tell.

  They listened in silence to the sounds of Nate’s progress above their heads. He grunted occasionally and then there was a scraping sound, followed by a silence that stretched for over a minute. Pan was just starting to become even more anxious when Nate’s head reappeared in the panel.

  ‘Done,’ he said. He leaned down and passed the knife back to Jen, who relaxed visibly as she took it. ‘Hard sonofabitch, but I prised the doors back, enough for us to get through.’ He extended one hand into the elevator. ‘Come on. Who’s first?’

  They decided Sanjit was the one who probably didn’t have the physical strength to help others get up to the hatch, so he went first. Jen crouched and made a cradle of her hands. He put one foot into it and Jen pushed, while Nate pulled. Sanjit almost shot into the elevator shaft. Then it was Wei-Lin, followed by Sam and Karl. Finally, Jen nodded to Dr Morgan. ‘You’re next,’ she said.

  ‘Just leave me here,’ Dr Morgan moaned.

  ‘You’re coming with us.’ Jen’s tone was flat, brooking no argument.

  Dr Morgan groaned and got to his feet. He was heavier than anyone else and Jen’s face twisted with the effort. Once Nate got a grip on his hands, Dr Morgan’s legs flayed around, nearly kicking Pan in the head, but eventually he wriggled through the gap.

  ‘Now you,’ said Jen.

  ‘How will you get up there?’

  ‘Are you kiddin’?’ said Jen. ‘I jump, Nate grabs me and I get a hand on the ceiling. I do a hundred pull-ups for fun each day, Pandora. I won’t break sweat on this one.’

  When Pan wriggled into the elevator shaft, she found it wasn’t as dark as she had imagined, mainly because the doors about a metre and a half above her head let in a pale light. She could see a system of cables snaking up into the dark of the shaft. Nate patted her on the back.

  ‘Good job,’ he said. ‘Now up onto the first floor.’ Wei-Lin lay on the floor above her, one hand stretched out to help. Pan didn’t need much. It was just a short scramble and then she was with the others. She got to her feet and looked around. They were in a dimly lit corridor, bare and unremarkable. Emergency lights glowed from the ceiling. The corridor faded into darkness to her left and right. As soon as Pan was safely up, Wei-Lin picked up her bow, nocked an arrow and took up a position at the front of the group.

  It was less than a minute before Jen and Nate joined them.

  ‘Where to, Doc?’ said Jen.

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Dr Morgan. ‘I swear. Like I said, this is an accommodation floor, but it’s not one I’ve been to.’

  ‘So where do you sleep?’ said Jen. She got close into Dr Morgan’s face. ‘You didn’t go to the staff cabins in The School. In fact, seems like you never left the Infirmary. Ever. So where did you bed down?’

  ‘Second floor,’ said Dr Morgan. ‘I wasn’t allowed anywhere else. That’s it.’ He spread his hands. ‘I’m telling the truth.’

  ‘Stairs?’ asked Nate.

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Maybe there aren’t any,’ said Sam. ‘Maybe we’re stuck here.’

  Nate shook his head.

  ‘No,’ he said. ‘There’s gotta be stairs. Like I said before. What happens if the electricity goes? There have to be stairs connecting all the levels.’

  ‘There weren’t any stairs in the Infirmary,’ Pan pointed out.

  ‘I’ll take your word for it,’ Nate replied. ‘Maybe there was only access via the elevator from the Infirmary. That would make sense from a security angle. But down here? No. There’ll be stairs. And what’s more, there’s gotta be an emergency exit as well. Come on, guys. We’re wasting time.’

  ‘Taking charge again, are you, Nate?’ said Jen. The knife was back in the waistband of her pants, but her hand rested close to the hilt.

  ‘No, Jen,’ said Nate. ‘You lead, okay? I’ll follow.’

  There was silence.

  ‘Let’s go,’ said Pan. ‘Jen, you’re in charge.’

  Jen made no acknowledgement, but she turned to her left and the group followed, Dr Morgan lagging behind. Wei-Lin dropped back and brought up the rear. Dr Morgan seemed to shrink further, as if sensing the bow and arrow behind him and the silent promise that Wei-Lin would use them if necessary.

  The corridor came to an abrupt halt after forty metres. There was only one door and the room behind it was a storage closet; a couple of buckets and a mop nestled in the corner. A few makeshift shelves contained bottles of generic cleaning material. The group retraced their steps, passing the elevator and heading into the unknown.

  The whole search took no more than ten minutes and it was as Morgan had said. A few rooms with basic beds and even more basic amenities, a cramped but well-appointed shower room, and a common room with fridge, stove and microwave. A few chairs were scattered about. A flat-screen television hung on one wall. A coffee table stood in the centre of the room, littered with magazines and a couple of dirty coffee cups. There was no sign of people.

  They found the door to the stairwell just past the common room. There was even the universal sign for stairs on a green sign above the door. Nate didn’t say anything, but Pan noticed he smiled as the group approached. It wasn’t a mistake bringing him, she thought. Even if Jen is getting her nose pushed out of joint and the last thing we need is competition between ourselves, he has a role to play. I just don’t know what it is.

  Jen turned to face them. ‘Okay. Listen up,’ she said in barely more than a whisper. ‘This floor is clear, but we don’t know about the next level. It seems unlikely the whole place is deserted, unless they evacuated when the alarm went off. In any case, if they were going to set up an ambush I can’t think of a better place than a stairwell. Restricted movement, corners. Ideal. So me and Wei-Lin, as the only armed members of the gr
oup, will go first. Stay here until we come back and give the all-clear. Any sounds of fighting, fall back, regroup, find weapons. Questions?’

  There were plenty that Pan could think of, most prominent of which was how on earth they could get away with this, but she kept the thoughts to herself. Judging by the expressions on everyone else’s faces, she wasn’t alone in her pessimism.

  ‘Relax,’ said Nate. ‘We’ve been trained in combat. If there are labs down there, they’re likely full of scientists, not soldiers. That gives us the advantage.’

  ‘We?’ said Jen. ‘Us?’

  ‘Just go,’ said Pan. Jen hesitated, then nodded and cracked the door, Wei-Lin at her shoulder. Jen carefully put her head through and listened for a moment. Then the two girls were gone. Pan put out a hand to stop the door banging shut. Then they waited. Less than two minutes later, the door opened again and Wei-Lin beckoned them though.

  ‘Short flight,’ she said. ‘No sounds, no sign of anyone. But be quiet anyway.’

  The next level was almost identical to the first. The group moved quietly and efficiently through the various rooms, but again found no sign of occupation, other than the everyday litter of sandwich packets and empty drink cartons. Pan couldn’t rid herself of the thought of that old sailing vessel, the Mary Celeste, found floating and abandoned in the nineteenth century. This place felt like that. People had been here, in the very recent past. Their absence now gave the building a cast of mystery. She shivered and tried to focus.

  In the common room Karl opened the fridge door and looked inside. No light came on when he opened it.

  ‘Fair amount of food in here,’ he said. ‘And bottles of water, soft drinks. If we’re stuck in here, at least we won’t go hungry.’ He put a hand inside. ‘Still cold. Must have gone off when the power was cut.’

  ‘Might be useful,’ said Jen. ‘Okay, guys. We have two clear levels, but the next is a lab, according to the Doc here, and that’s the likeliest place to find people. I reckon it’s time to take a break before we go down, think a few things through.’

  ‘The more time we spend here, the more time The School has to find us,’ Pan pointed out. ‘I think we should move on, strike while there’s still an element of surprise.’

  ‘The School already knows about us,’ said Karl. ‘I don’t think ten minutes will make any difference. I mean, we are heading into strange territory. We need to talk.’

  ‘Or do you mean you need to eat?’ said Sam.

  Karl grinned. ‘Might as well have a sandwich and a Coke while we discuss matters.’

  ‘What do you think, Sanjit?’ asked Pan. It was so easy to forget Sanjit was even with them. Since they’d met up at the cairn he’d barely spoken ten words. Actually, as Pan thought back, she realised he hadn’t said one word. Not one utterance the entire time. It was true he was painfully shy and only spoke when he felt it was absolutely necessary, but for all the time they had spent together, she realised she didn’t know him at all. It was only on the island that he had spoken at length, though even then it was because Pan had forced the issue. We must include him more, she thought. He is smart and it would be stupid not to use his brains just because he blends into the background.

  Sanjit creased his brow and considered the question.

  ‘Karl said we are heading into the unknown,’ he said. ‘That’s true. We have no evidence on which to base our decisions. But one of us has been here before. One of us knows The School and how it might react.’ He shrugged. ‘I think we should ask Dr Morgan before we go any further.’

  Dr Morgan had slumped into an armchair in the common room. He glanced up when he heard his name and found everyone looking at him. He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender.

  ‘I’ve told you, I don’t know anything. I’ve never been down to the labs. I can’t help you.’ No one spoke, but no one removed their gaze from him either. Under the spotlight of their silence he continued. ‘I was just employed to run the Infirmary,’ he said. ‘Look after the students’ health and wellbeing. I’m not part of some great conspiracy. You’ve got the wrong person. Seriously. I can’t help you.’

  Jen sniffed and sat down in another chair.

  ‘You keep saying that, Doc. “I don’t know nothing. Don’t ask me. I’m telling the truth.” ’ She leaned forward in her chair. ‘But I don’t believe you.’

  Dr Morgan gave a strained smile and spread his hands.

  ‘And here’s why,’ Jen continued. ‘You spend all your time either on top of or inside a secret facility in The School. You have authority in this place. When Cara disappeared it was you who addressed the entire student body, remember? You liaise with the helicopter to bring in “survivors”.’ Jen made speech marks with her fingers. ‘In short, you know how The School operates. For all we know, you might be the big boss around here. So, here’s what I suggest, Doc. You tell us everything and you tell us now.’ She took the knife from her waistband and placed it on the arm of her chair.

  ‘Jen, no,’ said Pan. ‘No more threats, no more violence.’

  Jen turned her gaze to Pan.

  ‘Really?’ she said. ‘This coming from the girl who made a mess of Gwynne’s face with a rock. Suddenly become a pacifist, Pandora?’

  Pan closed her eyes. Jen was right. She was being hypocritical, and the situation called for desperate measures. But she was not proud of what she had done to Gwynne. Her words from so long ago, when the group had discussed the ethics of violence with Kingston, or when she had spoken up in Professor Goldberg’s lesson, came back to her. If we fall into violence, if we are prepared to do anything because the ends justify the means, then we are no better than those we condemn. The victims become the aggressors and the world falls into ruin again. The cycle continues. There had to be a better way. Civilisation depended upon it. And if they gave up on civilisation, then maybe The School was right. Maybe it was time to let it all go, start over. She’d said to Gwynne, no rules. But there had to be rules because without them it was chaos. Pan sighed. These were arguments for another time. And hopefully, another place.

  Pan sat cross-legged on the floor and said nothing.

  Jen turned to Karl. ‘We stay here for ten minutes,’ she said. ‘Get us some food and drink while we think things through.’

  Karl didn’t need to be asked twice. He went to the fridge and took out sandwiches and soft-drinks. There was even a half-eaten chocolate cake which he put on the coffee table.

  ‘Oh my God,’ said Sam, her eyes wide. ‘Chocolate cake. I’d forgotten about cake and biscuits and coke. Fresh meat and proper bread.’

  But despite all that, the rest of the group made no move towards the food. It was as if they couldn’t believe their eyes and were terrified that if they stretched a hand towards the food it would disappear. Karl didn’t seem to have the same concerns. He came back with a knife and cut himself a slab of cake, stuffed it into his mouth.

  ‘Unbelievable,’ he said, crumbs spraying. ‘Absolutely unbelievable.’

  He broke the spell because the others helped themselves in a frenzy of grabbing hands. Pan took a sandwich and bit into it. It was stale and the edges of the bread were curled, but it was the most magnificent thing she’d ever tasted. She reached for another one.

  Jen popped the ringpull on a can of lemonade and pointed her drink towards Dr Morgan.

  ‘So, what do you say, Doc? Prepared to share?’

  ‘I can go into his mind, Jen,’ said Pan. ‘If he doesn’t cooperate, I can search his mind.’

  Jen thought about that for a second. She took a swig from her drink and turned to Dr Morgan.

  ‘She can do that, you know,’ she said. ‘Peel open your mind like an orange, sift through all the crap in there. Trust me, she’s come a long way from the parlour tricks you were so keen on. She did it to me. And I’ll tell you something else, Doc. Given the choice between Pandora breaking into my head and being sliced open with a knife, I know which option I’d go for. I’d think about it if I was you.’
/>   Dr Morgan was the only one who had not eaten anything. He didn’t seem to have much appetite. He looked from Jen to Pan and then back again. Just for a moment there was a glimmer of excitement in his eyes.

  ‘You can really do that?’ he asked Pan.

  Pan nodded.

  Dr Morgan thought for a while and then seemed to come to a decision.

  ‘Okay,’ he said. ‘I’ll tell you what I know.’ He smiled and Pan shuddered. ‘But it won’t make any difference, you understand. You’re up against forces you cannot comprehend.’ He waved his hand around the group. ‘This is brave, this is valiant. David and Goliath stuff. But you must get it into your heads that you can’t win. If you’ve got any sense, you’ll give up. I’ll put in a word for you. It doesn’t have to end badly. Not for you.’

  No one spoke. Dr Morgan sighed and shook his head.

  ‘All right,’ he said. ‘This is what I know.’

  Chapter 16

  ‘The layout is as I told you,’ said Dr Morgan. ‘Two labs downstairs. The first one is where they do the memory procedures. The bottom floor is devoted to the virus-research facilities and containment cells. And, yes, there is a way out, but I’m afraid it’ll be no use to you.’

  ‘How many people work down there?’ asked Pan.

  ‘Fifty, sixty at a time. There are shifts. Eight hours on and then they rotate.’

  ‘Where do the scientists go?’ said Wei-Lin. ‘They can’t all sleep in these two floors. There just isn’t room.’

  Dr Morgan scratched his head.

  ‘No. The accommodation facilities are only for staff who are working on time-sensitive experiments and can’t go home at the end of their shifts.’

  ‘Home?’ said Wei-Lin. ‘Where’s home?’

  Dr Morgan smiled.

  ‘You haven’t figured it out? The village beyond the wall. That’s home.’

  ‘Wait,’ said Jen. ‘Let me get this right. The villagers are scientists employed here?’

  Dr Morgan shrugged.

  ‘Scientists, admin staff, some security personnel. IT specialists. Some military in case anyone out there gets wind of the place, decides to investigate.’