by Aella Black
Everyone stared in shock, including me. A short, balding scientist scrawled a note on a clipboard. “Fascinating,” he murmured. I assumed that was who was responsible for conducting Xander’s tests.
The guards pulled out guns—real ones—and aimed them at Xander’s head. I didn’t think twice. I jumped in front of him with my hands raised, putting myself between him and the deadly weapons. I might survive a bullet to the brain. Xander wouldn’t.
Dr. Venn, evidently recovered, marched up to the balding doctor. “Fredrick!” she snapped. “You are interfering with my research!”
The scientist named Fredrick pointed a ballpoint pen at her. “You try keeping that kid under control. When he heard the screams, he crashed through all our safeguards. Truly remarkable.”
Dr. Venn flung her hand out in the direction of the destroyed chair. “You call that remarkable?” I’d never seen her so wound up. After today, I hoped to never see her again period.
“Yes. Yes, I do,” he said, almost gleefully. Then he turned his attention to his clipboard and added a few more notes. Clicking his pen closed, he looked up at Xander and said, “I believe that’s all I need from you today. You may go.”
“Not without Phoebe.” Xander’s tone brooked no argument.
When Dr. Venn moved toward me, he growled. “I’m not finished with her,” she said.
“Your chair is gone,” Fredrick pointed out.
She exhaled forcefully through her nose. “And whose fault is that?”
He held up both hands and shrugged.
Dr. Venn chewed on her bottom lip, looking at the chair and then back at me. Finally, she sighed. “Fine. But I’m taking it to management that you botched my experiment.” She glared at Fredrick. Pointing at me, she said, “I’ll see you again a week from today.”
Luther grabbed my arm forcefully and the other guards closed in, their guns still trained on Xander. “Let’s go,” Luther snarled.
I couldn’t believe it. Xander saved me from being fried alive. I could have kissed him.
He wrapped an arm around my waist, holding me close as we walked out of the examination room. My adrenaline crashing, I slumped against him. All I wanted to do was sleep.
Xander snarled back at Luther, who, to my surprise, released my arm. Then, he remained silent while Luther escorted us down the stairs.
We were walking down the hallway, almost to the turnoff that separated our respective cell blocks, and I wanted—no needed—to thank Xander for risking his neck to save mine. I looked up at his scowling face, and when our gazes locked, his expression gentled. I opened my mouth to say something, but the words stuck in my throat.
Before I could shake them loose, Luther seized hold of my arm and dragged me toward my cell. He practically tossed me inside, and I’d barely gotten my feet under me when I looked back and they were gone.
I stumbled to my bed and collapsed, wishing I had the cell to myself. Rocky must have had a short session today, because she was sitting on her bed, making paper cranes out of magazine paper. Therefore, she had a bird’s-eye view to my breakdown.
An overwhelming mix of emotions smacked into me, and I couldn’t stop the torrent of tears if I tried. My chest shook, a sob escaping despite my best efforts. Fortunately, Rocky didn’t say anything as I continued to shed tears of relief, gratitude, anger, and pent-up fear. I unleashed all of it at once. Then, exhausted, I fell asleep.
I awoke to footsteps stopping outside my cell. Silence, then, “Not hungry?” Oscar.
Rolling over, I saw that Rocky had left for lunch. I shook my head, clutching my pillow tighter to my chest.
There were a few beats of silence. “Not even a bread roll?”
“I just want to be alone.”
“Okay.” We lapsed into silence again, but Oscar didn’t leave.
I sighed in frustration and straightened, turning to face him. “What do you want?” I snapped. “Did I forget to return a book?”
Maybe that was it. Oscar figured out I still had The Art of War. If I didn’t love Sun Tzu so much, I’d have pulled the book from its hiding place and throw it at his head.
He blinked a few times, clearly not expecting my anger. “I just wanted to check in,” he mumbled. “Sorry.”
“You should go,” I said quietly. “Before you get in trouble. Heaven forbid you’re nice to one of us.” Bitterness coated my every word.
Oscar glanced down the hall. Evidently the coast was clear, because he leaned in, his hand on the bars of my cell. “I wanted to say…” He cleared his throat, clearly nervous. “I wish I had Cathy’s ability to speak telepathically. If I did, I’d tell you to stay strong. Please pass the message to your friends, Phoenix.” Then he slid his hand down the bars and walked away.
I lay back down, unsure what to think. Was he trying to tell me something? Did he know something we didn’t know? I wanted to believe he was trying to help in some way, but Oscar was one of them. Anyone with a shred of decency wouldn’t work here.
I was still puzzling it out when I heard Rocky return. “Word on the street is they were going to give you the chair,” she said. “That’s rough.”
I didn’t respond. What was there to say?
“I was told to give you a message,” she continued. “Ran into Xander on the way back from lunch. He told me to tell you the gang is ready for a chess tournament.”
My eyes snapped open. I sat up and turned to face her. Rocky rolled her eyes. “Nerds,” she said and settled on her bed.
Relief rocketed through me, and I fell back against the wall. Xander told them. And they’d agree to help. We were doing this. Which meant, Rocky needed to be told too.
I watched the cell door like a hawk until a guard walked by and locked up. After a few minutes passed, I said, “Rocky, I have to ask you something.”
She groaned. “Sorry, I should have snuck you some food.”
“What? No. That wasn’t it.” I lowered my voice to a near-whisper. “How bad do you want to get out of here?”
She froze, then looked at me suspiciously.
I took a deep breath. “We’re putting together a plan, and if we work together, we can do it. You can go to Alaska, or wherever in the world you want. Do you want in?”
She blinked a few times, and for once, I thought she looked a little rattled. “I told you, I tried already,” she mumbled.
“It’ll be different this time,” I assured her.
And it would be. She’d have a team behind her, and I, for one, had nothing to lose. If the SCC really did kill us off at eighteen, none of us did.
Rocky picked up a paper crane and made a flying motion with it. I wished one of us had the ability to fly out of here. If so, and they alerted the right people, none of this would be necessary.
Finally, after a few tense moments passed, she answered. “Yeah, I’m in.” Then she gave me a sideways glance. “But please don’t tell me ‘chess tournament’ is code for breaking out of here.”
I cracked a slight grin. “It was the best I could come up with in the moment.”
By rec time, I was feeling a little less shaken from this morning’s ordeal. I couldn’t wait to thank Xander, but as I walked toward The Quad, it occurred to me that they would have punished him for his actions. He’d obviously been at lunch, but could they have taken his rec privileges away? Of course they could have. Best case, that’s all they did.
When Rocky and I walked into the room, my eyes immediately sought him out. To my relief, he sat at a table with Tex, Cal, and Woody. They’d already busted out a card game.
As I approached, Xander hopped to his feet and hustled over to me. “Phoebe, are you okay? You weren’t at lunch.”
I opened my mouth to answer but was suddenly hit with a wave of dizziness. I frowned, pressing a hand to my head. The room spun. I gripped a nearby chair to keep from falling. Xander’s hands caught me beneath my elbows. “Phoebe?”
“Look at these two lovebirds,” a voice sneered.
Squinting,
I saw Wolf and his pack approach us. I caught the shifty expression on Dizzy’s face. That little turd.
“Get out of here, Wolf,” Xander growled.
“What are you going to do, throw me across the room?” Wolf chuckled. “Chief, we’re the most evenly matched supernaturals here.”
“You want to find out?”
Instead of answering the question, Wolf turned his attention to Dizzy. “Ease up, kid.” Wolf said. “If she projectile vomits on me again, I’m rubbing your face in it.”
The spinning slowed, and I slumped against Xander.
“Gutsy thing you did today, Chief,” Wolf said. “You know she can come back, right?”
Xander spoke between clenched teeth. “I’m giving you one chance to walk away.”
I put a hand on his chest, hoping he’d get the message. If I opened my mouth, there was a very real chance I would throw up.
“She did alright after I snuffed her out,” Wolf said with a shrug.
Xander snapped. He lunged toward Wolf just as a guard bellowed, “Wolf, Chief! I better not see fists flying.”
With what looked to be great effort, Xander stopped mid-motion, his hands clenched in fists at his sides. “You come near her again…”
“Yeah, yeah.” Wolf waved a hand, big as a bear paw. “I look forward to the showdown.”
He walked away with his pack, and Xander paced around the table, clearly still upset. “How do you guys deal with that jerk?” he asked.
“Usually ignore him,” Cal said, shuffling through the cards in his hand.
“You could start by not showing off,” Woody added.
“How do I—”
“He’s got a point,” Tex said. “With your strength, you present a challenge to Wolf. He’s dying to fight you.”
“What am I supposed to do?” Xander asked, throwing his hands up. “Not be strong? It’s not like I asked for this.”
“Yeah, we all feel so sorry for you.”
Xander’s face turned red, and I thought he might consider using his super strength on his cellmate when Cathy and Birdie walked up. It was difficult to be angry around either of them.
Rocky scooted over to give them room. “I’d personally love to see you and Wolf rip each other’s throats out,” she said.
“No,” I said, finally able to speak without getting sick. Looking at Xander, I said, “Please ignore his taunts. I don’t want you to get in trouble.” I paused. “By the way, how are you not locked up right now?”
He shrugged. “They let me off with a warning.”
That was a relief. And so unlike them. “You don’t want to give them a reason to take you away. I need you.” My face flushed hot when I realized what I’d said. “For chess.”
A few at the table snickered. I hoped it was because of the code word.
Birdie sniffled, and when I looked over, I saw her eyes were red. Cathy wrapped an arm around her. “Birdie here had to kill more birds today,” she said. “We’re ready to play.”
I reached for Birdie’s hand and squeezed it. “If things go the way we want, you won’t have to kill another bird again.”
She nodded, her eyes brightening a little.
“Do you have a plan for the tournament?” Tex asked, glancing around to ensure no one would overhear our conversation.
“Working on it,” I whispered. “We figure the first step is to disable the guards, or at least distract them. Then, we grab keys and head for the indoor garage Xander told me about. We’ll need a couple of cars, and then the idea is to drive out of here and not stop until we’re safe.”
“Which will be never,” Woody said sullenly. “They’ll just find us again.”
Rocky and I exchanged glances. “We might have better luck north,” she said. “I’m aiming for Alaska. It’ll be cold, but there’s less people. Less chance of ending up back here.”
“And we live as refugees the rest of our lives?” Tex asked.
I shrugged. “Basically, yeah.”
Cal chimed in. “Dudes, I don’t know if I’m cut out for this. I need to be near the big blue.”
“Do you see any ocean around here?” Rocky waved her hands with a flourish. “You’re all wusses if you think staying here is better than a new life out there.”
No one said anything for a moment. Were they backing out? It sure sounded that way.
“I’m not doing another one of their tests,” I whispered. “Dr. Venn practically told me she’s going to kill me again next week. I want to leave before she gets the chance.”
Cal’s jaw dropped. “You want to stage an escape in less than six days?”
“Lower your voice,” Tex said, looking back at the guards.
“We’ll make it happen,” Xander assured him. “None of us should have to endure those tests again.” He flicked his gaze meaningfully in Birdie’s direction.
All eyes went to Birdie and then shifted back to me. Tex sighed. “All right. If we’re doing this, how do we plan it quickly?”
“Cathy.” I leaned over and put my palms down on the table. “Anything we want to say to the group, we say through her.”
Cathy beamed, waving her hand. “This is going to be fun, guys.”
“Okay, that could work,” Tex said slowly. “How do we get past the guards?”
“That’s the part we’re still working on,” Xander said. “We needed to make sure you guys were ready and willing first.”
And I still wasn’t sure they were. I needed to hear them say it. “You all told Xander you were in,” I said. “Are you?”
Everyone nodded. I expelled a long, quivering breath.
Okay. This was happening. Operation Chess Tournament was a go.
A line from The Art of War inserted itself into my thoughts. “You will not succeed unless your men have tenacity and unity of purpose, and, above all, a spirit of sympathetic cooperation.”
We may not have much to go on right now, but at least we had that.
26
I’d stayed up all night thinking about a plan. By morning, one had solidified in my mind.
During morning rec, I found Cathy watching the news with Birdie. The screen showed photos of the Missouri river swelling—a river that kissed the northern part of Kansas City. The reporter spoke of potential floods that could decimate crops and devastate nearby areas. Yikes. It looked like the influx of refugees wasn’t the only problem affecting our area.
“Hey, Cathy. Want to catch some rays?” I asked.
She sat up straight, eyes lighting up like the sun. “Yeah. Be back soon, Little Bird.”
Birdie nodded, trying to fit a piece in the puzzle she was working on.
I led Cathy outside and Xander followed. “We talking about the chess tournament?” Cathy asked excitedly.
Xander and I grinned at each other. I hoped some of Cathy’s enthusiasm would rub off on the rest of the group.
“Yup,” I said. “I have a game plan I want to pitch to you. All of you,” I added, so Cathy would know I wanted her to transmit this to the others.
Xander rubbed his hands together. “Can’t wait to hear it.”
We settled in the grass, cross-legged. Some teens ran past us on the track. “Okay,” I said, lowering my voice. “So, there are three phases. Phase one: distract the guards.”
“Okay, how do we do that?” Cathy asked.
“Birdie.”
Xander cocked his head. “Huh?”
“She can talk to birds. If Birdie can pull it off, we can go all Hitchcock on the guards. If not, I have a backup plan. You communicating this to the others?”
Cathy nodded. “Stay tuned, guys. I’m going to run through a possible plan in a few minutes.”
“Right. Meanwhile, we grab the keys. I don’t know if the ones the guards carry include the keys for the vehicles, though. Those could be kept somewhere else. We’re going to all need to keep an eye out for that.”
“What was your backup plan?” Xander asked.
“Woody, actually. They’ve
been careful to give us plastic furniture, but there are some games made of wood. Chess, for example.”
Cathy giggled. “How ironic.”
I smiled at her. It totally was. “I’m not sure how far Woody’s abilities go, but if he could use some wood to—I don’t know—pelt the guards, that could be helpful.”
Xander raised his brows. “You want him to throw wood at the guards?”
“Okay, it sounds dumb out loud,” I admitted.
“What if he can twist it like rope?” Cathy asked. “He could tie their hands and legs together.”
Xander snapped his fingers. “Genius.” Cathy grinned. “Can you guys think of anyone else’s abilities we could use?” he asked.
“I could scream in their ears,” Cathy offered.
My jaw dropped. I hadn’t even thought about that. “That’s a great idea. Maybe make it seem like you’re freaking out about the birds, so they don’t know you’re trying to distract them.”
Cathy nodded. “Can do.”
I looked toward the guards. They were talking with each other, not watching us. For once. I spoke quickly. “Okay, so that’s phase one. I figured we could pull it off during the morning run. Phase two is getting the keys and booking it out of there. Doors are a definite concern. We’ll have this one, between here and The Quad. I doubt that’ll be locked, and the guards stationed at it will hopefully be taken out by birds. Then there’s the door leading to The Quad. I hope those are unlocked, but we can’t exactly count on hope. Then there’s…” I turned to Xander. “Where’s the garage?”
“The opposite direction of the cells,” he answered. “There are double doors with a large exit sign above it. I’m sure those will be locked.”
“What about getting out of the garage?” I asked. “I’m sure there are security measures in place.”
He shook his head, shrugging, and my stomach sank. “Hmm. Lots of unknowns.”
“We’ll make a note of it,” Xander said. “I’m sure we can figure it out.”
“Okay, what’s phase three?” Cathy asked.
“That was it, basically. Get out of the garage and drive away.” As I said the words, hope filled me. I didn’t know what waited for us out there, but it had to be better than here.
