Arcadium (25 page)

“Why did they
take them?” Liss asks, tugging on my arm.

“One can’t talk
back, and one can’t walk away,” Jacob says, pushing Adrian to the
computer chair. He holds him in place as Kean winds the tape
around, securing him to the chair.

I look back to
the monitor and things have changed again. The scientists are
holding down the occupants of the second box and injecting
them.

“Um… guys?”

Kean looks
up.

“They’re
injecting the others with something.” I meet his eyes. “Only three
more boxes until they reach Henry and Trouble.”

“Go now then,”
Jacob says. “I need ten minutes. If you can get yourselves in, I’ll
have your distraction ready so you can get out.” Jacob is studying
the monitors and when we don’t move he glances back at me. “What
are you waiting for? Go!”

Liss is still
holding my arm and Kean doesn’t need any more persuading. We dash
out of the room and head toward the labs.

“What are we
just going to run in?” Kean says. “We’ll get caught.”

I don’t say
anything because I’m thinking, mapping out the area in my mind.
Through the glass door is a long corridor. On the right is the
empty decontamination unit. Further up on the left are the offices.
At the end is a T-intersection, the x-ray room is towards the left
and the labs are on the right. It’s a straight run but one that
puts us completely on display. There’s absolutely no where to
hide.

“Florence…”

“I’m thinking,”
I hiss. We slow to a jog and then stop at the glass coded door. I
look at Kean, and there’s a vulnerability in his eyes that almost
kills me on the spot. “I think we have to just go for it and hope
luck is on our side.”

Kean nods once
and I punch in the code. There really is no other way.

We slip through
the door and move in single file, keeping Liss between us. I lead
the way since I’m the only one that has actually been past the
decontamination unit. For the moment it’s silent and scientist
free. We pass by the empty decontamination unit and creep towards
the offices.

We’ve hardly
gone anywhere before our luck runs out. The nearest office door
opens suddenly and voices pour out into the corridor. I can even
see the hand on the door handle, that’s how close we are. I
scramble backwards, dragging the others with me.

We don’t have
time to get back out so I punch the code into the decontamination
unit door with shaking fingers. Kean’s head flicks between the
office door and us. The scientist is backing out of the office now,
still in conversation. The situation is so tense I feel like I
can’t breath.

As soon as the
code box beeps we burst into the room. Liss actually goes sprawling
onto her stomach as I push her in. I drop down and Kean leaps back
to the door to stop it from slamming.

Liss and I
crawl toward the wall so we can’t be seen if the scientist comes
our way.

“All clear,”
Kean says under his breath. “She went the other way.”

“Great. That’s
where we need to go.”

Kean puts his
index finger to his lips suddenly, still peering out into the
corridor. Liss and I freeze.

After a few
seconds he turns back. “There’s a lot of movement at the end of the
corridor.”

I take a deep
breath. “What are we going to do? How do we get past?”

Kean stares at
me for a moment, then his gaze lifts and locks onto something
behind me. A glimmer of a smile appears on his face. “I have an
idea.”

I turn around
and see the row of white lab coats hanging on a small metal bar.
Jackpot.

“Hang on, they
won’t have seen our faces before. They’ll know something’s up and
then there’s Liss…”

Kean chews on
the side of his lip, thinking. His knee bobs up and down with
urgency.

“Unless we use
Liss,” I say.

“What?” Liss
looks between us.

I nod to
myself. “Liss, get that clipboard from the desk. I’ll get the
coats.”

Liss keeps low,
scampering over to the desk. She slides the clipboard towards
herself, while I pull down two of the closest lab coats. I flick
mine on and take the door watch as Kean slides into his. Liss
passes me the clipboard.

“Right, this is
how it’s going to go. Kean you’re carrying Liss
⎯
”

“Why?” Liss
looks alarmed.

“And if we run
into anyone, Liss, you have to make it look like you’re struggling.
Make it look like we’re kidnapping you.”

Kean blinks.
“We’re just going to walk straight into the labs and pretend she’s
another test subject.” He grins. “That’s brilliant.”

“You be the
muscle and Liss it doesn’t matter if people see you but you need to
cover Kean’s face,” I say, nodding. “OK? I’ll duck behind my
clipboard and lets just hope it’s enough.”

Liss bites her
lip and nods, reaching for Kean without a moment of hesitation. I
glance through the gap in the door. The hallway is clear so I stand
up and swing the door fully open.

Kean hoists
Liss into his arms and she sits quietly for the moment. I step out
and they follow. I look down, burying my head in the clipboard as
we pass the offices. A door opens to the left and dread flows
through me.

Liss begins to
struggle against Kean and I hope to hell it’s convincing. I march
onwards, pretending not to care. The man overtakes us on the left
and just as he does, I flick my head over my right shoulder to
check on Kean’s progress and to hide my identity. The scientist
rushes onwards and down to the left as if we’re invisible.

I let out a
tiny breath of relief but it’s not over yet, we’re about to hit the
intersection. Here we go.

I swing to the
right and it’s a gauntlet of scientists, running back and forth.
Liss kicks the wall behind me and practically rolls up onto Kean’s
face. I drop my head even further like I have the cure right here
on this very interesting page. We keep on, catching a few stares
but no one tries to stop us. I think most people actually look away
so they don’t have to think about what’s going to happen to the
poor little girl.

My heart is
thumping as I try to march along like I’ve every right to be here.
I can hear the tiny scuffling sounds of the other two and every now
and then Liss says something like, “Get off.”

This hallway is
so much longer than I remembered. I feel like we’ve been dumped
into a shark enclosure and they’re all circling, just waiting for
the perfect moment to devour us. There’s no escape if they get us
now, just narrow concrete halls that are easy to block.

I’ve been
reading the same line over and over on this page
.
Decontamination protocol form Arcadium 1:419 Subject Suitability
Assessment
. Usually when you read something over and over again
it loses all meaning but this time for me, it’s the other way
around. At first it means nothing, just a whole string of overblown
words, but the suitability assessment part makes me realise we’ve
been lab rats from the very beginning, just waiting to be plucked
from our cages.

A white uniform
appears in front of me. I snap my head up at the last moment, just
managing to avoid a collision by stepping around the man. I huff
and make unimpressed noises and march on, trying to pretend I’m on
important business. He stops for a moment and I feel him watching
us. I straighten my back and walk faster. Behind me Liss gives a
low growl.

At last we
reach the mirrored walls of the labs. I can’t see into the admin
room so I just punch in the code and take a chance, aware that the
man is still watching. We enter the room and thankfully it’s empty.
The door seals behind us and we walk toward the next room but I see
two scientists sitting with their backs to us.

“Crap.” I drop
to the floor and Liss and Kean copy. “There are people in the next
room. We’ll never get past.” I glance around the room for
something, anything we can use. It’s not until I look up that I
remember. “The air-conditioning system.”

Kean follows my
gaze. “Watch the door,” he says. “I’ll go first.”

I kneel beside
the door, peering up to make sure no one’s watching. It’s not like
anyone can see in from the corridor but if the scientists in the
next lab turn around and spot us it’s all over. “Go, quick.”

Kean jumps up
onto the desk and almost slides sideways on some loose paper. He
gathers his balance and taps the air-conditioning grate back into
the duct. With both hands he grips the sides and pulls himself up.
First his head and shoulders go, then his torso and finally his
swinging feet disappear.

“Liss, get
ready,” I say, ducking as a scientist passes by outside. I pop my
head up again, knowing that they can’t see me but it’s just habit I
guess. “OK, go. Up on the desk.”

Liss climbs on
and Kean leans out of the duct, both hands extended. Liss reaches
up and after a few moments of wriggling she disappears too. I have
a quick look out into the hallway and back into the second lab
before scrabbling over to the desk. I reach it just as the code box
beeps and I look back. Two scientists are standing out in the
corridor, seconds from entering. I look up and see Kean’s horrified
expression. I clutch the clipboard in my hand and I wave them
on.

This is the
worst possible scenario. We’re split up and time is running out. I
gulp back my horror and pretend to be sorting through some papers.
I pick one, add it to the clipboard and head straight to the next
lab door. I punch in the code and in the second of pause before the
door unlocks I feel like I’m going to explode.

The scientists
are in the room now, footsteps coming toward me.

My code-box
beeps and I push through into the next room. Urgent strides carry
me to the next door in a flash.

There are four
scientists in here, three at desks and one working with some kind
of liquid in a beaker, right next to the rat cages. I think it’s a
guy but I never look over so all I’ve got to go on is my peripheral
vision. He glances up, watches me for a few seconds and as I punch
in the code he drops his head and returns to his work.

It doesn’t get
any easier. There are four in the next room too, all seated at
desks. I push on, striding through the gauntlet of locked doors and
dormant scientists. I can’t believe I’ve gone this far without
anyone saying a word or raising an alarm. I guess they see the
coat, the clipboard and the code and don’t need to look any further
than that.

Scientists
occupy the next four labs and I’m starting to wonder what I’m going
to do when I get to lab number twelve where Henry and Trouble are
being held. I could probably walk straight in but then what? Keep
going? That’s not going to help anyone. I’m no physical match for
three scientists, but I can’t stop moving either because someone
might realise I don’t belong. I have to keep going. Keep pushing
through the rooms.

Finally, lab
number ten is empty and I stop at a desk and pretend to shuffle
papers in case someone is watching. The air-conditioning grate
above me looks empty and I wonder if I’m way ahead or way behind
the others.

The scientist
in lab nine is typing at a computer, totally absorbed, so I take my
chance. I stand up on the desk slowly, keeping close to the wall
and bump the grate from its seated position.

I rip the tape
and splints from my hands and then reach up and jump, but my weak
fingers just slide off the metal. This time I put my foot on one of
the wall shelves and hope it holds as I use it to propel myself
through the gap. As soon as my arms are through I flatten them and
swing my legs for momentum until I’m completely up. My splinted
fingers stab with pain every time I try to curl them, but the
thought of Henry and Trouble allows me to tune it out just enough
to keep going.

Ahead it’s
shadowy, just grey light bleeding in from the other grates in the
next labs. The metal is ice cold too, and chilled air flows around
me.

I twist around
and look for the others. They’re still far back. I wave to Kean and
he acknowledges so I keep going. I crawl along on my belly as
quietly as I can. My breath is the loudest thing so I work on
controlling that as I slide forward. I pass the grate for lab
eleven and carefully navigate it. When I reach the next one I stop.
It’s lab twelve.

I peer through
into the bright light, trying to orientate myself. I’m hanging
above the row of glass boxes. The two big scientists are standing
in front of the fourth box taking notes and the woman is refilling
the injection gun. I slide further forward and see Trouble. He’s
standing at the glass, watching calmly. I’m pretty sure they
haven’t been injected yet, but it looks like they’re next.

A hammering
noise comes from the first box and I look over. Inside are two
people, showing the signs of infection. The pale skin and abandon
for their safety as they slam up against the glass, roaring some
kind of outraged groan. The scientists wander over, just as the
occupants of box two go completely insane and start clawing at the
glass, drooling and banging their heads together in an effort to
get to the scientists.

Something taps
me on my foot and I look back. Kean’s worried green eyes beg for an
answer.

“They’re alive.
But they’re next,” I whisper. I twist around and cross the grate
silently so that Kean can see for himself. He lifts it gently and
pushes it towards me. The skinny female scientist says something
and the two bigger ones wander back, deep in discussion. Kean
senses his moment and slides through the grate hole, dropping
quietly onto the top of the glass boxes.

I want to
scream and reach for him and drag him back, anything, but I can’t.
Liss is hovering in his spot now, watching, and Kean is moving
silently toward Trouble and Henry.

Henry spots
Kean first from his position on the ground. Trouble is still
distracted, watching the scientists. Suddenly Trouble turns and
follows Henry’s pointed finger. The look on Trouble’s face when he
recognises Kean is the purest look of relief I have ever seen.