فصل چهل و چهارم

Chapter Forty-Four

The Contract and a “Simple” Demonstration of Loyalty

It was late afternoon of my third day in captivity when two guards came to my room. I was lying on my bed playing a video game when the door opened and they stepped inside, followed by Nichelle. I hated seeing her. Actually, I hated her. She always made me tic.

“Time to go,” the tallest guard said, not as politely as the last time they’d come for me.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Dr. Hatch has requested your presence.”

“Let me get my shoes on.” I put on my shoes, then walked out of my room with one guard in front and one in back with Nichelle walking at the rear guard’s side. They walked right past Hatch’s secretary and into his office. Hatch was at his desk. He stood as I entered.

“How are you, Michael?” he asked.

“Tired,” I said.

“I would imagine. You’ve had enough on your mind to cause anyone insomnia.” He turned to the guards. “You may go.” “Yes, sir,” the guards said in unison.

To my surprise he said to Nichelle, “You too.”

Nichelle looked at me. “Just try something,” she said.

“Nichelle, that’s really not necessary.”

She glared at me before following the guards out of the room.

Hatch shook his head. “Sorry about that. What Nichelle lacks in tact she makes up for in unpleasantness.” His expression hardened. “So, down to business. Have you come to a decision?” My tics were acting up and I tried not to blink but couldn’t help it. “Yes, sir.” “And that is?”

“If you’ll free my mother and my friends, I’ll join you.” He just stared at me until the silence became uncomfortable.

“You know I can’t release Taylor,” he finally said. “She’s too dangerous. She knows too much.” “But that was our deal.”

“No, you’ll recall that our deal was that I’m giving her to you. A much better scenario, I’d say.” I just looked at him. That was what he’d said.

“I’m not trying to be difficult, Michael. But Taylor brought this on herself—and you. She’ll have to live with the consequences. But, with you joining us, I think she’ll come around and before too long she’ll join us back in the house. And, she’ll be yours.” I couldn’t help but wonder how he planned to ensure that.

“But, of course, your mother will be set free immediately, as will Ostin and Jack. We’ll fuel up Jack’s car, give him some traveling money, and he can drive back home.” “What proof do I have of that?”

“What proof would you have? Ostin can call you as soon as they’re on the road. And we’ll let you talk to your mother.” He leaned forward, extending his hand. “Do we have an agreement?” I looked down again for a moment, then stepped forward and took his hand. “Yes, sir.” We shook. Then he sat back in his chair.

“Very well.” He pushed a piece of paper toward me. “I’d like you to sign this document, to convey your resolve.” I leaned over the desk and looked at the form.

I, Michael Vey, do hereby enroll and subscribe as a full member of the Elgen Academy and promise to do whatever is required of me to promote and advance the academy’s work, mission, and objectives as long as my services are required.

X ___________________

I thought it was peculiar that he wanted me to sign something. It’s not as if anything signed by a fifteen-year-old would be legally binding.

“You may use my pen.” Hatch held out to me a beautiful, gold-plated pen inset with rubies. I read the statement again, then signed beneath it. I pushed the document back to him with the pen.

“Keep the pen,” he said. “A memento of a very special occasion.” He leaned back and examined the document. “’I, Michael Vey, hereby enroll and subscribe as a full member of the Elgen Academy and I promise to do whatever is required of me to promote and advance the academy’s work, mission, and objectives as long as my services are required.’ That’s quite a commitment you’ve just made.” He set it back down and looked into my eyes. “Quite a promise. Unfortunately, promises are broken all the time. Like you, I need some proof. I need to see what’s behind your commitment.” “What proof would you have?” I asked, using his words back at him.

“Simple. We’re going to take a little test. Fortunately, unlike Mr.

Poulsen’s biology class, this is one you don’t have to study for.” He stood and walked around his desk. “This way, please.” I followed him out of his office. The guards saluted him, then fell back to my side, Nichelle trailing behind all of us. My mind was reel-ing. What kind of test would this be?

We went to the service elevator near the back of the building and all five of us entered. One of the guards pushed the button for D. I frowned. We were going back down to the level where I had found Taylor. The elevator stopped and the door opened. Hatch stepped out and I followed him. We walked down the hall to the end of the corridor, past the cell with Ian and the girls. We turned left, then left again, and walked on to a metal door at the end of the hall. There was another guard standing by the door and he pulled open the door as we approached, exposing a long, cavernous room with bare white walls. I followed Hatch inside.

In the center of the room was a chair bolted to the floor with a man in an orange GP jumpsuit sitting in it. The man’s arms and legs were clamped to the chair by metal straps, like an electric chair, and a metal brace circled around his neck below his electric vocal collar, holding him erect. He couldn’t move if he wanted to. The man in the chair had a hood over his head that fell to his chin.

“So, Michael, you’ve told me that you’re now one of us and you’ve promised, as a full member of the academy, to do whatever is required to promote and advance the cause of our revolution. Here’s your opportunity to show me that you mean what you say.” He gestured toward the man. “Here’s your test.” I looked at the man, then back at Hatch. “I don’t understand.

What’s my test?”

Hatch walked up to the bound man and pulled off his hood. The man in the chair was not a man at all—it was Wade. “Simple, Michael. Electrocute him.” I looked at Wade as his eyes grew wide with fright. Suddenly he screamed out, “Please, no!” His outburst was followed by a scream of pain as blue-yellow electricity arced from his collar. Hatch shook his head in disgust. “Unless he decides to do it to himself.” I stared at Hatch, blinking like crazy. “How does killing Wade advance the work of the academy?” “That is not yours to question,” he said. “You committed to obey, now do as you’re told. As you promised.” “I won’t do it,” I said.

Hatch sighed. “Michael, let me explain this better,” he said, motioning to a large screen that hung down from the corner of the room like a stalactite. “Clark, turn on the monitor please. Set it to channel 788.” The guard pushed several buttons and the monitor lit up.

Hatch took the remote from the guard and turned to me. “For your amusement, we’ll call this the Mommy Channel.” An image materialized on the screen of a frail, beaten-looking woman, huddled in the corner of a cell. It took me a moment to recognize who it was. My heart raced.

“Mom!”

She looked up at the screen as if she could hear me.

“Mom, it’s me, Michael!” I shouted.

“She can’t hear you,” Hatch said. “Or see you.” He stepped closer to Wade, lightly jostling the remote in his hand. “You have a choice, Michael. I was very clear about that choice. It’s time you learned this important life lesson: you do as you promise or those you love suffer.

“See the silver box on the far end of the cell? It is connected to this remote in my hand.” He pushed a button on the remote and a light on the silver box began blinking. “I have just armed the capaci-tor. If I push this button right here, it will release about a thousand amps into the cage. Enough to kill your mother.” He looked into my eyes, weighing the effect his words had on me. “Or maybe not. It might just prove remarkably painful. As you know, the human body can be so unpredictable. Whether we discover its lethality is up to you. So, right now, you can punish GP Seven Sixty-Five or punish your mother. It’s your choice.” I stood there looking at the screen, my body trembling. Through the corner of my eye I could see Wade shaking as well. “It’s not my choice,” I said. “It’s not my choice to decide who lives or dies.” “It might not be a fair choice, but it most certainly is your choice.” I just stood there.

“Michael,” Hatch said gently, “You said you were with us. You signed a binding document that confirmed your commitment. Were you lying to me?” “You didn’t say I’d have to kill someone.”

“No, I didn’t. In fact, I wasn’t specific at all, was I? And that’s the point. I demanded your allegiance, whatever that requires. And right now, this is what your allegiance requires.” He folded his arms at his chest. “Or shall I push the button?” I looked down at Wade. Sweat was beading on his forehead and his underarms were soaked through all the way down his sides. I walked to his side, then put my hand on his shoulder. He shuddered at my touch.

Hatch nodded. “Good choice, Michael. Now give him everything.

That would be the merciful thing.”

I looked down. Tears were welling up in Wade’s eyes. I still stood there, frozen.

After a minute Hatch looked at his watch. “We haven’t all day.

You have thirty seconds before I make the choice for you. Who will live? A good, loving mother or a juvenile delinquent who will never amount to beans? What would your mother say?” Something about what Hatch said resonated through me. I looked back up at the monitor, at my mother lying there alone and scared, then at Hatch, the man who had put her there.

“What would my mother say?” I said. My eyes narrowed. “My mother would say that she’d rather die than see her son become a murderer.” I took my hand off Wade, then lunged at Hatch. Pain seared through my entire body, buckling my knees. I fell to the ground screaming.

Hatch took a deep breath to regain his composure. He kicked me, then walked to the door. “Thank you, Nichelle. Buy yourself a new bauble.” “Thank you,” she said.

From the doorway Hatch looked back at me. “I’m so disappointed in you, Michael. You are a liar and an oath breaker.” He turned to the guards. “Take him to Cell Twenty-Five. Then have Tara report to my office.” He looked back at me. “Unlike you, Mr. Vey, I don’t break my promises. But I will break you. And here’s my promise. You will never disobey me again. By the time I’m done with you, you’ll beg for the privilege of electrocuting your own mother.” He turned to the guard. “Take him.” My heart filled with fear. When Hatch was gone I asked, “What’s Cell Twenty-Five?” Nichelle smiled. “Terror.”