Chapter 17: Cast the Die

I woke up to what had become a familiar feeling of my head being a pulsating ball of mud. I was on a relatively hard surface in a brightly lit room. It was silent. Yet there had been commotion. I do remember commotion.

I opened my eyes to try and get a bearing as to where I was. The walls were white and without texture, a small door was close to the end of the bed. It looked solidly built and electronically operated; it had no handle, at least on this side. I remember seeing the Head Councillor walk through it…and Maria. That’s right she was here; and willingly too. Did I talk to her? I think I did; though I don’t remember saying anything. But why was she here? Too many questions. My brain just felt clogged, my thoughts couldn’t move.

Anyway, it didn’t matter. I had called for help from outside, Chloe may have escaped. All I could do was wait and hope that I had done enough. Though the camp was probably going to hell outside, Forrest and Maria had apparently sided with the head councillor. I had no certainty whether Chloe, Tyler or anyone capable of action was still at large. And what could Brian do by himself. He wasn’t even here ten years ago. That was depressing.

I pushed myself up to my feet and slowly walked around the small room. There appeared to be a potential camera in the far corner from the door. I wonder if someone was currently watching me. I stopped at the door. On its left was a facility for a swipe card. It was solidly built with a small screen on it which was currently blank. I doubt if it would be vulnerable for hacking, but even if it was, I had no tools. If I wanted to escape I would probably have to beat up one of the guards if they came in. Do the sick prisoner. I tried to picture myself actually pulling it off. The image did not come easily.

Suddenly the door beeped and I instinctively stepped back, expecting someone to enter. I stood watching it for a few seconds but no one came in. I wondered if they were watching through the one way window which was set in the door. Whilst I was staring at it, the door beeped again. Still it did not open. However the screen on the card swipe facility was illuminated with a set of six numbers. I guess it showed the id-number of the one who was trying to enter.

007-7e4

But why weren’t they coming in. This made no…wait a minute. I looked closer at the screen. That’s unexpected. The door beeped again and the number changed.

734-771

‘ILLHEL?’…Help maybe? It beeped again.

157-620

‘OZGLSI?’ Well, that’s nowhere near a word. However, it was oddly familiar to the last six digits of Brian’s ID number. I felt a wave of relief as I realised that Brian was finally here. His proficiency never ceases to amaze me. However, when the screen flashed ‘access granted’ and the door slid open, the realisation that I still had responsibility almost winded me. What the hell was I supposed to do?

Getting out would have to be the first step. Ever so cautiously I peered out the door and saw that the passageway was clear. So far, so good. Both ends looked identical. Now what? I wonder if its protocol to install exit signs in a subterranean base.

I didn’t have much time to think as Tyler ran around the corner. His eyes were fixed on me as he ran but he didn’t call out until he was very close.

‘How did you get out?’ He asked, slightly puffed. ‘You haven’t turned have you?’

‘Brian let me out; it appears he hacked the security system. I don’t know how much power he has though.’ I replied. Tyler stood dumbfounded.

‘And here I am thinking I was being resourceful,’ he said, holding up a card for me to see. I quickly grabbed it.

It had a magnetic strip on the back, obliviously a key card. On the front was a familiar picture of Maria as well as her name, a 6 digit ID number as well as what appeared to be a room number. It appeared to be in the same area as the cells however I was unfamiliar with the building layout.

‘How did you get this?’ I asked.

‘She came to talk to me. There may have been a bit of a commotion and I grabbed it,’ he said. ‘She appears to be working with the HC though she seems like she could still be won over. She just thinks he cares for her. That’s all.’

‘So we need to try and find her.’ I said.

‘Granted, that is important. However, I think it would be better to use this opportunity to have a look around. I want to see who’s working for the HC and how,’ he said, beginning to walk in the direction he was originally heading.

‘But we really should give this card back to Maria. We can’t steal from our team, if so then how can we convince them that we are right.’ I said, following after him.

He shook his head.’ At the moment we could use the card to get into areas which require a key card. We can also find any areas which cannot be accessed by Maria which will support us if we debate with her,’ He replied. We went quiet as he looked around a corner before continuing.

‘Brian appears to be in a position to grant us access to locks and Maria’s card could be cancelled as soon as she reports it missing,’ I said. ‘It could even set off an alarm if we use it. It’s best to give it back now that we’ve used it to escape.’ Tyler was silent as he continued walking. I didn’t know what he wanted me to do. I anxiously scanned the walls and doors. The numbers were definitely getting closer to that of Maria’s room. As we passed the entrance of another passageway the numbers began to move further apart. If I was going to find her I had to act now.

‘I’m going to find her room,’ I said, stopping.

Tyler stopped for a moment too, pausing for thought before speaking.

‘You can go and find her, and take the card if you want. I’m off to explore.’ What? I was going on alone? ‘Hopefully this Brian is as competent as you make him appear.’ He gave me an encouraging smile before continuing on his way. Great.

I stopped before a corner and peered around it. Coast was clear. I walked quickly, taking note of the numbers which labelled the doors. The numbers were definitely getting closer to that on the card. I felt my speed. I was getting reckless. I hope no one was around here.

 

And there it was. To remove any chance of confusion it even had a silver plaque with her name on it. I could imagine that would have appealed to Maria. I quickly made my way into the room, finding it empty. Though I didn’t have to wait long.

And then I was under her bed. 

It happened so quickly. I barely had chance to talk to her and now Forrest is here. The one person I really didn’t want to see at the moment. Now the big question was whether she’d turn me into Forrest. It was probably likely, I mean, they were both on the same team now.

‘We need to run away, now!’ Forrest said. I wasn’t really expecting that approach.

‘But I only just started working here,’ she replied. ‘If I go now I’ll lose my independence.’

‘But you can’t stay here, the Head Councillor is dangerous. You don’t know what he will do to you,’ Forrest pleaded. He completely lacked his normal composure.

‘The Head Councillor is not dangerous; he only acts to prevent danger. He only locks people up because they are violent. Even Dylan was only captured because he attacked someone.’ What? I attacked someone.

‘Dylan was only defending Chloe. The Head Councillor set them up but they resisted his control.’ Oh, I guess I did attack someone. But Forrest wasn’t meant to be defending me. He caused it.

‘If you think he’s evil, than why are you working for him?’ Maria asked. A valid question.

‘Because he threatened me with you. He said that if I didn’t comply, he would take it out on you.’ His voice trembled slightly, though he was smart enough to keep it quiet. ‘Which is why you need to get out of here.’ He continued. ‘Which is why you can’t continue working for him. He isn’t giving you independence. As long as you are at this camp you are under his control. We are all under his control.’ So Forrest is planning on running away. That won’t work at all.

‘What about everyone else?’ I asked, dragging myself from out under the bed. Needless to say, Forrest was surprised to see me. I didn’t give him any chance to think.

‘If you escape now, and if the Head Councillor has as much control as you say he has, those left behind will be doomed. The number of people that can escape is extremely limited,’ I explained. ‘Even if we do escape, we’re running from an entity which had the power to get us all here in the first place, all of us feeling as if we came here on our own free will. Finding out how he did it is worth staying by itself but if that wasn’t enough, I know that if I leave now, I will be stuck thinking about this stupid camp for the rest of my life.’ And there it was, my reason for staying here. Being able to say it actually made me feel quite energised. Unfortunately it appeared to be lost on Forrest.

‘So you want to endanger everyone just because of your curiosity?’ Forrest asked, his voice condescending.

‘No, you’re missing the point.’ I said, glancing at Maria to see if she understood. Her expression was hard to read. Maybe she needed her diary to make sense of it all. Whatever she was thinking, she was not offering any support. I turned my attention back to Forrest.

‘Can’t you see? If we don’t take the offensive we lose. He has powers, whatever the source, which can control us somehow. Until we understand these we won’t be able to escape. ‘ Come on you idiot, why don’t you get it?

‘We can’t take the offense, he can read our minds. We can’t surprise him, he knows everything. Going against him will just hurt us. I have been fighting with him for this whole camp and what good has it done?’ Forrest said. He was getting exasperated. Had he really been fighting against the Head Councillor for the whole camp? Did he know how much evidence we had against him? His had me completely confused. The only thing I knew was that I couldn’t agree with him and I definitely couldn’t trust him.

‘I think, if the Head Councillor is evil, we should try and fight,’ Maria said, breaking her long silence. I felt my heart lose a good ton.

‘That’s great!’ I said. I almost felt like hugging her. ‘You’re on the inside; that would be a big help.’ Come on Forrest, Maria is happy, join us too.

‘So you are both deciding to stay,’ he said, his voice dead. ‘I know that fighting is impossible, and you have also ruled out running away.’ I did not like where this was heading.

‘Forrest, don’t!’ Maria pleaded. Was he going to turn us in?!? Without thinking I grabbed at his arm. He tried to shake me off as he made his way to the door.

‘Please, stop!’ I said. Failing to shake me off, he took the offensive, grappling my arm and aiming a blow at my head. I managed to partially avoid it but it still hurt, a lot. Pulling myself towards him I thrust my palm into his solar plexus. He recoiled and hit his head on the door frame before collapsing to the floor, gasping for breath. I didn’t know a body was capable of producing so much adrenaline. I glanced in confusion at Maria. She appeared shocked. Any attempt of thought on my part was interrupted by the sound of my own heart telling me to run.

Unfortunately someone had heard the commotion and was coming to investigate. Without thinking I was running as fast as I could in the opposite direction. I could only assume he was following close behind. I barged through some double doors, thankful they weren’t locked. The second I got through them a siren started and an automated voice informed that an all too familiar cell block had just been locked down. Hopefully Tyler wasn’t still in there.

I glanced behind me and, seeing that no one was following, slowed down to a brisk walk. They probably got caught in the lockdown. I needed to calm down and look for an exit. I was underground, so that would probably mean that I was looking for stairs. I just had to hope that I found them before the security guards found me.   

My heart jumped as a person entered the corridor a little further down. He hurried towards me; there was no doubt that he had seen me. My body was paralysed as he approached. And then he went straight past me. Wait what?

‘What are you doing?’ I asked. He slowed down and turned to look at me.

‘The block where my room is in has been locked down. Apparently some prisoner has escaped. I don’t like the idea of some crazed person hiding in my room messing it up,’ he replied before continuing on his path.

‘But if it’s a lock down, they probably won’t let you in. The prisoner could escape through the door you open,’ I explained. That stopped him. I can’t believe I was talking to a potential captor.

‘Well that sucks, I wanted to help,’ he replied.

‘Don’t worry, the detention guards should be able to take care of it,’ I said.  He walked back to me.

‘ So I guess I can’t do anything then. Are you doing anything?’ he asked.

‘Yeah, I need to get to ground level,’ I said. He cringed.

‘Have to help deal with the riots eh?’ he asked. Riots? Did Tyler know releasing the information was going to cause this effect? I nodded.

‘I’m hoping not to confront anyone,’ I said. ‘Do you know of any exists that open at the fringe of the camp? I only know of the exits inside the camp, though I don’t want to get caught up immediately in the riots.’

‘Sure, follow me,’ he said, heading in the direction I had originally been going. I followed after him.

‘So are you on some recon mission or something?’ he asked.

‘Something like that,’ I replied. ‘I have to make contact with a few people above ground.’

‘Be careful,’ he said. ‘Apparently someone named all the people who are working for the head councillor. That’s what started this riot. Most of us have retreated underground.’

‘I’ll keep that in mind,’ I said. After a little while longer he gestured to a door.

‘This will bring you up next to the lake,’ he said.

‘Thanks,’ I said.

‘Name’s Chris,’ he said, offering his hand.

‘Dylan,’ I said, regretting it immediately. ‘Bye’ I ran through the door which led onto a spiral staircase.

Sure enough, I exited from a rundown shack near the lake; the entrance to the stairway being covered by a door which blended into the floor. It was starting to get dark but there was still noise coming from the camp. There was a glow of fire and I hoped that they hadn’t set fire to anything important. I started to make my way towards the camp, wary as I did not know how far the situation had deteriorated.

‘Dylan.’ I heard my name called and quickly looked around. My eyes fell on a woman only a few metres away. She made no hesitation in closing this distance.

‘My name’s Alice, I’m a friend of Brian,’ she said.

‘Where is he?’ I asked, stunned. She shrugged.

‘Hiding somewhere.’ She held up her phone. ‘You can talk to him if you want.’ I nodded. She fiddled for bit before handing it too me, already ringing.

‘Hello,’ Brian answered.

‘It’s Dylan.’

‘Oh hey. Nice punch. Never thought you had it in you.’ I felt a bit of pride welling up inside me, but then I remembered what Brian had done.

‘How did you open my door?’ I asked.

‘I’m a professional. These factory produced security systems are nothing. Though there was some interesting things that I may want to talk with you about later. But you can rest now. Follow Alice, she’s our girl on the ground at the moment.’

‘Okay, thanks for coming.’

‘Heh, it’s all part of my job. Stay safe. You’re not finished yet.’ He hung up. I gave Alice her phone back.

‘Okay follow me and move quickly. The camps a little stirred up at the moment and you are classified as an enemy to them.’

‘An enemy?’ I asked. ‘I’ve been trying to help them.’

‘Well you’re a tick now, even if you weren’t before.’ She smiled encouragingly. ‘Don’t worry; we’ll take care of you.’

As she led me through the camp I saw that it was definitely different to what it was when I left earlier that day. There was paper everywhere, many of them having the campers list printed on them. Thankfully a bonfire appeared to be the only source of fire. If there was any chaos, it did appear to have calmed down. And then I was led into a dorm.

Chloe had a strained wrist, possibly broken. My cheek had developed a dark bruise. Tyler was possibly still underground. Maria was there too. Forrest said that the fight was impossible. That we couldn’t win. But we were not alone. For whatever reason, I had the staff of Labresci behind me, as well as other parties. This place holds a mystery, and I am not going to stop until it is unravelled.

Chapter 16: Thanks to You Diary

What’s going on? I was escaping this place. Why did I follow the head counsellor into his office? I’m trapped. The door is locked. He’s moving towards me. I’m beginning to really panic now. Whatever is going on is starting to seem a whole lot less innocent.

“What do you want from me?” I plastered my back against the door. Just as the head counsellor came close he turned to the small bench beside him.

“I want your help. Tea?” I noticed on the small bench a warm pot of tea and a couple of cups.

“What?” I uttered in confusion.

“Do you want a cup of tea? I thought you’d like one while we discuss your possible future position in my organisation.” Suddenly the situation seemed a whole lot less threatening. I was confused, especially about the mention of a job... “Cat got your tongue? Don’t worry. I’ll pour you one but you don’t have to drink it. How does that sound? Please take a seat.” The head counsellor poured the tea and brought it to his desk. I cautiously returned to the chair but didn’t sit.

“I don’t understand what’s going on here.” I told him and he grinned.

“Well, sit down and I’ll explain everything.” He moved my cup of tea closer to my chair. I sat. “Yesterday I found your diary, and forgive me, I read it just to find out who it belonged to so I could return it.” I sat stiffly in the chair watching him closely as I listened. “Reading these entries I was impressed by the author’s skill at recording data. You may not know this but this camp is built on a research facility and I’ve been in need of a new employee to make such accurate recordings which is why I brought you here.” He paused and slowly sipped at his tea.

“Why did you read it to me? Asking questions and not giving it back?” I debated. Something still didn’t seem right.

“Well I wanted conformation that the diary was yours. Also I wanted to understand this one topic which seemed a little cloudy to me. I want you to understand that if I were to employ you to my organisation then I will pay off your uni dept and help you pay for your very own unit. I understand your need to be independent.”

“You’d do that?” He’d grant me independence? A job? I could start doing what I want and living how I want to live! “What do you mean if you were to employ me?” Was he offering me the job or not?

“I would break you free from you dependence on others but only if I deem you suitable for the job.” Didn’t he already say I was the person for the job? I gave him a quizzical look. “My only concern is that your documenting skills are not consistent. I am willing to believe this phenomenon is truly indescribably to the point that you have recorded if you can convince me of what you are referring to.” He smiled as he saw me relax into the chair a bit.

“You mean the voices? I mean Forrest’s voice when he doesn’t open his mouth?” That could be hard to explain... but if it’ll make me independent then I’ll convince him of what I experienced.

Dear Diary

The past 24 hours have been a blur of emotion and confusing events. I’m glad that in the end I was able to have you back from the head counsellor. I don’t know what I would have done if he hadn’t found you. I’ll have to admit without the routine of writing my entries I was a little muddle minded. Probably thinking and acting a little irrationally. It’s embarrassing now to think how scared I was in the head counsellor’s office last night. There I was succumbing to everyone’s suspicions of the head counsellor when he was actually very kindly trying to offer me a job. Now here I am, finally, Miss Independent! I have a job at the head counsellor’s research facility at the camp site and he’s even going to pay off my uni fees and loan me money for my own unit!! It’s so exciting! I also received a package last night from dad with new clothes and everything! Finally everything is going good for me. And it’s all thanks to you diary! If I hadn’t written in you all the time and if I hadn’t lost you only to be found by the head counsellor then I’d still be tied down by my parents and studies.

This morning I had to get up early so the head counsellor could teach me the technicalities of the job. There’s a whole lab underground with observation rooms and everything! Apparently something did happen at the camp ten years ago and something strange might have happened to the people there, which is why they’ve all returned. The head counsellor has set up the lab to find out what happened to the people. He said they might have been traumatised so we need to keep some of them secure in the cells or they might become dangerous. I know one person who’s already become dangerous. Jaclyn!! I told the counsellor about what’s she’s done (not that it needed to be said, the obvious bad hair cut explained a lot). It turns out that he’s already secured her so she doesn’t get worse around camp. Things just keep getting better. The head counsellor is so nice and understanding. He said I could have my revenge on her.

This is probably the best job I could ever ask for right now! It’s so me. I have my own white lab coat and a proper id tag that I can swipe at locked doors and have access! Oh! Also I have my own private bedroom and bathroom just beside the lab! It’s so cool! I hope I get to see Forrest, Chloe and Dylan soon. They’d love to find out that the head counsellor is an okay guy, though the counsellor said not to go up to the campsite just yet. Not that I have much time to. I have lots of work to do down here. Speaking of work; I should get back to Jaclyn.

Standing outside Jaclyn’s cell watching her cry... I guess I do feel a little sorry for her, but I can’t help smiling. I briefly looked over the report I’d written on my clip board then heard the passage door open. Looking up I saw the head counsellor and to my surprise Forrest. I greeted them with a big smile and the head counsellor asked about Jaclyn. I replied to him as I wonder why Forrest was here. I didn’t know he worked for the head counsellor too. Or maybe he was only just hired. I wonder what for. Forrest was acting very uncertain about everything. He especially seemed surprised to see me here.

“You look surprised.” I said to Forrest.

“What happened to you?” He asked as if I’d changed dramatically. I didn’t think a white lab coat could have that effect.

“The head counsellor offered me a job.” I explained to him. Though I thought it was obvious.

“A job?” His reaction confused me a little bit. It wasn’t that outrageous was it? It actually made me laugh.

“You act like that’s a bad thing. Honestly, I don’t know why everyone seems to be scared of the head counsellor. He’s not that bad.” I saw the head counsellor chuckle behind Forrest. It seemed he even had a sense of humour. I never thought a boss could seem so much like a friend. Is calling the head counsellor a friend now going too far? I don’t know... but I do feel like we have become closer in understanding each other.

“But...he...” I was starting to feel a little concerned for Forrest. He was acting stranger and stranger. Could he really be so head strong not to believe that I could actually be good enough to work for the head counsellors organisation?

“I never knew that this camp was really a research facility. The head counsellor recognised my talents in cataloguing information and thought I would be the perfect employee for his organisation. Plus, he’s offering to pay the rest of my university fees and he’s willing to loan me some money to get my own unit!” I tried to explain it clearly to Forrest but it just seemed to make him even angrier. Was he one of the people affected by the event ten years ago? I didn’t know he could become dangerous. He couldn’t! I’m sure. “Independence, Forrest. The head counsellor is enabling me to be independent. That matters more to me than what I used to think about this camp.” Forrest turned to the head counsellor. The head counsellor remained calm. At that moment I had to borrow some of his calm to try to understand the situation.

“She’s the perfect employee. She tries really hard around here, you know.” That made me feel better. Until Forrest suddenly threw a fist at him! Thankfully the head counsellor was prepared and disabled Forrest’s attack. The head counsellor said something to Forrest but it was too quiet for me to hear. Perhaps I could ask him later what it was because it completely calmed Forrest down. I’d hate to see Forrest end up in one of these cells. Though if he did I know it would be for the best.
The head counsellor left me to my work directing Forrest away again. Just as he left through the doors he mentioned a new patient that I might be interested in looking at. I wonder who it could be. I mean, I recognise most of the people down here as being seemingly normal people from the camp. The fact that the head counsellor thought I’d be interested in this one... I must know them. And it’s not Jaclyn. Actually that’s got me a little concerned. I should check it out.

I walked down the passage to the small check in desk where I had to file my reports and where these people were recorded as they were checked in. I looked at the check-in book. Nothing that day. I wonder what he was talking about then... Suddenly I was startled by one of the guards standing behind me.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were there.” I stepped back.

“No problem. I just need the check-in book.” The guard stepped towards the desk. He looked at me up and down with a grin. “My name’s Darren. What’s yours?” Was this guy into me? It made me blush a bit.

“Mary.” I replied as I waited to see if he was checking someone in.

“I haven’t seen you around before. How about getting to know each other over lunch?” He had the pen in one hand hovering over the book but he wasn’t writing. I wasn’t so sure about his intentions with me either. Sure he wasn’t too bad looking but still, he wasn’t my type. Actually the whole situation was making me feel quite adult. I could make my own decision here and don’t have to worry about my parents. Darren was still waiting for an answer.

“Oh, uh. Maybe. Depends how busy I’ll be.” He looked down at the book and began to write down the details.

“So you’re not interested?” He asked. At that moment I glanced at the new text in the book: Cell B3 Dylan...

“NO!” I gasped and turned to run. I swiped my id card and pushed through the doors. I headed straight for hall B and counted to cell 3. I was so rushed that when I arrived I almost smashed my face against the window to see in. Dylan was lying on a small military bed. His eyes were closed. “Dylan?” I knocked on the window but got no response. Dylan? Dangerous? Really? That was one of the hardest things to imagine. Even in the food fight I’m sure I saw him sitting under a table passively. Could he have snapped and thrown his computer at someone? Dylan was probably the last person I would have imagined ending up in one of these cells. I’m actually surprised now that Chloe isn’t down here. Wait! Dylan is awake. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around hazily. I quickly went to unlock his door to talk with him but I felt a strong hand on my shoulder.

“I wouldn’t go in there right now if I were you.” I turned to see the head counsellor.

“What happened to him? Can’t I talk to him? He’s my friend.”

“He was just brought down here for attacking two people. I don’t want him to hurt you too.” The head counsellor sounded really concerned for me. It was actually starting to strike me as a bit weird. How could anyone possible think badly about this guy? Unless they saw something else to him that I can’t see.

“Please. Can you come in with me? I’m sure you could handle him.” He seemed to handle Forrest well and he’s always so calm. He seemed to think for a moment and gave me a grin.

“Sure. I’ll go in first and signal when it’s safe for you to come in.” He suggested. I was so glad. I’m glad that he understands what I want and is able to help me so much. I watched the head counsellor as he unlocked the door, walked calmly into the room and the door locked behind him. To my surprise Dylan leapt straight off the bed and looked like he might actually try and fight the head counsellor. If only he could see me, for some reason I thought that might calm him down, though these windows are only one way and mostly sound proof. The head counsellor talked with him for a short time and managed to get Dylan sitting calmly on the bed. At that point he signalled for me to come in. I unlocked the door and slowly stepped inside the room shutting the door behind me. Dylan looked shocked but not completely surprised to see me. I just stood there. I didn’t know what to say in this situation. “Tell her what you did, Dylan. It’s good to admit what you did wrong.” The head counsellor prompted.

“What did you do? Did you attack the two people like I was told?” I moved closer to him feeling a little sympathetic. The head counsellor signalled for me not to get too close. He looked at Dylan who looked like he wasn’t going to admit to anything.

“Come on Dylan, tell Mary who it was you pushed to the ground in a fight.” The head counsellor put a firm hand on Dylan’s shoulder. Dylan hesitated.

“Forrest and Kari...” He said quietly then he suddenly looked up at me directly. “But you don’t understand! They’re the bad ones! You can’t trust...” Dylan’s sentence was cut short as he fell unconscious. I immediately recognised that the head counsellor put him out.

“What did you do that for?” I asked the head counsellor.

“He was getting hysterical. There was no telling if he was going to become suddenly uncontrollable.” The head counsellor explained as he straightened Dylan on the bed.

“Hysterical? Hardly! He was just trying to explain something.” I argued with the head counsellor as we left the room together. As we exited the head counsellor cornered me against the wall and looked at me very seriously.

“I have been in this job much longer than you. I think I would have the experience to tell when someone is becoming hysterical. This is why I didn’t want you going in alone and why I don’t want you going in there ever again. Am I clear?” In that moment I remembered the head counsellor was my boss first and my friend second. Was he just looking out for me? Or was Dylan really getting hysterical? What did Dylan mean that Forrest was bad? Who can’t I trust? I looked down in confusion.

“I’m sorry.” I admitted to the head counsellor. He immediately backed off.

“I want you to take a lunch break before going back to work.” He started to walk away.

“Wait. What did you say to Forrest earlier to calm him down... and to Dylan? I just want to learn.” I called after him. He paused without turning around.

“I told them what they needed to hear.” The head counsellor replied and then continued on his way. I don’t know what it was they needed to hear. I guess the head counsellor does have a lot more experience than me. He can read people and understand them and know when they might start freaking out. I hope one day I can be just like him.

I headed straight to the shared kitchen for employees. As I walked in I saw a man facing the other way and I immediately thought of Darren. Did I totally run out on him earlier? That might have been a little mean, but I needed to see Dylan. The man turned around. Of course. I should have recognised him. Felix.

“Hey! It’s little miss head counsellor’s apprentice.” He was his jolly self as usual.

“What are you going on about?” I said almost sarcastically. I was actually a little surprised to see him down here. Did he work for the head counsellor as well? How many people that I know work for him? Here I was thinking I was special or something.

“That’s right. You don’t know.” He gave me a wink.

“I’ll ignore that.” I replied as I opened the fridge and found a sandwich that I liked. I wasn’t going to let Felix try to undermine me. This is my work place now. I don’t have to let him confuse or annoy me. He was looking a little better since Chloe punched him the face, though he still didn’t look one hundred percent better. It looked like he’d just finished his lunch but was still hanging around for some reason. I sat at the table in the middle of the room and unwrapped my sandwich. It was actually irking me to have Felix standing around watching me. “Do you mind?” I looked up at him. I couldn’t eat like this.

“I don’t know. Do I?” He smugly replied. This was ridiculous.

“What’s your problem?”

“I think you’re the one with the problem.” He wasn’t letting down. He was like an annoying child. Then he suddenly seemed distracted. “Oh, see you around.” And with that Felix left the room. Everyone seems to be acting so strangely. I’m getting the feeling I don’t have the full story. I don’t think there’s much I can do about it right now though. So I just set the thought aside and ate my lunch in peace. Just as I was finishing my lunch the head counsellor came in.

“Maria. I want to have a talk with you.” He announced and waited at the door for me to follow him. I quickly put my scraps in the bin and followed him out of the kitchen. “I wanted to talk to you about your experience with hearing Forrest’s thoughts.” I looked at the head counsellor a little surprised. I didn’t think I’d have to talk about that again. “You see it isn’t that farfetched.” He continued as we walked along the empty corridors. “Ten years ago I was affected by what happened and experience the same things. However, I’ve learnt to control it. I believe you may be able to speak to other people’s minds as well hear them. All you have to do is learn how.” I was flabbergasted by what he was saying. Was it true? I didn’t think such things were possible. Is this a joke? We stopped in the middle of the passage and the head counsellor looked at me seriously. “Do you trust me?” He asked. I looked up into his strong gaze. At that moment I couldn’t think of any reason why I shouldn’t trust him.

“I trust you.” For some reason saying those words didn’t quite feel right, but they were true to a certain point. I’m sure that he could easily erase any doubts I have with simple reasoning.

“Good. I have a new person who has been check in but he won’t talk to anyone. I think it could be a good exercise for you to try and use the power to hear his thoughts. Perhaps you can speak reason into his mind. You have to understand that he’s not very trusting of anyone and has concocted false theories against me and my organisation, which is why I need to know that you trust me and won’t be swayed by his reasoning.” The head counsellor was being very serious with me. I nodded.

“I trust you. I’ll try my best to teach him reason.” I replied, though I didn’t even know of this ability to talk into other’s minds until moments ago so I was a little nervous about how I was going to have to use it. The head counsellor opened the door closest to us and led me in. Sitting at a small metal table was Tyler. He observed me walk in but hid his emotions well.

“Take your time, Mary. I’ll be just outside.” The head counsellor explained and shut locked the door behind me. I nervously sat down on a metal chair opposite Tyler. I opened my mouth to speak but then remembered that I was meant to be trying to use my mind to speak. What that meant exactly I wasn’t quite sure. I sat still and just stared at Tyler. He stared back; his face giving away no emotion but his eyes giving away his fear and distress. I concentrated as hard as I could for several minutes but the silence with deafening. I was starting to give up. I sat back in the chair and relaxed a bit. I was becoming more aware of him staring at me like he really wanted to break his silence to tell me something. It was starting to annoy me. If he wanted to talk why didn’t he just talk? Why was he so stubborn? I never imagined Tyler to be quite like this. I looked at the one way mirror knowing that the head counsellor was on the other side. Did he really think I could do this? Looking back at Tyler I began to imagine what it would be like to hear his thoughts. What would he say? ‘Why is she staring at me? What has the head counsellor got Maria doing? Don’t trust the head counsellor!! Whatever he’s said to you it’s a lie. He’s trying to make you do his dirty work for him. Run away when you get the chance. Don’t come back! If only I could tell you this! But the head counsellor is right outside... How can Maria not see his manipulation? If only she’d listened to the mp3 recording yesterday.’ Wait. What? An mp3 recording. My imagination is too good. It even sounded like his voice through most of that. Maybe if I ask him about it he might talk.

“Do you know anything about an mp3 recording that I should listen to?” I asked casually and glanced at the mirror hoping that breaking the silence was okay. Suddenly I had Tyler leaning across the table holding my collar.

“Do you have it? It’s proof! The head counsellor is bad! You have to believe me!” He said in a hysterical hushed voice. I grabbed his hand and forced him to let go of my clothes.

“The head counsellor is good man. He’s doing this for your own good.” I started to explain but stopped when I heard the door open. The head counsellor signalled for me to leave the room with him. I got up and glanced back at Tyler’s worried face as I left.

“Why did you start talking? I told you to try using your mind.” The head counsellor asked after shutting the door to Tyler’s cell.

“I tried... I don’t think I can do it. I was just trying something.” I tried to explain. I still wasn’t sure what happened. Somehow I thought I knew that Tyler wanted to tell me about an mp3 recording which he really did know about. Was it luck? Or did I really hear what he was thinking? The head counsellor was watching me think.

“Talk to me. What exactly happened in there?” The head counsellor was still very serious.

“I thought you said you could hear other’s minds. Why don’t you just listen to mine and work out what happened in there?” I snapped back. Though I wasn’t sure why. The head counsellor seemed short of words for a moment.

“I’m not in the mood for playing games Maria. Tell me what happened.” He backed me against the wall.

“I.. I might have heard something...” I admitted. The head counsellor had me confused and nervous. If he was so sure he could hear thoughts why couldn’t he just hear mine? Was he lying or was I different to most people? He was still staring me down. I guess I should elaborate on what I heard. “He might have mentioned something about an...” I paused. Those rooms are sound proof. The head counsellor wouldn’t know what I actually said. If I twist the truth he should be able to hear it in my mind. If he’s telling the truth about this ability but still doesn’t know I’m lying then it means I am different. Is that why he hired me? Keep your friends close, your enemies closer. Am I a threat? He was waiting for me to finish my sentence. “...an incident involving Forrest. I asked him about it to see if I’d really heard his thought or whether my subconscious made it up. The way he reacted I guess it could have really been his thought.” The head counsellor stepped back. I waited to see if he could tell I was lying. He stared at me for a moment. I held my poker face.

“Very well. That’s a start.” He said and put his arm around my shoulders. We began to walk through the corridors again. “I want you to practice that and report everything to me. Also try speaking to them.” His arm around my shoulders this morning would have felt comforting but now it felt a little controlling. Do I still trust him? I looked up at his face. He glanced down at me with a friendly smile. There was still something about him that didn’t feel right. “You’re doing a good job Mary.” But yes, I think I still trust him. He is giving me my independence after all. The head counsellor excused himself to some important duties leaving me to my work. I feel like a lot has played on my mind today and it would probably be a good idea to clear my head before going back to my job. So I headed straight around to my private bedroom first to write in my diary which the head counsellor insisted was safe to keep in my room. As I arrived at the wooden door I grinned at the fact that it had my name on it on a silver plaque. Though the next think I noticed was the door very slightly ajar. I slowly pushed the door and stepped through. The next thing I knew someone from behind was holding me with a hand over my mouth. I couldn’t scream. The door slammed shut. I fell backwards onto the bed and quickly sat up. Immediately I recognised Dylan standing in front of me.

“Mary! I have to talk with you!” He seemed quite urgent and paranoid.

“How did you get out of your cell? You shouldn’t be here! You’re not going to hurt me are you?” I asked wondering if I should call for a guard or try returning Dylan to his cell myself.

“Of course I won’t hurt you! What lies has the head counsellor been feeding you? He’s the one who’ll hurt you!” I open my mouth to debate but he quickly shushed me. “Listen. You’re on the inside. They trust you. Maybe we can use that to our advantage. There’s an mp3 recording which proves that there’s more to the camp than what first appears and it’s not good. It’s been confiscated, can you find it? Even better... Can you use it?” I wasn’t certain what Dylan was asking me to do but he mentioned the mp3 recording that I heard Tyler mention. Were they telling the truth? Both Dylan and I shot our glances at the door as we heard the handle turning slowly. Dylan was quick to hide under the bed as the door opened slightly and Forrest looked in.

“Thank goodness you’re okay. I need to talk to you privately.” He quickly entered and shut the door behind him.

Chapter 15: Only Hope

Pulling open the door to the office, I ran as fast as I could across the compound and hated it. I had never run away from a fight before, or let someone get hurt in my place…

Damn you, Dylan! Why did you have to go and play the hero like that?!

This was affecting me more than I thought… I guess I really did care about my team members more than I let on, even to myself. I hope that Mary at least managed to make it out okay, though I couldn’t imagine that she would easily fall for the head counsellor’s tricks.

As I ran, I noticed that other campers were filtering out of their dorms and examining the pieces of paper on the ground. Good, at least Dylan and Tyler’s work wasn’t done entirely in vain, although I didn’t remember them printing off this many copies…

…Tyler!!

I had to find Tyler, they’d come after him next and I couldn’t have two people I was unable to save on my conscience.

Distracted by my thoughts, I skidded on a pile of paper and fell to the ground hard. A sharp pain shot up my right arm and I heard myself cry out. I looked around to see if anyone else had heard, but thankfully (or not, depending on your perspective), everyone was now much more focused on the paper I had slipped on than my pain. From the sounds of things, people were beginning to figure things out.

Freaking took them long enough!

I attempted to push myself up off the ground from my position of embarrassment, but another wave of pain wracked my arm and it buckled beneath me, sending me face first onto the pavement.

As I lay there, I came face to face with… myself. There was a picture of me under my face, along with the rest of my group members. At first, it looked exactly the same as when I’d last seen it, after Dylan and Tyler had shown it to me earlier. But as I used my elbows to push myself up, I noticed something was very different.

All of our question marks had been replaced with ticks.

“How… no, when did this happen?!”

Thankfully, everyone was now too busy checking their own pictures and those of their friends to hear my crazy sounding sentences.

Clutching the piece of paper in my good hand, I managed to stagger to my feet just in time to see Tyler race past me. I tried to call his name, but I couldn’t seem to get my mouth to form any words. What came out were some stuttered syllables and a lot of air. The world started to go splotchy in front of my eyes and I felt my legs give way.

No…

Before I hit the ground again, I felt hands around my waist and a blurry face appeared in front of me.

“She’s one of them.”

“What should we do with her?”

“We can take her, right? I mean, look, she’s totally defenceless right now.”

“Don’t be disgusting.”

Just before I lost consciousness completely, I heard crashes and screams coming from all around me.

“We’d better get her out of here. If they find her, there’s no telling what they’ll do to her.”

The first things I felt when I opened my eyes were pain and nausea. I hadn’t felt this bad in a long time, not since the one time I got myself into a drunken fight. If that wasn’t the stupidest thing I ever did…

No, coming back to this place was definitely the stupidest.

As my senses returned, I noticed for the first time that I was lying on a bed in one of the dorms. I could hear the voices from earlier talking about the papers outside and the people’s reactions. Clearly they’d been doing a little research of their own. Nice to know we weren’t the only normal ones in this otherwise crazy camp.

“Are you alright?”

A girl with short red hair was bending over me, her hazel eyes clouded with concern.

“Yeah, I’m alright.”Well done, Chloe, you got some words out this time.

I slowly sat up, being careful to use only my left arm, keeping my right arm as still as possible. Even this movement however sent shocks of pain through me and I had to literally bite my tongue to keep from crying out.

When I was sitting safely on the bed, cradling my sore arm, the red haired girl smiled. “I’m Alice.” She stood up and gestured to a group of boys sitting on the floor in the middle of the room playing cards. “Those guys over there are my team mates.”

I recognised one of the guys as the blurry face I saw before I passed out, though he was quite a bit clearer now. He had short cropped blond hair with a single piece that kept falling onto his forehead. He was the first to notice me.

“So you’re up.” He took a card from the pile in the middle of the floor. “Feeling better now?”

“You were pretty out of it back there” the guy on his left interjected, peering over his cards at me. His comment sounded innocent enough, but something about the way he kept looking at me made it seem… how should I put this… creepy.

The blond guy shot him a look, and then turned his attention back to his cards. “Don’t mind Jessie over there. He’s a bit of a creep, but he’s alright.” For the first time, he turned his attention to me. “Unlike you.” He uncrossed his legs to stand, then paused and placed his cards face up on the floor. “I win.”

“No!” Jessie threw his cards in the air and the brown haired guy across from him hung his head, shaking it in disappointment as he said “Damn you, Luck, this happens every time!”

Luck laughed. “And yet you insist on playing with me.” He glanced out the window. “It looks like things are getting pretty hairy out there.” Turning back to the other two guys, he said “Jessie, Sean, you guys head out and make sure that no one knows about Chloe being here. Alice, you keep an eye-out for the head counsellor and his lackeys. They’re probably looking for her.”

Alice nodded, smiling at me before she headed out the door after the two guys.

I watched her go, feeling somewhat sad that one of the only people who had showed concern for me at this camp was now leaving me. I hadn’t even known her that long!!

And yet…Man, this camp was screwing with my head.

I was brought out of my musings when I noticed that Luck was rummaging through a tiny cupboard attached to the wall of the dorm.

“What are you doing?” I curled my hand protectively around my injured arm. What if this was some kind of trap? After everything else that had happened at this camp, I doubt anything would have surprised me.

Yet what happened next did. Luck emerged from the cupboard, his hands full of bandages. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to bandage up your arm.” He started approaching the bed where I was sitting. “You can’t just leave it like that.” Instinctively, I pulled back as he reached the edge of the bed. “No, it’s fine.” One of his brows arched. “Really?” Bending over me, he reached out and flicked my injured arm. I felt a scream of pain threaten to escape, but I managed to smother it by clenching my jaw.

Luck laughed and sat on the bed. “You’re a pretty tough chick, I’ll give you that. But”, he dumped the bandage and a splint onto the bed, “you’re getting my help, whether you want it or not.” He held out his hand. “Give me your arm.”

I studied the grain of the cabin’s wooden wall like it was an artistic masterpiece. I could feel him waiting, his position unchanged, although several minutes had passed. Who did this guy think he was? That he could just sit in front of me and stare at me and I’d just cave? Well, he was not going to make me! He could sit there all day, I wasn’t gonna…

Oh, sod it, I’m in too much pain to care.

Without a word I extended my injured arm slightly. I felt him take it gently. “Thank you, Chloe.”

I shrugged. “Whatever”. I refused to meet his eyes, I was too ashamed. In just one day, I’d gone from the rough and tough Gotums chick to an injured girl who had run away from a fight. It was like this camp had even taken my identity.

In order to keep myself in control of my emotions, I focused on my injured arm, watching as Luck slowly and carefully rolled up my sleeve. He whistled through his teeth. “Impressive. You don’t do anything by halves, do you?”

From fingertips to elbow, my right arm was swollen, with blotchy purple bruises around my wrist. I could hardly bend my fingers.

“It’s useless”. As I said this, I realised that my cheeks were wet. It was hopeless, there was no way I could write with this arm, much less save my team mates. Luck, thankfully, didn’t acknowledge my tears as he strapped up my wrist, keeping it still with the splint. I wiped my face with my good hand, trying to keep any more tears from coming out. I hate appearing vulnerable, especially in front of people I don’t know.

“So, uh…” I made an effort at conversation to keep myself calm. “You look like you know what you’re doing.” Luck looked up briefly before turning his attention back to strapping my arm. “I’m a med student at Daigo University.”

“Daigo? The suburb just outside of Gotums?”

“That’s the one. My parents managed to escape the worst of the Gotums crash, though my father worked his way back up the ladder through”, he paused, “somewhat questionable means. Means that I didn’t want to be a part of.” He sighed, then continued as he reached for the clip to hold my bandage on. “So, anyway, long story short, he cut me off and I live on campus working minimum wage at some Italian dive.” Luck laughed, though not happily. “And I’m supposed to be the lucky one.” He released my arm. “There you go, that should hold.”

“Thanks” I replied quietly. It was weird to hear about someone who was suffering just as much as I was. I attempted to lighten the heavy atmosphere. “So what is up with that nickname?” I paused. “I mean, it is a nickname, right?”

Luck laughed again, this time more cheerfully. “Yeah, it started about ten years ago.” He gave me a look, and I nodded, reassuring him that I understood the significance of this. He continued. “Nothing I do fails. Ever. Whatever I decide to do, I can do. I could get on a motorbike and just figure out how to drive it without killing myself.”

I smiled. “It’s not that hard to ride a bike, you know.”

Luck blinked in surprise. “You ride?”

“Yeah, I do. I came to camp on one.”

He looked away and rubbed his chin. “That could be handy.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?” Then I suddenly remembered the first question I had wanted to ask. “And what’s with all the paper everywhere? I mean, Dylan and Tyler only printed, like, two copies.” Luck just smiled and winked at me. “You? It was your group?”

“Sure was. I’m just glad that we’re not the only ones who’ve been doing research into this camp. Although if what you’re group has found is anything like what we’ve managed to dig up…” He trailed off and glanced at me.

I shrugged. “To be honest, I don’t really know a lot about what’s going on. Dylan and Tyler were the ones who…Tyler!” I spun my feet off the bed and made my way over to the window.

“No, Chloe! You should stay away from the window!” I felt him grab me and pull me away.

“But Tyler’s in trouble! They’ll come for him, he’s the only other one left who knows!” I struggled, but Luck was too strong and it was too painful. “I can’t let someone else get in trouble for me!”Damn, the tears are coming back.

“Okay, I’ll send Alice to look for him. Will that make you happy?”

I stopped struggling. “Yes.” His grip on me relaxed. “Good.” He stepped away and pulled his mobile out of his pocket. I heard him speaking into it as I stood back from the window, rubbing my arm. It had gotten cooler since this morning and I wasn’t exactly dressed for it, thanks to Jaclyn and her trick with the scissors.

“Are you cold?” There was a rustling of fabric and I felt something warm across my shoulders. It felt like a coat. I turned around and noticed that Luck was now wearing only a T-shirt, his jacket draped across my shoulders.

“Why are you doing all of this for me? And what did you mean earlier about my bike being handy?” I knew I sounded interrogatory, but I couldn’t help it.

“What did I mean?” Luck gave me a sideways glance, then smiled and said “Well, wouldn’t it be handy to have someone who can’t lose on your side? And you’ve got some pretty mean skills yourself. Between the two of us, I think we stand a chance of taking down the head counsellor.”

He stepped closer and looked down at me. “So, are you in? Because, like it or not, Chloe, we’re your only hope.”

I hesitated, then looked up into his eyes. “I’m in.”

Chapter 14: Capitulation

She slapped me.

Why would she do that?

I didn’t even notice that Kari got her back. I was staring at her, trying to work out what I had done wrong.

“What the hell did you do that for?”Kari said.

Maria took a small step backward. “I...I...” She looked at me again. I stared back, impassively.

Whatever drove her to slap me broke. She turned and ran.

Then it hit me. Maria was falling apart. And it was my fault, letting her think she was still guilty about what she did ten years ago.

“Stupid Plotovetians,” Kari muttered, watching Maria run off into the distance. “I swear, if she touches you again...”

“You will let me deal with it,” I said. Maria was very vulnerable now...this camp was getting to her. If the head counsellor were to take advantage now...

I had to warn her.

“Why do you even try? She’s not worth your time,” Kari said.

“I’m going to find her,” I responded.

I ignored any further conversation as I strode in Maria’s direction. I couldn’t help thinking about Tyler and how he looked this morning. I couldn’t let Maria end up like that.

I heard footsteps behind me. She just wouldn’t give up. “Kari, I have to talk to her.”

“She won’t listen to a thing you’ll say.” She grabbed my arm to stop me moving any further. “Trust me; I’m saving you a lot of grief.”

I tried to twist my arm out of her grip. She was surprisingly strong. “Don’t try to stop me. I need to do this.”

“No, you don’t,” Kari snapped, tightening her grip. “I’ve been in her situation before, and when the guy came after me I just smashed him. Do you want Maria to slap you again?”

I looked at her. Was she being sincere, or did she just want my company for herself? Or did the head counsellor put her up to this...

I sighed. I was being way too paranoid. “You’re right, as usual,” I replied.

She let go of my arm with a smile. “Let’s watch the rest of the activity,” she suggested.

It wasn’t until much later that I found Maria sleeping in the dorm room. Dylan, Tyler and Chloe were also in the dorm, involved in a deep discussion. I went straight to Maria, not paying much attention to what I was saying. This was my chance.

After a few unsuccessful attempts at shaking her awake, I realised that Dylan and Tyler had gone.

It was just me and Chloe.

She was alarmingly close. “Get out,” she said. “I need to change.”

“Take your clothes and change somewhere else,” I responded. I took a step back, toward Maria’s bed. Chloe looked murderous.

“I know what you’re up to,” she said, coming forward again. “You are not taking Mary away.”

She had me feeling crowded. I felt the smooth wood panel of Maria’s bed against my leg. I couldn’t move back any further.

“I just wanted to talk to her,” I began, looking away from her burning gaze. Why had Chloe’s suspicions increased tenfold?

“Talk? About what? How you’re ditching us for the enemy?”

Not that again. “I can be friendly with our rivals if—”

“That’s bullcrap, and you know it.”

“Then what are you going on—”

“Why are you working for him?”

I froze. She knew. I didn’t know how, but she knew.

“No answer?” she questioned, a predatory smile on her face. She had me cornered, even I could admit that. What annoyed me was that she would never believe I was still on her side.

“There’s no point trying to reason with you,” I said. I brushed past her, aiming for my bed. Surprisingly, she let me go.

I rummaged around in my bag for a new set of clothes. Well, even if I couldn’t warn Maria right away, she had Chloe to protect her. She was safe for the moment.

“I’m not finished with you,” Chloe said. She was leaning against Maria’s bed, her pose suggesting she was ready to jump into action. “If you do anything, and I mean anything to sabotage our group, I won’t hold back.”

Footsteps along the wooden floor patio outside caught our attention. Kari walked in through the door.

“What is taking you so long? You said you were getting clothes.”

She stopped, having spotted Chloe. A smug smile appeared on her face. “Hello, Chloe.”


“Kari,” Chloe said, fixing her with a glare.

“I hope you weren’t terrorizing Forrest just now,” Kari said sweetly.

“That’s none of your business. You shouldn’t even be in this dorm.”

“Dorm? More like a dump. You obviously don’t clean up very well.” She must have been referring to the bits of clothing still littered around the place. Jaclyn had really hit the mark.

Chloe didn’t appreciate the reference. She sprung to her feet and advanced on Kari. “Get out before I make you.”

Kari stood her ground, that weird little smile still on her face. “Make me then.”

They were having a staring match, waiting for the other to make the first move. This was getting ridiculous.

“Let’s go,” I said. I was ignored.

Kari boldly outstretched her arm and patted Chloe’s ripped black tank top. “You look better dressed as a slut. Even I would do you.”

That was the breaking point.

Chloe moved so fast I almost didn’t see her. Her fist collided with Kari’s face. Kari stumbled back, her hand touching her cheek.

“Need more?” Chloe said.

Kari abandoned her cheery facade and instead settled on a harsh glare. “You can try.”

Chloe swung again, but Kari was already inside her reach, slamming her fist into Chloe’s stomach.

“That’s for before,” Kari spat. She jerked her head at me then strode out the room.

Chloe was clutching her stomach, but she was glaring at the open doorway so hard I thought she would set something aflame. No way did I want to be in the same room as her. I circled around her, and seeing no response-I probably didn’t rate high on her ‘want to kill’ list at the moment-I got out the room.

Kari hadn’t got far. When I caught up with her she started laughing.

“What?” I asked.

“Now we’re even. Did she think she could punch me and get away with it?”

We were still in view of the dorm. I glanced back to see if Chloe would pursue, but there was no sign of her. I guess she was serious about watching over Maria.

“What’s your vendetta against her?”

“She broke Felix’s nose.”

“And...”

“What more reason do I need than that?”

“You’re similar to her, you know.”

“Don’t compare me with that Gotums whore, please.”

“Do you have to badmouth everyone in my group?”

“Huh, look at you. Don’t tie yourself down with attachment to your group. It will only make things harder.”

That sent a chill down my spine. It was as if the head counsellor had planted words in her mouth. Was she just a puppet as well?

“Kari, do you...like the agency?”

She didn’t respond. I dropped it, but I was still intrigued to what her personal opinion was. She might have been like me, secretly opposing it from the inside. I refused to believe that she would be as shallow as Felix, only in it for the thrills.

For the rest of the day, there was always someone else in our dorm. There was never a chance for me to get Maria alone-she was still slumbering away, even when we slipped into our own beds for sleep. Chloe seemed restrained each time I crossed paths with her, I guess I had Dylan and Tyler to thank for that.

It was when I was lying in bed, deep in the night, when I heard a noise outside the dorm. I then heard Maria creep out the dorm.

She’s trying to leave.

I was startled awake. The head counsellor.

Don’t follow her. I’ve been expecting this.

‘What are you going to do?’ This was bad...

Oh, a little bit of this and that.

He had this planned from the beginning. Somehow he had arranged these events to fit his plan and...I had fallen for his trap. What was I going to do?

Precious seconds were wasted as indecision took me. It was too early for me to confront the head counsellor...but I had promised myself to fight him. Did I really have the guts to go through with it?

Could I really save Maria?

It was now or never.

One leg was off the bed before the head counsellor spoke again.

Stay where you are.

‘You don’t need to do this.’ I needed to stall him. I was standing up now.

Are you forgetting that I have Maria in my grasp right now?

I paused. ‘Let me handle her. I know how to break her defences.’ If I can get to her before he locks me out...

Nice try. But you’re not skilled enough. Now, stay.

I was almost out the door now.

Get back to bed, or Maria will lose more than just her dignity.

I stopped. He didn’t seriously mean that?

You saw what happened to Tyler. I can do much worse to Maria. You don’t want to be the cause of that, do you?

He had me. Damn him.

I couldn’t risk it.

His last words were chilling. Don’t think you can betray me.

I sank back into my bed. I would have to wait for morning.

But Maria was not back in the dorm when we woke up. I knew this because I was violently shaken awake by Chloe.

“Where is she?”

I was feeling groggy, my vision was still hazy and Chloe was demanding answers that I didn’t have.

“Damn it Forrest, tell me!”

She was already gone...

“Chloe, there could be many explanations for her disappearance...” That was Dylan, always the calm analytical mind in the room. He looked a bit lost in the middle of the dorm room, probably debating whether or not to stop Chloe.

Chloe’s hand tightened painfully around my shoulder. “Enough. No more doubts. I know who did it and,” she glared at me, “you are not going to get away with it.”

It was like a dream. Her bed was empty, all her gear had disappeared. I had no idea what the head counsellor was doing to her. Did I make the right decision in letting her walk straight into danger?

Chloe was right in my face, demanding answers. The accusation in her eyes echoed my own failure to save Maria.

I had to look away.

“Nothing to say?” Chloe said. Her other hand was a fist. She was serious.

“Do it,” I said. Chloe looked unsettled. “Hit me.”

She drew her fist back. And stopped.

“What are you waiting for? Hit me.”

“Chloe, hitting him won’t—”

Her fist flew. A sharp pain erupted in my left cheek bone.

But not even pain could take away the guilt.

“Did that make you feel better?” I asked. I stared at her, watched as her expression grew more troubled.

“Do you feel better?” I grabbed her arm and pulled her to me. “Do you want to hit me again?”

She was speechless. Her arms were slack; there was no sign of her rising up to hit me again.

“What happened to ‘not holding back’?” I said, disgusted, before shoving her away and slipping out of bed.

Dylan hadn’t moved; he was gaping at me like Chloe was. Chloe retreated a few steps.

“You’re...just as mental as the rest of them,” she said. Mental? She thought I was MENTAL?

“How is threatening me every time you see me any better?” I shot back. I felt the adrenaline rushing through my veins. Something had to give.

She seemed to regain a bit of her anger. “You’ve lied about everything this entire camp.”

“And you know why? Because you can’t handle the truth.”

“The truth? What is the truth, Forrest?” She looked me in the eye. “Why does this camp exist? Why did you take Mary away?”

“I didn’t take her—”

“You did. You’re a heartless bastard who only thinks about himself.”

I had no answer.

I suppose it was true. I was too occupied trying to rebel that I forgot about the danger everyone else was in...I closed my eyes. Maria. What is happening to you now?

I looked at them. Chloe was glaring. Dylan looked helpless. Perhaps I should bare all.

Say anything and Maria is done for.

I sighed. That was the truth of this camp. No one could escape the head counsellor. Nothing went unnoticed. It was worthless trying to fight him.

He always had some kind of advantage over you.

Dylan finally moved, but it wasn’t toward me. He wandered over to the doorway and stopped.

“Chloe, have you seen this?”

She peered out the door. “You didn’t print this much out, did you?”

Print what? I was tempted to look out the door as well, but that would place me way too close to Chloe. They exited the dorm, allowing me to see what the fuss was all about.

The whole courtyard was littered with paper. Posters were stuck on brick walls. Some were stuck to benches.

I picked one up. It was a list. The same list I saw on the head counsellor’s computer.

The one with the ticks, question marks and crosses.

What the hell?

Another paper had the same list, except this time all the people who had ticks were...

They were labelled as ‘evil’. ‘Betrayers’ and ‘beware’ were also scribbled across other papers. This wasn’t good.

Everyone in the agency, including me, was singled out and labelled.

There were other people milling about the courtyard, looking at these things as well. Most of the campsite was awake.

I could hear shouting. A crowd of people had gathered in the middle of the courtyard, massing around a...fight? Looks like these revelations had a ripple effect. Perhaps there were other Chloe like people around, suspicious about certain agency members and willing to punish them for it.

All they needed was some validation, a spark to set them off. Knowing who was on the ‘evil’ side made it easy for them.

I continued walking around the courtyard, but the result was the same. People were arguing. Some didn’t seem to care, but others were scrutinising each face they saw with a copy of the list in their hand.

Someone would eventually recognise me.

Suddenly, the head counsellor’s voice boomed through the campsite.

“Emergency meeting in the dining room. I repeat, emergency meeting in the dining room.”

That answered how he would solve this particular situation. He would probably hand out incentives, or turn these lists into some sort of weird game. That wouldn’t convince everyone, but it would smooth things over for a time...

I was about to set foot into the dining room when someone grabbed my arm and dragged me behind the building. Not surprisingly, it was Kari.

“I finally found you! The head counsellor has a job for us.”

She was holding several garbage bags.

“The meeting was just a diversion?” I asked. She nodded.

"Someone decided to strike at the head counsellor. This is the counter attack.”

She gave me a bag and we set off for the first dorm. We had to collect anything technological-that included laptops, phones, mp3 players, anything we could get our hands on.

Technically, such things were banned from camps, but no one followed the rules anyway. This was simply enforcing the rules. Nothing sinister about it.

Never mind that some people needed their technology to gather information to strike at the head counsellor. It could be seen as a move to hamstring the ‘rebellion’, but it was just enforcing the rules.

That’s what I kept telling myself. I couldn’t have second doubts about what I was doing. The head counsellor still held Maria.

Everyone was in the meeting, so the dorms were empty. It was easy, darting in and out of dorms collecting.

“What are Felix and the other agency members doing?” I asked Kari when we were in one of the last dorms.

“They have their set tasks. Some are preparing the last activity. Others are setting up the fireworks for tonight.”

“Fireworks? Like...last time?”

“Yeah, it’s the end of camp celebration. Camp ends tomorrow, after all.”

That’s right, it was. Tomorrow would be the fifth and final day of camp, before it all ends.

Well, I didn’t believe that it would just ‘end’. That wasn’t the head counsellor’s style. He liked his flashy endings.

What that would be was anyone’s guess.

By the time we reached my dorm, the bags were almost full. By happy coincidence it was the last one we had to do.

“You can do this one,” Kari said, stopping by the door to keep watch.

Unfortunately, Dylan had left his laptop here. I would have to take it. I also noticed an mp3 player sitting next to it. It looked familiar, was it Tyler’s?

...Of course. The player had recording functionality. That’s how they did it.

That went in the bag as well. Maria’s stuff was completely missing, and Chloe had nothing worth taking.

“Done?” Kari questioned. I nodded.

We took too long, however. I heard Chloe and Dylan outside the dorm.

“Quick, back to the admin building,” Kari said. I shouldered my bag and walked briskly behind her. We passed them just outside the dorm room door.

“What were you doing?” Chloe questioned, her eyes narrowed. She had planted herself outside the dorm, but Dylan bypassed us and went in.

We ignored her and kept walking.

We must have been about halfway to the admin building before we heard shouting.

They had put two and two together. I don’t think I could have driven them away any further, but them finding out firsthand I was against them...

We had just dumped the garbage bags behind Leila’s desk when we heard Chloe and Dylan barging in through the admin doors behind us.

“Give it back,” Chloe growled.

“I’m sorry?” Kari replied. Leila, the secretary, was immediately on the phone.

“You had no right to take my laptop,” Dylan said. He looked angry for once.

“Did we take their laptop?” Kari asked me, a smirk on her face.

“...Of course not,” I replied. “You’ll have to look somewhere else,” I said to them.

It was a standoff. Kari and I were leaning against the reception counter, while Chloe and Dylan were standing in the middle of the reception area.

Then the head counsellor walked through the front doors.

“What’s the problem here?” he said.

“A case of stolen property, counsellor,” Leila said.

“My laptop was stolen,” Dylan added, not quite making eye contact with the head counsellor.

The head counsellor smiled. “It was confiscated.”

“Confiscated?” Chloe exclaimed. “By what rights do you—”

“Chloe, let me handle this,” Dylan interrupted. Chloe looked surprised, but stayed quiet for once.

“I believe stealing my personal property is a criminal offence, head counsellor,” he said.

The head counsellor walked up the reception counter and took a piece of paper. “You’ll see on this that it explicitly states that I can confiscate any items that I deem dangerous.”

“Laptops aren’t dangerous,” Chloe said.

“Ah,” the head counsellor held up a finger, “but yesterday I had an incident where someone threw their laptop at another person in a fit of rage. A laptop was used as a weapon. Thus I ordered every laptop in the campsite to be confiscated so this does not happen again.”

That was so ridiculous that I had to struggle not to laugh. What could Dylan do but try to refute that logic?

“I have to disagree, counsellor.”

“You all signed this contract at the start of the camp,” the head counsellor said. “You are bound by these rules until the end of the camp.”

It was useless, Dylan. You can’t fight the head counsellor.

Dylan dug something out of his pocket. It was his mobile phone. “If you will not give my laptop back, I will have to call someone in who will.”

I couldn’t believe it. Was Dylan actually making a threat? The head counsellor was not fazed, however.

“Go on then. Call the relevant authorities.”

Dylan held his phone up to his ear. We all waited with bated breath.

“No signal,” he finally said.

“That’s to be expected when all the cell phone towers around this area are down for repairs.”

And I bet you had absolutely nothing to do with that, right, head counsellor?

Dylan pushed a few buttons on his phone then held it up to his ear again. Why was he trying again? It was useless...

“Hello? Brian? Yes, it’s me, Dylan.” He got through? The head counsellor also looked surprised.

“I’m at the campsite. Yes, that exists here...he has functioning virtual reality.”

So Dylan found out about that...somehow.

“I need your assistance. Come quickly, please.” Then he shut the phone, knowing his time was up.

“How...?” Chloe asked.

“My phone has satellite capabilities,” he explained.

I was impressed. Bettering the head counsellor with technology that he hadn’t anticipated Dylan would have.

The head counsellor started clapping. “Well done,” he said, anger etched into his features. It was the first time I had seen him angry. “However, you won't be here to meet him...your time is up.”

He looked at Kari and me. “If you would please...”

“With pleasure,” Kari said, turning her sights on Chloe.

Chloe caught on quickly. “I don’t think so.”

At that moment, two burly guards appeared in the doorway, blocking their only escape route.

Dylan started backing toward a wall. “Chloe, what are we going to do?”

Kari was advancing on Chloe. Knowing that I had to do something, I started walking toward Dylan.

“I don’t know...just...think of something!” Chloe said.

Kari threw the first punch. Chloe dodged, and attempted a sweeping low kick to throw Kari off guard. Chloe wanted to end things early.

I eyeballed Dylan. He was back against the wall. I didn’t want to fight him, but...

You will fight him or Maria will live out her own personal hell. Your choice.

I knew he would say something like that.

“You don’t have to do this,” Dylan said.

“I do,” I replied.

I was close to him now, within striking distance. He looked around the office building, taking in the positions of everyone. What was he going to do?

Then he sprung. He barrelled through me, knocking me off balance. But his objective was not me.

He collided into Kari, knocking both of them into the ground.

“Chloe, go!” He was trying to hold Kari on the ground.

“But, you—”

“Just go!” Kari was getting the upper hand, now holding Dylan to the ground. The guards at the door were pressing toward Chloe.

Chloe didn’t waste any time. She kicked one of the guards between the legs and shoved past the other one, managing to get outside.

Kari kneed Dylan to the ground, holding both of his arms behind his back.

“Darren, take Dylan to cell four,” the head counsellor said.

One of the guards dragged Dylan up by the arm and took him through the hallway. He had his head up, refusing to look back at me or anyone else. They disappeared.

Kari dusted herself off, looking a little pissed that Dylan had distracted her from her conquest of Chloe.

“Kari, I have a new assignment for you and Felix. Get Chloe and Tyler for me by any means. Any means. We can’t have them running around causing a rebellion when we may have important...visitors soon.”

“Sure,” she replied, walking through the front doors.

The head counsellor looked at me. “I have something to show you,” he said. He started walking down the hallway. I followed.

We descended a few staircases and went through a couple of doors before the environment changed. It turned more lab like, with brushed metal walls and long, glassed window panes looking in to other rooms. We passed through a few more hallways before I noticed that there were people in these observation rooms.

The rooms looked like cells. Not only that, but some of the people looked familiar.

They were people I had seen around camp.

What the hell was going on?

We passed through one more set of double doors before I saw someone in the hallway.

It was Maria.

She was wearing a lab coat and had a clipboard in hand.

“Hello, head counsellor. Oh, and Forrest. What a pleasure to see you both,” she said. I was stunned.

“How’s Jaclyn?” the head counsellor asked. Immediately I could see the smug look on Maria’s face.

“She can withstand a bit more punishment, I think,” she said. She looked through the window next to her into the cell. I moved so I could see inside.

Jaclyn was inside. It looked like she was sobbing into her arms, head down on the small metal table.

She had been missing since the last activity, and that was yesterday afternoon.

“Excellent. She is proving to be an interesting test subject.”

I looked at Maria. All this time I had been worried about her, toeing the line so she would be safe, and now she’s...

“You look surprised,” she said.

“What happened to you?” I asked. I had to know what the head counsellor had done.

“The head counsellor offered me a job.”

“A job?”

Maria laughed. “You act like that’s a bad thing. Honestly, I don’t know why everyone seems to be scared of the head counsellor. He’s not that bad.”

The head counsellor chuckled behind me.

No, NO, NO! You’re not meant to LIKE the head counsellor! He is not meant to OFFER YOU A JOB!

“But...he....”

“I never knew that this camp is really a research facility. The head counsellor recognised my talents in cataloguing information and thought I would be the perfect employee for his organisation. Plus, he’s offered to pay the rest of my university fees and he’s willing to loan me some money to get my own unit!”

I could feel the anger coursing through my veins. I had toed the line and still the head counsellor betrayed me. He deserved to die.

“Independence, Forrest. The head counsellor is enabling me to be independent. That matters more to me than what I used to think about this camp.”

Maria had been brainwashed. Completely and utterly brainwashed. She may have believed that the counsellor would give her all of that, but would he really?

I turned and glared at the head counsellor.

He shrugged. “She’s the perfect employee. She tries really hard around here, you know.”

My hand curled into a fist. I couldn’t take this anymore. The head counsellor had played with me too long.

I stepped forward and swung.

But the head counsellor anticipated my move, dodging my punch and immobilising me with my arm behind my back.

“Maria. Dylan. Jaclyn. Soon, Chloe and Tyler. All are under my control. Do you really think you can betray me?”

I wanted to keep fighting him. I really did. But in the face of such overwhelming power...what could I do but surrender?

Call me weak, but I was tired of trying to resist him. He had given me a position of power; I might as well make use of it, instead of being stuck in a cell.

“Fine, you win,” I said. He let go of my arm. “What did you want me to do now?”

A feral grin was his only answer.