Justice (6 page)

‘I’ll see what I can do,’ said Merlyn reluctantly. ‘I took a closer look at my suit last night. This stuff is beyond my expertise, to be honest. It’s less of a computer and more like a spaceship.’

‘Merlyn, I have faith in you,’ said M. ‘Even spaceships run on computer programs, right? And you’ve never met a computer program you couldn’t hack. I guarantee there’s a back door for you to exploit somewhere. Keep looking.’ She gazed around the cafeteria at the silent eaters, almost taking their bites in unison. ‘Before we end up like them.’

As breakfast ended, the students placed their empty trays on a conveyor belt and left the cafeteria as spotless as it had been before they arrived. The Lawless crew stayed seated and waited for their summons to Keyshawn’s lab, which didn’t happen until every last Fulbright had exited.
We’re on
display
, thought M.
They want us to be seen, to prove that the Lawless School is nothing but a bunch of kids. To prove that the Lawless School can be tamed.

When they finally reached Keyshawn’s lab, Cal was already there, but Keyshawn was missing. Cal answered M’s curious look by motioning to the door across from the Maze entrance. It was halfway open and M could hear Keyshawn muttering to himself on the other side.

‘I don’t think we’re doing the Maze today,’ said Cal. ‘He’s been in that room since I got here and he’s showing no signs of coming up for air.’

A poor choice of words
, thought M. ‘So, seriously, why did it take you all so long to get out of that Maze?’

‘The better question is why did it
not
take you so long?’ quipped Jules, whose ego was obviously bruised.

‘Jules is just mad because she actually didn’t finish the course,’ said Cal.

‘You didn’t?’ M was dumbfounded. For Jules to not finish a physical task was just plain unthinkable.

‘Ex-tract-ed,’ said Cal, slowly stressing each syllable of the word, which must have felt like the twisting of a knife in Jules’s back. ‘She had to be extracted from the Maze after a panic attack.’

‘Seriously, M, how’d you do it?’ continued Jules, paying no attention to Cal’s comments.

‘I wish I knew,’ said M. ‘I followed a random path that popped into my head. Just sort of pretended I was in my basement back home. I mean, it was a place I never really went, but for some reason, it made sense … up to a point.’

‘What do you mean,
up to a point
?’ Merlyn chimed in.

‘I mean,’ recalled M, ‘the layout seemed familiar to me, but it led to a dead end. I couldn’t go any farther. Then the walls closed in around me, so I broke through the floor.’

‘Sounds like dumb luck to me,’ said Jules with a hint of relief in her voice. ‘Like, if we did it again, you’d probably be as lost as we were.’

‘I’m not so sure,’ admitted M.

‘But you’re not going to find out today,’ announced Keyshawn, who had silently slipped back into the lab. ‘No, today we have a group project for you. I wouldn’t want to rush back into anything too stressful too soon.’ His eyes flicked over to Jules. ‘Follow me.’

Keyshawn walked through the mysterious third door in his lab, opposite from the Maze entrance. On the other side was a room with an exceptionally high ceiling – perhaps no
ceiling at all, as far as M could tell. Looking up at the space, she could see that there was a lone rope, which hung from the deep darkness above. Whatever was beyond that point was a mystery. But it wasn’t the lack of ceiling that had M brimming with an awkward energy. It was the Fulbright mask that Keyshawn held in his hands. ‘This, I assume, you have all seen before, but I doubt you ever imagined wearing one.’

He tossed them each a mask. It was soft to the touch, like a well-worn T-shirt but with a sturdiness to it at the same time. M flipped the mask over in her hands and marveled at the circuitry. Wires spired, spiraled, and laced in and out of every inch of the mask, creating a gaunt silhouette that didn’t seem like it should be solid to the touch. She was reminded of Peter Pan’s shadow, lost until Wendy stitched it back onto the ever-young boy. The mask folded delicately over her hands and through her fingers like some fine silk fabric. Even the lifeless green-tone goggles were so paper thin, they seemed to ripple as she bent the mask back and forth. True, she’d held an empty mask in her hands before, but this mask was different.

This mask was hers.

‘Okay, everybody,’ said Keyshawn with a smile. ‘Try them on!’

M slowly slid the mask over her head, adjusting the goggles slightly to fit along the bridge of her nose, and that’s when she felt it: an easy snap – once again, like magnets gently pulling together to create an invisible seam when the mask latched on to her suit. Then it powered up. A humming droned around M’s face as the mask settled into position.
She felt the ear cups cover her ears as gently as a butterfly landing on a leaf. The goggles repositioned themselves again, this time automatically, wrapping around her face to the perfect fit. Through the lenses, everything and everyone in the room became visibly … well, more visible. It was like M had graduated to 30/30 vision. Instantly the others’ voices were audible in her head as well, as Merlyn let out a ‘Holy smokes, Batman!’

Looking at her friends, M saw a red glow pulsing through their masks.

‘The masks,’ she began. ‘The ones I’ve seen before, they glowed bright green, but these are red.’

‘Yes!’ exclaimed Keyshawn. ‘Good observation. That is exactly right.’

‘Are we color coordinating or something?’ asked Cal as he stared at his hands.

‘Remember, your masks, your entire uniforms are totally different,’ answered Keyshawn with pride. ‘Over time, we’ve learned a thing or two from the Lawless School, believe it or not. And one of the more baffling technologies has been your gas.’

‘My what?’ laughed Cal.

‘Gas, chemical agent, whatever you call it,’ responded Keyshawn, flustered. ‘The mind-altering substance that Lawless uses.’ He probably hated not knowing the official name of something scientific. M had noticed a pattern throughout her science class studies growing up at home. Newton’s laws, Darwinism, Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, the Higgs boson, and even new elements like flerovium – scientists loved to name things.

‘Anyway,’ Keyshawn continued, ‘some time ago the Fulbrights figured out the formula for the gas and they’ve used it since for the same effect, but I think it’s meant for a higher purpose.’

‘Which is?’ asked Jules.

‘I’m calling it Total Persona,’ Keyshawn whispered as though if anyone else heard it, they’d steal his idea.

‘Which is?’ echoed Merlyn.

‘The person you most want to be!’ he answered them animatedly. ‘This chemical agent has the potential to make you your best, whole self. M, you’re scared of heights, correct?’

‘Yeah,’ she replied nervously.

‘Then look up,’ Keyshawn told her.

When M turned toward the dark ceiling again, the room was lit up as if by magic. She saw clearly what was waiting for their next challenge. It started with a death-defying vertical climb to a course filled with ropes, ladders, and bridges, before reaching a series of platform ledges that rose like a giant ladder, presumably to a top-level finish line. Even her new mask couldn’t see that far up. M began to hyperventilate at the thought of climbing this dizzying behemoth. Her heart dropped and her knees buckled as she staggered back and whispered, ‘No way.’ But then, to her surprise, a sense of calmness came over her like a wave. Suddenly the height seemed less severe. After a few deep breaths, M looked at the course and felt a surge of adrenaline at the chance to climb it.
This must be how Jules feels all the time!
she thought.

‘That’s not funny, dude,’ said Cal. ‘M, are you all right?’

‘Better than all right, Cal,’ she said with a confident laugh. ‘I’m ready to conquer this thing!’

‘And that’s how your masks work,’ said Keyshawn. He was bubbling over with enthusiasm. ‘Your masks, your suits are working in conjunction with the key elements of the Lawless gas.’

‘I don’t see any delivery mechanism,’ noted Merlyn as he patted his suit from top to bottom as best he could. ‘Where’s the gas coming from?’

‘It’s inside us, isn’t it?’ said M, still staring at the course. ‘That shot you gave us, it had the Lawless chemicals in there, too, right? And now the chemicals are part of us, waiting to activate at the suit’s command. We’re like hybrid soldiers.’

Keyshawn clapped his hands and bounced, looking more like a toddler than a brilliant scientist. ‘On the nose, M! On the nose!’

‘Good,’ said M. ‘Then can we climb this beast already?’

CHAPTER 6

HANDS OFF

The course looked twelve floors high at least and twisted into the empty air. It was a tower of traps, with gravity on its side, but it beckoned M. She tapped the cold, hard floor under her feet … definitely not a net. Still, she felt no fear at all. Sprinting forward, she pushed up off the opposing wall and caught the rope, pulling herself up without anyone else’s help. ‘Who’s with me?’

Jules and Cal jumped next and were quickly behind M.

‘Brilliant,’ said Merlyn before following their lead. ‘I guess we’re doing this.’

‘You’ll need to work together.’ Keyshawn’s voice vibrated through their earpieces. It sounded as if he were standing right next to them. ‘There are levels for each of you to solve, so don’t leave anyone behind.’

But no one replied. They were too busy racing across rope bridges, which swayed with their every step, until they reached the first platform. There the team was stopped
short by a new challenge. The only way to reach the next level was through a power-locked manhole built into the ceiling. An LCD panel stretched around the circular vault door and blinked a multidigit code at random intervals. The numbers flashed so fast that the effect was mesmerizing and dizzying all at once.

‘Oh, come on,’ huffed Cal. ‘When are we ever going to come across a lock like this?’

Merlyn stepped forward. ‘My turn?’ he asked ironically. ‘Cal, break into that box on the wall.’

Cal peeled open a small control panel like it was a can of dog food – his new strength in the suit surprised them all – and a nest of colored wires tussled out. Merlyn peered back and forth between the flashing numbers and the multicolored wires, mumbling a litany of pronouns under his breath.
This there, that here, you belong to you, he fits him, but what about her.
It was Merlyn’s problem-solving language. M knew it from her long nights cramming with him for Code’s unthinkable exams. It made no sense to anybody else, but to Merlyn, this was his Zen, a calming step that helped him see through the problem and find the solution.

Then, as a butcher carves a cow or a painter colors a canvas, Merlyn effortlessly picked the wires apart one by one and repatched them into the system’s motherboard. And one by one, the flashing numbers along the circular path fell into place like a massive, silent slot machine. When the final number held, the metal door let out a magnificent hiss and loosened its locked grip.

Merlyn eased himself through the hatch and held out his
hands to boost the others to the next level. ‘Ladies first.’

They could hear a wild ticking sound before even peeking up to the second level. M popped her head through and was met with a wall crammed with clicking cuckoo clocks hung side by side.

‘Sweet grandmother’s house!’ cried Cal.

M eyed the wall before them. It seemed solid and showed no signs of a hidden door. ‘Jules, check the ceiling for an exit.’

While Jules gingerly climbed the clocks and began combing the ceiling, M stood back and looked at the wall of timepieces. She didn’t know why, but she had a strong gut feeling that this level was meant for her. There were over one hundred clocks in the room, each set to a different time. Scanning the clock faces, she quickly went through all the possible connections she could imagine. Time zones, no. Opposite times, nothing. Sequential times, nada. There was no rhyme or reason to the clock settings that sprang to her immediate attention.

‘Got something,’ called Jules from above. She motioned at a corner of the ceiling, where a tiny fissure was barely visible. ‘We’ve got the keyhole … now we just need the key.’

As Jules said this, one of the clocks struck the top of the hour, and a small yellow bird jumped from behind the wood-crafted door, tweeting and bouncing on its spring-loaded podium. Flitting in and out of its home, the tiny bird seemed almost to be mocking M, laughing at her inability to solve the problem. Behind her mask, M secretly stuck her tongue out at the bird.

‘Hey!’ said Cal. ‘There’s a key on the end of that bird!’

‘Cal, no!’ M shouted, but it was too late.

He snatched the key quickly from the canary and the room started to shake. With a hideous crack, part of the floor crumbled away. The crew scrambled to firm footing against the wall as the once-solid floor crashed through the previous level, snapping the rope bridges in a concrete avalanche on its way to the unrelenting ground below.

‘Keep your hands to yourself, Cal!’ scolded M. ‘That mistake destroyed our only safe way down, so it’s a good time to realize that this course will fight back if we make the wrong moves. From here on out, everyone keep cool and don’t jump at the easiest answer.’

‘Sorry, guys,’ Cal said with remorse. ‘Do we at least want to try this key?’

‘No!’ the other three said in unison.

Looking back to the clocks, M was at a loss for a link that might lead them to the correct key. ‘Merlyn, thoughts?’ she asked.

‘Hey, I hot-wire computers, not handcrafted clocks.’

Handcrafted
, thought M. These clocks weren’t merely made to keep time; they were artistic. M stepped back carefully to study the clock designs. Some had sloping roofs, some had giant leaf designs, and some had barnyard animals etched into a scene. Each was woodcut. What did her father used to say?
Never discount an obvious answer
. Then she found her first match: two clocks, hung clear across the wall from each other, had the same sculpted deer’s head.

‘That’s it!’ cried M. ‘Each clock has a twin on this wall that matches it. I’ll bet there’s an odd one out somewhere. We
find that, we find the key.’

The crew quickly connected each clock with its partner until they found the clock, shaped like a woodsman’s cabin set in the midst of tiny, ornate falling leaves. The clock’s hands were thick, hardy, crisscrossing axes, which were designed to tumble over each other as time moved on.

‘This is the one, guys,’ said M. ‘Are we in agreement?’

Inching back from the crumbled edge, the rest of the crew nodded their masked heads in approval. ‘So where’s the key?’ asked Jules.

‘Inside the house,’ said M as she slowly eased the longer axe to the 12, making it two o’clock. With a shuddering cough, the clock released a small wolf, which sprung from behind its closed doors, gripping a strikingly shiny key in its worn, sculpted teeth.

‘Bingo,’ said M, palming the small-toothed secret. She handed Jules the key and, with Cal’s help to balance, Jules twisted the mysterious lock.

The ceiling quaked to life and dragged itself open like a retractable sunroof, but instead of revealing a blue sky on a summer day, a long stretch of wall riddled with holes faced down at the crew. Just above the top line of clocks were eight metal pegs pointing jaggedly outward like knives stuck into the wall.

‘It looks like a giant cheese grater,’ said Cal.

‘That must be, like, seven more stories right there.’ Merlyn gulped. ‘And no stairs in sight.’

‘Who needs stairs when you’ve got these?’ said Jules with a laugh as she leapt up and grabbed hold of two of the metal pegs. Then, swinging back and forth, she worked
one of the pegs out of the wall and slotted it back into the empty hole just above her head. She pulled herself up a little higher as she loosened the second peg and made the same motion again. Continuing this over and over, Jules finally made it to the top. When her voice came through the earpiece, she wasn’t even winded. ‘Okay, this one’s a breeze. It’s like building your own ladder as you climb.’

‘Yeah, a real breeze,’ Merlyn repeated nervously.

‘No worries, Merlyn,’ said Cal. ‘I got your back.’ Without warning, he picked up Merlyn and heaved him to the nearest set of pegs. ‘Now you climb and keep your feet on my shoulders the whole time.’

‘Seriously?’ asked Merlyn.

‘Leave no man behind, that’s what Keyshawn wants,’ said Cal as he gripped his own pair of pegs. ‘Besides, this looks too easy for me. Let’s make it a
real
challenge.’

As the boys started the climb, M waited below. There was no getting around it – the height made her pause. She could never figure out why people decided that climbing walls was a good idea. Sure, it helped people train to climb mountains, but then again, who were these people who thought climbing mountains was a good idea? But as her deeper fears set upon her, the suit reacted. Suddenly her legs were buoyant and her arms – previously happy to be crossed in front of her chest – yearned for the strain of burning muscles. Her whole body clenched and released at the thought of the wild climb.

Before M knew it, she had climbed the clocks, and her hands had clasped around the pegs while she swung her body side to side like a pendulum, shinnying up the wall one swift reach
at a time. Once at the top, she snuck a peek back down the sheer drop. Below them, Keyshawn had become a miniature version of himself and the narrow room converged down to the size of a credit card. She tried hard not to imagine how quickly they would both become life-sized if she fell.

‘What next, Jules?’ Cal strained, obviously beginning to feel Merlyn’s shaky weight sinking into his shoulders.

‘See the marked holes in the wall?’ prompted Jules. ‘Everyone, place a peg in each slot and I think that will open the ceiling.’

As directed, M plunged her pegs into the slots, leaving Merlyn and Cal to add theirs.

‘Cal, I can hang on by myself if you help me to the top,’ said Merlyn. He clearly hated admitting that he wasn’t strong enough for the climb, but M knew better.

‘Use the suit, Merlyn. You can do it.’

But Merlyn stayed frozen on Cal’s shoulders.

‘Hey,’ said Cal as he swung out from underneath Merlyn. ‘If M believes in you, you should, too.’

‘No!’ screamed Merlyn, kicking his feet wildly. But instead of falling, every muscle in his body suddenly flexed and the computer geek quickly and acrobatically scaled the remaining rows as easy as a spider climbing a wall. ‘Whoa … the suit works!’

Cal pulled himself next to Merlyn and winked before lancing the pegs into the last spots. Once again the ceiling above them retracted, and once again they saw that the course kept going up. ‘Ladies first,’ Cal said to Merlyn with a sly smile.

If Merlyn was upset, he didn’t show it. Instead he laughed
and scrambled over Cal.

The next level was nothing but net. Literally. Above them a giant web of rope flapped to and fro in a light breeze.

‘Now I know how Mario felt in
Donkey Kong
,’ said Merlyn.

‘Is that anything like Super Mario Brothers?’ asked Cal. ‘’Cause I could sure use a leaf now to get that raccoon flight power.’

‘You guys are speaking a foreign language to me,’ said Jules. ‘Let’s just climb this thing. It looks reasonable enough.’

But when Jules gripped a higher rung of rope, the oversized net suddenly spun around end over end, sweeping up the others.

M’s feet dangled off the rope, kicking and trying to touch solid ground, but there was none to be found. Merlyn wound himself tightly against the rope into a human knot, but the more he squirmed, the more unstable the course became until Jules lost her grip and flipped backward, barely holding on with her legs.

‘Worst hammock ride ever!’ screamed Merlyn as the twisting picked up speed.

But Cal calmly climbed from the edge of the web to the center. ‘Balance the weight to keep the net from spinning! M, move to the left edge. Jules, take the right edge. Merlyn, join me toward the middle!’

When they each scrambled to their assigned places, the net actually held still, balanced with the ballast of their bodies, just as Cal had suggested. Satisfied that the net wasn’t going to whip around again, the crew climbed in tandem toward the next level. On the way up, M couldn’t
help staring at Cal. His third-grade jokes with Merlyn and idiocy with the cuckoo clocks didn’t match up with his quick thinking on the ropes or his selflessness on the peg wall. He was hard to get a handle on, and that bothered M. But what bothered her more was that she ultimately didn’t care how unpredictable he was; she still wanted him on her side.

At the top was a set of latches that clipped the net in place and prevented it from spinning again, allowing the climbers to access the opening in the overhanging platform off to one side. Wordlessly the crew shuffled toward the exit. Their heads were dizzy, their hearts were beating out of their chests, and their hands ached from holding on so tightly.

M was the first to lift herself to the final platform that overlooked the drastic drop. She lay down on the ground and stared over the edge at the distant sections they had completed below by all working together.
Take a photo for the scrapbook
, she thought.
How many more of these tests do we have left?
But she realized that she probably didn’t want to know the answer to that question.

As she rolled over, something caught her eye. Across the gap, there was a frosted glass window. Someone was watching them.

‘Who’s that?’ asked Jules as she popped up through the floor.

‘Judges,’ answered M, getting to her feet. She focused harder on the window and, as if on command, her mask worked to sharpen the outlines of people. The haze from the glass began to lift and the shadows became more
defined. Finally M could just barely make out four people behind the glass: three adults she didn’t recognize and one unmistakable cadet … Devon Zoso.