Chapter 7: Eight Pages

Our boys get into a bit of trouble.

           Kye jumped out of bed practically even before the alarm clock had time to ring. He grabbed the still half-asleep cat, and then hesitated when he picked up the book. Was it smart to walk around carrying the book and discussing it when there would be eager ears at nearby tables, he wondered. The words of the book reverberated in his head. No one must see it but you. Stay low. Was it even a good idea to tell Connor?

            He was fooling himself. Of course he had to tell Connor; it would eat him alive if he did not. Yet, how was he to go about this? He couldn’t very well be sure that no one would be watching or listening while they talked it over.

            The more he thought about it, however, he realized there was no good way to go about this. So, he would simply have to choose the best way. He needed to carry it without being seen, not only to avoid suspicion, but also because he was not sure if he was allowed to take items from his room.

            Kye reached down and reluctantly ripped from the book all of the pages that he needed. There were eight pages in all. He stuffed them hastily in his pocket and threw himself out of the door, a new sense of determination sweeping over him. Shadow bounced in his arms as he ran. A few times he could feel the papers loosening in his pocket, but would simply jam them back down with his hand and continue to run.

            When he reached the Dining Hall, he slid to a stop, panting. Several people looked up. He stood still and looked around, nodding his head at some of the other boys and girls while he steadied his breathing. Bunch of good he was doing, blending in.

            He walked as nonchalantly as possible to a table by the wall and sat waiting for Connor to arrive. He did not have to wait long; Kye waved Connor over to the table as soon as he walked through the archway.

            “Hey, hey,” Connor said cheerily as he approached the table. Then, noticing the absence of food on the table: “Were you waiting for me?”

            “Of course,” Kye said. It’s true. He was waiting for him, but not so that he could eat.

            “Oh, okay, let’s go get food then,” Connor said as he turned to walk towards the machines.

            “Oh, no thanks! I’m good,” Kye stopped him.

            “Uh. I thought you wanted food.”

            “No. I’m not really hungry.”

            Connor eyed his friend suspiciously.

            “Are you feeling okay?” Connor asked.

            “Yeah! I have something to show you, though.” Kye felt almost frantic; he wanted Connor to sit so they could get down to business.

            “Okay…” Connor said slowly. “Well, I’ll just go grab my food, and then�"“

            “No. Sit, sit, sit!” Kye cut him off and motioned for him to sit down in the seat across the table. Connor did so, watching Kye through narrowed and confused eyes. Kye began:

            “Okay, so I was in my room reading, right?” Connor nodded slowly. “And…I found a book!”

            “A book,” Connor repeated.

            “Yeah! Moby Dick!” Kye named the book with an air of greatness as if it held some great revelation in it, some mystery that he had finally uncovered, yet Connor sat bewildered. He shrugged and shook his head as if to say ‘so what?’

            “Yeah. We’ve been over this. Brevyn was completely obsessed with it. You knew it was there.”

            “You don’t understand,” Kye continued. “It’s not the book itself, it’s what’s in the book!”

            “In the book?”

            “In the book,” Kye repeated.

            He reached into his pocket and withdrew the pages that he had brought with them. He threw them down on the table, and folded his arms with pride, watching as Connor drew the papers towards him. Connor’s eyes flicked over them all.

            “These pages are in ruins,” he observed. “What did Shadow do to this poor book?” He said chuckling.

            “Yeah, Shadow did a number on them, but do you notice anything unusual?” Kye asked hastily.

            Connor skimmed over the pages. “Well, someone’s obviously written all over them.”

            “And what else?”

            “It’s…” Connor turned the pages to all angles before his eyes. “Well, it’s very difficult to decipher what it says.”

            “Yes.”

            “Kye, can you just tell me what’s going on here?” Connor put the pages down, exasperated. “I’m hungry.”

            Kye looked at his friend for a moment. Then, with a gleam in his eye, he continued in a whisper. “It’s an escape plan!”

            “An escape plan,” Connor said in an unbelieving voice.

            “Yes! The things that are written there! They talk about this place; about how someone is going to come rescue me; about how�"“

            “Shhhh!” Connor hissed. “Good lord, keep your voice low!”

            Kye hadn’t realized that his passionate words were starting to attract eyes. He dropped his voice again and hunched over the table.

            “I just need your help figuring some of it out. I can’t read some of it…”

            “Kye, look. I love you and all, but this is insane,” Connor interrupted. “Do you really believe that someone is coming to break you out of this place? I mean, how would someone even go about doing that?”

            Kye thought for a moment. “Well…I’m not sure, but…the book said that it was for me, and that I would be free in a week�"“

            “A week from when?”

            “I don’t know.”

            “And who would be sending this to you?”

            “I don’t know.”

            “It’s not like you remember anyone from the outside world�"“

            “Okay, enough!” Kye cut him off. This last statement had cut him slightly deeper than Connor had intended. He didn’t like hearing about his lack of memory in this way: like it was his fault. This lot in life was thrust upon him; he did not choose to forget everything. Regardless, he did not need to be reminded about his problem; he thought about it enough on his own already. “I get it.”

            Connor looked slightly taken aback, but nonetheless resumed his study of the ripped pages.         

            “Look, I know it’s crazy,” Kye said at length, “and I know it’s not likely to amount to anything, but this is all I have. This is my only hope, no matter how slim the chances. I told you I would not forget you again, and that we would get out of here; I promised. Well, this,” he rapped the table with his fingers, “this is my opportunity to uphold that promise.”

            He finished and stared into Connor’s eyes imploringly, waiting for a response, one that was worthy of the miniature speech which he had just delivered. When no such response came he sighed and moved his head to the side to look about the room. It was a few moments before he heard his friend’s voice, he turned back to see Connor’s eyes squinting in concentration as he assessed the papers.

            “Okay, so, they’re coming for you in a week, but we don’t know when a week is. But they did say to be ready at all times.”

            Kye, perceiving this to be his friend warming up to the topic at hand, leaned forward once more and peered upside down at the papers in front of Connor, watching his face as well.

            “That’s right,” Kye agreed.

            “This part,” Connor pointed at the words ‘No one must see it but you’ on the page. “Are you sure you should be showing me this?”

            “Not entirely, but you’re my best friend! I couldn’t possibly live with myself if I didn’t show you. Besides, I needed your help making sense of it.”

            “Okay…” Connor replied, unconvinced. “Some of these missing bits are really obvious and can be filled in: ‘you WILL BE rescued’; “make sure YOU ARE ready”; “it WILL BE ruthless.”

            Connor studied the page a bit more before continuing. “But some of these are really confusing. For example, what’s this about not drinking? And this bit about ‘The time is something for now’?

            “Maybe they meant the exact time isn’t important for now?” Kye shrugged

            “Could be,” Connor said thoughtfully.

            “This is what I need your help with. I thought that it wouldn’t be good if�"“

            “Hang on,” Connor interrupted. “You don’t think…” He trailed off.

            “Don’t think what?” Kye raised his eyebrow, bidding him continue.

            “Well…Amy was drinking when she passed out,” Connor stated.

            Kye’s eyes widened as the revelation dawned on him. “But you don’t think--?”

            “I’m not sure. I’m only saying it’s suspicious. Amy passed out while drinking and now this book tells you not to drink something.”

            “That’s crazy talk, though. How am I honestly supposed to be expected to not drink for a week? Then I really would pass out just the same as Amy! Don’t people die from doing that kind of stuff?”

            “I don’t know; it was just a guess, but…what if the drink here really is laced with something?” Connor shivered at his own thought. It wasn’t a pleasant one.

            “Wouldn’t we know by now? I mean…you would at least, right? People would’ve been passing out all the time. People would notice.”

            Connor considered this. “Maybe that was simply an extreme case. She disrespected Chernoff in front of an Empty. Maybe they had to knock her off quick, but they usually go about things a different way.”

            “But what could they be doing?” Kye asked, desperately looking for a way to discredit this horrible assertion. “We have experienced no side effects.”

            “Yeah…yeah, you’re right.” Connor sounded unsure of himself, but moved on anyways. “Let’s try an easier one.” He flipped through the pages. “Ok, here: ‘In and…any means necessary.’”

            “’In and out’ perhaps? ‘By any means necessary’?”

            “That seems likely,” Connor confirmed. “Though, it’s not exactly comforting is it?”

            “No…in fact, I was about frightened the first time I read it.”

            “I can understand why! These people sound like a no-nonsense, ruthless sort of people.”

            “Not sure that they’re the sort of people I want rescuing me. If I were to be rescued, I’d rather nobody got hurt in the process,” Kye said.

            “Hey, how about we take a break from this, and actually eat?” Connor suggested. “I know I’m hungry, and breakfast will be over soon. I won’t be able to make it to lunch with no food.”

“Alright,” Kye assented. “But we will come back to this?”

“Of course,” Connor assured him. “Now you wait here; I’ll just order enough food off of my account for the both of us.”

“Thanks,” Kye nodded as he sank down into his seat, finally relaxing. Then he suddenly held up a hand. Connor halted and looked at him. “But hold the water.”

v   

Breakfast had passed by without another mention of the escape plan; too many people were now occupying the Hall for it to be safe to speak about it. Instead, what little time they had left was spent watching Shadow stand on his hind legs to eat the food that Connor held high above his little head, or else watching the developments at the small table at which The Empty sat, though Connor and Kye could not hear their conversation.

“Probably talking about how much they love Mr. Chernoff and how they can’t wait to kiss his but by turning in more innocent children,” Connor said half-jokingly, half-disdainfully.

“Now, now, Connor. You’ll get poisoned talking like that,” Kye said in the same manner.

As the boys sat conversing over their lunch �" drinks were absent from the table �" they decided that the best place to talk about the plan would be in the Lookout.

“It might not be ideal, but we have no proof that their monitoring that room,” said Connor in response to Kye’s anxiety. “Nothing interesting ever happens in that room, so I’m sure listening in to a conversation between two teenage boys staring at the sunset is lowest on their list of priorities.”

“But still, on the off-chance we’re overheard�"“

“If you’re worried, then the alternative is to never speak of it again and you can just deal with it when the time comes, because there’s no way we can talk about such things with this many people around.”

“You’re right,” Kye nodded at length. “The Lookout. Tonight. I’ll bring the papers.”

So, the boys commenced their lunch, and upon finishing, parted ways to return to their rooms and wait for dinner.

As the time for dinner slowly drew nearer, Kye could feel his anticipation mounting. He felt that he was doing something purposeful that could lead him and Connor, and possibly others, to freedom. Yet, there was always that lingering fear: of being caught, of being wrong, of being deceived, of a mind wipe before the plan could be enacted. There was always fear of so many things, and thus, there was always a constant battle to overcome it. Refusing to take risks, Kye convinced himself, would produce the same result as a realization of those fears: the failure of the plan. Therefore, he pressed on, if only with feigned confidence and some meager hope, and walked through the corridors at dinner, pages stuffed haphazardly into his pocket, ready to prepare for the coming days.

When the two boys pushed open the heavy doors to the Lookout, it was to find a young couple sitting �" or laying, rather �" on the stairs, practically swallowing each other’s faces. Connor smirked so wide his back teeth showed, and Kye blushed and tried to suppress a laugh, albeit an uncomfortable one.

“Of course, on the day we actually have something important to discuss,” Connor said with a chuckle.

The boy and girl were so passionately involved that they were seemingly not aware of the presence of anyone else; that is, until Connor walked to the edge of the stairs, stood over them, and noisily cleared his throat.

The couple stopped in mid-kiss and looked up at Connor simultaneously, a look of surprise plastered across their faces, as criminals caught in the act of stealing under the cover of darkness. Their expressions quickly turned to ones of irritation.

“Do you mind?” the boy said curtly, his voice clearly under strain due to the weight of his partner on top of him.

“Not if you don’t,” Connor said, and he settled himself into a position mimicking the couple, and beckoned Kye to join him.

The couple jumped up immediately and made their way out of the room, muttering offensive words to each other under their breath. Connor laughed aloud, practically rolling about on the stairs, and only laughed all the louder when he saw Kye’s face turn an even deeper red.

“That was awkward…” Kye said over Connor’s laughter.

“Well, it got them to leave, didn’t it?” Connor replied with an unsteady voice as he struggled to collect himself. “I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time.”

“Anyways,” Kye began after a moment of silence, eager to move along, “I think we have most of what we need to know figured out. There’s just some missing gaps in this puzzle that we haven’t figured out.”

“Such as?”

“Well, at one point it advises me to avoid something, but we can’t read what that something is.”

“Well, that could be any number of things,” Connor said thoughtfully. “I could think of a hundred things off the top of my head that I’d want to avoid. For example, this entire compound.” He said this last bit semi-sarcastically.

“Yeah, well, there’s also the part about not drinking something,” Kye moved on. If we’re being honest, we aren’t positive on the meaning of that, and it sounds important. Not to mention we haven’t had anything to drink in almost a full day now.”

“That’s starting to take its toll, you know. I’m parched! I don’t see why I have to listen to what this mystery person says if they’re writing specifically to you.”

“Well, excuse my caution, but if the water here is laced with something harmful, I’d rather not have my friend drinking it,” Kye said with a sarcastic exasperation.

Connor put his hands up in surrender. “All I’m saying is we can’t keep this up for much longer. Eventually, one of us is going to pass out, and then attention will really be on us.”

“We’ll worry about that when we get there,” Kye ended the subject. “I think the last mystery is the portion about the world ‘not being what it seems.’ ‘No one knows,’” He quoted.

“What mystery is there in that?” Connor asked, crossing his legs and placing Shadow in his lap. “We know that this place is screwed up. That’s obvious. And no one on the outside knows what’s going on.”

“Yeah, but…it sounds like it was written from the perspective of those of us on the inside. That we don’t know what the outside world is like…”

Connor considered this. “I can see how it could go both ways,” he concluded. “It’s ambiguous, which isn’t helpful, but it’s not really necessary to the understanding of the plan.”

“That’s true,” Kye conceded. The turning of the wheels in his brain could be visibly seen on his face. “I wish I could remember what the world looked like outside these walls.”

“Well, you can see some of it out there,” Connor pointed at the wall of windows before them. “As for the rest…well, you’ll have to let me know what it’s like somehow.” There was a touch of deep sadness in his voice.

“What are you talking about?” Kye questioned him, sincerely puzzled.

“Have you forgotten? There’s a part in there about them being able to ‘only take you.’ Then, if I understand correctly, I can’t go with you.” Connor did not make eye contact with Kye. He had the sense that it would be too painful for him to do so.

“No…I�"that can’t…” Kye stammered. “No, that’s insane. Why don’t I remember that?” Kye began flipping through the pages he had pulled from his pocket. “None of them say that!”

“Yes. On the one that warns you to be always packed and ready to go,” Connor corrected, still downcast, staring into his lap at Shadow.

Kye definitely remembered that part, but he couldn’t find that warning on any of these pages. He frantically laid the pages out in front of him and counted them.

“Seven,” he breathed, a slow, terrible realization was spreading across his face. “Connor,” he said more loudly. “There were eight pages; we only have seven.”

“What?” Connor finally looked at Kye again, and then down at the pages. There were indeed only seven. “You don’t have it in your pocket?”

“No! We must’ve left it somewhere! Or maybe it fell out of my pocket! Either way, it’s gone!” Kye could feel his fear slowly rising. He stood up and began to pace, dragging his fingers through his hair. If that page fell into the wrong hands…

“Whoa, whoa, calm down,” Connor soothed, sensing the anxiety gripping Kye’s body. “You probably just left it in your room! We can just go get it,” he said, rising calmly to his feet, though he was unconvinced himself.

The two boys pulled open the great doors and began sprinting down the stairs to Kye’s level. Connor reassured Kye through his panting breath that there was nothing incriminating on that specific page. Kye, however, felt that it was strange enough to raise some eyebrows.

Upon arriving at Kye’s room and conducting a thorough search, it was concluded that the page had not been left there. They walked back into the corridor and began walking briskly to the Dining Hall, while thinking of other places where it was likely the page had been left.

Before long, however, they heard a high voice screech throughout the corridor, like nails on a chalkboard, from behind them. Kye stopped and turned on his heels to find a red-faced Genevieve marching towards them. She held a brown, deteriorated, old paper in her left hand.

“The Empty,” Kye quickly whispered out of the corner of his mouth to Connor.

Connor acknowledged his comment with a nod as if to say he had recognized her.

“And what do you two think you’re doing?” she spat as she stopped, arms folded, in front of the two boys. She was taller than Kye, and on the same level as Connor, so she had no difficulty imposing her presence upon them.

“We were just…uh…” Kye’s mind was blank of an excuse. Connor stepped in.

“We were just looking for a missing page out of his book,” he said rather politely. “Have you seen it?”

“You mean this?” Genevieve held out the page. The teeth marks and smeared black ink was unmistakable.

“That’s the one! Thanks!”

Connor reached his hand out to retrieve the paper, but Genevieve retracted her arm at that same moment, pulling it away.

“Why do you want this so bad?” she eyed them both suspiciously.

“Well, Kye has just really taken a liking to that Moby Dick book. It was in his room, you see. He was reading it and his cat must’ve gotten a hold of it, because it got beaten up pretty bad. A few pages must’ve fallen out when he carried it to dinner earlier tonight.” Connor mixed the lie with the truth so expertly that it left even Kye wondering what had really happened.

“What’s this writing all over it, then?” Genevieve held the page close to her eyes and squinted, studying it while turning it this way and that.

This question seemed to stump Connor. After a moment of incriminating silence, Kye stepped back in.

“I…uh….am writing a story of my own. And…when I think of ideas for the story line, I scribble them in to the margins so that I don’t forget them.”

Kye waited for Genevieve to see straight through his lame excuse. He could almost picture her laughing and smiling as she escorted them to Mr. Chernoff. Instead, she thrust the page in to his hands.

“Some crappy treatment you give your books,” she shot at him. Her suspicious look did not fade. “You realize how seriously I take anything that seems even the slightest bit unusual, do you not?” The boys nodded. “You’re lucky I don’t have you punished this time, though this will be reported. There are designated areas which you are allowed to enjoy during dinner time and racing through the corridors is not one of them!”

“Yes, ma’am,” Connor said respectfully.

Kye was not listening, however. His thoughts were fixed on the room to their right. The door was shut. Yet, it ought to be open at this time, because everyone was required to be out for dinner…

“Are you listening to me?!” Genevieve snapped her fingers in front of his face, bringing him back to reality.

“What?” he said stupidly. “Oh! Oh, yes…ma’am.”

“Good,” she breathed. She studied them both through narrowed eyes. “Well, that’s all for now. Get back to the designated areas!”

Just then, the announcement was made for everyone to return to their rooms. Genevieve changed her tune.

“GET TO YOUR ROOMS,” she hissed.

Connor and Kye scurried off in opposite directions without any time for a goodbye.