Outside the Box - Chapter 18

18

“Absolutely not,” I say quickly. There’s no way I’m leaving Miguel and Aspen alone.” 

“They won’t be alone,” Dr. Sybil assures me. “I’ll have some of my best men escort them to the bunker and back. And I’ll keep your remaining Hidden here with you, so you aren’t alone.” 

“That’s not the point,” I argue, getting angry now. I’m not leaving Aspen - or Miguel, I suppose - go alone to a bunker we know has been compromised. “I don’t want them to leave without me and I don’t want to be a part of your stupid experiments.” 

“Jake, “ Aspen whispers softly but I glare at her and she stares at her lap. 

“I know you’re upset, Mr. Tristan. You want to be with your friends. But I feel that research on your abilities would prove useful to future encounters with the Box and Ninjas. And if we can find a way to keep your weakness from being your, well, weakness, it might prove beneficial as well.” 

“I hate to say it, but she’s right,” Miguel says sheepishly, avoiding my gaze. “Aspen and I handled ourselves fine before you came along. And if we can prevent you from getting knocked out for ten days, isn’t that a plus?” 

“Yes, but…” 

“Jake, you have to let us do this,” Aspen pleads. “We need to go to the bunker and you need a way to stop your weakness from effecting you. I don’t want you to die.” 

“And I don’t want you to die,” I mumble back. 

“Really feeling the love here, guys,” Miguel smiles, still avoiding me. “But it’s fine, don’t worry ‘bout me.” 

“You stink,” Aspen wrinkles her nose before turning to me. “I can handle myself, Jake.” 

“I have no doubt you can,” I smile weakly. “It’s Miguel I’m worried about.” 

Within an hour, Miguel and Aspen are prepping for their trip. Dr. Sybil said they should plan on three days there until Aspen can perform all the tasks needed. In the mean time, the other Hidden and I will remain here under Mental’s care. 

Aspen and Miguel have left to check on Gretchen, who is still receiving medical treatments. They want to let her know they’re leaving so she doesn’t freak out. 

And obviously I was left behind during that trip. 

Dr. Sybil provides the Hidden and I rooms to stay in that have actual beds. 

After Miguel and Aspen say goodbye to Gretchen, they’re set to leave. Dr. Sybil tries to comfort me by explaining their success probability and the science behind what she can do in her testing with me. I ignore her. 

As Aspen and Miguel board the jeep with several of Dr. Sybil’s best guards, I feel a pang of sadness as we watch them go. 

Aspen waves at me from the window and I wave back. 

Dr. Sybil places a hand on my shoulder. “Let’s start our work,” she smiles. 

The third day I’m already losing my mind. Even though I talked to Aspen and Miguel every night since they left over a call, I still feel insanely lonely. 

Every night, Theo, Chase, and Caleb invite me over for a game of cards or something random. I can’t even imagine how bored they must be, since Dr. Sybil isn’t spending every waking moment fawning over them. 

Opal and Amber have been virtually nonexistent, I guess they found out their parents and siblings were still alive and are attempting to contact them. 

I have my own room, but I don’t spend any time in it, besides sleeping on the small cot. It’s better than the floor, but most nights I resort to curling up in a corner like I did in the maze so many times. The only thing missing is Aspen. 

Dr. Sybil spends all day testing me in different ways. Sometimes she draws blood, other times I run on a treadmill. Yesterday she even injected me with some sort of serum to see how would react. Five minutes later I was unconscious from what she called a “calming serum”. Dr. Sybil ran the reports to her lab and when I woke up an hour later she sent me back to my room for dinner. 

As disappointing as it may be to only work as a test subject for Dr. Sybil, I can’t even imagine being with Miguel and Aspen. At any moment, the Box could find them and kill them - we might not even know. 

There’s always the threat of another attack on Mental as well, but Dr. Sybil explains to me that those attacks were mainly to a) locate us and b) prove that the Box wasn’t messing around. A few more people have died from their injuries, but this is the only information I can weasel out of the security guards stationed around Mental. 

I’m given breaks during the day where I’m free to wander around - within reason, of course. Normally, Dr. Sybil is testing my reactions to temperature or air quality when I do go on walks, so I am always accompanied by the others. 

I learn that Theo is from Social. Chase and Caleb are from Physical. Liliya returned to Emotional briefly to check on her family, but she returned quickly and began working with Dr. Sybil on my tests. She says she wants to be a nurse one day, so Dr. Sybil gladly makes the girl her apprentice. 

The third day, at noon, I finally get word of some sort of advancement in Dr. Sybil’s research. Aspen and Miguel should finish tomorrow, there were a few difficulties. 

“I finally made something for you,” Dr. Sybil smiles brightly as she enters my person medical examination room. There’s a chair for me and two swivel chairs for Liliya and Dr. Sybil. “My new apprentice designed it.” 

“Great, what is it?” I roll my eyes, trying not to show how excited I am for this breakthrough. “In English, please.”

Liliya glances at Dr. Sybil to make sure it’s okay for her to explain. “I thought that if all chemicals had an effect on you, what if I made another serum that would reverse the effects? I haven’t tested it out yet - you’re the only enhanced person we have - so it might make you vomit a bit.” 

“That sounds … lovely,” I say, not so excited anymore. 

“Can we, you know, test it on you?” Liliya basically squeals. I nod with a sigh, unsure of everything. 

“If I puke, it’s your fault,” I warn her. 

Liliya nods, and I think her head might fall of from excitement. Dr. Sybil gives the go ahead and hands me a vial of blue liquid. “Just a sleeping tonic,” she explains. 

I chug the tonic and immediately the world begins to spiral into darkness. I feel a sharp prick in my arm and suddenly the brightness of the fluorescent lights returns, blinding me. My head feels light and feathery, but I’m awake and that’s what matters. 

“It worked!” Liliya cries out, jumping up and down. 

Dr. Sybil nods, frantically taking notes on her clipboard. “I think I can make some improvements, maybe a cuff that will inject you with the antidote whenever it senses chemicals. It’ll be my new project.” 

“So you found a cure,” I smile, finally ready for some good news. 

“Yes, I think I…” Before Dr. Sybil can finish there’s a sound like a crack - a boom almost. Dr. Sybil freezes, her expression falling. 

I recognize the sound, but I don’t want to acknowledge it. If my hunch is correct … 

I burst from the room, finding the nearest window. True to my guess, sheets of rain are pouring from the sky. Lightning flashes ahead and thunder booms in the distance. 

Dr. Sybil appears beside me a moment later. 

“The dam,” she breathes. “It’s been breached. We have one week - if that - to make it out. Otherwise, the flooding will rise above the cities and we’ll all die.” 

“So right now only people on the ground are in danger?” Liliya asks, appearing behind me. 

Dr. Sybil nods. “Yes.” She turns to her guards. “Spread the word to the people that everything will be okay. Start using ladders and everything possible that they have as bridges between the highest windows in each building. Start gathering everyone in the tallest buildings and find our speedboats. Send out a rescue for anyone on the ground.” 

The guards follow her orders. I should be at ease - we’re this high up, we’ll be safe. 

And then I remember that the bunker is underground. Miguel and Aspen don’t know about the storm. They’ll be in grave danger.  

Without waiting for any sign of help, I sprint to the nearest elevator and hit the button for the bottom floors. Dr. Sybil and Liliya call out for me to wait, but I can’t. I don’t have time. Liliya throws a satchel at me and I catch it right as the doors close. 

Inside are three syringes, each filled with what I can assume is the antidote. 

The elevator lowers to the bottom where several guards outside are assigning keys and drivers to several jeeps. 

“Blue button activates water feature,” I hear one of the instructors say. “Autopilot is black.” Before he can continue I snatch the keys out of his palm and bolt, clutching the satchel to my side. 

I hop in the jeep, starting it up and slamming my finger on the autopilot button. An automated voice asks me for a location and I put in the bunker’s number. A dot pops up on a tiny screen on the dashboard and I click it. The jeep speeds into action, rushing through Mental and leaving Dr. Sybil and Liliya behind. 

Don’t worry, Aspen. I’m coming to save you. 

The drive is about an hour long, and by the end of the hour I’m driving through about 6 inches or so of water. The autopilot feature is working well, it sends me through the forest, avoiding trees. It works so well I’m a bit suspicious until I remember Dr. Sybil designed it. And I should trust her. 

The jeep says we’re about twenty minutes out from the bunker. 

I try to plan what I’m going to say, how I’m going to get Aspen and Miguel out. If the bunker trapdoor opens, it could let water in and possibly start to flood the bunker. 

I’ll have to be quick - and hopefully Aspen has already finished what she needed to do on the computer. My satchel is at my side, and I inspect the syringes again. Three syringes - three of us, Miguel, Aspen, and I. 

Should we encounter any trouble, I have the antidote which should work on any serum, according to Dr. Sybil. 

The jeep slows to a stop a few minutes later. And I recognize the location of the bunker. The trapdoor has been propped open, water is starting to trickle in. I can only hope that means Aspen and Miguel are aware of the water and will be done sooner than later. 

There are two jeeps also parked nearby. Weird, I thought Aspen and Miguel were only taking a few guards. Maybe Dr. Sybil decided to send more for safety reasons. 

I shake the worry out of my head and pull my satchel close to me, climbing out of the jeep. The water is a little above my ankles - and it’s freezing. It’s still raining a bit, thick drops pummeling me and soaking me to the bone. 

I climb down the ladder and into the bunker. 

“... going as fast as I can,” I hear Aspen cry out and smile to myself. At least they’re alive. 

“Go faster!” Miguel orders her. “We’re going to drown here.” 

“You try it then,” she yells at him. “It’s hard enough without the fear of drowning and you yelling at me. So shut up!” 

Miguel falls silent as I enter the room, splashing through even more water. 

“Jake?” Miguel questions as I approach. Aspen wheels around at the sound of my name, but then turns back to the computer, focusing intently. 

There are no guards present in the room. “Are you insane?” Miguel asks me, breaking me out of my thoughts. 

“I needed to make sure you were okay,” I tell him, and Miguel relaxes. “Where are your guards?” 

Miguel shrugs. “The two are bros, they went for a walk a little while ago, to stretch their legs. I also learned one of them was dating Margot, how crazy is that! I guess they just met a week or so ago…” 

“There were two jeeps up there,” I inform Miguel, getting worried now. 

“Yeah, amigo,” Miguel rolls his eyes. “Yours and ours. Good job though, I didn’t know you could count.” 

I ignore Miguel. “There was mine, yours, and another jeep.” 

Miguel pales as my words sink in. “Aspen, are you almost …” 

“Done!” she exclaims, standing up with a smile. “What’d I miss? And Jake, I must say, you should’ve listened to Dr. Sybil. We’re all fine here…” 

“Why did you say that?” I hiss at her. “When you say that everything will go downhill. There’s someone else here, and we don’t know who.” 

Aspen falls pale as well. “What’s in the bag?” 

“An antidote for all serums,” I say. “I’ll explain later. If Aspen is done, we need to go - now.” 

Aspen and Miguel nod, gathering their stuff. In a few minutes, we’re all packed up. I’m sweating, despite the cool air. Something odd is going on here, and I don’t like it. I don’t like it one bit. 

That’s when the lights go out. 

Aspen screams, and I feel her clutch my arm tightly. Miguel stands beside me, I can hear him breathing loud and fast. 

Suddenly, Aspen’s warmth disappears and I can hear footsteps. But there’s more than one pair of feet. However, due to the fact that Aspen hasn’t screamed I can assume she hasn’t been taken or otherwise forced away. 

I’m about to open my satchel to find the syringes when suddenly something sends the satchel spiraling out of my grip. Maybe it was my own fault or maybe something actually hit me, all I can focus on is the satchel landing on the ground with a shatter. There’s a sharp scent of something chemical related and immediately I feel all I hope I was holding on to leave me. 

I can hear sounds all around me, and something grabs me from behind. I panic, flailing around and making contact once before my arms are pinned behind my back and a gag is shoved in my mouth. 

Around me I can hear the sounds of a scuffle, and grunts that sound like Miguel. I can only assume Miguel has been detained as well. 

Maybe Aspen made it. I gain a tiny bit of hope. 

There’s a crackle of electricity and the lights flicker on, blinding me. I try to fight against my captor in the moment but it’s no use and I quickly give up to preserve strength. 

When my vision adjusts I spot Miguel not far away in a similar position as me, a buff looking man holding him down. My own captor forces me to my knees, and any hope that we could avoid capture abandons me. 

Aspen is not far away, a gun lying on the floor about a yard away from her. Two women are struggling to hold her, but one punches her in the jaw and Aspen falls backwards, rubbing her head. I try to spit out my gag, try to fight back, try to do anything that could help us. I recognize the patch on the uniforms of the captors. The Box has found us after all. 

The water around me is freezing. The discarded syringes are broken at the back end of the room. 

And then a figure appears at the bottom of the ladder, walking into the light with several guards in tow. My heart drops into my stomach as the figure steps into the light, revealing dark hair and forest green eyes. 

“Gretchen?” Aspen asks, managing to spit out her gag. I do the same by throwing myself backwards into my captor long enough for him to lose a bit of grip and the gag to slip from my mouth around my neck. Miguel does the same, but none of the captors try and correct it. 

“You weren’t supposed to see this,” Gretchen whispers, eyes on the floor.

Aspen has tears in her eyes as she’s forced to her knees and Gretchen watches from afar. 

Gone is the broken, fragile Gretchen. 

The new Gretchen is strong and so, so wrong. 

“How could you?” Miguel spits. 

“How could I what?” Gretchen asks, feigning innocence. Every ounce of my being wants to hate her. I want to kill her for everything she’s done to me. 

“You were with them all along, weren’t you?” I ask quietly. 

Gretchen nods, tears in her eyes. “I’m amazed none of you figured it out. Apparently, I’m a better actor than I thought.” 

“You’re not an actor, you’re a liar,” Miguel hisses, and I can see he is on the verge of tears as well. “After everything we did for you … after everything we’ve been through … you sided with them.” 

“I didn’t have a choice. You wouldn’t understand,” Gretchen protests. Bitterness seeps into my veins. 

“We understand alright,” I snarl. “I remember my first day here, Aspen told me we’d all suffered. And she was right, Gretchen. We all suffer, you are no different from us except in one way. We grew from our mistakes - you fell into their welcoming arms.” 

“I didn’t have a choice,” Gretchen repeats. “And you wouldn’t understand.” 

“Then explain,” Aspen whispers, voice cracking. “Why did you do this? Why join the Box?” 

“Y’know how I first got captured by the Box? I thought you guys would come and rescue me, but you didn’t. I waited, I was tortured, all in the hopes someone would save me. And then I broke because I realized that you weren’t coming. I had to survive - I had to join them. They would’ve killed me!” Gretchen cries out, voice rising. 

“We would’ve died for you,” Miguel tells her. 

“Well too bad, I’m not perfect like you,” Gretchen snaps. “I had one job - infiltrate the Lost and the Hidden, report back to the Box. And it was all too perfect when Jake came along. They would’ve came and killed all of us if I hadn’t been with them. So I let them know Jake was staying. They told me I needed to get him either to a place where they could get him back or I was to kill him. 

“It wasn’t hard, faking a broken, fragile, little girl. When Jake came along, I just had to pretend I recognized him and you all fell for it. The night I attacked him was the first attempt I had to murder him, before I realized how strong he was. I went back to the Box to regroup, if Aspen paid any attention she would’ve noticed my conversations on her computer. But she was oblivious and it gave me full ability to contact the Box whenever. 

“Did you ever notice how everywhere we went, there were always Ninjas? I told the Box where we were going. I told the Box that Jake was our new celebrity. That time we went to Social? I knew the drugs had an extra effect on Jake, so I used a hallucinogen to ensure he wouldn’t know it was me who tried to kill him. Once again I failed, but I swore to the Box I would win. 

“When Aspen and Jake were in the maze, the Box became obsessed with finding everything they could on you, and the only way for me to live was to tell. I stayed there and you believed I was dead, which worked perfectly. And when I returned, I attacked Jake again, only to be foiled by a sedative. My work wasn’t done though, and the Box was unhappy with me. When Miguel and Aspen told me they were headed her, I knew Jake would follow so I alerted the Box. They’ve been watching for days until Jake arrived. You all fell for my act,” Gretchen smiles to herself, but I detect sadness and guilt behind it. 

“You should’ve died,” Miguel screams at her. “You should’ve known that if the Box didn’t kill you, I would.” 

“You can’t kill me now,” Gretchen whispers. “I’m bringing you back to the Box to barter for my own freedom.” 

“Why?” I ask her. “Why reveal all of this? Why not stay hidden?” 

Gretchen doesn’t answer, she stares at the water pooling around her feet. 

“What does the Box want with us?” Aspen asks instead, trying a different approach. “Why come back?” 

“That’s classified information, but I’ll tell you that Miguel isn’t needed at all, and Jake will only make the process easier. We only need Aspen - so if you don’t obey my guards will shoot and kill Miguel,” Gretchen explains quietly, her voice emotionless. 

“I regret everything I ever felt for you,” Miguel growls. “It was all a lie. It was all a lie.” 

“Miguel, I…” Gretchen pauses when a guard whispers something to her. “This talk wasn’t supposed to happen. You’ll be in the Box and you won’t remember any of this before you know it.” 

Suddenly, the guard behind me tightens his grip and I feel Dr. Barron's special glasses slipped over my head for the second time. 

The swirling patterns held my limbs fall numb and lax. The guard quickly fastens my arms and legs together with thick, plastic ropes before carrying me away. I can hear Aspen’s sobs and Miguel’s yells as we’re thrown into the back of the jeep. 

The soft rocking motions of the jeep almost make me sleep, but rest does not come to the minds of the wary. 

I can feel Aspen or Miguel’s racing heartbeat under my fingers and remind myself we’re not alone. 

I think a lesson I’m taking away from our encounter with Gretchen is that not all heroes are selfless. Everyone likes to think that the good guys will sacrifice everything for others, for the world. 

Gretchen is only proof that sometimes we have to care about ourselves too.