Piper looked at Conrad and marveled at his complete genius.
“Is that true, Piper?” This revelation made Dr. Hellion relax and sit down at her desk.
“Well.” Piper didn’t have as much practice as Conrad, but she tried her best to play along. “Bella was walking and . . . well, I saw it in her hand and, um—”
“And then Bella let Piper touch it before she hid it in her pocket,” Conrad finished quickly.
Dr. Hellion nodded carefully, looking between the two children. Her eyes gave nothing away, and as usual her face was as calm as a lake of still water. “I see.”
“I warned her she had to tell.”
“Piper, for your information, students aren’t permitted to interact with specimens unless supervised. Conrad is correct that it is your duty to report this.”
“I’m sorry, Dr. Hellion. I don’t want to break any rules.”
“Yes, I know that, Piper.” Dr. Hellion paused, looking between the two of them. “And what is this I hear about a fight?”
Conrad looked genuinely surprised, and even consulted Piper with a confused expression as if to see if she knew what Dr. Hellion was talking about. “No. There was no fight.”
Piper couldn’t get over how convincing Conrad was. It was eerie.
“Nurse Tolle reported that Piper’s bird was thrown in the garbage,” Dr. Hellion persisted. Once again Conrad’s amazement could not have been more genuine.
“As you can see for yourself, Piper’s holding her wooden bird right now.” Conrad nudged Piper and Piper held up the bird.
“I see.” As usual, Conrad had all of his bases covered. Something told Dr. Hellion that if she asked the other children, they would tell a similar story, and it was even possible that by tomorrow Nurse Tolle would claim that he’d misreported the incident. There was nothing to be gained from questioning them further, even though Piper’s eyes were as wide as two moons and her knees were shaking. “Well, that certainly explains everything. Thank you for coming forward. You may return to the dormitory now.”
“Good night, Dr. Hellion.” Conrad turned to leave and Piper followed him. Before they could reach the door, Dr. Hellion’s phone rang.
“Yes, Agent Agent. What about the surveillance tapes? What sort of computer error? I find it hard to believe that nothing can be retrieved. I see.”
Conrad didn’t look or speak to Piper all the way back to the dormitory, and by the time they returned, it was already bedtime.
“Lights-out.” Nurse Tolle patrolled the dormitory hallway.
In a state of shock and anguish, Piper waited for thirty agonizing minutes in her room after lights-out. During the wait, she tried to calm her nerves by tending to the little black cricket, whom she decided to name Sebastian. She’d never known anyone named Sebastian, but it struck Piper as a very grand name, and the more she watched the cricket, it became clear to her that he was a very, very fine and elegant creature indeed. She created a little house for Sebastian on her desk using a small box, and he seemed thankful for her efforts and settled into his box for the evening.
The instant Nurse Tolle completed his second night check, Piper flew out her window and landed in Conrad’s room, where she found him completely dressed and calmly packing a case on his bed.
“What is going on here?”
“I would have thought that was obvious even to you by now.” Conrad wasn’t in the least surprised to have Piper suddenly come flying through his window, and continued to calmly place books and files into his case.
“But, but, they’re hurting all those beautiful creatures,” Piper blathered, on the verge of hysterics. “I saw that giraffe and the turtle and the rose and so many others. It’s not right. We’ve gotta get out of here.”
“For once, you are absolutely correct on all accounts. I couldn’t have put it better myself. Unfortunately, getting out of here wasn’t possible to do until you arrived. I needed a flier to make an escape work. But now that you’re here and you’ve got your head on straight, we can go.” Conrad closed his case and Piper realized that he had actually packed up all of his belongings and was ready to leave that very instant.
“You mean we’re gonna leave right now? Just like that?” Piper took a step back, unprepared. Too much had happened in too short a space of time and she was reeling.
“Like you said, what are we waiting for?”
“But . . . well, I mean, shouldn’t we tell someone? Do something?”
Conrad sighed, put his case down. He seemed older than his eleven years, and he crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Piper like a parent would a confused child. “Oh, so you want to go through all that song and dance. Alright, let’s get it over with so that we can get out of here.
“I’ll start at the beginning. Here, you’d better sit down, this might take a while.” Conrad pointed to the bed and Piper sat on the edge of it, her eyes wide. He spoke with strained patience, as though he’d gone through this a million times, which he had, if only in his own head. “First of all, did Dr. Hellion ever tell you what this place, this institute, is called?”
Piper thought back and realized that Dr. Hellion hadn’t, nor had Piper ever asked. “Uh, no, she sure didn’t.”
“And what about the logo? Have you seen this around?” Conrad pointed to a piece of stationery with the letters I.N.S.A.N.E. printed neatly across the top. Piper nodded. She’d seen it everywhere, they all had. She’d never given it any thought, though. “These letters stand for the Institute of Normalcy, Stability, And NonExceptionality, or I.N.S.A.N.E. to make things a little less wordy. I.N.S.A.N.E. is a perfectly constructed, faultlessly operated facility with only one purpose—to make everything and anything that passes through its doors normal. It is one hundred percent effective in this task. Since its inception, it has crafted a seamless and systematic process that ensures absolute results.”
Conrad reached for the lamp on his desk and switched it on. Because he’d taken out the normal lightbulb and replaced it with a black bulb, the light suddenly exposed to Piper white writing on every square inch of Conrad’s room. Late at night when everyone else was sleeping, Conrad had been hard at work. Trust a genius to devise a foolproof way to hide his secrets in plain view. Formulas were scrawled across walls, there were diagrams on his door, charts covered the desk, and even the ceiling wasn’t spared his handiwork. All of which was undetectable without the black light.
“Holy moly!” Piper had to crane her neck to take it all in.
Conrad pointed to a diagram on the door, trying to focus Piper. “Over here you can see how it all starts with tracking devices that have been positioned across the globe. They quickly identify and isolate a specimen that shows itself to be exceptional, whether it be a bird or a fish or a human.” Conrad next pointed to a larger diagram with an array of arrows and formulas. “As soon as a positive identification on a creature is established, it is then flagged by satellite. Retrieval units are immediately dispatched to apprehend it. From the moment the specimen is flagged, an electronic surveillance net is thrown over it, making it a sitting duck. By the time it is brought down here into the facility its fate is sealed. Make no mistake, there is only one way out of here, and that is Dr. Hellion’s way.”
Conrad smartly tapped the corner of what appeared to be an ostensibly ordinary Snoopy calendar that hung on the wall. Immediately it unraveled to the floor like an accordion, revealing still more diagrams, charts, and numbers. “First the specimen is placed under observation and carefully studied; scientists document and record all physical and behavioral characteristics, creating an exhaustive dossier of information, which is then used to isolate a chemical that will stop it from doing whatever it is that they do not consider normal. After years of trial and error, they have found that the appropriate drug administered to the specimen will promptly alter its brain patterns and physiological chemistry. Once that is accomplished, the bulk of their work is done, and all that they need is time before the specimen will revert to normalcy
. They know that if the specimen does not use its ability for a certain period of time, the ability will be lost forever. In other words, you have to use it or lose it.”
Conrad paused to let that information sink in before moving to the formulas on the opposite wall and continuing more quietly. “While the vast majority respond to the right drug, there are exceptions to the rule, and in those rare cases Dr. Hellion will resort to more radical and invasive means. She’ll have the specimen surgically torn apart and put back together again. She’ll use gene therapy, alter its DNA, maim the offending exceptional characteristic, and finally, if all else fails, destroy the specimen altogether. That is what they are doing on level four.”
Piper’s face was deathly white, and she was trembling slightly. As she didn’t seem like she was on the verge of completely losing it, Conrad took a breath and continued.
“But the human specimens, like you and me—well, we are their greatest challenge. Other creatures only require physical and biological alterations, but with us, with the human animal, an additional layer of difficulty is added because of this.” Conrad pointed to his head. “The psychological, intellectual, and emotional aspects of the human being make us much more difficult to manage and control. It’s taken the researchers a while, but they now understand that to successfully rehabilitate us and create lasting normalcy, they must make us want it, embrace it, and see its value. Otherwise it doesn’t work. And how do they do this? By befriending us, giving us what we want, making us comfortable, and if at all possible, gaining our unwitting complicity in our own demise. Something they accomplish all too easily in most cases.” Conrad gave Piper a pointed look and Piper filled with shame, looking away miserably. Why had she wanted to believe Dr. Hellion? Why had she said that she wouldn’t fly when flying was all that she’d ever loved?
“It’s all very subtle, of course, and their reasoning is flawless and logical. If it didn’t make sense, our brains wouldn’t accept it and we wouldn’t go along with it. They know if we don’t use the ability we will soon lose it, and they’re astute enough to realize that the most effective way of accomplishing this is by distracting our attention and refocusing it onto the normal and mundane. Old Hell has a masterful grasp on the delicate balance between encouragement and gentle persuasion toward normalcy, while at the same time negatively reinforcing any unapproved behavior until all traces of the talent are extinguished altogether. Too firm a hand and we’ll resist and rebel. It’s much easier and more effective to distract us and keep us happy and calm. They don’t truly teach us anything to keep our brains quiet and inactive. Their rigid schedule is designed to lull us into a stupor, while they silently and secretly go about the real work of killing our talent once and for all.”
Conrad’s words, not to mention all the numbers and diagrams, began pressing in on Piper and her head started to feel like it was spinning. She held on to the bed to steady herself while Conrad leapt atop his chair and started pointing to his work on the ceiling.
“You see, they employ a two-pronged approach. Breaking a subject down mentally is half the battle; the other half requires drugs. And how do they do this, you ask? In the food. The delicious, entirely amazing food that is perfectly tailored to your taste buds is made precisely so that it will mask all of the chemicals they’re shoving into it. And they’re pumping a lot of chemicals into you each and every day, make no mistake. All the while they carefully observe your reaction to them until they isolate just the right drug that is going to make you a little slower, stop you from thinking quite like you did, maybe even make you mildly happy, but extremely docile.
“As soon as that happens—and they are getting better and faster at it each and every day—you no longer want to use your ability, and at the same time the physiological balance inside your body alters, never to be the same again. Their methods are simple, effective, and foolproof. One day a kid wakes up and seems to remember that there was once something that they could do—something special, something different—but for the life of them they can’t remember what it is. But they won’t mind so much because they’ve got an incredibly comfortable bed and their thoughts stretch only as far as their next meal and how good the food will be, and for the most part they are given anything and everything they ask for. So they figure, why fight it? Without actually realizing it, they’ve sold themselves out for a cushy bed and a raging food addiction.
“We’re like rats in a maze down here and the only way we’ll get out is by being normal.”
Piper hadn’t realized that she’d stopped breathing somewhere in the middle of Conrad’s speech, and suddenly she gasped like a fish pulled out of water.
“No.” She shook her head. “No.”
“Are you going to lose it? Because we’re on a schedule here and we really don’t have time for you to get into a flap.”
“Sorry to ruin your night and all, Conrad, but it’s not every day you figure out that folks have got it in for you.”
“Yeah, well, get over it. You’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy.”
“What? My name’s Piper and I’m from Lowland County.”
“Right, forget it. Can we go now?” Conrad picked up his case for a second time.
“So that’s why you won’t eat anything and you’re stealing Jasper’s food.” Everything was suddenly falling into place in Piper’s mind. “You didn’t want to eat the drugs and Jasper’s drugs don’t affect you ’cause they’re meant for him.”
“Right, right.” Conrad nodded impatiently. “Jasper’s scheduled to graduate next and I was trying to prolong it as much as I could to give him a chance to remember his ability. Clearly, it’s not working.”
Piper was glad she was sitting down. “Not Jasper!”
“Afraid so. They’ve got you good and hopped up too. Obviously they’ve hit on just the right chemical combination because you’re walking slowly and you’ve got this dazed look in your eyes. If you stay it will only be a matter of time.”
“It will?” Now that she thought about it, Piper had been feeling very sedated and slow. She had chalked it up to being relaxed, but now it was all clear to her. “You’re right. So you were picking on me ’cause . . .”
“Because I needed to wake you up and the drug was slowing you down. I needed you to figure out the truth fast and I had to push you a little bit. Dr. Hellion’s taken a particular interest in you and it’s dangerous to your health. From the moment you arrived and I discovered that you were a flier, I knew there existed the possibility of escape. That changed everything.”
“But what about the others? Do they know?” Piper had a million questions.
“No. I tried telling them but it doesn’t work. They won’t believe you, or if they’re too firmly hooked into Hellion’s reality, the shock of the truth will drive them crazy. Like Bella.”
“Bella? That’s what happened to Bella?”
“I tried my best with her but she couldn’t take it.” Conrad hated defeat of any kind.
“But can’t we do something for her now? I mean, if she was to listen and understand, couldn’t she get her ability back?”
Conrad shook his head. “She passed the point of no return. That point is different for everyone, but once they make you give it up, I mean really, truly give it up, you won’t ever get your ability back. Bella gave it up. You could see it in her eyes.”
The sheer tragedy of losing Bella and her extraordinary gift was almost more than Piper could bear. Bella’s light had shone so brightly. Undoubtedly she’d been destined to bring so much joy and beauty to the world. Instead she was now gray and lifeless, a fate the silver giraffe was being threatened with at that very moment. And what of all the other nameless, faceless children who suffered a similar fate? What was to become of them and what could be done about it?
Conrad didn’t want to give Piper any more time to dwell on the news or to get lost in her thoughts. “Alright, so now that that’s sorted out, I need to know if you’ve ever carried anything or anyone when you’v
e flown. Can you estimate a comfortable weight range? And I’ll need an approximate flying distance before you’ll require rest.”
“But why? Why do they want to do this to us?”
Conrad swallowed hard and reminded himself to be patient. “Because they consider us dangerous and they can’t control us. The Mustafa twins could start a tsunami in their spare time. Daisy can lift a tank without breaking a sweat and Myrtle can run so fast they don’t even have instruments capable of clocking her. Unless we’re normal, there’s no place for us in their world and that’s why they’ve got us locked up down here.”
“So we escape and get help. Is that the plan?”
“What help? No one will help us. If we ever tried to come back, they’d capture us and that would be the end of it. No, we’ve got to get out of here and hide where they’ll never find us.”
“But the others? What’ll happen to ’em?” Piper thought of Violet and her gentle kindness and Lily’s mischievous pranks, not to mention the giraffe tied up in a darkened room on the fourth level.
Conrad shrugged, then sighed. “There is nothing we can do. They’ll have to stay here. It’s better that two get out than none. We can’t do anything for them.”
“You mean just leave ’em here? Do nothing?”
“Listen, I’ve done all the calculations and there are little to no statistically significant probabilities that we can get them out. More people generate more variables, which creates more risk. It’s too dangerous.” Conrad didn’t even want to try and explain all the mathematical work he’d done on organizing this escape. If Piper was having difficulty comprehending what, to him, was an obvious and plain situation, there was no way she was going to be able to absorb higher mathematical reasoning. “This is the only way.”
“I don’t believe you. Even if you’re right, I don’t care. I won’t leave ’em behind.” Piper was adamant. “There’s gotta be another way.”