As Cal was captured straight after, I glanced over at Dylan. She was being sprayed too. Straightaway she started changing . . . transforming . . . her dark red hair fading to brown . . . her body shortening and fleshing out . . . until Amy stood there. In tears. She dropped the blanket and I could see that, underneath it, she was still dressed in Avery’s suit, with the trouser legs rolled up.
‘I’m sorry, Nico,’ she said. ‘They made me do it. They’ve got Avery. They’re going to kill him if we don’t do what they say.’
27: Breathe and Focus
Amy was still apologising as the guards ushered us along another corridor and into a side room. Bare and windowless, the door was locked with a similar kind of alarmed laser field as the roof door. Even if my Medusa abilities hadn’t been taken away from me, I’d have struggled to open it. And I could see straightaway that Jack’s card wouldn’t be any more use here than it had been upstairs.
‘Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry.’ Amy’s bottom lip trembled and she sank to the floor. ‘I can’t believe it’s all gone so wrong.’
‘It’s okay, we’re here now.’ Ed put his arm round her.
I squatted down on the floor in front of her. ‘What happened, Amy?’ I asked.
‘Where’s Avery?’ Cal demanded.
‘I was being Foster,’ Amy said breathlessly. ‘I’d just ordered them to turn off the camera at the checkpoint. I’d said that it wasn’t working properly . . . that there was some electrical fault and they looked like that was a bit weird but they did what I ordered and then I was about to tell them to leave the room so Avery and I could work out where the labs were when Foster called. The real Foster. And the guard who spoke to him realised I was really me and Foster ordered him to spray me with Medutox and . . . I changed back to me.’
‘What about Avery?’ Cal’s face was deathly pale.
‘They took him away. I don’t know where. And I don’t know where Dylan and Harry are either, but . . . but as soon as Foster heard they were in the building, he sent someone off to spray Dylan too.’
I clutched my forehead. This was bad. This was really bad. Far from rescuing the hit squad children and destroying Foster’s ability to make Medusix, we were now all prisoners ourselves.
‘But . . . you came to us disguised as Dylan,’ Ed said, looking confused. ‘Why did Foster order that?’
‘I wouldn’t tell him about the rest of you, but as soon as he knew I’d ordered the checkpoint camera to be switched off, he worked out you were coming. There’s a camera on the roof which isn’t normally used but Foster got them to check it and he could see you all up there, trying to get through the door. When my Medutox wore off, Foster insisted I came up to get you back. He said you’d get away if he just sent the guards and that Dylan and Harry and Avery would die if I tried to trick him.’ Amy’s eyes filled with tears. ‘Did I do the right thing?’
‘Of course you did,’ Ed said reassuringly.
‘I still don’t see why Foster made you come disguised as Dylan?’ Cal said with a frown.
‘Because Foster said Jack had told him how protective you are of me. He thought if I came up as me then there’d be an argument over one of you taking me to safety. If you thought I was Dylan, you’d just follow her inside.’ Amy hesitated. ‘Basically I think he thinks you think that I’m a useless little kid and Dylan’s, like, mega tough.’
I stood up and leaned against the wall, closing my eyes. This last detail was almost the worst thing we’d just been told. It showed how intimately Foster understood us – and the relationships between us.
There was a shuffling sound next to me. I opened my eyes. Amy was standing in front of me. Ed was watching her carefully but it was me Amy was looking up at, her eyes huge and round and full of emotion.
‘You don’t think I’m a useless little kid, do you, Nico?’ she asked plaintively.
‘No, of course he doesn’t,’ Ed said. ‘You got Avery, Dylan and Harry in here, Amy.’
I looked at Amy’s plump face, remembering how she’d stayed looking like Ketty so I would kiss her. If it hadn’t been for that, Ketty and I would have been fine before she died whereas . . . and this was the terrible truth I realised I had been refusing to face . . . when Ketty died we were barely speaking.
And that was totally Amy’s fault.
‘Well, you’re useless and a kid,’ I said, looking her up and down with as scathing an expression as I could manage. ‘Though you’re certainly not “little”.’
Amy gasped. Hurt filled her eyes. She stood up and walked across the room, her shoulders shaking.
Ed glared at me, his fists clenched at his sides. He called me a name I’d never heard him use before – then he stalked off to sit with Amy who was now weeping in the corner.
Cal raised an eyebrow. ‘Nice work, bro,’ he said sarcastically.
‘Shut up,’ I said. But inside I was already regretting what I’d said. Not just because I’d upset Amy and not just because we needed to be focusing on getting out of this room instead of arguing with each other – but because if Ketty had been here she would have told me I was being stupid and unkind.
And she would have been right.
‘Okay.’ I pushed myself off the wall I’d been leaning against. ‘First thing we have to do is avoid being disabled with Medutox again.’
Ed stared at me. ‘And how do you suggest we do that?’ he said.
I gulped. Amy was still sobbing in the corner, her face covered with her hands.
‘Well,’ I said. ‘Medutox works because you breathe it in, doesn’t it?’
‘So?’ Cal said.
I glanced round the room. ‘There’s no vent here they can release it through. They weren’t expecting to keep us locked up like this. I’m guessing they’re going to have to spray us by hand.’
Ed shrugged. ‘How does that help?’
‘We have to cluster round the door when they come in and allow them to spray us. If we can keep the dose to a minimum and hold our breath then—’
‘That’s ridiculous,’ Ed snorted. ‘Medutox is a vapour. It travels through the air. We can’t escape it.’
‘Maybe not, but we can try,’ I said. ‘We hold our breath. We cover our faces. We move away from the door. Maybe we won’t all manage not to breathe it in, but any one of us could get us out of here if we had our powers back. We’ve all got amazing abilities.’ I looked over at Amy as I said this, but she still hadn’t looked up.
‘It’s worth a try,’ Cal said.
Ed shrugged again. ‘Okay, but it’s not going to work.’
‘Amy?’ I said. ‘What do you think?’
Amy lifted her head. She wiped her eyes and faced me at last.
‘Like Cal says,’ she said with a sniff. ‘It’s worth a try.’
Twenty-five minutes later the guards were back. One stood in the door, braced ready for us to attack. The other stepped into the room. Immediately we got to our feet, standing quietly in a row. The man frowned; he clearly wasn’t expecting us to be so docile. He lifted his can of Medutox and sprayed it at Amy. I held my breath as he moved the can across to Ed, then Cal. More quick sprays. Then it was my turn. I closed my eyes. The mist lit on my eyelids.
It was over. The guard left. I raced across to the far corner of the room, wiping my face and, finally, allowing myself a tiny breath through the fabric of my jacket. I stayed huddled over for several minutes, breathing as shallowly as possible.
Whether my plan could work depended on how long the Medutox stayed active once it was sprayed into the air . . . if it was longer than a few seconds, then there was no way we could disable it. But – from the way our enemies had used it in the past, trying to trap us in confined spaces – I was guessing it didn’t stay potent for long.
After about five minutes, I lifted my face. The others were already breathing normally, sitting against the back wall of the empty room.
I held out my hand, attempting to deploy my telekinesis to move Cal’s jacket – which dangled f
rom his hand. Nothing happened. I tried again. Still nothing.
I moved over to the door anyway. I could attempt to figure out the laser alarm system, even if I couldn’t control it. As I stood there, my confidence faltered. I hadn’t managed to unlock this kind of door up on the roof. What made me think I could manage it now?
I took a deep breath and tried to clear my mind. Images of Ketty kept pushing their way into my head. Ketty laughing at something funny I’d said . . . Ketty all tough and determined, running around the grounds at Fox Academy . . . Ketty frowning with concentration as she tied her hair with a piece of string . . . Ketty coming back over the cliff top months ago, her eyes shining at me. I knew you’d save me . . . that’s what I saw . . . that’s what had to happen . . .
I suddenly wondered if Ketty had foreseen her own death. If she had, she hadn’t said anything . . . but then I hadn’t made it easy for her to talk to me. I’d been mean to her . . . I hadn’t listened . . . I hadn’t shown her how much she meant to me.
I’d pushed her away.
Tears suddenly pricked at my eyes. I stared at the locked door, its handle swimming in front of me. What was the point of escaping? What was the point of anything without her?
‘Ketty knew that you loved her.’ Amy’s voice was a timid whisper beside me.
I glanced round at her. She was shuffling from foot to foot beside me. Ed and Cal were still sitting with their backs against the far wall, chatting in low voices.
‘Excuse me?’ My voice was hoarse. I felt broken, like I was in little pieces.
‘Ketty knew you loved her. I mean, it was obvious to everyone,’ Amy said. ‘And I’m sorry I didn’t change back straight away that . . . that time . . . I . . . I . . .’ She tailed off, blushing a deep red. ‘I just . . . it was just hard to stop . . .’
I looked at her, suddenly aware of how much it was costing her to make this confession to me.
‘Thanks, Amy,’ I stammered. ‘I’m sorry I was mean earlier. I didn’t . . . it isn’t true. You’re cool.’
Amy’s blush deepened and it struck me how young she was – just Ed’s little sister, caught up in a terrible situation that wouldn’t be happening if we didn’t have Medusa powers.
‘I wish none of us had been given the Medusa gene,’ I said.
Amy looked me in the eye. ‘Well, we were,’ she said, sounding for a moment just like Ketty. ‘So we might as well make it work for us.’ She indicated the door again. ‘How’s it going with the lock?’
‘It’s really difficult.’ I could hear the shake in my voice as I spoke. ‘I don’t know if I can do it.’
‘Of course you can,’ Amy said.
Again, she sounded just like Ketty. The thought made me smile. Without thinking about it too hard, I turned towards the door and breathed out, directing all my energy to the lock, holding the visualisation more lightly than usual, but concentrating as deeply as I had ever done in my life.
With a soft groan, the door popped open. I stared at it, amazed. Beside me, Amy gasped. ‘You did it.’ I held out my hand and tried to lift the corner of Amy’s jacket. Nothing happened. What on earth was going on?
Across the room, Cal and Ed scrambled to their feet. My heartbeat quickened. Was this some sort of trap? How had my telekinesis come back just for one moment, then gone again? Well, there was no time to worry about it now. I turned to the others. ‘Come on,’ I said.
‘What do we do now?’ Amy asked.
‘Whatever it is, we need to stick together,’ Ed urged.
‘We have to find Avery, Dylan, Harry and the kids Foster conned into coming here,’ Cal said.
‘Yes,’ I agreed. ‘Then we can get to the lab and destroy it.’ I peered into the corridor outside. It was empty. I crept through, the others behind me, and headed for the stairs.
We were on our way.
28: Timing is Everything
I led Cal, Ed and Amy along the corridor, still bewildered by how I’d managed to open the door. The upper floor of the complex was small – far smaller than at ground level. We passed a couple of offices, complete with desks and computers, but none of them were occupied. There was no sign of any CCTV cameras either, but I still kept looking anxiously round, wondering if anyone had seen us.
We stopped at the top of the stairs. I tried to visualise the ground-floor plan of the building, which Harry had hacked into earlier. There were two large rooms on either side of the front entrance, then about eight or nine smaller ones towards the back. Trouble was we had no idea what most of the rooms were used for.
‘Comms, rescue and lab,’ I muttered under my breath.
‘What’s that?’ Ed whispered behind me.
‘Our original plan,’ I whispered back. ‘Take out all the communications links so that the CCTV and the alarms stop working . . . find the hit squad children – plus Harry, Dylan and Avery – and get them to safety . . . destroy Foster’s lab.’
Ed nodded but he looked scared.
I was scared too. This was an overwhelming task and – despite the earlier miracle of the laser-alarmed door – none of us would properly be in possession of our Medusa skills for at least another twenty minutes.
I crept down the stairs, sweat beading on the back of my neck. Voices rose up from the ground floor. One man was talking to another. ‘Foster’s on his way,’ he said.
Great. My heart – already in my guts – plummeted to my shoes. That was all we needed . . . Foster himself. I stopped at the bend in the stairs and peered round and down. A long corridor stretched both ways at the bottom of the steps. Amy must know where the comms centre was – she’d been there earlier – but I had no idea which direction to take for the lab – and no sense of where the others might be imprisoned. Again, I felt Ketty’s absence. If she were here, she might have been able to see into the future and find out. I forced the thought of her away and crept on . . . down, down to the bottom step.
Without warning, all the lights went out and the corridor was plunged into darkness. I flattened myself against the wall. I could feel Ed’s presence beside me, his breathing sharp and rapid.
‘Oh my goodness, what’s happening?’ Amy hissed from his other side.
‘Ssh,’ I whispered. Someone ran past us. I could hear their footsteps, though it was impossible to make out more than a shadowy outline in the pitch black.
I was still on the bottom step. As I felt for the ground below, a hand reached round the corner and grabbed my arm. I almost yelled out, but the hand squeezed my wrist.
‘Nico, it’s Avery.’
‘Avery?’ Relief washed over me. ‘What happened? Are you okay?’
‘I’m fine,’ Avery whispered.
Ed, Cal and Amy were down the stairs now. We clustered around Avery.
‘What’s going on?’ Cal hissed.
‘There’s no time,’ Avery whispered. ‘Follow me.’
He led us left along the corridor. More shouts echoed ahead of us as we reached a door.
‘In here.’ Avery opened the door and led me through. The others bustled in after us. We were in some kind of room with high tables and stools. I couldn’t make out more detail in the dim light.
Avery crossed the room and took us through another door. As we herded inside, he shut the door and took out a small torch from his pocket. It illuminated his face from underneath, casting the lines of his nose and mouth into deep shadow. I glanced around. Cal, Ed and Amy looked similarly spooky in the torchlight. I shivered.
‘Where are we?’ I asked.
‘How did you get free?’ Amy added.
‘What’s happening with the lights?’ Cal said.
‘Do you know where Dylan and Harry are?’ That was Ed.
Avery cleared his throat. ‘Okay, slow down. One at a time.’ He paused, clearly trying to collect his thoughts. ‘They were holding me in their communications room,’ he said. ‘I could see some of the CCTV screens and you guys showed up a minute ago when you were at the top of the stairs. I distracted the guard watch
ing the screens from noticing until you’d got past. Then the lights just suddenly went out and the screens went blank and the guard rushed off. I don’t know what happened – and I don’t think he did either.’
‘Maybe it was a power cut,’ Ed suggested.
‘Perhaps,’ Avery agreed.
I thought back to the way I’d managed to open the door upstairs earlier. Had that been due to a temporary power failure too? It seemed unlikely.
‘Anyway the guard left me in what he obviously thought was a locked room – but the doors work on electronic alarms so it wasn’t hard for me to get out. To be honest, as long as the whole complex is in darkness with all the security down, I’m guessing they won’t even notice I’m gone.’
‘So why did you bring us in here?’ I said.
‘Look,’ Avery said. He shone the torch around the room. There were high tables in here, just as in the outer room. But also a sink and shelves containing bottles and jars and a row of microscopes and two computers, side by side.
‘Oh my goodness,’ Amy breathed.
‘It’s the lab,’ Cal said.
‘Exactly.’ Avery swung the torch back so all our faces were illuminated. ‘This is our chance to destroy all Foster’s Medusix research, but we have to hurry, the guards will be back any second.’
‘Excellent,’ I said. ‘Ed, what does this oil you said Foster uses to make Medusix look like?’
‘Er . . .’ Ed blinked rapidly. ‘Back at the castle it came in barrels. They had a stamp on the front.’
‘Okay, let’s look,’ I said. ‘We can use the oil to blow up the lab. But hurry. It’s not just the guards. The lights and alarm system could come back on at any moment.’
It was hard exploring the lab by the light of just one torch. We walked round the edges of the room, Avery shining the torch into every corner. It took about a minute to find the barrels of oil. They were propped against the far wall, under the only window in the room.