The Academie (31 page)

The storm howled ferociously and Bryan
pulled us to the opening.

We pushed through quickly—Ruby first,
then me, followed by Bryan.

No sooner had Bryan reached the other
side, and the last few pieces of green space disappeared from
beyond the fence.

I gasped, fearing the storm might come
onto the grounds after all, but Bryan wrapped his arms around me.
“It’s gonna be fine.”

We watched as the gale hit the fence
and quickly dissipated.

Silence followed.

I glanced around. The stark contrast
was unreal: on one side, The Academie stood tall, untouched. On the
other, it was like staring at a blank sheet of paper.

Any lingering questions I had about
whether this world was reality were now gone.

“
The teachers.”
I said, suddenly spinning around. I’d forgotten
all about the angry mob that had chased Ruby and me as we
left.

“
Where are they?”
Ruby whispered.

She was right. Not a person in
sight.

“
Could they be
hiding?”
I asked, looking to
Bryan.

“
They could, I suppose.
But I don’t think so. Let’s stay quiet and keep a lookout. They
could be anywhere.”
He reached down and
took my hand.
“I can’t feel it,”
he whispered, gesturing to our interlocking
hands,
“but it still makes me
happy.
” He looked into my eyes, and I was
reminded of our night together under the meteor shower.

“
I can.”
I whispered, looking back down at our joined
hands.
“I missed you.”

“
I’ve missed you more than
you can imagine. I’ve been so worried…”

I held his hand tighter, then wondered
if he had any idea. Could he see subtle changes like that in the
lines of programming?

We made our way through
the schoolyard without any sign of a teacher. As we approached the
front entrance, I took a deep breath and held up my sword.
“Somehow, this feels right,”
I said.

“
Let’s do this,”
Ruby said.

Then she opened the door.

45.
schoolcraft

I expected someone to jump out at us.
But what we found was almost worse.

Dead silence.

The bodies of students that had
slumped across tables, chairs, and onto the floor were now gone,
along with the teachers. No sound. No movement. Just an eerie
stillness.

“
Let’s head down that
way,”
I whispered, pointing to the left
hallway off the cafeteria.

Ruby nodded, followed by
Bryan.

I held up my sword and lead the way.
Bryan released my hand as I moved ahead.

Somehow the loss felt like
goodbye.

I wanted to turn—to see if he was
still there—but there was too much at stake now. The teachers were
still here, I was sure of it. They were watching,
waiting…

We turned and headed down the back
hallway.

That’s when we saw her.

At first, I thought it must be
Sergeant Murk again. But the figure appeared smaller.

“
Well, well, well. Bryan,
you’ve come at last. We’ve been expecting you.” The voice echoed
through the dark hall, sending shivers up my spine.

I slowed, letting Bryan and Ruby catch
up on either side of me.

“
Bryan, I don’t know who
that is,”
I whispered.
“How does she know you?”

He shook his head.

As we approached, I began to make out
the figure of a petite woman in her mid-fifties. And I could see
that she stood directly in front of the doorway—our
escape.

“
Bryan. Nice to see you,”
the woman said.

“
Who are you?” I
demanded.

“
What, you don’t know me?”
her eyes were sweetly piercing—like somebody’s grandma gone bad.
“
Well, surely Bryan does.”

I glanced at Bryan. No
response.

“
Oh come on. This
is
my
place,
my
world.”

“
Schoolcraft,”
Bryan said softly. He looked like he had seen a
ghost.

“
There’s a good boy. Well,
that’s not entirely true though is it, Bryan. You haven’t been
good. In fact, I’m not sure who’s been causing us more trouble—you,
or your girlfriend.” She looked from him to me and
smiled.

“
But not for long. I’m so
happy you came to join us today.” Her smile was sickeningly
sweet.

“
Bryan, what does she
mean?”
I whispered. Her very presence made
me uneasy.

“
They’re tracking me,” he
said. His body was rigid, his face expressionless as he spoke. “The
longer I’m here, the more likely they are to find me.”

Schoolcraft’s smile turned up tight at
the corners. Crow’s feet jetted out artificially from her eyes.
“He’s so smart, Allie. I can see why you like him. We liked him
too, but he didn’t like us. T-t-t-t.” She shook her head. “Didn’t
we treat you well, Bryan? Why’d you have to leave us?”

“
She’s stalling,”
he whispered.
“We have
to move quickly! We have to get her away from the door.”

We tried to move forward, but the
teachers came from out of nowhere. Lifeless faces and empty
eyes—the faces of sergeants I’d known, grossly distorted. They were
reaching—reaching to grab and hold on to any part of us they
could.

I pushed Bryan and Ruby
behind me and brandished my sword before us, but the teachers were
pressing in on all sides. There was no way I could protect us all,
and my friends held no weapon.
What were
we thinking?

Schoolcraft was still talking. “A
girlfriend to protect you. My how times have changed…. Isn’t this
nice?”

She was still stalling.

“
Bryan, you have to get
out of here,”
I urged.

“
I won’t leave
you…”

“
Ah, young love,”
Schoolcraft said in a sing-song manner.

I ignored her.
“
They can’t find you!”

“
Come now, Bryan. Please
staaaay,” Schoolcraft hissed.

“
Bryan go!
Please
…” I begged. He was still behind me.
I couldn’t see him, but I could feel him close.

And I could feel him as he
disappeared.

46.
the door

For a moment, I stood
frozen.

Then Schoolcraft began to laugh. An
evil, cackling laugh. The kind of laugh you hoped your grandma
didn’t have—because if she did, you’d know with certainty that her
body wasn’t just deteriorating with age. It was rotting.

“
What do you want?” I
sputtered.

“
Just what any good
schoolmaster wants. I want peace and order in my school. I want
students to obey the rules.”

“
Well, that’s not going to
happen, now is it?” I flashed the sword in front of her.

Another long, rolling laugh poured out
of her.

I started forward, but Ruby pulled me
back.

Schoolcraft stopped laughing and
turned her head sharply toward the ceiling. “SWORD!” she
yelled.

Ruby and I looked at each
other.
Was the old woman mad?

But there, a moment later, a sword
appeared in her hand, nearly identical to the one in my
own.

“
They’re programming
whatever she needs,”
Ruby said softly. Her
face looked stricken.

Schoolcraft was laughing
again. “You don’t make the rules, Miss Thompson.
I do
.”

I took a step forward. “You think you
can take me? What are you? Eighty?”

Her face curled into a
sneer.

“
For your information,
young lady, the only reason you were able to receive such a grand
fitness regimen was because
I
required it. I was a champion athlete in my
day…
and my day is
now.”

She flung her sword toward me. I
jumped just in time to miss it.

“
Use your sword!” Ruby
reminded.

“
Thanks!” I answered,
blocking as Schoolcraft swung again. She may have caught me off
guard before, but now I was ready. For months I had longed to be
free of rules, free of the confinement. Now was my chance. I
whirled at her ready to strike—

I stopped short. The
realization came that I wasn’t holding a practice foil and this
wasn’t a tournament. In my hand was a real sword—or as real as this
world got anyway.
If I injure someone in
this world, what happens?

Schoolcraft used my delay to her
advantage. Where a moment ago she was on the defensive, now I
was.

Her strength was surprising. How could
a woman of her age….?

They weren’t playing
fair.
There’s no way Schoolcraft could
maneuver like this at her age—whatever that actually
was.

I pushed thoughts of
bodily harm aside and took the offensive again.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Our weapons met
with force.

What happens if one of us
is injured here?
The question tugged at my
brain.

Clang! Clang!
Clang!

I couldn’t get past it. There was no
way I could injure this woman—regardless how evil—without knowing
that it wouldn’t hurt her in real life.

I took my sword, and with all the
strength I had, I forced hers from her hand.

For a moment, her face looked
panicked.

But she quickly regained
composure. “
You think you’ve won?
I can summon whatever weapon I need any time I
need it.

“
But then, I don’t have to
fight, do I? Did you like my storm? I can do
whatever
I want. That’s what scares
you, isn’t it? Well…that and the fact that right now my people are
on their way to pick up Bryan.”

My insides turned. I stared her down.
Who was she to mess with our lives this way? Who was she to take
away our freedom and set herself up like a god over us?

My anger boiled, and suddenly, I was
unstoppable.

I dropped my sword and reeled at her,
channeling my hurt and fury for all those The Academie had taken
from me. Shara, Matt, Stevie, Tina, Robert, Cayden, Andy, my
parents, Bryan. My pain now had a name: Schoolcraft.

Our bodies collided, mine hurtling
into hers. She screamed and fell backward onto the tile.

The moment she hit, I realized what I
had done. Never before had I caused someone bodily harm. I stood
there in shock, watching, waiting for her to get up.

But she didn’t.

What have I
done?

Something pulled at my arm.

A voice came. It sounded distant.
“Allie, we have to go.”

I couldn’t stop staring at
her, lying there helpless on the ground.
What have I done?

“
Allie! NOW!” The voice
was Ruby’s. She yanked my arm, and I snapped back into
focus.

Then I saw it.

The door was ahead of us, now only
feet away.

I looked back at
Schoolcraft.
Did she move?
Zombie teachers were closing in on us.

We ran to door. Ruby got there first
and pulled at the handle.

Nothing.

She tried again and again, beating her
shoulder against the door, but it wouldn’t budge.

A sound came from the floor.
Indistinguishable at first. Then I knew it: Schoolcraft was
laughing.

“
Let me try,” I said,
pushing Ruby aside.

I repeated her motions
anxiously—Schoolcraft was sitting up—turn, push,
nothing.

I beat on the door
furiously.

I tried the handle again.
I turned, I pushed, and then I slammed my body against it. Turn,
push,
slam!
Turn,
push,
slam!

Nothing.

Ruby began slamming against it with
me.

“
Bryan
please!
” I yelled, hoping somehow,
somewhere, he could hear. “BRYAN, UNLOCK THE DOOR!!!”

The cackling grew louder. I turned to
see Schoolcraft attempting to stand.

Turn, push,
slam!

Turn, push,
SLAM!

The door gave way.