The Hadley Academy for the Improbably Gifted Read online

  Jack stared at his mother. “They were dead.”

  “I’ll let them explain. They’ve been incredibly patient these past weeks.”

  A few moments later the door was almost snapped off the hinges as Team Thirteen barreled in. Freddy was pulling up the rear, but he squeezed in as they gathered around Jack’s bed. Freddy fired a barrage of questions at him: How in the world did he land where he did? Did Jack know the probabilities of his landing in a stone silo that would save his life?

  “Wait. You’re asking me how I survived?” Jack cut them off. “I watched you all die.”

  “Short answer: Voss and Claire.” Freddy threw his arms around the barrel chest of Voss Winter. Voss for once was too joyful to look annoyed.

  “We were under that pile forever,” Freddy said. “Claire managed to hold them off us. I thought we were all dead for sure, but then Voss just started ripping through the pavement—with his bare hands. He dug until we tumbled into a sewer tunnel. He pulled us all down into that.”

  Jack’s eyebrows rose at Voss and Claire. “Wow.”

  Freddy laughed. “That’s one way to put it, yeah.”

  “How did you get back to the island?” Jack asked.

  “We were underground for a long time,” Asha said. “We had to move slowly because Claire had a broken leg and Freddy had a collapsed lung. Everyone was really beat up. But finally we came up into the light.” Asha looked around at the others, reliving the memory. “By the time we did, the darkened had scattered. They weren’t moving together anymore. It was like an army without a general. That’s when Freddy concluded that you’d killed Wyeth.”

  “We went back to Times Square to find you,” Claire added. “You weren’t there, and we hid in an apartment near the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. Lady kept going back out to search for survivors. Two days later she came back with Instructor Suzuki.”

  “And Suzuki had just located Operative Zhang’s team,” Voss said. “They had rescued the Bulgarian.”

  “The Bulgarian is alive?” Jack interrupted.

  “That guy won’t die,” Freddy said in a low voice, as if he were talking about a ghost. “He got us back here. He’d been sailing back to Elk Island when we were first transported onto his boat. He knew the coordinates, so it was just a matter of getting a boat and sneaking it out past the Pacifica navy. Took a week, but we made it.”

  “I did that. I sent us through the instant portal to that boat. Wyeth did, I mean,” Jack told them. “So that we would blow it up and the Bulgarian could never get that Pacifica intelligence back to Hadley. I was wearing a blast suit, so I would have survived. I’m sure I would have blacked out, and Wyeth would have taken over and gotten to shore. He always had a plan.”

  Jack looked up at Claire and then the others, one by one.

  Claire furrowed her eyebrows. “What? You look like you’re trying to decide if you should say something.”

  Jack swallowed hard. “You guys are just . . . talking to me, like I’m not a killer,” he said softly. “I was Wyeth all along. I unleashed the Dark Virus. The world will never be the same. It was my body, and I never even slowed him down.”

  Voss gripped his shoulder. “You couldn’t have known. But we should have seen it and tried to save you.”

  “I almost killed you. All of you.”

  “Wyeth did that. You saved us,” Asha insisted. “It must have taken a ton of strength to fight that kind of power and stop Wyeth the way you did.”

  Claire knelt down beside the bed. “It’s true, Jack. Nobody else could have stopped him. You were born for this. And we owe you our lives.”

  Jack let that sink in. It would take a long time to digest everything that had happened. He looked at his mom. “One thing I still don’t understand: the silo coin. I gave it to Superior Blue when I first got into Hadley. If Hans was a vision, then I imagined him giving me the coin. But the coin was actually in my pocket. Where did it come from?”

  She smiled at him. “I gave you that coin, honey,” she said. “The Supreme One gave me that coin on the day you were born. He told me that I would know when to give it to you. I slipped it in your pocket that morning before you left for school.”

  Jack’s jaw fell open. “But . . . how did you know to give it to me?”

  His mother patted his leg. “I’m a Gray, Jack. Sometimes I just know things.”

  Freddy shook the stress from his arms. “Boy. This is intense. We have a lot to catch up on, huh? We need some cookies or something.”

  “Chocolate chip?” Jack’s mom asked.

  “Yes, please!” Freddy said.

  “You kids take your time. We may be on Elk Island for a while.”

  Jack sat up. “Why? What’s happening?”

  “Hadley lost all connection to the outside world some time ago,” his mom explained. “When the Bulgarian activated the permanent security grid over the island, it cut all signals in and out.” His mother stood. “The truth is that we don’t know what’s out there, Jack. And there may not be any way on or off this island.”

  A week later Jack was out of bed. His mother had taken care of him, along with Dr. Horn and Rufus, who had visited often. The historian was recording everything Jack could remember for the archives. Team Thirteen had moved into the house where he was staying, the grand residence attached to the Office of the Superior, overlooking the East Clearing. It wasn’t far from the clinic and had plenty of room for Jack’s mom and the team.

  The Hadley Academy was mostly empty but for the Order of the Grays, some instructors, and the few operatives who had made it back on the boat. On one visit to Jack’s bed, Superior Blue had assured Jack that he had a plan. He had created it in conjunction with the Bulgarian, Rufus, Darius, and part of the Council. They were all doing their best to keep Hadley operational. Blue had promised to share the details with Jack when he was up and about.

  Well, he was up and about now. The Superior took Jack to the main gate. It stood open. “What about the dragons?” Jack asked.

  “When Wyeth was alive, his presence at Hadley was like blood in the water of sharks,” Superior Blue said. “That’s why they were throwing themselves against the main gate every night. That’s why they attacked you when you went over the wall. But with Wyeth dead, they are like any other forest predator, dangerous but without particular motivation to kill for its own sake. The Grays keep them under control.”

  “So they’re not attacking anymore?”

  “You’re not Wyeth anymore. The dragons’ ambivalence toward you is as much proof as anything,” he said. “They are merely wandering the island now. Sushila Patel is tracking them down. It’s a dangerous mission, but she is quite gifted. We’ll see what happens.”

  “What about Pacifica?” Jack asked. “What if they restart the power grid and the portals turn on again? They could flood into Hadley and overrun Elk Island.”

  “The Bulgarian has permanently sealed off the portals,” Superior Blue said. “Come on, I’ll show you his other handiwork.”

  They walked slowly through the woods. Jack’s heart pumped as hard as it used to when he ran, but it felt good to move and breathe fresh air. After a short walk, they arrived at the coastline, where hundred-foot cliffs bore the brunt of the crashing waves far below.

  Superior Blue handed him a pair of binoculars. Warships. Three of them anchored a mile off Elk Island. They flew the flag of Pacifica: navy blue with three white stars.

  Jack’s heart rate rose. “They found us. Are they coming?”

  “They can’t.” Blue picked up a rock and flung it off the cliff. It vaporized in midair.

  “The protective grid,” Jack remembered.

  “The Bulgarian built it years ago,” Blue explained. “He activated it a couple of days after we landed back on Elk Island. It’s impenetrable.” The Bulgarian had not only found a way to shut down the portals, he had activated an emergency lockdown of the entire island, a system he had helped developed as a cadet.

  “Can he make another instan
t portal?” Jack asked.

  “The instant portal he created used a customized atomic battery,” Blue said. “We don’t have the radioactive materials on Elk Island to build another one.”

  “So we really are trapped here.”

  “Maybe not. Rufus has been burning the midnight oil working through the vast collection of archives. He’s going back into our predata history for possible solutions. He’s found something that may help.”

  “What did he find?”

  Blue held a cautionary finger aloft. “Not until you’re fit. All of it is irrelevant until you’re back to your old self. We need you in fighting shape, Jack. Rufus will share what he’s found when it’s time.”

  Jack knew better than to argue. He stared across the ocean for a long minute, a lump rising in his throat. The world would never be the same. He was grateful his mother was on Elk Island. But what about Freddy’s mom and dad and Voss’s sister? Would they have escaped? Would Freddy and Voss get a chance to look for them?

  “Cynthia Thayer developed the Dark Virus,” Jack told Superior Blue. “But she also created the vaccine. Wyeth wanted people injected with it. He told Hans on the plane that it would evolve humankind. What were they being injected with?”

  Superior Blue shook his head. “We have no idea. But millions who were not darkened have received the vaccine over the past three months. We don’t know what we’ll discover when we find them,” he said. “Or what they will have become.”

  Jack walked out into the night. A light snow was falling, the first of the early winter. He didn’t care, he just didn’t want to sleep; he had been sleeping for weeks. He was having a hard time allowing himself to drift off into unconsciousness. He still feared what he would become in those moments.

  Jack ambled toward the main grounds. He passed the nearly empty Office of Reaper Engagement and made his way through the central part of Hadley. The academy was like a ghost town. Almost all of the operatives were on the other side of the portals, out in the world, unaccounted for. Many must have been killed. But surely not all. Jack wondered what was happening out there.

  He walked along the edge of the Long Woods, toward the odd assortment of instructor houses on the Bluffs, overlooking the icy river. He approached the third house along the line, marked by a tall entry arch, lancet windows, and an onion-domed roof that reminded Jack of the Taj Mahal. He pulled the knocker, a heavy iron ring in the jaws of a wolf.

  The wide door swung open. Looking tired and angry, his hair askew, stood the Bulgarian.

  “Jack!” Vladimir squinted at him.

  “You haven’t visited.”

  The Bulgarian hesitated. “I have been very busy.” He looked Jack over. “Are you cleared to walk around?” Jack nodded.

  But Vladimir’s irritation returned as he glanced at his watch. “Do you know what time it is?” he asked. “You will end up right back in a coma wandering around at night like this.”

  “I wanted to thank you, Vladimir. You tried to save our lives, back there in Times Square. With your giant.”

  The Bulgarian appeared caught off guard. “I also tried to kill you.”

  “I’m glad the saving part came last.”

  Vladimir rubbed his eyes, then swung the door open. “Come in.”

  The living room walls were covered with tapestries and intricately carved wooden masks of varied expressions and species. The room smelled of wood and old upholstery and spice. The Bulgarian left Jack momentarily, then walked back in and handed Jack a cup of tea.

  “This was Instructor Vishnarama’s home. He taught you Weaponized Chemistry, I believe.” Vladimir admired the walls. “They sent him out on one of the teams. Nobody has heard from him.”

  “What do you think happened?” Jack had liked Instructor Vishnarama. He was soft spoken, but he had a talent for making fatal concoctions. And his subtle delivery systems made him among the most dangerous of instructors.

  “Instructors are resourceful. Vishnarama knows how to survive.”

  “The grid—you really think it’s impenetrable?” Jack asked.

  “I know it is. I designed it as a cadet project. The Council wanted a lockdown procedure, something more than just the wall, something to cover the entire island,” Vladimir explained. “More importantly, I used a reverse surge to destroy the external power grid that controlled the portals. I had no choice—Pacifica had taken control of the grid. At any moment they could reopen the portals and attack Elk Island. We were vulnerable.”

  “If Pacifica can’t reopen the portals, we can’t either, right?” Jack asked. “Not without a power source. How do we get off the island then?”

  “My job was our immediate survival. Rufus is working on a way off the island. You’ll have to ask him.”

  Jack put down his tea and straightened up to face the Bulgarian. “You saw the truth, Vladimir,” Jack said solemnly. “Everyone thought you were crazy, or that your shadow spade had finally shown through and turned you to Wyeth’s side. But they were wrong. You were right to try to kill me. I was Wyeth.”

  “You were also the Guardian,” the Bulgarian corrected. “If I had killed you, the world would be without hope right now.”

  “I thought you didn’t believe I was the Guardian.”

  “You fell out of a plane a hundred miles south and landed in a silo on Elk Island eighteen feet in diameter. That is exactly what the Grays predicted. I am a scientist, Jack. I examine the evidence. And the evidence tells me you are exactly what they have waited for. You are something we’ve never seen before.”

  “I feel like a kid. I feel like everyone else.”

  “The Grays might say that’s why you are the only one who can restore humanity.”

  “I don’t know if I can do that.”

  The Bulgarian held up his hands. “Don’t misunderstand, Jack. The Order of the Grays had only thirteen prophecies. They have all been fulfilled. There are no more prophecies, other than this one: One Life for Many. You will determine what that means. The Grays said that the Guardian would bring hope. Hope is not the same as victory. It is up to you what you do next.”

  Jack nodded. “Whatever happens next, thank you for trying to save us, Vladimir.”

  “You’re welcome. I wish I had done a better job. And I owe you a great deal for saving me as well,” he said. “Which reminds me. I have something for you.”

  Petkov pushed himself up and went into the other room. He returned and handed Jack an object wrapped in silk cloth. Jack gave him a puzzled look but carefully opened the cloth. Inside was the Silo Blade. “How did you get this? Wyeth threw it down from the plane.”

  “The Silo Blade has been waiting for its owner for a long time, Jack,” Petkov told him. “It wasn’t about to let you go so easily. Your mother found it next to you in the silo the night you fell. It followed you down. She gave it to me for safekeeping.”

  Jack deployed the blade. The black flame lit up the room. He retracted it again and let it magnetize to his hip. “Thanks, Vladimir.”

  The Bulgarian gave a short nod. Then he motioned past Jack. “Somebody’s come looking for you.”

  Jack turned around. Claire was at the door. “What are you doing here?” Jack asked.

  “I wanted to make sure you got back okay,” Claire said, leaning against the door. “It’s late.”

  The Bulgarian stood and helped Jack to his feet. He wrapped a thick arm around Jack’s shoulder. “She’s right. You survived falling out of an airplane. It would be disappointing to see you die of a cold.”

  “I’ll walk him back, Vladimir, thanks.” Claire looked at Jack and took him by the arm.

  When they were outside, Claire slowed down. “The truth is I couldn’t sleep. I came looking for you because something’s been bothering me,” she said. “You know that Miles Watt was mind-scraped after I started talking, right?”

  “Yeah. Superior Blue demanded it.”

  Claire nodded. “Right. That’s the thing keeping me awake. Miles had one of the shadow spad
es. He was a Psionic. Superior Blue said he was one of the most powerful they’d ever seen. I saw it in the eyes of the instructors, in Suzuki and Santori—even they were wary of him,” she told Jack. “So of course I was so relieved when they took him and mind-scraped him. Until . . .” She paused for a long moment, watching the snow fall.

  “Until what?” Jack asked.

  Claire looked at him. “Until I remembered what they do with shadow spades that wash out. They’re too dangerous to return to society. They don’t just send them home.”

  Jack felt a pit in his stomach. “They send them to the Hadley Asylum.”

  CHAPTER 34

  The team was ready. It was time for Rufus to show them his discovery.

  THE LAST DOOR

  Little by little, Jack got back into shape. Every morning Claire showed up at his door at 6:00 a.m. Every day they ran a little longer, through snow and rain and freezing temperatures, until he was up to five miles. He had good days and bad days, but in the six months of training, Claire never left his side. She never left him behind, and she never let him give up. “Keep breathing, Jack,” she’d say without stopping.

  By the spring, Jack was ready. The team was ready. It was time for Rufus to show them his discovery.

  Team Thirteen followed Superior Blue, Rufus, and Maggie out the main gate and down the coast. The sun was warm on their necks and shoulders, and salt water spray misted up when the waves crashed against the rocks, cooling them.

  They turned inland at a wide cove. After a few more minutes of hiking, they reached the base of a towering waterfall. To its side was a grove of trees. Maggie immediately bounded into the water, her eyes squinting against the spray of the falls.

  Next to the water stood the ruins of a stone hut. Only the footprint was left. It had been recently excavated.

  “The Grays discovered this many years ago,” Blue told them. “They believed it to be part of the original Hadley Academy.”

  “What’s useful about the ruins of some stone house?” Voss asked.