Michael Vey: Rise Of The Elgen Part 42

"Me too," Ian said. "Toss one this way."

Raul laughed and said to Ostin, "Vendes muy bien. Puedes trabajar en el carro de frutas de mi mama."

Ostin laughed.

"What did he say?" McKenna asked.

"He said I'm a good salesman. And I can have a job at his mother's fruit cart."

Jack took water and food to Abigail and Zeus. The night before, at the first sound of thunder, Jack and Abigail had carried Zeus into the sloping, deep roots of a kapok tree, then covered him with an additional canopy of brush. Jack handed Abigail a bottle and she took a quick drink, then held it to Zeus's lips.

Zeus raised his hand. "I can hold it," he said.

"How are you feeling?" Jack asked.

"I think the aloe vera is helping."

Jack brought out a crusted loaf of bread and offered it to Abigail. "I brought this."

She tore off a piece and handed it to Zeus, then took a piece for herself. "I'm so hungry," she said.

"Try this," Jack said, handing her a cherimoya.

"What is it?" she asked. "Actually, never mind, I don't care what it is. I'll eat anything."

Jack peeled a fruit for Zeus and handed it to him.

"I've had one of these before," he said. "In Costa Rica. Thanks."

"No problem," Jack said.

After the food was gone Jack handed Abigail the gauze. "We should wrap him in this. It will help keep his burns from getting infected."

"Thank you," Zeus said. He turned to Abigail. "Could you give Jack and me a moment to talk?"

She looked at him quizzically. "But your pain . . ."

"I can take it for a few minutes. And you need the rest."

"Okay." She stood up. "Bye." She walked over to McKenna.

When she was gone Zeus said to Jack, "Why are you being so nice to me? I shocked you twice."

Jack grinned. "Yeah, but what did I call you? Lightning stink? I deserved to get shocked."

Zeus looked at him somberly. "I'm serious. Abi told me what you did in the compound. How you ran through the rats to save me."

Jack sat down next to Zeus. "Not something I hope to do again soon."

Zeus just looked at him. "Really, why did you do it?"

Jack didn't answer immediately, though his expression turned more serious. When he spoke his voice was low and sincere. "We may have our differences-or maybe they're really our similarities-but anyone who's willing to sacrifice his life for his friends is a true hero. I'd award you the Medal of Honor if I could."

For a moment Zeus was speechless. Then he said, "About Abi . . ."

Jack lifted his hand. "We don't have to talk about her."

"I know. But if you want a shot at her, I'll step aside."

Jack looked down at him. "I don't think she's going to be leaving your side anytime soon," he said. "Besides, that's not really our choice, is it?"

"I'm just saying, I owe you."

"No you don't. But I'd be proud to be your friend."

"Me too," Zeus said. They clasped hands and Zeus grimaced a little, hiding his pain.

Jack stood. "I'll get Abi."

"Thank you."

He took a few steps, then turned back. "Semper Fi."

Zeus smiled. "Semper Fi."

After everyone had eaten, Taylor and Ostin called the group together. Jack and Abigail helped Zeus over, though he insisted on walking himself.

In the center of their camp Ostin had drawn a diagram of the Elgen compound in the dirt, using rocks and leaves to designate buildings.

"This is where we are," Ostin said, pointing to a spot a few inches from the compound, using a long, slender stick. "And this is where we came from the pipe. Over here, about four hundred yards from us, is the pump house. Earlier today Ian and I sneaked over to take a look at it. Even though it's outside the compound it's still within view of the guard towers, which means we'll have to camouflage ourselves to get to it. Right here is the side where the water is controlled."

"There's also a barbwire fence around it," Ian said. "But it's easy to climb over."

"Or under," Ostin said. "When we blow this thing, it's going to be like a fire hydrant on steroids. We'll be hiding over here behind these rocks when we set off the dynamite. The northeast guard tower is only fifty yards from the pump house and it's equipped with two fifty-caliber Browning machine guns. Those bad boys spit bullets longer than my foot and can pretty much mow down anything in the jungle, so hiding behind a tree won't do much good. Stay clear until the place goes dark."

"I'll explain the next part," Taylor said. "After the sun sets we'll split up into three groups. Ian, McKenna, Ostin, and I are in group one. We'll set the dynamite at the pump house and keep an eye on the bowl. Ian will tell us when it's time to blow the pump and the generators.

"Group two is Jack, Zeus, Abi, and Wade." She looked at Jack. "Your job is to blow the fuel and diesel generators. You won't be able to get close, so you'll have to throw the dynamite, and Zeus will have to set it off. The oil drums are about thirty yards behind the fence. What's the farthest you can hit, Zeus?"

"I can hit them," Zeus said.

"Good," Taylor said. "Ian will be watching for when the bowl is hottest, which is at feeding time. When we tell you, you'll blow the pumps. Ian's been able to confirm that there are eighteen forty-two-gallon drums as well as the tanks connected to the generator. There are fourteen sticks of dynamite in each pack, so you'll each take one pack. Combined with all that oil, that's going to make one big explosion. The generator is only fifty yards from the guard barracks, so with some luck we'll set them on fire as well."

Ostin jumped in. "Diesel puts out a lot of thick smoke, so it will help create confusion and panic, but it has one potential problem-it's not as flammable as gasoline, so it's going to be harder to get this right. Remember, our primary goal is to shut down the generator. So make sure that the dynamite is close to the generator and blows up the tanks first. Just hitting the barrels might not be enough. Are you clear on that?"

"Got it," Jack said. "Hit the generator and hope the barrels come along for the ride."

"Exactly. As soon as we hear your explosion, we'll blow the pump house. We'll be close enough to lay a fuse, which McKenna will light. Without water the power plant should go down within three to five minutes."

"One question," Zeus said. "How are you going to signal me when it's time to blow our dynamite?"

Taylor looked at Ostin. "We didn't think of that," she said. "Maybe we could do a bird call."

"The guards are closer to you than we are," Jack said. "They'll hear."

Ostin squeezed his chin. "Hmm."

"I have an idea," McKenna said. "Didn't you say there's a barbwire fence outside of the compound?"

"Yes," Ostin said. "But don't worry, it will be easy to get through."

"I'm not worried about that," McKenna said. "How long is the fence?"

"It extends almost the whole length of the north side," Ian said. "How come?"

"What I'm thinking is that Taylor should switch to group two, and then she and Ian could both hold on to the wire. When it's time to blow, Ian just thinks that it's time, then Taylor hears his thoughts and signals Zeus. That way there's no sound or anything that might alert the guards."

Ostin just gaped at her. "That's brilliant."

"Thank you," she said with a slight smile.

"That is a good idea," Taylor said. "So maybe Wade and I should switch places."

Wade nodded. "I'm good with that."

"Then what?" Abigail asked.

"After we've blown the dynamite," Ostin said, "we'll regroup halfway between the pump house and the generator, then Taylor, Ian, McKenna, and I will climb through the fence and rescue Michael. Ian thinks that Michael is being held in the same place Tanner was."

"What about the rest of us?" Mrs. Vey said.

Taylor turned. "You, Tanner, and Raul are group three. Since you and Tanner are still recovering, we decided it's best that you get an early start to our meeting point. Raul will lead you back to where we entered the compound."

Ostin added, "We left some of Raul's friends tied up there and we need to free them."

Taylor nodded. "After we've got Michael, we'll meet you there, then we'll all hike together to the pickup point. Sound good?"

Mrs. Vey nodded.

"I almost forgot," Ostin said, looking at Tanner. "The Elgen have four helicopters. If they put any up, you take them down."

"With pleasure," he said. "I hope they come after us."

"We're kicking their hive," Ostin said. "I think you can count on it."

There was a video monitor in my prison cell that played a continuous loop of the rats at feeding time. The Elgen guards were generally cruel, but I'm sure this was done on Hatch's orders. He would do anything he could to increase my suffering. And he'd enjoy it. I think that deep inside he was sorry he had to kill me, but only because he couldn't do it more than once.

I had been in the cell (in the same cellblock where we had found Tanner) for less than twenty-four hours, but it felt much longer. Security around me was tight, with a guard outside my door and two inside. The truth was, they didn't even need a locked door. Drained of my electricity, I couldn't even leave the cot, let alone my cell.

The RESAT box still fastened to me was like having Nich.e.l.le sitting on my chest, drawing out all my energy-only the box was much more powerful than Nich.e.l.le was. The only bodily functions that seemed undisturbed by the machine were my tics, which, unfortunately, never seemed to take a break. Especially now. My eyes stung from all my blinking.

Then a thought came to me-a small spark of hope. Maybe the Elgen had locked me up not to keep me in the cell but to keep my friends out. Maybe my friends are still trying to save me after all. I had mixed feelings about this. Of course I wanted to be rescued. I was terrified by what was to come. But, realistically, there was no way they could save me-and the only thing worse than dying would be to watch everyone I loved suffer and die too. I couldn't think about that option. I hoped they had followed my instructions and made it to the pickup site. At least then my death would have mattered for something.

That morning I had visitors. Tara, Bryan, Quentin, and Torstyn. This time Tara came as herself. I had seen Bryan and Quentin at the academy, but I had seen Torstyn only when Ian pointed him out as we escaped from Re-Ed through the a.s.sembly hall.

I knew there were other electric kids, seventeen in all, but Hatch had told me the last four were dead. But here was Torstyn-so Hatch was lying after all.

The guard opened the door, and Tara was the first in, her lip curled in a mocking sneer. "Oh, Michael, you're so cute. I'm so in love with you." She laughed. "So you're all kissy with my pathetic sister?"

Bryan shook his head. "What an idiot."

Quentin walked up to my side, his mouth stretched in a confident grin. "You really thought you could take us on? You're delusional, man. You're getting what you deserve."

I turned away from them. Torstyn grabbed my chin and pulled my head back. "I didn't say you could look away from us. You want me to fry you, lover boy?"

In spite of my weakness I said, "Try."

The other youths looked at Torstyn, wondering if he would. He just stared at me. "You know I would if Hatch let me."

"Your master won't let you?" I said. "Maybe he'll let you lick his shoes."

Torstyn scowled. "Watch your mouth or I'm gonna mess you up, man."

"Real tough threatening me when I'm locked up. Let me out and you can show everyone how tough you really are."

Torstyn looked stumped, caught between his ego and his fear of Hatch.

"Don't worry about it, Torstyn," Quentin said. "The rats will take care of him."

"That's your name?" I said. "Torstyn? They named you after a wrench?"

Torstyn turned red. When he finally spoke he said, "You're stupid."

"Wow," I said. "Is that your superpower? Your brilliant vocabulary?"

Torstyn blushed again.

Quentin intervened. "Hey, Vey, you're going to love this. We just talked to the dudes at the chute. They said they can slow the conveyor belt, so we can prolong the fun. The rats can eat you a couple of inches at a time."

"Awesome," Bryan said. "Wouldn't it be cool if Dr. Hatch, like, made a game of it and let him run across the bowl? They could even make it a contest. If he gets to the other side and back, he can go free. It would be like dropping a gra.s.shopper on an anthill. We could, like, make bets on how far he gets."

"Hey, Bryan, wouldn't it be cool if you had half a brain?" I said. "Did you know these guys all think you're an idiot? Zeus told me all about it."

Bryan looked back and forth between them. "No, they don't. They're my boys."