Boom!

I was one of those kids with a 4.0 GPA. You know the type. A nerd, a geek, a dweeb. There were other names, you know what I’m talking about. My sister was just as smart as I was if not smarter. Basically, we were some of the smart kids. We excelled at everything. We were not the type that get bullied all the time. We had the interpersonal skills to fit in with any crowd. The jocks were not our friends, but they didn’t mind being seen with us. Most of them wanted to date her, didn’t care that she was that much younger. Most of them came to me for help with their homework. I guess that’s why they chose us.

I had never heard of Pine Lake until they knocked on my door. They told my parents how wonderful a school it was. With an environment suitable for learning, we would receive the best education possible.

The idea of a boarding school to me was the worst anyone could think of. Why would any parent think about sending their children away to school. Why would any loving parent put their children in the care of perfect strangers in some unknown location where they wouldn’t even see them for months. I never thought that they would agree with it. But they did.

“Did I do something wrong?” I asked. “Are you mad at me? Am I being punished?”

“No, Sweetheart!” My mother replied. “This is a good thing. This is to give you a better future. Both of you.”

“You’ll get college credits while in grade school.” My father cut in. “You’ll graduate by the time you’re 16.”

“And besides, you’ll still be together.”

That sounded good, but it felt like they were getting rid of us. I protested. But it did no good. It was not my decision to make. My parents had already made up their minds. They were sending us up the river. Putting us in the Big House. We were being shipped off to Pine Lake Prison, I mean boarding school.

One good thing about this whole mess was the fact that we got first class plane tickets from Florida to Northern California. We were treated like royalty. Zora was worried. “Are they being nice just because our parents are around?”

“We have no choice but to wait and see. Whatever happens, we’ll write Mom and Dad every day.”

“Agreed.”

The next day, Mom and Dad waved goodbye. They gave us hugs as we got ready to board the bus to our new school. We were told that it would be 3 months before we would see them again.

There were about 50 students on the bus. That wasn’t too much of a problem, I’m sure this bus could have held 100. So, we did have plenty of leg room. They were taken from schools across the country. Zora and I were the only ones from Florida. Rodney and Sandra, another brother and sister team, were from Illinois, Chicago, I think. Katherine and Dawson, twins, were from Sandy Springs, Georgia. Spenser and Shawn, brothers, were from Victoria, Texas. Fred and Barney, no relations, no pun, were from some town in Nevada. Gabbs, I think it’s called. I would list where everybody was from, but that’s not the point. These are the ones that became my friends.

There was a lot of chatter going on, but I didn’t really talk to anyone except Zora and didn’t have too much to say to her. I still was a little upset that our parents were sending us away. I did introduce myself to a few of them but not much more than telling them my name.

When we entered the long dark tunnel, everyone went silent. This had to be the longest and the darkest 25 minutes of my entire life. I’ve seen brighter lights with my eyes closed at night. This was pure blackness. The only lights were inside the bus. There were none outside. We could feel ourselves speed up but had no idea how fast we were going. It must have been over 90 miles per hour and speeding up. For a moment, we were stuck to the back of our seats. Coming out of the tunnel, everybody was shielding their eyes.

Our first 3 weeks at Pine Lake were wonderful. We were treated like royalty. We were waited on hand and foot. We were taught outdoors in peaceful environments. It was on an island. I assume somewhere in the Pacific. No traffic noises. No sounds from airplanes or helicopters. No gunshots or screaming. I really enjoyed it. We each had our own rooms. No need to share. The food was excellent. It was like we were going to school at a 5-star hotel. We even had 24-hour room service.

The teachers seemed kind. They didn’t make anyone feel stupid. I guess they couldn’t. We were all top of the class students. But that kind personality made learning easy. I actually enjoyed school.

Everything changed the following week.

We were told that the Hades virus had reached pandemic status. That it had hit every major city worldwide. Those that survived were taken to quarantine camps. I heard of this virus shortly after we heard of Pine Lake. Within 24 hours of contact with the virus, you are contagious. Another 24 hours and your fever start to rise. Another 24 hours and your body start to decompose. A fitting name for a virus if you ask me.

“We need to talk to Mom and Dad”, I told Zora.

“Yes. And quick.”

There was no answer. We tried again and again all day. If they were quarantined, they would have had to leave their phones behind. There would be no way to contact them. We would have to wait until the crisis was over.

“I’m scared, Bryan.”

“Don’t be. I’m sure they’re ok. Trust me.”

All outside activity stopped. Our beautiful surroundings were gone. We could only see it through the windows. It was after this that they started the medication. It would protect us just in case the virus made it our way. Just because we were secluded didn’t mean that we were completely protected. According to Mr. Zacchini, “a bird could drop in infected insect, and we all end up with it.” Thus began a life of daily medication. Wow! That’s what I expect to do when I’m a grandparent, not 12 and 14 years old.

The medication wasn’t that bad. Although I did feel like we were part of some scientific experiment, I must say that I felt healthier after taking them for a few weeks. Healthier, Stronger, Smarter. The others felt the same way.

Gregory was the first to get any kind of side effects. He was moved to a different building. All we knew was that something was wrong with his eyes. We were not given any details. Just told to remain calm. That the effects were temporary, and he would be back with us soon. But we didn’t see him after that.

Soon, Michael, Linda, Jeff, they all were taken away. They all had adverse side effects. We were not told what the problem was with either one of them. Our group of 50 was cut down to 26. Then the first death.

Launa was only 10 years old. It looked as if she was set on fire, but her clothes were not burned. “Could this be the virus?” more than one person asked. I knew that it couldn’t be. It was the first time I really felt that something strange was happening. After 2 more deaths and 3 more side effects, I was ready to demand answers.

I pounded on the director’s door but got no answer. “What’s up with adults not answering us.” I knocked harder and harder until sparks came out of my hand. The other with me gasped.

“How did you do that?” asked Rodney.

“I don’t know!”

“Bryan!” Zora cut in, “I have something to show you.”

She held up 1 hand, cupped it, and what looked like a ball of pure electricity appeared in the middle. “It started yesterday. And that’s not all.” She pointed a finger at the doorknob and a bolt of lightning shot from her finger and melted it.

“That’s it.”, Rodney said, “There’s no virus. They’re using us as Ghani Pigs. Experimenting on us with some kind of super-solider drug. That explains the other so-called side effects. Launa probably zapped herself in her sleep.”

We entered the room, but it was empty. “Wait”, Barney said, “There’s somebody here. I can hear them. More like I can feel them. Let’s get out of here.”

“But….”, I started to say that we need answers.

“Trust me.”

Trusting Barney, we all went back to the room. Shortly after, Mr. Zacchini and 2 others came into the room. We didn’t recognize the other 2 at first. It was Barney that noticed it first. “Greg! Jeff!”

“Since there’s no more need for secrecy”, Mr. Zacchini said, “Let me tell you the real reason you are here. You have all been enhanced for the betterment of mankind. Sort of a super-solider if that’s ok with you. You will be used by the US government to stop conflicts before they get too big. Some of you, like Geode and Jumper here, will be trained by me personally.”

“We got to get out of here.” I whispered to Zora.

“I agree. But do you have a plan.”

“I got part of one. We need to re-group later. Pass the word around. But just about re-grouping. See who’s on our side.”

Mr. Zacchini continued, “You will be used on my team. Help me out where others refuse to listen. Those on my team will become rich and famous.”

Some were cheering at the prospects. Others were disgusted. But we all put on a cheerful face.

It wasn’t too hard to figure out who wanted to put a stop to this. Barney was on our side right away. The drugs gave him the ability to read minds, as well as a few other things. He was a big help. He determined that Rodney, Sandra, Katherine, Dawson, Spenser, Shawn, and Fred were all on our side.

Mr. Z, as we started to call him, increased our dose of medication. Along with other drugs that he said would build our abilities even more. The other 10 gladly accepted it. He didn’t tell them that it also works as some kind of mind control. Make the submissive. Obey orders without question. Barney warned us about it. So, when we were given the black pills, we pretended to take them but didn’t.

We were called to display our abilities:

I was up first. I picked up a rubber ball. Held it in my hand for just a few seconds and threw it. Although I did through it was great speed, enough to rival any baseball pitcher, it didn’t impress Mr. Z. That is until a second later and the ball exploded with enough force to shake things off the walls. All he could do is smile and say, “You’ll get better.” My friends started calling me “Boom” after this.

The truth is that I could have done a lot better. First of all, I could have used the metal balls but that could have injured someone. And I could have used it a lot longer.

Anyway, we were all called. Barney didn’t show him that he could read minds. What we didn’t know was that he could move objects with his mind. Didn’t matter how heavy it was. He just thought, and the object moved. We called him “Brain.”

Dawson was up next, and Katherine came with him. “Excuse me”, Mr. Z, said. “We didn’t call you yet.”

“We come…” Katherine started.

“As a team.” Dawson continued. “You take both of us…”

“Or none of us.”

At this point, Dawson turned into a cute little dog, and then a fearsome wolf. At the same time, Katherine turned into a small kitten, and then a roaring lion. “Any Questions?” they both asked at the same time.

“Good! Good! Very useful.” Mr. Z responded. Of course, they could only be called “Kat” and “Dawg”.

Fred was able to pause or slow down time. We called him “Flux”. Rodney was called “Rock” because he could become harder than a diamond or soft enough to pass through solid objects. Sandra’s ability to change the weather gave he the name “Snow.” Spenser and Shawn became “Splash” and “Shake”. One controlled seismic activity the other could Breathe under water, control water, and control sea life. Zora was called “Zap.” I had a pretty wild team. In just a few days we would plan our escape.

The Escape Plan:

The first thing we needed to do was find out if our parents were still alive. That was the job for Brain. He was able to learn that all of the parents were told that we had all died. The phones here were routed to a fake number. They never even got our calls or messages.

Second was the deception.

Kat and Dawg made it appear as if some of the animals escaped from the lab. Security was chasing them all night. Flux was able to pause time but getting out of the building was still a problem. We needed time moving to open the doors. So, Zap came in and destroyed the cameras and alarm system. Of course, now, it was known that we were trying to escape. We had to get out quick. I grabbed a metal ball, held it for 10 seconds and threw it. Rock stood in front of us, hardened his body and protected us from the blast. Most of the building was destroyed.

Once outside, Snow took action. An ice bridge all the way back to the mainland. Shake was able to destroy the bridge as we walked so that no one could follow. Kat turned into a bird and Dawg into a fish. They were our guides, leading us in the right direction. Splash was able to keep the sea calm. Flux made it where we were long gone before they made it out the building to look for us. Now we could head home.

In hindsight, I believe that the explosion may have been a little bit much. Half the building was destroyed. Escaping from Pine Lake was not easy. Yet we knew it had to be done.

Once back on the mainland a disturbing thought came to my head. They can track us with our cell phones. We had to ditch them. “Anybody got money to get pre-paid phones.”

We all had debit cards. Nobody had cash. “Cards can be traced.”

“I’m not proud of it”, Zap said, “But I was able to get some cash.”

“What you do?” I asked.

Off in the distance was an ATM. It was smoking.

“Zora!”

“That’s not my name. Anymore. And besides, we need the money.”

Dawg was able to change his appearance to look like an adult version of himself.

“You look like Dad!”, said Kat.

He went into a nearby store and came out with 4 cell phones.

“This is all they had. We’ll have to get more from somewhere else.”

“That’s actually good.”, I said. “10 cell phones from one store might set off some kind of alarm.”

So, after 3 more stores, all 10 of us had cell phones. One side effect of the drugs they gave us was heightened intelligence. A stop at a hardware store and I was able to modify the cell phones where we have free unlimited service, voice, text and data, also, the GPS can’t be tracked except by each other.

“Now what?”, I asked.

“We all go home. Get bus tickets.”

We all said our goodbyes and went our ways home. When Zap and I arrived home, the house was completely empty. A search of the house revealed one thing. A box with a letter attached. Inside the box was a basic pre-paid phone. A flip-phone. I’ve heard of these but never saw one.

The letter was simple: “Not wise to leave us. If you wish to see them again, answer the phone.”

The phone rings.

“Hello!”

TO BE CONTINUED