The Cube

2026... Earth... Three governments control the World. MC is a young girl who changes her identity to enroll into a “High Society” Academy. The question is… what is the Academy? And, what is "New Mecca

Rachel Barnard and Patrick Lambert

THE CUBE " EPISODE 1 " RAINY SEASON

Copyright © 2012 Imagine Group USA, Inc.

All Rights Reserved. Published in the United States by Imagine Books, a division of Imagine Group USA, Inc., New York, and in Canada by Imagine Group of Canada Limited, Toronto.

 

Imagine is a registered trademark of Imagine Group, Inc.

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

 

 

The Cube " Episode 1 - Rainy Season

 

            I ran outside as thunder boomed to meet me. Rain streamed down in little waterfalls. Lightning cracked and the sky shook fearfully. I ran under the downcast sky and twirled. Puddles formed beneath my moving feet. Rain dripped down my nose and my hair lay wet against my head. My clothes were soaked through, but I was not cold. I was exuberant, I loved life and life loved me. I ran up and down the street, dancing to the feelings inside of me. I didn’t feel the cold or the wet raindrops splashing down around me. The puddles around me formed a pool and slowly, ever so slowly, they crept up my ankles. My dancing stopped; my shoes were too full of water for my waterlogged feet to move.  All that was left was a light drizzle. The sun pushed away any remaining clouds and shone bright and true. My body moved sluggishly toward the drooping shed. I went around to the back and pulled out my kayak. I hopped in the knee-deep water and pushed my kayak forward. I jumped in and paddled toward the sun, shedding water as I glided effortlessly like a swan across the smooth surface. Around and around our little ditch I went, laughing at the hilarious picture I must have made.  There I was, an emerging adult at seventeen, and I was kayaking in three feet of water, in our ditch, still soaked through.

            Several hours later, I was in bed cozying up to my teddy bear, under my fluffy comforter. Freshly showered, my skin felt tingly; under my clean sheets. I turned on my back and gazed up at my ceiling. The cat’s eyes from my ceiling poster stared back at me. Four sets of eyes from my roommate’s Beatles poster, also pinged on the ceiling, fell on me. Side by side, all eyes fell on me. Jeanie made a muffled sound and rolled over in the bed next to mine. She was a pretty sound sleeper, but she had a tendency to talk in her sleep. At the Academy, where everyone kept secrets, Jeanie’s bedside habits did not do her well. As a roommate, I knew more than anyone about her. She had once talked about a crush she had on our self-defense instructor in her sleep-murmurs. She was pretty cool though, and mostly kept to herself when she was awake.

            More so than Jeanie, I never told anyone my secrets. They would get me expelled. I was careful never to get too close to anyone and after three years at the Academy no one really knew who I was. I shuffled my blankets off my feet and rolled over onto my stomach. Time to sleep. I needed my sleep. Tomorrow the fourth years are going to start their training in the Cube and I wanted to be ready. In this last year, I needed to prove myself capable. It was very important for me to rise to the top of my class and the Cube was crucial to my success. If I failed now, all my hard work would be for nothing.

            To get to sleep I started to tell a narrative in my mind. It always helped me to concentrate on something as benign as a story. I liked to create the same story every time but with different details. A great ravine formed in my mind. The rocks were dull and covered in a dust that swirled through the air and whipped into my eyes. I took to the skies in flight and swept up and down the drafts of wind, getting caught up in the particle clouds coating my wings in a fine layer of brown dust. I swooped up and down and found my usual spot within the rock wall, a narrow slit that formed my cave. I could have reached it easily from climbing down the wall, but would never have found it without a panoramic view from 100 feet above the narrow racing river below and 20 feet out from the rocks, suspended in the air. I raced for the crack and stopped short as soon as I was encased in the cool rocks. A slight outcropping of rock kept the raging winds out and I settled down in my favorite chair, a little droopy from all the years since I had created it and sat in it. I contemplated my surroundings: a small dingy bed that had started to sag in the middle, a wooden table that would have made any dining room proud with its elegant dark designs, and finally, a coat rack that stood in an empty corner. I never knew why I imagined a coat rack; I never had on a coat while I was flying around in my swirling ravine. I got up from the chair and ran to the edge of my little cave and jumped.

            The alarm sounded exactly at 6:00 AM. Jeanie hit the snooze button and rolled over.

            “Come on, girlie time to partay!” I said.

            She just mumbled something unintelligible. I knew she would get up as the second snooze rang, so I let her be. I didn’t really want to talk anyway, no sense getting familiar. I still found it funny to imitate the other girls now and then with their ridiculous mannerisms and phrasings. Then again, they all came from upper class backgrounds and had nothing else to do but gossip and lay about before the Academy chose them. I, on the other hand, had better things to do.

            I pulled on my requisite outfit for the Cube, like a spandex outer layer of skin. I swear they had not updated these outfits in years, and before that they had probably copied them straight out of all the old sci-fi movies with virtual reality games. Whatever. I didn’t care and they were designed to allow complete range of motion. I started my morning stretches, pulling the fabric this way and that, as I readied my throwing arm.

            As I walked through the dark hallway out of the building towards the Cube; I messed with the settings on my suit. I changed the color from the school’s standard black fabric and white middle screen on the chest plate to my favorite, tie-dye. Each player was part of a four-man team and ultimately the colors would reflect that but when not actually competing; the suit could be altered to reflect any individual’s desired colors. I saw blues, reds, and a multitude of rainbow suits walking or jogging impatiently outside. This was our chance to shine. We had been training for this moment, strategy classes, psychology and human behavior, anatomy, etcetera; all designed to help us in this moment of competition. Of course, only fourth years were allowed on the Cube itself but every week we practiced on the grass fields behind the building.

            The Cube loomed ahead, a large mundane structure, at least five stories tall. Large castle-sized doors were open and our trainers were standing at the entrance ready to scan our identity chips. I held out my wrist and the machine beeped in recognition. The first time I had to get scanned, I had nearly freaked out in anticipation. What if it didn’t accept me? Slowly I had gotten over my fears that I would be caught. I relaxed outwardly and continued walking through the large wooden double doors, looking up to read the motto I had heard a thousand times at the Academy, “Aim with all your ammunition and you lose your chance to succeed.” The first time I saw it; I was puzzled but back then I had never heard of the Academy before or the Cube or knew what the matches were. Simple really, the meaning: Aim with your entire round of ammunition and you would lose because you had more than one enemy. Take down one and you leave yourself defenseless from the rest.            Some other student told me, “You better have accurate aim because you can’t be using the entire fireball on one and frankly you can’t even divide it into fourths either, you have to take tiny pieces. You better break off and use a marble sized ball because it’s rough out there.”

            “I don’t understand” I had replied.

            He laughed and stated back, “You will.”

            During my first years at the Academy, the upper classmen were never very informative. They were too busy to explain anything to the noobs like me. I had to learn the hard way. I had never played before; I didn’t come from that kind of background, no grooming for the Academy or anything. The very first field day we had, we divided into several teams of four. I was handed my fireball, my ammo: a round spherical ball. I watched as my three teammates took small pinches off to get ready. I did the same. The stuff smelled like electric clay. It felt powerful. The trainer told us to get ready. We all stuck our back feet firmly on the ground and held our small pinches in our right hands, except Jeanie, she’s left handed. She held her fireball in her right hand. Our outfits had turned purple in unison and we stood against four yellow-clad girls. They glared at us. Several blow up obstacles stood between us and them; a large cylindrical red piece, a couple rectangles and several cubes. Obstacles to the team that took the offensive but great walls of defense to the team that hung back. Looking around at the sweet and innocent smile on Jeanie’s face and the diminutive frames of the other two girls; I assumed we would be using the objects for the latter objective.

            The whistle blew and I saw bits of yellow flying toward our end of the field. Our team took off as well. The two small girls leapt to the right, behind the cylinder, and Jeanie and I headed to the left. The yellow team came around the cylinder and threw their small weapons. One of the small girls on my team screamed as one of the small balls of ammo made contact. Her body froze for an instant and she looked terrified, as she slumped to the ground. Confusion hit me for a second as I looked down at the ball of ammo I held in my right hand, what did it do? I didn’t wait for long to figure it out; as the yellow team took down the other small girl and started rounding on Jeanie and I. We both looked at each other and then hopped over the rectangle in front of us. This obstacle was quite large and shielded us from view from the yellow team momentarily. The other blown up squares were nearby and Jeanie made as if to run for them but, I pushed her down and scrunched up beside her. The first yellow girl flew over the obstacle and I chucked my little ball at her but it missed. Jeanie, without missing a beat, threw hers and it contacted; down the girl came, confusion playing all over her face. The second and third yellow team members were right behind the first and Jeanie and I took both of them down as well. The fourth yellow girl had caught on and was hanging back, waiting for us to show ourselves, or perhaps she was sneaking around the far square? I couldn’t tell but it was time to move. Jeanie was a lot smaller than I; so I put her right behind me and motioned for her to use me as a shield, and take out the yellow girl when she appeared. Roaring like a madwoman the final yellow girl rounded the far square obstacle and a huge orb hit me square in the chest.

            It was like being hit by a thousand fireflies from inside and as they burst out of me, I collapsed to the ground. Jeanie did not wait a moment as she rose up from behind my falling body and threw her entire fireball; as well, surprising the yellow girl, who now only had half her ammo left and didn’t have time to throw it or move as her momentum from throwing the other half at me was still carrying her straight towards the oncoming electric storm. Jeanie beamed proudly and tried to pull me up by my arm but, I was paralyzed and much too heavy for her to lift.

            Suddenly, I could hear cheering, as our other classmates clapped for our victory and the show we had put on. The trainer appeared, frowning. She pressed a button and suddenly I could move again. The other players were allowed movement as well and we all started to stand up.

            “Heroic but ineffective. You will now play the red team. Angela, Jade, Quinn, Ashley, You’re up.” She shouted at four of the girls sitting on the side. Their uniforms started to morph in color: a deep shade of crimson.

            “You do know that you are only allowed one fireball per game and each game will last until there is only one team left. I see that you have sacrificed your entire ball Jeanie, and you have used more than half of yours Molly. You do not get any more.” With that she blew her whistle and the second game had begun. Confused over what to do without any ammo, Jeanie hung back and looked pathetic. Now we were like a three man team against the fresh, ‘blood thirsty’ scarlet team.

            “Now you see what it is like to continue a fight after a victory. You will have many victories but you will also have many battles. Aim with all your ammunition and you lose your chance to succeed.” The trainer looked at Jeanie as she said this and then continued, “Learn to be accurate with smaller pieces, so that you don’t sacrifice yourself as a useful player to your team.”

            That night I slumped down in bed. I was physically exhausted and my arm was starting to feel a deep and enduring tiredness that I would come to get familiar with as the physical training continued. I reached my sore right arm up to the ceiling, nearly touching the cat’s glazed eyes and sighed. It had been a straining day, pretending to know all the rules of the game while in fact learning on the spot. I had to mask any surprise and anxiety I had felt while on the field; and suppressing my emotions had drained me more than chucking smaller and smaller balls, at the opposing teams.

            I started drifting off; running along the ravine, running with the rabbits, my hair whipped around my face. I was wearing one of those long and flowing white gowns, which was thin but somehow not see through. The dress curled around my legs protectively, letting go every now and again but coming back to meet my ankles every time. I laughed and ran faster, waving my arms like windmills and then suddenly taking to the air and flying up, up, up into the sky. I spun around and then stopped moving and for a second all physics stopped before I plummeted feet first; back down to the bottom of the ravine. The water rushed to meet my bare feet but I spun so my body was parallel to the river… just as my dress leaned down and dipped into the water. I took off, now aligned with the river, dragging my hem along, splashing droplets everywhere.

 

 

Rachel Barnard and Patrick Lambert

THE CUBE " EPISODE 2 " PUNISHMENT

Copyright © 2012 Imagine Group USA, Inc.

All Rights Reserved. Published in the United States by Imagine Books, a division of Imagine Group USA, Inc., New York, and in Canada by Imagine Group of Canada Limited, Toronto.

 

Imagine is a registered trademark of Imagine Group, Inc.

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

 

 

Cover design by Imagine Graphics

 

 

The Cube - Episode 2 - Punishment

 

            I walked through the doors and into the Cube, rubbing my wrist where the scanner had touched it absentmindedly. I looked up. I saw the sky. A blue window, same color as the river in the ravine, but a stark contrast to the grey material that encased me. I went over and touched the nearest wall. It looked so solid yet yielded slightly to the touch. I pushed in with my finger and it gave a little more. I let up and it sprung back slowly to its original dimensions. I never tired of touching the Cube and I knew that it was designed to slow a fast-moving body without breaking any limbs.

            “Looking for the secret pathways?” A voice joked behind me. I whipped around, pushing my hand in my pocket and putting a glare of contempt on my face.

            “You know those don’t actually exist” I hissed at the squat shoulders of Johnny Italiano. His real name was actually Jonathan Borelli but everyone called him Johnny Italiano because he was a stereotypical Italian. He laughed as if I was a child who had just discovered that fire was hot by burning my hand. I tried to raise on my heels a little to lessen the height difference between us. He was massive, over 6 feet tall and 3 straight years of weightlifting and physical training had increased his massiveness tenfold. His strength was impressive and our body-tight outfits magnified his bulk even more. He snorted at me and then walked off to chat with Barbie, another mammoth human. Her parents must have fed her steroids when she was a baby because she was almost as tall as Johnny and also packed superman muscles beneath her uniform. I held in my snide comment and put my hand back on the wall and trailed my fingers along the coolness, making my way around the football-sized arena, waiting for the first bouts. After everyone checked in at the entrance, 4-man teams would be formed at random and the first two teams would be announced. I knew that I would only have 5 minutes to find my teammates before becoming an easy target for Johnny and his gang. I remembered the first time I had met Johnny

            I had been so lonely my first few weeks at the Academy. I didn’t have any friends and I didn’t want any. I couldn’t afford to have friends. I could tell that my roommate wanted to be my friend but I had tried to spend all my free time outside the room and only come home late and fall into bed, silent. She didn’t push the friend issue after the first two days and I was glad; but at the same time depressed at how my life was going to be over in the next couple of years.

            I had taken to spending my free time wandering the grounds of the Academy. I had discovered the shed in the back of the school with random goodies, like the kayak. At first glance it didn’t look very seaworthy and was coated in a layer of dust. I had wiped it clean and checked it over for holes. It looked like it was only scuffed with chipped and faded paint. I dragged it over the grass until I had finally made it to the lake. By that point I was very red in the face and panting. I was a skinny girl with very little strength when I first came to the Academy but that had soon changed. I pushed the tip of the kayak into the rippling water, holding onto the front end with my other hand. It floated calmly and I delicately stepped in. It lowered a bit and a ripple pushed outward from the craft. I fished the cracked paddle from the bottom and a hidden spider scuttled away from me. I pushed off from the bank with the end of the paddle and glided toward the center of the lake. The kayak creaked but held firmly together. Excellent, it was a bit cold for swimming. I was too tired from dragging the boat to the water to do much more than drift lazily and occasionally steer with the paddle; but even this was glorious.

            On my way back it was around sunset when I saw the boy. He stood, framed by the setting sun. Tall and tan, he started walking towards me. I had stopped walking when I saw him and waited for him until he was within speaking distance.

            “You’re not supposed to go there.” He stated.

            “Go where.” I answered innocently.

            “Beyond the grounds of the Academy.” He responded, “Didn’t you get the memo?” I answered him by hefting the kayak up the slight hill again. He laughed.

            “They sure are getting desperate. However did you pass the entrance physical exams? It looks like you’ve been half-starved. Can you even lift 50 pounds?”

            I decided not to answer but continued dragging the kayak back along my scuff trails I had made earlier. He didn’t leave, but kept badgering me all the way back to the shed.

            “So where’d you grow up, Hollyville? Knoxwood? Definitely not Denman, don’t look smart enough. I bet you can’t even throw a boot” He was getting on my nerves so I shot back.

            “Why in hell would I want to throw a damn boot?”

He laughed again.

            “So she speaks.” He said. I shook my head and waited to see if he would say anything more.

            “You don’t even know!” He seemed surprised. I gave him a searching look and he said again, “You don’t even know?” now he seemed a bit more questioning.

            “I can throw a boot as far as you can!” I yelled back, my anger rising. We had reached the shed. I brought the kayak in and turned it over, to drip dry on the floor.

            “Oh really?” he teased, looking me up and down. “Well, throw this” and with that he stepped back and shut the shed door. I ran back to the door and tried the handle. The handle moved but the door remained motionless. I rattled the handle and heard muffled laughter beyond.

            “For your information Noob, we have a boot toss every field day and I ALWAYS win. Obviously they let you in to make the rest of us look even better by comparison ‘cuz obviously you’re weak AND brainless.” I put my ear to the door and heard him walking away. At this point, the last of the light was fading fast and in the shed it was even darker. The one window that let in the light was too high to reach and too small for me to fit in, even with my skinny form. I looked around, to see if anything could help me escape. I knew that the doors were solid and heavy, after struggling to open them earlier. Even the hatchet rusting in the corner wouldn’t be much help to me. I doubted many people used the shed, from all perspectives it looked abandoned. In a rage of loneliness and frustration I kicked the door. When nothing happened I screamed loudly and kicked the far wall. Still nothing, except now my foot ached from the force of my kick. I jumped up and down in a display of juvenile immaturity. The floor made an odd sound. I stopped jumping and looked down. I wiped some dirt to the side of the wooden floor and saw what looked like a hidden handle. I pulled it around and up, so that it was standing on end. A round wooden ring sat in my hand, so I pulled on it and felt the ground shake beneath my feet. I shoved more dirt aside and noted the fine crack running in a square, stepped off this area and pulled the handle again. The trap door opened. I looked down at the stone steps under me. How convenient, I thought, just like in a novel or movie. I was a little trepidatious of the dark but I had no other choice. Using my hands as guides, I stepped down and then down some more. I pulled the door back over my head, covering my tracks, just in case the boy came back. The stone was even colder than the passage was dark. I kept one hand in front of my face, to protect it against what I couldn’t see and the other hand pressed firmly against the wall; leading me forward. After what seemed like ages, my hand hit a corner and then curved around to meet a wall in front of my face. I hoped I had not missed a left turn in the pitch black. I hoped again, that this was the entrance to whatever it was the entrance to. I prayed dearly that this underground passage was in fact a passage; and not a bomb shelter or something. I was relieved to feel a handle and pushed but nothing happened. Oh no, I thought, what if you could only open it from the other side? I panicked and pushed with my whole body on the rock and shouted and shouted, but I heard nothing in return. My hand was glued whitely to the handle and I slumped back in frustration, forgetting to unwind my hand. I fell backward, pulling the handle with me as the door opened inward. I peered up into darkness. Another passage perhaps? I put my hands out in front of me and felt in the air for a wall, nothing. To the side of the door I felt; rather than, saw a book fall in a clump to the ground. Books? Why would I be in complete darkness at a wall with books? I stepped out into the open, keeping my hand on the wall with the books and quietly shut the door behind me. I leaned down and picked up the book that had fallen and clumsily shoved it back on the bookshelf, horizontally across the top of the vertically stacked books. I didn’t bother feeling for its original placement because it would have been too hard in the dark.

            Feeling along the wall I continued in my pursuit of light and my warm and welcoming bed. My shins knocked into what felt like a large chair. After rounding a wall or two I came to another door, this one a normal wooden door. I pushed this one open and found a glimmer of light in the distance, on the wall above me. There was a set of stairs that looked like it rounded a corner. I climbed up to the lighted wall and saw that another set of stairs ninety degrees to the left… led up into the light. After spending as long as I did in complete darkness, this dazzling light was a little difficult to stand and I squinted; but kept stepping upward, toward the light.

            I ended up in the basement. I did not know a basement could have its own basement? I didn’t know what the book room would be called but it was definitely a place I would be revisiting during the daytime or at least with a flashlight. The basement was a place I had been to but I guess I had not noticed the flight of stairs; because they were placed in such a way that one would not notice them, unless one knew they already existed or if one was very observant. Since I had been to this basement before, I knew how to get back to my room from there. I did not, however, go straight to my room. First I had to undo whatever the boy had put on the shed to keep it from opening; so he would think I had gotten out through the shed’s door. Minutes later I was standing outside my room, satisfied with the day’s events. Getting locked in the shed had turned out to be a good thing after all and now I knew to stay away from that lug head. Far away. I opened my room door and immediately was met by a flying creature that jumped straight at me.

            “Jeanie!” I breathed, “You’re strangling me.”

            “Oh! Sorry.” She giggled but let go. “I was so worried about you. Johnny told everyone that you drowned in the lake, going for a late afternoon swim!”

            “Who?” I countered.

            “Johnny Italiano. Tall. Muscular.” She emphasized his tallness with her hands, marking the air. “Everyone knows Johnny. His parents are famous!”

            “Oh well, of course Johnny. I was joking.” I faked. I had let my guard down but she hadn’t caught my blunder and continued babbling.

            “He came running into the dining hall and yelled out for everyone to hear that he saw you going to the lake. He said he told you that you weren’t allowed to go there, Academy rules. He said he followed you and tried to convince you to go back but you wouldn’t listen. He said you ran to the lake and jumped in but didn’t come back up. He wanted to jump in after you but he can’t swim; you know after the California incident he never wants to go back into water.” I swear she had not breathed through this entire outburst. She spent a few moments regaining her breath and then looked at me, waiting for an answer.

            “He lied.” I stated simply. I didn’t want to tell her about the kayak. I didn’t want to tell her about anything. I didn’t know if she could be trusted. I knew I would need allies, but I didn’t know anyone well enough for details yet. My old self would have immediately gossiped about Johnny and what he had done; and about the super-secret passageway but I was a different person now. I was MC now, upper-class daughter of a senator.

            “Come on, give me more than that! Did you really disobey the rules?” She pleaded.

I decided to be brief, “I went to the lake but I didn’t drown, obviously.” I said.

            “Then why did it take you so long to get back?” She asked.

            “What time is it?” I inquired. The red lines of the clock read 12:13. “Shouldn’t you be asleep by now?”

            “What? With you being dead, well not really but the whole school is excited. They say that no one has died here for 25 years! And that was a suicide!” She ended in an excited whisper.

            “Well, I’m not dead but I’m really tired. I’m going to bed.” I responded.

            “You can’t do that, you have to tell the headmaster… um… that you’re alive.” She said back. Damn I didn’t want to do any more talking about it. Already I was getting too much attention, the wrong kind of attention. It was still the first week. I didn’t want to be found out! I had to come up with a better story but I couldn’t say anything Johnny would disagree with. I decided there was only one thing to do.

            Johnny’s room was on the other side of the building. His door was locked but he kept a spare key above his doorframe. Idiot. I silently opened the door; my hunter’s knife at the ready, at my side. I let my eyes adjust to the darkness as I slid the door closed behind me. I spotted Johnny, his oversized feet dangling at the end of his twin bed. I tiptoed over to his bed, glancing at his roommate’s bed for signs of life as I did. I held my knife out at Johnny’s throat.

            “Don’t move.” I croaked. He opened his eyes sluggishly and opened his mouth a little more quickly to shout something but he never got the chance. I put my hand over his mouth and spoke again. “Any sudden movements and you’re dead! Never, ever mess with me again or I will slit you from nose to...” I indicated my intent with my wickedly curved blade. He stared at me in utter shock but with respect for my weapon and the deadly look in my eyes; he did not move an inch and I felt his mouth close under my hand. I turned around and walked calmly out of the door and replaced the key with only slight difficulty to its original place. I wanted to remember that look in his eyes forever! I hid my knife at the side of my leg, placed halfway in my socked foot and made sure it would stay before striding over to the headmaster’s office.

            She listened to my story calmly and then dismissed me but not before doling out punishment for my breaking the rules. I had to set up the Cube course for a week. I didn’t blink an eye when she said this. I didn’t know what the Cube was at the time or what this sentence really meant. I would find out though.

            The next day I started my punishment. After a breakfast of eggs and toast, I reported to the headmaster’s office, as she had told me to. Another man was standing next to her and they both had stern looks on their faces.

            “You will do what Henry tells you.” She said and with that she put her attention to the stacks of papers lying all over her desk. I was dismissed. Henry strode out the door and starting walking down the hallway, not even making sure I was following. I had to quickstep to keep up with his long strides. We made our way through the school and then outside to the looming structure. Henry was a talker.

            “Come along then.” He said as we got closer to the Cube.

            “Don’t be shy.” He laughed at my sigh of appreciation for its architecture.

            “He walked to the front door and took out an oversized bronze key and opened the door with a clink. He gestured for me to enter and I walked through. I was at first surprised to be met with natural sunlight on a football sized field of grass. It looked so… plain I thought. Where was the intricate layout the first years talked about excitedly? I looked left and right and was only met with a lengthy plain wall that curved around to enclose the field.

            “That’s what we’re going to be doing.” Henry said as if I had asked my question out loud.

            “What?” I said, startled at his human interjection amidst all the grass and grey walls surrounding us.

            “We’ve gotta set up the obstacles. They are always placed in random patterns, keep the students guessing. Can’t have them know the setup, gives an unfair advantage. Course, the smarter ones learn fast. One year, we had this real intelligent fella. We had to add something new to get past him, that’s when they added the second story.” He pointed up and I followed his finger. What looked like a balcony was over my head. It was almost as if I could reach up and climb to it though.

            “Remember those little play pens you would climb up and through as a child? Just like that, but for bigger bodies. Here let me show you.” He walked over to me and put his arms with the fingers interlocking, making a step for me. “The bigger ones can jump and reach but for others, that’s where the teamwork comes in.” He gestured with his head and I decided to trust the man. I put my left foot in his hand step and he lifted me gently until I could reach the balcony. “I need you to see the second floor anyway; we’ll be working on that next. Climb up for a minute and then find the stairs and come back down. I’m just going to get some of the equipment.” I hauled myself over the railing, noting that it has a slight give to it from my body and flung myself over clumsily. I landed with a slight thud onto a cushioned grey material that also seemed to contract slightly when my body hit it. I leaned up on my elbow and took a look around. An open space, much like the bottom football field met my gaze. The only difference was the ground was made up of the cushiony gray material and not a grassy field. Stairs? I walked to the far wall and saw immediately sets of platforms, some lower and some higher than my current floor. I decided to go up and clambered from one platform to the other, like Frogger I thought. The third floor had a lot more walls, like a maze but all the walls had curved corners and no sharp edges. I tried to run through the maze and accidentally collided with a curved corner and slid around, my momentum carrying me into a room with three walls. I walked over to the only open space and looked down. There was the field and also, the ledge, I could almost just climb down to it. I looked more closely and saw; yes those were definitely foot and handholds. I swung my body out and hooked my toes in one of the little indents in the wall and climbed down to the second floor. I looked into the empty curved space to the platforms and then continued on my way down. I then noticed what I had not seen before, there were little footholds everywhere. This whole area was like a big adult play pen! I was a hamster in a deluxe cage. Henry chuckled when he saw me climbing down the wall.

            “The stairs woulda been easier.” He was rolling a giant donut-shaped object that was at least 10 feet tall toward the center of the arena. “Gimme a hand would ya. Grab the little red box and take it to the center X.” He stopped for a minute and pulled out a sheet of paper.

            “D3 to C.” He mumbled to himself. I tried to snatch a look at the paper but he saw me looking and snatched it to himself and crumpled it back into his pocket.

            “That’s confidential. The patterns are pre-determined and not for students’ eyes. That’d be cheating.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “You’re not a cheater are ya?” He frowned, “Already don’t follow the rules….” He said and then continued rolling his donut toward a corner of the arena. I started making my way to a part of the wall that was open, I guess the storage area? Inside was like a workshop of odd proportions. Giant blowup contraptions were freely standing or leaning on the far walls. They were all shapes and sizes. I saw the little red box and grabbed it but it was far heavier than I anticipated; I decided it would be easier to drag it instead. The thing was only as big as a stack of textbooks but it was at least as heavy as I was. I wondered what it was made out of that made it so heavy while being so small. It took me a lot more effort dragging “the little red box” to the center of the arena, than it had took to drag the kayak to the lake yesterday. When I finally got to the center, I saw that Henry had already assembled several large obstacles in various places on the field. He came around behind one and pushed a button on the little red box. It made a whirring sound and started to expand. “Step back” He commanded and I jumped to the side. It unfolded and continued making sounds until it lifted almost to the third floor in height and had expanded to fill nearly half the arena.

            “This is a new piece. Gonna throw the new fourth years for a loop. Ha-ha. You can’t tell any of ‘em about it though. You do and you’ll be in even more trouble than you bargained for.” He told me succinctly. I nodded my head solemnly.

            “What the heck, go check it out.” He said excitedly, like a young boy getting ice cream from the ice cream man. “Wait a minute!” He said again and then walked back to the equipment area and came back with two fireballs. “This will make it more fun.” He said gleefully.

            “But I’m not in uniform and you’re...” I started to say.

            “Don’t matter, these are different. They work on a much more simple principle, designed ‘em myself. Each piece won’t paralyze you. They stick to you. The game is a bit different, try to get more of yours to stick to the other person than they get to stick to you. But first you gotta eat one of these, and he handed a small cracker to her. It attracts the balls, but only when they come into contact with you will they actually stick. You gotta wait a few minutes though so it can disperse throughout your body. He and I ate the crackers. He pushed a button on his watch and then started to stretch in preparation. I decided that I didn’t have much chance against an adult male but this would be good practice for the real games I would play in the future with the other students. I started to stretch as well and a few minutes later he told me it was ready, looking at his watch again.

            “Go to the opposite end of the field, like you’re supposed to, behind the line and I’ll be on the other end. We’re only going to use the field for now but when I shout ‘go’ we’ll start, ok?” He asked. I nodded my agreement, suddenly feeling a bit nervous. I jogged to my side and stood behind the white grass line. I tried to see if I could see Henry through all the obstacles but they were strewn all throughout the arena and obscured any view of the far wall.

            “Go!” I took off running and decided to head straight for the main obstacle, the one I had carried. I jumped onto it and ran up a ramp-like thing, trying to hold my fireball steady in my left hand. I picked off a piece in preparation, deciding to go with a larger piece than I thought I should have, about the size of my hand, but it left me a good chunk in case I missed. Leaping to the top of the little ramp I saw a field of waving arms in front of me but no glimpse of Henry. I ran down the other side of the slope and got bashed in the side by one of the moving arms and was instantly knocked off my feet. They were hooked to the ceiling of the contraption and hung down within a foot and a half of the floor. I saw boots through the field and rolled under the waving arms to the side and found a flap of material and pushed it. I reached down and felt grass. Aha! I slid through the hole and then turned around and stuck my head back through; to sight Henry on his way up the little ramp. I pulled my head back out as he glanced backward. He disappeared on the other side of the ramp and I scrambled back through my little hole. I crawled up the ramp and peered over. Henry was just turning his head from my direction but when he spotted me he swiveled and then jumped high in the air. Puzzled I watched, forgetting to throw my fireball at him. He hit the ground again and suddenly I was airborne. Very airborne in fact. Waving my limbs about unsuccessfully in the air as I went up and then started coming down; I was pelted by fireballs. I hit the ground and bounced again, half as high and was hit by more fireballs. This time I was able to land on my feet with a wobble as I fell forward a bit and then caught myself. Somehow I had lost my fireball when I was shot upward. I looked around and saw Henry holding it.

            “You lose. Once you let go of your fireball, whoever picks it up gets to keep it. It looks like I hold all the power.” He grinned then beckoned.

            “We still gotta do the second floor. He walked over to the equipment shed and threw our balls in and shut the door. It was very difficult to see the outline of the door in the wall but you could tell that it was there. It seemed like the person who designed the Cube had also designed the Academy building and its secret inner workings.

            “Will the… um… attractive energy from the fireballs stay?” I asked as we headed toward the outer walls of the arena.

            “Naw, they only work for a little bit, it dissipates kinda fast. Still working out the bugs. This is my least favorite part.” He groaned as he stooped to avoid hitting his head on a platform but clambered onto a lower one and attempted to climb the platforms; designed for a person my size with dignity, which was difficult to do as a large adult and he looked rather funny doing it. I followed agilely.

            We walked over to where I ascertained the equipment shed was located (below us) and Henry pulled on a secret latch and a door opened. I looked inside. More random objects! The rest of the morning we spent assembling random obstacles and placing them in a pre-determined manner all over the second floor. This was physically demanding work and by the time we were through, I was certainly exhausted. Henry dismissed me after walking me out and locking the door pointedly.

            “Same time tomorrow, but you can meet me in front, out here.” And with that he walked off, away from the direction I wanted to go, so I headed off for class. I didn’t need to stop for books because my first class of the day was self-defense. I scuttled in the door as the bell rang and hurriedly took off my shoes and joined the rest of my class, at the other end of the classroom. The rest of the day was a whirlwind to me. I did poorly in self-defense because I was so tired. I was certainly making a bad impression in my first week. After self-defense I got a short break to shower, change and eat lunch. I ate heartily. Jeanie, who had taken one of the many empty seats beside me, much to my chagrin, noted my worked up appetite and tried to engage me in some small talk about how Johnny seemed to be avoiding me but I only responded with yes’s and no’s while stuffing my face. Johnny did seem to pointedly avert his gaze when he passed me in the lunch line and walked to the far end of the cafeteria to eat. He was rapidly joined by a group of his buddies and they commenced glancing slyly across the room and then talking amongst themselves.

            Before I could finish my meal, a slender but tall boy walked up to the table and sat in another one of the empty seats. Dang! The whole reason I chose the corner near the bathrooms and trash cans was to be left alone! He settled across from me and said a brief greeting to Jeanie, a head nod to me, and then pouncing on his chicken caprese sandwich with gusto. If my mouth hadn’t been full I would have made a comment about his table manners, but mine were hardly that great at the moment either.

            “Arrow, do we have anatomy or human behaviors next?” Jeanie directed at the new boy.

            He swallowed his mouthful and said, “That’s all tomorrow. Today is Plant and Animal Life as well as Debate.” Jeanie looked off in the distance for a moment and then said,

            “Oh, I’ll have to go back to the room then. I brought the wrong textbooks.” She glanced toward her bag and then at me.

            “You didn’t bring any of your books with you this morning. Where did you go so early?” She asked.

I sighed. It was going to be really hard to keep to myself. I decided the less secrets the better and the less lies, the easier I would have keeping them straight in my mind. “I was confronted for going beyond the Academy grounds and for this week I am being punished. My punishment is setting up the Cube.” I tried to look glum as I said this.

            “You get to go in the Cube? What does it look like?” Shrieked Jeanie.

            “Is there a random number generator that calculates where all the obstacles are supposed to go before each game?” Asked Arrow, still with his mouth full.

            “Yeah, did you see how they placed the obstacles?” Jeanie supplied, looking from Arrow to me.

            “Did you see the second floor? Are there really secret passageways? Did you go there by yourself?” He continued after swallowing a bite.

            “Whoa, whoa, whoa guys,” I started putting my hands up, “Henry tells me where to put the stuff and I’m not supposed to say where I put it because it’s a secret. I’m not really supposed to tell anyone that this is my punishment, really. You guys can’t tell anyone.” I said. I figured it was probably an intrigue that would make them leave the subject be, but not make them despise me for being overly mysterious and keeping all the good information to myself.

            Jeanie looked disappointed, “Oh.” She frowned, “Well, we only have 15 minutes before class. She looked over at my still-full plate. Hers was nearly empty, only crusts and crumbs sat on it. “I can get my books and yours and meet you guys back here and we can walk together to class.” Without waiting for my response, she got up and strode out of the dining room.

            As hard as I had been trying not to make friends and not to make a scene at this school before I was ready, I had been thwarted. My escapade yesterday had made me nearly famous; as the scrawny first year who had nearly drowned, a lot of people suddenly knew who I was. It seemed another group of people just gravitated to me. Jeanie and Arrow seemed more than interested in me as just another scrawny first year who was suddenly infamous. They accompanied me to class and wanted to work as a group together on our identification task during our Plant and Animal Life class. They also chose me in their group when we formed teams for a debate during our last class. They seemed hung on every word I said, Cube-related or otherwise.

 

 

Rachel Barnard and Patrick Lambert

 

THE CUBE " EPISODE 3 " TSP

 

Copyright © 2012 Imagine Group USA, Inc.

 

All Rights Reserved. Published in the United States by Imagine Books, a division of Imagine Group USA, Inc., New York, and in Canada by Imagine Group of Canada Limited, Toronto.

 

 

Imagine is a registered trademark of Imagine Group, Inc.

 

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

 

 

 

 

Cover design by Imagine Graphics

 

 

 

 

THE CUBE - Episode 3 - The Secret Passageway

 

 

            I saw Johnny talking with Barbie. She had her arms folded across her chest angrily. I looked back up at the sky. A few clouds were strolling along and one had created a large shadow on one of the Cube’s walls. The shadow was actually right where the equipment area was located, not that anyone else knew it existed in the arena right now. I think I was the only one, however, I also knew that Henry always locked it up tight. It felt like it had been ages since I had checked in at the gate. Some of the fourth years were taking an awful long time getting here today. I wondered if it was purposeful. Suddenly a gong sounded and the walls of the arena lit up in color. Orange ran along the one half and a light blue that matched the sky ran along the other half. An outline of a bird appeared on the blue; while a tree appeared on the orange background. I looked down at my chest. No bird and no tree. Phew. I had time. My suit was a glittery gold with a sun on the front. That’s going to be great for camouflage, I thought and rolled my eyes. The field was full of colors and I squinted, looking for gold. Five minutes, I breathed to myself and took off. I had spotted a glimmer on the other end. Getting closer, I saw that the glimmer was from silver and not gold. Four minutes to go and not a single speck of gold on the field. I decided, as most of the other students had that it was time to vacate the playing field. Most students made their way to the platforms on the corners of the fields but I went right up to the nearest wall and put my hands in one of the slots and began to climb. Swiftly I had made it to the third floor and was face to face with Jeanie. She was in a light tan suit; surrounded by two others dressed the same. She held out her hand, in a gesture of friendliness and I grabbed it. She helped me clamber over the wall.

            “Thanks.” I breathed and then took off around a corner, not looking back.

            I only had two minutes left now and it was becoming imminent that I either find my group or find a hiding place until the next match. Rounding the corner I ran right into a large green-suited boy and fell skidding on the floor. I would have to be more careful. I looked up into the ceiling and found the nearest video feed of the arena. The orange team was huddled in a group, talking rapidly while on the other end the blue team were doing last minute nervous stretches. The wall right behind them contained a dot of gold, nearly invisible on the screen. There! I ran to the ledge and looked over to the blue team. Right above them was the disappearing body of a student. I was too far away now with only one minute to go, as the clocks on the arena walls counted down. I squinted and saw two other figures next to the one I had just spotted. The other three members of my team were up there too. It wasn’t worth it; I would be on my own this first round. I cursed my bad luck. My score would go down as well, for not meeting up with my team. I could rectify this by proactively seeking out others to paralyze with my fireballs, kills were worth the most points, but I decided I wanted to save my ammo. I might end up needing my ammo as a means of defense, if another group happened upon me. At least I would have some sort of defense if my “find a hiding place” plan didn’t work out. The best thing to do now was to find a safe place. The Cube was deigned to have no safe places. Being so easy to spot would also prove challenging. I hoped the first match would be over quickly and sprinted for the platforms. The less people who knew a loner was hiding out on the second floor, the better.

            Every time I saw the second floor I was in awe. It was always so mesmerizing with its infinite variety. One day, during my punishment, I had started out for the Cube and Henry told me we would be doing maintenance on the second floor. It was not empty, like the last time I had seen it, but full of mirrors. There were mirrors on all the walls and everywhere! Both the floor and the ceiling though, was not a mirror, it was clear and I could see through to the grassy field below. Kind of disconcerting actually. I imagined playing a game in that kind of situation. There would be no hiding from anyone below or above. That would definitely make for an interesting tournament.

            “I’ve seen times where no-one dares enter the second floor. Annoying. I spend all that time setting it up, making sure everything works right and then they don’t even use it. The same patterns never repeat either. All that work. Gone.” Henry said and scrunched up his nose in remembrance.

            “What pattern scared them so much they wouldn’t go?” I asked, wondering what could be worse than total visibility and confusion with all the mirrors. I imagined accuracy would decrease significantly in such a situation where you couldn’t tell exactly where the enemy was standing.

            “Ah. That was one of my greatest ones yet. Came up with it myself. I was just lying in bed, about to go to sleep, when it came to me,” He began, “The floor was made up of these squares, see. Each time you stepped on a square your uniform would change colors.” He paused.

            “But, how is that even a challenge?” I spurted out without thinking. I had envisioned land-sharks or freezing mechanisms or something more sinister.

            “Think about it, what are you without your team?” He said.

            “But a uniform is just a uniform, it doesn’t change your allegiance until the end of the match, everyone knows that.” I countered, almost defensively.

            “Therein lies the beauty,” He smiled devilishly, “After the first match, when the first time he went up and just stepped foot on one of the squares before continuing to the third floor. Uniform changed, and he found himself going from a group of his friends to a group of enemies. Didn’t take his ex-teammates long to kill him. The Cube is brutal, brings out the worse in people but also, the best. You can see what people are made of.” He finished.

            Changing the subject I then asked him, “What’s really on the top floors?”

            “Some people say it’s….” He stopped and turned to look at me, “an ogre!” and laughed at his own joke before looking up and off to the right. “Nothing really. Just administration, storage, some of the monitoring devices. Students aren’t allowed up there. Now, we gotta make sure there’s no sharp edges.” He trailed off.

            Henry made me check over a portion of the mirrors. Sometimes the machines that set up the second floor didn’t always work properly, so Henry always had to make sure they were implemented and worked the way they were supposed to. I wished non-fourth years could watch the competitions but I guess then we would know too much by the time it was our turn to compete.

            Later that day I was joined yet again by both Jeanie and Arrow for lunch. As we devoured our lasagna and garlic toast, a wail erupted from the opposite end of the cafeteria. Looking up sharply I saw a tall and slender girl frantically jumping in the air. She kept saying “no, no, no, no, no.” Johnny stood over her, a necklace suspended in the air above the girl’s head. As tall as she was, Johnny was still taller and she couldn’t quite reach her prize.

            “Give it back!” She demanded, swiping once again at the air.

            “This old thing? It’s mine now.” Johnny taunted.

            The whole cafeteria was watching and could hear the two. “How juvenile.” Arrow stated, having put down his fork. I understand he comes from a powerful background and all but this is a highly prestigious institution.” With that he put his fork back in his mouth, a thin trail of red sauce dripped down his chin.

            “Are you all just going to sit there and watch?” Jeanie asked as she slid out from her seat and walked calmly over to Johnny and the girl.

            “Johnny please give Misty back her necklace.” She stated politely.

            He seemed slightly taken aback at her calm demeanor. Then his eyes narrowed, “well… ok.” He said then took a step back from the two girls. He swiftly dropped the necklace and then stepped on it, crushing the object attached to the end with a crack. “Here you go.”

            I wondered what the object could be if it was that frail. Johnny turned on his heel and walked out of the cafeteria before I was halfway across the room. Jeanie had turned to the new girl, who had begun sobbing hysterically.

            “It’s ok. We’ll find another one.” Jeanie comforted the girl. 

            “We’ll never find one as lucky as that one. Acorns don’t even come from here. I was saving that one for the Cube.” She cried and fell on her knees to pick up the crushed little acorn. It crumbled pathetically in her fingers.

            “I have something even better.” I spoke up. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a penny. I found this today on the second floor of the Cube.” I said mysteriously, looking around to make sure no one else was listening. But, you can’t tell anyone where it’s from.” I told her.

            “Was it face-side up?” She sniffled.

            “Of course.” I countered.

            She took the coin and put it in her pocket. “Thanks. I’m Misty. You’re the girl who almost drowned.” She said.

            “MC” I told her.

            “Thanks.” She said again and then walked out.

            “That was interesting.” I heard Arrow say from behind me.

            “Thanks for stepping in there.” Jeanie stated a bit sarcastically.

            “No problem. Hey did you finish our English homework?” He asked.

            Jeanie and Arrow proceeded to get into a hot debate over some of the homework that was due in a couple of hours for our English class. They stopped trying to include me after I told them I hadn’t even started my homework.

            “Um. I should probably go start and finish that assignment then.” I said but they didn’t look up from their notebooks, too busy comparing notes, to answer me.

            I decided to check out the secret passageway that night. I had found a flashlight in one of the supply closets near our room. I walked over to the basement and down the stairs. At the bottom, I started directly for the second set of stairs when I heard a small voice.

            “Hey MC” She said slowly.

            I whipped around to see Misty sitting in one of the dark chairs against the wall. She nearly blended in with her black pants and black blouse.

            “What are you doing here?” I demanded

            She looked startled. “This is where I escape.” She stated in an even smaller voice.

            “Oh, well.” I couldn’t think of anything to say.

            “What are you doing here?” She asked sweetly.

            I walked over to her and sat in the chair next to her, glancing to see if the staircase was visible from where she sat. It only looked like the wall stopped sharply, not that it contained an entire staircase behind the corner.

            “Um.” I said blankly.

            “Did you find the staircase too?” She inquired and looked pointedly at the corner I had just glanced at. “I don’t like that room. Too dark. No lights. Anything could be hiding down there.” She looked pointedly at the flashlight in my hands. “Do you know what’s down there?”

            “Um.” I said again, for lack of something better.

            “I can tell you don’t want to tell me. That’s ok. You can go. I’m fine by myself here. Plenty of lights, see?” She gestured with her chin at all the lamps that she had turned on. There were quite a few.

            “Um. Ok then.” With that I got up and headed to the corner of the room. The first set of stairs was lit up completely, from all the lamps in the other room reflecting off the walls. The second set of stairs were a lot dimmer so I turned on my flashlight before continuing. The room was much like the one upstairs, heavy armchairs, a dark intricate-patterned carpet, and bookshelves. The entire room was covered in bookshelves. Many of the books had that fancy cursive gold lettering on them. I looked for the door to the passageway. Almost every book was standing upright on the shelves, save one. The one was lying flat on top of the rest of the shelves on the bookcase. I shined my light on it and started to walk over but stubbed my toe on an end-table and yelped in surprise. I heard a muffled sound from above and immediately shut off my light and crouched down. I decided I should come back another time and backtracked carefully across the carpet. I turned the flashlight on again and made my way up the stairs. Misty had gone.

            The next night I made my way back to the lower basement. Misty was not in the upper basement. I walked carefully over the carpet, avoiding the end table this time. I looked for a handle on the shelf next to my marker book, “Ender’s game.” I didn’t see one. Maybe, one of the books was actually a lever, I thought. I pulled out and put back every single book on the shelf. Nothing. What else? I thought. After inspecting every inch of that space I gave up.

            I fell asleep right away that night. I didn’t dream at all but woke up with a start. I didn’t know what it was that had awakened me at first, but then.

            “Can I ask you a question?” I looked over at Jeanie. Her eyes were closed but she was speaking.

            “Uh, sure.” I said sleepily.

            “How many turns does it take to turn back time?” She asked me.

            “What?” I answered.

            “How many turns does it take to turn back time?” She asked again.

            “Seven?” I ventured.

            “No. It only takes 4 turns to turn back time. You should know this.” After saying this she rolled over and went back to sleep.

            I forgot to ask her what she meant the next morning, about turning back time. I had woken up late and had to rush to get to the Cube for my last day of punishment.

            “Today’s their first tournament.” Henry said to me when I ran up, out of breath from sprinting to make it on time.

            “Do you get to watch?” I asked him.

            “Well, sorta. I’m one of the administrators. Can’t tell you any more than that, so don’t bother asking.” Henry said gruffly.

            The Cube was nearly ready. The first floor had been all set up with the blow-up obstacles. The second floor had finally been all checked over, as well. I didn’t even know what more we could do.

            “Last thing. Make sure all the cameras are positioned properly. Last year some of the kids tampered with them and they weren’t pointed at what they were supposed to. Now we gotta check ‘em all.” With that statement Henry took out his handheld device and turned it on. “First one is right, here.” Henry stopped and told me to stand a little to the left. He looked down at his little handheld screen and told me to wave. “Good. That one’s still where it’s supposed to be.”

            We checked every single camera on the second floor. Most were nearly where they were supposed to be, only some minor adjustments were necessary. When we got to the third floor, however, a few of the cameras were not working. Henry and I replaced them all and then he told me I was free to go.

            I decided the first thing I was going to do during my free time was check out the passageway again. I knew that I could find the door from the passage-side of the secret hallway, so I headed outside. I walked up to the shed, making sure no one was watching and slipped inside. I took the small pin I had placed in the door handle; I had stuck it into the door. It wasn’t bent at all. Good. No other students had come to the shed and opened it. If they had, the pin would have bent under the pressure. I put it in my pocket carefully so as not to poke myself. The passageway was a little more sinister in the glare of my flashlight. Unlike my previous imaginings, there were no exciting side tunnels. Slightly disappointed as I found myself standing in front of the other end, I pulled on the handle. The door opened and I shined my light out. I climbed out of the passageway and shined my light back in. It looked ordinary. I moved to shut the door but left it open a crack, to see how I could open it in the future, from the other side. I didn’t see anything so I decided to close the door. When I did I heard a faint click. I pushed directly where I now knew the door to be. Nothing happened. I frowned. This should work. What was the matter?

            I looked all over the shelf again for any discernible handle but nothing. I memorized exactly where the door would be if it was open. Sighing, I started my way back up to the main ground level. I left the front of the academy, walked down the enormous steps and walked back to the shed. I replaced my pin and then headed back to my room before it got too dark outside.