Boundaries

TRUE AND I exchanged a look. This should be interesting.

“We’ll be there in a minute,” I replied.

Casey nodded and left. “It sounds like he’s summoning us or something,” True commented.

My eyes narrowed. “I don’t like being summoned, but it sounds like it’s important. I wonder what he wants.”

Before going down to meet him, I decided to change into a cooler outfit of shorts and a T-shirt. My friend surprised me by picking out a rather…well, attractive outfit. I pointed this out and she merely shrugged, explaining that she wanted to see how the guys would react. I couldn’t see how this could possibly be the time to try to get attention from boys, but decided not to say anything.

Dustin met us at the lobby, which was also the lounge area. Boys of every shape, size, and color were either playing video games, listening to music, or just hanging out. They lounged on big blue and green sofas and beanbag chairs. Some stopped to stare at us, the intruders, while others remained oblivious. Most of the guys staring were looking at True. She smiled and waved, obviously pleased with her little experiment. I raised an eyebrow and turned my attention toward Dustin, who took one glance at her attire but otherwise had no reaction. To my great annoyance, I found myself relieved.

He quickly led us out of the dorm. He explained to us that his dad wanted to see us; well, me, to be exact. True let out a whoosh of air in relief. I shot her a glare. Trying to contain her joy, she patted my shoulder sympathetically. However, he added, his father still wished to speak with True after he was done talking to me. This time I patted her shoulder. We were to be at the pavilion by seven o’clock sharp.

“So, is that all you wanted to see us for?” I asked, anxious to get back to our room.

Dustin shook his head. “No, I asked you down here to show you around. Of course, you already had a mini-tour of your own already, didn’t you, Lily?”

I stared at him. Of course he knew about that. Why wouldn’t he?

“Why, I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about,” I replied, batting my eyes innocently.

He looked like he was about to give me a lecture, but then he simply shook his head, a grin spreading across his face. “Yeah, sure.”

So we roamed the grounds. There was a lot to see. From the gigantic pools to the large richly green golf courses, the place was a full-blown resort. Kids just arriving for the summer camp enjoyed the free time by checking out the basketball and tennis courts. The soccer and football fields seemed to go on forever.

He showed us where the pavilion was located, which was conveniently placed just to the right of The Mansion. By the capital letters you can guess who lived there. That’s right.

The big man himself, Dustin’s father. Although Dustin had rooms there, he preferred to live in the dorm. As a compromise for not living with his father, he was forced to join him for dinner every night.

“Is he really that bad?” True asked.

Dustin didn’t answer. I guessed that was a yes.

By the time we returned to the boys’ dormitory, they were headed out for lunch. Everyone walked across campus to the cafeteria. We blended in with the crowd.

True hung back to mingle with the new campers, especially the guys. She acted completely out of character, laughing loudly and boldly flirting with hardly any effort at all. I made a few polite conversations with some of the campers too, but I didn’t make nearly as big of an impression as she did. At lunch she sat with them, completely at ease.

I ended up sitting across from Dustin at a different table. And it was then that I noticed that something was missing, or rather someone.

“Where’s Marcus and, you know, the rest of the rescue team? You told me you’d find a way to save them. Or did you just lie about that too?” I quipped, making a mini-pool of ranch dressing in my salad.

Ignoring my last snarky remark, he calmly answered, “Back in Pennsylvania. He’s been doing a fairly good job of keeping an eye on things. As for the others, Cattie’s mother found out about what had happened to her daughter and had her removed immediately. The rest had been released by the time I went back to the school. I made sure to check that they were OK. None of them were harmed, but from what I understand they are all being watched very closely. I think my dad may have done something to their parents. No attempts have been made to remove them from the school. Not even for the normal vacation periods given in the year.”

Satisfied with my salad now, I took a bite. Delicious. “Sounds like your father is tightening his hold on his students. When you say Marcus is keeping an eye on things, what do you mean exactly?”

He leaned in close, like he was afraid someone would overhear. “He’s trying to see if there’s been any weird disappearances like before.”

Scrunching my eyebrows, I froze mid-chew. “Well, have there been?”

Dustin absentmindedly picked at his burger. The big room was filled with chatter. Somewhere in the background, I heard True giggle loudly. I continued to stare at him, but he refused to meet my gaze.

Finally he said in a low voice, “Yes.”

The food turned to dust in my mouth. “How many?”

He rested his head in between his hands. “At least two every week, sometimes four. They never come back, either. If they keep it up, the disappearances will become obvious to everyone.”

I swallowed, letting my fork fall with a clatter onto my plate. “We really did fail, didn’t we?”

Dustin’s eyes slowly made their way to mine. His lips parted and he took a breath to say something, but nothing came out. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to admit this was true, but we both knew it was. We had meant to save innocent kids from his father’s experiments, but we hadn’t been able to do it.

The room suddenly felt stifling. I had to get out of there, think about something else. I surveyed the room. There weren’t any guards around. Only the lunch ladies were there, tending to the kitchen. As far as I knew, there were no locks on the doors, or alarms. I even spotted a few others getting up and walking right out, taking their lunches with them. Was the campus really this open, or were there guards lurking in the bushes, waiting to catch someone attempting to leave, like Anderson? Maybe that’s why nobody tried. Or was that because most were here for a summer camp? The thought of invisible danger brought back memories of that force field encircling the Pennsylvanian campus. Was it the same for this place, or had the crazy headmaster come up with something even more painful than an invisible force field?

Biting my lip, I decided to check it out. Besides, I needed a backup plan in case the FBI couldn’t come through with their side of the deal. What if I somehow found myself stuck here with no one to help me but myself?

I shot a quick glance at Dustin. He had gone back to picking at his food, showing no sign of even noticing my presence anymore. Face drawn and eyes downcast, he had receded back into his own world, and frankly it kind of scared me. But I couldn’t worry about that now. There were other matters to attend to first.

I quietly pushed back my chair, threw out my lunch, and marched right out the door.

Outside, people sat on the grass either eating their lunch or chatting with friends. Their nonchalance made me wonder if they really were here for summer camp. I waved. Many waved back, while others smiled and nodded. A few even beckoned for me to come sit with them. The offer was tempting, but I had to find out what I was up against. So I moved on.

Remembering that the administration building was near the driveway, I headed in that direction. The walk wasn’t that long and I kind of enjoyed it. The sun shone bright and the sky was a beautiful shade of blue, lightening my somewhat darkened mood.

Soon I had passed the administration building. Now I could see the driveway. I picked up the pace, adrenaline pushing me forward. However, I was careful not to run. The driveway wound downhill until it came to an abrupt stop at the tallest gate I had ever seen. The metal barrier was a nasty concoction of curving designs and tall spires ending with pointed spikes. Chain-link fencing topped by barbed wire was attached to either side of the gate. From as far as I could tell, the fence surrounded the entire area.

I was debating on whether to try to climb it or not when

I heard someone coming up behind me. Quick as a whip, I whirled around in a spinning kick, knocking whoever it was clear off the ground.

He fell on his butt with a soft thump. “Oof!”

When I saw who it was, I laughed, helping him up.

“Thanks,” Dustin joked, breathing hard. “I needed that.”

“No problem,” I shot back with a smile.

He wiped the grass off his butt. Eyes following the span of the fence, he frowned. “What are you doing out here, anyway?”

I turned back to the fence. “Just trying to find a way out.” With that said, I reached for it.

Dustin grabbed my arm before I could touch it. “Don’t.” His grip was surprisingly strong. I couldn’t shake him off.

I scowled. “You better let go of me before I kick you in a place that you really do not want to kicked.”

He let go and stepped back. Rubbing my wrist, I asked him why I couldn’t climb the fence. He explained that if so much as the tip of my finger had touched that fence, about one million volts of electricity would have shocked my body. Was there any way I could avoid this? Of course not.

Despite the discouraging news, I wasn’t about to let this get me down. I was going to come up with an escape plan.

If I couldn’t get past the fence, then I would find something else. This couldn’t be the only way out, right?