The dormitory was as Pan remembered it. Clean, comfortless and totally devoid of any warmth. It smelled of loneliness. No one else was there when Pan entered. Jen had gone to find the equipment and they had agreed to meet at midnight outside the dormitory for their excursion. Pan was thankful for the time to herself.
She pulled back the blankets on her bunk. Someone had made her bed while she was gone and that in itself was surprising. In The School you did your own work because no one had the time or the inclination to help anyone else out. Pan smiled. She could sense Wei-Lin’s hand in this small gesture of solidarity. The bed was hard and the springs dug into her back when she lay down. She was desperately weary despite her long sleep in the Infirmary, but she welcomed the discomfort. She didn’t want to sleep again. Not just yet.
Pan tried to rediscover the certainty of her epiphany on the way back from the island, that The School was lying to them – worse, manipulating their memories, implanting new ones. That still felt right. But when she recalled her absolute certainty that Nate’s death had been staged, another illusion in a whole world of smoke and mirrors, it now seemed somehow insubstantial, as if it had leached away in the intervening hours. Maybe she was right about some things and wrong about others. What evidence did she have that Nate wasn’t dead? None. In fact, she had witnessed his death with her own eyes. All she had was her intuition. Was it, perhaps, a desperate act of self-delusion, an unwillingness to accept the truth: that Nate was gone and would never return? As dead as all the other people she had been close to? Her mother. Her brother. Her friends. Thoughts mingled and swirled, becoming less distinct in doing so. All she truly knew was that there were answers out there and that she must find them.
She clung to that determination, even as she fell asleep. This time she didn’t dream.
When she woke it was almost midnight and others were sleeping. She had set an internal alarm clock and was pleased it had worked. Pan slipped from her bed and shrugged into her camouflage jacket. Standard School issue and welcome against the night chill. The season was turning and temperatures were milder than when she’d first arrived, but it would still be cold outside at this time of night. Pan groped her way along the dormitory to the side of Jen’s bed. She didn’t have to wake her. Pan’s eyes had adjusted to the darkness and she saw that Jen was lying on her side, her eyes open. Pan jerked her head towards the door and Jen nodded. She was already dressed, and the two girls padded silently along the central gap between the beds. Outside, the cold was more biting than Pan had anticipated. A thin wind sliced through her clothing and settled in her bones. She shivered and pulled her jacket tighter.
‘Did you get the crowbar and the rope?’ she whispered.
Jen nodded and moved behind the dormitory wall. She rummaged in the darkness for a few moments and retrieved both items.
‘Thought it was safer to hide them,’ she replied.
‘Good,’ said Pan. ‘Also, I need your watch.’
‘My watch? Why?’
‘I have my reasons.’
For a moment Jen simply stared at Pan, then she shrugged, undid the watchband and handed the timepiece over.
‘Thanks,’ said Pan, undoing her own watch. ‘Wait while I put them in the dormitory.’
‘You’re being seriously weird, Pandora. You know that, don’t you?’
Pan shrugged. ‘It crossed my mind,’ she replied.
It took only a few moments to place the watches on their respective pillows, and then Pan rejoined Jen in the cold night.
‘Okay,’ she said. ‘Party time.’
‘Where are we going?’ said Jen.
‘You’ll see when we get there.’
‘A little trust?’
‘Distrust is healthier.’
They ran most of the way. Pan found it easier than she expected. The rigours of their mission on the island had left her exhausted, but after a while she found a rhythm. Jen showed no signs of discomfort, even though she was carrying a crowbar and a length of rope. The dull rumble of the river could be heard long before they found it. The meltwater had increased its size and intensity since she had sat on the river bank with Nate. Pan hoped the sound would mask their progress. She ran along the bank, Jen a few paces behind. They passed the staff houses and, although a few lights were on, most of the quarters were in darkness. No one was out on their verandahs, and they ran past unnoticed. After that, the darkness was complete once more, but they had found the full extent of their night vision and the going was relatively easy. Within fifteen minutes, the sombre bulk of the wall loomed before them.
‘Had a feeling we were coming here,’ said Jen.
‘Why?’
‘I’d call it intuition, but you’ve got the market cornered in that. Basic logic. Where else could we be going? We’re going over the wall, aren’t we?’
‘No,’ said Pan. ‘Under it.’
The sky was dark and there was no moon. The deep shadow of the wall would have made seeing difficult anyway, even in the moonlight. Pan stopped and crept closer to the wall. She could see the movement of the water as it boiled and bubbled through the sluice gate, but she couldn’t see the gate itself.
‘So what now?’ said Jen.
‘There’s a gate,’ replied Pan. ‘I was here with Nate once and he showed me. The water goes through into the town and eventually, I suppose, down to the sea. A part of the gate is corroded. It may be a way through.’
‘Oh yeah? And what about the other side of the wall? There’s going to be another gate there, you’d think.’
‘Maybe and maybe not. I think this wall and that gate is to keep us in. It’s possible there’s nothing on the other side. Even if there is, it’s reasonable to assume it has similar corrosion. It’s our best chance of getting through.’
‘It’s our best chance of getting drowned, more like,’ said Jen. ‘It’d make more sense to go over.’
‘Done that,’ said Pan. ‘I think they’ll be monitoring the top more closely.’
‘You’ve been on the other side?’ said Jen. ‘Pandora Jones, you are a surprise packet. I didn’t think you had it in you.’
Pan thought for a moment. ‘When Nate and I went over the wall, we were picked up in a matter of seconds. Seriously. We’d just got onto the other side and then there were men, armed men surrounding us. The next thing we knew, we were back in The School in some kind of cell. They’d injected me with something. Knocked me out.’
‘Jesus,’ said Jen. ‘You guys kept quiet about that.’
‘Yeah,’ said Pan. ‘I figured someone betrayed us. Maybe someone followed and let The School know. So it made sense not to say anything to anyone. But I’ve got a different theory now.’
‘Yes?’
‘How would you explain that The School knew where we were, that they had people waiting for us on the other side of this wall?’
Jen considered for a second or two. ‘Maybe they spotted you climbing over, set off some kind of alarm. I mean, those watchtowers must be there for a reason.’
‘It still doesn’t make sense. They knew exactly where we were. As soon as my feet touched the ground there was a light in my face and a gun at my head. It was like a military operation, Jen. And another thing. Why go to such lengths for a couple of kids climbing over a wall? They treated us like terrorists.’
‘The story is, to stop us becoming exposed to other viruses.’
‘Yeah. They’re good at stories.’
‘So what’s your theory?’
‘I think we are being constantly monitored. I believe the watches they issued us with are also tracking devices. That’s the reason they knew exactly where we were. Someone, somewhere, was following a signal. Two blips on a screen and when we crossed the wall, all hell broke loose.’ Pan thought back to Cara’s journal entry. My watch is wrong. She decided not to let Jen know about that, at least not yet. ‘And if that’s the case, what’s on the other side of this wall that they are so determined to hide?’
Jen chuckled. ‘I’ll give you this, Pandora. You’re even more suspicious than me and that takes some doing. Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out.’
‘Right,’ said Pan. ‘Tie that rope around my waist and attach the other end to something strong. I’ll go into the water, see if I can find that corroded section.’
‘The current’s really strong,’ said Jen. ‘And you are not a good swimmer. Let me go.’
Pan shook her head. ‘This is my idea and I’m going. If I find a way through, you can follow. But I’m trying first.’
‘You could die in there.’
‘You can die anywhere. I’ll be okay.’
Jen shook her head but grabbed the end of the rope. She hitched it around Pan’s waist and secured it firmly with a complicated knot. Then she took the other end and tied it around a tree close to the river’s edge. She tugged on it, and appeared satisfied. ‘All set,’ she said. ‘If you get into trouble, yell and I’ll yank you out.’
Yeah, thought Pan. If you can hear me above the roar of the stream. ‘The crowbar,’ she said.
Jen held it out and Pan gripped the cold metal. It was heavier than she had imagined. ‘If I make it through,’ she said, ‘I’ll untie the rope and tug on it. Pull it in and follow me, okay?’
She waded into the water. It was icy cold and she shivered uncontrollably. The current was strong, pushing her, trying to lift her off her feet. The river bed was composed of small, slick stones that shifted constantly and Pan had to inch forward. Even then, her feet slipped and she nearly fell. There was no way she could walk to the gate. Gathering her courage, she pushed off, letting the flow take her. Even though it was only a few metres away, she thumped into the gate at speed. A sharp pain flared in her left side, but she ignored it. The river surged and splashed and Pan had difficulty keeping her head above the waterline. The current was dragging her under. She gripped one of the bars and felt for a foothold. Her hand hurt where she was gripping the gate, but there was no time to think about pain. She edged towards the far bank, to where Nate had pointed out the gap. It was almost completely dark and the rushing water disorientated her. She thought briefly about giving up, yelling out to be hauled back. But she couldn’t back down now. Not even if it was going to kill her.
Pan pried the crowbar into the gaps of the gate’s lattice and pushed. She felt a small amount of give, but not enough. She loosened the bar and tried another position. Same result. What if the area Nate had pointed out was now under water? The river was higher because of the snow melt. Maybe the damaged section was a metre or so below the surface and she would have to dive, find the gap, use the crowbar and swim through. It was almost impossible even for a strong swimmer. She would drown.
Pan locked the crowbar under her armpit and felt along the gate with her left hand. She tried to be methodical, exploring each section of the gate one after the other. And then she found it. One area that gave perceptibly when she put weight against it. She kept her hand there and tried to extricate the crowbar. It slipped and for a moment she thought she’d lost it. There would be no way of retrieving something as heavy as that from the bottom of the river. But her hand locked on it and she placed it into the weak section. Pan leaned on the crowbar and felt, rather than heard, the sharp crack as the gate gave way. She relaxed and felt for the gap. A whole section of the latticework had broken but, even so, the hole was not large enough to squeeze through. She took the crowbar and prised open the section next to the gap. It wasn’t as easy this time, but she felt the bars bend. Pan groped underwater and checked the gap. It still wasn’t very wide but she thought it would be enough. She slid the crowbar into her belt, making sure the end with the V was hooked firmly against her waist. The cold had infiltrated her bones. Don’t give up, she thought. Fight the cold. Find the truth.
She took a deep breath and plunged her head beneath the water, felt for the gap and squeezed through. A jagged edge of one of the bars caught on her shirt and snagged there. She felt the sharp edge of panic as she was hooked beneath the water. Drowning. She almost took a desperate breath. She wrenched to the side and felt her shirt rip. And then she was free. The current took her again and she thrashed towards the surface, though in the rushing torrent it was difficult to know where the surface was. Her head broke into a pocket of air and she took a deep breath before plunging under again. Then she slammed into something. She felt a sharp pain in the side of her head and almost passed out, but she reached out instinctively and locked her fingers around a hard slippery object. A rock. The current tried to carry her away, but she clung on, lifted her head above the surface. Far above, she saw a sky freckled with stars and then the water drowned it. Pan pulled against the rock, hauled herself until she was behind it; instantly the current diminished, her body shielded from most of its power. Her feet scrabbled for purchase and found it. She lay, exhausted, and then looked up. The dark bulk of the wall loomed behind her. She had made it through. She was in the village.
It was five minutes before the trembling in her arms and the numbness of her fingers allowed Pan to slip out of the rope. She gave it a sharp tug and then let go. For a moment nothing happened. But then she saw the rope retract into the darkness, like a startled snake. Pan waited and took in her surroundings while she tried to still the hammering in her heart. The crowbar, she realised, was no longer attached to her belt. She wouldn’t miss the extra weight.
The stream was broad on this side of the wall, but she had come to rest close to the bank. Even in the darkness she was aware of the water foaming around the rocks to which she clung. Off to her right, a few metres away, the water sped past, the surface dark and oily in the pale light. To her left was the outskirts of the village, looming shadows of buildings. Further off, a few lights were visible. People up late? Pan thought about her two trips through the village – once on the way to the boat and once back. It was as if the place had been deserted. Why was that? What was so important about the villagers that they couldn’t reveal their presence to the students of The School? It was one of the reasons she was there. To find out.
It was a few minutes before the rope returned, this time with Jen attached. She swept past at alarming speed and Pan reached out and grabbed her sleeve, though the current threatened to loosen her grip. She gritted her teeth and pulled until Jen could latch onto one of the rocks.
‘Jesus,’ Jen said, gasping for air. ‘I didn’t think anything could be that cold.’
‘Yeah,’ replied Pan. ‘Not sure why I worried about drowning. The hypothermia will get us first.’
‘What now?’
‘We explore,’ said Pan. ‘I want to find out who lives in this place. And why they are scared of us.’
‘What makes you think they are scared?’ asked Jen.
‘I can feel it,’ said Pan. ‘I can feel it on my skin.’
‘You’re lucky,’ said Jen. ‘My skin can no longer feel anything.’