Imprisoned (Parallel Series, Book 2) (Parallel Trilogy), page 22
I smiled, though I didn’t feel any joy. Even though Beth was a bully, I felt kind of bad giving her something that I knew was bad for her. I almost told her these would be the last I’d be giving her—I wasn’t going to steal any others and I doubted I could put mine aside for her. But I decided not to say anything. Maybe she was eating enough of them to put herself in a haze and she wouldn’t even notice that I wasn’t giving them to her. For all I knew, I was just one of her suppliers.
When I got to the gym I saw Austin talking to a girl on a stationary bike. Sighing, I checked in and warmed up, then went to a treadmill as far from him as possible. It didn’t work. A few minutes later he stopped next to me, a grin on his face.
“Hey, Morgan. Good to see you.”
A wave of revulsion crashed over me as I thought about the promise I’d made to him. What if my attempt to escape failed and I was stuck here? What would I do when Alyx left and Austin expected me to take her place? I didn’t know what the two of them did together—and I didn’t want to know—but I feared it would be something I would not want to do. I glanced at him, but continued jogging. He finally walked away and the vise that had gripped my chest loosened.
Austin left me alone for the rest of my workout—though I noticed him talking to several other girls—and I was able to finish in peace. After a shower, I went to the ninth floor to meet with my counseling group, anxious to see if Billy would be there.
I was one of the first people there, but Billy hadn’t arrived yet. A few minutes later he walked in and I gasped. His right eye was swollen nearly shut and a purple bruise covered most of his cheek. As he walked toward me, he walked slowly, as if in pain. The other kids stared at him, but he ignored them.
When he sat next to me I wanted to ask him what had happened, but knew this wasn’t the right time—not with everyone’s gaze glued to him. He smiled at me, maybe trying to reassure me, and I managed to give him a small smile in return.
Mrs. Reynolds arrived a moment later and our counseling session began. After saying the pledge—which I hated more and more—she turned to us and asked, “How are you all feeling today?”
What was the subtext of her question? I wondered. Certain she wanted to know how the drugs in the power bars were affecting us, I answered “Fine”, just like the rest of the kids.
“And Morgan,” she said, her laser-like gaze zeroing in on me, making my heart pound. “How are you feeling?”
“Good.” I didn’t know what answer she had been hoping for—maybe that I’d been in a cold sweat that morning when I’d tried to stop eating my power bars cold turkey—but she seemed slightly disappointed by my one word response.
“You’ve felt quite normal all day?”
No. That morning I’d felt sicker than I’d ever felt. “Yes.”
Her disappointment seemed to deepen and I knew they were using me like a guinea pig, experimenting on me.
She reached into her bag and pulled out four power bars, then held them out to me. “You’ve been deprived these treats today, Morgan, so I want to give them to you now. I’m also giving you one extra, to make up for your lack today.”
I stared at them, not wanting to touch them.
“Come on now.” She shook them in my direction. “Here you go.”
I knew I didn’t have a choice so I stood and took them from her, then sat back down.
“Now, I know you must want to eat them right now, and even though it is rude to eat in front of others, I would like you to go ahead and eat them.” She glanced at the others, who were watching our exchange in silence. “It’s only fair, since the rest of you ate all of yours today and Morgan’s only had three.”
“It’s okay,” I found myself saying. “I can eat them later.”
Her smile vanished. “No. Eat them now.”
My mind spun as I tried to calculate what so much of the drugs at once would do to me. I’d already had one bar at dinner, but it had been a couple of hours. How much of the drug was in my body now? And what would happen when I more than quadrupled that amount, which I was about to do? The day before I’d eaten three bars close together and my mind had become very foggy—I thought about how I’d swayed to the music in my head while I’d been working out. And now I was to eat four at once? What was she trying to accomplish? What would she do if I refused? But why would I refuse? No kid here would—they all loved the power bars. Refusing would only raise her suspicions that I suspected something was wrong.
“Go on, Morgan. We don’t mind,” she said, smiling.
I unwrapped the first bar and began eating. I tried to keep my bites to nibbles. I wondered if I could even pretend to eat but break pieces off and hide them in my pockets, but she kept one eye on me and I knew she’d see if I tried anything.
By the end of the session I’d eaten all four and began to feel the effects of the drugs. I felt very mellow and seemed to have trouble grasping the thoughts that tumbled around my head. When we were dismissed, Billy walked with me. “What happened to you?” I asked, laughter in my voice. “You look baaaad.”
“Morgan, quiet down,” he said.
“Why?” I said in a stage whisper. “Is someone listening?”
He gripped my arm as we walked toward the elevator. We got on—no other kids got on with us—and he helped me wave my card in front of the reader, then he pressed the button for my floor. When we reached my floor, he gently pushed me out.
“Aren’t you coming?” I asked, a strong sense of disappointment washing over me.
“You know I’m not allowed on this floor.”
“No, I don’t.” I stood in the doorway of the elevator, preventing the door from closing.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” He paused. “You’ll be better then.”
“I’m fine right now.” I noticed a look of sadness in his eyes as he watched me, but I didn’t understand why he would feel sad.
“Go to your room. Okay?”
I shrugged. “Okay.” I watched the doors slide closed, then I turned and walked down the hall. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember which room was mine, so I knocked on the first door I came to. A girl I didn’t know opened it.
“What do you want?” she asked, not unkindly.
“Is this my room?”
A look of surprise filled her face. “No.”
“Then where is it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Okay.” I went to the next door and knocked, but no one answered, so I moved on to the next door. Fortunately, the girl who opened the door knew which room was mine and steered me toward it. I knocked on the door she led me to, and a moment later Alyx opened it.
“Morgan, why are you knocking?”
“Hi,” I said, a goofy smile on my face.
“What is wrong with you?” She pulled me inside and closed the door.
“I’m so glad you’re my friend, Alyx.” I threw my arms around her, but after a moment she peeled my arms off of her shoulders.
“I’m glad you’re my friend too.” She led me to my bed. “Why don’t you sit down?”
“Okay.” I plopped onto my bed and smiled up at her. “Did you have fun with Austin today?”
Her face reddened. “Why?”
“He wants me to be his girlfriend when you leave.”
The smile of embarrassment vanished from her face, replaced by fury. “What are you saying?”
There was no doubt that she was angry, but I couldn’t understand what was upsetting her. I was only telling the truth. A warning bell rang somewhere in the recesses of my mind, but I was too far gone to capture the importance of it. “That’s right. He told me himself. He said, ‘Morgan, I can’t wait until Alyx leaves so you can be my girlfriend.’” I smiled at her, waiting for her approval that I had answered her question so well, so I was stunned when she slapped me.
My hand flew up to my stinging cheek and I looked at her, confused.
“You’re lying,” she said through clenched teeth. “Austin loves me.”
I didn’t understand why she was upset, but I did understand that I should go along with what she said, so I nodded.
“What? You agree that you’re lying?”
I nodded vigorously, my hand still held against my cheek.
The anger on her face began to melt and she laughed a little. “You were just playing a joke on me, right?”
I nodded again, pleased that she wasn’t angry with me anymore.
“That was mean, Morgan.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Just don’t do it again.”
“Okay.”
Suddenly I felt exhausted. I climbed under my covers, fully dressed, and closed my eyes. When I woke the next morning I didn’t feel well at all. It reminded me of the time I’d gone to a party and had too much to drink. I rubbed my eyes, then climbed out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. I stared at myself in the mirror and noticed a faint impression of a hand on my face.
Bits and pieces from the night before came back to me. I clearly remembered Mrs. Reynolds making me eat four power bars during the counseling session, but after that things were hazy. For some reason Alyx had slapped me, but I couldn’t recall why. I splashed cold water on my face, then weighed myself like I did each morning.
I’d been at Camp Willowmoss eight days and in that time I’d lost four pounds—not surprising considering the drastic changes that had taken place—but I wasn’t happy about it. If I’d wanted to lose weight—and I hadn’t felt I needed to—this was not the way I would have done it. Being forced to exercise, and being forced to eat drugged power bars, was not the way to help someone improve their health.
I went back to the room I shared with Alyx, but she had left long before I’d gotten up. I looked at the clock and realized I’d overslept. I’d completely missed my first shift in the kitchen. Panicked now, I threw on some clean clothes, then rushed to the elevator and went to the cafeteria.
Chapter Thirty
As I stepped out of the elevator, the usual noise of the full cafeteria hit me as I saw everyone eating breakfast. I hurried into the kitchen, but Sadie was already at the sink. I wondered if I was supposed to do her job again that day so the cut on my hand could continue to heal, but I wasn’t sure.
“There you are, Morgan,” Mrs. Coleman said.
“I’m so sorry I’m late.”
“It’s okay.”
That was not the answer I’d been expecting.
“Your caseworker told me you would be late today and that your tardiness was to be excused.”
Confused how Mr. Madsen knew ahead of time that I would be late, I just nodded.
“I want you to do Sadie’s job again today.”
“Okay.” As I worked my mind was in a whirl. Had Mrs. Reynolds told Mr. Madsen that she was going to give me all those power bars and he had figured it would be like getting me drunk? Or had it been Madsen’s idea in the first place? And why did they tell Mrs. Coleman I should be excused for being late? Did they expect I would oversleep because of the drugs and didn’t want to make a big deal about it?
At the end of my brief shift, Mrs. Coleman told me that Mr. Madsen wanted to talk to me and that someone would come and get me. Worried about why he wanted to see me, my thoughts flew in several directions. Was I in trouble for oversleeping after all? Or was he going to make me eat more power bars to see how many it would take to make me sick?
A few minutes later an Enforcer told me to follow him. We walked through the cafeteria to get to the elevator and I saw that the only people in the room were the kitchen workers. To my surprise, I wasn’t hungry—until I thought about how much appetite suppressant I must have ingested the night before.
The Enforcer led me into the elevator and when the doors closed and it was just the two of us, I felt a moment of panic. What if he hit me like Hansen had done? But he barely acknowledged me as he waved his card in front of the reader. Every button lit up—including the first floor. A wave of jealously washed over me that he could just walk out of this place if he wanted to.
A moment later we arrived on the second floor and he led me to the chair I’d become familiar with. “Wait here.”
I sat and tried to pretend the Enforcer sitting behind the desk wasn’t there. I closed my eyes and imagined my house in Fox Run. I pictured the nearby forest with the little wooden hut—the one with the secret tunnel that apparently brought me to this awful world. I imagined exiting the hut and running back to my house and finding my family inside, all so happy to see me. The idea intoxicated me and my desire to leave this place pounded inside me. I had to get out of here.
After a moment I opened my eyes and saw the Enforcer staring at me. I felt my face redden under his attention and looked past him to the wall, where my gaze settled on a cheerful poster showing an image of the globe, children holding hands circling it, and in bold letters “A healthy me is a healthy world.”
When I thought of the rest of the pledge—and it came to mind easily since I said it several times a day—I felt sick. The words came to mind, unbidden. I pledge to always follow the rules and to take care of my body. I will strive to put the good of all above the desires of one. A healthy me is a healthy world.
How could anyone pledge to follow the rules in this world? They were terrible—definitely not in the best interests of the citizens. Of course it made sense to take care of our bodies, but why should I have to make a promise about it? And if putting the good of all above my own desires involved drugging unsuspecting people to make them easier to control, I could not get behind that idea either.
What is taking Madsen so long? I wondered as I sat there. As I waited, I realized I hadn’t eaten anything since the night before when Mrs. Reynolds had made me eat the four power bars. As I thought about eating those bars, I unconsciously licked my lips, a sudden craving for a bar beginning to sweep over me.
A small bead of sweat formed on my upper lip. I quickly wiped it away and squeezed my eyes closed, willing my body to reject this desire for the drug I’d been given so freely. Opening my eyes, I looked at my hand and noticed a small tremor and vividly recalled my reaction the day before when I’d tried to avoid eating the power bar I’d been given.
My heart seemed to beat faster than normal and I found it hard to breathe. Fearful I would hyperventilate, I leaned over and tried to breathe slowly and deliberately. I could feel the eyes of the Enforcer on me, but I didn’t care. All I cared about was how awful I was feeling and a desire to get relief.
“Morgan,” Mr. Madsen said.
I lifted my head and looked at his grinning face. If I hadn’t been so focused on feeling like crap, I would have wanted to wipe that smile off of his face.
“Follow me.”
When I stood, a wave of nausea crashed over me and I thought I was going to vomit right there in the waiting area, but I swallowed down the urge and walked behind him to his office.
He gestured for me to sit, which I did. He sat behind his desk this time—maybe he was afraid I’d hurl all over his neatly pressed clothes—and smiled at me. “You don’t look very good, Morgan. Is everything okay?”
I shook my head.
“What seems to be the problem?” He reached into his desk. “I believe you haven’t had a chance to eat breakfast. Would this help?” He held out a power bar.
Loathing him for offering me more of what was making me sick, but knowing a small amount would help me feel better, I snatched the bar from his hand and saw a satisfied grin lift the corners of his mouth. Though I wanted to pretend I didn’t really care about eating the bar, desperation to have my withdrawal symptoms ease pushed me to rip open the wrapper and take a large bite. I tried to ignore the look of pleasure on Madsen’s face as I consumed the entire thing.
“Now, isn’t that better?” he asked.
I didn’t answer, not wanting to confirm his certainty that I was indeed addicted to the drug they’d put in the bar.
“There are more where that came from, Morgan. In fact, I will give you as many as you want.”
My heart leapt with happiness at the promise, though my mind knew it was a bad idea.
“All you have to do is keep up your end of the bargain and share information with me.”
Oh, if he only knew the information I’d gleaned—Alyx and Austin’s little friendship, the escape plans that Billy, Piper and I had cooked up, Beth’s intimidation tactics to get more power bars for herself. But I would never tell. I refused to give him the satisfaction of winning.
I was beginning to feel better, thanks to the small dose I’d just downed. “I’m still working on it,” I said.
He frowned. “I’m disappointed in you, Morgan. I thought you would have come through for me by now.” He tapped a finger against his chin. “I seem to recall your desire to work on the grounds crew.” He tilted his head to the side. “Is that something you’d still like to do?”
I nodded. “Yes, I would.”
“Very good. Today is Wednesday. You have until tomorrow morning to give me some information. But if you don’t, all of these offers will be revoked and in their place will be . . . shall we say, another incentive.”
I felt a chill at his pronouncement. I didn’t want to think what other awful thing he had in mind. Instead, I pictured the tunnel that would take me out of this world and back to my home.
“Do we have an understanding?” he asked.
I nodded, having no intention of doing anything to help him out.
He stood. “Good.”
Then he led me back to the waiting area and a few minutes later an Enforcer brought me back to my floor. I had an hour until my second shift, so I decided to stop in and see Piper. I still needed to get the knife from her and I hoped that not only could I do it, but that Piper wasn’t so far gone that she would report me.
When she let me in to her room, I could see she’d been working on her homework.
“Did you do your homework, Morgan?”
I sat on her bed. “Not yet.”
“You should do it.”
“Why?” I put my hand on the covers, just above where I’d seen her hide the knife.
