Blackstone Academy: The Rogue

8. Troy Roman

Troy (Male P.O.V) 

Date: September 15, 2238

We ran towards the main building as the clouds burst and unleashed heaps of water for the second time today. Chuckling, we ducked under the concrete awning, over the door, escaping the sudden deluge.

The streams of water poured over the sides, creating a waterfall around us as we approached the back door. I pulled it open, and we stepped inside the semi-dark entranceway. The neon glow from the exit sign hanging above the doorway illuminated our passage.

"Hold on, let me take this back." She lightly shook the container before disappearing through the cafeteria doors.

While she was gone, I waited by the elevator, leaning against the wall, and as soon as she returned, we stepped inside.

"Are you sure Kayden's still here?" She asked.

"Yeah, and if not, we can check his dorm room." I mashed the button for the basement as the doors slid closed.

The elevator descended, taking less than twenty seconds to reach the lower level. A clear and melodious sound announced our arrival before the doors glided open. A short narrow corridor stood before us with a condo size metal door at the end. Smack in the center of the door is a red and white sign that reads, "Restricted Access." But despite that glaring warning, we still headed toward it.

"Shit," I muttered, lightly smacking the keycard reader on the wall beside it when we reached the door.

"Should we just go back?" Nova asked.

Before I could answer, the two-foot thick door cracked open, and a familiar blond head poked out.

"What took you so long? I was just about to leave." Kayden whispered.

"You didn't say what time we should come," I said, matching his tone. "Why are we whispering? The place was almost empty when we came."

"There are still two other people in the lab. And I don't know what they will say if they see you so..."

"Well, we don't want to get you in trouble, Kayden, so we can just go." Nova grabbed my arm and started to turn back.

"No, it's fine." Kayden pushed the door open and waved us inside. "We just gotta be quiet. So we don't get caught."

"Okay," Nova slipped off her flip-flops, and as soon as her feet touched the cold tiles, she sucked in a sharp breath of air.

I quickly slipped off my jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders, hoping that would chase away the sudden chill.

She shot a grateful smile in my direction before following Kayden down the hallway.

"Kayden, what exactly do you do down here?" I questioned as the brick wall on the right gave way to floor-to-ceiling glass windows.

It's dark inside, but the light spilling over from the hallway provides more than enough to see. The entire room is stark white, from the walls to the floors, and it all looks very sterile. Lab equipment occupies every surface, and there's more than enough to satisfy the biggest of nerds. And that's probably why Kayden felt so at home here.

"Whatever they tell me. But for the last few weeks, I've been busy checking soil and water samples." He answered, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Why do they think something in the water or soil caused the mutation?" Nova asked.

"No, I don't think so." He glanced over his shoulder back down the hallway. "But before they assigned me this task, I checked the blood samples of the first people that turned."

"And what did you find?" I questioned.

"Nothing. As soon as Dr. Dunn found out," At the confused looks on Nova and my face, he explained. "He's the lead scientist down here. But anyway, he was pissed and had them reassign me."

"Why would he be mad about that?" I mused aloud.

Kayden shrugged. "You'd have to ask him that, my friend."

It was silent for a while as we continued down the hall until Kayden snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I think they want to expand the farming we do here. You know, slowly start rebuilding and being able to feed everyone."

"That's good, but I can't believe you want me to work down here. This place sounds boring as hell."

"It may be a little boring..." He stopped in front of a door on the left side, but instead of going in, he turned to us. "But it's worth it to change the lives of the people outside these walls, Troy. Everyone isn't blessed, lucky, or whatever you want to call it to have food, shelter, and people guarding them twenty-four-seven like we are. They're starving or risking their lives fighting over scraps, and that's no way to live."

Before I could respond, two voices traveled around the bend in the hallway. Kayden's eyes went wide before he quickly ushered us back the way we came. We were nearly home free until we stepped out the door and came face to face with Maverick Knight.

"Fuckkk," Kayden said under his breath.

"What were you doing in there, Roman?" Maverick questioned. His attention focused solely on me as if the others weren't there.

"Um..." I scratched the side of my head, buying myself a few seconds to think of an excuse. "Mr. Lennox assigned me cleaning duty in the cafeteria, but I got lost on the way there and ended up down here."

"You got lost?"

"Yep."

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay. Whatever. Just get back up to your rooms."

He stepped aside, watching us as we passed.

"How did you know we were down here?" Nova asked.

"You tripped the silent alarm on the back door, and the guards saw you on camera," he explained while I resisted the urge to look for the cameras. "And you're lucky I told them I knew you and would send you back to your dorms."

I was happy we'd got away scot-free, but I still would've liked to get the answers we'd come down here in search of in the first place. I'd just have to wait until another time.

"I told you to come through the side door." Kayden sharply whispered in my direction. The side door led to the cafeteria, so nobody would have noticed if we'd come through that door.

"I forgot we were rushing to get out of the rain," I whispered back to him.

"How long were you waiting for us to come out?" Nova slipped back on her flip-flops as we waited for the elevator.

"I don't know. A couple of minutes." Maverick guessed, glancing at his empty wrist. "Anyway, they thought you were the thief."

"What? We have a thief?" Kayden asked.

"Yeah. So far, they've stolen mostly small stuff. Like medical supplies, food, and umm..." He paused and scratched his ear. "Underwear."

Even though Maverick was in his junior year at Blackstone Academy, he was already training with the security team for the permanent position he would receive after he graduated. He was guaranteed a place on the security team because he excelled in all his training classes.

Only a select few students surpassed their training classes and received the honor of training with the security team before graduating. I admired this about Maverick, but I wouldn't tell him that. I also wished that would happen to me when I became a Junior. Until then, I would have to wait and see if I met their standards.

"Wow! It seems like they really value your skills." I teased, trying to stifle my laughter behind my hand as he flipped me off.

"Wait a minute," Kayden said. "I can understand the food and medical supplies but underwear. Are they a pervert or something?"

"Probably. I'll let you know when we catch them."

++++++++

Thank you for reading!