Eden's Gate

Chapter 19: The Starting Pistol

Once they snuck back to the dorms, avoiding the watchful eye of the cameras, they were greeted by Matthew. A short young man with tanned skin, brown eyes and black hair. He was easily excitable, so when they came back to the room, it was he bounded up out of his chair and ran to them.

"Hey, mum wanted to see you guys! She said she'll be in her office."

They looked at each other for a moment, and Richard gave a nod before waking to his room and coming back out with his cane.

"Leg's acting up again," he lied.

They made their way back to the teacher's dorm and found Eliza sitting at her desk, jotting something down on a paper. She looked up at the children as they entered, her eyes heavy set and tired.

"Good afternoon children. How have you all been doing?" She asked gently.

"We're doing fine." Richard said.

"Where is Clifton?" Kaitlyn asked. She made her voice come off concerned, which was easy, but not accusing, which was harder.

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you all about," she began. "He was your friend, so you deserve to know exactly the situation before any rumors start to spread."

She hung her head as she continued, "I apologize this took as long as it did. I know you must have been worried sick."

She sat the one flat on the desk in front of her and folded her hands together. It was then that Kaitlyn noticed that they were wet? Somehow?

"Unfortunately, on Friday night, Clifton was caught in my office, tampering with the master copy of the grade book. As I'm sure you realize this is an inexcusable crime for which the only appropriate punishment is expulsion."

"He was expelled?" Taylor clenched their fist.

"Yes, I'm sorry," she looked at Taylor. "I know you were particularly close with him."

"Where is he now?" Taylor demanded.

"In a foster home while we finalize the details of his transition to a new school. If it's possible, I will give you an address to write him at if and when one ever becomes available. Until then, please..."

She looked at them directly, her eyes stern. "...stay out of trouble."

A chill ran down her spine. The last hour had been the most revelatory of their life, and this was the frosting on the cake. They were being murdered, one by one, to open the door to some horrible planet of monsters. These monsters were terrifying beyond imagination, masters of genetics, travelers of the cosmos and seemed to be very unhappy about their presence here. Despite this, these unknown staff members wanted them here, and were willing to kill them for that.

And now, there was no other conclusion to draw, no more paper thin visages of hope to hide behind. The truth store at them all, as sure as Eliza's gaze pierced their hearts:

Eliza was in on it.

How else to explain it? The authority to expel ultimately rested entirely in Eliza, and while editing the grade book - which they knew he hadn't been doing - might well have been a reason for it, expel him from the entire orphanage? To where, exactly? Some students here did have homes and families, the school was theoretically separate from the orphanage, but Clifton was very much a child with no such home to go to. Eden's Gate was his home.

The excuse was too flimsy, the action too drastic, the air too thick with implication. There was no way around it. The woman who had raised, loved, and cared for them was a part of a cult that was trying to murder them. What's more, her calling them all here and telling them this, so boldly, to their face, meant that she knew they knew the truth. That last comment confirmed it.

How much she knew was in the air. Had she seen them on the cameras, skulking around on their journey to save Clifton? Had she been scrying the Screaming Door when they were in it? Or was it just coincidence that now was when she wanted to tell them. It took every ounce of Kaitlyn's will not to unravel all that they'd learned in her thoughts. She could see from the look on Taylor's face that they had caught on as well, and while Richard was much more stoic she could feel the terror radiating off of him.

For Kaitlyn's part, she was scared, but she was also absolutely livid.

They were going to go back to the dorms, but Taylor had the clever idea that, after they had been dismissed, they should go to the Workshop instead and talk there. Less prying eyes, more excuses to be there instead of the dorm.

"I see we all got the message," Richard said.

"Loud and clear," Taylor reiterated.

Taylor sat down and put their hands on their head. They were trying not to cry. And all at once, the emotions rushed back to Kaitlyn too. She plopped down at a desk and began to openly weep.

Richard also frowned, sitting down.

"We can't do this alone," Kaitlyn wheezed out, "what if we got Mrs. Marigold to help?"

Richard closed his eyes with a heavy sigh, "why do you think she'd be someone we can trust?"

"Because she's not psychic, and I haven't picked up on anything evil going on in her mind." Kaitlyn argued. "She can't block us out, and she's an adult. She can help."

"And that's the problem," Richard pointed out, "her mind's an open book to everyone else here. Even us kids can read her. We might be able to protect her if we're around, but we can't be with her at all times."

"So by getting her involved, we'd be...we'd be risking her life." Taylor lamented.

"And don't forget even F-Grades can learn to quiet their mind of specific thoughts. She's been here a while, it's entirely possible she's had mental defense training, even just by virtue of being around other psychics"

Kaitlyn frowned. He was right, though. They couldn't rely on Donna. Not now, at least.

Richard suddenly sat up straight, and tapped his pockets. He pulled out the key from before. "Oh, right. We still have this."

"That's bad," Kaitlyn realized. "If she finds us with that key, we're in big trouble."

"But giving up access to that place...I don't like that idea." Richard said.

Taylor got up out of their chair, sniffling and rubbing their eyes before steeling themselves and walking over to the Materials Cabinet and pulling out a block of putty. The key glowed amber and hovered its way over to them, and pressed itself flat into the putty.

"I can make a copy with this." They said, "Clifton died to give us this key. I won't let his sacrifice be in vain, and I'm going to play it smart."

"Good." Richard said. "Being able to get in there again will be useful. But for now, we need to start working on an escape."

Kaitlyn looked at him, tilting her head. It was at this time Mr. Lepus invited himself to the room. Kaitlyn had left him behind, worried he may stick his little paws on something he shouldn't.

"It's our only option. We're the key, so if we're not here, they can't do it. And if we disappear, that might lead the teachers who aren't in on it to dig around and learn what we have. Either way, us missing makes their goal impossible."

"What about the others they have marked down in the grade book?" Taylor asked.

Kaitlyn answered, "for whatever reason, they were ruled out. They might be able to rule them back in, but that will take time. Time our teachers will hopefully spend solving the mystery."

"And where are we going to go?" Taylor asked.

"We can figure that out after we leave. Escape is most important, especially because now that Eliza knows we're aware of it, she's going to do whatever she can to get rid of anyone who isn't in on their evil plan so they can get it done faster."

"So it's a race," Kaitlyn realized.

Richard gave a solemn nod, and the group spent the rest of the time letting their emotions loose. The other realization of the day was that without exception, their friends were dead. That would take time to process.