ACADEMY FOR THE DAMNED

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

"Juliette?" quizzed Dillon

Amina nodded. "I feel her presence and that presence is very, very strange."

"Others have spoken about her," said Ike. "Those with telepathic ability says she's like some sort of psychic generator. Others say she doesn't come from here, this world I mean."

"Where did she come from then?" said Dillon.

Ike shrugged.

That afternoon all the teenagers were corralled by the robot servitors and taken to what Dillon judged to be the heart of the building. Here was an open space, an atrium, surrounded on all sides by the building and paved with large flat slabs of stone. There was a garden close by and at its centre was a fountain. Dillon looked up and saw the azure sky. He breathed in the fresh air. He thought this was probably as far as anyone could get inside this place from the wall, and its horrors without.

The garden was a riot of colour, red roses, crimson geraniums, purple fuchsias, yellow marigolds, haber arums, yellow and white and pink and red dahlias. To see so much colour after the greys and browns of the building's interiors was an uplift to the teenager's prevailing mood. Even the wall size screens couldn't match this display. The scents of the flowers brought back memories of their various homes.

Dillon saw a robot, this time a squat machine like a mechanical crab inching its way around the garden on steel, insect like articulated legs. It had numerous tools extending from its body and the tools hoed and weeded and generally tended the garden. From time to time sprays of water appeared and soaked the flowers. Dillon stepped up to a tree.

"It's an apple tree," he said.

He picked one of the apples and bit into it. He nodded approvingly.

"It's good."

He plucked another apple from the tree and tossed it to Ike who started eating it. He tossed another to Amina and then to Emily.

"We have apples in Malaya," said Amina. "This is different. It's sharper for one thing. Ours tend to be sweeter, but it's still good."

Other teenagers were helping themselves to the apples in the tree.

"This is a nice place," said Dillon. "I wonder why they were hiding it."

"I've a hunch we'll find out soon enough," said Emily.

Dee made her appearance. The other teenagers stood away from her and averted their gaze not wanting to make eye contact. The hairs on the back of Dillon's neck rose. Dee looked directly at him and smiled. Despite himself he thought she looked attractive and the black lipstick and dark makeup enhanced her natural prettiness. He turned. He did not want such a dangerous person taking an interest in him.

Juliette entered the atrium. She forced a smile.

"As you all know my name is Juliette. I know many of you have your suspicions about me. I'll get to the point. Within this space is a gateway to another world, a good world. However there are dark things at work within this new world. I need to lead a group on a reconnaissance mission. We got to look for monsters in this other world. Only that, and then we return. It's not without some danger but you people have certain abilities. I have chosen a number of you because of those abilities."

She reeled off some names Dee, Dillon Ike and Amina and Emily were among them.

"You made a mistake," Dillon protested. "I've got no ability, at least if you are talking psychic."