Six (Countdown book 1)

Chapter 17

Later that night, when everyone was discussing where they'd sleep, I was busy unpacking all my new equipment. In just over two hours, I turned the old, dusty disused science room into a science lab at least as good as the one back at the castle had been. 

It was around nine o'clock. I decided to get started. I had two and a half months to do something that me and Ben had taken nine months to complete. I started by making a generator. After all, we couldn't exactly tap into the local power grid. They'd wonder why there was electricity running into an old, abandoned school. 

I set up two natural power sources. I attached small windmill turbines outside everywhere where they wouldn't be noticed, then put solar panels up on the roof. I hooked it all up, and, as the turbines were blown into life, the lights in the room flickered on. 

"Let there be light." I muttered, grinning. I collapsed back in the office chair that had been left in the room (and which I'd cleaned thoroughly) and stared around at the equipment. The least I could do tonight was finishing setting up. I started plugging in the computers, connecting everything to everything, setting up all the electronics and making sure they worked. 

Then, I went to the old wooden bookshelf that had been left behind and tested to make sure it was secure. Then, I began filling it with all the chemicals that I had acquired earlier that day. Some of them needed to be refrigerated, and I remembered seeing a refrigerator in what had been the staff-room. 

I walked quietly down the stairs. It was late at night, and the others were probably asleep. I was far too excited to be tired, though. I eventually got down to the bottom floor, and went into the old staff room. I looked around for a moment, then saw a small, dusty mini-fridge in one corner. I stared dubiously at it, wondering if it would work. No time for that now. 

I picked up the fridge carefully, putting both hands underneath it and lifting it with a straight back so that I wouldn't injure myself. Then, I slowly made my way back up to the science room, being careful not to trip. I walked into the room, and plugged the fridge in, opening the door hopefully. The fridge hummed softly and the light inside turned on. 

I quickly filled it with the chemicals that needed to go in there, and then went over to the set of books I'd bought, and filled the bottom few shelves of the bookcase with them. The room was looking pretty good. I fell back onto the chair, and felt exhaustion finally catch up with me. I got back up, and picked one of the books off the bookcase. I turned off all the lights apart from the book light I'd set up one the desk and wheeled the chair over. 

I was reading until about five o'clock the next morning, then I fell asleep. Andy came and woke me up around two hours later when everyone else was getting up. "You did sleep last night, didn't you?" she asked me warily. I nodded. 

"Uh-huh. Slept like a log." For two hours, that is. I went downstairs and ate breakfast with the others, telling them about how I'd set everything up last night and could get to work on the formula now. Scarlett didn't seem very happy that I'd been up most of the night sorting it out, but she let it slide. 

When I'd finished, I made my way back upstairs to the lab, so I could get to work. I put the book that I'd been reading last night back on the shelf, and began powering everything up. It took a while for everything to get ready and warm up, but luckily it had been really windy last night and really sunny this morning, so there was quite a lot of electricity stored. Enough for what I needed to do, at least. 

I began typing away at one of the laptops, writing up notes of what I remembered from when I'd last worked on the formula with Ben. I stared at what little I had to go on, not even sure that it was correct with the amount that he had tampered with it. I quickly deleted it all, realising that I'd have to start from scratch completely.