The Prodigies [First Draft]

Twenty Nine

Kenny spent her weekend deciphering the files. The task was much more tedious than she thought it would be, for she wasn't familiar with either Latin or Dvorak keys. She worked through Saturday night to decode as much as she could, but she had only finished translating everything into Latin by breakfast. She put the files into her backpack and took them with her to the Dining Hall, placing the papers in a three-ring binder to keep them together.

Once she was finished eating, Kenny hurried to the library. Color, Fins, and Clay were participating in an on-campus Mass along with about half of the student body, so she was able to leave early without being questioned. She made her way to the library and began translating the files from Latin to English.

Kenny went through the rest of the day in a daze. She couldn't remember the last time she'd gotten more than eight hours of sleep, and it was taking a toll on the young girl. She struggled to stay awake as she decoded the files, and she couldn't recall anything she had translated moments after she had written it down. When Einstein entered the room at eight o'clock, he startled Kenny enough to make her drop the dictionary.

"What are you doing, mu--Hawking?" Kenny was grateful that Einstein corrected himself, but she scowled at the fact that her library book was now on the floor. She pulled a card from her pocket and handed it to the boy.

I figured out the code, it read.

Einstein looked to Kenny in disbelief. "Is this true? Have you really figured it out?"

The young girl gestured towards the papers on the table, and Einstein rushed towards them. He took several minutes to look through all of the files, murmuring incoherent phrases under his breath as he did. Kenny looked over the pages she hadn't finished and organized them into a pile separate from the finished papers.

"How did you do this?" Einstein demanded as his eyes skimmed over the first page.

Kenny shuffled through her pack of cards. She had created several index cards the night before for this exact moment. After a moment, the young girl found the card she was looking for. The files were written first in Latin, and then typed using a Dvorak keyboard.

Einstein furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He asked Kenny to elaborate, she she tried as best as she could using the cards she had. Once Einstein understood the encryption process, she handed him the still coded files and asked for his help. The boy nodded and sat down, and the two began working together to translate the files into English.

As she worked, Kenny looked for the words "Black Outs" in the files. She ignored everything else she read, including the mention of lacumemine, deciding to read the passage later. With Einstein's help, she was able to decode the rest of the papers within the next three hours. Kenny stood to stretch as Einstein gathered the papers together and placed them in her binder.

Einstein's smile lit up his entire face. "We've actually done it! I didn't think we would find the code, much less decode the files!"

Kenny frowned. She thought Einstein had had more faith in both of their abilities.

Kenny took a moment to look through the files Einstein had decoded. As she scanned the pages for any passages on Black Outs, she noticed that the Nursery was spoken of frequently in the files. She decided to review all of the papers she and Einstein had decoded rather than sleep that night. She would figure out what was causing her Black Outs and what the Nursery was before her next day of school.

Kenny, who had been focused intently on the files, realized Einstein was staring at her. What is it? she asked.

"Er...." Einstein scratched his head. "I...lied to you. I have a reason for doing it, too, but.... Hawking, there's nothing about Black Outs in these files. They only talk about the Nursery. However--"