The Prodigies [First Draft]

Thirty Three

"We should have spoken about this part of the plan more than we did," Einstein murmured as he and Kenny stood in the Nursery building. "I doubted we would make it this far, so I'm not entirely sure how we'll find a PHC."

Kenny cautiously took a step forward and began moving down the hallway. She turned towards the first door on the left side and touched the knob. Glancing at Einstein, she opened the door just a sliver. Though it was Friday and the Nursery building was supposed to be empty, Kenny still held her breath as she peeked into the room.

No one was there, just as the plan had called for. However, there were no PHCs in the room either.

Kenny fully opened the door, allowing Einstein to see inside. He nodded, turning to the first door on the right side of the corridor. "I'll check the rooms on this side of the hallway. You can do that side."

The two began their search for a personal hologram computer, slowly making their way down the hallway. Kenny was hesitant to open the doors, and once she remembered why, she turned back to Einstein. He was much less careful in making sure no one was in the rooms before he pulled the doors open, so she tried to catch his attention before he could get too far.

"Yes, what is it?"

I had a dream. Clay is in the Nursery.

"You told me this before," Einstein snapped impatiently. "Hurry now. We want to do this as quickly as possible."

Kenny shook her head and scribbled on an index card before he could focus on something other than what she had to say. There are people here.

After a silent moment, Einstein's eyes widened in realization. He removed his hand from the door he'd been about to open and glanced down the hallway. "Who was with you in your dream? Other than Clay, of course. Was Dr. Anderson there?"

Kenny nodded, putting her card back into her pocket.

"How lovely," the boy muttered sarcastically. "They were in the Nursery when you say them, correct? Hm...I'm not sure if we're going to be able to find Clay if Dr. Anderson is experimenting on him in the Nursery."

Kenny frowned. She had to take Clay with her and Einstein. What do you mean?

Einstein's eyebrows came together. "If Dr. Anderson is studying Clay's new abilities as you say, she probably has an eye on Clay at all times. Unless you want to get caught and sent to Detention, I doubt we can go see him, much less help him escape with us. I promise, we'll come back for him after we've gone."

Kenny shook her head. Her stomach churned at the thought of Clay in the Nursery for another hour, much less the few days or weeks it would take her and Einstein to sneak back into AGC. She knew she was going to get caught somehow that night, and even if she didn't escape, she wanted Clay to.

Einstein stared at Kenny for a moment before scratching his head. "If you think of a plan that the two of us could execute while we look for a PHC, perhaps we could find him. I just...I don't know, Hawking. It seems unlikely."

The girl turned back towards her door and opened it, silently scourging the room with her eyes. The hunt for an Orion continued, and it wasn't until a few minutes later that Einstein finally came across a room with a PHC inside. A medical table with straps to restrain subjects sat in the middle of the space, causing Kenny to cringe as she remembered her vision from several night before. She noted the closet near the corner of the room as a place to hide in case anything went wrong and nervously stepped into the room.

"There it is," Einstein breathed. He walked past Kenny and hurried to the computer.

The PHC lay underneath a glass desk next to a cart with a multitude of small vials and needles. Kenny pushed the cart away from the machine and inspected the vials. Nearly all of them were labeled as lacumemeine, but there were several anesthesics and anxiolytics. She flinched at the thought of being injected with any of them and touched the side of her neck.