The Manipulation Room

Chapter 22 - A Team

Manipulation Room victim no. 39292
Name: Gwendolyn Raine
Age: 42 years old
Occupation: Chemist
Family Member: 21-year-old daughter, Lyra
Description: A high voltage current is passed into the victim's body which results in instant death

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I was sitting on the school fields, waiting for Ezra, Kierra and Jax. But mainly Ezra. He was in his detention with Mrs Castellar right now, but he'd agreed to come early so that we could organise our next plan before Jax and Kierra came. We were going to do it. We were going to go to the Manipulation Room.

So, I was sitting and I was waiting. I'd already agreed that it would be me who organised the plan. Mainly because I'm a control-freak and he'd already missed out on too much schoolwork for me to remain calm about it. I had my own notebook now, and it was also filled with notes and elaborately drawn diagrams. The diagrams weren't as good as his but that was expected.

I sprawled my legs out on the thick spring grass, wet under the early morning dew. The overhanging boughs behind me provided dappled shade from the almost overwhelming heat. I pulled my notebook out of my bag and stared at my notes admiringly. I'd missed out on two whole days' worth of revision to make it perfect, which doesn't sound like a lot but it really is. The notes I'd made had timetables, perfectly scaled maps, witness reports...the lot.

No one remembered walking into the Manipulation Room and no one remembers walking out. They also don't remember what happened when they were inside. This meant we had practically nothing, but we had rough measurements and locations. It was enough.

Echo waved at me from across the field, where her and her older friends were walking. The school field was dotted with groups of students, eating lunch and chatting. My phone beeped with a text and when I checked it, it was from her. From Echo. You know, ur lipstick's smudged. I laughed as I texted back, thanks for telling me, weirdo

I tried my best to wipe my lips with no mirror, no water and no tissues, and I was pretty sure I'd made it infinitely worse. I sat for what felt like years but was probably five minutes, looking through my notes again and again. It needed to be perfect. If we were going to do this, we had to do it properly.

"Nice lipstick." I looked up and saw Ezra grinning at me. He dropped his bag in front of me and sat beside me on the grass, stretching his legs out in front of him. "Don't even ask...is it that obvious?" I groaned. He shook his head, still laughing. "No! You look great. Don't worry about it."
I nodded slowly, "You're a great liar."
He smirked again, biting his lip to hold back an even louder laugh.

"I made the plan." I said swiftly, to change the subject as fast as I could. "Cool, do you know when Jax and Kierra are coming?" He asked, folding his legs and shifting closer. I shrugged, "No, but we should have time. We're not...telling them, right?"
He shook his head slowly, "Um..." He exhaled. "No. Let's...let's not. They'll only worry and try to stop us. Which is understandable, 'cause only someone who was completely crazy would do what we're doing."
"Sounds like us."

He laughed, "C'mon. Show me your masterpiece. Lemme guess...diagrams, timetables, notes...the lot. Oh, and witness and news reports?"
I grinned, "You know me so well." I threw the notebook onto his lap and he eagerly opened it to the first page. He raised an eyebrow as he flicked the pages, "Damn, Lyric...the detail in this. We should leave the note-taking to you from now on." He chuckled, scanning a page before studying the diagram. I folded my arms and laughed, "You're only realising that now?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "So...tomorrow, you're coming to mine, right?"
"Right. I don't want my Mum getting suspicious, and I know she will." I replied. He nodded, "What if...what if something happens to us? I mean, we need to do this, but it's dangerous. It's really, really dangerous."
I pulled my knees to my chest and placed my chin on it, "Both our mother's have lost so much already. I just...I don't know. This'll benefit them in the long-run, obviously, but what if it doesn't work?"