The Maplethorn Initiative (Book 1, The Maplethorn Series)

Eyeballs & Pacemakers

"Do you think they forgot about us?" Tober asked as he and Cam shuffled around the gym during their morning run.

"Doubtful," Cam answered. "Although it has been two weeks. I almost wish something would happen so we could quit worrying about it."

As if on cue, Captain Carver's voice echoed through the gymnasium. "Drexler! Sunderland! Front and center!"

The two cadets jogged over to the bleachers where their floor captain stood waiting along with Liam Burke.

Cam's shoes squeaked on the lacquered floorboards as he skidded to a stop and came to attention. "Cadet Drexler reporting, sir."

"Cadet Sunderland, too," Tober added.

"At ease, both of you." The clock above the door erupted with an ear-splitting buzz, and cadets began pouring out of the gym. "I need the three of you to hang back for a minute."

Cam shot a nervous glance at Liam. "Uh, yes, sir."

"Just grab a seat." Carver pointed to the empty bleachers. "Someone will come get you."

Tober's eyes followed their floor captain as he jogged away. "Is this our punishment?" he asked. "We have to live in the gym and do PT all day?"

"Maybe they're going to make us polish the floor with our toothbrushes?" Cam suggested, trying to lighten the mood.

Liam grabbed a basketball from a nearby rack and went to take out his frustrations on the backboard. "I'll polish the floor with your faces if you don't shut up."

"Seriously," Tober said, lowering his voice and lowering himself onto the first row of bleachers. "What do you think they're going to do to us?"

Cam took a seat beside his friend. "I assume today's the day we join the Red Program. Although I still can't believe Burke didn't pick juvie."

"He wants to be a CP so he can push everyone around," Tober whispered through the side of his mouth.

"Did you think about letting Gates send you to juvie?"

"I wanted to," Tober drawled. "But when Dr. Bensen said you and Liam both signed up, I felt like a big ol' chicken for not choosing the Red Program."

"From what I hear, this place is way more cush than juvie."

"Until they drill out part of your brain," Tober said earnestly.

Cam's head snapped around. "Um, what?"

"I heard that's why the Red's like following the rules so much," Tober explained. "Because they can't think for themselves anymore."

Cam felt this had to be a joke or at least a grisly rumor, but it was also clear that Tober believed it.

"They pop your eyeball out of the socket to do the surgery, and you can tell someone's in the Red Program because they have one eye bigger than the other."

"Uh, why is it bigger?"

"Because your eye swells up when they take it out." Tober seemed to be scaring himself with his answer. "Like how astronauts' heads explode if they don't wear helmets in space."

In addition to magnifying every thump, squeak, and curse from Liam's one-person basketball game, the gym's acoustics carried Tober's words out to the middle of the court. After overhearing the eyeball story, Liam dribbled over to join the conversation.

"I heard the Red's all get pacemakers," he said, mocking Tober's accent. "And they're remote-controlled. If you ever step out of line, Gates pushes a button and boom! Your pacemaker explodes, and you die!"