Young Writers Society

Chapter 13

This is the Plan that Could Get Us Killed

[Daisy]

"Alright everyone," began Mr.Haber, speaking up first," I know this is probably a lot to take in but now that you all said yes we're locked in, there's no way to change these things last minute. For better or for worse you guys now hold all our lives in your hands."

"So no pressure," prompted Harry.

Mr. Haber cracked a smile," Exactly. No pressure at all. Just ten million lives. A fraction of a percentage of what the human race once was."

"But still a lot," added Daisy.

"Yes," came a voice from the corner. It was Ryan. Daisy almost jumped out of her seat. Man that guy stays silent way too much. 

"Okay, let's move onto planning this out shall we?" said Mrs. Kane.

"So where do you plan on starting the scouting?" asked Ms. Johnson.

"Umm...I guess we need to first figure out where exactly we can meet at?" said Harry," from what I know the three of us are from three different sectors."

"Yes," said Ryan.

"I'm pretty far away from here," said Kathryn," but I do have duty somewhere nearby, at least close to this location. I don't know how far off you guys live."

"Pretty close," said Aria," and the three of us are in the same hall, so we're good. But uhh, I don't think I've seen either of you anywhere near that."

"Yeah you wouldn't have, I'm like block P," said Kathryn.

"And I am from block Z," added Ryan. Daisy nodded slowly. Of course. That's why I've never heard of him. He's from the other end of camp.

"Right, we're all block H," said Aria.

"And the gate is closest to Block B," said Mr. Summers," which is nowhere near the center of where either of you are. Well, I suppose luck is not in our favor for that one."

"All three of you have different routes to The Hub if my memory is correct," said Mr. Haber.

"Yes," said Evelyn," Z is definitely nowhere near H."

"It's in an 8,9,9 pattern if I remember correctly," said Kathryn," so A-H in one route, then I-Q on another route and R-Z is yet another route."

"Precisely," said Mrs. Kane," so you will need to meet at The Hub or somewhere that is off the usual pathways. Well this could've maybe been a bit more ideal, but we'll have to work with what we have."

"Wouldn't The Hub be maybe a little too easy Alice?" asked Ms. Johnson," It’s a little hard to sneak out from the literal center of camp."

"Definitely not The Hub," said Mr. Summers,"you don't want to be anywhere near that with anything remotely suspicious. That's where their surveillance is tightest. It's okay to pass through quickly but do not hang around for a conversation longer than a couple of minutes."

"So that's out," said Harry.

"How about we just all go through The Hub tomorrow and then find a location together, like we walk through in staggered five second intervals or something and make it happen?" suggested Aria.

"Depends on the duty points," said Ms. Johnson," Kathryn, Ryan where are you two supposed to be at that time?"

"I've got like early morning," said Kathryn," maintenance of the library computer systems...which will be a problem because at that time of night I should be asleep, or at least in my quarters. The whole place is dark at that point."

"Yaa...when we get off duty it is dark," said Harry," there is not a single light near The Hub at all."

"Ryan?" asked Ms. Johson.

"For me it should be relatively fine. I get off sometime in the evening or actually pretty much night I suppose. About one hour before the lights are turned out. But then I'm pretty close to home and therefore pretty far from The Hub so by the time I can make it there you guys should be off duty. And since I work in the furnishings area, it's technically open 24/7 for small repairs and I occasionally run the night shifts even though I'm technically not old enough for that. As long as it was on days my father was feeling ill the aliens didn't really care. So I could easily be out at that time and use that excuse."

"Perfect. finally some good luck," said Mrs. Kane," so it shouldn't be too big of a deal for the five of you to 'accidentally' run into each other near The Hub."

"Yeah coincidences are so useful aren't they?" said Harry.

"Very useful," agreed Mr. Haber, nodding with a smile.

"So I'm the one who's going to have to sneak out?" asked Kathryn, shifting slight in her seat.

"I guess you could always get an issue in the plumbing," said Daisy.

"No, there are routes that are much shorter than the ones through The Hub," said Mrs. Kane," that would be a pretty poor excuse."

"Is there a better one though?" asked Mr. Haber, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"You could get 'lost'?" suggested Mr. Summers.

"All they need to do is take one look at her records and there is no way that they are going to buy that," said Mrs. Kane, leaning back with a sigh. "Sorry, I just want to make this as low risk as possible. Last thing we need is the kids being questioned just days out from the actual...operation."

"Yeah we can't just any excuse," added Ms. Johnson, with a nod.

"What about..." began Jake.

"I think I have one," said Kathryn, suddenly brightening up.

"Yaa?" asked Mrs. Kane.

"What if the route through the Hub was the only way to make it to the plumbing section?" said Kathryn.

"Okay what are you getting at exactly?" asked Ms. Johnson," there's no way to block off one route if that is what you are asking."

"But there is, isn't it?" said Kathryn," accidents can happen. Especially with plumbing."

“You mean mess something up so badly that one of the pipes in the walls blow up?" asked Mr. Haber, a twinkle of excitement in his eye.

"Yes," said Kathryn.

"But that would require you to hit precisely the perfect part of the plumbing in several bathrooms at once," said Mr. Summers, not looking convinced.

"Can't be too hard to figure that sequence out," said Kathryn," besides we don't actually have to cause a big plumbing problem. Just one that can look like something that would discourage travelling through that particular pathway."

"Are you sure you can pull it off in time for say, tomorrow?" asked Mrs. Kane. "Its best if we do this as early as humanly possible."

"I think so," said Kathryn.

"So everyone ends up near The Hub at about the time these three get off duty?" asked Ryan.

"Yes, We'll be there around twenty to twenty-five minutes after the official ending time," said Aria. Daisy hoped no one was going to ask why. The fifteen minutes they'd started spending at the end of those long shifts were far too valuable to have to let go of.

"Great, then the four of you can "accidentally" run into each other near The Hub and then wonder off a bit to discuss exactly which paths you must take on the day," said Mr. Haber, nodding along.

"I think that about sums it all up," said Mrs. Kane," are you all okay with it?"

The five of them nodded.

"Perfect," said Mrs. Kane," all we need to now do is get this all done."

"I will set up the meeting for the door jacking at noon tomorrow, then perhaps early on the morning after, I can debrief everyone participating in information grabbing for the cameras," said Mr. Summers, "I guarantee it will go smoothly. You kids do your part and maybe in three days or so we'll be in business."

"Excellent, gives us two days of leeway," said Mrs. Kane. "And umm, well this is getting a bit too late I'm afraid. We will have to discuss the pre planned routes and the other segment of the plan tomorrow. I don't think its safe to organize another between us, so I will go ahead and tell Aria, and she will inform all of you by the time the escape needs to happen."

"Very well then off we go. This will not be a repeat of '06," said Jake nodding.

"2217 will not become another 2206, that much I think we can hope for," said Harry," we're a lot more prepared than they were back then."

"Correct," said Mrs. Kane," alright everyone, let's get ourselves some sleep now. It's going to be a big day tomorrow. Good Luck to you all."