James Grippando - Leapholes

Nothing but sugar.

"Praise be," she said with relief.

There were five piles left. Kaylee was seated beside the old woman. "Young lady," the doctor said. "Your turn."

Kaylee withdrew. "No, I don't want to choose. Let the others go first. I'll take whatever pile is left."

"Fine. If that be your choice. Sir, it's your turn."

The Sling Man moved closer to the five remaining piles. Without a moment's hesitation, he chose the fifth pile from the left. It was pure sugar. "How sweet it is!" he shouted, raising two fists in the air.

The Flu Lady was next, and she chose sugar. Just three piles remained. One of them concealed a bottle cap.

The doctor's voice tightened. "Ryan, it's your turn."

Ryan shook his head. "No. I feel the same as Kaylee. I don't like this game."

"Well, one of you is going to have to choose."

"I'll choose," said Kaylee. "But I'm choosing for Coach Jenkins."

"What?"

"I can't bring myself to choose for myself. So the pile I choose will be the coach's fate. Can you accept that, sir?"

The coach swallowed hard. The suggestion seemed to have taken him by surprise, but he was eager to get this over with. "I accept," he said. "Choose one for me."

The girl stared at the three remaining piles of sugar. Her eyes opened wider, but she was otherwise still. Not a muscle moved. She didn't even blink. Ryan wondered if she was even breathing. Finally, her arm stretched forward. Her fingers shook as they approached the pile. She placed her hand over the middle one, then raked it clean off the board with her fingers.

There was only sugar.

The coach let out a nervous chuckle of relief. Then he looked at Ryan and said, "I guess it's down to you two."

Ryan stared at the two remaining piles. He looked at the four players who would live, and then he looked at Kaylee. The four looked smug. Kaylee looked terrified. He realized that he, too, must have looked frightened. Who wouldn't have been scared? He had his whole life ahead of him. Whether he would live or die came down to this: two piles on a tray. One was pure sugar, the other was hiding a bottle cap. One was life; the other, death. It all seemed so unfair.

"Come on, Ryan," said Dr. Watkins. "Choose:'

His heart was thumping in his chest. He swallowed the lump in his throat and picked the one on the right.

"That one," he said.

"Sift through it," said the doctor. "It's your lot."

He drew a deep breath, then dragged his fingers through the pile.

All eyes turned toward Kaylee. She was stunned, silent. The doctor tilted up one end of the tray. Slowly, the last-remaining pile of sugar dissolved, and the bottle cap rolled onto the table. It landed in front of Kaylee.

The doctor looked at her and said, "I'm sorry, young lady."

Her body began to tremble, and then she let out a scream. "No, not me!"

"It's what we agreed," said Coach.

"No, it's not fair! It's not fair at all."

"It is as fair as we can be."

"Why should it be me? Why should I die? I'm just fourteen!"

Fourteen, thought Ryan. She was actually younger than he had guessed. Ryan could hardly stand to listen. It could have been him. It had come down to just two piles of sugar. He could have chosen the wrong one. He'd chosen the right one, but it didn't feel right.

For this, I deserve to live?

Ryan said, "There has to be another way."

"There is no other way," said Coach.

Kaylee screamed even louder. Then she sprang like a cat toward the box of glass vials on the table. The men in the hazmat suits grabbed her.

"Take her away!" Dr. Watkins ordered.

The men tried to restrain her, but Kaylee was kicking and screaming at the top of her lungs. She refused to go without a fight. The guards wrestled her to the floor, but she kicked one man in the shins. He cried out in pain, and Kaylee wiggled free. The doctor jumped into the fracas and tried to subdue her, but Kaylee was twisting in every direction. The coach pounced on her and slapped her across the face.

"Please!" she cried. "Somebody help me!"

Ryan had no time to think, but his instincts took over. He grabbed the box of vials and jumped atop the table.

"He's got the vaccine!" the coach shouted.

"Stop right there!" said Ryan. "Or I'll smash the vials against the wall."

The others stopped dead in their tracks.

The doctor said, "Put the box down gently, boy. There's no need for this. You're one of the winners."

"A winner?" he said, scoffing. "Is that what you think this is? Some kind of game?"

"It's the best we can do," said Coach.

Ryan shook his head, disgusted by such a lame response. "No, it's not the best we can do. We're in this together. We'll all make it out of this mess. Or none of us will."

The coach glared. "You're talking nonsense. Give us the box."

Ryan took a half-step backward. He nearly stepped on the Flu Lady's cup of water-and suddenly he had an idea. He grabbed the cup and pitched the water onto the floor. Then he reached inside the box of vials.

"What are you doing?" the coach asked nervously.

"Just stay back, or all five of these vaccines will be sprayed across the wall." Ryan kept one eye on the lookout, and one eye on the cup. He opened one vial and poured some of the vaccine into the empty cup.

"Don't be a fool," said the doctor.

Ryan said, "We have five vaccines. If each of us takes a little less, we can make six."

"We'll all die!" said the Sling Man.

"Or maybe we'll all live," said Ryan.

The guard took a step toward him, but Ryan raised the box over his head once again, threatening to smash the vials to bits. The guard backed away. Ryan opened the remaining vials. "Don't do it!" the doctor shouted.

Ryan ignored him. One after the other, he emptied a small amount of liquid from each vial and poured it into the cup. When he finished, he had six vaccines. The others looked on, angry and astonished. To Ryan, however, it felt completely right. He looked at the coach and said, "Bring Kaylee here. She should drink first."

Nobody moved. Ryan and the coach were locked in a stare-down, but the others were watching the cup, the concoction that contained some of the vaccine from each of the five vials. Ryan smelled something strange. He, too, glanced down at the cup.

"It's bubbling," said the guard.

"It's about to boil," said the other.

It was boiling. As it boiled, the yellow liquid inside began to expand. The cup was half full, then two-thirds full. The sixth share that Ryan had created was boiling and growing right before their eyes.

Then they heard a noise. It was a deep rumbling that sounded like a distant earthquake. It was coming from inside the cup.

"What is that?" asked Kaylee.

"I don't know," said Ryan.

The cup started to rattle. The boiling yellow liquid was bubbling over the sides like a science project gone bad.

"I think it's going to explode!" said Coach.

The rumbling grew louder. The rattling spread to the table. The legs were tapping on the floor. Then the floor, itself, began to shake. At first, it was a vibration beneath their feet. Soon, the whole room was in motion. Ryan could barely stay on his feet.

"Run for it!" the doctor shouted.

One of the guards flung the door open. Ryan tried to run, but the floor was shaking too violently. He fell to his knees and dropped the box containing their vaccine. He heard the glass vials shatter. He saw the others running. He heard himself screaming as the cup exploded and released a bright flash of light. The colors were more intense than any fireworks display he had ever seen.

And then there was only darkness.

The bright light of interrogation was shining in Ryan's eyes.

The blast in the Infectious Disease Control Center had knocked him out, cold. Apart from that, he was unhurt. He didn't know how long he had been unconscious. Even more disconcerting, he had no idea where he was.