Marilyn Kaye - Speak No Evil

Only it wasn’t the best for Paul, or Amanda, or Ken, or any of his classmates. Dr Paley had to be stopped. And Paul was the only one who knew or cared about what Dr Paley wanted to do. He would have to stop him.

But Paul was a mouse, a tiny, insignificant creature which couldn’t do much worse than chew through a granola bar wrapper a little more efficiently than a cockroach.

Throughout the night, he wandered the narrow tunnels and crevices in the walls. It was cold in there, and he was hungry. But for the first time in a very long time, cold and hunger didn’t matter so much to him. He had more important things to think about.

He did have one other option. If mice had got into the building, there had to be a way out. If he could find an exit, and get far enough away so no one from Harmony House could see him, he could shift back into himself. He could seek out Amanda or Ken or Madame, and warn them. But even though he’d lost track of the time in his wanderings, he knew it had to be the middle of the night. His classmates, his teacher — none of them would be at school. He had no idea where any of them lived, or even how to contact them by phone, and even if he did manage to contact them, how could he make himself understood?

But at least you’d be able to escape Dr Paley yourself , he thought. He could go anywhere. He could live in a zoo for a while. Become a bird and fly to a distant land. Or become a squirrel and live in a tree, feeding on berries and nuts. Nobody bothered squirrels.

Only he didn’t want to run away. He wanted to stay who he was — well, not who he was at that very moment. He wanted to be a boy. He wanted to go back to his foster family. He’d never been able to talk to the Grangers, to have any real contact with them, but he knew they’d been kind to him. He wanted to know, to find out what kind of people they were, and why they took in foster children. He wanted to get to know the two other boys he’d been living with. Maybe they’d play games together, maybe they could have fun.

And more than anything, he wanted to be back at Meadowbrook Middle School, in Room 209. He wanted to know the other special gifted students, to become part of their world. To learn how they could all use their gifts to make the world a better place, so that the kind of people who killed his parents couldn’t get away with their crimes. What was it Madame had told them they could do? Benefit mankind. They could do that together. Running away, he’d just be alone again. A thing.

No, he had to stay and find some way to stop Dr Paley and his colleagues. So he made his way through the walls and back to the place where he knew he was just outside the office. And he waited.

He slept a little, off and on, but the hunger and the cold didn’t let him stay asleep very long. When some light came through a crack in the wall, he knew that it must be morning. And soon after that, he heard voices.

‘Ms Callow, I’ve got two young people coming at ten, and I won’t want to be disturbed while they’re in the office with me. Not even if it’s important.’

‘Yes, sir. Oh, and sir?’

‘Yes, Ms Callow?’

‘The Carter boy still hasn’t been located.’

Dr Paley let out a deep sigh. ‘Well. . If a strange animal appears in the building. . a lion, or, or a tiger, whatever it is. . tell Security not to shoot it. They can tranquillize the animal, but they shouldn’t try to kill it.’

There was a moment before the secretary choked out, ‘Sir?’

Dr Paley must have been a quick thinker. ‘I just heard on the radio about some animals escaping from the zoo. That’s all.’

‘I see. Yes, sir. I’ll notify Security.’

He really doesn’t want to kill us , Paul thought. That’s a last resort. It’s because he’s afraid of us. He himself had spent such a long time being afraid. It was a strange sensation, thinking someone might be afraid of him.

He examined the wall, feeling his way along as he searched for a hole big enough to let him get into the office. He was in luck — another mouse came from the opposite direction. Obviously, that little guy knew the area well. He disappeared from the tunnel. A second later, he heard Dr Paley curse.

‘Ms Callow, please send another memo to the director. Something has to be done about these mice.’

‘Yes, sir.’

Paul made his way to the point where the other mouse had escaped the tunnel. All thoughts of hunger and cold and fatigue had vanished. He perched on his hind legs and peered out.

He could see Dr Paley’s feet. The man was walking around the office. Paul could hear things being picked up, put down, moved around. The doctor must be setting things up for the procedure, Paul thought.

He settled down to wait.

‘HE SAID IT WOULDN’T hurt, right?’ Amanda asked Ken as they approached Harmony House. ‘Do you believe him? I remember when I was a little kid, that’s what doctors always said before they gave you an injection. And it hurt.’

Ken nodded. ‘I know. But my mother had laser surgery on her eyes to improve her vision. She said she couldn’t feel a thing.’

‘OK.’ She felt Ken take her hand, and a tingle went up her arm.

‘It’s going to be fine,’ he said. ‘We’re doing the right thing. I think.’

‘Absolutely,’ Amanda affirmed. ‘This is what we want. To be normal.’

‘I mean, it’s not like I’ll be looking for hidden bombs set by dead people again,’ Ken went on. ‘And you’re not going to run into hitchhikers every day.’

‘Of course not,’ Amanda assured him. ‘And remember that boy who was looking for the lottery ticket his father had put away before he died? I’ll bet he would have found it eventually, even without your help.’

‘Maybe,’ Ken said. ‘Probably.’ After a moment, he added, ‘No, you’re absolutely, positively right. He would have found it.’

They entered the building and went up to the receptionist. ‘We have an appointment with Doctor Paley,’ Amanda said, and gave her their names.

The woman checked her computer screen. ‘Yes, you can proceed to his office.’

Her actions and response put Amanda at ease. This was just like going to the dentist, she thought. Easier, in fact. No injections, no drilling. This was more like going to the hair salon. It was no big deal.

And the secretary in the doctor’s outer office was equally reassuring.

‘Doctor Paley is expecting you,’ she said with a nod. ‘Go right in.’

The doctor greeted them with a warm and welcoming smile. ‘Hello, Ken, Amanda. How are you feeling?’

‘A little nervous,’ Ken admitted.

‘But we haven’t changed our minds,’ Amanda added quickly.

‘Good,’ Dr Paley said. ‘As I told you before, it’s experimental surgery, but tests have indicated no side effects or problems associated with the procedure. You won’t feel a thing. And since there’s no an anaesthetic, you won’t need any recovery time.’

‘When my mother had laser surgery on her eyes, she did it during her lunch break and went right back to work afterwards,’ Ken said.

Dr Paley nodded. ‘And you’ll be able to go right back to school.’ Then he grinned. ‘Unless you want an excuse to cut classes. I’ll even write you a note. There’s always a very slight possibility you’ll experience a mild headache later today, but nothing that can’t be cured with an aspirin.’

Amanda turned to Ken. ‘We could buy some sandwiches and have a picnic lunch in the park.’

‘OK,’ Ken said. Amanda thought he looked a little pale. He was still holding her hand, and she gave it a squeeze.

Dr Paley moved a machine towards them. ‘First I need to take scans of your heads. You’ve both had scans before, haven’t you? You know it’s nothing to be afraid of.’