Page 40 of No Capes
“Why?” I stammer, managing to zip up my backpack and shut my locker.
“Because the buses left a minute and 20 seconds ago, and it’s a ten minute walk to the pool house.”
“Impressive sense of time,” I say.
He smirks. “If we go outside and the buses are still there, then don’t come. But if they aren’t, then this is non-negotiable.”
“Okay…” I agree. Not really sure what I’m getting into.
I follow him down the hallway and up to the front of the school in utter silence. Fox smirks the entire walk, and I wish that stupid smile would go away. In the end, he’s right: the buses left without me.
“You can sit shotgun.” He beelines towards his sporty red car.
“What if I wanted to drive?”
“Good one.” He throws his backpack into the backseat, and I climb into the passenger side. His car is very clean. Immaculate, even. Arielle would be in heaven.
Fox backs out of his parking space while putting on his seatbelt.Showoff.
“So, sneaking in an extra practice?” Fox prods. “Sounds like you’re worried about someone breaking your records, Maddy.”
“Good one,” I say.
Fox laughs, and I relax into my seat, watching him calculate the surrounding traffic.
The pool is a short distance from school, so this drive’s only a few minutes. The pool building is technically part of the high school, but two gigantic parking lots connect them. The pool building is also so low to the ground, compared to the skyscrapers in the rest of the neighborhood, that it can’t be seen out of any nearby windows. That’s one of the things I love about the pool–going there is like leaving society behind.
“Well, thanks for the ride, Fox,” I say, slowly climbing out of his car. I’m not entirely sure what to say to him. “This was cool of you.”
“I’ll look out for your five-star review,” he says.
I nod another thanks and grab my bag from the backseat, heading towards the pool building. I don’t hear him drive off until I’m almost to the door.Fox and Aaron are both being super weird today.But Fox hadn’t pranked me, and I hadn’t wanted to empty his sports drink over his head, so I’ll take it.
I should ask Dark Static what he knows about the Levines.
The empty sidewalk is quiet as I tug on the metal doors to the pool. There’s no wind or the sound of leaves scattering, no dogs barking or cars driving by.
I almost make it inside. I would have, if long arms hadn’t grabbed me from behind, or if a lemony cloth hadn’t pressedover my mouth, suppressing my scream and making everything go black.
Sixteen
I jerk awake.Ow.
My neck throbs like someone has punched me right between the shoulder blades. Not lightly punched, like “you made a funny joke, congrats,” but pounded through my spine as if they’d intended to stop my heart from beating. My cheeks sting like I was dragged across gravel, and a loud pain beats inside my head, drowning out my surroundings.
I flip at my waist to defend myself against whatever is happening, but instead of seeing someone standing over me, ready to end my life, I find a low ceiling, iron bars, and damp mold clinging to every corner. I’m inside a jail cell. Underground.
“Cheers, Madeline,” calls an unfamiliar voice. It takes every ounce of energy I can muster to roll over and sit on my sore butt. My throat burns, like I’d dry-swallowed a jellybean, and the back of my head thuds with the symptoms of what will soon be a dehydration headache.
Through the bars stands a man about my height, smoothly shaven and dressed in a button-down shirt, gray pants, and a silver vest. He wears a black bowler hat and shiny brown, pointy-toed shoes.
“Let’s experiment, shall we?” He produces a plastic bottle from behind his back, maneuvers it between the bars of my cage, and tosses it to me. It lands on the lumpy stone floor.
“Drink up.” His excitement flares in the dim basement.
Water, just what I need. I twist the cap off the bottle and examine its contents. The clear liquid looks and smells like water, but so does water with high levels of arsenic. So I’ve heard.
“Throw it back,” the man demands. I oblige, and it lands at his feet, right at the tips of his ridiculously shiny footwear. He brings it to his mouth, taking a long swig. “See.” He tosses it to me again. “All clean.”
