The Magic Factory

Oliver shook his head.

“Good,” Ralph said, sounding relieved. “Now let’s get some breakfast and put that whole thing behind us.”

Oliver followed everyone toward the F atrium. Little did they know…

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

Oliver kept a low profile all day, silently plotting his plan of escape, pretending to his friends he’d put the silly dream out of his head. He knew he only had one chance to leave—while the timetables were switched off—and decided his best bet would be while everyone was in their sleep pods. He just had to make them think he was going to bed, then he could escape.

As the day drew to a close, Oliver walked along with his friends toward the Z atrium. The letter on the door glowed white and they went inside the first airlock door.

As they headed to the lockers to collect their sleep suits Oliver kept his overalls on him. There was no way he was saving the world wearing a strange white sleeper suit.

He changed quickly and stuffed his overalls into the front of his suit, then hurried out to the lockers, pretending to deposit his clothes inside a locker in case anyone noticed. Just as he closed the locker door, Esther reemerged in her own sleep suit. Oliver turned abruptly, trying to hide any signs of guilt from his face. Esther did not seem to notice that anything was amiss and went about putting her clothes into one of the lockers.

The rest of Oliver’s friends congregated in the changing room, then headed through the airlock door into the area with the sleep pods. Oliver had never seen the sleeping atrium so filled up. Every student must be sleeping right now, as per Professor Amethyst’s instructions. Ichiro wasn’t even there to show them into their pods. It was another stroke of luck for Oliver; it would be easier to sneak away without Ichiro awake.

One by one, Oliver’s friends got into a sleep pod and whooshed off into the blackness. With each one, Oliver felt a stab of grief knowing it may be the last time he ever saw them. He wished he could tell them what they meant to him but there was no way without them guessing immediately that he was still planning on leaving.

He hung at the back, hoping that he could be last and avoid getting into a pod. But Esther was standing a little farther behind than he was.

“After you,” he said to her when the next pod moved into place. His voice cracked with emotion at the thought these may be the last words they exchanged.

“You first,” Esther replied, smiling sweetly.

There was no way out of it. Oliver took a last lingering glance at Esther’s beautiful face in an attempt to sear it into his memory. Then he swallowed the lump of grief in his throat and turned away from her. He climbed into the pod and pulled the lid into place, staring up at the frosted glass, trying not to dwell on his loss but focus, instead, on the task at hand.

The pod began to move into place. Oliver hoped it wouldn’t travel too far into the air. He didn’t feel like risking breaking his ankles at the first hurdle.

As soon as the movement stopped, he pried open the lid of his pod. To his frustration, he discovered his pod was, indeed, floating miles from the ground, right near the top of the atrium.

He pushed the lid fully open and quickly changed from the sleep suit back into his overalls, maneuvering in the pod awkwardly. Once he was dressed, he stood, feeling the pod sway unstably beneath him.

Each of the pods was connected to a thick cable. Oliver clung to his as he squinted through the darkness, trying to map out a route down to the ground using the pods like stepping stones. It was a long, long way down; he’d need to use at least twenty pods in his descent.

Oliver inched along the lid of his pod and reached for the cable of the next one along. He grabbed it and stepped from one pod to the next, feeling them wobbling as he transferred his weight from one to the next. His heart flew into his mouth. But soon the pod stabilized.

Oliver inched along to the next. It was a bigger jump down than the last. He stretched across, one hand gripping the cable of the pod he was on, the other reaching for the next cable. But he couldn’t quite get his fingers on the next cable. He stretched and stretched and went up onto his tiptoes to get an extra inch of length but it was no use. He just couldn’t reach.

As Oliver searched around him for an alternative route, he suddenly lost his footing. He slipped, his stomach crashing onto the lid of the pod. Then he began to slide across its sleek surface.

Oliver groped forward for the cable. He managed to get hold of it, but he was still sliding, and the cable ran painfully through his sore hands, making him wince.

The sliding stopped suddenly, and Oliver was left dangling over the edge of the swaying pod. For a moment, he clung onto the cable. But then he lost his grip on that, too, and began to tumble through the air.

There was no time to think. In an instant, Oliver summoned his powers, recalling the way he’d changed his own body in the switchit hall. Could he do it again?

As he fell through the air he visualized his body becoming bouncy, as if he had springs in his legs instead of bones. The ground was coming up fast to meet him. If it didn’t work he’d be toast for sure.

Oliver hit the ground and felt his legs taking the force like pogo sticks. They bent all the way down then bounced back up, pinging him several feet upward.

It had worked!

Oliver landed a second time, this time without the bounce back. He paused for a moment to catch his breath, relieved and a little surprised to still be in one piece. Then he hurried through the darkness toward the airlock.

But just as he reached the changing room door, a figure loomed up ahead of him, blocking his exit. Oliver staggered back and found himself staring into the eyes of Edmund.

“What are you doing?” Oliver gasped, taking another step back.

But it was no good. There was no getting space from Edmund. The bully grabbed Oliver and threw him to the ground. They tussled, Oliver managing to roll them over so that Edmund was beneath him. But as soon as he attempted to stand, Edmund kicked out, swiping Oliver’s legs from beneath him. He fell, and Edmund grabbed him again, rolling them both so that he was back on top. He glared down at Oliver, his angry face framed by a backdrop of floating white pods against black velvet.

“What’s your problem?” Oliver hissed through gritted teeth as he attempted to get Edmund’s hands off him.

“I knew you’d go against Professor Amethyst’s directions,” Edmund said. “So I stayed up to stop you.”

He pushed hard into Oliver’s shoulders, pinning him to the ground. Oliver writhed against the force of him, wriggling his body side to side in an attempt to break free. It was futile. He was completely immobilized.

“You were waiting for me?” Oliver said. “Why? Why are you so determined to stop me?”

Somewhere deep inside, Oliver could feel his powers beginning to swell. He fought to control them. It was like a fight or flight response; instinctual.

Edmund ignored Oliver’s question. He pushed Oliver’s shoulders harder against the ground. Oliver winced from the pain.

Oliver gasped as a horrible thought struck him. “Are you the traitor?”

Edmund cackled loudly. “You’re even stupider than I thought. I’m no traitor. I love this school. It’s just you I hate.”

“Why?” Oliver asked, pained. “I’ve never done anything to you.”

They kept tussling. Edmund had the upper hand. His physical strength was greater than Oliver’s. But Oliver’s powers were stronger. Too strong. Oliver fought against them as they grew within him. He didn’t want to hurt Edmund again.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Edmund sneered.

Suddenly, movement from above caught Oliver’s eye. Someone else was hopping along the sleep pods, using them as stepping stones to the ground. Their movements were ballet-like, almost effortless. Oliver realized it was Esther.

At the sight of her, something fell into place in his mind. Edmund liked Esther, too. This whole rivalry between them had just been because of Esther.

Oliver saw Esther reach the final pod and hop down to the ground. Then she darted across the floor toward them.

“Get off him, Edmund,” her voice echoed across the space.

Edmund flinched and looked over his shoulder.

It gave Oliver the second he needed. He pushed out with his arms, shoving Edmund back. At the same time, he brought his knees up to his chest and kicked out like a kangaroo. Without needing to use his powers, Oliver managed to push Edmund all the way off him. The bully rolled away and hit the floor with an oof. Oliver leapt up to his feet.

“I’m going to tell Professor Amethyst what you’re doing!” Edmund cried from his heap on the floor.

He stood quickly and went to charge at Oliver. But at the same time, Esther projected out one of her shields. Edmund slammed into the barrier, his voice completely cut off. On the other side, he was still yelling but Oliver couldn’t hear his words. He banged on the invisible barrier, growing increasingly angry.