Justice by Jeffrey Salane Read Free Book Online Page B

may be straightforward, but you’ll find your training anything but simple,’ replied Keyshawn with a renewed interest in the discussion. Clearly he was satisfied with Merlyn’s progress … or nonprogress. ‘The Maze is trained to play against you. The walls rearrange themselvesconstantly based on changing algorithms; there are no defining characteristics to the paths, and what was a dead end one second can lead to an exit the next.’
    ‘So the object is to confuse the subject and see how quickly they can make key decisions,’ said M.
    ‘Not how quickly,’ said Keyshawn excitedly. ‘Or not only how quickly, I should say. We’re studying how you make decisions. After you run this maze several times, we’ll know how you think – to the point that we could potentially predict your every move. Do you favor the right path or the left? Are you willing to travel backward to move forward? At exactly what point will you give up? It’s fascinating stuff.’
    M realized that Keyshawn was giving them more information than what was strictly need-to-know, which was useful to her but perhaps very dangerous for him. He obviously lived for scientific study and wasn’t modest about his achievements, either. But she sensed that he was a loner at this school.
    The wall sank open again, but Merlyn was gone and so was the expansive room. In its place was a pitch-dark path that seemed to twist in the gloom. The sound of metal shifting heavily echoed from within.
    ‘I’ll be the next hamster,’ said Jules with a smile. She leapt full force into the slot and ran into the shadows. The walls closed around her and she disappeared, but M could swear that she heard Jules giggling, giddy at the challenge.
    ‘Your friend is enthusiastic,’ noted Keyshawn. ‘Always a dangerous reaction to the Maze.’
    ‘How do you mean?’ asked Cal.
    ‘The Maze plays to your level, doesn’t it?’ said M. ‘The more you attack it, the more it attacks you.’
    ‘I can see why people are interested in you,’ Keyshawn said as the walls opened up again.
    ‘Anything else you want me to know before I go?’ M asked. Keyshawn and Cal both remained silent. ‘Okay, then, see you on the other side!’
    M entered the Maze and left the Fulbright world behind her. The sterile, well-lit hallways of doors were nowhere to be found in here. It was like being underwater again. The metal chamber was a cold, damp nest of murky shadows, which beckoned her in every direction. Three distinct paths sat before her, each a yawning entrance of emptiness. A small light flickered dimly in the far distance of the middle opening, a sign of life. Or was it a sign of a trap? Before deciding what direction to take, M held herself still and cleared her mind. It was a nearly impossible feat, since every muscle in her body burned with the instinct to run. Her very bones were filled with an unconquerable urgency to escape the Maze at any cost. But M knew this was the Maze at work, so she held her ground.
    It wasn’t a long moment, but it was enough so that the Maze reconfigured itself. The changing shadows became a crosshatch of darkness that pulled her back to the memory of the relentless umbra mortis as its slow, sucking depths swallowed the Lawless School. M was frozen, trapped in her nightmare scenario.
    Keep on moving , she thought to herself. If you don’t, the Maze will come for you . With her first step forward M instantly banged her head against a lower section of the ceiling. ‘Ouch!’ she cried out to herself. ‘Where did that beam come from?’
    Ducking down, M felt her way along the beam, letting it guide her in the darkness. The first beam connected to a second beam. They were both hefty and strong, like the support beams from her basement back at home, which definitely wasn’t the cheeriest place, but she couldn’t shake the strange sensation that bumping her head here was no mistake. An obstacle like that was most likely designed to embarrass cadets, surprise