The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin Read Free Book Online

back on the key, and the trapdoor lifted with it, surprisingly light. We peered down but couldn’t see anything except the top rungs of a ladder.
    “Jamie, you keep the eye.” Never know when you might need it. I swung my leg over the first rung. Stella tugged at the shoulder of my hospital gown. “Where are you going?”
    “Down.” I picked her fingers off me. The ladder had raised bumps for traction, and they pricked my bare feet. “You have the tape?” I asked Jamie. He nodded. And I still had the scalpel, now tucked into the waistband of my underwear. “You guys can stay here if you want till I come back with the map.”
    “Yeah, no,” Jamie said. “I’ll be right behind you.”
    “Then I’ll see you on the other side,” I said, and disappeared into the darkness.

8
    T HIS WAS WHAT WE HAD been looking for.
    The room we found ourselves in was massive, almost bunker-like. On the wall opposite us a global map stretched from corner to corner. It was dotted with thousands of pins in dozens of colors, connected to one another by string to form a web. By some of the dots there were pictures of people—some smiling, most not—or scribbled-on Post-its, or newspaper clippings in different languages.
    “Is that it?” Stella asked as she hopped down the last rung. She landed softly on the floor in her socked feet. Jamie wasn’t wearing shoes either.
    “Can’t be.” Jamie said what I was thinking. “It’s the world, not Horizons.”
    And then I saw something familiar. A whiteboard easel with writing on it, writing I recognized. The dark blue marker was faded but legible.
    Double-Blind
    S. Benicia, manifested (G1821 carri rigin unknown).
    Side effects(?): anorexia, bulimia, self-harm. Respons administered pharmaceuticals. Contraindications suspec but unknown.
    T. Bur ows, n-carrier, deceas
    M. Ca no, on-carrier, sed
    M. Dyer, manifesting (G1821 carrier, original).
    Side effects: co-occurring PTSD, hallucinations, self-harm, poss. schizophr ia/paranoi subtype. Respon to midazolam. Contraindications: suspected n.e.s.s.?
    J. Roth, manifesting (G1 21 carrier, suspecte original), induced. Side effects: poss. borderline personality disorder, poss. mood disorder. Contrain ations suspected but unknown.
    A. Ken all: non-carrier, decease
    J. L.: artificial manifested, Lenaurd protocol, early induction.
    Side effec : multiple personality disorder (unrespo ), antisocial personality disorder (unre onsive); migraines, extreme aggression (unresponsive). No known contraindications.
    C. L.: artificially manifested, Lenaurd protocol, early induction, deceased.
    P. Reynard: non-carrier, deceased.
    N. Shaw: manifested (G1821 carrier, original).
    Side effects(?): self-harm, poss. oppositiona defiant disorder (unresponsiv ), conduct disorder? (unresponsive); tested: class a barbiturat s (unresponsive), class b (unresponsive), class c (un esponsive); unresponsive to all classes; (test m.a.d.) , deceased.
    Generalize side effe ts: nausea, elevated temp., insomnia, night terrors
    Before I could say anything, Jamie began writing giant letters over the words with his index finger.
    F - U - C - K Y - O - U .
    My sentiments exactly.
    I turned my attention to the stacks and piles of papers, notebooks, and files strewn around the room. Books had been haphazardly stacked on open metal kitchen shelving, rolls ofpaper (maps? charts?) leaned against the walls. A glass globe teetered precariously on a small table, holding what looked like a large metal grain of rice. The place was chaos. Not what I’d expected from Dr. Kells.
    I had a hunch about the rolls of paper and headed for them, skirting the U-shaped desk in the center of the room. But a noise like a burst of television static snapped my head around.
    A flatscreen hung from the ceiling, and with another burst of static it came to life. Dr. Kells filled the screen. She was seated at a table in front of a pea-green-and-off-white-striped wall. Her lips moved, but there was no sound. It