Read Online The Cupel Recruits by Susan Willshire - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Susan Willshire
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he stood by Gabriel’s door and cocked his head, for the benefit of any rolling cameras he was clearly listening to see if his son was awake yet. The interior was silent.
The door at the end of the hallway swung open and a man carrying a tray of baked goods entered. Alexander didn’t jump even an inch, though he was startled.
“Good morning,” said Stone to Mr. Aquila with a small nod. The door swung shut and Alexander heard a lock reengage when it did. His other question had been answered.
“Good morning,” Alexander replied politely as Stone quickly moved past him toward the cafeteria. Not knowing who this new person was or if he was sent to check on them, Mr. Aquila knocked loudly on Gabriel’s door. “Gabriel, time to get up,” Alexander said in a moderately loud voice. He had not intended to wake his son up this early, though it was not very early. He had wanted to allow him to sleep as long as possible, but…plans change. Gabriel’s sleepy face appeared at the door and pushed it wide for his father to enter.
“Gabriel, get ready and I’ll get Enam and be back in ten minutes.” Gabriel nodded wordlessly and returned to the depths of his room. Mr. Aquila gathered Enam from his room and returned in ten minutes as promised. The door shut behind them.
“We were just told by that new fellow that we have about twenty more minutes to eat breakfast. Most of our class is in the cafeteria already, so we had better speak quickly,” Enam informed Gabriel as he sat in the chair at the desk while Alexander and Gabriel sat on the sleek bed, facing him.
“I checked this place out. Looks pretty tight structurally. I think we could get out one of the end doors pretty easily if we wanted, but no telling what’s on the other side. We’ve only seen two people, and there are ten of us.” Mr. Aquila summarized.
“So we’re looking for a way out? “ Gabriel asked, “Does that mean we don’t believe what they’re saying about dying?”
“It just means we’re assessing all our options,” Mr. Aquila replied, patting Gabriel on the shoulder like when he was thirteen.
“Well, do you actually think we’d die if we left? Sounds pretty implausible.” Gabriel looked between his father and Enam expectantly.
“Well, we have no evidence that this story of some medical miracle is true,” Mr. Aquila began, but was cut off by his dark friend.
“I’m not sure, Alexander, we should at least consider it a possibility,” Enam stated. Considering the alternative was death, Gabriel thought considering it a possibility was at least a given.
“Well, of course, we need to gather information. I’m just saying I haven’t seen one single thing to make me think that’s true. I mean, we don’t have memories, we don’t really know what happened with the bus. Hell, maybe it turned into a plane and flew us away for all we know. We may not have been harmed at all,” Gabriel said.
“Maybe not,” said Enam, raising the side of his shirt to reveal obliques in good shape for a man of his age, “but I used to have a long scar here from the war and it’s gone. The skin seems so smooth, like maybe they used a high-yield human growth hormone for burn victims or something. I’m just saying something must’ve happened to us, even if we don’t know yet exactly what it was.” Gabriel and Alexander Aquila looked at each other seriously, carefully digesting this new piece of information.
“ Well, they’re obviously part of a pretty upscale think-tank. I’ve never seen anything like that sensory acclimation test, and Enam and I have both worked on some pretty high-level projects,” Alexander added.
“We’d better get with the others. We’ll talk more later. On breaks, let’s split up and each talk to three of the others in detail and see how much information we can gather,” Enam concluded.
The three men joined their newfound colleagues and ate quickly, enjoying the brief meal for its stark contrast to the
The door at the end of the hallway swung open and a man carrying a tray of baked goods entered. Alexander didn’t jump even an inch, though he was startled.
“Good morning,” said Stone to Mr. Aquila with a small nod. The door swung shut and Alexander heard a lock reengage when it did. His other question had been answered.
“Good morning,” Alexander replied politely as Stone quickly moved past him toward the cafeteria. Not knowing who this new person was or if he was sent to check on them, Mr. Aquila knocked loudly on Gabriel’s door. “Gabriel, time to get up,” Alexander said in a moderately loud voice. He had not intended to wake his son up this early, though it was not very early. He had wanted to allow him to sleep as long as possible, but…plans change. Gabriel’s sleepy face appeared at the door and pushed it wide for his father to enter.
“Gabriel, get ready and I’ll get Enam and be back in ten minutes.” Gabriel nodded wordlessly and returned to the depths of his room. Mr. Aquila gathered Enam from his room and returned in ten minutes as promised. The door shut behind them.
“We were just told by that new fellow that we have about twenty more minutes to eat breakfast. Most of our class is in the cafeteria already, so we had better speak quickly,” Enam informed Gabriel as he sat in the chair at the desk while Alexander and Gabriel sat on the sleek bed, facing him.
“I checked this place out. Looks pretty tight structurally. I think we could get out one of the end doors pretty easily if we wanted, but no telling what’s on the other side. We’ve only seen two people, and there are ten of us.” Mr. Aquila summarized.
“So we’re looking for a way out? “ Gabriel asked, “Does that mean we don’t believe what they’re saying about dying?”
“It just means we’re assessing all our options,” Mr. Aquila replied, patting Gabriel on the shoulder like when he was thirteen.
“Well, do you actually think we’d die if we left? Sounds pretty implausible.” Gabriel looked between his father and Enam expectantly.
“Well, we have no evidence that this story of some medical miracle is true,” Mr. Aquila began, but was cut off by his dark friend.
“I’m not sure, Alexander, we should at least consider it a possibility,” Enam stated. Considering the alternative was death, Gabriel thought considering it a possibility was at least a given.
“Well, of course, we need to gather information. I’m just saying I haven’t seen one single thing to make me think that’s true. I mean, we don’t have memories, we don’t really know what happened with the bus. Hell, maybe it turned into a plane and flew us away for all we know. We may not have been harmed at all,” Gabriel said.
“Maybe not,” said Enam, raising the side of his shirt to reveal obliques in good shape for a man of his age, “but I used to have a long scar here from the war and it’s gone. The skin seems so smooth, like maybe they used a high-yield human growth hormone for burn victims or something. I’m just saying something must’ve happened to us, even if we don’t know yet exactly what it was.” Gabriel and Alexander Aquila looked at each other seriously, carefully digesting this new piece of information.
“ Well, they’re obviously part of a pretty upscale think-tank. I’ve never seen anything like that sensory acclimation test, and Enam and I have both worked on some pretty high-level projects,” Alexander added.
“We’d better get with the others. We’ll talk more later. On breaks, let’s split up and each talk to three of the others in detail and see how much information we can gather,” Enam concluded.
The three men joined their newfound colleagues and ate quickly, enjoying the brief meal for its stark contrast to the
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