Case File 13 #2 (10 page)

“I don't have the impression they get a lot safety inspections,” Angelo said, his voice hushed.

Something banged right behind Nick, and he nearly peed his pants before realizing it was only the door blowing shut from the wind.

“What do we do now?” Tiffany asked. All of them were speaking softly as though they were in a library or a museum.

Angie pointed to a series of doors set into the stone walls. “I guess we could try one of those.”

“Let's take out our lights,” Angelo said.

Everyone except Frankenstein reached into their backpacks and pulled out a flashlight. “Why don't I get one?” he asked.

Dana turned on her light and shined it into his eyes. “Next time you follow us, come a little more prepared.”

Nick turned to Carter and whispered, “I can't believe you walked right into the school like that. You are seriously one brave dude.”

Clutching his light in one hand, Carter hopped from one foot to the other as if he were in pain. “It's not exactly what you think.”

“Are you okay?” Nick asked.

“I gotta go, man,” Carter squeaked, his face pinched.

“We just got here,” Angie said.

“Not that kind of go.” Carter pressed his hands to the front of his pants, bit his lips, and blurted, “I gotta go whiz.” Without another word he raced down the hall, his footsteps echoing as he ran in search of a bathroom. In a couple of seconds he was out of sight.

“That's what he gets for drinking his weight in soda,” Tiffany said.

“Shouldn't one of us should go with him?” Cody asked.

Nick wasn't surprised when no one volunteered. The idea of leaving the group and exploring this freaky building alone was more than a little frightening. Who knew what might be around the next corner?

“I'm sure he'll be right back,” Nick said. “We might as well get started.” He walked to the nearest door. It had a narrow window next to it, but the glass was frosted, making it impossible to see through. He reached out and tried the door as the other kids watched with bated breath. The knob turned under his fingers and the door swung silently open a few inches.

“What do you see?” Angie asked, trying to peer around him.

Nick aimed his light through the opening, dreading what he might find.

Cody, who was tall enough to look over Nick's head, huffed. “It's just a plain old classroom.”

Nick pushed the door the rest of the way open. Frankenstein was right. After everything they'd seen outside, he'd expected to find something a little more exciting than rows of desks and a dusty chalkboard.

As the rest of the kids filed into the classroom, anticipation turned to disappointment. “It looks pretty much like our school,” Dana said. “Except with less technology.”

Cody picked up a pencil from a nearby desk. “See? Nothing here. Let's go.”

“No one made you come,” Angie said. “You can leave any time you want.”

Tiffany opened a small closet near the back of the room, shined her light inside, and let out a piercing scream that set Nick's hair on end.

“What is it?” Dana called, rushing over.

Tiffany stumbled into a desk, her eyes wide. “A sk-sk-sk—” Her flashlight slipped from her fingers as she dropped into a chair.

Nick rushed over, looked into the closet, and gasped. A human skeleton stared back at him. There was no doubt about it this time. This wasn't someone's leftover dinner.

Angelo touched an arm bone and pulled it toward him. The skeleton rattled out of the dark. But a moment later, Angelo gave a disgusted sigh. “It's only a model.”

“What?” Nick was sure they'd uncovered some terrifying secret. But Dana shined her flashlight on the skeleton and nodded her agreement.

“See the little metal hooks and strings holding it together? And the numbers on each of the bones? They use these to teach human anatomy.”

“
This
is kind of odd,” Angie said, flipping through a stack of textbooks.

“What is it?” Nick walked over to join her.

“Look at these titles.” Angie turned the book and held her light so Nick could see the covers.
A Is for Apple
. She grabbed another one from a different stack.
Learning to Read
.

Cody shook his head. “What's the big deal? This is probably a kindergarten class.”

“Maybe not.” Angelo pointed his light at a glass jar of milky fluid with something pink floating in the middle. “Since when did six-year-olds start studying human brains?”

Nick aimed his flashlight into the glass container, creating a huge brain-shaped shadow on the blackboard behind it. “Maybe it's from a pig or something.”

Dana dropped to one knee and stared at the brain floating in its milky bath. “Look at the size of those frontal lobes. It's definitely human.”

“What's that liquid?” Angelo said, studying the glass container. “Normally organs would be preserved in a formalin solution or ethyl alcohol. This isn't either one. It looks more like some kind of nutrient broth.” He tapped the side of the glass container and the brain moved slightly.

“Don't do that.” Nick shuddered as the brain's shadow swayed back and forth on the blackboard. He had no idea what his friend was talking about, but the thought that he was looking at an actual human brain totally freaked him out.

“We should take this with us to study,” Angelo said.

Cody stepped in front of him. “That's stealing. You agreed not to break any laws.”

“If it belongs to one of the stolen bodies, it doesn't belong to Sumina Prep anyway,” Nick said. “So how can it be stealing?”

Cody continued to stand in his way.

“Okay,” Angelo said. “We won't take it. But I do want to get a closer look.”

“A brain studying a brain,” Tiffany said.

“What?” Angelo jerked the jar away from his face, bumping the table a little as he pulled away. “Is that supposed to be some kind of joke?” The jar teetered on the edge of the table, and for a moment it looked like the brain was going to fall off and crash to the ground. Nick and Dana both darted forward to steady it.

Tiffany swallowed. “Umm, sort of.”

“How did you
do
that?” Angelo asked. His eyes were huge and he was breathing in short gasps.

Nick wondered if his friend had totally lost it. “Do what? What are you talking about?”

Angelo looked at Nick and licked his lips. “Did you hear that?”

“The only thing I heard was Tiffany kidding around,” Dana said, carefully. “What did
you
hear?”

Angelo rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand. “Nu-nothing.” He backed away from the jar, staring at the brain as though he expected it to come after him. “I couldn't have heard anything if you guys didn't.”

Nick looked at Angie, standing behind Angelo. She twirled a finger beside her head. “Maybe we should check out another room.”

“Good idea,” Nick said.

Grouped together, the six of them left the classroom. Nick wasn't sure what had happened back there, but whatever it was, something had completely freaked out Angelo. He kept glancing over his shoulder as they crowded through the door.

Nick looked down the dark hallway. How long had they been in the classroom? “Maybe we should check on Carter,” he said.

But Angie was already trying the next door. “Look at this!” she called.

“Oh, wow!” Tiffany flipped open her camera phone and the flash blinded Nick as she took a picture.

Nick blinked, trying to get back his night vision. By the time he got to the door and could make anything out, the rest of the kids were already inside.

“It looks like an operating room,” Dana said.

“I'll bet this is where they cut up the bodies.” Angie waved her flashlight and Nick made out dozens of tables covered with white sheets. Beside each table was a metal tray filled with scalpels and other surgical equipment.

Lit only by a dim gas lamp, the room looked like it belonged in an old-fashioned hospital. But it didn't smell like a hospital. Nick wrinkled his nose. “It stinks in here. Like rotten meat or old fish.”

“Totally rank,” Tiffany agreed, waving her hands in front of her face. “I am never going to get this stench out of my hair.”

“What are these?” Angelo pointed his light toward a counter covered with dozens of machines that sort of resembled what Angie's mom had in her lab. Nick reached toward one that looked like an extra-big ice-cream maker. But Angelo held out a hand. “Careful. We don't know what they do.”

Dana picked up a plastic jug and squinted at the label. “Vasosol. I've never heard of it.” She turned the jug around and read the back. “For the preservation and storage of human organs and tissues.”

“They
are
the ones stealing the bodies,” Angie said, slamming her fist into her palm. “I knew it.”

“But why?” Nick asked. Clearly there was something bizarre going on here. But what was the point? Why would a private school go to all the trouble of stealing bodies and cutting them up or whatever it was they were doing when you could find out pretty much anything you wanted on the internet these days? Shoot, if you wanted to see a human brain all you had to do was find the medical channel on TV or go to YouTube.

“I think it's time to leave,” Angelo said, licking his lips. “Whatever they're doing here, it's not normal medical procedures. I don't know what's going on. But I don't think they'd be happy to find us snooping around.”

“I'm with Angelo,” Cody said. “This place gives me a serious case of the creeps.”

“Take some more pictures first,” Angie said. “For evidence.”

Tiffany snapped pictures of everything in sight. The flash from her camera made the operating tables stand out in sharp contrast. Nick felt like he was looking at a series of photographs from one of those old asylums where they cut out parts of people's brains or shocked them.

He edged closer to one of the tables and realized there was something hanging from the side. He lifted up a long, black nylon strap with Velcro on one end. Why would you need a strap to hold down dead people?

“That's it,” he said, his heart pounding. “We're out of here.” As he started for the door, it swung open.

Nick backed away as a figure appeared in the door, shining a light in his eyes. He held up his hands trying to see. “Wh-who's there?”

“There you are.” Carter lowered his flashlight. “I've been looking all over for you guys.” He grinned. “Isn't this place awesome?”

“Awesome?” Tiffany said. “Are you out of your tiny, sugar-addled mind? This place is a house of horrors. Have you even looked around?”

Carter rolled his eyes. “Only, like, half the school. You'd think there'd be bathrooms everywhere. I swear the kids in this place must all be walking around with their legs crossed trying to hold it.”

“Now isn't the time for jokes,” Nick said. He pointed his flashlight around the room. “Look at this place.”

Carter waved his hand, like he was shooing away a fly. “This is nothing. You should see the electronics lab. Seriously, the coolest special-effects stuff you've ever seen. Spielberg could make movies there. Of course, by the time I found it, my kidneys were like, practically in my throat. Turns out the bathrooms are clear across the school. And get this, the toilets are these open holes with big old pipes beneath them. So I'm about to wet myself by the time I finally got there, and what do you think I saw?”

“Gross,” Tiffany squealed. “That's just nasty.”

“We don't want to hear about your bathroom activities,” Dana said.

“My
what whats
?” Carter made a face. But it really was time to get out.

“Come on,” Nick said. He started toward the only exit and froze. Slowly he raised his hand, the beam of his flashlight going from the floor, up Carter's body, and past his head.

“Oh. My. Gosh,” Angie moaned.

Angelo's mouth dropped open.

Cody dropped to the floor and rolled under a bench.

Carter turned and looked up. Standing behind him, towering so tall that its head wouldn't quite fit through the doorway, was a terrifying creature huge enough to make Frankenstein look like a first-grader.