Carol awoke with the brief disorientation of being in someone else’s bed, in someone else’s room, with someone else’s arm around her.
God dammit, she thought. Nic had been supposed to not let her fall asleep in his dorm. Now Rose would hear her coming from across campus instead of her own room, and she would know.
She slid out from Nic’s arm and checked her phone. It was 4:37, making her seven minutes late already. Rose had told her they had a lot to do this morning, and Carol hadn’t even remembered to set an alarm.
She checked with her connection to Rose to apologize, but for some reason the other end was closed.
Stupid sleep schedule, she thought. These early-morning meetings might have been the most insane privilege Carol had ever experienced, but they had their toll.
She hurried to the bathroom to make a token effort at looking presentable in case she was seen crossing campus, and stopped at the sound of a phone buzzing on the table accompanied by a soothing cello’s melody. Nic’s alarm.
“Mm. Morning,” he mumbled.
“Why are you up?” she asked.
“Why did I set that?” he wondered aloud. “Oh. Aren’t you late?”
“Yeah,” said Carol, returning her gaze to the lost cause in the mirror.
Nic had set an alarm for her, how thoughtful. Late, but mistakes made last night by both of them were excusable given the empty vodka bottle on the floor.
“Thanks,” she said.
Nic didn’t answer, so she kept at it. She glanced at the toothbrush, wondering for a moment if she was willing to stoop that low. Nah.
Oh yeah, she thought to herself brightly. Rose doesn’t have a nose.
With that good news, she finally turned to leave, only to see that Nic sitting up, not trying to go back to sleep as she had expected.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “I’ll see you at breakfast.”
“See ya,” she responded.
She left the room, her mind on her next steps. Would be possible to silently climb the stairs in her building? Taking a shower this late was definitely out of the question. Damn those ear-things!
She checked the connections again. Still blackness from Rose, which was unusual given the time of day. Nothing from Will either, and he normally left his connection propped open overnight too. Her five other connections: Nic, Hannah, Gina, Sam, and a quiet girl named Mary whom Carol hadn’t telepathically communicated with in the slightest, were all closed, but that was normal. At least mostly normal.
You still up? she gently pushed at Nic’s connection, unsure whether he understood. It wasn't entirely black, but it was quiet and calmer than usual. Probably already asleep again.
Finally, Carol arrived at her stairs, which were made of cement, thank God. Was Rose angry that she hadn’t shown up? What if she was having an anxiety attack again, without anyone to comfort her?
Slowly, carefully, Carol made her way up the stairs. Her running strategy was to open and close her own door so it would sound like she had come from her room. Thus far she hadn’t made much noise, so maybe Rose wouldn’t notice. Maybe she was playing music or something.
At her floor, Carol slowly unzipped her purse and felt around inside.
Shit.
The keys weren’t there. She had left them in Nic’s room.
Fuck it, she thought, giving up the attempt at discretion. It’s not like Rose wouldn’t know anyway.
She gently rapped the door.
“Rose?” she called.
She waited and listened, but heard nothing. At least if Rose hadn’t heard that knocking, she wouldn’t have heard Carol coming up the stairs.
“Rose? William?” she called again.
She knocked a few times slightly louder and strained her ears.
“Hello?” she said, even louder.
Finally, she tested the knob. It was unlocked, so she risked pushing. Not wanting to seem like a creep, she slowly peered in.
Their room was empty.
At the front desk, Carol couldn’t help but feel like an idiot. The security lady with the graveyard shift had stared at her with a bored expression while she explained the situation, and cut her off before she could finish to lazily dial a number on the phone. Why was it hard to believe that Rose and William were gone? Was that not her job?
The Statton had plenty of reasons to disappear on purpose. Still, in case something had happened, Carol couldn’t do nothing. She wasn't going to be that neighbor.
“Miss Ward,” came a voice from behind her, making her jump.
“Hi,” she said meekly. It was the head of security whom she had met last week. What had his name been?
“Officer Barry,” he said. He held out his palm and she took it. “You said Rose and William are missing?”
Carol retold Barry everything she knew.
“And you didn’t hear them leave? Were they in their room when you went to bed last night?” he asked.
Um.
“I don’t know,” she said, feeling herself blushing. “I, uh… went to bed early.”
“You live across campus, right?” asked the guard at the desk.
“Miss Ward lives in three-twenty-two,” said Barry.
“Oh, well I got you on camera, er,” the woman paused.
“I wasn’t in my room last night,” Carol said with some finality, hoping they would leave it. She stared at the ground.
“Might we continue this outside?” Barry asked her.
If you’re going to lecture me instead of doing your job, I swear to God.
“Sure.”
Once outside, the tall security officer closed the door behind them and leaned in.
“Was there a note or anything, in their room?”
“No,” she said, although she hadn’t thoroughly checked. Did Barry suspect they had escaped on purpose? Or could they have been kidnapped for ransom?
Barry sighed deeply. It didn’t match the alertness that Carol had expected.
“Do you think they ran off?” she asked.
“Neither of the Stattons is on campus. I can tell you that,” he said. “Actually, would you be able to, erm…”
“Ask them where they are?” she guessed, already double checking the lines just to be sure.
Barry nodded.
“Nope. They’re both silent,” she said.
“Just go back to bed. I’m sure everything is fine,” he said. “And thank you.”
Well that had been a disaster. At least Rose wasn’t kidnapped. Probably.
Carol couldn’t get into her place without the key, so she shamefully walked back to Nic’s.
Am I a rat? she wondered. The Stattons could have at least let her know they were escaping, or whatever. Or they should have had a line open. Why wouldn’t they talk anymore?
Would Rose have forgotten their meeting? Surely not. Something was going on.
She opened the door to Nic’s, ready to awaken him with her questions, but he was already standing up in the middle of the room, toothbrush in mouth.
“Perfect timing!” he happily exclaimed through toothpaste.
“What?” asked Carol.
Nic spit into the sink.
“It just hit five AM,” he said, as though she would understand.
“What?”
“The note in your room, did you read it?” he asked.
Carol’s heart sank.
Oh, God, I was a rat.
“No, but let me guess,” she started.
“You’re on Team Three, right?”
“Wait, what?”
[My Dearest Friend Caroline,
Please accept my deepest apologies for singling you out yet again; your sleep schedule gives you an unfair advantage. As I told everyone else last night, this is a scavenger hunt with three teams. The prize is secret, but the earlier your team wins, the better. Nobody is allowed to communicate about this until 5:00 tomorrow morning, which should be very soon for you. If Lincoln security stops you, just tell them “1513”. In the meantime, feel free to ponder your clue, which is “Dragon School”. Your friends on Team 3 can fill you in on the rest shortly.
With the maximally comfortable quantity of affection,
Rosé]
‘The rest’ had apparently been an instruction to arrive in the Deep Hall, a sort of pub slash dining hall area underneath Lincoln College, after 5:00 and no later than 5:20, where further instructions would await. Given the time of day, it made sense that Rose thought Carol had an unfair advantage. But why hadn’t she told Carol about the rest in the letter? Surely she knew Carol wouldn’t have cheated.
Nic’s clue had been 'Ben’s Cookies', a cookie shop in the covered market across the street. Carol’s, after a google search, had turned out to be a children’s school maybe a twenty minute walk north of Lincoln College. Their best guess was that the clues would draw an X on the map, or that maybe there would be duplicate clues to find amongst the teams. Whatever it was, it was clearly some sort of information game.
“At least we know her plans are fallible,” Nic joked.
“Only because I was an idiot who forgot her keys,” said Carol.
“It’s not that big a deal,” Nic said. “She clearly thought through the whole guard thing.”
“You think that’s a code for both William and Rose escaping?” Carol asked. Had it been for today specifically, or was that a common thing? Her mental image of Rose suggested it might be the latter.
“Anyway,” said Nic, who was clearly dying to get down to business. “There's at least three teams, from at least sixteen people, so at most five or six each. She already put us together, so maybe it’s based on connections.”
“Have you checked with the others?” asked Carol. She checked her connections, to find a couple invitingly ajar.
Team Three? she asked them.
Yes, they both replied.
Nic caught her gaze and must have inferred what had happened because his eyes went wide.
“Stop!” he said. “Who did you talk to?”
“Gina and Sam,” she said.
“I was just getting to that. Rose didn’t tell us our teammates,” he said.
“She told you about me.”
“You’re an exception,” he said. “But think about the game first. Why wouldn’t Rose tell us our teammates?”
“So we can lie,” Carol realized. It was just like what Rose had said about poker, that they had to know when to share secrets, or something. “I really need caffeine,” she added. “Wait, for all I know, you’re lying to me.”
“I asked if you were on Three before you knew,” he said.
“You could have gone into my room while I was asleep.”
“That wouldn’t be nice of Rose to set you up like that,” Nic said.
It wouldn’t be. But the letter had read like an apology…
“And I totally wouldn’t do that!” Nic continued. “I promise I’m on your team. Can you at least assume that for now?”
As though Nic wouldn’t jump at any opportunity for a ‘prize’ from Rose Statton.
“Sure. For now,” Carol teased. “But first, I need to shower. Could you put on some coffee?”
The five of them were crammed in Carol's tiny dorm, with only minutes to spare. Rose had, it seemed, preserved their little clique. Most of the rest of the class was younger, so perhaps Team Three had an advantage in whatever scavenger hunt game they were playing. Maybe Rose had accounted for that. Or maybe the class was nicely divided into telepathic cliques. Carol had no idea.
“We’re certain thirteen-fifteen doesn’t mean anything?” asked Nic.
“Pretty sure,” said Carol.
“I really think we should get to the Deep Hall as soon as possible,” said Sam, but Nic had insisted they discuss plans first, to make sure they had thought everything through.
“Seven minutes,” said Carol. She could chug her coffee if need be.
“Okay, so assuming none of us are spies,” said Nic, “we have Ben’s Cookies, Dragon School, China Dragon, Browns, and the Botanic Garden. Anyone see an obvious pattern?”
“Two of them are dragon-themed,” said Gina. “Could be wordplay.”
“I think we need a map,” said Hannah.
“We can just use our phones for that,” said Sam. "I'll try."
“I assume the other teams got different clues,” said Gina. “Otherwise why is this so secretive?”
“Gina’s right. We need to focus on trading for other clues,” said Nic. “There are at least sixteen of us, and there’s no way we’re supposed to walk to all five of these places.”
“And obviously we could make some fake clues to trade,” said Gina. “Becky’s in Team Two, so I’ll see if they want an alliance.” Carol raised her eyebrows in surprise, but no, it wasn’t telepathy: Gina was looking at her phone.
“Oh my God,” said Hannah. “Can we all just step back a bit? Is anyone else taking the game seriously?”
Carol didn’t want to be a downer, but Hannah was right. There was no reason to go all-in if the other teams weren’t already enthusiastic at Five AM.
“Team Two has four people together,” said Gina.
“So we’re already winning,” Carol joked.
“We should send them a spy,” said Nic, “with a fake clue.”
“And what happens if the fake clue is the same as one of theirs?” asked Gina.
“That’s really unlikely, right?” asked Carol. “Depending on how it works, which none of us knows.”
“So we should probably go to the Deep Hall,” said Sam.
“If a spy got caught, we would just look like assholes,” said Gina. “And they would have to split off from their group at some point.”
“You’re assuming we’re going off-campus?” asked Hannah.
“Rose isn’t here, is she?” asked Gina.
Carol shrugged. “She could be hiding somewhere, who knows? But Barry acted like she isn't.”
“She could be hiding somewhere like the Deep Hall,” said Sam. “We have five minutes.”
“God, you’re taking this way too seriously,” said Hannah.
“Would Rose not want us to take it seriously?” Nic asked, turning to Carol. His eyes displayed genuine curiosity.
Carol thought for a moment.
“I don’t know,” she said. “She’s kinda playful. But what is she trying to do here?”
“Spend a nice day with her friends slash students when school is out?” suggested Hannah. "Weather's supposed to be nice."
“I mean, this is clearly some kind of lesson, so if we can figure out the moral, maybe it will help win. I can’t help but notice none of us has used telepathy yet. Think she wants that?” asked Carol.
“Honestly, what does telepathy do so far except work like phone calls? It’s not like we can detect lies,” said Sam.
Experimentation with her friends last night hadn't revealed anything exciting: they could all speak and understand each other, to an extent. Words tended to drastically fluctuate in intensity, and they echoed, contrasting with Rose's typical lucid speech, which they had all experienced. Transmitting messages required (what seemed to Carol to be) an impressive amount of control. They also had no way of hearing their own inner voices aside from the old fashioned method, so it was impossible to tell how one's words came across. Lying was definitely possible. As Sam had said, so far nobody's psychic powers had accomplished anything a phone couldn't.
“Or maybe it’s just a social experiment,” suggested Gina. “We could win either by being honest or by lying, right? So then let’s be honest. Set an example. Prove that mankind is good.”
“And you don’t think the moral is how to trade information in a… competitive setting? Trading secrets, I guess?” Carol argued.
“Well, how do you trade secrets?” asked Sam.
“I dunno, spies?” asked Nic.
“Or just by lying,” said Hannah.
“But the lesson could still be to work together,” said Gina.
“That wouldn’t be too surprising,” Carol agreed. “What if any two teams can win if they make an alliance first?”
“Then we would lose, because the other two teams are probably already finished,” said Sam. “Couldn’t that be the lesson? If you don’t have information, you should try to get it before everyone else so you can jump the fence and run to wherever in the English countryside she's gone?”
“Alright, fine, let’s go,” said Nic.
The five of them made for the staircase outside Carol’s door, stopping briefly by Rose’s room.
“Do you really think she’s off campus?” asked Hannah.
“Their door was unlocked,” said Carol. “Should we go check if they’re hiding?”
It was an interesting proposition that no one seemed willing to answer. They stood quietly in front of the door for a moment, wondering if Rose was listening.
“So who’s gonna be the spy?” Nic asked, breaking the silence.
“Not it,” said everyone at once.
“Let’s just be the team without a spy,” said Gina. “We can be the honest ones.”
“And then everyone will take advantage of us,” complained Nic.
“We could verify truth by trading multiple clues at once to see if any align,” said Gina.
“And then if they lied we’re screwed, even if we could tell,” Nic retorted.
“Yeah, that’s right,” said Gina.
Carol rolled her eyes. Taking the extra time to plan really hadn't paid off.
“You don’t have to say anything, Sam, I know,” said Nic.
Somehow, everyone else in the class had already arrived at the Deep Hall. Two groups of freshmen and sophomores were sitting around tables stocked with teapots and biscuit plates. How had Rose and William brought all that down here? Had they had help, this early in the morning?
“Look who decided to show up,” said some red-haired guy, drawing out each word.
“We’re on time,” said Nic. It was five twenty, after all.
“We got a map, if anyone wants an alliance,” Gina said to the crowd, waving one in front of her enticingly.
“You’re Team Three, right?” asked Josh, the other third-year in the class. “It’s by grade level.”
Oh, Carol thought to herself. So it was. There were, now that she counted, an even eighteen people in the room. Six people of each of the three grade levels.
“There were complications,” Sam apologized.
“It’s alright,” said Josh. “I didn’t make much progress with the other teams. They came up with this dumb alliance.”
“Sorry about that,” said the same redhead as before, who was apparently the spokesperson for everyone else. “We’ve already shared all the information we want.”
Carol couldn’t help but feel pity at the look of dismay that crossed both Nic and Gina’s faces. Two schemes, destroyed in an instant. She could tell that Sam was resisting the urge to say something.
“But we have information too,” said Nic. “Don’t you want that?”
“All’s fair in love and war,” the guy said, shrugging.
“Really?” asked Hannah.
The guy handed her a sheet of paper. More sheets made their way to Team Three, and Carol read:
[Welcome to the 2013 Dragon Hunt! You will see here a list of nineteen clues. We are hiding at one of the nineteen locations, excluding each of your personal clues.
How to leave: Go through the Rector’s House, which is open. You will find a keycard to the library door under the big rock to the right. Put it back when you used it. You may exit the library from the main entrance, which is only locked from the inside.
Important: The first team to be fully present in the Deep Hall may leave at 5:30, the next at 5:35, and the next at 5:40.
All’s fair in love and war, but play nice (don’t get rid of these sheets of paper, for instance). The first team to find us wins. Teams should stick together at all times. Feel free to have tea and biscuits.]
“But play nice,” Gina quoted.
“Yeah, come on,” Sam chimed in. “You’ve got to give us something. This isn’t fair.”
A blonde girl at the first-year table spoke up. “It wasn’t fair to begin with. Not with her on your team.” She gestured towards Carol as she spoke.
That had been a… surprising amount of acidity. Carol gave the stranger an inquisitive glance.
“Don’t you hang out with Rose every day?” the girl asked.
Everyone in the room was staring at Carol. Word had spread around, apparently.
“Yeah, but I didn’t know about this. She didn’t even tell me last night, when she told all of you.”
“I had to tell her everything this morning,” Nic added in Carol’s defense. “Look, Carol, has Rose mentioned any of these places before?”
He gestured to the sheet of paper in Carol’s hand, and she scanned the list again.
[Dragon School, Lamb and Flag, Eagle and Child, Oxford Press, Oxford Castle, Browns Cafe, Magdalen College.]
Magdalen College. God dammit, Rose had mentioned that one before. Why would she have done that? If she were hiding there, then the game really would be unfair.
“Um,” said Carol, shifting in the presence of so many eyes focused on her, including her own friends’.
Carol could see four options: lie to everyone, including her friends, and go on pretending throughout the game; lie to just the other teams and potentially win; tell half the truth, that she recognized one but would not say which; or tell the full truth, and betray her friends who wanted to win.
[All’s fair in love and war, but play nice,] Rose had written. Could the alien's mind have possibly predicted all that in advance, including forgetting her keys? Would this have happened regardless? Probably not.
On one hand, Carol had just resolved to be the best at everything Rose threw at her. Winning this game was important. Also, the other teams were assholes that had already taken the first shot. On the other hand, if Carol won by lying, Rose would know. And maybe that was the point of this exercise. The other teams would infer that she had lied too, making Carol look like an asshole.
“Those assholes,” said Gina. “Fuck ‘em.”
Team Three was waiting at the stairs, ready to run the moment the clock struck 5:40. After hearing that Carol and Rose had talked about Magdalen College, the other two teams had completely ostracized themselves, giving the third-years nothing in return. It was unclear how much the other teams had shared with each other, but presumably they had narrowed the search down to between eight and twelve places each. Given that the other two teams didn’t seem to trust one another, it was probably closer to twelve. And maybe it got better than that: if they had lied to each other, then Team Three was hardly at a disadvantage.
They had thirteen places to search, all around the city. Nic had drawn a route on the map starting with a beeline to Magdalen. Even if the other teams got to Magdalen first, being quick surely wouldn’t be a downside. And if it weren’t Magdalen, maybe they could see where the other teams went from there, giving them valuable clues by omission.The last few stops were strategically chosen because the sun would have risen by then. The city of Oxford was described as being “Town and Gown”: parts of the city were known to be shady.
As soon as Carol’s phone blinked to 5:40, they were off, scurrying through campus to reach the Rector’s House. Rose’s campus escape route took them through the chapel, which had a metal gate that the previous team had annoyingly closed. The moment all five were inside, someone cleared his throat from the darkness.
“Excuse me,” said Officer Barry. “Do you mind filling me in on what’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Hannah shot back, unconvincingly, before she had even turned around.
Barry sighed. “My team is already spread all over Oxford, and now I also have to tail the other two groups of you little psychics that I just watched scurrying down High Street. I’m sure this is some kind of game, but I’m here to protect you, and going out into the open is dangerous.”
He was looking at Carol as he spoke.
“Rose said fifteen-thirteen,” she said.
“I know,” he replied.
He kept staring at Carol, as if waiting for a better response.
Fighting against him seemed rude, even if it would be against the spirit of the game to comply. The guy was only there to help. Yet telling him everything would be betraying Rose, wouldn’t it? Surely she had only wanted to escape for a bit.
“It’s a scavenger hunt,” said Carol. “Rose said she’s at one of these twelve places, but we don’t know which.” She handed him the map.
“And the other groups will be going to these places too?” Barry asked.
“Some of them, and there's some others,” said Nic. “We were all given different information.”
Barry stared at Nic for a moment and sighed again.
“Hold on,” he said, and pulled out a phone.
Carol waited while Barry spoke with the other officers, exchanging guilty looks with the rest of Team Three.
It was easy to guess what would happen. Barry would have his guys demand the other teams’ info, and then would go straight to Rose, and the game would be ruined for everyone.
I definitely am a rat.
Officer Barry pressed a button on his phone and returned to the group.
“Did the rules say anything about outside help?” he asked.
“Only that all’s fair in love and war,” Hannah fired back, leaving out the second part.
Nice, Carol told her telepathically.
“Well then, you’re in luck,” said Barry. “I’ve got a truck for you outside the main gate. Let’s go.”
Barry was, apparently, not going to cheat and take the team straight to Rose. Instead, he was happy to recall several trucks from the city-wide search and redirect them along a more confined area. So now, after less than two minutes of work, the other two teams were being interrogated by other security guards. Soon Barry would be off towards wherever Rose was, and Team Three would get to finish the game with another guard at their side and a truck to boot.
“Aren’t you supposed to protect Rose at all costs, or something?” asked Carol. She didn’t want to directly question how Barry had failed to notice that Rose had escaped campus, but the question still stood.
“My relationship with Rose isn’t that straightforward,” said Barry. “Ultimately I’m working for her, so if she wants to be alone, I have to let her. If this is a lecture, it’s not up to me to interfere.”
“But isn’t it dangerous?” asked Carol. Not just for Rose, but for the class to be all over the city, especially this early in the morning.
“Threat levels are lower than ever right now, and Rose knows it,” said Barry. “The UN loves to overreact. I have no idea where to put the new guys they’re sending over. Trust me when I say this city is safe. Here comes my truck.”
With a short wave, Barry began a brisk walk towards the armored vehicle.
“Huh,” said Carol. She glanced at Sam, who had also insisted nothing was wrong the night before. “How dangerous would it have to be for you to interfere?” she asked Officer Barry before he could leave. “There are terrorists, right?”
“What?” Barry said, stopping and turning. “Your biggest concern should be the media. We can’t do much about them but keep them off the Turl, and half those assholes would sell their soul to get a picture of one of you. But out there you’re nobody.”
“Unless Rose is out in the open somewhere,” Carol speculated.
Barry glanced sideways at Carol with a smile, as though he had reached the same conclusion. “Let’s pray she isn’t.”
The truck hadn’t helped that much. Oxford was a maze of tightly woven college campuses, and several of the roads were pedestrian-only. To make matters worse, many of the clues ended up being off the beaten path, or required more than a brief glance to rule out. Most of the places, Magdalen College included, wouldn’t be open to the public so early in the morning, but they had to check just in case Rose had pulled strings.
Each time a location turned out to be empty the team apologized profusely to their newly appointed driver, who insisted they call him Dwayne. Dwayne didn’t seem to mind too much; driving was far better than searching for more than a dozen students and a dragon wandering around a five mile radius. Carol felt worse about having excluded Josh earlier in the morning, but he didn’t seem to mind either.
Approaching their eighth clue, after almost two hours of searching, there were an unusual number of black trucks parked on the side of the road.
‘High Bridge’ crossed the River Cherwell, which bordered the University Park northeast of Lincoln. They had saved that clue for near-last because of the simple fact that it had to be reached on foot, and based on the map, chances were Rose wouldn’t be on the bridge itself. The sun wasn’t visible behind the clouds, but people were already beginning to mill about. Carol was nervous to be seen with Dwayne, who was still walking with them, but the people in the park didn’t seem interested.
The other side of the bridge had a gate with a note attached: [Dragon hunt finish: two fields to the right.]
After crossing one hedge with a closed metal gate, and then another, Carol turned the corner to see two-thirds of the telepathy class sitting in the grass around a dragon that practically glowed bright red in the daylight despite the mostly gray skies. How had she gotten here?
Welcome, welcome, said Rose. You earned bronze. Did you make it here alright?
Carol was too far to answer with her voice so she sped up the pace. The rest of the class was sitting on an arrangement of blankets. There was one for each team, and Team Three’s was currently weighted down by all the food and two people to prevent it from being blown away in the sporadic wind.
We were, uh, followed, she answered, hoping Rose didn’t notice her embarrassment. She turned to look at Dwayne, who had stopped at the last hedge and was back on his phone.
Good! We were just starting breakfast. Feel free to grab some food and sit. I’m about to tell everyone my goals.
Her goals. So that was what this was about. Why off campus? Why not tell security? Carol briefly wondered how much Rose had told her own security about her plan. Surely they would have picked up on the gyst by now.
"Wait, what?" asked Hannah. "So that's it?"
Yep.
"Was there a point to that game?" asked Gina.
There were lots of points. Mainly that school is closed so now you can spend the day outside. Other than that you learn anything worth sharing?
"Not to trust our classmates," she replied.
The rest of the class's faces were a mix of guilty and self-pleased.
Carol wanted to add to Gina's response, but it about covered it. Was this the outcome Rose had wanted?
Well, we were just talking about all the places people have gone, Rose continued. Team Two snuck into Worcester. Did you end up doing anything interesting?
"We were mostly with Dwayne over there," said Hannah. "It's hard to do something interesting with these guys, even if they played along."
You're preaching to the choir, said Rose.
“How did you get here without being seen?” asked Gina.
I rode in the bag, said Rose, gesturing to a big bag by Will.
“That fit you and all this stuff?” asked Nic.
No, we had help for that. Emily drove us. She was here earlier, but she had to leave.
Seriously? Emily, the Rector, was a part of it, and she hadn’t told security?
Once Team Three had settled down on their designated blanket. Rose straightened herself up.
Alright, now that everyone is finally present, it’s time for the real reason I gathered you all here. I’m sure you’re all wondering.
She paused as though someone might speak up. Heck, maybe someone did, telepathically. Carol watched her for cues, but instead of her usual gaze, Rose began to look at the ground.
The sad truth is that this will be a goodbye, for some of you at least.
Carol withdrew a sharp breath, along with much of the class. Rose was leaving? It was over already?
Now, I want you to reflect on what you just felt. Was it relief? You don’t have to tell anybody, least of all me, Rose continued, her eyes still on the ground. No, I won’t be leaving, but some of you might be. If you don’t, this could be your last chance to walk free for a long while.
Now Rose lifted her head and stared at each student. Her eyes lingered on Carol’s. Had there been another leak?
I'm going to ask all of you to make the most important decision of your lives. Maybe more important than the decision to be a telepath, depending. And it's a yes or no, with no in-between. I shouldn't have to say this, but you're already here, so please, please, think this through. Don't let peer pressure change your mind. Don't let anything change your mind. Your answer will determine the rest of your life. Think about that.
She paused, letting the words sink in.
Like I mentioned before, events progressed faster than I intended. If you all stay in Lincoln College, you could end up like me.
She paused again, as though it were a joke.
Well, it won't be half as bad. But you could be famous. Believe me, it's not great. Believe William: he's one of you.
William sat next to Rose with a solemn expression. He ate his food in silence, his main use superseded by Rose’s use of telepathy to speak. Carol guessed that they were only using telepathy in case a guard was listening in, but maybe this would become the standard. If not, then that meant Rose’s guards weren’t in on the plan, or at least not all of them.
The odds of all of your names being leaked are low, but the odds of any one of you being discovered are very high. If you are discovered, you will have threats made against you, your family, and even your friends, for years. People with cameras won't leave you alone for maybe decades. It's not fun.
So, I'm going to go over the reason why I'm here, and while I'm talking, please consider leaving. Don't let your friends decide for you.
Rose hadn’t involved the class in the story this time, she just laid out the facts: she wanted to spread telepathy to change the human race, hopefully for the better, and maybe get them recognized by the mysterious intergalactic power that be, or whatever. There had been few questions, but not many. Most of the class sat a noticeably large distance away from Rose as if they were still afraid, despite sharing a literal telepathic connection with her.
By tomorrow, I want an emailed statement from each of you on whether you will be staying here, Rose continued. If you choose not to, records of you having ever been a student at Lincoln will be thoroughly scraped clean, and you will find similar programs in other colleges of Oxford to be unusually accepting.
And I know most of you are still here because you’re reckless and stubborn, but think about what’s best for you. If half of you leave, I’ll consider this lecture a success.
Half? Carol thought. That would be absurd — a class of only nine telepaths?
“Isn't half a bit extreme?” Carol found herself asking, out loud so that the class could hear. Her voice was a stark contrast with the extended lecture of silent telepathy-speak, coming across as uncomfortably loud. The class’s eyes were on her yet again. Oh, God. Why did I do that?
It’s not hyperbole, if that’s what you’re asking, said Rose. I am simply communicating the true severity of the situation.
“That’s not what I meant,” said Carol, making note of yet another misunderstanding on Rose’s part. “I mean, if the problem is fame, having more telepaths would be better, wouldn’t it?”
Yes… Rose said, visibly hesitating. But it would be easier to relocate fewer people, should the necessity present itself.
“Oh, I didn’t think about that,” said Carol. “I’m sorry for interrupting.”
Don’t apologize. You shouldn’t have to think about that kind of thing, which is why everyone here should consider leaving. Even You.
Rose’s alien eyes stared daggers into Carol. For a moment, Carol had to force herself not to dwell on the absurdity of the situation. The rest of the class seemed to hear the weight of that last statement as well, and their focus lingered on Carol’s. Was Rose angry that Carol had brought that up? Or did she truly want Carol to leave?
By the way, I like interruptions, Rose said, directing her attention around the class. In fact, you’ve just made me think of something, Carol.
Rose’s previous lecture resumed itself, now centered on reminders for those who would leave. The NDA still held true, and there was a list of other things not covered by the NDA, like the current discussion or how seeding worked, that she would appreciate if nobody spoke of. Or, if they wanted to, at least to contact her first. At least that would always be easy.
Carol couldn’t honestly admit that she was paying full attention at this point. She kept exchanging glances with her friends and random other Telepathy students, wondering which ones might leave. She knew in her gut that she wouldn’t, even if she was planning on forcing herself to reconsider it later on. This lecture had been a day too late. But most everyone looked unsure. It was painted on their faces.
The conversation was interrupted when Rose's head shot up and she turned around, clearly having heard something. Only a few moments later, Carol heard it too. Rain.
Well, party's over, said Rose. Could everyone help with these blankets and food? Once we get them into a car, feel free to go. Now that you’re already outside, it might be a good idea to wait before going back to campus.
The rain hit them softly at first, but it quickly grew in intensity. Eighteen students, and not one had brought an umbrella. They were lucky that security had arrived with Carol's group with plenty of trucks, or the walk back would have been miserable.
“How are we supposed to get back into Lincoln?” asked the blonde girl who had berated Carol earlier. “Will they make us stay outside until the gate opens?”
Oh, I guess they’ll just have to open it now, said Rose. Funny how that worked out, isn't it?
Yay, it's back!
ReplyDeleteGreat chapter!
ReplyDeleteTypo:
>in purpose
/on purpose