Escape from Nimbus

Chapter Three

It was all over.

I'd hit bottom.

I expected Miss Ederton to call the Headmaster any second, and then he'd come down with his syringe full of pink poison and kill me.

But she didn't.

"She has more of these in her pocket." Edward said softly, walking briskly towards Miss Ederton. She took the pill he offered her and inspected it closely.

"Yes. But how....." She met my eyes, understanding dawning. "Felix."

I said nothing.

"The boy in black! His name is....was....Felix. He gave these to you, didn't he?"

"You knew him??" I choked, tears starting to my eyes.

"Oh yes." Miss Ederton whispered, and I was shocked to see tears streaking hard and fast down her cheeks. "He was my son. My baby boy." The last word held so much pain that a sob slipped from my own mouth, as they poured almost wildly from hers. I was so confused, but no longer afraid. She obviously wasn't going to call the Headmaster. Neither was Edward. He knelt in front of me and made me look at him.

"Kasia, you weren't supposed to find out so soon. That's why Miss...no...Mrs. Ederton has been having these Meets with you. We've been trying to keep you in the dark for as long as possible."

"Why?"

"Because the moment you remembered everything, you'd be in danger. So far, only Mrs. Ederton, two more teachers, Wally, Phoenix, and I, know what's going on here."

"But...."

"Phoenix and I have known about this place....this prison....for years. We volunteered to help infiltrate Nimbus and make those pills," He pointed at the little blue one now sitting on the desk, "but it was difficult. We had outside and inside help, but no one could get in deep enough to make them. You see, we had to use Nimbus' own technology, the technology they had used to take away your memories, to help you get them back. But Mrs. Ederton, even though she's been here for four years, hasn't been able to reach a higher status. And, as great a student as I am, I made the stupid mistake of complaining about one of their rules. Well, we couldn't do anything. We were stranded here, helpless, unable to leave without causing mass chaos, and ruining any possible chance of taking this place down without putting every child in here in danger. Because if Nimbus can't have these kids, they're going to make sure no one can. It would all be quick. Send the kids to their rooms, set off the death smoke......"

An odd, strangled sound flew from my throat and he quickly moved on to something else.

"But then Mrs. Ederton's son, Felix, managed to get in deeper. He purposely allowed himself to be kidnapped. We didn't understand what his plan was at first, but apparently, he'd developed an immunity to almost all of their drugs, poisons, et cetera. So when they took him to the labs down below, they couldn't do anything to him. And to keep them from killing him, he told them half-truths. Just enough to convince them that he was willing to help them in an attempt to keep himself alive."

"Wait, hold up, you said you had help on the outside? Why hasn't anyone come to help us then?? Why..."

"It's not that simple, Kasia." Mrs. Ederton interrupted me gently. "Nimbus is a dark, hidden secret, run by more than half the men in government. It's not like we, or anyone else, can just stand up and announce that stolen children are in a hidden bunker in the middle of nowhere. No one would believe them, and if they were believed, there are plenty of ways to murder and make it look like an accident. People with money have a louder voice than the middle class citizens." Bitterness laced Mrs. Ederton's tone, and I swallowed hard with disappointment. Edward jumped back in.