Catalina and the 31

Chapter Four- Sherlock Holmes and Copper Bots

Before Catalina knew it, Mr. Hershel turned towards her. He wasn't touching the controls anymore. He must have sensed her shock, since he said, "Don't worry, I put it in autopilot mode. There's an ocean below us, so there is nothing we could hit

"Okay," Catalina replied uncertainly. She hadn't even realized that they were over an ocean. Sure enough, when she looked out the window on her left, she could see only blue, for kilometers and kilometers.

She had never seen an ocean before. Where she'd lived, the only scenery was city, and the occasional farms and countryside. The ocean looked amazing - Catalina had always dreamed of seeing the ocean. She imagined it'd be like a portal to a whole new world. She'd read about all of the creatures that lived in the ocean - such as sharks, jellyfish, dolphins, fish. Animals different from the few she'd seen on land. And the fish that lived in the deep ocean, where it was pitch black - Catalina yearned to see those.

"I'm going to need to EyeBind you for a little while as we approach the school," Mr. Hershel said.

"What?" Catalina exclaimed. She was not going to let any man BindEye her, whatever that meant! "What is an EyeBlind?"

"It's a machine that will prevent you from opening your eyes. It's just for a little while," Mr. Hershel responded calmly.

"Why?"

"To keep our school's location a secret, we need to EyeBlind you."

"But I won't tell anybody where the school is, I promise!" Catalina told the pilot.

"Sorry, Catalina. I wish I didn't have to, but its a school rule. It's necessary for the security of the school and all of the students in it," he explained.

Catalina took a few breaths. "Okay, EyeBlind me," she said reluctantly. "But in exchange I can ask you a few questions."

The pilot laughed. "Okay. First let me EyeBlind you."

He took out this odd looking gadget. It looked like an oval screen about 15 centimeters long, with a handle hanging down from the center. The gadget vaguely reminded Catalina of this ancient pair of glasses that her father had kept. The gadget was the same shape, but it's frames were about 4 centimeters deep, so that the screen would be about 4 centimeters from your eyes.

Mr. Hershel held the handle in his right hand. He put the screen over Catalina's eyes. "This won't hurt," he said. "Now, close your eyes." She heard a whirring sound, and two robotic arms extended from each side of the gadget. Well, at least Catalina thought they were robotic arms. She'd only seen illustrations in the textbooks on the Connectablet. The robotic arms simply touched her eyelids, and then retracted back into the sides of the gadget. When Catalina tried to open her eyes, she found that she couldn't! Her eyes were stuck! She forced herself to calm down. Deep breaths, Catalina, she thought.

"Okay, I'm going to remove the gadget now," she heard Mr. Hershel say. She felt him lift the gadget off of her face. Now Catalina could feel the sunlight warming her face, but the only thing she saw the red color of her eyelids.

After a few seconds, Catalina spoke. "Since you EyeBlinded me, it's my turn to ask you some questions."

She heard the pilot laugh. "Yes, I suppose it is. Ask away, Catalina." A few buttons clicked, and she assumed that Mr. Hershel had resumed piloting the helicopter.

"Okay," Catalina said. Questions had been nagging at her ever since her father explained to her his doubts about the school. "When was this school created?"

"The school is brand-new. It was just created last year, and this is the first year that it will have students," replied Mr. Hershel.

"Oh, that's interesting," Catalina remarked. She remembered the hologram that was sent to her house. "The hologram never mentioned that. I thought it had been around for years and was kept confidential."