The Executioner at the Institute for Contaminated Children (22 page)

When we finished, I turned to look at Donna, who watched Hailie as well, and inhaled deeply. Why had she done all this? Taking care of me, getting me to reconcile with Todd, making sure I talked to Hailie? Maybe she…she couldn’t be…

A hot feeling boiled in my stomach for a moment. I thought it would turmoil out of control, but then it hit me.

“Because that’s justice!”
Donna’s words rang in my head.

My eyes rounded and I recalled the dreams Donna told me about. The one where she found Eva at the base of a staircase, and the one where I pulled a trigger in my mouth. Don’t tell me…had she made sure I stayed mentally stable so that “plan” of hers would work out? A plan to serve justice? My insides washed over with ice, and my hand balled into a fist. She didn’t feel any more for me than she had at the waterfall.

She noticed my furious gaze at last and first looked shocked, but then her eyes fell in guilt. That confirmed it.

I bit my lip almost to the point of puncture when a group of students shuffled to the infirmary entrance. I stood up, brow furrowed.

“It’s time for your trial, Tyrell,” one of them said. They came up to lead me away, but I jerked from them and walked off on my own accord. I shot Donna one last menacing glance and felt a pinch in my stomach. My expression almost instantly morphed to that of a pup being led to the pound and her face screamed pity.
Pity.

Then her hand did something odd, something that clashed with her facial expression. It formed into an encouraging fist, as if to tell me this wasn’t the end, just the beginning.

Why was I so angry with her? She had done nothing wrong. In fact, all of her actions were to help me. To help us. But then why? Why did I act…like none of it even mattered?

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE—Innocent

S
at in the defendant’s chair, or at least the chair in which Lauraline Cunning had sat at the very first trial, I looked around as the student court gathered, along with the entire institute’s students and faculty, when someone passed me from behind and said in a low voice, “Whatever you’re accused of, plead innocent.” The hair on the back of my neck stood up.

I instantly turned to see Donna walk away in the back row. She did not spare me a glance in case someone saw us interact. Whatever I’m accused of? I already knew what they accused me of. And I was guilty as a dog, but apparently I couldn’t say that. In any case, the Executioner would ultimately find a way to keep me alive. I just wish Donna had told me more about this “plan” of hers.

What if it didn’t work? On the other hand, what if it worked too well? Maybe she had already considered every possible scenario, but as much as I wanted to trust Donna, it would take a huge leap of faith. I could only hope our training together would speak for itself.

Once everyone had settled, the murmuring died to a still silence and Todd cleared his throat. Oh, man, this had to suck. We just made up, and now here we were. The greatest irony ever: the judge and the accused. Best friends forever. Not.

“Daniel Tyrell, you’ve been accused of forcing your ex-girlfriend, Hailie Flex, to fall down the stairs at 3 am last night, causing her to sprain her neck, fracture her skull, and obtain two broken limbs. How do you plead?”

Todd read off a paper, and as he did so, his voice cracked. I could almost hear him cry: “Man, this is bull!” in my head. He knew I wouldn’t do that to her, he’d told me himself. He didn’t know me well enough.

“Not guilty.”

My stomach lurched at the sound of my own voice. Murmurs spread through the crowd instantly. My eyes found Donna in the crowd. She breathed out in relief. Happy now? 

“And how do you account for your innocence?” said another judge, a red-haired girl with pale skin and long slender arms that propped her up over her podium, her eyebrows in a flat line as her beady eyes stared me down. I rolled my eyes. You’re far too serious, darling.

I lowered my head down to the mike again. “We argued; she fell. But I didn’t push her. In fact, I didn’t even touch her. It was an accident.”

I had to keep from wincing as I said this. All of it was true, and they seemed to consult with Verity about my words, who apparently recently joined the council. Joy. An on-site lie detector. Actually, not a half-bad idea. If I were in someone else’s shoes, that is.

And while I spoke the truth, it was equally true that my words had caused Hailie to forget she stood at the top of a staircase, to panic, and to lose her balance. Granted, I couldn’t see the staircase either, but maybe I did. Maybe I knew it was there the whole time. And maybe I did want her to fall. How the hell should I know? All the things I’d been forced to do had completely warped my mind, so how was I to know if maybe, just maybe, I had carried out some of those orders out of my own sick pleasure? Just like Lenora. Maybe I was a killer. Maybe…I was the Executioner after all.

My head then shot up to what Todd said next, and my throat dried out. “I would now like to call a witness to the stand. I call…Donalie Wright.”

CHAPTER FIFTY—Witness

D
onna took her time approaching the stand, as though she reveled in every gaze that focused on her, mine included. I knew better. I recalled how she blushed and trembled as she stood up in the middle of the competition when I first saw her. She was focused, and recited her plan in her head, careful to not misstep, because it was woven into a fine intricate web. And the slightest tear might cause a cataclysm. Oh, Donna, what have you done?

When she finally sat down, I almost felt as if a weight dropped on my chest. Todd cleared his throat and said, “Ms. Wright, you were on the same squad as Mr. Tyrell, correct?”

Todd’s formal voice sounded uncanny; it gave me shivers. Who would have thought a carefree guy like him could actually pull it off?

“Yes,” she answered stiffly, and said no more than she had to, her back straight.

“And did you spend time with Mr. Tyrell recently? Training, maybe?” His eyebrows shot up.

“I have.”

“And did you see Mr. Tyrell yesterday at all?”

“I did.”

“What would you say about his emotional condition?”

“He was…happy.”

I swallowed.

“Physical?”

“He was terribly wounded.”

Murmurs erupted like a murder of crows around the gym.

“Wounded how?” said another judge.

“Someone beat him up. I found him in the woods,” said Donna.

“Did he tell you what happened?”

“He was in no state to talk. I took care of him for as long as I could. Then I left him.”

“You mean you were in his dorm? You know that’s against the rules,” said the red-haired girl, her nose turned up, and a glint of triumph shone in her eye. I wanted to wrap my hands around her throat, or pull her head back by that ugly hair of hers.

Donna smiled slyly and I mentally drank a shot.

“You’ll notice that in the event of emergencies, such rules can be overruled. Check the rule book, page 567. You can’t miss it.”

The girl’s face turned almost as red as her hair. Ha! Atta girl. Donna wasn’t playing games anymore; she’d thought it through.

“So you’re saying…although he was beat up, he seemed happy?” said Todd, a confused expression on his face. He wasn’t trying to nail her, though. I was certain they had orchestrated this.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Does that mean you don’t believe he could have hurt Ms. Flex?”

Donna said nothing, and only stared out at everyone in the hall. As she sat there, I couldn’t even compare her to the fidgety smart ass that walked into LeJeune just some weeks ago who didn’t even want to bother opening the rule book. On the contrary, she now had something to fight for, and placed all her willpower into it. I would have barely looked twice at her back then. And now…now my heart wouldn’t stop its ridiculous thudding, and it had nothing to do with the trial. I imagined it was just her and me. The rest of them could go to hell.

Her head then turned forward, away from the judges, and her expression changed entirely. It was glazed over with some kind of mystery.

“I expect you’re waiting for me to say that Daniel was too wounded to have hurt Hailie. Actually, that’s not a claim I’m able to make.” Silence leered and every person in the room hung on her word. “On the contrary, I believe Daniel did cause her to fall.”

Blood drained from my face. The world seemed to have collapsed on top of me.
Wait…what? What the hell did she just…? But she told me to—!

“In fact, I also believe…Daniel is the very Executioner we have come to fear.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE—Accused

A
n explosion sounded in my head, except nothing actually exploded. Everyone still stood on their feet, the institute in one piece, my feet on the unshaken ground. Sweat streamed down my forehead, my bandana damp, and my eyes shot in every direction. What was going on? Don’t tell me… Could it be…there was no bomb? No…surely…there had to be.

In the stands, all the blood drained out of Von; Lenora sat with her arms and legs crossed at the very top, a sneer on her lips. I looked to Donna, while every eye bore daggers into my back. She didn’t look at me, just straight ahead in resolve. No…this couldn’t be… Did I really not have…even a single ally?

That’s right. That’s what you deserve.

Ah. Yes, that made sense. I deserved betrayal and abandonment. I deserved for every back to turn against me.

I grinned madly. Fine. I’d take it. I’d take whatever they had to throw at me. What did I have to lose? I had already lost everything. Everything…even her…

Todd began to stutter. “Uh…um, I… What did you just s—? Uh…” I was wrong. Todd hadn’t partnered with Donna. He had no clue what was to come. I don’t know if that made it better or worse. Scratch that. Nothing could be worse.

“What do you mean by that?” the red-haired girl retaliated, now red from anger. “Explain immediately!”

For an instant, Donna’s confidence wavered. She didn’t have Lauraline’s eloquence or my authoritative voice; she must have realized that now. But she had something else which every person was dying to hear: evidence.

Donna’s hands rested on her lap, intertwined.

“First of all, did you not wonder why the execution for the previous trial has yet to be carried out? When I was in Dan’s room, I saw a note. On it were written the names of three students. For their safety, I won’t reveal their identity, yet they’re still very much alive and among us. But if you think hard enough, you can probably figure out their abilities. Obviously Hailie wasn’t one of them. What happened between her and Dan must have been a personal quarrel.”

The air was dry; Verity wouldn’t be able to discount a single one of her words, and neither would I.

“Naturally, the only explanation is the one person who was supposed to have acted last night was indisposed. That automatically lists Dan as a suspect. Second, does anyone here actually know what Dan’s abilities are? Has he told you?”

Todd swallowed.

“No.” Donna’s voice got more fervent now and she stood up. “You know why? Because his abilities
enable
him to be the Executioner. And after he revealed them to me, he threatened me not to tell anyone about them.” Her accusing finger shot at me, though she still wouldn’t look in my direction. Her chest quaked. “His ability is to control others! That’s right! And the only way you can prevent it is by muffling his voice. Just like the Black Canary!”

“The who?” said another judge.

“She’s a superhero with a super-powered scream,” said Donna. She blushed crimson, but kept a firm face. 

“Is she serious?” the red-headed judge asked Todd in a whisper. He looked at Donna as if she were half-crazy, but belief shone in his eyes. He probably thought himself crazy too.

Murmurs began to buzz all around me. My nose twitched, my jaw set in stone cold anger. Come on, now, this was ridiculous… How far would she actually go? I could understand the accusation. I could even somehow understand betrayal. But to even reveal my weakness? Did she have no heart at all?

“Third! Daniel completely changed right before the attacks took place. He broke up with his girlfriend, with whom he’d been together for
three years.
He fought with his best friend, Todd Parks. And he virtually alienated himself from everyone, even though we all know Dan was one of the most popular guys here. Am I the only one that sees this, or are you—?”

The crowd had begun to grow heated and shouts of agreement started to emerge; students became restless. They believed her. Of course they would. She told the truth.

“ENOUGH!”

Everyone froze at the digitized voice that sounded from every wristwatch. It felt as if the lid of a grave had been pushed off my chest. My expression immediately livened. I still had a chance.

“I won’t allow for my name to be mocked in this manner,”
spoke the Executioner.
“Take Daniel Tyrell to the basement and lock him there until the next trial. You are a clever girl, Donalie, but too clever for your own good. You’ll be sorry.”

The transmission went dead and for a few seconds no one breathed. Confusion spread like wildfire. If I was sitting here, how could I have sent that message? The game was still on.

On the stand, Donna snickered. What was so damn funny?

“Don’t you all get it?” she leaned her hands on the podium, hunched over. “He has an accomplice! Someone he’s likely controlling. Someone he told to send a message if he were accused. He’s the Executioner, and I’m not afraid of him!” She sat back down and her head turned about, from one side of the gym to the other. “Are you?” 

Someone whispered to Todd on the judge’s panel. Todd finally found the voice in him to speak again. “D-Daniel Tyrell, you have been accused of a new charge: that you are the Executioner himself. How do you plead?”

I scanned the eyes of every person in the room, some gazes scared, others scornful, and some shimmering with the slightest bit of hope that they were wrong. One thing was for certain: no matter what they thought of me, I couldn’t let someone else get assigned to be the Executioner. Because then another sacrifice would have to be made. In my feigned innocence lay someone’s salvation.