Peeves. Mike Waes Van

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ treatment intended to temporarily absorb and dispose of irritations to create calmer, consistent consumers for Clarity Labs. One purpose. One formula. No previous version. End of product description.”

      “But …” continued Dr Zanker, to no avail.

      “Plausible deniability is our friend, Dr Zanker,” said Pauline Salt, just before she leaned forward and added in a conspiratorial tone, “You and I both know that if the FDA starts poking around, we won’t survive Plum Island.”

      Pauline Salt then turned and click-clacked away while Dr Zanker shuffled back the way they had come, arguing with himself as he went.

      Lucy let the door click shut and we both exhaled a sigh of relief.

      “You’re gonna get us in so much trouble,” I said. “We really shouldn’t be here.” I grabbed for her arm, thinking we’d sneak our way back to the safety of that horrible metal bench. But she dodged and turned to explore the room we’d wandered into.

      “No one made you come after me.”

      “No one made you … be stupid,” was the best my frazzled brain could offer. She looked at me like “good one” and kept going. I didn’t know what else to do but follow her.

      The room was filled with dozens of cages that housed dozens of lab rats. In front of each cage hung different digital readings and handwritten charts.

      “Animal testing is so messed up,” she spun round to tell me. “If Dad wouldn’t lose his job, I’d totally set them all free right now.”

      “I don’t know. The little guys look okay to me.” And they did. No visible wounds. No extra limbs. No unidentifiable growths.

      “Whoa, what’s up with this one?” she said, pointing at one of the rats. It was freaking out. Shaking and squeaking and scurrying around in its cage like it was bothered by something that wasn’t there.

      We peered in and looked more closely at the rat. At first I thought that maybe it was just a little hyper, but then it started to seem like it was swatting at the air, like there was a bug in the cage that no one could see. Lucy stepped back and looked at the rest of the rats, suddenly realising … “A lot of them are acting that way.”

      And she was right. About half the rats in the place looked like they were going crazy.

      I picked up the handwritten chart hanging off the first rat’s cage. “Personal Vexation Zoners. PVZ.” Then I looked up at Lucy. “PVZ is what they were just talking about in the hall!” I dropped the chart and backed away. “Oh, this can’t be good. We really need to get out of here.”

      “Stop freaking out, Slim. You didn’t have to follow me. If you’re so eager to get out of here,” Lucy said as she shoved me towards the door, “then get out!”

      And I tried to resist, but something in her just cracked. She pushed and pushed and pushed until she yanked the door open and pushed me out the same way she’d just pulled me in. I tumbled out into the hallway and crashed right into Dr Zanker. I remember everything as if it all happened in super slo-mo. Dr Zanker wasn’t watching where he was going. He was in a hurry and certainly didn’t expect a kid to crash into him in the middle of the hallway. He was wearing a surgical mask and carrying a small nasal spray bottle. I slammed into him in mid-stride, knocking the bottle out of his hands. He fumbled for it, but he only slapped it up into the air even higher. I fell in a flop to the floor, and a moment later, the bottle hit the cold, hard tiles too. Right in front of me. Close enough that I could read the label – Personal Vexation Zoners (PVZ). Close enough that when it cracked open I got a big whiff of it right in the face.

      I immediately panicked. Instead of covering my mouth, I gasped for air. Not smart. By the time I sat up, the PVZ bottle was empty and I’d inhaled it all.

      “What did you just do!” shouted Dr Zanker as he snatched up the broken bottle.

      I leaped to my feet and wiped my face as if that would somehow get rid of the evidence. I wasn’t sure what to do. I was about to take off, make a run for it, when a fire alarm rang out. The hall quickly flooded with lab technicians and employees. As Dr Zanker scrambled to collect the broken pieces of his PVZ bottle, Lucy came out of nowhere, grabbed my arm, and ushered me into the crowd.

      Before I could really process what had happened, we’d gone back through the main door between the labs we should never have gone into in the first place and the hallway we should have been waiting in this whole time. Up ahead, Dad guided his focus group towards the lobby. “Just remain calm,” he said, “like PVZ will make you. Eventually. When it’s approved for mass consumption.” One of the focus group members gave him a dirty glare, so he shouted to the whole group, “And don’t worry, you’ll still get your free vouchers!”

      I headed towards him, but Lucy stopped me before he could see where we had come from. We saw Dad look at the empty bench, realise we weren’t there, and then spin around to scan for us. Lucy pushed us behind a rather large lab tech, and by the time Dad had done a full 360, we were back sitting on the bench as if we’d never left.

      “Oh, where … I just …” Dad stammered, confused. “Never mind. We need to evacuate.” As he guided us both towards the lobby, I saw Lucy slip his security card back in his pocket. She was so much sneakier than I ever imagined. The fire alarm kept blaring and that’s when I put it together.

      “Did you pull—” But I was cut off by Lucy’s elbow in my rib cage. Dad took one look at me and asked his standard, “Hey, are you okay?” He saw me look accusingly at Lucy and asked the even more standard, “What’s going on?”

      I don’t exactly know how to explain it, but despite how much we drive each other crazy, we must have some instinctive sibling bond that sparks in times of crisis. Without even hesitating, we both said, “Nothing!” as if it had to be the truth. Dad wasn’t convinced, but there was no time for cross-examinations. We had just made it to the lobby exit when Pauline Salt popped up out of nowhere, like a jump scare in a horror movie. “The focus group was cut short, Dale. This whole day is now void,” she said, completely oblivious to the concerned people trying to get to safety all around her. “You’ll have to redo it. We go to the board next week. No mistakes. No excuses.”

      Dad stared at her like a chastised child. “But … it’s a fire alarm.”

      “No. Excuses,” she reiterated. And then Pauline Salt click-clacked away, against the tide of the crowd, back towards the labs as if the fire better be afraid of her.

      As I watched her go, I spotted Dr Zanker frantically searching the crowd. We made eye contact, and he lit up like I was the dessert tray after a fancy meal. “Slim!” Dad shouted after me, reminding me that I was once again two steps behind them. I ran to catch up, slipping through the door just as it was shutting. The last thing I saw through the closing gap was Dr Zanker standing there, still watching me, as a creepy, giddy smile slid across his face.

      We parked in the driveway of the model home after a long ride in total silence. Dad seemed to be preoccupied with work. And considering how Pauline Salt had chewed him out, I didn’t blame him. Lucy kept quiet in the back seat, not even using her phone. I was pretty sure she was just trying to keep a low profile to prevent me from abruptly ratting her out about sneaking into the labs.

      But any hope of remaining calm and quiet was shot when I went inside. Mom took one look at me and rained down questions I didn’t have the energy to answer: “Are you okay? You look pale. Are СКАЧАТЬ