I laughed, which only seemed to incense him further.
"No," I explained hurriedly. "It happened to me too, not long after I got here. It probably happens to everyone."
"I didn't even kill him!" the boy screeched. "I shouldn't even be here."
He leaned backward, his arms straining with his own weight. Donovan and Zee rushed to my side, ready to grab for the boys if they jumped.
"Come on, Toby," said Ashley. "Let's do it."
"Wait, Toby," I said, turning my attention to the smaller boy. He was young, maybe eleven. He looked nothing like the Toby I'd known, but when I stared into his sad eyes I saw the same boy, the friend I'd let down, whose death I'd caused. He looked like he was going to jump, and I didn't blame him. I'd been thinking the very same thing until this morning.
I thought about our plan, our way out. I thought about our promise to keep it secret. I thought about my friend Toby, lying dead on a stranger's floor. I thought about this kid, the way he'd soon be lying in a pool of his own blood as well. I couldn't let it happen again, not when I had the chance to save him.
"Look, there's a way out," I said as quietly as possible. I felt a hand grip my arm and turned to see Donovan staring at me, the tendons in his neck strained with anxiety.
"Don't," he said. "We made a deal. One word, remember. That's all it could take."
"There's a bunch of us," I went on, ignoring him. "We know how to escape."
Both boys jerked their heads in my direction.
"Really?" said Toby. It was the first time I'd heard his voice, a musical lilt with an accent I couldn't place. "A way out of Furnace?"
"It's a lie," spat Ashley. "He'll lure us down and then they'll kill us, turn us into one of those things. There's only one way out."
I extended my hand again and nodded at Toby. He returned the nod, and his dark eyes suddenly glowed. He started to climb back over, but Ashley loosened his grip from the railing and snatched his clothing.
"I can't go on my own," he snarled, then with a noise halfway between a snort and a sob he fell. Toby lurched out over the yard and I threw myself toward him, grabbing his outstretched hand an instant before he dropped. The weight of both boys pulled me into the railings but I held on tight, refusing to let go.
The pain in my arm was unbearable. Looking down I saw Toby holding on to my hand with everything he had. Clinging to his waist was Ashley, wailing and tugging on his captive to try to pull them both loose. Far below, several hundred inmates were watching from the yard, cheering for us all to drop.
I screamed to Donovan and Zee to help, but they didn't move.
"Just let them go," Donovan whispered. "They know about the plan, they could ruin everything."
I screamed with the pain. Zee took a step toward me but Donovan stopped him.
"I'm telling you, Alex, let them go. We don't know anything about these guys."
"You can trust him," I said through gritted teeth. "I'll lay my life on it. You can trust Toby. Now help me!"
"You'll lay all our lives on this," Donovan said, then both boys ran forward, Zee grabbing me and Donovan gripping Toby's arm. We all pulled together and managed to shift them up a fraction. But Ashley was still throwing himself around. If we couldn't dislodge him, then we were all going over.
"You got him?" I asked. Zee threw his arms over the railing and grabbed Toby's wrist. I let go of the boy and ducked behind Donovan so I had a better view of Ashley.
"Let go," I said, but he showed no sign of hearing me. "I said let go."
Ashley just looked at me with unrestrained contempt, then doubled his efforts to pull Toby loose.
"I can't die on my own!" he screeched.
"Quick," hissed Zee. "I can't hold on much longer."
"Last chance," I said, leaning over the railing, my fist bunched. Ashley spat at me, the gob arcing up then landing back on his own chin. He thrashed around, eyes wild, and I knew I had no choice. I lashed out, my fist connecting with his cheek. His head snapped back, his arm slipping. I punched him again, and this time he let go, seeming to fall in slow motion as if his endless scream was a parachute.
I staggered back from the balcony before he hit the yard, collapsing against the wall as Donovan and Zee pulled Toby onto the walkway. We all sat in silence for a while, trying to understand what had just happened, then Donovan threw me a cold look.
"I hope you're happy," he said.
But how could I be? In the space of five minutes I'd broken the vow and put us all in danger. Worst of all, I'd just become a killer for real.
THE RED HAND
WE WERE SERENADED BACK downstairs by the sound of a hundred voices cheering and screaming, calling for us to jump as well. It was sick, the way the inmates and the guards saw Ashley's final moments as entertainment, a performance to brighten up their day. He'd been a living, breathing kid; he hadn't deserved his fate, even though he'd chosen it.
"Breathe a word of this to anyone, kid, and I'll kill you," Donovan said for the fourth time as we reached our level. "I'm not joking."
He and Zee pulled ahead, disappearing into my cell. I stopped walking and turned to Toby. He wasn't crying, but it looked like his insides had been pulled out, leaving a white, shivering shell that seemed on the verge of collapse.
"Just ignore him," I said. "It's my plan and you're part of it now. But you really can't say anything, not if you want to get out of here."
"I do," he said. "I won't, I swear."
We walked into the cell. Donovan was lying on his top bunk fuming quietly, and Zee was sitting at the foot of my bed.
"I really wouldn't sit there if I were you," I told him. His eyes widened and he shot up, looking at the bulge that concealed the explosive gloves. He smiled nervously, then glanced at Toby.
"More hands means we can do this quicker," he said eventually. "Right?"
"No," said Donovan without lifting his head. "We don't tell him what we're doing. He can come with us on the day, but the less he knows the less he can give away."
"I'm not going to say anything," Toby said. "I just want out of here. I promise, my mouth is sealed. And I can help."
Donovan just snorted.
"Zee's right," I said. "The more of us there are, the quicker we can get out."
"Well, why don't we just tell everyone?" Donovan spat. I ignored him, checking to make sure there was nobody outside the cell before filling Toby in on the details of the plan. By the time I'd finished, he was grinning from ear to ear.
"You're all crazy," he said.
"Welcome to the club."
MY DREAMS THAT night were as bad as ever. I was back in my glass prison, only this time it wasn't my house I was looking at but a stranger's. The blacksuits pulled someone screaming from it, a figure I recognized as Ashley, throwing him in the cell with me. Instead of thumping the glass, I found myself banging on the boy's face, ignoring his sobs and his pleas as his skin cracked and split. Eventually he smashed into a thousand pieces, and beneath them on the glass floor I saw my reflection, all piggy eyes and rusted mask.
I woke with a cry to find myself encased in a darkness that was almost solid. Shivering, I crawled from my bed to the cell door and lay on the stone staring at the screen in the yard far below, the rotating Furnace logo a beacon in the night. I don't remember falling asleep again but I must have done so, because I woke when the siren blew, my entire body aching from the hard floor.
When the doors grated open, Donovan sprinted down to the yard to check the work chart, then legged it back up the stairs.
"Me and you on laundry," he said, obviously disappointed. "Zee's chipping, Toby's in the kitchen but I don't think he should be doing anything."
"I can handle it," came a voice from the cell door. It was Toby, and behind him stood Zee. "Just tell me what to do."
I told Toby how to fill the gloves while Donovan helped Zee squeeze the balloons under his overalls. We managed to get five in without him looking ridiculous.