‚I don’t see anything,' James said.
‚It’s gone.'
They walked on, heading for the abandoned ski jump. According to James, the jump had been built just before Grief had bought the academy. There had been plans to turn the building into a winter sports training center. The jump had never been used. They reached the wooden barriers that lay across the entrance and stopped.
‚Let me ask you something,' James said. His breath was misting in the cold air. ‚What do you think of this place?'
‚Why do we have to talk out here?' Alex asked. Despite his coat, he was beginning to shiver.
‚Because when I’m inside the building, I get the feeling that someone is listening to every word I say.'
Alex nodded. ‚I know what you mean.' He considered the question James had put to him.
‚I think you were right the first day we met,' he said. ‚This place is creepy.'
‚So how would you feel about getting out of here?'
‚You know how to fly the helicopter?'
‚No. But I’m going.' James paused and looked around. The two guards had gone into the school. There was nobody else in sight. ‚I can trust you, Alex, because you’ve just gotten here.
He hasn’t gotten to you yet.' Dr. Grief. James didn’t need to say the name. ‚But believe me,' he went on, ‚it won’t be long. If you stay here, you’re going to end up like the others. Model students. That’s exactly the word for them. It’s like they’re all made out of plastic. Well, I’ve had enough. I’m not going to let him do that to me.'
‚Are you going to run away?' Alex asked.
‚Who needs to run?' James looked down the slope. ‚I’m going to ski.'
Alex looked at the slope. It plunged steeply down, stretching on forever. ‚Is that possible?'
he asked. ‚I thought—'
‚I know Grief says it’s too dangerous. But he would, wouldn’t he? It’s true that it’s expert black runs all the way down, and there’s bound to be tons of moguls…'
‚Won’t the snow have melted?'
‚Only farther down.' James pointed. ‚I’ve been right down to the bottom,' he said. ‚I did it the first week I was here. All the slopes run into a single valley. It’s called La Vallee de Fer. You can’t actually make it as far as the town because there’s a train track that cuts across. But if I can get to the track, I reckon I can walk the rest of the way.'
‚And then?'
‚A train back to Dusseldorf. If my dad tries to send me back here, I’ll go to my mom in England. If she doesn’t want me, I’ll disappear. I’ve got friends in Paris and Berlin. I don’t care.
All I know is, I’ve got to split, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll come too.'
Alex considered. He was almost tempted to join the other boy, if only to help him on his way. But he had a job to do. ‚I don’t have any skis,' he said.
‚Nor do I.' James spat into the snow. ‚Grief took all the skis when the season ended. He’s got them locked up somewhere.'
‚On the third floor?'
‚Maybe. But I’ll find them. And then I’m out of here.' He reached out to Alex with his ungloved hand. ‚Come with me.'
Alex shook his head. ‚I’m sorry, James. You go, and good luck to you. But I’ll stick it out a bit longer. I don’t want to break my neck.'
‚Okay. That’s your choice. I’ll send you a postcard.'
The two of them walked back toward the school. Alex gestured at the window where he had seen the masked face. ‚Have you ever wondered what goes on up there?' be asked.
‚No.' James shrugged. ‚I suppose that’s where the guards live.'
‚Two whole floors?'
‚There’s a basement as well. And Dr. Grief’s rooms. Do you think he sleeps with Miss Stomach-bag?' James made a face. ‚That’s a pretty gross thought, the two of them together.
Darth Vader and King Kong. Well, I’m going to find my skis and get out of here, Alex. And if you’ve got any sense, you’ll come too.'
Alex and James were skiing together down the slope, the blades cutting smoothly through the surface snow. It was a perfect night—everything frozen and still. They had left the academy behind them. But then Alex saw the figure ahead of them. Dr. Grief was there. He was standing motionless, wearing his dark suit, his eyes hidden by his round wire glasses. Alex veered away from him. He had lost control. He was moving faster and faster down the slope, his poles flailing at the air, his skis refusing to turn. He could see the ski jump ahead of him. Someone had removed the barriers. He felt his skis leave the snow and shoot forward onto solid ice. And then it was a screaming drop down, tearing ever farther into the night, knowing there was no way back. Dr. Grief laughed, and at the same moment there was a click and Alex was shot into space, spinning a mile above the ground and then falling, falling, falling …
He woke up.
He was lying in bed, the moonlight spilling onto his covers. He looked at his watch. A quarter past two. He played back the dream he had just had. Trying to escape with James. Dr.
Grief waiting for them. He had to admit, the academy was beginning to get to him. He didn’t usually have bad dreams. But the school and the people in it were slipping under his skin, working their way into his mind.
He thought about what he had heard. Dr. Grief laughing and something else … a clicking sound. That was strange. What had gone click? Had it actually been part of the dream?
Suddenly, Alex was completely awake. He got out of bed, went to the door, and turned the handle. He was right. He hadn’t imagined the sound. While he was asleep, the door had been locked from the outside.
Something had to be happening—and Alex was determined to see what it was. He got dressed as quickly as possible, then knelt down and examined the lock. He could make out two bolts, at least a half inch in diameter, one at the top and one at the bottom. They must have been activated automatically. One thing was sure: he wasn’t going to get out through the door.
That left the window. All the bedroom windows were fastened with a steel rod that allowed them to open ten inches but no more. Alex picked up his CD player, put in the Beethoven CD, and turned it on. The CD spun around—moving at a fantastic speed—then slowly edged forward, still spinning, until it protruded out of the casing. Alex pressed the edge of the CD
against the steel rod. It took just a few seconds. The CD cut through the steel like scissors through paper. The rod fell away, allowing the window to swing fully open.
It was still snowing. Alex turned the CD player off and threw it back on his bed. Then he put on some sweats and his coat and climbed out the window. He was two floors up. Normally a fall from that height would have broken an ankle or a leg. But it had been snowing for the better part of ten hours, and a white bank had built up against the wall right beneath him. Alex lowered himself as far as he could, then let go. He fell through the air and hit the snow, disappearing as far as his waist. He felt his feet strike the hard undersoil, but the bank had protected him. He was cold and damp before he had even started. But he was unhurt.
He climbed out of the snow and began to move around the side of the building, making for the front. He would just have to hope that the main entrance wasn’t locked too. But somehow he was sure it wouldn’t be. His door had been locked automatically. Presumably a switch had been thrown and all the others had been locked too. Most of the boys would be asleep. Even the ones who were awake wouldn’t be going anywhere, leaving Dr. Grief free to do whatever he wanted, coming and going as he pleased.