Case File 13 #2 by J. Scott Savage Page B

that?”
    â€œThe only thing I heard was Tiffany kidding around,” Dana said, carefully. “What did you hear?”
    Angelo rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand. “Nu-nothing.” He backed away from the jar, staring at the brain as though he expected it to come after him. “I couldn’t have heard anything if you guys didn’t.”
    Nick looked at Angie, standing behind Angelo. She twirled a finger beside her head. “Maybe we should check out another room.”
    â€œGood idea,” Nick said.
    Grouped together, the six of them left the classroom. Nick wasn’t sure what had happened back there, but whatever it was, something had completely freaked out Angelo. He kept glancing over his shoulder as they crowded through the door.
    Nick looked down the dark hallway. How long had they been in the classroom? “Maybe we should check on Carter,” he said.
    But Angie was already trying the next door. “Look at this!” she called.
    â€œOh, wow!” Tiffany flipped open her camera phone and the flash blinded Nick as she took a picture.
    Nick blinked, trying to get back his night vision. By the time he got to the door and could make anything out, the rest of the kids were already inside.
    â€œIt looks like an operating room,” Dana said.
    â€œI’ll bet this is where they cut up the bodies.” Angie waved her flashlight and Nick made out dozens of tables covered with white sheets. Beside each table was a metal tray filled with scalpels and other surgical equipment.
    Lit only by a dim gas lamp, the room looked like it belonged in an old-fashioned hospital. But it didn’t smell like a hospital. Nick wrinkled his nose. “It stinks in here. Like rotten meat or old fish.”
    â€œTotally rank,” Tiffany agreed, waving her hands in front of her face. “I am never going to get this stench out of my hair.”
    â€œWhat are these?” Angelo pointed his light toward a counter covered with dozens of machines that sort of resembled what Angie’s mom had in her lab. Nick reached toward one that looked like an extra-big ice-cream maker. But Angelo held out a hand. “Careful. We don’t know what they do.”
    Dana picked up a plastic jug and squinted at the label. “Vasosol. I’ve never heard of it.” She turned the jug around and read the back. “For the preservation and storage of human organs and tissues.”
    â€œThey are the ones stealing the bodies,” Angie said, slamming her fist into her palm. “I knew it.”
    â€œBut why?” Nick asked. Clearly there was something bizarre going on here. But what was the point? Why would a private school go to all the trouble of stealing bodies and cutting them up or whatever it was they were doing when you could find out pretty much anything you wanted on the internet these days? Shoot, if you wanted to see a human brain all you had to do was find the medical channel on TV or go to YouTube.
    â€œI think it’s time to leave,” Angelo said, licking his lips. “Whatever they’re doing here, it’s not normal medical procedures. I don’t know what’s going on. But I don’t think they’d be happy to find us snooping around.”
    â€œI’m with Angelo,” Cody said. “This place gives me a serious case of the creeps.”
    â€œTake some more pictures first,” Angie said. “For evidence.”
    Tiffany snapped pictures of everything in sight. The flash from her camera made the operating tables stand out in sharp contrast. Nick felt like he was looking at a series of photographs from one of those old asylums where they cut out parts of people’s brains or shocked them.
    He edged closer to one of the tables and realized there was something hanging from the side. He lifted up a long, black nylon strap with Velcro on one end. Why would you need a strap to hold down dead people?
    â€œThat’s