that?â
âThe only thing I heard was Tiffany kidding around,â Dana said, carefully. âWhat did you hear?â
Angelo rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand. âNu-nothing.â He backed away from the jar, staring at the brain as though he expected it to come after him. âI couldnât have heard anything if you guys didnât.â
Nick looked at Angie, standing behind Angelo. She twirled a finger beside her head. âMaybe we should check out another room.â
âGood idea,â Nick said.
Grouped together, the six of them left the classroom. Nick wasnât 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? âMaybe we should check on Carter,â he said.
But Angie was already trying the next door. âLook at this!â she called.
âOh, wow!â 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.
âIt looks like an operating room,â Dana said.
âIâll bet this is where they cut up the bodies.â 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 didnât smell like a hospital. Nick wrinkled his nose. âIt stinks in here. Like rotten meat or old fish.â
âTotally rank,â Tiffany agreed, waving her hands in front of her face. âI am never going to get this stench out of my hair.â
âWhat are these?â Angelo pointed his light toward a counter covered with dozens of machines that sort of resembled what Angieâs mom had in her lab. Nick reached toward one that looked like an extra-big ice-cream maker. But Angelo held out a hand. âCareful. We donât know what they do.â
Dana picked up a plastic jug and squinted at the label. âVasosol. Iâve never heard of it.â She turned the jug around and read the back. âFor the preservation and storage of human organs and tissues.â
âThey are the ones stealing the bodies,â Angie said, slamming her fist into her palm. âI knew it.â
âBut why?â 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.
âI think itâs time to leave,â Angelo said, licking his lips. âWhatever theyâre doing here, itâs not normal medical procedures. I donât know whatâs going on. But I donât think theyâd be happy to find us snooping around.â
âIâm with Angelo,â Cody said. âThis place gives me a serious case of the creeps.â
âTake some more pictures first,â Angie said. âFor evidence.â
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 peopleâs 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?
âThatâs