Epilogue
Nobody involved with the Springer Island enquiry, neither the bureaucratic authorities nor the Collector detectives on-site, knew exactly who General Grieves was. His title, of course, implied that he was a military official, but nobody up or down the ranks had heard so much as a rumor about him—and many an inquisitive official had searched unsuccessfully trying to determine his identity. Whoever he was, though, he came straight from the Supremacy and he was in charge of the investigation, and that was all anybody needed to know about him.
The head Collector investigating the facility reported directly to Grieves when he arrived on the tiny isle, filling him in on what they had learned thus far. "The incident began in the boys' dormitory—we found a written plan in one of the units and smuggled medical supplies in several others. Unit seventeen, where the written plan was hidden, had a hole cut into the security mesh; this was the initial breach. The patients escaped, opened the gates to the other units, and overtook the guards on duty as well as staff members who attempted to contact the mainland. From there they spread out into the rest of the building, freeing the female patients, and together they trapped all the guards and medical staff inside the patients' quarters."
"I see," Grieves commented, eyeing the substandard establishment.
"They spent several more days on the island, recovering from illness and burying expired patients," he gestured to the excavation site, where the bodies were being unearthed, "then they escaped using the boats that were moored at the dock. A total of one hundred and thirty-nine adolescent patients are unaccounted for, including fifty-two successful human-avian conversions. We estimate they've been gone from the island for about a week—somebody rigged up an automatic response device to perform the daily radio check-ins to buy them extra time."
"Is it known who, exactly, instigated the usurpation?"
"We've taken statements from all present staff members," the Collector explained, "and they were under the impression that there were several individuals acting in leadership roles—Craig, Vera, Iggy, Gazzy—but that there was a girl, Ella, who was regarded as the head. It is believed that she devised the written plan."
Grieves frowned at this. "Iggy and Gazzy... those names sound familiar to me." He closed his eyes contemplatively for a moment, then opened them again. "Maximum Ride." Her whereabouts were still unknown currently—perhaps this was her handiwork? Then he also remembered, "You said a girl named Ella was their leader. What was her last name?"
"We assume she was the girl registered as Ella Alverez," the Collector replied automatically, "There were no other patient with that first name."
"Alverez," he repeated to himself, shaking his head. That wasn't right. Maximum's half-sister had a different name, he was certain of that. Ah well, perhaps it was simply a coincidence. "Well, I expect a full report issued by sundown."
"Yes, sir."
Grieves turned away from the clone, and was just about to walk away when he remembered something. "Also," he told the Collector, "once we've gathered all the necessary information, someone must look into contacting the families of the deceased staff for identification purposes."
The Collector looked at Grieves in confusion. "Deceased staff? Sir, there were no—"
"I'm sure they'll be absolutely appalled when they find out that their loved ones were brutally slaughtered and mutilated almost beyond recognition—murdered by a group of dangerous young mental patients they were trying so valiantly to rehabilitate." He gave the Collector a long, hard look. "As well, it is important to warn the general public of how extremely dangerous these patients are, so they will not hesitate to turn them in if they see them."
The Collector nodded firmly. "I will see that it is taken care of," he replied, departing to carry out his orders.
General Grieves took refuge in the facility's head office, sitting at the desk to get a thorough look through the case files he had received upon arriving. This was a relatively minor breach of security, he reminded himself, and these few gutsy children who would soon pay the price for their defiance. Still, he couldn't quite shake the uneasy feeling. This hiccup had succeeded largely due to luck and ridiculously lax security—something he was going to have a word with somebody about—but the plan had still been clever enough to succeed. If this Ella girl turned out to be more than a lucky runaway, and if she really was connected to the elusive Maximum Ride, then the repercussions incident might be far worse than an isolated laboratory slip-up.
But it was an unlikely outcome, Grieves determined. After all, what would a straggly bunch of teenagers do, try and overthrow the government? Highly unlikely.
