Going Wild #3 Page 5

  Sharp-eared Prowl, who was standing guard near the door without his mask, acted as if he hadn’t heard the scientist. On the one hand, Dr. Gray had lightened up a bit since the time he’d held the other scientists captive—that had been a stressful period for everyone. Prowl and the others had become worried about being discovered or the police showing up. Or worse, the government agency that Dr. Gray worked for shutting them down. If that group ever found out they’d held hostages, they’d be furious. Prowl blinked. It reminded him that Gray hadn’t seemed to be talking to anyone in the government lately. Not in a long time, in fact. That seemed strange.

  But they hadn’t been stopped. And they’d gotten out of that jam, so the stress levels in the lab had decreased of late. Dr. Gray was calmer—some of the time, anyway. Earlier that day, Miko had told Prowl that the scientist was acting like his old self at the zoo, which was good news. The man seemed to find some level of energy trying to keep their newest team member, Kelly, happy. Maybe the old guy was worried about her platypus spikes, Prowl thought sardonically. He rubbed the spot on his thigh where Kelly had previously stabbed him and injected her poison.

  On the other hand, Dr. Gray had become even more reclusive and focused when working in the lab. Having to fix his machine had set Dr. Gray back weeks. And without Zed to do half the work, the pressure to hurry seemed to intensify. Victor had been known to fly off the handle at the smallest provocations. Prowl, Braun, Mega, Cyke, and Miko had been around the man a lot of years, since he first recruited the young outcasts to be test subjects. And even though Gray didn’t talk about Zed much, the leopard man knew he was stinging inside. Heck, Prowl was hurt, too—he and Zed and Miko had gotten pretty close after working together all this time. As much as Dr. Gray tried to appear stoic, he was more sensitive than many people, and Zed’s leaving had been a huge blow to Victor’s ego. Prowl missed her badly. No doubt Dr. Gray missed her even more.

  Something moved outside the window. Prowl’s green eyes turned sharply, but then he relaxed. It was just a bird. If he hadn’t been on guard duty, he might have gone after it for fun. But he took his assignment at the door very seriously, especially after the last attack in Navarro Junction. He folded his arms and turned his furry leopard face back to the doctor, who was mumbling about phenotypes and genotypes. It sounded like a foreign language to Prowl. He and the other soldiers were limited in what they could do for the scientist.

  The soldier dropped his gaze and his mind wandered again. He wondered what sort of second ability was in store for him. Dr. Gray hadn’t disclosed anything, though Prowl knew he was planning something. He wished the doctor would consult with him first to see if he’d actually like the ability. It only seemed polite. But Gray didn’t really see the soldiers as equals. He paid them generously and figured that was enough to maintain their loyalty. He was definitely not known for his politeness. Sometimes he was downright mean.

  Prowl’s expression flickered as he remembered how Gray had left him and Miko and Kelly stranded in Navarro Junction after the last fight. Thank goodness Cyke had come back for them. Prowl knew when he’d signed up for this job that even though the money would be great, life would change drastically. And Dr. Gray would be calling all the shots. But after all these years devoted to the man, was it asking too much of a favor for Prowl to at least be consulted before the scientist just sprang a new animal’s DNA on him? Wishful thinking. Besides, it’s not like he could leave, looking like this. Gray had them all in a corner, and he knew it.

  At least Miko knew what her new animal would be now, and she seemed happy about it. And they all knew that if they ever managed to get shark DNA, it would be for Mega, the rhino-woman hybrid. But no one knew who the jellyfish was for. Prowl and Cyke hadn’t even been sure they’d found the right kind the other day—it had been hard to tell since there were so many of them in that tank.

  And unfortunately they’d failed to capture anything before they’d been caught and pounded senseless. Whoever came in and clocked them was lucky they had run off just as quickly. At first Prowl thought it might have been the Wilde child and her friends, but why wouldn’t they have put up more of a fight like before? Too bad he didn’t get a good look at them. All Prowl knew was that he hadn’t expected to get knocked out over some stupid jellyfish.

  Prowl wrinkled his nose, remembering. Much like a cat, he was not a fan of getting wet. He grimaced as he imagined falling into a tank full of jellyfish and getting his fur all soaked … blech. Not to mention getting stung, though being a leopard man had toughened his skin a bit. Still, no thanks.

  Dr. Gray turned sharply toward him. “Is Miko back yet?”

  “No,” said Prowl, snapping out of his thoughts and looking up. “She and Kelly went to the beach to train. They told me they’ll be gone all day.”

  “Right,” said Dr. Gray, as if he was just remembering. “Good.” He picked up a clipboard that held several pages of notes. “Get Morph and Fang out to the backyard for their matchup and assessment. Let’s see which ability outshines the others this time.”

  Not far away, at the beach, Miko sat down under a huge umbrella while Kelly put her hair up and fastened it.

  “Go ahead,” Miko instructed when Kelly was finished. “Do like we said. Just turn on your dolphin ability first and work on swimming and turning sharply. Then, once you’ve got the feel of it and you can really move with an instant’s notice while concentrating on something else, switch on the cuttlefish and do your thing.”

  Kelly sniffed as she faced the crashing waves. It smelled nasty, like the seafood counter at the grocery store. “Do you think there are gross fish in there?”

  “Nope,” said Miko. “No fish in the ocean.”

  Kelly gave her a panicked look. “I’m serious, Miko. What if they … come at me?”

  Miko sighed. “Come on, Kelly. You can do this. You did it before and saved three people—what’s the difference now?”

  “I know I can do it,” said Kelly. “And in Cabo I didn’t think about it first—I heard the shouting and ran to help. But now I just … ugh.” She sighed. “Okay. Here I go.” Without the adrenaline and the urgency that she’d felt when she’d saved those teenagers, it was hard to get up her excitement for this. But if she wanted the success and glory of procuring the shark DNA sample, she was going to have to rehearse this routine a few times, just like she had to do in theater class. Or like how she had to practice a lot to get better at soccer.

  Stuff she probably wouldn’t ever do again.

  A dull pang swept through her at the thought, but she pushed through it. With a surge of determination, she jogged into the waves and waded out deeper than her waist. Once she was mostly hidden from other beachgoers, she lowered her goggles and clicked on her dolphin ability, then dived under.

  The water was brisk on Kelly’s face and she was glad her bodysuit had climate control to temper the highest heat of the Southwest as well as the shock of cold water. She surfaced for air and felt the breeze hit the fin that had pushed out of her back through the slit in her suit. Now she just had to be careful to stay away from the surfers so they didn’t see it. Though, on second thought, maybe that would make them stay away from her.

  She took a few deep breaths, then went back under and sped through the water, watching for fish ready to dart out at her, but realizing anything she could see was moving away from her. That relaxed her somewhat, and she began to meander around under the surface, looking at the shifting sand and shells and rocks below her. She liked how the sound of the world was muted down here. It made her feel like she was the only human left in the world and she imagined idly what that might be like. It would definitely solve a few of her problems, but Kelly wasn’t sure it would ultimately be a great solution—who would be her future fans?

  Eventually Kelly admitted to herself that swimming could potentially be fun if things remained calm like this. And being able to hold her breath for over five minutes like a dolphin was pretty excellent, too.

  O
nce she was used to the water, Kelly got to work. She practiced sharp turns and making accurate moves at a high speed—things she hadn’t had to worry about when saving those people. She took herself through a sort of obstacle course, using the ocean floor’s natural rocks, sunken driftwood, and weed patches as things to dodge around. She was hoping to refine her skills enough that chasing a shark around a pool or aquarium would come more instinctively, without her having to concentrate on looking where she was going all the time. She closed her eyes, wondering if she also possessed the dolphin’s sonar ability, but it seemed that feature hadn’t been included in her device.

  Maybe I’ll just find a shark out here in the wild, she thought, and then her eyes flew open. What was she thinking? That would not be good. She looked all around just in case, then surfaced for air. She lifted her goggles and glanced at Miko, who was standing on the shore looking worried. Kelly waved to her, and Miko visibly relaxed and waved back—she must have been anxious about Kelly being underwater for so long. It was kind of nice having somebody worry about her for once.

  Kelly floated for a moment, face to the sun, then went back down and diligently practiced her obstacle course again. After several times through it, she grew a lot more comfortable. Then, once she’d surfaced again for air, she clicked on the cuttlefish ability. As she went back down near the ocean floor, her body began to change color to match the spotty, shifting background. She kept intentionally turning and veering off course as she concentrated on bringing the camouflage to the more intense, pulsing level. At the same time, she focused on being totally aware of where she was moving at all times. She shot forward as if chasing after a shark, and concentrated on bringing on her hypnotizing ability, which would allow her to get close enough to scrape some scales without the creature tearing her arm off.

  Finally, she could tell by the light pattern emanating from her that her facial colors had changed to pulsing, mesmerizing waves. She focused on keeping those going while traveling through her obstacle course.

  It wasn’t easy. She lost concentration the first two times and the pulses stopped. But Kelly wasn’t the kind of person to give up. Even though she was growing tired after being out in the water for so long, she refused to quit until she did it right at least once. When she got her breath back, she dived down once more, determined. She stayed close to the ocean floor, weaving around like a bottom-feeder as her body blended in. Then she sped up, imagining pursuit, and concentrated on creating the hypnotic light pulses. Once she had that going, she dodged and weaved, knowing that when the real thing happened with the shark, she’d have to get its attention and keep it long enough to hypnotize it quickly and avoid attack. Was it even possible?

  Maybe she could just try getting it from the safety of the pool deck again. But hypnotizing a shark that way, with it swimming all over the place, seemed almost more difficult to accomplish than being in the water, moving alongside it.

  She turned sharply in the water and rose toward the surface, trying to imagine every obstacle she might encounter in a shark tank. As she dodged imaginary objects, a large shadow fell over her.

  Kelly nearly gasped underwater. Her pulsing camo faded as she turned to look above her. A huge, solid something was passing above her. She began to panic. She flailed, trying to reverse direction, then attempted to get her speed up so she could flee whatever it was. But she lost her coordination and gulped down some seawater. Swiftly she righted herself and swept her arms to her sides to push herself forward, ignoring the sting in her throat and nose, and tried to get to the surface for a breath before whatever huge thing above her attacked. What could it be? A giant squid? A whale? A stingray?

  Kelly’s face pushed through the surface. She coughed and took a ragged breath, then down she went again, swimming with all her strength toward the shore. As she neared the beach, her kicking feet brushed the sandy bottom. She stumbled up and started running toward the beach, glancing over her shoulder, hoping there was no way a creature that size could follow her into such shallow water.

  From the safety near land, Kelly spied the enemy: it was a treacherous wide-body sailboat. It had nearly eaten her alive.

  Kelly doubled over in exhaustion and massive relief. Then she stumbled through the sand and fell on the beach blanket next to Miko, groaning at her own ridiculousness as she turned off her abilities. She’d have to practice hypnotizing sharks again tomorrow, because today? She. Was. Done.

  CHAPTER 7

  An Exciting Proposal

  Charlie, Maria, and Mac spent the rest of their week in Southern California acting like regular twelve-year-olds. They rode roller coasters, ate junk food, and slept deeply at the various hotels in between. And when Mac’s parents asked if they wanted to stop by Legoland, they decided that even though they were a little too old for it, they may as well go—being so close to it and all. Once they found out that it had a water park, and that the Sea Life Aquarium was right next door, it was a slam-dunk decision. It was like … like being a kid again. For a few days, they almost forgot about how Dr. Gray was planning to turn everyone in the world into chimeras. Almost.

  By the time they returned to Navarro Junction, they were rejuvenated and exhausted in the best possible ways. But they were also eager to see if the scientists had made any progress while they were gone.

  When Mac’s parents dropped off Charlie at her house, Dr. Sharma’s car was parked in the driveway as usual. Maria and Mac saw it and exchanged a glance. The three kids had agreed that they’d each go home to their families after the long drive and try to meet up again the next day, though it was tempting for Maria and Mac to run in with Charlie and ask what was new. But they refrained. Mr. Barnes hit a button to pop open the hatch, and went to get Charlie’s suitcase.

  Charlie flashed a secretive grin at her friends and got out of the car. It was sad to see the vacation end.

  “Text me,” Maria called to Charlie.

  “I will.”

  “Me too,” said Mac, though he didn’t need to say it—they group-texted everything these days.

  From the front seat, Mrs. Barnes looked amused. “I can’t believe you three have spent the entire week together and you have to immediately start texting now that you’re separating.”

  “We just can’t stand to be apart,” Maria said with a laugh.

  “That’s wonderful,” said Mrs. Barnes. “Everybody needs friends like that.”

  Mr. Barnes set Charlie’s luggage on the driveway and closed the hatch.

  “Thank you for everything,” Charlie said fervently, picking up her suitcase. “I had the best time.”

  “You’re very welcome,” said Mr. Barnes. “Do you need me to help you bring your bag inside?”

  “No thanks. I’m good.”

  Mr. Barnes got back into the driver’s seat. “Next stop, Torres Central,” he announced to his passengers. Charlie moved toward the house, then set her things down on the step and stood in the oven-like heat to wave until her friends were out of sight. She’d had an amazing time and had grown even closer to Maria and Mac. Their bond was more solid than any friendships she’d ever had in her life. Sure, they’d had a few rough times at first, but those seemed to be over now.

  The same could be said for Charlie’s family. It had been hard moving here, and the stress of that had been compounded by her parents’ crazy work schedules. Talk about rough relationships—back then Charlie had been pretty upset at her mother for working so much, and at her dad for taking a job right away when he really hadn’t had to. At least, in Charlie’s mind, he hadn’t. But that stress had eased too. There was something about all the danger they’d been in that had brought them more understanding.

  Now Charlie’s mother was back working at the ER, but she’d cut back on her hours so she was home a lot more. Charlie’s dad, who’d been teaching biology at a local college—before he was abducted, anyway—was off for the summer and working feverishly with the other scientists. Andy, Charlie’s brother, was fully healed from Kelly�
�s platypus sting thanks to the Mark Five’s starfish ability, and he was busy doing his own thing with his friends, too.

  After the Barneses’ vehicle turned the corner and disappeared, Charlie picked up her things and went inside the house, eager to see her parents and brother and find out what happened while she was gone.

  “I’m home!” Charlie called out as she walked in. She made her way into the kitchen and looked around. Everything seemed so much bigger after spending a week in hotel rooms, though the house had changed a bit now that they’d turned part of it into a science lab. “Mom?” Charlie put her bag on a dining room chair as Jessie, their dog, came bounding toward her and jumped up, her paws on Charlie’s shoulders.

  Charlie staggered backward, laughing, and hugged her. Jessie licked her face. “I’m so happy to see you, too,” she said, and scolded, “I can’t believe you didn’t greet me at the door.” Fat Princess, one of the cats, slid into the room but kept her distance, arching her back and acting coy, giving off an air of disdain. Their other cat, Big Kitty, stayed away, which was her style. The daily appearance of the extra scientists in their home had thrown off Big Kitty a bit. She liked to stay elusive and mysterious, spending most of her time on or under Andy’s bed.

  Diana Wilde came swiftly down the stairs. “Charlie!” she cried with a huge smile. “You’re home early!”

  “About a half hour,” said Charlie. She pushed Jessie down and went to hug her mother.

  “I think you grew taller while you were gone,” said Mrs. Wilde. “Did you have fun?”

  Charlie laughed. “It was the best.” She released the hug and looked around. “Where is everybody? It’s so quiet.”

  “Dad and the others are in the lab. The den, I mean. The lab den. Whatever we’re calling it now. And Andy is going to be gone for a week—you just missed him.”