4. The Puppeteers
Mariana's world suddenly reappeared…but it wasn't her own.
She looked around, realizing how stiff she was when she attempted to move her neck. It felt like she had been ripped apart and glued back together. The heat which seared her left a dull burning sensation, quickly fading. Feeling normal (albeit disoriented), the teenager noticed she was in some sort of office building, the lights dimmed so everything was in shadows. A stairwell was next to her, a closet behind her. Further down the hallway she was in, she saw a stainless-steel elevator. Getting a bad feeling in her gut, she tensed her muscles and heightened her awareness of the situation. Thankfully, her protective father had always taught her to look in every corner for bad guys—even if it was a full parking lot in broad daylight.
So much for 'too paranoid', she thought of her and her brother's reactions to such precautions, at least it should keep me alive...for now. Mariana shook her head silently, reminding herself not to think herself doomed. It would keep her alive—whether permanently or not was of little importance. She had no idea what had happened, or where she was. She knew neither why nor how her new acquaintance did this to her. A worry struck her, like a punch to the heart:
What happened to Tali and Alex? Her friends wore those bracelets, too—obviously, it was something about those infernal things that sent her there...wherever 'there' was. I've got to find them. Bending her knees slightly, Mariana crept along until she found a door.
Listening carefully for any movement inside, she twisted the knob slowly, praying there would be no sound. It was locked, but it was then that she remembered something important. Next time, she mentally addressed herself, think, Mariana. Looking down at her wrist, she noticed the stone on the bracelet had turned a clear, oceanic blue. It had tightened around her wrist; any tighter, in fact, and it would have bitten into her flesh. Attempting to pry it off, she fought the urge to say 'drat it' (she never used swear words, and so developed her own set). What sorcery is this?! Once again, she had to bite back her habit of saying these things aloud, although she smiled at the ridiculous fact that she used a meme at this, of all times.
Giving up the fight for the time being, she continued testing doors on that floor. All were locked except one. A set of double doors, with a strange logo on them. The logo represented a business chart of some sort, a jagged red arrow pointing upwards on a black background. It looked like the one from "Speed Racer: the Next Generation", so either this was a group of die-hard fans or something very, very strange was happening.
Mariana's lips curved into an almost sinister smile as she folded her arms delicately, like a mother who knows exactly what her kids were up to near the cookie jar. Oh, the seventeen-year-old decided to find out in the 'safest' way possible: prepare for the ultimate. If this is the Committee…she adopted her business persona and knocked. A man in a stereotypical Texan getup answered, about to berate someone for being late (and a bumbling buffoon) until he realized it was someone else at the door.
"Who the thunder are you?!" he exclaimed in an irritated Southern drawl.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, too, sir." She smiled semi-genuinely at him, fueling the genuine part of it with what otherwise would have been laughter at his cowboy hat, boots, mustache…this man had cowboy everything! She did like him as a character, but the things he did—snapping hostility out of her mind for the time being, she spoke to him with a confident urgency. "I'm afraid I have to speak with the head of this committee."
Scowling at her, the man (she forgot his name) was about to send her away when a woman's voice interrupted him.
Apparently, underlines do not show up here :/…
At any rate, someone (I will not name who) fell behind schedule, so I wrote this and inserted it before their chapter(s) in order to give you something to hang onto for the time being ;). This is why we need a boot camp…
I apologize for the cliffhanger, but I need to brush up on my "research" (ironically, this is one of the fandoms I picked out :P).
ABOUT THE FANDOM: "SPEED RACER: THE NEXT GENERATION"
A sequel series to the classic (although admittedly corny) "Speed Racer" series, it follows the adventures of Speed Racer Jr., his crew, and his brother X Racer (yes, those are their names). SPOILER ALERT: chapters will contain spoilers.
We do not own SR: The Next Gen. (otherwise, the names would not be quite so corny :P).