Hello, and welcome to the next installment of "Enter the cage." almost there, more excitement and humor ahead. And now the disclaimer… Drum roll please.
*Throws a drum across the screen, then smacks forehead*
Disclaimer: Jake and Hayley haven't gotten over their sexual frustration and obvious attraction over each other. Proof enough that it's not mine, and never will be.
Chapter 4: A double of explosive proportions
The place was ablaze, an inferno of yellow and orange heat. Felix watched as 5 fire fighters weaved their hoses through the trees, praying that the Dryad had gotten out. Mike and Tonya scouted the area for any signs of Gus and Laurel while Angela stayed behind with Jake to monitor his recovery.
It took 20 minutes for the firefighters to put the fire out, and another 30 minutes more for them to give them the all clear. They left the area and Felix called Angela on his watch-com. Jake hadn't awakened yet, but he had no sigh of brain damage or anything other major injuries that they had to worry about. They just had to wait for him to wake up.
Felix then alerted Mike and Tonya that he was going to search the debris of the woods for any sign that Laurel might still be alive.
Even with the fire out for about an hour, the heat of the flames still lurked around the stumps of the trees, the smell of burning wood filled his nose as he slowly maneuvered his way around the damaged trees and weaved his flashlight back and forth for any signs of Laurel or any other Dryads.
He made his way through the burnt down woods when someone put their hand on his shoulder. He yelped and turned around, seeing Mike and Tonya behind him snickering at their disgruntled mentor.
"Jeez! After everything that's happened tonight did you just have to scare the crap out of me like that!" Felix said hand on his chest and shaking his head.
"Sorry, so any sign of her?" Mike asked as his and Tonya's flashlight beam joined his in the dark.
"No, I'm thinking she either got out in time, or…." He didn't finish the question. He didn't know Laurel that well. But Jake did. He hung out with her a lot while in high school, and he just knew that the thought of her getting hurt because of him would not go well with him.
"Let's get out of here for now. I don't see any sign that she was burned here." Felix said sadly leading his team cautiously back towards the school.
His head hurt, and this uncomfortably ringing raged in his ears that felt a mile away.
Jake winced as he opened his eyes, light hitting them, making his head ache worse.
He grounded and blinked a bit, sitting up slowly, or at least trying to. Something or someone was holding him down.
"Relax Jake, don't move so much, at least not until I can determine there really is nothing wrong with you." Angela pushed him back on the stretcher and looked at the screen in front of her.
Jake tried to turn his head to right to see what she was looking at, and regretted it. The room spun and he was forced to close his eyes again.
"How long was I out?" he asked screwing his eyes shut tightly fighting the nauseous feeling that rose from his stomach.
"About an hour and a half. You had us all worried. Can you tell us what happened?" Angela gently helped Jake to a sitting position and flashed a light in his eyes.
"I don't really know what happened. One second I was going to hit him with a tree branch then the next I felt like my head was about to explode. I don't know what happened or who saved me." Angela then gently pounded Jake's knee checking his reflexes.
"It was some girl named Laurel." Jake's eyes widened. "She was injured, and made us get you out of there. The forest caught on fire."
"What!" Jake said jumping off the bed, gripping in tightly as the world spun again. "I have to go look for her!"
"Wait Jake, you can't even walk straight. Felix, Mike and Tonya are looking for her. Jeez, you almost died, take it easy a minute okay." Angela slammed the hammer in her hand on the table and rolled her eyes. A move that reminded him a lot of Hayley… Hayley! He had to call Hayley, tell her to be on her guard. Because since Gus was out for blood, hers would most definitely be on his hit list.
"Wanna help me to my car? I have to call Hayley and tell her Gus is back."
"Okay."
Angela was going to help him walk but Jake shrugged her arm off and smiled a charming smile.
"Thanks but I think I got it." He led them out the school, Angela following with a weary eye at the shadows until he reached his car. His cell phone was in his duffel bag he stuffed in the back seat. He groaned when he saw that he had 3 miss calls. One from him boss, and two were from Hayley.
He quickly dialed her number and spotted Felix Mike and Tonya emerging from the woods.
Hayley groaned her phone went off on her nightstand. She shifted sluggishly and reached for her alarm clock, it read 3:30 a.m. She then grabbed her phone and sighed when Jake's name read on the caller ID. She looked to her still sleeping roommate and hissed into the phone.
"Jake do you know what time it is here?" She demanded.
"Hayley? I'm sorry I missed your two calls before but we got a problem." Jake's voice sounded stressed and tired. Hayley quickly climbed out of bed and ran to the bathroom shutting the door to not disturb her roommate any further.
"What happened?"
"Gus is back." her blood ran cold and she shivered. "and it's not like all the other times. He's different somehow. Mutated into some kind of telekinetic monster. Be on your guard, he's after us."
"Are you okay?"
"Well…." Jake's voice trailed off and Hayley shivered again. "Jake what happened!" She demanded.
"I was sort of on the receiving end of his mental brain powers. Nearly killed me. So be on your guard. Don't go anywhere on your own. Understand?" Hayley nodded but then realized she was talking on the phone so voiced her understanding aloud.
"Do you want me to fly back?"
"No. You have classes, and I'd feel better if you stayed there out of harms way." Hayley smiled but rolled her eyes.
"Don't do anything stupid Collins!" Hayley said Jake chuckled. "I love you." He said.
"I love you too." Hayley said. "I'll see you in a few days. Oh and Jake honey? Be careful." they disconnected and he put her head in her hands. She suddenly looked up at her self in the mirror, a wicked smile on her features. Screw school. Her boyfriend and best friend needed her back at Lakewood, and that was where she belonged. Bedsides all the extra credit she had been doing, she could afford to unexpectedly leave for a few days. With that in mind she made a few phone calls.
Jake put his phone in his back pocket and followed Felix around the headquarters as he mumbled to himself, brainstorming.
"I got it!" Felix yelled causing Jake to jump back and trip over the corner of the desk.
"Got what? And do you have to shout like that? Head still hurts you know!" Jake rubbed his head and behind.
"Sorry. But I got it. You said he got inside your head with a high pitched frequency that caused the brain molecules to-"
"Um… I'm not a physics nerd, so use elementary words with me please?" Jake interrupted.
"A counter frequency. So when he tries to use it again, we hit a switch and it reverses back on him." Felix grinned and Jake laughed. "Can you do it?"
Felix gave him an offended look. "Please! I can build it with my hands behind my back! And my eyes closed!"
"Then do it. I'll be back." Jake left the headquarters and into the cold air. His gaze went to the woods that Laurel used to inhabit. This site of the healing forest gave him the chill and he shivered as a chill ran up and down his arms. It was getting close to summer, but the spring chill still lingered at nights.
He sat on the steps and rested his head in his hands he was exhausted, but knew that his night was far from over. So he might as well get his comic done while Felix worked on the frequency reverser, or whatever he was going to call it.
He was returning from his car, duffel bag slung over his shoulder, when he say Hayley running towards him. He immediately got excited, but it extinguished when he remembered she was supposed to be all the way on the other side of the world.
"Hayley? What are you doing here? How'd you get here so fast?" He asked as she flung herself in his arms.
"I pulled some strings with a friend. I helped him with a project and he gave me a lift." She shrugged like it was no big deal.
"Oh cool-wait 'he'?"
Hayley giggled and ran her fingers through his hair. "Where were you off to?"
"Back to headquarters. Felix is working on this frequency reverser thing and since I have no clue how to even put a puzzle together and I need a paycheck so I have to work on this." He held up his work duffle bag.
Hayley just shrugged as Jake walked back to the entrance and back inside.
Jake put his bag on the desk and pulled his binder out. Hayley was looking around the room in amazement. Her eyes full of excitement and wonder, and something else Jake couldn't quite put his finger on.
"Jake I'm almost done, I just need one more connection!" Felix shouted excitedly as re-entered the room, Mike, Tonya and Angela trailing behind him. "Give me the unit." Mike handed him the green unit and Felix attached it with an "A-HAH!"
"Great job Felix, now all we need to do is just track Gus down and let him have it." Jake started drawing.
"And how do we look for him?" Hayley asked, making her presence known. Felix looked at and grinned running and giving her a big hug.
"Wow what's big Harvard chick doing back in the dingy neck of the woods?" Felix asked his right arm around her. "I heard you had a problem so I rushed right back." She shrugged and smiled a bit. Jake looked up, "Yeah some guy flew her back on a jet or something."
"So you're Hayley, man we've heard so much about you. Mr. Garcia's told us stories!" Angela gushed shaking the blonds hand.
Just then Jake's phone rang and the name on the caller ID made him confused. maybe she left her phone and someone called to return it to her.
"Hello?" He answered and Hayley's voice sounded on the other line. He looked up at Hayley half listening to the tree teens bickering back to the phone.
"Hey, I'm flying in. I know you told me to stay here, but I just can't sit there and you and Felix get hurt because you're bullheaded." But Jake wasn't listening he was frozen in shock on how he'd been duped.
"Hold on Hayley." he slowly reached for the frequency reverser and the Hayley double ganger caught his eye. "Everyone look out!" He shouted she shot her hands out and an electrical current hit Jake on his left side as he lunged for the remote and fell to the ground. Mike grabbed it and hit the button. Hayley's features melted and reformed into those of Gus as he gripped his head, screaming at the top of his lunges. It sounded like a bats high pitched screeching that caused everyone to cover their own ears.
Felix pulled Jake to his feet, and the four of them ran; Felix and Mike having to drag Jake; back out the school and to Felix's car rushing them to the clinic.
Ji-Chien was looking over some records when she saw her favorite patients drag an almost unconscious man into the clinic.
"What happened?" She asked, leading them into an un-occupied room and letting Felix and Mike place a groaning Jake on the bed.
"A monster attack, we don't know really what it was." Felix moved back and Ji-Chien towered over Jake, cutting his damaged shirt, and examining the wound on Jake's side.
It looked horrible. Scorch marks surrounded an ugly looking blue and black welt that went from under his left breast bone to right above his pants. It was a miracle he was even alive or in a lot more pain. Blood was gushing in waves, and she pulled her gloves on that she pulled out of her med coat and reached for the anesthetic.
"Now, this is going to hurt." She told the wincing Jake who was biting his lip so hard it was bleeding as well.
She dabbed the damp cloth against his side and Jake bit back a scream. It hurt more than he thought, biting his lip harder.
"It's okay Jake." Felix was glad Hayley wasn't there at the time, he really didn't need her kicking his ass because he let Jake get hurt, yet again. An angry Hayley was ten times scarier than any monster, no matter how dangerous.
Ji-Chien stitched the clean gash up and rubbed some burn medication over his side and covered it with gauze. She gave Jake some pain killers and told him to rest. Her attention then turned towards Felix.
"So what happened here? That wasn't a normal monster wound." She crossed her arms and stared Felix down. He rephrased his earlier assessment. Ji-Chien came pretty close to Hayley in the scarier department.
"This super human monster hybrid with a huge grudge against Jake and Felix." Mike answered her and sitting on the chair next to a slumbering Jake with a sigh. "Oh and I managed to save this." He handed the frequency reverser back to Felix.
"So now what? How are all of you? Any injuries?" She turned her gaze back to Jake, checking his vitals.
"No, were all fine." Felix put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. She was gorgeous. Exciting eyes haloed by shiny back hair pulled back with chop sticks. Felix couldn't help but kiss her cheek. "Thanks."
"So this is Jake Collins from your troop huh? He looks like the hero type you explained to me." She giggled and Felix rolled his eyes. "Okay let Jake rest, let's all go to the lounge and we'll talk there." She led them out of the room and made sure Jake was connected to the monitor in case something happened.
Felix's cell phone went off as the led the way down the hall and he had to pull the phone away from his ear as Hayley's frantic voice shouted from the other end.
"Calm down Hayley. Yes he's fine. We're at the Lakewood clinic, the one off of third. Yes everyone's fine. We're here because well…" He didn't need to say anymore. Hayley pretty much figured it out on her own.
"I'm at the school, it's destroyed, the secret door to troop headquarters is broken and inside's even worse. What happened?" Hayley demanded as she walked back to the rent-a-car she rented.
"It's a long story, get here and we'll explain." with that, Felix terminated that call and sighed.
"This is bad guys. We don't stand a chance against him. Hayley, Jake and I can't even fight him. And he's way too powerful for you three to fight alone." Felix started pacing.
"Well he's still a monster, granted he's the most powerful one we've ever faced, but one all the same." Tonya spoke up. She looked worn down. Her brown hair that was tied up in a hair tie was loose, smudges on her cheek, and a bruise forming under her chin. But her eyes shown brightly. One of the attributes that the troop admired and helped her excel. "Every monster has a weakness. We just have to figure his out."
"You know, Tonya's right. I'm not going to just throw in the towel. We're troop members. Two members of the greatest troop ever are here to back us up. Well as soon as Jake heals a bit. But still." Mike announced getting excited himself. Black hair stringy and glistening with sweat, brown eyes dancing with joy.
Angela stood, her red hair just a out of place as her team mates. Her hazel eyes just as tired yet just as inspired as her team mates. She grabbed them both in a big group hug and they stood like that for a few moments. Just glad that they were okay.
"That's some team you got yourself there." Ji-Chein said from her place in Felix's arms, and she nudged him to join the group hug.
He chuckled and enter the teens embrace, reeling in their strength, giving his own.
"I'm sorry, but you tell Felix Garcia to get his dead ass out here and explain what's going on, or it'll be him in the hospital bed!" Rang from the front of the clinic, and everyone flinched at the anger and fear in her voice.
A/N: Man I think this is the longest chapter of the story. Hm… maybe two or three chapters to go. There's just one more revelation, and then the big battle. I already have this finished in my head, it's typing it out that's interesting. LOL I just LOVE Hayley at the end of this. I can picture her doing that. And I really enjoyed the inspirational troop talk. That wasn't in my original notebook, but when typing this it just added itself. LOL Hope you enjoyed yet another exciting chapter of this story and I hope you're having as much fun reading it as I am writing it. Anyways You know the drill. R&R. Love ya all very much! Peace!