Lab Rats
Chapter 7
Leo reached up and knocked loudly on the door. "Come on, Sabrina! Please be here!" Leo whispered. He rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, impatiently. He looked around the porch, hoping for a sign that Sabrina was at home.
"Just relax, Leo," Mr. Davenport said. "I'm sure she's here. She'll help us… probably."
"That's what I'm worried about. What if she won't? What is she is so repulsed by Chase – or Spike, really – that she refuses? What do we do then? He won't listen to any of us!" Leo panicked. He brushed he hands across his head and began pacing around the porch. "Uggghhhh…" Leo trailed off, dragging his hands down his face."
"Don't worry. I'm sure we'll figure something out." The inventor placed his hand firmly on Leo's shoulder.
Suddenly, the door swung open. A man stood at the door. "Can I help you?" he asked.
Leo stepped forward. "Hi, um, I'm Leo. Is Sabrina here?" he leaned around the man, who assumed was the girl's father, trying to catch a glimpse of the blonde girl.
The man squinted, "Yeah, she's here. I'll call her." He turned and called into the house, "Sabrina, there's a boy and…. Someone else to see you."
A girl's voice echoed from somewhere in the building. "Alright, dad. Tell them I'm on my way down."
"She's coming down. You can come in and wait if you like." He swung the door further open and moved to the side, gesturing for them to come in and make themselves comfortable in the living room just behind him.
Leo and Donald stepped inside and made their way to the sofas. Sitting down they watched Sabrina's father go to wait for his daughter at the bottom of the stairs. Sabrina soon appeared at the top and descended down the steps. Her father watched her come down. When she reached the bottom, he whispered, "Is this the boy you told me about? The one who went berserk and destroyed your science project?"
"No, dad. This is his step-brother, Leo. He had nothing to do with it." Sabrina calmed her father who was beginning to get a bit protective over her.
"Good," her father spoke again, settling down. "That boy better not show his face around here, or I'll grind him into bits."
"Dad. I promise, he won't come here." She took the last step down and walked into the living room. "Leo, Mr. davenport. What can I do for you?" She folded her arms, showing that she was not very pleased that they were here.
"Sabrina, thank goodness!" Leo jumped up. "We need your help!"
"With what? And why do you need my help?" She shifted her stance.
"Umm… maybe we could talk in private?" Mr. Davenport spoke up, glancing behind them at Sabrina's cautious and displeased father. "It's kinda sensitive and really important."
Sabrina looked behind her and saw her father glaring at Leo and his step-father. She sighed, "Dad, can you give us a minute?"
Bree sped behind Leo's desk panting. I'm not sure how much longer I can do this. Especially with my injured knee.
"Adam! How are you holding up?" Bree called from her hiding place.
There was a loud crack, and Adam cried out. Chase laughed. "Does that answer your question, Bree?"
Bree winced at the sound and took a deep breath. She stood and rushed back over to where Chase and Adam were fighting. She spun behind Chase, to begin her attack. "Adam, are you okay?"
Adam did not look up, but continued throwing and dodging punches from Chase. He answered, "I'm fine. I think he just broke my nose."
"Too bad," Chase replied. "I was hoping to break your skull!"
Bree spoke again. "Chase, please stop this. We don't want to hurt you!"
"Yeah? Well, I want to hurt you two! I've been waiting for this for years!" Chase called back to her, not fazed by her weak attempts to overpower him.
Chase elbowed his sister in the stomach. She cried out, and stepped back to the wall. Groaning, she slid down the wall and clutched her stomach, hoping to ease the pain.
Adam focused his gaze on his injured sister. His eyes widened to see her clutching at her middle, tears beginning to stream down her face. "HEY!" He yelled, turning back to face Chase. "You leave her alone!" Adam drew back his arm and swung with all his might.
CRACK!
Chase's head was flung back and to the left with the force of his brother's swing. The force was too much for him and he fell back, crashing to the ground.
Adam paused. He glanced down at his fist, a small smile appearing on his face. He had finally landed a punch and left some damage.
Soon, however, Chase's eyes opened again and he struggled to lean back up on his elbows. He leaned heavily on one and brought his other hand up to wipe at his face. He pulled his hand away and found the smallest trickle of blood across his knuckles. He turned his head to stare up at his older brother. "Well, Adam," Chase spoke, faintly grinning. "It seems that you have finally worked your way up to my level." He stood. "It's almost a fair fight." His grin was prominent now. Whispering, Chase tilted his head to the side, "Almost."
"Come on, Sabrina please!" Leo pleaded. "We need your help!"
"No, Leo. I don't want to help him. He's… I don't even know! But I won't help him. He's a lying arrogant, jerk with no consideration for the feelings of others!" Sabrina contorted.
"Sabrina, that's not true and you know it!" Mr. Davenport sounded. "Chase is the most sensitive person I know and he needs your help!"
"If you're so smart, why can't you figure out how to help him without me?" Sabrina scoffed.
"Sabrina, please. We just need you to talk to him and calm him down. He'll listen to you. After we're done, you never have to speak to any of us again." Leo pleaded.
"No way, Leo." Sabrina replied. "That's my final answer."
"Sabrina, you're the only one who can help him. He knows you won't hurt him. He trusts you and he won't hurt you. Please, Sabrina. You're the only who can get him back to normal!" Leo tried convincing her again.
Sabrina was silent. Leo and Donald waited, patiently, hoping she would change her mind and help them – help Chase.
Sabrina turned, sighing. "Fine."
Leo's face split into a grin and Donald spoke, "Thank you, Sabrina. You won't regret this."
"I better not. And don't expect to hear from me ever again." She turned and grabbed her phone from the table by the staircase. "Dad? I'm going out. I'll be home in a few hours. Love you!"
"Be safe, sweetheart!" Sabrina's father called out.
"I will!" Sabrina made her way to the door where Leo and Donald waited for her. "Okay, so remind me of the plan?"
Sabrina, Leo, and Mr. Davenport rushed into the lab only to encounter a bloody Adam, Chase, and a teary-eyed Bree.
Sabrina gasped, "What… What happened?"
"Spike-Chase happened. You have to stop him." Mr. Davenport put his hand on Sabrina's shoulder, encouraging her to be brave.
"Okay, I'll do my best," Sabrina stepped forward to where Chase could see her. "Chase!"
Chase suddenly stopped, a look of confusion on his face. Noticing Sabrina, he took on last swing at Adam and knocked him down, temporarily immobilizing him. "Sabrina? Wha – What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to talk some sense into you. You have to stop this. Stop hurting your family. They love you whether you love them back or not." Sabrina shifted nervously.
"If you knew anything about them, you would know that's not true. Not in the slightest." Chase scowled.
"No, Chase. Listen. Sometimes families have problems. They don't express their love for one another in recognizable ways, and sometimes not at all. But that doesn't mean that they don't love one another."
"Families who love each other don't mock each other. They don't throw each other across the room and use them as human punching bags. They don't call them names and tease them about their height, or their hair, or their intelligence. That's not what families who love each other do." Chase ground his teeth harder with each grievance he had. "Families don't ruin each other's chances with the only girl that has ever shown interest in them just because of jealousy! Families don't draw out the side of each other that they are most embarrassed and afraid of!"
"Chase, families make mistakes. They learn to grow together and how to express their love in the best way – in the way other's will understand." Sabrina took a step back, trying to distance herself from him. Afraid he would hurt her, she spoke softer. "You just have to give them a chance."
"NO!" Chase screamed. "They had their chances! Time and time again, I ignored the times they hurt me. I ignored the bruises Adam left on my ribs, my arms and legs. I looked past all the times Bree pretended she didn't know me in the school hallway. I forgave all the times Leo used me for my smarts to get a better grade. I tried to forget that I never fit in on the team and that Mr. Davenport never quite figured out how I could add to it.
"I'm done giving people second chances. My entire life has been giving people another chance! Over and over and over again! It's over." Chase stalked towards her and grabbed her arms. "They're going to pay for all the things they did to me! Every single one of them!"
Sabrina flinched at the contact Chase made. "Chase, you're hurting me."
Chase looked down at where his hands were digging into her bare arms. He eyes widened when he noticed how tight he was gripping her. He quickly released his grip and backed off. "I – I'm sorry, Sabrina. I didn't mean to."
The entire room was silent for a moment. No one spoke or moved.
Then Chase spoke again. "Help me, Sabrina. Help me destroy them. For everything they have done. It'll be just you and me."
While Chase tried to convince Sabrina to join his cause, Leo snuck around to where Adam was lying on the floor. He shook the boy to rouse him from his delirium.
"Adam, our original plan to talk and calm Chase didn't work, but I have another plan. You have to listen." He spoke.
"What is it Leo?" Adam groaned.
"It has to do with Sabrina. I need you to choke her to death."
Chase walked up to Sabrina again. He softly placed his hands on her arms, trying to soothe the place he had grabbed her earlier.
"Please, Sabrina. I could really use your help."
"Chase, I don't know. I don't want to hurt anyone. And I know you don't either. Not really." Sabrina avoided looking directly into his eyes.
"Sabrina, you don't get it! They've abused me and my abilities all my life. We'd only be giving them what they deserve!" Chase pressured.
"Chase, no. Hurting them won't make you feel any better. It will only make things worse. Revenge is not the answer! Forgiveness is. Have you never heard 'Forgive and forget'?" Sabrina tried to back away.
Chase scoffed. "Please, proverbs? What do you think I am, seven years old? Everyone knows that forgiveness solves nothing. Payback is the only way to stop people from hurting you."
"Chase, you're not listening to reason! Pleas just try to underst-" Sabrina was cut off by a hand that reached around and grabbed her.
Adam had snuck up behind her waiting to grab her. She screeched through his hand and her eyes widened dramatically. "Alright, Chase. Listen up. You stop this and give up now, or I'll snap her neck like a toothpick."