"What have you found
out?" Jeb asked.
"Nothing really, sir. He just said that he
was undecided." I was becoming very sleepy, why did Jeb summon me
so late?
"I see…hmmm…maybe he isn't going to try and run
after all. Be sure to keep an eye on him, Kane….Don't let me
down." He said.
"I won't," I told him, it sounded
full-hearted, but really I wasn't sure. I had convinced myself from
our conversation at dinner that PC wasn't up to anything sneaky,
but Jeb was still on edge…..
Okay…Day 2,
objective? Figure out if anyone knows about the storm coming, keep an
eye out for Wraiths and Land Sharks and of course the trickiest one
of all get Kane to tell me where the experiments were held….. I set
out for my routine wandering route through the School, observing
things that might help and hinder my escape. Suddenly, I heard
growling noises and shouts. Uh oh? Is it another experiment acting
up? Then I heard the sound of what was supposed to be a coarse bark
and then the tick, tick, tick of claws against tile. Rounding the
corner was a creature I had never seen before. It had a wrinkly face
with a bashed in snout like a bull dog. Its mouth was extremely wide,
revealing rows and rows of teeth. The thing had an extremely muscular
body with faint black stripes on its back. It leapt on me and knocked
me on the floor. It growled and sniffed, its breath was absolutely
foul and its saliva was bright green.
"Get off of him," Chase
said irritably grabbing the freakish dog by its collar.
"Thanks,"
I said getting to my feet. "What is that thing?" Chase smiled and
scratched it between its ears.
"This, my friend, is a Howler. A
new critter, the Whitecoats developed. They're easier to train than
Land Sharks and on top of that, they have a higher obedience rate."
"Gotta love progress," I said. "So does this thing swim
too?"
"You bet…but its niftiest feature is its bite. No
matter what you've heard a dog's mouth is not cleaner than a
human's. Matter of fact, dog bites are said to get infected more
easily because of the bacteria in their mouths. The Whitecoats
exploited that and increased the bacteria count in their saliva. One
bite from these things can slow down any target in a matter of
minutes." I patted the Howler on the head. Its fur was nice and
soft.
"Very spiffy…but wouldn't that make experiments too
sick to be experimented on?" I asked.
"No, not really, the
wounds are easily treated, if you know what to use. Most people will
try alcohol, but that actually doesn't help. To cure a bite from a
Howler, you need to use iodine."
"Interesting," I said
"…maybe me and Raf can have one of these when we start collecting
experiments again. It would make our lives a lot easier."
"Maybe,"
Chase said with shrug. "Now if you will excuse me, I've got to
get this guy to the rest of his pack for training. See you later."
"Uh huh." I continued on my walk looking around and acting
natural for a few more hours, then headed to the mess hall for lunch.
I went earlier than usual and the place was actually full of people.
I sat at a table not too far from the Erasers and Whitecoats. The
noise level was pretty high. I changed my ears to cat ears, to listen
in on people's conversations. Nothing so far had been mentioned
about the storm coming our way. This was good. Wait a minute:
"Yes,
I heard about this storm that's coming," a Whitecoats said.
"Do
you think it will take out the power?"
"That all depends. Of
all the things we spend our money on, we didn't even buy lightening
rods. So an outage is possible."
"But we've got generators,
right?"
"Yes, so no problem." …hmmm…the idea of talking
to Storm was becoming more and more favorable even though I hated the
kid. Then as if on cue, Kane entered the room. I crossed my fingers
and hoped that she would sit at my table again. She did.Yesssss.
"How are you?" I asked.
"Fine…make a decision yet?"
"No? I'm still thinking about it. Why are you pushing me?"
I asked.
"Because Jeb is curious…he wanted me to keep an eye
on you."
"That was quick…I thought I was going to have to
pry it out of you," I said.
"Now that I have been honest with
you, you have to be honest with me. Are you planning something?"
"Nope…not a thing," I lied. She got in my face and tried to
see if I would waver in any way.
"What are you staring at?" I
asked. She backed off and we ate in silence for a while. "You know,
something has been bugging me."
"What? "
"I've
walked the grounds more times than I can count and I haven't seen
any experiments anywhere?"
"That's because they are
hidden."
"Really?"
"Of course, do you think that the
Whitecoats are stupid enough to keep them in plain view?"
"Yeah."
"Well they aren't…why do you ask?"
"I'm curious,"
I said. …..
Kane glared at me
angrily. Suddenly a coarse bark could be heard and the doors burst
open as Chase was dragged in by his new charge, a Howler. Everyone
grumbled amongst themselves. I waved to Chase, who was struggling to
keep a good grip on the leash. Kane gave the Howler a look of
disgust.
"Aren't those new things disgusting," she said.
"Oh I don't know about that, I think their kind of cute."
"You're joking." I shook my head.
"No, I'm not."
"Those things are ugly."
"Ugly? That's such a harsh
word…He's just a different kind of pretty." Kane looked at me
eyes half lidded and I eyebrows level. "It's ugly.."
"What
ever you say…but this brings me back to my question of where are
those things stored."
"Those Howlers are stored in kennels,"
Kane said. "I think on Level 3"
"Level 3?"
" Yeah
it's one of those places you aren't supposed to go…so don't
go wandering in there…well come to thing of it, you couldn't even
get in there if you wanted to, you need a key card and only
Whitecoats and some Erasers carry those." Before Kane could realize
what she had done, Chase wondered over with his Howler.
"You
mind if I sit here?" he asked balancing a tray in one hand. I
looked at Kane out of the corner of my eye and she mouthed "no"
and shook her head vigorously.
I smiled slyly. "Sure"
"Thanks. By the way PC, if I were you I think you should avoid
changing into your cat form around the Howlers. When some of the
Erasers transformed, The Howlers started using their tails as chew
toys." The Howler that was with Chase put its paws on the table.
"Down, Buddy," Chase said sternly.
"Buddy? That's its
name?" I asked.
"Yeah. He's too friendly to be called
Vicious or Terror."
"See, Kane, isn't that cute?" She
ignored me and scowled at her mashed potatoes. "I think she will
need some convincing." I reached out and petted Buddy on the head
and started baby talking to him. "Who's the best Howler in the
world."
"Well it seems you're pretty good with animals."
"Well Chase, I am one myself."
"I know, Don't get him
riled, okay," He warned, as he finally settled down to eat. Buddy
tried to take food from Chase's tray. Chase slapped his muzzle,
"No." Buddy grumbled and rested on the floor.
"Psst,
Buddy," I said dropping my roll on the floor. The critter devoured
it in seconds and sat up on his haunches. "More?" The Howler
snorted its nub tail wagging. I placed my tray on the floor. "Knock
yourself out." Buddy set to work and soon he was licking the tray
clean. He whined as I placed the drool covered tray back on the
table. "No more, Buddy,." I said. The Howler grumbled again and
laid down his head between his paws. Kane stared horrified at the
drool covered tray. Then I got an idea.
"Hey Buddy," I said
slapping my thigh to get his attention. "Get up here."
"PC,"
Chase said in a warning tone.
"Ease up and eat, Chase." Buddy
put his massive head on the table.
"Okay" I leaned over and
put my head against his. "You see that girl over there." Kane's
eyebrows shot up as Buddy fixed his gaze on her. He growled in his
throat." Yeessss…. She's got a biscuit over there." I
whispered. "You want that biscuit?" Buddy's tongue lolled out
of his mouth.
"Don't you dare," Kane said hoarsely. The
Howler's head started inching toward her. Kane quickly grabbed the
biscuit and slid it across the table and Buddy engulfed it instantly.
I pulled on his collar and said "Okay, now you behave, we've
spoiled you enough." Buddy obeyed.
Kane looked at me,
murderously "Don't-do-that-again!"
"Come on Kane, I was
just trying to get you acquainted."
She shuddered "That is
all the acquainting I need."
"You shouldn't spoil him like
that, PC, he'll expect you to feed him that way all the time,"
Chase recommended.
"Don't worry, Chase, Buddy can handle
himself and I can handle Buddy…isn't that right." I said
looking at the Howler who was now intently licking himself.
"Yeah,
right," Kane said sarcastically. She snickered at me and continued
to eat. Now I have no remorse for what I did next. I reached for
Buddy's collar and found the latch that connected it with the
leash.
"Buddy," I said. Instantly he looked up.
"You
remember that pretty girl I showed you…the one with the biscuit?"
The Howler bobbed his head. I looked directly at Kane.
"Why
don't you."
"PC," Kane warned.
"Give."
"No."
"Her."
"No."
"A nice."
"No."
"Lathery."
"No."
"Wet."
"Don't you
dare."
"…Kiss." I unlatched the leash and Buddy launched
forward under the table, like a furry torpedo with bright green
tendrils of slobber hanging from his massive jowls. The look on
Kane's face was priceless… a look of utter horror with her eyes
as big as tangerines. She screamed as Buddy shot up between her legs
and knocked her over and began licking her face. Everyone in the mess
hall was laughing uproariously and so was I…until Chase slapped me
in the back of the head.
"What'd you do that for?" Chase
said angrily rushing to pull Buddy off of Kane. I couldn't help it,
I was still laughing. Chase pulled Kane to her feet. After a few
seconds of looking at her, he started laughing too. Her face was
covered in slobber, but what was the real kicker, was her hair, which
actually stuck straight up in the air…kind of like the crown on
Lady Liberty. Chase quickly pulled himself together and turned on me.
"What do you think you are doing? Setting loose Buddy on Kane
like that, she's a mess." "It was just for fun...isn't that
right, Kane." She whipped around and punched me in the eye.
Everyone in the room went, "Ohhhhh."
Chase tossed Buddy's
leash to me. "Here take Buddy, to his kennel on Level 3, while I
get Kane cleaned up."
"But I'm not allowed on Level 3." I
said getting to my feet. Chase looked at me exasperatedly "Don't
worry about it. I'll let security know that you are going down
there." He placed something in my hand and said, "Here's the
key card." ……
Like taking candy from a VERY big baby…I struggled to stop smiling as I left with Buddy on his leash. I had no idea where Level 3 was and I never recalled Chase telling us about it. I guess it was one of the 200 other protocols he neglected to tell us because he trusted that we were going to be good and not do anything stupid. I also figured that if the Howlers and Land Sharks were stashed down there then the experiments might be down there too. I followed the signs through a maze of hallways all of, which I tried to memorize by looking for familiar objects. Finally I made it to the door marked Level 3 and inserted the key card. The locks opened and a cool blast of air blew in my face. "Alrighty," I muttered and tugged at Buddy's leash. He whined and followed me.
After sending Kane off to get herself cleaned up I paid a visit to the security center and poked my head in, but to my surprise there was no one there. I looked at the door; it said "Gone for Lunch." I shook my head, lazy bums and closed the door. I didn't need to watch PC…I trusted him to do what he was supposed to do and snoop.
It was dimly lit in the
part of the School and cold too. I kept an eye out for cameras and
remembered that Chase had already informed security that I supposed
to be down there. Now was the time to pretend to be lost. I had a
good idea where the Howlers and Land Sharks were because of the
stench… it was unmistakable. Buddy whined as we approached the
kennels "Don't worry were not going there yet," I said softly.
I turned to the right and walked down another hallway filled with
doors, probably several inches thick filled with cages where mutant
children sat with sad eyes. Moving on, I went down another hallway
full of doors.
"Seth is that you?" a familiar voice said. I
turned to my left and saw Storm peering out at me through the bars on
the small window in the door.
"You know that used to be my real
name," I said. "It's PC, now."
"What do the letters
stand for, $&&&?"
"That was uncalled
for…no, it stands for Purple Cat or politically correct or personal
computer."
"Very funny, so what are you doing down here?"
"I came to drop Buddy off."
Storm looked down at the
beast. "Cute dog…kind of looks like you."
"I thought so,
too," I said scratching the Howler's head. "But I also came
down here to talk to you and I am taking a big risk, too. We
Collectors aren't allowed on this level. I guess just in case we
get an attack of conscience."
"Why do you want to talk to
me?"
"Let's just say I have a proposal for you."
"Forget
it, I don't make deals with the likes of you."
I chuckled "I
said the same thing a long time ago…anyways, I'm not sure if you
are aware…that there is a massive storm coming." Storm turned his
back on me. "One with lots of lightening and hail. I was wondering
if you could perhaps have lightening strike hard enough take out the
power and the back-up generators?" Storm still ignored me. "I can
understand if you CAN'T; after all, it is quite an undertaking."
Storm whipped around. "Don't insult me…I've been sensing
that storm for a while. I might be able too—." He stopped and
looked at me angrily. I smiled back at him. "Oh, you're good."
"Can you do it?" I asked, getting serious.
"You're
unbelievable, you take down my flock, have me taken here, which has
made my life a living hell and now you're standing there asking me
to help you."
"I'm not going to be "asking" you here in
a minute." I replied. "Can you do it?"
"No…I can't…you
see this nice little hat the Whitecoats put on me? It prevents me
from controlling the weather. I can't get to it because my hands
are bound."
"We can't have that. Come closer." I reached
through the bars and undid the buckle on the strap under Storm's
chin. "There you go. Now you give me the biggest power outage you
can muster." I said turning.
"Well, wait a minute."
I
growled and turned around. "What?" Storm looked at me with a sly
grin on his face.
"If I do something for you, you have to do
something for me."….
Day 3 creaked into
place like the arms on a rusty clock. It was agonizing; my heart was
going at top speed all morning as I pretended to act normally. After
some debating and smooth talking, Storm and I were able to come up
with a plan that was lopsided by any standard, but we would both walk
away with what we wanted, our freedom. The agreement was that I had
to come and release Storm when the lights went out. I told him, I
didn't care what happened to him after we were off the grounds. But
we agreed to cooperate with one another as long as there was a need.
Other than that we would avoid each other like the plague. Raf was
another variable. He was still weak from the battle with Mercy, even
though he had the strength to get out of bed, he would still get very
tired and quickly. During these days he had lost some of his former
stamina and that was something that I couldn't afford. I only got
one shot at this. After swapping puzzle books and having an extended
visit with Raf in the bathroom where there are NO cameras. He told me
that he wouldn't mind staying behind. Raf argued that it was better
this way. I didn't see how, but he saw the world through an
entirely different lens so maybe he saw something I didn't. Then
there was Kane. After I put Buddy away, she came by to chew me out. I
preferred to keep her in the dark about the whole thing. She was too
close to Jeb and even though you want your enemies closer than your
friends, you don't want them too close. Kane was a loose cannon at
any rate and it was difficult to gauge which side she was really on
and those kinds of people you need to stay away from if you want
something like this to work. I learned my lesson with Fox; always go
for the black and white people, never go with grey. I watched the
clock frequently…I couldn't help it, I was anxious to get out of
there, every second that ticked by meant one more bit of time that
the Whitecoats had to figure out what I was doing. According to
weather reports, the storm that was heading our way would arrive in
the morning sometime. But meteorology is not always accurate so Storm
told me to be ready at anytime. Once the lights went out it was
Showtime whether it was appropriate or not.
I sat on my bed with
Buddy's head cradled in my lap. I had brought him over to show Raf.
Chase said that I should be the one to handle him from now on. After
the incident in the lunch room, Buddy wouldn't listen to anybody
but me. So as luck would have it, I still had the card key. Chase
told me he would clear this little security violation with the higher
ups including Jeb. He saw no harm in it and he was the chief of the
security team, so they shouldn't have any problem either. What an
idiot. Raf casually ignored me as he always did. Reaching under my
bed I pulled out the feather Bree gave me a long time ago. It was the
only thing I possessed that had her scent. I smiled inwardly at the
idea of possibly seeing her again. No matter where she was, I could
track her down using this single feather. I also wondered if her
attitude towards me had changed. COME ON! LET"S GET THIS OVER WITH!
I thought. It was 10:00 and my nerves were shot. Buddy looked at me
strangely; I guess he could sense my tension. Rain started pounding
barbarously on the building and the ticking sound of hail joined in.
I almost forgot to breath I was so tense. Then relief came as the
lights began to flicker. I brushed the feather I held across my face.
"I'm coming, Bree," I whispered and the lights went out
accompanied by an unearthly loud clap of thunder…..
I quickly stuffed the
feather in my pocket.
"Good luck," Raf said to me as I ran
out the door, Buddy trotting along beside me. The hallway was dark
and I could barely see. I halted and reached for Buddy's collar.
"Okay, boy, I need you to take me to Level 3, understand." I felt
us move forward and as we walked my eyes began to adjust to the dark.
I was surprised that the hallways were not swarming with personnel …I
guess they had an unhealthy amount of confidence in those back up
generators. After a few moments, I heard footsteps approaching
quickly, followed by the flicker of flashlights …from what I could
tell the footsteps were light like a regular humans. I hid around a
corner and then lashed out, knocking the Whitecoat unconscious and
relieving him of his flashlight. I whistled for Buddy and he
followed. Heart still going into over drive, I slid the card, but the
door didn't open. I groaned in frustration, I should have known
that some of these doors ran on electrical power. I wasn't going to
let a closed door screw me over, so I placed the flash light in my
mouth and pulled on the door. It didn't budge. Buddy barked at me
and I looked down. He was facing the hallways, someone was coming. I
transformed my arms and latched my clawed finger into the door and
slowly pulled open and bolted down the corridors, to Storm's cell.
"What took you?" he snapped impatiently. I rolled my eyes
and violently tore the lock off the door .
"Come on, we've got
to move," I said, undoing Storm's restraints.
"Wait! We
just can't leave them." Storm said, gesturing at the other cells.
"No time," I said hastily.
Storm grabbed my sleeve. "We
can't." I jerked away and moved off. I didn't need to explain
to him the gravity of the situation; he knew it quite well. If he
wanted to save them, fine, but I only agreed to release him. Moving
quickly, I heard Storm mumbling behind me as we left. A wave of guilt
washed over me, but it didn't make me turn around.
"Why are
we bringing him?" Storm argued, jabbing a finger at Buddy.
"Can't
be helped, he follows me everywhere," I replied. "Less talk, more
walking, any moment the Whitecoats are going figure out that their
technology has failed them." No sooner had I said it, alarms
started to blare. Storm and I broke into a run. As we rounded a
corner I slid to a stop as I spotted a Wraith and Jawz. The Jawz was
the first on to spot us.
"Hey! What are you doing here!
Collectors are confined to their quart— Hey!" I didn't have
time for this. I charged forward and leaped at the Jawz, transforming
in mid air. He grabbed me by the head and threw me against the wall.
Storm had joined in and was fighting the Wraith and holding his own.
Vision blurred I attacked again and slashed the Jawz, which didn't
seem to down much, because he slugged me hard.
"You two are
going to be in big trouble," he said. Then suddenly, the Jawz let
out a horrible scream and as Buddy pounced on him and brought the
brute to the floor. The Howler snarled ferociously and snapped the
Jawz collar bone with one bite. Then he moved to the Jawz's throat
and that was it. Storm had knocked out the Wraith he was fighting.
"Just don't sit there," he said. "Let's go." I nodded
and whistled for Buddy. I got to my feet and began to run when CHOMP.
I yelled and looked over my shoulder. Buddy had my tail in his jaws.
I remembered Chases warning and rolled my eyes.
"Let go,
Buddy," I said tugging on my tail. Buddy yanked on my tail and I
fell to the floor his nub tail wagging. Storm started laughing at me.
I quickly transformed back, and the tail receded and slithered out of
Buddy's jaws. I got to my feet and didn't bother to reprimand
him; it was my fault for ignoring Chase's warning. The three of us
continued on. Erasers were swarming the halls now and we had to be
more careful. We ran through a maze of more hallways and staircases.
It seemed that everyone was more concerned about the experiments that
were already locked up than the ones that were escaping. We finally
made it to the grounds. Rain and hail pounded our heads, thunder and
lighting ravaging the sky. Cautiously, we made or ways across the
grounds towards the barbed wire fence, when the roars of Land Sharks
could be heard. They galloped at us, muscles trembling and jaws
dripping. It was a pack of six big ones and they looked hungry. We
picked up the pace with the creatures closing in behind us…..
Suddenly lightening
began to strike the ground. The Land sharks let out surprised cries
as the discharges struck close to them. But they continued to pursue
us in full stride.
"Storm, stop it! It's not helping, let's
just make it to the fence." He nodded and we continued to run. I
looked over my shoulder and noticed more Land Sharks joining the
pack. "Move! Move!" I shouted. We finally reached the tall fence.
"Storm, take Buddy!" I said
. "Are you crazy I can't
carry that thing!"
"Storm, please?" The creatures at our
backs were closing in and fast. He sighed impatiently and opened his
wings. Storm wrapped his arms around Buddy and began to flap
feverishly, to get aloft and soon they were up and over. I leapt at
the fence and started to climb. I didn't look down or over my
shoulder. Suddenly, 400 pounds of muscle and teeth slammed against my
back, nine inch claws digging into my skin. I cried out as the Land
Shark used its weight to yank me off the fence onto the ground. As
soon as I was down they were all over me like a school of piranha. I
thrashed at them bringing up my arms to protect my face and throat.
Next I heard Storm yell and multiple lightning bolts came down
striking the Land Sharks. I got to my feet just as one of them leaped
at me and I kicked it in the throat. More started to come at me and I
fended them off the best that I could.
"PC, get out of there!"
Storm shouted "There are too many." I tried to climb the fence
again, but I was brought back down. I heard Buddy barking and
whining. I slugged a Land Shark and went to the fence again. Out of
the corner of my eye, a Land Shark was about to make an attack, when
it was brought down by something huge. Buddy shook the Land shark in
his jaws like a rag doll and tossed it aside. He stood in front of me
defensively, his teeth bared. He roared ferociously at the Land
Sharks and they shrank back, but didn't retreat. They gnashed their
teeth a him and began to move about nervously.
"Get out of here
I'll hold them off." A voice said in my head, I looked down at
Buddy.
"Are you talking to me?"
"Go, master." I was
surprised; Buddy was actually more intelligent than I gave him credit
for. I knew he was smart but not that smart. "GO!" Buddy turned
on me and roared ferociously. I swallowed and began to climb the
fence. When I was near the top I looked down. Despite his friendly
nature, Buddy was still a ferocious killing machine and I neglected
to remember that. He was stronger and bigger than the Land Sharks and
he even managed to take down a Jawz. I landed on my feet on the other
side and the Land Sharks attacked. "Run and never look back."
Buddy's voice resonated. I obeyed, but stole one more glance over
my shoulder and saw Buddy fighting the Land Sharks. Next I forced
myself to look away and Storm and I dashed off. That was the last
time I ever saw Buddy…..
I walked briskly down
the hallways to the security center, my rage boiling. The power was
finally fixed and apparently something had happened during that power
failure. This was a disaster; one Jawz was dead along with one
Howler, the one I was training, Buddy and dozen Land Sharks. Everyone
in the security center was working busily as I entered.
"What
happened?" I roared, as humans scurried around like rats.
"Two
experiments are gone, Chase, one that goes the name Storm and the
other a Collector, Purple Cat," One of the security operators
reported. My heart jumped.
"What?"
"We've tried to
locate them, but they are nowhere on the grounds sir." Suddenly,
the door opened and Jeb came in behind me with Kane.
"What's
going on?" he said exasperated, keeping his anger in check. Jeb
never liked losing control of anything, whether it be his emotions or
his experiments.
"Two experiments are gone, Mr. Batchelder…
Storm and Purple Cat," a security officer explained.
Jeb
frowned and shook his head. "Track them," he commanded.
"I
wish we could, but we aren't getting a signal from PC's Ring. He
must have gotten it off some how," the officer said.
"Impossible.
Those things can't be broken. What about Storm?"
"His
signal I'm getting, but it is coming in a little distorted. Once
he's out of this area the signal will disappear completely."
"This is a disaster," Jeb said. He pulled out his cell phone
and began to dial. "Get ready to track this signal and put it on
speaker."
As I walked aimlessly down the road, the cell
phone in my pocket began to ring. I knew it could only be one person.
I slid it out of my pocket and answered it….
"Hello?"
Purple Cat's voice rang through the speakers in the room.
"PC,
do you mind telling me, where you are going?" Jeb asked cordially.
"That's none of your business." I watched Jeb's face
darken in an instant, his stone was still clam. "It is my business
to know. Please come back PC, you're only making this harder on
yourself."
"That's your opinion…How does it feel now to
not be in control? I hope that feeling sticks with you for a looong
time. I've had to deal with that feeling for years. I'm sick of
you and your Whitecoats. This conversation is over."
"Fine
then, just so you know… there is no where you can hide. We WILL
find you ! You hear me!" There was a crunching noise followed by a
screeching sound similar to an out of tune mic. Everyone in the room
covered their ears and then there was silence.
"Did you get a
location?" I asked, the officer in charge of tracking the call.
"Yes!...no."
"What?"
"The signal just
vanished."
"Is there no other way to track him?" I asked
Jeb.
Suddenly, his face brightened and he turned to another
operator. "See if you can get the signal from, PC's chip."
"I
thought he wasn't chipped?" I said.
"Oh he is, a long time
ago when PC agreed to become a collector; I injected him with a
microchip. It allowed me not only to track his movement, but also to
control him if he got fresh. It's planted somewhere on his
vertebrae."
One of the guards began to type feverishly on the
keyboard, "Mr. Batchelder, we've got something." He moved to
the operator's side. On the screen was a topographical map of the
surrounding area and a yellow blinking dot.
"We've got him,"
the operator said.
"No, wait." The light faltered and then
went out. "Get it back, get the signal back." The operator typed
quickly and small windows started to appear on screen. "It's
saying error…The chip must've been damaged somehow." Jeb,
finally loosing his temper, pounded his fist on the desk "He's
gone…disappeared, just like a ghost."…..
