"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."…..