I cried out in pain, as I was dropped to the floor and curled up defensively, into a ball. I kind of missed my wings at this point, because I couldn't shield my eyes from the light that bore down on me. Thankfully the Jawz that stood over me blocked out some of the harsh light.
"That's enough," Jeb said, coolly as he approached me. "Stand him up," he ordered. The Jawz grunted and wrapped its huge hands around my shoulders and propped me up against the wall. The bright light had been dimmed. I blinked a little to stop seeing spots. "Now, Rafmire, you mind telling me, what was going through your head when you decided to spring Chase?"
I shrugged. "I can't really tell you, I don't know myself. I guess PC was a bad influence." The Jawz raised a fist to club me. But one Look from Jeb and he reluctantly dropped it. "I think you have a good idea of how much trouble you're in. We are still trying to unravel how PC got out in the first place and there is reason to believe that you had something to do with it."
"Why would you suspect that, when I wasn't even able to get out of bed?" I said evenly. "Very true, but I am sure that PC discussed it with you."
"PC doesn't discuss much of anything with me."
Jeb smiled crookedly and held up one of my puzzle books. "Then explain this." I frowned…he was baiting me now…to see if I could come up with a convincing lie, but he had me.
"That's my personal property," I said.
"Rafmire, when you work for me, you have no such thing."
"Okay, so you found me out…What are you planning to do then…have them beat me?" I nodded towards the Jawz.
Jeb chuckled. "Rafmire, this is a scientific facility, not a medieval dungeon."
"So what then?"
"During your last little protocol violation you took down over thirty Land Sharks and Howler, AND escaped from the experience with only a few scratches. When the janitors found you, you were covered in the blood of your enemies, not your own. I think we can find a use for that." The way he said that statement was chilling…I was willing to give people the benefit of the doubt, but behind his causal demeanor and sweet talk…Jeb was truly a mad man….

The sky was thick with dark clouds, and wind howled as we parked the car in a parking lot that was made for the beach. A few minutes down the road, was the warehouse. I hadn't been here in two or three years since I left to gone on the vengeance mission that I never completed myself. It was funny, anytime I wanted to go out and avenge someone or deliver my own brand of justice, something always happens that prevents me. I decided that we should walk on the beach, just for a little bit. To tell you the truth, I was tad bit scared, because I was going to put myself in a room full of people that hated my guts. But I had to make amends some how. I felt that this was the only way. I was hoping that this walk would help me collect myself.
"You know what's weird?" Bree said, coming along side me.
"What is?"
"The fact that every time we have a meeting, a storm decides to roll in."
I snorted. "Maybe it's an omen. Most likely the bad kind."
"Don't worry; we'll fight them all together…if we have too."
"I'm passed the worried stage. I'm just freaking out now," I said running my finger through my hair.
"You'll be fine; after all, a lot rides on this meeting. You'll pull it off…you always do." I nodded and closed my eyes, for a minute listening to the sound of the water was soothing. I opened them again. "Let's go inside." I can't say that I was completely worry free…but I had it together…mostly.
Going back inside the warehouse brought up some bad memories for me, it still reminded me too much of when my group was slaughtered. I had sheltered them for so long, and I still felt solely responsible for their deaths. I was their leader and when it was my time to help protect them the only thing they could think about was getting me out alive. Bree, Ana and I made our way to the meeting room and waited. I waited at the head of the table my feet propped on top with my hands press together in my lap, Ana sat between me and Bree. She had been relatively quiet the entire time and I was wondering what was going through her head. As the other Ghosts trickled in, they all reacted roughly the same way, eyes wide and their lips in a line. Gozbud growled when he saw me and for a moment I thought he was going to throw etiquette to the wind and attack. But I guess he still had that human dignity. Mercy kept her eyes on me. After everyone was seated, I stood up and everybody rose.
"This meeting will begin, Agreed?" I said slamming my fist on the table. There was a pause then everyone slammed their fists down and cried in chorus "Agreed." We all sat down. "Hello everybody, I see you've all been busy in my absence."
"That would be an understatement," Reynard snarled. "How dare you show your face here? Traitor." He mulled over the word to make sure it got under my skin.
"I came back here, to set a few things straight. So don't you DARE judge me, Reynard." " We should pass judgment," Olga said "After all it was because of you that we are in this predicament."
"If you're saying that I ratted you all out, you're mistaken."
"Mistaken? Okay, well then it must be some kind of mistake that Rashmed, Chris, and Card aren't with us right now." I was silent, I really hated Reynard.
"I wish the Erasers would have captured you…Because apparently you have an answer for everything, so maybe you should have taken my place."
He frowned and looked at Mercy. "Why didn't you kill him?"
Mercy glowered and stood up "Be quiet, fox boy! PC here isn't as easy to snuff out as you might think. On top of that, a friend of his got in the way…How is he?"
"He's still alive," I said to Mercy; it almost sounded like an apology.
"You're a lair," Gozbud said softly. "I saw what happened, that boy was beyond help." "He's alive," I said slowly. "Gozbud, I know that there is no apology that I can give to you, but your brother's death was an accident. You hear me? An accident!"
"Then why didn't you answer the bird we had sent you?" Feather asked.
"I couldn't answer it. I was confined to my quarters after trying to get Gozbud out. From that point on I was heavily guarded and restrained. There was nothing I could do even if I had seen the bird. Possibly the day that bird arrived, I was being transferred to the School. That is what happened… it is the truth. I swear it."
"How can we believe that?" Reynard hissed.
"You can choose not to, but then you would just be ignorant."
"Well, keep in mind that your visit here doesn't magically make things alright. Our network is crumbling; people are getting captured or killed." I growled at him like an animal. "By the way, who is this snappy young lady you've brought with you?" Reynard pointed to Ana.
"She is the other reason why I am here. This snappy young lady is my sister; her name is Ana. Learn it."
"Pleased to meet you Ana," Feather said sweetly. She nodded towards her with a sheepish smile.
"Well, at least somebody hasn't lost their manners," I said eyeing Reynard contemptuously.
"Why is she here?" Olga asked.
"He brought her here for leverage, isn't that obvious," Reynard mumbled. Losing my patience I reached across the table and pulled Reynard out of his chair. Chaos broke out, at the table as it often did when one of lost our temper.
"Stop it!" Bree said sharply. "Let him go NOW." I reluctantly let go of Reynard and sat down.
"Now let's return to the topic, Ana."
"Yes, let's," I said. "Ana is being chased by the School. I am asking for you all to grant her shelter. If she is ever in your territory then you will give her your protection." Silence swept around the room.
"She's not an experiment," Olga said. "We only harbor experiments, not humans."
"She's being hunted," I said through my teeth. "If they catch her, she will be one of us and I'll be darned if I let that happen."
"Why is she being hunted?" Mercy asked.
I hesitated. "It's roughly my fault."
"It always is," Reynard commented rolling his eyes.
"Jeb and the School has had it up to here with Maximum Ride. They've opened up a new training program. They're taking the best Collectors and training them to finally bring down her flock. I was offered that opportunity, but I couldn't do that…not after how much inspiration she has brought to some people. I couldn't do it."
"I don't see why? You've had little trouble dismantling us," Gozbud snapped.
"He's right," Olga said. "You may think otherwise, but I heard that you personally brought Card down yourself. So what makes Max any different?"
"Is this true?" Bree asked.
I nodded slowly. "It is."
"When were you planning on telling us this? When we agreed to harbor your pathetic sister?" Reynard chastised. I slowly began to change. I bared my fangs and my fur bristled. "You have no one to blame but yourself," Reynard continued. I buried my claws into the table and raked them slowly across it's surface. The others winced at the sound. Bree chopped the table and said "I call for a short recess."
Everyone slammed their fists on the table. "Agreed."…..

I was glad Bree had done that, because I was ready to strangle Reynard. Everyone muttered to each other and left the room.
"Roc, will you look after Ana? I need to talk to PC alone for a minute." Bree said.
"Sure," Roc said and put his arm around Ana's shoulders. I growled at him and he instantly recoiled. Bree sighed and shook her head then hooked a finger in on of the belt loops on my pants and guided me to another room and closed the door. She took a few deep breaths then turned on me, her eyes full of fury.
"WHAT WAS THAT?" she shouted.
I winced at her tone. "What do you think!" I shouted at her.
"I don't know if it was a meeting between mature teenage experiments or a bunch of Pirates! By the look on your face, you looked like you were ready to kill Reynard!"
"I was and I would've done it if you hadn't called a recess."
"Splendid! I'm sure they would've listened to you then," Bree hissed her words dripping with sarcasm.
"Well what would you do then? Because you were awfully quiet, when Reynard was tearing me down!"

"What are they talking about?" I asked Roc as he pressed his ear to the door.
"I can't really tell what they're saying…but they are doing a lot of screaming. That's nothin' new, though." He replied casually.
"It isn't?"
Roc shook his head. "They're always shouting at each other…their arguments get animated once they start throwing stuff."

" It's not my place, PC…It's not…you came here to make amends and it's up to you alone to make them see that."
"They won't listen…were you even there mentally!" I said, jabbing a finger at the door.
"I was, PC… and that wasn't you in there. You want them to listen? You have to demand it….but not by threatening them. All of us have grown up around people that demanded our submission through physical force and threats. You know that wont work." Her words hit me hard, but she was right of course. I hated it, I felt cornered and all I had left was to lash out at them. I raked my claws across the wall with frustration. "Stop that," Bree said angrily.
"I need to vent, Bree, unless you want me to take it out on Reynard."
She shook her head. "No I don't…. You'll never get rid of him; he is part of this Network. Unless Reynard is captured or dies." She clapped a hand on my shoulder. "He'll take it from you, you know."
"Take what?" I said, looking over my shoulder.
"Your position, PC. He'll do it, if you let him. You know that your position as leader is fragile. Reynard has been after it for years and right now he is going to kick it right out from under you unless you do something about it."
"I don't know how—"
Bree then turned me around and slapped me in the face. Out of anger, I returned the gesture, but missed. Bree hauled back and slugged me.
"Listen to yourself!" she snarled. "You know what to do. Like I said earlier, they will not listen, to you if you threaten them. It's true you lack the charisma you once had. But that doesn't mean you can't turn this around. You understand?" I said nothing to her and massaged my cheek, so that the pain would dissipate. She glared at me hard. "I'm through talking…Pull it together…if not for yourself or me, do it for Ana…if something happens to you and Ana has no protection, it WILL be your fault," Bree said as she left and slammed the door behind her. I paced the room, still angry and fuming, Bree's words jabbing at me. I had to do this…I had to make them listen …Ana and the others depended on this meeting. Somehow I knew that Reynard as leader would be the worst thing for the Network as of now. I had to defend my station and prove that I was willing to make take responsibility. I slashed the wall again for good measure, then slowly changed back to human form and left the room. I went to the meeting room where the others were waiting. I stood in front of my chair and glanced at Reynard. This is where I belong you little furball and nothing…not you , not Jeb or my parents… is going to take it from me …I've worked to hard and sacrificed enough, to let this network fall and leave my sister unprotected. I slammed my fist on the table. "I call this meeting back to order." Everyone followed suit. "Agreed." ….

We sat down and I took a deep breathe. "Look...I know that I have wrecked our network."
"Wrecked is putting it nicely," Reynard muttered.
"But you all have to understand that I had no choice. They had me tied up in more ways than one. But that is why I came back to fix it. I may not be able to make it all better the way it once was…but I can try. Gozbud…Lyle's death was an accident. It was never meant to go that far and for once it wasn't me who killed him. I said that to defend my partner…he has very little control over his powers. That is all I can say to you. As for capturing Max…I could care LESS about her. You all are my priority and so is my sister. Not even Maximum Ride could stand in the way of that. Which brings me back to Ana. Will you guys agree to shadow her?" Everyone mumbled amongst themselves.
"Who wants her?" Olga asked.
"My parents, surprisingly, if they can't get the work out of me."
"Are your parents with the School?" Ana opened her mouth and I gave her a quick look. "They are," I said. "They're high ranking officials… pretty powerful in the system from what I could tell. They are Jeb's superiors." Another wave of whispers slithered through the air.
"Those are powerful enemies…I don't think we can afford to upset those kinds of people. Not in the state we're in." Olga said quietly.
"Information is leaking…in case you didn't notice," Reynard said
"For how long?"
"For a while now…Every since Gozbud was captured," Bree said.
"I see, so are you sure it was me that ratted you out and not Gozbud?" I asked, looking Reynard in the eyes.
Gozbud growled in his throat "How dare you accuse me!" he shouted.
"I am not accusing you, Gozbud, but you were a known Ghost when they brought you in. What you need to tell us is if they tried to pry information from you."
"They tried, but didn't succeed," he said grudgingly.
"What about you?" Reynard asked.
"The entire time I was in their charge, they didn't know I was a Ghost. That became hard to cover up once they sent me after Card. It was either capture him like everyone else or be discovered. You all put me in a pickle when Mercy showed up. Jeb's secretary was there."
"You mean the grey wing girl?" Mercy asked. I nodded. "My apologies," she said curtly.
"But this brings me back to Ana…will you shadow her? I may not be around to watch over her, all the time, so I need to trust that you all will take care of her." I raised a hand as Reynard opened his mouth. "I am well aware she's human, but some of you remember what that is like, to have a life of your own before this. Are you going to let that happen to her? None of us can change back to who we were before…so how about we prevent that for her?" Silence ensued.
"You know he's right," Roc said.
"We're aware of that," Reynard retorted.
"I think we should shelter her," Feather said firmly.
Olga nodded her head "She will have shelter if she is in my territory." Mercy, to my surprise, nodded as well.
"Fine I agree," Reynard said. "Besides, she's probably less irritating than you."
"Thank you Reynard," I said flatly. "Now we need to work on a plan to find out how the information is leaking. We need to find out who is giving it out. It would have to be someone that is close to us all, someone that knows our methods. We all need to keep a close eye on our informants…the ones that work closest to us."
"It sounds easy enough…We can also go through the safe houses left by Chris and Card. I have been through Rashmed's, and there is nothing I could use," Olga said sadly. She and Rashmed were inseparable, they went everywhere together and they controlled territory near each other.
"PC, you brought down Card, do you know if the School has gone through the information there?" Mercy asked.
"I don't know…But we made sure that if there was anything incriminating that it was destroyed as we fought. I doubt they were able to get much from the place."
"I see... Were you able to visit Card?"
I shook my head. "Security is tight…the School already has some knowledge of us, but not enough to bring us down completely."
"But they are close, with Chris, Card and Rashmed in their custody," Reynard commented, tapping the table with his index finger. "It's only a matter of time before there is no Network."
"As of now, our energies will be focused on finding our mole. There may be more than one. We will meet again next week same place, same time, to discuss what we have found," I said.
"So you will be staying with us?" Roc asked.
I nodded. "Yeah, until we have our footing again …I'm not going anywhere." I slammed my fist on the table. "This meeting is over."...

After the meeting, Gozbud pulled me aside. His voice was grim, but he told me that he had forgiven me and made me promise that I would never lie to him the way I did. With all the sincerity I had left, I made that promise. I knew that our friendship would never be the same, but I don't think things would have turned out very well if I told him straight out in the first place. If I had, I'm pretty sure I would've been dead on the spot. After making my promise, Gozbud smiled, which was something I hadn't seen him do in a long time and with that he left.

"Did you sort out everything with Gozbud?" Bree asked as we drove down the highway. I shrugged. "As much as I could," I said.
"Good; at least he won't be hunting you down anymore."
"Yeah." I looked back at Ana, who was sleeping soundly in the backseat. "She must've been bored out of her mind."
"I doubt that," Bree replied. "You always manage to keep meetings interesting; especially when Reynard's there…he's the only guy who can get you to curse your ABC's." I snorted and smiled. We didn't reach home until noon of the next day.

During the week, Bree and I worked long hours, sending and receiving messages by bird to find out, who had the nerve to spy a for the enemy. Ana did get bored with this, so to keep her busy, we sent her into town on errands. We weren't all that concerned that she would be captured, because Roc lived in town. Of all the Ghosts, Roc had the least amount of information, to give us, which wasn't surprising because he only had been a Ghost for several months.
"So, how many we've got?" I asked Bree one afternoon. We were sitting in her living room, with birds, bird seed, and paper scattered all over the place. The windows were open for the birds to fly in and out. Bree nibbled on the end of her pen, thoughtfully as she looked at the most recent list we complied. The list had a bunch of names of suspects that might be routing our information to the School. She mumbled under her breath as she counted the names.
"56," she said finally.
"56? Are you serious!" I exclaimed. Bree flashed the paper in my face.
"Do you want to count?" I snatched it from her and counted them again. "Oh…so it is 56." Bree rolled her eyes and took the paper from me.
"That's a lot of people."
"Yeah...most of them are probably duds too. Probably half of them were submitted because the person looked at them funny."
"Well, that can be a sign, you know."
"Come on PC, if you're a mole you don't make funny looks…you blend in. You avoid anything that makes you stick out, unless the person is incredibly stupid, which I doubt. Because if they've been able to sneak information out from under our noses, then it's safe to say they aren't stupid. "
"Right," I sighed. "Where is your laptop?"
"It's in my room…I'll get it," Bree said. I sat on the couch and waited. A pigeon fluttered over to me and landed on my shoulder. It cooed softly and began to tug on my hair with its beak.
"Are you hungry, Puff?" I asked the pigeon. The pigeon fluttered its wings and dug its little claws into my shirt, as I bent forward and grabbed a handful of bird seed. Puff the pigeon, hopped down to my hand and began to eat. Suddenly the door slammed and Puff flew up and perched on my head. Bree came into the room with her laptop in hand.
She smiled crookedly. "Nice hat."
"Why, thank you," I said pleasantly. Bree sat down beside me. "Alright, you, get off." I shook my head and the bird flapped its wings, but didn't fly away. "I guess he's afraid of the scary bird lady." Bree snorted and placed her laptop on the table in front of us. As we waited for it to boot up, Puff gradually made his way back to my lap and roosted there. Only to fly back up to the top of my head as another door slammed.
"Ah! What is it with you girls and slamming doors," I said, irritated. Bree smiled and shrugged.
"Okay here we go," she said moving the pointer on the monitor, with the touch pad. Suddenly, Ana walked in, "Where are my shoes?" she asked.
"By the door," I replied.
"PC, what is the first name on the list?" Bree asked.
"Rain," I replied focusing my attention on her.
"I'll see you guys later, I'm going out."
"Okaaay." I looked at the time on the computer. "Whoa ! Wait a minute," I said, turning around. "Where you going? It's almost sun down?"
"Out," Ana replied shortly, shifting her weight impatiently from one leg to the other.
"Don't start that, out where?"
"I'm going to meet Roc," she said fingering a button on her shirt. "We're going to the movies. Now can I go and why is there a pigeon on your head?"
"Don't change the subject." I said.
Bree tugged on my sleeve "Just let her go," she whispered. "Roc will take care of her."
I sighed. "Fine, go on," I said.
"Thanks Bree,"Ana said as she ran out the door.
"She's been spending a lot of time with Roc," I muttered as Bree typed in the name I had given her.
"Well, what did you expect, PC…she's 13. Does it bother you…that she spends a lot of time with Roc?"
"Maybe a little," I replied.
"Come on PC, she's in good hands with Roc…he's probably more than able to protect her if Howlers and Land Sharks show up than any baby face boy in town."
"I know…I know," I said getting up. "It's not that, that worries me."
"Where are you going?"
"Um…Out," I said.
Bree rolled her eyes. "You're going to spy on them aren't you?"
"No…I'm just going to keep to the roof tops and watch them."
"That's the same as spying."
"I prefer to call it peering." I said making a quoting gesture with my fingers. Bree got up and pulled me back down onto the couch by the shirt. "You are not going to do any other kind of "peering" except if it's at this list or this computer." She began to type feverishly then stopped and sighed. "You still wanna go?"
"Yep."
"Alright, let me get my shoes," Bree said closing her lap top…..

Roc was so sweet and I guess I latched onto him quick. But can you blame me? He's a few years older than me, but not as old as PC or Bree. I'm really glad for that, though, it gives me someone to talk to and Bree and PC don't seem to mind, since he's a freak like them. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would live on my own with a bunch of genetic freaks. I just hoped that this would all be over soon. I wanted to get back to my old life, whatever was left of it. I still can't believe PC about the subject of my parents…how could they do the things that he said they did? A parent would never intentionally hurt their child. It's just wrong. Anyways Roc and I were making our way to the movies. Of the freaks I had seen, he was my favorite. He always helped me run the errands, PC and Bree sent me on. It was a lovely afternoon and the sun was already setting…..

"I still can't believe we're doing this," Bree said as we scaled the side of a building.
"Well I didn't ask you to come," I said pulling myself up to the roof with Puff the pigeon fluttering on my head. Bree grunted and pulled herself up too.
"You're …right and why did you have to bring him?" she asked, laying down on the ground.
"The darn bird won't let go." I said trying to pull the bird away. But it stuck to me. "Maybe you need some help from the scary bird lady." Bree got up and cooed to the bird, holding out her hand. But Puff wouldn't move. I knew what was coming next. She used the same tactic when I refused to do something.
"Puff, get off of PC….NOW!" she roared. The poor frightened bird took flight.
"Thank you," I said and walked over to the edge of the roof that faced the street. "There they are…right on time," I said. Bree came along side.
"Awwww…aren't they cute," she said. I frowned at her; I knew she was doing that to get on my nerves. "See, there's nothing wrong here. It's just puppy love, now can we go back home?" I watched as they entered the theater together.
"Until they come out, I'm staying here." I said sitting on the ground. Bree rolled her eyes and walked to the edge of the building, where we had climbed up.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"Don't worry, I'll be back," she said with a smile and back flipped off the building. I sat there and made myself comfortable. I don't know why I was so uptight about this, something just bothered me about Ana and Roc being together. My hands bunched into fists strangling my sleeves. I normally wouldn't care. Suddenly the scent of food caught my attention. Bree was sitting beside me, with a bucket of fried chicken and two brown paper bags. She held out a drum stick to me.
"Chicken?" I took it from her and she tossed me a brown bag. "I figured while we were up here and you acting like a dad and all, I thought I'd get dinner."
I popped the top of the beverage in the bag and listened to it fizz, and then took a sip.
"Bree, this is root beer," I said.
"Yeah, I know," she said taking another piece of chicken out from the bucket.
"Why'd you get me root beer? You know I'm strictly a Coke person."
She grinned and popped open a bottle of Coca-Cola for herself and took a drink.
"You're over protective…and root beer is just the remedy." I frowned and chugged some of it.
"I am not overprotective," I said. "Just perturbed by my sister's choice in boys."
"Same difference," she replied dismissively.
"I know I am acting like a dad…but something doesn't feel right. My gut is trying to tell me something."
"What? Besides the fact that you're hungry?"
I scowled at her. "Do you think if I knew I would waste my time sitting up here?"
Bree shrugged. "… So, Did Ana say which movie they were going to see?"
"No," I replied. "… That was a quick run, how fast do you think you were going?"
Bree pursed her lips "Oh I'd say…200 to 300 mph. Give or take a few seconds."
I whistled. "Impressive…"
"Not nearly impressive enough…I need to be faster…maybe I would be, if I ran more often."
I nodded "Well, you picked the right place for that…there are plenty of open spaces. From what I saw of this place."
"Yeah."
We sat there and stuffed ourselves with chicken and soda. I finally drained the last bit of the root beer and lay back on the concrete with Bree beside me. The orange sky was fading to black and Ana and Roc would be coming out soon.
"That was good chicken," Bree said.
I licked my lips. "It's okay," I said. "I've been to Kentucky…now those people they know how to make some serious chicken."
"Well you'll have to take me there sometime," Bree grinned.
"Maybe…we'll go on a vacation and we'll go down to Kentucky and eat chicken."
Bree giggled "Sounds good."
I burped loudly and rubbed my stomach "You know I just thought of something."
"What."
"I am going to have to use the bathroom A LOT…when we get back."
Bree burped "Me too…I guess we will be fighting for it."
"Most likely," I yawned.
"We'll be pulling another all nighter. If we want to narrow down that list of names," Bree said. I nodded and while we were out there, I had stopped worrying about Ana and enjoyed the time I had with Bree, until my sister's voice reached my ears. We stalked towards the edge and watched. They were standing there talking excitedly about the movie they had just seen.
"Well it looks like nothing happened," Bree said.
I stared hard at them and said "Oh really? Than what is that!" Bree followed my finger. Ana and Roc got close to each other and then pressed their lips together. I growled in my throat and leaned forward on the edge, my arms bunched up like I was ready to pounce. Suddenly the root beer bottle, which also rested on the edge tottered and fell off, crashing on the ground below. The two broke the kiss and Bree pulled me away from the edge.
"Come on we're going back home," she said. "You're SO overprotective."
"I'm not overprotective!" I snapped.
"SHHH!" she hissed and grabbed me by the arm, making me climb down first. "You're overprotective." She said.
"I am not!"
"Shut up, PC! You are!"
"Well, then that damn root beer didn't help," I snarled.
"Don't mock the root beer," she said sternly "I can't help it if you're defective. Now come on; we've got to get back to the house before Ana does."….