Hello everyone! CJzilla here. I'm very sorry for the long, long wait. Inspiration just didn't come to me for this story. Please forgive me. Now... in this chapter, a plan is hatched to take care of this energy monster and Zak and Annabelle are slowly connecting. Enjoy.
As I rampage all over this city, alls CJzilla has to roar is this: R&R! Love... Hate... review.
AN: The "dear reviewers" will be discontinued. It was brought to my attention that a "dear reviewers" is illegal here. So please sign in if you want me to reply to your comment. Thank you.
Chapter 5
A Plan
Words failed the Saturday family as they stared at the red-headed girl. Annabelle Grey had just confessed that she was deaf and mute. The news took a few seconds to sink in.
"Wait, wait, wait." Zak gestured, shaking his head. "You can't be deaf OR mute! You can speak and you heard Komodo sneaking around!"
Annabelle's eyes fell to her feet, suddenly feeling self conscious about explaining her disabilities.
"I was born without functioning eardrums and a larynx that was fused open." The girl explained. Then she looked over at the unconscious Dr. Grey. "But the year I came to stay with Miranda, she made me these hearing aids."
She curled a lock of her thick red hair behind her ear. The Saturdays saw a small beeping device inside her ear canal.
"Then when I was ten, Miranda made me a new larynx." Annabelle added. "I can hear and speak because of my mom's devices."
Drew and Zak looked stumped but to Doc, everything made sense.
"Miranda is very handy with electronics so I can see how she made your larynx and hearing aids." The tall black man held his chin thoughtfully. "But I don't see why Miranda never told us that she had a daughter."
Annabelle brought her eyes to Doc's.
"It's a long story, Doc." The fifteen-year-old returned.
At the mentioning of that, Doc thought it best to leave that subject alone.
"All right. I need to know about this monster that your mother created." The super genius said. Annabelle nodded.
"Cniks has a USB port." She held up her cat. "He can download my mom's notes onto any computer."
Drew, Zak and Doc gave the robotic cat a weary glance as it gave a metallic "mew".
"Good. We can put Miranda's notes on one of the computers in the control room." Drew looked at her husband. Doc nodded.
"Annabelle, can you bring your friend to the control room?" Doc questioned. Annabelle looked between the robotic cat in her arms and her unconscious mother.
Thankfully, Zak stepped in.
"Uh… I don't think that's really necessary." The eleven-year-old spoke up, standing in front of Annabelle and looking at his parents. "Annabelle should stay here with Dr. Grey."
The two adults glanced at each other but agreed.
"All right." Drew walked to the door as Cniks jumped into Doc's arms.
Doc and Drew left the room. Zak took a step to follow them but turned, looking back at Annabelle. The girl looked up from sweeping her mother's bangs out of the woman's eyes. Without a word, the preteen left the room and followed his parents.
The Saturdays walked into the control room. The three cryptids, Fisk, Zon and Komodo all snapped to attention; it was getting boring in the small room. Doc walked the robotic cat up to one of the main control panels. Setting Cniks down on the keyboard, the man looked over the strange robot animal. Upon just an outward examination of the "cat", Doc was mystified.
"Uh… where's the USB port on this… cat?" He called down to Zak, uncertain where to look to find the adapter. The boy with the black and white hair shrugged back.
Cniks sat, gave his paw a lick and then gave Doc a clueless look. The tall black man looked down at the robot and saw that his nose was flashing. Doc held his chin before he decided to touch his fingertip to Cniks's face. The robot cat's nose then opened and a USB port was seen.
"Cool." Doc gave a grin and grabbed the port. Cniks's nose stretched like a cable and the man was easily able to place the port into the computer. "I'm relieved it was in your nose and not… somewhere else."
The "cat" gave Doc a clueless look as it instantly downloaded Dr. Grey's files and research notebook into the computer. Files popped up on the screen. Without hesitating Doc began reading, trying to unravel the mystery of the physicist's experiments.
Komodo, sensing that something had been off with Zak since he scared the strange human girl, walked up to the boy and nudged his hand. When the preteen looked down at the big lizard, he saw something of an apologetic look on Komodo's face.
"Don't worry, Komodo. Annabelle just wasn't ready for a cryptid so… awesome." The boy said that to keep from hurting Komodo's feelings. He really did scare the tears out of the fifteen-year-old girl.
Drew couldn't help but overhear the conversation and she came to her son's side.
"You want to tell me what happened?" She asked, seeing the look on Zak's face. The eleven-year-old looked up at his mother with a confused, desperate expression.
Zak shut his eyes and made a face.
"Well, I was trying to keep Annabelle's mind off of her mom having one foot in the grave." The boy replied starting to pace restlessly. He shrugged. "We were in the bathroom, drying off her… uh-… "cat" when she found out that Fisk was an actual animal. That's when things started to go downhill. Then she began to think about her mom and then she started crying."
He groaned and pulled on his black and white hair. As Drew and Zak conversed they had no idea that Cniks was watching them. The robot cat was listening and recording their conversation, notably Zak's exasperation over the whole ordeal.
"I had NO idea what to do! So I decided to show her Komodo and Zon." The preteen went on, walking circles around his mother. "We didn't even get to see Zon when she got really scared and ran. When I found her, she was crying by the door and that's when you guys came. I REALLY goofed this time."
Drew gave her son a sympathetic look.
"Well, think about it; Annabelle's mom was nearly killed, there was a monster that destroyed her home and she was alone for five some hours." The woman stated. "I think Annabelle would be frightened and sad."
Then she looked at her son, running her fingers through his hair.
"But you did pretty well for not knowing Annabelle. There's no way you could have known that she was this sensitive." The woman stated.
"I dunno, mom." The preteen said looking like he just barfed. "She's not talking to me now. You're a girl, so I need an insider's opinion. How do I fix this?"
Drew nearly laughed at the hopeless, desperate look on her son's face.
"Well… Annabelle's situation is unique, seeing that she's Dr. Grey's secret child." The woman began. "Do you know what she likes? Favorite color? Maybe you can materialize her favorite food in the cafeteria."
Zak shook his head.
"Sorry. Seeing Komodo kinda threw off all chances of getting to know Annabelle more." The preteen pouted. Drew cringed.
From above them, Cniks completed his download. The robot cat de-attached himself from the computer and bounded to the floor. Drew and Zak jumped as the strange robot looked up at them.
""Weird World."" The cat buzzed, using a recording of Annabelle's voice. ""This is my favorite show… Weird World… V.V. Argost is… super cool!""
Drew shuddered as Zak's smile tripled.
"NO way!" The preteen cheered at the robot before he looked at his mother "Annabelle likes Weird World! Now that's something I can work with!"
Both Drew and Zak heard the door zip shut. Cniks was nowhere to be seen. It was anyone's guess that the robot cat went back to Dr. Grey's ICU.
Annabelle was resting her head on her arms at the foot of her mother's bed. The girl stole a few glances at the woman. She saw the machines breathing for Miranda, the tubes in her nose and mouth and the bruises on her face. Annabelle dropped her head and sighed into the sheets. Her eyes felt like they'd been dipped into buckets of sand; it seemed like she had no more tears to cry. The fifteen-year-old cried and cried, right after she and Cniks saved Miranda from the energy monster. At least she now had adequate medical attention; they were all really lucky that help came so soon and so prepared. Annabelle felt her eyes get heavy; the hum of the medical machines and silence of the room lulling her to sleep. She was just drifting off into slumber when she heard the pitter patter of her robot cat's feet on the metal floor.
Before she could sit up, Cniks jumped up on the bed and meowed in her face. Annabelle smiled at her cat and grabbed him. Hugging the robot cat, she felt comforted again. Cniks started purring and sat still in her arms.
"Download all of mom's notes? Any ideas on how to stop the monster?" The girl asked her cat. The robot flicked her nose with his tail, making Annabelle giggle. "I guess that's a no."
She sighed and stood.
"This day has just gotten crazier and crazier, Cniks." Annabelle told her cat pacing the room. "First the experimenting that mom was obsessing on turned into a monster that nearly killed her, then me and you had to survive alone and now, we're here."
There was a window just outside of the ICU's door. Outside of the massive airship were the tops of Antarctic snow clouds. From this altitude, those blizzard causing clouds just looked like normal, lazily floating under them. Annabelle walked out of the room and looked out the window.
"Wow." The fifteen-year-old girl looked at the sea of clouds. "Just look at it. There really is a world outside of our home."
The girl put her hand on the window, longing to touch the fluffy clouds drifting past her. Then Annabelle looked back at the room her mother was in.
"I just wish mom was awake to see this." The girl held Cniks away from her, looking into his sandy eyes. "I don't think mom's seen actual animals before. I hope her allergies aren't going to be that bad when she wakes up."
Annabelle hugged her cat before setting him on the window ceil. Setting her chin on her propped up fist, she stared into the lovely white of the storm clouds. She sighed and yawned.
"Solomon Saturday seems like a really nice man. He's got a good eye for electronics. Did you see Zak's weapon? That was some really neat craftsmanship." Annabelle went on before rocking back on her heels, gripping the guardrail. "Must be nice to see the world and fight bad guys all the time. Talk about exciting."
But then Annabelle got a nervous look on her face as she stood straight.
"Did I-… do you think I… was rude to Zak?" She looked at her cat. "Cniks, I was very scared. Does that justify running away?"
Cniks flicked his tail but didn't take his sandy eyes off of his owner. Annabelle sighed.
"Why do I feel so bad?" She slouched eyeing the ground. Rubbing her tired eyes, the girl swallowed the lump of tears in her throat.
Cniks gave his master's shoulder an encouraging nudge with his head. Annabelle ran her fingers through his artificial fur and grinned. Just then she heard footfalls racing down the hallway toward her. She snapped her eyes upwards and saw Zak run around the corner. Startled, she stood.
"Annabelle! I've got something to show you!" The preteen beamed, waving at her. Immediately, Annabelle was nervous again; thankfully Zak deflated her anxiety. "And don't worry; it's not any of my crazy pets."
The girl dropped her eyes and rubbed her arm, feeling strangely shy.
"Uh-… Okay." Annabelle agreed. By then Zak was standing in front of her.
He held a big smile.
"And while we're down there, are you hungry? The cafeteria has a really good food materializer." Zak remarked. Annabelle managed a grin.
Zak gestured for her to walk with him. The two kids made the rest of their walk in silence.
Zak and Annabelle walked into the cafeteria. The eleven-year-old boy had the fifteen-year-old girl hold her hands over her eyes as he guided her with his touch. Zak assembled a theatre-like setup including chairs, a really big screen, snacks and his collection of Weird World episodes.
"Okay and… open your eyes!" He chirped. Annabelle removed her hands from her eyes.
She beheld the preteen's toil. In all truth she heard the mechanical video player, popcorn and snack materializer and Zak's excited heartbeat. Even though Annabelle could get an echo-painting through her sensitive hearing, it was WAY better when she saw everything.
"It's a mini theatre!" Zak jumped ahead of her and ran to the bleacher seats. Taking a seat, the boy gestured at everything. "I've got snacks, amphitheatre seating and an awesome picture playing!"
Annabelle held a smile as she walked after Zak.
"And you'll never guess what's on the playlist…" The boy said in a singsong voice, looking excited. The fifteen-year-old red head stopped and touched the tip of her boot to the nearest chair. "Weird World!"
The girl immediately brightened.
"I've got the biggest collection of Weird World episodes that I know of!" Zak added. Then he looked over Annabelle's shoulder. "A little kitty told me that's what you like."
Cniks ran along Annabelle's ankle, purring. The girl picked up the cat and silently thanked him for spilling one of her biggest secrets.
"I'm…" She heard Zak begin; his tone becoming mellow and serious. "I'm sorry about throwing Komodo at you. I should have done something else instead."
Annabelle swallowed, feeling tears threaten to come. She did indeed feel guilty about making a scene and creating doubt in this sweet-hearted boy.
"That's all right, Zak." The girl said, barely above a whisper. "I'm just not used to anything but machines… I didn't mean to make you feel bad."
Zak looked up at her and saw that her eyes were still on her feet. Sighing, he did his best to exhale any guilt that he felt.
"What's your favorite snack, Decibel?" Zak questioned, hopping out of his seat and running over to the food materializer. "I like a licorice rope and cola myself."
Annabelle's ears perked up when she heard what he called her.
""Decibel"?" She repeated, giving him a funny look. Zak pressed a few buttons on the machine.
"Decibel. You know; the measure of a sound's intensity and degree of loudness." He responded watching popcorn materialize into a paper bag. "Since you can produce a sonic boom, I thought it'd be a good nickname for you."
He grabbed armfuls of junk food and turned around. Zak saw the pensive look on her face. Did he just offend her again?
"But-… if you don't like it, I can always go back to calling you Annabelle." He felt a knot of nervousness nearly shut his throat. "You know what? Just forget that I called you-"
But Annabelle cut him off with a smile
"I like sour gummies and lemon-lime soda." She returned. "And you can call me Decibel. It's nice; I like it."
Zak felt his cheeks heat. Why was it so hard to keep his head around her?
"Okay!" He quickly turned around and started awkwardly pressing buttons with his full hands. "Sour gummies and lemon-lime soda coming right up!"
Annabelle gave a silent giggle and walked over to help him with the popcorn. Soon, Zak and Annabelle were sitting and watching his collection of Weird World episodes. V.V. Argost's pasty and horrifying figure kept their attention as he rattled off tales and legends about powerful, mysterious cryptids. Zak would denounce some of Argost's "facts", giving Annabelle first hand accounts of the featured cryptid.
But their movie viewing was cut short.
"Zak, Annabelle. Please report to the control room." Drew's voice cut over the speaker system. Zak rolled his eyes and groaned while Annabelle looked nervous.
The two kids hopped to their feet and ran to the control room, Cniks right behind them.
Zak zipped into the control room first and trotted up to his parents.
"What's going on?" The boy questioned, a serious look on his face. Drew glanced at her son and found him alone.
"Where's Annabelle? We called you both for a reason." She replied. Zak glanced at the door.
"She's on the other side of the door." He whispered to his mother. "She still isn't comfortable with Fisk, Zon and Komodo."
Zak pointed to the genetically-altered komodo dragon, female Ornithocheirous and the Fiskerton Phantom. The cryptids were minding their own business, bored from being confined to the control room. Doc sighed.
"She has to be in here with us. We have questions that she needs to answer." The tall man got up from his chair and walked toward the door. Zak watched his father go with a gulp.
Annabelle heard Doc get up from his chair. She had her back against the wall as he exited the control room. Her big dark eyes met his as nervousness surfaced on her face. Doc looked down at her with a kind but business-like expression.
"We need you in the control room." The man knelt beside her. "All of us need to hear this."
Annabelle looked away, feeling her chest tighten when she thought of facing down the cryptids again.
"Can-… can I just-… Can I stay out here, Doc?" She whispered. "I don't want to see that big lizard again."
Doc looked off for a second.
"We really need you inside, Annabelle." He responded. Annabelle shut her eyes tight and quivered.
She felt fear rise through her again. She wanted to run. But then Cniks meowed at her feet. Looking down, the girl saw her cat look up at her before walk to the door and meow. Annabelle gave a shaky sigh and nodded at Doc. The black man stood, a kind smile on his face. He offered the fifteen-year-old girl his hand which she readily took. Cniks ran into the control room and bounded to the main control panel.
Drew and Zak watched Doc slowly walk a very timid Annabelle into the room. The girl gave the room a careful look over before she took a step out from behind Doc. There were no cryptids in sight. Annabelle gave a wary sigh and released Doc's hand.
"Are you okay, now?" The tall man questioned, looking down at the frightened girl. Annabelle nodded and stood close to Zak.
Doc walked to the control panel and pushed a button. Suddenly a collage of digitally scanned papers and reports filled the screen.
"Now that you are all here, let me brief you on what I found in Miranda's logs. It's more serious than I thought. I finished reading Dr. Grey's notes and I think what we're dealing with." Then he looked out over his family. "We'll have to destroy it."
Zak looked surprised while Drew nodded.
"What is it, dad?" The preteen boy questioned, walking up to the control panel and leaving Annabelle with his mother.
"Dr. Grey was experimenting with energy and mass; that much is very clear in all the intricate accounts she kept." Doc responded, clicking on one specific report. "To make it brief, her experiment got away from her. Miranda made a mass of energy that some how came alive."
He clicked another screen, this showing a graph of the energy around the area of Dr. Grey's lab.
"This shows that this monster feeds on more energy and it lives only to feed." Doc added. Then he glanced over at Annabelle. "I'm afraid it consumed Annabelle's home, as well as nearly devouring Dr. Grey before it could be stopped."
"It eats people?" Zak questioned, a grisly look on his face.
"Not necessarily." His father answered, bringing up another screen showing the energy of the sun, a plant and a human. "It consumes them; it eats energy. Sunlight, electricity, the energy in a human body; anything it can get."
The preteen glanced at his mother and Annabelle. The fifteen-year-old girl held her eyes to the floor, thinking.
"What will happen now?" Drew questioned, walking to her son's and husband's side. Doc pulled up Dr. Grey's report.
"Unless it's stopped, it will continue to grow and grow." The tall black man answered, pointing to a sentence in Miranda's log. "It needs to be stopped and there's only one way that I can think of."
His family looked up at him.
"First and foremost, we have to think of a way to make it visible. We can't fight something that we can't see." Doc continued. "Then we can lay a trap with some equipment I can try to put together. But… how to see it? That part I-"
"Why not paint it?" Zak chirped. His parents snapped their eyes to him. "Think about Komodo." Zak gestured for the big lizard that was supposed to be sitting next to Fisk. "He can go invisible but he can't make other things like paint disappear! It's the same thing for that energy monster! It couldn't make the snow disappear, so why not paint as well?"
Drew and Doc grinned.
"Zak, you may have a thought there." Doc nodded. Drew chuckled.
"That's the genius side of my family." She ran her finger up Doc's chest. The super-genius grinned.
"Annabelle, Zak." Doc looked up at his son and friend. "Take Fisk and go down to the storage area. Pick out the brightest colors and put them into plastic bags. I want to be able to see this monster from space."
The two kids nodded and Zak looked over to Fisk, hanging out in a corner of the control room.
"C'mon, buddy!" The preteen called to his best friend. "We have to get our paint on."
Fisk cheered and jumped to his feet. Zak ran down to Annabelle and grabbed her hand. The girl was dragged down to the cargo hold with her robot cat and the Fiskerton Phantom right behind her.
Review! LONG LIVE ROCK!
AN: There is a picture of Annabelle on my deviantArt account. CJzilla dot deviantArt dot com. Thanks
