Chapter Eight:

And what was standing there made all four of us scream.

First it was "Whisper" and then it was the Gnome, staring back at us.

We all screamed.

"Quiet down!" Whisper or whoever she was commanded.

The Gnome moved it's head analyzing all of us. It's mask glowing green. I grabbed Ian's arm. Those things, they were students or so we thought. They were command by headmaster, dad. They were bad they dragged escapist back.

"You can't take us back." Ian told Whisper.

She smiled, "Ian. I told you, Headmaster is trying to FIX Tower Prep."

I laughed, "My father, who wiped my memory? I don't even know if I have a mother!"

Whisper smiled, "CJ come home, come back. Your father promises your memory back."

I rolled my eyes, "He doesn't expect us to come."
"What makes you think that?" Whisper asked turning her head to the side.

"The Gnome."

Whispered laughed, "Smart girl."

"We are not leaving." Gabe told her.

Ian nodded.

Whispered sighed, "I don't want to fight you kids."
"We want to fight, you." Ian told her.

"Yeah and if we go with you how do we know you won't wipe our memory and make us all start over thinking we are new students at Tower Prep?" Suki asked.

Whisper smiled, "I guess you will have to trust Headmaster."

"Trust Headmaster? In my nightmares, maybe." I told her.

"Candace, he is your father."
I crossed my arms, "A father who isn't real. He doesn't care. If he cared he would of told me about my mom. He wouldn't have wiped my memory. He wouldn't have trapped me in boarding school. He wouldn't have turned me on my friends."

"Now get out of my house." Ian said stepping in front of us.
"Not with out you." Whisper said.

"Then, your going to have to be taken out." Ian grabbed at Whisper's arm. His hand passed through her.

"I'm not human." She said.

The Gnome lurched forward for Ian. Ian ducked. And slammed the Gnome down.

"Whisper, I can take one Gnome." Ian said.

"But can you take thirty?" Whisper asked, the back door was blasted open. Thirty more Gnomes came pouring in. Their masks lit and they were talking back and forth. Ian backed up.

"Whisper call them off." Ian said.

Whisper laughed, "They aren't under my control Headmaster is working them."

"Suki?" I asked.

"STOP!" Suki cried mocking Headmaster's voice.

This only seemed to make the Gnomes mad, they charged forward swarming us. Whisper laughed and then a weird buzzing filled the air. I blacked out.

LIDILIDI

At first I thought I was having a really bad nightmare and that any moment I would wake up on the sofa with Ian. But then everything came rushing back to me.

I was laying in a chair in the one place I didn't want to be, Headmaster's office.

Suki, Gabe, and Ian were throw into the chairs beside me.

Tower Prep had caught us.

I started to cry.

I guess my tears woke Ian because next thing I knew he was holding me in his arms. I kept crying. Suki and Gabe woke up they watched me cry.

And then the door open to Headmaster's office and in walked my father.

I stopped crying. I stood up and walked over to him. He opened his arms like he expected me to hug him. I raised my arm and I punched him, hard, in the chin.

"CANDACE!" Headmaster cried once he stopped rubbing his chin. I rolled my eyes and walked back to Ian. Ian opened his arms and I laid against his chest.

"Your not my father."
"I am Candace I am."
"No father kidnaps their daughter and her friends."

"It's not kidnapping."

"Yes it is." I said.

"I hate to interrupt this beautiful reunion, but I have something to say. What is going to stop us from escaping again?" Ian said.

"I thought Whisper told you my goal."
"She did, and we all know your a liar." I told him.

"Candace what makes me liar."

"Everything you have ever done to me. For one my memory."

"Candace, I did what I did to help you fit in."
"Help me fit it," I rolled my eyes, "more like stick out. "What's your mom like?" Oh I don't know, my memory is gone."

"Candace." Headmaster said stepping towards me.

"Don't come any closer." Ian said pulling me closer.

"And stop calling me Candace, it's CJ."

Headmaster sighed, "Candace I should of known you be like this."

"Why? Was my mother like this?"

Headmaster didn't answer but instead turned and walked out the door slamming it shut behind him. None of us even ran for the door, we knew it was locked.

Author's Note: BLAH! Okay So Tower Prep has left us hanging about CJ's mother. The only thing we know is when CJ is talking to Headmaster in the last episode. She says she will help him if she can speak with her mom. Headmaster tells her "You know what that takes," implying that it would be difficult. This leads me to believe a couple of things.

1. CJ's mom is dead. (But she wouldn't be able to talk to her else Headmaster is crazy and can reach the dead)

2. CJ's mom is alive and living far away and hates Headmaster and doesn't want anything to do with him since he dragged CJ away to Tower Prep.

3. CJ's mom is in jail/asylum. It would be had to reach a CJ's mom. Its been in all sorts of books were the character's parent is crazy and will go through times of not remembering their kids.

Or

4. CJ's mother is Whisper. Now I know that sounds crazy, but have any of you read the Maximum Ride books? Max was made in a lab. I guess Headmaster could of "made" CJ in the some sort of way. But I don't see why it be hard to speak to her mom, else her mom is the way younger version of Whisper.

So I'm going to go with one of these, most likely 2 or 3.

Well till next time!

-Lidi999