So, this story is doing surprisingly well. I didn't really expect all of the positive (and emotional feedback). Thanks, guys. Also, it's still fall break. Yay!
This is two completely different story lines, and in the next chapter, it will continue with the second. I was kind of hesitant to spilt it up here, but my other option would have been to have a really short chapter and a connected one after that. Confused? You'll understand later.
So, episode tags to No Going Back and Sink or Swim, I believe. It gets a lot deeper and emotional and darker from this point on. I'm not quite sure what to say. Distracted!
When I heard the explosion, I started running.
It had been exactly a year since my last visit to the Davenport household. Old habits die hard. Or they don't die at all.
I sprinted up the hill, towards the source of the eruption of fire and sound and smoke. Picking open the front door, I burst through. The main floor seemed okay, undamaged. But there was smoke pouring under the bottom of the door to the elevator. I searched through the house and finally found a crowbar. I pulled the doors open and coughed as the smoke increased. Looking down, I saw the elevator was stuck near the bottom, approximately where the lab was located. I found a rope and threw a vase down on the square at the top of the elevator.
After several minutes of scuffling noises, the square was removed, and Leo's head appeared, looking up at me. "Grab the rope!" I shouted down, and he nodded. I threw down one end of the rope and wrapped the other around a large crate. "Climb up!"
Eventually, both Leo and Mr. Davenport made it up. I helped them outside and gave them some spare blankets I found to cover their mouths and noses with. "Thank you for saving us," Mr. Davenport said once he had stopped coughing. His eyes were red, but I couldn't tell if it was from the smoke or from crying.
"Yeah, how'd you know about the explosion?" Leo asked.
"I was coming up for my annual visit when I heard and saw it. The neighbors most likely heard it as well. The firefighters should be here soon." I scanned the area and, seeing no one else, started making my way down.
"Where are you going?" Mr. Davenport called.
"I have to go. The authorities cannot know about me. That will only put more people in danger, including you." I was already halfway down the hill.
"But you can't just go. You saved our lives!" Leo protested.
"That is what I do," I shot over my shoulder. Then, I was gone again.
I hadn't gone far, just to farther into Mission Creek. So, I didn't have to go far when I went to check on the Davenports again.
Only a few days had passed since the explosion, and I had been too nervous and anxious to go far. When I came back, Adam, Bree, and Chase were there again, and they got me caught up on everything that had happened, which was a lot. Well, Chase remained silent for all of it, which wasn't like him. But when I looked at him, his eyes were glowing green.
"What is wrong with Chase's eyes?" I asked, getting up from the couch and backing away.
"They're green," Leo stated.
"Oh no, it must be Douglas's Triton App," Donald said.
As if on cue, Adam and Bree straightened up, their eyes the same eerie green. They all stood up and walked toward us. The others ran into other rooms, but I held my ground.
The three were ganging up on me, stalking me like predators to prey. But I refused to be the hunted. I clenched my fists and lowered myself to a battle position. They were going to attack me, and I was prepared.
Suddenly, Chase's eyes flickered then returned to normal. He looked around, confused. "What…what's going on?"
"Triton App," I told him, still ready for an assault from Bree and Adam. "Douglas is controlling them."
"Why not me?"
"He was, but you came out of it for some reason. Must be a glitch or something. Maybe it only works for a certain time limit then takes a break and comes back on." Somehow, I had developed the habit of not talking in complete sentences while I was in battle. No one seemed to think it would get in the way, so no one protested.
"Well, I guess I've got to use this time wisely." He got into a battle position as well. "What can I do to help?"
"Hm…" I thought up all the possible things he could do that I couldn't. Then, an idea struck me. "Use your Override App. Should shut them down and bring them back. Douglas cannot reinstall Triton App remotely."
"Alright, just make sure they don't attack me or anything." One of his eyes did this weird thing that reminded me of the Triton App, which scared me for a moment, but I soon realized that this was different. He must be accessing the app.
Adam and Bree were still staring at me with expressions that were somehow blank and angry at the same time. Then, they collapsed, first Bree then Adam. I sighed with relief, but I didn't relax yet. They were still a threat for now, and there was still a chance that…
A crate came sliding toward me, and I did a perfect backflip to avoid it. The crate kept sliding until it smashed into the wall. I stared at Chase, whose eyes were that glowing green again. He lifted another smaller crate with his molecular kinesis and kept it hovering over my head. I didn't dare move.
"Chase," I said slowly, "I know you're there. The Triton App controls your bionics, your brain and body. But it doesn't control you. It doesn't control Chase Davenport. It doesn't control your soul. Haven't you seen that movie? The one with the scientists who turned a man into a robot? They almost completely controlled that man's ability to feel by messing with his brain, but he overcame that eventually. Even though it shouldn't have been possible, he reversed what they had done to him. The odds were against him, yet he still succeeded. He was fighting his brain and the experiments and science itself, but he won. I know you can too." For the first time since I could remember, I was slipping out of the formal tone I had taken with everyone. It was like several weeks of hearing casual talk had finally caught up to me.
"I can still see you in there. You have to fight it. I know you can do it. You can fight it. As long as Chase Davenport is in there, he can still fight. Come on, Chase. If you can hear me, you'll do this for me.
"Douglas can't control you. Not unless you let him. Just think about what he could do if you let him control you. You could kill me and Leo and Mr. Davenport and Tasha and Adam and Bree and a million innocent lives. You could cause war or become his most dangerous weapon. I know you don't want to do that. You don't want to let him control you. Please." I took a step forward, and he moved the crate over my head. I tried to control the fear crawling up my throat and make my expression look calm and trusting.
"Chase, when I was in the facility, I saw dozens of movies with the same ending. The antagonists try to control the protagonist, but it never works. They always break free in the end. I know if anyone can do it, it's you. Fight it."
He was hesitating, and I felt my confidence grow slightly. I took another step forward, and that was my mistake. The sudden movement caused his reflexes to kick in, and he flinched. I saw in his eyes what he was going to, no what Douglas was going to make him do.
Just before he dropped the crate on my head, I looked him straight in eyes and said, "It's not your fault."