Chapter 33 – Last Attempt
Now that Fang and I had rejoined my family at the table, we could finally get underway with our Thanksgiving traditions. My mom had always wanted Ella and me to be grateful for everything we had, so we had to say what we were "giving thanks" for. I could think of about a thousand things I wasn't happy about, but I had to come up with something decent to say. I didn't want my mom chewing me out for this.
Jeb and Mom sat at opposite ends of the rectangular table. I sat next to Ella, and Fang and Ari were on the other side of us. My half brother still was wary about my foster brother, but I figured there weren't too many kids that looked like Fang in elementary school.
Mom tapped her glass with a knife, like a bridesmaid gathering the attention of the wedding guests. We all watched, even though Ella and I knew exactly what she was going to say. "Thank you, Jeb, for preparing this fabulous meal for us. I'm never afraid to try something new, so when you invited us over I knew we couldn't refuse the offer. If you don't mind, Jeb, children, I'd like us to go around the table and say what we're thankful for. We have so much that others don't." I looked at Ella, and we mouthed the last sentence Mom had said silently, having heard it basically every year of our lives.
"I'll start," she went on, catching the eye of everyone at the table. "I'm thankful for this meal, and for being together. That everyone is healthy and happy. That the end of the year is approaching and a new one will soon begin." I rolled my eyes, hardly listening. I loved Mom but she was predictable. "Okay, you're turn, Ella."
Ella sighed. "Um, I'm thankful for a good riding season, and that school is going good, and that Christmas is coming soon." I snickered at that, and she stuck her tongue out at me. "You next, Max," she muttered.
"I'm glad that we're eating soon and that there is tons of food in front of us." Mom shot me a reproachful glance and I took a deep breath in. "Alright, I'm thankful that my horse is healthy, and that we have a good home, and that we can all be together." I looked up at Fang and shot him a look that told him that he was included in that statement. His mouth quirked into an acceptable smile for him.
"I'm thankful that Max is here!" Ari blurted, out of turn. I smiled at the kid; I did wish I could see him more. "And I'm thankful for video games." We all laughed.
Mom looked at Fang, continuing with the out-of-turn order. "The food, being here, having a family to spend Thanksgiving with." His eyes caught mine, and I could see something in the deep black irises spark. Remembering his hand on mine earlier, the unusual gesture, made me blush again. I looked away, embarrassed by his gaze.
"I'm last," Jeb announced to us, despite it being obvious. "I'm thankful that Valencia came, along with Max, Ella, and Fang." His eyes swept over the three of us, lingering on Fang and me for an extra second. "That we could meet like other normal families. Happy Thanksgiving, and I hope we can continue this tradition in the future."
Normal? If you consider having two freaks at your table to be normal than you've got some serious issues, pal!
It had been several weeks since that Thanksgiving meal which, to my surprise, was delicious and semi-normal. I hated admitting it, but it was an okay day. However things got even better when we got home. Fang and I spent that night in his room, reading the newspapers we'd taken from Jeb's house. What we found written in these old periodicals wasn't what we expected, but it was definitely a start.
The article had claimed that Itex, in the late 80's and early 90's, had been a huge company that had spent millions on genetic research, finding cures for several plant, animal, and human diseases. After a couple years of investigation, apparently it had been busted out for malpractice. The information was scanty, but they'd arrested most of the doctors working for them and closed all operations. Their headquarters was in New York, with several branches in California, Texas, Minnesota, and even as close by as Washington D.C.
It unnerved me that Mom could have worked with them (since we lived in Maryland), but I wasn't about to tell her we suspected anything. Obviously she hadn't been arrested so she couldn't have been involved, right? Maybe she didn't know any of it while she was working with them. At least I hoped so.
Fang had read everything skeptically, believing that the authorities were leaving details out. That much was obvious, but he said we should be looking for more information. He posted everything he discovered on the blog and was hoping for more leads to present themselves.
It was officially winter with Christmas being only a few days away. The shift was even more noticeable as the days grew shorter and the sun danced off the snow-covered country-side. It was like having crystals from heaven drop down, tickling your nose as it landed on your face. Sometime I believed that this was the most beautiful time of year. Of course, now you had to beware of flying snowballs in front of school.
Today was kind of big, not only because it was a day before the holiday break, but also because we wanted to make a final ditch effort to uncover the guards' secrets. Lately they'd been a little… not annoying, to say the least. Sometimes they only had one or two stationed here while the others were off on "important matters". None of the students had any ideas, including us, and that past few weeks of spying on them have gave us no new information at all. We only knew that they wanted someone, and that someone was in the school.
In the morning, before classes began, Fang and I had planted a recorder in the guards' office in hopes that it would pick up some interesting news. James wasn't with us since his parents pulled him out for an early vacation of skiing in Vermont. I wanted him to be here in case we discovered anything new, and the last time I talked to him he was pissed for missing this. But Fang and I were focusing on what we had to do with James or no James, so now it was all business.
Fang and I had been working on channeling both of our powers at the same time, by him keeping me invisible and me helping him walk through solid objects. That was how we'd gotten the recorder in earlier. We hid it underneath one of the tables, taped well enough that it wouldn't fall off but also so that it wouldn't make noise when we had to take it out.
We snuck out of eighth period gym since there were too many students the teachers could hardly keep track of attendance. Plus it was the one class we had together so it was kind of convenient. Slinking through the halls invisibly was fun and it made me feel like we were running off to do something naughty. Okay, it might be naughty, but it was for the sake of justice! We were tired of being bossed around.
Their office was on the third floor, one of the most inaccessible areas of the entire building. Any offices that weren't open to students had the hall doors locked so no one could bother the workers, but luckily we could get around that little hurdle quite easily. After running three flights of stairs we entered into the main offices, which housed everyone from the Board of Directors to the head of the cafeteria. The guards' office was in between a bunch of others, and when we'd been there before it looked more like a teacher's lounge than an office. I didn't understand these guys at all.
We leaned our ears against the door, hearing booming voices from the other side. I wanted to sigh, but I was afraid of being overheard. Fang and I looked at each other and shared a knowing glance. Everything was said in that moment, that this was it and we needed to hurry, but also to be quiet. It was imperative. Then I looked down at my hand in Fang's and tried holding back my blush. Ugh, stupid specific powers. We needed to have physical contact to transfer them and believe me, we did try without it. Fang seemed to notice my agitation, thinking it was from sneaking in, and squeezed my hand. Okay, now I blushed. Jeez, I hate teenage hormones.
It was game time. Carefully I stuck my hand through the door, feeling the unusual sensation of a solid object forming around me as opposed to me forming to it. Soon I was through, with Fang stepping in right behind me. I looked around casually, trying to act calm and in control. About five guards were inside, lounging around on reclining chairs, sipping coffee and reading books. I wanted to gag mostly since it was the last thing I expected from them. I turned to Fang and he shrugged. Then he nodded toward the table, and I pulled us toward it.
To be honest, I'd never tried going through people, so I didn't know how hard it would be to grab the recorder. The large bodies were at all corners of the table, making accessing it much harder. We'd have to zigzag in and out, and then quickly scramble out of there without touching anyone. As long as we were cautious, it should be easy. I hoped.
We hunched over, low enough to tuck under the table and avoid the hulking legs, and practically crawled through the web of big, ugly guards. Creeping carefully under the table, we saw our recorder, its red light still flashing. At least the battery didn't go out. The question was if it heard any information that would be beneficial to us.
Fang and I tag-teamed, each taking the tape off of one side. It removed silently and Fang quickly stuffed it into his jean pocket. We looked at each other and smiled, but that wouldn't be the hard part. It would be getting out undetected. Well, if coming in hadn't been that hard, than how bad could it be getting out.
It was tough keeping ourselves linked, and getting out from underneath the table was like going through an army obstacle course. I slipped in between two abnormally large legs, looking up at the built men who they belonged to. One had a scar that ran the length of his jaw. It took a lot of effort not to cringe. Luckily none of them decided to move so we got out quickly.
Just when we were about to make our great escape (and I was already rejoicing inside), everything went spiraling downward.
We were going to walk through the door when it suddenly opened, and in walked my old pal Mr. Darnell. He looked just as handsome as ever, but his lips were taught with hardness. Fang and I paused, holding our breaths. "What's the report?" Mr. Darnell asked, his stern gaze cast over the five guards in the room.
I bit my lip to keep from screaming. Fang and I inched to the left so we could go through the wall, when Mr. Darnell took a few steps forward. He walked right toward our linked arms. He walked through, and when I say that he didn't pass in-and-out of our bodies like nothing was there, but he felt us and walked in between our hands, breaking my hold on Fang.
"What the—?" He spun around the room rapidly, looking for anything to explain what had just happened. And there I sat on the floor, perfectly visible, separated from Fang who they still couldn't see. He stared at me with his eyes widened a half a centimeter.
Mr. Darnell's face was red with anger. "You again!" he erupted. "What are you doing here? When Mr. Reinhard get's here he'll expel your sorry ass!"
Let me tell you, I was so scared just then I nearly crapped my pants.
Okay... so the action will begin soon!! I promise, the story will really pick up in the next few chapters. Expect action, resentment, Fax, uh... more action. I have the next few chappies planned but after that I'm still a little lost. But just hang in there because the good stuff is coming!
I was going to rant about how I had no reviews and post an ultimatum, but today you guys kind of made up for it. I had 10 this chapter, and is it too much to request for 11 reviews before I post the next one? I don't think that's too much, is it? I'll post it either way. Madeline Cullen, you know, I should have remembered that. I read through the series again not too long ago. But I have the worst memory in the world so that could be why, too. :P Kina Kalamari, yes, patience is a virtue, but there will be some coming up... And I'm glad you like Vampire Kisses. You can read my VK fanfic once you've finished the fifth one. :P Okay, you don't have to if you don't want to. Mo, yeah, i like that too. I think I was hungry for one when I wrote that. I hadn't had the Pull-N-peels for a long time!
So as promised, I'm giving you guys a little sneak at the summary for the second book. "Anything But Easy" as a title is still up in the air, but I'm starting to get attached to it. :P But anyway, here you go: "As if growing up wasn't hard enough, Max comes face-to-face with more challenges. Friends and foes become hard to separate, and as powers and intentions are revealed, her life flips upside down." Like I said, that would be part of the description once the story comes out. I know it doesn't give away too much detail, but it's better that way. I can't tell you what goes on in this story! :D Well I could, but that would ruin everything I've set up. Okay, another thing to let everything know. My next story I have planned, "Deception", will be rated M, and I really need a qualified beta who I can work really closely with or someone to co-author it with me. It's a spin off of a favorite cliche of mine and I think it will be very interesting. If you want to do it, or know someone who can help, I'd very much appreciate it!
Review please!