Hey everyone. I've been uber busy. Sorry. Anyway, just to let you know, I am a little upset over the severe lack of reviews I got on my last chapter. I understand that you were probably busy. However, I would enjoy more than two reviews on this chapter. Okay, read 'NeoFlock' by Talon666 and 'Dark Blue' and 'Maximum Ride: Wings vs. Wands' by Madeline Cullen. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I worked hard.
"Breakfast everyone!" I shouted into the hotel room. I had just come from downstairs in the lobby. I had a huge tray of breakfast food and Skye was behind me carrying another one.
"All right!" Cory shouted, running to the door and snatching the tray out of my hand. "I'm starved." he said, shoving a biscuit in his mouth.
Behind me, I heard Skye mutter something that sounded vaguely like, "Hope you choke on that stupid biscuit."
I closed the door, purposely stamping on his foot hard. He gasped, surprised and I whispered, "He's not the enemy. We can't be fighting amongst ourselves. You're just gonna have to deal."
He sighed heavily. "Okay, whatever. I'll behave like a good little boy." He took a banana off the tray in his hand. After handing said tray to me, he walked over to Jewel who was sitting on the bed staring intently at the TV screen.
"Hey, kiddo." he waved the banana in front of her face and she swatted at it with her hand. "Too much TV will rot your brain. Have some fruit." He tried to give it to her again, but she swatted it away.
"I don't want the dang banana!" she yelled at him. "I'm watching something important here!" She went back to staring at the TV.
Skye shook his head and turned towards the TV. For a while he stood perfectly still, his held tilted to the right. Then he said, "Mel? You may wanna take a look at this."
"Holy crap." I heard Cory say, his mouth still full of biscuit. Did I really have to teach a fifteen year old boy not to talk with his mouthful? A leader's work is never done.
I sat the tray of food down on the nearest dresser and headed over to the TV to see what all the fuss was about.
Jewel had it set on some random news channel. Before I could ask what was so important, I saw the homepage of my blog blown up on the screen.
"It's called Melody's Blog: Fly On 2." a female newscasters voice announced. "It's supposedly run by some fourteen year old girl named Melody Smith. She claims to be no ordinary girl. She claims to have wings and other special abilities such as self healing. She also says there are others like her."
It went back to the newsroom. A guy who was obviously wearing a hairpiece said, "Well, Claudia, this sounds a little too fantastic to me."
It went back to the woman. "Well, Jim, no one quite knows if these claims are true. It could be some stunt to promote a movie or perhaps a kid who just wants attention. It may even be some loon. We just don't know. However, the government has confirmed that Itex was shut down years ago and that they have never heard of this place that Melody calls the School."
"And how was this brought to the media's attention?" Jim asked Claudia.
"Three young girls. Their names are Elizabeth Harmon, Madeline Carrow, and Selene Duncan. They are subscribed to Melody's blog and go by lizziestar, Madeline Cullen, and Selene Darkmoon."
"And exactly what did they say that seems to have the whole world in an uproar?"
"Well, according to the latest post on the blog, which these young ladies brought to light for us, we are all in danger from a lunatic kid."
Jim chuckled. "A lunatic kid? Is he going to bomb a school or something?"
Claudia shook her head. "No, the accusations are much more serious. The boy who Melody calls Tanner has created something called the 'E' virus. It turns people into human lupine hybrids or Erasers as Melody calls them. She believes that Tanner wants to turn all of the normal people into-"
I changed the channel. I couldn't watch that. Unfortunately, I turned it to another news station. This one actually had one of the girls who believed me on camera.
"Yes ma'am, I do believe that Melody is real and the world's in trouble." a girl with long brown hair said. She looked about my age and the screen said her name was Elizabeth Harmon.
"Here's what other people are saying about these fantastic claims." a male newscaster announced. He had a bad toupee on too.
The screen flashed to a very angry looking woman. "I don't know who this 'Melody' girl is, but she needs to stop spoutin' off tales. Who does she think she is creatin' a scare like this? If I was her momma I'd severely punish her."
It flashed to an old man wearing a trucker hat. "It's them aliens. I'm tellin' ya."
It then quickly flashed to another woman. "What I think is that this girl is simply crying out for help."
I turned off the TV. I really couldn't stand to hear anymore. So, I was a loon? I needed a good spanking? And what the heck was with the aliens?
After several minutes of intense, deafening silence, Skye spoke up. "They said those girls went by lizziestar, Madeline Cullen, and Selene Darkmoon. Haven't they posted on your blog?"
"Yeah." I told him. "I'm really glad they believe me. And, maybe it's a good thing they said something. Maybe Tanner will know we're onto him." And how did that help?
Jewel quickly grabbed the banana that Skye had laid down on the bed and began peeling it. She didn't look up at me as she took small bites. She must've thought she had done something wrong. It wasn't her fault that I'd made my way onto the news. And, maybe it would turn out to be a good thing.
Cory sighed heavily. "Look, we have to go up against Tanner. It's now or never. It's do or die. If we don't, the whole world's at stake. No matter how scared we are, we know what we have to do."
We all looked at him, dumbfounded. I'd known Cory for a long time. He wasn't much of a speechmaker. However, what he was saying was true. We couldn't afford to sit around and do nothing.
"I hate to admit it, but Cory's right." Skye grunted. "The sooner we fight Tanner, the sooner the world's saved."
Everyone looked at me expectantly. They wanted to know what my big plan was. They wanted their fearless leader to... well, lead them to battle. I wasn't so sure of my plan if you could call it that. In fact, I was starting to rethink the whole thing.
"Okay. We'll head out tomorrow." I told them. "I think we all need one more day of rest. We need fuel and to recharge a little."
Skye nodded. "This time the three of us," He motioned to himself, Cory, and Jewel, "will take watch. You need sleep, Mel."
"Yeah." Cory agreed. "No offense, but you look like crap right now. You're in no condition to fight."
Jewel nodded vigorously. "And don't even try to get out of it, Mel. You can't deny that you need sleep."
They were right. I was completely worn out. There was no way I could get by on another night without sleep. I was about ready to pass out as I stood there. I'd lose a fight.
Just then, the hotel phone rang. I reached for it and answered, "Hello? Who is this?"
"Miss Smith?" the man on the other line asked. "This is Mr. Martin at the front desk. We sent a gentleman up to see you. He says he knows you. He says his name is Mike."
Mike? The MIT hacker dude? What the heck? "Oh, yes. I do know him. That's fine. Thank you. Goodbye." I hung up the phone. Why on earth would the front desk send a guy who wouldn't give them his full name to a room filled with a bunch of minors? And why was Mike here anyway?
"What was that all about?" Skye asked as I heard someone knock at the door. Great. Mike was here.
I headed off to the door and threw it open. Sure enough, Mike barged into the room with a laptop in his hands.
"Got the message." he said eagerly. "Now, I can't fight, but I can assist with anything technical."
"Whoa, whoa." I said. "Hold up a minute." I told him. "First, how did you find us. Second, what are you talking about. Third, what makes you think we want your help?"
"Uh, I tracked you here through traffic cameras. They're connected to satellites. I'm talking about your blog. You may need my help breaking through security systems. I feel I owe you from not helping you out before." He said all of that in one breath, reminding me of Nudge.
Everyone turned to face me, confusion on their faces. I wanted to scream. Instead I said, "Aren't those government satellites?"
"Your point?" Mike asked. "Look, do you want help or not?"
Well, one of the problems in my plan had been infiltrating the School. I supposed Mike could help us with that. It couldn't hurt. I mean, he tapped into government satellites.
"Deal." I told him. "What can I say? We're desperate."
"Excellent." he said, smiling. "I thought you'd agree."
Finished! Thank goodness. Sorry again for taking so long to post this chapter. I will try to make my next update much sooner. I know this may not have been great, but I wanted Mike in there and of course Mel had to find out about her fans attempts to help her. Things get interesting. Catch you later.
