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Chapter 11

Wing frowned. Beside him, Nero was slowly edging onto a seat opposite, looking decidedly uncomfortable. Meanwhile Laura was hurriedly sitting up, her legs crossed beneath her. She leaned forward, waiting for the boy's reaction.

"This isn't a dream is it?" He whispered, uncertainly.

"No." Nero and Laura replied simultaneaously. They glanced at each other and then turned back to him.

"So are you Rick?" The man asked, slightly confused.

"Course I'm Rick. Who do I look like?" Wing snapped back.

"You really want us to answer that?" Laura said, with a small smile.

"Yes. Because I have one killer headache at the moment and you're not helping." He continued, gritting his teeth. The expression looked odd on the boy.

"Well you're somehow possessing Wing." Nero explained, running a hand through his hair.

"Possessing? How's that possible?" The boy asked, frowning some more. He seemed about to make a move to stand up but then he realised that Shelby was leaning against him and stopped.

"No idea. But first what was that about Raven?" Nero asked, elbows on his knees. Beside him, Laura rolled her eyes.

"She's unconcious. When I checked her pulse I got an electric shock and then passed out. But I wasn't passed out. I was in the hangar bay with you and Wing and Shelby..." He trailed off.

"Yeah that's when you were possessing Laura." Nero said thoughtfully. "And you can't wake her up? Maybe she's been given something to subdue her?"

"I was possessing Laura?" Wing asked shocked.

"Yeah you were." The red - head replied, pulling a face. Then without warning her eyes brightened. "Oh my gosh! You said the microchip in your head was inactive. But you were electrocuted along with Otto. So maybe something happened and that's why you can possess people..."

Silence fell as the trio stopped to consider what the girl had just said. They looked at each other with wide eyes, as understanding dawned on them.

Shelby suddenly rolled over and stetched, yawning. Opening her eyes she glanced up at Wing and grinned. Laura suppressed a smile at the look of fear that passed over his face.

"Are we there yet?" The blond girl asked.

"No." Nero replied. "But we will be soon. By the way we have a guest."

"A guest?" Shelby asked, sitting up. She looked around, dubiously. "Who?"

"Rick." Laura said.

"Rick? Who's he possessed now?" The girl continued, frowning. Beside her, Wing slowly raised his hand.

"What?" Shelby asked, eyes wide. "You're Rick?" He nodded, licking his lips nervously. For a moment, nothing happened. And then the girl lashed out hitting him with the palms of her hands.

"Get out of him right now!" She screamed. Wing lurched out of his seat and almost toppled over onto the floor, but Nero caught him before he could.

"He's taller than I thought." The boy whispered to himself.

"Shelby, we need Rick here to help us, so no he isn't going anywhere." Nero said firmly.

"But I want Wing back..." She said quietly.

"Footsteps..." The boy muttered and then his eyes rolled up into his head. The man struggled to hold him up and had to quickly lower him to the floor, none too gently either.

"Wing? Wing!" Shebly cried, eyes wide. She was knelt beside him, gripping his hand.

Several seconds passed and nothing happened. Her heart skipped and her breath caught in her throat. But then the boy began moaning softly and slowly opened his eyes to a squint.

"What just happened?" Wing mumbled.

"Rick did. I'm gonna kill him. You just watch. He's a dead man." And Shelby gripped him around the neck and kissed him, tears falling.

His eyes snapped open and it took him a second to remember where he was. He licked his lips, dry from thirst and glanced over to his left. Raven was still unconcious, her breathing shallow. Beside her was the water he'd saved for later.

There was a muffled thud and dust rained down from the ceiling. He could vaguely hear people shouting in the distance but that was it. Silence. Except for the footsteps.

Rick frowned, ignoring the crystal clear liquid and thought back to what had just happened. So he could possess people? But how? Laura had reckoned it was the microchip in his head. But then why people? And would it work with anyone? If it did, maybe he could try to possess Alex...

The door suddenly crashed open, startling the boy. Two guards marched in, followed by the blond man. He smiled viciously, his eyes gleaming in the light.

"What do you want?" Rick asked resignedly. He shifted slightly and winced, pain lashing up his back.

"Oh nothing much. Just your body. Overlord needs a new home you see and well we don't have Otto so you'll just have to do for now." Alexander explained, his smile widening.

Rick gulped. He'd never met Overlord but he knew all about the rogue artificial intelligence. And he was pretty sure that his brother had said the A.I. was dead.

"But he's..." The boy began.

"What? Dead? It's not that difficult to replicate him you know, especially when you have some of the original seed core data from H.I.V.E. mind's files. They were brothers just like you and Otto. They share the same structure. And now Overlord needs a body."

"But..."

"Grab him." The man said to the guards. They immediately reached down to grip him by the arms. He fought back against them as much as he could, kicking and shouting and biting... but he was hurt and his energy drained quickly.

"Bring him to the lab." Alex commanded and then he walked out of the little room, his blond hair flashing in the light. Rick slumped against the men but they just dragged him with them, his legs sweeping across the floor. Before they entered the corridor he glanced back at Raven. She was still unconcious.

Pain lashed up his spine and there was a throbbing in his head. In the distance he could hear men shouting and weapons being fired. An intense heat radiated from his right andsmoke billowed in the air above him, making it difficult to breathe.

Otto opened his eyes to a squint and glanced around. The shroud was burning not far from him, orange flames licking up at the sky. The light hurt but he could just about make out men emerging from the forest around it, looking for survivors. He quickly rolled over onto his hands and knees, staying as low as possible and crawled under the leafy canopy, coughing from the thick smoke that billowed into the air.

The boy hurriedly hid behind a tree and peered out into the clearing. Some of the men were coming his way and they didn't look at all friendly. Plus they had what looked like hounds with them.

Otto frowned. He didn't want to be chased down by one of those. Turning, he sprinted further into the forest, jumping over tree roots and fallen branches. Then when he was looking back over his shoulder, he tripped.

The boy went sprawling in the dirt. He quickly stumbled to his feet and looked to see what he'd fallen over.

Otto's eyes widened. It was metal trapdoor, like that of those seen in a submarine. He glanced around and noticed that it should've been covered by leaves but they'd been scattered about.

He looked back to see if he was being watched. There was no - one around. With mounting anticipation, he bent down onto his knees and gripped the little wheel. Surprisingly, it spun easily and he soon had the hatch open.

Otto didn't think twice. He quickly lowered himself onto some ladders set into the tunnel wall and clamboured down into a white corridor. The boy shut the door with as clang, but kept the wheel turned so that he could easily open it if need be. Looking left and right, he found that he was alone.

With nothing better to do, he set off in a random direction, checking each passageway before he walked down them. Most of them seeemd deserted and he figured that was because any guards were all fighting up top. But some of them were being patrolled by men in black combat fatigues and he avoided them.

Suddenly there were footsteps behind him and he glanced around, looking for an exit. But he was in the middle of a corridor and the only possible escape for him was a door to the left. He quickly gripped the handle and turned it, pushing on the door with his shoulder. Then just as quickly, he closed it behind him, as he entered the room.

The footsteps grew louder and then gradually receded. Otto breathed a sigh of relief and moved to take in the rest of the room.

The wall opposite him had a thick sheet of glass fitted into it and light poured in from the adjoining room. A table full of panel and screens lay directly underneath that, some of the buttons winking. Resting on a flat surface of the tabel was a gun.

Otto picked it up as he walked over to the panel, feeling it in his hands. Then he glanced into the room opposite. Several men dressed in protective suits were moving around a central tank filled with liquid. Wires trailed into it, but he couldn't see what they connected with. Looking around, he saw that this room also had panel and computers dotted around the room, ready to transfer data. On the wall directly opposite to this sheet of glass, was another sheet of glass and the boy could see a blond man that looked vaguely familiar watching the procession with a glint in his eyes. He stood on the opposite side of that sheet of glass, a whole room apart.

Otto shivered as he realised that they'd be able to see him. But before he could duck out of view, the scientists caught his eye. They were leaving the room and entering the one with the blond man in it. And the previously hidden tank, became visible.

And the boy suspended there, in the liquid.