by Lisa McMann
The older scientist soon came to Charles’s side and looked him over.
“Hungry, Charles?” asked Dr. Gray.
Charles narrowed his eyes and shook his head.
“You will be soon enough,” he said. “Right, Jack?”
Jack didn’t answer.
Dr. Gray smiled, though he wasn’t happy. He still didn’t have the device. And he wasn’t quite over the fact that his former friends had stolen it. He pulled the gag out of Charles’s mouth. Charles swallowed reflexively, his tongue dry.
“There, let’s have a little chat,” said Dr. Gray. He pulled up a chair and sat down, crossing his long gangly legs. Two soldiers stood nearby.
Dr. Wilde eyed the man, his face bruised from the struggle with the soldiers who’d abducted him. He remained quiet, waiting to hear what Dr. Gray had to say.
“Jack here has been staying with me for some time now,” Dr. Gray began, “and though I’ve asked him repeatedly to tell me what he’d done with the Mark Five he stole, he very rudely refused to inform me that he had it sent to you. Or maybe you were there at the break-in?”
Charles narrowed his eyes in confusion.
Dr. Gray turned and glared at the sickly man. “That was very unhelpful of you, Dr. Goldstein,” he said. He looked back at Charles. “He also failed to inform me that it now works,” Dr. Gray went on. “Though perhaps he didn’t know about that—I’ll give him that much. But it does work, doesn’t it? Which is wonderful news. And that’s why you’re here.”
Charles couldn’t understand what Dr. Gray was talking about.
Dr. Gray stood up and clucked his tongue. “Testing the Chimera on children,” he mused. He paced a few steps, then looked over his glasses and down his nose at Charles, and said in a dark voice, “Even I wouldn’t do that.”
Charles couldn’t listen to the nonsense any longer. “Victor, please,” he said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t seen the Mark Five in over ten years.” And then he nodded to indicate the two soldiers standing guard. “What’s going on here? What have you done to these people?” He glanced at the man next to him. “And what are you doing to Jack? He was your friend. We were your friends.” He shook his head and said firmly, “You need to let us go.”
“I will, eventually,” Dr. Gray said with a laugh, and then looked up at his soldiers as if he was very pleased with his handiwork.
“When?” asked Dr. Wilde. “Why are you keeping us here?”
“I need your help,” said Dr. Gray simply. “And once I get it, you can leave. If you still want to, that is.”
“There’s absolutely no way I’m helping you,” said Charles. He struggled against his ropes, but they held him tight. “You’re acting crazy,” he added, growing exasperated. “I won’t participate in the creation of more monsters like these. And I don’t have the Mark Five! So please—just let me go.”
One of the guards snarled and started toward Charles, but Dr. Gray waved him back. “Watch it, Doctor,” he warned. “They don’t like it when you call them monsters.” He pulled a square paper from his lab coat pocket and strolled over to Charles’s side, holding it facedown on his chest to hide it. He bent slightly to peer into his former friend’s face. “How did you get it to work?”
“What?”
“The Mark Five, of course.”
“I didn’t! And it’s not working, or I’d know. You’ve made a huge mistake, Victor.” Charles glared at Dr. Gray and struggled in the chair. “Let me go,” he said forcefully.
Dr. Gray straightened. “Tell me!” he said louder.
Charles seethed. “I’m telling you, it’s not in use! It’ll only work if I’m the one wearing it. Do you see it on me anywhere? No? Then it’s not working. So let me go!” Charles wrenched hard against the ropes, only managing to tighten them. He fell back against the chair, his mouth twitching with anger.
Dr. Gray turned away and paced a few steps, thinking hard. Then he pivoted and stared, his eyes now void of emotion, his expression calculating, measuring each of the words Dr. Wilde had uttered. “It only works if you’re wearing it?” He gazed at Charles for an uncomfortably long time. And then his face began to clear. “Aha,” he said softly. He glanced at the photo he clutched, holding it like a precious tool. Then he crouched down and drew closer. “I get it now. You tied the device to your DNA. How clever.”
“Yes, to protect it.” said Charles. “We used to care about safety. Remember those days? Now do you realize your mistake?”
“Oh,” said Dr. Gray, “there’s no mistake. In fact, I can’t wait to see what other ideas you come up with as we work together.” He glanced at Dr. Goldstein, and then he grew the slightest bit wistful. “Like old times.”
Dr. Wilde closed his eyes. “For the last time,” he said, “I won’t help you. Not for any price.”
At that, a strange smile spread across Dr. Gray’s face. He stood up and gazed at the photo of the girl with the bracelet. “Oh yes, you will,” he said. He turned the photo around, and watched Dr. Wilde’s expression change dramatically. “You’ll help me, or I’ll go after your dear little DNA-matching namesake next.”
Acknowledgments
Thank you to my most amazing husband, Matt, also known as Mr. Lisa in the social media world. You are so incredibly supportive and you keep me going through it all. We make a great team and I love you so much.
Thanks also to my incredible agent, Michael Bourret. I can’t believe it has been ten years since that fateful Friday-afternoon phone call. I hope we have many more ten-year anniversaries together. You are the best!
Greatest thanks to Chris Hernandez and Tara Weikum for your editorial guidance every step of the way. And to the whole HarperCollins team who worked so tirelessly to make this book what it is today. You really put your all into it, and I appreciate you more than you will ever know.
And finally, my utmost appreciation goes to the booksellers, librarians, teachers, and parents who guide this book into the hands of young, budding superheroes who need it. You will not be forgotten.
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About the Author
Photo credit Ryan Nicholson Photography
LISA MCMANN is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous books for kids and teens, including the middle grade dystopian fantasy series The Unwanteds. She lives with her family in Phoenix, Arizona. You can follow Lisa on Twitter and Facebook or visit her at www.lisamcmann.com.
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Credits
Cover art © 2016 by Brandon Dorman
Title lettering © 2016 by Jacey
Cover design by Sarah Creech
Copyright
GOING WILD. Text copyright © 2016 by HarperCollins Publishers. Illustrations copyright © 2016 by Brandon Dorman. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
Library of Congress ControlNumber: 2016936328
ISBN 978-0-06-233714-6 (trade bdg.)
EPub Edition © September 2016 ISBN 9780062337160
16 17 18 19 20 CG/RRDH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
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