“Come on.” Gabby lifts me back onto her shoulder. Tiptoeing over the puddles of goo, she heads back downstairs, stopping at the kitchen counter. She slumps onto a chair and stares vacantly. “This isn’t even the beginning, is it?”
I frown, unnerved by her monotone voice. “What do you mean?”
“These abductions. The hard part is ahead of us.”
“A showdown.” I flick her ear. “But you forget I have upgrades now. I’m unstoppable!”
Gabby doesn’t even look when I puff out my spikes. She just stares into space. Glumly, I retract them and jolt when Sianne shuffles in, bobbing her head in time with whatever blares from her headset. She spots us and screams.
“Ahh! Jehovah Witnesses!”
“It’s just us.” I match Gabby’s grim state. “Didn’t you hear the intruders take my body?”
Sianne’s eyebrows arch. “Oh, that. I let them in. Not a concern, not a concern, so don’t ask questions. I’m the adult here! I have a birth certificate to prove it. Anyhoo, I’m packed for New York. I think I have everything I’m supposed to bring… hmm… although I always forget something… nope, I think I have it all. You girls ready?”
I can tell Gabby is itching to ask about the intruders, but there’s no point. Not with Sianne.
“Do you remember where to go?” I ask.
“I wrote it down.”
“That helps.” I glance at the distant Gabby. “Can you drive, Sianne?”
“I lost my license.”
“When?”
“Twenty years ago. It’s around here somewhere, I’m sure…”
“Right. Then how do we get to New York?”
Sianne unplugs the toaster and sits it on the ground, using it for a seat. She rubs her chin. “Daniel said the train station was bought out by the company. I guess we could ride the bus.”
I groan. “The bus? But there are crazier people than you on there!”
Sianne nods viciously. “Wait until you get to New York. It’s a city full of Siannes!”
Shoulders humped, Gabby pulls out her phone and searches for the bus schedule. She flicks it around to show Sianne, who leans in close and squints her eyes to read it.
“Three hours. All right then,” she announces.
“One, actually,” Gabby corrects. Tenderly, I stroke her cheek and cuddle her ear.
“One hour, three hours, it’s all the same. What is time? Just an opportunity to talk about the plan. The wonderful plan… and then, there’s a backup plan, which we hopefully won’t need… one million dollars… dollar-doos… that’s what you get for helping out a loon…”
And there it is. Sianne is officially working with Lisa for money. From what I can vaguely recall, working with Lisa never ends well.
ianne is hilariously awkward on the bus. She sits upright and tenses her entire body. Darting her eyes side to side, she grips her handbag so tightly until her knuckles go white. Leaning over to the man next to her, she sniffs his ear, snapping back when he frowns at her.
“You’re doing pretty well, Gabby,” I say, nestled in her lap.
“What do you mean?”
“You usually get motion sickness. You’re really boring on rollercoasters. And a nightmare on car trips. Did you take the anti-nausea pills?”
Gabby sweeps her hair behind her ear and stares out the window. “Something like that.” She cuddles me. “Ella, I haven’t had a drink all day. I haven’t needed to. I feel kind of numb… I’m worried.”
I glance at Sianne. Gabby’s got to be feeling strange because of whatever Sianne and Lisa did to her, but I can’t even bring it up while one of the culprits is around.
“Maybe it’s because we’re at the back of the bus?” I propose casually. “Maybe you don’t get sick back here?”
She doesn’t respond. Our fellow riders cough and listlessly rummage through their belongings.
Sianne scrambles through her pockets when her phone vibrates against her purse. She answers it, shifting her eyes guiltily. “Yeah. Yeah, they’re on their way. Yes, ma’am. No, ma’am. We’ve got this.” She hangs up and clicks her tongue at me.
“Who was that?” I ask.
“Who is anybody? Gosh, you’re skinny.”
Ugh. Well, that went nowhere fast. I bet it’s Lisa. I kick my heels together, struggling to see through the window. I’d sit on Gabby’s shoulder, but she seems comfortable with her hand resting on my legs. Instead, I whistle and long for the day the professor creates earbuds small enough to fit my ears.
It’s not long before Sianne passes out. Her jaw hangs open, a line of drool dangling from her lips. Her snores are loud, and her body jolts when the man beside her pushes her off his shoulder.
Gabby doesn’t sleep. She barely blinks. Her responses are mumbled “mmm’s” and “oh’s”. Not only is it annoying, it’s disheartening. The hours are a lot longer when you haven’t got anything to do.
The bus makes its first stop, and the man beside Sianne grumbles and gets off, leaving her to slam into the seat. She doesn’t wake; she only snores louder.
“Two more hours.” Gabby’s mouth is covered by her hand as she leans onto the window pane.
“Do you think my plan will work?” I plait my hair, undo it, and attempt to braid it.
Gabby shrugs.
“I’m really scared, you know. Not just because we’ll be in New York City. I’ve never been to such a big place. But I’m scared it won’t work.”
Gabby doesn’t answer. She only concentrates on the sunset. It’s not long before the blurred countryside is encompassed by darkness.
The bus rolls to a stop.
I glance up through the window, stunned by the city’s size. The buildings are squeezed together and people trot along shoulder to shoulder, unwittingly trapped in their cement prison. How can anyone live in a world so sterile and rushed? There’s always traffic, always lights, always something to distract you from your thoughts. No one is ever alone, and yet, everybody seems remarkably lonely.
I feel agoraphobic, and we haven’t even left the bus yet. I guess I’m a small-town girl at heart.
Gabby taps Sianne, who sits upright and wipes the drool from her face. “We’re here?”
“We’re here.” She reluctantly sidesteps Sianne to get to the front of the bus and shoves me into her jeans pocket. Seriously, these pants must be painted on. That it’s tight and awkward doesn’t even need to be said.
Sianne follows close behind, tripping over the eight bags she packed and smacking her purse in the back of the driver’s head. She brought a kettle for some reason, and a swimsuit. “Pack for every occasion!” she said. Maybe that’s why she brought skis.
“So, do you know what you’re doing?” she asks once on the solid ground. She stretches, her neck cracking as she gapes at the starless night.
“Yes,” Gabby says. “Stay in the shadows. Find my family. When we get Grandpa back, we’ll find a way to wipe the company data, free the abductees, and stop the madness.”
“It’s easy on paper,” I add, wriggling in her pocket. “So, a cab. Let’s catch one. Isn’t it what you do around here?”
“We need to put Sianne’s stuff somewhere.”
“Central Park,” Sianne blurts. “Yeah! Under the bridge! If something goes wrong, I’ll be waiting there with Lisa’s back-up.”
“Isn’t Central Park dangerous?” Gabby rubs the back of her neck. “Or Lisa?”
“Only to those who think they’re safe.” Sianne winks and signals for Gabby to move. “Come now, come now. I’ll meet you under the bridge when you’re finished.”
Maybe it’s the passing headlights shining on Gabby’s face that make her look so ghostly, or maybe it’s our suicide mission. Cracking her knuckles, she lets a small whine escape her throat. “That’s if we see you again.”
“Bah! Of course you will! We’ve got strong blood in us, missy! Well, for those of us who have blood.” Dropping her bags, Sianne stretches her arms, hinting at a cuddle.
&nbs
p; Gabby doesn’t hesitate. She dives towards Sianne and buries her head in her chest, even though she’s now considerably taller than Sianne. I hadn’t noticed that before. One minute she’s a child, and now, she’s a woman embarking on a world-changing mission.
“You know the plan.” Sianne wipes a stray tear off Gabby’s cheek. “You know how to contact me; you both do. If anything goes wrong, I’ll power on. We will do this for Daniel. And your parents.” Sianne glances at me. “And for you.”
Fumbling with a frayed chord dangling from her coat, I bring it closer, just so I have something of Sianne’s to cuddle.
“No matter what happens, know you are loved.” She squeezes Gabby tightly. “For everybody who hates you, there is somebody who loves you one hundred times more. For everybody who doubts you, there is somebody who believes in you one thousand times more. And for everybody who wants you to fail, tell them to get stuffed, because you have millions relying on and rooting for you!”
Gabby grins. “It was a lovely speech until it lost its eloquence.”
“Our situation doesn’t require eloquence. It requires timing. Don’t forget this.” Sianne reaches for her back pocket and hands Gabby a large remote with six knobs. “This will interfere with electronic equipment. It will be your best friend. Now, run!”
Nodding once, Gabby turns on her heel and bolts down the unfamiliar streets.
“Don’t look back, girls!” Sianne echoes. “Accept everything and expect nothing!”
For some bizarre reason, in a world full of madness, Sianne sounds extraordinarily sane.
t’s a lot bigger than I thought.” I crane my neck, but I can’t fit the whole tower in my line of sight.
“That’s what she said.”
“What? What did I say?”
“Nothing, Ella. It was a joke.” Dressed in black to complement my ninja suit, Gabby creeps to the side of the building. It’s magnificent, with the way its front-facing walls seemingly reflect the entirety of the city.
“Where are the surveillance cameras?” My neck squeaks as I scope the building.
Gabby points to the stairs leading to a closed revolving door. Keeping to the shadows, she takes us to the side of the building and creeps into the empty parking lot. We can’t pick out more cameras, but surely they’re nearby.
“Here?”
“They’ll still probably see us,” Gabby whispers. “But it’s more discrete.”
“What if they already know we’re here? You know they spared no expense ensuring tight security.”
“That’s what that old guy said, and the dinosaurs took over the park,” Gabby snaps. I don’t get her reference, so I twirl my hair. “My point is, there’s always a weak spot. We just have to find it.” She pulls the remote Sianne engineered, drawing out its antenna. It buzzes and screeches.
“We need a backup plan,” I say. “Are there like, any janitors we could beat up and disguise ourselves as? It works in the movies.”
Gabby glares at me, not bothering to dignify me with a response.
As I check the walls, my eyebrows raise when I note… “Here, see? I could always go up the drainpipe. It’s like my Jerusalem. All roads lead back to climbing a drainpipe.”
Gabby follows my gaze and grins. “Why would you voluntarily climb a drainpipe when we have a perfectly good plan, you weirdo? Do you have any idea where it would lead?”
It’s my turn to remain silent. Instead, I focus on the remote that whirs when Gabby hugs the wall and aims the antenna at the entrance. She turns two of the six knobs, sticking out her tongue while she concentrates.
“How do we know it’s worked?”
“Sianne taught me while you were at the police station. See that flashing red light near the camera lens? When that stops flashing, we’re good to go.”
Gabby turns the third knob up, and the second one down. The revolving door unlatches and begins to turn, ever so slowly.
“Crap! I didn’t mean to do that!” Gabby frantically turns the other knobs. “I don’t know how to turn the cameras off!”
“Stay here,” I whisper, wriggling from Gabby’s pocket and onto the pavement. I climb the stairs, tripping over my new locks. Stepping into the revolving door, I analyze the structure. It’s going to be a tough climb, but I’ll manage.
Hugging the center of the revolving door, I scooch upwards, like the pretty ladies in pole dancing tournaments. When I reach the top, I wait for the turnstile to bring me closer to the entrance. I have to time this just right. Shimmying across the top of the glass brings me back into the night air. The cameras are close, but one miscalculation and I’ll miss. It’s not like I’ll die or anything, it’ll just be annoying to have to do it all over again. It could cause me to rage-quit.
I aim, then fling myself onto the camera body, waving nonchalantly at Gabby as she gives me a thumbs-up. Triumphant, I straddle the camera, only just now realizing its wires… aren’t there. I keep forgetting I’m not in a 90’s movie where technology was significantly easier to bring down.
Bring down… I’ll just have to bring the whole camera down!
I stand and jump on the stupid thing, but it remains in place. Gabby slaps her palm into her face.
“Beneath you,” she says. “Use your flames to melt the stand, and it’ll fall!”
Oh right! My upgrades! Positioning my head downwards and my feet well away from the line of well… fire, I spit the methylated spirits at the screw and activate the spark switch.
It lights up in an instant, so I drop. As the stand melts, I repeat the process up the revolving door and onto the second camera.
When I’m assured the cams are destroyed, I motion for Gabby to join me.
“Do you think they saw you?” she breathes as she sidles up to the revolving door.
“I don’t think so. I kept to the shadows, and the cameras didn’t face each other. But don’t quote me on that. Are you ready for round two?”
“God, no.”
The revolving door leads us into the lobby. We freeze, scanning the room for security. Gabby’s footsteps are unsettlingly loud against the flecked tiles. She aims the antenna at anything electric, spinning the knobs until she’s permanently shut down the computer at reception. Too bad if the secretary had personal photos on there because they’re long gone now.
When Gabby is finished clearing the lobby, I direct her attention to the elevators.
“They require those ID cards. We’ll need to use the stairs.”
Gabby dismisses me with a wave of her remote. “I’m getting the hang of this thing. Watch.”
With one twist of the second and sixth knob, the doors whoosh open. Impressed, I grab hold of Gabby’s ankle as she steps into the elevator.
“Sianne said to go to the third floor.”
I nod, relieved that I can’t sweat or have a panic attack because I’m pretty sure that’s what would be happening if I were in my human body. It’s a wonder Gabby’s holding it together so well. We’re practically criminals. It doesn’t matter if we’re doing this for the right reasons; at the end of the day, we’re breaking the law.
“A few more minutes, and we’ll be back with our family,” Gabby says as she hits the ‘three’. The doors close, and the elevator lunges upwards, upsettingly bumpy. “It’s kind of cool how we’re staging a rescue like this, hey? We’re like proper spies.”
“If there’s anything left of him to rescue…” I mumble.
Gabby jolts. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I instantly regret the lack of filter system between my brain and mouth. “I just mean, the company would’ve been pretty cross with the professor for running off. If he was a prisoner before, who can guess what they did to him now?”
“There’s only one way to find out.”
The elevator creaks and jerks to a stop. “Do you think the remote made this elevator extra spongy? Ugh. I hate these things. Doesn’t this make you feel sick? Or are you still feeling numb and stuff?”
Gabby kneel
s down and puts her finger to her lips. “This is our last stop. No more talking. If something happens to me, don’t stop to help. Save them. No, seriously. Not just for them. They know how to stop this, I don’t.”
I grind my sharp new teeth as the elevator doors squeak open. “I love you, Gabby.”
“Love you too, Ella. You go right, I go left.”
“Have you got your… you know?”
Gabby pulls down her sock and whips out the small knife. “Hopefully, I won’t need it. Good luck.”
Without another word, she bolts from the elevator. I hurry out before the doors close and make my way down the long corridor.
It’s dark. Like, ridiculously dark. There are endless glass doors, some leading to offices and others to huge labs. There are no personalized items in the offices; everything is colorless, impersonal, and detached. Just like the jerks who run this joint.
I stop at a door that’s not made from glass. It’s… steel, I think? There’s a number lock on the side. Whatever’s in there, it must be important.
It doesn’t take long for Gabby to loop around and meet me. She stares at the door.
“Did you find anything?” I ask.
“Zilch. What’s that?”
“I don’t know. Do you think you can use the remote to unlock it?”
“I don’t see why not.”
Gabby barely has a chance to twist a knob when a gun cocks behind us. Instinctively, we raise our hands.
“Drop your weapon!” the voice orders.
“It’s not a weapon,” Gabby says calmly, but her lips are tight.
“DROP YOUR WEAPON!”
“Okay, okay!” Gabby gently places the remote on the ground.
“Now turn around. Slowly.”
In unison, we do, although I’m not sure he’s even spotted me down here. He… Gabby and I gasp at the boy unsteadily aiming the shotgun. He’s wearing ripped jeans and a tee of his favorite band.
“Maddox?” Gabby cries. “What… I mean… how? How?!”
Maddox looks just as surprised as we feel. He lowers the shotgun and breathes heavily. “I could ask you the same question.”
Shattered Girls (Broken Dolls Book 2) Page 11
