Paula slumped back into bed, defeated.
"Ah. That's why you're dressed like that." She leaned her head back and laughed. Brady and Lily shared a curious glance with each other. "They're fast. Of course, they are. They've dissected your life, and anyone you know. They already know all about me, and the little missy here."
Lily arched an eyebrow. She knew she wasn't imagining the attitude back at the mall.
"What did you call me?"
Brady touched her shoulder, silently asking for her to let it go. Lily took a step back, for his sake.
"Paula, please, tell me what the hell is going on?"
"You've got questions. Believe me, I have a hundred of my own. But first, we have to get away."
"We can do that," Brady said. Lily was startled at his sudden confidence. "We help you, and then you talk? Do you have somewhere to go?"
Paula smiled.
"Yeah, I have a place."
Brady approached the machines in the corner. Lily thought he was going to touch them, but he merely stared instead. He looked at both Lily and Paula for their input.
"You think these things will sound off if we take that IV out of your arm?"
"I doubt it," Paula said. "It's just an IV. But I've been away from the medical scene for a long time. They might have Bluetooth, for all I know."
"Not a problem." He looked at Lily and gestured to the briefcase that held her clothes. "Keep that close by. I'll be right back. I don't think I'm going far, but just in case, I'm sure you don't want to be hanging out in your bra and panties."
"No. Not here, at least. What are you doing?"
He squatted near the wall.
"Sadly, something I've done a few times."
Lily and Paula both jumped when Brady melted. He pushed himself through the vent cover on the wall. The two women watched without blinking as Brady's ooze slowly vanished, leaving no trace behind.
"Your clothes," Paula said. "They're part of Brady, aren't they?"
"Yeah. And I'm pretty sure he can still hear and see us, too."
"Amazing," she said. Her eyes turned angry. "And those idiots want to stick him in a lab. Study him."
"Uh, actually, I think they want to kill him."
"Kill him?" She shook her head sadly. "We can't let that happen."
"That's my plan."
Her gaze turned sarcastic and hostile.
"And who are you, exactly?"
Lily didn't get the chance to retort when alarms went off outside the room. She tried to stay positive, but that proved difficult after all they'd been through. Had Brady been caught? Did the man down the hall spot him?
She felt like she should be doing something, but didn't know what. Paula was just as confused. Her stare went to the door, tense and afraid.
"What do we do?" Lily asked.
Paula's face twisted in pain as she sat up.
"Help me get this out of my arm."
Lily ran to her and stopped short of touching the IV. Was removing it a smart thing to do? She searched about, looking through cabinets and doors.
"What are you doing?" Paula snapped.
"Just shut up a minute."
She found gauze pads and tape. Running to Paula's side, she grabbed the tube protruding from her arm. Lily took a deep breath. She wondered if she were more stressed than Paula.
"Ready?"
Paula grimaced and nodded.
It wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. It also turned out whatever Brady had in mind might not have been necessary, as no sirens went off. Paula cried out, but only for a moment. Lily shoved the gauze onto her arm and wrapped an unnecessary amount of tape around it.
A familiar sound hit her, that of slow-moving liquid. She turned to see Brady oozing through the vent once again, pouring onto the floor. Paula couldn't take her eyes off him. Lily had finally at least gotten used to the sight enough to do another task, like grabbing the suitcase from the floor.
"What did you do?" she asked.
"I pulled one of those I've fallen on my ass cords in the next room. No one saw me. People are running all over the place out there, but we have to get moving."
"How?" Paula said, pointing at her bad leg with her bad arm. "I'm open to suggestions."
"Lily," he said, rushing to the bedside. "Give me a hand."
Lily followed Brady's lead, helping Paula to her feet. Paula nearly fell once. She could only take small, careful steps.
"What now?" Paula asked.
Brady circled behind her and stood close, unusually so. Before Lily could wonder what he was doing, he changed shape. Melting, shrinking. His arms pulled into his body, his chest and stomach vanished. His legs rounded into wheels as a seat and back formed.
He'd turned into a wheelchair.
Lily didn't waste any time helping Paula sit. The chief of mall security was hesitant at first, tentatively testing the seat. Lily impatiently set the briefcase on Paula's lap and clutched the grips. She wondered what part of Brady's body she was grabbing, if his powers worked that way. His shoulders? It was strange to think Brady was three different things at that moment. Lily's scrubs, the briefcase, and the wheelchair. How did he hold himself together?
"This is so weird," Paula said.
"Yeah," Lily said. "Try wearing him."
Her hands shook as she pushed Paula down the hall. She didn't see the man that was watching over Paula's room. Nurses ran back and forth, and Lily could hear the confused patient saying he didn't pull the cord. Lily expected someone to stop them, question where they were going. No one said a word, even when they rode down the elevator and headed for the front entrance.
"I can't believe this is going to work," she said.
"Calm down. We're not out of the woods yet. Why does he feel…flat?"
Lily smiled.
"He has trouble with tires."
She pushed Paula clear across the lot to her car. Opening the back door, she helped Paula slide from Brady to the seat, trying to hurry and be gentle at the same time. No sooner than she settled in did Brady change. The wheelchair melted at the same time as the briefcase, leaving Lily's clothes and shoes in Paula's lap. Lily's scrubs remained in place. The ooze from the wheelchair and briefcase merged in Paula's lap and crawled over the front seat. It poured into a shape behind the wheel. Brady didn't even bother finishing his normal form before he was reaching under the steering wheel. He shoved a chunk of his mass into the ignition, forming a key. His shape was complete with skin, hair, and clothes before Lily was even in the passenger's seat.
"I'll drive," he said. "Where are we going?"
Paula was quiet, staring at Brady through the rear-view mirror. Lily and Brady both had to turn in their seats to break her from her trance.
"Where?" Lily urged.
"Get on Washburn Street," she said. "I'll guide you from there."
CHAPTER 21
Lily turned her head and constantly peered in the side mirror as Paula navigated. Brady took the streets slowly, blending into traffic, driving as if they were just normal citizens going from one destination to another. They stopped at a red light, and Lily held her breath and gripped Brady's arm as a police car and ambulance sped past. The authorities didn't stop them; no one was looking for them. She originally questioned Brady's decision to drive her car, but he was much calmer. Lily would have been speeding across town if she were behind the wheel.
"Would you stop?" Paula told Lily. "Shit, you're making me nervous back here." She tapped Brady on the shoulder and nodded toward Lily. "Where did you find her?"
"Screw you," Lily said. "You'd be nervous too if people were trying to kill you for an entire day."
Paula's laugh was sarcastic.
"Please. Try having those kinds of thoughts for twenty-plus years, missy."
"Stop calling me missy. My name is Lily."
"Guys, stop," Brady said, glancing at Paula. "Where to now?"
"Take a left coming up, and then a right on Dakota."
"A right on Dakota," Brady said, followi
ng a map in his head. "That self-storage place?"
"Yeah. I have a unit there. Don't worry, no one knows about it. It's not in my name."
Brady shook his head. Lily could feel his frustration. So far there were no answers, only more mysteries.
Lily looked over the storage center as they pulled inside. The sun had set, giving the place an ominous feel. Dim lights littered the corners, throwing plenty of shadows about. The front office was already closed for the evening, but access to the storage units themselves was always open. Brady parked where Paula directed and climbed out to help her.
"No," she said. "I can walk."
Lily backed up a step. If the grumpy woman didn't want help, Lily certainly wasn't going to volunteer. Brady shared an impatient glance with Lily as they waited. Paula pushed one leg out of the car, then the other.
"Paula, we don't have all night."
"I'm not sitting on a wheelchair. On…you."
"It wasn't a picnic for me, either."
Paula looked at Lily, a devilish smile on her face.
"What about you? Have you ever sat on Brady?"
"That's actually none of your business."
"I thought you two were fuck buddies?"
Brady spoke first before Lily could lose her temper.
"Would crutches do? Could you use crutches with your shoulder like that?"
"I think so."
He held his hands out. Two steel crutches grew from his palms, running all the way to the ground. He helped Paula to her feet and handed them over. Slowly, the three made their way to the elevator. Her storage unit was on the third floor.
"I've always wondered," Paula said, leading them. "How your abilities would grow. What could you do? What couldn't you do? How many objects could you mimic? What size? How small could you go? How fast? Did your senses still function when you gave up skin and bone? What was the energy cost of changing shape?"
"If he could make his dick bigger," Lily added.
Paula scowled at her, shooting an icy glare. Brady smiled and lowered his head. He tried his best not to laugh, but a small snicker escaped.
"I always thought a girlfriend would do you good," Paula said. "I was wrong."
"It's a good thing we're not a couple then," Brady said. He took her hand. Lily could see he was tiring of her attitude as well, and was coming to her aid. "We just like to have sex with each other. Remember?"
The elevator door opened. Paula rolled her eyes as she led the way. They walked down the hall full of medium-sized storage units, ten by ten feet. The lights flickered overhead. Lily found herself moving closer to Brady, who still held her hand.
"This is me," Paula said, stopping in front of a unit. "I have a key hidden in a plant at the end of the hall, but I'm guessing you make your own keys?"
Brady said nothing. He moved to the latch on the side and shoved half his finger in the lock. It took only a second for him to properly line up the tumblers and turn the lock. He reached down and pulled up the sliding door. Paula stepped into the darkened unit. She fumbled in the corner, then turned on a battery-operated lantern.
"Holy shit," Brady whispered.
It looked like something Lily had seen once on a survival show. Paula seemed to be preparing for a mini-Apocalypse of some sort. There were shelves against the back wall with boxes of rations. Five large bottles of water sat in the corner. Next to the bottles was a safe. She had an old couch, with a coffee table and laptop. Rounding out the space was a Craftsman tool chest.
Paula collapsed on the couch and leaned back, closing her eyes. Brady and Lily continued to study the space. While they had a moment, Lily moved to the back of the unit, near the safe. She'd carried her clothes from the car, and waved a shoe to get Brady's attention.
"Brady?" she said. She pointed to the green scrubs she still wore. "Do you mind?"
"Oh, sorry."
He turned his back. The scrubs melted from Lily's body, leaving her in her undergarments. Paula watched the scene from the couch, was mesmerized as the goo moved across the floor. The essence merged with Brady's shoe and melded with the rest of him. The crutches weren't far behind.
Brady let out a sigh.
"Ah," he said. "It feels good to be whole again."
Paula leaned forward and turned on the laptop. Brady approached his boss as Lily finished snapping her jeans.
"What are you doing?"
"Checking the news. Good thing they have wireless Internet here. And wouldn't you know it. We had a mall shooting in our lovely town today, and not a single mention anywhere. Not on local or national news. Like it didn't even happen." She ran her hands through her hair. "Ah, shit. After so much time, how did they finally find you?"
Brady shrugged and leaned against the wall.
"I don't know. I don't know anything. I have a routine. I stick with it. I know where every camera in this town is. I go to work, and I go home. I don't change shape just for the fun of it. I…."
His expression changed as his sentence went unfinished. His eyes lit up.
"Fuck. A few weeks back, some guys tried to kick my ass. I, uh…didn't let them. Shit. Who knows what cameras caught me?"
"What?" Lily said. "You didn't tell me this."
"Sorry. It's not something that comes up easy while watching TV."
"I guess it doesn't matter," Paula said. "What's important is what we do now." She pointed at the tool chest. "There's a cigar box in there. Top drawer. Could you get it for me?"
Paula rummaged through the box. She handed Brady a card and continued to search. Lily joined him to look over his shoulder. It was an ID card with his picture, but a fake name.
"This," he said. "It's my security photo."
"Why do you think I hired you?" Paula said. "I figured you'd be gone in six months, moved on to bigger and better things." She glanced at Lily. "Looks like I'm still waiting."
"Hey, what the fuck is your problem?" Lily snapped.
Brady scowled at Paula and held up an arm to keep Lily back.
"Guys, seriously," he said. "Do we have to do this now—?"
"Yeah, we do. This bitch has been giving me shit-eye all day. She doesn't even know me. What is your deal?"
"My deal?" Paula said. "Do you want to know?"
"Knock yourself out."
"I've been watching Brady underachieve all his life. He can do anything. Be anything. And I mean that quite literally. He settled for C's in high school, settled for a job wandering the mall. I thought a good woman would straighten him out. I prayed for the day he finally did something that resembled having a life. But instead, he's just settled for you."
Her words stung. Lily's eyes drifted to Brady, her heart going out to him more than herself. Paula's words cut deep, but he was more the target.
"Wow," he said. "Underachieve. It's not always easy to land those A's in school when you're working on your sixth foster home—"
"Oh come on, Brady. How long are you going to use that excuse? Plenty of kids get abused in foster care. They turn out fine."
A dangerous look flashed through his eyes.
"Who said anything about abuse?"
Lily's eyes lit up at the verbal mistake. Paula realized it too, and she held her head low. Brady's jaw twitched as he waited for her to speak. When she didn't, Brady's tone hinted at barely-controlled anger.
"I've told one person in my life about that, Paula. And it wasn't you. It was that beautiful, caring, wonderful woman over there I settled for. Do you have something you want to tell me?"
Tears ran down Paula's face. Lily was surprised at the display of emotion. Paula took a moment to compose herself.
"My real name is Kim Sanders. I was fresh out of medical school. They approached me to work on something no one had ever seen before." She looked at Brady. "You."
"They," Lily said. "Who are they?"
"The government. Rich, bored scientists. A comedy troupe. I have no idea." She looked back to Brady. "You were only a few months old. Just a baby, and already able
to change your body. We were supposed to study you and observe." She frowned. "And that slowly changed. They wanted us to shock you, see how your body would react. Submerge you in water. It went from awe-inspiring to a horror show so fast. The rest of us just went along with it, except one person."
Paula pulled another photo from the cigar box and handed it over. It was a photo of a middle-aged doctor standing behind a bald woman sitting in a wheelchair. The doctor leaned over the patient's shoulder, both smiling.
"Keep that with you. Always. Whenever I have a bad day, or think I gave up too much, I think of him. Dr. Michael Oliver. He's the one who saved you, sneaked you out of the lab. I was just along for the ride. I gave up my career, everything I'd worked for. He gave up his life. They killed him. Right over at the hotel on Eighth Street."
"Jesus," Brady said. "You stayed here? In town?"
"Sometimes the best place to hide is right out in the open." She pointed at the photo. "He taught me that. After things cooled off for a while, I changed my name and built a life here. I figured if we were separated, and I made no contact, we'd be better off. I put you in the foster system. But—" Her eyes changed. A sudden guilt and sadness took over. "It wasn't any regular foster system. It seems any system we have has a corrupt side. I didn't want you placed with a proper family. One that would take you to the doctor for regular checkups. There's a whole shady world out there, where cash is handed over, kids get moved around. It's very ugly. It might have saved your life. I've always kept an eye on you, from a distance. And I knew they might find us one day. So-" She gestured around her. "Here we are."
"Yeah," Brady said. "Here we are."
His voice was calm, even, and that set Lily on edge. His face was stone and unreadable.
"Saved my life. You think foster care saved my life?"
Paula said nothing, dealing with her own emotions. Lily wanted to hug Brady, comfort him, but gave him space.
"I'm…broken," he said. "You know that, right? I collect porn like it's some kind of normal thing. I can't have a relationship longer than four weeks without it falling apart. I watch UFO videos online, hoping that the aliens who left me here come back to get me, because I've never had a real family. And you think you saved my life."
Shapeless Page 26
