MAXIM: A New Type of Human (Oddily Series #2)

by Pohring, Linda; Dewberry, Anne

  I won’t tell you. Not until you leave her to be with me.

  Never!

  Paul glanced at the shovel still caked with dirt. Oh, shit. I think she may have buried Oddily somewhere in the cemetery!

  Both Paul and Maxim abandoned Zaylyn and immediately began to hunt through the graveyard for freshly turned up dirt.

  The energy field mounting around Maxim was growing stronger when his attempts to find her failed. Do you see anything, Paul?

  Nothing yet, but I know she’s here. She has to be.

  Wait a minute. I think I found something! Maxim dropped to his knees and began to dig with his hands. Get the shovel!

  When Paul came back with the shovel, Maxim grabbed it from him and started to dig deeper until he hit upon something. Maxim hollered his frustration when he stared at the carcass of an animal—probably a once loved pet.

  You won’t find her, Zaylyn’s voice rang through his mind.

  Maxim dropped to his knees in defeat, tears stinging his eyes. All right—you win.

  Finally! Zaylyn showed up and stood over him. Are you ready to leave this horrid place?

  No! Not until I know Oddily is safe!

  Fine, but if you try to pull one over on me, your little sweetheart will die.

  Paul joined Maxim’s side as the two followed Zaylyn inside the old church. He had been trying to come up with a plan to overpower this mysterious girl, but she had a hawk’s eye on them both. It was obvious that despite her youthful appearance, he and Maxim were not dealing with a typical teenager.

  Where is she? Maxim demanded as he glanced around the room.

  Go ahead…search for her.

  Maxim began to hurry down the center aisle, but stopped short next to one of the pews. He had found Oddily, and she was sprawled out on the bench.

  What have you done to her?! With one giant stride, Maxim was bending over Oddily’s unconscious body feeling the side of her neck. The slight beating of her pulse against his fingertips assured him that she was still alive.

  “Hey, wake up!” He patted her on the cheek. “Can you hear me?”

  Oddily’s body remained motionless.

  See, she is perfectly fine. Zaylyn became agitated when Maxim cradled the redhead in his arms.

  You call this fine? Maxim shot Zaylyn a look of contempt.

  Calm down. After I give her the antidote, she will wake up and be her typical pathetic self again.

  Do it now!

  How do I now you’ll still come with me?

  Because you won’t stop pursuing me until I do.

  All right, but only as long as you understand that…! Before Zaylyn could finish her warning, a plank of wood came crashing down on her head knocking her to the ground.

  “Take that you bitch!” Nexa tossed the rotten two by four to the side.

  “Oh crap!” Paul ran over to Zaylyn’s body to see if she was still breathing.

  “What’s wrong?” Nexa stepped forward. “Why do you have that look on your face?”

  Paul stared into Nexa’s sky blue eyes and said, “She’s dead!”

  “She can’t be!” Nexa fell to her knees and searched for Zaylyn’s pulse.

  Maxim’s anxiety was at its peak as he watched the look of horror in his sister’s eyes after her hand dropped away from the body.

  Paul seemed to be the only one with a clear head. He began to search Zaylyn’s pockets until he pulled out a vial of liquid. “Let’s hope that this is the antidote for Oddily because if it’s not…!”

  “No, I won’t risk giving it to her unless I know for sure that it’s safe.” Maxim held Oddily’s body closer as he once again feared for her life. Damn it Nexa! Why did you have to show up and ruin everything?

  I was only trying to help!

  If I had needed your assistance, I would have asked for it. When are you going to stop butting into my business?

  Paul took the vial and placed it in Maxim’s shirt pocket. “Go! Do what you can for Oddily while I clean up around here.”

  Maxim took Oddily and fled the chapel while Paul threw Zaylyn’s body over his shoulder. The visibly shaken Nexa followed Paul as he headed back into the graveyard.

  “I can’t believe I killed her.”

  “Relax, because in theory…you didn’t. According to this timeline, the girl doesn’t even exist.”

  Oh, that’s right!” Suddenly, Nexa felt a mixture of relief and suspicion. “How come you know so much? Who are you?”

  My real name is Paulsen.

  Nexa was stunned when Paul’s voice rang through her head. You just spoke to me telepathically!

  Paul began to struggle with Zaylyn’s body. Hey, do you mind if we talk about this later?

  14

  Maxim carried Oddily into Nero’s lab in the cavern and laid Oddily down on one of the tables. He then removed the vial from his pocket to examine the contents. Rushing over to one of the display cases, he peered inside and tried to read the labels on the bottles. Unfortunately, he couldn’t understand most of the codes his father had used to identify the contents. Obviously, it was another one of Nero’s security measures.

  “Damn it!” Maxim shouted when his frustration tried to overwhelm him. Now with Zaylyn dead, would he ever be able to find out if this substance was safe to give Oddily? There was only one way to find out. He would try some of it out on himself.

  Maxim opened the vial and placed a droplet on his tongue. It had a pleasant sweet taste, but nothing more. Ten minutes had passed with no adverse reaction, so he swallowed a few droplets and waited. Still…nothing happened. Apparently the substance was safe, so now the question was, would it awaken Oddily?

  Hovering over Oddily, he gently lifted her head and brought the vial to her lips.

  “Wait!” A robotic female rushed out from the depths of the cavern and approached Maxim. “Please, show me what you are going to place in this girl’s mouth.”

  In a state of shock, Maxim held up the vial so the unfamiliar android could scan the substance.

  “It is poison!” the artificial voice echoed throughout the cavern.

  Maxim gasped. “It can’t be. I tested it on myself and I’m fine.”

  “I’m sorry, but I must ask you to step away from the girl.”

  “No!” Maxim’s protective nature kicked in as he stepped between Oddily’s body and the advancing non-human.

  “Maxim, move your butt out of the way!”

  There was only one android that spoke to him in that manner. It was his former nanny. “Willa…is that you?”

  “Believe it or not…yes!”

  Maxim refused to allow Willa’s new and advanced body to distract him from Oddily; so he asked her, “Are you familiar with this lab?”

  “Like the back of my hand,” she smiled, showing real teeth, “and I need to give you the antidote before you start reacting to the poison.”

  Maxim allowed Willa to prick his arm with a needle, injecting something into his system to counteract the poison.

  “That should do it,” she patted his arm. “Now, let me take a look at the girl.”

  Willa turned to Oddily and checked her vital signs. Then, using her x-ray vision, Willa scanned Oddily’s body for any abnormalities.

  Maxim nervously ran his hand through his hair. “Did you find anything?”

  “Just some traces of Chloroform around her mouth!”

  “That’s all?!” A sudden chill ran up Maxim’s spine when he realized what had almost happened. He came close to poisoning Oddily! Zaylyn’s plan was for him to administer what he thought was an antidote for Oddily to wake up, when in truth, the so-called antidote would have killed her.

  “Willa, answer me. Do you see anything else?”

  Willa had detected something more going on inside Oddily’s petite body, but there was nothing in her data base to identify what was happening. She decided to keep this information to herself because Maxim was already too overwhelmed with concern. “Don’t worry. She’ll be waking up soon.”
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br />   Willa watched Maxim stroke Oddily’s red hair—the same color red her own hair had been before the accident that destroyed her physical body. “Who is this girl Maxim?”

  Maxim needed a few minutes to collect his thoughts. Previously, before he found Willa’s original metal body in a heap with other mechanical parts, he had planned to tell her the truth. But then, after finding Willa’s remains, he assumed that her data had been destroyed as well. The remembrance of his former nanny caused him pain, so he blocked her from his mind. Now that he found her still alive, he didn’t know what to do.

  “Whoever she is, she’s adorable.” Willa’s synthetic voice caught Maxim’s attention.

  “Willa, there’s something you should know.”

  “What is it?” Willa turned to him.

  “Oddily…is your daughter.”

  “Lily Rose?”

  “Yes,” Maxim smiled when he found out Oddily’s real name, “but she goes by the name Oddily.”

  Willa turned back to the redhead. After all these years of living with only the memories of her infant daughter, she felt strangely detached from this unconscious girl. “What is your connection with her?”

  “I love her.” Maxim’s simplistic statement was full of passion. “And I think it best that I take her home before she wakes up. The familiarity of my bedroom will be less shocking than opening her eyes to a laboratory inside a giant cavern.”

  “And rest her eyes upon me, a half organic monster!” Willa added.

  “Don’t talk that way Willa. I promise that we will work something out.”

  Willa watched Maxim lift Oddily’s body into his arms. “May I at least walk with you to the house?”

  “That would be perfect because I just thought of something…if the idea is agreeable with you.”

  “What do you have in mind?” Willa left the cavern with Maxim and began to walk by his side through the underground tunnel while he shared his thoughts.

  “What would you think if I asked you to come back and stay with us? You could act as our housekeeper, giving Oddily the chance to meet you in a more relaxed environment.”

  “I like that idea because I’ll have a chance to know her as well.”

  “There’s just one thing. You need to act more like an android with artificial intelligence. She can’t know the truth about you yet.”

  “Actually, I think I would prefer it that way, but posing as a housekeeper?”

  Maxim smiled. “Okay, how about me introducing you as a favorite childhood companion?”

  “That’s much better. Thanks.” Willa abruptly turned around to head back to the lab. “You go on ahead without me and I’ll catch up with you later. I need to take care of a few things before I come and stay with you.”

  After carrying Oddily to his room, Maxim laid her on the bed and covered her with a blanket. He curled up next to her and rested his head on her chest to listen to the beat of her heart. Everything was going to turn out okay. Zaylyn was out of his life, Oddily would meet her mother, and then there was Paul. He knew nothing about the guy, except that he was a half breed like them. Why would he risk stepping forward to help him find Oddily? He wondered how his sister was getting along with him.

  Nexa, is everything under control?

  There was no response, so Maxim tried again. Nexa, I know you have your hands full with Zaylyn, but please let me know how you’re doing.

  Maxim’s request was met with dead silence.

  Paul, can you hear me? He sat up and listened intently as it dawned on him that something might have gone wrong!

  Maxim jump to his feet when he overheard Sweeper greet someone downstairs.

  “Hello Sweeper.” It was Willa, whose timely return couldn’t have been more perfect.

  Maxim came bounding down the stairs. “Will you watch over Oddily until I get back?”

  Willa immediately noticed Maxim’s uneasiness. “What about you? By the look on your face, I don’t think you should travel alone.”

  “But I must. I’ll be fine.”

  “Wow, you sound just like your father…a stubborn mule.”

  “More than you know.” Maxim’s brows knitted together.

  “What is the danger you plan to face?”

  “Her name is Zaylyn. It’s a long story and I’ll…!” Maxim’s voice trailed off when he saw Willa react to Zaylyn’s name. “You know her don’t you!?”

  “I’ve heard stories, and all I can say is…stay as far away from her as possible.”

  “Well, she’s dead now, so I guess we can all breathe freely again.”

  “Looks can be deceiving,” Willa pushed past Maxim to look for Oddily. “Where is she? You shouldn’t leave her alone until we know for sure.”

  Maxim charged back up the stairs and found Oddily still fast asleep. She looked so soft and sweet laying there with her hair in a tousled mess. He wondered what she would say or do when she woke and found herself in his room. Willa had followed and placed her hand on his shoulder. “You have no idea what it takes to destroy a time traveler, and Zaylyn is advanced in the ways of your kind.”

  Before Willa could say more, Oddily began to move.

  “Oddily!” she heard Maxim’s voice, but couldn’t open her eyes. “Come on baby. Wake up!”

  Oddily forced her eyes open, her arms flailing out in all directions when he tried to touch her.

  “Hey, it’s me, Maxim.” He grabbed her up in his arms to comfort her. “I’m right here. You are safe now.”

  “I want to go home,” she whimpered.

  “You are home, silly.”

  Oddily pulled away from Maxim bathed in sweat. “What’s wrong with me? I’m soaking wet.”

  “I’ll get you a wash cloth and be right back.”

  In Maxim’s wake, Oddily noticed a human-like girl standing near the opening of the bedroom. The curious looking android was presumably another one of Maxim’s creations, so she spoke to it.

  “Hi.” Oddily watched as the perfect unflawed face became animated.

  “Hello,” it replied with a synthesized voice box.

  Oddily stared at the round green eyes as they shifted in their sockets. “Do you have a name?”

  “Willa.”

  “Are you a scanner like Sweeper?” She was curious about the human-like flesh and wondered if it felt as real as it appeared.

  “No.” Willa continued with her one word replies.

  The android seemed harmless enough so Oddily flopped back down on the pillow and closed her eyes allowing her mind to drift until Maxim returned. By then, the details of what happened to her earlier that day had sunk in and she began to gasp for air.

  “Take deep breath’s,” Maxim rushed back to her side, running a cool cloth over her forehead. “That’s right…try to relax. Everything’s okay now.”

  When Oddily’s breathing returned to normal, she sat up. With Maxim’s face so near hers, she saw the worry he tried so hard to hide. She longed to reach out and touch him, and so she did. He kissed her in return.

  “How did I get here?” she glanced at Willa again.

  “I’ll explain as soon as you tell me what you remember.”

  “I don’t think I want to,” Oddily became disoriented when bits of memory flashed through her mind. “You’re going to think I’m crazy if I do.”

  Maxim’s heart began to beat faster. “Crazy is being surrounded by robots,” he forced a laugh to reassure her.

  Once again, Oddily glanced at Willa.

  “She’s one of my father’s creations. Isn’t she incredible!?”

  “Yeah, she looks…so real! What is her skin made out of?”

  Maxim hadn’t had a chance to examine Willa’s new body, so at the moment he had no answers. Thankfully, Willa spoke up for him.

  “My skin tissue is organic in nature.”

  Oddily stared at Maxim with her cute inquisitive way. “What did she just say?”

  “She is implying that the skin covering her structure is the same as ours. Now
tell me, what happened to you tonight.”

  “Well…Mel was going to bring me back something to eat, so I wanted to wash my hands and…”

  “What a minute—back up. Who is Mel?”

  “He’s one of the boys we met at the mall. So anyway, I went to the girl’s room to wash up…”

  “Hold on. The three of you picked up guys?”

  “No! Well at least I didn’t. I wanted to be dropped off at the Village; but Pepper needed to eat first, and that’s when the boys came over to our table.”

  “All right…go on.”

  “Okay. I was drying off my hands, and a girl tripped and fell as she came out from one of the bathroom stalls. I asked if she was okay, but she just laid there. I didn’t know what to do, so I knelt over her to see if she was conscious and…” Oddily’s voice trailed off and she began to tremble.

  “Hey, what is it?” He stroked her hair. “What happened?”

  “She…pulled off her wig and smiled up at me,” Oddily shuddered at the remembrance. “The girl was baldheaded and…and then there was a flash of bright light. The bathroom began to spin around, or maybe it was me…I’m not sure, and then the bathroom was gone! I found myself standing in an old dilapidated chapel. At first I thought I was alone, but someone grabbed me from behind and stuck a rag over my nose and mouth. The cloth had a strange odor and that’s all I can remember until I woke up here. I’m scared. I don’t understand what’s happening to me.”

  Maxim was stunned. If what Oddily said was true, Zaylyn had managed to transport Oddily to the cemetery…and Oddily had survived the unnatural incident!

  When tears welled up in Oddily’s eyes, Maxim noticed that Willa had stepped out of the room.

  “Oddily, listen to me. There is an explanation for all of this.”

  “No…you don’t understand. Didn’t Nexa tell you that I tried to kiss Paul this morning?”

  Maxim’s head jerked back in surprise, and then he remembered Nexa’s words. She had said that Zaylyn had gotten to Oddily right from under their nose’s.

  “I don’t know what came over me,” Oddily shook her head in bewilderment. “Paul laughed it off as if it was a joke and so did Nexa, but I want you to know anyway.”

  Maxim sighed heavily and then drew Oddily close and rested his cheek on top of her head.