by Lisa McMann
“Are my friends going to be in trouble?” asked Charlie. “I mean, I don’t want them to be. They helped me and it isn’t even their dad who’s missing and—”
“They’re not in trouble,” interrupted Dr. Sharma. “But those devices are very powerful, as you’ve already figured out. And they’re also supposed to be top secret, so I’d feel a lot more comfortable if they are back in our hands.”
Charlie gave her a fearful look. “But the soldiers know who they are now, so they need the bracelets to protect themselves and their families! That’s why we took them in the first place!”
Dr. Sharma paused and was quiet for a moment, thinking it through. “But if they’re seen with or using them, that could cause Gray to be suspicious or think we’re up to something. Have any of them activated the devices?”
Charlie pressed her lips together. “Yeah, Mac used his,” she said in a small voice. Yesterday she’d conveniently left out the part where Mac had fought alongside her, but she didn’t see any way to protect him now. “Maria did, too—she turned into some sort of monkey. Kelly put one on her wrist, but I don’t know if it activated or not. Nothing happened when she did it.”
Dr. Sharma stared at Charlie. “A monkey? With monkey features?”
“Y-yes. She stayed home from school.”
“What?” cried Mrs. Wilde.
The biologist frowned. “I don’t like how this is going. Have Maria’s parents found out?”
“I don’t know,” said Charlie miserably.
But Dr. Sharma had made up her mind. “We can’t afford to let word get out about what these devices do. If Maria’s parents learn that Maria’s DNA has been altered and they go after anybody, we won’t be able to stop the information from traveling. And if Dr. Gray finds out and feels threatened, it’ll put Charles in danger. Erica, let’s bring the three kids and their parents here now. We’ll come up with a plan in the car. Meanwhile, Diana, if you could get Charlie a working phone, that would be great.”
“You’re going to tell their parents?” asked Mrs. Wilde. “I think that’s best—they need to know what’s been happening.”
“We’ll tell them something, Diana,” promised Dr. Sharma. “I’m just not sure what yet. But this is our responsibility now—I need you to follow my lead and let me handle things. Okay?”
Mrs. Wilde looked relieved. “Okay.”
“We’ll meet you back here.” Dr. Sharma looked to the Wildes for confirmation that they understood. They nodded solemnly.
“Good. Once we have your friends here and the equipment accounted for, Erica and I will set up reconnaissance at the warehouse to see if the soldiers are still there, or if they’ve left any clues about Charles. Okay?”
“Sounds good,” said Mrs. Wilde.
Charlie quickly called Maria before they left. When she didn’t answer, Charlie started worrying about her again. She left a voice mail letting her know Dr. Sharma was coming. Then Charlie and her brother and mom went to get a new phone.
A couple of hours later, Dr. Sharma called Diana to say they were heading back to the Wildes’ house with all the parents agreeing to meet them there. Shortly after, Charlie had a brand-new phone with all of her contacts transferred.
As soon as Charlie got back to the car, she texted Maria. “Got a new phone. Is everything okay? Why didn’t you answer when I called?”
A moment later the reply came. “Long story. We’re in your family room, and boy, is my mom mad.” After that she put a string of sad-face emojis.
“What do you mean?” Charlie texted.
There was no reply for a long moment, and then Maria texted, “You’ll see when you get here.”
A few minutes later, Charlie and her family arrived home. Mrs. Wilde guided Andy toward the stairs and sent him up to his room to give the older kids some semi-privacy to talk. Charlie flew into the family room. Ms. Sabbith sat in a side chair with a wireless device in her ear, watching something intently on her phone. Kelly looked sullen in another. Maria and Mac were on the couch. Maria wore a baseball cap on her head and Charlie’s scarf around her neck, and she sat . . . lopsided. The device was still on her wrist, and her face wore an expression of misery.
“What’s going on?” said Charlie. “Is everybody okay?”
Maria looked up at her friend, and Charlie could see her eyes were red from crying. “Maria,” Charlie said, going over to her. “It’s going to be okay. These people are on our side. I promise.”
“It’s not that,” Maria said quietly. “It’s . . . I couldn’t answer my phone earlier because my mom saw me. With the scarf off.”
CHAPTER 10
Scrambling for a Story
Charlie paled, trying to imagine what Maria’s mother must be thinking after seeing her daughter with monkey fur. “Oh no,” she whispered. “What happened? What did you tell her?”
Maria started crying. “When I told my mom I was sick and had to stay home from school, she was busy helping get the boys ready, so she didn’t check on me right away. I thought I was in the clear. But later she came into my room and made me take the scarf off. Obviously she freaked—thank goodness she didn’t see the tail. I panicked and came up with a story about it being a science experiment—I’m sorry, I didn’t know what else to say! I didn’t tell her anything important. She was about to take me to the hospital when Dr. Sharma and Ms. Sabbith came to the door. So I babbled to them what I’d told her. Dr. Sharma is in your den with the parents now, fixing things.”
“That was a really smart thing to say, actually, Maria,” said Ms. Sabbith, looking up from her phone. “If there’s something we know about, it’s science. And you clued us in right away so we could run with it. Don’t worry. Sharma and I are working on it as we speak.” She flipped apps and typed something.
“See?” said Mac to Maria. “I told you. You did good.”
“Did you try taking the bracelet off again?” asked Charlie.
Maria nodded and Mac spoke up. “I read some more of the Project Chimera papers this morning and found out her device won’t come off when it’s in Active mode. Her screen says it’s locked for safety measures. I guess that’s so no enemies can take it off during fights.”
Charlie went over to Maria and attempted a gentle hug. Maria stiffened, and Charlie quickly let go and tried not to stare at the wisps of fur that poked out from under the scarf. “I’m so sorry,” she said softly. She turned to Mac. “Did you figure anything else out?”
“She’s a howler monkey,” said Mac. “I looked up the Latin name. She resembles pictures I found of the monkeys at the Phoenix Zoo.”
Maria’s face screwed up and more tears came. “Worst monkey ever.”
“Well,” said Charlie gently, trying to be positive, “there are a lot of really great things you can do now.”
Mac began nodding. “Yeah. The way you were running up walls and leaping all over the place—you’re destined to be a parkour professional,” he said. “Maybe you could show Kelly some of your tricks.”
Kelly raised an eyebrow.
Maria gave Mac a look of death. “Not right now. I’m sort of freaking out here about my mother, in case you can’t tell.”
“Sorry,” said Mac.
After everything that Maria had done the previous night, Charlie was dying to see what else she could do. If she could use her feet like weapons the way Miko had done, Maria could be really helpful in a fight. And with the prehensile tail, even better! But Charlie knew better than to say anything right now when her friend was feeling so bad. It must’ve been a huge shock to her mother. How was Dr. Sharma going to explain this? And even more stressing was wondering if the changes were permanent, like the soldiers’ features seemed to be. “Maybe we can make you a bodysuit like the soldiers have,” she said weakly.
That made Maria cry even harder. She bent forward and put her hands over her eyes. “I don’t want that. Charlie, you’ve got to help me. I need to change back. Like, now. Or my mother will never believe them.”
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br /> “I’ll help you, I promise!” said Charlie, though she had no idea how. She whirled around to Ms. Sabbith, who was typing furiously. Charlie waited until she looked up, then asked, “What can we do about Maria?”
“Do you have the envelope Mac mentioned a few minutes ago?” Ms. Sabbith asked.
“No,” said Mac. “I left it hidden under my bed.”
“Hmm,” said Ms. Sharma, distracted by what she was listening to. “Sorry, I’m an engineer, not a biologist. Hopefully Dr. Sharma will be able to help you soon.”
Maria cried harder and began to howl. She clamped her hands over her mouth.
Charlie glanced helplessly at Kelly, unsure what to do.
Kelly shrugged. “It’s probably better just to not talk about it right now,” she said quietly. “Everything anybody says just makes her more upset.”
Charlie nodded. “Yeah, good point. I’m sorry, Maria.” She glanced at Kelly’s wrist. She wasn’t wearing her bracelet, which was a good sign. “You haven’t tried out your bracelet yet, have you, Kelly?”
Kelly’s eyes flitted to the side, then she returned her gaze to Charlie. “Uh, no.”
“Where is it?”
“It’s a dud, actually. Doesn’t work.”
“So you tried to activate it?”
“I don’t know. Yeah. I pushed the buttons, okay?” She glanced uneasily at Ms. Sabbith, who had looked up from her phone again.
“Didn’t you bring it with you?” asked Charlie. “Dr. Sharma needs it.”
“No. Like I said, it doesn’t work, anyway. I threw it in the trash. Don’t worry about it.”
Charlie gave an impatient sigh. But then she realized that she was no longer in charge. Kelly was Dr. Sharma’s problem now. A flood of relief washed through Charlie—it was awesome not having to wrangle Kelly. “Okay, fine, whatever,” she mumbled. She looked at Mac, who was awkwardly trying to console Maria, and gave him a small smile. His bracelet was on his wrist, and Charlie knew for a fact his worked. “Did you have a chance to search for information for your device, Mac?”
“No. I was focused on Maria,” he said. “But like we were guessing last night when we saw that screen, the suit is probably some kind of an exoskeleton, like an armadillo.”
“Or one of those roly-poly bugs?” asked Kelly.
Mac smirked. “Sure. Just like that.”
“I mean it. Your device makes a silver suit of armor for you, after all. Silver is close to gray, like those icky bugs.”
“Yeah, well, I won’t be just rolling up and hiding when I’m faced with danger, you know. I did pretty good fighting yesterday.”
“True.” Kelly shrugged and looked out the window.
“So, what about you two?” Charlie asked Kelly and Mac. “What do your parents know?”
Mac’s face turned glum. “My mom and Kelly’s dad were with Dr. Sharma when they came to pull us out of school. I don’t know what she said to them, but somehow they agreed to come here to talk things through.”
Ms. Sabbith looked up suddenly. “Okay, kids,” she said. “I’ve been secretly on FaceTime with Dr. Sharma all this time, so that I’d know what she’s been saying and could tell you. She told your parents that what happened to Maria is a harmless science experiment gone wrong. She’s saying the bracelets are simulators, and Maria’s created the illusion of a monkey’s beard.”
“Whoa,” said Maria. “Not sure Maytée’s gonna buy that.”
“Now she’s telling them that Diana just got home, and she’s asking the three parents to sit tight in the den for a few minutes while she gets her.”
Charlie heard the sound of the den door. A moment later Dr. Sharma came into the dining room. Spying Mrs. Wilde in the kitchen, she went quickly to her and spoke quietly for a long moment.
Mrs. Wilde frowned, then nodded and went to the den. Dr. Sharma stopped in the living room. “Everybody keeping up with the story?”
Ms. Sabbith nodded. “Smart idea to FaceTime.”
“I just sent Diana in there to tell the other parents that the devices were Charles’s for his college class and that you kids got into them unknowingly—you thought they were cool-looking and tried them on.”
“My mom’s not going to believe this,” Maria said, still crying.
Dr. Sharma walked toward the girl and softly laid a hand on her shoulder. “I know this is hard. Just trust me. I think I can get her to believe me. Though it would help if you could change back before I get done with them.”
Charlie sat up. “We read something last night from a Project Chimera file. It said that Maria would change back naturally when her chemical balance returned to normal. Or something like that.”
“Hmm,” said Dr. Sharma. “I’d like to see those files.”
Charlie explained why they didn’t have them at the moment.
Dr. Sharma looked at Maria’s wrist. “What device do you have?”
“We think it’s the Mark Two,” she said.
Dr. Sharma tapped her lips thoughtfully. “Dr. Jakande created that one.” She paused for a long moment, then looked at Ms. Sabbith in the chair. “Any luck finding her?”
“Not yet.”
“What’s happening in the den?” Dr. Sharma asked.
“They’re asking questions, saying it was careless to leave the bracelets lying around where kids could get them. Diana is agreeing and being regretful.”
“She’s great.” Dr. Sharma looked back at Maria. “So, how long have you been like this?”
“Since I activated the bracelet yesterday.”
“You haven’t changed back at all?”
“No,” said Maria.
“From what Charlie said, it sounds like the Mark Two is designed to affect the wearer only when he or she is under duress. And then you should change back to normal once your body calms down. Sort of like . . .”
“Like you’re a werewolf?” asked Mac.
“A werewolf?!” howled Maria. Mac covered his ears and Kelly cringed.
“Definitely a howler monkey,” muttered Mac.
“In a way I suppose a were—a weremonkey is an accurate description. Although the change is not lunar controlled.”
“You’ve got to admit that’s kind of cool,” said Mac to Maria.
“It’s horrible!” she replied.
“At least it’s not permanent,” reasoned Charlie. “We hope.”
“Maria, you should change back to normal once your anxiety level goes down. I’m not surprised it has stayed elevated all this time. This was quite a shock to you, I’m sure, and the longer you stay in this condition, the more stress it creates. Try some relaxation exercises. Have you ever done yoga-style stretches? Or meditation? Look those up online and you’ll see what to do.”
“Parents are getting restless,” Ms. Sabbith warned.
They heard a man’s loud but muffled voice coming from the den, and Kelly shifted uneasily in her chair. Then she got up and went over to Maria and Dr. Sharma. “I take yoga classes and meditation,” she said. “I’ll help you.”
“Oh, good.” Dr. Sharma looked relieved, but then glanced anxiously at the hallway. “I should go. I’ll be back in a bit, but I’ll stall to give you time to work on this. Play along with the story when your parents come out, all right? We’ll get you out of this mess. I promise, Maria. You can count on me.”
Leaving Maria looking calmer and more optimistic, Dr. Sharma disappeared to the den.
Kelly guided Maria through the basic techniques that would allow her to grow calm. After several minutes, the beard and fur melted away.
“You did it!” exclaimed Charlie.
Maria opened her eyes and sat up. She touched her chin and head and patted her backside. “It’s gone!” she cried. “Oh, Kelly! Thank you! I’m so relieved.” She blew out a breath, then checked the lock screen of her bracelet. It had deactivated, and she swiftly released the latch. She slid the bracelet off and thrust it at Charlie. “Here—it’s all yours.”
Kelly went back to he
r chair and stared sulkily out the window. Soon the den door opened again and the adult voices became more distinct, especially the man’s. “That’s my dad,” she said, though everyone had figured that out by now. She stood abruptly, a nervous look on her face. Mr. Parker appeared and stopped just outside the room to shoot off a retort to Dr. Sharma. He had strawberry-blond hair with a receding hairline, and his face was red with anger or sunburn—it was hard to tell which. He wore a pink polo shirt, khaki pants, and golf shoes, and looked extremely annoyed.
Charlie watched Kelly curiously. Kelly was fidgeting with her hair, anxiously pulling it in and out of a hair tie. She’d never seen Kelly act like that before. Knowing that Kelly’s parents were getting divorced, Charlie felt a wave of compassion for her sort-of friend. She went over to her and touched her elbow. “Are you okay?” she whispered, keeping her eye on Mr. Parker.
“Yeah.”
Mr. Parker waved his hand dismissively toward the other parents, then bellowed out, “Kelly! Do you have some sort of machine to give back to them?”
“No,” said Kelly. “It—mine didn’t work.”
“Well, come on, then, and quit wasting my time.”
Kelly let out a breath and closed her eyes briefly. “I’ve got to go.”
“Bye,” said Charlie, feeling helpless. Still, there was a part of Charlie that wanted to tell Kelly she wouldn’t be in this mess if she’d just gone home yesterday when Charlie had told her to.
Mac’s mom came out of the hallway next and pushed past Mr. Parker into the living room, shooting a disdainful glance at the man as she did so, like she’d spent more than enough time with him today. Mrs. Barnes was tall and slender, dressed in a sleek black pantsuit with a pinstriped, button-down blouse. Her skin was dark brown like Mac’s, and she wore her short hair in a natural afro. “Hello,” she said. “I’m Claudia Barnes. You must be Charlie.”
“Yes,” said Charlie. She glanced at Mac and then back to his mother. “I’m sorry about . . . everything.”
“Well, it’s over now,” said Mrs. Barnes. She peered at Maria. “I don’t see any fur.”
“I got the bracelet off. The simulator thing, I mean,” said Maria. “So it’s all gone now.”
