Project Chimera

by Lisa McMann

  The hecklers started bumping into people around them, and the people shoved back. Things began to escalate.

  Kelly looked at Silas, who was trying not to appear concerned for the sake of the internet audience, but Charlie could tell he wasn’t liking where things were going. A security guard approached the hecklers, but they began pushing through the crowd to get away from him. Silas walked over to Kelly. “Look,” he said in her ear, “it might calm them down if you climb the wall. Can you do it or not?” Her mike picked up everything.

  Kelly expelled a shocked breath and she blustered, “What I just did was pretty incredible.”

  “It was incredible, obviously, but they think it’s a trick.”

  Kelly stepped away from the wall and her face turned from spotted to beet red, matching her shirt. “I’m not, um . . . equipped for the climbing ability right now,” said Kelly, forgetting to keep her voice down.

  “Or ever,” muttered Charlie, who kept alternating between sympathy for and anger at the girl.

  Kelly blustered some more, trying to turn the blame on Silas. “These things take concentration! Maybe if you could have given me more time to prepare, but no, you just had to send your people out to Arizona to get me today before the other networks could have me on . . . so it’s not my fault.”

  The hecklers were being caged in by the audience. Others trying to get out of the way pushed onto the stage.

  “Well, we’ll certainly get the views once word gets out about this audience,” he said.

  Charlie and Mac stared in shocked silence as one of the hecklers broke loose and stumbled onto the stage. “You’re a fraud!” he shouted to Kelly before a guard tackled him. “This whole show is rigged.”

  “I am not a fraud!” Kelly shrank back as more security guards came in from outside to stop the brawl. A look of horror grew on her face. “Make this stop,” she whispered softer to Silas.

  People in the audience started shouting at the hecklers, “Leave her alone! She’s just a kid!”

  “All right, everyone!” Silas finally yelled into his microphone. He raised a hand in the air, trying to gain control and salvage the show. “Thank you, Kelly! Let’s give the kid a hand.” When that didn’t get the audience’s attention, Silas took Kelly by the arm. “Come on,” he said with a forced smile, searching for his stagehands. “Let’s help her find the way out.” He started pulling her by the wrist, his hand on her device. The camera zoomed in.

  “Don’t touch that! Let go of me!” cried Kelly, wrenching away. “I can walk by myself.”

  Charlie gasped. It seemed so obvious to her that the bracelet was the reason for everything, but she knew that was just because she knew about it. And with her dad’s life depending on it staying a secret, she knew she was overly focused on it. But still . . . “This is a disaster,” she whispered.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Mac insisted. “Look, she’s almost offstage. It’s practically over. Nobody is going to make the connection to the bracelet, Charlie—trust me.”

  “Okay,” Charlie said weakly.

  Just then two stagehands ran up and grabbed on to Kelly’s arms to speed up her exit. The three started pushing her backstage.

  “I told you to get away from me!” she yelled, kicking out when they lifted her off her feet. “Keep your hands off my bracelet!” She pulled her arm away and quickly punched the device’s screen.

  “Nooo!” cried Charlie, falling back into her pillows and clutching her head in despair.

  But Kelly wasn’t done. With no warning two spikes appeared on her heels. She slammed one into Silas’s thigh as hard as she could and pulled it out. He screamed and let go of her, falling to the floor. Kelly stared. The stagehands left her and rushed to help him. Silas stopped moving, but he didn’t stop screaming.

  “Shut it down! Shut it down!” cried the producer to the camera operators.

  Kelly stepped backward, watching Silas in horror, then looked at the bloody spike on her heel. Before anybody could come after her, she turned and ran backstage to the exit, and disappeared out into the world.

  CHAPTER 33

  On the Run

  Charlie was aghast. “She said ‘bracelet.’ And she pressed on it to activate those spikes—whatever they were. There’s no way people won’t notice that. And what the heck did she do to Silas? This is horrible!” She couldn’t believe it. Was Dr. Gray watching? Maybe Mac was right and he wouldn’t see it, at least not right away. But the news would get out. “I’ll be right back,” she said to Mac. “Don’t hang up.”

  Charlie grabbed the laptop and ran to wake her mother. Quickly she told her what had happened and handed the computer to her so she could replay the show. Then Charlie went back to her room to grab her phone. “I’m back,” she said.

  Mac was still there, clicking on his iPad on the other end. “Poison, I’ll bet,” he muttered. “Not from her mouth, though, like snake fangs. Her heels? What animal has poisonous heels?” He typed some more and then said, “Ahh.”

  “What is it?” asked Charlie.

  “Platypus,” said Mac, almost in disbelief. “So dolphin, platypus, and whatever that camouflage thing was. Wow.”

  “Is the camera still rolling?” asked Charlie. “I can’t believe this just happened.”

  “There are now twenty-seven million viewers and counting,” reported Mac. He was quiet a moment, then said, “Insane.”

  “Seriously.”

  “I mean about the platypus. I had no idea they had poisonous spurs on the backs of their feet. And it’s only the males that have them.” He snickered.

  Charlie sighed. “Mac, focus. Kelly could have killed that guy.” The thought made her stomach hurt. Charlie went back to her mom’s room. She hovered near the door so her conversation with Mac wouldn’t interfere with her mom’s ability to hear the show.

  “He’s still screaming,” said Mac. “That’s a good sign that he’s not dead.” He typed some more, then said, “No reported human deaths from platypus venom, but get this—not even morphine can take the excruciating pain away. It lasts for weeks, and can paralyze small animals. Wow.”

  “Where do you think she went?”

  “I don’t know, but people aren’t going to like her after this. Silas Beck has some pretty crazy obsessed fans.”

  “I hope she’s okay.” Charlie bit her lip. She’d done her share of injuring soldiers, but that was very different from what had just happened to an internet star on live broadcast in front of millions of people.

  “Yeah,” said Mac solemnly, and the clicking stopped. “I do too. Did Maria ever reply?”

  “No.”

  “I’ll check in with her in the morning,” said Mac.

  “Cool. Let me know if Kelly tries contacting her or anything. . . . I don’t think me texting her directly will do any good, do you?”

  “Not after what she said about you last time.”

  “Did Kelly’s mom pick up when you called?”

  “Yeah. She was shocked that Kelly was on the show but grateful for the tip. They’re going to try to track her down.”

  “Good.” Charlie glanced at her mom, who was glued to the screen with a look of consternation on her face. “I can’t stand this,” Charlie said. “It’s giving me a stomachache. I’m ready for this to be over.”

  “Me too. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

  “Yeah, around ten. My mom’s going to fill us in on the plan once Ms. Sabbith gets back.” She paused and cringed, overhearing the hecklers coming from her laptop. “She’s watching now. I’ll let you know if anything changes.”

  “Okay.”

  They hung up. Charlie watched her mom from the doorway for a moment, then decided she didn’t want to hear again how it all ended and went to her room to wait. She climbed into bed and glanced at her device. She hadn’t noticed that it had grown warm during the horrifying events on the show, and now she saw that, ironically, the gecko was animated. Too bad Kelly couldn’t have used Charlie’s ability remotely. Maybe
then the whole device-revealing, platypus-stabbing incident wouldn’t have happened.

  Despite the excitement it was now after midnight and Charlie’s eyelids were heavy. She shrank down and rolled to her side, promising herself she’d just take a nap for a couple of minutes until her mom came in.

  The next thing she knew, it was morning.

  CHAPTER 34

  The Chase Is On

  Three soldiers charged into Victor Gray’s office early Saturday morning, waking the scientists with a start. They began untying them.

  “What’s going on?” asked Charles.

  “Another meeting,” said Braun with a snort. He helped the others finish untying Jack and Quinn.

  “Has something happened?” Charles asked.

  “Something with the girl,” said Cyke. “I’m not sure what.”

  Worried, Charles grabbed his lab coat, taking a quick peek to make sure the dragonfly was still in place, and put it on. The soldiers escorted the scientists out of Dr. Gray’s office and to the lab, where everyone else was already gathered around.

  As soon as there was silence, Victor tapped on a keyboard and pointed to a monitor. A show began playing.

  Ten minutes later Dr. Gray stopped the video, abruptly interrupting Silas Beck’s screams. He went back a minute or two and replayed the moment where Kelly Parker clicked on her device and spikes emerged from her heels. Then he stopped it again.

  Charles and Quinn exchanged a look of horror. Victor stared at them and Jack. No one spoke for a long moment. Then Charles sighed. “Victor,” he said softly. “I know you’re thinking people will notice that she’s using a device to activate her powers. I understand your concern. You think she’ll tell people how she obtained the bracelet. After all, she’s not trying to hide it. But even if she says something, that doesn’t change the fact that Kelly still doesn’t know where we are. She can’t lead anyone to us.” He glanced at the soldiers, then added, “And I know how badly you want us to finish our work and how you don’t want to waste any more time by having to move somewhere else.”

  Victor rolled his fingers on the table and looked at Charles. “You know me well. But there’s an easy solution to this problem.”

  “Is there?” Charles glanced at his fellow scientists, a feeling of dread building inside him. What was Victor plotting now?

  “Yes,” he said. He turned to his soldiers. “Braun, Cyke, and Mega, I want you three to go find Kelly Parker and bring her to me.” He rubbed his hands together almost gleefully. “Then she won’t be able to tell anyone anything.” His eyes narrowed and his expression softened. “Only take her by force if necessary. First I want you to try to convince her to join us willingly. What she did with those poison spurs was . . . well, remarkable. Wasn’t it?” He looked at Charles.

  Charles’s stomach churned. He didn’t know what to say. Not long ago Victor had told Charles that he would never stoop to experiment on children. Now he was talking about abducting one like it was an ordinary thing. The man was growing more irrational by the day. Charles had to play along, as much as he despised doing so—he had to keep Dr. Gray thinking that he was trustworthy so escaping would be easier. “Yes,” he said faintly. “Remarkable.”

  “She’ll make a great soldier. An excellent addition to our team.” Victor smiled wanly and peered at the others. “Come on,” he barked, and clapped his hands sharply. “What are you waiting for? Find her! And don’t come back without her. The rest of you hurry down to finish breakfast and get ready for a full day’s work!”

  The three largest soldiers set off to track down Kelly, while the others scattered after Dr. Gray, down the stairs to the floor below. The scientists suddenly found themselves without their usual escorts, alone in the lab except for Zed, who stayed back to guard the door.

  Quinn gripped Charles’s arm and motioned for the men to follow her to their workstations. “Change of plans,” she said under her breath. “We have to make our move. Today, while the big monsters are gone. It’s our best chance. Can you let Diana and the kids know?”

  “They can probably hear us now if they’re watching,” said Charles in a low voice. “Do you think they’d be there yet?”

  “It’s early. Probably not yet. Should we try for this evening?”

  Jack shook his head slightly. “I’m afraid the goons might be back with Kelly by then. We need to go as soon as possible. Like when the first group is eating lunch at noon.”

  Quinn stopped at her station and glanced at Zed, who was glaring at them. Quinn nodded slightly to the other scientists and didn’t say anything else.

  Jack went to his station and Charles to his, and they focused on their work. Soon the soldiers began trickling into the lab. Whenever there was a distraction at the door, the scientists confirmed their plans.

  Once they’d figured out what they were going to do, Charles saw Miko talking quietly to Dr. Gray and preparing to go somewhere. Dr. Gray shrugged and nodded and waved her off, then headed out toward his office. Before Miko could leave for her mysterious destination, Charles flagged her down, telling her he needed a restroom break. She took him and bounced around impatiently outside the door while Charles secretly confirmed the change of plans through the dragonfly camera.

  When he was finished, Miko brought him back to the lab. Once he went inside, she took off running down the hallway and leaping over the banister of the stairwell, quickly climbing down. She went outside, crossed the street, and climbed on top of that building. And then she waited, smiling to herself.

  She hadn’t noticed the cardinal.

  CHAPTER 35

  Coming Together

  When Charlie came downstairs in her pajamas, Mrs. Wilde looked up from her coffee and the newspaper. “Good morning,” she said. Her face was drawn and her eyes weary, but she smiled.

  “I fell asleep before you finished,” Charlie said, feeling anxious. “Did you watch all of it?”

  “Yes. That was pretty horrifying. Are you okay?”

  Charlie nodded. “I think so. Did you notice that Kelly mentioned the bracelet and then you could see her use it to activate the spikes in her heels? I’m worried about Dad. Do you think Dr. Gray watched it? What’s he going to do to him?”

  Mrs. Wilde held her hand up to stop the barrage of questions. “First, do you really think Dr. Gray watches LIVE, TONIGHT?” she assured her. “Chances are he won’t hear about it until today. And second, like your dad said to Dr. Gray the other day, this still doesn’t mean Kelly can lead anyone to him. She doesn’t even know his name, does she?”

  “Well, no,” Charlie admitted. “I don’t think so.”

  “And we’re not going to tell Kelly where they are, are we?”

  “No,” Charlie said again. She felt a little bit better.

  “I’ve already talked with Ms. Sabbith this morning. She agrees we should stick to the plan. She said Dad is good at talking to Dr. Gray. He’ll calm him down if anything happens. Remember, Dr. Gray needs your dad—he’s not going to hurt him as long as he still needs him.”

  Charlie sighed, relieved. “Okay.” She got some breakfast and sat down at the table. “What about that show host guy, Silas—he didn’t, like, die or anything, did he?”

  “No, he’s stable in the hospital. Sounds like there’s nothing they can do for him but have him ride it out.”

  “What are the LIVE, TONIGHT people going to do to Kelly?”

  “I don’t know. But it’s pretty clear to me from the footage that they were handling her roughly before the encounter, which made me really angry. She was acting in self-defense. Besides, she’s disappeared. They’ll have to find her first.” Mrs. Wilde leaned over and smoothed Charlie’s hair out of her face. “Do you have any idea what sort of animal the spikes came from?”

  “Mac thinks it’s a platypus.”

  “Those cute little things? It’s hard to believe such a friendly-looking creature could do that much harm.”

  “You just never know with animals,” Charlie said.
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  “That’s for sure.” Mrs. Wilde stood up. “I’m going to get ready. Alejandra texted that they’re on the way home.”

  “I’ll get ready in a minute.” She gave her mom an impromptu hug.

  Mrs. Wilde smiled and held Charlie tightly. “Thanks, kiddo,” she said. “I needed that.”

  “Me too,” said Charlie.

  As she got ready, Charlie thought about the interesting week—not only the drama but also her relationship with her mother. Charlie felt closer to her than she’d felt in a long time. The resentment she’d had over how much her mother was working had dissipated. All this craziness had forced them to be together so much . . . and they’d found they actually really liked it. But would it last? Once Andy was home and her dad was safe and her mom went back to her crazy hospital schedule, things would go back to normal. It would almost feel bittersweet if Charlie didn’t want her dad back so badly.

  Andy, wearing an extreme tan and smelling like a campfire among other things, couldn’t stop talking on the way to Maria’s. He told them all about his trip, even the parts he’d mentioned before, and about his favorite adventures they’d done. “There’s way cooler stuff in Arizona than in Chicago,” he declared.

  Charlie tried to listen to everything he said, but her mind kept going back to the now familiar worry about Dr. Gray. She really just wanted to hurry and pick up Mac and Maria and get to home base so they could see if anything had happened.

  Mrs. Wilde filled in Andy on what was going on with their dad. Then she asked casually, “Did you hear what happened with Kelly?”

  “No,” said Andy. “What?”

  “She sort of became famous overnight.”

  “For what?”

  “She used her device’s powers to save some teenagers from drowning, and she got interviewed, and that went viral, and then she went on some late show and now the world knows about her.” Mrs. Wilde left out the violent parts.

  “Why did she do a dumb thing like that? We’re not supposed to talk about the bracelets!”