Ordinaries: Shifters Book II (Shifters series 2) (7 page)

Chapter 11

Santa Claus, a Reindeer, and a Wolf

–TANNER–

Normally I would be teasing my sister about her new boyfriend, Clay, but I am completely in awe of the rodent guy’s ship. I probably shouldn’t have judged him so quickly. Well . . . he is weird-looking and stutters. Who wouldn’t think he is stupid and useless?

I was totally wrong about him! He’s a genius!

I stare at the ship and find myself inside the metallic skin following a flowing, almost liquid, circuitry. I follow it along a path that looks more like a river with many streams leading to and from it. I end up stopping alongside a complex piece of art that resembles a colorful tree; the streams feed in and supply out through the roots.

I tell the stream to alter its course, and it does. It lifts and deepens to form a small pond.

I am startled when I feel a hand grip my arm. I look up to see Viktor’s face inches from mine.

“What are ya-ya-you doing?” Viktor snaps. “How did you d-do that?”

I stare at him, and I see that the ship has formed around us. We are hovering just above the ground.

I stammer, “What? I didn’t—”

Viktor pushes my arm away and says sharply to Gale, “You have a c-con-controller? You should have t-told me.”

I rub my arm. Geez! What did I do?

“The Wizard is not a t-toy,” he yells. “D-do you have any idea what you ca-could have d-d-d-done?”

“Hold on, Viktor,” Gale says, trying to calm his friend. “Tanner won’t break your ship.”

Viktor eyes me suspiciously. “Just what did you s-s-see, puny b-boy?”

Did the rodent guy just call me puny?

“It’s amazing,” I tell him. “You’re a genius.”

He straightens a little. “G-go on.”

“I’ve seen inside the Shifters’ ships that attacked, inside the controls,” I say to him, my eyes wide. “But what you’ve created . . . it’s way superior.”

He walks up to me and places his hand on my shoulder—which to him is an upward reach—and tells Gale, “I la-like this one. He can stay.” He puts his face inches from mine and quietly says, “You keep your m-mind out of Mona. She’s mine . . . you hear me?”

I nod at the little man.

“Mona,” Viktor says, standing as tall as possible.

“Yes, my love?” she answers immediately.

I see Gale roll his eyes.

“We are g-going to Siberia,” Viktor states.

“What is in Siberia, my sweet?” she says.

“I’ve found what we’re looking for,” he answers her with a sly smile.

Her expression changes to excitement. “The Series 1C? From the legends? I knew you would find it,” she gushes over him. “You are my hero.”

“Is this guy serious?” Ryland quietly snaps.

Kai stifles a laugh, and Clay nods his head saying, “Yes, that’s why we need him.”

“Earth coordinates 66.0392 by negative 170.517426,” Viktor tells the AI woman.

Mona looks ahead and rattles off, “Calculating for aircraft trajectories and airborne bio objects. Calculations complete. We shall arrive in exactly two minutes and twenty-eight seconds. Please take a comfortable seat, my precious.”

Gale gives Viktor an impressed look saying, “Two and a half minutes?”

“I have recalibrated the flight gravitational systems to allow for smoother speed transfers,” Viktor brags.

“Okay,” Ryland says sarcastically. “Don’t you think she’s a little much?”

I give her a puzzled look and say, “Are you kidding? She’s totally awesome.”

Kai nods in agreement, “She’s cool.”

Clay reluctantly agrees. “Yeah . . . I guess she’s pretty cool.” I think he’s still upset over the AI looking like his mom though.

“Are you kidding me?” Ryland says. “Look at her! And what’s up with all of the ‘Yes, my love’ and ‘my precious’ stuff?”

Mona appears directly in front of Ryland and tilts her head back and forth like a puppy trying to figure something out. “Is there something you don’t like about me?” Mona asks.

“Um . . . yeah,” Ryland says to her.

“Ry,” I say. “She’s just a computer.”

“Well,” Ryland says to me. “She doesn’t have to look like that and talk all disgustingly sugar-sweet all the time.”

“The way I look does not please you?” Mona asks with a concerned expression.

“Not really,” Ryland snaps at her.

“Maybe this is better?” Mona asks as she morphs into a perfect replica of Clay.

Clay’s eyes go wide as he gets a huge grin on his face. “Hey, that’s me.”

I stare and say, “Wow! That’s totally cool.”

“Or, maybe this form will please you more?” Mona says as she changes to an exact twin of Kai.

Ryland is taken back. She wrinkles her forehead and shakes her head saying, “Why do you think
that
would be better?”

“Based on your biometric patterns,” Mona says, still in the form of a Kai twin, “This form causes significant changes in your blood flow patterns, breathing, and body temperature.”

Ryland’s mouth is now hanging open.

“In humans these patterns suggest physical attraction,” Mona explains. “Do you not find it more pleasing?”

Kai tries to hide his smirk.

I can’t hide mine. “I knew it!” I blurt out. “You like him! You’re awesome, Mona!”

Ryland is now shaking her head violently. “I do
not
find it pleasing, and there’s definitely no physical stuff, or whatever you said!”

Mona changes back into her old form and states, “We have arrived in Siberia. Please be careful and come back soon. I will be waiting for you.”

Gale and Viktor get up and start heading out the door that has magically appeared along the wall. We all get up except for Ryland, who is now sitting with a scowl on her face and arms crossed over her chest.

I smirk and reach my hand out to her, teasing, “Come on, lover girl. Shall we disembark?”

Ryland huffs and ignores my hand, walking straight toward the door. “I don’t like this ship one bit. And Mona can suck it.”

I look around like this was the most fun ever and step off the ship into the cold wasteland of Siberia.

–RYLAND
–

Mona is a total little . . . Ugh! First, she’s all sweet to stupid, annoying Mole Man and actually enjoying his inane drivel. Then, she assumes she knows something about me and without even verifying if she is, in fact, correct she proceeds to tell everyone. And even if it were true, she has no right to tell anyone my business anyway.

I walk outside into the freezing cold snow. It’s July, people! What’s with this weather? Stupid, backwards country!

Immediately, Clay grabs my arm and pulls me to the side. I look around to see if anyone is paying attention, but everyone else is huddling around Viktor, who is looking at some tiny screen in his hand.

“I just wanted to say thank you,” Clay smiles at me.

“For what?” I ask, confused, completely thrown off by this unexpected gratitude.

He shrugs. “Oh, and I don’t mind a challenge.” His smirk widens, and he winks at me.

“Umm . . . Excuse me?” I stammer.

“Kai,” Clay shrugs, casting a playful look at our companions. “You two aren’t together, so I don’t mind if you like him. I don’t mind a little healthy competition.”

I’m flabbergasted. “I-I don’t like Kai,” I manage.

Clay shrugs again. “Either way, I don’t mind.”

Then he leans forward out of nowhere and kisses me. It isn’t some super-romantic world-altering, time-stopping kiss. It was just a peck on the lips, but it is still my first kiss.

Yes, it’s my first kiss. Just because I happen to be popular doesn’t mean that I go around kissing every boy that asks me out. Don’t look so surprised.

Then Clay sprints the twenty or so yards to Mole Man’s posse without another word. He just kisses me and runs away.

I stand there completely stunned. In the freezing cold snow in Siberia, I am completely at a loss for words. What’s happening to my life?

One minute I was a completely normal middle school girl with parents and a family. Next thing I know, I’m some kind of superhero spoken about in a prophecy who has to travel the universe to fight a war for the sake of all mankind—and alienkind for that matter! Now I’m in Siberia, getting kissed by a boy I just met, who happens to be an alien orphan who has the unique ability to pilot space ships.

Yeah, my life is messed up.

Alas, there is nothing to be done about it, so I trudge forward to catch up with the group. I’ll need to figure out this Clay stuff later. Now, we need to find an ancient alien ship in the middle of this barren wasteland.

“Hmmm,” Mole Man is mumbling. “According to my calculations, it should be right here . . .”

Gale shrugs. “Maybe it’s been moved. Or even destroyed. It has been thousands of years.”

Viktor shakes his head. “The radiation signals in this area are right. The ship is active.”

“Wait,” I say, and everyone turns to look at me as if they’ve all forgotten I exist. Clay tilts his head to one side and grins at me. “Ummm . . .” I stutter, thrown off yet again. “This thing is on? After thousands of years?”

Viktor nods, waving his hand at me to silence me, as if this detail is not important.

“If it’s on,” I say even louder, drawing his annoyed attention back to myself. “Doesn’t that mean that there will be Keepers nearby guarding the artifact? Otherwise, it would have deactivated millennia ago.”

Kai nods, eyes suddenly alert to our surroundings. Mole Man swallows as if he has just realized that the donuts he was chowing down on are poisoned. Tanner nods at me, agreeing with my apt assessment as though I needed confirmation I am a total genius.

“Viktor,” Gale says quickly. “I want you to search the web for any businesses, homes, or buildings in the area. The Keepers will try to cover their tracks, make this some sort of legitimate destination.”

Viktor nods and returns his attention to the device in his hands. After several long minutes he says, “There is a reindeer farm three kilometers east of this location.”

“A reindeer farm?” Tanner asks, stunned. “Reindeer are real? Like, Santa Claus?”

“They can’t fly,” Gale answers genuinely, not even a hint of sarcasm at Tanner’s idiocy. He would have been a good dad. “But yes, reindeer are real.”

“Well, I think we’ve located the ship,” I say.

“Let’s go,” Clay says, hiking east through the snow.

“Ummm . . . Can’t we fly?” I complain. I may not like Mona, but I don’t feel like trudging through the snow for three miles.

“Straight to a Keeper outpost?” Kai raises his eyebrows at me. “Yeah, that sounds like a great plan.”

I groan. So, we’re walking then. You know, leaving the technologically advanced ship and all its weapons here in the middle of nowhere to go to an enemy camp. Yay!

The walk is quiet and awkward. I know I should talk to Clay about exactly what he thinks is going on, but . . . I feel like that conversation should probably be a private one. Also, I’m not sure how I feel about what happened.

I mean . . . Clay is attractive with his surfer boy good looks and strangely upbeat attitude despite everything he’s gone through. He’s also strange, though. I still don’t understand if he was manipulating Viktor when he told me about his mom or if he genuinely wanted me to know. Plus . . . nothing. Now just may not be a great time for me to start a relationship, with the war and all. Although, I may never get another chance.

Life is complicated.

It seems like we’ve been walking for hours. Even with gloves on, it feels as though I no longer have any fingers. I think my toes rotted off years ago. Did I ever have toes?

That’s when, out of nowhere, I’m tackled to the ground. I scream. Fur and teeth are flashing before my eyes.

I’m being attacked by a wolf!

Then, the wolf licks my face. I pull back, and I see the cutest dog in the entire world. It is the fluffiest looking husky I have ever seen. It wags its white tail rapidly back and forth, excited to see me.

Then, I notice that we are surrounded by huge, hulking animals. Reindeer.

We must have arrived while I wasn’t paying attention.

I turn to Tanner, “Can we keep him?”

Chapter 12

We Make a Deal with a Really Bad Guy

–TANNER–

Of course I know about Santa Claus, but I always thought the reindeer part was make-believe too. Now I know that not only are they real, they are huge!

Ryland is rolling around on the ground with this dog. I have to admit he is cute, but she actually wants to keep it. How in the world are we supposed to take care of a dog? Seriously? We don’t even really have a house anymore. Aren’t we about to take these ships we are looking for and travel through space or something? It may be a little difficult to take the dog out to, you know, when we’re not even on a planet.

“Ry,” I say, trying not to let her know it’s the stupidest idea ever. “We can’t have a dog when we’re—”
“I know,” she says, sounding deflated. She scrunches her face all up and puckers her lips saying to the animal, “You’re just the cutest, aren’t you?” She squishes the dog’s face against hers so they are both looking right at me and says with her lips still puckered, “He’s so fluffy. You’re so fluffy; I could just die. We will call you Fluffy McFlufferson.”

“Ry . . . we’re not keeping him,” I tell her sternly. “Besides, he probably belongs to someone.”

She gets up all disappointed and says to the dog, who’s now rubbing against her, “Mean Mr. Tan Man won’t let you come with us.” She starts to walk toward me and waves her hand at the husky dog saying, “Bye, McFlufferson,” and turns to head my way.

We have to run to catch up with the others because of our little K9 rendezvous. We meet up with the group just as Gale throws his hand up stopping all of us. Just past the trees there’s a small shack with a stream of smoke rising from the chimney.

We duck behind the trees as Gale and Viktor survey the scene.

Clay whispers, “Who’s your friend?” nodding his head to the side.

I turn around and see the dog has followed us, about ten feet back. “Awesome,” I say under my breath.

Ryland gets a big smile on her face and pats her leg whispering, “Come here, Fluffy.”

The dog runs to her. Clay starts petting him and smiling right along with my idiot sister.

“Get that dog out of here,” Kai whispers sternly. “If there are Keepers here, he’s gonna get us killed.”

Finally, the voice of reason. We need to ditch this dog!

“Get down,” Gale whispers. “There’s someone out there.”

We all huddle down and Gale says, “I’ll go and talk to him. We might as well find out if we’re in the right place.”

“I’ll go,” Viktor says.

“No,” Gale whispers sternly. “We need you. We can’t spare a pilot.”

Viktor raises his eyebrows and says, “You speak Russian?”

Okay. The rodent guy has a point. Gale reluctantly agrees, so Viktor stands and starts walking into the clearing.

Viktor steps into the middle of the field and shouts to a figure in front of the shack. Don’t ask me what he says or what the other guy responds. I can hear them, but it’s all in Russian. It must be going well since Viktor walks right up to the guy, and they share an awkward hug.

We are all in a trance watching Viktor and this stranger greet each other like old friends when a voice from behind says, “I believe we may have got off on the wrong foot.”

I swing around to see Carl Marques in a snowsuit. There are six other guys with him in matching snow gear holding automatic weapons.

Okay. I just have to stop here to say we are the worst secret agents ever! Seriously, how did none of us ever think to look behind us?

Totally lame.

“You followed us?” I ask.

“I didn’t have to follow anybody,” he says smugly. “It was either here or Rome so I flipped a coin.”

Rome? I look at Gale who looks like he just solved a Sudoku he’s been working on for months.

“We won’t help you,” Kai spits.

“What does he mean?” Gale asks.

Kai shakes his head and tells Gale, “Let’s just say we know we’re in the right place.”

Marques smiles and says, “Let’s join your little friend over there, and I think you’ll change your mind.”

We look over to see Viktor on his knees with two guys pointing guns at him.

Worst secret agents ever!

They lead us all to the shack, which is surprisingly warm and spacious. They make us sit on these amazing couches, and the dog sits at Ryland’s feet. The couch is so comfortable, and so out of place in this wasteland. From the outside this place is a shack. On the inside it has everything, like a real American house. So weird!

Marques pulls up a chair and sits right in front of us. He looks behind him and says, “Those won’t be necessary. Put them down.”

The armed guys eye us suspiciously and slowly lower their weapons. Marques nods and they lean them against the wall.

“There,” Marques says. “As I said before, we all want the same thing.”

“And that is?” Ryland asks pointedly.

“Despite what you think you know, it’s not you. And it’s certainly not children,” he replies.

“Why should we believe you?” Kai asks. “You were gonna have us executed.”

“Just a little incentive, my boy,” Marques says apologetically. “You just needed a little push. To do what’s right.”

“What’s right?” Kai spits.

Kai looks like he’s about to shift and take all of them out. Normally, I would agree with him, but I start to think maybe Marques has something to offer. After all, they are trained agents. They must have people all over the world. We are just a bunch of kids and a handful of adults. Running off all on our own may not be the smartest plan.

“Kai!” I yell. “Just listen.” I turn toward Marques and ask, “What do you want?”

Carl Marques gets serious. “I want to protect this planet. I want to take the fight as far from here, from our families, as possible. I want to take the fight to Gaia.”

Kai stands and tells him, “Not with us, you won’t!”

I have to stop this. I stand up and yell, “Shut up, Kai!”

Kai looks stunned. I’m actually stunned. Did I really yell at Kai? And for not wanting to work with Marques, the guy who slaughtered his parents like animals? I guess I did. War makes monsters of men, so we may need some monsters of our own.

“He’s right!” I yell. Kai is about to argue, but I cut him off. “Do you really think we’re ready to take this on ourselves? Us? We’re going to bring down the empire? This isn’t a movie, Kai. This is real. And we need help.” I look at Marques and say, “Take us to the ship.”

–RYLAND–

So, Tanner has suddenly turned into Marques’s little cheerleader. Ew! I just got a mental picture of Tanner in a red, white, and blue cheerleading uniform. Yuck!

I really don’t get it. Marques went from trying to kill us to needing our help, so we’re just going to trust him? He’s undoubtedly planning to use us,
then
brutally murder us. He’ll probably kill Fluffy, too. Evil psychopath.

“Why should we trust you?” I say, shoving Tanner’s gullible butt behind me.

Marques shrugs. “I don’t particularly care if you and your . . . friends trust me.”

“Well, that’s convincing,” Kai says, shooting a death glare at Tanner.

“We both need the same thing,” Tanner says. “Ships.”

“I say we kill Marques and take the ships,” I casually propose, raising one eyebrow at Marques. “Wanna take on some Shifters?”

“Ry!” Tanner snaps.

“Let’s go!” Kai shouts.

“Fine,” Marques says evenly. “Bring in the boy.”

The door opens, and Bryce is shoved into the room.

“Tanner?” Bryce asks, blinking his eyes like he doesn’t believe what’s happening. “Ryland?”

“Holding our brother hostage is supposed to make us
trust
you?” I snap sarcastically.

“No,” Marques says patiently, “Returning him to you is supposed to make you trust me.”

I lock eyes with Bryce then turn back to Marques. “Fine, where is the ship?”

Viktor’s eyes grow huge, showing his excitement.

“Follow me,” Marques says, turning down a long hall.

Unlike the cozy cottage feel of the living area we were just in, the hall feels sterile like a hospital. It seems like that creepy scene from
ET
where all the guys in biohazard suits show up and put the family in isolation. Of course, the Keepers would have kept the ship in some spooky containment facility. It couldn’t just be peacefully hidden in the forest with Disney-esque birds singing and foxes dancing with bunnies.

So, we are heading downward into this underground cavern and I can tell we are getting close because the sterile white and stainless steel walls are replaced by natural rock formations. The floor slopes more acutely, and I worry that I may slide in my ice-covered boots.

Clay takes my arm to steady me. Kai’s eyes stare hard at our interlocked arms, but he doesn’t make a sound. I smile gratefully at Clay, but my stomach ties itself in knots.

The hall makes a sharp turn, and my breath catches in my throat. Suddenly, Viktor is squealing so high-pitched that I am forced to cover my ears.

Again.

We are staring at a huge cavern the size of Mount Kilimanjaro. In the center is a huge, circular orb. Its sides are covered in sparkling dust, shimmering like fireflies.

“That’s a ship?” I say, raising my eyebrows at Marques as if he has tricked us.

He is answering, but I can’t hear him. I realize that I am still covering my ears and quickly pull my hands away, pretending that I haven’t been covering them like a small child throwing a tantrum.

“—one of the original ships, according to history. The second-ever colony ship, in fact,” Marques says. “We have not been able to figure out how to open it.”

“This is extremely advanced,” Viktor breathes out in complete awe.

“Advanced?” I say. “Isn’t this thing supposed to be like a thousand years old?”

Gale clears his throat. “These ships were prototypes created to colonize worlds. When they never heard back, the designs were abandoned.” Gale shrugs. “It’s quite possible they are more advanced than current Gaian technology.”

“Well, do you know how to control it, genius?” Kai snaps at Viktor.

Viktor grins. “I d-designed Mona off of the specs I had d-discovered hacking into the K-Keeper systems once reaching Earth. She is, of course, a much more advanced model, but I believe that the same principles apply here.”

“Wait,” Marques says, “You have designed a ship like this.” His greedy eyes sparkle and crackle like fireworks.

I feel a shiver crawling up my spine. “No,” I lie quickly. “Mona is just a design. Of course he hasn’t been able to build something like this. Mona is a theory.”

Viktor starts to interrupt, but Clay elbows him in the side to shut him up.

Marques watches the exchange like a starving stray dog eyes a small child eating a cheeseburger. I’m not leaving Viktor alone with this predator for one single instant. He’d eat Mole Man alive in nothing flat.

Viktor claps. “L-let’s see what this thing can d-do.”