“Thanks,” Bella says. “She’s a great friend!”
“I wish you could come home Calico, but the Morph Controllers have been guarding the house ever since that night. Your father and I have been taking turns staying at home with the kids. It’s been so depressing since you’ve left. Nothing is like it used to be.”
“I’ll be home soon. We just need to stop these people.”
My mother smiles at me. “Your father will be here tomorrow. Not in the school, but at the electricity center. You can visit him then. You should go back now. You’re staying at the Visitor Center, right?” I nod. “You both should go back and get some rest. I’ll see you in a few days. Maybe I’ll bring Aurelian. She’ll be so excited to see you. I will work at the library then.”
“I would like that.”
“Good night, dear.”
“Good night.” Bella and I go back to the Visitor Center a little happier.
“Your mother seems nice.” Bella says as we walk in the lobby.
“Yeah, she’s great.”
Chapter 22
I wake up with the feeling of vulnerability covering me. My heart panics for some unknown reason for August, but then I remember he’s in the next room. Then I remember I’m in the Western City and no longer in the forest. I’m safe, but still think I’m not. I fully awake and get dressed in the clothes that are in the dresser by the door. I pick out a random grey sweatshirt and jeans and think about everything. It feels nice to be in a building again with beds and clean clothes.
I go down to breakfast and meet up with Bella. She seems to be six inches taller than usual. I look down at her shoes and see leopard print wedge ankle boots with faux fur. Her outfit isn’t much better. Black skater skirt with a leopard print button-up shirt. Her hair is curled, and her eye shadow is metallic gold. I think she went a little crazy with her freedom this morning.
“Morning Cali! Where’s August?” Bella asks through her perfect, bright red lips.
“I don’t know. I just got up.” I say and walk down the hall to the cafeteria. I feel a little awkward for some unknown reason. Maybe because we’re not at my home in the wilderness where I feel more comfortable. It might also be that Bella doesn’t remotely look like the Bella I knew in the forest. And wearing shoes might be a little awkward for me too.
The visitor building is huge. Around 211 floors. The dining floor is almost empty. Only a few small groups here and there are at tables. Bella and I go to the buffet counter and take as much as our plates can hold. It’s nice to just pick from many options of food, rather than going to go find something in the forest when you’re starving.
The dinning floor is huge, but elegant in the new, modern style. The floors are a two-toned light wood while the walls are a mocha brown with green squares around. Round glass and dark tables and chairs sit around too.
Bella and I sit by the window, stuffing our faces. It’s been so long since I’ve had food like this.
“Hey guys,” August says, walking over to us a few minutes later. “Sorry, I had to talk to my dad. He was all mad about me leaving the city and all and went off on me for like twenty minutes.”
“Your dad’s here?” Bella asks. “And I thought they kicked you out?”
“Yeah. He works in one building over” she gestures to the right. “The people who own this building told him I was here. And they kicked me out. Well, he and my stepmom. But just out of the house, apparently. Not out of the city. I don’t know. My parents are confusing.”
What do I say? Anything I think of sounds wrong. Do I say sorry? That’s too bad? Is there anything we can do? Anything? Is there anything that won’t sound stupid coming from me? I guess not, so I’ll stay quiet. August and I lock eyes again, but I quickly look away when I feel my face turning red.
“Excuse me, but are you the newcomers?” A girl who looks around twenty walks over to us. Her dress is a sunset gold color. I like it. We all nod at her. “Great, the Western City Mayor would like to see you right away. Follow me.” She turns right around and walks out of the room.
She’s lucky I’m finished eating, I think in my head.
We follow her downstairs into the lobby then out into the street where a long, bulky black car sits. I know what a limo is because of my parents, but this isn’t like one. It’s too tall and clunky looking. Almost like a limo, SUV mix.
We stop in front of it. “The mayor lives not too far away. But be on your best behavior. And… are those the nicest clothes you have?”
“We just came from living in the forest. We don’t have any dress-up cloths! These aren’t even ours.” August says. Although, he knows how to say angry things in calm words. If that makes any sense.
“Well, I guess it must do. Come on. He has a meeting in a half hour. He wanted to meet you before then. He likes to meet all new Morphs who arrive.”
We all climb in the car and drive away through the maze of the Western City. I can’t really see the sky from all the freakishly tall glass buildings, but a few spots here and there flash a bit of blue at me. Blue and grey. A few little raindrops fall on the windshield but are hardly noticeable. I sit by August, and we lock eyes a few times.
“Why does he want to see us?” August asks, finally looking away from my eyes.
“I’m not sure. He never tells me. He just ordered me to come get you.” The girl looks straight ahead as the car zips in and out of the traffic. “And, like I said, he likes to meet all the new Morphs who arrive in the City, just so he can know them and make them feel more welcomed.”
“Do you get a lot of Morphs from outside of the city?” Bella asks.
“Not much, but enough to notice. They come from the forest and then come to us hoping for safety like you three.”
We turn onto a road with no shops and drive down it until we get to large iron gates. They open as we drive up to them, then close as we drive up to a huge roundabout with a tall gold fountain. The mansion is incredible! I’ve never seen such a beautiful home! White and golden bricks build up the sides while colossal white doors are in front. The lawn and hedges are trimmed to perfection.
When we stop, someone walks down the steps from the mansion. The mayor of the Western City? No, he’s not wearing any elegant or formal clothing. Can’t be the mayor.
“Hello,” he says as August, Bella, and I step out of the car. “Follow me, please.” He never tells us his name as he leads us in the mansion and through a set of maze-like halls.
We arrive at double black doors not to long after. We go in the room and find the mayor sitting at a dark golden desk. The room holds nothing more but the desk and two black armchairs in front of it. Black and white pictures of the city hang about on the eggshell walls, but only two or three.
“Welcome you three. I’m Mayor Hall,” he says in a loud, proud voice. “I wanted to speak with you before I go off to my meeting.”
I nod a small nod but stay quiet and let August do all the talking.
“What do you need to see us for?” August asks.
“I wanted to say congratulations on getting here! I know it’s hard to be in the forest right now. Or anywhere!” he gives a weak smile. “But, since you are here, I want you to know that you have protection now. You don’t have to worry about being hunted anymore.”
“You know we’re Morphs?” Bella asks.
The mayor nods. “Yes. The manager at the Visitor Building told me.”
I should be mad, but I just feel vulnerable again. I don’t enjoy having people tell other people what I am without my permission. But it is the mayor, so I guess it’s okay. Maybe?
“I have been making plans all week to stop the Southern City, but they keep getting stronger. Soon all the Morphs will be gone,” the Mayor shakes his head. “Sad times we are in. All this happening in just a few days too. But! I have been making plans and so far, I have found nothing wrong with them! I have gathered an army.”
“An army? Of soldiers?” August asks.
“Yes. They are all hi
ghly trained for missions like this. Look,” the mayor points to his desk where a wide piece of paper is sprawled out with lines and dots and markings all over it. Like a map. “This is us, the Western City, and this is the Southern City.” The mayor points to two large areas on the map. The two cities. “We will fly over here and walk the rest of the way to the Southern City,” he points to the halfway mark between the cities. “Once we’re there, half the soldiers will attack the guards on the western side of the fence then the rest of the soldiers will barge in and attack the rest of the guards. A few soldiers will come in later when there're fewer guards and go for Mayor Zara.”
My head is spinning with all the information I’m getting. But honestly, I’m not really paying attention. He’d lost me the first time he said army. I was never the girl who was interested in learning about military stuff. Our father would tell us stories when we were little, of when he was in the Southern City army, before all of us were born and before he met our mother. However, I would listen with fascination at his stories.
“So, just so I’m clear, your plan is to sneak up on the Southern City and attack them? Then go for the mayor?” Bella asks.
“Yes. Although, if you have a better plan, I’m all ears.” The mayor gives a life-less laugh than looks back down at the map.
I know the plan, but will it work? It sounds okay to me, but I’m the worst with plans like these. Probably because I’ve lived in the woods my entire life, but still.
“How big is your army?” August asks, looking at the map with serious concentration.
“Over 1 million soldiers. Although the thing that worries me is that the Southern City has over 2 million, and over 100 thousand in training.”
My eyes widen with the numbers. Over 2 million people in just the army of the Southern City? Gosh!
“That’s a lot.” August says, adding some business-like tone to his voice. He sounds like he’s serious about this plan. Like he’s part of it.
“Yes, but we’ll manage. Our technology companies are ahead of the Southern City, so we get all the new gadgets before they do.”
I lose focus on the conversation and look around at the pictures now. One is a picture of the entire city from an eagle-eye view. Another is what the city used to look like years and years ago. The date is smudged, but I think it reads the year 1601. I lose interest in the pictures quickly and look out the window. Cloudy. Not surprised. My mood is cloudy right now.
“Well, I should get to the meeting. Why don’t you come as well?”
“Okay.” August says.
I come back to earth and look around at everyone.
Chapter 23
We follow Mayor Hall out into the halls and out of the mansion. We go to the building neighboring the mansion. The inside of it is formal and elegant. Light grey walls with soft yellow carpet. We enter the double doors across the lobby and find ourselves in a gigantic room full of seats. The center of the room is clear with dark purple seating extending up all the surrounding walls.
“Take a seat anywhere you’d like. The meeting will start in a few minutes.” Mayor Hall tells us.
“What is this meeting about?” Asks August.
“The Southern City and how we will stop these killings.” August, Bella, and I go up to the top row of seats and sit down in the corner.
“How long do you think this will be?” Asks Bella, sounding like she really doesn’t want to be here.
“I don’t know. Maybe an hour or two.” August looks around. I can tell he’s excited to be in this city. I haven’t really been noticing it, but now I do. He’s happier and focused in the city. Or maybe it was just all the battling and war stuff interested him. Either way, he seems happier here.
Bella moans, then sinks low in her seat.
The room is filled up to the last seat. It’s loud with all the talking. I hope they start soon.
“Welcome,” Mayor Hall’s voice echoes in the speakers above our heads. “Today’s meeting will be about the Southern City. I have some plans to take it down and will explain them to you in just a moment. But first, we just welcomed more Morphs into our city just a day or two ago. That makes ten total now from outside of the city. We are working hard to get a few groups of soldiers ready to put into the forest to gather more Morphs and to bring them to safety. Number two,” I look down and see Mayor Hall in the center space looking down at a long piece of paper. “The Morph bunker is now ready. It is fully modeled now with heat, water, food, and technical supplies. To freshen up your memories, it spans two miles long, fifteen feet under the city. There are several secret ways to get there, but the most common are behind each building in the city. If the Southern City comes here to raid our city for Morphs, all the Morphs should evacuate at the back of their building and go down to the bunker. I have shared this with the city this morning.”
This is pretty much all I can stay focused on. The mayor just goes on now about how bad the Southern City is and how we can stop them. He tells us his plan too. I lean on my hand and look around at the room. No windows or skylights. What a boring building this is. It’s the Western City’s meeting building. Can’t have too many distractions on the walls or floor to distract the people from the meeting.
“You know, if we sneak out now, we could probably go to that shoe store just down the road, buy a few shoes and come back with an hour left. Just saying.” Bella whispers into my ear. I chuckle then focus on the words the mayor just said.
“Morphs are animals too and need protection for they are people and have feelings, hearts, and families. They feel pain and anger. They need to feel like they matter. They need to feel like they are part of this world, not feeling like they’re a nuisance and have to be eliminated just because they can transform into animals. Morphs are not dangerous unless provoked to attack. The same goes for full-on animals. They don’t attack for no reason.”
Exactly! Finally! Someone said it! I want to just stand up and clap for that. I’ve been hearing too many negative things against Morphs. It’s nice to hear something good for once!
“How do you know Morphs are real? Have you seen a Morph transform? Or are you just wasting our money on people who wronged the Southern City?” Someone stands up across the room from us, but their words are bitter enough to travel to us. Anger boils inside me. How dare they?!
“Morphs are one-hundred percent real! I know ten! All ten of the Morphs that have come here to safety know that I will do my very best to protect them! Same as the ones who live in the city. No, I haven’t seen them transform, but why would they when they are in this city and are safe?”
“That proves it then! You have no proof that Morphs exist! It could all be a huge prank from the Southern City! Or the kids you’ve brought here!” Okay, that dude over there is getting on my nerves. If I was more of an extrovert, I would march right over there and give him a piece of my kitty mind!
“Just because you don’t see something, doesn’t make it true!” August stands up. “Morphs are real! And they are running for their lives right now because a city is going after them because they think Morphs are dangerous when really, they’re not! Just believe that Morphs are real. I don’t know why you don’t believe in them! They are all around you!”
“You have no proof that Morphs are real! It’s just plain words coming from people’s mouths!”
“You wanna see a Morph? Well, here you go! I’m a Morph!”
“You’re just a boy!”
I know I should say something. My stomach is aching a little from the tension inside me. My head is telling me I should stand up and help August defend the Morphs from this person, but my body and actions are telling me I need to stay down and be quiet. What do I do?
“I am, yes. But I’m also a bear!”
“Prove it!”
“Just believe the boy!” Someone stands up to the right of us by the doorway. She stands tall with a fierce look on her face. “Everyone here except you know Morphs are real! You’d be stupid not to believe!”
<
br /> “You’re telling me I’m stupid now?” The guy across from us steps down a row.
I roll my eyes and listen to the room filling up with arguing. Morphs are real. No, they’re not! Morphs are real. No, they’re not! Ugh! Just go with the statement with the most votes so I can get out of this stuffy room! A few more people say that Morphs are fake, but there’s more people saying that they are real, so I feel better.
“Let’s go! Grab August.” Bella says, getting up. Well, actually, she more like yells it at me. The room is even louder than before. Even Mayor Hall is amid a quarrel. I tap on August’s shoulder and point to the door where Bella is waiting at. She’s fast. August nods and follows me down the rows of seats, fuming with anger.
“I’m just gonna end this,” Bella says, walking a few feet from the doorway. “You wanna see a Morph?!” she yells so loud, almost everyone stops talking immediately. Bella raises her hands and a cloud of smoke rises around her. She emerges with wings and feathers. She glides up to the ceiling, circles around then transforms back into a girl as she lands. We all three walk out without another word, leaving everyone speechless and silent.
“Great!” I say, as we get to the cloudy outside. I have to admit, the look on everyone’s face was priceless!
“I have to say it. You have some spunk in you Tweedy!” August says as he pats Bella on her back. “The Mayor even looked surprised! I don’t think he’s ever seen a Morph transform either.” Bella giggles as we walk back to the Visitor Center.
Chapter 24
We walk in the street listening to August tell jokes. Occasionally Bella will scoff at one and call him a bear or August will call Bella “Birdy”, but other than that, I’d say we make a great friendship group.
As we walk, I think this is what I’ve always wanted my whole life. To have a few best friends to do anything with. I’ve never imagined that we’d become friends from being hunted, but hey, I have friends and I will try to never lose them.
Calico Page 10