Seconds later, the hefty guard closed in on their right. The guard to the left keyed the microphone on his shoulder. “We got ‘em.”
Scarface
TREY LET GO of the tubby security guard image he’d been projecting. Trapped between two guards and a roomful of uniformed officers, Trey and his three friends had nowhere to run. Making a stand was still an option, but at that moment, he wasn’t certain who was after him or why.
The thinner of the two guards arrived first and swung open the door to security central.
The crowd of guards inside stood motionless with stupefied expressions, slow to catch on to what had transpired in front of them moments before.
“Let’s go,” said the guard, directing everyone inside.
Trey turned to see the other guard waddle up behind him. The clueless man scratched his head in confusion, scanning the area to no avail for his missing twin.
Livy chimed in innocently. “I’m glad you guys are here; we can’t find the restrooms.”
The smaller guard laughed. “Just get inside.”
Zach was closest to the door and reluctantly led the way. Trey filed inside last of the four with a guard breathing down his neck in heavy puffs of hot air.
Trey didn’t risk removing his sunglasses, so the large empty room grew exceptionally dark. The inside of the long building appeared to be a maintenance garage with a row of empty golf carts lining one wall. In the center of the room, workbenches were lined up lengthwise, and around them stood ten uniformed guards, all facing his direction. Smiles slowly appeared on the watchmen’s faces, transforming gradually to smirks and taunting laughter.
A door slammed open on the opposite wall, bringing a burst of sunlight, dampened only by the huge man bounding through it. Unlike the other big boy, the backlit silhouette boasted broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Thick legs carried the man quickly toward Trey and his friends. The dark mammoth didn’t pause to close the door.
The chuckles silenced and faces went serious.
“Great work, team,” the man said in a tough and gravelly voice.
The guards checked one another through the corners of guilty eyes. It seemed they understood exactly what Trey was thinking. Trey had led his friends right to those clowns.
The two men behind him remained silent, taking no credit for the capture, a testament to the authority who now dominated the room.
The huge, dark figure slowed well before reaching his subjects. His rough, gritty face stayed emotionless as his dark eyes took in the group of teens, staring them up and down. A deep scar striped the side of his cheek like a warrior’s badge.
Another step closer and Trey knew they were in big trouble. Strong, vibrations emanated from the big man, projecting some degree of illusion. What they were all seeing wasn’t the man’s true identity. As intimidating as the beastly man appeared, Trey wished it were.
“Oh shit.” Trey whispered.
The man stopped short. Although the threatening projection didn’t waver, Trey felt a hesitation in the man’s vibes. Perhaps he’d sensed Trey’s projection as well. Trey and the stranger locked eyes for an intense stare-down. The man tilted his head in various angles, trying to get a sight line to Trey’s eyes concealed behind the mirrored sunglasses. Trey fought to cancel out the vibrations disguising his foe, but as he’d learned, a moving projection was nearly impossible to lock onto.
The exchange only lasted seconds before it was abruptly broken off. “Come with me,” the rugged man said, turning to tread away.
Trey didn’t budge. “Like that’s gonna happen.”
Livy leaned forward, looking past Amy to whisper in Trey’s direction. “He’s not alien.”
Trey shrugged, adding a who cares frown. He shouldn’t have to remind her Gunther wasn’t completely alien either, and he’d nearly cost Livy her life.
Amy’s eyes widened as she turned to Trey. Clearly she’d picked up on Livy’s meaning. Zach, on the other hand, stood frozen in place watching Sergeant Scarface stomp away.
“Don’t worry,” Trey said, not bothering to whisper. “We’re not going anywhere with him.”
Scarface paused and looked to the crowd of guards. With a quick hand gesture, he called them to action.
Within seconds, Trey’s group was surrounded.
Trey clenched his fists, refusing to go without a fight.
“Seriously, Trey,” said Livy, “it’s all right. Trust me.”
She looked to Zach and Amy with reassuring nods.
The tubby guard nudged Trey forward with his oversized belly. “Listen to your friend.”
Trey turned on him angrily, tempted to show the clueless bozo a nightmare projection that would make him wet his droopy trousers, but for now, the guards had the numbers. He didn’t trust Scarface, but he had a suspicion that where they were going, they would be alone, away from the human guards the shape-shifter so effectively controlled through intimidation.
Trey leaned into the guard’s face. “I’m going. Touch me again and I’ll stuff you into a trash can like I did your ugly twin.”
The guard flushed red, but he didn’t counter Trey’s bold comments. Trey was convinced that before long, the guard would be secretly searching every garbage can in the vicinity.
Trey turned to his friends. “Let’s go find out what this is all about.”
Face-Off
THE BROAD-SHOULDERED CHEIF of security led the way to the only room within the large open building. Tucked into the corner of the garage like an after-thought, the ten foot by ten foot square room had only one door and no windows. Sergeant Scarface opened the door and waited for Trey and his friends to be herded toward him by the mob of security guards.
Trey arrived first and peered cautiously into the small room before entering. The dark interior was lit only by dozens of closed-circuit monitors lining each wall. Someone inside sat at a control panel facing the door, but in the dim light, backlit by the screens, he couldn’t make out the person’s features.
Scarface reached inside and flipped a light switch. Several florescent ceiling lights flickered quickly to life, making the dark-skinned kid at the console squint uncomfortably. The thin teenager in street clothes stared at Trey, in obvious pain from the bright lights, fighting to keep his eyes open to take in Trey’s appearance.
No vibrations came from the teen at the console, so Trey assumed the boy’s appearance was authentic.
Trey slowly stepped into the room, taking in the myriad of black and white screens, each holding an image for only seconds before flipping to another area within the park. At the boy’s eye-level, more monitors lined the desk in full color with higher resolution.
Trey turned to watch his friends file in behind him. Curiosity laced with apprehension covered their faces.
“This is private!” Scarface barked toward the guards. None of them questioned him with even a groan.
The tough man pulled the door closed as he stepped inside, allowing the boy at the control desk to remain. Trey surveyed the teenager again for vibes. Nothing.
Scarface a squared off to face Trey and his friends, and everyone instinctively backed away.
“Who are you?” the fierce man asked, his eyes steadily scanning over their faces.
For seconds, the room fell dreadfully silent.
Trey felt Livy’s projection fade away next to him.
“We’re friends,” she said, taking Trey by surprise.
When he turned sharply toward her, she shook away his disapproval and snatched off her dark sunglasses, revealing her large, bright-blue eyes.
She looked directly at Scarface. “Your turn.”
The tough man’s jaw dropped. He’d been so focused on the elephant in the room he’d failed to notice the gorilla riding on its back. His mangled eyebrows rose. “Interesting.” Slowly, his eyes cycled over the crew. “Are all of you?”
“Like you?” Livy asked.
He scoffed. “What makes you think I’m like you?” He glanced up at a small
glass dome suspended from the ceiling. “Jeremy, bring up camera two.”
The boy at the control panel spun in his chair and franticly worked his fingers on the keyboard.
Scarface stepped toward the controls and gazed over the boy’s shoulder. Moments later, his haggard face lifted toward Trey. “Take off those glasses.”
Trey gritted his teeth, refusing to budge.
Livy stepped forward. “I’ve seen who you really are, and I’m not afraid of you. If you drop this tough-guy image, I’m sure my friends will be more cooperative.”
Trey tensed, hoping she wasn’t playing a risky bluff.
The big guy straightened to face her, studying her expression. He looked up at the dome-covered camera on the ceiling, then gazed at the wall of monitors.
“I didn’t see you on camera,” she said. “If that’s what you’re thinking. While you two were having your stare-down, I got a good look through your vibrations.”
“Vibrations?” he asked.
She turned to Trey and yanked off his sunglasses before he knew what hit him.
“Hey,” he cried, incredulously.
“It’s all right,” she assured him. “I think he’s more scared than you are?”
Trey and the stranger burst out simultaneously, “I’m not scared.”
Livy rolled her eyes, then nudged Trey with her elbow. “Show him then.”
Trey sighed. “Fine.” An instant later, he let his projection slip away. “Happy now?”
Livy turned to Scarface. “I can tell you’re as confused as we were at first. You can’t intimidate us the way you do those guys outside.”
The tough-guy’s expression softened slightly.
“She’s right, Dylan,” said the boy at the controls.
Scarface had a name.
Dylan nodded, showing signs of relief. A moment later, his projection melded into a dark-skinned, dark-haired teenage boy . . . a big, wide-shouldered, muscle-bound boy nonetheless.
Slow, rippling waves still emanated from Dylan, the kind Trey and Livy used on a daily basis to blend their features into a more human appearance.
Trey prepared himself to insist on a full reveal, but Livy interrupted. “Close enough.”
Dylan looked to her with wonder. “You can tell?”
She smiled. “You’ve got a lot to learn.”
Without the tough exterior, the nervous, confused teenage boy looked more like a lost pup. Trey softened, recalling his own first encounter with someone like him.
“I’m Trey,” he said. “We can explain everything, but you gotta call off the dogs first.”
Dylan looked to the closed door. “All right. After you convince me you’re not jerking me around.”
Trey blew out a puff of air, knowing they had a tough sell ahead. “Well, to start with, this is Zach and Amy. We grew up together, but they just found out a while back that I was different.”
Dylan gave a what’s up nod, then turned to his friend. “Jeremy has known since grade school, he’s a freakin’ genius.”
Trey didn’t like the insinuation his friends were slow to catch on, but he decided to let it slide. “Livy and I met a few months ago. That’s when everything got turned upside down and we nearly died learning the truth about where we came from.”
Dylan searched Trey’s face; if he was looking for hints of exaggeration, he didn’t find any. “Go on.”
With Livy’s help, Trey summarized the long story, skipping over their encounters in the dream world; the truth was strange enough without mentioning an aspect he barely believed himself.
Amy and Zach clung to every word spoken, perhaps more than Dylan and Jeremy. The events that had taken place after Gunther took Trey’s whole family hostage were something Trey had barely mentioned.
“Wait,” interrupted Dylan, part way through the tale. “You’re telling me we’re a lab experiment that didn’t get disposed of properly?”
Trey huffed, unapologetically. “Sucks, don’t it?”
Dylan eased toward a swivel chair and cautiously lowered into it. “Only twelve of us?” he asked the air. “I think it was better thinking I was the only one.”
Livy shook her head crossly. “You can’t mean that.”
“Oh yeah?”
She looked around at all the monitors. “Isn’t that what this is all about? Searching for others?”
Dylan stared blankly at one of the color displays. His nasty security guard face slowly returned. “Just go. I’ll tell the guys outside it was all a mistake.”
Jeremy wheeled toward his friend. “Come on, Dylan, she’s right. You’ve been hunting for years, and here they are. You found them!”
The big guy shook his head and turned on Jeremy. “And what am I supposed to tell her, huh?” He turned to Livy, tears oddly mixed with his hard tough-guy appearance. “What am I supposed to tell my baby girl?”
Ousted
LIVY APPEARED AS shocked as Trey felt by Dylan’s not so small revelation. She stood frozen, her lips working to form words that didn’t come.
Dylan brushed his face against his shoulder. The wetness that remained on his cheek quickly disappeared behind a projection. He rose abruptly, rigid in his stance. “I suggest you leave the park immediately. I’m sorry I can’t get your tickets refunded.”
“Wait,” said Livy. “So, that’s it?”
“What? I’m supposed to invite you all over for dinner and catch up on all the bad times I’ve missed?”
Behind Dylan’s back, Jeremy spun to the control panel and scribbled something onto a piece of paper.
“But--” stammered Livy. “There’s more you need to know. Things we haven’t gotten to.”
“Yeah, well, we know how to find you. Jeremy has your license plate number and a copy of your IDs.”
Jeremy rose onto long legs, his height topping everyone in the room by several inches. With an outstretched hand, he addressed Trey. “Good luck to all of you. It was nice meeting you.” The strip of paper transferred to Trey as they shook hands.
While Jeremy quickly shook with the others, Trey discreetly slipped the paper into his back pocket.
Dylan scoffed at their polite gestures and whipped open the door. “The kids are clean,” he barked outside. “But I don’t want to see their faces inside the park again. Keep an eye on them until they’re outside the gates.”
Trey didn’t hesitate. “Let’s go,” he said, leading the way to the door. Dylan impatiently waved the group onward, and Trey looked back to see the others trailing behind him with blank, confused stares. He faced Dylan eye-to-eye and slid on his sunglasses, adding another layer of protection over his human disguise.
Trey stepped through the doorway. Outside, the crowd of guards had dwindled to only a handful. The hefty one watched curiously from afar, while the others paid them little attention, laughing and joking with one another without a care.
The door slammed at Trey’s back, sealing Dylan inside behind it.
Trey looked to his friends. “That was strange.”
Zach stepped closer and lowered his voice. “What’s on the note?”
Amy and Livy pulled in as well, forming a close circle of four.
The tubby guard in the distance fiddled with papers on a table, failing in his attempt to look inconspicuous as he kept a close eye on them.
“Not here,” said Trey quietly.
One of the guards, the oldest looking of the group, meandered their way. Trey made a head motion toward the far exit and moved in that direction.
The guard smiled as he intersected their path. “Don’t let hard-ass spoil your visit.” He hooked his thumbs into his front pockets. “I’m not sure what he thought you kids did, but I’m glad for your sake he changed his tune.” He paused and studied them closely. If he was hoping someone would volunteer information, he was out of luck.
“I’ll show you the way back into the park,” he said, nodding over his shoulder. “I’ll even jump you to the head of any line you choose.”
&nb
sp; Livy spoke for the group. “I think we’ve had enough excitement for one day. Right guys?”
Everyone nodded fervently.
“Yeah,” said Amy, eyeing the brass nametag pinned to the man. “Thanks, Tom, but we’re ready to go home.”
Tom pursed his lips, shaking his head at the closed office door. “That’s a darn shame. I oughta give him a piece of my mind.”
“No, really,” said Livy. “It’s not a big deal. We have a long drive, and it’s getting late.”
Tom looked at his watch; it must have been two in the afternoon by then. “Hmm,” the guard mumbled. “If you’re sure. I’ll at least give you a lift to your car.”
“Nah, that’s not necessary,” said Trey, eager to distance himself from security.
“I insist. Besides, it’ll save me havin’ to follow you kids around till you get outside the gates.”
When nobody protested, Tom led the way. “Come on, my buggy’s right outside.”
As they made their way to the exit, the tubby guard in the corner blatantly stared with increased curiosity.
Trey threw a goodbye wave walking out the door.
Just outside sat a four-passenger ATV. Trey hopped onto the short bed with his feet dangling off the back, and Livy bounced up beside him.
Tom stopped and shook his head. “No passengers on the back. Park policy.”
Trey turned to peer into the front, emphasizing the fact that there were five people and only four seats.
“Get in,” the guard told Zach and Amy, accepting Trey’s point. “I’ll take you out the service gate.”
Before long, they were buzzing through the back side of the park, behind the scenes and away from the paying customers.
With his back to the wind, Trey slid the small strip of paper from his pocket.
“Careful”, said Livy, watching the note flutter in his fingertips. He gripped the paper tightly for both to see. A phone number was sloppily scratched on it, along with the words call in one hour.
Livy programmed the number into her phone as Trey held it steady. When she was finished, he tucked the note away and squeezed her knee firmly.
Misplaced Trilogy Page 15