“Does anyone else know?” he asks.
“Just me, Aaron and Elliott.”
“You need to keep it that way,” Jex says, his voice growing intense. “No one must know. I’m afraid if anyone in the government were to find out, he would be—”
“Arrested, I know.”
Jex glares at me in a way that makes me shiver. “The government usually responds to competition with one response—annihilation.”
CHAPTER TEN
The floor to roof windows of the GEMO Control and Regulation Department reflect a grassy hillside that defies the building’s artificiality. A white steel structure snakes through the windows in a geometric pattern both beautiful and calculated. The structure gleams obnoxiously bright, even though the sky is full of clouds.
I sit next to Aaron in the large parking lot, my eyes fixated on the front door. “Think we’ll spot him?”
Aaron’s words mush together as he bites into his candy bar. “I don’t know, his pale skin might blend him into the building.”
I smile. It’s 4:50, only ten minutes before the office closes.
“Of course, odds are this ends up being the day he works extra-long in the office,” Aaron says.
“Don’t even.” I pull out my phone to read a message from Zach. “Zach’s in place.”
“Hey, I see him! No wait, that’s a woman. How is everyone in this department so pasty? They have tons of windows.”
“Maybe some work in the basement.”
Employees continue to file out and my pulse quickens as the trickle turns into a crowd. I bounce my attention as fast as I can from person to person, trying to catch Maddock’s face.
“There he is!” yells Aaron, pointing to the left. “No wait, sorry.”
Aaron should stop helping. It’s hard finding the spot I left off at before he distracted me. The people keep pouring out and my mind strains keeping track. I try to recall the image of Maddock. Blond hair. That’s right. I skim over the crowd, searching for anyone blond. Then I see him. “There he is!” I say as I point at Maddock. His wiry hair is a dead giveaway.
Maddock takes a few steps from the front door and enters his mammoth-sized white truck, which straddles two parking spaces.
“Bet the other hot shots love him, taking up their VIP spaces,” Aaron says as he turns the key.
The engine cranks and coughs but quickly stops.
“Alright Julie, not now,” Aaron says.
He tries again. The engine stammers. Dead.
“Come on!” Aaron says, twisting the key harder as if to force the car to life.
“Come on, Julie!” I shout out.
Aaron gives me a befuddled expression.
“What, only you can call it Julie?” I ask.
The car springs to life right as I pick up my phone. Aaron tears out of the space. Maddock is near the exit.
“Hey, Zach,” I say over the phone. “We’re following Maddock right now. He’s in a white car headed out of the parking lot.”
“Alright,” Zach says. “En route.”
Maddock pulls out of the parking lot and turns onto the main road. Thankfully, he heads away from the city. Less traffic. It’ll be easy to keep up. The car swerves and Aaron races ahead, pinning my body against the door.
“How close do you think I should follow,” Aaron says.
“Not too close, don’t want him to be suspicious.”
“Right.”
Maddock’s car careens down the road. Aaron speeds to catch us up.
I turn the phone to speaker. “You nearby, Zach?”
“Getting there. Haven’t had much practice yet with these wings. Technically shouldn’t even be flying yet,” says Zach. “You’ve reached the rain?”
Right as Zach finishes his sentence, our windshield fills with raindrops. The pouring rain cuts our visibility in half.
I speak into the phone. “We’re headed down Gardenview, away from the city.”
“Gardenview,” Zach says. “That’s the wide road right?”
“You gotta be kidding me,” Aaron says.
Maddock swerves and changes lanes. Aaron begins to turn but quickly snaps back as a mini-van pulls up from behind and speeds past us.
“I hate manual steering,” Aaron says.
My voice shakes from the sudden lurch. “Yes, Zach, it’s the wide road. Do you see our car?”
“Are you behind the lemon colored mini-van with horrendously tacky luggage on top?”
“Sure, yes.”
“I see him.”
“Right. Just stay with him.”
“I’ll do my best,” Zach says. “The rain’s clouding my view.”
He’s not kidding. The rain pelts us so hard that Maddock’s car nearly disappears in front of us. Aaron cranks the wipers full blast. They struggle to keep up with the downpour. Thankfully, it shouldn’t be a problem to keep up with Maddock. We should be on this road for a while. There aren’t any major roads until after the next few miles of forest. Just have to stay with him.
“He turned his left signal on,” Zach says.
“Where is he going?” I wonder aloud.
“Left apparently,” Aaron says.
A small dirt road on the left winds into the woods. What could be back there?
“Hey, Zach, see anything off to your left from up there?” I ask.
“Trees. Loads of trees,” Zach says.
“I don’t know about you,” Aaron says as he yanks the steering wheel, careening us down the narrow trail. “But I’m glad we brought him along.”
We bounce around like ping pong balls as the car bumps over the unpaved path. It’s clearly not designed for Aaron’s little car.
“Great!” Aaron says. “Can’t imagine he won’t figure out something is up now. Who else goes down this road?”
Maddock takes a sudden sharp turn to the left. Aaron jerks the wheel, tossing me to the side and sending my head smack into his shoulder. I yelp in pain.
“Sorry,” Aaron says.
My eyes hurry to reclaim focus. Maddock’s car is out of sight down the winding road ahead. I scan through the hammering raindrops, but the interference from them prevents me from detecting his car. We follow the curvy path in and out of the trees, hoping we can catch up. Then the road forks.
With no time to decide, Aaron charges to the left. He slams on the accelerator but Maddock’s car has vanished. Nothing around but trees and the occasional trailer home.
“You have him, Zach?” I ask.
No answer.
“Zach?”
A horrific sound of yelling comes over the speaker, followed by the sounds of wings flapping and Zach gasping for breath. Then comes a strange noise. Quacking?
“My apologies,” Zach says, panting. “Duck flock.”
Aaron snorts as he zooms ahead, which sends my head crashing against the headrest.
“Can you stop injuring me?” I yell.
“I can’t see him,” Aaron says.
We wind through the trees. Out of nowhere, a giant wall emerges at the end of the road. It’s only a few feet in front of us. Aaron slams on the brakes, plunging me into the seatbelt. My stomach churns as the car spins like a top on the wet road. There’s a sudden lurch as Aaron wrenches the steering wheel around. The car steadies to a stop on some grass by the road.
We sit and wait for our breath and heart rates to return to normal. Beside our car, a raggedy man sleeps in front of his trailer on a flimsy lawn chair. He’s unaffected by the commotion.
A voice comes over the speakerphone and startles us back to life. “I see him! He’s—um—I’m, um—he’s in the woods somewhere.”
“That oughta narrow it down,” Aaron says.
“Wait. It’s near the compound wall. He’s slowing down as I speak.”
“We’re right by the wall too,” Aaron says. “You can come and find us and—”
“Zach, take a picture with your phone,” I say.
“A picture?” Aaron asks.
�
�Phones have GPS coordinates. If he takes a picture we’ll know the GPS coordinates of Maddock’s house. We can send him ours too.”
“Clever.”
We wait for Zach to find us and I watch the sky, which has begun to clear up from the downpour. It takes a few minutes for Zach to appear, his body drenched with clumps of duck feathers pitifully stuck to his clothes. He leans over towards the open window. “I don’t mean to complain, but do you suppose can ride over with you? I’m a tad drenched.”
“Get in, dumbo,” Aaron says. “We’re not going to leave you outside.”
Zach grins and slides into the back seat, which quickly becomes a pool of water. “I must say, not bad at all for my first solo flight. I think my teacher and Dad would be proud.”
Aaron gives the car the GPS coordinates from Zach’s picture and it drives towards Maddock’s house. The road winds through dense woods and we pass musty homes and abandoned vehicles.
“Hard to believe Shelly lives out here,” I say.
“It is strange,” Aaron says. “Why would Maddock want to live near the compound? Thought a big shot like him could afford better real estate.”
“I’d live out here,” Zach says. “It would be wonderful to spend the day on top of the wall watching the mutant herds.”
“Like Explorer Rob,” Aaron says. “Last episode I saw he showed this coconut crab that spouted out acid. It was three feet long! Glad there aren’t too many of those nasty things around. One thing the government did right was lifting restrictions on hunting out there.”
“I like crabs,” Zach says.
“Maybe he’s a hunter,” I say. “Would be convenient to the Mutant Forest.”
“Great idea,” Aaron says. “Then he would have big guns to aim at us.”
We zigzag through the woods until at last we arrive at a makeshift driveway dug into the grass. Maddock’s home stands about a half mile off the road. It’s rustic, but the large two-story home stands in direct contrast to the other shacks in the neighborhood. A sign reading, “No Trespassing” in red letters hangs on a steel chain-link fence.
“We can’t park here long,” Aaron says.
He’s right. With no other buildings or cars around, hanging around and waiting for something to happen would raise suspicion. I suggest searching for a place to park the car and after a few minutes, we find a hidden spot behind an abandoned trailer.
We sneak back over to Maddock’s property and find the fence line. Tapping into my sonar waves, everything in motion around me becomes clear, from dragonflies and birds to a family of deer off in the woods. I focus on Maddock’s house but can’t filter past the walls.
“We’re going to need to get closer,” I whisper. “Not picking up anything.”
As we inch nearer to the house, I continue to concentrate on the building, hoping to get a clearer image.
“How close do we need to get?” whispers Aaron.
“Not sure.”
We creep along the chain-link fence and reach the opening. We turn to each other for approval and then start down the driveway.
CRUNCH! CRUNCH!
We stop. The gravely driveway settles under our feet. After a deep breath to regain our bravery, we begin to tiptoe and attempt to place as little weight as possible on our feet. I find the shortest path out of the driveway and onto the grass. At this distance, the interior of the house becomes clearer.
“Follow me,” I whisper and lead Aaron and Zach over to a tree that we duck behind.
Aaron rubs his hands, his head jerking around, anxious to spot Maddock.
“Do you see him now?” he whispers.
“Yeah.” The shadowy image of a man comes into focus. “At least. I think it’s him. All I can see are shadows.”
“Is he alone?”
I scan the house. “Yes. I don’t see Shelly or her mom anywhere.”
“What’s Maddock doing?” Zach asks quietly.
“Sitting on a sofa,” I whisper.
Aaron keeps fidgeting, his body trembling against the tree. “I’m still not sure what we are supposed to be watching for.”
“Any sign of—he’s getting up.” I watch as the shadow moves out of the living room, into a room in the back and out of sight. “I’ve lost him.”
As the evening wears on, I surmise from the short duration and length of trips into that room that it must be the bathroom. At least, I assume so, since I don’t apply special concentration to make sure. The next few hours drag. I watch Maddock sit on the couch for an hour, then microwave a frozen meal for dinner, then talk to someone on the phone. Zach and Aaron continue to stare at me nervously, depending on my play-by-play of his mundane life. It’s awkward. A few times, I’m tempted to tell them he pulled out a large elephant gun, but that would be too cruel.
“He’s getting back up off the couch.” The shadow moves towards the room closest to us, which I’ve determined from the furniture to be the bedroom. “Guess he’s getting ready for bed.”
Aaron snickers. “At eight o’clock? Must be an old dude. What’s he doing now?”
“I don’t know,” I say. “He started to get undressed and, well, I’m not going to watch that.”
Aaron and Zach smirk. I give him a few moments to change before concentrating again on the room. But he’s gone. I search the bedroom, the living room, what I can see of the kitchen. Nowhere.
A sudden door slam makes us jump. We peak around the tree to see Maddock moving from the side of the house towards his car. Aaron begins to open his mouth, but I shut it with my hand. “Shhh, he can’t see us behind this tree.”
He gives me a “I can’t believe you got me into this mess” glare as the car starts. The headlights illuminate the tree, sending us into the shadows. We watch the shadow stretch as the car crackles down the noisy driveway and onto the winding forest road.
Aaron starts to move around the tree and Zach pulls him back. “I’d suggest waiting. Maybe he forgot his wallet. I often do.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Aaron says.
After a few minutes, we decide it’s safe and head towards the house.
“Maybe he didn’t lock the front door,” I suggest.
“Really?” Zach says.
“It’s pretty quiet out here. Might not see a reason.”
It only takes a moment and a locked front door to blow a hole in that theory. Closer in, I get a better view of the inside of the house. The back room is definitely the bathroom. I try to find any objects or anything that could provide us with information on my Dad. All I can tell is that the couch is leather and most of the other furniture is wood. We need an opening, a breach somewhere. I try scanning the windows to locate an unlocked switch.
“Where did Zach go?” Aaron asks.
We search the front yard and can’t find him anywhere. Finally, Aaron points up. Zach stands on the roof of the house, peering down the chimney.
Aaron taps my shoulder. “He’s not going to—”
Zach shakes his head. “Nope, contrary to the myths, not nearly wide enough. But it was worth a try.”
Aaron chuckles, but my attention is on the second story balcony on Zach’s left. I point to it and suggest he tries the doors there. They open. Zach goes inside and within a few minutes, he’s opened the front door to let us inside.
My assumption of Maddock being a hunter proved right. Heads from mutant animals line the wooden walls, which perfume the room with the scent of oak. We step lightly inside, as if the ground were made of glass. Once we venture further, our tiny steps give way to normal strides. The three of us search the room for anything we can find: files, documents, anything of interest. Aaron picks a piece of paper up off the floor.
“This is interesting,” he says as he reads it. “List of GEMO violators from last month. Didn’t realize so many people used the black market.”
“Dangerous,” says Zach. “Had an aunt that died that way.”
I grab it from him and put it back on the table. “Put it down. We can’t move
anything. Can’t let him know we were here.”
Zach gestures at the ground. “You two should have wiped your feet then.”
To my horror, our footprints tracked mud in a scattered pattern across the living room carpet. I grab Aaron’s shoulders to stop him from going further. “Take off your shoes now. We can’t afford to make any more prints.”
Aaron removes his shoes and glances down at the carpet. “Well—uh—what do we do with these then?”
“We’re going to have to clean them up.” I search for something to wipe them away with. Then I realize that anything we get dirty would also be a sign of us breaking into the house.
“I’ve got it, take off your shirt.”
Aaron jerked. “What?”
“Take off your shirt. I can wipe it off with that.”
“Why does it have to be my shirt?”
“Because I’m not taking mine off,” I say.
“I’ll do it,” says Zach.
He starts to remove his shirt, revealing his toned body, when Aaron pulls it back down. “That’s ok. That won’t be necessary.”
Aaron removes his shirt, scowling at me. Sometimes I don’t know why I’m friends with him.
With his shirt in hand, we start wiping up the prints. Thankfully, they’re fresh and come off easily enough. The parts we can’t remove blend in with the already dirty floor anyway. Maddock probably didn’t wipe his feet much after his hunting trips.
We continue to search his house and continue to come up empty. However, we learn about the unusual taste that Shelly’s family has in home décor, which ranges from a collection of kitschy porcelain zebra figurines to a terrifying sword collection.
Finally, we find an office. My hope of finding a file or something dissolves when I discover he has equal organizational skills as Jex. Stacks of papers are scattered around. I browse through some quickly, snapping photos when I can.
“Look at this,” Aaron says, holding a piece of paper. “Investigation on the death of Jason Wesson. Must be part of the cover-up job. Everyone knows the government murdered him.”
Jason Wesson is credited with the discovery of GEMO technology. The government’s story behind Jason’s disappearance is that a scientific experiment went awry and created a gigantic explosion. It so devastated the remains of his home that finding any sort of identifiable evidence was impossible. Without any concrete information to go on, rumors and debate continue to this day. Some believe he’s still alive.
Elevated (Book 1): Elevated Page 10