Chills crawl up my spine. "What do you mean?"
He shrugs. "Like I said, they kept taking blood … and … tissue samples. After awhile she kind of started to lose her mind. She was screaming a lot and really freaking out. Yesterday they moved her out."
"I'm freaking out," I say. "How can our own government treat us like this?"
"I don't think this is a government lab."
"Then what is it?"
He shakes his head. "I have no idea. But they're pretty determined to figure out what makes a Wildling tick."
He shifts his position and I see he's missing his right leg from the knee down. He catches me looking at it.
"Like I said, they've been taking blood and tissue samples ever since I got here," he says. "A couple of days ago, they decided they needed something more substantial."
I can't look away from where the cloth of his pants goes flat past his knee.
"Are you ... are you saying ... did they ...?"
It's so insanely horrible I can't seem to get it out. My stomach does a flip and I taste bile. I want to throw up.
"Yeah," he says. "They cut it off two days ago. I think that's what made Jenny really lose it. She knew what was coming."
"Jesus. How can you be so calm?"
He shrugs. "I went crazy when I first got here, but it didn't do me any good. Now I'm just trying to make it through, one day at a time."
I can't imagine ever being able to do that. Right now, all I want to do is let the mountain lion take over. It could smash its way out of this glass cage and rip apart anybody who got in the way of our getting out of here. Screw Chaingang's advice.
But what if I can't break the glass? What if I change and all it does is give them what they want?
I force myself to breathe slowly.
"Why would they cut off your leg?" I finally manage to get out.
"Like I said, they needed a bigger tissue sample. They're also interested in seeing if my leg grows back."
"That's insane."
He shrugs. "Some lizards can grow back their tails. Since I don't have a tail, they're curious to know if the leg'll grow back instead. But that was just an afterthought. They took my leg because of their experiments." He points to a refrigerator unit I hadn't noticed before. "They store it in there when they're not working on it."
Now I really want to hurl.
"That ... that doesn't make any sense," I say.
"They think my Wildling shape is a lizard. I think one of the others told them that."
"But you're not a Wildling," I say for the benefit of the invisible audience that might be watching.
"No more than you," he says. "We're just really unlucky kids."
"I can't believe that this is happening. What about our civil rights?"
"I guess they figure we're Wildlings so we don't have any. And we don't know whose lab this is. Could be government. Could be some mad scientist."
I shake my head. "No, look at all of this equipment. It's got to be worth a fortune. This isn't somebody working on his own."
"It doesn't really matter who it is," he says. "We're still stuck here."
Not if I can help it, but I don't say that aloud.
Marina
Desmond and I have caught up to the others and we're now several blocks away from the FBI field office. It looks like we've eluded the media by taking a circuitous route along back streets. No one seems to be following us.
Now we're heading back toward the sea, rather than the overpass. I have no idea why, or where we're going. There's been so much rolling around inside my head that I've just followed Auntie Min's lead, but I'm getting more worried with every step.
The sky is barely starting to turn that lovely combination of pink, orange and purplish blue that we so adore in Santa Feliz. There are bunches of people who sit by the ocean and actually applaud the sunset nightly. Normally I love it, too, but today it just reminds me that in another hour or so, it will be dark and we're still no closer to finding Josh.
"We should never have stopped to listen to Danny," Elzie is saying. "I should have kicked his ass the moment he showed up and we could have motored out of there along with everybody else."
The homeless people and Wildlings under the overpass really did do a quick disappearing act as soon the FBI arrived.
"But we learned such interesting things," Auntie Min says.
"Yeah, nobody knows zip. Big whup."
"That, too," Auntie Min says. "But it seems we have unexpected allies. Or, if not allies, then at least five-fingered beings who are willing to listen to reason."
"Who cares?" Elzie says. "What we need to focus on is finding Josh."
"Oh, I've been working on that," Auntie Min says. "Let me go check on how the search is going."
She walks across the street to the far side of a convenience store parking lot. The raggedy jade hedge there seems to be filled with birds—mostly sparrows, finches and doves. On the telephone wires above, a pair of crows loiter in that nonchalant way crows excel at. Auntie Min walks up to the hedge and pauses, apparently having a conversation with some invisible presence.
"What's she doing?" Desmond asks.
"Looks like she's talking to the birds," Elzie tells him.
"Yeah, right."
"Well, could be she just wants us to think that," Elzie adds. "She's a master of subterfuge."
Desmond rolls his eyes. "And what are the birds saying?"
"I don't know. Tweet, tweet?"
"Very funny."
"But it really does look like a conversation," I add.
We all cross the street, but wait on the sidewalk, keeping a respectful distance. I turn to Elzie and Desmond.
"I'm worried," I say. "Auntie Min doesn't seem real down with the idea of rescuing Josh and it's driving me nuts standing around like this."
Before they can respond, Auntie Min heads back across the parking lot toward us.
"I've got news," she says when she joins us. "Do any of you know of a company called ValentiCorp?"
"Sure," Desmond says. "They're in that big shopping center out on Cerritos Drive. You can see it from the freeway. Computerland is in there, and Target and a bunch of other stores, but ValentiCorp is that huge place in the middle. You can't miss it."
Auntie Min nods. "That's it."
"So what about them?" Elzie asks.
"That's where they took Josh—a half-dozen men in black vehicles wearing black suits. Does that sound right? Sparrows aren't good at counting."
"What?" Desmond says. "Dude, wait a second. That doesn't make sense. What would some big company want with Josh?"
"I don't know anything about ValentiCorp," I say. "What do they do?"
"Come on, you know," Desmond says. "It's that tall shiny black building right in the middle of the complex—all glass and steel—with the fancy-pants gold lettering on top. The logo must be at least twenty feet high. I'm almost sure it says 'Research and Development' under their name."
"Yes, I know the building," I say. "But what kind of company are they? Research and development of what?"
"Who knows? Whatever it is, it can't be good if they're willing to abduct people. I've got a bad feeling about this. It looks more and more like the FBI were telling the truth after all."
Auntie Min nods. "We have to get him out. This is bigger than I originally thought."
I let out a breath I wasn't aware of holding. I'm so relieved that she's changed her mind and wants to rescue Josh. We need all the help we can get. I think of the men who kidnapped him. Who knows how many more of them are in the building.
"How will we get him out?" I ask. "Should we call Agent Solana?"
"Not yet. I'm still considering our best approach." She gives me a bright smile, which, for some reason, makes me uneasy. "I have to collect a few things first, so you go ahead. I'll meet you there."
"It'll take us forever to get out to Cerritos Drive from here," Elzie says.
"If you were walking the whole way," Auntie
Min agrees. "But I sent one of the crows to fetch Theodore. He'll give you a ride."
I can't help it. I look up at the wire. There's only one crow there now.
"Don't dawdle," Auntie Min says.
She turns and crosses the parking lot again. She seems to be just walking, but she moves with Wildling speed now. In moments, she rounds the hedge.
"Wait, Auntie Min," Elzie yells, darting after her and stopping dead when she gets to the other side of the hedge.
"She vanished," she calls back to us.
"People don't just vanish, dude," Desmond says.
"Most people don't get messages from birds, either," I tell him.
"Let's get moving," Elzie says when she trots back over to us. "If Auntie Min really sent a message to Theodore, he'll find us along the way."
"Do you know him?" I ask as we head off in the direction of Cerritos Drive.
"Yeah, he's that grasshopper mouse Auntie Min was telling us about before Danny showed up."
"Aw, man," Des says as we start to pick up our pace. "Are you two going to put me through this again?"
"Have we found Josh yet?" I say.
"Point taken. But dude, when this is over, I'm going to sleep for days."
Elzie and I just smile at each other and keep to a brisk trot. Dusk is coming on fast.
"There's something else," I say as we motor along. "Did either of you see something weird when she called herself 'Señora Mariposa'?"
They shake their heads.
"There was this big moth in the air behind her," I tell them. "I mean huge." I stretch my arms out wide.
"Wow, I didn't see that," Elzie says.
"Yeah, me neither."
"Well, Agent Solana did. So is it something about him that let him see it, or was it something Auntie Min did?"
"Who knows," Elzie says. "Like I said, she's got mysterious ways. I think there are all kinds of secret things the old ones can do—things that maybe we can do, too." She turns to me. "Doesn't it feel to you like they're keeping stuff from us?"
"I wouldn't know. She's only the second of the original animal people that I've ever met."
"Was the first Cory?" Elzie asks.
I shake my head. "I've never met him. This guy named Jez showed up the first time I changed and gave me some of the basics the way Josh says Cory did with him. I could have died of embarrassment."
Elzie laughs. "Because you were stark naked."
That catches Desmond's attention and he adds a little speed. "Really? You have to get naked to change?" He grins at me, then adds, "That's cool."
"It's not cool when it's happening to you," I tell him.
"Maybe not from your viewpoint," he says and dances back as I go to punch him.
We've put maybe a dozen long blocks behind us when I hear an unfamiliar sound. Trucks and cars have been passing us, but this is different. Motors, for sure, but this is a lot of them. Noisy. Like ...
I turn and my heart does a little skip of fear when I see that it's a gang of bikers, maybe a dozen strong, headlights on, coming down the street in our direction. Of course, that's exactly why they ride in a bunch like that—to make people nervous. Then I recognize the guy riding in front and realize they're Ocean Avers. That surprises me, because this is bandas territory and the Mexican gangs don't take kindly to invasions on their turf.
"Isn't that Chaingang?" Desmond asks.
I nod. And then something clicks. We call him Chaingang, but his real name is Theodore Washington.
"He's the grasshopper mouse?" I say.
"What're you talking about?" Desmond says, but Elzie is nodding.
"Oh, Jeez," I say, clapping my hand over my mouth, half in surprise, half in shame. I knew that Chaingang is a Wildling, but I never asked him what kind. It seems like everyone's being outed today. Now I feel like a traitor, having blurted that out in front of Desmond.
"Aw, come on," Desmond says. "Chaingang's a Wildling, too?"
But now the bikes are pulling up at the curb beside us and we don't answer him. We don't really need to.
Chaingang puts a motorcycle boot down on the pavement to steady his big chopper and pulls down his sunglasses to give us a once-over. The rest of the gang is strung out along the curb, engines idling. It's impossible to know what they're thinking, but I only catch the ping of one other Wildling among them. Bunched up as they are, I can't tell which of them it is.
"What's with the civilian?" Chaingang asks Elzie, nodding his chin at Desmond.
She shrugs. "Auntie Min likes him."
"She would." He turns to me. "Hey, sweetcheeks. Caught any good waves lately?"
I can't help but smile. "I don't know, big boy," I say. "How's probation treating you?"
He grins and puts his shades back on. "Better than juvie. Hop on. We're your ride."
"Are they all Wildlings?" Desmond mutters behind me.
I shake my head and get on the back of Chaingang's bike. Elzie and Desmond hesitate a moment, then get on behind a couple of the others. Chaingang revs his motor.
"Hang on," he says, doing a wheelie as we head down the street.
The bikes pull back out behind us. I do have to hang on to Chaingang or I'll lose my seat. He gives a little chuckle, obviously enjoying that I have to hold on so tight.
I'm not sure exactly what we're going to do, but this is Wildlings' business and there are too many other people involved. Five-fingered beings, civilians. It doesn't matter what you call them. Involving them could make everything blow up in our faces. I especially don't like so many people knowing I'm a Wildling—because Chaingang probably told his gang why they're here. I've gone five months under the radar and now way too many people know my secret.
I think about Josh—how we need help to rescue him—and I know we don't have another choice. This is how it has to be. But it makes me nervous as hell.
Josh
"So are we being monitored?" I ask Rico.
He points to tiny cameras mounted where the walls meet the ceiling. They've been placed so that no matter where we are in our cells, we can be seen.
"The researchers clocked out an hour or so ago," Rico says. "I'm sure those cameras are recording everything and there's probably a guard somewhere who looks at a monitor every once in a while, but we'll be on our own for the night."
"I need to get out of here."
I get up from the mattress. Another wave of vertigo hits me and I have to close my eyes, swaying where I stand. When it passes, I walk over to the glass wall and rap on it with a knuckle.
"It's not glass," I say.
"No, it's some kind of plastic. Thick. Probably hard to break, even if the person trying was really strong."
Something occurs to me. I tap on the plastic again.
"We probably shouldn't be able to hear each other through this," I say.
"We don't. We're reading each other's lips."
I give a slow nod. "Right."
But I'm sick of pretending. So what if the world knows I'm a Wildling? Better that than having some freak show scientist cut off my leg.
"Have you tried to escape?" I ask.
I don't care who's listening now. Let them play back the tapes in the morning. I plan to be out of here before anybody comes back to work.
Rico shakes his head. "Even if I could get out of this cell, I'd never get out of this room. The doors all need key cards to unlock them. I know there are guards and I know we're underground. The odds suck."
"Underground? This is So-Cal. Nobody builds underground." Then I understand. "We're not even in California anymore, are we?"
Rico studies me for a long moment.
"We'd know if they'd taken us away from our land," he says finally.
We would? But as soon as he says it, I realize he's right. Somewhere, out beyond the space this building takes up, I can feel the tug of some big comforting presence. Even if Rico hadn't told me, I'd have known what it was. And beyond it, I can sense the bigger mystery that's the Pacific.
I
press my fingers against the plastic wall. It's hard and thick, but I'll bet the mountain lion could get through.
"I'm not staying here," I tell Rico. "If I can get us out of these cells, I'll take you with me."
"You're pretty confident."
"No, I'm scared out of my mind and desperate. But I think I can do it."
He gives me a slow nod. "If you can get us to the ground floor, I can take us to someplace they'll never find."
"Okay," I say.
I step back, studying the wall for the best place to rip it apart.
"Wait," Rico says.
I turn to him. "Why?"
"Give the place a chance to quiet down. Let the guards settle into their usual routines."
It makes sense, I suppose, but I don't want to wait.
"How long?" I ask.
"A couple of hours should do it."
"I don't know. I'll see if I can wait that long. But if I can't ..."
Rico gives me a feral grin and there's a dark look in his eyes that makes me wonder if he's really my age or if he's more like Cory, and just looks my age.
"Oh, I'll be with you," he says. "Just as fast as I can drag myself along behind you."
Marina
Chaingang's twists, turns and wheelies make the ride feel kind of like street surfing. If I weren't so freaked about Josh, I'd probably find this even more fun. I have to grab on tight, but I love the adrenaline rush.
We're almost at the shopping complex now. My step dad says this neighbourhood used to be all open orchards—kind of a community fruit bowl back in the day. Then in the sixties, the land got bought up by developers, who built block upon block of cheap housing. It wasn't so bad at the time—my step dad grew up in those burbs—but like everything else here in So-Cal, it eventually got all rundown. I guess it's like that everywhere. Why can't we take care of stuff?
Then ValentiCorp came on the scene and the whole area got bulldozed and "rejuvenated," which means it's now block after block of condos, two- and three-stories high, plus big box stores and chain restaurants. In the middle of it all stands the tall ValentiCorp office structure with its corporate logo on the roof, surrounded by acres of parking lots.
Under My Skin Page 20