Ordinaries: Shifters Book II (Shifters series 2) (9 page)

Chapter 15

Seven Minutes and Thirty-Two Seconds

–TANNER
–

Well, Ryland may have stuck the landing with the giant guy, but not so much with me. She slammed me into the floor so hard it knocked the wind out of me. I know she didn’t want to go get this guy, but she doesn’t need to take it out on me. I know she’s doing it on purpose.

Oh, and about my list of things I want to do, going to prison in Austria is now on it. That place is so nice. It totally reminds me of that awesome hotel in DC, except this place is mostly glass. Not much privacy, but man! I bet they even have room service!

Anyway, I struggle onto the platform as Mona is welcoming our new guest, Christopher. He’s sitting right next to Bryce, and the giant man is pouting. Do grown men pout? Or is that called sulking? Whatever. He’s pouting.

Fluffy McFlufferson tries to welcome the new guest after he’s done fawning over Ryland, but Christopher doesn’t really like his crotch sniffed so the big guy releases a low guttural growl. This new guy apparently speaks wolf as Fluffy obediently lies at his feet. My sister seems slightly put off by her new best friend’s willingness to add Christopher to its list of companions.

She’ll never tell you, but Ryland loves to be the favorite. I remember once in third grade, she brought cookies for my teacher so that Mrs. Cookston would like her better than me. Come on! She didn’t even have Mrs. Cookston the next year; she had Miss Watts.

“Did they kidnap you, too?” Christopher asks my brother, his tone mildly indifferent.

“No,” Bryce answers. “I was a hostage.”

“Theirs?”

“The Keepers,” Bryce tells him.

The big guy nods as though he understands what that’s like. “Rescued?”

Bryce shakes his head. “Released.”

Christopher motions his head our way and asks, “Friends?”

“Little brother and sister,” Bryce says, his voice flat.

The big guy looks at him sideways, “You a Shifter?”

“They’re adopted.” He says this without emotion, and I can’t help but feel slightly hurt. He doesn’t seem to care about this life-shattering news. He says it so casually, and to a complete stranger who, if I may remind you, was in prison only a few moments ago.

“Ah,” Christopher nods slowly.

“Okay,” Ryland interrupts. “If you two are done with your little pity party bonding moment, we need to figure out what to do now.”

“So,” Viktor says. “What do you think of Mona?”

“So, we’re
not
done then,” Ryland sighs under her breath.

“Viktor,” Christopher says. “I had no doubt about your design.”

“You actually built this?” Bryce says, looking at the hologram in awe. “Like artificial intelligence? I thought you said it was just a concept?”

Mona smiles. “Viktor is my beloved creator.”

“Oh my gosh! You guys!” Ryland snaps, clearly annoyed this is taking up her time. “Yes, Mole Man here built Mona. Okay? Big deal! It’s not like rocket science or anything.”

Mona looks hurt.

“Actually . . .” I start to say.

“Shut up,” Ryland spits. “We need to find Kai. And figure out where Clay and Gale are. Tanner, is there a way to find them?”

I hold up my iPhone. “I bet the J’s know.”

“Good,” she says. “Ask them. Now.”

I find the contacts and scroll to J. I touch the Jaydin name, and he answers immediately, before it even starts to ring. “Hey, Tanner. What are you doing in Europe?”

“We had to make a stop,” I tell him, “to help Viktor’s friend.”

“Well,” Jaydin says. “Marcus brought us all to Canada. You were supposed to be back already. Did you find the ship?”

“Um . . . yeah,” I say. “Clay and Gale have it. That’s what I was calling about. Can you track them or something? We sort of lost Kai.”

“Of course,” he says. “What do you mean you lost Kai?”

I let out a sigh of relief. “I knew you would’ve built some cool tracking system.”

“Well,” he says. “It’s on our network, but we just turned on ‘Track Friends.’ It’s an iPhone thing, slightly modified, so we just use it.”

Ryland smiles half-heartedly. I know she’s worried about them.

“Just tell me where they are,” I order then add, “please.”

Christopher leans over to Bryce and asks, “Who are they talking about?”

Bryce shakes his head saying, “I don’t know. I’m new here.”

“Clay and Kai,” I tell them. “They’re Ryland’s boyfriends.”

“Boyfriends?” Bryce asks, suddenly looking very fatherly and stern. Wasn’t it only a moment ago he was callously discussing how we weren’t even really related? Even Fluffy sits up. I really don’t think the dog knows what we’re talking about, but it does sense something.

“I do not have a boyfriend,” Ryland asserts.

Mona materializes in front of Bryce and says, “It seems that your sister has a distinct physical reaction around . . .”

“Shut up, Mona,” Ryland says in an angry tone.

Mona stops speaking and smiles. She looks back at our older brother, shrugs, then she dematerializes.

“Okay,” Jaydin says. “It looks like they are headed here. Canada.”

“Clay or Kai,” I ask.

“All of them,” Jaydin answers.

I don’t know what it looks like when The Wizard lands, but everyone is awestruck as we step off the platform. I mean
everyone!
There must be like a thousand people here. I don’t know what Marcus told them, but when Viktor emerges, they let out a huge cheer.

Viktor stops to look at me. I smile at him and nod. He stands as tall as a short rodent can muster, then salutes the cheering crowd.

There are some whole Shifter families that must’ve been much luckier than us during the escape, along with Ordinary parents that have been hiding the young Shifter orphans.

Somehow the Keeper Tyros and the Shifter Young are getting along like they’re long lost cousins, or something. A few weeks ago, the Tyros would have been doing whatever it took to turn in or even kill the Shifters so they could brag about it on the
Enforcers
iPod game.

Sol
é
and Kyle break through the crowd. Kyle shakes my hand, and Sol
é
hugs Ryland. It’s not just some regular hug; it’s like she’s welcoming her sister home. She breaks the sister hug, and now it’s my turn.

I should be enjoying it, but feeling her warmth against me fills me with thoughts of Devon. I don’t want my sister to make fun of me, but I can’t help it. I look bleary-eyed at Ryland, but she doesn’t say anything to me.

“Who’s your friend?” Ryland asks, pointing to a young blond kid next to Kyle.

“Oh,” Sol
é
says. “This is Corey. That’s why we went to DC. He’s a healer.”

“A what?” I say, reaching out to shake his hand.

–RYLAND–

Corey looks like a child, maybe ten or eleven years old, with blond hair swishing in front of his green eyes. He’s young and boyish, but something about him seems older, ancient even.

His calm demeanor and sad smile make me think he has been through something that no child should ever have to go through. Is that the look in every Shifter’s eyes? Is that the look in
my
eyes?

“I have the ability to heal others,” Corey says quietly.

“What were you doing in DC?” I ask, as a feeling of dread suddenly fills my whole being. That look in his eyes is too familiar to me.

Corey blanches, staring at the ground. For a moment, I think that he won’t say anything, but before he gets the chance, Sol
é
jumps in.

“We rescued him from the Keeper compound!” She beams at Kyle as though she couldn’t be prouder. “Kyle was amazing! He lied to get us in, pretending I was his prisoner.”

“Why would the Keepers keep you alive?” I press, ignoring Sol
é
. “Why didn’t they kill you like they tried to do with the rest of us?”

Sol
é
looks slightly hurt that I have ignored her half of the story, which she obviously wanted to share. Kyle just looks pityingly at Corey as if he has guessed some of the story. Tanner glares at me, probably thinking I’m too pushy.

There’s a long moment of awkward silence. Corey finally looks up, staring straight into my soul as though he’s searching for something. He must find it there because he finally says, “They wanted to study my ability.”

“What happened?” I ask, knowing he isn’t finished. There is far more to his story.

“Ryland,” Tanner chides, trying to protect this boy who’s no longer a boy, this traumatized child.

“It’s okay,” Corey says quietly, his voice authoritative. “They tested me.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Kyle puzzles. “How could they force you to heal others?”

I finally understand. “Because it was his sister.”

“Brother, actually,” Clay says. “He was six.”

“You mean that they tortured your brother to make you heal him?” Tanner asks, disgust and hatred tainting his voice.

“They killed him?” I ask tentatively.

Corey nods, his eyes like deep, dark forests. “I brought him back forty-three times. They kept testing. How long after he died could I bring him back? How badly could they maim him?” Corey shakes his head. “Seven minutes and thirty-two seconds.”

“You must be a powerful healer,” a voice says from behind us. “Most can’t bring others back after more than a minute.”

I whip my head around, positive I know that voice. “Kai!” I shout, running to throw my arms around him.

“Told you we’d bring him back,” Clay grins lazily at me.

Kai shrugs away from me, and I feel a pit growing in my stomach. “I’m sorry about your brother,” he says. “They’re monsters.”

Kyle winces.

“Keepers have made mistakes,” Tanner says softly to Kyle. “You aren’t all bad.”

I feel torn. I know that Kai is wrong. They aren’t all monsters, but I have heard and seen too much to feel otherwise.

“Hey,” Clay says, wrapping his arms around me.

“Ummm . . . hi!” I squeak, blushing deeply.

“I missed you,” he breathes softly into my hair. It’s so quiet that I wonder if I’ve only imagined those words.

Tanner raises his eyebrows as Clay releases me. When my shoes hit the pavement, I realize that he had literally lifted me off my feet.

“Well,” a voice booms. We turn to see Marcus approaching our group. “We’re ready to go. The ships are here. Say goodbye to this world.”

“Six,” I breathe in a sigh.

“Devon,” Tanner’s voice is so low that no one reacts. We all silently pretend that we haven’t heard him. We all act as if we aren’t aware of his agonizing pain at her absence. We ignore it not because we don’t care, but because there’s nothing we can say. There’s nothing we can do to make it better.

Bryce butts in, “We can’t just leave. We need to help Mom and Dad. We need to bury Peanut.”

“That’s why we’re leaving,” Tanner says. “They killed Peanut. They tried to kill all of you. No one is safe.”

“Not while they’re out there. Not while they know we’re here,” I finish.

“No,” Bryce says firmly. “I’m not letting you go.”

“You don’t have a choice,” Tanner says, standing taller. In that moment, I don’t see the brother that I grew up with. I don’t see the geek who can’t use an iPod. I don’t see the kid who can’t throw a football to save his life. I see the man he will become. I see a leader, strong, pure, unconquered.

“I’m your brother,” Bryce says, not backing down.

“No,” I say softly. “You aren’t.”

Bryce pales at that, his eyes full of hurt.

“We’re going,” Tanner says. “We don’t have a choice.”

“We have to stop them,” Marcus adds. “They won’t leave this world unless we do. They won’t take that chance.”

“They don’t have to go,” Bryce argues. “They’re just kids!”

“We aren’t regular kids,” I say, knowing the words I’ve used may hurt Clay. “We are special, and it’s our destiny, as cheesy as that sounds.”

Bryce grinds his teeth, remaining quiet.

We have no choice. He has to understand.

As it turns out, he does. In a few short hours, we are on our way. We have left our home, our world, behind.

Chapter 16

Sirens, Buzzers, Alarms and All Kinds of Fun Sounds

–TANNER–

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. Ryland jumped ahead again, right? I know, she’s not good at telling a story. Well . . . I hate to admit it, but this time she’s right. Don’t tell her I said that; I will deny it. But, you know me; I have to fill you in a little, so here it goes.

The launch is hectic. Apparently, Marcus had given everyone specific tasks, except us. I guess that makes sense with us flying around the world and all. I have no idea what I’m doing, which apparently means I’m in everyone’s way.

I see Alice hauling medical supplies when she spots us. She hands her load off to a girl that was helping her and runs over to us. She throws her arms around Ryland and says, “Welcome back, Ry. I missed you so much.” She releases my sister and says, “You too, Tanner,” as she wraps her arms around me.

She gives Kai a quick smile and says, “Hey.”

Kai nods at her, and she quickly turns to Clay, eyeing him up and down, smirking, and saying, “Hey, Clay. Thanks for keeping my best friend safe.”

Clay looks a little surprised and says, “Sure. That’s what I’m here for.”
Kai gives her a look, and Alice says, “Well, I knew
you
would, Kai. You always do.”

“Okay then,” I say, trying to break the awkward tension.

Alice looks around and says, “So where’s my dad? I want to show him what I learned. Marcus is an awesome teacher.”

“You can show him later,” Kai says, giving Clay a strange look.

I make a mental note to ask them later where Gale is. Something weird’s going on. Someone, other than the awkwardly competitive boys fighting over my sister, needs to know what’s going on.

Alice looks at Clay, who blanches for a split second before completing Kai’s thought. “Yeah . . . there’s no time right now. We’re leaving in a few minutes. You can catch up later.”

“Right . . . umm . . . you’re right,” Alice says, apparently torn between her job and seeing her dad. “Okay, I’ll show him on the trip.” She starts to run back to the supplies, but she pauses and looks back at us before joining the loading crew.

“What was that about?” Ryland asks Kai.

Clay starts to say something, but Kai cuts him off, “He’s piloting one of the ships.”

Clay and Kai exchange looks and Clay says, “Yeah . . . he’ll be pretty busy. You can see him later.”

“Come on,” Kai says to Clay. “Let’s help them get loaded up.”

Kai drags Clay toward the ship before I can question them further, and my sister and I are again left with nothing to do. We get on the ship and see that the crew of Keeper kids and Shifter Young have done an amazing job setting up the ship. We are stocked with supplies—medicine, food, water, everything you’d need to survive . . . in space.

We’re going to space. That’s something I never thought I’d get to do.

This ship was definitely designed to take a huge amount of people to a new colony. There are living quarters, entertainment and game areas, and so many sleeping areas I couldn’t even count if I wanted to.

“One minute to launch. Secure all bay doors,” rings out over the com system.

Seriously, we’re already leaving? I didn’t even say goodbye. What if I never make it back to the world I’ve called home for the last twelve years?

“Secure yourselves,” Marcus calls out as everyone scrambles to his or her assigned locations.

Marcus points us to our spots, and we sit down and strap in. I see him eyeing the new dog Ryland just had to have. Yes, Fluffy has managed to make it on board. I wonder if anyone managed to pack dog food?

Cooper and Greg run in and take some seats across from us. Cooper smiles at the dog and says, “Cool puppy. What’s his name?”

I roll my eyes.

“Fluffy McFlufferson,” Ryland tells her.

“Hi, Fluffy!” Cooper says, as Greg watches his new girlfriend talk to the dog. I can tell by his look that, in his mind, Cooper is the best thing that’s ever happened in his short life. Considering he watched his sister fall at the hands of the Keepers a few weeks ago, I’m happy he has something good happening to him.

I still can’t help but roll my eyes as everyone moons over the fluffy dog that’s making my eyes water and my skin itch. Did I mention that I am allergic to dogs?

The ship starts to rumble, and I can feel us lose contact with the ground. Fluffy manages to lie down at Ryland’s feet, but the shaking is so intense that he starts to whimper. After taking The Wizard around, I hadn’t thought about how old this ship is. Or how big it is. The amount of power it must take to break the gravitational pull of Earth is mind-boggling.

The shaking stops, and I realize that we must have entered the calm of space. I wonder what it looked like to see our ships take off. I know no one would have seen Viktor’s ship, and Gale’s ship definitely is not something that would blow you away, but this thing would sure draw attention.

“It is now safe to move about the ship,” a voice states from the com system. “See Marcus on the boarding level for your assignments.”

Marcus groups everyone based on what they do. There is the medical area, where Corey is sent; the technical area, headed by the J’s; the general duties like kitchen and maintenance, where Rick and Jon are; and the command center. Ryland and I are in the command center along with Sol
é
, Kyle, Bryce and Kai. Naturally, I think that’s kind of strange since we don’t really have any command experience.

I try to protest, but Marcus says, “Do you really think anyone is prepared to mount an assault against the rulers? What they need is someone to inspire them, and you,” he looks at our little group, “are their inspiration, their hope. Like it or not, they look to you for leadership. And you
will
lead them.”

The next couple of weeks are a blur. We learn that Colony Six is a mining colony important for the Shifters’ fuel supply. They need this fuel so they can transport goods to and from the colonies. Despite its importance, however, the colony is lightly guarded by the Shifters due to the adverse effects of the pollution caused by the planetary mining.

The Delfis quadrant is the primary location for import and export. The west location was the original quarters of the leadership, but has mostly been abandoned since the discovery of the Shifter regeneration problem. Basically, this planet makes Shifters sterile. Since then, the northern area is used for short-term deployments.

“It’s most likely a trap,” I tell the group.

“Why?” Ryland asks.

“Tanner’s right,” Marcus says. “If they wanted to keep Devon, they wouldn’t put her here.”

“Any other colony, or even Gaia would have been better,” I explain. “Somewhere they can watch her. I don’t think Lena would have let those communications out.”

I see my sister’s eyes burn at the sound of that name.

“So we have to assume it’s a trap,” Kai says. “Can they detect us coming in?” he asks the J’s.

“We’ve tapped into the satellites. Dad says they changed the codes since he designed them,” Jaydin says.

“So they know we’re coming then,” Ryland says quietly.

“They know I am,” I tell her. “I’m going alone.”

–RYLAND–

“Tanner, you’re an idiot,” I say bluntly, smacking him upside the head. “Obviously nobody is letting you go alone.”

“Besides, you can’t get there without a ship, and you can’t fly one.” Kyle shrugs as though Tanner’s idea was simply flawed and not completely hare-brained. You know, I’m not even really sure what that expression means. Like, you have the mind of a rabbit or something?

Tanner huffs for a long moment. “Mona can fly herself,” he mumbles quietly.

“Right.” Alice rolls her eyes. “Because Viktor will totally let you take his ship off by yourself on a suicide mission.”

I look pityingly at Alice. Clay caught me up yesterday on the whole story. Gale isn’t just wrapping things up at home. He traded himself for Kai.

Marques was glad to take the trade. A pilot for some random Shifter whose ability is completely useless to him? It didn’t exactly take him days to mull that over.

I haven’t told Alice yet. I’m not sure how to tell her. She finally found her dad, only to lose him to that creep.

“We’re going,” I say finally. It seems like everyone has been waiting for this announcement, for someone to take control. With Marcus busy running the ship and training the new recruits, somehow we have become the war council. The decisions have all been up to us. As though we, a bunch of random teenagers from Earth, know how to lead the invasion of an alien colony controlled by an oppressive mutant dictator.

Did I mention that we’re just kids?

Anyway, somehow everyone on the ships—adults, kids, Shifters, Keepers, Ordinaries—are looking to us. We are the chosen ones meant to save the universe.
Only, we don’t know what we’re doing!

Kai hates the Keepers. He wants to jettison the older ones into space for murder. Kyle is constantly trying to maintain order between the Shifters and Keepers, who both seem to have forgotten that we are allies. Clay is running ragged trying to pilot the ship and hardly has time for me. The J’s are in tech heaven, ignoring the stress around them. Tanner and I, we are the poster children. We are heroes and warriors. We are idolized.

“Here’s the plan,” I say, taking charge despite the fact that I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing.

When our ship hits the defense perimeter set up around Six, sirens begin to blare all around us. Every screen in our ship wavers before revealing the face of Rian—I know this because across the bottom of the screen is written: “Rian: Savior of our Universe and Council Leader of Gaia and the Great Colonies. You have entered a restricted area without the correct access code. You are now considered traitors of Gaia and will be destroyed.”

“Are there incoming missiles?” Tanner shrieks to the J’s.

“Do we have any defensive weapons?” I snap.

“Of course we don’t!” Clay yells from his seat at the helm. “This is a colonization ship, not a battle cruiser!”

“How should I know what technology was viewed as necessary by the Shifter rulers thousands of years ago?” I mumble, annoyed at his response.

“That’s strange,” J1 says—yes, I’ve begun labeling them with numbers. I can’t keep their names straight, but one of them has a slightly larger nose. He’s J2.

“What?” Tanner asks, gripping the arms of the captain’s chair as if we are about to crash.

“There’s nothing,” J2 says calmly.

“Their defensive perimeter—”

“Appears to be—”

“A bluff!” Both J’s burst into laughter as though this is the funniest thing they have ever experienced.

“We have scanned the planet—”

“And see no signs of lasers, missiles—”

“Or weapons of any substance,” finishes J2.

“You mean to tell me,” Kai says flatly, “that this planet is completely unguarded?”

“From the sky?” J1 asks.

“Yes,” J2 answers, almost before the question is finished.

“Can you scan for life signs on the planet’s surface?” I ask, hoping beyond all hope. “This is a colonization ship; it should have some research tech,” I mumble this last part, somewhat stung by Clay’s sharp words.

“Of course,” J2 smiles.

“Good,” I say, grinning at Tanner. “Check for mobilization. Look for troop movements and heavily populated areas.”

Tanner grins back at me, and I know we understand one another.

“There are three densely populated cities on this side of the planet.” J1 says, the computer system beeping and whirring like in a 1960’s science fiction show. I wonder now if some of their ideas came from the Keepers.

“Which is the most populated?” Tanner asks.

“It appears that the southernmost city has around 16,000 residents,” J2 responds quickly.

“16,000?” I ask, shocked. “That’s all?”

“16,209,” J1 confirms.

“Where am I going?” Clay asks harshly. “I can’t enter the atmosphere without a plan!”

“We’re going to land about 500 miles outside of that city,” Tanner says firmly.

“Find the largest, flattest piece of land you can,” I finish.

Clay nods. “That I can do.” He winks at me over his left shoulder, and I can’t help but smile. Everything has been so tense these last few weeks, but in this moment, I feel calm. Even with all the battles to come, everything will be alright. We are together, and we’re fighting for what we believe in.

Even Fluffy seems happy; his fur is bristling with excitement, and he’s making happy, gurgling sounds.

Alice grins at me. She thinks that when we land, she’ll be able to see her dad. I need to tell her.

The landing is what I would call “unpleasant.” If I weren’t friends with the pilot, I might dare to call it attempted murder, but we survive so I guess I can’t complain all that much.

“Is the atmosphere breathable?” I ask, for the first time unsure. It had never occurred to me that we might have trouble here, but I
have
seen movies.

The J’s nod and say simultaneously, “The planet has been terraformed to allow humans to survive.”

“You two are so creepy,” Alice mumbles.

“Good,” I say, grinning at Alice. “Tanner, you ready?”

Tanner looks like he is about to puke. He has spoken to crowds before, but only in the heat of the moment. He’s actually terrified of public speaking. Now he has to announce our plan to the whole army. He has to become our general.

He nods.

“Captain speaking,” Clay announces to the entire ship.

Tanner clears his throat, which reverberates throughout the ship, clanging off the metallic walls and making my ears ring. “Shifters, Keepers, and all of our allies, we have arrived on Six. It’s important that we all remember our positions here. This is enemy territory, and from this point on, we are all in grave danger. We will assemble to the south of this ship where you will be assigned your duties.”

He turns to look at me, unsure of what to say. “Remember,” I mouth.

He nods. “Remember,” he says more confidently than before. “This is not our fight. This is not our home. This is not our battle. This is not our war. Not ours alone. This is a battle for freedom, equality, and the right to happiness. This is an Ordinary battle, and we cannot succeed without them.”