Maximum Ride Fan Fiction ❯ After Armageddon ❯ Chapter Five: Two?! ( Chapter 5 )

Quick announcement!I put up chapter six before chapter five. Here is chapter five and Dinner and a Late Night Chat happens after this. Sorry.

 

After Armageddon

 

 

Chapter Five: Two?!

 

Calina (Ride) Martinez

 

Here's the deal for those of you who don't know already, most people in general do not like Jeb Batchelder. There are a few that respect his mutant creating abilities, but no one actually like him, even if he is the Director's right hand man. I personally think that she keeps him so close because she's afraid he's backstabbing her again, which he is, and apparently us to seeing as Miss German girl isn't registered in any of the School's computers. For all you normal people out there (ha! normal, yeah right) Jeb made a deal with Grandma. If he told her all, and I mean all of the projects he could possible learn about and he did not create any more mutants that were not associated with either the Director or the Phoenix, such as Liela, then she would not officially list him as a traitor. Infuriating isn't it? Yes, he's technically helping us, but he's helping them too darn it. I still can't believe Grandma did that, especially with what “Grandpa” did to Mom.

I refocused on the self preserving old man as he began to explain him self.

“Please understand that I did not just kidnap Liela off the street-”

Aaron raised his hand like the kid he was, making Batchelder stop and sigh.

“Okay, so that is what I did, but I did it to finish her, not turn her from a constant into a variable.”

Euphemisms, so much fun. Constants is what the Director and her lackeys call plain old humans. Variables are, you guessed it, mutants, whether they're inside a School or not.

“They are people not a scientific equation Jeb.” Grandma reminded him coldly before Charlie had a chance to. “Now what do you mean by finishing?” You didn't start her mutation?”

Jeb shook his head. “No, Liela was chosen for a new avian experiment was either seen as useless or a failure because the Director discontinued it.”

“So they left her,” Taylor searched for the right word. “Half done? How'd she live so long as a half cooked experiment?”

Jeb sighed like he really did not want to admit the next part, but somehow the big blob of cowardice dug deep enough to find enough courage to spit it out.

“Another doctor as well as myself-”

He didn't get much farther once he was drowned out by the general out roar when it registered that not only had creepy Grandpa played around with poor Miss Liela's internal organs but some other creep as well. And who knew whose side was on.

“What?”

“Who?”

“Are you serious?”

“Well now what?”

Jeb remained silent while Grandma tried to get everyone else to shut up. Aaron was the one who finally persuaded them to do so by waling calmly our of the room into the living room where he blasted our eardrums with whatever hard rock CD Will had last put in the stereo system. I think I heard the girl in the other room scream although my ears were ringing to loud to be sure.

The horrific noise stopped and rabbit boy poked his pink nose through the door.

“Are you guys done yet or can I listen to the rest of this song?”

“Get in here.” I snapped at him and he willingly hopped into the room. And yes I meant that literally as Grandma gestured for Jeb to explain.

“I'm afraid she doesn't like to be talked about, however,” Jeb stopped us as we all opened our mouths to object, again. “I can say that she has helped you before in several circumstances.” Such as your friend Oz,” Jeb pointed to Charlie and Aaron referring to one of their acquaintances within the Phoenix. “After he somehow managed to escape from the Institution in Nevada she was the one who put him back together.”

Charlie looked skeptical. “Even Oz doesn't know who helped him. It could have been anyone.”

“Well,” Aaron said lifting his big feet onto an empty chair. “Any wo-”

A short scream and a loud crash cut the loud mouth off as Liela bolted out of Aunt Ella's room. We didn't have enough time to try and decipher her strange panicky babble when a familiar droning sound filled the air beyond the bedroom door.

“Flyboys.” Charlie said grabbing Liela's hand and pulling her along as Aaron jumped into Charlie's dark green backpack as a small white rabbit. I rushed ahead of them up the stairs to the upstairs to the so called `Family room'. It was basically the TV and game room, but I ignored them as I ran to the fireplace and pulled the lever that opens the flu backwards. It creaked horribly but in the end the fireplace floor dropped away to reveal a skinny squirm space dropping down in to the dark. Charlie dropped his backpack with Aaron in it into the dark space and then shoved Liela towards it. She wasn't to happy about being pushed down a rabbit hole, but in the end she did and as soon as Charlie dropped down the squirm space, I closed the door and hurried back down the stairs.

Hopefully, if they didn't break anything on the way down, the three of them would drop into a dirt tunnel that was beneath the house which should lead them to clear air, free of Flyboys.

Because of course the Flyboys would be preoccupied here, trying to figure out why Batchelder was spending a nice quiet Breakfast with a family who quite honestly hated him. But in the end they would believe us because we were smart and they were very stupid metal men. He he he.