Ordinaries: Shifters Book II (Shifters series 2) (4 page)

“You knew we’d be here?” I ask.

Oc
é
ane blushes. “I may have told them you were coming.”

“We’ve been contacting as many Shifters as we can, as well as trying to locate pilots and ships. We know your plan is to take the fight home, and we’re trying to develop a strategy,” Marcus continues.

“What do you have so far?” Kai asks. “How long will it take before we can reach Gaia?”

“We can’t go straight to Gaia,” Clay says.

Kai finally notices Clay, sizing him up. With the two standing next to one another, I can see that Clay is taller and broader than Kai. His smile is easy, and he seems confident, his every motion predetermined.

Kai almost growls his next sentence. “What do you mean?”

“Gaia is supplied and supported by the colonies. Gaia may be the home of The Council, but we will need the help of the colonies, the Ordinaries, to overthrow it. War is a series of campaigns, not a single attack,” Clay says factually. He isn’t chiding Kai. He isn’t belittling him. This is just the way things are.

“So, where are we going?” I ask.

Marcus grins at me. “Six.”

Chapter 5

The Tomb Raider Jeep and a Fake ID

–TANNER–

We get to Marcus and Alena’s house, and everything looks perfect, which is weird since the last time we saw it was when we were running away from the Shifters. And, it was on fire!

Sol
é
gives Alena a huge hug—which for them seems totally normal—and Ryland immediately starts crushing on this new guy—Clay, or something—with Kai standing right next to her. My sister is like totally schizo now. I swear . . . one moment she is going to kill someone, and the next she is swooning over some Disney star wannabe, with his perfect hair all swept forward. Come on, that is not even in style anymore. And, her boyfriend is right there.

Whatever!

He does know how to pilot a spaceship though. So, I have to admit . . . that’s pretty cool. I can’t help but think that he may be the way to get me to where they have Devon held hostage. I can’t even imagine what she’s going through. I miss her so much.

So . . . like Ryland said, they treat us like we are famous. I think that the Clay kid even says something about that. I am a little overwhelmed to pay too much attention. They are acting like we are supposed to be the leaders. The good thing was they had already started planning and training before we even got here.

When Marcus says we aren’t going to Gaia, I am . . . I wouldn’t say disappointed . . . that’s an understatement. All I can think of is getting to Gaia, since Navin—I really hate the sound of his name—said Devon was going home. By home . . . I’m sure he meant Gaia.

Okay, I have to think. They already have some maps and one pilot. Well, kind of one. I’m not even sure if he’s ever really piloted a ship before.

“Okay,” I say to Clay. “Where are these pilots? And ships?”

“It’s not quite that simple,” the Disney kid says as he looks at my sister.

Come on! You’re talking to
me
. Focus!

“What do you mean?” I ask, trying to get him back to the point.

Great! Ryland is doing that eyebrow thing again, and he is totally falling for it.

Kai finally steps in. “Why isn’t it simple?”

Clay snaps his head around and looks at Kai. Ryland gives me a look like I just spoiled the moment or something.

“They can be a little . . . unusual,” Clay tells Kai.

“What’s that mean?” Ryland asks, finally getting her focus on something actually important.

“You have to understand,” Clay says. “This place is low-tech compared to what they’re used to. In geek circles they have become kind of rock stars. And, they’ve never really been in danger here.”

“Because you’re . . . I mean, they’re Ordinaries,” Ryland says. It was a statement, not a question.

Clay snaps, “Whatever!”

Ryland looks shocked and says, “I’m sorry . . . I thought . . .”

“Exactly!” Clay spits. “You thought what? Since I can’t shift, I’m nothing special?”

Wow! What just happened? My sister looks small compared to this kid, like a child being scolded by her dad in a grocery line.

Okay, maybe I was just remembering me when my dad got mad when I tried to steal a candy bar by the checkout line. I really wanted it—I love chocolate—and I didn’t think anybody saw me. When the clerk pointed it out, Dad was so mad. I think I was only like five or something. I never told Ryland about that. I wonder why?

“No,” Ryland apologizes. “I would never say—”

“I thought you were different,” Clay tells her. “When you saved that Six Flags kid . . . I thought maybe my dad was wrong.”

He gives Marcus a look and walks out of the building.

“Uh . . .” I stammer. “What’s up with that guy?”

Marcus smiles and says, “Don’t worry about Clay. He’ll come around.” He starts to direct us around the bunker and says, “These guys have been so anxious to see you.”

We walk around the corner and see two familiar redheaded boys.

The J’s!

They jump up and shake our hands with a huge smile spreading across both of their faces.

“We’ve been . . .”

“Getting the apps and hardware ready . . .”

“For the trip . . .”

“To Six . . .” they say, finishing each other’s sentences.

“Are your parents here?” Ryland says as she looks around the room. I’m pretty sure she isn’t going to give them a welcome hug or anything.

“Mom told us no . . .”

“And Dad wanted to come, but . . .”

“We left without him . . .”

“When Marcus picked us up,” they tell us.

I ask, “What apps and hardware?”

They both smile and one of them—Jaydin, I think—grabs a box and lifts it onto the table. He pulls the flap and inside there are piles of iPods, iPhones, and iPads.

Jaylon—I think it’s Jaylon— says, “You’re going to need to distinguish between Shifters and the others. By the way, we don’t call them Ordinaries around Clay. ‘Some’ people take offense to it,” he says doing air quotes.

“No kidding,” Kai mutters.

“I don’t get it,” I say. “What good will those be? I mean, I seriously doubt they have cell service there.”

Kyle speaks up, “You don’t need it.”

Both J’s smile.

Kyle continues, “We just really need the app running and some kind of network to communicate. Can you tap into their network and piggyback?”

“Wait,” Ryland says. “You can’t just use their network thingies? I’m not an expert—”

“I’ll say,” as I roll my eyes.

She gives me a look and continues, “What I mean is . . . aren’t there like different languages or something?”

That is actually a good question. Sometimes my sister can be really smart. I mean . . . when she’s not swooning over the newest
Teen Vogue
wannabe.

“Our dad taught us,” one of the J’s says. I’m starting to question if I had their names straight.

“Yeah,” the other J says. “Before,” he pauses, “all of this. He was working with the chief engineers for the universal network. He may not have programmed it, but his aptitude did allow him to understand it.”

“So you know how to do it?” I ask. “To use it?”

“It would have been easier if Devon were here,” one of them says, as both of their faces drop.

“She was always the one who wrote the code,” the other one says.

I realize that they miss her too. Her parents didn’t care, but her brothers do. I tell them, “We’ll get her back.”

“Yeah, we will,” they say together. “We’re going with you.”

–RYLAND–

When the conversation turns technical, I begin to survey the makeshift camp in Marcus and Alena’s backyard through the broken glass windows of the burned-out fake office building where they’ve set up tech headquarters. There are a number of faces here that I recognize. Some girls who are obsessed with Tanner, some Keeper kids from Washington, and the various friends we’ve met along the way. I grin when I see Jon and Rick and their mother, who appear to be cooking enough food for our entire child army.

I watch awestruck, as some of the Keeper kids seem to strike at empty air, breaking Shifters of their supposed invisibility, and knocking them to the ground. The most impressive of all is a boy whose face brings a tear to my eye. It’s Kensi’s brother, his voice screams in my memory, crying out for the death of his brave young twin.

“Ryland,” Kai says sharply, and my head whips back around to the mock conference happening in the tech heaven.

“Yeah?” I say, sounding like a complete idiot.

“Are you ready?” as Kai looks both half annoyed and half amused at my confusion.

“Ready to what?” I say slowly.

“Go get some pilots…?” Kyle finishes, staring at me as though I have begun to speak Japanese rather than English all of a sudden.

“We’re going to get pilots?” I ask, dazed. “We’re leaving?” I think that I had always expected to split up here. I thought that Kai and I would stay behind, train for battle, and observe our recruits. I thought we would plan battle strategy.

Tanner, Kyle, Sol
é
, Devon . . . they are the ones who understand the technology. They are the ones who should be meeting some weird pilots. They should be dealing with this.

“Yes,” Tanner snaps, glaring at me. “You, Kai, and Clay are going to find pilots. Kyle is going to help me, the J’s, and Sol
é
locate the ships and figure out how to gain access to them. Without being murdered by Keepers.”

Me, Kai . . . and Clay?

“Um . . .” I mumble, turning red. “Yep, ready as can be, I guess. Do I really have a choice?”

“Ry, we need these pilots to get to Six,” Kai says flatly.

“I know,” I say. “I just don’t see how it’s our job to babysit the pilots. We should be preparing battle strategies, working with our recruits.”

The smooth, warm voice behind me makes me jump. “The pilots are frightened. They just saw their worst nightmare take place on live news. The Shifters are here.” Meeting my eyes, Clay continues, “They’ll need to be convinced. We need a real leader. Someone they will listen to.”

I stare into his deep, penetrating eyes. Despite their depth and darkness, they fill me with warmth. They are smiling at me. I nod slowly. “Okay,” I say. “So, you need me because I’ve been on TV.”

“Exactly,” Clay says with a chuckle.

The camp is hectic around me. People are packing up. Now that we are here, Marcus and Alena have begun setting their plans into motion.

Many of the Tyros will return home to keep an eye on the Keeper movements and report back. Those whose families have abandoned them will be joining up with various Shifter factions to begin preparing what supplies and strategies can be put into place before arriving on Six.

Kai, Clay, and myself have been provided a Jeep that looks much like something you would see in
Tomb Raider
. Lara Croft wishes she were me right now. We’ve also been given food and more cash than I’ve seen in my life (which is saying something considering Tanner’s recent ATM sprees). Apparently it’s to bribe pilots who are less than willing.

I don’t know why we should have to bribe them. Don’t they want to free their home? Don’t they want to protect their own people? Apparently not so much.

I’ve changed into much more comfortable clothes, some jeans and a blue t-shirt that matches my eyes. I also grabbed some poor kid’s silver and white Pumas because barefoot isn’t going to work for me anymore.

We pile our gear into the back of the Jeep and start to climb in. Kai and I begin to take our usual front seats, but Clay seems to think he should be driving.

“How old are you?” Clay asks, eyeing Kai.

Kai adjusts his backpack and snaps, “Old enough.”

“No way,” Clay says, shaking his head. “No license, no driving. We can’t afford to get caught right now making some amateur mistake.”

While the boys glare at one another, I climb into the front passenger seat and play with the radio.

“Fine,” Kai snaps. “If we get killed because you don’t know how to maneuver . . .”

“Just get in,” Clay says with a laugh.

“How old are you?” I ask Clay as he climbs into the driver’s seat.

“I’ll be seventeen soon,” he shrugs.

Kai makes a coughing sound in the backseat.

I shift my eyes away from Clay’s bulging arms as we pull away from our camp. Less than a day since our first battle, and we’re already off on our next adventure. I wonder if my life will ever slow down and be “normal” again. Probably not.

“Where are we headed?” Kai asks gruffly, clearly annoyed at his less than ideal seating position.

“Canada.”

“We’re leaving the country?” I almost squeak. I brush at some lint on my shirt, trying to recover my cool. “Ummm . . . Don’t we need passports or something?”

Clay nods toward a black duffle bag in the back. When Kai opens it, I see that we have each been provided with a false identity. Wow, we could totally be in a
007
movie now.

“Sweet!” I grin.

“Yeah, our first pilot is just the other side of the border. His name is Viktor,” Clay says ominously, holding something back.

“Do you know him?” I ask.

Clay shrugs. “My dad did. He said that Viktor’s a little . . . eccentric.”

That
is an understatement.

Chapter 6

Space Talk and a Stuttering Mole Man

–TANNER–

So we’re in the command center office, and there are other people I recognize and some I don’t. Ryland is watching the group like she’s in some kind of daydream, totally not paying attention to what is going on. Clay comes back in like he didn’t just have a tantrum a few minutes ago.

Marcus puts his arm around him and says, “Ah, glad you could join us, my boy.”

“Alena told me you needed me,” Clay tells him.

“Good. She always knows what I need,” Marcus says.

Marcus said Clay would come around. I really didn’t expect it to be in like two minutes.

Alena and Sol
é
walk in after him. If I didn’t already know Sol
é’
s parents, I’d swear they are related. Not that they look alike. It’s more like how they act around each other, like they have always known each other. I guess Sol
é
kind of brings that out in people.

So like Ryland already told you, I sent her, Kai, and Clay to find this Viktor guy—who sounds like a real winner, by the way. But we do need pilots.

Besides, I think it’s kind of funny to send her on a mission with her two boy crushes. I can’t wait to see how that turns out. Anyway, she deserves it since she was like totally not paying attention.

The J’s give them some cell phones and Marcus gives them a Jeep and some money. Sol
é
hugs all of them—even Clay—and they get in the Jeep. I think Kyle is fine with her natural affection except for the Clay part.

As they drive off, I turn to Marcus and ask, “Why are we
really
going to Six?”

His face turns serious. I look at Alena, who now shares this same concern. I don’t get it. Are they afraid to tell me something?

I ask the J’s, “What is it?”

They both look like they want to tell me something, but they look to Marcus for permission.

That does not comfort me at all.

“What?” I yell at them, throwing my hands up in frustration.

Sol
é
appears to be just as lost as I am, which is kind of weird . . . Kyle just shrugs his shoulders.

Good. It’s not just me who doesn’t know what’s going on.

“Let’s go back inside,” Marcus says as he begins to walk toward the bunker.

The J’s and Alena start following Marcus.

Well . . . I guess we’re going back inside.

We catch up to them and Marcus begins to talk. “Six is a complicated place,” he starts. “It’s not occupied by many Shifters.”

“That’s good,” I say, beginning to feel a little better.

“There are many Ordinaries, but it is more important to know why there aren’t many Shifters on Six.” He stops just outside the bunker door and says, “Chemicals released from the mining operation have proven to be somewhat destructive to our kind.”

“So it’s dangerous for us . . . I mean, Shifters?” I ask.

“Let’s just say, with our naturally diminished ability to . . .” He pauses like he’s trying to find the right words. “Procreate,” he finally says.

I look at him, not really understanding.

Alena steps in to help explain. “You see,” she says. “We don’t have children at the same rate as . . .” She pauses like she’s explaining to a child—which I am in her eyes. “Ordinary people.”

When she says ordinary people, I get the sense that she is not making a distinction between Shifters and Ordinaries; instead, it is the difference between us and everybody else. Regular people.

I look at Kyle, and he is just as lost as I am. Everyone else is looking at me like I am a child, too naive to understand. I realize that, at fourteen, I am the youngest one here. Sol
é
is sixteen. Kyle is fifteen, and the J’s are like seventeen or eighteen.

I am a child.

“Does that mean we don’t have as many babies?” I ask, completely unsure. I have never really thought about kids or having kids before. Why would I? I
am
a kid.

“Not really, Tanner,” Sol
é
tells me. “It’s more like we take a little break between them.”

“Like a rest period,” Alena explains.

“What does that have to do with Six?” I ask.

“It took a long time to figure out,” Marcus says, “but it became evident that while stationed on Six, Shifter families didn’t seem to grow.”

“Okay, there’s not a lot of them to protect it,” I say. “So are we going to talk to the Ordinaries there? To build a resistance?”

“Yes, but you have to understand something,” Marcus says.

Come on. Just tell me already! Stop treating me like a child.

“What?” I ask impatiently.

“Without a large presence they have had to resort to different strategies to maintain the peace,” he finally says.

“You mean it’s monitored?” I ask. “So it’s guarded then.”

“Very well,” Alena said.

“It’s where much of the fuel for transports is mined and then refined,” Marcus says plainly. “It’s extremely important to the infrastructure of the realm.”

“So can we get through?” I ask.

“I don’t think so,” he tells me, with a concerned look on his face.

“I don’t get it,” I say, looking between Alena and Marcus. “Why would we go there? Why don’t we go someplace we can actually survive?”

“It’s time you show him,” Marcus says to the J’s.

At that, I try to keep up as the redheaded twins rush inside with a flurry of explanations about the SETI ATA array or something. They always lose me in tech talk, but they say that their dad told them how to reconfigure some government system and recalibrate a bunch of dishes. Evidently there’s a whole organization searching for extra terrestrial life.

They bring up a series of monitors with cloudy displays and turn up the sound analyzers.

“When we entered the exact coordinates we found something that totally blew our minds,” Jaylon says.

“Okay,” Jaydin says. “Don’t freak out.”

He hits a button, and an image pops up on one of the screens, making me drop to my knees. I can’t believe what I see and hear. Am I breathing? I don’t think I am. I look up to Sol
é
, and her eyes are filled with tears.

Alena is clutching Marcus’s hand. She is trying not to cry while Marcus stands stoically, staring at me.

I look back at the screen and take in the image. I know exactly why we are going to Six. I know why the J’s are going to Six. And I also know that there is no way that I am
not
going to Six.

“Tanner! Please, Tanner! You have to come! They don’t know I’m sending this. They have me. Oh, God! Please let my brothers figure this out! They call this place Six. I don’t know what that means. I know I’m on the west quadrant of Delfis, 24926. She’s coming back. I have to be quiet. She can’t know. She’ll kill me!”

My heart sinks as a red haired Shifter walks into view and the transmission is cut off. I know that Shifter. I’ve seen her before. I fought with her right outside of this house. She was at the battle in DC.

I don’t care what the danger is. I’m going. We are going to save her. We are all going to save Devon.

–RYLAND–

So, we’re standing in the middle of this crazy underground bunker being threatened by automatic guns and a million security cameras. “You have two minutes to state your clearance code before you are eliminated.” The creepy, robotic voice saying “eliminated” reminds me of Navin, and I cannot afford to be having a flashback right now.

“9423875!” Clay shouts for the hundredth time. I’m starting to think that maybe Clay is crazy and has made up this security code.

“Voice recognition incomplete. Clearance code denied.”

“We are going to die!” I shout, stating the obvious with what may well be my final breath.

“I knew that following an Ordinary into a bunker designed by a paranoid pilot was a bad idea . . .” Kai mutters under his breath.

“I don’t like that word!” Clay snaps back, clearly unperturbed at our impending doom.

“Viktor?” I ask nicely, batting my eyelashes at the security camera above me. “Could you please let us in and, you know, like not murder us? Thank you!”

A crackly voice buzzes through the speaker to our right, making us all jump. It says something garbled that none of us can understand. “Ughmghm . . . fmunchafen . . .”

“I’m sorry?” I ask sweetly, looking back up at the camera.

“Who are y-y-you, and where did you get that security co-co-code?” says a nervous voice stuttering almost incoherently in a high tenor.

Clay raises his hands over his head in surrender as the electronic voice threatens, “You have one minute to state your clearance code before you are eliminated.”

“My name is Clay Sepp, and—” he is cut off by the static sound emerging from the speaker.

“Se-Se-Sepp?” the voice stutters.

Clay nods vigorously. “My father was Villiam Sepp. He was a pilot from—”

A loud blaring fills the room, and red lights flash. I am forced to duck down and cover my ears, fearing the threatened gunshots from earlier. However, I am not riddled with bullets; instead, a door swings open at the far end of the room.

A small, round mouse of a man with pale brown hair and fleeting, nervous eyes appears briefly to wave us in before disappearing.

I turn to stare openmouthed at Kai. He is looking at the guns and cameras as if appraising their effectiveness. I glance at Clay and see that he is smirking at me. Apparently he found my “duck and cover” routine amusing.

Clay takes the lead, heading through the open door, and Kai takes up the rear, still watching the automated weapons warily. I am trapped in the middle, unsure of what we will encounter on the other side. I expect probably more crazy little mole men with guns and absolutely no idea how to determine who is actually a threat.

Three teenage kids in two-day-old clothes with coffee stains on them? Probably not dangerous.

But, maybe I’d be paranoid too if I had grown up under Shifter oppression. Maybe I’d be just as wary of allowing Shifters into my home, regardless of their age. Maybe I’d even want to shoot them, some sort of compensation for all they’d taken from me. Maybe. Maybe not.

The guy’s still a creepy mole man after all.

We enter the room to see that it’s basically a massive underground studio apartment. It’s definitely a bachelor pad because it is filthy. There are dirty dishes and clothes everywhere, but that’s not what draws my eye. The entire left wall is covered with screens.

There are images of the maze of hallways we passed through to get down here, piloting programs running, design programs featuring sketches of new ships, and even facial recognition software identifying me as none other than the infamous Ryland Ascunse, wanted for terrorism.

So basically, this guy is a crazy, paranoid, mad genius of a mole man. Spectacular. How did I get chosen for a diplomatic mission to get these psycho people to risk their lives for our cause?

“Ummm . . . sir?” I ask the mole man who is rummaging through tons of stacks of loose paper scattered around the apartment/bunker/fortress-like thing.

He doesn’t seem to hear me. He’s mumbling inaudibly to himself about something.

“Viktor?” Clay tries, and his head snaps up.

“Viktor,” I start again, trying to meet his shifty eyes. “My name is Ryland. I am here to try to get you—”

“No!” Viktor snaps.

“What?” I ask, confused.

“You are he-he-here to tr-tr-try to get me to fl-fl-fly,” he says, glaring at me accusingly.

“You don’t understand, sir,” Clay says softly. “My name is—”

“Sepp,” Viktor finishes. “Son of the great Villiam Sepp, pilot extraordinaire.”

“Yes, sir,” Clay tries to say, but he is interrupted yet again.

“He would ha-ha-have done it. Flown y-y-you. I wo-wo-won’t,” Viktor says resolutely, shaking slightly as he buries himself behind his stacks of files.

“We need you,” Kai snaps, as if this were the only reason anyone should ever do anything. “It’s your duty to support this rebellion.”

I glare at Kai. We are the worst team of diplomats ever in the history of the universe. We are worse than those who rose against Hitler or Stalin or whatever.

“Sir, I would like to discuss our plan with you, iron out some details with an expert,” Clay pleads.

Viktor is having none of it. He’s no longer even looking at us. He is digging through his files.

“Viktor?” I ask again, regaining his attention.

He blinks his beady eyes at me. “Are you still here? The answer is n-n-no. You can leave the way you ca-ca-came,” he says before returning to his digging.

Stupid mole man.