The Changelings Part 7

CHAPTER EIGHT.

I felt the blood rus.h.i.+ng to my face. My heart was pounding so hard I could feel the pulsing in my neck. How was this even possible? How could it be snowing in Spring in Miami, Florida? How could it be snowing in Miami at all, for that matter?

"Anyone mark '(c), snowing' on their test?" asked Jared, looking around.

Everyone but me was shaking their heads. I looked down at the floor, freaking out about the interview, remembering how they were pus.h.i.+ng me to answer that weather question with the truth instead of copping out and choosing '(d), I don't know'.

Tony looked at me, nudging me with his elbow. He was probably using that freaky mind meld thing on me again. I nudged him back, not anxious to have all their eyes on me right now.

I looked up and saw Jared staring at me. He didn't say anything though, just turned and went to the front desk to see what was going on. He came back in a minute, filling us in. "Apparently some weird-a.s.s storm just went through here, dropping a b.u.t.t-load of hale and snow all over the city. As you can see, it's mostly gone now. Temperature is going back up. The snow will be gone in less than an hour probably. It caused a huge accident on I-95." Jared turned, walking towards the doors. "Come on, let's go."

We all followed him out in twos, walking several blocks back to the warehouse district. The snow was melting as we walked, making it look as if a big rainstorm had just hit. Jared took a more circuitous route than I would have taken, but I'm sure he had his reasons. Maybe he was worried about the drug dealer pimp guys seeing us and following. I don't know why they'd be interested in us, though; we certainly didn't look like we had any money on us. Beating us up would be a waste of energy. But maybe money wasn't their inspiration.

Once back at the warehouse, we discussed our various interviews and test answers. When they asked me which superhero I picked, I lied and said Wonderwoman. Everyone else had picked a comic book hero, so I felt kinda stupid about the one I chose. That must be why Mr. Dardennes and Celine asked me about it. No one else was asked about the superhero question, but all of them were asked about the weather. No one but me picked snow. I also didn't cop to that at first either, but Jared singled me out, right in front of everyone.

"Jayne, you didn't pick answer 'd', did you?"

I shrugged. What did it matter which one I chose?

"Which one did you pick?"

I sighed. He wasn't going to let it drop. "I picked 'snowing', okay, I don't see what the big deal is."

Everyone stopped chatting to stare at me. Even Tony.

"You picked snowing?" asked Samantha, angrily. "How could you possibly have known it was snowing? Did you sneak out and see before the interview?" She looked around at everyone. "Did you guys see her go out?"

That b.i.t.c.h was really p.i.s.sing me off. Why would my choice on the test make her mad? What was her problem anyway? I stood up, not knowing exactly what I was going to do, but I wasn't going to take her s.h.i.+t sitting down.

"Ease up, Sam," said Jared. To me he said, "Seriously though, I'm curious. I know you didn't leave the room. Why did you pick snow?"

Everyone was waiting quietly for my answer. No one else seemed mad about it, so I felt a little better. I decided to just tell them the truth. It really wasn't a big deal. "I don't know. I guess I kind of smelled it or something."

"Pfft. She smelled it. Right." Samantha stalked off, yanking the door open and storming outside.

Spike nodded his head, a look of respect on his face. "She's in tune with the environment. Cool."

Becky laughed. "You're funny, Spike."

"No, I'm serious; don't you guys get it?" He looked around the room, checking each of our faces. All he got was blank looks in return. Chase looked a little pensive, but the rest of us? Lost.

"All the questions they asked, all the things they said in the interviews ... seems to me they were trying to figure out, like, whether we had any special psychic powers or whatever. I'm thinkin' this thing is more like a psychology test. Like X-Men, but minus the finger knives and freeze rays."

"I agree," said Chase, the man of very few words.

"So what's your power then, Spike?" asked Finn, laughing at him.

"I dunno ... probably something really good though." He smiled back. As far as I was concerned, his superpower was that heart-stopping smile.

I looked at Tony. "What do you think, Tones?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, I guess he could be right. Maybe they're one of those companies that tries to see if telepathy and stuff like that is real."

"Yeah, but why would they need to do a physical fitness test?" asked Finn.

He was right; that didn't really fit the hypothesis.

"Duh, to see if you can, you know, do psychic things out in the environment." Spike was obviously proud of himself, flas.h.i.+ng his Spike smile at everyone. I felt a little bit of my heart melt. Man, I had it bad for that smile. I wondered if his personality was worth getting to know, or if I should just content myself with admiring his smile and fantasizing about what he was really like. So often the reality didn't live up to my fantasies. It was too depressing to even think about right now.

"Maybe they're going to use the stress of physical activity to heighten our senses," suggested Jared.

Everyone thought about that for a second. It sounded a little spooky, actually. I was more excited about the prospect of climbing a rope ladder and crawling under barbed wire or something like that. "Maybe it'll just be a team building activity, an obstacle course thing." A girl can dream.

"You know, Jayne, you bring up a good point. What if this is an obstacle course or group exercise of sorts? Usually the successful groups learn quickly to work together as a team." Jared looked over at Becky. "Becky, will you go get Sam and bring her in here? We need to talk strategy."

Sam and Becky returned, and we all sat down on the couch, chairs, and surrounding floor. At this point Tony and I had thrown our lot in with the others. We were still free agents, but a.s.suming we would be going through some sort of strategic fitness test, it made sense to work together.

Tony asked the obvious question I probably should have thought of but didn't. "What if some of us aren't invited back?"

"We'll just work on the a.s.sumption that we will and go from there," said Jared.

"What if working together causes us to not be able to complete the test?" I asked. It's not that I'm against teamwork, but if it were them or Tony and me, I would be Team Tony and Jayne all the way.

"For now, we might as well a.s.sume it's not a compet.i.tion against each other. That wouldn't be fair anyway. Chase would kick all our a.s.ses." Everyone looked at Chase. He just shrugged his shoulders, looking away.

He was pretty big with those broad shoulders and thick arms. I guess you could say he was the strong, silent type. I wondered what was going on inside that big head of his. He didn't say much, but when he did it was obvious he had been thinking pretty hard about it. He was a mystery. I wondered how he did during the interview. It's hard to be a silent interviewee. Maybe he wouldn't be called back because he refused to speak.

We spent the next few hours going over strategy and listening to Spike play the guitar and sing. I've been told I have a pretty good voice, so I joined in with the others, singing the words to songs I knew. After listening to Spike do his thing, I couldn't figure out why he wasn't a rock star standing on a stage in an arena somewhere. He was really talented and s.e.xy as h.e.l.l. He was super nice but he looked dangerous ... perfect rock star material. Another mystery about Jared's crew. It was like everyone here had a secret. Even Tony and me.

We all had extra sandwiches from our lunch meeting, so we had a dinner of subs and chips. The warm sodas went quick, so Tony busted out his cache of juice boxes and shared with everyone, using up the last of them.

"Hopefully we'll each have five hundred dollars in a few days and I can buy some more."

I laughed. The last thing I'd buy if I had five hundred bucks right now was a juice box.

It was nearly eight o'clock so we left the warehouse to walk back to the hotel. Instead of all of us going in and rus.h.i.+ng the reception desk, Jared and I went in, leaving everyone else outside. Sam seemed a little p.i.s.sed about being left behind, but I wasn't too worried about it. It gave Tony something to stare at while I was gone.

Jared asked for the list and they handed it over to him. He put it in front of us so we could read the names. It was just first names, alphabetically. He read them quietly, under his breath. "Becky, Chase, Finn, Jared, Jayne, Spike, Tony ... s.h.i.+t. Sam's not on here. She's gonna be p.i.s.sed."

"Neither are those other older people either." It was just Jared's crew and Tony and me.

He ran his hands through his hair. "I don't feel right about leaving her behind."

"What are you going to do? Not go? It's only for a few days, she'll be fine. I'm sure she wouldn't be mad at you a she knows it's a lot of money. Plus that means she has fifty bucks here, so it's not like she didn't get anything at all out of the deal."

"I don't know. I'll have to talk to her."

He turned to walk back outside, list in hand. I followed him a few paces back. I didn't want my face to be the first thing Samantha saw when we came out. I tried not to look as happy as I felt ... she'd probably take it personally.

Everyone gathered around. Jared waited for me to catch up and handed me the list. He walked over to Samantha, taking her by the arm and pulling her away from the others.

"So, who's on the list?"

I held it out. "All of us but Samantha."

"Oh, b.u.mmer!" said Becky. It was the first time I'd seen a frown on her face.

Spike looked over at Jared and then at me. "What's Jared saying to her?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Probably trying to figure out if he's going to go without her or not."

We all started walking back towards the warehouse. Jared and Samantha went back into the hotel briefly and then came out, following behind us. I couldn't hear or see her reaction, but I knew it wasn't going to be good.

We arrived and everyone but Jared and Samantha went inside. Tony and I decided to go to bed early. I fell asleep before Jared came back in, wondering if he was coming with us, and where this mystery test would be held.

CHAPTER NINE.

Tony and I arrived at the hotel five minutes before eight. We didn't stick around the warehouse to see Samantha's goodbye. We figured it would be like rubbing salt in the wound for her, and as much as she'd been a b.i.t.c.h to me, neither of us wanted to make her more upset.

A shuttle pulled up in the front valet area with a sign in the window that said 'One Eleven Group'.

"That's us," I said.

Tony stood still for a second, concern on his face. "Aren't we going to wait for the others?"

"Nope. They'll be here, and if they aren't, that's their problem." I appreciated their whole 'we are family' thing, but I couldn't let that stop me from getting my five hundred bucks. I kept thinking about that hard concrete floor that had been my bed for two nights now. I needed last night to be the last night of that back-aching nonsense.

Tony frowned but followed me to the van. As we took the front row seats, the others came walking across the parking lot. Samantha wasn't with them, but Jared was. I was happy to see that he'd decided to come.

"Hi, guys!" said Becky, all smiles, climbing into the shuttle with us.

"What's up?" asked Finn as he got in.

Chase said nothing, choosing a seat in the back row.

Spike was next, flas.h.i.+ng me a smile and then sitting down next to me. "Hey, girl, what's up?"

Calm yourself, breathe. "Not much. No guitar?"

"Nah. I wasn't sure what the rules were on bringing music, so I left it hidden in the warehouse."

Jared was the last one in. He didn't say anything, just nodded at Tony and me, choosing a seat in the back next to Chase. I was glad he came; I think his crew functioned better with him around, and if this test required teamwork they were going to need his leaders.h.i.+p. I could tell, though, that he was b.u.mmed. I guess I could understand. If Tony hadn't been accepted I would have been in the same predicament. I'm not sure if I would have been on the shuttle without him. I'm glad I didn't have to worry about that.

The van delivered us, as scheduled, to the Miami Executive Airport and we all got out. Mr. Dardennes was there to meet us. He walked us through a reception area to the plane that was sitting out on the tarmac.

I'd never been on a small airplane before, so it was pretty cool. But then again, there was also that issue of us dropping out of the sky; I was worried about this heavy machine's ability to stay up in the air. Whenever I'd heard about plane crashes in the news, it was usually a small one involved. I sent a small prayer out into the universe for our safety. I felt a gentle breeze on my face, as if it were answering me back. I don't know why, but that made me feel just a little bit better.

We climbed up the stairs to the jet. As I entered, the first thing that came to my mind was, 'Holy s.h.i.+t, I'm on an episode of Criminal Minds.' The jet was super posh a cream-colored leather seats, plush carpeting, real wood tables in between groups of four chairs. I'd bet those chairs could recline all the way too. This is about as far from coach cla.s.s as I was ever going to get. I grabbed Tony's wrist and squeezed.

"Wow, this is nice," he said, sounding a little in awe. "This One Eleven Group must have a lot of money to be able to afford to fly this thing."

We heard similar comments coming from the others as they entered. We all slowly took our seats. It kinda felt like a dream. We were being whisked away from the streets of Miami in a chartered executive jet to ... to ... um, I had no idea. I sat down and tried to keep the feelings of uncertainty away. I calmed myself by thinking that no one would go to all this trouble and expense just to kidnap a group of homeless teens. Whatever this study was, it must be pretty valuable.

Mr. Dardennes' buff a.s.sistant was the last person on board, entering immediately behind Mr. Dardennes who was standing in the open c.o.c.kpit door, speaking to pilots I couldn't see. I turned around in my seat as far as I could but the secretary guy was blocking my view. He stood in the entrance as the stairs were taken away and the door closed. I couldn't see what he was doing exactly, but it sounded like he was securing the big locks on the door. I guess he's not only a secretary, he's a flight attendant too. He also looked like he'd be a pretty good bodyguard, now that I thought about it. Handy guy to have around.

The plane started rolling away from the hangar. I could hear the jet engines whining higher as they powered up, moving the jet forward. The plane bounced a little as it crossed seams in the pavement. I felt like I was sitting on a patchwork cloud.

Mr. Dardennes began speaking while walking towards the back of the plane. "h.e.l.lo everyone, and thank you for coming." He stopped at the last chair, turning to look at us. "We are very excited about the testing that will be conducted over the next three days. We will be arriving at our destination in no time at all. Mr. Nischa will be with you in just a moment with refreshments. I will answer all of your questions when we touch down, and the test will begin soon after landing." He turned and walked into a room at the back of the plane, closing the door behind him.

I leaned over and whispered in Tony's ear, "Was that the bathroom he just went into?" I was giggling. It struck me as funny that someone would do a welcome speech and then make a grand exit into a toilet.

Tony whispered back, "No, I think it's an office. The bathroom's up front." He twisted around and pointed to a door we walked by when we came in.

"Ahhhh." I'm so friggin' sophisticated sometimes I can't stand myself.

Spike raised his eyebrows at me a couple times. "Nice, eh?" He was sitting across from Tony and diagonal from me.

I smiled back. "Yeah, not bad." Especially since I was going to look at Spike for the entire trip.

Chase was running his hands back and forth on the leather armrests, of course not saying anything.

"I could get used to this," said Finn, grinning from across the aisle.

Becky was sitting next to him, smiling her head off; nothing unusual there.

Jared was sitting across the aisle from me, an arm's length away, next to Chase. He looked thoughtful. He'd been really quiet ever since we left the warehouse a and Samantha. He wasn't the most talkative guy anyway, but this was too much. When Jared was acting weird, it made everything else feel a little off. Maybe in another time and another place, he could have been a pretty influential leader. He had some sort of extra special charisma a like Martin Luther King or Bugs Bunny or something.

My thoughts were interrupted by the guy we now knew as Mr. Nischa, the bodyguard/secretary/flight attendant. He was walking down the center aisle, carrying a tray of amber-colored drinks a one for each of us, plus one extra. After we each took one of the tiny shot gla.s.ses a which were heavy crystal and not plastic a he took the last one and stood in front of us, holding it up and clearing his throat. He began speaking in a scratchy voice, "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I am Mr. Nischa. Congratulations on being selected for this very important study. In my country, we celebrate honors with a toast and a special drink. It is mildly alcoholic, but don't worry, it will not affect you in that way. It is traditional to say 'Skal' and then drink it in one, quick swallow." He raised his gla.s.s at us, waiting for us to do the same.

I looked around and saw everyone complying, so I did the same, hesitantly. Why was this guy all of a sudden being so friendly? Why wasn't Mr. Dardennes doing the toast with us? Alarm bells were ringing faintly in the back of my mind. Tony looked sideways at me from the neighboring seat, probably picking up my nervous vibe. He elbowed me gently, probably telling me to settle down and drink up.