Family Tails

A Story of a Mixed Family in the Genetic Age

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Names of actual businesses, their products, etc, are the property of their respective owners.

Story and characters © 2013 Ronald J. Lebeck

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Chapter 26

Graduation day. A bus of G.E.L.F. students left The Center to attend their graduation ceremonies at the University of Texas in Dallas. Helga and two other female G.E.L.F.s would be receiving their Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. The previous Friday they had the capping and pinning ceremony at the School of Nursing, which Rob, Ron, Lupina, Rosie and Miki attended. Rob felt a certain amount of pride in seeing Helga step forward to have the traditional nurse's cap placed on her head and have the nursing pin affixed to the lapel of her uniform. He also thought she looked quite attractive in her uniform, even though it may well be one of the few times she would actually wear it. Most nurses these days wear "scrubs" and perhaps a type of lab style coat, instead of the old-fashioned white dress style uniform and distinctive cap.

Helga met Rob and the others in the parking lot where the bus let the G.E.L.F.s off.

"Good morning, dear," Helga said as she and Rob embraced.

"It is now," Rob said with a grin after they kissed, causing her to purr a little.

"Hey Helga," Ron said, taking his turn at greeting her with a friendly hug. "Are you going to be ready to head back with us to Alaska after all of this is over?"

"Absolutely. I've given the school my new mailing address and phone number, and my things are packed," she replied.

"Excellent," Rob said, grinning broadly.

He was already thinking ahead to when he could find the right moment to "pop the question"--ask Helga if she would marry him. Not today, though, but soon, perhaps after she got settled in when they returned home.

"Come on, Helga," one of the other G.E.L.F.s called out, "we don't want to be late!"

"I need to go," Helga said, giving Rob one more kiss.

"Okay, dear, we'll see you there," Rob said, quickly returning her kiss.

Helga trotted over to catch up with the others, and then gave Rob a little wave. Rob watched as she walked away, adding a bit more sway to her hips.

"Come on lover boy, we gotta get our seats," Rosie said with a smirk, giving Rob's arm a tug.

As graduations went, Helga's was fairly routine--the usual people gave the usual speeches, and when at last the speeches were over, the students started to be called forth to receive their diplomas. Gradually, Helga's turn came closer and closer, as the line of students made its way up to the stage. The excitement grew in Rob as he watched Helga approach the steps leading up to the stage. Finally, it was her turn. The announcer called out her name, "Helga Katt", and she gracefully strode across the stage, the end of her tail poking out from under her graduation gown. After the final student crossed the stage and joined the rest of her classmates, the dean instructed the graduating class to stand. There were more words, followed by the tradition of flipping the tassels of their mortarboard caps from one side to the other in unison. The dean then introduced the new graduates to rousing applause from the crowd of family and friends. To the music "Pomp and Circumstance", the graduates filed out in reverse order.

For most of the Gen-2 G.E.L.F.s who graduated this day, there were very few who greeted them afterwards, mostly other classmates, and no family; Helga was the exception. With their usual awareness, Ron and Rob noticed how the other G.E.L.F.s watched--they could see the longing in their eyes for what Helga, Lupina, and Rosie had.

Motioning him a little off to the side, Ron asked quietly, "Hey Rob, how much you wanna bet these folks aren't going to have much of a celebration?"

"What do you have in mind?" Rob asked in return.

"Well, I was thinking..." Ron started to say.

"That's always dangerous," Rob smirked, quickly remembering at least one time Ron had said that, which made a mission more daring--and harrowing--but resulted in an unexpected bonus.

"...Heh, just thinking if we could convince the driver to go along with it, maybe we could swing taking them to a pizza joint or something. I can ask Lu to see what she thinks, and if you both agree to it, we can split it three ways," Ron suggested.

Rob thought about it for a moment, and remembered how many of the G.E.L.F.s stood up for them in the cafeteria in The Center.

"Good way to pay them back for that, I suppose," Rob thought to himself.

"Fine with me," he agreed. "For the incident in the cafeteria."

Ron grinned, and went to ask Lupina and the others. It didn't take much to convince Lupina, Rosie, Helga, and Miki, so the six of them went at talked to the bus driver.

The bus driver, Lloyd Fitzgerald, and older man in his mid-sixties, listened carefully to the idea of taking the G.E.L.F.s to a pizza place for an impromptu graduation celebration, including the reason why. He had been working at The Center since the Gen-1 G.E.L.F.s were old enough to play outside in the large compound. Besides driving the bus, Lloyd also drove a large box van--a type of truck used for short haul delivery runs--going into the city to pick up supplies and equipment for The Center. An avid gardener, Lloyd talked his bosses into allowing him to plant a garden in the compound, and he taught some of the G.E.L.F. children how to grow things. He looked up into the sky briefly, removed the Panama hat he wore, revealing his short, thick, white hair, and wiped his brow on his sleeve. After running his fingers through his hair, he put his hat back on and with a merry grin, he agreed.

"I know just the place," Lloyd said. "The parking lot is big enough for this ol' tub, and they have a side room for groups. I'll give 'em a call and let 'em know we're coming."

"Okay, we'll follow you, then," Ron said.

"Hey, if you don't mind, I think I'll ride along with Helga," Rob said.

"Okay, we'll be right on your tail," Ron said with a grin.

The G.E.L.F.s were taken by surprise to learn that they were being treated to pizza--it might not have been much, but the thought was greatly appreciated, and would be long remembered. The employees at the pizza restaurant were surprised to learn that a busload of college graduates were coming to their store--they were shocked to see forty-eight G.E.L.F.s get off the bus, and a few more arrive in a rental mini-van, along with four humans, two of whom seemed particularly close to three of the G.E.L.F.s. For the next couple of hours or so, the group had a rather enjoyable time.

Lupina's cell phone went off out in the restaurant's parking lot while everyone was saying their goodbyes and getting back on the bus. She immediately recognized the ringtone--she was getting a call from The Center. It also immediately got the attention of Ron, Rosie, and Rob. As soon as Lupina answered the call, she had to punch in the security code to accept the secure connection.

"Hello?" Lupina said when the call came through. "Oh, hi Dr. Nemeth! What can I...oh? Sure, he's right here. Yeah, just a sec...," Lupina held her phone out to Ron with a confused look on her face.

"It's for you, baby."

Ron raised an eyebrown as he took the phone from her.

[Ron]: "This is Ron.

[Dr. Nemeth]: "Mr. Daugherty...er, Ron...this is Darcy Nemeth. I'm sorry to bother you, but...I, er...could really use your unique help."

Dr. Nemeth spoke hesitantly in low tones, as if she didn't want to be overheard. Ron knew something odd was up by the way she spoke informally. Quickly turning the volume up without putting the phone on speaker, Ron motioned for Rob to come closer so that he could hear, too.

[Ron]: "What's up?"

[Dr. Nemeth]: "Kylie's missing."

[Ron]: "Missing? How long?"

Rob mouthed the words, "the bat girl" with a questioning look, and Ron nodded his head. They both knew she wouldn't have much of a chance on her own. Lupina also heard what Dr. Nemeth said, and she immediately held a hand up to her mouth, flattening her ears.

[Dr. Nemeth]: "Since last night. Her roommates haven't seen anything of her after it got dark."

[Ron]: "Aside from the bus, has any other vehicle left since then?"

[Dr. Nemeth]: "Not to my knowledge. There's...something else, but...can we meet somewhere?"

Ron heard the uncharacteristic nervousness creeping into Dr. Nemeth's voice.

[Ron]: "Hold tight, Darcy, let me make a phone call, and we'll make our way out there. I'll have Lu give you a call when we're on our way."

[Dr. Nemeth]: "But, you don't know the location of this facility..."

[Ron]: We know exactly where it's at. Oh, one other thing, does anyone know if any of Kylie's things are missing?"

[Dr. Nemeth]: "Oh. Er...I'll check on that and let you know."

[Ron]: "Okay, talk to you in a bit."

They ended the call and Ron handed Lupina's phone back to her.

"Seems something is afoul out there--Kylie's missing since last night, Nemeth is nervous, and she's got something that she's afraid to say over the phone...and she asked for help. Specifically, she asked for my unique help, which I read as our unique help," Ron said.

Before Rob could say anything, Lloyd, the bus driver, poked his head out and said, "I need to get these kids back home...just heard on the radio that there's a nasty storm brewin' west-southwest of here, and a tornado watch has been issued until one o'clock in the morning."

Ron and Rob both got a grim look on their faces--that would put The Center in the likely path of the storm--if Kylie was somehow lost out in the country somewhere, she definitely wouldn't stand a chance in a major storm.

Rounding up Lupina, Rosie, Helga, and Miki, Ron filled them in on what was going on.

"Helga, why don't you go back with the others and quietly see what you can find out," Rob suggested.

"How will I be able to reach you?" she asked.

Ron grinned and said, "Just a sec...got that covered," and then he got into the mini-van they had rented. Reaching into a small duffle bag he had brought along, Ron found what he was looking for, closed the bag and tucked it behind the seat. When he returned to the others, he held up a spare phone.

"Never leave home without a spare," he said with a grin.

Ron powered up the phone and showed Helga how to use the speed dial, how to send a text message, how to use the walkie-talkie function, and how to activate the emergency beacon. When the bus pulled away, Ron and the others piled into the mini-van.

"Now what we do?" Lupina asked.

"Well, I've got an idea," Ron offered.

"Let's hear it," Rob said.

"Well, first thing would be to call Jack and see if Dave, Jeff, and Mike are still in town. If they are, then we see if they want to help. If they do, then we've got some options. What we have available is our jet--we can use the infrared cameras to look for Kylie, and get a quick fix on her position. As I remember, there's a little airstrip in the vicinity of The Center that I think is used for crop dusters...it should be long enough for us to land and take off from. We could have Nemeth meet us there in her vehicle, and then she could drive us as close as she can get us, and then go in on foot. The major constraint we have is time--flight plan, fueling, traffic, getting to and from, S.A.R.[1], etc. All of this depends of course if she's actually out in the boonies, alone or with someone else, willingly or unwillingly. As soon as we find her, we extract, and haul our tails back to the barn. Depending on how fast this storm's moving, if we can't get back to the jet in time, we'll have to make a run for it to The Center, and someone is going to have to fly the plane out. After the storm passes, if Jack still has his helo, he can buzz on out and pick us up."

Rob thought for a moment and said, "Alright, I'll call Jack and have him and the guys meet us at the airport with their gear. Swing us by the hotel on the way."

"What do you want us to do?" Lupina asked with concern.

"Stay at the hotel and keep an eye on the local news, and be our go-between with Nemeth. If things should look bad here, get to whatever shelter the hotel has, and be sure to take the bag I've got under the seat--it's got light sticks, a flashlight, emergency radio, first-aid kit, and a few other things you might need," Ron replied.

On the way to the hotel, Rob called Jack--the other men from their former unit were still there, so everyone was informed as to what as going on. Without hesitation they all said, "We're with you, L.C."[2] Ron dropped the ladies off at the hotel, though before heading to the airport, he had Lupina call Dr. Nemeth back and let her know what they were planning. She was to meet them at the little airstrip near The Center, though if the weather got bad before they made it, she was to head back. While Ron talked to Dr. Nemeth, Rob called the airport and filed the flight plan, which called for some fast-talking on his part since they would be flying towards an oncoming storm. He next called to have a fuel t ruck to fill the jet's tanks. Upon arriving at the airport, Jack and the others were already waiting for them.

"I can't let him get away with this!"

Kylie thought frantically what to do.

"He's gotta be stopped, but I can't trust the humans here!"

Her large, sensitive ears heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching, most likely the security guards. She knew that if they found her down in the lowest level, that would be bad enough, but being in this particular section where Dr. Sumter did his secret research at...she didn't want to think what could happen. Thinking quickly, Kylie headed back to the service shaft. Slipping into it and quietly shutting the door, she climbed up the shaft using her strong claws. Kylie waited at the top of the service shaft until it was about time for the guards to change shifts. She knew that there would be only a few minutes time to slip outside into the dark. Looking at the watch clipped to the little pouch she wore, she saw that it was time. Cautiously slipping out and into the pole barn structure in the compound, Kylie made her way to the area behind it.

"Hisst! Kylie!" came a whispered familiar voice.

"Hannah?" Kylie whispered back.

"Over here!"

Not the most graceful walker, Kylie made her way over to some bushes where her friend was waiting. Hannah, a black footed ferret G.E.L.F. of Kylie's Gen-3 age group, had been waiting for her.

"Did anybody see you?" Hannah whispered.

"I don't think so. Did you get that stuff written down for me?"

"Yeah. Oh, I got your pack-thing, too. Are you sure you can fly while wearing it?" Hannah asked with concern.

"One way to find out," Kylie replied with a little sigh.

"Kylie, how are you going to know where to go? We don't know where we are or how far it is to the nearest town! Who knows what's out there--you might end up like that Willie guy, or worse!"

Kylie knew her friend was right, but she didn't see any choice--if she could somehow get a message to that nice man she had met, maybe he and his friends could help. She heard about how the four men who served together in the military didn't like Dr. Sumter, even threatened him. Hannah helped Kylie put the special pack on, which hung in front across her abdomen, attached to straps that went around her neck and upper thighs. The pack itself wasn't very big, enough for a bottle of water, a little food, her sunglasses, a change of clothes (Kylie's clothing was little more than a one-piece swimsuit that covered the necessities), her I.D., a cell phone that was given her, and a thin fleece throw. When she was ready, they said their goodbyes.

"Be careful out there!" Hannah whispered, giving Kylie a hug.

"I'll try to. I'm going to fly east--I've seen some lights in that direction," Kylie whispered, hugging her friend in return.

Giving a few ultrasonic chirps so that she could "see" the sound echo image in her mind of the wall around the compound, Kylie launched herself into the air. As soon as she was over the wall, Kylie turned and headed towards the east until she cleared the perimeter fence. Once across it, she glided down towards a large tree and landed near it. Kylie carefully climbed up the tree until she found a suitable large branch on which to perch.

"*Whew!* I think...that's the farthest...I've ever flown!" Kylie said, breathing heavily, though happy with the accomplishment.

As she gazed out into the night, the strange surroundings had a certain beauty to it, Kylie found. She looked up into the sky and felt a longing to be able to fly like her smaller cousins, but then she thought, "What am I doing out here> I don't have hands like the others, I can't fly as good, I can't walk or run like the others...why did they make me like this? It wouldn't be so bad if I had regular arms and feet like everyone else, then I could probably do something." She sighed, knowing that her prospects in this life were rather limited. Then she thought about what Dr. Sumter was doing--trying to make G.E.L.F. warriors.

Rumor had it that Dr. Sumter had been told to discontinue work on that project, though several G.E.L.F.s had heard strange noises coming through the ventilation system and service crawlways on the lower levels. Some of the younger G.E.L.F.s, particularly the rodents who have a knack for crawling through narrow spaces, found a room on the lowest level well apart from the maturation room normally used for growing the G.E.L.F.s. What they saw frightened them, and they told the older ones what they found. One of the Gen-2 G.E.L.F.s who is an artist, sat down with the younglings and drew a picture from their descriptions--it looked like something from a sci-fi horror movie.

"If these get out, it's going to cause trouble for us, I know it!" one of the canine G.E.L.F.s said.

"It'll be like 1940's Europe, only we will be the ones rounded up," said one of the badger G.E.L.F.s who is a history major in college.

"There are a lot of good people out there who accept us as we are, but these things Sumter is trying to make will certainly cause the more paranoid humans to turn against us," Willie said cautiously.

"But how can we stop him? We don't know how to fight!" another said.

"We get someone who does," Willie replied.

"How do we get past the walls? If any of the guards, particularly the new guards, see us trying to go over them, they'll hit us with those Tasers," the one canine G.E.L.F. inquired.

Everyone in the group thought in silence, trying to figure out what to do.

"I'll do it."

The gathered G.E.L.F.s suddenly looked up in the direction of the quiet voice that spoke.

"I can get over the walls."

"Kylie...you?" Willie asked incredulously.

"It'd be better if one of us do it, since we can run long distances," one of the wolf G.E.L.F.s suggested.

"Yeah, right, the humans in this part of the country would think werewolves and vampires were roaming the night," the badger said, sarcastically.

"Why don't we ask one of the ones graduating tomorrow to try and get word out?" one of the ferrets asked.

"They'll likely be checked by the security guards. Ever since I came back after my concert and Lu's wedding, the guards seem to be watching us a lot closer for some reason," Willie said, drooping his ears.

"The rest of the staffers have been, too," the badger noted.

"Dr. Nemeth seems to be nicer, though," Kylie observed.

"True enough. We flew together up to Alaska and she didn't say a whole lot, but on the way back, I noticed a change in her--she acted much friendlier," Willie said. He paused for a bit in thought. "If only I could get a call to Lu's mate, he'd help if he could."

"Then let me do it...I can get over the wall and try to find someplace to get a signal. He knows me, so he'll listen to me," Kylie implored.

"She does have a point, Willie. The both times your human friend has been here, he seems rather fond of Kylie," one of the other mice G.E.L.F.s said.

"Okay, I'll have to show her how to use the cell phone Lupina bought for me...the thing is, where?" Willie asked.

"It'll have to be in one of the restrooms--those are the only places without cameras," the badger said.

"Hmm. It's almost suppertime; maybe we can do it in the one near the cafeteria. Kylie, if you and a couple of the other bat girls go in first, I'll go in and show you how to dial Ron's number, and then slip it into your pouch. I'll head out like nothing happened, and then you can follow after a bit," Willie suggested.

"Okay, I'' go get the other girls and meet you there," Kylie said.

Everything went according to plan--until Willie came out of the restroom and saw two security guards nearby, watching. He had not stayed long, and had even washed his hands, just in case he should be questioned. The two guards watched Willie all the way down the hall and into the cafeteria. When Kylie and the other two girls came out, the two security guards stepped in front of them.

"You girls were in there a long time," one of the guards said.

"Yeah, well we were talking about girl stuff," said Pamela, a dark-haired bat.

"I didn't hear any voices," the second guard said.

"That's not surprising," Cindy, the other bat girl, who has reddish-brown hair said as she rubbed her right ear.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" the first guard asked sarcastically.

"Hey, it's not my fault you have tiny ears. Maybe you should talk to the biologists or whoever and see if they can give you better ears," Cindy said with a little smirk.

"You're a little smart-ass, aren't you?" the second guard asked coldly.

"Well boo-hoo, if you can't take a little suggestion, Cindy replied.

"Yeah, what is it with you guys lately? You're supposed to be protecting us, not going around acting like a bunch of thugs. Where did they get you guys at, rejects from airport security or something?" Pamela asked, coping a bit of an attitude.

"That's enough out of you, miss," the first guard said, grabbing Pamela's wing.

"Hey! Let go of me!" Pamela shouted.

"Let me see what you have in that pouch," he ordered.

"I don't have to show you anything! Now let go!" Pamela said angrily.

"You'll do what we tell you," the second guard said menacingly, reaching for his Taser.

"Tase this, monkey boy!" Cindy exclaimed...and then she screamed.

It wasn't a typical human-like scream--it was a one hundred-thirty decibel high-frequency screech meant to stun prey. Pamela and Kylie both joined in at slightly different pitches, just as loudly as Cindy did. To keep from deafening themselves, the three bats shut off their hearing by using special muscles in their middle ears that clamp down on the tiny bones and prevent them from transmitting the vibrations. The two human guards, however, were defenseless from the sonic attack, and promptly fell to their knees in pain, holding their hands over their ears to no avail.

Upon hearing the bat screams, several of the larger G.E.L.F.s ran out of the cafeteria to see what the matter was. When they arrived, the two guards were nearly unconscious, and the girls told the others what had happened.

"Now what do we do with them?" asked Mina, a chestnut Icelandic pony mare G.E.L.F.

"I'll take them up to the offices," a deep voice said.

Looking up, the other G.E.L.F.s saw Griswold, a Gen-2 black bear G.E.L.F., reaching down for the guards. Picking them up with ease, Griswold started to walk towards the stairs.

"Hold up a sec, Gris," said Karl, a German shepherd, who had come with the others.

He removed the Tasers from the guards just in case they thought about trying to use them, and removed the batteries.

"Good thinking, Karl," Griswold said. "Let's get these fellas upstairs and file a complaint."

"I'll come with you, since I'm the one they grabbed," Pamela said.

"Kylie, maybe you ought to hurry up and eat, and then do what you've got to do while Gris and the others have their attention upstairs," Cindy suggested.

"Okay. I'll get Hannah to meet me by the barn with my stuff," Kylie agreed.

After she rested for a while in the tree, Kylie came down out of it and walked a few meters away from it. Looking up at the sky, she found the North Star and looked towards the east.

"I'll see how far I can make it," Kylie thought aloud, stealing herself for the task ahead.

Just then, her large, sensitive ears heard sounds towards the west--guards with a dog were patrolling the perimeter fence around the property.

"I'd better get going," she said quietly, and taking a little hop, kylie launched herself into the air.

"Hmm, Test Subjects Nineteen, Twenty, and Twenty-one, seem to be developing nicely, Dr. Sumter said aloud, with a smug look on his face as he tapped the side of the large artificial womb containing test subject number twenty-one.

Suspended in the fluid was a large creature that could have been in any number of sci-fi horror books or movies--a two-meter tall monstrosity that looked like an armor-plated wolf G.E.L.F. with poisonous spikes growing from its arms and venomous fangs in its mouth. The snout contained heat-sensing organs such as those found on pit vipers, and as Dr. Sumter walked past the tanks, the heads of the three test subjects followed his movements.

Having acquired the data he needed from four of the original subjects of Project: Hunter, Sumter was able to piece together what he had been missing in his attempt to create his version of a "super soldier".

"Wait until they see these puppies," Sumter smirked, giving his creations a last look before heading back to his office.

Ever since he originally worked on Project: Hunter, Dr. Sumter had tried to recreate the specific DNA sequences that made the original twenty-four members of the Sea Wolf units so special. Each time he almost had it, the place he was doing his work at ended up being struck by lightning and burning down to the ground. This time, however, he had taken extra precautions--this lab was made out of reinforced concrete well below ground, the electrical system was isolated from the rest of the complex, and he kept a copy of the computer data with him at all times.

"The only way anyone is going to get this copy is over my dead body," he said to himself with his usual arrogance, for he firmly believed that whatever Nature could create, he could create something better.

Dr. Sumter had many arguments with his coworkers over the creation of the G.E.L.F.s and in what direction they should go with them. He wanted to "mix-and-match" attributes of different species, much as the designer animals had been in the past, making a unique hybrid for specific types of work. Fortunately, he was overruled in favor of the way G.E.L.F.s are presently made--re-engineering animal species using human DNA as a template to make intelligent, anthropomorphic beings, instead of creating "chimera"[3] type of hybrids that would likely make humans think of mythological monsters.

Rob pulled the cabin door up and made sure it was secured, before asking the other guys if they were ready to roll.

"We're secure back here, L.C.," Jack said, giving a "thumbs up".

Rob returned the gesture and took his seat in the cockpit, giving Ron a pat on the shoulder. "Get us in the air, wildman," Rob said with a grin.

Ron slipped on his aviator's sunglasses, said, "Showtime!", and released the brakes.

After getting clearance to taxi, Ron drove the little jet out onto the taxiway and got in line. Due to the approaching storm, many of the commercial jets were trying to get on their way, while others heading towards DFW were either being delayed or rerouted.

When it was their turn to drive onto the runway, Ron got on the intercom and said, "Good afternoon ladies, this is your pilot, please return your seats and trays to their upright position, and thank you for flying Acme Airways."

Rob groaned and rolled his eyes, and said, "Smart ass."

Ron smiled, pressed the "play" button on the MP3 player he had plugged into the cabin speakers, and off they went...to the R.E.O. Speedwagon song, "Riding the Storm Out."

It didn't take long before they reached the vicinity of The Center. Rob flipped on the infrared cameras mounted in the underside of the jet's fuselage. The other four men either watched the flat panel displays or looked out the windows with binoculars. Before they had left, Ron had shown a photo of Kylie to the other four men.

"This is the girl we're looking for," he said, "She's only a kid and doesn't know anything about how to survive in the boonies. Cute as she is, you can imagine what could happen to her if some bloody eejit thinks she's something out of a vampire movie."

"Yeah...or if she gets caught out in the storm approaching," Rob had added.

Each of the six men understood fully the possible scenarios. Not long after flying directly over The Center, Rob's phone rang.

[Helga]: "Rob? This is Helga...did you just fly over?"

Rob: "Yep, we did. Find out anything?"

[Helga]: "Yes, Kylie's friend Hannah said she would be traveling east."

Rob: "That narrows things down a lot. Did her friend say when she left?"

[Helga]: "About ten p.m. last night."

"It's Helga--she says Kylie headed east, and left out about twenty-two hundred hours," Rob said to Ron.

Ron nodded his head and turned the plane around.

Rob: "How are things down there?"

[Helga]: "Crazy...and the wind's picking up."

Rob: "Hang tight, we're looking for Kylie now. There's a little airstrip in the area and we're going to meet Dr. Nemeth there when we locate Kylie."

[Helga]: "I will. You guys be careful. I love you."

Rob: "We will. I love you, too."

After Rob hung up his phone, he said, "Helga said things are crazy there, and that the wind's picking up."

"Yeah, I can feel it a bit in the controls," Ron said.

"How far do you think she could go?" Rob asked.

"Well, she can't fly very far before tiring out, so I wouldn't think she could get too far."

"Let's hope she stayed on the course she said she'd follow," Rob said, eying the RADAR for obstacles.

"Okay guys, look sharp--we're making our first pass from west to east. Coming up on The Center in...five, four, three, two, one, mark!" Ron called over the cabin speakers.

"Infrared cameras on and recording," Rob said matter-of-factly.

Ron said, "Rodger that," keeping his eyes focused on the view ahead and on their airspeed indicator. He was flying as slow as he dared, given the current atmospheric conditions. Although Rob is an excellent pilot, Ron has that certain amount of "inspired craziness" that has got them into and out of tight situations several times in the past--and today is no exception.

After flying straight east from The Center twenty kilometers, Rob called to the guys in the back, "Anything yet?"

"Negative, L.C.," Jack answered.

"Ron, standard clockwise search pattern," Rob ordered.

Nodding his head once, Ron acknowledged, "Standard clockwise search pattern, aye," and then turned the jet towards the south to begin making a series of overlapping rectangular loops.

The reason why it was decided to search from due east to a southerly direction was because during the night, the winds had shifted so that they were coming from a northwesterly direction. There would be a good possibility that Kylie would be unable to keep flying due east in the increasing winds. When Ron almost completed the first full loop, his cell phone rang. Fishing it out of its holster, Ron quickly glanced at the display.

"It's Willie's phone," he said, just before accepting the call, using the hands-free connection so that he and Rob could hear the call in their headsets.

[Ron]: "Kylie? This is Ron. Look up--do you see or hear a jet?"

Kylie: "I hear...towards sun."

[Ron]: "Say again?"

Kylie: "Hear jet...it's tow...sun from me."

"Hard right, Ron...," Rob ordered.

Ron turned the plane sharply to the right so that they were heading east again.

Getting on the intercom, Rob said over the cabin speakers, "We've got comms with the girl, poor signal, said we're towards the sun from her location. Eyes sharp, guys!"

[Ron]: "Kylie, let me know when you see a small jet flying low."

Jeff called out, "Possible contact on infrared--fifteen degrees starboard, about twelve klicks."

Ron adjusted his heading and flew in the direction indicated.

[Ron]: ""Kylie, hold your arms out and wave them up and down."

"Coming up fast, L.C.," Jeff called out.

"Got visual!" Mike exclaimed while looking out the window through a pair of binoculars.

Rob pushed a button to hold the GPS readout so that he could write it down.

"Got the coordinates," he told Ron.

[Ron]: "Kylie, we've spotted you. STAY PUT! Will land and come get you. I repeat, STAY PUT, will land and come get you. Will be there A.S.A.P., Okay?"

[Ron]: "See you soon, kiddo!"

Ron terminated the call, and then asked Rob, "Where's that airstrip, and what roads we take?"

It didn't take long to reach the small airstrip used by crop duster planes. It wasn't a very long runway, but it would have to do. After making the necessary radio calls to inform the air traffic controllers that they would be landing at the strip, Ron eased the little jet down.

"Might be a little bumpy, guys...," Ron call out when they were within ten meters of the ground. The ground wasn't exactly even, and certainly wasn't smooth, though Ron managed to nail the landing. After getting turned around, Ron found a place to park at and shut down the engines.

"Well, at least there aren't any trees at the ends," Ron said with a sigh of relief.

"Thank God for that," Rob agreed, wiping his forehead.

They sat there for a few seconds until they heard the other guys moving about. Ron and Rob unstrapped themselves from their seats and made their way aft.

"I spotted a vehicle heading this way just before we touched down," Mike said.

"Hopefully that's Nemeth," Rob said, unlatching the door and lowering it.

As soon as Ron poked his head out of the cabin door, he sniffed the air.

"Smell something, master Chief?" Dave asked who was right behind him.

"Rain...*sniff*...and there's something odd about the air," Ron replied.

"I certainly don't like the looks of those clouds," Rob said grimly, looking off to the west.

"Let's get the gear out, guys," Jack said.

Ron and Rob attached the covers over the intakes of the engines to keep dirt and debris out, and chocked the wheels while the other guys opened the cargo hold and pulled out the gear they would need.

The vehicle Mike had seen pulled quickly into the little parking area next to the shack that served as an office of sorts for the little airstrip. Dr. Nemeth got out of the driver's seat, shut the door, and walked briskly over the plane.

"Somebody you know?" Jack asked Ron.

"Yeah, it's Dr. Nemeth...she's going to take us as close as she can to where Kylie is, then we go in on foot," Ron replied.

Darcy was amazed to see the jet sitting there--she wondered who the crazy fool was that had the nerve to land it on such a small, unimproved strip.

"Hi, Darcy," Ron said with a friendly grin, holding his hand out.

She shook his hand and said, "Hello, Ron. I see you and your friends made it."

"Yep. You remember Rob of course, and Dave and Jeff," Ron said. "That's Jack, and the other is Mike."

They all exchanged hellos.

"Were you able to find Kylie?" Dr. Nemeth asked with concern.

"Yeah, we found her, she knows we're coming. Hey, Jack, hand me that map, will ya?" Ron said.

Jack handed him a topographical map of the area in a weatherproof map case. Marked on the clear window with a special marker was the location of the airstrip, where Kylie was located, and The Center.

"So, you do know where we're at...how...?" Dr. Nemeth asked.

All six men stopped what they were doing and looked at her in such a way that she suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

After a few seconds Ron said, "Just say that when it comes to doing what we do, your taxpayer dollars were well spent." Ron softened his expression, and patting her on the shoulder added, "Let's go get Kylie before the storm hits."

Ron went with Dr. Nemeth because Kylie knew him, and Mike, Jeff, and Dave went as well. Rob stayed with the plane in case the storm came up before the others returned so that he could fly it out of there. Jack also stayed with the plane to provide extra security. While Dr. Nemeth was driving as quickly as she dared to the nearest spot she could get to Kylie, Ron remembered that there was something else Darcy had hinted at over the phone.

"Darcy, what was it that you wanted to tell me, but couldn't over the phone?"

She glanced at Ron and replied, "Sumter...has made...monstrosities."

Ron's expression became grim.

"What are they and how many?" he asked.

"Three...I think. He's got a lab of his own down on the lowest level. One of my G.E.L.F.s took a chance and told me about it, so I tried to find out for myself. I couldn't get into the lab to see, so I did a little digging through work orders, invoices, and other records. He's got somebody in corporate helping him, and we've had some new guards hired...two of them accosted one of Kylie's friends last night for no reason. Some of the larger G.E.L.F.s brought the two guards up to the offices last night in a semi-conscious state--with their ears bleeding. Shortly afterwards, Kylie was missing, and so were a few things of hers from her room," Dr. Nemeth explained. She pulled out a folded piece of paper that was tucked between the sun visor and the vehicle's roof, and handed it to Ron. "This is what they're supposed to look like."

Ron unfolded the paper and looked at it carefully, before passing it around to the others.

"I think that might be why Kylie left last night--to try and contact you," Dr. Nemeth said.

Ron thought a few seconds and then asked, "Do you think she acted alone?"

"I wouldn't think so, but I'm not a behaviorist," she replied.

"What's that got to do with it?" Ron asked. "You've been one of the main scientists behind the creation of these people, so that makes you sort of like their mother. A mother should know her children and care about them...and I think you do care about them, otherwise you wouldn't be so concerned about Kylie, or how that eejit Sumter could end up doing something that might endanger the whole G.E.L.F. program."

"He's right, you are the closest person the G.E.L.F.s have to a mother," Jeff added. "Tacey's told me how much she wishes she had a mother to talk to about things."

"Lupina and Rosie both have said the same thing, though they're going to be mothers themselves soon. At least Lupina has Sesi to give her a little advice," Ron said.

"Sesi? That white wolf?" Dr. Nemeth asked.

"Yep, the same," Ron replied.

"How is a wild wolf going to give advice to Lupina on how to be a mother?" Dr. Nemeth asked.

"Sesi's not completely wild, and I think you know that. She definitely knows you," Ron replied.

"What?" Dr. Nemeth asked incredulously.

"Her and her mate, Atka, both remember you...from Berkley." Ron said, watching to see what Darcy's reaction would be.

"There's no possible way they could...be...those two...," Dr. Nemeth trailed off in disbelief.

"They are, Sesi told me, Lupina, and Rosie all about it." Ron said.

"What are you talking about, Ron? You've got wolves who can talk?" Mike asked.

"Sort of. It seems they have some sort of limited telepathy with the G.E.L.F.s--I didn't know about it myself until after I received that last round of enhancements at The Center. All of their cubs have the same ability, though Kapik seems to be the most sensitive. I'll tell you all about it another time--I think this is the place we turn off at," Ron said, pointing at a county road they were approaching.

Dr. Nemeth found a place to pull off the road and park, and everyone got out, gathering at the front of her vehicle. Laying the map out on the hood, Ron and the men checked their GPS devices, making sure that Kylie's coordinates were entered correctly.

"Looks like we've got a lot of western red cedars to get through, so watch out for scorpions--some like to hide in among the branches. Keep an eye out for snakes, too. We won't call out to her until we g et close to her location. We'll go single file until we get to this point here," Ron said, pointing at the map, "and then we'll spread out. Be sure your radios are set to channel two, secure mode--we want to be in and out quietly. Any questions?

"Yeah, anything in particular we should know about this bat girl?" Mike asked.

Everyone looked expectantly at Dr. Nemeth.

"Er...the membranes of her wings are thin and can easily be damaged. She has excellent hearing, particularly in the higher frequencies. Oh, and if she gets frightened or feels threatened, she can emit a high-pitched scream at one hundred and thirty decibels, which is quite painful to humans. As a last resort, she does have a mouth full of extremely sharp teeth," Dr. Nemeth explained.

"Kylie's kind of shy, so be gentle...and let her know that you're with me. Anything else?" Ron asked.

No one had any further questions.

"Move out."

---

[1] S.A.R. - Search and rescue

[2] L.C. - Lieutenant Commander

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimera_(mythology)