The Perks of Being a Freak (Editing)

95. This Might Just Work

Science scares me.

I know that it used to be my favorite subject. My first two years of high school I loved science class. But then Simon began sitting behind me, and I started hating it.

And then I fell in love, and science class became amazing again.

But science is what created nuclear bombs. Science created chemical warfare. Science is what turned me into a freak.

And science is what created the giant metal creature who raced behind me.

Wolfy’s shoulders tore into glass offices as he ran, and his metal paws gouged deep into the pavement. That, however, was the worst damage done to the city. Simon and Mitchell had managed to evacuate practically everybody, and they moved most of the cars and buses and duck boats out of the way.

I can fly very fast. We’ve clocked my best speed close to a hundred miles an hour when I dive.

But Wolfy was keeping pace with me, eyes murderous, teeth very very close to tearing into me.

Science could make some hella scary shit.

I saw the Boston Aquarium, the same one that Seth and I had gotten lost in so many years ago. Our mother had found us at the top of the aquarium, watching through the open top into the huge central tank filled with sharks and giant turtles. She had chewed us out for leaving her, and I had cried.

And then she had sat with us, and held me against one side and Seth against the other, and the three of us had watched the marine animals for at least another hour. Then she had carried us down to the car, where we met my father and other brothers.

Or so she told us.

Seth and I had been fast asleep. 

Caroline had carried us.

Like a real, caring mother.

I shot past the aquarium, past the outdoor tank filled with seals, and over the bay. Fido kept chasing me, scraping against the glass of the enclosure and crushing it. Three seals slipped into the chilly waters of the bay. I hardly even noticed. My eyes were drawn to the six figures standing off to the side, watching Rover follow me deeper into the water until the waves brushed his upper thigh.

This is gonna work! I was ecstatic, but then I heard someone cry out across the water, and I turned to look.

One of the first things I learned during karate was to never take your eyes off of your opponent. Never get distracted. 

But, naturally, I forgot.

I heard Emily scream, and of course I turned to look. She was staring at me in horror, eyes huge, and it occurred to me that she had probably just had another vision and that I should probably keep my eyes on Rex.

As I turned back to Clifford the Big Metal Dog, a huge steel paw came up underneath me. I remember pressure and pain against my legs and my back, and then I was flying upwards.