Curious Minds

Chapter 1

"No," I said.

"Aww, come on. It'll be fine," the twins said simultaneously.

"No," I repeated firmly. I was not swaying in this.

"You know you wanna, Dak," Caleb said, sliding his arm around my shoulders.

"What part of government compound, in another state, doesn't say "stay away"?" I demanded, with air quotes. It was like they just weren't getting how dangerous this could be.

Caleb made the face that usually won over every soft-hearted individual in school. That pout usually got him whatever he wanted, just not with me. I have known this guy since middle school and rarely fell for his pouts or whines, which is likely why our friendship has survived as long as it has. Some might say he enjoyed my defiance of him.

Long story short: our friendship should never have lasted past the first week. Caleb is a good-looking guy, in a surfer kind of way, and always has been. His hair is that sun-bleached blond, impossible to imitate with a bottle, and his eyes are a deep calm brown that I have heard girls sighing over. He is popular, obviously. Oh, and he spends his summers at a cousin's house in Cali every year. This summer was going to be no exception, just with a few extra people.

Me? I'm almost the opposite. Pale skin. Neon green hair from a bottle. Short and unathletic in every way that counts. Am the kid that most bullies would target. Oh, and I'm a trans guy that only passes because the upper half never bothered to actually mature, not that anyone actually knew about that part.

"Come on, Dak. It can't be any different from the mall," Caleb prodded, flashing straight white teeth my way.

The mall had been easy to get into and explore after hours. The hard part had come as we were getting back out while dodging security guards. He'd been brave distracting the guards while I slipped out.

"No," I said to both Caleb and the rise of a feeling I pushed away.

"Pleeasee," the twins whined.

"It's summer," Josh said.

"There's no curfews," Drake added.

Sometimes I wondered how these two survived. "Government compound," I repeated slowly. "We could die. And which of you actually came up with this suicidal idea, anyway?"

The twins glanced at Caleb.

Of course he had. "And why this compound specifically?" I demanded of Caleb.

"No reason," Caleb said. I saw a small smirk curve the corner of his lips.

He knew I was wavering. I knew he knew that I was wavering, but I wanted the whole plan and the reason this time. I was not ready for a repeat of last year's "cliff watching" incident. Involuntary bungee jumping off a cliff and not knowing that you were attached is NOT a fun time and does not count as a thrilling experience.

"There has to be a reason or a goal, Caleb," I prodded. "Anyone?" When I still didn't get an answer, I decided, "Oh well, guess you didn't actually need me."

Josh broke first. "W-what? You can't. We need you."

"You don't share information, you don't need me," I told him, pulling Caleb's arm off my shoulders and leaning against the make-shift table in our meeting house, which was just an old cabin in the woods. None of us knew who owned it, but no one was ever here. And after three years, Caleb and I decided to call it ours until the twins showed up.

"We know you want the morphing technology," Josh admitted.

"And you can tell when an animal is just an animal or when it's a person morphed," Drake added.

After that it didn't take long before the twins had given me all the details of this really bad idea. Apparently, one of them had seen a news article on the 'Heroes of Earth', the people who had saved the world from an alien race called Yeerks. In said news story, the twins had heard that the government was relocating some of the alien technology to the compound in California. It seemed said compound was only a few hours from where Caleb's cousin's beach house was.

"We are just looking, right?" I asked for the third time after the conclusion of the twins' tale.

"Just looking," Caleb assured.

With a heavy, defeated sigh, I said, "Fine. I'll help."

"YAY!" and "Yes!" Came from the twins.

The idea was simple, but in actuality it was going to be nearly impossible. I also knew if I refused to help, they would go anyway and I didn't want to be left out.

Caleb, who hadn't said anything during the twins' confession, had a satisfied look on his face. That look said there might be another reason Caleb wanted in that compound. That expression made me want to back out, but I knew I wouldn't.

Groaning internally, I thought, This is bad.

************

     "So, why did I agree to this?" I asked a few days later. I had had plenty of time to agonize over the new exploration.

     We were getting settled into Caleb's cousin's beach house. Turns out Caleb's cousin's name was Todd and he was not a friendly man. None of us had said anything about the compound while he had been around, but when he left, it began.

     The twins were excited to be breaking into the compound and because Todd wouldn't be staying with us at the beach house, they could voice that excitement. We also didn't know when Todd would visit.

     I wasn't excited about the compound. I was terrified everything would fall apart. Our 'plan' had so many holes that anything could dirupt and ruin it.

     "No second thoughts, Dak," Caleb said as he sat a large navy blue carry-on bag on the kitchen table. "I have everyone's outfits right here." Since Caleb had convinced his cousin to leave a few minutes ago, he had been getting everything ready and laid out.

     "Can't we wait a day or so to settle in? Have some fun before getting locked up or shot?" I suggested.

     "If we don't do it tonight, either you will wimp out or convince us not to," Josh said. Just because he was right didn't mean my suggestion was bad.

     "You sure you're a guy, Dak? You're acting like our mom," Drake said.

     "It's not momish to be sensible. Just because the two of you have the names of not-so-bright TV characters doesn't mean you should act as dumb as they would," I snapped in return.

     "Guys, enough. Dak's right that this mission is dangerous," Caleb admitted. By calling it a mission, he meant he was ready to go alone. He was pulling clothes out of the carry-on and separating them into piles. "Let's not argue. We'll have to work together to pull this off. Dak, we do this tonight. Todd expects us to be settling in for a few days and likely won't bother us."

     Caleb knew what words to use so that it meant I was less likely to back out at any time. Sometimes I greatly disliked how close the two of us were.

     I knew the twins were unaware I was trans, but Drake's comment still bothered me. "So what's the plan, genius?" I asked, a bit harsher than was necessary.

     "Well, it's simple: We take public transportation as close as possible. Then sneak up to the compound under the cover of darkness. Get past the fences and guards and look around," Caleb explained. He ignored my snappish-ness. Honestly, by now he was so used to it he might not even notice it.

     There were a lot of holes to that plan, but I was more interested in something else. "No touching?" I clarified. I for one was not interested in being hunted down because we had stolen something from the government or left fingerprints behind.

     "No touching," the twins chimed.

     I was sure they had their fingers crossed. Caleb hadn't said anything, either, and I was getting the feeling he had a very specific goal in mind, not just sight-seeing.

     The worst part was: I was sure I knew what the goal was and wanted it just as badly.