Curious Minds

Chapter 6

Dak's POV

That is the amazing adventure that had us heading to what passes for command central in this compound. We were ziptied before being led there.

The room itself was about as big as a high school gym. Instead of bleachers, there were long tables placed on either side with chairs for those who sat to do so. There was one table that stretched from one side to the other between the tables along the side walls.

Apparently, we had come at a time when some kind of meeting was taking place. There were dozens of humans, all dressed in military garb. Along with the humans were various kinds of animals, likely morphs, and four Andalites.

Each Andalite carried itself with arrogance, their bladed tails held at rest over their backs. One of the blue-furred aliens stood at the central table, next to a very decorated human man. The mouthless face watching us approach was difficult not to stare at. I had seen them on TV, but in person was very different.

I forced my attention to the various animals. There were many kinds of dogs and birds. Felines were present, as well, ranging from domestic house cats to the largest breeds of wildcats. I spotted a Hork-Bajir amongst the animals. I was distracted from my contemplation of whether the bladed bark-eater was real or a morph when the large Andalite spoke.

<What is this?> it said. <Two young males got through your security? You said the technology we entrusted to you would be well protected.>

I assumed it was that Andalite. Thought-speak was new and my best guess came from the military man's reaction.

He turned his attention to the Andalite, "Our security can protect the assets entrusted to our care." Turning to one of the people escorting us, he asked, "How did four teenage boys get the outer guards?"

"I am uncertain, sir," the lead guard said.

"Then check the cameras," this voice was familiar. It came from a small, dark-haired woman, who stood against a side wall between two identical German Shepherds. Their identical looks told me they were morphs.

"W-we can't," the guard admitted.

Feigning tripping, Caleb bumped my elbow with his. The Andalite seemed to notice as it's stalk eyes focused on each of us while its main eyes watched the byplay with the guard.

"The boys have hacked into the security feed. Likely, it is the two other teens. Techs are repairing the damage, but the last 6 hours of footage has been deleted," the guard explained, appearing ashamed.

This meant those cameras were not currently recording, either. Whether they realized it yet or not, the twins had fucked up their security feeds for some time.

I glanced toward Caleb from the corner of my eye. He looked ready, wearing a smirk.

The signal didn't take long. Actually, the higher up military personnel were still questioning the guard when it started.
We didn't hear the first chime, but the animals did. The dogs' ears twitched.

A series of dings and chimes had the Andalite's stalk eyes twitch and Caleb's smirk grow.

A metallic screech got the attention of everyone else. As they looked towards the speakers, a parody song called Party in the CIA began playing.

"What is this!?" The military man roared, standing from his chair. "I was under the impression the other two were caught."

"They were, sir," a young man said as he entered the room behind us. He appeared ruffled and messy.

The song changed suddenly to the chorus of "The Devil Within" by Digital Daggers.

I was having a hard time keeping a straight face as the military personnel's faces turned red and purple. If I wasn't mistaken, the Andalites were finding amusement in the proceedings. The animals began shifting their weight.

I felt Caleb tense beside me as the chorus came to an end. Before the first "Time to Go" finished, Caleb was moving... And changing.

His hands broadened and the nails were growing into claws. Twitching his finger, he cut the zipties. Caleb immediately reversed the morph.

I noticed this as we headed back to the door we had come through, but didn't have time to be confused long. A full-sized tiger hit me in the chest from the side, nocking the wind out of me. The tiger's claws raked down my right side and arm, cutting through the ties on my wrist. I was free other than the cat clawing at me.

My knowledge of the morphing technology helped when I pushed both hands into the cat's fur. I focused on acquiring it's DNA.
Honestly, I didn't believe it would work. The sting of the claw marks was distracting and I thought the claws would disembowl me.
Instead of being clawed, the cat went limp. My new problem was removing the heavy cat before it regained it's senses.

Caleb appeared and pushed the cat off me. His clothes were ripped. Looking around, I realized the only reason we weren't recaptured was because mayhem had taken over the room. I couldn't tell what had caused it.

"Come on!" Caleb shouted from near the door, running back to help me run. We were partway down the hall before I no longer needed Caleb's support.

The whole journey to the outer fence was overlayed with Drake and Josh's horrible song mix. An explosion drew the guards and soldiers to the opposite side of the compound, clearing our path.