Page 30 of Prickly as a Porcupine

The rest of them set up their tables, balloons, streamers, and food at the start of the obstacle course.They’d warn any cadets who came their way to practice that the course was out of commission for the day.The snares were for Grimm and his men, not unsuspecting cadets.With any luck, the club members would be able to lure the henchmen and evil scientist into the traps that were hidden in the course.Then this nightmare could finally be over.And Ariel and the others could move on.

Ariel hated that she was so shaken up after the strange man came into her dorm room.After all those months she spent in the hospital in her youth, she didn’t like feeling helpless.She glanced at Joline as she taped the last streamer to the folding table they’d set up earlier.Ariel smiled.She did feel safe with Joline at her side.It seemed Joline believed in her when no one else did.

They chatted to pass the time.Simon and Arty discussed what they hoped to do once they were able to leave the hospital wing.Jennifer chimed in with her plans.Ariel had never seen them so hopeful.Or happy.She hoped it meant they were healing.

Ariel was about to add her plans to the conversation when the table rocked.She turned to see Agent Talbot come into focus, her shadows sending black whisps in every direction as she suddenly appeared.The agent braced herself against the table, heaving in deep breaths.

“You were right about the trap,” Agent Talbot said between clenched teeth.“Agent Stone sniffed out a bomb right before it went off.He was able to warn everyone in time, but the building—and any evidence that was inside—was destroyed.”

Ariel’s shoulders sagged.“That just means that our plan has to work.”

Joline inhaled sharply as if about to say something, but, before she could, Agent Talbot squinted her eyes, looking toward WANC.“Is that a cheetah herding the hippos?”

“It’s Trina!”Joline nearly shouted.She turned to the club members.“Everyone in position!”She pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose as if trying to get a better look.“My animal doesn’t have great eyesight.Can anyone tell if the hippos are chasing anyone?”

The eagle swooped down, too close for comfort in Ariel’s opinion.Her hair was blown back.Before the bird’s yellow talons touched the ground, she shifted into a beautiful woman with long, silky black hair.Her brown eyes glared at Ariel as if they could burn her with laser vision.Ariel suspected she deserved that.She did attempt to kill ASS Agent Nari Lee last summer.

“Your brother sent me,” Agent Lee said in way of explanation.“He and Agent Kipp were able to use the tracking device he planted at the diner on the man who passed you that note.”She glanced to the hippos off in the distance, closing the gap fast.“They are headed this way.”

Ariel was about to make a snarky remark that they deduced as much.A herd of hippos were hard to miss.She decided to hold her tongue.Her brother sent the agent, and she was only trying to help.That didn’t explain how her brother was able to plant a tracking device.She was about to ask when Joline exclaimed, “That’s what he did in the diner!”When Ariel gave her a confused look, she explained, “I saw Anson quickly flick his hand out as the man with the note walked by.He denied doing anything, but he must have planted the device on him.”

“Anson always was the smart one.”Ariel beamed with pride.It was all hands on deck to take out Grimm.She was glad both FUC and ASS were making it a priority.

“Fill me in on the plan,” Agent Lee demanded as she crossed her arms.Ariel noted she deferred to her and not the other agent.Maybe they were starting to trust her.

“We have traps inside the obstacle course.It’s probably best if you stay in the air so you don’t get snagged by one,” Ariel explained quickly.The hippos and the men in front of them were closing the distance quickly.A lot of men.And as far as she could tell, Grimm wasn’t one of them.That was disappointing.

“Maybe they’ll be out of breath by the time they get here and just give up,” Joline offered, although she didn’t look too convinced of that.

Ariel schooled her face, trying her best not to roll her eyes.She knew Joline was only trying to help.She gave Joline a quick kiss on the cheek to let her know how much she appreciated her optimism.With a slow smile Ariel said, “They won’t give up, but you’re right.They will be very out of breath by the time they get here.We’ll use that to our advantage.”

16

Ariel turned to her friends, taking in their worried expressions.“This is exactly what we were hoping for.Remember your positions.”She gave them a firm, yet encouraging smile.They practiced earlier where they would hide in the obstacle course to better lure Grimm’s henchmen into their traps.“There are plenty of agents on the ground and in the air to support us.We can do this!That man will never use us again.”A warmth spread through her chest.Was this emotion pride?She had to learn to bury her feelings so much around Grimm, she’d only remembered how to recognize anger.Now there was a kaleidoscope of emotions coming to the surface, some felt alien.She smiled wide.That meant she was one step further out of his clutches.

She glanced around to see a look of determination cross the faces of the group members whom she now considered friends.Many of them were nodding in agreement.The earlier fear was erased from their expressions.

“Wait until I give the signal,” Ariel reminded them.There was too much riding on this for things to go wrong.The only question she had was, where was Grimm?With her kidnapping not working out to his favor that morning, she figured that was all the more reason for Grimm to be overseeing his little operation personally.Like always, he was probably hiding in the shadows, not wanting to get his hands dirty unless absolutely necessary.He always had someone else do the kidnapping and dirty work for him.He kept his focus on his experiments.Ariel hoped that was coming to an end.

She reached out and grabbed Joline’s hand, giving it a squeeze as they shared a wan smile.Ariel turned back to the henchmen being chased towards them.The distance was shrinking.The features on their weary faces were coming into focus.Her smile widened.They clearly did not expect to have to run a marathon to kidnapping their victims.A shadow darkened the ground.Ariel glanced up to see Gabby flying overhead with her long, black wings.She was nearly silhouetted by the sun overhead in the cloudless sky.Gabby gave a quick nod as she flew, and then Ariel noticed a tiny green hummingbird racing by on Gabby’s heels.That must’ve been Lyla.

Ariel looked back to the baddies running at them.She chuckled as a cheetah raced ahead, snapping at the heels of one of the henchmen.Trina was not only herding the hippos, but she was also herding Grimm’s lackeys.The hippos, realizing they were no longer being chased by the giant cat, decided to take a break and munch on the green grass.The cronies, so close to their prize, didn’t notice.Grimm made sure his helpers delivered, or else they’d risk becoming his next failed experiment.

When they were a mere 15 feet away, Ariel yelled, “You’re going to have to catch us!”

As she yelled the signal, the group members scattered into the obstacle course, taking up their positions.Some of them were out in the open, others hid.All of it was planned out that morning as they set up their snares and traps.Ariel took the lead.She and Joline had to run.They were going to be the deepest in the course.Ropes and walls and other obstacles flashed past them as they sprinted to the end of the course.They had to be cautious.One wrong step and they risked triggering a snare or trap.Those were reserved for Grimm and his men.

Shouting peppered the air around them as they sprinted deeper into the course.Hopefully it was the yelling of henchmen being caught unexpectedly in the snares.Guilt prickled Ariel’s insides.She’d feel awful if any of her friends got hurt or captured.Joline breathed heavily at her side as they made their way to the end of the course.Ariel’s heartbeat hammered in her ears.Her chest burned, but they were almost there.Grimm’s leg acted nearly like her own, cushioning her stump with each stride as it sensed the ground beneath the metal foot.

As they neared one of the walls meant as an obstacle for cadets to climb over, something tripped Ariel.It wasn’t a snare.A large beast stepped out from behind the wooden wall.It was unlike anything Ariel had ever seen before.It reminded her of Simon.Like Simon, the creature was made up of different animals, but that’s where the similarity to Simon ended.It seemed Grimm’s madness had a method to it after all.Perhaps he honed his splicing abilities on unsuspecting subjects, and then used what he learned to create this monstrosity.

Joline gave a small shriek in surprise as the massive creature stepped out.It was amazing the thing could hide behind the wall as it towered over it.Its shaggy, grey fur shook as the creature took a step towards them.The fur butted up against feathers that coated its bird-like head.

“Do you have surprises in your leg that can help take down that?”Joline asked in a slightly sarcastic tone.

Ariel shook her head.She didn’t think her taser would have enough juice to bring it down.They could lead it to a snare, but she didn’t think they’d have the strength to snag the beast.Before Ariel could suggest anything, the best gave a roar that sent shivers down her spine.

It lunged forward, snapping at Joline with a beak that looked like it belonged to a toucan.She dropped to her elbow, rolling away before the beast could cut her with its razor-sharp beak.