Cloneward Bound Read Free Page B

Two in.
    He’d lied to Two to keep him under control. He’d told him that they were on a covert mission to rescue their mother and that the middle school was a trainingground for the evil organization that they were fighting against. Fisher didn’t know how much of it Two really still believed after what they went through at TechX (he was, after all, as brilliant as Fisher), but if he was auditioning to be the new face of Spot-Rite, there was a pretty good chance he still believed the Spot-Rite actress was his mother.
    When he’d finally let everything out, he actually felt kind of relieved, like he’d been carrying a sack of rocks everywhere he went and he’d just thrown a few of them away.
    “Listen to me,” Fisher said. “This can’t get out. I was almost killed trying to keep Two’s existence a secret. I didn’t even know he escaped TechX until a few days ago, but he could be in serious danger if anyone else finds him. I need you to promise you’ll tell no one. If Two’s in LA, I have a chance to get to him before he blows this secret wide open.”
    Amanda leaned in very close and looked Fisher straight in the eyes. Fisher would have backed away, but he was already pressed up against the shelves of toilet paper and the weird powder janitors use when kids puke in the hallway. For a second, he thought Amanda might head-butt him. He gulped.
    “Hmm.” Amanda backed away and held out her hand. She seemed to have made her decision. Fisher breatheda sigh of relief and shook it, trying not to wince at the strength of her grip.
    “If it was anyone else but you, I wouldn’t believe it. But I think you’re telling the truth,” Amanda said. “If your secret is putting Two … and you,” she added grudgingly, “in danger, I’ll help you get him back. On one condition.”
    “… Okay,” Fisher said, feeling a pulse of anxiety. He was glad to have the help, but he couldn’t imagine what Amanda’s condition would be. His thoughts flew wildly through possibilities. Would she blackmail him into paying her a secret-keeping fee for the rest of his life? Would she make him do all of her science homework forever? Would she want him to create an Amanda Two?
    “Convince him to be my date for the fall formal.”
    Fisher was momentarily speechless.
    “You want to take him to a
dance
?” he finally choked out. “That’s your condition? Have you listened to a word I’ve said?”
    “Don’t get any ideas,” she snapped quickly. “I don’t
like
him or anything like that. But it’s one of the biggest events of the year and he’s the only boy around that I could put up with for an entire evening.”
    “But, but … I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to convince him,” Fisher said. “I can’t tell him what to do.Besides, I was going to ask Veronica to the formal. And I already explained that
both
Fishers can’t go to the dance.”
    “I gave you my condition,” Amanda said. “What you do about it is your problem.” With that, she took him by the elbow, spun him around, and pushed him out of the closet.

CHAPTER 3
    Plan A rarely works. Save time, and start with Plan C
.
    —Vic Daring
(
Issue #218
)
    Fisher arrived home still trembling. He couldn’t believe that his deepest, darkest secret was no longer his alone. He felt a slight tingle as he walked through the Liquid Door of the front gate, passing through it as if it were mist. Someone with DNA the house didn’t recognize would bounce off it like they’d hit a brick wall.
    As terrifying as the confrontation with Amanda had been, he still felt a sense of relief. It had felt good to tell the truth. And Amanda had volunteered to help. He had a chance to find Two again. He could set everything right.
    He walked between clusters of volleyball-size grapes clinging to vines as wide as Fisher’s entire body. The latest addition to his mother’s experimental garden was faring well. A French vineyard had signed a contract with Mrs. Bas, since just two