The Shrink Program

Chapter 139

Only the hand wouldn't budge at all.
Feeling like a rat in a trap, I had to wait an agonising moment for Vain to lift it away from himself, giving me enough room to see what was going on.

In the five seconds I spent contemplating a heart attack, Vain had overcome his shock.

And if possible, Vain looked even angrier than I did.

"Are you insane? Put me down!" He shouted in mortification, squirming and using the hand that wasn't holding me secure to shove against his smug captor.

Alan himself just raised a mocking eyebrow, vice-like arms keeping Vain from wriggling free.

"No can do. I need to get you guys out of here quick smart."

Vain's face was almost as red as his eyes, which were actually twitching as he stared incredulously at the cheerful boy.

"And that involves carrying me how?!"

I winced at the volume of his voice, actually a little terrified to see Vain so... uncomposed.

"Well for one, I'm the smartest guy in the room ..." With light footsteps and easy strength, Alan begun to walk forward. "... and that's saying something, Considering present company...." He gave us an amused smile, weight subtly shifting.

"Oh, and I'm pretty quick too."

Then we were running.

And it wasn't just quick.

It was near inhuman.

With an agile grace and speed that likely couldn't be matched by anyone without a nano-tech enhanced body, Alan weaved his way through the crowd. Dodging, ducking, jumping and just plain outrunning anyone who tried to stop us, being carried by Alan was like being on some sort of Hellish show ride.

Within the first few seconds, Vain hand returned in full oppressive force, holding me trapped against him as we were carried dangerously fast across the room.

On one hand, it was somewhat comforting. For the first time since arriving at the masquerade, I didn't feel exposed, under pressure to show a brave face.

Funnily enough, I'm normally too busy freaking out to appreciate the privacy a small space can give...

On the other hand, I kinda wished he had just dropped me.

I'm going to kill Alan Floid if it's the last thing I do. Then, when he reincarnates as a rabbit, I'm going to dye his fur pink and set him loose in a kindergarten. Show him what it's like to be manhandled by someone several times your own size...

My internal rant came to a jarring stop immediately after Alan did.

"Where is she?" An anxious voice questioned, and I nearly groaned as the reason why Alan had stopped became horrifyingly clear.

"Well, as you can see we've tracked her signal down to this guy. So I'm going to take a wild stab in the dark here and say that Smarmy Floid twin has her concealed somewhere on his person."

"He didn't... Eat her... Did he...?"

Havoc.

"... I highly doubt it. "

And... Winkle?

Frustrated with once again not being able to see what was going on, I squirmed my way out from under Vain hand, not waiting for him to move this time.

The giant fingers jerked with surprise, moving to grab me only to flatter when Vain thought twice about it.

Clever boy.

"Maddison." He murmured warningly but went completely ignored as I climbed to my feet, standing with hands on hips and a scowl on my face.

Dressed in their usual white lab coats, it was like the last twenty-four hours never happened. No sign that they had been terribly injured just hours ago.

I was actually kind of surprised at how relieved that made me feel.

"Welcome to the party." I gave a sarcastic bow. "How nice of you to come on such short notice, but next time? Skip the grand entrance, it just comes across as needy."

For a long moment, the two Shrink Program supervisors stood staring at me in stunned silence, not really the reaction I was expecting...

Perhaps I was being a bit harsh, considering that they did come here to rescue me... You know... Eventually...

Havoc sent Winkle a wide-eyed look.

"We haven't misplaced any other bad-mouthed five-inch tall patients recently, have we? "

Winkle shook his head stiffly. "Not that I'm aware of."

"... This is actually Maddison Trampth then... "

"I don't see any other logical explanation."

".... But she's wearing a dress."

"I know. "

"... And this one looks like a teenage girl... I was sort of on the lookout for an angry silverback gorilla..."

At this point, Alan snickered.

And I lost the plot.

"You... " I hissed, shoulders tense and breathing erratic. "Stupid... pheromone obsessed... Sonic the Hedgehog wannabe... Freak of nature..."

I yanked my mask off, giving them a clear view of my murderous expression.

"I'm only wearing this because some insane bitch, no offence Alan-

"None taken." The son of said maniac nodded cheerfully.

"-wanted to use my body to play dolly, but you, you can just go crawl back into whatever weird Alien mother ship you came from! I feel stupid for being even a tiny bit worried about you... "

What are you doing?! Hold onto that angry face!

Screaming with frustration, I threw my mask at him. As fun as it was to throw something valuable at the expense of the Underground, the tiny object didn't even get close to the giant supervisor.

What it did do, was draw my attention to the suddenly serious, forlorn expression on the blue-haired man's face.

I wasn't fooling anybody.

"See if I care the next time you get yourself horrifically injured," I muttered, turning my back on them so that they couldn't see my lip tremble.

Which just gave Vain a great view of it instead.

Yay. Nothing tops a crappy moment off better than appearing vulnerable in front of my emotionally inept childhood friend.

"Uh... It's not... I didn't mean to... " Havoc began, obviously trying to find a way to safely backtrack.

Making the big mean giant feel guilty for making you nearly cry since when was your wrath is sooo terrifying Maddison...

"...whatever... Is Garmen okay? " I asked, sending Havoc a hesitant look over my shoulder.

Havoc actually seemed relieved with the small peace offering, nodding eagerly.

"Fit as a fiddle!"

I smile slightly before giving him a haughty glare. "Good. As soon as I see him, I'm going tell him that you've been picking on me."

Havoc's eyes widened in alarm.

"W-what? Wait, you can't... !"

"Speaking of horrific injuries..." Winkle muttered, changing the subject with zero effort in the diplomacy department.

Blue and brown eyes met blue and green as the grumpy man studied the cheerful teen who shared his strange biology.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Alan Floid."