So the last chapter hasn't even cracked 200 reads at this time. Wow. I really jinxed things with that comment at the end, didn't I? Anyway, back to the story.

***

Zack woke up to find that they were still driving. After getting the cell phone tracking device from Mr. Al's office at the orphanage, Olivia, Saige, Zack, and Miles had all piled into Saige's car to follow Josie and Bailey. Zack and Miles had rode in the back while Saige and Olivia were up front. A few hours after dark, Zack had fallen asleep while Saige was still driving. But now Saige in the passenger's seat, and Olivia was driving.

"Did you guys switch?" Zack asked.

"Oh, you're awake?" said Olivia.

"Yeah, I woke up just now." He looked at his phone and saw that it was now 5:00 AM.

Olivia nodded. "Yes, we did switch," she said. "Saige pulled over at midnight and woke me up so I could drive while she got some sleep."

"Are we still on target?" Zack asked.

"It would seem so. I've still got the tracking device plugged in, and we're still following Bailey's phone's signal."

"Good," said Zack.

There was a minute of silence before Olivia spoke again. "Zack, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"You're not...bi, are you?"

Zack frowned. "What made you think of that?"

"Well, sometimes you're a guy, and sometimes you're a girl, right?" said Olivia. "So you're, like, genderfluid."

"I guess so."

"And you're still dating that one girl Skylar, regardless of what gender you're being at any given time."

"Yes."

"So your feelings for Skylar don't change when you change gender."

"No. And they didn't change for Brittany, either, when I first turned into a girl. But I did still feel some attraction to guys."

"Interesting."

"You said you're a changed boy," said Zack. "Did that happen to you? Did you have a crush on a girl when you were male, then kept that crush when you were a girl?"

"No, I was always bi," said Olivia. "I just didn't realize it for a long time. I finally came out when I got a boyfriend, and then my boyfriend turned into a girl."

"What?"

"I know, it's crazy," said Olivia. "His little sister found an old spellbook and accidentally turned my boyfriend into a girl. My boyfriend-or girlfriend now-was worried that I wouldn't like her anymore, so I had to come out and admit that I was bi and still liked her."

"That's good," said Zack. "What's her name?"

"Christina."

"Where is she? Are you still together, or..." Zack trailed off when he looked in the car's rearview mirror and saw Olivia's eyes fill with pain.

"We're not," Olivia said miserably. "She dumped me earlier this month."

"Ouch," said Zack. "That's rough."

"'Rough' is not the right word," said Olivia. "You have no idea how close me and Christina were. She and I dated for three whole years-even after we got out of high school. She was closer to me than Bailey, or Saige, or anyone else I knew. Just a month ago, I was starting to think about marrying her."

"Whoa," said Zack. "How old did you say you were?"

"I'm nineteen," Olivia answered. "That's old enough to get married."

"I guess so."

"But then, out of the blue, Christina said she didn't love me anymore, and that we were done. Then she just...left. She didn't answer my texts, she ignored my phone calls, she..." Olivia paused as she started to cry.

"Olivia, I'm so sorry," said Zack.

"I don't even know what I did wrong!" Olivia sobbed. "I gave her everything, I was always there for her-I saved her when she tried to commit suicide!"

"Wait...what?"

"It's a long story. But I guess now she doesn't care about anything I did for her."

"So that's why you've been so..."

"Exactly," said Olivia. "I haven't gone to work, I haven't gone to school-I haven't even talked to my other friends. Bailey and Saige practically had to drag me out of my apartment to drive down here to meet you. But now...now Bailey's been captured."

"I know how you feel," said Zack. "When the girl I liked turned out to be a witch, and Mr. Al had to kill her, I was devastated. I thought I might have a chance with her, but then I lost it."

"No, you don't know how I feel," said Olivia. "You don't know what it's like to lose your other half."

Her words hit Zack like clenched fists. Nervously, he cleared his throat and said "You know, you can't just keep moping around forever. You've gotta pick up the pieces and move on."

"How can I-"

"My new girlfriend told me," Zack went on, "That when your friend or lover suddenly turns into a cheater or an abuser, then that's what you should remember them as."

"Christina was never abusive," said Olivia.

"I'm not saying she was. I'm just saying, if she really doesn't like you anymore, then she's not worth your time."

Olivia sighed. It was the most cliched advice she'd heard, but she didn't feel like arguing. "Maybe not," she said. "But if I ever see Christina again, I'll punch her."

"Punch who?" Saige asked.

"What-Saige, you're up?" Olivia asked.

"Yeah." Saige brushed her long blonde hair out of her face and rubbed her eyes. "Where are we at now?"

"I think we're getting close to the bottom Tennessee border," said Olivia.

"Wow," said Saige. "Josie must be taking Bailey farther than I thought."

"What does the tracker say now?" Zack asked.

Saige looked at the tracker, and her eyes widened. "It looks like they've come to a stop now!" she exclaimed.

"Where?"

"Jackson, Mississippi."

***

Rachel hadn't been keeping track of time, but she likely hadn't been in her white padded room longer than a day. The woman named Lauren had turned out to be a witch, and she'd subdued Rachel and knocked her out. When Rachel came around, she was dressed in a rough blue jumpsuit and locked in a padded room. It reminded her of movies she'd seen about asylum inmates who were incarcerated for being criminally insane. Except Rachel knew she wasn't insane. She'd been kidnapped.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Rachel's cell door (?) opened, and Lauren came in. "Hello, Miss Miller," said Lauren.

"You," Rachel hissed. She got up and started toward Lauren, but she suddenly found herself frozen in place. Lauren had waved her hand and magically frozen her.

"Me," said Lauren.

"You liar," said Rachel. "You said you were hiring me for an internship, but you kidnapped me!"

"Oh, you're gonna be helping our company all right," said Lauren. "I'm just taking you to meet your new...colleague."

"Colleague?"

Lauren snapped her fingers, and the freezing spell around Rachel was discontinued. "Come with me," she said. "And don't try anything foolish."

Rachel reluctantly followed Lauren out of the padded room and down a long, windowless white hallway. After a few twists and turns, they came to a room with two hospital beds and a row of tables and file cabinets. A man in a white lab coat was sitting at one of the tables, working on some paperwork. And at the other end of the room, another woman was escorting in a redheaded girl who looked to be a few years older than Rachel.

"Hey Lauren!" the other woman said.

"Josie," Lauren said, looking the redheaded girl up and down. "I see you actually came through."

"Of course I did!" said Josie. "I assured Circe she could count on me to fulfill my mission!"

Lauren snorted. "Ordinarily, I do not put 'count on' and 'Josie' in the same sentence," she scoffed.

"Well, I got the girl from the Y. F. F. H. that Circe wanted," said Josie. "I believe her name's Betty."

"Bailey," the redheaded girl corrected.

Lauren rolled her eyes. "You don't even know the name of the girl you captured," she said.

"And I see you got a girl from Pretty And Pink," said Josie.

"Oh, yes," said Lauren. "Unfortunately, it is not Angelina's daughter, but instead her bunkmate Rachel."

"Oh, yes," Josie said, smiling evilly at Rachel. "Our mistress will be very pleased by this."

"Will I now?" a new voice asked. All heads turned as a tall, imposing woman entered the room. She looked to be in her early fifties, with smooth brown hair and scary black eyes that bored right into Rachel. The woman's features reminded Rachel of villains from old Disney cartoons such as Maleficent or Cruella De Vil-high cheekbones, arched eyebrows, and a pointed chin. The woman wore a gray dress with an uncovered leg and a V-neck so low, she might as well have been topless.

"My lady!" Josie exclaimed. Both she and Lauren bowed before the new arrival.

Even the man who was working at the tables turned to regard her. "Good morning, Circe," he said.

"Hello, Mr. Halbrook," said the woman whose name was Circe.

"Circe?" Rachel asked.

"Yes," Circe replied. "Circe Reyna. And you, young ladies, are about to play an important part in the next phase of humanity."

"Next phase?"

"I'm sure you remember the plights of Angelina Aguilar and Sharon Johnson," said Circe. "They plotted to turn every man in the world into a woman. Their intentions were bold, but they were ruined by the meddling of you and your friends. Now, with your blood, we will succeed where my former trainees failed."

"Wait," said Rachel. "You're a witch, too? And you trained Angelina?"

"I did indeed," said Circe. "And I was very proud of her when she founded her own corporation designed to lure young boys into her trap."

"But what do you need us for?" Bailey asked. "We're already girls?"

"It's your blood that we need," Circe explained. "Our scientists-including Mr. Carter Halbrook here-are developing a virus. This virus will infect any male it comes into contact with and magically turn them female. We are currently breeding swarms of fleas that will spread this virus around the world-much like the Black Death of old."

Rachel couldn't believe what she was hearing. She'd thought Angelina's plan was insane, but this-this just took the cake. And to think that Circe had Carter Halbrook-a man-in her service, and that he was apparently okay with this, just baffled her even more. "Do you really think we're gonna just give you our blood?"

"Of course," said Circe. "Since you and Miss Bailey here were once male, your DNA still contains traces of the male genome. Mr. Halbrook here will take your male-turned-female DNA and use it to create the virus that will tamper with the DNA of the world's males and turn them female."

"No way," said Bailey. "We're not giving you our blood."

"Yes, you are," said Josie. She grabbed Bailey by the shoulders and forced her down into one of the hospital beds. Lauren did the same with Rachel. Before either of the girls could escape, Circe snapped her fingers, and ropes materialized into existence, binding them to the beds.

"Hold still," Circe said as she picked up a syringe from the table. "It'll only hurt for a minute..."

To be continued...hopefully.