!!! Not a story chapter-an introduction. !!!

Despite many significant gaps in writing, I've written quite a few stories on this website in the last few years. Like any author, I've dreamed of holding a crossover between my stories where all my favorite characters can intermingle. Unfortunately, I never seemed to have any ideas for how I could get something like that to work out.

Until now.

This story, Swarms And Sisterhood, is meant to bring together all of my "serial" stories-that is, stories that consist of multiple chapters. For the most part, my one-off stories will be ignored by this crossover. But the stories that will be featured here are New Home, Wrong Bathroom, Olivia And Saige Vs. Miss Johnson, Christian's Gender Problem, Lanie's Journey, and The Witch Hunt. For maximum enjoyment of Swarms And Sisterhood, I'd suggest you read all of those if you haven't already. Or, if you've forgotten them, you can reread them. They're all up on my page for you to read.

And with that-let's start Swarms And Sisterhood.

The last year or so had been hard for Saige, but she always found a crumb of comfort when she went to spend time at home. After graduating high school in 2021, Saige had started college at Harvard in Massachusetts with a major in psychology. Just weeks before, Saige had passed her finals with a GPA of 3.1 and then came home for Christmas. Now it was New Year's Day, and she was visiting the University Of Chicago campus where an old friend was attending.

When Saige came to the rendezvous point she'd arranged, she saw her friend Bailey Anderson waiting there for her. "Hi Saige!" Bailey said, opening her arms to hug Saige.

"Hi Bailey," Saige said, returning the hug. She and Bailey reveled in their embrace, feeling each other's hair between their fingers.

When they broke free, Bailey asked "Ready to get some lunch?"

"Of course!" said Saige.

Saige and Bailey both went over to a food truck that was parked nearby. The girls both ordered hot dogs and chips and went to go sit down. While they ate, they talked and caught up about life.

"So how'd your finals go?" Bailey asked.

"Not bad," Saige answered. "I ended up with a 3.1 GPA."

"Nice," said Bailey. "I've only got a 3.0."

"That's good."

"So when does the next semester at Harvard start?"

"Next week. My mom's gonna drive me to the airport on Friday so I can fly back to Massachusetts."

"I'm starting next week too," said Bailey.

Saige chewed and swallowed her bite of hot dog before speaking again. "So how's Olivia?" she asked.

Bailey's smile faded. "She's...not great," she said.

"Uh-oh," said Saige. Even though she and Olivia went a way back, Bailey had known her even longer. Bailey had been Olivia's bunkmate at the Y. F. F. H. foster home four years ago, before the girls had discovered what was really going on there and fled. Crazily enough, Saige had gotten herself roped into Olivia and Bailey's struggle with their old foster mom Miss Johnson. But in the end, they'd defeated Miss Johnson and started anew in Chicago. "What happened?"

"I don't know. She hasn't texted or called me in a couple weeks. I tried to reach out to her, but she said she didn't want to talk."

Saige was getting a bad feeling. "You guys didn't have a fight, did you?"

"No, I didn't do anything," said Bailey. "I don't think."

"Well, what about Christina?" Saige asked, referring to Olivia's girlfriend.

"She didn't say anything either."

Wow, Saige thought. She was really out of the loop with her friends. "Are you sure she's okay?"

"I don't know. I've wanted to go to her place and talk to her, but I've been too busy with school."

"How about we go there?" Saige suggested. "Maybe we can find out what's going on with her?"

"Sure," said Bailey. "I was thinking about going, but I wasn't sure what I would say."

"Don't worry, we'll be fine."

***

Once they were done eating their food, Saige and Bailey left to go to Olivia's apartment. She lived in the suburbs of Chicago, just a few blocks away from the Burger King where she worked. Like Bailey, Olivia had gone to the University Of Chicago after she graduated high school, but after her first semester, she decided to put her academic career on hold and focus on work. She'd gone through three different jobs before starting her job at Burger King, which was where she still worked at now.

Saige and Bailey approached Olivia's apartment and faced her door. "Do you want to knock?" Saige asked.

"No, you do it," said Bailey.

Wuss, Saige thought. She rapped on the door three times and waited. After a minute, the door was answered by none other than Olivia. Her black hair was messy and uneven, and she was wearing only a white bathrobe.

"Oh," Olivia said when she saw Saige and Bailey. "Hey guys."

"Hi Olivia," said Saige.

"What are you doing here?"

"We just wanted to come see how you were doing."

Olivia sighed. "Well, thanks for asking. I'm horrible."

"What happened?"

"Come inside."

Saige and Bailey went inside Olivia's apartment and sat down on the couch. Olivia sat in a chair and faced her friends. "So what's going on?" Bailey asked. "Why haven't you been answering our calls?"

"I'm sorry, Bailey," said Olivia. "I just...can't."

"Why not? Did you lose your phone?"

"No, I didn't."

"Did I do something-"

"No, Bailey, you're okay," said Olivia. "But Christina isn't."

"Oh," said Saige. An idea of what was going on had occurred to her. "You and her...you didn't break up, did you?"

"She dumped me," Olivia said miserably. "I don't know why she did it-she just came up to me one day and told me we were through. Then she just...disappeared. No calls, no texts, no anything from her."

For a few seconds, Saige and Bailey just sat there, speechless. "Olivia," said Bailey, "I'm so sorry."

"I don't even know what went wrong," Olivia said, tears starting to form in her eyes. "I made time for Christina, I was always there for her. I just..."

"I know what you're going through," said Saige. "After Tony and I broke up, I was conflicted for weeks about whether I should've stayed with him after all."

"You have no idea," said Olivia. "Ever since Christina dumped me, I've just been here in my apartment. Over the last few days, I haven't even been wearing anything."

"Oh," said Saige. Just now, she was starting to realize that there didn't seem to be any visible shorts or bra strips under Olivia's bathrobe.

"So you haven't even been going to work?" Bailey asked.

"No," Olivia answered. "I know they've probably terminated me by now, but honestly, I don't care anymore."

Saige and Bailey exchanged glances. "That really sucks," said Saige, "But you've gotta pick up the pieces and move on."

"You think I haven't tried?"

"No, but do you really want to die moping around in your apartment?"

Olivia sighed. "Well, what am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know. Get another job? Start going to school again?"

"I mean...I could try?"

"Olivia, I really am sorry," said Saige. "I don't know if there's anything I can do to cheer you up, but..."

"Actually," Bailey said as she remembered something, "I think there is something that can cheer you up."

"What?"

"Remember that witch hunt that went on in Frankfort, Kentucky?"

"Oh yeah," said Olivia. "That guy Zack who turned into Zoe because of a witch's curse-that was all over the news."

"I know," said Saige. "It's kind of ironic because...you know..."

Olivia gravely nodded. She and Saige had once been boys, but they'd been turned into girls just like Zack had. Olivia's old foster mom Miss Johnson had turned her into a girl just like most of the other kids at the Y. F. F. H, and Sage had become Saige in the exact manner Zack had become Zoe-he'd gone into the girls' bathroom at school and fell victim to a curse that had apparently been placed on the bathroom. All that had gone down more than four years ago, so Olivia and Saige had since settled into their lives as women. But when Zack/Zoe Fletcher's story was made public, they'd had a field day.

"Anyway, last week Zack posted on his Twitter that he wondered if anyone else out there had had a witch change their gender," Bailey went on. "He said he'd love to meet another witch's victim."

"So are you saying we should go down to Frankfort and meet Zack Fletcher?" Olivia asked.

"Yes."

"But would he even-"

"Of course he would! He said he'd like to meet another gender-swapped person like him, and you and Saige have had your genders changed. So maybe you can exchange stories with him."

Saige shrugged. "I guess that could be fun," she said.

"Olivia?"

"I guess," said Olivia. "I'll just have to...get some stuff together."

"Don't worry, I'll help you," said Bailey.

"Who's gonna drive?" Saige asked.

"We can take my car," said Bailey. "It'll probably just be a two-day trip."

"Okay," said Saige. "I'll go back to my house and start packing my suitcase."

***

Saige left Olivia's apartment and went back out to her car. She got into the driver's seat and put the keys in the ignition. As she pulled out of the parking lot, she didn't notice the woman watching her from inside a car parked across the parking lot.

"I think I found her," the woman said to herself. She pulled out her cell phone and called her boss' number. "My lady?" she said when her boss picked up.

"What is it, Josie?" the woman's boss asked. "I'm a very busy witch, you know."

"I think I found them," said Josie. "Well, one of them, anyway."

"One of whom?"

"The young ladies you want. The ones who were boys before your apprentices changed them."

Josie's boss squealed with excitement. "Which one?"

"One of the ones who overthrew Miss Sharon Johnson," Josie answered.

"Excellent," said Josie's boss. "Keep an eye on that young woman. If we can get her and one of her lackeys in our grasp, then we'll have what we need to exact our plan."

"I will not let you down," Josie replied.

To be continued...

After two weeks without school for Christmas Break, school was back in session at Eastside High. Unfortunately, Lanie had developed a habit of sleeping in over the break, so she wasn't ready to start waking up early again.

Fortunately, she had her roommate Rachel to help her out. "Lanie," Rachel said. "Lanie, wake up!"

"Mmph."

"Come on, Lanie!" said Rachel. "We've gotta get ready for school!"

"Ugh." Lanie brushed her hair out of her face and looked up at her best friend. "Why do we have to wake up so early?"

"Yeah, I don't like it either," Rachel admitted, "But we've gotta get up."

Lanie sighed. "You want to shower first?"

"No, you can go."

So Lanie got up, undressed, showered, wrapped a towel around herself, and went to the bathroom sink to brush her teeth. "Okay, Rachel," she said. "The shower's all yours!"

"Great," said Rachel. She walked into the bathroom, and Lanie saw that she'd already taken off her shirt and her bra. "We've gotta get all cleaned up for job fair today."

"What-job fair?"

"Yeah, you know, job fair. Remember?"

"Oh that's right." Lanie remembered now. Right before Christmas Break, Eastside High had announced that there'd be a job fair on the first day of the next semester. The job fair would have representatives from various companies looking for students they could hire for internships-or, in some cases, full-on jobs.

"Yeah," said Rachel. "Maybe we'll find something we can look into getting a career in!"

After Lanie finished brushing her teeth, she went back into her dorm's main room and started picking out clothes to wear. It took ten minutes of sifting through her drawers, but she settled on a black pleated skirt and light gray blouse, along with a pair of high-heeled shoes. When Rachel came out of the shower, she picked out dark blue jeans and a long-sleeved green shirt for her outfit.

"Alright," said Lanie, "You got everything?"

"Yeah."

"Then let's go."

***

The first two periods at school were pretty uneventful, but Third Period was when the job fair started. Lanie and Rachel both met up with Lanie's boyfriend Conner and went down to the gym where the job fair was being held.

"Whoa," Conner said when they entered the gym. The whole room was filled with tables and poster boards advertising various careers. There were booths for ordinary jobs like clerks, bank tellers, and fast food workers, but there were booths representing Amazon, Scholastic, and even Apple.

"Where are we even gonna start?" Rachel asked.

"How about here?" Lanie suggested. She, Conner, and Rachel approached a table that advertised a job at Red Ruby Games. "Hey," Lanie said, "What have you got here?"

"We're here on behalf of Red Ruby Games," one of the men at the table said. "You might've heard of us. We design and manufacture tabletop games. And we're hiring people who can help design and test our games before we send them into production."

"That sounds fun," said Conner. He wrote his name, phone number, and email address on the table's signup sheet.

"Thank you so much," the man said. "We'll let you know if we wish to hire you."

The next table Lanie, Rachel, and Conner went to was for a company called Genetical Engineering. This table was hosted by a woman in her late thirties clad in a black suit coat and matching pants. Right above her left breast was a name tag that identified her as Lauren.

"Hello, young ladies!" Lauren said at the sight of Lanie and Rachel. "And young man."

"Genetical Engineering," Lanie read aloud. "What's this all about?"

"I'm glad you asked," said Lauren. "Genetical Engineering is a corporation that specializes in animal genetics. We study the genomes of mammals, reptiles, insects, and other animals. We are developing cloning technology we can use to create a living, breathing animal just from a few strands of DNA."

"So you're, like, a real-life Jurassic Park," said Lanie.

Lauren tilted her head to one side, then nodded slightly. "In a sense, yes," she said. "But we are only attempting to clone living animals."

"Scientists have already cloned living animals," said Conner.

"With very poor results," said Lauren. "Genetical Engineering aspires to clone healthy, fully functional organisms that are devoid of any birth defects. Our CEO Circe Reyna believes that when we have perfected our technology, we will be able to save all of the world's endangered species from extinction."

Rachel looked at the board behind Lauren. "And you're hiring interns for your company?"

"Yes, we are," said Lauren. "Our internship offers a year-long program and a five-thousand-dollar scholarship. If you perform exceptionally well, we could even pull some strings to help you get into college."

"Well, I've always had a thing for genetical science," said Rachel. She went up to the signup sheet and wrote her name and contact information on it."

"Excellent," said Lauren. "What about you?" she asked Lanie.

"Me?"

"Yes, you." Lauren said in a would-be inviting voice. But from her tone, and the way she was smiling and eyeing Lanie...there was something behind it, some kind of wanting. But why would this woman want Lanie? It couldn't mean that anymore, could it?

"I'll think about it," said Lanie.

Lauren shrugged. "That's okay," she said. She handed Lanie a business card and said "You can let me know if you change your mind."

"Thank you," said Lanie.

"And you," Lauren said to Rachel, "If we accept you for our internship, we will get back to you by the end of the week."

"I'll be watching my phone," said Rachel. "And my email, too."

***

Unfortunately, Lanie, Conner, and Rachel did not find anything else at the job fair that interested them. But the next day, Lanie had sat down at the lunch table with Diana Jackson and her friends Penelope and Nicole when Rachel came running. "Lanie!" Rachel exclaimed. "Lanie, you'll never believe what I just got!"

"What?" Lanie asked.

"Lauren emailed me!" Rachel exclaimed. "She said I got accepted for the internship at Genetical Engineering!"

"Holy shit," said Diana, "You're getting an internship with Genetical Engineering?"

"Yes!" Rachel held out her phone for Lanie, Diana, Nicole, and Penelope to see. And they saw that the email was very much legit.

"Wow," said Lanie. "What are you gonna be doing with this internship?"

"That's what I'll find out today," said Rachel. "Lauren wants me to come in for a working interview today so I can get a sense of what the internship's gonna be like."

"You're so lucky," Diana said with envy. "When I applied to work at Subway, it took them two weeks to hire me."

"Lanie, do you want to come with me?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, I can't," Lanie answered. "I'm going over to Conner's for dinner."

"Oh, okay," said Rachel. "I'll let you know how it goes!"

***

As it turned out, Lanie was at Conner's house much longer than she intended. After she ate dinner with Conner's family, Conner offered Lanie to stick around a little longer to watch TV, so Lanie accepted. They ended up binge-watching New Girl with Conner's parents. Lanie enjoyed cuddling up with Conner on the couch (and maybe even making out with him a bit), but before she knew it, it was 11:30. "Oh," said Lanie, "I should probably go soon."

Conner looked at the episode runtime and saw there were only ten minutes left. "Want to finish this before you go?"

"Sure, I guess."

So once the last episode of New Girl for the night was done, Lanie wished Conner goodnight and left. She went back to her orphanage and went upstairs to her dorm room. She knew Rachel was probably already in bed, so she quietly opened the door and tiptoed her way inside. But when she was putting down her purse, she noticed the presence in Rachel's bed. Or, rather, the lack thereof.

"Rachel?" Lanie asked. She flicked on the light, but Rachel was nowhere to be seen. "Rachel, where are you?" Lanie poked her head into the bathroom and in the shower, but still no Rachel. Lanie pulled out her phone and opened her Messenger app, but she didn't see any texts from Rachel.

"What happened?" Lanie wondered. Lauren hadn't mentioned anything about an overnight job, had she? Lanie didn't think so. But then she remembered their meeting with Lauren yesterday, and the funny way she'd looked at Lanie. Lanie had put it out of her mind at first, but now it was coming back to haunt her. It reminded her a lot of that witch from her old foster home, who'd turned out to be her absentee mother. Lanie's mother Angelina had hunted down Lanie and Rachel after they escaped her foster home, and she'd nearly killed them when they crossed paths again. Lanie, Rachel, Conner, and their friends had defeated Angelina and her minions-and awakened Lanie's magical powers in the process. Lanie had thought their days of battling witches were behind them. But that weird look Lauren had given her, and Rachel's apparent disappearance...those things couldn't be connected, could they?

It was a long time before Lanie got to sleep that night.

To be continued...

Josie gripped her car's steering wheel, driving down the highway and following the gray Honda Civic. Josie had stalked the young blonde-haired woman since yesterday and watched as she got together with her other friends today. Now she was following them, albeit discreetly, down the highway to Kentucky.

As she drove, Josie heard her phone ringing. She wasn't going to answer it, but then she saw that the call was from Circe Reyna. So she reluctantly tapped the green button and put it on Speaker. "Hello, my lady."

"Josie," said the voice of Circe Reyna. "Have you located the girls who killed Sharon Johnson?"

"Yes, I did," Josie answered. "And I'm following them now."

"Where are they going?"

"I'm not sure. But I know for a fact that this highway leads to Kentucky."

"Kentucky?" Circe repeated. "Interesting..."

"I don't know why they're going there," said Josie. "But I know that that Zoe Fletcher kid lives in Frankfort, so they might be going to meet her."

"That was my thought as well," said Circe. "In fact, I contemplated sending you or Lauren there to capture Zoe, but I'm not sure if her DNA will be the right fit for our project. Luckily, the escapees from Sharon and Angelina's foster homes will be a perfect fit for us."

"So what if these girls do meet Zoe? Should I capture all of them?"

"No, I only need one," Circe answered. "Lauren told me she already has one of the girls from Angelina's foster home."

"Is it Angelina's daughter?"

"Unfortunately, no," said Circe. "But if you get just one of the girls from Sharon's old foster home, then we'll have everything we need."

"Right," said Josie. "I'll make sure to get you one of those girls." And with that, she pressed her car's gas pedal and shot off after the car she was following.

***

When Lanie woke up, she knew she had to do something.

Her roommate and best friend Rachel had gone missing, and Lanie had a bad feeling she'd been kidnapped by the Genetics Engineering people. But where could Rachel be? Was she being held at the facility here in Atlanta? Had she been transferred somewhere else? Lanie had no idea. Unless...

Lanie went over to her school backpack and started rummaging through her binders. Before long, she found the business card Lauren had given her at the job fair. The business card had Lauren's phone number and email address on it-but it also had the address of Genetics Engineering's local establishment. "So that's it," Lanie said to herself. "That's where she went."

Lanie took a quick shower before getting on fresh clothes and putting on her shoes. She didn't care that it might be dangerous-she had to find out what happened to her friend. So she was going to go over to Genetics Engineering and ask a few questions.

The Genetics Engineering building was a twenty-minute walk away from Lanie's orphanage. It was a three-story building with large glass windows and two metal columns holding up the awning above the front doors. Lanie entered the doors to find a male superintendent sitting at the front desk. "Good morning," said the superintendent. "How can I help you?"

"I'm here to see someone," Lanie answered. "Rachel Miller."

The superintendent blinked. "Rachel Miller?"

"Yes. She was hired for an internship yesterday, and she hasn't been heard from since."

The superintendent clicked his tongue. "I'm sorry, young lady," he said. "I am not aware of any Rachel Miller working here."

Lanie clenched her fists and summoned a pair of magic fireballs. When her mother Angelina had gotten her hands on her, she'd performed an Awakening on her that awakened her magical powers. Lanie usually didn't use those powers in public, but these were some serious times. "I'm not playing around here," she said. "Where is Rachel?"

The superintendent's face paled when he saw Lanie's fireballs. "You-you-how are you-"

"Where's Rachel? Tell me now!" To prove she wasn't fooling around, Lanie slammed her fist on the table and left a smoking crater.

"No, I swear I don't know!" the superintendent said. "I don't work with the interns! I'm just out here!"

Right then, a woman in a sleeveless dress came into the room. "Mark, what's going-" She froze when she saw Lanie.

"Angie! Thank Heaven!" the superintendent exclaimed. "I think this girl's a witch!"

The woman whose name was Angie grinned evilly. "So you're the one Circe told us about," she said. "You're Angelina's daughter."

"Where's Rachel? What did you do with her?"

"You won't find her here," said Angie, "But you'll soon be joining her." She lunged at Lanie, who barely managed to dodge her. Lanie hurled one of her fireballs at Angie, but she absorbed it with her hand. She waved at Lanie, and an invisible force threw Lanie backward into the wall. By the time Lanie shook off her pain, Angie was already bearing down on her again. Lanie thrust her hand forward and summoned a bolt of orange energy at her enemy. The energy bolt hit Angie square in the chest, melting through her skin and burning up her heart.

Lanie got up and went over to where Mark was watching everything in horror. She grabbed him by the collar and forced him to face her. "This place," she said, "It's run by witches, isn't it?"

Mark frantically nodded. "Yes! Yes it is!"

"What do they want? What is going on inside this heart of darkness?"

"They hate men," Mark answered. "They want to turn all the men into women."

"I knew it," Lanie seethed.

"Yeah, it's scary," said Mark.

"Then why do they have you working for them if you're a man?"

"I don't know. I didn't know who they really were when they hired me. But by the time I found out, I was already bound to Genetics Engineering by my contract."

"But they still plan on turning you into a woman."

Mark nodded.

"So if Rachel's not here, where else could she be?"

"I don't know, we've got locations all over the country," said Mark. "But they've been talking about doing a big project at the lab in Jackson, Mississippi."

"Jackson, Mississippi."

"They might've taken your friend there, I don't know," said Mark. "They haven't told me about any of this internship or kidnapping stuff."

"That's okay," Lanie said as she let go of Mark. "That's...a start." She turned and left the entry hall, her head already spinning. Jackson, Mississippi...that was a long way away from Atlanta, Georgia. She'd gotten herself from Nashville to Atlanta when she escaped from her old foster home, but that was just a big stroke of luck. Jackson was a lot farther away.

There was only one person who could help Lanie.

***

Zack sat at the table in Starbucks with his girlfriend Skylar. In the aftermath of the hunt for the witch who'd turned Zack into Zoe, Zack had started dating Skylar. The two of them had been together for three and a half months now, and their relationship wasn't showing any signs of slowing down.

"Well," Skylar said as she sipped from her cup of hot chocolate, "Are you glad to finally be getting a break from all the fame?"

"Oh yeah," said Zack. "It's nice being able to go to school and not be hounded by paparazzi every step of the way."

"But I've seen your Twitter. People are still commenting saying they wish they could meet you."

"Yes, they are," said Zack. "One guy said he wanted to have sex with me."

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him I already had a girlfriend."

"Of course you did."

Right about then, a man burst into the store and looked around. When he saw Zack and Skylar, he ran up to their table. "Hey," he panted, "Are you Zack Fletcher?"

"Uh...yeah," said Zack. He felt a little taken aback by this man's approach. Sure, he'd had a lot of paparazzi and news reporters swarming him since that whole witch hunt went down, but this guy was unusually frantic. His brown hair was messed up, and his temples were beaded with sweat like he'd just ran half a mile.

"And you're also Zoe Fletcher?'

"Yeah." To prove it, Zack willed himself to change genders. He, or now she, shifted to Zoe Fletcher, with a female body and girls' clothes instead of boy clothes. It was an ability he'd gained by accident when a witch's curse didn't quite go right (long story).

"Okay, good," the frantic man said. "Because I need your help."

"Help with what?"

"It's complicated," the man said, looking tensely in all directions. "You see, there's a...plot. The company I'm employed in, well..."

"Dude, calm down," said Zoe. "Who are you?"

"My name's Carter Halbrook," the man answered. "And what I want-well, we probably shouldn't be discussing it here."

"Why not?"

"They're probably following me. And if they know what I'm trying to do, then I'll be finished."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Skylar asked. "Who's stalking you?"

Carter froze when he saw something outside the window. "Oh, shit," he said. "I've gotta go."

"What? Why?" Zoe asked.

"Listen, whatever you do, don't trust anyone," said Carter. "But I'll be back when I can." And with that, he turned and fled the store.

Zoe and Skylar exchanged glances. "What was that all about?" Skylar asked.

"I have no idea," Zoe answered.

"You think you should tell Mr. Al about this?" Skylar suggested.

"Yeah, good idea," Zoe answered.

To be continued...

"Conner, I need you to drive me to Mississippi."

"What?"

"Jackson, Mississippi," Lanie repeated. She was standing on Conner's front porch, having gone straight to him after leaving Genetics Engineering. "That's where they took Rachel."

"How do you know?" Conner asked.

"I just went to Genetics Engineering and asked a few questions," Lanie answered. "It looks like they might've taken Rachel to their lab in Jackson, Mississippi."

Conner's eyebrows knit together. "You didn't find out why they took her, did you?" he asked.

"No," Lanie admitted. "But I encountered a witch there."

"A witch!" Conner exclaimed. "Okay, this is definitely serious."

"Yes, it is. And we've got to get to the bottom of Rachel's kidnapping."

"Do you think Genetics Engineering is somehow connected to Pretty And Pink Foster Care?"

"I highly doubt it, but the witch I saw recognized me as Angelina's daughter."

"Maybe Angelina was affiliated with Genetics Engineering at some point," Conner suggested.

"Well, hopefully we'll find out," said Lanie. "Look, can you drive me, or not?"

"Of course I can," said Conner. He'd just gotten his driver's license a few weeks ago, and he was always down to drive Lanie places. "But we should probably have Bryce or Diana come with us again, because it's a long way and-"

"No," said Lanie. "Something tells me this is much bigger than Pretty And Pink. I don't want to ask our friends to risk their lives for us again."

Conner sighed. "Alright," he said. "I guess it'll be just you and I."

"Great," said Lanie. "I'll get my stuff and meet you back here."

***

After dropping off Skylar at home, Zoe asked her mom to drive her over to the foster home where her best friend Miles lived. It was also owned by the witch hunter Mr. Al, who'd commissioned Zoe and Miles to try and figure out who the witch causing trouble in their neighborhood was. Now, after her unexpected visit from Carter Halbrook, Zoe had a suspicion there might be witch activity once again. And who better to go to than Mr. Al?

When Zoe's mom dropped her off, Zoe went inside the foster home and ran right into her friend Avery. "Avery!" said Zoe. "Where's Mr. Al?"

"He's not here," Avery answered.

"What?"

"He's on vacation in the Caribbean," said Avery. "He's not gonna come back until next week."

"Oh man, we need him!" said Zoe.

"What's going on?" said a new voice. Zoe and Avery turned to see Miles approaching them.

"Miles!" said Zoe. "We've got a problem."

"A problem?"

"I just took Skylar out to Starbucks," Zoe explained, "But then this guy came in and told me he needed my help. Apparently there's some kind of plot being devised for..."

"For what?"

"I don't know, he was really vague. But I think someone was watching him, because he ran off after just a couple minutes."

Miles chewed on this for a moment, then said "It sounds like the guy was pretty frantic."

"Yes, he was."

"But why did he need you?"

"I think I know," said Zoe. "You and I are famous for uprooting Brittany Meier as a witch, right? And the guy said there was a plot that he needed me to help undo? Me, of all people? I think there's more witchcraft going on here."

"Ah," said Miles. "Well, I have Mr. Al's cell phone number. I can call him and let him know what's going on."

"Yes, please do."

While Miles got out his phone and called Mr. Al's number, Zoe sat down in a nearby chair and pulled out her own phone. She opened up Twitter and saw that there was a new message. The message was from someone named Saige Johnson. "Saige Johnson," Zoe muttered. "Who's this?"

However, when Zoe read the message, she was surprised. It said "Hi Zack/Zoe, my name is Saige Johnson. I saw your recent Tweet that you'd like to meet another person who'd had a witch change their gender, and, well...that's what happened to me! About four years ago, I got in the exact same situation you did-wrong bathroom at school, then turned into a girl. I have a friend named Olivia who also used to be a boy, but she's feeling pretty depressed as of late. My other friend Bailey and I thought we could cheer her up by coming to visit you and exchanging stories. What would you think of that?"

"Oh wow," said Zoe. The message threw her for a loop, but she groaned when she realized the message was a day old. She quickly texted back saying that yes, she would like to meet this Saige person-and Olivia and Bailey, too, she supposed.

Within seconds, Saige messaged back with "Great! We're actually on our way to Frankfort right now, and we'll probably get there at around dinnertime. Where should we meet?"

Zoe messaged back suggested McDonald's, to which Saige agreed. So that meant they were on.

"Okay," Miles said, hanging up his phone. "Mr. Al said he's gonna fly home tomorrow to try and figure out what's going on with the guy you just encountered."

"Good," said Zoe. "In the meantime, I think we've got a meeting of our own."

"What?"

"Remember that Tweet I sent out about how I'd like to meet another guy-turned-girl? Someone just took me up on my offer."

***

Later that evening, Zoe shifted back to Zack and made sure to be at her local McDonald's at 5:30 PM. Coincidentally, Miles had gotten a job there a month prior, and he happened to be scheduled for the evening shift that day. So Zack knew he'd be seeing his friend while he met these new changed boys.

Zack waited outside McDonald's for about ten minutes before he saw three college-aged girls coming his way. One had jet-black hair, one was blonde, and the third was a redhead like him. It took a minute for Zack to recognize the blonde-haired girl as Saige-the chick who'd Tweeted him to instigate this meetup.

"Zack!" Saige exclaimed when she saw him.

"Hey there," said Zack. "So you're the one who claims to have been a boy before."

"Yes, I have," said Saige.

"And you said your friends had, too?"

"Just Olivia," Saige corrected, indicating the black-haired girl. "Bailey was always a girl."

"How about we go inside?" Zack suggested. "We can talk more there."

"Yes, please," said Bailey. "I'm starving."

So the four of them got in line inside the restaurant. When they got to the front of the line, Zack noticed Miles working at the burger grill behind the cashier. Miles waved at Zack, who returned the wave. Zack ordered four orders of burgers and fries, plus a chocolate milkshake for Bailey, before sitting down at a table with his...friends? Fans? He wasn't sure what to call them.

"So, Olivia, Saige, and Bailey," said Zack. "What's your guys' story?"

"Well, we're from Illinois," said Bailey. "It started with this foster home called the Young Forever Foster Home, or Y. F. F. H. for short. There was this lady named Miss Johnson who ran the foster home and took in homeless kids to give a new home. She took me in when I lost my family. But Olivia..."

"I was originally Oliver," said Olivia. Up till now, she'd been rather glum, so it was nice to hear her actually talking. "But then Miss Johnson had me turned into a girl before I got admitted to the Y. F. F. H. The employee told me it was a rule that they couldn't have boys there, but then I later met someone who let it slip that she'd been a boy before, too. And then it got me wondering."

"She came to me about it first," said Bailey. "So we went poking around in Miss Johnson's basement and found out what she was really doing."

"She was taking in lots of homeless boys and turning them into girls against their will," said Olivia. "Miss Johnson found me and Bailey snooping around and decided to 'terminate' us. She put us inside chromosome-sucking machines, and-"

"Chromosome-sucking machines?" Zack asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, I know, it's weird," Olivia admitted. "But apparently that was how she made her gender-changing potions. She needed a lot of X chromosomes to turn boys into girls."

"We thought we were going to die down there," said Bailey, "But then our roommates came in and busted us out."

"We ran away to Chicago," said Olivia, "And that was where we met Saige."

"I'd wandered into the girls' bathroom at school by accident, then turned into a girl," said Saige. "Olivia let it slip to me that she was a changed boy too, so we started to hang out and talk more."

"Until Miss Johnson came looking for me and brought me back to the Y. F. F. H," said Olivia. "So Saige, Bailey, Tony, and Stephanie had to come save me."

"Wait-who are Tony and Stephanie?" Zack asked.

"Stephanie's another girl from the Y. F. F. H. who ran away with us," Bailey answered. "She ended up getting adopted by a wealthy married couple and moving to Canada."

"Tony was my friend when I was a boy," said Saige.

"Like Miles," said Zack.

"Exactly."

Right then, the cashier called Zack's name to let him know his order was ready. "Hang on, guys," said Zack. "I've gotta get our food." He got up and went over to grab the tray of food. He distributed the burgers and fries-along with Bailey's milkshake-among everyone before sitting back down.

"So where were we?" Saige asked.

"You were talking about how you saved Olivia and defeated Miss Johnson," Zack answered.

"Yep. Then we went back to Chicago, and everything went back to normal," said Saige. "Well, mostly normal."

Zack looked between Olivia, Saige, and Bailey with amazement. "Wow," he said. "And I thought my adventure was dangerous."

"I know, it was scary," Olivia said with a shudder. "Especially when Miss Johnson put me naked on display for everyone at the Y. F. F. H. to see."

"Ouch."

"What about you?" Saige asked. "When you went into that bathroom...were you shocked when you saw yourself changing?"

"Oh yeah."

"Me too. And when I suddenly started peeing while I was still sitting down..."

"I know, it was so weird," said Zack. "I mean, I got used to it after a while, but still."

"Same," said Saige. "Now I can barely remember peeing with a penis."

"Me either," said Olivia.

"What about dating people?" Saige asked. "You did still have a crush on the witch you were looking for, right?"

"Yes, but I didn't know she was a witch yet," Zack answered. "It felt weird that I was a girl who still liked girls. I mean, I did feel some attraction to guys, but my feelings for Brittany hadn't changed at all."

"Maybe you're bi?" Olivia suggested. "A while after I became a girl, I realized I was bi."

"Oh, really?"

Olivia's face fell. "Yes..." she said, but from her expression and tone of voice, Zack could tell she was thinking of something really painful.

In an effort to change the subject, Bailey said "Who are you dating again?"

"Skylar Gregson," Zack answered. "She and I actually went out to Starbucks earlier today."

"Nice," said Bailey.

"So what are you doing now?" Zack asked.

"We're in college," said Bailey. "Well, me and Saige are, anyway."

"I'm just working," said Olivia. "But I'll probably go back to school someday."

"You haven't met any other witches since you defeated Miss Johnson, have you?" Zack asked.

"Nope," Saige answered. "In fact, we didn't even know there were other witches besides Miss Johnson until your story went public."

"Interesting," Zack mused.

"What's interesting?"

"Well..." Zack struggled to think how to word what he was thinking. "Sometimes I worry that there might be...more witches we have to worry about."

"You think?"

"Yeah. Besides this Miss Johnson, and Brittany Meier...there might be more out there."

Right then, the restaurant's front doors banged open, and a platinum-blonde woman marched in. She rounded on the table where Zack, Olivia, Saige, and Bailey were sitting at and immediately started approaching them. "There you are," the woman said.

The shock hit Olivia so hard, it felt like she was having a heart attack. "What the-who the fuck are you?" she asked.

"My name's Josie," the woman said, "And my boss has been looking for you a long time."

To be continued...

Olivia froze with fear when she saw Josie approaching her and her friends' table. "Your boss?" she asked. "Who'd send you out here?"

"Only the greatest witch to have ever lived," Josie answered. "And she has a bounty on you and your friends."

"What does she want us for?" Saige asked.

"Well, she only told me to take one of you," Josie answered. "My colleagues have already gotten another young woman like you."

"What are you talking about?" Olivia asked. "What do you mean, another young woman like us?"

"Enough questions," said Josie. She looked between the girls, as if deciding which one to take. "You," she said to Olivia. "You are coming with me."

"No!" Olivia protested. Josie grabbed at her, and she recoiled. Before Olivia could make another move, Josie had grabbed her by the arm and pinned her to the table. The woman pulled a pair of handcuffs out of her pocket and fastened one of the clamps around Olivia's wrist.

"Let her go!" said Saige. She charged at Josie, but Josie waved her hand, and an invisible force knocked Saige backward.

"Oh my..." Zack gasped. "You're a witch, aren't you?"

"Indeed I am," said Josie. "And I've heard all about your little endeavor, Miss Zoe Fletcher."

"It's Zack right now," Zack said indignantly.

Josie scoffed. "Names are nothing," she said. "You can call yourself Bob for all I care."

Bailey realized Josie was distracted and took her chance. She came at Josie from the side and tackled her to the ground. "Run, Olivia!" she urged.

"But Bailey-" Olivia started.

"Just go!"

"You little bitch!" Josie growled. She rolled herself on top of Bailey and conjured up another pair of handcuffs for herself. "Perhaps you'd like to be our test subject instead of your friend, wouldn't you?"

Bailey struggled with every fiber of her being, but it was no use. Josie clamped the handcuffs around her wrists and started dragging her toward the exit.

"Let her go!" said Olivia. She got up and ran after Josie, only to have the witch whirl around and face her.

"Miss, you may not realize it now, but we're ushering in the dawn of a new era," said Josie. "Sharon Johnson and Angelina Aguilar tried to start it themselves, but they failed thanks to you. How ironic that you'll help us succeed where our former proteges failed."

Olivia and Saige exchanged glances. "How did you know..." Olivia started.

"No time to talk right now," said Josie. She cupped her hand to her ear as the sound of police sirens started to fill the air. "I think that's my cue to leave." And with that, she took Bailey and dragged her outside. Olivia, Saige, and Zack followed, but they were too slow. Right as they came out of the restaurant's front doors, they saw Josie throwing Bailey in the back of her car and then getting in the driver's seat. Before any of them could do anything, Josie drove off in a cloud of smoke.

Miles came running out of the restaurant-with a metal spatula still in his hand! "Was that another witch?" he asked.

"I'm afraid so," said Zack.

"She took Bailey," said Olivia.

"Uh, guys?" said Saige. Everyone else followed her gaze to where a police car had just parked in front of the restaurant, and a squad of officers were getting out.

***

It took an hour for the kids to clear things up with the cops. The cops asked Olivia, Zack, Saige, Miles, and some other witnesses for full accounts of what happened, to which everyone answered in full detail. Unfortunately, no one was able to recall Josie's license plate number, meaning the police wouldn't have a way of tracking down her car.

After the cops left, Olivia, Zack, Saige, and Miles sat together outside the McDonald's. "This is hopeless," said Olivia. "That witch has probably already taken Bailey back to her master by now."

"I don't suppose you know who this master is?" Zack asked.

"No," said Olivia. "We've never seen that witch before. Ever."

"It sounded like she knew you," said Zack. "The way she was talking about her master's 'former proteges' and how you defeated them."

"Former proteges?" Miles asked.

"I think she said..." Zack thought for a moment. "Sharon Johnson and Angelina Aguilar?"

"No idea who Angelina Aguilar is," said Saige. "But Sharon Johnson...I think she was referring to Miss Johnson."

"I never knew her first name was Sharon," said Olivia.

Zack's head started to spin. "Maybe that's what Carter Halbrook was talking about," he said. "That plot or whatever it was."

"Who's Carter Halbrook?" Olivia asked.

"He's a guy I met earlier today," Zack answered. He gave Olivia and Saige an explanation of how he and Skylar had gotten an unexpected visitor at Starbucks earlier that day.

"You think all this is connected?" Saige asked when Zack was done. "That this Carter Halbrook character somehow knows what these witches are up to?"

"It can't be a coincidence," said Zack. "We've gotta find out where that witch took Bailey."

"And that other girl," said Saige.

"Who?"

"Josie mentioned that they'd gotten someone else like us," Saige explained. "I think she meant another girl who used to be a boy."

Zack and Miles exchanged glances. "Then why didn't she go for Zack?" Miles asked.

"I don't know," said Saige. "But maybe she was talking about someone else from the Y. F. F. H. that they somehow tracked down?"

"Could be," said Olivia. "Maybe Piper, or Andrea, or Stephanie."

"Well, we'll have to find out," said Saige.

"How are we supposed to do that?" Olivia asked.

"I don't know," Saige admitted.

"Wait a minute," said Miles. "Did Bailey have her phone on her when Josie took her?"

Olivia and Saige exchanged glances. "I think she did," said Olivia. "Probably in her pocket."

"Then we can track her," said Miles. "Mr. Al has a device where you can enter in a cell phone number, and it'll pinpoint the cell phone's location."

"Wait a minute," said Olivia. "Mr. Al's that witch hunter who helped you guys root out that witch here, right? Shouldn't we leave it to him to sort this whole mess out?"

"Mr. Al is in the Caribbean right now," said Miles. "By the time he gets back, it'll be too late."

"Where is this device?" Saige asked. "Is it back at your orphanage?"

"It is," said Miles.

"Great," said Saige. "We can go over there, get this device, and then start following Josie-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Olivia. "Who said we were gonna follow Josie?"

"Olivia, they just said Mr. Al can't help us," said Saige. "We have to go after our friend."

Olivia's face fell. "But I didn't...we didn't sign up for this..."

"Olivia!" Saige said accusingly. "Are you just gonna sit by and let these witches torture-and maybe even kill-Bailey?"

Olivia said nothing.

"Don't you remember when Miss Johnson captured you, and Bailey came with me, Tony, and Stephanie to save you? And Bailey was the one who broke you out of that cage where Miss Johnson had you in suspended animation? Don't you think she deserves to have you return the favor?"

"I guess so," Olivia admitted.

"That's better," said Saige. "Zack, Miles, how about you? Are you in?"

Zack shrugged. "I mean, we've had experience with witches before," he said.

"It sounds like you'll need all the help you can get," said Miles. "How much room have you got in your car?"

"Well, my car's a sedan, so it's got room for five people," said Saige. "So if you two come with me and Olivia, then we'll still have room for Bailey for the drive back."

"Oh," said Miles. "I was thinking about inviting Skylar or Avery to come with us."

"No, I think four of us is enough," said Zack. But really, he just didn't want to drag his girlfriend into a potentially dangerous situation.

"Alright," said Saige. "Then we'll leave pronto. First stop: Miles' orphanage to get that cell phone tracker. Next stop...wherever Josie is taking Bailey."

To be continued...assuming anyone even cares. I've noticed that the first four chapters barely got any reads compared to the earlier chapters of Lanie's Journey and The Witch Hunt, and there aren't any comments either. Seems like a pretty lackluster reception thus far...

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.

QUICK NOTE: Shoutout to Uhuru N/Uru for commenting on the last chapter with a tip on how to fix this serial's prelude so it came first in the Organizer page. Thanks so much for helping me out.

***

After getting their blood drawn, Bailey and Rachel were both taken back to the padded room where Rachel had been held before. Circe locked them in the room before going back to start working on their blood samples.

"I can't believe they just did that," said Rachel.

"I know," said Bailey, "But they won't get what they need."

"What?"

"I'm not a changed boy," Bailey said with a confident smirk. "I was always a girl."

"But they said..."

"When Josie captured me, I was with two girls who used to be guys," Bailey explained. "Apparently Circe assigned her to just one group of changed guys and told her to just take one."

"Did you say you were with two other girls like...me?"

"Yes."

"You didn't come from Pretty And Pink Foster Care, did you?"

"No. And I'm guessing you've never heard of the Y. F. F. H?"

"Not until just now."

For a few seconds, Bailey and Rachel just stared at each other, not sure what to say. "Do you want to tell your story first, or do you want me to?" Bailey asked.

"You do it," Rachel answered.

"Fine," said Bailey. She told Rachel about how, when she'd been orphaned, Miss Johnson had taken her into the Y. F. F. H. and put her in with a bunch of roommates. She explained the arrival of Olivia, and how that had led to their adventure fighting Miss Johnson. When Bailey was finished, Rachel took her turn telling her story. She told Bailey about how she was once Randy before stumbling upon Pretty And Pink and being turned into a girl, then the chain of events that was kickstarted when Lanie was admitted to her foster home.

"So the same things happened to the both of us," Bailey said when Rachel was finished. "A witch, a foster home, and a group of friends who killed the witch and shut down her foster home."

"Yeah, pretty much," said Rachel.

"Except now we've got Circe," said Bailey. "Miss Johnson and Angelina's old master."

"Do you think she ordered them to start up those foster homes?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know," Bailey answered. "I always got the vibe Miss Johnson started up the Y. F. F. H. on her own, without anyone appointing her in charge of it. And it doesn't sound like Pretty And Pink was much different."

"Well, apparently Circe was watching them," said Rachel, "Because she knew where to send Josie and Lauren to come capture us."

"Except her plan backfired," Bailey said smugly. "I don't have the boy-turned-girl DNA, so they can't use my blood for-"

She was cut off when the door banged open and Circe stormed in with Lauren, Josie, and Carter Halbrook behind her. "You!" Circe barked at Bailey. "You're not a changed boy! You were born female and stayed that way your whole life!"

Bailey recoiled in fear. "I-what-I didn't say-"

"Mr. Halbrook has just been running tests on your blood," Circe went on. "He found that Rachel's DNA fits with what we need for our virus, but Bailey's does not."

"I knew it!" Lauren said, looking at Josie accusingly. "I knew you'd find a way to fuck things up!"

"Hey, I was fighting four of those kids at once!" Josie defended. "Let's see you try to figure out who the right girl is in that kind of situation!"

"Ladies, calm down," said Circe. "Josie, since your captive has turned out not to be the type of girl we were looking for, we'll have to get ahold of another one."

Josie hung her head. "So what do we do?" she asked. "Kill the girl so she won't divulge our plan to anyone else?"

"Oh, no, no, no," said Circe. "We will keep her-and the younger girl-here with us."

"Keep us?" Bailey asked. "Why?"

"Bailey, while you and your lackeys were bringing down the Y. F. F. H, I was watching you from afar," said Circe. "I know how people like you work. When your friends are captured by us witches, your friends will come after you in the hope they can rescue you. Isn't that what you did for Olivia? And what Rachel did for Lanie?"

Neither Bailey nor Rachel responded, though they had a pretty good idea what Circe would say next.

"That is why we will keep the both of you captive," said Circe. "Hopefully one of your friends who is actually a changed boy will come for you. And when they do, we will obtain their blood to help create our virus."

***

The tracking signal from Bailey's cell phone led Olivia, Zack, Saige, and Miles to a compound owned by Genetics Engineering. The compound was located at the edge of Jackson, Mississippi, and it consisted of three two-story buildings surrounded by a metal wire fence.

Olivia parked Saige's car near the back of the compound, on the opposite side of the main parking lot. "So this is it," she said as she, Saige, Zack, and Miles all got out of the car.

"Well, we're here," said Zack. "Now what?"

"We get in and find Bailey," Olivia answered. She opened the trunk of Saige's car to reveal some more tools they'd "borrowed" from Mr. Al's place-wire cutters, a couple lock picks, and a bunch of guns with bandoliers of ammunition.

"Hoo boy," Saige said when she saw the guns. "I've never liked guns."

"Me either," Zack said, taking a gun and slinging its bandolier over his torso, "But we're gonna need them. I don't think the witches are gonna let Bailey go without a fight."

"You guys don't actually know how to use guns, do you?" Saige asked.

"Well, we've never used real guns before," said Zack, "But it can't be that hard."

"Of course it's not," said Olivia. "The real problem is aiming."

"If you're a guy," said Miles. Unfortunately, no one laughed at his little joke.

Since Saige didn't quite feel comfortable carrying a gun, she was in charge of carrying the wire cutters. Working carefully, she cut a hole in the metal wire fence her herself and her companions to wriggle through. Then they started making their way towards the buildings.

"Okay," said Saige, "Where could they be keeping Bailey?"

"I don't know," said Olivia. "There's three buildings..."

"How about we split up?" Miles suggested. "Zack, Saige, you check that building over there. Me and Olivia will look at this one."

"I think that's a very bad idea," said Saige. "How are we gonna let each other know if we find Bailey?"

"I guess we can just text each other," said Olivia.

"But what if one of our groups gets killed, and the other doesn't know it?" Saige asked.

For a few seconds, there was absolute silence. "Wow," said Zack. "We did not think this through very well, did we?"

"Look, we don't have time for this," said Miles. "Are we gonna split up, or not?"

Saige sighed. "Fine," she said, "But if some or all of us don't make it out alive..." She let the threat hang in the air as she and Zack went off to go check out the building nearest the parking lot.

"Right," said Miles. "Let's check this place out."

***

Getting into the compound's main building proved easier than Olivia and Miles expected. They came up to one of the side doors and gingerly busted it open with their lock pick, and to their surprise, no one was waiting on the other side. The two of them crept down the hallway, determined not to make any noise. Once or twice, they thought they heard someone coming, and they ducked into a nearby supply closet and waited for them to pass.

"You don't think they have security cameras, do you?" Olivia asked.

"I hope not," Miles answered.

"They did at the Y. F. F. H," said Olivia. "That's how Miss Johnson caught Stephanie letting her secret slip."

"What-oh, that she used to be a guy, right," said Miles.

After making their way through a few more corridors, they rounded a corner and found a man standing guard at a door labeled "Test Subject Confinement." Olivia gasped when she saw this door. "I think that's it!" she exclaimed.

"Hey!" the security guard said. "What are you doing here?"

Olivia and Miles looked at each other, then drew their guns. The two of them fired away at the security guard, both missing him by several feet. The security guard pulled out his own gun and aimed it at Olivia's chest. Before he could pull the trigger, Miles took careful aim and shot at the security guard's head. This time, his aim was on point. The bullet went right into the man's brain, killing him and causing him to collapse.

"We'd better hurry," said Miles. "That ruckus is gonna attract attention!" He ran up to the test subject confinement door and tried to open it, but groaned in disappointment when he found that it was locked. He got out his lock pick and hurriedly jimmied the lock. Once the door was open, Miles charged inside and found two prisoners in blue jumpsuits lying against a padded wall. One he immediately recognized as Bailey, but the other was somebody new. She looked to be about Miles' age, with a pale complexion and long, ebony black hair that went to her waist.

"Oh my..." the black-haired girl gasped when she saw Miles. "Who...who are you?"

"I'm Luke Skywalker, I'm here to rescue you," said Miles.

"Luke Skywalker?" Bailey said indignantly.

"I'm kidding," said Miles. "Bailey, I don't think we officially met, but my name's Miles. I'm Zack's friend."

Olivia pushed past Miles and gasped when she saw Bailey. "Bailey! You're okay!" she exclaimed.

"Olivia? You're here, too?"

"Yes. And so are Saige and Zack."

Bailey shook her head. "You've got to get out of here. It's a trap."

"We are getting out of here," said Olivia. "With you and..." She looked at the new, younger girl.

"Oh, I'm Rachel," the girl clarified.

"Here, I'll text Zack," said Miles.

He'd barely even sent the text when Olivia urged "Come on, we've got to go." She led Miles, Bailey, and Rachel out of the containment room and into the corridor. But they froze in their tracks when they saw who was waiting for them.

"How rude of you," Circe said, though she was grinning wickedly at the sight of Olivia. Likewise, Josie and Lauren, who were at Circe's side, also looked happy to have Olivia in their grasp. "Usually, we prefer our guests to introduce themselves at the front door."

To be continued...

Circe, Lauren, and Josie escorted the four companions back to the lab room where Bailey and Rachel had had their blood drawn. "Just like I predicted," said Circe. "These girls' friends did indeed come to rescue them."

"Of course, the real question is whether this chick has the right kind of DNA," Lauren said, looking down on Olivia like she was a science experiment gone wrong.

Olivia's heart hammered in her chest. Miles had texted Zack, right? That they'd found Bailey and Rachel? But if he had, would Zack and Saige be able to save them? It seemed doubtful. There were three witches here, along with a bunch of armed guards. Two people who weren't that good with guns anyway wouldn't do any good.

Circe turned to Olivia and pointed at one of the hospital beds in the lab. "Lie down on there," she commanded. Olivia reluctantly did as she was told.

"I knew it," Bailey said miserably. "I knew she'd do this."

"What, is Olivia actually a changed boy?" Rachel asked.

Bailey didn't answer, but the look on her face said it all.

"Keep very still," Circe said as she pulled out a syringe. But she was just bending over Olivia when a loud alarm blared.

"Gah!" Miles cried. He covered his ears to drown out the blaring sound of the alarm, as did Bailey and Rachel. "What the hell-"

"It's the fire alarm," said Lauren.

"We've gotta get out of here!" said Josie.

"You go," said Circe. "I'll catch up after I've drawn this girl's blood."

"What about our other captives?" Lauren asked.

"Leave them here," said Circe. She snapped her fingers, and handcuffs suddenly formed around Rachel's, Bailey's, and Miles' wrists. "Let them die in the fire."

"Very well," said Lauren. She, Josie, and the security guards all fled the room.

"Now, back to you," Circe said to Olivia.

"No, please, no!" Olivia protested. She didn't know what Circe was going to do with her blood, but she'd apparently already drawn Rachel's, and it definitely couldn't be for a good cause.

"Trust me," said Circe, "By the time we're done, the whole world will thank me." She inserted the tip of the syringe into the flesh of Olivia's arm.

She'd barely even started drawing the blood when it happened. There was a loud BANG! as the lab room's door was busted open, followed by the sound of a gunshot. Circe yelped in agony and doubled over, dropping the syringe. A quick glance downward told Olivia that Circe had been shot in the leg. And the person who'd shot her was none other than Zack Fletcher.

"Are you okay?" Zack asked.

"Yeah," said Olivia. "Where's Saige?"

"Right here," said Zack. Right on cue, Saige came up beside Zack.

Circe was still lying in a heap on the floor, unable to get back up because of her injured leg, but when she saw Zack and Saige, her face went red with fury. "You!" she accused. "You pulled the fire alarm as a distraction!"

"Yep, we did," said Zack. He aimed his gun at Circe again, but she rolled out of the way.

"We've gotta go," Saige said as she unlocked the handcuffs on Bailey's wrists. "If we stick around any longer, the rest of the witches are gonna figure out there's no fire!"

"I guess you're right," said Zack.

"No!" Circe protested. "You won't escape from here!"

The kids/young adults ignored her. Zack, Saige, Bailey, Olivia, Miles, and Rachel, the latter two of whom were still handcuffed, took off and ran down the hallway. They made it back out to the building's exit where they'd come in and went out onto the compound's back field. But they'd only gone about ten feet when a truck came barreling out in front of them. The truck skidded to a halt, and a half dozen Genetics Engineering security guards came clambering out. Some were male, some were female, but they all had thick police batons and pistols.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Rachel exclaimed.

"You two stay behind us," said Zack. "We'll handle this!" He fired his gun and took out the first of the security guards. Unfortunately, he wasn't prepared for the second one coming in. That guard brought his baton down and whacked Zack in the head. Stars winking before his eyes, Zack doubled over and dropped his gun. The security guard raised his own gun, but then Miles tackled him to the ground. Zack regained his consciousness, got his gun back, and shot the security guard dead.

All around them, Olivia, Bailey, and Saige were locked in combat with the remaining security guards. Olivia managed to shoot down two of them, but another female one was attacking her with her police baton. Olivia ducked to avoid getting hit with the baton, but it wasn't long till the security guard got in a lucky shot on Olivia's arm. Olivia yelped in pain as she felt a bruise forming on her arm. The security guard raised her baton again, but Olivia had other ideas. She balled her right fist and punched the security guard square in the face. The security guard fell backward, hit her head on the side of the truck, and crumpled to the ground unconscious.

Meanwhile, Saige had run out of bullets for her gun and was facing the last security guard unarmed. She dodged the security guard's baton and stepped backward, but then she accidentally tripped over one of the other guards' bodies. Saige fell backward onto the ground with the security guard bearing down on her, pulling out his pistol and aiming it at her face. This is it, Saige thought. This is what it's like to die.

All of a sudden, a ball of blue fire flew in out of nowhere and hit the security guard in the chest. Within seconds, the security guard was incinerated in a torrent of flame and burned to a pile of ashes. Saige looked and saw that her rescuer was a girl about Rachel's age with brown hair and a fiery, angry look in her eyes.

"What the...is that another witch?" Zack asked.

"Yes!" Rachel exclaimed. "She's my friend!"

The anger left the new girl's eyes when she saw Rachel. "Rachel!" she said. The two girls ran at each other and hugged. "Oh, Rachel, I was so worried about you!"

"How'd you get here?" Rachel asked.

"Conner drove me," the new girl answered.

"Conner?"

Right then, everyone noticed another teenage boy standing behind the new girl. "Hey Rachel," he said. "Hey, uh...everyone."

"Oh-this is Lanie," Rachel explained. "And that's her boyfriend Conner. And this is..."

"My name's Olivia," said Olivia. "And that's Saige, and Bailey, and-"

"Hey, wait a minute," Lanie said when she saw Zack. "You're that guy who was on the news. Zack, right?"

"Right. Or Zoe, depending on the situation."

"How on Earth did you get involved in all this?" Lanie asked.

"It's a long story," said Zack.

"We were actually going to Kentucky to meet him," said Bailey, "But then-"

"BAILEY, WATCH OUT!" Miles exclaimed.

Too late. Another security guard, who happened to be the driver of the truck, had jumped out of the truck with a gun in hand. Since Bailey was closest, he targeted her first. Lanie reacted quickly, throwing another fireball at him. It all happened in a blur-Bailey whirling toward the security guard, the sound of a gunshot, and the guard's scream when the fireball hit him and burned him up.

"Got him!" said Lanie. "Now..." She trailed off when she saw Bailey. A hole had appeared in her shirt, and the area around it was quickly soaking with blood. She had been shot.

"Oh no!" Olivia gasped. She ran up to Bailey and caught her as she started to fall. "Bailey, no! No, no, no!"

"Olivia," said Bailey. She was rapidly growing weaker and weaker, but she still managed to look up at her longtime friend. "I...I didn't see him coming..."

"Come on, Bailey," said Olivia. "You've gotta stay with me! We didn't come all this way to lose you!"

"You never lost me," said Bailey. And with that, the light left her eyes.

"Bailey? Bailey!" Olivia shook her friend, but it was no use. She had died.

"I can't believe this," said Saige. She, Zack, Miles, Rachel, and even Lanie and Conner, who didn't know Bailey, were feeling an atmosphere of grief come down on them. "She...she just..."

"She's gone," said Zack.

"Guys, I hate to break it up," said Conner, "But we've got to go. If the witches see us out here, they'll send more guards out."

"You're right," said Saige. "I take it you guys have your own car?"

"Yes, we do," Conner answered.

"Did you bring anyone else with you this time?" Rachel asked.

"No," Conner answered. "Just us."

"Where are you guys going next?" Lanie asked. "Should we follow you?"

Zack and Saige exchanged glances. "Well, clearly we have a common enemy," said Zack. "So yes. Follow us to...wherever we end up going."

"Come on, Olivia," said Saige. "We have to go."

"But Bailey...we can't..."

"We'll come back for her later," Saige said, though she wasn't sure if the witches would leave Bailey's body intact. "Right now, we have to get out of here."

"Fine," said Olivia. She gently laid Bailey's body down on the ground and kissed her forehead. Already, her mind was overflowing with years of memories she'd shared with Bailey. Now it was all over. Bailey had been killed. But there was nothing Olivia could do about it. All she could do was follow her companions as they made a break for the edge of the compound where their cars were waiting.

To be continued...

Once they'd all gotten out of the Genetics Engineering compound, the companions all piled into their separate cars. Lanie, Conner, and Rachel got into Conner's car while Saige, Olivia, Zack, and Miles all got into Saige's car. Conner followed Saige as she drove off into the night.

Inside Saige's car, Olivia had broken down crying again. Seeing Bailey die right before her eyes had broken something inside of her. She hadn't felt this way since Christina dumped her. "She died," Olivia sobbed. "We came all this way...for nothing."

"Well, we did save Rachel," said Miles. "And we stopped that witch from getting your blood."

"But at what cost?" said Olivia.

"Well...we still don't know what the witches are planning," said Zack.

Saige shot him a dirty look. "Not helping!" she snapped.

"Why? Just...just why?" Olivia asked. "Ever since Christina dumped me-"

"For fuck's sake, are you still blaming everything on Christina?" Saige snapped.

"This isn't about Christina!" Olivia shouted. Her tone was so sharp, everyone else in the car-even Saige-jumped in alarm. "This is about me! Ever since I got dumped, I've been neglecting you guys and walking around naked in my apartment! If I hadn't cut you and Bailey off, then you wouldn't have dragged me down to Kentucky, and we wouldn't have gotten involved in this whole mess!"

"I don't think that's true," said Zack. "That witch who attacked us at McDonald's said she'd been looking for you guys, not me and Miles. If you hadn't come, she would probably still have found you."

"I didn't even..." Olivia trailed off.

For a minute, it was silent, since nobody knew what to say. But the silence was broken when Zack checked his phone and saw a Twitter notification. He'd gotten a new DM from someone. At first he thought it was just another random fan, but then he saw it was from someone named Lanie Evans. "Is that Lanie?" he asked.

Miles craned forward and looked at Zack's phone. "I think so," he said.

Zack opened the DM and saw that Lanie had sent him her cell phone number, saying to please call it. "It looks like she wants to talk to us," he said.

"Then do it," said Miles.

Zack dialed the phone number Lanie had sent. Almost at once, Lanie picked up on the other end. "Hello?" she asked. "Is this Zack?"

"Yes," Zack answered. "And this is the same Lanie who just helped us escape from Genetics Engineering?"

"Yep," said Lanie. "Are you guys okay?"

"Not really," Zack admitted. "Olivia, well..."

On the other end, Lanie nodded understanding. "It sounds like she and Bailey were really close."

"We were," Olivia said through her tears.

"Is that why you wanted to talk?" Zack asked.

"Well...not really," Lanie admitted. "I'm calling to ask you what we're gonna do next."

"Oh yeah..."

"You guys didn't have a plan, did you?"

"Not really. We just came down to rescue Bailey and whoever else the witches from Genetics Engineering captured."

"And we failed," said Olivia.

"Well, me and Conner didn't really have a plan, either," said Lanie. "We were hoping we could stop somewhere and figure it out."

"I mean, we're pretty far from home," said Zack. "I don't know where you came from-"

"Atlanta, Georgia."

"Oh."

"And I'm guessing you don't have any friends or relatives who live in Mississippi?"

"Nope."

"How about we find a hotel?" Zack suggested. "Maybe we can properly introduce each other-and figure out our next move-there."

"Sure thing," said Lanie. "Assuming there are any hotels still open this late."

***

As it turned out, there was a hotel that was still open at 11:00 PM. It was called All-Nighter Motel, and it had one open room that had a capacity of four people. Even though Zack, Lanie, and their friends greatly exceeded that quota, they took the room anyway. Everyone unloaded their stuff (which wasn't much) from the cars and brought it up into the hotel room. When they were all settled, Olivia and Saige explained their history with the Y. F. F. H. to Lanie, Rachel, and Conner, who then recounted their story of bringing down Pretty And Pink Foster Care.

"And so that's what happened," Lanie said when she'd finished her story. "I had my magic powers awakened, and we all went back to Atlanta."

"You're lucky," said Olivia. "Me and my friends didn't get any magic powers at all."

"Do you still talk to anyone from the Y. F. F. H?" Rachel asked.

"I've tried to," Olivia answered. "Mostly Stephanie and Piper."

"Nice," said Rachel. "I've talked to Taylor and Alexis-well, Tyler and Alex now, because they got the gender change reversal serum."

"And there's another thing we didn't get," said Olivia.

"What, do you wish you were male again?" said Lanie.

"No, not really," said Olivia. "I mean, I might've, when I was still at the Y. F. F. H, but I've been living my life as a woman for so long now, I don't know if I could go back to being a man."

Lanie nodded. "I get it," she said. "I feel the same way. Not just because I'm used to being a girl, but because I formed a lot more good relationships after I transitioned. Like, you've met Conner, and Rachel here. They've been really good to me."

Olivia nodded at Rachel in admiration. "I'll bet," she said. "It sounds like Rachel's your Bailey."

"Yeah," said Lanie. "I'm sorry about...you know."

"It wasn't your fault," said Olivia. "It was mine. I shouldn't have neglected her for several weeks."

"Well...you said you were feeling depressed after your breakup, so-"

"I was, but that's not what friends do. Friends don't lock each other out of their lives. They're always there for each other, no matter what. And Bailey-she was more than just a friend. She was like..."

"A sister," Lanie offered.

"Yes," said Olivia. "I like it when you put it that way. We lived together when we were younger, and we went to school together, and..."

"It's a special kind of bond," said Rachel. "And trust us, we know how hard it is to lose someone like that. When we saw Melody get killed, and Jenny jump off that building..."

"Yeesh," said Saige. "And I thought I'd seen some horrible things."

"Well, we're not gonna let Bailey's death be in vain," said Olivia. "We've got to bring down Genetics Engineering."

"How?" Miles asked. "We don't even know what they're planning to do?"

"Actually, I know," said Rachel. "They spilled it to me when they took my blood."

"What are they planning?"

"They want to create a virus that'll infect men and turn them into women," Rachel explained. "They need our blood because apparently our DNA still has some traces of 'male' in it. Since our male DNA has been turned into female DNA, the witches can use it to create a virus. They're gonna send out swarms of fleas to carry the virus everywhere and infect everyone."

"They're sending out swarms of bugs?" said Conner. "That's their plan?"

"I guess so."

"Sounds like that new Jurassic World movie that just came out last summer," said Conner.

"What?"

"You know, Dominion. The one where they brought back the old cast, and they had the bad guys unleashing swarms of locusts-"

"Oh yeah," Zack said with disgust. "That movie sucked."

"I know," said Saige. "Even if I was still a guy, I don't think I would've liked it."

"I'm actually a guy," said Miles, "And I still thought it was awful."

"Well, I, for one, liked it," said Conner.

"What?" Zack said accusingly.

"Guys, let's not get off track here," said Lanie. "So the witches at Genetics Engineering want to send out swarms of fleas with a virus, right?"

"Right, but they can't just yet," said Rachel. "They needed two of us to donate our blood. That's why they kidnapped both me and Bailey and took our blood. But since Bailey was never male, her blood was useless to them."

"So, in other words, they don't have all the special DNA they need," said Zack.

"Exactly."

"But if they still need one of us to give them our blood, then that means they'll still come after us," said Saige. "Or possibly someone else from the Y. F. F. H."

"Should we get in touch with Stephanie, or Piper?" Olivia asked. "Warn them about this?"

"That might be a good idea," said Zack, "But if we can shut down Genetics Engineering right now, then they won't have to worry."

"But that brings us right back to our main problem," said Lanie. "We have to figure out how to do that."

"Well, since Circe's the witch who's controlling all of this-" Rachel started.

"Circe? Like that witch from Percy Jackson?" said Saige.

"She's not from Percy Jackson," said Conner, "She's from Greek mythology."

"Which Percy Jackson is based off of," said Saige.

"Well, apparently that's the head witch's name," said Rachel. "Plus, there's Lauren."

"And Josie," Zack added.

"Right. So if they're the ones running this whole operation, then we should probably find a way to assassinate them," said Rachel.

"I think you're right," said Lanie.

"So, to sneak back into Genetics Engineering and kill Circe..." Olivia started.

"Wait," said Zack. "I think I know someone who can help us."

"Who?"

"The other day, I was at Starbucks with Skylar, and a guy came up to us," Zack explained. "He said his name was Carter Halbrook, and he needed my help to deal with some kind of plot."

"Carter Halbrook," Rachel repeated. "He was there at Genetics Engineering!"

"What?"

"He was the scientists Circe was working with," said Rachel. "He took our blood samples and brought them back to his lab."

"So...he's with them?" Zack asked.

"Apparently, yeah."

"Oh." Zack wilted with disappointment. Moments before, he'd been hopeful that they might have an ally in their battle against Genetics Engineering, but now that hope was diminishing.

"But you said he was really on edge," said Miles. "According to you, he panicked and ran when he thought he saw someone watching him."

"He did?" said Lanie.

"Yeah," Zack replied.

"Then maybe he's, like, a mole," said Lanie. "He's employed by Genetics Engineering, but secretly he's plotting against them."

"I hope you're right," said Zack. "Because I don't think there's any other hope for us."

To be continued...

QUICK NOTE: I apologize for the rude tone I used in my blog post last night. It was really late, and I was feeling pretty tired, hence why the technical issues I ran into with the site irritated me as much as they did. But I definitely should've been more polite in my wording, and also refrained from using the word "fuck" (in its asterisked form, no less) in the blog's header. And I also apologize for my salty attitude about the previous chapters getting relatively few reads. Going forward, I will try to have a better attitude and take criticism better.

***

"This is all your fault!" Lauren accused. "If you hadn't kidnapped the wrong girl, then we would've already had our virus ready!"

"Need I remind you, we had the right one in our clutches!" Josie defended. "That young woman Olivia had the right kind of blood we needed-I believe-and we were just getting ready to draw her blood when those other kids created a diversion!"

"Well, the fact is, we didn't get it," said Lauren. "And if you'd brought back Olivia or Saige, then we would've gotten both their blood and Rachel's, and we wouldn't even be in our current predicament."

"That'll be quite enough," said Circe.

Josie and Lauren both looked at Circe. The three witches, along with Carter Halbrook, were back in the lab. After they'd found out there was no fire, and that the kids had all escaped, they'd regrouped in here to discuss what to do next. Unfortunately, it had escalated into a full-scale argument between Lauren and Josie.

"Sorry, my lady," said Josie.

"You're both at fault," said Circe.

"Me? What did I do?" Lauren asked.

"You were sent to Atlanta to where Rachel and Angelina's daughter Lanie lived," Circe explained. "Since Lanie is a witch herself, she had the potential to be a very serious threat to our plans. I had hoped that when in Atlanta, you would find her and dispose of her before she could figure out what we were up to. But you didn't. Not only did Lanie murder Angie, but she also helped our captives escape the compound."

"You're just looking for a way to blame me, aren't you?" Lauren said through clenched teeth.

Circe rounded on Lauren with an intense, venomous look that made Lauren jump back in surprise. "Be careful," Circe warned, "Or I will have both you and Josie punished for your insubordination."

"Sorry, my lady," said Lauren.

"That's better," said Circe. "Now leave me. Both of you."

Josie and Lauren both reluctantly left the room, leaving only Carter Halbrook with Circe.

"Now," said Circe, "We must discuss the matter of obtaining another young man-turned-woman whose blood we can use."

"Do you wish to track down another of the kids from Sharon Johnson or Angelina Aguilar's foster homes?" Carter asked. "Or should we try recapturing Olivia or Saige-or possibly Lanie?"

"Lanie is too dangerous," said Circe. "But yes, Olivia and Saige are also potential options. To me, it doesn't matter which one we use, so long as we achieve our ultimate goal."

"Actually, about that," said Carter.

"What is it?"

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you ever since you told me what you really wanted me to do for you," said Carter. Choosing his words carefully, he asked "Do you really think having an all-female world will work out?"

"Of course it will!" said Circe. "With all due respect, males are a much less intelligent gender, with far more disgusting traits and habits."

"But what about reproduction? How will we be able to keep the population up?"

"We will find a way," Circe promised.

"Even if I believed that," said Carter, "How do we know everyone will be on board with this change? There might be some men out there who are happy being male."

Circe sighed. "Mr. Halbrook, there is something about myself that I haven't told you," she said. "Something that only Josie and Lauren know, but I now think you should know it, too."

"And what is that?"

"I was once a man myself."

Carter's jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"

"Yes," said Circe. "I was born Cody Reyna. I was born male, grew up as a boy, and eventually became a man. After I got out of college, I got a job as an accountant, and I moved into my own apartment. Over the years, I fell out of touch with friends, and I saw both my parents die. For a long time, I felt lonely. But then one day, something strange happened. I noticed that my body hair was starting to fade away, and my skin was getting smoother. At first I wasn't sure what was happening, but then my legs and arms started to change shape, and I lost a lot of weight. It wasn't until my hair grew out, and I developed breasts, that I realized I was turning into a woman. Once I lost my dick and gained a pussy, I knew it was permanent. I was female. The change was weird at first, but when I started shopping for women's clothes, and makeup, and purses, and lingerie, I realized that it all felt right to me. After a few weeks as a woman, I started to feel stronger and more confident that I ever had in my life. I didn't know I was miserable until I saw my new life as a woman-one that was better for me. And when a witch discovered I had hidden magic powers and performed the Awakening on me, I knew what my new goal in life was. I wanted everyone else to experience the same joy and self-discovery that I did-that being a woman is much better than being a man."

Carter shook his head in disbelief. "That's...an emotional story," he said. "But if you think everyone else will have the same perspective as you-"

"They will," Circe insisted. "They just don't realize it yet."

Personally, Carter didn't think he'd be any better off as a woman, but he wasn't exactly in a position to argue.

"Now, for apprehending Olivia or Saige," said Circe, "I'm not sure if I can trust Josie or Lauren with a mission like this again...but I don't have any other agents I can send out..."

"Actually," said Carter, "I think I know a guy."

"You do?"

"Yes. He's a mercenary who specializes in hunting down fugitives."

Circe pondered this for a moment, then nodded. "Very well," she said. "Get in touch with him, and tell him what we're after."

To be continued...

The next morning, Zack woke up to the sound of Lanie dropping her phone and cursing. Zack blinked and rose out of the bed he was sleeping in.

"Hey, Zoe's up," said Miles.

"What?" Zack looked down and realized that he'd shifted to Zoe in his sleep.

Lanie looked over and realized Zoe was now female. "Oh," she said. "I guess you changed before you went to bed?"

"No, sometimes I just shift gender in my sleep without intending to," said Zoe. "Want me to change back?"

"It's okay, you can be a girl for right now," said Lanie.

"Okay, we're all up now," said Olivia. "What's our game plan?"

"Well," said Conner, "We should probably get going again. If the witches are looking for us-which they probably are-then they'll find us if we stick around here for any longer."

"But where do we go?" Rachel asked.

"Back to the Genetics Engineering lab," said Olivia. "We're going to have to burn that place down."

"They'll be expecting that," said Zoe. "If we go back now, they'll have even tighter security at their lab."

"Well, we've gotta strike back somewhere," said Olivia.

"Wait a minute," said Miles. "Mr. Al was gonna fly back from the Caribbean to help us."

"Has he gotten back yet?" Lanie asked.

"I don't know," Miles answered, "But we should probably go back to Frankfort in case he's already come back."

"Good idea," said Lanie. "All in favor?"

Everyone's hands raised, though Rachel did so a little more hesitantly. "As long as Circe or Josie or Lauren don't catch up to us on the way there," she said.

"Let's hope not," said Saige.

***

This time, everyone grouped up in their cars a little differently. Conner took Lanie, Olivia, and Zoe with him in his car while Rachel and Miles rode with Saige in her car. Saige and Conner both started driving northward, following the highway that would take them to Kentucky.

After a few hours of driving, Lanie realized she was getting hungry. "You guys?" she asked. "Should we stop for breakfast?"

"Yes," said Zoe. "I'm getting pretty hungry."

"I think there's an exit coming up," said Conner. "How does IHOP sound?"

"It sounds great," said Lanie.

"Here, I'll text Miles," said Zoe. "I'll let him know we're making a stop."

Miles texted back within a minute, saying that he, Rachel, and Saige would keep going ahead. They'd probably get something to eat a little later on.

So Conner, Lanie, Olivia, and Zoe all went to the nearest IHOP. None of them talked much as they took their orders and waited for the waiter to bring them their food. But when their food did come, they started to get excited. Lanie and Zoe had both ordered plates of pancakes, Conner got a breakfast sampler, and Olivia got a breakfast omelet.

"So you guys like pancakes?" Olivia said in between bites of her omelet.

"Oh yeah," said Lanie. "When I was little, I used to eat so many pancakes, it made my dad crazy. He was all 'Landon, if you eat any more pancakes, you're gonna die of obesity!'"

"Landon?"

"Oh-that was my boy name."

"Ah," said Olivia. "Sorry, I keep forgetting."

"Your name was Oliver, right?"

"Right. The weird thing is, sometimes I still snap to attention when I hear that name."

"Me too. Well, with Landon, anyway."

Zoe tore off a chunk of pancake with her fork and brought it up to her mouth, but she froze when she saw something outside. "Uh, guys?" she said. "I think someone's watching us."

"What?" Lanie turned and followed Zoe's gaze out the window, but she didn't see anything. "I don't see anything."

"No, I swear, there was a person looking at us through the window!"

Olivia tensed up. "You don't think-"

"We should probably go," said Lanie.

Just then, the restaurant's door opened for a new customer to walk in. He was a man in his late thirties with thick dreadlocks, a scraggly beard, and a silver tooth in his mouth. He wore a black leather jacket and thick, baggy pants that looked like something a rock star would wear. "G'day, ma'am," he said to the receptionist. "You wouldn't happen to be hosting a bunch of teenage kids, would you?"

"I believe so," the receptionist answered. She pointed at the table where Lanie, Olivia, Zoe, and Conner were sitting.

Lanie groaned. "We're dead," she said.

"Oh, I don't think so," the man replied as he approached their table. "On the contrary, I'm here to try to help prevent your deaths."

"What are you talking about?" Conner asked.

The man grinned. "Name's Ricardo," he said. "Bounty hunter and demolitions expert. You're some of the kids that got transformed into girls, right?"

None of the teens responded. They were too scared to say anything, but they had a feeling Ricardo already knew the truth.

"Carter Halbrook hired me to track you down," said Ricardo. "He said he wants to talk to you-especially Zoe Fletcher."

"Wait a minute," said Zoe. "Carter Halbrook...that's the guy who came up to me at Starbucks!"

"So you've met him," said Ricardo.

"It was very brief," said Zoe, "But yes."

Ricardo nodded. "Then do you know that he wants to enlist your help in his plan to undo Circe Reyna's plot?"

"That's what it sounded like," said Zoe.

"Wait a minute," said Olivia. "I thought Carter was with Genetics Engineering? I thought he was one of the bad guys?"

"Nuh-uh-uh," said Ricardo. "He went into Genetics Engineering not knowing what Circe really wanted with him. Once he found out, it was too late. He'd already been contracted into working for her. But he's hoping you can help him get out of that pinch."

Zoe, Lanie, Olivia, and Conner exchanged glances. Could this be a trick? It seemed a little too good to be true. And yet...

"Okay, we'll bite," said Zoe. "Where does Carter Halbrook want us to meet him?"

"At his house," said Ricardo. "I'll take you there if you like."

"I think we'll drive ourselves, thank you," said Conner.

"No problem. I'll give you the address."

"We should call Saige, too," said Olivia. "Let her know what's happening."

***

"You do realize this is certifiably insane."

"Yeah, I know," said Olivia, "But Zoe thinks we can trust this guy."

"Alright," said Saige, "But I won't say 'I told you so.'"

Saige hung up her phone and addressed Miles and Rachel. "Change of plans," she said. "We're turning around."

"Why?" Miles asked.

"Apparently there's a scientist at Genetics Engineering who's trying to rebel," said Saige, "And he wants our help."

"A Genetics Engineering scientist?"

"Yeah. I think his name was Carter Halbrook."

"Carter Halbrook," Miles repeated. "That's the guy who came to Zack back in Frankfort!"

"That's what Olivia said," said Saige. "Hopefully he..." She trailed off when she looked in the car's rearview mirror and saw that Rachel was sitting with her head nuzzled on Miles' shoulder. "Rachel? What are you doing?"

"Oh, she just fell asleep when she was sitting up against me," said Miles.

"Do you want her to-"

"No, I don't mind it, honestly," said Miles. "She is kind of pretty..."

To be continued...

Conner entered the address Ricardo provided into Google Maps and followed it to Carter Halbrook's house. The house was located in the suburbs of Jackson, Mississippi, right at the end of a cul de sac. When Conner parked his car, Ricardo pulled up right behind him.

"So this is it," said Zoe. "This is where we'll find out what Carter really wants."

"I just hope you're right about this," said Olivia.

The four of them got out of the car and joined Ricardo on the sidewalk in front of Carter's house. "Alright, friends," said Ricardo. "This is it-this is where Carter lives."

"How convenient," said Lanie. "He lives right here in Jackson, where Genetics Engineering's headquarters are."

"Nah, this isn't the only establishment Genetics Engineering has," said Ricardo. "They've got buildings in Georgia, Montana, Rhode Island, and Texas. But the place you saw was the most important facility that they have."

"So Carter told you everything that happened last night," said Zoe.

"Yep, he did," said Ricardo. "So are you gonna go talk to him, or what?"

"Yes, we are," said Zoe. She and her companions went up to Carter's front door. Zoe rang the doorbell and waited.

After a minute of waiting, Carter answered the door. "Hello?" he said. His face brightened when he saw Zoe, Olivia, Lanie, and Conner. "Oh, thank goodness," he said. "My bounty hunter managed to find you."

"Yeah, he did," said Olivia. "So what do you want?"

"Some help from you." Carter looked around. "Where are the rest of your friends?"

"They're on their way," Lanie answered.

"Right," said Carter. "Come inside. We'll wait for them."

So Lanie, Zoe, Olivia, Conner, and Ricardo came inside and gathered in Carter's living room. It was another ten minutes of waiting before there was another knock at the door. Carter answered it and let Saige, Miles, and Rachel in.

"Well, we're all here now," said Lanie.

"That's right," Rachel said when she saw Carter. "You're the guy who helped Circe draw our blood."

"And for that, I am very sorry," said Carter. "I am especially sorry about your friend Bailey. But that is why I asked Ricardo to track you down and bring you here."

"Why?" Saige asked. "Are you gonna draw out my blood and give it to Circe?"

"No," said Carter. "It's Zack's-or Zoe's-blood that I need."

"Huh?" Zoe asked. "Why do you need my blood specifically?"

"Well, in case you haven't picked up on the hints yet, I've been conspiring against Circe's back," said Carter. "I know all about her plan to spread a virus that'll transform every man into a woman, and how impractical it will be in the long one."

"Why?" said Conner. "Because an all-female world wouldn't be able to reproduce?"

"Exactly," said Carter. "That, and because some people might choose to commit suicide because they can't accept changing their gender."

"Like Jenny," Lanie muttered to herself.

"But, since Circe is employing me to create the virus for her swarms of fleas to spread, I think I can sabotage it," said Carter.

"And you need my blood?" Zoe asked.

"Yes. You experienced a gender change like many of your friends did, but for you, it's different. After you'd been turned into a girl, you were hit with another gender-changing curse. Since you'd already had your gender changed, it messed with the curse and gave you the ability to shift genders. Therefore, your DNA is abnormal-but not in the same way that Olivia's, Lanie's, Saige's, and Rachel's is. If my estimates are correct-and they always are-then your DNA is constantly reverting between male and female. Circe wants to use the male-turned-female DNA to create a virus that changes people's gender, but if I mix Zoe's DNA with it, then it will mess up the workings of the virus. In short, I can use Zoe's DNA to create a pathogen that'll kill the virus."

"Oh," said Zoe. "So that's why you thought I could help you unravel Circe's plot."

"Yes," said Carter. "Circe wasn't ready to trust Lauren or Josie to track you guys down again, so she told me to hire my mercenary friend-"

"That's me," said Ricardo.

"Yes, thank you Ricardo," said Carter. "She wanted him to capture you so I could draw your blood and take it back to the lab. But if I take Zoe's blood in, then Circe won't suspect a thing."

"Great!" said Saige. "We'll let you draw Zoe's blood, then you'll create your pathogen, and it'll kill the virus-and maybe even the swarms of fleas!"

"No," said Olivia.

"What?"

"Look, this is a great plan," said Olivia. "But even if we do foil Circe this time, how do we know she won't cook up some other evil plan? What if she tries to create...I don't know, some kind of magic storm that turns boys into girls when it rains on them?"

"A gender-changing storm cloud," Saige repeated, hoping to convey how stupid Olivia's words really sounded.

"You know what I mean," said Olivia. "If we just let Circe go once we've stopped her this time, she'll just make even more trouble."

"Actually, she's right," said Lanie. "We should find a way to shut down Genetics Engineering for good-just like how we shut down Pretty And Pink, and you guys shut down the Y. F. F. H."

"Well, we know Circe and her witches are here in Jackson," said Miles. "Probably still at their compound."

"Actually, Circe didn't tell me to come back to the compound here," said Carter. "She told me to bring the blood sample I got to the lab in Houston, Texas."

"TEXAS?"

"Circe was worried you guys might try to stage another attack on her Jackson location," said Carter. "So she decided to transfer her flea swarm operation to the Houston location."

"Then I guess that's where we'll go next," said Olivia.

"But what's our plan?" Saige asked. "We'll have Carter do his pathogen thing, but what about taking down Circe?"

"Hey, wait a minute," said Lanie. "Ricardo, you said you're a demolitions expert, right?"

"Right."

"Maybe you could get us some kind of bomb we could set off inside Genetics Engineering's Houston building? And, if Circe is still in there, then it could take her with it?"

"That could work," said Lanie, "As long as Carter gets out before the bomb goes off."

"And as long as we can get it in," said Rachel.

"We can do it," said Carter. "I know the Houston building inside and out. I can figure out how to sneak in a bomb or two."

"But you can't sneak it in," Zoe pointed out. "You'll be too busy creating a pathogen from my blood."

"Which is why I'll need your help," said Carter. "That is, if you're willing to help bring down Genetics Engineering."

"Of course," said Lanie. "Defeating witches are our specialty."

"We'll burn down that laboratory," said Olivia. "For Bailey."

To be continued...

After their talk with Carter Halbrook, the teens all piled back in their cars and started driving westward. Carter went separate from them to reduce risk of Circe or her witches catching him with their enemies, and Ricardo had to hang back for a bit to gather up some explosives. But Carter promised the teens that he'd book a hotel for them.

Conner and Saige drove while Olivia, Lanie, Zoe, Rachel, and Miles rode. After two days on the road, they came to the hotel Carter had booked for them in Houston, Texas. Carter was waiting for them there-along with Ricardo, who'd somehow beaten them there.

"Welcome to Houston," said Carter. "I take it you had a safe drive?"

"Yes, we did," said Lanie. "We had to stop on the side of the road last night so Conner could get some sleep, but we made it."

"We probably would've gotten here first," said Olivia, "But Zoe insisted we stop for the night, too."

"Well, at least you're all here," said Carter. "And now we can formulate our plan."

Everyone went inside their hotel room, where they knew there was far less chance of anyone overhearing them. "Okay," Lanie said when they were all secluded. "Carter, you still have Zoe's blood, right?"

"Right," said Carter. Before leaving Jackson, Zoe had let Carter draw a sample of her blood, which he had then brought to Houston.

"Good. So, to make sure we have this right, you'll go in, create the pathogen that'll kill the virus and the fleas carrying it, then put it into the DNA test tubes or whatever it is you're using to create the virus. Then we'll figure out a way to sneak Ricardo's explosives in and destroy the building-hopefully with Circe inside."

"Actually, it's a little more complicated than that," said Carter. "You see, Circe is planning a ceremony for when they release the fleas that carry the virus. Right when I'm finished with the virus, everyone will gather for the ceremony and watch the swarms of fleas fly out to spread the virus. My thought was that after giving Circe the virus, I would slip away and escape the building right before the bomb went off."

"So you're saying that we'll rig the bomb to explode during the ceremony?" Rachel asked.

"Exactly."

"That means we'll have to bust in while you're working on the pathogen," said Olivia.

"Yes, you will," said Carter. "But I was thinking I'd have one of you come in with me to help me with the pathogen."

"WHAT?" said Zoe. "That's stupid! Won't the witches notice-"

"I'll tell them you're my niece-or nephew," said Carter, "That I've decided to bring in to show what I do for work."

The teens exchanged glances.

"Conner, you would be my first choice," said Carter, "Because you're the one least likely to be recognized."

"I guess you're right," Conner said, though he didn't look too excited about the matter.

"What about the rest of us?" Saige asked. "How are we gonna get the explosives in?"

"Well, I've got them all in my truck," said Ricardo, "And the Genetics Engineering lab has a garage for its transport vehicles. If you can get in there and open the garage door, I can drive my truck in."

"But how would we get in there in the first place?" Rachel asked. "We keep coming back to that."

"I'm guessing not the front door," said Miles.

"Well, there is a side door," said Carter. "But it's under armed guard, so that might be a problem..."

"Wait a minute," said Zoe. "I've got an idea!"

***

The next morning, Zoe and Lanie were both waiting in an alleyway near the Genetics Engineering lab. Carter had gone in a few hours prior with Conner in tow, ready to start working on the "virus" that was really a pathogen. Now Zoe and Lanie were waiting for Conner to text Lanie that it was time.

When Lanie's phone buzzed, she read the text and felt her heart rate increase. "It's time," she said.

Lanie and Zoe both approached the building's side door. It wasn't as big as the building's main door-more like the door to the inside of a warehouse. But when Zoe knocked, the door was almost immediately answered by a gruff-looking security guard. "What do you want?" the security guard asked. "We're kind of busy here."

"Hi!" Zoe said with a smile, trying to sound as upbeat as possible. "We're selling delicious Girl Scout cookies! Can I put you down for a box?"

The guard's expression softened at these words. "Well," he said, "I do have a thing for cookies..."

"Then how do you like THESE cookies?" Lanie asked. She summoned a ball of electrical energy and lobbed it at the guard. The guard's body shook violently like he'd been Tasered, then collapsed to the ground.

"Nice one," said Zoe.

"We've gotta hurry," said Lanie. "The others are waiting for us."

The girls shoved the unconscious guard's body out of the way and entered the side door. Carter had told them there was a closet of spare guard uniforms down the hall from here, which they could use to disguise themselves. Sure enough, the closet was right where he said it would be. Zoe and Lanie both put on guard uniforms and set out down the corridors.

"Okay," said Zoe, "So Carter said the garage was down...this way?"

"Yeah, I think so," said Lanie. But when they rounded a corner, they saw both Josie and Lauren talking at the other end of the corridor. The witches had their backs to Zoe and Lanie, so they couldn't see them, but the girls were still startled by the sight. They ducked back around the corner and hid there, hardly daring to breathe.

"Oh, fuck," Zoe said under her breath. "What do we do now?"

"I don't know," Lanie replied. Truthfully, she wasn't sure what to do herself. Sure, she'd taken down that witch Angie back in Atlanta, but that was just one witch. She doubted she could fight Josie and Lauren at the same time and come out alive.

After a minute of standing there, wondering what to do next, Lanie and Zoe heard Josie and Lauren start to come their way. "...if Mr. Halbrook didn't get the right DNA sample?" Josie was saying.

"We'll have to hope he did," Lauren replied. "Apparently he trusts this mercenary friend of his, and he showed us that he did indeed have a blood sample."

"But just say..."

"Then Circe will be very furious with him, won't she?"

"Oh yes. She'll probably burn him at the stake like the witches of old used to be."

Lauren snickered. "The men of medieval times thought they were the ones in power," she said. "Now we'll see who's laughing when we burn their descendants at the stake."

"Or turn them all into women," said Josie.

"Well-yes, that's true."

By this point, Josie and Lauren were both nearing the edge of the corner. Lanie and Zoe were holding their breaths, wondering if they should stand their ground or make a run for it. Fortunately, they were saved when the loudspeaker came on. "Your attention please," said the voice of Circe, "The ceremony where we release the swarms of fleas will begin in thirty minutes. Please start gathering on the topmost floor of the building."

"Finally!" Josie squealed. "The moment we've all been waiting for!" She and Lauren turned and went back the way they came.

"Whew," Lanie said when the witches had gone. "That was close."

"Thirty minutes," said Zoe. "We don't have much time."

"You're right," said Lanie. "Let's go."

***

From the shotgun seat of Ricardo's moving van-type truck, Saige saw the garage door of the Genetics Engineering building open. "There it is," she said. "Looks like Zoe and Lanie made it."

"Good thing," said Ricardo. He shifted his truck into Drive and eased his way forward. There in the garage, he could see Zoe and Lanie waiting for him.

"We're going in," said Saige. She knocked on the back of the cab and said "This is it, guys! We're inside the building now!"

"Okay!" said Miles. He and Rachel were riding in the back of the truck with the boxes of explosives. "Oh boy," he said to himself. "This is it. This is when we'll finally take down these witches!"

"I know," said Rachel. "Are you scared?"

"Yes," Miles admitted.

"Me too," said Rachel. "But in case we don't make it out, I'm glad I met you."

"Really?"

"Yeah," said Rachel. "When I was locked in that padded room, I thought it was all over for me. But then when you busted in to rescue us, it was like a new ray of hope had entered my life."

Miles smiled. "Well, it has been fun, riding in the car with you and fighting Genetics Engineering with you," he said.

"Maybe we should-" Rachel started.

She broke off when Ricardo opened the padlock on the back of the truck. "Okay, guys," he said. "Now for the next stage in our plan."

To be continued...

Carter handed the vials containing the newly created virus to Circe. "This is it," he said. "This is the virus you requested me to create for you."

"Perfect," said Circe. She caressed the vial in her hands like it was the most valuable diamond in the world. Of course, she didn't realize that the virus contained a pathogen that would destroy it, along with its flea carriers, almost immediately after the swarms of fleas were released. "After all these years, my dream will finally be achieved!"

"That's great," said Carter. "Now, if you'll excuse me, my nephew and I have somewhere we need to be."

"Why, yes, you do," said Circe. "At the ceremony."

"Excuse me?"

"Our ceremony is for everyone," said Circe. "Including you. Do you not want to see your hours of work finally come to fruition?"

"Well..." Carter cast a glance at Conner, who seemed to be teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown. "I suppose it would be nice..."

"I think he just wants some time," Conner offered. "Time to enjoy his last moments as a man."

"Nonsense," said Circe. "Once you two become women, you will regret ever being male at all."

Well, this is just great, Conner thought. He and Carter wouldn't have time to get out of there before the bomb went off. He'd just have to hope Lanie, Olivia, and the others would survive.

***

Lanie, Olivia, Zoe, Saige, Miles, and Rachel snuck through the corridors of the Genetics Engineering building. Ricardo had stayed behind to guard the truck, meaning they were on their own. The teens were carrying two crates that Ricardo had provided-both of which would have to be taken to the building's main power generator. If the bomb went off there, it would take out the entire building in a ball of fire. So the teens' plan was to set the explosives with a 20-minute timer so they could get out, rendezvous with Carter and Conner, and escape the building before the bomb went off.

"Do you guys think it's kind of weird?" Olivia asked in an undertone as they walked. "It doesn't seem like there's a whole lot of guards around here."

"Probably because Circe has everyone gathered on the top floor," said Lanie.

"Yeah, but still," said Olivia. "You'd think there'd still be some security around here."

"Do you think the witches are expecting us?" Miles asked.

"I hope not," said Lanie. "I hope we can sneak in and set up the bomb."

"What if we don't make it? What if they catch us before we get out?" Saige asked.

For a second, Lanie didn't know what to say. "Then at least we'll be able to take out Circe and her evil company," she said.

***

Carter and Conner stood awkwardly on the topmost floor of the Genetics Engineering building. Of course, it wasn't really a "floor" in the usual sense. They, along with all the other guards and Genetics Engineering employees, were gathered on the roof of the building. In the center of it all, Circe stood atop a pedestal in front of three giant glass tanks of fleas that were buzzing about and itching to escape. At Circe's side were the two witches Josie and Lauren.

"Gathered friends!" Circe declared with the pride and gusto of a ringmaster announcing the world's greatest circus act. "Today we witness the dawn of a new era. The dawn of the era where the world is free of the taint of the male gender. Soon we will be an all-female society, with no men at all. There will be no more 'mankind,' only womankind."

She's insane, Conner thought to himself, Just like Angelina. And Miss Johnson, apparently.

"Thanks to the works of Dr. Carter Halbrook, we now have the virus that will change every male's gender," said Circe. "And these swarms of fleas will spread the virus through every corner of the Earth." She plugged the vial containing the virus into a pump connected to all three tanks. Circe pulled a lever, and the pump started to send the virus into all three of the tanks. When the virus flooded into the tanks, the fleas buzzed harder than ever, as if the virus was causing them pain.

"Now..." Circe said, reaching for another lever, "We release the swarms!" She pulled the lever, and the tops of the tanks opened up. The swarms of fleas immediately poured out of their tanks and flew out into the air. The fleas flew out and clouded the sky like locusts.

"Come on, Conner," Carter said in an undertone. "Maybe we can slip away-"

"Move out of the way!" said a new voice. Carter looked to see one of the other witches, Michaela, barging in. "I must speak with Circe!"

Carter and Conner watched as Michaela ran up to Circe. "My lady," she said, "I must tell you-"

"Hold on," said Circe. "Something's wrong."

Circe and everyone else looked up at the swarms of fleas and saw that they were already dying. The buzzing noise died down as the fleas died and fell through the air like raindrops. "What the hell is going on?" Lauren asked.

"Why are the fleas dying?" said Josie. "They were supposed to spread everywhere and keep breeding until they'd invaded the whole world!"

"We can deal with that later," said Michaela. "Circe, I've been monitering the security cameras, and I witnessed something very disturbing."

"What is it?" Circe asked.

"Those kids that broke into our Jackson compound," said Michaela, "They've broken into here, too! And they appear to be carrying crates of bombs to the main generator!"

Circe went red in the face. "I should've known this would happen!" she said. "Guards! Witches! Spread out and find these intruders!"

"Yes, my lady!" said Michaela.

"And you," Circe said to Carter, "We will have words once we've sorted this out."

***

When the alarms went off, Lanie, Olivia, and their friends froze in their tracks. "Oh no," said Saige. "They've detected us!"

"Then we've gotta hurry," said Zoe. She and the rest of the teens took off at a run down the corridor. But when they rounded a corner, they found a group of guards-led by Josie and Lauren-headed their way.

"There they are!" Josie exclaimed.

"Run!" said Olivia. She and her friends turned and ran back the way they came.

"Wait," Lanie said after they'd rounded a couple corners. "We'd better split up. Zoe, Olivia, you and I will keep going to the generator room. The rest of you, draw them off."

"Okay," Saige said, knowing that this wasn't the time to argue. At the next fork in the hallway, Saige, Miles, and Rachel hung back while the others ran off one way. When Josie, Lauren, and their soldiers came into view of them, Saige, Miles, and Rachel took off in the other direction.

"Stop them!" Lauren barked. She, Josie, and their soldiers chased after Saige, Rachel, and Miles, pursuing them until they got to a dead end in the corridor.

"Oh, fuck," said Rachel. "I think we made a wrong turn somewhere!"

"Indeed you did," said Josie. "Now, let's see what's in that box of yours."

Rachel reluctantly put down the box she was carrying. "I don't know if you..."

"Open the box, dammit!"

Rachel opened the box to reveal...a bunch of cans of peaches.

"Peaches?" Lauren said indignantly.

"Yep," Miles said with a smirk. They'd taken two boxes with them just in case something like this happened. One was a decoy with a bunch of canned peaches, and the other one-the one Olivia, Lanie, and Zoe had taken-actually did have the explosives.

"You miserable children," said Lauren.

"Hey, I'm 19," said Saige. "I'm a legal adult."

"But they're not," said Josie, indicating Miles and Rachel.

The teens all huddled together. This was it, they thought. This was where it ended for them. It had been a grand ride, but it was over now. They would only have to hope their friends would successfully plant the bombs and blow Genetics Engineering to kingdom come.

Suddenly, there was a gunshot. For a second, the teens wondered if one of the Genetics Engineering guards had tried and failed to shoot them. But then they saw one of the guards fell dead to the floor.

"Who-" Josie started.

"Stand down!" said a new voice. A new squadron of soldiers, armed with guns and rifles, was charging down the hallway toward the witches and guards that were cornering the teens. And in the lead was-

"Mr. Al!" Miles exclaimed. "You found us!"

"Yep, I did," said Mr. Al. He glared at Josie and Lauren and said "So these are the witches that kidnapped you."

"And you're that douchebag who instigated the witch hunt in Kentucky," Josie said with distaste. "And murdered countless other witches before that."

"I did what I had to do," said Mr. Al. "Just like I have to shut down Genetics Engineering now."

Mr. Al raised his gun and aimed it at Josie. But then Josie flicked her hand to the side and made the gun fly out of his hand. Cursing, Mr. Al drew his thick police baton. Before Josie could react, he swung the baton and whacked her in the side with it. Josie doubled over, giving Mr. Al a chance to kick her and knock her onto the floor. Before she could get up, Mr. Al pulled another pistol out of a hidden pocket in his combat vest and shot Josie with it.

"No," Lauren growled. She might've had issues with Josie, but their bond had been strong enough that she felt anger at Mr. Al killing her. She formed a blue ball of magical energy in her hand and prepared to hurl it at Mr. Al. But before she could throw it, Saige came out of nowhere and tackled her. Lauren cursed and wrestled with Saige, quickly coming out on top and pinning her to the floor. Lauren grabbed Saige's throat and started choking her. "Die now, you bitch!" she said.

Suddenly, there was the sound of a gunshot, and Lauren loosened her grip on Saige's throat. When the witch collapsed, Saige looked and saw Mr. Al standing above her with his pistol in hand. "Are you okay?" Mr. Al asked.

"Yeah," Saige answered. She looked around and saw that Mr. Al's men had taken down the rest of the Genetics Engineering guards.

"Mr. Al," said Miles, "How did you know we'd be here?"

"Skylar told me," Mr. Al answered. "Zack-or Zoe-has been texting her and keeping her updated on your progress with Genetics Engineering. So Skylar was able to tell me all about your little scheme here."

"I'm guessing Skylar's not here?"

"No, she isn't."

"Figured as much."

"Where's Zoe?" Mr. Al asked. "And apparently there were some other kids you were conspiring with-"

"Yes," said Saige. "They went to take the explosives down to the building's main generator."

"We were supposed to meet them back in the garage," said Rachel. "But if the witches figure out-"

"We can't take that risk," said Mr. Al. "Come on!"

***

Lanie, Olivia, and Zoe took their box of explosives-the real one-and navigated the corridors to the building's generator room. They ran into several guards on their way, but Lanie took out every single one of them with her magic. And before long, they came to the door to the generator room.

"Okay," said Zoe. "This is it. This is the-"

"Stop right there!" said a female voice. The girls turned to see Circe storming toward them, her fists clenched and her face the color of molten lava. "You three are in a heap of trouble..."

To be concluded...

Zoe, Olivia, and Lanie all crowded together, doing their best to protect the box of explosives. "You hand over that bomb you're carrying," said Circe, "Or else all three of you will be killed!"

"Never!" said Lanie. She fired a bolt of energy at Circe, but Circe just absorbed it with her hand.

Olivia looked at Circe with a burning hatred. "You've caused us a lot of trouble," she said. "You trained Miss Johnson to turn boys into girls, which led to the disaster of the Y. F. F. H. You kidnapped Bailey, you kidnapped Rachel, and your men even killed Bailey!"

"Need I remind you, you trespassed on our property," said Circe.

"Because we wanted to rescue Bailey-who you'd kidnapped. And then she was killed."

"Well, what a shame," said Circe.

She had finally gone too far. Olivia lunged forward and tackled Circe. The witch was so surprised, she couldn't stop Olivia from pinning her to the floor. But she got over her shock pretty quick. Circe grabbed Olivia's arms and rolled her off of her body. She grabbed Olivia's hair and used it to yank Olivia back toward her so she could put her in a headlock.

"Pathetic girl," said Circe. "Did you think your feeble strength would be any match for my magical abilities?"

"She's not alone," said Zoe. She grabbed Circe's arm and pried it off of Olivia, allowing Olivia to wriggle free of her grasp. Circe angrily hit Zoe and sent her stumbling backward. Zoe hit the door of a nearby supply closet and accidentally knocked it open. Several boxes of ropes and duck tape fell out.

Wait a minute, Lanie thought. Ropes and duck tape?

"Hey!" said Lanie. She summoned the biggest, most powerful orb of energy she'd created yet and threw it at Circe's chest. The witch did not burst into flames and die, but she still fell over like she'd been hit by a charging bull.

"Quick! Tie her up!" Lanie commanded.

Fortunately, Olivia and Zoe got it. Olivia held down Circe while Zoe got a rope and tied it around Circe's wrists like handcuffs, immobilizing her and preventing her from getting back up again. Lanie tore off a strip of duck tape and stuck it over Circe's mouth so she couldn't even use any verbal spells.

"Quick thinking, Lanie," said Zoe. "So what are we gonna do with her now?"

"Take her into the generator room," said Lanie. "We'll leave her there to die when the bomb goes off."

Circe writhed and screamed through the duck tape, but it was no use. Lanie and Zoe both dragged her, one on each side, after Olivia as she carried the box of explosives into the generator room. Lanie and Zoe laid down Circe beside the generator and then went to help Olivia with the explosives. Using the directions Ricardo had given them, they rigged the bomb to explode after a delay of 20 minutes.

"Okay," Olivia said when they'd set the timer, and the seconds had started ticking away. "Now we run."

The three of them left the generator room, but then Zoe faltered. "Wait," she said. "What if Circe-"

"No one will find her," Lanie said, closing the door behind her. "Now let's go!"

The girls sprinted through the corridors, aiming for the garage where Ricardo would be waiting with his truck. When they reached the garage, they found Saige, Miles, and Rachel there with Conner, Carter, and Ricardo. But to their surprise, there was also Mr. Al and a squadron of his witch-hunting soldiers.

"Mr. Al?" Zoe asked. "How did you-"

"I'll explain later," said Mr. Al. "Did you set the bomb?"

"Yes," Zoe answered.

"Then let's go."

Mr. Al and his soldiers piled into the van they'd come in, along with Zoe, Miles, Lanie, Rachel, and Conner. Olivia and Saige got back into Ricardo's truck with Carter and Ricardo. The two vehicles drove out of the Genetics Engineering garage and sped down the street. They didn't come to a stop until they were two blocks away from the Genetics Engineering building.

"We made it," Conner said when they'd stopped. "We actually made it out!"

"But what about the bomb?" Rachel asked. "Did it-"

As if in answer, there was a loud BUH-DOOM noise as an explosion ripped through the Genetics Engineering building. The whole building was blown apart, collapsing on itself as flaming debris flew everywhere.

"We did it!" Zoe exclaimed. "We took out Genetics Engineering!"

"Yes, you did," said Mr. Al. "And to think that I barely did anything to help you..."

"Hey, you did save us from Josie and Lauren," said Miles.

"Well...yes. I did do that."

"Where was Circe?" Rachel asked.

"We locked her in the generator room where the bomb was set," said Lanie.

"So she got hit with the full force of the explosion," said Rachel.

"Then she's dead," said Mr. Al. "Even a witch couldn't survive something like that."

Lanie, Zoe, Rachel, Miles, and Conner all fist-bumped each other. "Then our work here is done," said Zoe.

***

The funeral was held a week later in Chicago. Olivia and Saige both hosted the gathering at a local cemetery where Bailey's recovered body would be buried. Several girls who'd known Bailey at the Y. F. F. H, such as Stephanie, Piper, Sarah, and Andrea, showed up to pay their respects to their old friend. Zoe (who turned back into Zack for the funeral) came with Miles and Skylar, as did Mr. Al. Carter and Ricardo came, too, as did Lanie, Rachel, and Conner.

Olivia and Saige both stood on either side of Bailey's casket. "My friends," she said, "Thank you all for coming here today. We are here to honor our sister and friend Bailey. She was a beautiful, kind, loyal, and courageous young woman."

Piper started to tear up. "I remember when she was first assigned as my roommate at the Y. F. F. H," she sobbed.

"Some of you may not have gotten to know her the way we did," said Saige, "But if you met her, then you know how special she was."

Olivia placed her hand on Bailey's casket. "I probably knew Bailey the best out of anyone," she said. "She and I...it felt like we were sisters. Recently, I fell out of touch with her and started to neglect her. Now I see that it was one of, if not the, biggest mistakes I've ever made. But since we avenged her death by destroying Genetics Engineering, we ensured that her death was not in vain. Now, we will always remember her for what she did for us. Her kind and joyous spirit will live on in all of us."

Olivia, Saige, Stephanie, and Piper all worked together to lower Bailey's casket into the ground. After she'd been buried, the onlookers started to mingle and share stories about Bailey. As they did, it was hard not to cry.

Towards the end of the event, Lanie, Rachel, Conner, Zack, Miles, Olivia, and Saige gathered together once again. "Well, I guess this is it...in a way," said Lanie.

"I know," said Olivia. She knew Lanie, Rachel, and Conner would be going right back to Atlanta, and she was sad to see them go. After everything they'd experienced together, they already felt like family.

"It was great meeting you," said Saige.

"You too," said Conner. "Want to keep in touch?"

"Of course," said Olivia. "We're not just friends-we're family. And family is always there for each other, no matter what."

"Speaking of staying in touch," said Miles, "I guess I should give you my phone number."

"Yes, please!" said Rachel. "Do you want me to come visit you sometime?"

"Nah," said Miles. "I'll come visit you."

Lanie and Conner exchanged glances. "Wow," said Lanie. "I think Rachel's got herself a boyfriend!"

"You guys can visit us, too," said Zack. "Any time you like."

"Believe me, we will," said Saige.

***

Even after everyone else left, Olivia still stayed at the cemetery, looking down on Bailey's grave. She read over Bailey's engraved name, reflecting and basking in the memories of her friend. As much as it hurt to say goodbye, it brought Olivia comfort to think that Bailey might be looking down on her from Heaven, supporting her and cheering her on.

After a while, Olivia knew it was time to leave. She turned and left the grave, heading for the cemetery's exit. But as she was leaving, she heard a voice say "Hey."

Olivia turned, and when she saw who had spoken, she froze in her tracks. "What the..."

"Hi," said Christina Aceves, Olivia's ex-girlfriend. She smiled awkwardly and waved. "Remember me?"

"Yeah," said Olivia. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard about Bailey," said Christina. "I thought about coming to the funeral service, but I didn't want to make things too awkward with...you know..."

Olivia nodded gravely. "Well...I'm sure Bailey would appreciate you paying your respects," she said.

Before Olivia could leave, Christina spoke up again. "Look, Olivia, about us, well..."

"You want to tell me why you just up and left me like you did?"

Christina bowed her head in shame. "Well, I was feeling really stressed with school, and I wasn't sure if I wanted the extra burden of carrying our relationship," she said. "But then I heard you were really depressed about our breakup, and I started to feel bad."

"Oh, you did?"

"Yes." Christina shifted her feet uncomfortably. "Look, I know you're probably scarred from our breakup, but...well..."

"You don't want to get back together again, do you?" Olivia asked.

"Maybe, if you feel like you want to."

For a second, Olivia was tempted. For weeks before Bailey and Saige had come knocking on her apartment door, she'd wanted nothing more than to patch things up with Christina. But now that she'd gone through her adventure fighting Genetics Engineering, and was picking up the pieces from everything that had happened, getting back with her old girlfriend suddenly didn't seem so appealing. A part of her still loved Christina, but it wasn't consuming her anymore.

"Actually, I think it's best if we don't," said Olivia.

"You think so?"

"Yes." Olivia took a deep breath before saying "I know we have a lot of good memories together, but now...it's probably best if we just leave it in the past."

Christina slowly nodded. "I think you're right," she said.

"Well...goodbye, Christina," Olivia said, going in to give Christina one last hug. "I hope you find everything you're looking for."

"You too," said Christina. And with that, the former girlfriends parted, ready to start forging their new paths in the future.

***

And so ends Swarms And Sisterhood. It may not have gotten as much viewership as I hoped, but I'm glad I got to finish it. And to those of you who did stick it through to the end...thank you so much. And please feel free to let me know what you thought of this story. If there's one thing I enjoy more than writing, it's hearing people's reviews and getting feedback from them.