I recognized that look on Dorian's face as everyone turned toward him to hear his story on why he hadn't been affected by the glasses. It was the perfect reflection of the one I just had on. A look of someone who was thinking of anything other than the truth to tell.

   Whatever he was going to say next though, wasn't going to change the fact that he was the one I was with at the dance right before the placement of the mind control tech by the glasses happened. We had both been present at that very moment, which made me wonder and feel angsty as to why he hadn't called me out on my lie. Dorian had to choose what he was going to tell Camila and Rav very carefully. For both our sakes.

"Dorian?" Camila said his name for the third time, waving her hand in front of his face. "Are you still here? Where were you at that time of the dance?"

"I," His monotone voice was several octaves lower as he gave a not-so-subtle gulp. "I remember taking mine off because I wanted to check up on Rav. I thought I had heard an external noise. As you all already know, I was hanging out at his place for the night."

   Wait, what?

"Isn't that right Beth? Beth, my date, was the last person I was with." Dorian said, looking at me. "I told I was going to be right back. Didn't I, Beth?"

   I stared into his bright green eyes that dared me to say otherwise. The eyes that were locked with mine right before everything went to hell that night. The eyes that knew my lie.

"Yes, those were his exact words." If I didn't want what I had done, which was going to put not just me, but Tali in a disadvantaged situation, I had to play along. "And I told him I had to grab an actual snack."

"Right." He mused.

   We shared a cold gaze of understanding.

   But it still didn't change the fact that Dorian should've been affected just like everyone else. What was the real reason he was here with us, not mind controlled? It was likely he and Rav had done the same thing Tali and I had, but I'm pretty sure it didn't involve an illegal chip that Clearwater River had hopefully driven into the sea by now. They didn't have that much to lose even if that was the case and the school had found out. Even though Zavlon was closed indefinitely, I was the one with a scholarship on the line and a friend to protect. He could have come clean. Especially now.

   Although I had escaped this madness in a messed up way, I had a credible basis for being here, subject to nothing's control.

   What was Dorian's?

"As enlightening as all this was, it's not really going to be what helps us get in," Rav said. "As Mr. Sacury instructed in his message, we need to find the lab as soon as possible. Especially now that his message couldn't reveal any leads and everyone else's Virtuo Glasses, I'm assuming, also self-destructed.

"It's still reassuring to know, if you ask me." Camila shrugged. "At least now I can sleep at night knowing that none of you are secretly mind controlled freaks plotting to kill me. This is kind of definite proof that you're all telling the truth."

   Not all of us. It didn't take a genius to notice Dorian deliberately ignoring me when I glanced in his direction at Camila's statement. What if the glasses had worked on him though? The idea of him being a mole for the monsters was suddenly starting to make sense.

"I think we should focus more on how we can get into Zavlon and through those creatures and find Sacury's lab all without caught and turned into mind control puppets or worse," Dorian responded.

   So we could focus less on what you're hiding?

"It took a miracle for you and me to escape the first time, remember?" Rav told him. "Security should be crazily upped by now. We need to be virtually invisible to get in."

"Well, the last time I checked we didn't have any camouflage human sized suit tech lying around so that may be a bit of a problem." Camila scowled.

"We don't have to be the ones to get in..." I muttered, liking the idea that crept into my mind. "Not yet, anyway."

"Care to elaborate?" Camila's question to me converged everyone else's attention.

"I was thinking we could use some form of surveillance over the school so that we can have prior knowledge of exactly what we're getting into."

"Like a drone?" Rav raised an eyebrow. "That's a great idea, but doesn't change the level of security that could be scattered everywhere. It won't be difficult to spot a drone trying to get to a close range. Even if we acquire camouflaging tech and a quieter drone, they won't be enough to elude the acute sense of hearing typical of Yunitides— that's what those 'things', monsters, creatures, whatever—are really called by the way."

"How could you possibly know that?" Camila didn't fail to hide her shock.

   Casting an offended scowl in Camila's direction, Rav shook his head. "Alien Studies? You know, that class all of you always seem to forget exists? The one I'm really, really good in?"

"Oh," she murmured.

"So what can we use then?" Dorian asked no one in particular.

   The overlapping suggestions that arose from everyone were making it a little difficult to think so I blurted out the first, somewhat relevant, thing that came to mind before it got a chance to slip away.

"Miniature Girl!" My cheeks were instantly heated up at the confused eyes that turned to face me in response to the words I'd yelled.

"I'm sorry, what?" The amusement in Rav's tone was unmistakable.

"She's this...character in a comic book." I hated how my voice faltered at the last two words. "and basically she doesn't have to be invisible to go undetected. She just gets really small. Insect-sized."

"Isn't that Ant Man's descendant?" Dorian asked.

"Yeah...actually." I said, masking my surprise just in time. How did he know that? "Anyway, there's this drone that has its size equivalent to a small coin. It's not really well-known because it's a relatively new invention and not accessible to the public."

"Piccalissma."

"Yeah." I barely glanced in Dorian's direction as I nodded in agreement. His second right answer in the span of ten seconds was annoying. "It has a 360 rotation audio cam and its non-outer covering and neutral colours on the inside could make the device be easily mistaken for an insect."

"It's no Miniature Girl, I'll tell you that." Rav grinned. "But it'll do."

"If we were able to acquire it, which we can't," Dorian remarked. "Like Beth said, it's not accessible to the public and last time I checked, there were no price tags on any of them."

"You're right." I nodded...again. I wasn't going to count that as his third accurate answer though. "But I have one of my own. Well, I sort of made one of my own. A replica."

"What do you mean, 'sort of'?" Camila asked.

"I never really finished working on it," I told her. "There was some fault with the wiring and I hadn't even gotten to the remote. But when I get home, I'll start working on it as soon as I can. I can't estimate how long that'll take."

"Not as long if you had some—"

"It's almost six pm!" My shriek cut Dorian off as I cast a frantic glance at my wrist watch. "My mum will be home any minute. She thinks I went to school. I know, technically I did but I need to leave now."

"Based on their estimated schedules, there's still ten to fifteen minutes left until the Yunitides come from their break." Rav looked up from a watch of his own.

"He means you can leave now." Camila had a suggestive expression. "We'll be staying for a little while longer."

"I know that. It's just," I hesitated, toying with my fingers. "I don't really know the way back since I was kind of dragged here by..."

"Dorian?" Rav requested with a glance his way.

   I watched Dorian grab his mask and Camila's skull cracking stick in response before he faced me and grunted a "Let's go."

   Okay. Back to the woods with Dorian. Alone. 

   Had I already mentioned how underdressed my half shirt made me feel?

A/N: Three hundred reads🥳🎉💃🏽!! Thank you all so much!

By the way, 'Miniature Girl' is not a part of the Marvel Universe. I made her up lol.

Science fiction 🤷🏾‍♀️.

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Published: 30th September, 2021.