Rita Morse and the Treacherous Traitor (Rita Morse, Book 2)

RITA MORSE AND THE TREACHEROUS TRAITOR

Book 2 of the Rita Morse Series

By

Holly A. Hook

SMASHWORDS EDITION

PUBLISHED BY:

Holly A. Hook

Rita Morse and the Treacherous Traitor

Copyright 2012 Holly A. Hook

Cover Illustration and Design by John Ward

http://jlwardart.com/

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

Also by Holly Hook

Tempest (Destroyers, Book One)

Inferno (Destroyers, Book Two)

Outbreak (Destroyers, Book Three)

Rita Morse and the Sinister Shadow (Rita Morse, Book One)

* * * * *

RITA MORSE AND THE TREACHEROUS TRAITOR

* * * * *

Chapter One

Rita?

For once--okay, maybe not for once--I ignored Penny as I scrambled out of my chair in my first period Biology class. There was serious work to be done. Now. Mr. Gorfel has to go all the way down to the office.

What are we doing? Ryan asked, joining me in rushing up the aisle of tables.

Of course, Penny tried to stop us. You’d better not. If you’re about to do what I think you’re about to do--

She didn't finish. It was too late. I took one last glance around the Biology classroom to make sure Mr. Gorfel had really left. I only saw the usual swampy fish tanks around us bubbling away, his pet millipede on his desk, and the tank of rotting fruit up on the windowsill. Oh yeah, and the rest of the class. It wasn't like they were going to rat us out or anything. Not after what Mr. Gorfel had done.

Go, Dominic hissed to my left. Then he said something about Mr. Gorfel that wouldn't make it onto Cartoon Network, unless it was on one of those late-night adult shows that came on at one in the morning.

Dunk them in the tank, Aaron Anderson added.

I stared at the classroom door, where Mr. Gorfel kept another tank full of what looked like seaweed. Or slime. Sitting on top of this one were five plastic, motion detecting frogs that all croaked whenever someone walked in or out of the room, threw something away, or even shifted in their chair wrong. It was one of those things that was kind of cute the first time you heard it, but by the fortieth time, you were driven to go find the closest sledgehammer.

And--you guessed it--Mr. Gorfel hadn't turned them off once since the start of my ninth grade year.

Ryan shot me his trademark nervous look. Hurry up before he comes back. I don’t want another detention. You sure he went all the way to the office?

That’s where the copy machine is. The moment had come: the moment every single one of us, even Penny (though she'd never admit it) had been waiting for. It’ll take him at least ten minutes.

Good point. Ryan’s voice took a bitter tone. "He does have to copy about twenty of those packets."

I seethed again. Mr. Gorfel was, by popular vote, the worst teacher in the history of Westonville High School.

Now, you probably know what usually happens in school the week before a big holiday break. You're looking forward to the time off, maybe even getting ready to go on vacation, and then some jerk teacher assigns a huge homework project the day before break and makes it due the day you get back.

You guessed it again. Mr. Gorfel was that jerk teacher.

This was it. He hadn't sunk this low before. Now, instead of enjoying the Thanksgiving break like I should be doing, I was going to be stuck making a model of a plant leaf turning sunlight into sugar.

By the door, the five plastic croaking frogs stared blankly ahead, unaware that they had about one minute to live.

I tapped Ryan on the arm. Watch the door.

Ryan burst in front of me, his spiky hair blowing back as he stuck his face in the crack of the door. It’s clear.

A wet, swampy smell hit me in the face as I opened the aquarium lid. I could feel twenty-seven sets of eyes on me, but I didn't care.

I can’t believe this. Penny was trying hard to sound disgusted, and not quite succeeding.

I’ll let you know if he’s coming, Ryan said. Dunk all of them!

The five plastic frogs all croaked again, and I didn’t hesitate any more. I took the frog by its leg and let it drop into the water.

Plop.

Instantly the frog stopped croaking. I waited for it to sink, but the plastic frog got caught on a jet of bubbles and floated at the top of the tank, bobbing up and down. It would have to work.

Um…um… Ryan turned to face me. Sweat beaded on his forehead. He’s coming. He just turned the corner.

My heart felt like it had blown up to twice its size. Already?

My legs carried me back to our desk by the tarantula tank before I could even think a couple of expletives to myself. The chair squeaked under me as I swung myself into it. I hoped it didn't make enough noise for Mr. Gorfel to place it. He'd be halfway down the science wing by now, huge packets in hand, ready to ruin our Thanksgiving break.

Penny sighed as Ryan went to work straightening out his tall, spiky hair. I straightened out mine, hoping that I didn't get any of that aquarium water on my clothes. That would give me away…plus, it's aquarium water. Not exactly sanitary.

Penny scrambled to open her Biology book. I told you.

I wasn't worried about her. It wasn't like she was going to tell on us. Just underneath that serious face was a giggle. I could tell. Mr. Gorfel was bad enough to give even Penny a rebellious streak, as much as she refused to admit it.

Footsteps echoed outside in the hall and grew closer. It was the most ominous sound in the school. Well, since the Shadow Regime had tried to kidnap us at the start of the year. Mr. Gorfel was a close second.

The door to the Biology room creaked open, and Mr. Gorfel strode into the room. He stood taller as the dull light shined off his bald head. Even the gray fuzz around his ears couldn't hide it. It also couldn't hide his nasty pointed face or the evil little smile he wore. I think the evil smile was because he had a huge stack of pink work packets under his arm, and he was struggling to hold onto the weight of it.

The four remaining frogs all croaked as Mr. Gorfel walked past. He didn’t even notice that the fifth one was bobbing up and down in the water. I knew it wouldn't take long.

I had Marge in the office copy your packets for me this morning, Mr. Gorfel announced with a smile. They’re fifteen pages each, so I didn’t have time to do it myself.

He dropped the huge stack of papers down on his desk. They landed with a loud THUD, as if to punctuate his sentence in the most ominous way possible.

Mr. Gorfel paused for a moment and stared out at the class, waiting for a stray grumble or two. None came. All of us in Mr. Gorfel’s Biology class knew better. A complaint would only cause him to make whatever torture he'd cooked up even worse.

Now, his grin grew wider, This is what I expect you to do over your holiday break.

I couldn't help it. I glanced at the plastic frog, not daring more than a second. It was still bobbing up and down in the water. The frog floated over to a jet of bubbles, which pushed it back across the tank until it collided with the glass wall. It was hard, not snickering. I could tell by the way Ryan was holding the edge of the table that he was struggling with the same thing.

Meanwhile, Mr. Gorfel droned happily on.

On this first page you are told to research the process of photosynthesis. He held up one of the packets. "You may not use your textbooks. On page two you’ll find a list of sources I will accept. You are to have at least five sources. And no, I do not consider Freepedia to be a legitimate source."

I really, really wished I'd had time to dunk all five of those frogs in the tank.

Oh, he went on to tell us that we had to write a three-page paper, single spaced, and to make a poster about how a leaf converts sunlight to energy. He looked so absorbed in tormenting us that it looked as if he'd never notice the frog in the aquarium. Then--

I fully expect each and every one of you to dedicate at least ten hours to this project, Mr. Gorfel went on. I fully expect to have each one of yours turned in the day you come back to school. I also--

His gaze shot over to the aquarium, where the plastic frog was still floating around helplessly.

His jaw dropped. "Wh…what?" He ran over to the tank, his face turning redder and redder. Who…how…

No one made a sound. Then he did something brave. He stuck his hand down in that tank to try to retrieve the frog. The frog bobbed away from him, lodging itself in a tangle of seaweed.

Mr. Gorfel retracted his arm from the tank. His white sleeve dripped with water, which by the way, I could smell from here. Whoever did this, he snarled, will clean every tank in here after school for a month!

Everywhere, people fidgeted in their chairs. It's not like I could blame anyone. Mr. Gorfel made his detention victims clean the tanks while their inhabitants were still inside. Next to me, his tarantula, Suzie, crawled around inside hers. I'd learned that the hard way.

If I hadn’t just given you this huge project, I would give all of you a punishment essay. However, there may or may not be a test over photosynthesis when you return on Monday.

The bell rang, and the four remaining frogs all croaked as I passed by. They were lucky...today, at least. The fifth had given up struggling, and now lay tangled in a glob of nasty seaweed.

I waited until we were out in the hall and out of the Science wing before I said anything. Mall. Tonight. We're hitting that gag store.

Chapter Two

Fullerton Shopping Center loomed ahead of us like a giant castle as Ryan's mom (who was pulling herself away from the computer more and more since we'd nearly disappeared into another dimension forever) swung the car into the parking lot and barely dodged some jerk who was hogging up two lanes. All I cared is that there was a Gags and Gifts store inside, and that Mr. Gorfel was going to be at the butt of as many pranks as me and Ryan could afford. Penny, of course, wouldn't get her hands dirty in this as her dad was still as big a control freak as ever, but at least she wasn't trying to talk us out of it, either.

So what time would you like to be picked up? Mrs. Sullivan asked as she parked the car near the main entrance, barely missing some guy who ran in front of her from behind an SUV.

Eight-thirty will work. Ryan crawled out of the car and out into the cold. I think that’ll be before that snowstorm hits. I don't think you want to drive us home in that.

No, I don't think so either, she said, shoving a CD into her car's music player.

The mall was even more crowded than usual. This was probably the last day before the big holiday shopping rush, so this couldn't wait until later. I might be brave enough to go against Mr. Gorfel, but I wasn't brave enough to deal with huge crowds fighting me for a sweater.

I’m not even going to say anything, Penny said as we weaved through foot traffic. It was the first thing she'd said since we got out of the car.

Oh, come on, Ryan said. You want to see Mr. Gorfel get it just as much as we do. Admit it.

So I wasn't the only person that had noticed it. Penny had changed some since we'd escaped the Shadow Home World a couple of months ago. Lately, she'd been starting to realize that breaking the rules was only usually a bad thing, not always a bad thing. She'd even started rebelling against her dad a little, staying out until seven at night instead of six, and hanging out with us for an extra half hour after school instead of going straight home. I'm sure it hadn't been easy to do, but he was slowly giving in to her.

But she didn't admit it, not even as the neon sign of Gags & Gifts came into view. Ah, the memories. The rubber mouse I'd slid in my mom's couch when I was eleven...and the jalapeno flavored bubble gum I gave Joey Salinger in the seventh grade (trust me, he deserved it after shoving a handful of worms in Penny's lunch.) It was my all time favorite store.

So, any ideas? I asked Ryan.

If you gave him the hot gum you’d be caught, Ryan told me. He never chews gum in school. Says it's gross, like he has any room to talk. And I don't think rubber mice or snakes would scare him.

He was right. Mr. Gorfel did work in his own classroom every day, so it would take a lot to shake him at all. That didn't leave very many options that wouldn't get me caught.

"It’s going to be hard for you to do anything and not get caught, Penny butted in, reading my mind. Rita, don’t you think you should be concentrating on more important things right now? You know, like avenging Dan and Sean and finding out who your real parents are?"

My stomach curled in on itself. Ouch. Dan and Sean. I felt sick every time I thought about them, still trapped in the Shadow Home World and enslaved by A. Gist while we were here in the mall having fun. A heavy feeling filled my chest as I let her words sink in. I had to admit that she had a point there. I didn't deserve to be here, free, with all these people who didn't have freak powers like I did. I'd learned a couple of months ago that my parents weren't really my birth parents, that they'd adopted me when I was a baby, and that I was the last Guardian, whatever that was. It must mean I was supposed to get working on fighting the whole Shadow Regime, but--

We’ve been through this, I said, leaning on a case of Darkworld cards, hoping the girl with purple-dyed hair behind the counter couldn't hear this. "I want to get them back like crazy, but I don’t know where to start. We really can’t do anything until A. Gist shows his ugly face again, which I’m sure he will." It was an incredibly frustrating feeling. I really didn't know where to start. That thought haunted me every night as I drifted off to sleep. There was no denying it: things like playing pranks on Mr. Gorfel were nothing but distractions to get me away from the horror of it for a while.

Please, don’t remind me, Ryan said, hugging himself. I never ever want to think about that nightmare again.

That made two of us.

But it might be important to find out where your powers came from, Penny went on. Then maybe you can learn more about them, you know, for when he comes back. You haven’t even used them since we escaped the Shadow Home World.

Nothing's made me mad enough. Except for possibly today. And I don’t think it would be a good idea to use them in public. It’s not like I could just stand up and shoot one of those green blasts at Mr. Gorfel today.

That would have been funny. Ryan forced a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

It didn't work. Mostly because A. Gist’s horrible voice replayed itself in my head. You’re the last of your kind, Rita Morse, and I’m going to make sure of that.

Rita. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.

I jumped. Penny stared at me, guilt creeping over her features.

You’re right, though, I told her. She didn't have a reason to feel bad. I did. I’ve been lazy about this. I just don’t know what to do.

We can worry about it after this weekend, Penny went on. We do have our projects to do, unfortunately. Hey, maybe we can do them at the Kool Spot tomorrow. Jerry can help us think things out.

My cousin--well adopted cousin, as I'd learned at the start of the school year--hadn't been able to think of anything to help us bail Dan and Sean out, either. But doing our projects there would at least give us access to the computers, in case we wanted to make another search for whoever had posted those YouTube videos about the Shadow Regime. Sounds good.

I felt a bit better, knowing we at least had some kind of plan. I proceeded to blow my allowance on itching powder, a Burp-O-Matic, a piece of paper that screamed when you wrote on it, and a fake stack of change that shocked whoever tried to pick it up. Not the best arsenal I could think up, but it was a start and probably wouldn't land us in detention if we were careful enough.

Hungry? Ryan asked as soon as we'd left the store.

I guess we’d better hit the food court. My stomach was calming down now, so I'd better take the opportunity to eat before I thought about things again.

Even the food court was busy right now, as we found out when we got up to the food court. I had a hard time finding us a table after we ordered a few greasy burgers and sat down close to the escalator.

Now how are we going to prank him with the screaming paper? Ryan asked as Penny pretended to be very interested in her burger wrapper. I could tell she was struggling not to grin, though.

I don’t know, I told him. We could make it look like it’s a piece of homework with all the answers wrong. You can have your brother write on it so he won't recognize the handwriting. When he goes to mark on it he’ll be in for a big surprise.

I can’t wait, Ryan said, taking a bite of his food and making a show of chewing.

That was when I saw it.

My stomach lurched and I dropped the burger right in my lap, where it was sure to leave a stain that would make my mom freak out. The burger bounced off and fell to the floor with a splat, but I didn't care.

Oh, no. Ryan paled. What do you see?

I couldn't say anything at first. Next to the escalator stood a pair of Shadow Ones.

They looked only a couple of years older than us, but I knew better. A. Gist’s minions were both immortal and ageless, so they stayed stuck the way they were forever once they got enslaved by him.

Both were tall boys wearing holey jeans and Tommy Mitchell T-shirts, which didn't make a lot of sense, since Tommy Mitchell shirts only matched with jeans that, like the shirts, cost over fifty bucks. The first Shadow One was scrawny and blond with bright blue stripes running through his crew-cut hair. The other boy was much darker and heftier, and what little hair he had was completely blue. Their hair color by itself (which also looked ridiculous, by the way) was the telltale sign.

I nearly jumped out of my chair until I realized that neither of them had seen us. If they had, things would have hit the fan already with me being the last Guardian and all. The blond Shadow One was facing the other direction, surveying the room lazily. His companion said something to him and pointed down the escalator.

My stomach rolled as I wondered what they must have done in their human lives to make A. Gist enslave them and turn them into freaks. Maybe they'd protested video game ratings or their town's curfew on teens. I couldn't help but almost feel bad for them. Almost.

I watched, prepared to jump up at any second. I could hear Ryan hyperventilating and Penny muttering to herself. The Shadow Ones stayed by the escalator, staring down it as if waiting for someone. People brushed past them, not giving them a second glance. Well, except for the fashion police, but that was about it.

They were looking for us. There was no other explanation for them being here. All they had to do was turn around and we'd be discovered. Their master might not be far behind, which made me feel a whole lot less grand. I'd barely escaped him last time, but I knew he wouldn't send his henchmen out after me by themselves after he'd seen what I was capable of.

The heavier Shadow One tugged his companion’s arm and yanked him onto the escalator. Their heads of blue hair vanished down into the main mall.

Was that-- Penny began.

I think so. I shot out of my chair. We have to follow them and see what they’re up to.

I’m calling my mom. I’m calling my mom. Ryan turned the color of art class paste as he fished for his phone. He'd also started to sink down in his chair.

No, not now, I said, my legs itching to race for the escalator. I felt the way he looked, but if those guys were real Shadow Ones, we had to make sure they weren't 1.) looking for us or 2.)