"MY FRIEND WAS on TV earlier," Ella said, all up in my grill.
She licked peanut butter off her fingers and handed a paper towel to Iggy.
"Oh yeah?" I asked, backing up. "Which friend?"
"Someone from school," she said. "They had this huge rally with all the schools from the district. We talked about the earth and everything that was wrong with it and all the changes that needed to be made," she said, breathless. "You would've loved it, Max. Then we had to stand up and make a pledge if we cared enough about the world to take action, and I stood up, and then they paired us with new friends, and my friend was the best. He told me everything was going to be okay if we just followed his lead, and I believe him, Max. It's going to be beautiful."
"Hey, you know I'm all for fixing the planet," I said. But Ella seemed a little… fanatical all of a sudden.
My mom looked up. "Was that the friend who brought the flyers by?"
"What flyers?" Dylan asked.
"The flyers are an invitation to change," Ella said earnestly.
"Yeah, I can see you've already RSVP'd," I said, eyeing her.
"It's really amazing, Max," said Iggy, waving a couple of bright sheets of colored paper at me. "You have to trust the message and take action. We need to hand these out to everyone we know, so they can join the cause."
I raised an eyebrow. Cynical Iggy wants to "join the cause"? I was officially creeped out.
Angel, Dylan, and I all looked at each other.
"Yeah?" I said, feigning interest. "Let's see 'em."
"Sure," said Robo Iggy.
I unfolded the magenta paper to find pictures of smiling kids and these words:
We know you're special! We know you're one of us.
We care about you. Come join us and learn about the message of the One Light.
Brought to you, with love and caring, by the Doomsday Group
" ‘Love' and ‘caring' and ‘Doomsday Group' don't seem to go together," Dylan said, leaning over my shoulder and making the hairs on my neck stand up. "Who's this Doomsday Group, and what are they selling?"
"Basically, they make it sound like a big, ecofriendly glee club," I said. "But it seems a little over the top."
Nudge got up and slunk over, looking absolutely wrecked. "Ella's been ranting about this all afternoon," she whispered. "At first I thought Iggy was just being supercute and lovey-dovey and humoring her, but since that weirdo came to the door and talked to him, he's started to seem really wonky."
"It's just for kids. This will set us free." Ella's voice, suddenly loud, made me jump. I looked into her glazed eyes, and a shiver ran down my spine. This was… eerily familiar.
"Just for kids?" I asked. She stepped closer to me and so did Iggy. I started to feel a little hemmed in.
"Yeah. 'Cause we're the only ones who can be trusted," Ella said, her eyes sparkling. "The group is meeting at my school tomorrow, and I really want everyone to come. Say you'll come, Max. Please!" She was practically shouting at me.
"Yeah, maybe," I said. "It's just that, I mean, it's not the best time for the flock. We're kind of in the middle of something, you know? Hansy's gone, everyone's beat up, and Dylan and I found this hidden school of spider-eyed kids." I couldn't help looking at Dylan and remembering our night spent curled up together on the ledge…
"It's really important that you come, Max," Iggy insisted, and now even my name was starting to sound a little creepy. Ella held Iggy's hand and nodded at him encouragingly, then said, "The One Light will set us free."
"And what are you guys going to do with this group?" I asked, feeling like I was talking to Pod People.
Iggy and Ella replied at the exact same time, in the exact same tone of voice. "We're going to save the world," they said, and stepped closer to us.
