Also, just to throw it out there - the reason Pete became scared after Maribel shot him was because there are a lot of people out there who wave guns around, but would probably crap their pants if they ever actually fired one. He knew she was an agent, but I'm guessing would also know that her job largely was to keep low profile and snitch information to her superiors. He, on the other hand, clearly has a 'dirty hands' sort of job, which leads to a certain feeling of superiority - one reinforced by seeing her as a sweet, kind, loving teacher day in and day out. I don't think he believed she really had it in her to shoot him, and she'd given him no reason to believe that before that moment. He learned his lesson REAL fast.

Thanks, Wolf! I appreciate the feedback. To answer some of your questions:
The gunshots broke the kids from their trance, as it was only a temporary thing anyway. Not that you'd know that from the writing. That's what comment sections are for. :D
Aw, crumb, I had intended to put in a bit about how cruelty to animals is an early sign of anitsocial personality disorder and other such mental instability that generally leads to serial murders... so they put the whole 'no killing animals' thing in to weed out any of those sorts of problems. The lameness of their reason for wanting to kill Maribel was deliberate; I wanted to show how flawed the system was and that the FBI really did have a valid reason for believing that these replicants were dangerous to society.
Thanks again for the feedback!

lol - I see :) Thanks for the feedback!

Thanks, hebe! Glad you liked it. Any feedback on what made the beginning feel shaky? Thanks!

Okay, everyone, the punch was my bad. Because Shadinah hasn't had as much experience writing action sequences as I have, she asked me to be her 'action advisor' for this piece, and I was the one who suggested the 'right hook' line. My apologies, Shadinah!

Thanks for the feedback! Basically, I originally was not going to put an entry in for chapter 5 because I had been disappointed with the turn away from the 'supernatural' events of chapters 2 & 3. I had also felt that attempts to explain those events without some supernatural element, at least for me, would fall flat. However, after reading Nash's post in the forum about the loose ends in the story, with the supernatural elements being among the first listed, I was hit by this idea. If I recall correctly, Robert's description of the Society itself left some room for ambiguity. He talked about being into 'HARD science', but that could have just been HIS role in it, which is how I took it. It struck me as a fun idea that he had left out the Society's true nature when speaking to his oh-so-rational wife, and that they're actually some bizarre cult-like group. I understand, however, where it seemed to come out of left field for you. In honesty, this was a selfish chapter for me. I hadn't written in about a month, and it was the first inspiration to write in that entire time, and it was a thrill just to be back at the keyboard. Thanks for reading and thanks for the feedback!

BTW, Nash - thanks so much for posting this. It's what inspired me to write my entry - and I was thrilled after hardly writing anything at all for about a MONTH. Much appreciated!

Good stuff here! I definitely like the twist, with the kids developing mental abilities (which neatly explains the bizarre events in previous chapters), and your writing, as always, is smooth and easy to read. Well done!

Right here. Prepare for processing.
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:D

Thanks for the feedback! I confess, I only got the inspiration for this chapter Monday morning, and knowing that I had no time to write on Tuesday, the deadline, I sort of rushed through it.
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The gym - I was imagining different handles than the push-bar style, but you've got me on the windows. I'd love to hear more about your extensive experience with breaking said windows... :)
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Jake - there is some minor logic to Jake, I just didn't have a good way to play it out in the story. The kids received the notification about the dissection after school on Friday. Somewhere in their subconscious, their little minds were triggered with the idea that Ms. B must die because killing animals is evil. Jake, being a bright, precocious little guy, had a bit more awareness of the subconscious goings-on than the other children, and therefore had some vague understanding that Ms. B was going to die by Monday. It would've been better if I could've spelled that out more in the chapter, but oh well.
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I leave the events of the forest up to imagination. Was it a bomb? Or was it a different sort of incendiary device? We don't know how long it was that Ms. B was in there with the Society - she was in a bit of an altered state (note that when the thrum stopped, she heard a gunshot, but when it started again, nothing). Were the agents working their way around the forest during that time, dumping gasoline or explosives? I leave it up to imagination. Largely because I'm stinkin' lazy.
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I agree that the ending was a bit abrupt. Mea culpa.
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Thanks again for the feedback!