I blinked awake, and noticed that the sun wasn't even above the horizon. In fact, there were still stars and a sinking moon.
I sighed quietly, knowing that I wasn't going to get back to sleep. I scanned the small, makeshift camp. Gazzy, curled up, was sleeping next to Iggy, who was snoring. Nudge, her hands under her head, next to Angel, who was next to me, clutching Celeste tightly to her chest. Total was curled up in a small black ball in-between Nudge and Angel.
Fang was on watch, leaning against a tree. I walked over to him and nudged his shin with the toe of my combat boot. His shoulders straigtened, and I laughed quietly. I had surprised him. Not very much, but I did.
He grunted in question to me. It's called words, man! W-O-R-D-S! Words!
"Get some sleep. I can take over whatever's left of the watch." I said. With words! Oh yeah.
"You sure?" He said, eyeing me skeptically. I nodded, and he reluctantly got up and laid down next to Iggy, falling asleep almost instantly.
I sighed, rubbing my eyes. I was still tired. But, that's nothing new. I've been tired almost everyday since Angel got taken.
Sliding down slowly, I felt the bark from the tree jutting into my back. As soon as I was in a sitting position, I squirmed slightly, until the bark stopped jutting.
My mind was spinning, and I had to focus really hard to keep from zoning out.
In what seemed like ages, just as I felt like yelling from the headache I got from trying so hard to stay focused, Fang and Iggy stirred, and woke up. Iggy stretched, yawning wide, while Fang simply stood up and got the fire going.
He glanced at me, and I gave him a small smile. Then a sharp stab of pain in my head made me wince.
Hey! What was that for?
You almost fell asleep during your two hour mini watch. In fact, you took an extra watch! You need sleep, Max. Fang only had a four hour watch, and you had an eight! You're going to wear yourself down, Max.
I'm fine.
But even as I said it, I could feel my eyelids droop. I shot them open, and rubbed my temples. Man, I needed some caffeine. I mean, the sharp stabs of pain in my head kept me awake and made everything crystal clear, but it was only for a few minutes, and the headache that followed it didn't make it easier to stay awake.
"Max." Fang said, and tossed me a can of Coke and a protein bar. I caught the Coke, but missed the bar when another sharp stab of pain penetrated my head, causing me to close my eyes tightly for a moment.
I snatched the bar off of the ground, and ripped it out of the wrapper, already regretting taking the rest of Fang's watch.
Each bite I took was followed by a quick swig of Coke, until the bar was gone. I downed the rest of the Coke more slowly, and as I set it down with a statifyed sigh.
Angel grinned at me, and I blinked. When had the others gotten up? Oh well. Guess I zoned out again.
I forced my muscles to relax, and gave Fang, who was looking at me with concern, what I hoped was a reasurring smile. He frowned, and I knew I'd been unsuccessful.
I mouthed Voice, which wasn't a total lie. It was part its fault.
"What total lie?" Angel asked me curiously. I frowned at her.
"Yes, Max. What total lie?" Fang asked me, his tone flat.
Which meant he was slighty angry that I had lied.
Max. Erasers are on their way. Hurry up and leave, before they catch up.
What? I thought all of them were dead.
The old ones are, yes. But these are fresh. The wings are graphed into their bodies almost as seamlessly as yours.
Dang it.
"Erasers coming, guys. Hurry up and pack." I said, standing up. I staggered a little, and tried to hide it by reaching down to pick up my pack.
Soon the fire was out, and we were all set to go. Total was in Iggy's backpack. What happened to the carrier, you ask? Well, we were going through a town with Total still in the carrier, when an old lady walked by and cooed, "Aww! That's so cute! A wittle doggy in a baby carrier!" and just like that, bam, the carrier was out.
We were in the air in a flash, flying towards the rising sun.
-x-X-x-X-x-
After a while, just as I thought we were home free, I noticed a dark cloud, gaining quickly.
"Heads up, everyone. Erasers, right behind us." I said, "And I doubt the 'flight' part of fight or flight is going to be taken kindly."
They all nodded, and I smiled proudly at them; they were tired and hungry, but still willing to fight.
I felt the icy clarity of adrenaline rushing into my veins, and curled my hands into fists, holding them in a fighter's position.
As usual, the fight went in Fight Time, where some parts were really fast and passed in a blur, while others seemed to be in slow motion.
I punched the first one I could right in the face, and heard the stratifying crack of his nose breaking.
He snarled and lunged at me, but I easily dodged, pumping my wings once to lift myself above him. When he was under me, I dove down and smacked my hands against his ears. He screamed and fell.
I did a 360; Fang was fighting about 3 Erasers, having a black eye and a split lip.
Nudge and Angel were back to back, Angel using her mind powers to make those who got to close drop to the ground. Nudge was darting away from Angel's back every so often, punching Erasers. She also had a black eye, along with a bruise on her cheek.
Iggy and Gazzy were also back to back, throwing bombs and fighting. They didn't seem to have any real injures, only a few brusies and cuts, although Iggy's eye was swollen shut.
Total was still in Iggy's backpack, snarling like a pissed off rottie.
Pay attention, Max!
The air was knocked out of me by a hard blow on my back. I curled up, sucking in air while I turned around to attack the Eraser.
And froze.
Because he was cocking a pistol at me.
Dun Dun Dun! Review, please!