Happy Memories
Goodbye School
"Hey guys, up and at'em."
I sat bolt upright, remembering just in time to duck my head or brain myself on the bars of my cage. The lights flickered on and I looked blearily around, it was still dark o' thirty. What was going on? The White Coats usually like their beauty sleep, and, let's face it, they need it.
Jeb closed the door quietly behind him. I like Jeb, he's one of the nicer White Coats, and by that I mean he doesn't go out of his way to hurt us and actually treats us like human beings. We're not, technically, but it's nice to be treated like one. Also, I shouldn't tell anyone this, but sometimes, he gives us chocolate. I love chocolate, it's so sweet! Especially compared to that slop they call food. That didn't explain what he was doing here though.
"Jeb," I asked quietly. "What's going on?" Oh, Jeb also allows you to talk to him, most don't. The less human we are the better I suppose. The rest of the flock were awake by now and just about to ask the same question.
"We're going Max," Jeb said hurriedly, fumbling with a set of keys. "We're all going."
"Going where?" I asked in confusion.
"I'll explain later," he said in the same hurried tone. "But now we have to move." He bent down next to me and unlocked my cage, swinging the door open before hastily moving on to Fang's. I sat in shocked silence for about half a second before leaping out of may cage like it had been electrified. What was going on? White Coats don't just let the experiments out, even Jeb. But apparently he did.
"What's happening?" Iggy whispered to Nudge who had just got out of her own cage, echoing my thoughts exactly.
"Well Jeb just came in and opened our cages…"
"Yeah, I got that bit but who else is here?"
"Just Jeb." Iggy frowned in confusion. He was right, it didn't make any sense.
Jeb finished opening our cages and gently lifted Angel to the floor where she stood unsteadily, flaring her downy wings to keep her balance.
"Out," she said firmly.
"That's right," Jeb said smiling slightly. "We're getting out of here." My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe it, we were actually leaving. He'd get in so much trouble if they caught him and we'd probably be killed. It had to be some kind of sick joke. He didn't look like he was joking though and, well. Out. No more cages, no more Erasers, no more tests. Someone pinch me. Actually don't. If this is a dream, I don't want to wake up.
He herded us towards the door and then opened it a crack to see if the coast was clear.
"Come on," he whispered, ushering us though and closing the door softly behind us. The corridor was dim with the lights on night setting and we crept down it like shadows, Jeb leading the way and pausing at every intersection straining to hear if someone was coming. If we were caught, six kids with wings and one White Coat sneaking around at two in the morning. That would take some explaining.
Angel stumbled and I took her by the hand. We had to be sneaky or…
"I hear footsteps," Iggy announced suddenly. …we'd be caught. Damn it! Me and my big mouth.
Jeb looked around wildly, flung open a nearby door and practically threw us in with a hissed command of "Quiet." He didn't need to tell us twice.
We waited tensely in the darkness of what appeared to be a broom closet as the footsteps drew nearer. I gripped Angel's hand tighter. We just had to stay quite. There was no reason for anyone to look in here. We just had to stay. Silent.
"Hey Jeb!" a voice hailed. "You're here late."
"Paperwork," Jeb replied curtly. "Lot's of it."
"Tied to your desk, huh," the voice continued, now right outside. I think I was holding my breath at this point. Someone fidgeted nervously and upset a broom which fell with a clatter cracking Nudge over the shoulder.
"Argh! Iggy!" she exclaimed.
"Oh sure, blame the blind kid," he shot back.
"Shut it," I hissed desperately. Too late though. If we get caught I'm never forgiving those two for as long as I live. Which should be about twenty minutes.
There was a loud 'Wham!' from the other side of the door and the sound of something hitting the ground, hard. Jeb wrenched open the door.
"Do you guys want to escape?" he said angrily, shaking his hand. We all nodded fervently. "Good, now let's get him out of sight before someone else comes to investigate." He pointed to the man lying unconscious on the floor. We didn't need telling twice, Fang and I dragged him into the closet and Jeb locked the door.
"Go?" suggested Angel who had been watching in silence.
"Yep," Jeb agreed. "Lets keep moving." We hurried through the deserted corridors to a side door of the lab. Jeb swiped a card through a slot next to the door and then we were out and free.
I took a deep breath of sweet, free air. It still smelled faintly of antiseptic but mutants can't be choosers. It was the first time I'd ever been outside, except for that one time in the yard which I don't want to talk about. It was colder than I expected, I don't know why but I kind of thought that the whole world would be a balmy seventy degrees.
Goosebumps rose on my arms, it wasn't the cold though; I had this incredible feeling I was being watched. I glanced round anxiously as Jeb searched his pockets for something. A tiny camera nestled in the shadows, barely visible even to my super vision. I groaned inwardly, some escape this was turning out to be. I'd give it, oh, twenty seconds before the Erasers came and shot us, or worse put us back in the cages.
A siren started wailing. And that would be them now. Jeb at last found what he was searching for, car keys as it turns out, and yelled, "Come on, they must have found the empty cages!" He started running towards a black van parked nearby, I would have pointed out the camera but everyone was already chasing after him and Angel was tugging on my arm. Personally I would have said being seen by a camera would be more likely, especially since it was right there.
Jeb unlocked the van and flung the back door wide open, letting Nudge scramble up before hoisting Gazzy inside. There was a shout of surprise from behind us and I whirled round to see an Eraser running towards us.
"In!" Jeb yelled, diving into the driver's seat as Fang and Iggy leapt into the van.
I didn't move, I just stared at the Eraser, if I took my eyes off him for a second who knew what he would do. "Come on Max!" Fang cried seeing me standing there like a statue. Wordlessly I passed Angel up to him, the Eraser closed on us. I might make it if I moved now. I might get my leg ripped off as well. And I might just stop all of us from being saved.
I dived towards the Eraser, catching him by surprise and bearing him to the floor. His surprise lasted for all of half a second then he cuffed me round the head and sent me sprawling.
"Max!" I heard Fang yell over the ringing in my ears. The Eraser grabbed me by the arm, lifting me to my feet and wrenching it behind me so hard I felt my bones grate.
"Get off her," Fang growled, smashing the Eraser over the head two handed. The Eraser let go off me and rounded on Fang who threw himself to one side barely dodging the punishing blow heading for his stomach.
"Clear!" Jeb bellowed and I had half a second to realise that he was pointing a gun at the Eraser and that I was standing right next to him. I dived to the floor as the gun roared once, only once, and the Eraser dropped like a ton of bricks.
I got shakily to my feet. The Eraser was dead. Blood trickled from a small hole right between his eyes. Jeb had killed him. Jeb had killed an Eraser. They would kill him for that.
"You okay?" Jeb asked putting his hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah," I said softly, still looking at the dead Eraser.
"Good. Now if you're quite done being a damn hero we've got to move!"
He hurried me and Fang back into the van and shut the door firmly behind us. No more last minute heroics this time. A platoon of Erasers rushed out into the night as Jeb gunned the engine.
"Buckle up," Jeb half shouted through the little grill by the driver's seat. We all just looked at him in confusion. Buckle up? All there was were two wooden benches set facing each other and a few dangly metal things, where were the buckles? There was a loud bang and we all ducked. We may not know much about cars but we do about guns. Jeb stamped on the accelerator and we were all thrown sideways, squashed against the rear of the van. My head was pinned, by Iggy I think, to the rear window, so I had a painful view of the Eraser crouching to aim their guns better.
Jeb swerved suddenly as the Easers opened fire and we went flying, again, landing in a heap on the floor. There was the ping of metal on metal and sparks showered across the rear windows. "Stay down!" Jeb yelled and I was sorely tempted to yell back 'you think?' but I didn't because at that point one of the back windows exploded showering us all in glass.
"Hold on!" Jeb cried and, just when I thought the van couldn't go any faster, accelerated. I don't know how fast we were going, faster than I'd ever been in my life. There was a massive crash from the front of the van and something drummed on the roof before clattering to earth behind us. I risked a look out of the shattered window and saw the perimeter fence shrinking into the distance behind us, the front gate looking like it had been hit by a truck. Well a van at least.
I could still see a few Erasers fairing vainly at us. Lights were flickering into life around the facility and people were rushing everywhere. It looked just like an upturned anthill. Also I'd never realised I could see that far.
"Bye school," Angel said brightly, standing on the bench so she could see through the window and waving cheerily.
Yeah, goodbye school, I thought watching the rapidly dwindling shape. Wasn't nice knowing you.