Disclaimer: I SO don't own Maximum Ride.
I awoke hours later, only to find, to my dismay, that I was strapped to a metal operating table. My nose wrinkled as the foul antiseptic odor of the school filled my nostrils.
I was back at the school.
Tears sprung at my eyes, threatening to spill over, but I choked them back, hoping the whitecoats looking at the diagram in the corner didn't notice.
I noticed the scientists lips moving and low murmuring, but I couldn't understand what they were saying. I closed my eyes, listening more intently until their voices became clearer:
"We have to do it now."
"But the risks.....it's too young to withstand an operation of this degree. It may die from infection, or simply die during the process."
"Jeb said it was built to stand anything. It'll be fine; if we fail, we have other avian-hybrids to work with."
Suddenly, a door opened, and a whitecoat looking extremely annoyed walked in. He looked at me on the table, then walked to the other whitecoats. "You will not operate on this specimen."
The whitecoats looked appalled. One stepped forward, looking angry. "Well why not, Jeb? You yourself said it was your greatest success ever. We only want to enhance her abilities more!"
Jeb, as the whitecoat called him, held an angry hand up. "I said no. You will not harm her," I noted the emphasis on the direct address, "because I said so. She is under my care, so the director says I get the final say." He glared at the bold one who stepped forward, daring him to say otherwise.
The whitecoat's face was carefully blank and he pushed by Jeb, muttering to himself. Jeb watched him slam the door behind him, then turned to the other whitecoats cowering in the corner.
"You may all leave now. There are other avian-hybrids to choose from in the other room. Go." Jeb said, his tone tight as if he didn't want them to do the operation at all.
They nervously looked at each other, then went by Jeb as they headed toward the door, giving me longing looks as they passed the table I was strapped to.
Jeb came over and stood looking down at me, a strangely sad smile on his face. "How do you feel?"
I glared. Just because he was being kind didn't give him points, especially since he was a whitecoat. "I feel great!" I said sarcastically. "I just love what you've done with the place! Are the straps real leather?"
He sighed and shook his head. "You should be more grateful. I just saved you from an awful experiment to enhance your night vision." He looked away, still murmuring to himself. "I hope to god they know what they're doing...." I blinked, surprised. It seemed like he almost.....cared.
He gave me a forlorn look. "I'm sorry they are treating you like this.. um...your name is?" He said, asking my name. My eyes narrowed. "I only let my friends call me by my name." I spat at him coldly.
He seemed surprised at my insolent tone. Well too bad. I'm not the kind who's going to be nice to an evil corrupted psycho who plans to ruin my life. Before I could say anything, he had recollected himself and his expression was once again smooth.
"Tell me your name." Jeb said in a strained tone that made me answer automatically. "I-I don't have one." I said unwillingly, but knew if I didn't tell, he'd make me tell, and I don't think he'd say 'please'.
He seemed to process this. "Interesting." He turned, still talking. "Interesting.....very interesting....." As the door closed behind me, a hairy claw grabbed it before it closed completely.
I stared in horror as the Eraser looked at me and grinned, sending shivers down my spine. Erasers scared me half to death. Especially when they grinned like this one that was grinning at me now.
He came into the room, followed by two other Erasers and one whitecoat. The Eraser came up to me and licked his lips. "Little piggy looks good enough to eat." He leaned down, ready to bite my leg, obviously thinking this was a game. The whitecoat snapped at him. "You have your orders!" He said.
The Eraser scowled, but his jaw closed and he backed away, a menacing look still in his eye as he glanced at me.
The whitecoat stepped up next to me and leaned down. "CAN YOU UNDERSTAND?" He yelled in a thick, heavily French-accented voice.
I blinked and stared at him. Was this guy for real? I snickered and the Eraser took a step toward me, one claw bared, but the whitecoat held up a finger for him to wait.
"CAN....YOU.....UNDERSTAND?" The whitecoat asked again, slightly louder.
I decided I didn't like this jerk-off.
I took a breath and leaned forward as far as I could to get into the whitecoat's face. "NOT ONLY DO I UNDERSTAND YOU, BUT I CAN HEAR TOO!" I yelled at him, satisfied when pink splotches appeared on his cheeks. He leaned away, embarrassed. Even the Erasers seemed to be grinning.
But it could've just been my imagination.
The whitecoat adjusted his glasses and looked at a clipboard. "Okay, it says here, you were scheduled for the vision enhancing operation, but you were taken off the list at the last moment." He glanced up over his glasses to look at me. "Is this report accurate?"
I looked back at him innocently. "About as accurate as your English." his face flushed angrily, and he took a deep breath. He turned to the Erasers. "Knock her out. Then take her back to her cage. Don't worry, no special treatment is needed." He turned and I could see the obvious superior look he gave me.
Then I saw the Eraser coming at me, grinning, and he swung his hairy paw, making everything go black.