Beyond
Ari Batchelder...
That Eraser had been withheld from the mission.
Find the flock. Bring them back. It doesn't matter if you lose one or two, but their leader is essential. We must have her.
Why the hell was it so important to have them if they could simply do things like make more? They had to be... flukes. Special cases that they couldn't reproduce. That was the only logical explanation, he thought as he licked at his fingers.
They were close. The 'flock' was in New York. Heading for Japan.
Probably to help L.
His lip curled at the thought of that name.
"What's wrong?" frowned the Eraser at the head of the pack.
"Nothing. Why was Ari held back?"
"Dunno. They don't tell us that."
"Ahh..."
They treat everything they make so badly... like it's far inferior to everything else on the planet.
What's their game?
"We'll start flying again in half an hour." the alpha told him.
"Why so long? Time is money, and therefore life." he said softly, standing up. The Eraser grunted, nodding. Turning around, he barked orders to the rest of the pack.
This flock was just a group of children. He looked over the pictures again.
Maximum Ride. Fang. Iggy. Nudge. Gasman. Angel.
Such odd names... Then again, his name wasn't exactly number five on the most common name in America. They'd probably chosen their names themselves. And as children...
Quarter Queen popped into his head before he could stop it. From there, his thoughts went to Naomi Misora. She'd been engaged when he'd last seen her, recalling the ring on her finger. Had she actually gotten married yet? Or was work keeping her from getting that far? Who was she engaged to? How was she?
No, he had to stay focused. The pack of Erasers was spreading their wings, and he hurried to do the same. Three of them snarled at him as he knocked them off-balance, but he ignored them, jumping into the air.
No matter how many times he took off, he'd never get over the sheer thrill of flying. It'd been the human dream to fly since the beginning of time... And now he could.
L would kill for this... Or the fact that they can bring the dead back... Damn, he'd kill for this.
The thought of L being driven to insanity by something like this made him smile as the wind whipped through his hair and tore at his face and clothes.
Did the 'flock' feel this thrill when they flew? did they ever just fly for the sheer fun of it, performing neat tricks in the air, carefully executing twists and dives? He knew that if he was allowed to, he would.
Why were they even being hunted down? Couldn't they be replicated?
"What's wrong?" the alpha asked again.
"Why do they want them back so badly if they could potentially make more?" he asked, his voice just barely loud enough to be heard.
"They're special. They develop as time goes on."
Develop?
So these kids were potentially super-human, and they couldn't risk just terminating them.
That was understandable.
Yes, L would go crazy for this.
Max
Where the hell did they all come from?! How did they find us?! We don't even look like us right now!
The Erasers swarmed through the plaza, ready to tear us to pieces. I swung the piece of pipe I held at the nearest one, hitting his skull with a crunch.
Something here... is wrong...
There.
That guy there was just standing there, holding a length of pipe the same way I did. He wasn't an Eraser... I think. But he watched us all coolly, not at all perturbed by the fight going on before him.
Fang resurfaced from under a heap of Erasers near him. The guy's eyes narrowed. "FANG!" I bellowed, starting towards the two.
My yell distracted Fang, though, and now the guy carefully swung. Fang's eyes widened for a second before he crumpled, falling back into the stranger's arms.
"FANG!" I screamed again, abandoning my weapon and running towards them.
But before I could even think of how best to attack, the guy turned to face me. Now I could see him full on.
Long-sleeved white tee. Jeans. Sneakers shoved onto his feet in a hurry. Pale skin. Dark eyes framed by shadows that could've been drawn on in marker they were so thick. Messy black hair.
For a second, I thought his eyes were red...
Then something hit me hard from behind, and everything went black.