(Max)
We walked to the waiting area. The flock jumped up when they saw me. I smiled and gave them a thumbs-up. Nudge whooped and slapped high fives with Gazzy, and Angel ran over to hug me hard. I swung her up and held her tight. Crater punched the air and nearly hit a light.
"He's gonna be fine," I confirmed.
"Can we see him?" Iggy asked.
"Ig, I hate to break this to you, but you're blind," I said, my relief making me tease him. I heard Crater holding in laughter. "However, in a little while, you can go listen to him breathe and maybe talk to him."
Iggy gave me a combination smile-scowl, which he's extraordinarily good at. He then hit Crater on the back of her head and she gave him a smiled.
"Hi, everyone," said Anne. I'd forgotten she was right behind me. "Max may have told you about me - I'm Anne Walker, from the FBI. Has Max filled you in on the agreement we made?"
She was smart: If I hadn't already told them about it, she'd just confirmed that it was a done deal.
"Yes," said Angel, looking at her. "We're going to stay at your house for a teensy little while."
"That's right," said Anne, smiling back.
"Us and Total," Angel said to make sure.
"Total?"
"My dog." Angel pointed under her chair, where Total was curled up, head poised neatly on his paws. Iggy elbowed Crater with a smirk and she hit him.
"How did you get a dog in here?" Anne asked, amazed. Ignoring Crater fighting with Iggy.
I didn't want to delve into that too much. "Yes! So, well, as soon as F- Nick is somewhat mobile, we'll go to Anne's house, rest up, get Nick up to a hundred percent. Cool?"
The others nodded with varying levels of enthusiasm.
"Fnick?" Iggy muttered, smirking.
I ignored him.
"Actually, Nick won't be mobile for at least a week," Anne said. "So we can all head to my place today, and he can come out when he's ready."
I saw Gazzy blink and Nudge frown.
"No," I said to Anne. "That wasn't what I agreed to. We're not leaving Nick here alone."
"He'll have doctors and nurses and two agents at his door. Round the clock," Anne promised.
I crossed my arms over my chest. "No. Two of your agents would be a snack for an Eraser." Crater glared at me and mouth 'oh no! What will we do with an eraser!?'. Oops. I keep forgetting with her.
Anne ignored my joke. Not surprisingly, since she probably didn't have a clue what I was talking about.
"It will be more comfortable for you at my house," Anne said. "Much better for you."
"But not much better for Nick," I said.
"But - Nick can't be moved,", Anne said. "Were you planning to just hang out in his room?"
"The girls can have the bed," Gazzy said. "Iggy and I can sleep on the floor." Crater glared at him.
"Excuse me, sexist piglet?" I said, raising my eyebrows. "How about the two smallest people share the bed 'cause they'll fit. That would be you and Angel."
"Yeah," said Nudge, with narrowed eyes. "Like, I'm too much of a cream puff to sleep on the floor?" Crater raised her hand. "I used to sleep on floor." Her accent not even an inch fake.
Gazzy got his stubborn face on, so I walked across the room before he could start arguing. Fang's hospital room was a double, but the other bed was empty. The two smaller kids would sleep in it, and the rest of us would make do.
"Of course, the prince gets his own bed all to himself," I said to Fang.
"That's right," Fang said hazily. "The prince has a gaping side wound."
He still looked like death, extremely pale and groggy. He couldn't eat, so he had an IV drip. Crater had given him another pint of bird-kid blood, and that had helped. Since she seems to have a lot of it. Like, a lot.
"Well, they sewed you up," I said. "You're pretty gape-free at this point."
"When do I get out of here?"
"They say a week."
"So, like, tomorrow?" he said.
'That's what I'm thinking."
"So, Fnick, can I change the channel?" Iggy asked. "There's a game on."
"Make yourself at home, Figgy," Fang said.
We crashed early and hard, given what we'd been through in the last twenty-four hours. By nine o'clock I was listening to the flock sleeping all around me. The agent guys had come up with some, like, yoga mats for us, and they weren't bad. Especially if you've logged time on rocky cave floors and concrete ledges in subway tunnels. Crater just ignored her mat and curled up into a ball next to the door.
Now it was quiet, and I was trying to shut my brain down. Voice? Any last-minute remarks you want to get off your chest before I crash?
You chose to stay with Fang.
No duh, I replied silently. What Gazzy had said, back on the beach... the little twerp was right. I shouldn't split us up again, even when it seemed safer to do it. We did best when we were all together. The whole family together.
Family is extremely important, said the Voice. Didn't you tell me that once?
Yep, I thought. That's why we're going to find our parents as soon as we get out of here.
I took a deep breath, trying to relax. I was completely exhausted, but my brain was racing. Every time I closed my eyes, all sorts of images flashed through my mind - like buildings exploding, a mushroom cloud, ducks caught in oil slicks, mountains of trash, nuclear power plants. Waking nightmares.
So I sat up, eyes open, but it wasn't much better. I had started feeling bad earlier but hadn't told anyone. I had a headache, not a grenade-type headache, where my brain felt like it was being splattered against the inside of my skull, but just a regular headache. Fortunately, the grenade-type headaches were much fewer and farther between than they had been. My theory was that they were my brain getting used to sharing office space with my rude and uninvited guest: my Voice. At any rate, I was incredibly glad they were on leave of absence lately.
This wasn't like that. I was hot; my skin was burning. I felt like adrenaline was pouring into my system, making me so jumpy I couldn't stand it.
Were the Erasers tracking the chip in my arm that I'd seen in that X-ray at Dr. Martinez's office so many days ago? How did they keep finding us? The eternal question.
I glanced at Total, sleeping on the bed with Angel and Gazzy. He was on his back, paws in the air. Was he chipped? Were they tracking him now?
Ugh. I felt so hot and twitchy and sick. I wanted to lie down in snow, eat snow, rub it over my skin. I fantasized about throwing open the window and taking off into the cool night air. I imagined flying back to Dr. Martinez and her daughter, Ella, the only human friends I'd known. Dr. Martinez would know what to do. My heart was pounding so fast it felt like a staccato drumroll in my chest.
I stood up and picked my way quietly over sleeping bodies to the small sink in one wall. I turned on the cold water and let it run over my hands. Leaning down, I splashed my face again and again. It felt good, and I wished I could stand under an icy shower. Please don't let me get sick, I prayed. I can't get sick. I can't get Fang sick.
I don't know how long I hung over the sink, letting water trickle over my neck. Finally, I thought maybe I could try to sleep again, and I straightened up to dry my face.
And almost screamed.
I whirled around, but the room was quiet. I whipped back to stare in the mirror again, and it was still there: the Eraser.
I blinked rapidly. What the h was going on? The Eraser in the mirror blinked rapidly too.
The Eraser was me.
In an instant, cold sweat coated my forehead and the back of my neck.
I swallowed, and the Eraser Max in the mirror swallowed.
I opened my mouth and saw the long, sharp canines. But when I touched them with my finger, they felt small, smooth, normal. I touched my face and felt smooth skin, though the mirror showed me totally morphed.
I remembered how ill I had felt, hot and heart-poundy. Oh, God. What was this all about? Had I just discovered a new "skill," like Angel reading minds, Gazzy able to imitate any voice, Iggy identifying people by feeling their fingerprints? Had I just developed the skill of turning into an Eraser, our worst enemy?
I felt sick with revulsion and dread. I glanced guiltily around to make sure no one could see me like this. I didn't even know what they would see if they woke up. I felt normal. I looked like an Eraser. Kind of a cuter, blonder, Pekingesey Eraser.
Respect and honor your enemies said my Voice. Always. Know your friends well; know your enemies even better.
Oh, please, I begged silently. Please let this be just a horrible lesson and not reality. I promise, promise, promise to know my enemies better. Just let me lose the muzzle.
Your greatest strength is your greatest weakness, Max.
I stared at the mirror. Huh?
Your hatred of Erasers gives you the power to fight to the death. But that hatred also blinds you to the big picture: the big picture of them, of you, of everything in your life.
Um. Let me think about that and get back to you. Okay?
Ow. I winced and pressed my fingers to my temples, trying to rub the pain away. I touched my face one last time to make sure it really was smooth, and then I went and looked at Fang.
He was still breathing, sleeping. He looked better. Not so embalmed. He was going to be all right. I sighed, trying to release my pain and fear, then I curled up on my mat next to Nudge. I closed my eyes but didn't really have any hope of sleeping.
I lay quietly in the darkness. The only thing that made me feel better was listening to the even, regular, calm breathing of my sleeping flock.
"I don't understand it," said the doctor, gazing at Fang's wound.
Yeah, well, I thought, that's the whimsy of recombinant DNA.
The doc had come in to change the bandages this morning and found that Fang's gashes were almost healed, just thin pink lines of scar tissue.
"Guess I'm good to go," said Fang, trying to sit up. He was alert, himself, and happiness filled my heart. I'd been so scared - what would I do without Fang?
"Wait!" Anne Walker said, holding up her hand. "You're nowhere near ready to move or leave. Please, Nick, just lie still and rest."
Fang regarded her calmly, and I smirked to myself. If Anne thought I was uncooperative, wait till she dealt with a recovered Fang.
"Nick, now that you're feeling a bit better, maybe you can convince your brothers and sisters to leave with me," Anne said. "I've offered for all of you to come stay at my house, to rest and regroup." She gave a slight smile. "Max refused to leave without you. But I'm sure you can see that it's pointless for them to stay here and be uncomfortable. And you'd be joining us in a week or so,"
Fang just looked at her, waiting.
I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms.
"So, how do you feel about it, Nick?"
Actually, I'd already briefed him, early this morning. Since we were up at six. Since, at six, the nurse had been overcome with an overwhelming compulsion to take Fang's temperature right then. Crater also,t braked at her when she came in by the way. She blamed it on Total of course.
Fang met my eyes, and I let one side of my mouth droop.
"Whatever Max says," he said evenly. "She's in charge."
I grinned. I'll never get tired of hearing that.
Anne turned to look at me.
"I can't leave Nick," I said, sounding regretful.
"If you all stay, maybe I could examine -," the doctor began, and Anne turned to him as if she'd forgotten he was there.
"Thank you, Doctor," she said. "I appreciate all your help."
It was a dismissal, and the doctor didn't look happy. But he left.
"We heal really quickly," I told Anne. Last night Fang had still looked bad. And 1 had too, I thought, remembering the horrible Eraser reflection. But this morning I looked like me, and Fang looked much more like himself again.
Fang sat up. "What do I have to do to get some food in this joint?"
"You still have an IV," Anne said. "The doctors don't want you eating solid . .." Her voice trailed off as Fang's eyes narrowed.
"We saved a tray for you," I said. An orderly had brought us breakfast, and we'd saved some of everything for Fang. Crater practically gave him her whole tray. She shrugged. "Not very hungry. Sleepy yes. Hungry no."
Anne looked as though she wanted to say something but held it back. A good move on her part, I must say.
I gave the tray to Fang, and he dug into the food with quick precision.
"I need to get out of here," he said between bites. "The hospital smells alone are making me crawl the walls."
I knew what he meant. We all had the same reaction: Anything antiseptic-smelling, hospitally, science labby, brought back years' worth of bad memories.
I looked at Anne. "I think F- Nick is ready to come with us."
She looked at me, clearly thinking things through.
"Okay," she said finally, and I kept the surprise off my face. "Let me go clear up the paperwork. It'll take about an hour and a half to drive to my home. I live in northern Virginia. Okay?"
"Yeah," I said.
Anne left, and I looked around at the flock. "I don't know what's coming, guys, but keep your eyes open and heads up." I glanced at Fang. "You sure you can move?"
He shrugged, looking tired again, and pushed away the food tray. "Sure." He lay back down and shut his eyes.
"After all, Fnick is Superman," said Iggy.
"Shut up, Jeff," I said, but I was smiling. I lifted Iggy's fingers to my face so that he knew.
"Gol, Virginia is shore purty," I said to the Gasman, and he grinned.
But it really was. There were many hills of the "gently rolling" type, miles of trees that had been dipped in fiery, autumny paint, and swelling waves of green pastures, some even dotted with actual horses. It was gorgeous here.
Anne's huge Suburban held us all, and Fang got to recline most of the way. I kept an eye on him, noting the way his jaw tightened when we hit bumps, but he didn't complain. What was really hilarious was that Crater opened one of the windows and stuck her head out. Anne just gave her a weird look but shook it off.
Another fly in the ointment: I was having the same waves of heat and racing heart I'd had last night. My breath came in little pants, and I was so jumpy it felt as if bugs were crawling all over me.
Total had been sitting on my lap, looking out the window, and now he glanced at me with his shiny black eyes. Deliberately he got up and picked his way over Fang's lap and onto Angel's, as if to say, If you're going to be that hot, forget it.
"Oh, gosh, look at that," Nudge said, pointing out her window. "That horse is totally white. Like an angel horse. And what are those rolled-up straw things?"
"Bales of hay," said Anne from the front seat. "They roll them like that instead of making haystacks."
"It's so pretty here," Nudge went on, practically bouncing in her seat next to Anne. "I like these hills. What's the kind of tree with pointy leaves and all the colors?"
"Maples," Anne said. "They usually have the most color."
"What's your house like?" Nudge asked. "Is it all white with big columns? Like Tara? Did you see that movie?"
"Gone with the Wind," Anne said. "No, I'm afraid my house isn't anything like Tara. It's an old farmhouse. But I do have fifty acres of land around it. Plenty of room for you guys to run around. We're almost there."
Twenty minutes later, Anne pulled into a driveway and clicked an electronic gadget. A pair of wrought-iron gates swung open, and she pulled through.
The gates closed behind us, which made my sensors go on precautionary alert. Crater stiffened. We shared a look. Be on guard.
It took almost a whole minute to get to her house. The driveway was made of crushed shells and wound through beautiful trees arching overhead. Red and yellow leaves fluttered gently down onto the car.
"Well, here we are," she said, pulling around a corner. "I hope you like it."
We stared out the car windows. Anne's house looked like a painting. It had rounded river rocks on the bottom part, and clapboards above, and a big screened porch that covered almost the whole front. Large shrubs circled the yard, and some of them still had faded hydrangea blooms.
"There's a pond out back," Anne said, pulling into a parking space in front of the house. "It's so shallow that it might still be warm enough to swim in, in the afternoons. Here, everyone pile out."
We poured out of the car, glad to be in a wide-open space again.
'The air smells different here," said Nudge, wrinkling her nose. "It smells great."
The house stood on the top of a low hill. Sloping away from us were wide lawns and an orchard. The trees were actually covered with apples. Birds twittered and sang. I couldn't hear traffic or smell road tar or hear any other person.
Anne opened the front door. "Well, don't just stand there," she said with a laugh. "Come see your rooms."
I nodded, and Angel and Nudge started toward the house, followed by Gazzy.
Iggy was standing next to me. "What does it look like?" he asked in a low voice.
(Ari)
"It looks like paradise, Jeff," said Fang. The rough bark of the tree was cutting into his legs, but Ari paid no attention. That girl they always hung out with rolled her eyes and started telling Iggy what it all looked like.
After the pain of having huge wings retrofitted onto his shoulders, this was child's play. He grinned at that thought. Technically, anything he did was child's play: He was only seven years old. Eight next April. Not that it mattered. He wouldn't get presents or a cake. His dad probably wouldn't even remember.
He put the binoculars to his eyes again, clenching his jaw. He saw the mutant bird freaks get out of the car. He'd already been over the grounds, looked in the windows of the house. Those kids were in a for a cushy stay. At least for a while.
It wasn't fair. There wasn't even a word for how' unfair it was. Ari's hand clutched a small branch so tightly that the branch snapped, sending a long, thin sliver under his skin.
He looked at it, waiting for the pain signals to make their sluggish way to his brain. Bright red blood welled around the splinter. Ari pinched the splinter out and threw it away before his brain even recognized that he'd been hurt.
Here he was, in a tree, his team camped nearby, stuck watching the mutant freaks through binoculars.
He should be on the ground, tapping Max on the shoulder, seeing her whirl, then smashing his fist right into her face.
But no. Instead, she was sashaying inside the fancy house, thinking she was perfect, better than anyone, better than him.
The one fun thing of the last forty-eight hours had been Max's expression when she'd seen he was alive. She'd been shocked. Shocked and horrified, Ari remembered proudly. He wanted her to look like that every time she saw him.
So, fine. Get some R&R, Maximum, Ari thought acidly. Your time is coming. And I'll be there waiting for you. I'll always be there.
The hatred coiled in his gut, twisting his insides, and he felt himself morphing, his facial bones elongating, his shoulders hunching.
He watched as the coarse hair covered his arms, lightning fast, and ragged claws erupted from his fingertips.
He wanted to rake these claws down Max's face, that perfect face
Anguish welled up and choked him, turning his world black, and without thinking, he sank his fangs into his own arm. Clenching his jaw hard, he waited for the physical pain. Finally, gasping, he sat back, his mouth red with blood, his arm coldly numb with pain. Ah. That was better.
Guess how many bedrooms Anne's little country shack had. Seven. One for her, one for each bird kid. I had to share with Crater. Guess how many bathrooms it had. Five. Five bathrooms all in one house.
"Max!" The Gasman pounded on my bedroom door.
I opened it, my hair still wet from my long, incredibly hot shower.
"Can I go outside?" he asked.
"Gee, I had forgotten the natural color of your skin," I told him. "I was convinced you were kind of dirt colored."
He grinned at me. "Call it camouflage. Can I go outside?"
"Yeah, let's all go together, give Iggy some landmarks." Crater got up and ran outside happily. She's such a cinnamon roll.
"What is that, like, a plane hangar?" Nudge asked. A grove of trees had hidden the big red building from the house, but now that we were doing recon, we were finding all kinds of things.
"It's a barn," said Fang.
I was keeping an eye on him. As soon as he started to look tired, I was going to send him back to the house.
"A barn with animals?" asked Angel excitedly.
Just then, Total started barking, as if he'd picked up something's scent. Crater covered her own as a cough.
"Yep, guess so," I said, scooping Total up in my arms. "Listen, you," I told him. "No more with the barking. You're going to spook somebody." I looked at Crater meaning I meant her too.
Total looked offended but stayed quiet as long as I held him. C Ayer looked offended and rolled her eyes.
"That first one is Sugar," said Anne, coming up behind us. She'd given us free rein of the place after she'd shown us our rooms and stuff.
We stood in the open bam doorway and watched Sugar, a pale gray horse who was looking back at us with interest.
"He's beautiful," Nudge whispered.
"He's big," said the Gasman.
"Big and sweet," said Anne, opening a box and taking out a carrot. She handed it to Nudge and nodded at the horse. "Go on. He likes carrots. Hold it flat in your hand." Crater crooked her head o the side and so did Sugar.
Cautiously Nudge stepped forward, holding out the carrot. This is a kid who could break a man's ribs with a well-placed kick, but she was almost trembling as she approached the horse.
Sugar very delicately lipped up the carrot, then crunched it with satisfaction.
Nudge turned to me, her face glowing, and my heart caught in my throat. It was like we were inner-city kids getting a week on the farm as part of a social service program. We were surrounded by beautiful scenery and fresh air, there were animals, and -
"You guys have another half hour," Anne said, turning to go back to the house. "Dinner's at six." She left and Crater relaxed.
And, I was going to say, plenty of food. It was amazing.
Where was the catch? 'Cause I knew one was coming.
"Oh, yeah!" said the Gasman, looking at the pond. "I am so there!"
Anne's pond, was about as big as a football stadium, with a small, rocky shore edged by cattails and daylilies.
I stared at it suspiciously, waiting for the Pond Ness Monster to rise out of its depths. Okay, call me hopelessly paranoid, but this whole place was starting to seem creepily idyllic. Like, my bedroom was charming. Charming! What did I know about charming? I'd never called anything charming before in my life.
And now here I was, eyes narrowed at a picture-perfect pond. Was this some new freakish test?
"We don't have time right now, Gazzy," I said, clamping down on my rising fears. "But maybe we can go swimming tomorrow."
"It's just so beautiful here," Nudge said, gazing at the untrustable rolling hills, the dark, secret-concealing orchard, the pond (see above rant re pond), the small, literally babbling brook that ran into the pond. "Like the Garden of Eden."
"Yeah, and that turned out so well," I muttered under my breath.
"Look, there are more animals over there," said Angel, pointing.
No doubt tidy, Martha Stewart, heirloom pedigree animals enclosed in chintz pens.
"Okay, we can swing by 'em on the way back to the house. I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving." I glanced over at Fang, who was starting to look a little pale. Tonight after dinner I would try to get him to take it easy in one of the too-comfortable recliners by the horribly cozy fireplace.
"Sheep!" Angel cried, catching sight of some fluffy brown wool. Crater and Angel ran over and smiled as they pet the sheep.
"Anne is quite the animal lover," Fang said to me as we followed Angel. "Horses, sheep, goats. Chickens. Pigs."
"Yeah," I said. "I wonder who's for dinner?"
He flashed one of his rare smiles at me, and it was like the sun coming out. I felt my cheeks get hot and strode on ahead.
"Pigs, look," said the Gasman excitedly. "Come here, Ig." Gazzy guided Iggy's hand down, and Iggy scratched a small brown pig behind its ears, sending it into ecstatic squeals.
"Pigs are so lucky," said the Gasman, as images of bacon danced in my head. "No one cares if they're dirty or live in a pigsty."
"That's because they're pigs," I pointed out. Just then, Total leaped out of my arms, scratching me.
"Hey!" I said and then saw a large black-and-white shepherdy-looking dog bounding up. Total braced his front legs and barked loudly, and the other dog barked back. Craters face whipped over and growled at the other dog and her ears began to show. She barked at the dog along with Total.
"Total!" I called, clapping my hands. "Stop it! It's his yard. Angel! Crater you too! I thought you were supposed to be mature!"
Angel was already trotting over, and she grabbed Total's collar. Crater frowned at the shepherd and then huffed and stopped.
"Since when does he have a collar?" I asked.
"Okay, Total, calm down," Angel said, stroking his head. Total stopped barking, then shook his head in disgust and said, "Putz."
I blinked in surprise and opened my mouth - and then saw Gazzy loping up, hands in his pockets, whistling. I absolutely refused to give Gazzy the satisfaction of freaking out over his latest voice-throwing trick and didn't say a thing.
"Come on, guys," I said. "Let's go chow."
"Okay, let's see what we have here," I muttered. The six of us were in "my" room. Crater was here too but she was in a corner cradling her own papers. The notes we'd gotten from the Institute in New York were spread out on my bed. When we'd found the files in the computer and printed them out, some of the information had been readable. Now those pages were gone, leaving us with lines of numerical code. What had happened to the readable pages? Dunno. Was it another test?
So basically, we were looking at reams of numbers. Every once in a while a real word leaped out at us. Some of the real words were us, our names. Somewhere in these pages was info about our parents.
"How about we each take two pages and comb through them," I suggested. "Figure out what we can. See if anything about the numbers looks familiar or has a pattern."
"Sounds like a plan," said Iggy. "Except for me."
"I'll read you out some numbers," said Fang.
Iggy nodded, and I passed out the sheets. Fang started reading softly to Iggy, who concentrated hard, nodding every so often.
I took my two sheets and sat at the desk. For the next hour, we tried every basic code-breaking technique we knew. We looked for patterns, hexagons - and came up with nada, nothing.
Another hour later, I dropped my head into my hands. "This is impossible," I said, ready to scream in frustration. "This is probably a computerized code. If it is, we'll never break it."
"But isn't everything a test?" the Gasman asked, his small face tired. It was almost ten. I had to get these guys into bed. "Didn't Jeb tell you that everything is a test, back at the School, when we were rescuing Angel? So that would mean we're supposed to be able to break this somehow."
"I thought of that," I said. "That's what's so irritating. I've tried everything that would occur to me. So I guess I'm flunking this test."
A tap on my door interrupted us. The door opened a bit, and Anne poked her head around it.
"Hey, guys," she said with a smile. "Sleepy yet? Krystal? Want to get ready for bed?"
"Yep," said Nudge. "I'm beat."
Gazzy looked at me, and I nodded at him.
"Yeah," he told Anne. "We were just about to crash."
"Good," she said easily. "Anyone need anything? Before you crash?"
"No, we're fine," said Angel, following Anne out. They walked down the hall, and I heard Anne say, "Ariel, how about letting Total out one last time?"
"Okay," said Angel.
I stood in my room, feeling a little bad, feeling as if someone else was taking care of my flock.
Welcome to another day at Camp Agent!
To start, a hearty breakfast that Crater had made. That's because, on our first morning here, we had discovered that single-woman Anne Walker considered a protein bar and an orange-flavored sports drink to be an acceptable breakfast.
Which, if we were Dumpster diving or stealing from a 7-Eleven, would be great. But since we were in a seven-freaking-bedroom country chateau with a Sub-Zero fridge and Viking range at our disposal, it didn't cut it.
So it was massive infusions of scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, etc., for everyone. And I will admit, not out loud, of a kid who has never cooked a single meal in her life according to Crater herself she is an amazing cook.
Next, quaint housekeeping issues. Anne made each of us responsible for keeping our bedchambers tidy and worthy of a photo shoot. And here's what really ticked me off: The flock actually did it. Except for our favorite dog-o Crater who refused to even sleep on the bed. When Anne asked why she responded with this. In Italian, the language she used as her cover up that she explained to us one night.
"Il giorno in cui dormo in quel letto è il giorno in cui ho tagliato tutti i miei capelli, vivo sul pane di un mese e l'acqua di palude, l'adolescente che non ha-cresciuto-che-non può cucinare per sé!" As in 'The day i sleep in that bed is the day i cut off all my hair, live on month old bread and swamp water, miss-i'm-a-grown-adult-who-can't-cook-for-herself!' And that makes Crater my favorite Eraser-birdkid. The big old cinnamon roll tomato loving Italian dog-o.
But what set me off is that I had asked them a thousand times before to keep their rooms straight at home, when we had a home. Had they done it? No. However, they were all over the bed-making and shoe-lining-up situation here, for a stranger. Little buggers.
Then, rousing exercise in the country-fresh air. Flying, sparring, playing, swimming, horseback riding. For Crater running extremely quickly and flying. We would literally watch her as she competed against Total and Anne sheepdog for a tennis ball.
Lunch. Anne got the fine art of making sandwiches down to a science. Thanks to you-know-who.
Post-lunch rest, play, etc. Anne occasionally took us aside one by one and interviewed us, had us show her what we could do. She loved to watch us fly - made us feel like marvels, swooping around in the sky.
She would watch us for hours, with binoculars, and the look of wonder and delight on her face could be seen from two thousand feet away.
Dinner. Anne really tried. But this was a woman whose main source of nutritional comfort came in single-serve microwavable packages. After the first day, she'd gone shopping and brought home fifteen bags of groceries and a cookbook. With mixed results.
But you know what? The food was hot and someone was fixing it for us, which made it fabulous in my book.
After that first day, I tried to start getting the flock ready for bed before Anne could do it. It bothered me, her doing it. Taking over my role. I was still the leader. Soon Anne and her comfy house would be just a memory. Just like Jeb. Just like Dr. Martinez and Ella. Just like everything in our temporary lives.
One night after we'd been there almost two weeks, I was lying in bed listening to my favorite, favorite singer, Liam Rooney. Liam, Liam, you are my inspiration. The younger kids were already asleep. There was an almost silent tap on my door.
"Yeah?"
Fang came in. Crater was outside, saying she needed air.
"What's up?"
"Look." He put some of the coded sheets from the Institute on my lap, then hauled a big spiral-bound book onto the bed. He opened it up across my knees.
"I was looking at this stuff, going nuts, you know? And suddenly it looked like map coordinates."
I drew in a breath. As soon as he said that, I could see the possibility.
"This is a book of detailed street maps of Washington DC," he said. "I got it out of Anne's car. Look - each page is numbered, each map is numbered, each grid of each map is numbered. And look at this clump of stuff here, by Gazzy's name. Twenty-seven, eight, G nine.
"So I go to page twenty-seven, and it's a section of town, see?"
"Yeah," I breathed.
"This section has twelve smaller maps. I go to map eight." He turned pages. "Which is a blowup of one section. Then I go to column G and trace it down to row nine." His finger slowly moved down the map. "And it's a pretty specific little chunk of streets."
I looked at him. "Oh, my God," I said. "Did you try
any others?" He nodded. "This one by Nudge's name. Same thing - I actually end up with a real place." "You are so brilliant," 1 said, and he shrugged, looking almost embarrassed, except that Fang never gets embarrassed. "But I thought Nudge was pretty sure she'd found her parents in Arizona," I added.
He shrugged again. "I don't know. The woman we saw was black, but it wasn't like Nudge was a photocopy of her. You think this is worth checking out?"
"Absolutely," I said, swinging my legs out of bed. "Everyone else asleep?"
"Yeah. Including the Annemeister." "Okay. Gimme a minute to get some jeans on."
(Crater)
I saw Max and Fang fly off somewhere. I didn't follow. I was busy. These past few days were confusing. If you're wondering what I give you three words.
Iggy. Freaking. Ride.
That boy has me going crazy. I can't put my damn finger on it.
Like yesterday we were swimming and I took a small break and he sat with me the whole time but after being in the water for so long getting out just made him shiver. Then what he did next drive me insane. He hugged me. Straight out! Didn't say anything but "I'm cold." And he left me in a blubbering blushing mess.
What the hell is up with that boy?! One second he's like what happened at the lake the next he's all like, 'oh that happened...sorry.' And just shrugs it off! Then when we were horseback riding he's all like. "Hey watch where you're going!" As a joke and used this skill he has to make me feel all weird. I hate it!
...ah who am I kidding I love it. It's just so weird. I'm like reading okay, as an example, and he suddenly walks over and asks me what I'm doing and I say reading. He says 'read out loud.' And I do! No hesitation what so ever! I just say sure and do whatever he says! Heck, this one time again while swimming most of us were already changed but Iggy just freaking ugh! He just took off his shirt casually right in front of me like it was no big deal. Like 'Oh heeeeeeey!' And whatever. Then he keeps hanging out with me. Like 24/7! I'm sitting alone, BAM! Right there. Eating, BAM! Joins in! He does literally everything I do with me. Me of all people me!
I mean I love that he acknowledges me but still. He just UGH! I can't stop thinking about him! What is wrong with me?! Is this some skill I got?! I'm insane or something?! And another thing is whenever I look into those pale blue eyes of his. It's just sending me up to the 600th floor of the Empire State Building. And when he smiles! Kill me damn it!
Whenever I'm around him all I can do is stare at his eyes. Talk to him. I want to be with him like all the time but at the same time I don't wanna freak him out. I'm already a mistake. Maybe I should talk to someone in the morning about this. I flew back inside.
(Max)
"Bombs away!" the Gasman yelled, right over my head.
I looked up, startled, and saw Gazzy flying low over the pond. He tucked his wings in, curled into a ball, and dropped, cackling maniacally. I winced as he crashed into the water, sending up a huge craterlike wave.
Soon his blond head surfaced, a smile splitting his face. "Did you see that?" he crowed. "That was so awesome! I'm going to do it again!"
"Okay," I said, grinning. "Don't hurt yourself."
"And don't hurt me!" Nudge yelled as Gazzy clambered out of the water. "Watch where you drop! You almost landed on me!"
"Sorry," Gazzy said.
I was glad that he and Nudge weren't letting their disappointment get to them too much. Fang and I had told them about our fruitless search for our parents in the city. It had been one more false lead.
I typed in another command and shielded the screen so I could read it. Yes, this was the ticket, going wi-fi out
by the private pond. I'd pulled over an Adirondack chair and borrowed Anne's laptop, and I had lemonade close at hand. It was a tough life, but someone had to live it.
The search results popped up on the screen. I scanned them and frowned.
Ten kids had gone missing in the DC area in the last four months. Had whitecoats taken them, as fodder for their experiments? I could only imagine what the families were going through. What had happened when we had gone missing? Our parents had cared, hadn't they? They'd missed us, right?
Hmm. That was a thought. I typed in a new Google search.
Angel's head popped out of the water. "Max!" She'd been under about ten minutes. Even though I knew about her ability to breathe underwater, it still took all my self-control not to leap in after her when I didn't see her come up for a while.
"Yeah, sweetie?"
"What's the best way to catch a fish?"
I thought. "Well, I guess it depends on the kind of fish," I began.
"No, what's the best way to catch a fish?" Angel asked again.
Oh. "I don't know?" I said warily.
"Have someone throw it to you!" Angel laughed, I groaned, and, next to me, Total chuckled.
"Good one," he said, and I rolled my eyes, looking around for the voice-throwing Gasman.
Uh, but Gazzy was fifty feet in the air, dive-bombing the pond again.
Total trotted off, sniffing for rabbits, and I looked at Angel.
"Angel?"
"Yeah?" She looked up, all blue-eyed innocence.
I felt stupid, but... "Can Total, um, talk?"
"Uh-huh," Angel said casually, squeezing water out of her hair.
I stared at her. "He talks. Total talks, and you didn't tell me?"
"Well. . ." Angel looked for him, saw he was pretty far away, and lowered her voice. "Don't tell him I said this, but he's actually not that interesting."
I was nonplussed. My mouth was hanging open, and I shut it before I started catching flies. I turned to see the small dog trotting among the cattails and daylilies.
"Total?" I called. He looked up alertly, then ran over to me, small pink tongue hanging out.
"Total?" I said when he was close. "Can you talk?"
He flopped down on the grass, panting slightly. "Yeah. So?".
Jeezum. I mean, mutant weirdos are nothing new to me, you know? But a talking dog?
"Why didn't you mention this before?" I asked him.
"It's not like I lied about it," said Total, reaching up with a hind leg to scratch behind one ear. "Between you and me, I'm still trying to get used to the whole flying-kid thing. Besides, you guys are fine with Crater over there." He pointed to our cinnamon roll Italian who was pacing around and around while muttering to herself.
That night I was lying awake in "my" bed, watching the moonlight create shadows on "my" walls, so I heard the door open almost silently.
"Max?" Angel's whisper barely disturbed the air.
I sat up. "Yeah, sweetie?"
"I can't sleep. Can I go fly around?" she asked.
I glanced at the clock. Almost midnight. The house was quiet and still. Except for the soft footsteps padding down the hall.
The Gasman put his head around my door.
"Max? I can't sleep."
"Okay, put your clothes on. Let's go take advantage of the wide-open spaces." I heard a happy little whimper and we all looked over at Crater's corner. There stood a big fluffy dog. I turned to Angel. "You didn't happen to get another dog did you?" She shook her head.
The dog before us was dark brown with intelligent blue eyes, I just noticed the black band around its neck and the clothes that belong to the roll to the side. I approached it slowly. "Here uh, doggy." I made a whistling noise and it frowned.
Angel gasped and whispered in my ear. "Max...that's Crater." Iggy looked like he was dying of laughter. "T-that's Crater." He said between giggles. "Crater is a dog!" Angel hit his arm. Crater barked. Total translated. "Oh, she speaks Italian in dog too, she says 'Tu chiudi il tuo yap proprio ora, signore! Il suo non come ho scelto di improvvisamente e rudely svegliarsi così! Ora veniamo qui, in modo che ti possa strappare in piccoli pezzi, trasformare questi pezzi in cannoli e nutrirmi di quei cannoli a cui vado mai in Hunter!' or 'You close your yap right now, sir! It's not like I chose to suddenly and rudely wake up like this! Now come over here, so that I can tear you in small pieces, turn these pieces into cannoli and feed on those cannolis when I ever go to Hunter!'" we all just nodded and slowly Crater turned back and left to the bathroom to put her clothes back on.
In the end, we all went, including Total.
"I love flying!" he said, leaping into Iggy's arms. "Just don't drop me."
It was glorious. Out here in the country, there were few lights, no planes, and, so far, no Erasers.
The air was crisp and cool, near forty degrees, and felt like liquid oxygen in our lungs. I swooped in huge arcs, catching wind currents, coasting, feeling almost weightless. It was times like this that I felt the calmest, the most normal. As if I were just a normal part of the world and I actually fit into it.
You do fit into it, Max said the Voice. You're part of everything, and everything is part of you. Everything should flow together. The more you resist, the more pain you'll feel. The more you go with the flow, the more whole you'll be.
I frowned. Was that a bumper sticker?
Don't resist the flow, Max said the Voice. Become one with the flow.
Well, since I didn't have a single freaking clue about what that meant, I decided to go with the airflow right now and enjoy myself.
"Look, bats!" said Nudge.
As soon as I looked, I saw them, hundreds, if not thousands, of fluttering bats. They swept jerkily among the trees, odd little black quotation marks against the deep purple night sky. We'd flown with hawks before, but not bats.
"Hey, they're mammals, like we are," I said. Were they more like us than birds? Well, not the whole eating-insects thing.
"My ears hurt," Total complained.
"It's their echolocation," I heard Iggy explain. "It's way cool. Now be quiet, I'm trying to concentrate."
Total huffed and settled down.
Nudge, Angel, and I swung into a circle, each keeping one wingtip touching the others', and flew around like feathered spokes on a wheel.
Then Gazzy came up and whapped Nudge on the back with one wing. "You're it!" he cried and darted away.
Fang was up high, doing steep circling moves, banking, practicing the techniques he'd learned from the hawks out west. It was hard to see him - except when he passed in front of the moon.
Then all at once, I felt the all-too-familiar rush of heat flooding me, washing my face with fire. I began breathing fast, the adrenaline jump-starting my heart. Quickly I put my hand up to my face, hoping I didn't look like an Eraser now, in front of the others.
The next thing I knew, I was streaking into the sky like a rocket, my hair streaming in back of me, wind stinging my eyes. I was going incredibly fast, and I could hardly feel my wings moving. Oh, my God, what is this? I thought, seeing the earth blur beneath me.
The flock and I could keep up a steady pace of eighty miles an hour with no effort and could sprint at a hundred and twenty. Dive-bombing, we'd hit speeds of a hundred and eighty.
I was going way faster than that now, straight out, by myself.
It so totally rocked.
A giddy joy rose up in me, but my laugh was snatched away, left far behind me as I shot into the night. Eventually, I came back to myself, felt myself slowing.
I wasn't even breathing hard. Laughing again, I turned and headed back toward Anne's house. I figured I'd gone about... thirty miles.
The flock was where I'd left them. I saw them long before they saw me.
I slowed and coasted up to them. Six faces turned toward me, looking stunned. Seven, if you count Total.
The Gasman was the first to speak. "You have warp drive," he said faintly.
"I want to ride with you," Total said, trying to escape Iggy's hold.
I laughed and held my arms out, and he leaped into them. In his excitement, he licked my neck, which I could have lived without, but whatever.
"What was that, Max?" Angel asked, wide-eyed.
"I think I just developed a new skill," I said, grinning big.
(Ari)
Take! Crack. That! Crack. Max! Crack.
So Max could fly at the speed of light, eh? Snarling, Ari leaped forward again, smashing the bo across his opponent's back. The heavy wooden stick, taller than he and as thick around as his wrist, made a dull, sickening thud.
The Eraser dropped to the mat and lay there, groaning thinly.
"Next! " Ari growled.
Another member of his team morphed and sprang into the circle with him, his own bo at the ready. Ari went into attack mode, the blows of the heavy staff sending shock waves up his arms.
He had clocked Max at more than two hundred miles an hour. He'd also seen the delight on her face, seen her hair whipping around her head like a halo.
Jeb just kept giving the flock more gifts. And what had he given Ari? Unnatural, painful, heavy wings. He'd thought he wanted to fly, to be more like the flock. But having wings grafted onto an Eraser's body wasn't even close to what the flock had. Gall rose in Ari's throat, burning him, and with a roar, he smashed his bo down on the other Eraser's head.
He would do that to Max, he thought. She was fourteen, and he was only seven, but he was three times as big as she was. He had huge muscles and a wolf's power - a wolf's nature too.
Jeb had said it was necessary. Jeb had said to trust him. And look where that had gotten him. He had huge painful wings. And Max was still laughing at him. Well, those days were over.
Soon he would be the golden boy, and Max would be a distant memory of an experiment gone bad.
It had been approved by the higher-ups.
It was a done deal.
"Next victim!"
(Max)
The first two addresses in Washington hadn't panned out, but Fang's map code was still the only thing we'd been able to come up with. And we had found that photo of the Gasman at the second address. At least, I was pretty sure it was Gazzy. So maybe it hadn't been a complete waste.
At any rate, we had two more addresses to check out. No information about me or my possible parents had turned up yet. I tried not to mind.
"Wait, Total!" I said as I pulled on my new jacket. It had big hidden slits for my wings, and I wondered where Anne had gotten it. Bird Kids "R" Us? Total kept trying to leap into my arms, determined not to be left behind.
"Total? Maybe it would be better if you stayed home," I said, zipping up. "You know, maybe guard the house or something."
Total stood still and looked at me. "That is so condescending," he said.
Angel went and put her arms around him. "She just meant because, you know, you're so fierce and stuff, and have great hearing and those big teeth," she said soothingly.
Inwardly I rolled my eyes. "Yeah - not just because you're a dog or anything." Crater hit me in the back of my head. Oh, right. What happened before we left.
Total sat down, looking just as stubborn as Gazzy did sometimes. "I want to go with."
Fang smirked at me over Total's head. I breathed out heavily.
"Fine," I said tightly, and Total leaped into my arms and licked my cheek. I was gonna have to talk to him about that.
Five minutes later we were airborne and headed to DC.
"So, Angel?" I said, looking over at her. She was gliding through the night sky, her eight-foot white wings looking like a dove's. "Have you picked up anything from Anne, about anything? Anything off?"
"Not really." Angel thought. "From what I can tell, she does work for the FBI. She does care about us and wants us to be happy. She thinks the boys are slobs."
"I'm blind," Iggy said irritably. "How am I supposed to make everything all tidy?"
"Yeah, because you're so handicapped," I said sarcastically. "Like - you can't build bombs or cook or win at Monopoly. You can't tell us all apart by the feel of our skin or feathers."
Gazzy giggled next to Iggy, and Iggy frowned. I turned back to Angel. "Anything else?"
"There is something she isn't telling us," Angel said slowly. "But I don't know what it is. It's not even clear in her mind. Just something that's going to happen."
All my senses went on alert. "Like what? Is she going to turn us over to the whitecoats?"
"I'm not sure she even knows what whitecoats are," said Angel. "I don't know that it's something bad. It could be, like - she's going to take us to the circus or something."
"Wouldn't that be redundant?" Fang muttered.
"Hmm. Well," I said. "I know how easy it's been to relax there, guys. But let's try to keep on guard, okay?"
"Okay," Angel said.
"I'm chilly," said Total.
My eyes narrowed.
Angel smiled at me.
"You're wearing a fur coat," I pointed out.
"It's chilly up here."
I gritted my teeth, I handed him to Crater. His eyes widened and then he looked totally relaxed. She stuffed him in her hoodie and his head stuck out from the neck.
"Much better," he said happily.
"Yo - first address is down there," said Fang, pointing. "Showtime."
"Maybe her dad was a barber?" Nudge said.
I looked over at Fang. This was the address that had been closest to his name, the address where his mom had supposedly lived. We thought she'd been a single mom, a teenager, and that she'd given Fang up for adoption. But like the first two addresses, this was a bust - a barbershop in the shadow of an office building-Fang shrugged, looking unconcerned. But I knew him, and the stiff set of his jaw.
I saw Crater stiffen, looking at the place like she's seen it before. She glanced over at Fang and tears welled in her eyes. She reached out for him but he had turned around and she let her arm go limp by her side.
"I'm sorry," I said softly. For just a moment, he met my gaze, and I saw his emotion. Then his eyes went flat again.
"No big. Didn't think it would add up to anything anyway," he said. "It's probably more wasting of our time, but should we check out this last one?"
"Yes," said Iggy. It was the address next to his name. "Okay, let's go," said Fang, and he took off, not turning to see if we were following.
"He's really upset," Angel whispered to me, as Nudge and Gazzy leaped into the air.
"I know, sweetie," I whispered back.
"I don't care where I came from," Angel said earnestly, looking into my eyes. "Wherever I came from, I don't want to go back. Not if you can't come too."
I kissed her forehead. "We'll deal with that if and when it happens," I said. "But right now, let's catch up to everyone else."
"Hang on," said Total, trotting over to a fire hydrant. "Potty break."
"Are there apartments on top of the stores?" Iggy asked, his feelings written all over his face.
"No." I heaved a sigh. Iggy's coded address had turned out to be an Asian food store in a little strip mall.
"What's across the street?" Iggy asked.
"A used-car lot," I said. "I'm sorry, Ig."
"It's my fault, guys," said Fang. "I thought I'd cracked the code, but obviously I was totally off my gourd."
"Well, if you were wrong," Nudge said, "then we don't have to be disappointed, right? It just means we still don't know."
"Yeah, that's right, Nudge," I said, thankful that she was taking it so well.
"This sucks!" Iggy shouted suddenly, his voice echoing off the glass storefronts. He punched a telephone pole in front of him, hitting it accurately. He winced, and I saw the scraped skin and bloody knuckles.
"I'm sorry, Ig -," I began.
"I don't care if you're sorry!" Iggy shouted at me. "Everyone's sorry! That doesn't matter! What matters is that we find where we belong!" He walked angrily away from us, his boots kicking up stones in the parking lot. "I mean, I just can't take this anymore!" he yelled, waving his arms and heading back to us. "I need some answers! We can't just keep on wandering from place to place, always on the run, always hunted..." His voice broke, and we all looked at him in shock. Iggy hardly ever cried.
I went over and tried to put my arms around him, but he pushed me away.
"We all want answers, Iggy," I said. "We all feel lost sometimes. It's just -we have to stick together. We won't stop looking for your parents, I swear."
"It's different for you," Iggy said, his voice quieter but bitter. "You don't know what it's like. Yeah, I make jokes, I'm the blind kid - but don't you see? Every time we move on, I'm lost all over again. You guys - it's so much easier for you. Even your lost isn't as bad as my lost, you know?"
I'd never heard Iggy admit to feeling scared or vulnerable.
"We're your eyes, Iggy," said the Gasman, sounding small and anxious. "You don't need to see when you've got us."
"Yeah, but I won't always have you!" Iggy said, his voice rising till he was shouting again. "What happens if you get killed? Of course I need to see, you idiot! I remember seeing! I know what it's like! I don't have it anymore, and I won't ever have it again. And someday I'm going to lose you, lose all of you - and when that happens, I'll lose ... myself."
His face was contorted with rage, and he swept one hand down and picked up a chunk of asphalt. Whirling, he threw it hard against a storefront, where it shattered a big plate-glass window. Immediately alarms went off. Crater stiffened. She whirled around to face Iggy.
"Dude what the hell?!" She cried out, her eyes darting back and forth in fear. "Uh-oh," Iggy muttered.
"Let's split," Fang said. Angel, the Gasman, and Nudge took off. Total jumped up into my arms, and I zipped him into my jacket.
"No," said Iggy, and I skidded to a halt.
"What? Come on, Iggy," I said. "The alarm's going off."
"I know. I'm not deaf too," Iggy said bitterly. "I don't care. Let them find me, take me now. It doesn't matter. Nothing matters."
And, to my horror, he sat down on the curb. I heard police car sirens wailing toward us. Crater froze. Horror was written all over her face.
"Iggy, let's go, get up," Fang said.
"Give me one good reason," Iggy said, dropping his head into his hands. Crater marched over before I could and grabbed his hands sinking down so she was at eye-level with him. She hugged him and spoke quietly and quickly.
"Ascoltami Iggy, lo so come sia. E mi dispiace che hai perso la vista. Se riuscissi a trovare i tuoi genitori o qualcosa che ti farà sorridere, lo farò se mi avrebbe ucciso. Mi dispiace che tu sia cacciato dal mio disgustoso genere, ma se ti fa sentire meglio ... tu non sei solo un cazzo cieco. Tu sei il mio mostro mutante mutante." Somehow we all understood her this time.
"Listen to me Iggy, I know what it's like. And I'm sorry you lost your sight. If I could find your parents or anything that would make you smile again I would do it if it killed me. I'm sorry your being hunted by my disgusting kind but if it makes you feel better...you're not just any blind bird-kid. You're my blind mutant freak."
And admittingly I did not see what would happen next. Because with Crater you just don't. She kissed him. Right on the lips. Like right there. This time we were all present. Nudge and Angel exchanged money, Fang looked surprised which surprised me even more. Gazzy just stood there.
She backed off first and butted her forehead against his. "Now get up before I have to fly your unconscious dead body back or worse! I'll make you into an ugly cannoli!" She threatened and Iggy got up still dazed. "W-Well when you put threats like that." He touched his lips and Crater grabbed his hand and together we all flew back to Anne's house.
Not a word was spoken between us.