CHAPTER 5

We carefully stole into the lab, shutting the doors behind us. Ari handed us a few files. "Look through them. I'll check the computer."

We began our search. I knew the information was nearby, or we knocked out fifteen whitecoats for nothing. I cast the unconscious pile a glance before returning back to the search

Angel held up a small file stamped with a rubber stamp that blared TOP SECRET like you couldn't tell from the sealed envelope and the School's logo on the front. "It's in Arizona!"

"Really?" Fang retrieved the files from her and began leafing through them. A look of complete shock and sick humor appeared on his face and he cast me a glance.

Oh, boy. This was gonna be good. Better hold onto my socks…

"They're in a place commonly known as Area 51."

Big whoop. Should've seen that coming,

"Where is it?" I pressed. "The sky? Underground? Floating? Space? It'll just add to the whole mysterious, 'fake until recently Area 51' thing."

"They're underground." Fang said. "Give me a minuet…I think I found where they're located."

There was a furious banging coming from one of the doors. "Angela! You in here?" Came a voice.

"Yeah!" Gazzy said in a high-pitched voice. "One second…"

"We don't have all day, Fang!" I hissed.

"I found it." Ari said softly. "The latitude and longitude."

"Write it down or something! We've got to bolt!" Sonic pointed to the pile of unconscious scientists. "They're waking up and someone wants in here!"

Ari scribbled down something on a piece of paper and threw it at me. I tucked it into my pocket and gathered everyone close. "Ok, plan is to escape here and make our way to Arizona. Get ready…"

Ari tore open the door and we quite literally ran over the scientist waiting for us. Another at the end of the hall turned and ran, probably for backup. We darted down the halls, finally coming to the dead end that would lead us to freedom. Shadow activated it and the platform began to move.

It swung into the wall into complete darkness…and began to head up. Just when I could see the tops of the trees, it jolted to a stop and the sound of ripping metal was heard.

I barely moved my arm out of the way before the claws ripped through the platform's walls. An Eraser was trying to stop us.

"Everyone quick!" I shouted, shoving Angel towards the exit that would barely be big enough for her. "Squeeze through!"

Angel struggled through and pulled Gazzy after her. I turned, now that I had enough room, and slammed my fist on the Eraser's paw. It bought us some more time, but it wouldn't last forever.

"Max, come on!" Fang grabbed the back of my collar and started to pull me through the gap. At first, I thought I wasn't going to clear it. But I did, after a bit of thrashing around and a couple bruises that would be popping up in the next few days.

I reached down and pulled Sonic and Shadow up, leaving Ari. He just stared at me…there was no way his huge body would fit through this small space.

"Get to Arizona! Quickly!" He hissed.

I nodded, turned, grabbed Shadow, and lifted off. The others were close behind. As we were flitting away, I heard the final shards of metal being ripped away and the growls and snarls of Erasers as they fought each other.

I'm sorry, Ari… I thought to myself.

Don't be. He granted you freedom and knowledge. Use it to rescue your friend. You are going to need it…my best advice would be to stay on course. The Voice said.

Two things now worried me; One: Ari may quite possibly be seriously wounded and who knows what might happen to him. Two: The Voice had just offered me direct advice.

Something told me Silver was in deep trouble.

XxXxXxXx

Silver came to and realized that the burning stakes weren't stakes at all. He had simply been placed on a table…but the simple feeling of the tabletop had interfered with his senses. Wherever he had been before…in the tank…it had done something to him.

The pain in his leg was still incredibly intense, but it came in throbs. He knew it was broken…possibly in multiple places. He didn't move for fear of hurting himself more, instead searching for an aura of any sort.

No one was around. Perhaps his telepathy had been dulled…

He opened his eyes slightly, seeing nothing but the solid white wall. He was lying on his side, injured leg protruding at a crude angle near the edge of the table, despite the thick bandaging. Silver shuddered, partly because of the pain and partly because of how weak he felt. He was suddenly very grateful for the thin blanket that was spread over him. Without it he would have been shaking uncontrollably.

The rest of the room— as far as he could tell—was as cold and white as the one wall he was seeing. There wasn't another single piece of furniture or equipment anywhere. Completely bare. Silver buried his head under the blanket and tried to go back to sleep.

Before long he was startled awake again, this time by a man wearing light green surgical scrubs pushing a small cart that was filled with many operating knives and pieces of equipment. Fear shot through Silver's mind and he tried to push himself off the table and crawl to the door. The lightning-like pain in his leg kept him from moving an inch.

"It's all right," The man said. "You've woken up quite early, though. It's only been a week since they drained your energy for the first time. We weren't planning to set your bone in place for a while yet…but seeing that you're already up…" He sighed. "We'll get this done as quickly as we can."

He pulled on a pair of skintight blue surgical gloves, noticing Silver's terrified expression. "I don't know what they did to you in the Institute, but we're going to let you recover. We'll put you out for this operation…you won't feel a thing. I promise."

Another doctor walked into the room, this one a young woman. Just from her aura, Silver knew he liked her immeadentally. Her aura was caring, calm…so different from the other scientists he had seen earlier. Even the man next to him was slightly unsettling, partly because he couldn't find a trace of an aura.

The man injected something light blue into his arm. "We'll make this quick, all right?"

Silver nodded, his eyes already growing heavy. Before he knew it, he was deeply asleep again, lost in a random assortment of dreams.

XxXxXxXx

And so our epic flying adventure came to a close.

It had taken us three days to find the right route to Arizona. It took us another two to find an abandoned area where a secret military lab could be around the latitude and longitude coordinates we had found. It took us the rest of the week to find a good source of food and water so we could stay alive in this weird place. But still, we were starving and really quite lost.

"Why can't there be a sign that says, 'This way to Area 51'?" Nudge growled. Her stomach echoed back. "I mean…this is really getting on my nerves!"

"MAX! MAX! I FOUND A COOKIE!" Gazzy cheered, holding up a beautifully preserved cookie in a plastic wrap. Dumpster diving really paid off in the end.

Unfortunately, he shoved the entire thing in his mouth and 'passed out' from the overdose of chocolate.

"Chocolate does that to him." I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, I wanted that!" Iggy hissed.

While they were yelling at each other, I scanned the hot desert landscape once again, still not seeing anything that jumped out at me after the ninth time. This was beginning to look hopeless; the Voice hadn't spoken a single word to me since we escaped the School. Everything about this place screamed, 'it's a trap!'.

"We'll find him," Angel said, coming up on my left side. "I know he's close."

Before long, darkness began to fall. The air cooled and we started a pitiful fire, but it was enough to keep the cold out of our bones.

"Hey…hey, Max!"

Before I knew it, I was being roughly nudged by Nudge, who had a mixture of fear and excitement on her face. "Look over there!"

I squinted where she was pointing, seeing a small pinprick of light on the outskirts of the giant flat desert thing we were in. As I watched, it grew brighter and then faded away again…almost as if someone had opened a door…

"We're going over there." I decided. "Wake the others."

XxXxXxXx