I know it's been a long, long time since I've updated and I'm really sorry for the delay. I honestly had so many ideas and no definite way to go. Really, the hardest question was whether or not Max should have really lost her memories. Should she remember Fang and her flock at all? And how exactly should they escape? Really, these sort of stumped me for so time and I'm still confused. I'm just going to see where this goes. I really hope you all like it. I think I owe it to you since I've been gone for such a long time...

I've even changed my username since I've updated this.


Chapter Six: Escape

I let my eyes wonder over to the heavy metal door only thirty or so feet away from where I crouched, trying to break the lock without making too much noise. Me getting out was just a large stroke of luck. Who would have known that a white-coat was stupid enough to leave the cage door of a recently mutated (even more so now, with the wolf in me) girl completely unlocked. True, a very serious sounding alarm had been set off some distance away, but that wasn't my concern.

My concern was getting Ari out of his cage.

"Ari?" I asked as quietly as I could, hoping the small, wide-eyed boy was brave enough to do this. "Do you remember anything else?" It had been nearly a week since our operation, and our memories were still clouded. Ari never regained anymore than the ones he'd informed me of that faithful day. I'd taken to being called Max, since it was the most natural.

Despite being under some heavy drugs, I was fairly sure one of the white-coats that had operated on me called me that name.

He shook her his head, also driving away the tired look in his intelligent eyes. "No. I'm sorry Max."

I waved away his apology. "I didn't think you would anyway--Yes!" I cheered, but quieted down soon after. The lock fell apart in my small hands, so I set the pieces down on the floor, helping Ari stand up and brush off some dirt that had found its way onto our clothes.

"You did it!" He whispered, excited.

"Yeah, but how do we get out of here? This place is a fortress."

Ari smiled, a seven year old look of mischief on his small face. "I know the way out--in the halls. They didn't mean to let me see, but I did anyway." He held himself in a proud manner and I laughed, cuffing him gently.

"And it's night. They had to get rid of some of their night guards because they tried to help us. They wouldn't have hired any yet, would they?" I responded to his seven year old humor with only thoughtfulness. If I keep this up, I'm going to start to scare myself.

"Uh-uh." He shook his head in a negative manner. "I remember someone saying it to me once. I think one of the white-coats. Dunno."

"Thanks Ari. How about we be quiet now so we can get out effectively?" I helped him up brushing the dust from his clothes, smiling gently. In human form, he looked like his ordinary cute self, but I still maintained my wings. They were my only memories. Mutant. That's all I was to these people. A freak.

A test.

Unfortunately for them, I was a very smart, very pissed mutant freak who was planning on kicking some white-coat butt once we were free and on the run.

Figuring out the fortress was no problem at all with Ari there to help me. He had an amazing memory, which is probably the reason why he's regaining his past while I remain as amnesic as ever.

The halls of the School were oddly quite. Usually, guards would be paired up in every corridor, pacing back and forth to make sure none of us avians could possible escape. Every once in awhile, the distant sound of an electric door opening and shutting reached the area where Ari and I crouched in the darkness of a corner.

Since a number of the guards had been fired for unknown reasons in the last two days, we were virtually alone other than the very few guards remaining and a dozen or so white-coats who worked during the night. I motioned quietly for Ari to follow me and he did. There was no time to joke right now—not when our lives depended on this escape. If we were caught, Ari would be given a second chance, but in a white-coats eyes, I was old enough to know better. This time I would die. I was prepared to risk it all for this. Dude, Fang is right; I do sound like an overprotective mother.

We passed four or five doors before my oversensitive ears picked up the sounds of breathing—deep breathing. Not awake breathing, but sleeping breathing. Oh yes, Max. That sounded so intelligent.

"There's someone sleeping in there." Ari whispered in a dead silent tone and I nodded as I dropped into a crouch again, pressing my ear against the sealed door. Ari followed, looking with wide eyes at my face as we waited. "White-coats aren't allowed to sleep in their job. They aren't 'llowed at all, 'r else they'll be fired."

"I know, Ari." And I did. Over the week, I'd learned quite a few things, or at least, I relearned them. This memory-loss thing is really starting to tick me off. Why did this have to happen to me? This is a lucky life I've got here, ya know. Really lucky.

And yes, that was sarcasm.

"It's not white-coats."

I could tell that too, but I wasn't prepared to say anything aloud just yet. My voice tends to carry, especially when I'm angry. And angry would be awfully mild for the feelings I have right now. Those white-coats had better stay away right now if they know what's best for them.

As I sat there for a few more seconds, I suddenly was overcame, voices speaking softly in my ear. My first thought was to tell them to bug off, but then I realized this was not just any voice, but voices from my memory somewhere.

It's the only way we have any chance.

Please--don't ever come back for me. I'll manage. Promise me

I promise

But then the voices changed to slightly less familiar voice, but I could still feel the fact that I knew who was saying the words, and I cared for them, even if it was just a little.

No, Max. Please don't.

You're not going to sacrifice yourself for us.

They'll come today.

Why aren't you screaming...

There were more, like me. I couldn't distinguish anything else other than that, but I knew. It was like a gut feeling, pounding through me. I just knew.

"Ari, don't talk, just listen to me." I took a deep breath, a cool expression unsuccessfully adopted from Fang made up her features. "You have to stay out here. I'm going in. I think there are more like what I am—I mean, what I used to be before I was a Eraser. If there are, I need to get them out. I think...I think I promised them." Ari's eyes widened more than they were before, if that was even possible. "If you hear me shout, get outta here, okay? You know the way."

He stood to his full height, and stepped farther back into the shadows, barely visible only a moment later. His soft voice reassured me before I pushed the door open without a sound. "I will."

The room was small, yet light because of a small light bulb hanging from the middle of the ceiling. A row of cages were stacked against the far side, and the sparse light showed to silhouettes of five sleeping figures. Once again, I got the feeling of knowing this place, and these unrightfully imprisoned people.

One of them, a boy with piercing blue eyes sat up, fully alert and we stared at each other for a few seconds. Slightly annoyed by yet another returning feeling of remembrance, I pushed it away, waiting for the boy to talk. Talk he did.

"Max?"

I kept my eyes locked carefully on his, shaking my head light. So, my name really was Max. At least there was no doubt in that. " I don't know."

Walls immediately went up around his eyes and mistrust shone in them. I had a remarkable intuition that the look wasn't rare. " What do you mean, you don't know. You spent awhile with my flock here."

"I'm sorry," I whispered, my voice not sounding that at all. Well, can you blame me. It really wasn't my fault. It was those stupid, dratted... "Look, I can't remember anything right now, okay? I woke up after some sort of huge expirement that morphed me genes more than they already are and my memory is just gone. I just remembered that something was here and I needed to help them. So, are you coming or not?"

"Where?" His tone was practically engulfed by flames. He sounded so bitter, so full of hate.

"I'm getting out of here. It's a vulnerable time for the white-coats. I promised to help you, didn't I? I can't remember it, but I know I did."

"You did, but that's supposed to be years in the future."

"Too bad; we're going now."

"You really don't remember anything, do you Max?" I stayed silent, edgy and about ready to explode. Any minute now, the white-coats would check my cage. Once they saw I was gone that heart-wrenching alarm would sound it's shrill call out for miles. " We never planned what to do about Azura's problem. She's afraid of her wings." He said it in a tone that suggested I should already know this.

I didn't know that, you flippin' birdbrain. I lost all my memory. I didn't even know my name let alone how one of your flock is afraid of her own wings. I don't mean to sound harsh or anything, but come on! How was I honestly supposed to know that?

It only took me a second to think of a solution. Hey, I'm the absolute master of strategy. " Take off your shift." He did an amazing imitation of Ari's expression only a few minutes before.

"What? Why?"

I rolled my eyes, motioning for him to hurry up. "Don't be such a baby. I'll get you all unlocked, then we can fold your shirt up and use it as a blindfold for Azura. She can't panic is she can't see any of our wings. You can carry her when we fly."

"And Daela?"

I sent him a look asking, and what about her? Once again, relearning all this was starting to bug me.

"She won't talk; won't move."

"Will she fly?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. I think she'll recover once we get out of here."

"Look, umm, well, your name doesn't matter right now. I'm going to go different ways once we're out. Head to the desert, they won't look for you out there."

"Why--"

"I'll slow you down. I have no memory and I'm going to need to go my own way to have the possibility at gaining any of it back. No hard feelings, but I can't help you past opening these cages for your flock. As soon as that's done and we're away from the School, there isn't a thing I can do for you. After being here for all these years, freedom should be easy for you accept, as long as you let yourself."

"You're a weird one, Max."

I smiled softly, breaking the lock to his cage as quietly as I could. I went to the next one and broke that one too. Slowly I went around to all of them. A firm belief held me in this room. I would do this right. "I have this odd feeling I've been told that more than once." I cracked the locked to Daela's cage and took the all-too-skinny eight year old in my arms."I'll carry her out."

He made a brief sound of protest when we emerged into the hall and say Ari, but I stared him down. "He comes too, otherwise you can go put yourselves back in those cages."

Our group barely made it to the cover of woods where we were about to take off when a loud alarm rang from the School, and the doors flew open, a dozen primitive Erasers bursting through, sadistic grins of their wolf-ish faces.


Review Responses

(6)

Broadway2B- Thanks. And so, here's some more!

-Hehe. I updated. Really sorry 'bout the long wait. I had absolutely no clue what to do and I really want to make this as original as possible, but it's just not working out for me. Hopefully I'll get some ideas soon. I'm basing the newish Max off my best friend and has yet to give me any good ideas

Now Look What We've Come To- I know. I was kinda shocked at myself as I wrote this. I can see her as one though, as long as she's nicer than the others. And I made Ari nice too. He didn't deserve to die at the end of the third book. Err, you have read that right :)

philosophykiller- You're welcome. Yeah, I reread it right now, but it was meant to be that way, so whatever.

Veront Ilinae- Yep, I've decided to make her loose her memory (can't tell you for how long) Poor, Max... Ahh, I should be getting to the action soon, but I'm not really sure. I totally had no idea even how to make her and Ari escape. That's really why this chapter took so long for me to finally update. I don't even know how long it's been.

bookluvrxoxo- I know I am, but it's so fun. Are you evil? You should be, ya know. People who aren't just don't understand the true meaning of fun. What's there to live for if you're not evil?