A/N There are a couple of things I would like to say before I start. First of all is iluvuzuzu question about whether there will be any Fax. The answer is that there will be, but that's still coming up. The second thing I would like to say is to say thanks to MaxRideObsessed. Due to a conversation we had the other day, I thought up something really interesting that I'm going to add in later chapters. THANKS!! Also thanks to all reviewers.
Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.
Chapter VI: Prisoners
Max POV
I woke with tears streaming down my face. After so many years of repressing my memories. That memory, it came back. When was the last time I had cried? It's been so long.
"Stop feeling sorry for yourself Max," came the Voice, "You did what had to be done. There was nothing else you could do." I just ignored him. Wiping away the tears I stood up and gazed out the tunnel. The final flickers of light faded. It was still raining, but it seemed as if it was about to stop. Unconsciously, I gazed over at Ophius making sure he was fine. What do wolfs dream about? Hunting rabbits probably. I reached in to my pocket and drew out a lighter. It was Iggy's lighter. I lit it and stared at it watching it as it flickered.
Angel kept close to me, her small hand in mine, as we stood among the crowd. We were enogh on the edge that we avoided the sardine effect of the people closer to the stage. I think we all would have freaked out if we'd been that hemmed in, that unable to move. Iggy put the Gasman on his shoulders and gave him his lighter to him. The Gasman swayed in time with the music, holding the lighter high.
Once he looked down at me and his face was so full of happiness I almost stared crying. How often had I seen him look like that? Like, twice? In eight years?
The fire continued to dance as I gazed at it. I shock my head from side to side trying to clear my mind. No matter how much I hated them, the memories always changed my mind. I wanted to kill them, they had betrayed me… didn't they? Angel, Gazzy, Nudge, Iggy and Fang. They had all betrayed me… right? I snap shut the lighter and closed my eyes trying to concentrate, call on all of my hate. Hate is a dangerous thing, if one is not careful, it could consume a person. In my case, Eraser Max could take over, but she was stuck in my memories for now. I could feel the anger surge through me, it gave me new life. I stood there gazing out for a couple of seconds as the final drops of rain landed. Now it was the silence's domain. Stepping over, I prodded Ophius. When he didn't react, I pushed him with more force. Still no reaction. Curling my hand in to a fist, I punched his noise. His eyes snapped open. The next thing I know, I was on the ground with Ophius on top of me, claws drawing bllod from my throat.
"(;./" he swore, "Don't you ever do that again. I almost killed you." Getting off me, he walked over towards the exit. "How long has it stopped raining?" he asked me.
"A couple of minutes," I replied.
"We'll wait a while." Walking over, he pulled out a plastic bag with food in it. "In the meantime we'll eat."
"Shouldn't we leave?" I asked him taking a bite. "We are on a time limit here… aren't we?"
"We are," he replied, "But there's still rain on the ground and the winds still pretty strong. We'll have to wait for the rain to dry slightly. That way if we slip, we won't miss body parts." I nodded, it made sense after all.
Ophius jumped out the entrance and landed softly on his feet without making a sound. I swear he has cat's genes somewhere. Mimicking him, I jumped out and landed with an uncharacteristic thud as the wind blew against me. Stumbling, I managed to regain my balance before I lost any more dignity. Leaning heavily against the wind, I was able to walk up right. Thunder cracked above us. A bolt of lightning sparked right next to me. I jumped back startled.
"Are you sure it's safe?" I called after him. My words were snatched away from by the wind.
"It's perfectly fine, it shouldn't rain for a couple more days," came the confident response. "However I do suggest you take off any metal." His voice sounded distant and I wasn't too sure about what he had actually said.
"What is this storm?" I asked my Voice as seen as I probably wouldn't be able Ophius' reply.
"It's a normal storm," replied the Voice. As usual he was no help at all.
"I mean why is the storm like this?" I asked him. Thanks to my lack of concentration, I slipped and fell over just missing a puddle of water.
"You can thank Global Warming," he replied. "Storms are so bad now that lightning strikes have gone up. Natural disasters are over double what they used to be in amount and intensity." I nodded my head and thanked him. I spent all of my concentration on following Ophius and where to place my foot. He seemed to be moving without much difficulty. At least less difficulty than I was having.
The sound of a scream rose above the howling wind. A second one joined the first. Then another and another. It was coming from my right. I glanced at Ophius. He wasn't making any move to change direction. Running low to the ground, I managed to make it to his side without any major incident.
"Did you hear them?" I yelled in his ear. He just ignored me. I grabbed a fistful of his fur and pulled him to a halt. "We have to help them!!" I screamed at him. He just gave me an icy stare. Before he had time to answer, I ran up the slope and gazed out. A long line of horses and carriages lined the road below. Unlike the others, it was still serviceable.
"We are doing no such thing," he replied. His words barely registered. The cages were filled with people. Normal human people. The were chained together and I would often see three people shoved in a single cage. A cage designed for one person. More accurately, one animal. As they passed under the ledge we rested on, I could smell an odor creeping up. I turned my head and spilled my breakfast on to the ground.
"We have to save them," I told him sternly.
"No we don't Max," he replied his voice cold and uncaring. "We will not save them and we will not save anyone on the way."
"How can you say that!!" I exclaimed. "have you seen the condition that they are in? We need to save them!!"
"I've told you once and I'll tell you again, we will not be saving them or anyone else." He started slinking away.
Running after him I tackled him to the ground. "If you don't help them, I will," I announced. "You are charged with taking me to Itex so if I go, you have to keep me a live."
He laughed a manically. "He's good," remarked a familiar voice.
"When did you get out?" I demanded. Laughter greeted my words.
"Do you think I'm an idiot?" he asked me. "I didn't agree on that section of the deal. All I agreed on was to find you and take you to Itex. Nothing else. If you go in there I will not be coming after you Max." Turning his back to me, he walked off in to the darkness. "Good luck." The words drifted back as if it was a taunt.
"What do you think?" I asked my Voice.
"If can't risk your life just save a few people." Typical Voice reply.
"For once I agree," came my second voice. "If you get killed or captured then how will I get to torture you?" The other Max had a point. I did want revenge and the only way was to stay alive.
"Don't listen to her Max. You do not want revenge Max. Trust me."
"Oh go way you pesky thing."
"Pesky thing?" he demanded. Great my Voice was having an argument with my darker half. "Can you believe the nerve of her Max?"
"Go and get lost Voice. This is between the two of us," she replied testily.
"Really. I hope you don't mind if I listen in and give advise to my client," asked my Voice. Do they have to do this in my mind? It was getting crowded.
"What are you? A lawyer?" Is this really necessary especially at this time?
"Yes!!" they yelled simultaneously. The pain was excruciating. My head was exploding. Mentally I blocked them both out. It was a skill I had learnt a couple of years ago in the mental institute. My mind was filled with an oppressive silence. That was the problem. There was a continuous buzz in my mind and that was the Voice. Whenever I pushed him out, the buzz would disappear. I guess it was a side effect, but living so long with the sound, having it disappear suddenly seemed so strange. Standing up, I ran after Ophius trying to catch up with him.
"So you finally came to your senses did you?" he asked. His yellow eyes gazing through the darkness.
"A friend of mine reminded me that I have the job of saving the world," I told him. "I can't do that if I'm dead." He nodded his head and continued on. I followed a couple feet behind trying to figure him out. I had thought that he was one of those people that would help those in need. At least that was the vibes I got from him. Looks like I was wrong. All he cared about was himself. I sighed sadly, I had such high hopes. Finally I had found some one I could call friend after such a long time and it turned out to a dud. Another betrayal.
"Don't judge a book by its cover," commented the Voice.
"I thought I had locked you out?" I asked him.
"I can get past any guard you put up Max," he remarked.
"What about that buzz?" I asked him. I still couldn't hear it. The buzz suddenly returned. I let out a breath of relief. It was strange, but I had grown accustomed to that buzz. It let me know that the Voice was near.
"Don't forget about me," chimed in Max. The other Max.
"Go away," I told her.
"We're here," yelled Ophius above the wind. I looked around, there were no buildings around.
"Where are we staying?" I questioned as the sun slowly rose.
"Here," he pointed with his mouth. I followed his gaze and saw a ditch in the ground. Giving a closer inspection, I realized that it actually went deeper in to the ground then it had first seemed. Not only that, but it ended in a hollow that was fairly large. Not large enough to accommodate two people. Let me rephrase that, a human and a wolf.
"Doesn't seem large enough," I remarked.
"Don't worry, it is," he replied crawling. I gazed around, there were no other safe spots around. I guess I had to sleep in there then. Crawling in, I found that it did indeed accommodate two. It was a tight fit though and I was uncomfortably close. I gazed straight in to his eyes and I could feel his hot breath on my face. To my surprise, it did smell like blood. Instead it seemed as if he had used breath freshener. A wolf using breath freshener. The thought cracked me up.
"What's so funny?" he demanded.
"You used breath freshener did you?" I accused him. The look on his face was all the confirmation I needed.
A/N I almost forgot, but I've finally got my profile up for those of you that didn't know. Another chapter done. Reviews would be nice.
