IMPORTANT AN:This is mostly a filler chapter. I was going to make this one a whole lot longer(this chapter and the next chapter were going to be combined at first), but I have a couple question to ask my amazing readers. Said questions are at the end of this chapter, so no one forgets wile they're reading.
Two updates within three days of each other. That is what you call a phenomenon. It's also probably never going to happen again either. How depressing.
Chapter Eight: The Hidden House
"How do I know if I can fly? Are you gonna drop me off the side?" When he thought I wasn't looking, Ari chanced a glance over the side, a little green in the face. This is the same kid who fell asleep while I was holding him over 300 feet in the air for over an hour. Now, he was afraid of a fifty foot drop.
"I can't just drop you off the side; you'd be a pancake when you hit the ground." I stopped for a minute. "Probably a strawberry pancake."
Pancakes. I've never tasted one before, but from differentiating methods I knew of their existence. What I wouldn't do for edible food right now. It feels like I haven't eaten in days. At least, it might have been days, hours, weeks. It all sort of blends when you're in a cage.
"So how are we gonna know." He sounded exasperated. Yeah, a little kid. To me.
"Dropping you off a cliff is starting to sound better and better." I made sure his little ears couldn't hear my words. Really, I didn't need him thinking I hate him. He's just...frustrating. Sheesh, now I know I'm turning into a mom.
"Huh?"
"Nothing, nothing. Come on Ari. I'll just carry you for now. We can settle the flying issues later." He looked more than happy to oblige.
I didn't blame him one bit. Despite having flown for an hour to this plateau, I just couldn't bring myself to trust the wings completely. They may be a part of me, but flying isn't a way of traveling to most humans. Come on, Max. Some irrational part of me chanted. Fly farther away. Okay, so maybe the last part wasn't irrational, but still...
Even though it was clear Ari didn't want to, he took a few steps towards me and I scooped him up, holding him a more more maneuverable position and decreasing the chances of dropping him. He was even lighter than I was expecting once again. Hehe. I'm Max the superhero now? I shook my head vigorously, stopping that trail of thought right there. It just had no way of ending well. "Ari, you might want to close your eyes. You can go back to sleep if you want to."
Internally, I didn't want him to. He was company even if he was a six year old. Flying for hours on end with only your own thoughts can't be any fun. Ari gave me a wide grin and I melted. Yes, I Max the Invinsible melted. Nothing was going to happen to this kid on my watch. Nothing. "M'kay." He yawned, leaning into me.
I waited a moment for him to get comfortable, then got a running start before leaping off the plateau. Just as I thought. Jumping off something made the beginning of flight made it much easier to gain altitude. I stored the piece of information away in my dysfunctional brain. I'd love to go all cliché and say we flew off into the sunset, but it was already night—the sun set hours before we even escaped the School.
Though we had passed a town a decent while back, I threw the idea of going back that way out the metaphoric window. The town was way too close to the school for comfort. We would keep going until I came across a small gas station, or something like that. All I needed was a map and maybe some food. How that last part was going to work out, I don't know. Without a dime in my pocket, how was I supposed to manage to pay for something? There was an easy solution to that problem: don't pay.
Yeah, you can tell I broke out of the School without planning much.
I came across a gas station in the middle of nowhere. Literally. Nowhere. Even the road leading to it seem to fade. I stole a Atlas near the door and about three sandwiches before the surprisingly clean man at the counter noticed me. We, as in Ari and I, stopped for a brief minute to discuss where to go next; our discussion method was to have Ari close his eyes and point to a state on the map.
After going through several maps in the Atlas, we had in narrowed down to a small town in Tennessee. Gatlinburg. Hopefully it's random enough that the Erasers don't think to attack us there. I picked Ari back up and we continued without another word. What could there possibly be to say?
(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)
So maybe Gatlinburg wasn't as subtle as I was expecting.
Apparently, it's a tourist magnet. I'm sure I'll figure out what everyone wants to see in this tiny town eventually. After all, we are staying here until Erasers find us or someone sees us not living in an actual house. If I have to guess, though, it was probably the mountains drawing these people in.
Living space confused me at first. There were places to stay, but all of them cost money. Luckily, we ran across a little rundown cottage-style house in a little clearing on the outside of town. "Now this," I said, landing quietly. On the way there, I mastered landing. Ari, we discovered, could only go limited distances each day. Though I'll never tell a soul, I rather liked holding Ari as I flew. "is convenient."
Ari wrinkled his nose, but didn't say a word.
He didn't have to. The house was a complete dump. The walls were crumbling, the roof had definitely seen better day, and the windows were caked with mud and dirt. Judging from the thick foliage growing up where a path used to be, I can say fairly well that no one's been here for at least ten years.
"Let's take a look inside, Ree." Do you know how hard it is to nickname a kid who only has three letters in their name? Knowing me, it probably wont stick.
He shrugged, happily walking up the the front door and turning the knob. I really didn't expect that to work, but I wasn't going to spoil his moment. Imagine my surprise when the door actually opened. Okay, so the last owner didn't expect it to be found way out here.
The inside wasn't much better than outside. Sheet covered furniture was the only plus I was seeing. Dirt at least an inch thick covered all the noticeable surfaces, the power didn't work, and not a bit of sunlight broke through the mud-lined windows. "So it needs to be cleaned. We can do that."
"In a few years maybe." He pointed out, somehow sounding completely content at the same time. Ari seems to be a constantly happy little kid, even when the situation is serious.
I hate cleaning. Pure and simple. But, unfortunately, it had to be done. We didn't plan on moving on very fast. If things went to plan, I wanted Ari to get through a whole school year before we left for a more...inconspicuous town.
I started in on the window using water from a small, clean pond out back.
Two weeks after our escape from the school, a lot of things were looking up. Ari was practicing his flying—and getting quite good at it—, we're well hidden from all the things that howl, and the house is as clean as it's every going to be. To be truthfully honest, that's not saying much.
The house was a little bigger than it appeared to be. It had a small kitchen/living room area that took up most of the first floor. Up a rickety set of spiral stairs was a single bedroom, but it was larger than most. I found a set of curtains in a closet and hung it down the middle of the room to create some privacy. It was cozy. And small. A little too small.
It almost reminded me of my old cage. A shiver ran down my spine. I hated that freaking cage.
We haven't so much as thought about our Eraser-selves recently. It seems like a ad memory. I just want to punch the bad halves of ourselves and make them disappear.
If only it was that easy.
"Ari!" I called, walking outside and narrowing my eyes. Ari also discovered how well he was able to hide from me in the woods. I panicked the first time he disappeared, but now it''s just infuriating.
I think that's why he does it.
Quick Q's (please answer in a review)
1. Max and Ari will be going to school(maybe). They need new names so they can't be tracked as easily. Last name(s) will also be accepted. Suggestions?
2. Max and the Flock. Reunite Soon? Or Later? Should she know who they are by that time?
3. Should Ari get a pet? If so, what? This is not necessarily going to happen, but the idea amused me. Names also accepted for the pet.
ANONYMOUS REVIEWS ACCEPTED!
Reviews
(6)
lexigrrl09 – I'm glad people seem to like my little Ari. Don't you just want to hug him? Or is that just me...?
musichun9 (anonymous) – It's not really Max's fault though...well, I can't really say anything about her memory because it may spoil a plot twist coming up later in the story.
5253Racer – I'm glad :)
broadway2B – My story has made it's way up from the sad, dismal first chapter, eh? Now it's captivating. You made my day.
MelRose520 – I've never really read a fanfiction with Ari actually in the story just as much as the main character is. I thought he was neglected, so I made my own Ari up. I've extremely happy everyone likes him so far. I try really hard to keep Max in character. I'm glad it's actually paying off.
ObsessiveReader1223 (anonymous) – It's too bad this review was anonymous. They guessed one of the minor events that will happen soon.
