Chapter 10

You seem surprised… I ran my hand through my hair. I was back in my little cell free of restraints. Someone had been kind enough to wipe up the mess I had made before from the gas. The Voice was no longer trying to hide what he sounded like. There was no hiding who he was anymore.

Max, it's all about the bigger picture. I am one piece that can be cast aside. Soft, light just like a little boy. His hair was shaven off now so I had seen his large child ears not grown for his head quite yet. He had the same thin frown as I remembered. No wonder he was silent all the time when I saw him. He was too busy reading minds.

I sighed, "Since when did you have powers?" His gift was a lot like Angel's but way more advanced. He had kept contact with me when I was underwater, in the air, or even in a whole other country. He could change his voice and he spoke more like an adult than a kid.

Always had them I suppose, just like you always had your wings. But let's not make this about me Max. You're the one who will save the world. I was bawled up on my bed. My legs pressed against my chest as my wings rested against the wall. I rested my chin on my knees and wrapped my arms around my legs. I was trying to be calm.

I shook my head as if he could see me. I took a deep breathing trying to be calm. I hated knowing the truth more than I hated not knowing at all. "We already know about me so let's get off that subject. One of us isn't a mind reader here and I would like some answers Ari."

That's right, the half-brother who I had killed, seen killed, and had even seen stretched across an M-Geek body was still alive. And he was still the seven year old boy that he should've been. When I fell forward on that wheelchair and looked up through the glass I was panicking and hoping I was just going crazy. I wouldn't mind being crazy at a time like this but now, I was with the unsettling truth that Ari was still alive…or something like that. "What happened to you?"

Ari knew exactly what I meant. Close your eyes he demanded and I willingly listened. I wasn't going to fight someone and expect them to give me the truth as well…at least, not in this situation. When my eyelids shut, I was oddly staring at seven-year-old Ari with his cell behind him.

"I never was an Eraser," he explained twiddling his small fingers as he sat in the corner of the room. His big blues eyes were looking up at me. "In fact, I've been in a cell since Jeb left." I cringed when I knew it was my fault that Jeb left. He had left his only son for me and the flock. Ari should've come along.

"I'm sorry still about that Ari," I whispered. He nodded his head as if it could easily be forgotten. In the way he spoke and stared at me, I felt like I was talking to the smartest man alive instead of just a kid.

" I told Jeb to leave me…well, I forced him to. My knowledge is almost infinite. My powers just as well. But you're the one we should worry about." I straightened my legs and leaned the back of my head against the wall. I gave him a glare that said I wanted to know more. "Well, when you took down Itex, they took me, the M-Geeks as you call them. I chose to stay because I got enough food and I could watch you." Then he took a deep breath before saying, "Itex had used my DNA to make the Eraser you met...two in fact since you killed the first one. As a human, I wasn't easy to control." He gave a grin just like mine. I could almost see the family connection now that I didn't have an Eraser face to look at too. We had the same arch in the eyebrows and grin.

"So all the time I saw you, it really wasn't you." I sighed, if Itex had been more complicated my mind would've exploded. I mean, turning a kid's DNA into an Eraser and then, keeping that kid captive. "And Jeb definitely doesn't know," I confirmed remembering the man's face as we buried "Ari" to rest. "You've got nine lives," I stated.

Ari smiled, a sweet little innocent kid smile that reminded me of Gazzy. They were around the same age. This was my brother, I remembered. We were family, flesh and blood. A protective shield formed around him. He would have to be safe for as long as I was alive. It was my duty as the older sibling. But it felt like he was the one watching over me all the time.

"We just make a good team," Ari said. "You've been doing well Max." He stood up and sat down on the bed. Since the rooms were all in the same shapes and format, he was actually sitting on his bed and I was on mine. "The flock is well too."

My heart jumped up and I smiled. That was good as long as they stuck to the plan. "So all this time, you've been here. What are the evil goonies up too?" I saw the way Ari acted like me. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. He shrugged. "They keep you sedated or something?"

"I can handle it. That's why I can only come to you on certain days. When I'm able to reach you they don't know that the drug has worn off. A day or two later they give me more drugs. It's fun," he made a face and laughed. How was he so normal? Me, I had spent a good portion of my life in cages and now, I was always claustrophobic. Although, I must say, by the end of the submarine adventure I did pretty well. "I'm not scared of anything," Ari said reading my mind. But I saw him put on the fake brave face that I normally did.

"How's my flock?" I asked, my hand wishing to pull out into the wallet and grab it out. It was nice to see their faces at least and hope to someone up there that they were safe. "I'd really like to know. And you didn't answer my question, what are they doing here?"

Ari ran a hand against his short, prickly hair. I noticed how his clothes were all just plain white clothes. He appeared to blend into the walls except for where I could see his skin. "Well, I just broke through Fang's mind so I can talk to him. If they get bad with the constant sedating me, I might be able to put the three of us in my mind."

I looked around, "So, I'm in your mind right now? When you do this whole image thing it's really what you've created in your mind?" Ari nodded his head as he picked up a piece of white lint off his sleeve. His bare feet hanging off the side of the bed wiggled a bit. I must say, it was a pretty detailed mind for the room to feel so real. I could almost smell the bleach used to clean up my accident in the corner.

"Yeah," he said as if it was completely obvious. "You probably look like you're sleeping to the ones watching you. As for what they are doing, Max, I already told you too much by revealing myself. You have to do this on your own, as long as you get the bigger picture than you can save the world." I bit my lip and thought to myself. He seemed so confidante in me but I was fifteen and a mutant with wings, we haven't been known to do much except survive...and bring down an evil company that made me...and brought global warming awareness up... Okay, so maybe I had done a lot for someone my age but still, the world was pretty huge.

Ari...I did want to save him. My brother had been a prisoner for too long now. "Ari," I said, trying to grasp the concept that he was the Voice. I mean, come on, he was seven and he was the Voice, the wise, annoying sound that always popped in at the weirdest times. I blushed when I realized he had heard all these thoughts about Fang... kind of awkward."What is with the never answering my questions?" I realized how I was still left out of the circle of knowledge that Ari seemed to be in the middle of. I couldn't find the bigger picture if I didn't even know what a corner of it looked like. It's called dropping a hint!

He gave me another smile, one the glinted off the fluorescent lights and his ears perked up. His childish grin made him looked like one of those kids on television who had just gotten a puppy for Christmas. I wondered if he ever had a holiday or a birthday. "I guess I learned that from the best."

I know he was referring to me. "Don't follow after me," I said, turning my head to look at the tawny shade of my wings, "Bird kids aren't exactly the best role models." I remembered eating desert rat, fighting Eraser Ari, and sometimes, just not being normal. If anything, I was the example of what not to do. So overzealous fans who would want to be me, don't. It's that simple.

"Neither are kids with the ability to contact anyone in the world. When would you like to escape?" Ari asked, actually sounding a bit disappointed. When I left this place, would he come with me? He shifted a bit so he was sitting closer to the edge of the bed. He sat on his hands and started swinging his legs back and forth.

"I want to stay. My flock is coming for me and there's a certain way this has to go. Always stick to the plan Ari. Besides, I have to look around and get some new information." I thought back to the days in the beginning when Ari had contacted me as the Voice. I had seen jumbled images and now, I realized they had been things Ari had seen as he got use to his powers once he finally started to talk to me. "And you're coming with me."

"Bye Max, they're giving me some more sedatives" he said to me. Then, our connection was cut off and I was sitting in my cell. All the silence in the world couldn't cut off my wondering thoughts. When I mentioned taking Ari with me I was almost sure I saw a quick second of fear flash across his face before he disappeared. Was Ari scared to come with me?

I took a breath and held it in, at least, I told myself, he was alive... which means I will be able to save him.