Chapter Nine

We were circling each other like a hunter and its prey. I was glaring at Devin the whole time, wondering what happened to him. He used to be this skinny, just a little bit taller than me, sort of cute, and pale guy. Now as I looked at him my breath was taken away. This wasn't the same Devin; his chest was filled out, with arms that could hold me up without me having to worry. His arms weren't like steroid big, more like sexy big; and his height was different, he grew like a couple inches, because he was about 6 foot now. He was pale before but he wasn't as pale his skin was a little more tanned, but not that much. The only thing that was the same was the way his hair just loosely fell over his eyes, and was silky smooth and straight; and the brightness of his green eyes. He was wearing straight leg dark wash jeans, and a form fitting black long sleeved shirt.

When I thought he was going to jump, he smiled. "Boy, aren't you sexy as ever."

That pissed me off, and I cracked. "No!" and jumped on top of him, not giving him any time to react. I started to punch and hit him, and all he was doing was taking it.

After about five minutes of my anger being let out, I was out of breath and we were both on the ground, me on top of him. "Are you finished?" he asked.

I slapped him hard one more time for good luck; and boy, did that make a snap. The room went silent with a piercing crack of my hand against his face. His face went bright red with anger and his eyes went black; iris's and pupils consumed in the darkness.

Scared, I jumped off him a couple feet. He started breathing heavily and I watched his hair started to change colour and freckles started to appear.

After a few moments, they all everything away and he got up, green eyes back to normal. "W-what was that?" I asked hesitantly.

Devin looked away, "It's the reason were both here."

Confused, he went on. "By know I assume you know I'm not normal. I was an experiment at Institute of Kinetic Energy Association. Also known as IKEA; yeah the furniture store. They steal away some customers. I was taken away as a baby to be experimented as a different life form that can appear as anything you want them to see. And those black eyes you saw? When I get angry my emotions can't be controlled so all different appearances can be seen."

Okay, I am so lost. He's an experiment just like me from somewhere else? He has powers?

"Okay, you have powers?"

"Yeah, just like your mind reading friend. Watch; close your eyes then open them again." Scared, I did it really quickly and I saw myself in front of me.

I screamed. "What the hell?!"

"This is what I mean. I can appear as anything if anyone believes it. I appeared as a different version of myself the first time you met me. This me is what I really look like."

My heart started to race. This was freaky man. I wonder if he could turn into a wolf?

"But in the air ... someone caught me." I tried to hint that he had wings but didn't flat out say it.

He caught on, "Oh! That was Tim; he's my assistant for my mission. He was experimented on with wings. Not an Eraser; just has wings."

So that's who he must have yelled to. By now we were both on opposite sides of the room. This is still too awkward. I was sitting on the bed and he was sitting on the couch. "Wait, what mission?"

Devin looked down, "To capture you. The reason we met Max, the reason I acted that way the first time we met, the reason I didn't want you to leave is because I needed to capture you and to take you back to IKEA."

Shocked, my body just gave out and I lay back against the bed. All I could do was breathe and they were coming out in raspy breaths. I can't believe that I actually was friends with him. We went swimming, we had ice cream together. I actually kind of liked him. Then he decides to tell me it was all a lie? It was just to get me to like him and trust him, to just capture me. Thanks asshole.

I felt the bed go down next to me and Devin was sitting down. "Max, I'm sorry, whatever-,"

"No. I don't want to hear your pity apology." I said cutting him off. I got off the bed and head towards the door. Once I reached it I started kicking it with all my might, hoping it would break. After a few kicks, the door didn't even have a scratch. I turned for the stainless steel lamp and started swinging it at the door. By then Devin was by my side trying to pry the lamp out of my hands.

"No! I'm getting out of here. I'm not becoming another experiment." I directed the lamp towards his head, but he tripped me to avoid brain damage. I started flaring my legs everywhere, just so I could get him away from me, but he just pounced on me. His strength over powered me and kept me in place. After a few minutes, I gave up trying to escape.

"Why do you want them to prick me with needles, and cut me with knives?" I asked, trying to muster some type of sympathy for this monster.

He looked at me with pleading eyes. "You have to understand Max, I don't want to bring you there, but if I don't they'll kill me and find you and kill whoever you're with, because I'm the only one who can bring you there. Everyone else is too weak to fight you."

Angel, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy. If I don't go with him they'll kill them. No, they won't be able to find them. However, on the other hand they found me.

"How did you find me?"

"Ari, he shot a small tracking device into your back. I'm guessing when that little girl hugged you she must have hit it and it was activated. When we saw the light Tim flew over because he was the closest. We've been around the whole country looking for you. And yes, when we did hear them talking about putting a tracking device in you, IKEA stole the tracker from them." Devin explained.

"Who is 'them'?" this is the moment I will finally get to know who was experimenting on me all those years, and who stole my life away from me.

He looked me in the eyes, "IKEA."

It was my birthday two days ago, oh my, I feel so old. Do you ever get those feelings that when you double you current age that you'll be like 34 or 32 or 30 or 36 or something like that. It's scary that I'll be middle aged in just half the time I've already spent on earth. IM SO OLD.

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