A/N: jeeze, that took a long time. I had to put a lot of thought into this chapter so I really hope you people like it... -whimpers- please don't hurt me for what i've done.
The Riddlyr
Chapter Twelve
The sharp slap of bare feet on wet concrete cut through the night, soon followed by the clunk of steel-toed boots. A dark flash bolted past a line of chain-linked fences, the ground still damp from that nights rain, the sky still layered with clouds. A thump sounded from behind as a bulky black form rattled nimbly over the unstable fence, jumping from the top and landing lithely on its feet.
The Eraser who had jumped from the fence crouched low to the ground, his keen ears perked for any sound. The vacant parking lot was silence; the heavy air accompanied only by the dripping of a pipe-drain hanging loosely from the side of a building.
With an audible sigh, the Eraser got to his feet, running a pawed hand through his hair. He tilted his head back to look at the clouded sky, a small smile tugging at his marred lips.
The kid had made it.
By God, he'd actually escaped.
The chain-linked fence rattled once more as three other Eraser clattered to halt on the other side, their jaws split wide as they gasped for air. "Well?" one of them snapped, his brow knitted together as if in pain.
"He got away…"
The Eraser snarled, slamming his fist against the fence and flinching as the skin on his knuckles scraped away, beads of blood collecting on the raw flesh. "Damn it," he gasped, bending over to place his hands on his knees, "Jeb's gonna kill us. This is the first time a Pup has actually escaped…"
Hidden in a muddy ditch across the parking lot, sharp ears listened to every word, a slick smile spreading across a sickeningly wolfish face as the four Erasers vaulted back over the fence and disappeared into the night. The grin disappeared, replaced now with concentration as the escaped Pup peered over the side of the ditch.
Not a single thing moved.
The Pup sprang to his feet, sheer joy shining in his quicksilver eyes. The Erasers were gone. Itex had given up! A balloon of excitement swelled in his chest as he let out a sharp bark of laughter, taking off at a brisk sprint along the side of the bank. Every smell was wonderful. Every sight was clear. Every noise sharpened. Every feeling as raw as if he were feeling it for the first time!
The gravel crunched under his feet as the Pup rattled his hand along the chain-linked fence. The moon glowered down at him from atop her starry throne, making his blood pump fast and his heart pulse quickly. This was freedom. This is what he was destined for.
This is what Memorandum deserved…
"Hey."
Max jumped, her nerves frayed from the unexpected encounter with Angel. She twisted around from where she sat at the lip of the stage, expecting to find Rail or another soldier there to attempt providing a comfort no one could supply. She was surprised to see Nero…standing with his hands tucked in his pocket, a slight look of nervousness in his eyes.
"What?" Max asked, surprised at how sharp it came out. The brush with her former flock-member must have affected her more than she thought. She shook her head, taking a deep breath and turning away from him, "Sorry. Is there something you need?"
Nero bit his lip, starting to regret taking Rail up on his offer.
He shrugged, "I…just…kind of wanted to ask you a question."
Max ran a hand over her sore eyes, "Yeah…what?"
Nero bent down to pick up the pistol Max had thrown to the floor, his feet moving on their own accord to stand next to the leader Rail spoke so highly of. He offered her the gun silently, his eyes fixed on a distant point across the theater.
Max slipped the gun into her belt, her jaw aching from being clenched so hard.
"You were happy once," Nero said quietly.
Max stiffened, glancing sideways at the short fledgling standing next to her. She stroked the pistol with her thumb, leaning back to plant her palms on the stage as she swung her feet over the lip. "Yeah?" she muttered, "What makes you say that?"
She flinched at how cold his touch was against her face, tracing a thin line down her cheek as he crouched next to her.
"You have laugh lines," Nero murmured, rocking back on his heels and letting his hand fall back to his side, "you used to smile a lot…but not anymore."
The stage creaked as Nero sat down, his stare focused on his pale hands folded in his lap. Max watched him carefully. The way his back slumped, as if under pressure. The way he swung his feet, far too short to reach the ground. The way his dark hair fell across his blue eyes, hiding something…deep…below the surface.
So much like…
She chomped down hard on her tongue to keep the thought from coming.
"Rail told me about Nudge," Nero whispered, tracing the lines in his palm carefully, "and Angel. Gasman. Iggy…"
He glanced up at her, his eyes sincere, "They were your family, weren't they? And Itex took them away, like they took my father away…"
"Don't…" Max snorted, chomping down harder, "don't talk about them. Rail had no right bringing them up…"
"There was another," Nero interrupted, "that Rail wouldn't tell me about."
"Shut up," Max hissed, sharply getting to her feet.
"I'm sorry," Nero shouted at her retreating back, his wings flaring open as he clumsily lurched to his feet, "but you can't run away! Running won't solve anything, it just…" he clenched his hands into fists, "…it just makes it worse!"
Max paused, her thoughts resting on poor Nudge.
This boy was the last person she talked to…
You have much sadness in you.
Max turned slowly to face him, her legs as heavy as led. He stood silently, his eyes fixed on her, still waiting…waiting for the answer not even Max had come to terms with. She nodded once, her jaw clenched. When she spoke, it came out as more of a rasp, like sandpaper on stone.
"Fang."
She lowered her eyes to the clenched hands at Nero's side, "His name was Fang."
Nero swallowed hard, a burn creeping up his neck, "Itex took him too?"
Max hesitated, her eyes hard.
"No."
Nero froze, the answer unexpected, "What…then what happened?"
Max turned away again, her wings ruffling as she swayed from one foot to the other, her arms crossed over her chest. A bare tendon stood out in her neck, the sinews of her arms rising to the surface as if she were fighting a great power with her hands. For a while, she didn't move.
Nero ducked his head. He had known all along she wouldn't answer…
"Cancer."
Nero looked up, a sickening feeling spreading in his gut.
Max glared at the floor, as if it were the blame for all her pain.
"He got cancer. I used to live with a doctor…she diagnosed him just after his seventeenth birthday. At first," she took a deep breath, "we thought it was a side effect of the avian gene. Dr. Martinez looked into it, thought she could cure it…but…it was natural. Not a side effect. Just…how things were supposed to be."
Max tapped the toe of her boot against the stage, her stare still fixed on the floor, "It took four months. That's all. We considered chemotherapy, but Dr. Martinez said it wouldn't work. We were different from normal humans; the chemicals would have…just killed him off."
She turned to face him, her face drawn and hard, "I watched him rot away in a bed for four months…every morning I woke up and shook him awake…just to make sure he was still alive. But…one day he just…didn't wake up. We couldn't go to a morgue, they would have freaked. We were the only fledglings back then. So I…me and my family…we dug his grave by ourselves. It was the hardest six feet of my life. After that, it all went downhill. Itex regained power, and my family began dropping like flies. They're all dead now…dead to me at least."
Nero took a deep breath in the silence that followed, his hands shaking as he stared at the floor. He shook his head, trying to make the words sound right.
"I'm sorry."
Max slipped behind the curtain, her last words floating back from the darkness.
"Don't be."
Nero was flying.
His black wings spread wide against the cloud-coated sky, the wind whipping at his face as he turned circles in the air currents. The world below seemed so small now. Insignificant. Unimportant. Just another speck far below him.
A dark shadow shifted beside him, breaking free from the clouds.
Nero turned to face him, knowing who it was even before the face cleared the clouds. A shiver ran under his feathers, shaking into his bones and settling across his ribs. The shadow flew silently beside him, his face fixed on some point in the distance that Nero could not see.
Fang.
"Wake up!"
Nero groaned, trying to shove away the cold hands shaking his shoulder with urgency. Rail's face lurched into focus as he shoved Nero harder, his eyes drenched with panic, a thin trail of blood snaking between his eyebrows.
"Nero, get up!"
Rail pulled him to his feet, his cold arms wrapping around him protectively as the balcony groaned below them. "What?" Nero muttered, the veil of sleep still clinging over his eyes. Rail tightened his grip, his nails digging into Nero's arm as the shouting from below the balcony snapped into focus.
"Erasers," Rail whispered, his voice right next to Nero's ear.
"They found Scribble City."
