Freedom to Try

I found Rainbow skulking in yet another ditch with Weird, and landed clumsily next to them. I'd given my Erasers the slip and apparently so had Rainbow, or at least I couldn't see any nearby and I did check this time. Thoroughly.

"What happened?" Rainbow demanded the moment I landed. "Did you manage to save them, and how's Mir?"

"Oh, you saw that then," I said sheepishly. I was hoping that I could get away with losing to the Erasers without anyone knowing. Then again we'd all lost today, big time.

"I saw you fighting those winged Erasers and getting your ass kicked. Great distraction by the way," she said snidely, rolling her eyes. It had seemed like such a good plan at the time as well. Okay maybe it hadn't. Ever. "Now how's Mir?"

"Alive," I told her, I knew that at least. "I think it was only a leg wound anyway." Rainbow sighed in relief. "I couldn't save them though," I added sadly.

"I saw that too. Whatever happened to save them later?"

"Logic sucks," I said simply as an explanation shrugging. Rainbow smiled slightly. "Anyway, how's Weirdness?"

"Apart from heavy? Still unconscious. What's wrong with her anyway?"

"I told you, she's exhausted." I checked on Weird, she looked like she'd been dragged through a hedge backwards, which was probably true, but still had a pulse and was breathing, and she murmured slightly when I put my hand against her forehead to check her temperature. Maybe she'd wake up soon.

"But what does that mean?" Rainbow persisted. "How did she do that? How on earth can anyone do that?"

I sighed. "Look can we get moving first, there are still Erasers out there and being found is not on my top ten things I want to do today list?"

"You're going to have to tell me some time," she said practically. She was right, but I needed a run up before I started telling anyone about Weird.

"Fine," I said shouldering Weird again, every time I forget just how heavy she is. "Let's just go."

"Where to?" she asked. "We could spot where they went if you flew up and took a look around and then we'd know where to go."

I shook my head dejectedly. "We need to get out of here first. If I fly we get caught and I have no idea which way they took them."

"We can't just abandon them," she exclaimed, realising what I was suggesting in shock. Heck so was I, but it was the sensible choice. Well everyone always said I take to many crazy risks. Gale would approve if I ever saw her again.

"We've lost," I said bitterly. "We don't know where they are and there are enough Erasers around that if we even raise our voices we'll be caught. What else can we do?"

"Very sensible Hawk," the voice commended, breaking its long silence, much to my annoyance. I ignored it, the last thing I needed was that suck up jerk patting me on the head when I made a decision that I knew deep down was totally and utterly wrong.

"We save them," she countered. "We can't let the Erasers take them back to the lab they'll do more 'experiments' on them."

"Don't you think I know that?" I roared in anguish as I pictured my flock in chains, in cages, surrounded by White Coats with surgical masks. Rainbow flinched back but I didn't care. I wasn't just yelling at her but the voice in my head and my own pig headed sensibility.

"We can't save them now!" I growled, reining in my anger somewhat. "But I promise you I will, save them."

There was a stunned silence and then Rainbow asked in a small voice. "What did you say about raised voices?"

I thought about that for a moment.

"Shit!" I exclaimed. There has not been word invented for just how stupid that was. "Let's get out of here before…" I was cut off as and Eraser burst through a gap in the hedge about a hundred yards away. He looked round wildly, yelled when he saw us and charged.

Rainbow turned to flee and I almost followed her but then I stopped and lowered Weird gently to the ground. I'd been running far too much today and where had it got me? I'd lost my flock, I'd lost to the Erasers and I'd abandoned my friends. I wasn't going to run this time.

"This is incredibly stupid Hawk," the voice pointed out as I shifted my weight and balled my fist, readying to receive the Eraser.

"Shut up," I snarled back, watching the Eraser, trying to gauge speed and distance; neither of which were looking very good for me. Erasers can really sprint. "I tried listening to you and look where it got me."

"Where it got you was free and alive," the voice countered as if stating the obvious. That was too much. Didn't the blasted thing realise none of that mattered to me if I wasn't free with the others?

"Just, shut, up!" I snarled and suddenly the Eraser was on top of me with a malicious glint in his eye. I swung my fist and caught him square in the jaw and dived out the way as he fell, his head trying to go the opposite direction to the rest of his body and he hit the ground with a crash, skidding several feet in the mud. He groaned and tried to get to his feet, then I hit him with a rock and he slumped to the ground unconscious. The crunch was incredibly satisfying for some reason.

"You're insane aren't you?" Rainbow said, shaking her head and walking back towards me.

"Probably," I agreed. I have been talking to myself after all. "Now should we get out of here?" There were more yells at the far end of the field and I spotted a group of Erasers mounting a stile. A very large group.

"Run," I suggested simply; Rainbow nodded. I went to pick up Weird and then paused as the radio attached to Erasers belt crackled into life. Well that could be useful. I grabbed it, snatched up Weird and started running after Rainbow who was already fifty yards ahead of me. She's got some survival instincts, I can say that. Better than mine.

"They're heading south east," an Eraser voice barked through the radio. Told you it would be useful.

"Roger that," another answered and I rolled my eyes; I didn't know people actually said that in real life. "The girl is just coming up on our position."

Damn it!

"Rainbow, look out!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. Rainbow skidded to a halt and looked at me questioningly just as a group of Erasers burst out of the bushes next to her. In retrospect it probably wasn't a good idea to distract the person just about to be ambushed. Oh well, live and learn.

One Eraser dived at Rainbow who flickered out of visibility and I assume sidestepped as the Eraser ploughed into the ground; I wished I was close enough to see his face. I hung a right into the field hoping that Rainbow would follow and immediately skidded on a patch of mud. I swear that the ground has it in for me. Seriously, when was the last time you saw me get in trouble in the air?

Don't answer that.

I glanced over my shoulder; the Erasers were haring after me, gaining ground far too fast for comfort. I missed a step to readjust Weird on my shoulder and then put my head down and sprinted as fast as I could. If I could just reach the next field I'd be safe. I kept telling myself that, I didn't really believe it though. Weird was getting heavier by the second and I could hear the taunts being thrown at me by the rapidly closing Erasers but if I got to the next field I'd… Well I'd think of something.

I skidded to a stop and groaned as I saw another detachment of Erasers charging at me from the other end of the field. I was trapped.

"So what now?" Rainbow asked right next to my ear making me jump. Okay correction, we were trapped.

I gently put down Weird and did a three-sixty. Short answer, Erasers everywhere. If we ran in any direction we'd be caught, I could fly but I wasn't going to abandon anyone ever again.

"You should save yourself Hawk," the voice commented dispassionately. "Getting yourself caught is the worst thing you can do." I ignored it. If running was its best solution I'd figure something out on my own, though I had no idea what.

I could hear the Erasers announcing they'd 'got us' over the radio, and I snarled in frustration.

"You should run," I said darkly to Rainbow. "At least save yourself." She didn't respond, probably weighing up her options. I raised the radio to my mouth and tried to yell something rude at the Erasers and then winced as I got a feed back loop. Hmm, that gave me an idea.

"Second thought," I said to Rainbow. "Cover your ears." I didn't look round to see if she complied, just focused on the radio in my hand. Radios aren't smart enough to talk to, at best they've got three chips and a circuit board but it was enough to control.

I cranked the transmission volume up way beyond what the manufactures ever thought possible and then put the frequency to about forty thousand hertz. Now we'd just see how dog-like Erasers really are.

"Test," I whispered into the microphone, then yelled in surprise as the radio glowed red hot in my hand and I dropped it just before the case started melting. The sound wave hit a moment later. I didn't hear it. It was more sort of felt it as an all over pins and needles and a stabbing pain in my ears which caused me to double over in agony. The Erasers head it though. You have to pity the ones wearing headsets.

Weird woke with a yell and I was immediately at her side, ignoring the pained whimpers from the few Erasers still conscious and my own throbbing eardrums.

"Weird are you okay?" I asked hurriedly probably far too loud, but my ears were ringing and I could feel a headache setting in. That's the last time I try that trick.

"I think so," she said weakly. "What was that?"

"That's what I want to know?" Rainbow half shouted. Definitely not trying that again.

I struggled to think of a way to describe that, it wasn't easy my head was killing me and I still have no explanation as to how I talk to computers. "Well, have you ever scrapped your nails down a blackboard?"

"No," Rainbow said bluntly.

I sighed and tried to think of another metaphor, it wasn't actually that surprising, I've never scraped my nails down a blackboard, I just heard that was a good example.

"Okay," I began again. "You know how Erasers wince when you make a really loud noise." Rainbow nodded. "I just sent a really loud noise through all their radios that was far too high pitched for us too hear." Rainbow thought about it for a moment and grimaced. I turned my attention back to Weird.

"Where is everyone?" Weird asked as I lifted her to her feet. That was not a question I wanted to answer.

"I messed up," I told her after a moment's hesitation. "The Erasers took them." I saw the shock set into Weird's eyes which flared a brilliant green.

"But I saved us," she objected. "Cam had just been hit and the Erasers were closing in but I got us out of there."

"Yeah," I said sadly. "They got us after that."

"No!" she protested eyes flashing. "I just saved us; I can't have been unconscious that long."

"Twenty minutes," I explained softly. "Maybe half an hour, they're long gone."

"We've got to save them," she exclaimed, engulfing herself in a green glow, spreading her wings and raising slightly off the ground. That was a new trick. I saw Rainbow take a step backwards and couldn't blame her; Weird's getting weirder.

"They can't be far, we have to find them."

"They're gone Weird," I told her bluntly grabbing her shoulders to try and stop her panicking like I did when she went missing. The green light flared as I put my hands through it. "But we'll fi…"

I was cut off as the light blazed and was blasted backwards by a wall of energy, hitting the ground hard and a couple of feet from an Eraser.

"No!" Weird yelled desperately rising even further off the ground. "They can't be gone. I won't let it happen."

"Weird, calm down," I shouted at her as the ground began to shake. Hmm, Déjà Vu. Rainbow was skittering away on her hands and knees, I presumed she'd been thrown to the floor to and couldn't blame her for wanting to get away from Weird.

"I have to find them," Weird boomed, doing the trick where her voice came from everywhere at once. "I have to save them." I wondered if she even knew she was speaking; I don't know anyone else who monologues their thoughts.

Weird rose higher and her green nimbus changed from its brilliant emerald to a sickly green. I winced; this was not going to end well. Lightning arced between Weird and the ground. I don't think she noticed that either. The Eraser next to me cracked open an eye, took one look at Weird and quite smartly shut it again. Couldn't say I blame him.

I had no idea what to do, though it pains me to admit it the most sensible move was waiting for her to calm down. Trying to get close enough to talk was out of the question as I'd probably get fried but I wanted to help her somehow. Green light totally blotted out Weird's eyes and shockwaves began rippling through the earth with her at the centre.

I scrambled to my feet and almost immediately stumbled as the ground beneath me shifted. I needed to do something before someone got hurt, I tripped over another wave of earth and caught a glimpse of the sky boiling above, and had to do a double take. Lightning rumbled in the swollen clouds which I could have sworn weren't there five minutes ago and the entire sky seemed to be revolving around us.

Another wave of earth brought me back to my senses and I scrambled towards Weird, trying to ignore just how much power you would need to control the weather. Remind me not to annoy her. Weird was totally surrounded by a corona of green lightning, which looked more than a little lethal. Well, I was just going to have to trust her.

I readied myself to leap at Weird when suddenly I heard a bang and whirled to see an Eraser looking in shock at the bullet stopped in mid air a couple inches from his gun. The gun roared again, stubborn guys Erasers, and a lightning bolt shot over my shoulder, blasting me sideways and hitting the gun which glowed white hot for a moment and exploded.

So did the Eraser.

I hit the ground hard for the second time in as many minutes and felt the world hold its breath. The Erasers lay on the ground looking stunned at the remains of their fallen comrade; Rainbow was a sensible distance away looking a cross between amazed and horrified. Even the ground was frozen in its rippled pattern. Just wait till the conspiracy nuts found this.

I heard Weird collapse behind me sobbing and I ran to her. Her eyes had gone completely green again but that wasn't much of a surprise.

"Weird," I asked hesitantly, knowing what had happened last time if I'd asked her if she needed help. "You okay?" What a stupid thing to ask.

"I didn't mean to do that," she said desperate rush, looking right at me with sightless eyes. "I just wanted to stop it like last time but there was so much power and I was so busy looking for the others and I just lost control."

I didn't know what to say so I just picked her up and held her close.

"I killed him," she continued still sobbing. "I killed both of them. I tried to help and only made it worse."

I started to contradict her but then spotted the Erasers getting to their feet and regarding us warily. Not good. I picked up Weird and caught Rainbow's eye and began to walk towards her, trying to keep all the Erasers in view at the same time. None of the Erasers wanted to attack first; they'd all seen what had happened. Weird was still murmuring to herself but I blotted her out; safety first, sanity second.

We reached the edge of the circle of Erasers and I started walking backwards, losing eye contact could be deadly. I heard an Eraser growl and judged that my window of opportunity was closing.

"She'll do it again," I warned then.

"No I won't!" Weird cried shrilly. I started running then, not even waiting to see their reaction. Whatever it was it wouldn't be good.

I accelerated to catch up with Rainbow who was also running flat out and glanced over my shoulder to see the Erasers scrambling after us and just as I thought it couldn't get any worse, it began to hail.

"Weird," I said anxiously, looking over my shoulder to see the Erasers gaining fast. "We could really do with that teleporting thing again."

"I'm never doing anything like that again," she responded grimly. "Every time I do someone gets hurt."

"Weird, we're going to get mauled if you don't get us out of here right now!" I shouted at her desperately as I spotted some of the Erasers pulling out guns. Obviously they had forgotten the lightning.

"You really want me to do it?" she asked softly. I saw the pleading in her eyes but I didn't register it. I was too high on adrenaline.

"Yes!"

"Okay," she said simply. The noise began almost immediately, a rising note that overwhelmed out all other noise, the ground beneath me became rock hard as it iced over and the puddles froze into miniature icy lakes. I had a brief moment to think, "What the hell?" before there was a blinding flash, and everything vanished.