A/N Thanks to all reviewers

Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.

Claimer: Storyline and Orphius are mine.

Chapter XXXVI: Kill Ari

Total POV

I stood watch that night and I took it seriously. I kept my eyes on Iggy the whole entire time and when he didn't do anything, I still stalked him. Until Fang got here and explained everything, I am not going to stop. If you don't like it, sue me.

Leaning against the wall, Iggy rested, gazing over Ella as she worked the night shift. Truth be told, I think she worked every shift. I haven't seen her take time off yet and I doubt she ever will.

Every so often she would sit down, waiting to se if the medicine was working. That was when Iggy would walk over and gather her up in his arms and whisper in her ear or kiss her neck or whatever. I never got close enough to listen to what it was he was saying.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Orphius just gazing at them. It as if he was in his own place. I offered to play chess with him, to take his mind off whatever it was, but he never replied and soon I gave up.

Whenever Iggy talked to him, he would reply in short sharp answers, similar to the ones Fang used to give. He wasn't hostile in terms of the word, but he wasn't completely playing nice either.

And if his gaze shifted to Ella, they would almost soften. Wolf's don't smile or laugh in the term of the word. Instead their body language shows it. And their eyes. I don't think there's any animal who has managed to mask emotions shown in their eyes. And his eyes would soften every time he looked at Ella.

But if Iggy joined them, it still held that note, but there was also sadness. And in that sadness, joy. Talk about complex. I can't explain it, it was as if he was happy and sad at the same time. I know, not much sense, but you'd have to be here to understand. You'd have to look into his eyes.

Max POV

Taking slow breaths, I pushed myself closer up against the wall. My hand strayed to my gun, only to be met with empty air. I had forgotten when I lost it, let along that it was gone. Each time I went for it, I was painfully reminded that I was faced with an impossible problem. There was no solution.

But nothing is ever impossible and sometimes all a miracle needs is a helping hand. Or two. But in this case, I doubt an army would be enough to pull it off.

Reaching down, I took the goggles off the dead solider that floated by and strapped them on. Up above me, I could still hear the battle continuing.

That slight vibration through the walls, the muffled gun fire. Words, were beyond my hearing. I had no idea who was winning and I was afraid to find out. This was a last ditch effort. If this failed then. . .

I eased myself forwards, until the water level was at my chin. Taking one final breath, I ducked under and slowly swam forwards. Thanks to the goggles, I was now able to see and after I had seen what was under the murky water, I wished I hadn't.

One thing jumped out at me when I was under that I didn't expect was the sheer number of skulls that littered the waterway. What shocked me even more was that not all of them were humans, there were some that were obviously hybrids like the Flock. Some even had wings.

There were so many, just so many of them. I think I lost count after I passed the hundredth skull; either that or it was the two hundredth. I don't really want to know. I'm afraid what the real number might be.

Finally, I surfaced, wading as I took a couple shaky breaths to settle my nerves. I waited until I was certain I would not puke before I dived back down.

In my mind I mentally went through the plan Fang had shown us of the fortress Itex had built themselves. Thanks to my very own compass, I knew almost exactly where I was.

I hope.

Swimming my way through the muck, I gazed from side to side, trying to see anything that was further than my outstretched hand. Unable to do that, I did what Iggy used to do in a new place, put one hand against the wall and follow that. Luckily for me, I only had to search the southern wall, making my job a lot easier.

Off in the distance, closer than I liked, I could hear running footsteps. I moved right up against the wall, flattening myself down as much as possible. The footsteps came closer yet.

Soon, I could see their shadowy shapes in the dim lighting. It was a group of half a dozen made up by Erasers and Ghosts plus a wolf leading at the head.

"Why are you stopping?" growled a voice.

I stiffened at the sound of the voice. Ari. I knew he was alive, but still. Maybe if I cut off his head he'll stay dead.

"The scent stops here," replied the voice, distinctively female. "She must have gone deeper into the water."

There was a startled yelp plus the sound of a boot connecting with something solid and a snap. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what had happened.

Sounds of whimpering made their way to my ears. My blood boiled and I wanted kill that murderous son of a (#& Well technically, I've killed him before so this time shouldn't weigh too heavily on my conscious.

"Get up you lazy slut!!" he screamed. "Get up right now and find her!!" The sound of breaking bones filled the hallway. "Get up!!"

I wanted to help, but there was nothing I could do. There was absolutely nothing I could do to help. In stories you always read the good guys always help that poor lone damsel in distress and comes out without a scratch. And all those thousands of people that are counting on the heroes never came into the decision making.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but it doesn't work that way in real life. Sure I could rush off to save that lone wolf, but if I did that and died, then all those people are screwed over aren't they? Talk about no pressure.

In the end, the only thing that filled the tunnel was Ari's heavy breathing. Even the poor wolf had stopped making sounds from the brutal thrashing. The others in the group stood by, silently watching the show. At the end, they even congratulated Ari on a "job well done." If it wasn't the whole save the world thing, I would rush out and help her.

Oh what the hell.

"Max," warned the Voice.

"Screw you."

Slowly sinking below the water level so not to make ripple, I moved my over. Keeping to the shadows, I made my way closer, keeping as low as possible.

Ducking under some fallen rocks, I inched forwards. From my new vantage point, I could clearly see their faces and I was somewhat let down that Ari was gone. No matter what happens, I swear he will die. He will die for everything that he's done. All the suffering tat he's caused.

But first things first.

Coming out of the water, behind the group of five, I reached over and drew out a metal pole from the rubble. It was only when I touched the metal, did I realize that I never bothered to turn my arm back into a normal hand, it had stayed as a claw since my escape from the pervious group Ghosts.

Hefting the pole, I made sure I got a good grip. Sure, I've never used a pole before, but hey, I've seen enough movies to know how it's done.

Staying low, I saw the wolf's eye roll up and look at me. There was no hint of surprise or anything in her expression. I suppose she knew where I was after all. Giving a slight nod, I came up and swept their legs out from under them.

Never missing a beat, I came up and managed to knock two Ghosts unconscious before they got managed to react.

Jumping to their feet, the Flyboys stood up, arms up, waiting for me to make the first move. We circled each other slowly. Three on one is never good odds and when the other three or Flyboys, it's even worse.

What they didn't count on is the wolf. She managed to struggle onto her feet and made one lunge. That was all she had it in her, but it was enough.

She must have known where the weak spot was, or she was just lucky, whatever the reason, she managed to hit the weak spot, sending the middle one tumbling to the ground in a heap, shut down.

The others, turned, tuned into the new threat and forgot about me entirely. Taking the opportunity, I used the pole to send one to the ground, never to be used again and the other suddenly found a pole in its head.

I doubt even a robot could survive that. But to be on the safe side, I hit it in the weak spot just in case.

Ripping the bottom of my pants, I gagged the Ghosts and tied them up. As an extra precaution, I ripped the pole out of the Flyboy and used it as a baseball bat. With their heads being the ball of course.

"Was that really necessary?" asked the Voice. I rolled my eyes and ignored him.

Once everything was taking care of, I limped over towards the poor wolf. The gash in my leg had reopened, but it was momentarily forgotten. Kneeing down, I laid a hand on her neck, finding the pulse. Who would have thought traveling with a talking wolf would come in handy.

It was there, the pulse, but it was faint. Oh, man. It was not good. I continued on, running my hand over her body and as I did so, I could feel her body tense slightly every time I passed a broken bone. Each time it happened, I could feel my anger building. When I got my hands on Ari. . .

She was hurt. She was majorly hurt. She was in so much pain, I'm surprised she's not dead from the shock alone. I suppose that's the difference between animals and humans. Animals are better developed and can shut down systems when something like this happens.

Still, I didn't know how long she would be able to survive. I would need to find a vet or at least a doctor. Otherwise she won't survive. However, there was one distinct problem. I'm sure you can guess what it is.

"That was stupid Max, you could have gotten hurt."

"You can either help or get lost. Pick."

Something akin to a mental sigh came over the link. "Fine Max. Follow my instructions and you'll arrive at Arc's medical base."

A/N Reviews would be nice.