Chapter Nine

There was silence again. Fang's eyes had slightly gone wide, Gazzy was gaping, and Nudge looked at Angel with a look that pitied the young girl that could read minds. Max was cheering inside

Aha! Knew it, knew she was up to no good, Erasers!

Lost a powerful Ally, Max

Oh shut up, voice

Just wait

Now her spirits were dampened, then she looked at Iggy and was completely in sorrow's grip. Iggy had a complete look of disbelief spread on his face. If Max could read minds, she bet she'd be hearing him making up excuses, maybe say that Angel was wrong, defend Fail. It was a new look to him, a new look that made Max feel sorry for the blind one.

"Eraser…" Max immediately recognized the voice as Fail's but she sounded…different.

"That's what they called me," she said. The flock started to look around the clearing (besides Iggy) but saw no trace of Fail.

"First I was Experiment F0873, then an Eraser, now a failure" Her voice showed signs of hurt but no one paid attention to her tone.

Rage started to course through Max's body as she thought of all the possibilities. She could've been trying to befriend them, and then, just like that, turn her back on the flock, betray them. She could've been planning to lure them into an Eraser ambush; after all, she was one of them.

"Where are you?" Max stood up and looked around the clearing, in the nearby trees, speaking through gritted teeth.

"Where shouldn't matter" Was Fail's reply, in a growl "But now I'm gone…" Her voice faded after that. Now that the forest was silent, Max could hear running footsteps, distant, and heading north, far away from them.

"I can't believe it" Max turned to see Iggy shaking his head, "I trusted her"

"We all did" Max said, stepping toward him "But we now know what she was, and probably what she was planning" her words, once again, soundedlike they didn't belong to her, like something was influencing her to say them, or someone was simply speaking through her, using her just as an instrument for words.She placed a hand on Iggy's shoulder. Once he felt her hand he pulled away, his blind eyes now narrowed and his teeth gritted, then he relaxed.

"You're right," he said to Max, nodding "Eraser's can't be trusted fully" he said. Max cocked her head, why was he acting so strange. However, then again, each one of them was acting strange ever since the first encounter in Itex. Iggy suddenly stood up

"I'm going to go for a walk"

"You sure?"

"I've been here long enough to know the forest well enough to get around." He replied coolly. Max nodded, and watched as he easily walked into the forest, out of the clearing. She watched him until she saw that Gazzy was looking at her. He had a pleading look that said it all. Max nodded and he bolted after Iggy, making Max smile slightly the way he always wanted to know where Iggy went nowadays.

Iggy stuffed his hands into his pockets. He couldn't believe it, Fail was an Eraser. Maybe that's why she was so hesitant to say what she was earlier on. By now, it was afternoon, and the sun was sinking quickly, to him at least. Then he heard footsteps behind him, then a voice he recognized as Gazzy's

"Wait up" Gazzy's footsteps came to a halt right next to Iggy, and then continued to walk next to the blind teen at a slower pace.

"Hey Gazzy" Iggy said in a sigh.

"Did you know Fail was an Eraser?" Gazzy's question was abrupt, and though Iggy had been expecting it, he couldn't say thathe wasn't completely thrown off, especially by the eight-year-olds bitter tone.

Iggy shook his head "No, she wouldn't tell me"

"Good for nothing Eraser" Gazzy spat, though he felt somewhat bad by the way, Iggy reacted with a slight wince.

"They keep attacking us and all, but now, now they're trying to be friends with us and then… betray us" His voice got fainter and fainter as he saw the look of sorrow spread farther and farther into Iggy's expression.

Iggy shrugged when Gazzy hadn't continued to speak. Truth be told, he wasn't listening to a single word the kid said, all he thought about was Fail, her voice, her touch, he only wished he could've seen her before he knew what she truly was. Then he decided something that was raging in his mind since the flock discovered that Fail was an Eraser. He looked in the direction of Gazzy's voice, and smirked.

"What?" Gazzy asked, intimidation in his voice.

Iggy reached out and ruffled Gazzy's blond hair, his smirk became a scowl "I'm sorry"

"Sorry… sorry for wha-" Gazzy's vision went black and his body fell back to hit the ground.

Iggy shook his hand out, looking towards the sound Gazzy's limp body made when it hit the ground "Sorry Gazzy, but if I told you, you wouldn't let me go"

He sighed before heading deeper into the forest, groping his way through the trees into unknown territory.

He tripped, stumbled, hit his head, and stubbed his toes as he made his way through the forest that was gradually thinning. He had a deep gash under his eye from a branch and the side of his shirt was torn from the brush. He gained many scratches on his limbs and he was beginning to grow tired. He was panting and his throat hurt from calling Fail's name for an hour and a half, plus his wings felt like lead and refused to let him fly, probably tired. He stumbled over the ground and groped for a tree, to find none was there. He searched with his left hand, no trees, his right, still no trees. He stepped forward a few more paces, only to be greeted by pain. Something like a log hit his knees and he fell face forward. He put his hands in front of him expecting ground, but there was none. Then he hit the slope. The dirt was soggy and felt like soil and the slope was steep. He groped for the edge of the slope but found that he had already slid out of reach. The roaring of water beat into his ears, and his wings still would not snap open to allow him freedomby flight. A storming river was below him, he couldn't tell how far but he knew, he was going to fall into a chasm. A hand suddenly shot out and grabbed his own groping hand. Sharp nails dug into his skin and pulled him up

"Need a lift?" He breathed in relief as he recognized Fail's voice. She pulled him up the rest of the way and soon, he lay on his back, covered in dirt and water. His wings were soaked and he felt that some feathers had been pulled. Iggy was gasping for air when he felt that Fail was hovering over him.

"What are you doing way out here?" She asked.

"Looking… for- you" Iggy replied through gasping breaths. For a moment, Fail was silent, until:

"Why?"

"I don't believe you're evil" Iggy felt Fail's eyes looking at him, probably with shock or a look that said -You lunatic! You're blind, you shouldn't be out here!-. He sat up, with a grin on his face when that thought crossed his mind. However, he was thrown off guard when he felt arms around him.

"Thank you" Fail whispered in his ear before pulling away and breaking the embrace. Iggy was staring at her, completely shocked, but somewhere in his mind, he was mesmerized. He felt heat emit from his face and he turned away from her before she could see him blush a scarlet red.

"No problem" he muttered. Then he felt Fail grab his hand again and pull him up off the ground "Come on I want to show you something" He was about to object that he couldn't see anything but she pulled him along, the forest on his right and the pit to his left, not letting him say anything, even as his mind wandered.