It was pouring really, really hard. Max and the bird kids flew us to a huge cave in the side of the Grand Canyon. There were like, four tunnels that led to different rooms, so the birds got one room, Avery and Moony shared one, me and Willow shared one, and the other one was the living room. Since we were all sopping wet, Nudge wisely suggested we all dry off.
I was watching the little fire Willow and I had made when Angel came in. The little blonde girl was watching us carefully, her dog under one arm and the bear dangling from her opposite hand. "What's your name?" she asked Willow.
Willow blinked in response. "Willow? That's a pretty name." Angel was obviously using her mind reading powers. Willow shook her head. "You want to change it?" I looked up in surprise. Angel looked back and explained, "She thinks Willow is too soft. She says she wants a name that's strong and…" she frowned. "What does individual-is-tick mean?"
"It means different," I tried to explain; slightly adjusting my shades so I could look at her without her being three tones darker than normal. "Well…how about Weed?"
Angel nodded. "She says she likes that name. I like it too. And so does Total," she added. Total barked happily. "And Celeste too." I rolled my eyes. How old was this kid?
"I'm six. But I'll be seven soon!" Angel said proudly. Stupid mind powers…
At dinner (if you could call it a dinner) we all ate silently except for Angel, who was explaining about Weed's new name. Moony raised an eyebrow with his mouth stuffed with chicken, his yellow eyes darting towards Weed. "Weer nem choith," he commented before swallowing his mouthful.
"So, what's next?" Fang asked. "It looks like the School's forces are losing power."
Avery said nothing, his eyes dull and blank. He had a red cut on his face and his arms were covered with scratches. But it looked like emotions hurt more than any battle scar. Max seemed to notice this, because she said, "Well, let's just go to sleep. We can figure out what to do in the morning." Her suggestion was answered with yawns and mutters of "good night". Iggy put out the fire and the entire cave went dim.
I couldn't sleep. Weed was breathing peacefully, her chest rising and falling as she slept. The rain hadn't stopped yet, and I could hear thunder in the distance. Perfect, I thought. Just perfect. It was still dark, and I could hear snoring, so I headed outside to be by myself.
It was freezing, it was cold, it was pouring tub loads of water, but I stayed outside anyways. I was sitting on a little ledge sticking out under our cave, talking to a skinny little tree.
"You're lucky, you know," I told it. "I bet you're not some outcast to treemanity or stuck as a lab reject." The spiny mass of twigs nodded sympathetically. Okay, it was really swaying forward in the wind. But I pretended it was nodding sympathetically. I suddenly stiffened, alarm spreading through my body. Someone was nearby. I turned and relaxed. Just Avery.
"Hi!" I said, trying to talk over the wind. I'd abandoned my plant friend and went over to talk to Avery. Avery looked up and grinned weakly. His hair, originally reddish brown, was completely wet and plastered to his face. "You couldn't sleep either?"
"Yeah…" was the answer. I sat down next to him, trying to talk without getting a zillion raindrops in my mouth.
"Ok, what's wrong?" I demanded. He sighed in this weird way.
"It's just…. I thought I could escape it, you know? Escape him. But he's always there, haunting my life. I can't get it out of my head. This guy, he handed me over to them. I remember him playing with me, taking care of me. He's my dad." He shivered when he said the last word. But who could blame him? Not me. "The memories are just there like someone glued them into my brain, and I can't get them out."
"Well…" I started slowly, trying to figure it out. "That's all in the past. Sure, they're still there in your heart. But they can't do anything to your life. Memories have no power. They'll just fade away."
Avery nodded and turned his head as the sky slowly cleared and the glowing sun began creeping over the edge if the canyon.
"But…" he said quietly. "What if they don't?"