A snarling Eraser face appeared right next to me. I flung Nudge and Angel as they started screaming. I saw them unfurling their wings and floating above us. That was the last I saw of them before the Eraserleapt at me, barely giving me time to unsheathe my claws. "Get off me!" I yelled, cursing him with everything I could think of. (I have a very extended vocabulary) A swift kick sent him flying into the ocean. I ran over to see everyone fighting like dogssquabbling over a bone. Bella was standing over Mitchie and Avery, both of them unconscious and bleeding badly.

The beast had taken over completely. No sneers, no nasty little remarks, nothing. Just a bloodcurdling shriek that made everyone freeze in their tracks. I swear I saw one of the Erasers hide behind a rock. Her eyes were a glowing red and her wings were fully spread out. She shrieked again, thendove at me and started tearing at my sides. Her claws stabbed at my face, cutting into the skin deeply. I won't get into details, but let's just say I discovered how much blood there is in half-humans. It was indescribable pain; no one could ever know how it felt. No one but me.

I could distantly see Max tackling the monster and punching as hard as she could. There were more screams and yells, but it all disappeared as I thankfully blacked out.

I woke up and the first thing I saw was blood. Blood. Everywhere. On the rocks, on the beach, the water was stained a deep red as it splashed against the rocks. I sat up to see Angel sitting across from me, waiting. "Are you ok?" she asked. No, my sides are killing me, I have a big cut in my head, I'm bleeding, I AM NOT OK!

"Yeah. I'm fine. Where's everyone else?" She pointed. Moony was lying against one of the boulders, a large gash stretching from his forehead and over his eye to his right cheek. He'd be blinded in that eye forever. The flaky bark on Weed's face had been completely torn off, revealing smooth brown skin that was hardening. Her clothes were stained with blood that wasn't hers. Mitchie was rubbing white stuff onto her numerous wounds, talking quietly to Iggy. I could see the rest of the Birds huddled together in a little group. But Avery wasn't there.

I decided to look for him myself. Hey, we wildcats are stalkers. (literally) It's natural. I found him on another part of the beach, looking kind of upset. By his feet lay Bella, her eyes open wide and her breathing harsh. Her golden hair was stained coppery, her skin pale. She looked like a redhead albino with the flu.

"What happened?" I asked. He didn't look up but said, "She was going to kill everyone. I had to do it." I sounded more like he was telling himself than me.

"Had to do what?" I asked. He didn't answer." Is she…?"

He nodded. "She's dying." She's dying. Oh, crap. I hated her like heck, I admit that I had wanted her to die but now that she was actually dying, it felt so…wrong. Why? I whipped my sunglasses off (they were completely useless-the lenses had broken) and kneeled down. I whispered, "Please show me everything" and looked into her fading eyes.

It felt so dark. And lonely. Just me and a half-dead girl. And her memories flashing by. They flew past like birds, disappearing one by one. I won't share because it's personal, but after a while I could see why she was so bitter towards us partial humans. It was horrible. But something did catch my eye, something important. Papers. White papers fluttering past me, right past me.

Name: Susanna Silvers.

That's my last name? Cool.

Date of Birth: April 16, 1992

Ah, so I really am fourteen.

Address: 162 Angel Park, PA

Oh, my God. My address. The place I came from. My home. My address. I could feel the light shining on my face as I was pulled back into reality. Bella's eyes were glazed over and she was still. Avery was watching, a painful expression on his face. "Thank you," I whispered, closing her eyes.

We buried her later, near the woods. The others left and it was only Avery and I. Avery looked at me, his eyes peeking out from behind his reddish-brown bangs. "Why?" he murmured sadly. "Why do people have to die?"

"Well, why do people have to live?" I responded softly. He gave me a teeny smile.

"Well?" he asked. "What did you see, before?"

"I have a home. A real home. And it's in Pennsylvania."

"A real home?" He looked surprised. "Are you going to go there?" I shook my head.

"Why should I? My home is with you guys." I smiled at him. He smiled back. Then, he leaned forward and brushed his lips against mine. Oh. My. GOD! He grinned and left me with my brain screaming.

He kissed you. He KISSED you.

So he did, so he did.

But this is so sudden!

Was it? Now that I thought about it, he'd always seemed to be willing to talk with me. I'd never really noticed those beautiful dark eyes, or the way his hair seemed to glow copper when the sun beamed down on him.

Maybe it's not so sudden.

Well? What're you going to do?

Well, that's easy. I'm going to teach myself to appreciate what I have. And, I added, I 'm going to stop those nuts from ruining other people's dreams.