I watched as angry dark
clouds rolled in and the sea was beginning to churn, its beautiful
blue waters turning dark blue almost black as the storm approached.
My messenger bird had returned, but there was no response to the
message I had sent. Heartbroken and feeling betrayed, I sent out
birds to the remaining Ghosts to gather at PC's warehouse, which
wasn't to far from the beach. Gulls cried out noisily scattering in
all directions as I walked through their flock. I didn't know what
to feel at the current moment. Should I plea for PC's life? Why had
he not responded gnawed at me…WHY! PC would never, not respond to
something this important. Did the Whitecoats intercept the message?
Or had he truly gone over to their side…NO he would NEVER! …or
would he?
"Breeaka!" Feather shouted over the sound of the
crashing wave. I waved to her as I approached.
"You made it. Is
everyone else here?" I asked casting aside my own dismal façade
and putting on a pleasant smile.
Feather nodded "Yes, Come on
inside. The storm will start to pick up soon." I followed her into
the room where we had met once before. I couldn't help, but frown
as I saw Reynard and Mercy. Those two had always been a thorn in my
side when PC was absent. Thank goodness Roc and my supporters were
there. But they, if given good reason could turn on me. Freedom,our
kind anyway came from with a different price tag, than the usual. It
all depended on your ability to influence your group. It was a system
of back biting and at times backstabbing and that sometimes that was
meant literally. Although killing members was an action that we were
extremely uncomfortable with, if one was to die to save the majority,
we would go to such lengths and unfortunately PC was no exception.
I
slammed my fist on the table and said "This meeting is going to
begin…agreed?"
Everyone present slammed their fists down and
replied in unison "agreed."
"Alright now, to the task at
hand," Reynard said. "Did you get a response?" How rude, I
thought to myself. He was jumping at the opportunity to make me look
bad and he was succeeding… little urchin. But I maintained my
composure.
"No, there was no response to the letter sent—."
"SEE! He HAS betrayed us!" Reynard cried getting up from his
chair.
"SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP UNTIL I'M FINISHED!" I shouted
as I slammed both hands on the table and rose out of my chair.
Reynard shrank back; I bet he wasn't expecting that little
outburst. "The message may not have been answered, but the bird
returned unharmed," I said calmly sitting down. Murmurs rose from
the other Ghosts.
" What significance does that hold?" Mercy
asked.
"It means that since the bird wasn't captured or
killed the reasons for no response could be because PC wasn't able
to get to the bird in time."
Mercy sighed and rested her chin
in the palm of her left hand "That is plausible… I realized that
our little test had too many variables there are a number of things
that could have gone wrong. However due to the fact that PC owes his
allegiance to Jeb there is also the possibility that the bird had
escaped from him."
"That's ridiculous," I muttered,
hoping that she didn't hear, but nothing escapes Mercy. " Is it?"
she asked smartly. I said nothing.
"Listen, we can second guess
this all we want, but as we speak the School and their agents are out
there catching experiments and doing terrible things to them. To top
it all off the School is now making an effort to bring us down. Who
knows how long it will be until a collector like Purple Cat comes and
knocks at our door." Reynard said.
"I still don't think
it's fair. We haven't heard PC's side of the story," Roc
interjected.
"If PC wanted to explain himself he would have
answered the message."
"Reynard is right," Feather said "I
hate to say it, but the School is cracking down on us. In my
territory we are starting to feel the heat, Eraser squads are
sweeping through in greater numbers."
"Is this true else
where?" Mercy asked. Everyone nodded slowly… even I had to agree
that I had seen more Erasers than usual. "We need to stop this
before it escalates. We may not know if PC has revealed any
information, but I don't think we should give him the chance or Jeb
for that matter," Mercy said. I HATED her right now, I had disliked
Mercy before, but now I HATED her more than ever. Reality is no fun
in circumstances such as these. But she was right, unfortunately and
if I wanted to stay in control of this network I would have to grant
the unthinkable. Suppressing the knot in my throat I asked " Who's
going to do it then? Which of you is willing to put blood on your
hands…."…..
Silence swept across
the tiny room.
"Just as I thought," I scoffed "Everyone
wants PC taken down without getting their hands dirty…. Well,
someone has to do it."
"Why don't you?" Reynard retorted.
"Oh yeah…I forgot you like him…and when I say like him, I
mean..."
"Don't say it," I warned.
"You LOVE him,"
he replied disdainfully.
I reached across the table, wring
Reynard's snide little neck, but Mercy caught my hand and held it
tight. "That's enough! Since I'm the one that suggested, it I
will be the one to kill him."
"Why?" I asked wrenching my
hand away from her. "Because you don't have the stomach for it,"
she replied quietly.
"Oh and you do?" she pulled out her
lighter and began to play with it. "Yes."
"Fine. The task
is yours. We will meet again once Mercy has taken care of PC.
Agreed?" Everyone nodded. "Fine then this meeting is over," I
said slamming my fist on the table. Everyone left except Roc and I. I
sat in my chair, my feet propped up on the table my arms dropped at
my sides. Mercy said that I didn't have the stomach to kill PC. But
in a sense I did…I allowed her to kill him. This meeting hadn't
gone as well as I had hoped and I wished there was more that I could
have said to sway the group in my favor, but without me actually
being there to see what PC had done…this was all that I could. Sit
back and let someone murder my best friend. I felt dirty and I think
this same uncomfortable feeling was similar to the one PC must've
felt when he agreed to help Jeb. The room I sat in was darker than
usual and it seemed to be raining harder…just for me. Roc placed a
hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged it off. "Don't touch me," I
said.
"I'm sorry, Bree," Roc compassionately, however for
some reason or another I doubted Roc's sincerity. It seemed like
everyone was against me and I grew angry.
"Sorry?...SORRY!" I
looked up at him wrath in my eyes. "PC saved your life once! And
all you can say is sorry! Is "sorry" all you can say when you
only said one thing in his defense!" I snarled. Roc reached out
hold me, but I moved away and began to leave the room, "I said
don't touch me."
"Bree, how are you going to get home?
It's 300 miles away!" he called after me.
"I'LL FREAKIN
WALK!" I snapped back and stormed out into the rain….
School …sucks…I
know, I was there, when I was…well human. But you know what folks,
the school I'm at sucks even more and the homework, which in my
case was training, sucks even more. As you may remember…Jeb wanted
us to be trained in aerial tactics…something I never shined at and
Raf hated. But we were taught it and we unfortunately learned it. Now
no bird kid was safe not on the ground or in the air. The training
cycle needless to say was vicious. Everyday, Chase would come pound
on our door at ungodly hours of the morning and then came breakfast
than out to the School grounds. There we were taught by another
individual NOT on my "favorite persons" list, Kane. Even at 4:00
in the morning she still had the energy to give me that disdainful
stare. Now you're probably thinking that the people at the School
are pretty stupid letting Raf and I fly around freely …well you
thought wrong. We always had the Rings on and even though that
couldn't prevent us from flying away …sharp shooters and
Grapplers would. Grapplers are a kind of device that are placed all
over the School grounds. The way they bring you down is quick,
terrifying, and painful. I hadn't had an experience with a
Grappler, but judging by the demonstration shown to us…the device
was no fun. Training went on for several weeks until Raf and I were
finally well practiced enough to be efficient in the air….
10:00
p.m…the standard time in which Raf and I finally got to sit down
and lick our wounds, and I took this expression into a more literal
context on some days …I know...it's gross, but I'm not entirely
human anyway.
"Will you stop that," Raf said annoyed.
"Sorry…can't be helped," I said licking a cut on my arm.
"Well at least you are in your cat form if you were in your human
form ...that would be …unsettling." I stopped after a while and
we enjoyed the evening in silence, Raf was absorbed in another puzzle
book and I in a magazine that I must have red 100 times. The calm
atmosphere, by…you guessed it another knock at our door.
"Who
is it?" I asked, placing the magazine on my stomach.
"It's
Kane, let me in," she replied, her voice muffled by the thick door.
Raf and I looked at each other.
"Do you want to let her in?"
he mouthed to me.
"NO" I mouthed back. The knocks
intensified.
"I'm WAITING! Purple Cat!" I mimicked her and
Raf followed suit. Soon we were absorbed in a game of who could
imitate her best and Kane's knocks went unnoticed even though we
did this silently.
"PURPLE CAT! OPEN THIS DOOR!" she shouted.
I suppressed my laughter and finally walked to the door and poked my
head out.
"Yes?" I said pleasantly. "Why are you yelling?"
"Don't play cute with me…YOU heard me?"
"Well…actually…"I said sticking my pinky finger into me
ear and flicking out a speck of wax" I didn't hear anything." I
lied playfully "As a matter of fact …I think since you slammed my
head into the concrete during practice today …I think my eardrum in
this ear has been rattled." Kane stared at me exasperatedly, her
lips in a line and her arms taut as she crossed them in front of her
small chest. "I find that hard to believe, Purple Cat…because
according to your file your skull is about 10 inches thick…I think
you're fine. Now let me in."
"You're no fun." I pouted
letting her pass. Once she was inside I asked "So why have you
graced us with your presence this evening?"…..
Kane sat herself down
across from me on Rafmire's bed, shoving the puzzle books out of
the way.
"As you know your first mission is tomorrow. Jeb sent
me here to go over the details with you."
"Don't worry we
did our homework," I said pulling out the file and plopping it in
her lap. Kane sifted through the papers and the not to flattering
photograph of our latest target. "Our target calls himself, Storm,
very unoriginal if you ask me."
"It's a good name because
it names what he is designed for…weather control, to be more
specific, thunderstorms."
"We know," I said frivolously.
"I understand that, but there are a few details you need to
know. First of all Storm, no longer travels alone, he has formed his
own flock. According to our sources there are three other kids
traveling with him, each of them having their own special ability."
Kane produced three more files and plopped them in my lap. "I
suggest you familiarize yourself with those extra members."
"Wait
a minute…you want us to bring down an entire flock?"
"I'm
not asking you to do anything …Jeb is," Kane replied with a sly
smile.
"How does he expect us to do THAT. There is only two of
us and four of them. Not to mention the TINY detail that they all
have powers."
"Come on, PC I thought you had more confidence
than that."
" I do have confidence, Kane, I just don't want
to get my butt maimed."
She chuckled "Don't worry there is
not much back there to maim."
Rafmire whistled. "Uh
oh...someone got served," he said quietly.
"Shut up." I
muttered.
"Anyways, there will be three of us…not two,"
Kane said.
"Pardon?"
"I will accompany you on your
first mission."
"Some secretary," I remarked placing the
extra files next to me. "I thought you said you hated "us
collectors" and that you were "ONLY" Jeb;s secretary."
"I
am Jeb's secretary and hopefully if you two do your job right, I
won't have to intervene at all. All I am doing on this mission is
recording data and calling personnel. The only kind of action I will
be doing is dragging your sorry butts out of there if you become
incapacitated." Kane stood up and headed for the door. "Rest up
boys, I will see you tomorrow at the garage."
That night we
both slept great, but MAN it was short. It only seemed that we had
been asleep for five minutes and then Chase came by to knock on our
door. But this time it wasn't at some ungodly hour of the morning
it was around 10:00, which isn't half bad…I wasn't to concerned
about sleep because I wasn't the one that was driving. Rafmire
looked in top form as usual, with lazy half lidded eyes open and
always watching. He looked sleepy but he was in fact alert. The new
car we got to ride in was a Volkswagen GTI , but it was a slightly
different model and had more trunk space, ANDit was black ….WHY IS
IT ALWAYS BLACK ! IS EVERYONE AT THE SCHOOL COLOR BLIND!...Personally
I would've liked the care to be blue or something…any color but
black. Rafmire actually would have preferred it if the car was grey.
But what ever the color…Raf seemed to take a liking to the new car
and became its undeclared driver. That morning Kane was waiting for
us dressed in regular clothes. She wore a black shirt with tight blue
jeans and boots to match, her wings were also hidden from view. Raf
was clad in his usual baggy black ensemble and his wings were also
tucked away. I was wearing my traditional cargo pants and hoody
although this one was sleeveless. I also had my glasses to mask my
red eyes, which never went away no matter what form I took. It was
awkward being back in a human shape, since I had been in my cat form
for so long. As we approached,
Kane looked at her watch and
frowned," You both are late we should have been gone two minutes
ago."
"What difference does it make," I asked handing her
the files on our targets. "Here. Can you hold on to these?"
She
took them from me " I guess I could. " I opened the door for her
and she got inside.
"How unlike you, PC you're being
courteous this morning" I snorted and closed the door, then slid in
on the passenger side.
"Alright kiddies...is everyone ready to
go?" Raf asked adjusting his seat.
"Yeah." I replied and
Kane nodded.
"Okay then." We were off…
So it has come to this…
I have killed off dangerous members before. But I guess I am finding
this particular task hard…because I'm killing one of the
Network's founders and a key one at that. This decision Bree has
made though for the good of the Network bothers me … but then again
it was my suggestion. I sat in my room with the lights off listening
to other inhabitants wondering the halls. My home is located in an
apartment complex on the thoroughly pleasant side of town on the west
coast. Currently I was sitting at my kitchen table, playing with my
lighter. I always did that, when I needed to make a decision or just
to think. There was something comforting about holding the object in
my hand and watching the flame as it appeared instantly before me…it
was almost like magic. In the background my stupid clock ticked
incessantly as I sat there clutching my lighter. I sighed and got up
from the table and walked over to my bed and pulled out a small box
and then returned to the kitchen table to think again. Inside the box
contained a weapon of sorts…one that I had taken from an Eraser
many years ago, as if my telepathy wasn't potent enough. There was
no doubt in my mind that I would do what needed to be done. The only
question that remained was "how" I would do it. PC was not just
an animal you could track down and kill…with little effort. The
most humane way would be to shoot him and the cruelest way would be
to take him down with telepathy….choices. My relationship with PC
was nothing special, he never really spoke to me unless I said
something first. I opened the box and pulled out the contents and
placed them on the table. It was the middle of the week and I had two
days since my return to think about it. Finally after another 30
minutes of stalling… I had finally reached my decision.
"Sorry
PC…" I said quietly, putting the gun away. "This isn't
personal…"…..
I could have been home in half an hour…do to my ability to run really fast, but I didn't. Walking in the rain is not as fun as it sounds especially in a storm. A thing that is worse than the rain and the fact that everything on you is soaked is the wind. The winds were pretty bad and if I had decided to run the rain would feel like pebbles pelting me all at once. As I walked, several people stopped on the roadside to offer me a ride naturally I declined and kept walking, the slowest trek I had ever made in my life. There was so much rain that they acted as tears for me since I am biologically unable to cry. I felt anxious, I didn't know what I would do once I reached home, but at least I had another 200 miles to think it over.
Car rides are pretty
dull if there is nothing to do and you are traveling with someone you
don't really like. Kane and I kept our banter to a minimum, mostly,
but right now it seemed like an eternity and I was getting restless.
"Are we there yet?" I asked my bare feet propped up on the
dashboard.
"How many times are you going to ask me that?" Raf
asked.
"Dunno, as many times as I need too."
"Well it's
getting on MY nerves," Kane interjected.
"Well look who's
still alive back there."
"Shut up!"
"Why don't
you?"
"Cause! I'm up front and when you are up front you
get to tell other people what to do!" " Okay then, I want to be
up front."
"You can't."
"Why"
"Because
you're a girl… besides the front is guy territory."
"Like
Hell it is!" Kane and I began to argue back and forth. It wasn't
the most productive thing we could be doing, but at least it was
taking my mind off the rode.
"STOP IT!" Raf snapped.
"Well
he started it!" Kane jeered. Raf pulled over and abruptly slammed
on the breaks.
Raf took a deep breath, "Listen very carefully…I
don't care who started it. But I will tell you one thing. The NEXT
person that starts an argument is finishing the remainder of the trip
IN THE TRUNK…GOT IT!" Kane and I nodded hastily. "Good and to
put you at ease PC, we are about half an hour away from Red Lake."
"Thanks." Raf pulled off the side of the road and we were off
again.
"Kane."
"Yes?"
"Those files on Storm's
flock could you read them to us please. We didn't get a chance to
read them while we were at the School."
"Sure." Kane opened
a grey notebook that she had brought with her to record data and
pulled out the folders. "Let's see here…the first one I have
here is a girl. Her real name is Naomi Johansson., age: 15,
experiment type…bird kid, with a specialty in water... she doesn't
control it though, but she's able to turn her body into water at
will. The date she escaped was in December of last year and her
experiment name was Crystal. She calls herself, Nia.
Next member
is a guy. His real name is Blake Ketchersrow, his age is the same as
Storm's, 16 and he is a bird kid as well with a specialty in wind
and exhibits exceptional strength. The date he escaped was April 15,
1999…a year after Storm. His experiment name …stereotypically is
Gale. He calls himself Torrin.
The last one is a girl …real
name, Anne Portman, age 12, type bird kid with a specialty in sound.
Date of escape the same as Nia, experiment name Bleep? …poor
kid…and she calls herself Voice… Do you want me to refresh your
memory about Storm?"
"No, that's alright," Raf said. The
thirty minutes went by and soon we saw buildings and people as well
as a sign that said "Welcome to Red Lake." This was the town
where our flock was last spotted and hopefully they were still here.
Firstly, one cannot fight on an empty stomach, so naturally we
stopped for food and I used the reward money from Gozbud's capture
to pay for it. It was difficult to part with, but he we have to eat.
After stuffing our faces, we began to scour Red Lake for our targets.
On our search we got to use one of a few new gadgets the School
equipped us with. It was a tracking device in the form of a PDA. At
the School and all it's branches, it is standard procedure to
implant experiments with a tracking device, very similar to the ones
put inside pets. This makes it easy for Collectors or Erasers to
track down escapees and bring them back. The device also known as a
Finder, has a large scanning radius, but even with this fancy
technology we couldn't find Storm or his flock. We checked all the
likely places, such as parks, alleys, abandoned or under construction
buildings…but we came up with nothing. Frustrated and tired at the
end of the day, we called it quits and went to have dinner, then left
town. When it got dark Raf pulled over and we setup camp on the side
of the road. "Now what," I yawned reclining my chair and finding
a comfortable position.
"I guess….we head for the next town…"
Raf said sleepily. "Maybe we will have better luck there." Raf
locked the doors and reclined his chair.
"Wait a minute, you
two! You can't go to sleep yet," Kane said.
I opened one eye,
"Why not?"
"Because it's only 11:37 p.m. you can't
sleep until midnight."
"Says who?"
"Says the
schedule," she said waving a document in my face.
I looked at
it groggily my patience wearing thin, "Look Kane, we don't run on
schedules…you know why? Because life happens and nothing always
goes according to plan…I learned that the hard way. Now get some
sleep. If it makes you feel better we will wake up an hour earlier."
I reached under my seat and pulled out a small pillow and handed it
to her with her schedule on top of it. For once she didn't argue
with me and took the pillow. Happy, I closed my eyes and went to
sleep…..
My eyes snapped
open…for two reasons… one I had another disturbing dream, the
same one that I had had for the past month or so. Me hugging
something soft and cold and a storm of crows forming an organic
whirlwind…protecting me from three figures one that I recognized.
The memories of my past are fuzzy, either something happened that was
so traumatic that I blocked it from memory or I just couldn't
remember. The other reason from my early arousal was the Finder,
which vibrated in my pocket. Sitting up I tapped the screen with the
stylus and a message flashed before me: 1 Target found.
"One?"
I muttered. That was odd, usually flocks stay together…maybe this
one split? Suddenly out of the corner of my eye I saw a shadow move
outside my window. I groaned "Why now…it's 4 in the
morning….Wake up PC, there is a target near by…PC!"
He
opened one eye, "What?"
"The Finder has picked up one of
our targets."
PC gestured sleepily for the Finder and looked at
the screen. "So it has…I wonder how—." Suddenly something
began to shake the car violently, then before we could act the car
was airborne and then rolled over several times before slamming into
a tree. I laid there for a moments both in fear and shock. My head
hurt and I felt blood trickle down the side of my face. I didn't
know how badly I was hurt, but I decided to move anyway. Fumbling
around in the dark for the keys and put them in the ignition to turn
the lights on.
"Is everyone alright?" I asked.
"I'm
fine," Kane said, sounding shaken. She had a small cut on her for
head and sustained a few bruises. I looked over on the passenger side
and PC was gone, the window on his side was busted.
"PC?" I
called. There was no response five minutes lingered and I was
starting to get a little worried. But before I could even begin to
get the impression that he might not have survived. A few bone
crunching sounds resonated in the night, which made my stomach churn.
Next a trembling hand grabbed onto the window frame.
"Uh…I'm…getting…too old for this…" he grunted
hoisting himself up. PC didn't look too bad, just some cuts and a
few bruises. "I'm guessing that that target was Torrin," He
said casually, opening the door and sitting back in his chair.
"Must
have been," I said.
"Charming…at least we got a taste of
what we are in for."
I nodded…This mission was already
proving to be a little unnerving …what next…
It was
a clear night, which made for easy flying; Torrin pleased with his
latest endeavor was making he way back to join his flock in the
forest, not to far from the road where he found the Collectors. He
spiraled down to the ground where he was greeted by the other members
of his flock.
"You're back!" the youngest member, known as
Voice said. She ran to Torrin and gave him a hug.
"That's
right," he said embracing her.
"Did you get them, Torrin? Did
you get them good?" she asked.
"Yeah, they won't be
bothering us anymore."
"Good work, Torrin," said Storm, who
had perched himself on a large rock.
"Now what do we do?" Nia
asked
. "We head for the next town, Garner Springs…from what
I've heard it's a good place to hide."….
