"Why did you do
that?" Kane said in an almost accusing tone.
"What do you
mean?"
"Why did you let them go?"
I shrugged. "Why
are you all upset for? You say I only do things to save my skinny
butt." Kane grinded her teeth, I didn't understand her. She hates
my guts when I catch experiments and she hates my guts when I let
them go free.
"What am I supposed to tell them when we come
back with only two experiments?" she said shaking her note book at
me. Kane had a very good point…I hadn't exactly worked out that
detail yet. The sun was rising, its rays soaked up by an overcast sky
of ugly clouds. They moved quickly across the sky riding on cold
winds. Suddenly a single crow appeared cawing loudly and moving fast.
Soon more crows started to appear and then entire flocks were
crossing the sky above our heads. Lighting ripped through that sky
while thunder boomed loudly adding to the noise of the thousands of
birds.
"What's going on? Kane said dumfounded. "It seems
like the end of the world has come."
"Sure does or something
out of a Hitchcock film….but it's not. Kane come on, we've got
to move. Raf's in trouble," I said sliding in to the passenger's
side. "What are you waiting for? DRIVE!" Kane slammed on the gas
and turned off the empty street.
"How are we going to find
him?" she asked.
"Follow the crows, they'll lead us to
him." Surprisingly enough they were all heading in the same
direction. Citizens, who were setting up shop for the day stared up
at the skies in awe.
"Do you know why they are all here?"
"Yeah, it's Rafmire…this is one of his powers…one he
rarely uses. I've only seen him do it once before now, a long time
ago… on one of our first missions. He called a whole bunch of crows
to defend him and they also made pâté out of our
targets. It's weird…if Raf is under a lot of stress and in a
pinch, crows will come from miles around to protect him. The
freakiest part of it is he doesn't have to say a word or make a
sound, they just come automatically," I explained looking out at
the window. As we neared where the crows were headed, the sky had
turned hideously black.
"We're here," Kane said halting the
car " I'm not taking this vehicle any farther. We need a way to
make it back to the School…I won't risk any more damage to it."
" Fine," I said flatly. " Stay here." I got out and
looked up at the eye of the brewing storm, there the crows had
amassed themselves into an enormous ball. Individual groups would
break away and attack Storm, who was not too far away. That little
twit, he shouldn't have been given these powers. Suddenly, Storm
made a throwing gesture with and lighting struck the ball of crows. I
took cover as hundreds of burnt birds fell like black chard hail. The
ball of crows moved and darted at Storm. It split to form a huge
mouth that engulfed him. I heard him scream in terror and soon
multiple bolts of lighting struck the ball of crows, birds fell like
rain. I didn't know what to do, I wanted to run in and help. But
the problem is I didn't know when my interference would be useful.
There was only one way to find out. I took to the roof tops and
approached bounding from one roof to the other to get a closer look
and find a good opening. I tried not to step on the crows, but every
now an then I would here the crunch of a dying bird's bones beneath
my feet. When I was close as I could get, I watched intently. Storm
was still engulfed in the ball of crows, lightening still lashing
through the air and more birds falling. Now that I was closer, I
could see that there were fewer ones than before, which allowed me to
view two battling figures fighting inside the ball. Suddenly hail the
size of golf balls began to pour down from the sky pelting
everything. This was bad news for Raf and his crows. More birds were
being taken out then ever before, along with repeated lighting
strikes. Storm finally reemerged from the ball of crows. Raf must
have done him a treatment, because Storm's cloths were torn and
there were claw marks all over his body.
"Take this!" he
screamed, raising both hands and brining them down simultaneously.
Multiple lighting bolts lashed out at once and instantly the
remaining crows in the ball burst into flames. "RAF!"……
If I ever had a chance to see hell without dying, this moment was it. The instant the lighting struck my crows, they all burst into flames. Letting out the most tortured cry they could muster, it sounded unworldly. Burning writhing bodies of black birds fluttered around me. They scattered flying in a frenzy, I didn't know why but I just hovered there, my hands plastered against my ears. "Make them stop!" I thought to myself. I wanted to protect them and put out the fires, but I didn't know how. As the flames consumed the crows their cries started to fade out and they began to fall to the earth. Falling crow carcasses started to hit me and set fire to my clothes. It was a living nightmare that I needed to escape from. My wings ached horribly after being in the air for hours fighting Storm. He was tougher than PC gave him credit for. I flapped my wings quickly, trying to neglect the pain and burst out of the ball of flaming crows, hail pelting me from head to toe. Many of the birds had either retreated or lied in the streets below. It was a saddening sight….
I saw Raf
escape on fire and suddenly drop from the sky landing on a roof top.
I immediately moved to his position. From far away Raf didn't look
very beat up, but close up he was a mess. He had rolled around to put
out the flames and was now lying there on the ground among the crows.
"Raf! Are you okay?" I said urgently. I was beginning to
worry.
"Yeah," Raf said distantly, sitting up, his back
turned and holding his right for arm. " I'm fine…But I got
burned…it stings," he hissed between his teeth. The birds smelt
awful, there is nothing like the smell of burnt feathers and flesh to
clear the sinuses. Raf suddenly sneezed and it made me jump. Then he
did it again in succession, and then wiped his nose with his sleeve.
"I think I'm getting a cold too." I watched Storm with one eye
and Rafmire with the other. He seemed droopier than usual and
suddenly rain began to fall hard and fast like liquid bullets.
"Are
you able to keep fighting?" I asked,
"Maybe," Raf replied,
gathering the dead crows around him. It took me a moment to realize
with he was doing. Raf was pulling them close like you would a teddy
bear.
"They didn't deserve this," he said "I never asked
them to come…but they came."
"I'm sorry, Raf," I said
with all sincerity, putting his hand on his shoulder. "But right
now you need to get up. Storm is still out here and this fight isn't
over." He let out a long shaky sigh. I think he was struggling to
pull himself together.
"You're right," he said, finally
placing the bodies down gently. Raf began to rise but then fell
forward gasping.
"What's wrong?"
"Storm…cracked a
few of my ribs…nothing major." He grunted.
"On second
thought maybe you should get back to Kane. She's waiting not to
faraway. "NO, Storm killed my crows and he is going to pay for it."
Raf forced himself to stand. I shook my head there was no point in
arguing with Rafmire. He had never really been passionate about
avenging anyone or anything…so why should I stop him?
"Are
you sure you're up to this?" I didn't know why but I was having
my doubts that Raf could go beyond his endurance.
"Yes," he
said firmly, his clawed fingers wrapped into tight fists and his
pupils constricted to the size of pinheads.
"Okay then…let's
do this."...
I hopped up on the edge
of the building with my midget wings poised for flight. Raf stood
next to me. The weather was becoming more savage by the minute. The
sky swirled and churned like a witch's brew, as high winds howled
and hail and rain pounded everything. Lighting lashed out in varying
lengths and in the center of it all, a pompous bird kid. "These
winds are too strong for me," I said, feeling their force tugging
at my feathers.
"Maybe for you, but not for me. It'll be
difficult, but once we are able to get him to loose focus, taking
Storm down won't be that hard," Raf said.
"Alright." I
took a deep breath and threw myself off the building and began to
plummet. Rain and hail stung my face and the winds were deafening.
Then my body jolted upward as Raf caught me, his arms under mine. He
grunted as he flew toward Storm, avoiding flying debris and barely
dodging bolts of lightening, one stuck in front of us, making us see
oddly colored dots. My heart skipped a beat, if we would have been
struck, if would have been the end for us; even I wasn't resilient
enough to tolerate a lightening. The weird metallic odor of a
lightening strike stung our senses as we surged forward.
Flying
in this mess was nothing short of impossible and down right
dangerous. I didn't realize how perilous it was until I saw debris
that was practically harmless in day to day life go through brick
walls. The rain soaked my feathers making them heavy and the hail and
high winds weren't helping. I was more alert than I ever had been
in a long time. I was tingling all over and my heart was pounding.
Why did we have to get the hardest assignments first? My shoulders
and upper back were on fire, I channeled that pain into anger and
then motivation to keep my wings moving, to get to the source of our
trouble this morning. After dodging a few bricks we were within range
for an attack. I readied myself, my arms tiring from carrying PC's
slim but heavy frame beneath me. 1…2…NO!
Storm smiled
wickedly down at us "Trying to get close to me huh? " With one
whoosh of his arm a horrible wind fell down on me, snapping my wings
back sharply. I stifled an a yelp of pain and was sent tumbling
through the air out of range. My vision went double and the world was
spinning, and nausea set in. The heavy rain added to my
disorientation. "Look out!" I heard PC say. I swerved and barely
missed a billboard. I groaned in frustration, Storm was a small dot
again.
"This isn't working," PC commented.
"Thank you
Captain Obvious," I said smoothly.
"If we go at him directly,
he will just keep blowing us back….I've got it! Raf ! Drop me off
at the closest roof top. This will allow you to fly more easily, you
can engage Storm and get him to come with in range, for me to assist
and attack."
"How am I supposed to get him down?"
"I
don't know, say somethin' mean to him. Now let's go." I
rolled my eyes, how does he come up with this stuff? If I didn't
know any better I think PC just pulls this stuff out of his—"Hey!
You awake up there?" I heard him ask. I didn't reply and darted
back into the mess. My wings hurt, this plan had better work.
"Get
ready PC…here's your drop point," I said eyeing a roof top. The
winds were strong but I think he could handle it. "Ready?" before
he could reply I slid my arms out from under his and dropped him.
I HATE IT when Raf does that. I was falling fast, it was a great rush and I was almost enjoying it. But I would soon hit the roof top. I dared not open my wings, if I did I could be blown off course or worse the punishing gales would rip them clean off my body. The world was an enormous murky blur as I twisted around in the air. Then finally WHAM! …it is true that cat's always land on their feet and I was no exception to this feline rule. I landed on the roof top in a crouched position. My whole body was shocked. The force from the fall ran up from the balls of my feet and stung my ankle then my knees all the way to my hips. It also ran up my arms stinging every joint and ravaged my collar bone and shoulder blade. Despite the pressure, tingling and sting of the impact, I was still in working order. A growl gurgled in my throat and for a few moments the animal part of me took over. I didn't know why, you would think the beat in you would come out, when you were really angry or something. I hissed at the rain and moved toward the edge of the building and crouched awkwardly on its edge. I dug my claws into the concrete for stability then waited, my tail swung from side to side expectantly as I waited for Storm, my canary...
PC was right, dropping
him off made my ability to fly a lot easier, but I was still
extremely alert. Lighting was still an obstacle to dodge, but my
reaction time was several second better than it had been. Wasting no
time, when I saw Storm become closer I flapped my wings as hard and
as fast as I dared. He launched another powerful wind at me, but I
kept flapping hard until I felt my wings were going to break off. I
stared up at Storm; he was smiling a smug little over confident
smile.
"Come on, give up already. You can't fly against this
current. I know you are not strong enough, Black." I smiled
inwardly this little punk thought he had it all figured out…he was
sadly mistaken. I frowned and shot straight up into the sky and into
the frothy clouds. I circled high above Storm out of sight and
silent. Uncertainty can be your greatest ally when it comes to
messing with someone's head. Storm hovered there looking around. As
lightening flashed among the clouds, he could see my silhouette and
each time he darted at it, always missing me. After a few minutes of
hide and seek, he yelled in frustration and enormous bolts of
lighting lashed out and crossed behind him. " Come out and fight
me, Black," he challenged.
"Why should I?" I said
cheerfully, snaking through clouds. " I could get hurt."
"You
are already hurt, I could have sworn I heard two of your ribs crack
when we fought last."
"What if it was the thunder?"
"Quit
hiding! Are you afraid of me?"
"Not in the slightest…But I
think the big question we should be asking here, is if YOU are
afraid. Eh?"
"What! I'm not afraid of you."
"Is
that so…"
"IT IS!"
"Hmph…then why have you been
sitting up here fat, dumb, and happy, letting nature do all of the
dirty work for you?"
" Shut up! I can do what ever I want to
with my powers."
" It seems to me you're just a scared
little kid."
" I am NOT!" I moved quickly as a shard of
lighting caught me off guard and singed my feathers. "I'm through
playing with you. NOW COME OUT!"
I slid up through the clouds
soundlessly," With pleasure." Storm whirled around startled and I
socked him in the nose, making him spin…which was amusing. Taking
advantage of his disorientation I darted forward and rammed him in
the stomach then twisted behind him and grabbed his wings tightly
holding them closed.
"By the way my name isn't Black…it's
Rafmire." Then I closed my wings and bolted into a dive, Storm
squirming in my grip.
Okay this is getting a tad bit
scary…Remember when I told you that my animal side had taken over?
Well it still had control over everything. My lapses only last for a
few minutes, which is good, because I usually come to my senses just
before I am about to rip someone's throat out. I sounded calm about
this little change before because it happens every now and then. It
was normal for experiments of my type. No biggie. But right now I
could not force the beast back into its cage. I sat there licking my
paw like hands, waiting; at least a small portion of my rational self
still existed, telling the rest of my feral self to wait for
something. I just hope I didn't get distracted with a ball of yarn
or something stupid like that. Suddenly, I saw two large birds
falling from the sky at a fast speed. One of them with large black
wings and the other with cute gray wings tipped with yellow…I
licked my lips. The black bird spiraled in the air and threw the
other bird towards me. I yowled in surprise as it crashed into me. We
both fell back on the roof. I sprang up and walked on all fours
circling this ugly little birdy. The weather conditions were slowly
changing. The wind though strong had begun to weaken and the hail
stopped falling.
"Seth? Is that you?" the birdy asked. Seth?
Why does that sound familiar, I growled and watched my prey stare at
me, bewildered and angry. "So that is what you look like, you're
even uglier than I thought. Although Nia confessed to me that she
thought you were cute. Imagine her disappointment if she could see
you now." I didn't know if that was supposed to make me feel bad.
The more this birdy talked to me, the more distorted his speech until
I couldn't understand him at all. It was just noise. I bounded
forward and pounced on the birdy with a loud weird roar. His form was
light and fragile under mine. Now that I was in control I didn't
know what to do. Should I eat it? Or play first? I swiped a paw at
the birdy and he made a noise as my claws raked his pale skin. I did
it again and then backed away. I played with this birdy that way for
a little. He punched me several times in order to keep me away and
ones tried to take to the air but I jumped up and pulled one of his
wings with my teeth. When I was done playing, I pinned the birdy down
and went for his throat, but before I could get a good grip. The
birdy hit me something really hard, it broke over the side of my
head. I roared angrily and swiped him with my claws then went for the
throat, the birdy screaming loudly shouting his gibberish….
WAAAAIIIIITTTT! What am I doing? Instantly I recoiled, the tangy
taste of blood in my mouth. Storm laid there stunned and pale with
fear. He was alive and it looked like I hadn't done any serious
damage. Thank goodness, I guess that bottle in the head was all I
needed to get a grip. I spit the blood out of my mouth. Nasty.
Shakily I stood up. Storm saw this as and opportunity to attack. He
aimed low hoping to fly away with me. I moved away at the last minute
and used his momentum throw him to another roof top. AS soon as he
landed I jumped to the roof with little effort and pinned him there,
then applied the Clampers.
"NOOO!" He screamed in rage.
Suddenly a bright light shined above me and then ZAP. Being struck by
lightening is no fun. The electricity coursed through me, making
me…oh heck I didn't know what it was doing to me. It happened so
fast I didn't have time to scream or cry out in anguish. All I
remember about that particular moment was that smug expression on
Storm's face and me falling over with a THUD…..
PC! That had to hurt!
He lied there in a crumpled steaming heep. Come on get up…PC…your
not down…I know you! Get up! Unfortunately PC wasn't moving…not
even twitching. AS I hovered there, it began to dawn on me that he
was in fact dead and I sat there and watched it happen.
"That'll
teach you," I heard Storm say trying to get the Clampers off. He
trotted up and kicked PC's body, "You Scum…you picked the wrong
side to be on, Seth. I hope you burn!" Storm moved to strike him
again. I dropped out of the sky and landed in front of him, grabbing
Storm's forearm. My wings were spread high above my head, making me
look ferocious.
"Don't touch him," I snarled my voice low.
Storm wrenched his arm away "Why defend that carcass?"
"Because, that carcass was my friend and so were those crows
you fried!" I shouted. Suddenly the windows in the buildings were
blowing out one by one and sea of glass was coming under my control.
My eyes turned completely black and I pointed at Storm. The glass
shards moved as one in a fluid serpentine mass. Storm turned to run
away, but he wasn't quick enough. The shards zipped passed him,
swiping at his clothes and cutting his exposed skin. Remembering that
our mission was to bring him back alive, I made a crushing gesture
with one hand and all of the shards broke and fell harmlessly to the
ground. It was an incredible display each piece sparkling, like
deadly rain; I darted through the curtain of glass and with one
powerful punch knocked Storm unconscious. I was trembling angrily and
looked down at the unconscious kid, the damage could have been A LOT
worse. Fortunately I was able to get a grip and he came out with only
a few scratches.
"You're lucky they want you alive," I
muttered. The skies were beginning to clear and shafts of sunlight
were peeking through the clouds. The winds were soft and warm and a
rainbow appeared in the sky. People would start arriving to this area
soon and needless to say this mess would attract town officials. We
would needed to clear out. I felt sad that I wouldn't be able to
bury all of the crows, but silently I thanked them. Suddenly a soft
moan made me jump. To my surprise PC was sitting up…..
OWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! I had the most horrible headache anyone
could possibly imagine. I don't think there was any cold compress
that was going to make the pain go away… not quickly anyways.
"You're alive?" I heard Raf say. He sounded surprised,
which was rare.
"Yeah," I said, even the sound of my own
voice seemed to aggravate my headache. "How?"
I winced, "Can
you lower your voice, Raf," I said ,rubbing my temples feverishly.
It wasn't helping.
"How?" he whispered.
"I really
don't know," I said softly.
"That lightening should have
killed you."
"I did die, Raf, my heart stopped for several
minutes…But somehow I willed it to start beating again. I guess
it's a miracle or something." I moved around a bit and noticed it
wasn't pouring rain.
"You took care of Storm, I see."
"Yeah, he's over there." Raf pointed. I looked over his
shoulder and saw Storm lying there, knocked silly.
"He deserved
worse….but that's my opinion." I felt a pain my wrist that was
just as excruciating as the one in my head. My thoughts turned to the
Ring that wrapped around my wrist. It was glowing brightly and the
skin under it was horribly burned. However there was something
different….the Ring felt somewhat looser. I fingered it and saw a
small break in its flawless metallic surface.
"Will you look at
that," I said with a smile, holding it up.
Raf's eyebrows
shot up, "Whoa"……
Yeah " Whoa" pretty
much covers it…When Kane slapped that piece of metal on me I
thought that my goose was officially cooked …I was bound to Jeb and
the School forever. But this new development gave me some hope…and
I would like emphasis the word "some".
Raf put his hand on my
wrist, "I though these things couldn't be shorted out?"
"
I think I know how I survived….The Ring must have acted as a
lightening rod and absorbed most of the energy and overloaded."
"How much voltage do you think it took?"
"I don't
know. 1.21 jigawatts?"
Raf's eye's went flat "Okay now
you're just being stupid."
"Well I don't know Raf. Do I
look like a SCIENTIST…..Ow,ow,ow,ow." I cradled my head
momentarily. "Man…do you think if we woke up Storm he could do
the same thing…for me?"
"Raf I don't think that is a good
idea."
"Why not?"
"He could kill you…it was only by
pure luck and chance that I didn't die. Besides, I'm a
little…sturdier…than you, you get it?"
"You right," Raf
said solemnly, he sighed and dropped the proposal like a hot potato.
He didn't seem to be all that upset about it. But with him you can
never really tell.
"So what are you going to do then?... About
the Ring? Or you are just going to let it dangle there?" That was a
very good question. Now that it was off, I could just toss it and
make a run for it. Grab Bree and pray no one ever found us. That
would be the easy way and it sounded great. Best idea I had had in a
very long time. Jeb wouldn't miss me. I was just as expendable as
any other experiment. I wouldn't have to do this anymore. I could
go away. Bree and I could do all the things that we wanted to do,
there would be no Network …no hide and seek with Erasers. Then
reality hit me… don't you just hate that? What about Raf? And The
Network? …They all depended on me one way or another. Was I that
selfish?….To just get up, disappear and leave everyone else to
their fate? I didn't want to, but I had to face it…I was deeper
in this mess then I led myself on to believe. I was trapped in a room
full of strings with bells attached to them. One move affected
everything else around them. If I ran now…there was a good chance
me and Bree could get out of this. But that meant threatening the
lives of anyone affiliated with the Network. The system would crumble
without me, Bree and Gozbud to support it. Was I willing to take that
chance? Could I live with that? SURE! I guess I could…I've done
worst things, right? And I am sick of being a freedom fighter. I
stared at the Ring my hand shaking. RUN! RUN! RUN! …It's what you
want…to go away and never be bothered…NO! You have a
responsibility! Screw it! Run! No!... I argued with myself back and
forth the pros and cons were almost evenly matched and I was afraid
my consciousness was going to split in two. "What will happen to
you?" I asked Raf.
"I'm not sure, but I expect I'll get
another partner and continue my handy work." See nothing will
happen to him,I thought.. But for some reason…I had a gut feeling
that something would. Jeb's moods change and I knew that he was
weary of Raf and so were many of the Whitecoats. So what…it's not
my problem….I continued to debate.
"What would you do?" I
asked Raf.
"I dunno." He said. Thanks a lot. He pulled out
his cell phone and called Kane to bring the car. After hanging up he
said. "Listen…If you want to stay, come and meet me down in the
street. If not, stay up here and be quiet…Don't worry I won't
think any less of you if you go, PC. You've been a good friend to
me." Raf walked picked up and gently glided down to the street
below and waited for Kane. I sighed, the solution looked easy, but
the decision was hard. I examined the Ring carefully; the blue strip
on it was still glowing brightly. Then I had a thought…If the thing
is shorted out …then that means I can put it on and take it off
when ever I want too…the strip is still lit so it looks
active….maybe I can make this work to my advantage. I clipped the
Ring back on then carefully pulled it apart again…YES! I clipped my
defective Ring back on and joined Raf down in the street. He looked
suprised when he saw me.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"Yes,
I'm fine. Why did you do it?...Don't you want to get back to that
girl you keep talking about?"
I yawned and stretched. My head
still ached. "I don't need to explain myself to you all the time,
Raf. You have your reasons… I have mine." Truthfully, I had a
feeling that I wasn't supposed to leave…not because I was afraid
of Jeb or the School. But because…it's a lot harder to cripple an
organization if you're not on the inside, knowing how things
work….and even though I had been with the School for weeks there
was still more I could learn.
The car screeched as Kane brought
it sharply around a corner, the smell of burning rubber and dead
crows flying as they were hit by the tires.
"Was that really
necessary?" Raf muttered.
"It took you guys long enough"
Kane said getting out of the car.
"I don't want to hear it."
I said calmly.
"Pop the trunk please," Raf requested. Kane
did as she was told and looked around.
"What a mess…We are
going to need some clean up people and fast." She
started her
dialing on her phone with her thumb.
Raf plopped Storm in the
trunk like a sack of meat and gave him a tranquilizer than closed the
trunk. After Kane made a few phone calls and I changed back to my
human form, we all got in the car and drove by the restaurant where
Raf had stored Nia. Luckily, no one had discovered her.
"Well
what do we have here…it looks like we have a babe-sicle on our
hands. Do you think she'll stay solid the entire trip?" I asked,
tapping Nia with my finger.
"I don't know and I am not taking
any chances." Raf procured some tranquilizers from the car and
stuck the syringe through her icy skin. "That should keep her out
even if she does thaw….that's two down…two more to go." He
said slamming the trunk closed.
"Where are Voice and Torrin?"
"I let them go…" I mumbled.
"You let them go?"
"Yeah…I couldn't do it… not to them anyways," I said…it
was a poor excuse, but it was honest. It seems that the years I have
traveled around ruining other people's lives I still had a strong
sense of morality…isn't that ironic.
"I see," Raf biting
his lower lip. "Getting soft are we?"
"Who said I was ever
hard to begin with?"
Raf shrugged "Well on the brighter
side…. It's less people we have to pile in the trunk. I was
beginning to wonder if we were going to have to tie Kane to the roof
to make more space." I smiled at the thought……
