It's very surprising
what one bite can do, especially in Kane's case. I must admit I
never thought about what kind of abilities she had or that they were
more potent and powerful than my own. I guess when you spend a
majority of your time catching bird kids for a living you tend to
underestimate them.
I squeezed the throbbing bite mark on my
wrist and waited to see what Kane would do next. Gozbud made the
first move, which is always a mistake. You should never make the
first move in a fight unless you can make it work to your advantage.
Because two things happen when you strike first, one you're blamed
for starting the fight and two your opponent if their smart, will
counter and figure out the best way to beat you. Kane and Gozbud
charged at each other and collided with such force that it sent a
slight tremor through the ground. Kane raised herself up and slashed
Gozbud with her claws making very fine slices in his hide very
similar to razor blades. Gozbud roared in a pain and clubbed her in
the side of the head. She let out an instinctive yelp and then raised
herself up again this time, burying her claws into Gozbud's
shoulders and used all her weight to throw him over on his side. Kane
pounced on Gozbud and went for the throat. However, she only sunk her
teeth in slightly, because Gozbud gruffly seized the thick fur on
Kane's neck and ripped her off. She pulled away from Gozbud's
grip, leaving a chunk of her fur in his hand, then bounded forward
for another attack. As they fought, I spared a look at another battle
happening above me. Mercy and Raf were going at, swooping and diving
at each other like angry sparrows. Raf and Mercy's resemblance to
each other was remarkably striking. You'd think that they were
brother and sister.
I dodged another swipe from this boy's claws. Man they were sharp…like little pieces of obsidian carved to a fine point. There was something about him something familiar. His eyes were cold and distant as if half of him was missing. Who was this kid? I tried entering his mind to figure out what made him so familiar. But just breeching the outer layer of his mind was so frustratingly cloudy and ambiguous; I did not to journey further. I noticed that the kid's wing pattern was off. He would sink down about a foot and then desperately flap his wings to stay level with me. There was no visible damage to his wings from what I could see…either he was hiding something or he was just a bad flyer. But what ever the reason, I had to use it to my advantage.
My wings were aching again…almost throbbing…It was
hard to stay in the air and not telegraph that I was hurting. Flap!
FLAP! Suddenly, Mercy flew at me and locked her arms around me, then
closed her wings. NO! She's acting as dead weight. It was harder to
stay in the air. Not wanting to add anymore damage, I closed me wings
and we began to free fall. What I was trying to do was…uh…okay I
really didn't know WHAT I was doing, but it felt like a good idea
at the time. The ground was speedily approaching and I resisted the
urge to open my wings and I locked my arms around Mercy. As we got
closer, she became more animated pushing on me trying to get away.
But I just tightened my grip if I was going to crash, she was coming
with me. Mercy glared at me then TELEPORTED! Oh crap I forgot she
could do that. Mercy reappeared behind me and grabbed a fist full of
my hair. With one swift jerk she tossed me at the unbroken glass
window of an office building. Quickly I focused on the glass and was
able to make it form a large opening for me to fall through. I landed
on my back and slid across a long polished table. I raised my hands
and sealed the glass up. The room I was in looked like a conference
room of some kind, equipped with chairs, a coffee machine in the far
right corner and a dry eraser board. Mercy hovered outside of the
window.
"Come out and play…I won't hurt you," she said.
Anticipating an attack I concentrated on all the windows and made
them as malleable as possible. But Mercy just hovered there. Then she
moved closer and tapped on the window. "Can we not fight for the
time being…I want to talk to you first." I looked at her
quizzically; did she think I was that stupid?
"Please? I knew
what you were thinking while we were fighting. You're wondering why
I look so familiar to you?" I knew she was telepathic so I wasn't
all the surprised.
"What does that matter to you?" I asked.
"I'm thinking the exact same thing. Let's just talk… no
tricks," she said.
I shook my head "Unlike PC I'm not that
gullible or stupid." She frowned playfully and backed away.
"Fine
then."
Moments later a chunk of concrete barreled into one
window and then other various objects were hurled into the others,
one of the objects being a car. But the glass acted like rubber and
stretched, while Mercy telepathically pushed the debris at me. Ten
minutes ticked away and neither me nor Mercy was able to push the
other back. I knew this couldn't last….it was only a matter of
time until Mercy crashed her way in and I felt cornered. Where was
PC! I NEED MORE HELP!...
I hadn't felt
cornered in a long time…no one likes begin cornered. It drives you
crazy, because, you are in a situation that you can only hope or pray
that something will save you or you will somehow overcome your enemy.
Unfortunately, I could hope and pray all I wanted. It didn't help.
The glass that was stretched taut on all sides was slowly cracking. I
needed to think of a way out of this. Usually it was PC who got me
out of fixes like this...but since he was indisposed I had to think
of something. Worry was piling up in my mind. Suddenly, an invisible
force most likely, Mercy's telepathy seemed to constrict my
thoughts…it was trying to make me lose focus. My concentration was
wavering and my outstretched arms were beginning to tire at an
alarming rate. Leaving me no time to think, Mercy using psi waves,
hurled me backwards and just like in a movie all the windows blew
out. Everything from concrete, signs, bicycles and a small Chevy came
pouring in. My impact into the back wall aggravated my already aching
wings. I lay there under rubble curled into a tight ball. I heard
glass crunch as Mercy gracefully landed inside. As she walked,
whooshing sounds could be heard as her telepathy threw aside pieces
of wreckage. "Get up!" I screamed at myself "She's coming."
My hand swiftly glided across the floor so that when she got to me
…I'd be able to get myself out of this predicament.
WHOOSH
the debris covering me was blown away and Mercy stood over me, her
arms crossed. "I just wanted to talk…you're so difficult, just
like PC." She made a lifting gesture and I was involuntarily on my
feet and plastered against the wall. Next my fingers began to peel
back and a shard of glass fell to the floor and broke. I was scared
now…disarmed and completely helpless against a telepathic
psycho…remember I was never taught teleblocking. "Were you
planning on using that little piece of glass to hurt me? That's not
very nice…actually it's kind of rude to stab someone when they
are in conversation," she said holding up her arm where I had
wounded her the first time. I said nothing…I had nothing snappy to
say nor was I feeling brave enough to make her mad. Mercy cocked her
head to one side "You don't talk very much do you?" Again I
kept my mouth shut and just blinked at her. "I'm curious, you
look awfully familiar to me…What's your name?"
" I don't
want to tell you that," I said. "I'm just a stupid nobody…like
you said."
Mercy made a smirk, "Very cute…But I have my
methods of finding out." She took a few steps closer to me.
"Shouldn't you be more curious about PC than me?"
Mercy
laughed and then caressed the side of my face with her hand. "I
have known PC for a very LONG time. I know all I care to know about
him…Now hold still …I'm going to find out what is it about you
that makes you so familiar…This may sting." Mercy moved her hand
to my forehand and tried as I might I couldn't move. She closed her
eyes….
I was willing to go through this kid's mind to find out who he was. The fact that he was familiar to me and I didn't know why, drove me crazy. Normally I wouldn't do this to anyone. But this was a special case. I ignored the sound of his claws tearing at the wall, the slight contortions of his body under my hand, and his eyes rolling back. Everything in his mind flashed through mine in an unorganized and distorted way. This has to be a smoke screen. I probed deeper and the frenzy of activity slowed to a crawl. A thought or two would pass, but otherwise it was as if this kid was in comatose. It was frustrating…come on give me a name! Rafmire….that's all that resonated strongly…Rafmire….The name registered to me but only a little. The next strong thought resonated…CROWS…crows….CROWS! Useless thought...I probed deeper…
I can't explain very well what it's like to
have someone invading your mind and poking through your most private
thoughts. But I think that what happened next saved my neck. Mercy
released me and I fell to the floor. The sound around me was
clouded…very similar to what you would hear with your head stuck
underwater…then it slowly cleared. I looked up and saw Mercy
fighting with a large CROW! She screamed at the thing and swatted at
it with her fists. Soon hundreds of crows were pouring into the room
cawing loudly and attacking Mercy. As they occupied her, I headed for
a shattered window and took flight. Some pain had subsided, but I
knew it would still return. Outside more crows darkened the skies in
enormous flocks. Mercy, a few seconds later, burst from the building
cursing at the birds as they pecked her ruthlessly. She darted this
way and that trying to shake them off. She popped a few with
telepathy, which was parctically sickening, then landed on a rooftop
opposite of me. The crows that perused her returned to my side.
She
smiled at me, "So you think you're the only one gifted with
birds? You are mistaken," she said darkly. Mercy screamed at the
sky and soon a huge shadow began to appear in the distance behind
her. Whatever it was the creatures that made up the shadow were much
larger than crows. They let out coarse cries and descended on my
birds , with large thick beaks and cold beady little eyes. Ravens.
Mercy and I flew off our rooftops and came at each other, our wings beating swiftly, with our personal armada of birds following. We clashed and began to hit each other and then broke away. I darted at her and slashed Mercy's face with my claws. She gritted her teeth and held her cheek. I was beginning to dislike her very much…so I hoped to turn into minced meat. As we fought the crows and ravens fought each other fiercely spiraling around us in a huge whirlwind of birds, cawing, pecking, scratching, flying and falling.
I had never seen anything
like what I was seeing now. The only things that compared to this
display was this Alfred Hitchcock movie I saw when I was ten and the
time Raf and I were fighting Storm in Garner Springs. Kane and Gozbud
stopped their fighting to stare. Among the black birds I saw Raf
fighting Mercy fiercely. Occasionally debris would fly up from the
ground and strike the birds. Taking advantage of the moment, Kane
launched a surprise attack hurling Gozbud bodily through the air and
sending him into another building. The weak structure could not take
the force and collapsed on top of him. After the dust settled, there
was no movement. All that could be seen of Gozbud was his feet, which
I expected to curl back like the witch on the Wizard of Oz and his
deadly tail. But Kane and I both knew this was only temporary. She
moved toward me and clamped her jaws around the concrete slab that
pinned me down.
"Thanks," I said. "Why are you—?"
She
snorted, "Don't get all sentimental on me, PC…I'm just doing
my job. Jeb was pretty angry that you came back maimed after that
fight with Card and blamed me. You're expensive, PC, and I am just
protecting Jeb's investment." Ouch, that was mean, but I guess I
deserved that.
"I'm sorry…" I said. "I didn't mean to
hurt your feelings last night."
She snorted at me again, "You?
Apologizing…Mercy must have rattled you more than I thought."
"Well I am sorry…whether you choose to accept is up to you,"
I said examining the wound in my leg.
Kane looked up at the
aerial battle above, "Raf is really holding his own up there. I'm
impressed."
"I am too…he usually has the reflexes of turnip
when we're at the School." Kane smiled in the only way a beast
could, showing all of her sharp teeth.
"Kane…how did you do
that?" I asked.
"Do what? Transform?"
"Yeah."
"My
ability allows me to change into anyone or anything…but I have to
have a sample of their blood. Your blood has so many different
strands of DNA grafted together, that the form I am in right now is
just one of the things you could have become," she explained. I
noticed Kane's long legs were shaking slightly.
"Are you
injured?" I asked.
"N,o I—." A furious roar erupted from
under the crumbled building and Gozbud rose up out of it, covered
with dust and eyes burning with anger. "I'll explain later,"
she said, turning and running at Gozbud. She leaped at him claws out.
Gozbud snarled and slammed his fist on top of her head. Kane whined
and hit the ground. She laid there, her sides heaving.
"Get up
KANE!" I shouted her. Gozbud picked Kane up and held her above his
head and roared again triumphantly and threw her down. She howled
mournfully and the crackling sounds of bones began and she returned
to normal shape and size.
I punched Mercy hard, as the pain in my back escalated and every time it did, I fought harder. The sooner this fight ended the sooner I could rest. Mercy fought her hardest as well, but I think she was holding back slightly. Instead of trying to out fly me, she began to teleport and dive at me. I tried countering the best that I could and now I understood PC's frustration. Crows and Ravens were beginning to retreat. I was glad that they weren't all slaughtered like before. But there were some casualties though. Mercy dove at me and clipped my shoulder and I lashed out at her, but missed. Then CRACK! I'm not going to lie. When that happened I screamed so loud you could have heard it for miles. Mercy had teleported again and had her foot on my back and was pulling on my wings. I heard more cracking sounds as she pulled. Crazed with pain I focused on every little piece of glass in the area and sent it straight up at her. She threw me down to the ground. As I fell I closed my eyes…I didn't care what happened to her.
Gozbud raised his heavy hands to crush
Kane's fragile form. Angry, I quickly grabbed the heaviest thing
that I could lift and hurled it at Gozbud. As it knocked him down, I
ran for Kane, blood pouring down my leg and stabbing pain coursing up
to my thigh. I swiftly scooped her up and jumped away as Gozbud
lashed out with his tail. I fell backwards as I landed.
"Hey!
Hey! Are you okay," I said patting the side of Kane's face
gently. Her eyes fluttered open.
"Yeah…I think," she sad
moving around. Her legs were covered with bruises so were her arms
and onside of her face. Kane reached for my wrist.
"Hey!" I
tapped her forehead "No biting, that hurt. Take it easy for the
moment." She let go and I laid her down next to me and she sat
there on her knees. I think I should have let her, when I saw Gozbud
coming towards us again, because I had no idea how I was going to
fight him with an injured leg. Then I heard the ominous crack of bone
and Raf scream. I took my eyes off of Gozbud and searched for Raf. He
fell fast and landed a few feet away. He groaned and curled up…his
wings lay sloppily on his back…almost limp. Mercy landed with
minimal injuries and a horde of glass under her control. Gozbud
stopped his approach and waited on her command. She looked tired, but
was ready for any last minute resistance. The glass floated beside
her making faint jingling sounds. She looked at Rafmire; her eyes
seemed to show some sympathy and the tiniest bit of remorse. Then she
looked at me and her gaze changed.
"PC, why do you have to make
things so difficult?" she said stomping her foot. I turned to
shield Kane as five shards shot towards us. I grunted at they buried
into my back. I turned to Mercy and plucked them out.
"No one
asked you to come here, Mercy." She tossed a glance at Raf then
back to me. "You're right…But this is strictly business and
since there is no one else here to protect you. I'm afraid it's
lights out…permanently." Mercy pointed at me and the glass came
fast. I closed my eyes there was no where to run. If I moved now Kane
could be hurt. But nothing happened. I opened my eyes slightly and
saw the shards inches away trembling. Raf had one arm outstretched.
"Stay out of this, Raf," Mercy said through her teeth. Raf
shook his head and slowly redirected the stream of glass at Mercy.
She ground her teeth, concentrating hard. Amazingly, Raf over came
her power and sent the glass spiraling towards her. She stopped it,
but one got through and struck her shoulder. Full of fury she shot
the glass at me again with tremendous force, but then at the last
minute it was redirected. SHINK! My eyes widened as Raf collapsed to
the ground with a bunch of glass buried in his torso……
Now I am not going to
discuss this in detail…but let me just tell you there was
blood…everywhere. I heard Kane scream and I just sat there feeling
cold and stiff. You know when you see something that you shouldn't
and you want to look away but you can't? That is how I felt. I
thought Raf was dead instantly. But I saw him moving slightly…more
like twitching.
"Kane...KANE! Pull yourself together…your
cell get us some help…Now." Then I turned to Mercy…she was on
her knees? She was holding herself and her eyes were half-lidded and
tiny streams of tears came down. When she noticed me, Mercy regained
her composure and got to her feet trembling and unable to stop the
tears.
"Stupid nobody," her voice taut, "You shouldn't
have gotten in the way." Her mixed attitude infuriated me…did she
feel pity or not?
"MERCY!" I snarled at her. "You want me
dead! Then take me!" I got to my feet and opened my arms "Take
me NOW!" Gozbud made a move.
"NO!" Mercy snapped coldly, he
stopped in his tracks.
"PC? What are you doing this for?" she
asked quietly.
"WHAT?"
"Why are working for the
Whitecoats?"
"I did it for the Net—."
"Bree,"
Mercy said disgustedly. She held up her hand before I could object "
My god…you've been taught to lie to others so well you even lie
to yourself…Pathetic. This has always been about one other person
Breeaka. …How selfish."
"Shut up you don't know
anything!" I snapped.
"Are you sure that, that girl is worth
Rafmire's life? Or better yet, the lives of all the other
experiments you've captured? After all…BREEAKA WANTS YOU DEAD?"
"QUIET! If I hear one more word out of you, I'll—."
"You'll what?" Black cars began to arrive and I heard Kane
hang up her cell phone. "It seems your friends have arrived." I
snarled again and she shrugged. "Think about what I said PC and
don't think you're safe yet either…I'll be back to finish the
job." I looked over my shoulder and saw personnel and Erasers
arrive. When I looked back, Mercy and Gozbud had disappeared. "If
Raf dies…his blood will be on your hands and then my business with
you will become personal."….
We arrived several
miles outside of the town. My composure was close to being a complete
wreck. Gozbud was upset that I didn't let him finish PC. But one
look from me shut his gaping jaws. I felt sick to my stomach. Leaning
against a tree I cradled my head in my hands. While I had probed
Raf's mind, I had learned fragments of information, but those
fragments were enough to help me remember. These memories made my
deed even more despicable than before. But I couldn't dwell on
it…the kid will be dead in a couple hours anyway and then it
wouldn't matter.
Gozbud looked at me concerned, "Are you
alright Mercy?" I looked up at him…I wouldn't sink to PC's
level now. I shook my head and said, "No Gozbud…No."
I
sat there in a dark room, curled up in one corner. My tail wrapped
around me feet, while I held my head in my hands. There was no light
and very little sound that penetrated the thick walls on occasion. I
picked at the metal chain around my ankle and listened to the sound
of it jingle. I hadn't seen Raf in several days. Not since we were
picked up from that small town. When the Whitecoats and their buddies
arrived…I had completely lost it...There is something about
watching your friend get stabbed and then being told that the four
years you had served a person that you truly despised was selfish and
meaningless…that makes you want to hit things and unfortunately for
the several Whitecoats and Erasers present, I took it out on them.
They were finally able to bring me down with a sedative …several in
fact, which made me so groggy I had trouble breathing. When I woke up
I was reprimanded for my outlandish behavior and then was placed here
…isolation. It wasn't like the new tanks that had been developed,
but it hadn't lost any of its potency. The room was infuriatingly
plain and there were markings on the walls where former residence
couldn't take the anti-social environment. But I had been in
isolation before, so it didn't bother me at all. On a certain level
I was grateful for it…because I still hadn't calmed down. Sadness
more than anger burned inside me and I didn't know how to deal with
it, so every now and then when it became to great for me to suppress
I would lash out in ferocious fits… clawing the walls and roaring
like the animal I had become. I never hurt myself intentionally
though…I saw no point in it, my injuries were bad enough. Day after
day I would sit there brooding over what had happened…everything
was so wrong…so messed up…a bad dream made real. Mercy had
claimed that she had told the truth…but there was something fishy
about the whole thing….
Suddenly there was a knock on the door
and then the slot opened. One pair of eyes peered in at me.
"What
are you waiting for? I can't get up to open the door," I said.
The slot closed and light poured into my dark sanctuary. Kane entered
with a plate of food and sat down in front of me. Of all the people
that could come to council me…Kane was the one I least expected.
"Hey," she said softly. "How've you been?"
I
flattened my ears, "I've been better…What do you want?"
"I
brought you some food the Erasers say you haven't eaten in days."
"Is that so…too bad for me." She huffed and shoved the
plate at me.
"Come on eat…if you don't …they'll force
feed you and I don't think you want that."
I shook my head
slowly, "No, I don't." I stared at the food reluctantly and
then looked away. Kane picked up a roll and tore it in half. She ate
it and held out the other half.
"See, its okay," she said
coaxingly, "I don't think they are trying to drug you,
on." I growled, which made her jump.
"You're talking to me
like I'm some kind of tabby cat ."
She pressed her lips and
said "Because you're acting like one."
"Meow."
"In
case you want to know…they were able to save Raf." I perked up,
when I heard the news.
"That's good to hear," I said and
for once I meant it. I picked up the piece of bread and began to eat
it…it was so dry and flaky it wasn't really worth my effort to
chew but I did it to appease Kane. She looked better than she had
when we returned. Most of the bruising had gone away.
"There
letting you out of here today…in a couple of hours. You can see Raf
then," Kane said. She got up and headed for the door. "Eat up,"
she said pointing at the plate and then closed the door. It locked
behind her…..
The hours ticked by and soon Chase unlocked
the door and I was released. Chase escorted me to my room, which was
empty, dark and quiet. Since Raf wasn't there it was almost like
isolation all over again only there were more objects for me to
interact with. Later on, Kane arrived at my door and she took me to
see Raf. He was asleep at the time and we couldn't enter the room
either. I didn't mind that so much. His wings were spread out
behind him being held up by weird contraptions that hung down from
the ceiling. "What do you know?" I asked Kane.
"The damage
was extensive...I heard he spent a great deal of time in surgery. He
won't be experiment hunting for a while. Raf's wings are another
story… that I don't have details for."
"I might be able
to help," said a voice, behind us stood a Whitecoat woman with a
file folder under her arm. "My name is Dr.Porter. I'm responsible
for Rafmire's health," she said, professionally.
"So you
know what's wrong with Raf's wings?" I asked.
" Not
entirely…but since he's incapacitated we've been able to
conduct a few tests."
"Without his knowledge?" Kane said.
"Hmmm…sounds a little shady, Dr. Porter."
" If you
only knew the amount of responsibility and care that you all require
… My job is to keep Raf in good condition. I'm the only Whitecoat
that agreed to take care of him."
"Is he really that
intimidating?" I asked. "You have no idea what he did to his
creator," Dr. Porter said, ominously. "Anyways, as you know from
being his partner it's not easy to get him to do things once he
decides not to do them. I only have his best interest in mind."
I
stared at her incredulously. "What have your tests concluded?"
"It's extremely odd…Rafmire's wing bone are surprisingly
fragile…he has some kind of avain osteoporosis…If he had
submitted to tests beforehand… we might have found a way to cure
it…but unfortunately, his wings were severely damaged. Telling from
one the joint it looked like someone had tried to pull them off"
"That's what happened," I said.
Dr. Porter frowned at
me, "How could you let him fight when he was in that condition."
I held up my hands defensively, "I didn't even know about
this…Rafmire doesn't tell me anything…I can't read minds. If
I had known I wouldn't have even taken him with me." Dr. Porter
sighed and shook her head. "Raf will be going into surgery soon…his
wings are going to be amputated." She began to walk away and I
grabbed her shoulder.
"Come on! You're not even going to ask
him about this?" I said.
"There is nothing else we can
do…look at this." Dr. Porter held up one the x-ray films. It
looked like a jigsaw puzzle…ouch! I swallowed and gave it back to
Dr. Porter. She looked just as upset as we did as she walked away.
Man, it's times like these I wish I had healing powers……
We stayed outside of
Raf's room for a couple more hours, until the Whitecoats came to
take him away. Kane and I went to go eat some food. It was
interesting that she stayed with me for this long. It was nice and
all…but she never did that for me before.
"It sucks, you
know," I said, stabbing my food with a fork.
"What sucks?"
"Everything…but more specifically….Raf not having wings
anymore….The same thing happened to someone I knew."
"I'm
sorry to hear that…when did this happen?"
"A long time
ago…" I said, piercing a potato wedge with my claw and popping it
into my mouth. "What will happen now?" I asked. "I don't have
a partner anymore…at least for the time being."
"I don't
know…Usually, when Collectors are killed they go in pairs. This is
one of a very few cases where one is still in working order while the
other is not. We'll just have to wait and see," she replied.
"Uh
huh…"
"If I know anything I'll be sure to let you know."
Kane got up and disposed of her tray then left. So it was just me and
my questionable tray of what is supposed to be meatloaf. A thought
just occurred to me as I sat there…I had not received a message
from Bree in a while on top of that... there were two experiments
that we were sent out to capture and didn't …the one called Bones
and this last one….something wasn't adding up…..
I hate using my ability…not only is the taste of blood nasty, but there are some side effects to my transformations. The first and foremost, is that I need more of that person's blood to stay in that shape… I could have defended PC longer if he would've let me bite him again…But then there is the second side effect. It's very similar to the saying of walking a mile in another's shoes. For an instant I knew what it was like to be PC and on all accounts I would never want to be him. I can't describe what I felt…but I had new found respect for him and I think he found some respect for me too. But something was bothering me. The two experiments we were confronted by were apparently from that Ghost Network the Whitecoats keep talking about and if they knew PC than….oh man, PC is one of the 10 Ghosts! …See I'm not that brainless. He's been under our very noses and no one suspected him….What should I do? I need to give Jeb a detailed report…but I am not as good at bending the truth as PC is…I have to try though…if Jeb finds out, who knows what will happen…..
For the next several days…I spent
most of my time wandering around the School…making sure not rouse
any suspicion I kept my nose out of where it wasn't supposed to be.
I was in human form, regardless of my requirement to stay in my
original state. Chase wasn't that bad once you started talking to
him…although his cheerful attitude always tended to creep me out. I
tried to figure out through him what the Whitecoats were doing and it
wasn't much. They had succeeded in making flying Erasers, but they
were slow and not very aerodynamic, which was a plus; at least bird
kids had some chances against them. With all the deadlier ground
based Erasers it was good to know that there were some limited
dangers in the sky. Later on, I went to visit Raf , but of course he
was asleep and inaccessible. Boredom was bad and uncertainty was
worse, but when things couldn't get any worse for you there is
always something that comes along. That something happened one night.
It was still early, around 8:00 or so and Chase came to the door with
a serious look on his face….something was up.
"Come with us,"
Chase said. He was flanked by two Jawz and I was beginning to get
worried.
As we walked down a hall, I whispered to Chase. "What's
going on?"
" I don't really know…and if I did I was told
not to tell you."
I snorted "Not one of Jeb's "surprises"
is it?" Chase shrugged and we all piled into the elevator. We were
heading to the lower levels… When the doors opened again we stepped
out onto shiny black tile floors.
There was a large desk with the
word "information" hanging above it. There were also a few chairs
and magazine racks. This was too weird…a lobby? There was a pair of
glass doors that showed business hours as well. I gave Chase a
questioning look, but he didn't explain anything. We turned to an
automatic door and walked back onto familiar white tiles. Jeb stood
in the hall way.
"Hello Purple Cat," he said.
"What's
this all about?" I asked.
"Calm down nothing is going to
happen…yet. There are some people that are here to see you." I
cocked my head to one side like a cat. Jeb gestured at the door. "Go
on." My instincts were screaming…Run away…but there was no way
I could do that successfully. Of all the Eraser types Jawz were the
hardest for me to bring down…perhaps that's why they were chosen.
I played along…as long I did that, no one got hurt. I reluctantly
turned the knob. AHHHHHH! The room was WHITE! What is it with these
people! Everything here is decorated like a newspaper it's either
black….or white….or grey at times. But I guess we all can't be
colorful, but this organization makes plenty of money…feeding off
taxpayers like yourselves…what's the deal! …Okay enough of
that, there was two way glass on onside and a table in the center,
but what was surprising about the table was the people that sat at
it….Most of the time, experiments who had been born and bred in a
lab would be ecstatic at this moment…me; I was in shock...the
people that had come to see me were …..My parents…….
