PC:
Raf was
right…We didn't have to worry about too much butt
kicking...because the Erasers had their hands full with the Ghosts,
Storm's flock and all the experiments Bree and I set loose. We
finally reached Ana's supposed cell, we had to rattle a few skull
to get the location. But when we opened it, she wasn't inside. Fear
struck me. Had they gotten away with her? I heard a yowl and the
sound of a rattling chain. Bree and I followed it to a large room,
stained from bloody fights, probably a training room for Erasers.
There on the far end were my parents and an obedient Eraser who held
Ana on long chain leash. She looked different than I expected. Her
fur was a pale grayish blue and not as shaggy as mine, her eyes a
bright yellow tainted with red and orange. She had the striped
raccoon tail like me. Her claws were longer, too and white patches of
fur draped over her long fingers. Black patterns on her fur made her
look like a strange tiger.
"Nice pet," I said, crossing my
arms.
Lee Ann looked at me ruefully, "PC…we didn't want
this for her…she was supposed to remain human."
"It's
your fault she's this way; if you had just—" I cut John off.
"If I would have done what you wanted. I would be dead anyway
and who knows how long you would've kept Ana human. If you wanted
it that badly you shouldn't of tried to break me."
"It
doesn't matter now…the damage is done and now that your
usefulness has expired, I think it is time you were put down for good
and what way is more fitting than to have you sister do it," John
said, spitefully.
I narrowed my eyes at them, and growled. "If
that's the way you want it…Bree, stay out of this…this is a
family affair."
"I'll do my best...but I make no
guarantees." I nodded and got down on all fours. The Eraser smiled
and let Ana off her leash. She roared and charged at me with great
agility and grace. I did the same… but not as gracefully. Speed is
very effective in a fight it. really starts things off with a bang…
Chap 100
The
two of us leaped at each other. Using my weight I pushed and pinned
Ana to the floor. She yowled and squirmed under me.
"Ana!
Listen to me!" I said, trying to hold her down. "Calm down…I'm
not going to hurt – AH!" Ana bit my hand, digging her teeth in,
and I recoiled. She wiggled out from under me and began to circle. I
had to find some way of bringing her to her senses or at least knock
her out. Her movements were more animal-like than mine. She had
completely mastered four legged movement. She watched me closely and
I think the human part of her was plotting. I growled at her and
arched my back. Then like blue and silver lightening she attacked.
Ana lunged forward biting my arm, then rolled onto her back and shot
her head up, towards my throat. I felt the pressure of her teeth
around my windpipe, but I didn't feel them pierce the skin. I
slashed her with my claws, hard enough for her to back off, but not
to hurt her. I guess my fur was thicker around my neck, making it
hard for a throat bite. Ana didn't circle and went for another
attack and then another in succession. She swiped me with those
clawed hands of hers. The force was staggering…she was testing me
before…now she was serious. I got to my feet, thinking that I would
have more of an advantage on two legs. Ana got onto her feet; she was
a bit wobbly, but she could stand.
"Look, John, she's
learning!" Lee Ann pointed out excitedly. Ana and I locked hands
and put our strength to the test. "Come on, Ana!" Lee Ann
shouted. She was strong…stronger than I thought. Ana gave me a
toothy grin and bent my hands back. I tried getting away, but her
grip was firm. Ana made me sink to my knee and there she pinned me
down, under her padded foot. She began to have at me trying to claw
my face. I put up my arms for protection.
"ANA!" I grabbed
one hand. "STOP!" I grabbed the other. She roared and hissed at
me, trying to pull away. "Come on, Ana! Listen to my voice…Remember
who you are…what you are!" I shouted. She started to back way
from me. I slowly got up and still held her hands. Ana closed her
eyes and roared, something was going on inside her head. She yanked
her hands away and held her head. "Fight it, Ana! Fight!"
Ana:
…..What's happening? …Must kill rival…in my territory….tear to pieces, defend….I saw PC in his cat form standing there, his forearms bloody…he was talking to me his voice soft….Defend…rival comes to take territory….NO…attack, hunt, feed….STOP IT!...ATTACK!
PC:
Ana stopped
squirming and stood still. "Ana? Talk to me," I said gently. I
approached. "Ana?" She hooked her claws into my shirt and looked
up at me.
" RAAAAWWWWRRR!" she roared and hurled me across
the room . She got down on all fours, and then lunged at me. She
grabbed me by the shirt and flipped, throwing me back over her, to
the center of the room.
"PC! GET UP!" Bree shouted. I moved
quickly, but not quickly enough. I was on my knees when she bounded
up and fixed her teeth on the nape of my neck. It was another tactic
used by lions in order to paralyze their prey; she was trying to snap
my spinal cord. Fortunately for me, Ana was winding up with more fur
in her mouth than flesh. She gagged, but still tried to inflict
damage by pulling on my fur. I yowled and was able to break way. Ana
spat the fur out of her mouth and we charged in on all fours again.
This time I pinned her. "Ana, listen to my voice…listen to me,"
I said softly. "Remember….please try…your name is Ana
Skynard…You live on Hollywood street in Rhode Island, you're 13,
you hate spiders and you shared a pet cat with your big brother…the
cat's name was Pogo." I rattled on about everything I knew about
Ana. Hoping something would stick in her head…something would make
her remember, that even though she had an animal like body she had a
human soul and mind. She roared again and threw me off, then jumped
up and stomped down on my chest. I grunted and I felt the air rush
out of me. Pain intensified as she forced her weight down on my
chest. "KILL HIM NOW!" John ordered. Suddenly, Breeaka rushed in
and wrapped her arms around Ana and she began to talk about her, in a
calm voice.
Ana:
Not listen! Kill…kill…kill? No…I'm not an animal…I may look it, but I know I don't sound like it….I have a voice…I have a name…what is that name? My name is….my name is….ANA!
PC:
Ana stopped
squirming and stood limp in Bree's arms, her hair draped over her
face. I was beginning to worry that this was a repeat from last time.
Then something wet fell on my face. A whimpering sound came from Ana
and she began to cry. She took her foot off my chest and slowly sank
to the floor. Bree rocked her gently.
"Ana?" I asked.
She
looked at me, tears streaming down "Yes? I-I'm here…Seth."
She reached out and gave me a hug. She cried and I stroked her hair
and fur.
"Shhhh," I said. "It's okay…no one's going
to hurt you anymore…speaking of which." I looked over to where my
parents were supposed to be standing. I growled in my throat. "Bree,
will you take care of Ana? I've got a score to settle."
"Of
course."
"PC?"
"Uh huh?"
"Try not to do
anything stupid."
I grinned. "You got it." I took off down
the hall.
It didn't take me long to find my parents. I saw them
retreating down a corridor and pounced on Lee Ann.
"STOP RIGHT
THERE!" I snarled. Lee Ann froze and so did John.
"Please
Seth…don't do this," Lee Ann cried.
"You know how many
times I've said that to Whitecoats. They never stopped and at this
moment. Neither should I." Lee Ann wailed in fright.
"You
will do nothing…or I swear I will put a bullet through you like the
animal you are," John said, pulling out a small pistol.
"Psh,
you think that little pop gun is going to stop me?"
"There's
only one way to find out…please, Seth," He said, his hand
trembling. "Don't push me. I don't want to have to say I
murdered my own son."
"Oh, so I'm your son now."
"Seth..." he warned. I backed off of Lee Ann and stood up.
"Put that away…I'm not going to hurt you," I said
dismissively.
"What did you say?"
"I said I'm not
going to hurt you. Why? You may be asking? Because, even though I may
not like you that much anymore…you're still my parents and
besides it's like mom said when you guys locked Breeaka away to
die…death is too good for you."
"You know, you and your
friends haven't accomplished anything…this facility will be
rebuilt and it will start all over again."
I nodded "Yes…I
expected that much…but you see, when this facility is rebuilt, me
and my friends will be waiting…when you want to start round two.
And I will be a thorn in your side until I have no breath left in
me."
"PC! We've got to get out of here…reinforcements are
arriving!" I heard Bree shout as she ran toward me .
"That's
my queue, see you around." Then I heard a clicking sound and then a
bunch of successive clicks. I turned around and saw John frustrated
pulling the trigger. I frowned playfully and shook my head. "It
works better if the safety is turned off." Then I dashed down the
hall and met up with Bree and Ana.
"Reinforcements?"
"Yeah
someone must've phoned a lab nearby. We need to get out of here
before they swamp the place." We ran through a maze of halls and
finally we made it outside. The area looked like a battleground,
carcasses everywhere and the building itself looked like it have been
through a war. We ran into the woods and kept running until we
arrived at the Spot. There the other experiments were waiting for us.
It was great to see everyone again and I never thought that everyone
would be happy to see me. There we all rested and celebrated our
little victory.
That night was cool and full of stars. I had
left the celebration, which included mostly telling stories and
sharing food, to check on Ana, who sat on the cliff's edge. I sat
next to her.
"The stars are pretty, aren't they," she said.
I nodded. "Yeah."
"What's going to happen to me now?"
she asked.
"Well, we will have to rebuild the Network and since
I don't think we will be under threat for a while…I can probably
teach you how to use your form more effectively."
"Will I be
able to shape shift like you?"
I shrugged. "I don't
know…maybe with time. I think."
"Seth?"
"Hm?"
"I
thinking about changing my name."
"Really? "
"Yeah, I
mean all of you have different names than your original ones. Mom and
Dad started calling me SaphFire."
"SaphFire? Whitecoats
aren't really that original are they."
"I kind of liked it
for a bit…but I think I would like something more…realistic."
"Like what?"
"BC."
"BC?"
"Yeah, Blue
Cat," Ana said with a smile.
"You don't expect ME to call
you that? Do you?"
"PC," she said irritated.
"Oh come
on, I'm just playing with you, BC."
Suddenly, we both turned
around to see Bree standing behind us.
"I'm… going inside
to get some more food. I'm still hungry," she said hastily and
walked back inside the cave. I stood up and brushed the dirt off my
pants.
"Hey," I said.
"Hey," Bree said. "Was Ana
okay?"
"Yeah, she's fine…she just informed me that she is
going by the alias, BC for Blue Cat." "BC, huh?"
"Yep."
"…Copy cat. You know, there is something that puzzles me. You
were before Jeb so many times and yet you didn't try to kill him."
"I couldn't… even if I had the chance…it's not my
place…He can only be touched by one person and one person only."
"Who?"
"Maximum Ride," I said.
"I see," she
nodded. We stood side by side looking at the stars.
"They're
pretty, aren't they," I said. Bree nodded. "Kind of like you."
Bree cocked her head to one side. "Is that supposed to be a
pick up line?"
I frowned "Yeah…It sounded lame ,didn't
it." Bree grabbed my shirt and pulled me close to her. I held her
tightly. " Bree, I love you…I wanted to say that for a long time
…but for some reason I never could…when I thought you were dead…
I almost thought that I lost my cha—"
Bree put her finger to
my lips and said. "You never had to say that to me, Seth…you know
why? Because you SHOWED me...and for me, that's enough."
I
smiled. "Same here. You wanna try that kissing thing again?"
"Sure," she said softly. We leaned into each other and kissed
passionately, for a few minutes give or take and when we broke away I
said, "I take it back…kissing isn't overrated."
Bree
grinned. "I agree."
Epilogue:
After that night, we began to rebuild the Network. We set fire to our old safe houses and disappeared off the School's radar. We even added some members to our Network and became known as the 13 Ghosts. I was number 1, Breeaka 2, Mercy 3, Reynard 4, Olga 5, Rashmed 6, Chris 7, Card 8, Gozbud 9, Feather 10, Rafmire 11, Torrin 12, and when Ana is capable, she would be dubbed Blue Cat, number 13. We are the 13 Ghosts, if you ever need help, we will be there...Oh and one more thing ...Go Get'm MAX!... You may not know us…but we know you, we have your back and we hope you stop the School for good…..
Credits:
All original characters Purple Cat
PC
Breeaka
Rafmire
Buddy
Chase
Lilac
Felp
Gozbud
Storm
John
Lee Ann
Kane
Matt
Mercy
Reynard
Roc
Storm
Olga
Nia
Scarlet
Salem
Torrin
Voice
Dr.
Brook
Dr. Risa
Dr. Ross
Dr. Porter
Random Erasers,
Land Sharks and Howlers
Random Onlookers, Whitecoats, Drivers and
Security Operators.
All original Maximum Ride Characters James Patterson
Inspirational Music:
Where'd You Go
Fort Minor and Holly Brook
Pretty Fly (for a white guy) The
Offspring
Bad Day David Powter
Harder to Breathe Maroon 5
Captain Hampton and the Midget Pirates Aquabats
Stay with
You Goo Goo Dolls
It's Only me Barenaked Ladies
Move
Along All American Rejects
What Hurt's the Most Rascal Flatts
Over My Head(Cable Car) The Frey
Jumper Third Eye Blind
The Real thing Bo Bice
Once again thank you to all
who supported this series, either by commenting or giving it a casual
glance. As usual I would like any positive feedback you can give me.
Again thanks for the support.
I really enjoyed this
PC
