Okay, we're getting closer to the end. Um, this one has a little more stuff then chapter 10, but I'm really just building it all up for the last chapter. So, please stick with me.
—
I sat in the corner of my crate, my wings bound to my back. The whitecoats didn't know exactly what had happened last time-even I didn't have a clue- but they'd figured out enough and they didn't particularly want me to set the School on fire.
So here I sat, in my cold, metal crate, hoping that by some miracle my family was okay and Fang and I would be able to get out of this.
"Maximum," a soothing voice called from somewhere off to my left. I turned around in my cage. "Max." I could hear the man move closer until finally, he stood right behind me and opened the crate so nothing stood between us. "Max, are you listening to me?" I kept my back turned toward him. "Max?"
"Go away, Batchelder." My voice was cold and hard, like the box I was caged in.
"No, Max. I'm not going anywhere," Jeb Batchelder objected. "And neither are you. We have Fang, Max." My back stiffened and he knew I was listening.
"What do you want, Jeb?"
"I just want you to listen to me." I could hear the plea in his voice, but that wasn't what made me cooperate.
"Max," continued Jeb, "I don't want you, or Fang, or any of the others to get hurt. But if you don't help me, I'm not going to have a choice."
"There's always a choice."
He sighed. "No, Max, not always." Reluctantly, I turned to look at him. "Max, sometimes we don't have a choice. This time, you don't have a choice. If you don't do what we're asking, everyone and everything will die."
"That's still a choice." I knew I was being stupid and stubborn, but I also knew I wouldn't like what they planned on asking me, so I was buying myself some time.
"Max, I'm sorry, but you're going to help us, whether you want to or not." Jeb slowly stood up and exited the room, leaving me to stare at the blank white wall where he had been. It was only a few minutes after when I realized that his last words were true.
I didn't know how long I'd been locked up. Hours, days, weeks? All I could feel was the ache in my stomach, begging for food I didn't have, and the cold stinging metal on my almost-numb skin.
How could I escape? I had tried and failed to break the crate, and I couldn't use my firewings, as I now called them. My body was weakening by the day, and I didn't know how long I would last.
"Which one?" The voice floated to me from the other side of the room; I barely noticed it. But after a moment I realized that a whitecoat I now recognized was leading an unfamiliar man to my crate.
"This is her?" It was the same voice from before, coming from the man I didn't know. He looked like an ordinary man- a ring of light brown hair around the back of his head while the top was bare, black dress shoes, old gray pants, a plaid shirt, and small round glasses framing his misty green eyes. But as I stared into those deep eyes, his voice replayed in my head. It wasn't the voice of a kind old man who always said hi when you passed; it was the voice of a man who had seen too many horrors, and a man who had learned to enjoy those horrors.
He stared down at me, as if I was a science project he'd been told to evaluate. His eyes took in every detail as he studied my dirty face, my mess of hair, and finally, my dappled wings. I wanted to shrink back, away from that piercing gaze, but there was nowhere to go.
"Okay," said the man, "take her."
Four Erasers stepped up from behind. Three of them stepped in front of the opening, blocking my way, while the other opened the crate's door and leaned down, roughly grabbing my arm. He pulled out a set of handcuffs and I immediately noticed that they were thicker than regular ones. I wouldn't be able to break them. He then grabbed two more metal cuffs, linked by a cable, and put them around my ankles. I was yanked out of my cage, and although it was the first chance I'd had to stand in days, I didn't. My legs were cramped and I didn't have any real desire to go anywhere unless they planned on freeing me, which wasn't very likely.
Two Erasers pulled me up, keeping me between them while the other two trailed behind. The men led the way, taking me to a place I knew I would not like. We moved at a quick pace, through hallways filled with the scent of bleach and past identical cream-colored doors.
"Wait!" someone yelled from behind me. My 'guards' stopped, and the two men turned around. I was forced to stay in my place, but I knew that it was Jeb who stood behind me. "Please," he panted, "let me speak to her for a moment." When no one said anything, he added, "It will be quick, and I think it might help."
Slowly, the unfamiliar man nodded, and the Erasers turned around, taking me through an open door on my left. They dragged me into a room with two chairs and two televisions. Jeb motioned for the Erasers to set me down in one of the chairs.
"I'd like to speak to Max alone." The wolf-like creatures glanced at each other, then at Jeb, and finally walked out the door, closing it behind them.
The man in front of me didn't say anything; he just walked over to the TV screens and turned them on, then retreated to the empty chair. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, but he ignored me, so I turned my attention back to the televisions. When I finally took in the images that were flashing before me, my eyes bulged.
On one screen it showed a plain white room with a dark red puddle on the floor. In the middle of the puddle, a person lay on his side, curled up in pain. Fang had his wings strapped to his back like mine were, but he also had two large chains connected to his wrists, keeping him close to the back wall.
On the other, it showed a forest. Four people were walking through that forest, stepping over large rocks and fallen branches. A small dog trailed behind.
My whole family was being watched. Did the School always know where we were?
"Max, this is why you're going to cooperate with us." Jeb had finally decided to speak. "I told you that I didn't want anything to happen to you or the Flock. But sometimes I don't have any control over what happens." I glared at him. He had a lot of control over what would happen. "Max, please, just listen. If you don't do what we need you to do, someone's going to get hurt. They're going to get hurt. Just do what we ask, and everything will be fine. Okay?"
I didn't answer and he sighed. He slowly stood up and walked to the door. When he opened it, the Erasers practically jumped in. They walked over and picked me up. Jeb gave me one last pleading look before I was dragged out the door.
They had strapped me to a table- again. The only difference between now and the time I'd been here when Ella had become an Eraser was the fact that I wasn't alone in the room. Whitecoats were everywhere. The man I hadn't recognized, who I now knew as Dr. Jenkins, was there, too.
I had been blindfolded earlier, but I could still hear the people. I could also hear the sound of metal objects being scraped together. That worried me.
Finally, I felt someone removing the blindfold. I sighed in relief. When I saw what was going on around me, the relief vanished.
The whitecoats all held some kind of tool. Most were sharp. I glanced around and saw that there were even more things to worry about. On my right, under a cupboard, I could see pints of blood. Wires were draped across the room, connected to machines that I'd never seen before. A stack of bandages lay on a shelf next to me. Someone was going to be operated on. I had a feeling that that someone would be me.
As I worried about what I should do, a faint voice entered my brain.
"Max! Max!" it screamed.
I must be going insane, I thought. I couldn't actually be hearing that.
Think, Max.
Oh, hello, Voice, I silently replied. Or should I call you something else? How about O Smart One? Because, 'Think, Max,' is such great advice.
In my rant, I had almost forgotten about the person who had screamed my name. Or, actually, the person who I thought had screamed my name. But I was hearing it again.
The voice was shrill, scared; and I recognized it. An image of a young blonde girl appeared in my head. Angel.
The Flock had been captured.
—
Why is Fang always the one to get hurt? It happens in The Angel Experiment and School's Out- Forever. Now I'm doing it. Okay, well, I'll let you get on with your other stuff. PLEASE REVIEW! -Dringer
P.S. Does anyone remember the name of the company who was going to destroy the world?