Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I love hearing from you! Okay, this chapter's short, but I'll update later today or tomorrow to make up for it. I'm sorry, because that one's short too, but that's why I'm updating so close together. I actually considered making it one chapter, but decided not to. Well, I hope you enjoy this.
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The whitecoats had stopped walking around. Now they stood still, surrounding me. One of them had strung wires around my wings a few minutes before. Every few seconds the wires would emit sparks, lighting my feathers for a moment.
I now knew that whatever was happening had something to do with my new skill, but I didn't have any clue what the knives would be used for. I didn't want anyone operating on me, especially when I didn't know what they would do.
Dr. Jenkins, a man I wanted to wash from my brain, leaned toward me, smiling grotesquely. "Here comes the fun, Max," he whispered.
Before I could reply, the lights suddenly shut off. Then the monitors around me went blank, making the room pitch black.
"What happened?" asked Dr. Jenkins.
No one replied for a second; then a man frantically yelled, "Something's movi-" He'd been cut off. In the silence, I heard something large hit the floor.
"Get the lights back on!" I could recognize Jenkins voice, although this time I detected a hint of fear.
People immediately started scrambling to obey. In the midst of shuffling feet and almost silent whispers, I heard more bodies fall to the ground. I strained against my bonds, trying to prepare myself for whatever was coming, but failed miserably.
Suddenly, a hand gripped my arm. It was cool and I enjoyed the feeling after being hit by all of those sparks. Then I noticed that I was being freed. Both of my legs, as well as my right arm and my neck were loose. I felt my other arm being lifted up as it was freed too. Strong arms pulled me up and ripped the wires away from my back. Those same arms wrapped around me, taking the bindings off of my wings.
I froze as someone picked me up and carried me out of the room. The person carrying me hurried through the darkness, making swift and clean-cut turns as if he had memorized the path. Finally, I saw a spot of light at the end of the hall. We continued moving through the chaos, ignoring the rush of whitecoats and Erasers as they tried to find out what had happened.
After what seemed like a century, we burst out of the door and into the bright sunlight beyond. When we emerged, I had to close my eyes against the sun. I felt myself being set down and slowly opened my eyes. As soon as they'd adjusted, I remembered I wasn't alone.
Quickly, I spun around and stared at the person who'd saved me – an Eraser. I stumbled backward, trying to sort out what was happening.
"Surprised?" the Eraser asked feebly. When he noticed the way I was staring at him, he said, "Maximum, please listen to me. I don't want to hurt you."
"But-" I stuttered, "You're an Eraser."
He nodded and slowly growled, "Sometimes the School makes mistakes."
My mind flashed back to what Talon had said in our first official meeting. When they try to make new, better batches of Erasers, they can make errors.
"Maximum, you need to leave. You have to get away from here." I could hear the urgency in his voice, and I knew he was right.
"I can't leave," I whispered, worried that we were being watched. "The flock's here."
"It doesn't matter anymore. Get out of here." It was an order. "Leave."
So I did.
I hated myself. How could I have left the flock? Of course, I knew the answer to that. If I hadn't left them, I would have been captured and Captured Max wouldn't have been much use when I decided to rescue the others. Because I was going to rescue them. I just had to try something first.
I glanced at the disk in my hand. I was surprised I hadn't crushed it when I sat down on my back pocket. I tried to think back to my time in the School, particularly the black out. I couldn't remember anyone putting anything in my pocket, but I was almost positive it had been that Eraser.
I lifted the disk and inserted it into the library computer I was sitting at. The machine's love humming grew louder as it processed the information. I waited until a window popped up. When it did, I couldn't stop staring.
The world really was going to end.
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Well, that's it for now. But remember, I will be updating in the next 24 hours. Please, please, PLEASE review! I need to know what you want if I'm ever going to get a really good story. So, constructive criticism is ALWAYS welcomed. Thanks- Dringer