Chapter 5

From behind me, I heard Angel scream. Then the Eraser was right in front of me.

"Go away, unless you want to get hurt," I said, my fists clenched, my voice steady. He raised his head and laughed. "You think you can take me down? A little girl like you?"

Jeb had trained me – trained all of us to fight, in case something like this had ever happened. I smiled. "That's right."

Then before he had any time to do anything, to even move, I kicked him in the stomach. Surprised, he staggered backwards, then surged forward again. "Okay, little girl. I was just getting ready," he said with a smile on his face, although the smile was ten times creepier because he had a half wolf, half human face.

"I'm not a little girl! I am Maximum Ride!" I shouted, jabbing my fist where his ribs would be. I heard something crack and kept punching him, not giving him a chance to fight back until-

His hand swept upward, his claws raking across my face. I sucked in my breath – it hurt really badly, and I knew blood was streaming down my face, but I didn't stop. Realizing the flock was still frozen in horror behind me, I yelled to Fang, "Take everyone to a safe place! Inside!"

"But-" he started to object, but I cut him off as I continued to fight the Eraser.

"I'll be okay! Go!"

Then they were gone. I didn't see any other Erasers – maybe if I just ran, I could escape this one.

No. I was brave – I didn't run from anything!

Then the Eraser leaped onto me, pinning me to the ground. "It looks like this is the end for you, Maximum Ride," he said, a delighted smile on his face. His teeth gleamed as he leaned closer, probably ready to rip out my throat. I struggled to get up, but it was hopeless. "It will be a pleasure to kill you."

"I don't think so," a voice interrupted, and then something metal came down on the Eraser's head and knocked him out. He fell, and I rolled out from under him.

"You can thank me now," Fang said, a slight smirk on his face and a metal baseball bat in one hand. He held out the other hand to me to help me up.

"Fang, you were supposed to-"

"Take the kids inside? I saved your life, Invincible Maximum Ride," he said. That was probably the most he'd said all day.

"Right," I said. "Thanks." As soon as I stood up, I felt a little dizzy. I must have been losing a lot of blood from the Eraser attack. Fang pulled a knife out of his pocket and kneeled down, slitting the Eraser's throat.

"He's dead now-" Fang stood up and looked at my face. "Oh. Come on." He put his arm around me, helping me inside.

"Max! Are you okay?" Nudge asked, running over to me. "You don't look good! We need Band-Aids! Someone get Band-Aids!"

"Right here! Right here!" Gazzy yelled, running into the room with Disney Princess Band-Aids.

That was when Jeb walked in the front door, home from the grocery store. When he saw my bloody face and various other injuries, the grocery bags slipped out of his arms and hit the floor.

"Oh my god," he said, rushing over. "Max, what happened?"

"Eraser attack," Fang said. Nudge added, "Max was really brave but she got hurt!"

Jeb's face hardened. "Erasers? Here?"

"Just one," I interrupted. Jeb turned to face me.

"That's still very serious. They know where we are. How did they find you?" he asked as he took care of my injuries, disinfecting them and putting on bandages. I winced at the sting.

"Well, I'm really not sure," I started to say. "One minute I was talking to Jaz and the next I was…." I trailed off, then looked at Fang. "Jaz. Where's Jaz?"

"What about Jaz?" Gazzy asked, but Fang had realized it too.

"Jaz is a traitor," I explained. "She's working with the School."

~~::~~

Jaz wasn't at school the next day. Matt, who was one of her best friends, said he had no idea what happened to her. "She won't pick up her phone, and she wasn't home. I haven't seen her."

"This is bad," I muttered as I sat at my desk next to Fang. "She knows where we are. They're probably sending more Erasers as we speak. This is not good."

"Thanks, we get it," Iggy said, rolling his sightless eyes.

Kids stopped to ask me what was wrong with my face. I didn't really have an explanation. Fang told them that it was an accident.

By lunch, I was on the edge of my seat, expecting the walls of the cafeteria to bust open and Erasers to start pouring in. In the year or so we'd been living with Jeb, there had been no Eraser attacks.

We had thought we were safe.

But then Jaz came, and obviously ruined that.

"Max," Nudge said, coming up to our table and sitting down next to me, "I'm scared. And really worried." She wrapped her arms around me and leaned her head on my shoulder.

"I know," I said, sighing. "I'm worried too. But we'll survive, right? We always do."

"Max, what if we have to leave?" Gazzy asked. "I don't want to leave! I like it here!"

I frowned, about to reply, when all of a sudden, I saw a girl come in, all the way across the cafeteria. My sharp vision picked out Jaz's features.

My fists clenched. It was Jaz. She'd put my whole flock, my family in danger, and now she was going to pay.

Jaz started walking in our direction, then realized that we were over here. She quickly turned and started walking the direction she had come.

"Oh, no you're not," I muttered, leaping up from the table.

I caught up to Jaz when she was practically running down a deserted hallway. I grabbed her shoulder, turning her around to face me.

"You know, I never liked you, even before I knew you were a traitor," I told her, my voice steely.

All the color drained out of her face. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, yes. I think you do," I hissed, my grip tightening on her shoulder.

That was when she broke down. Tears started streaming down her face. She was sobbing so loud I thought Mrs. Jenkins was going to run up to us and say, "We don't cry loudly in the fifth grade!"

"Hey. Hey, stop it!" I demanded. She looked up at me, wiping her eyes.

"You don't understand," she sobbed. "I didn't want to- I mean, I-"

"You knew about us," I murmured, leaning in closer to her. "You know about the School and the Erasers and….us."

"That wasn't until after I met you!" she continued. "I didn't realize they'd hurt you!"

"What?" I released my grip on her shoulder. "What are you talking about?"

"The day you came to our school," Jaz started. "Last week. This guy came up to me and gave me his number. He told me to call him when I got you guys alone."

"And you did it?" I asked, my jaw dropping. "Why?"

"I didn't know he wanted to hurt you!" Jaz protested. "And he said he'd kill my family if I didn't," she continued, starting to sob again. "And last night, someone broke into our house. They ….they tried to kill my sister," Jaz sobbed. "And he left a message saying that I'd failed my job."

Crap. I'd called her a traitor when she'd just been blackmailed into doing something…. I wasn't sure if this still made her a traitor or not.

I frowned. "I'm…sorry. Sorry for being a jerk to you. I'll make it up to you somehow."

Jaz thought for a second, and then a hint of a smile appeared on her face. "Can I come over again today?"

For some strange reason, I said yes. As the bell rang and we headed back to class, I thought, I am really going to regret this.