-1Chapter 3

That was horrible, Jeff. Is that what you do during your downtime at the SGA? Come up with stuff like that?

Watch it.

Ha ha, Max here, did you miss me? Yes that was me who almost got run over. Not exactly the best moment of my life, but then again, when have I had a good one?

Take today, for example. Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gassman, Angel and I were just minding our own business, trying to get some fresh air from that dank cave for a bit, and, like always, we are greeted by the happy faces of Erasers.

And by happy I mean roaring, teeth bearing, and drool spitting. Not quite the expression to brighten up your day.

"Where did you go?" Fang asked as I finally caught up with the rest.

"Facing imminent death, thank you. What's the report?" I answered snidely.

Fang silently looked towards the others. They all were a little worse for wear, but no where close to what the hell dogs have done to us in the past. The worst injury was one of Iggy's eyes swollen shut, and that didn't really hurt him too much. Well, besides the pain.

"Well, if I knew you guys were going to hold up that well, I would have stopped to s--oof."

Of course, me worrying about the flock took my mind off the other matter chasing me, literally. Ari flew up from under me and practically tackled me out of the sky. We fell in a sort of crooked embrace for about twenty feet, until I managed to plant my feet firmly in his chest.

"Don't you ever take a break, Ari?" I asked. Frustrated just doesn't seem to be the right term to use to describe my feeling, but it'll do for now.

"Not while you're still alive." He answered as he came at me again. I drifted to the right, just as he flew past me, then I took off after him. His aftermarket wings worked hard to stop him and switch directions, just in time to see my fist meet his nose. He flipped backwards, screaming in pain. When he recovered, his blood shot eyes locked onto me. I swear you could hear his growl in Hawaii.

"You worthless little--Ahh!"

Nudge snuck up behind him and clapped his wings together, dropping him again. She and I traded smiles to each other.

"Nice move." I said to her.

"Learned from the best." She responded.

"You morons! Why aren't you helping me attack?" We heard Ari yell at the rest of his pack from below. That was the million dollar question. When they had found us moments earlier it was a six on six battle royal. Now suddenly when I returned, it seemed that Ari was the only one looking for a fight.

I glanced over to the pack of Erasers that were behind us, one of them was holding a couple of fingers to his ear. He looked like he was listening intently to whatever the person on the other side of his Comm. said. Ari flew right into his face.

"Are you even listening to me?" He asked him. I have to give him credit, he sure had the intimidating leader bit down pat.

The Eraser with the comm.'s jaw went slack for a minute, Ari's scream fest doing the trick.

"Uh….one of the scouts…Ari..uh…sir…"

I laughed to myself. This kid had to be ten, maybe eleven years old, and he was trembling at a seven year old. Something about that just didn't seem right. The rest of the flock had joined up with me, taking in the entertainment.

"Shouldn't we be running?" Gazzy asked me.

"What, and miss this?" Iggy answered for me.

"What is it?" Art spat in the other Eraser's face.

"Uh….we may have found him."

Okay, that's a new one. I felt my eyebrows rise. Looking at the rest of the flock, they seemed to have the same reaction. Even Fang, so you know that was news. It even seemed to shock Ari, for a moment.

"Where is he?" Ari snarled.

"They say he's below us, on top of one of the buildings." The other Eraser said pointing down.

With a roar, Ari whirled around to face us. "This isn't over, Max!" I didn't doubt that one bit. He took the point as the gang of Erasers dove for the city.

"I think all the bombs started messing with my hearing." Iggy said as we watched them shrink toward the rooftops below. "Did they just say what I think they just said?"

"That they did." I said, in deep thought. "Although I'm wondering who."

"Someone like all of us, sort of." Angel piped in. Sometimes having a mind reader for a friend has it's benefits. "He's got fur and stuff, but according to them, they didn't do it." Five pairs of eyes snapped towards Angel, practically making her jump. But she continued. "He's never even been to the School before."

"Max, don't even…" Fang started, looking at me.

"Too late, Fang. If there is someone out there like us, he doesn't deserve to see the school. No one should go through that. I'm going to go check it out." I said as I dove after them.

The rest of the flock hesitated. Then Gazzy called out, "Wait up!" And fell into formation behind me. The rest soon followed.

As we got closer to the roof tops, I could see someone standing on a corner watching us and the Erasers fly at him. I focused in on him, an his features came into view.

It was Jeff.