Kay. Well, nothing much to put here, so..
"Aw, Dante, couldn't you have come a little later? I was just about to eat my long-awaited bag of Cheetos," I said, trying to keep my voice casual. I wasn't afraid—not of these wackjobs, anyway. I just tried to keep the sarcastic tone out of my voice because experience proved that the more comfortable you seemed, the angrier Dante and his cronies got. Which was a good thing, because angry Erasers make mistakes. And sadly, my friends and I were not very forgiving of mistakes.
He sneered. "I couldn't wait to see you, Alex. It's been what, four years? Five? Much too long for old friends to be apart." His pep team sniggered. I crossed my arms. "Friends? Since when did that term apply to you? Oh, maybe it was after that time you hit me so hard I was unconscious for a week. Or, the time when you set that shed on fire after trapping us inside. I still have the stupid scar from that exciting little venture." Dante cocked his head. "Oh, there were some rough patches, but I think we have a pretty solid relationship, don'tcha think?"
I felt fury rising within me. "Rough patches? Solid relationship? Are you—oh, forget this." Without warning, I sprang at the nearest Eraser, lashing out with my foot. I drove my heel into his neck and he dropped like a stone. Aidan and Joren leapt into action only a second behind me, dispatching Erasers with practiced ease. I was pleased with my fighting prowess and reflexes; they were surprisingly good after so long without a real fight.
I looked around. There were about five Erasers left, six including Dante. I punched one in the jaw and quickly took him out with a roundhouse to the head. Aidan and Joren seemed to be holding up pretty well, so I let them have the remaining Erasers.
Growling, I jumped toward Dante. He met me head-on, grinning ferociously. I ducked his first kick and tackled him to the ground, pinning his arms under his thick torso. He struggled, but I managed to hold him down. I pummeled him mercilessly in the face, until he managed to wrench a paw-hand thing free and shove me off.
He was really strong, stronger than I was. I called to Aidan and Joren and we sprang into the air, pumping our wings furiously. Taking off with no running start was hard, but we managed to get airborne without incident. Rising over the treetops, I looked down at the clearing. The ground was all churned up and Eraser bodies were strewn everywhere. I saw Dante struggle to his feet.
"This isn't over!" he screamed to the sky. "You can't hide from us! We will find you!" I ignored him and sped off into the sky.
Heading forward, I tried to keep myself calm. Despite my anger, I was freaked about seeing Dante again after all this time. I cleared my head and told myself that I would ponder it later. The adrenaline from the fight was wearing off, and I had to concentrate on not falling asleep in the air. When we had flown quite a ways from the site of the Eraser attack, I pointed out a large grove of oak trees. "Let's land there, and then we can eat."
"Oh, thank God," said Aidan, immediately angling her body toward the trees. I shared the feeling. I was so tired, I thought I might pass out right then.
Upon spying a thick branch that was pretty high up, I sighed with relief. Dropping down onto it, I folded my wings and landed in a crouch. I tilted sideways and gripped the branch to keep from falling. Joren handed my my cheetos and a Dr. Pepper. I made slurping noises as I downed the soft drink and demolished the cheetos in what must have been record time.
Taking deep breaths, I leaned back against the trunk of the great oak. "I'll take first watch," volunteered Joren. "Thanks," I said wearily, not even trying to argue. I knew I probably should be taking first watch, since I was the leader and all, but I was so tired I probably wouldn't be very alert. My eyelids drooped and I let my fatigue overwhelm me.
***MAXS POV***
Up in the boughs of a huge old maple tree, I closed my eyes and attempted to collect my thoughts. The three kids who had confronted us it the alleyway had had wings. The girl, the one that was apparently the the leader, wanted to help me with my world-saving thing. We probably could use the help, but I was too stubborn to accept it. Some part of me wanted to be the only hero, wanted to do it alone.
I rubbed my head with my left hand, the other one still sore from puching that dumpster. She was fast; I had to give her that. But how was I supposed to know if I could trust her? What if this was another sick plot of the whitecoats, and they were going to lead us straight into a trap?
You can trust them, Max. The Voice, back from…wherever it went. Well, Voice, haven't heard from you in a while, I thought. Had a nice vacation? The Voice hadn't imparted any pearls of wisdom lately, and I had been a little nervous at its silence. Not that I would ever say as much.
They mean you no harm. She was not lying when she said they had no connection to the school, The Voice continued. I didn't reply. If the Voice was right, then I had injured, rejected, and most likely pissed off a potential and powerful ally. Three potential and powerful allies. Crap.
Well, there wasn't much I could do about it, unless the girl and her friends decided to track us down again. They didn't seem to have that much of a problem doing it the first time. Right now, I was too exhausted to care. Whatever happened, I would deal with it in the morning.
:( Only one review! Are my stories that crappy? Am I that bad a writer?
Maybe I should just stop writing...:-(
And I will, cause one review isn't exactly encouraging... DX