Fang sat on one of the beds in the boys' room. The rest of the Flock was gathered around him in anticipation.
"Fang?" Angel started. "What are we going to do about the Eraser that killed Max? I mean, it got away and all, but don't you think that we should do something about it?"
Fang smiled weakly at the youngest girl. "Yes, I was thinking the same thing."
Angel grinned. "I know."
"I agree with Angel. We can't just let the beast get away with what it did." Iggy replied carefully.
"Yeah! We could blow it up with a bomb or something!" Gazzy suggested. Then he hit a high-five with Iggy, who was already planning what kind of bomb to use.
Nudge sat quietly on the floor, stretching out her tawny wings. "Fang?"
Fang looked at Nudge. "Yes?"
"What if Max isn't dead? Could she be at the School or something?"
Fang was taken by surprise. He hadn't even considered the option that Max - somehow - could still be alive. The simple idea was too painful to think about. He thought about Nudge's suggestion carefully, turning the idea over in his mind.
"I suppose that could be possible Nudge." Fang replied softly, though inside he was bursting with new hope. Maybe, just maybe, Max wasn't dead. No. Don't get your hopes up just yet Fang. Max is dead. You saw what happened!
"Then, would we still go after the Eraser?" Nudge pressed.
"Of course!" Total yipped. "Why wouldn't we?"
Nudge looked at Angel hopefully. Angel kept her eyes downcast.
"Angel?" Fang looked at the six-year-old quizzically. "Do you have something to tell us?"
Angel looked at Fang. He noted that her lower jaw was trembling slightly. "No." she said after a moment's hesitation.
Fang didn't believe her. We will discuss this later, okay? Angel nodded slightly. "Okay. Here's the plan. We head to California and the School. With any luck the Eraser will be headed there as well, and maybe, we might find Max."
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I cursed as yet another tree limb hit me in the face, adding to the numerous cuts that already spider-webbed around it. I HATED being an Eraser. They were big, clumsy, hairy, and they smelled bad. I was not enjoying my time as one. The only positive thing about being part wolf was that people ran away instead to trying to catch and torture you. I was fine with the scary part. It suited my mood.
I found a clearing in the woods to sleep in. Thank you, national parks! I had spent the whole day flying and hadn't made as much progress as I had hoped. It turned out that Erasers, with their patchy wings, could not fly fast. AT ALL. I dropped my tattered backpack, which I had found in a garbage can back in NY, on the ground and sat down beside it. Home sweet home. With a little difficulty, I opened the pack and rummaged through its contents. I pulled out three double cheeseburgers, two apple pies, a yogurt parfait, five chocolate chip cookies, and two medium-size boxes of slightly-soggy French fries; all of which I had gotten from a McDonald's dumpster. The food was cold and a day old, but it hit the spot.
After my meal, I climbed/flew up a fifty-foot pine tree and settled on a thick branch about half way up. Exhausted and full, I fell asleep almost immediately.
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Nearly one hundred miles away, the Flock was settling in for the night. Fang was pleased with the good time that they had made that day. As far as he could tell, they were somewhere near Kansas. He listened to the familiar sounds of the Flock preparing to sleep, wincing when he didn't hear Max's voice singing softly to Gazzy and Angel.
Fang still couldn't believe that Max truly gone. Every day, he expected to hear her snapping at him or one of the others over some small detail. He missed her so much. He heard Angel speak to him in his mind. So do I, Fang.
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I awoke as the sun was peeping over the clouds, turning the sky into an array of colors. My bat-like wings were seriously sore and I climbed down the tree to avoid using them. I looked at the tree bark that had been shredded by my claws. I sure hope that a forest ranger doesn't come through here anytime soon. I grinned, thinking about the ranger totally freaking out about his precious tree. I rummaged through my pack and pigged down the remaining food; two burgers, an apple pie, and a chicken salad with Caesar dressing. After eating I made my way over to a small stream that I had seen from the air. Just because I'm an Eraser doesn't mean that I have to SMELL like one.
Thirty minutes later I was flying towards Arizona at top speed, wet and cold, but a whole lot cleaner.
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Fang awoke to the sound of Jiffy-Pop popcorn popping. Iggy was sitting near a fire and holding the silver foil container. Angel and Nudge were sitting nearby on a log, attempting to play marbles with some small rocks. Total was trying to teach them how to shoot.
"No, like this!" he said, trying to hold a rock in his paw. But because he didn't have thumbs, the rock kept slipping out of his black, furry paws.
"Mornin'" Fang said, sitting down next to Iggy. "Where's Gazzy?"
Iggy grinned at Fang. "The girls sent him away after he had one of his . . . occurrences."
Fang chuckled and stared at the fire. "Popcorn's done!" Iggy yelled, removing the bloated container from the fire. Angel raced over and grabbed the hot handle from him.
"Thanks!" she yelled as she returned to the log to eat her breakfast. Iggy shrugged and pulled out another unpopped container.
"Iggy? The popcorn's burnt." Angel complained. Fang's eyes got wide. Iggy NEVER burnt food. Fang's dark eyes looked back at Angel, who was contentedly munching on the popcorn. A snicker came from the bushes behind her. The Gasman, no doubt. Fang smiled and returned to watching the fire. Gazzy was just trying out his voice-throwing trick. He was getting really good at it.
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I wished for the ninetieth time that I wasn't an Eraser. I was so slow! I wished that I was able to swoop and soar again like the rest of the Flock. I wasn't sure how far I had traveled already, but it wasn't fast enough. Judging from my current speed, it would take me about a week to reach Arizona. No wonder Erasers preferred ground transportation!
Suddenly an idea popped into my head. I could e-mail Fang and tell him what happened! But there were a few hitches to the idea:
I need a computer
I don't have a computer
Because I'm an Eraser, I can't get a computer!
Fang may not check his e-mail
Despite the impossibility of my idea, I decided to give it a try. It just might work.