20
After the fight, it didn't take us long to reach the tunnel. We were practically at the entrance to begin with, and once we were in, we took of and headed south as fast as our wings would carry us. It wasn't often you found a tunnel large enough to accommodate my sixteen foot wingspan, let alone the seventeen foot wings of my brother right beside. Okay, we didn't. Instead, we flew one in front of the other, and about a kilometre away, something caught my eye.
There was a door in the wall of the tunnel, and something was compelling me to open it. I then searched through Timeline's memories, and I found out why. It was the armoury. We could stock up here.
I chose a nine millimetre semi-automatic handgun, and packed it into a bag with a silencer, and about fifty cartridges of twenty rounds each. My brother on the other hand took a futuristic looking assault rifle, and enough ammo to last him a very long time. I realized that as an Eraser, he would have been trained in the use of such a weapon, so I didn't bother to ask questions. Something then again caught my eye. A glint of light pointed me towards the far corner of the room.
Sitting beside an intricately designed scabbard was the most beautiful sword I had ever seen, and I had seen some real beauties.
The blade was an oddity in this day and age. It was a metre long, genuinely forged over an open flame, and on an anvil, obviously tempered, of some material that I was unfamiliar with, and damn, it was sharp. I took a piece of paper out of my pocket, and placed it on the blade, and it simply fell in two. The hilt was no less fantastic, and when I picked it up, it seemed to have been made exclusively for my grasp. It was strong and held a beautiful golden hue, and the rubies intricately placed near the blade seemed to make the blade to stand out even more.
I couldn't resist. I modified the scabbard to fit between my wings, and took the blade with me. It was underneath my shirt, while still being able to draw and sheathe it quickly, and we were again on the move.
21
I knew the path was going to be long, but I never imagined the time it would take. About an hour after we left the armoury, I was getting bored, and I broke out into song. It was a song that had been released to the radio just a few months ago, but seemed to match my brothers life perfectly right now.
"I can't escape this hell."
My brother heard me, and began to join in.
"So many times I've tried.
But I'm still caged inside.
Somebody get me through this nightmare,
I can't control myself."
We began to slow down, so we could hear better over our wings. I then realized that my brothers tone of voice sounded surprisingly like that of Adam Contier
"So what if you can see
the darkest side of me?
No one will ever change
this animal I have become.
Help me believe
it's not the real me.
Somebody help me tame this
a...
...ni...
...mal. (this animal, this animal)
I can't escape myself.
So many times I've lied.
But there's still rage inside.
Somebody get me through this nightmare,
I can't control myself.
So what if you can see,
the darkest side of me?
No one will ever change
this animal I have become.
Help me believe
it's not the real me.
Somebody help me tame
this animal I have become.
Help me believe
it's not the real me.
Somebody help me tame this
a...
...ni...
...mal."
Here is when I stopped, but he continued on. It was like there was something, probably his own soul, compelling him to finish.
"Somebody help me through this nightmare,
I can't control myself.
Somebody wake me from this nightmare,
I can't escape this hell.
(This animal, this animal, this animal)
So what if you can see,
the darkest side of me?
No one will ever change
this animal I have become.
Help me believe
it's not the real me.
Somebody help me tame
this animal I have become.
Help me believe
it's not the real me.
Somebody help me tame this
a...
...ni...
...mal.
This animal I have become."
When he finished, it was as though time had jumped forwards, for we were already at the door to the Institute of Higher Living.
The Lyrics are obviously to Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace, which still fits into the timeline: The album was released in February 2006, and the song itself being a single since mid 2005. These are property of Sony BMG and Three Days Grace.
The Institute of Higher Living, and Erasers belong to James Patterson.
Everything else is mine.