Chapter 36 – Resentment

I couldn't explain how I was feeling as my unsteady fingers dialed Mom's phone number. My breath hadn't slowed since the attack and I was shaking all over. I was tense, worried, and mostly frightened. The fear was derived from the unknown. Would we be attacked again? Was Mom okay? How would she react when she got home? And most importantly, was Fang okay? Thinking of that last question was like having a snake constrict painfully on my heart.

You all know how I'm a wordy person, and yet after Fang had told me that he was leaving... I was at a loss for them all of a sudden. I tried speaking, playing out reasonable arguments with him in my mind before shaking his body mercilessly until he relented. Yet when I went to say them the words stuck in my throat. It was painful. Maybe I was going through shock. I could hardly move as I watched him disappear — and when I say that, I meant he turned invisible and ran off. I didn't know which direction he went, couldn't try following him. Fear froze me in place.

I did manage to move several minutes later, only because rationality and sheer determination burned out the terror. I wanted to make sure Mom was okay and I also knew I had to come clean. She would support me through anything, as strange and impossible as it seemed.

"Hello?" Mom asked as she answered her phone.

"Mom," I breathed, willing my voice to be strong. "Mom, I need you to come home right now."

She heard the note of panic in my voice. "Oh, Max, what's wrong?" She was trying to be calm but I could sense her anxiety.

I pursed my lips and looked around. What could I tell her over the phone? Wolf-men attacked us, destroyed our furniture, and, oh yeah, they caused Fang to run off, too. Maybe I shouldn't be that blunt. "Something bad happened," I said. "Fang ran away." I figured that was the right amount of surprise to make her race back.

"Oh, my God! I'll be right there in ten minutes!" The phone clicked off.

Ella raced down the stairs as I hung up the phone. She surveyed the damage with wide, tear-filled eyes. "Max, are you okay?" she asked in a terrified voice. I carefully maneuvered over the broken glass, into the living room, to hug her. Her arms tightened around my back and my breath emptied in a hiss. It was still tender.

"I'm fine," I rasped. "Help me clean up some of this. Mom will be home soon."

She pulled out a dustpan and broom from a kitchen closet. We dejectedly started sweeping up the debris. It wasn't long before she asked two inevitable questions. "Wh-what were those things that broke in? And where's Fang?"

"I don't know," I whispered, answering both questions with three words. I couldn't explain the hallow feeling forming from deep within. It was like part of me was ripped in half.

We were silent until the sound of tire tracks rolled against the driveway. Mom entered quickly, running over to the two of us. Then she noticed the broken windows and gasped. "Max, Ella, what happened? Is everyone okay? Did something happen that made Fang leave?"

Ella bit her lip, realizing why I avoided her questions. I sighed. "We ordered pizza, only the person who came wasn't the delivery guy. He, uh, had other people who broke in through the kitchen windows."

Mom's eyes widened the whole time I talked. I knew I had to tell her everything, but I couldn't make myself just yet. "Were they robbers?" she asked, worried.

I shook my head. "They weren't really people… actually, they were sort of… wolf-men." I looked away, afraid of her reaction.

There was a pause before she pulled me into a big hug. She murmured thanks into my hair and kissed the top of my head. Okay, now I was confused. Why was she thankful? Her house got wrecked, we were attacked by freaking wolf-men, and Fang ran away. This is hardly the time to be celebrating unless you're a fan of chaos and unhappy endings. We should be calling the police or something. You know, because they deal with stuff like this all the time. Right.

I pulled back. "Mom, why are you acting like that? Fang ran away because of them." A nauseous wave churned through my stomach.

She paused again, her warm brown eyes loving and full of tears. She looked confused. "Wait, Fang ran away because of them?"

"They wanted him, Mom. They've been after him at school, outside of school. Everywhere. Why are you so calm about this? We need to look for him! Inform the FBI or Bounty Hunters or Superman or someone."

"You don't understand," she said slowly, like she was trying to convince herself. "I thought they'd be coming to take you."

There was a painful silence through the air. Mom was puzzled by my statement almost as much as Ella and I were confused by hers. What did she mean they'd come to take me? How did she know what they wanted anyway?

One word came to me just then. I wasn't sure if my subconscious thought of it or if the Voice supplied it. But it stuck out like a blinking sign.

Itex.

Oh, say it isn't so.

"What are you talking about?" I asked dangerously slow.

Mom sighed, looking at the ground before turning her eyes back to mine. "You should sit down." She tried ushering me towards the living room but I shook out of her grasp.

"Tell me now." I was on the verge of hysterics. Adrenaline was flowing through my veins all over again. I couldn't explain this behavior either, but I was suddenly very wary and very guarded.

She sighed again. "I think I know what it was that came here." My jaw was threatening to drop but I kept it firmly in place. "They're called Erasers, and they are… experiments, made by scientists, used to attack and kill. Hunters, basically."

The tension in the room was tangible. I was starting to fit the pieces together while Ella was out in the dark. I felt bad for her; she had no idea what was going on while I, on the other hand, was feeling the resentment weigh heavily on my shoulders.

"Go on," I commanded.

"Don't use that tone with me—"

"Mom, I have to know!" I nearly shouted. Taking a deep breath, I tried talking calmly. "Fang ran away because of them, and we both admitted that we felt like we'd seen them before. If someone doesn't start answering questions soon I'll… I'll chase them down myself."

She inhaled sharply. "I guess I can't keep it from you any longer. It was inevitable, anyway."

I was on edge again. "What was inevitable?"

"You," she said simply. "Max, you were always extraordinary, but I tried to keep you away from that life. It was your destiny, and maybe it was wrong of me to make you normal."

"You sound just like Jeb," I accused. "Why does everyone keep talking about my destiny? I don't have a destiny! That only happens in movies and books. I'm a normal teenage girl, for crying out loud! There isn't anything special about me!" I wasn't sure how the walking-through-walls thing fit into this whole picture, but maybe I imagined it. This could all be one huge nightmare that was crashing down in one dramatic reveal scene.

"You aren't normal." Her voice was sad. "You never were. Max, there are people out there who are the sickest kinds of humans you could imagine. They make murderers look like amateurs. They've dabbled in the experimentation field; they take humans and run tests on them like lab rats. Try to perfect our senses, make us different. Only recently did they discover the ability of combining human DNA with other sources, and they've gone through hundreds, maybe even, thousands of lives to perfect the technique."

"Why are you telling me this?" I was stunned. What else was my mom hiding? Was this what they did at Itex? Was that why they had been closed down?

"I'm telling you this because… you were supposed to be a part of the torture until myself and a team of experts perfected you. You're a success beyond our beliefs, and you have to know because experimentation is still going on. You have to stop it, Max. It's what you were made for. That is who the Erasers work for. They want to keep you from completing that task."

"What about me?" Ella asked, her voice shaking. Tear streaks coated her cheeks.

Mom shook her head. "I didn't want you part of that life. I didn't want Max to be, either, but it was too late to change anything."

I couldn't tell if Ella was relieved or envious.

I was pissed.

"Well what about Fang? How does he fit into it?" The past hour had been pure horror. Everything I cared about was completely flipped upside down. My mom was hiding a secret past from me, Fang was gone, and despite knowing this already, I was different. But not in the way I'd always thought. Oh, God, how could my mom be a part of that? It's inhuman and just… wrong. Why would she make me to stop it? Doesn't that contribute to the cruelty? That's hypocritical.

"What about Fang?" It was like she didn't know what I was talking about.

"Well, it's not just me," I stated. "Fang's different, too. That's why he left, because they were after him."

"Jeb…" she mumbled under her breath. "Honestly, honey, I knew nothing about Fang. I don't know why they wanted him instead of you. I'm just so glad you're okay."

Wait… Something Fang had did before hit me just then. Earlier, when we were in the empty room at school, when he'd prevented me from revealing my powers. He shot me a look that told me to shut up because he didn't want the guards to find out. I didn't understand at the time, but now I did. With a sick, twisted realization, I knew why he did it. He was protecting me from that fate. He knew, somehow. Even when I was unaware of it he was protecting me. Part of me wanted to drive a pitchfork at him.

Another part was oddly grateful. I don't know what was wrong with me.

Ice shards pierced my blood. I stared at my mom with hardened eyes. "Why do you only care about me?" I asked. "Fang is out there, somewhere. He could be dead! He's family, Mom. Why aren't you more concerned for him?"

She didn't have an answer at first. She only reached for me, her eyes pleading. "Max," she whispered, taking a step forward.

I was beyond reason, beyond sanity. All I wanted was to get away. My mom had been a part of malicious human experiments, had made me a freak, and then expected me to stick around while Fang was being ripped apart like a T-bone.

"I'm going to look for Fang," I told her, heading for the back door.

"No, you're not." Her voice was firm but also desperate. "I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you."

I scowled fiercely. "You may not care about him, but I do. I can't let anything bad happen to him. And besides, I'm special," my voice was dripping with acid, "so I can take care of myself."

I charged out the back door, unsure of what my actions had done to my mom and half-sister, but I didn't really care at the moment. I was so hurt and frustrated and frightened, full of resentment toward my whole life. Everything was a lie, basically. However, I knew there was one person I could count on for all that I was feeling. The one person I could confide to. That was the one person who was gone.

Fang.

I said in Ghost of Me that I was taking the week off... but I couldn't. You see, partly from my stupidity and partly an evil DMV instructor (who was a total jerk), I didn't get my license today. However, I'm not completely crushed just yet, because I know for a fact that anger translates into the best writing. So here you go! I'm really excited for what's going to happen next chapter and I hope it doesn't disappoint. Um, I doubt there'll be any updates tomorrow, but hopefully before Sunday.

14 reviews for last chapter... and I believe 20 since last chapter was posted, so you guys are awesome again! Well, you always have been, but you know what I mean. :P Everyone's review made me smile. :D Glad you liked last chapter, hopefully this one was good, and again, I'm freaking excited for next chapter!

Um... some quick notes. New two-shot is up, so please read! New chapter of Ghost of Me is up, too. Check out my youtube page, one video is up and a new one may be added as soon as Friday with an announcement in it. It might be from me and my friends, so please visit and comment.

Review please!!