I feel awful. Once more, I forgot to update for, well, forever. And now, once I finally remember to, it's a short chapter without an amazing amount of excitement. But to all my faithful readers...there should be exciting things coming up. My plans aren't set in stone, though, so feel free to drop some ideas.
Chapter Seven: Little Brother
Seeing the wild eyes of twenty or so attacking Erasers brought back the oddest sense of deja vu. It was almost like I was...reliving something that already happened awhile ago. Narrowing my eyes at the Eraser, I quickly decided that I would have to think about the past now.
"Get in the sky!" I yelled, pushing the oldest of the several Avians to give him some motivation. "I don't think they can fly. No wings." I pointed out at his confused face.
"What about you?" He asked quickly, tossing a quick glance behind him at the oncoming Erasers. He picked up the smallest child, Azura. She was still blindfolded, but wasn't shaking any longer. Hopefully she gets over that fear. It makes it so much harder for the if she has to be carried.
"I can get Ari away from here after you leave. Just go." Always the self-sacrificing one, I am. I wasn't sure why I was so keen on staying behind while the other flock got away, but something told me it was something I would do. So I did. Honestly, I must not be worried about my general health much.
Suddenly, the Erasers were on us, lunging for our throats. I was the closest to the school, which was still shrouded in darkness, so the Erasers got to me first. Several stopped, grinning madly as they circled, licking their lips. I grimaced. "You know," I muttered, awkwardly fighting them off to give the flock some time to get away. "It's. Not. Nice. To. Hurt. Little. Kids." I punctuated each word with a punch or a kick. This is really stress relieving. "You perverts!" I wasn't sure where the last part came from, but it fit nicely.
Tossing a quick look behind me, I rotated into a more comfortable fighting position, no longer worried about anyone but myself and Ari. The others were safe. For now. "Ari," I whispered, knowing the white-coats weren't smart enough to give the Erasers enhanced hearing "Do your wings work yet?"
"Dunno." He whispered back, smirking smugly at one of the Erasers before he ducked back behind me.
I shrugged. "No problem." With one last kick , I spun,, grabbed Ari around the waist, and used the momentum to propel myself in the air.
Ari is six years old? Yes. Ari is light for his age? Yes. It's easy to take off with said Ari in my arms?
Not so much.
Despite the small lift off problem, adrenaline rushed through my mutated veins. My arms ached. My wings burned. But the knowledge that if I failed, we would be killed kind of gave me just a small reason not to fail.
Again, sarcasm.
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I flew an hour straight through after taking off, my arms feeling like rubber the entire way. Somehow, that didn't matter. I just had to get away from the torture the white-coats were kind enough to provide me with.
But really, you have to give Ari some credit. He didn't squirm the entire time. I think he was too shocked by the fight and the fact that he was flying. Once more, you can't blame him. It's not everyday someone like him gets to fly with the one and only Max.
Out of the corner of my tired eyes, caught a glimpse of a plateau relatively hidden from the surrounding land by jutting rocks in every which direction. Convenient. The only way to reach the center was to come from the top. There was no way to be seen. Perfect. "I'm gonna land, Ari. You ready?" He didn't answer. What the-?
I looked down, my nerves fried enough for me to consider snapping at him. "Ari—"
Asleep.
How the heck did someone fall asleep after seeing what he saw that very same night? All the blood... I couldn't help but shudder. I was not afraid of it, but seeing so much at such an age could give anyone nightmares. Obviously, Ari's a whole lot stronger than I ever suspected.
Lucky kid.
I landed, placing Ari on a sandy section of the plateau as I wandered to far far end, leaning against the rock as I scanned the horizon. We were alone. Completely utterly alone. It was an odd thing to hear. For as long as I can remember, which isn't very long to be truthful, there was always something watching me. Cameras, that man called Jeb, white-coats. But here in the desert, there was nothing but me, Ari, and an unhealthy amount of sand.
Ari. It was hard to believe that the only one I have to worry about is that kid sleeping not twenty feet away from where I stood. We both shared the same problem—mutations. Flying wolves. That was all we are to the white-coats and I know they'll do anything in their power to get us back in those crappy medium-sized dog crates. Especially Jeb.
Jeb. The man who sentenced Ari to a painful science experiment to change his entire genetic make-up. He did such an awful job at being a dad, it was almost painful. I would do better. From now on, Ari's my little brother. We're the only family we have.
Me. The one who would get both of us through our lives.
We could be normal. We'll go somewhere vague. A place where the white-coats will never think to look. We will survive. I smiled.
I may be a pessimist, but that doesn't mean I can't change. I will for Ari.
He's my little brother now. Can't just think about myself now, can I?
A map. We would need one. Could I chance leaving Ari alone? Waking him now would just be cruel. Our schedule was tight. Any minute, the Erasers could appear and haul us back to the school. Time was crucial.
No. Getting out of here was priority right now. Sleeping could wait. I frowned meaningfully. "Sorry Ari." I shook him awake. Fortunately, it didn't take much. He was awake in two seconds flat.
"Max?" He questioned as he yawned. Surprisingly, he didn't pull a Gazzy and just roll over. Wait. Who's Gazzy? Is it someone from my past? "Is it Erasers?"
You know, it's really sad when a six year old wakes up and thinks crazed wolves might be attacking.
"No, we just need to get away from here. We're too close to the School. If we stay here, we'll be easy to find."
Ari nodded, brushing the sand from his already-ragged clothes. Hmm, those clothes would be a problem. We couldn't go into town with his clothes covered in blood and dirt. We might be a little suspicious. Just a little. Small. Microscopic.
What a joke.
"Come on, Ari." I motioned him over, suddenly feeling tired. Everything was just becoming too complicated. I expected this to be easy once we got away from the school, but it was only getting harder. All my plans were in pieces—Or they would be, if I was one to make plans.
And since when has a plan ever gone right?
It's easier just to wing everything.
"We have to see if your wings will hold you up." Even if they could, it wouldn't be for long. I would still end up lugging around a sixty pound kid.
"They only come out when I look like a wolf or an...Eraser." He looked to the ground in shame. Why did such a sweet kid like Ari have to suffer. Me? I'm fourteen. I can handle the problems the white-coats send my way, but Ari? He did nothing.
"I know, but you've got to try. Just remember, I'm the same as you. We're both Erasers. We can be good despite our problems."
He looked up hopefully. "Ya think so, Max?"
"I know so, little brother."
Whenever I talk to Ari, all those sarcastic comments that come to mind disappear. Even internally, I knew this kid really needed me to act different. Breath, Max. You can change.
What was I saying...thinking?
Anyone who got this far really should review. It gives me inspiration. I'm not going to beg like I did before. I'm just going to hope that everyone is nice enough to give me a review.
Reviews
(7)
weirdpeopleruletheworld – As per your wish, I have updated.
jennifer (anonymous) – Thank you so much. I know it's highly unlikely that the person who wrote this will ever see my reply, but I want to thank them for being one of the first people to give my some positivity on making Max an Eraser.
MaxRideRox – As for your Fang question; I meant for that little slip to occur. It's much like her Gazzy revelation in this chapter. It just wasn't meant to be caught. Your suggestion was one that I've been considering, but I don't know yet. I might start a poll to decide.
MaxFangIggyNudgeGazzyAngel (anonymous) – Did I get those in the right order. Anyway. This chapter should answer your question
Maximum-and-firestar-rule – Yup. She is an Eraser, but different. The differences will become more noticeable in future chapters
badattitude (anonymous) – Your review was short, but for some reason, it was one of the most inspiring. How odd...
lazerwolf314 (anonymous) – I love the though of Ari as a cute little boy. It's just no fun to read about the Eraser-Ari from the books. Personally, I like my Ari.
