CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

::Rachel::

"Don't look at me like that."

"Then how do you expect me to react? Just tell you, hey Tobias, it's okay, this reality sure sucks for you and I'm totally sorry about it. Is that what you want?"

He spun around and glared at me. "Look, this isn't so easy-"

"Hell, Tobias, it isn't easy for all of us!" I grabbed his sleeve, which must have startled him considerably because his arms started to move awkwardly. "We don't have time or energy to throw pity parties for you, so you've got to stop trying to take things into your own hands and thinking that you can work this out on your own! Why the hell didn't you tell us earlier that Visser Three's actually interfering with your life?"

"This isn't my life!" yelled Tobias. "This - this is the life of some kid who's three times more messed up than I could ever be! He's got a mother and a roof over his head but all he knows is to mope and angst and keep to himself! I wouldn't wish that upon myself anymore than I wish to go back to the days when I was a human punching bag! All my life I've tried to make my existence known in the subtlest ways possible, and this kid? He just doesn't want to exist!"

"Take your volume down a notch," I hissed. "If you didn't realise, you're still moping and angsting and keeping to yourself!"

Tobias was shaking with anger as he continued. "I read his diary. He doesn't like anybody. He doesn't want to care about anybody. He doesn't even like his mother." He laughed bitterly. "Get that? He doesn't even like his mother."

I took a deep breath. "Okay, so he isn't you, and you aren't him. Fine. But the only way we're gonna get out of here is if we recognise the fact that this is the life we're living now and we've got to understand it well enough to figure something out. And you figure it out and don't tell anyone? Thanks a lot, man, we appreciate your contributions to this fight, 'cos you just wanna get back to reality and we all don't."

I jabbed a finger into his shoulder. "You're not the only one who thinks this isn't the life you want. But this isn't some alternate reality that we can choose, get it? It's not an option. We're getting out of here no matter what."

Tobias sank onto a nearby bench and buried his head in his hands. When he lifted his head, his eyes were red and shining.

It's been so long since I saw so much emotion in his eyes. Usually, it alternates between cold and ruthless yellow hawk eyes, and steely blue human ones. Both were just as good as making you squirm because they'd be fixed on you hard and long. Yet now, I could see weariness, bitterness, rage, sadness - and helplessness. Helplessness that I recognised I had, too. In this reality, even if we were the same people – apart from Jake – we were all searching for the things we wanted, and the things we lost. I, for the most part, just wanted some sense of knowing what the hell was coming next. I hated not knowing that and I hated feeling upset and scared because of that uncertainty.

"I'm sorry," I muttered.

"Don't be," he replied, cracking a bitter smile. "You're right. I guess it just sucks. It's like my fate's been decided a long time ago to always have a hole I can never plug."

"You think it's because we took a different route? Like made one single choice that changed all this?" I balked at the idea. The butterfly effect. The Ellimist had once taken us on that lesson and it continued to haunt me in my nightmares - that older version of Rachel as a Controller, laughing cruelly about Tobias as a barbecued bird. God, that was just insane.

"I don't know..."

"Tobias, what else do you know? What did you find out while you were at the Sharing?"

"I... wait, do you hear that?"

There was a mild dissonance in the distance. I strained to hear it, but soon, it just got louder and louder.

A siren.

Tobias stood up as flashing lights came into view. A string of at least three cars, along with a police one, swerved round the bend.

"Hey look, it's the boy!"

"Oh crap," said Tobias.

"It's that Cam guy!" I hissed, as the men got out of the cars. I grabbed Tobias's hand and yanked him off the bench. "Come on!"

"Hey!" Cam yelled as we took to our heels. "Stop them!"

"Haven't - run - in - years!" Tobias gasped, stumbling along. At the rate he was going, Cam and company were definitely going to catch up.

"We've got to split up!" I huffed as I ran. "You keep running, I'll distract them." What? What did I just say? Really?

"No!" Tobias's eyes widened, but I was already pulling my hand out of his grasp. "No, Rachel!"

"GO!" I hissed, pushing him on. Then I waved at the pursuers. A few of them came my way, and I ran as fast as I could. Swiftly, I pulled left into a lane with a row of shops and then into one of the alleys. Hiding behind a Dumpster, I began to concentrate hard. Come on, come on!

"Where'd she go?" One man asked.

"Alright, heck the girl! It's the boy I want!" And Cam proceeded to launch into a series of expletives ironically detailing what he thought of people who talked too much.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a mouse scrabbling against the wall. The image only grew sharper as I shrank. Feathers rippled down my arms, and before my toes turned into talons, I was already flapping my way up into the air.

I shrieked a bird cry, startling all the chasers to look up. I took a deep mental breath. Then I dove.

"Holy crap..."

"AHHH!" I raked one guy in the head and he fell to his knees. But I was heading for Cam, who had turned back in horror.

"TSEEEW!"

I yanked myself right, the Dracon beam narrowly missing my left wing.

Oh my God.

"TSEEEW! TSEEEW!"

"ANDALITE!" Cam yelled, who was so agitated that he didn't care that he was yelling it in the middle of a suburban neighbourhood. "Surrender yourself!"

No, I'm not doing that, I thought. For some reason, adrenaline was pumping into me like never before - and it wasn't even a heady rush sort of adrenaline.

It was a fear sort of adrenaline.

"TSEEEW!"

‹AHHHHH!›

‹Rachel!›

‹Run, Tobias!› I was on the verge of completely freaking out now; there were too many Dracon beams to dodge! Worst of all, I had a six-foot wing span and no thermals. What should I do now?

Left! Right! Left!

"TSEEEW!"

‹I'm gonna dieeeee!› I shrieked.

Tobias didn't reply - he was probably too busy running.

"Hahaha!" Cam crowed, raising his Dracon beam once more. "You die, Andalite!"

I summoned up all of my courage, tucked my wings and dove straight at him. It was insane; I was a bullet!

"TSEEEW!"

The beam ruffled my tail a little as I swerved round, talons raked out.

Cam didn't even have time to react. The sheer exhilaration was still showing on his face as I swooped down and snagged the Dracon beam out of his hand.

"GET IT!" Cam screamed.

I just kept flying higher and higher, farther and farther. I couldn't take it anymore; I was going to die in the crossfire if I stayed just one millisecond more. Die. I couldn't die! No!

"What about the boy?"

"SPLIT UP, YOU FOOLS! That boy's together with Andalites for sure, what with the will Elfangor drew up mentioning that kid's name. Visser Three definitely wants him!"

The will! Elfangor did draw up the will then. But what did this mean...

‹Rachel, where are you?›

‹Tobias? Oh my God, Tobias, are you okay?› I just kept flapping. I couldn't fly back. No. Tobias had to be safe. He had to be-

‹I'm okay. I think. I don't see them anymore. Heh, I'm still surprised these skinny legs can still carry me far.›

I mentally heaved a sigh of relief. My talons raked open, and the Dracon beam fell from my grasp.

‹Rachel?

‹I'm okay,› I said. ‹Okay.›

It took me a good full minute or so to finally turn around and head back in search of Tobias.

It seemed that Cam had run in a completely different direction and so had his men. I skimmed above the rooftops, trying my best to locate the familiar dirty-blond mop.

‹Tob-›

Something was following me from behind. I angled slightly, but there was nothing.

‹Rachel? Where are you now?›

I found Tobias scanning the sky with two fingers. I was about to reply, when suddenly, something hit me on the head.

‹Ow! What the-›

‹Rachel?›

Then it all came. It was like a flash of deja vu - the impact, the sharp pain from the attack, the explosion of colours before my bird eyes, the loss of strength in my wings that led me to spiral wildly downwards, the sheer, sheer panic - and then it all faded into a mass of black.