Two Schools Out - Forever

by James Patterson

  I grinned. Poor Fang. Was she selling something? Asking him to join the Chess Club?

  In the next moment, the girl had put both her hands on Fang's chest and pushed him against the wall. I strode forward, reaching out to yank open the door. Even if she was an Eraser, Fang and I could make mincemeat out of her.

  Then I froze. It wasn't an attack. The girl had pressed herself against Fang like static cling, and she went on her tiptoes and kissed him, right on the mouth.

  Fang stood there for a moment, then his hands came up, holding her around the waist. I waited for him to push her away, hoping he would be sensitive about it, not hurt her feelings.

  But I watched, dumbfounded, as Fang's hands slid slowly up her back, holding the girl closer. He angled his head so they could kiss better.

  I stepped back, not breathing, feeling like I was going to hurl.

  Oh, God.

  Spinning on my heel, I raced down the hall and into the girls' bathroom.

  I locked myself in a stall and sat down on the closed seat. Cold sweat was beading on my forehead, and I felt shaky and chilled, as if I'd just fought for my life. The image of Fang holding that girl closer, tilting his head, popped up in my brain. Closing my eyes did nothing to stop it.

  Okay. Get a grip. God. What are you doing?

  My breaths were shallow and fast, and I felt rage roiling in my stomach like acid.

  No, calm down, calm down.

  I forced myself to take several deep breaths, in and out, in and out.

  Okay. Just calm down. So he kissed someone. Big deal. Why should I even care anyway? Why should I even care if he kissed every girl in this whole school? He was like my-brother. I mean, he wasn't my brother, not really. But he was like a brother. Yes. That was it. I'd been surprised, but now I was over it. I was fine.

  Standing up, I left the stall and splashed cold water on my face. I was fine. I mean, why would I even care?

  Maybe you have feelings for him, said my Voice. Nooo, the Voice couldn't ever respond when I really needed it to. But give me a sensitive situation where I'd really rather just deal with it alone? It was all over me.

  Maybe not, I thought snidely.

  You can't stay children forever, said the Voice, gently mocking. People grow up, have kids of their own. Think about it.

  I suppressed a shriek of frustration, gripping the edge of the sink hard so I wouldn't ram my head into the wall. Like I was going to think about anything else, now.

  53

  "There they are."

  Ari focused the binoculars on the small group on the road, maybe a quarter mile away. Walking to their perfect home from their perfect school. Wasn't that special. He looked into the back of the van. Six Erasers, already morphed and eager for action, sat waiting for him to give the word. The new Max was sitting in the back with them, wearing headphones.

  "She's up on her soapbox again," the new Max said.

  Ari snorted. Max-the original Max-was so full of herself, so tougher-than-thou. She ran those kids around like they were her slaves.

  Slaves. There was a fun idea. Picturing the mutant bird freaks as his personal slaves cheered Ari up. He would make them do everything-take care of everything. They would bring him food and remind him to take his pills, and Max would rub his shoulders where his wings hurt. That would be so great. A tiny buzzer went off-his watch timer. Ari popped a handful of pills and reset the timer.

  Unfortunately he wasn't going to get to make them his slaves. Fortunately he still got to kill them.

  "I swear, that girl wouldn't be happy anywhere," the new Max said, sounding disgusted.

  "Let's give her something to be unhappy about," Ari said, and hit the gas pedal. His heart started pumping with anticipation. He hated Max, but he loved fighting her. No one else was as exciting, as much of a challenge-not even Fang. And every time they fought, he learned more about how to defeat her. Someday he would have the last punch, see the surprise on her face...

  In seconds the van had caught up to the group, and they wheeled around at the sound of the tires.

  "Want a ride, kids?" asked the Eraser in the passenger seat, who hadn't morphed yet.

  "What, no candy?" the original Max practically snarled. Then her eyes fell on Ari.

  A laugh rose from his chest as he slammed on the brakes. He loved it! Seeing the flare of hatred and fear in her eyes when she looked at him. "Showtime, folks!" he shouted. "Max is mine!"

  Erasers poured out of the back of the van before it had even stopped.

  Time to play.

  54

  So, again, Ari was alive? Ari was back? I needed to think about that later.

  "Happy now?" Fang muttered at me, and I took a second to scowl at him before launching myself at the closest wolf boy.

  The sad thing was, I was happier. Well, not happy, exactly-just more on solid ground. A boy from class talking to me? Complete washout. Kicking Eraser butt, especially pathetic, off-balance Erasers with too-big wings? It was just more me, somehow.

  Within moments I had cracked one's kneecap with a hard side kick, and he crumpled to the ground. Very cheering. Watch it! said the Voice, just before another one clipped my jaw, swiveling my head. Go with the flow. Okay. I went with the momentum, completed the turn, and came out swinging with a hard right that smashed his jaw. Howling with pain, he fell to his knees, holding his face. Seconds later he bounced up, his eyes red with fury, in time to have Gazzy smack both hands over his ears, blowing his eardrums. Screaming, he went down again.

  Fang had taken one out and was working on Ari. A quick glance showed me that Angel was dealing with a female Eraser-using her mind control to make the Eraser run headfirst into a tree, hard. Yowch. Then Angel flashed me an angelic smile, and I remembered again that we had to have a clear-the-air ethics talk sometime soon.

  Max-focus! A huge thud against my back knocked the wind out of me. Wheezing for air, I whirled to see Ari, grinning, swinging hard at my head. I ducked, whirled, and put all my weight into a roundhouse kick that spun him sideways and almost knocked him off his feet. The other Erasers were mostly down for the count: It was me against him. Slowly we circled each other. Ari grinned, and fury washed over me, coloring everything red. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Fang herd the younger kids into the woods and then up into the air.

  "Cute uniform." Ari sneered, showing his sharp canines. "It's a good look for you."

  "Where'd you get those wings?" I countered. "Wal-Mart?" I kept my weight centered as we circled each other like tigers.

  The other Erasers were staggering back to the van, piling into it like circus clowns. Ari saw them.

  "Guess it won't be today, guys," Ari called to his team. "Next time I'll let you eat the little one. I hear they taste like chicken."

  Angel.

  Growling, I lunged for Ari. He stepped aside and swung at me. I easily ducked. Rage fueled my fight, and I did a quick running start, then hit him with a flying side kick, both feet ramming hard against his ribs. He fell over heavily, banging his head on the road.

  I jammed my foot against his neck and leaned over him. "How many times do I have to kill you?" I snarled. "Rough estimate."

  I saw fiery hatred in his eyes, and it really hit me: This wasn't even Ari any longer, the little kid who'd watched us from a distance when we were at the School. His own father had turned him into a monster, and any Ari that was left was being burned away from the inside. The idea made me feel sick, and I took my foot off his neck and stepped back.

  Ari sat up quickly, gagging. "Point to you this time," he said, his voice raspy as he rubbed his neck. "But you have no hope of winning." He jumped to his feet. "I'm just playing with you, like a cat with a mouse."

  I was already backing toward the woods, unfolding my wings, ready to leap into the air. "Yeah," I said, my voice dripping with hostility. "An awkward Frankenstein puddy-tat against a fierce, bloodthirsty, undefeated, well-designed mouse."

  His lip curled and he lunged at me again, but I'd alrea
dy done an up-and-away and was hovering about fifteen feet off the ground. I rose higher and watched Ari stomp heavily to the van and throw himself in through the back doors. Inside the van, I caught the barest flash of blond-streaked hair.

  None of the Erasers had long streaked hair.

  55

  "What happened to you?" Anne cried.

  We trailed into the house and automatically hung up our jackets, most of which were blood-spattered. Total trotted around our feet, sniffing and growling. Angel reached down and hugged him, talking gently, and I just barely heard Total say, "Those wankers."

  "Erasers," said the Gasman. "I'm hungry. Is there a snack?"

  "What are Erasers?" Anne asked, sounding genuinely confused.

  Could she possibly not know? Or maybe she just didn't know the hip insider's slang for them. "We're human-avian hybrids," I said, walking down the hall to the kitchen. I could smell popcorn. "Erasers are human-lupine hybrids."

  "Rabbits?" Anne asked, still sounding confused. She followed me.

  I giggled. "That's lapin. Or, more correctly, leporid. Not lupine."

  "Oh. Wolves," Anne said, getting it.

  "Give the lady a prize," I said, entering the kitchen.

  "Popcorn! And hot apple cider!" Gazzy said happily.

  "Wash your hands," Anne said, then took a good look at him. Gazzy had a couple bruises but looked okay. Angel and Nudge were fine. Iggy had a split lip. Fang's nose was bleeding. I had a sudden flash of him kissing that girl and shut it down hard.

  "Get cleaned up," Anne said. "I'll get some bandages. Is anyone hurt seriously?"

  "No," said Nudge, digging into the popcorn. "But an Eraser tore my sweater. Jerk."

  "There's milk too," said Anne, taking a glass bottle out of the fridge. She put it on the table and went to get the first-aid kit.

  I helped Angel pour herself a glass of milk, and then I noticed: This was a different brand of milk than before. The other had been in cartons. Cartons with missing-kid pictures on them. This bottle had a smiling cow but no missing kids. Hmm.

  Later I sat at the table doing my homework, which is just another term for "grown-up-imposed yet self-inflicted torture," IMHO. Anne sat down next to me.

  "So Erasers are human-wolf hybrids," she said. "And they attacked you? Have they ever attacked you before? Where did they come from? How did they know where you were?"

  I looked at her. "Isn't all this in your reports?" I asked. "Your files? Yeah, of course the Erasers attacked us. They always do. They're everywhere. They were created to be... weapons, kind of. Back at the School, they were the guards, the security. The punishers. Since we escaped, Erasers have been tracking us. I was wondering when they'd show up. This is the longest we've gone without them finding us."

  "Why didn't you tell me?" Anne asked, concern on her face.

  I shook my head. "I really thought you knew. You knew a bunch of other stuff about us. I mean, I wasn't keeping Erasers a secret or anything."

  Anne let out a heavy breath. "We'd heard only vague rumors. They seemed so far-fetched that we didn't believe them. You say these Erasers track you? How?"

  Probably my chip. The one somebody put in my arm.

  I shrugged and looked back at my world studies textbook.

  At least, I feared it was my chip. I wasn't positive, but it made the most sense. This was my chance to tell Anne about my chip. Maybe with her FBI resources, she could find a way to take it out. But something held me back. I just couldn't bring myself to trust her. Maybe in about five years, if we were still here. God, what a depressing thought.

  Also, these days, I was wondering if it might not be my chip, might be something else. Like, if Total was chipped. Or even one of the flock. Angel? We just didn't know.

  Anne stood up. "Well, I'm going to make some phone calls," she said firmly. "Those were the last Erasers you'll see."

  I almost chuckled at her naivete.

  56

  "Night, Tiffany-Krystal," I said, grinning, and Nudge grinned back. We stacked our fists on top of each other and tapped the backs with our other hands.

  "Night," said Nudge, lying back on her comfy pillows. "Max? We are going to stay for a while, aren't we? We're not leaving, like, tomorrow, right?"

  "No," I said quietly. "Not tomorrow. Just-be on your toes, and try to blend, okay?"

  "Okay. I do blend pretty good, I think," Nudge said. "I have three friends I sit with at lunch. My teacher seems to like me."

  "Of course she likes you. How could she not?" I kissed Nudge's forehead and left, heading down the hall to tuck in Angel.

  Pushing open her door, I saw that Anne was already there, pulling the covers up to Angel's chin.

  "You had a long day, sweetie," said Anne, stroking Angel's hair off her face. "Get some good sleep now."

  "Okay," said Angel.

  "And Ariel? Don't let Total up on the bed," Anne said. "He has his own bed."

  "Uh-huh," said Angel agreeably. I rolled my eyes. Total would be on the bed before Anne was five steps down the hall.

  "Good night, sleep tight," Anne said, standing up.

  "Don't let the bedbugs bite," Angel answered cheerfully.

  Anne smiled at us and went out.

  Total hopped up on the bed. Angel held up the covers for him and he wriggled underneath them, resting his head on a corner of Angel's pillow. I tucked them both in.

  "Would it kill her to turn up the heat?" Total grumbled sleepily. "This place is an icebox. You could practically hang meat in here."

  Angel and I grinned at each other.

  "You all right?" I asked.

  She nodded. "I hated seeing the Erasers today."

  "You and me both. Ari really creeps me out. Do you pick up anything from him?"

  Angel thought. "Dark. Red. Angry. Torn. Confused. He hates us."

  I frowned at this grim picture of what was happening inside Ari's head.

  "And he loves you," Angel added. "He loves you a lot."

  57

  I backed out of Angel's room, trying not to look shocked. Jeez. Ari loved me? Like a little kid? Like a big Eraser? Was that why he kept trying to kill me? He needed to read an article about how to send clearer signals.

  A sound behind me made me turn around fast, to see that I'd almost run into Fang coming down the hall.

  "They down?"

  I nodded. "They're beat. School really takes it out of them. And then, of course, Erasers."

  "Yeah."

  We saw Anne come out of Nudge's room. She smiled and mouthed "Good night" at us, then headed downstairs. I thought about her being the last person Nudge would see before she went to sleep, and my jaw tightened.

  "Let them enjoy it while they can," said Fang, reading my expression in that irritating way he had.

  "She's taking my place," I said without meaning to.

  Fang shrugged. "You're a fighter, not a mom."

  I almost gasped, stung. "I can't be both? You think I'm a lousy mom? What, because I'm not girly enough, is that it?" I was really mad, the tensions of the day boiling over in me. "Not like that girl with the red hair, stuck to you like glue!" My hands came up and, without thinking, I shoved Fang hard.

  Since this was Fang, he didn't just take it like a gentleman. He immediately shoved me back, almost making me hit the wall. I was mortified-not only because I was attacking my best friend, but because I'd sounded like a jealous idiot. Which I wasn't. At all.

  I stood there, breathing fast, feeling my cheeks flame with humiliation and anger. My hands clenched and unclenched, and I wanted to disappear.

  I felt his dark eyes looking at me and waited for him to tease me about being upset over the Red-Haired Wonder.

  He stepped closer to me, till his face was only inches away from mine. We'd been the same height for most of our lives, but in the past two years he'd shot past me. Now my eyes were level with his shoulder.

  "You're girly enough," he said quietly. "As I recall."

  New embarrassment washed over m
e-he was referring to when I'd kissed him at the beach, weeks ago. He just had girls throwing themselves at him left and right, didn't he?

  I gritted my teeth and didn't say anything.

  "And you've been a great mom. But you're only fourteen and you shouldn't have to be a mom. Give yourself ten years or so."

  He went past me, brushing my shoulder as I stood there stiffly. He meant a real mom, with my own kids. I definitely considered the flock my own kids, but Fang meant kids I made myself. Like the Voice had said earlier.

  Right then, I just hated my life, in a whole new, refreshing way.

  "By the way," Fang called from down the hallway. "I've started a blog. I'm using the computers at school. Against all the rules, of course. Fang's Blog." He chuckled, as only Fang can chuckle. "Check it out sometime... Mom."

  58

  It was cold out tonight, but the new Max didn't even feel it. She edged back on her branch, pressing her spine against the rough bark of the tree trunk. The binoculars were heavy on their cord around her neck. Drawing her knees up, she hugged herself, feeling a warm tear escape her eye and roll down her cheek. She was watching the other Max all the time, watching and learning. But it was hard. It was painful.

  "Oh, Max," she whispered, seeing the other Max far away, through the window of Anne's house. "I know just how you feel. You and I are always alone, no matter how many other people are around."

  59

  At school the next morning, we were greeted by the sight of several large tour buses taking up practically the whole parking lot. I saw my new friend J.J., and she waved and came over to me as the rest of the flock melted into the crowd.

  "This is a special treat," J.J. said cheerfully. "A field trip."

  "Field trip?" I pictured us all out in the fields, tracking something.