"True self is non-self, the awareness that the self is made only of non-self elements. There's no separation between self and other, and everything is interconnected. Once you are aware of that you are no longer caught in the idea that you are a separate entity.",
Thích Nhất Hạnh
ePub
A4Chapter 44
W
HAT THE HECK HAPPENED?” I asked, taking in Iggy’s bloody nose, Nudge’s pained face.“Erasers,” said Iggy angrily. “Erasers happened. But enough about us. How was your joyride?”
“I heard the choppers,” I said. “I came back as fast as I could.” I was still trying to process the “Erasers” part.
“Whatever, Max.” Iggy shook his head angrily. “You and Fang were off together — like always. The rest of us could have died here, but as long as you two get your face time, it doesn’t matter!”
“Hey!” came Jeb’s voice from outside. “Put down the ladder!” He was just returning from the dump. In a few moments, he was staring at us all in shock. Then he looked with dismay around the living room, which was now a poster child for the benefits of having home insurance. Which, of course, we didn’t.
“Erasers attacked,” I told him. “Apparently. While I was at the store.”
Jeb frowned. “Are you sure they were actual Erasers? Not robots?”
“These were definitely Erasers,” Gazzy said. “You can still smell them.”
“Look what I found outside.” Jeb held up a black duffel bag. “Maybe this’ll offer some kind of clue.” He opened it, and we all fell silent. Inside were black hoods. Clear vials of liquid. Hypos in cases. There were black plastic body bags.
“Those were for us,” said Gazzy, as we gaped at the bag’s contents. “They must have been trying to knock us out with that nerve gas stuff.”
“Erasers don’t use this kind of equipment. Only brute force,” Jeb remarked. “Someone else must have been out there too.”
“But weren’t all the Erasers wiped out?” I asked Jeb. Of anyone, Jeb would be in the know about the wolf boys.
Jeb nodded slowly. “The entire original production lines, as well as the next four generations, were all … retired,” he said. “But I wonder. After the School closed, the scientists, what was left of them, scattered. It’s possible — even likely — that one or more of them have set up shop somewhere else.”
“Where are the Erasers now? Do you know?” Fang asked the kids.
“Dumped ’em in the canyon,” Angel said, rubbing her hand.
“Good job, guys,” I said. “That was the way to go.” I tried a grin. “But I bet we’ll be smelling them for days, until the vultures finish them off.”
Fang strode back out to the deck, hopped up on the railing, and jumped off to investigate the remains. I saw envy and admiration war on Dylan’s face.
“So, Dylan, your first Eraser fight,” I commented, wondering how he had done.
“He did great,” said Total. “He’s a machine. Dylan’s like the top-of-the-line Cuisinart to Gazzy’s hand mixer.” Total was a bit of a gourmet, and his point was all but lost on me.
Dylan shrugged as if he’d done nothing at all, even though one arm had ugly gashes on it. His long-sleeved plaid shirt was in tatters.
“Um, we should probably be treating those wounds,” I said, sounding a little more concerned than I wanted to. That mother hen thing is a hard habit to break.
“Don’t worry, Max. I’ll be fine,” he said, taking his shirt off so he could check out the damage. I tried to avert my eyes from his muscular torso. But even more distracting was seeing just how shredded his arm really was under that shirt.
“Jeepers!” I couldn’t understand how Dylan could be so unflinching with that kind of damage. “Jeb, make yourself useful for once! You’ve got a medical background, don’t you?”
“I think I can fix it, Max,” Dylan said, as he pulled together ragged bits of skin and held them firmly in place.
The flock heals faster than normal humans, but what Dylan did next I’d never seen another bird kid even attempt: He raised his wounded arm to his mouth and used his own spit to wet the damaged areas. WTH?
“Eew!” Nudge said, and turned away. I, however, was fascinated. And terrified.
“Just a little trick Dr. Gunther-Hagen taught me,” Dylan said, as we watched his skin scab up and heal right before our very eyes.
