Nevermore: The Final Maximum Ride Adventure (18 page)

But if he didn’t turn Fang in, someone else would. And if what Dr. Williams had said was true, they would hurt—possibly kill—Max as a result.

He couldn’t let that happen.

Dylan’s mind spun. Maybe this awful thought… maybe this was the
right
thing to do in the end. It would spare Fang from a horrible life of tests and scalpels and torture.
It would save Max’s life. She would be grateful; maybe she’d even come to love him for it… someday.

Dylan swallowed. The Voice was right. He
did
know what he had to do. He had known all along.

He had to kill Fang.

59

“OH, MY GOD, it’s Dylan.”

My head swiveled sharply at Gazzy’s words and I practically ran to where he sat on the couch. He was pointing at the TV screen.

“What ‘oh, my God’?” I demanded. “What ‘Dylan’?”

“He’s… he’s… gone wacko,” said Gazzy.

I turned my attention to the news broadcast, which was showing a grainy, shaky cell phone video… of a bird kid rampaging through town. My mouth dropped open as I saw
Dylan
—and he was totally, prosecutably recognizable as Dylan—smashing windows, ripping down signs, kicking cars, knocking over mailboxes.

“It doesn’t seem like him at all,” said Gazzy. “He’s
always so laid back. Maybe it’s, like, a clone or something?” he offered.

“No,” I murmured, anxiously watching the screen. “No, I think it’s really him.” But why was he on this insane destructive streak? What had happened since I last saw him? I tried to think when that was….

He’d been with me all day, right up until—
oh
. Suddenly it all became horribly clear, and my stomach clenched. Dylan had been near the door when I’d gone outside to be alone. He must have seen Fang follow me, which meant he’d seen Fang and me fly off, out of earshot of the house.

What else had he seen?

“This is all my fault,” I muttered, grabbing my jacket. “I’m going to find him.”

Before Gazzy could say anything, I’d leaped off our balcony and was streaking toward town.

60

I WAS AT the edge of town before I realized that I had no idea what I was going to say to Dylan when I found him.

Dylan had had my back when I didn’t really have anyone else, and he was the last person in the world I wanted to hurt. He was… Well, he was a great guy, and I knew exactly how much he cared about me. He’d worn his heart on his wing, and he deserved honesty from me in return.

But what could I say to him? What could I offer him? What could I promise? How could I know what to say when I hardly even knew what to
feel
these days?

God help me.

I kept myself high enough in the sky so that people wouldn’t necessarily spot me right away. But I could still
see everything, and I almost skidded to a halt when I saw firsthand the damage Dylan had done.

The town was in chaos. It looked like a tornado had streaked through, wrecking everything in its path. There were dented cars stopped on Main Street, store owners talking angrily to police, people sweeping up glass and reattaching signs. It was like Dylan had woken up today and decided to play Godzilla.

I let out a slow breath, understanding the implication: The measure of damage that Dylan had caused was probably about equal to the amount of pain he might be in right now.

Because of me.

My heart in my throat, I kept scanning the streets, but what I didn’t see was Dylan. I went high, way high, to give myself a broader view, but saw not a feather. I scanned treetops, the roofs of buildings, other places suitable for hiding out and seething, but he had disappeared.

And when he came back—
if
he came back—how would things be then? Would he still be the sweet, vulnerable Dylan I had begrudgingly come to rely on, to even
like
?

To
more than
like. I couldn’t admit to myself just what that feeling was, but it was something that had started to work its way deep inside me.

I’d been trying for so long to ignore his adoring looks, to distance myself and push him away.

So if I’d finally succeeded, why did it hurt so much?

61

HE’S HOME.

That was my first thought when I was rudely jolted out of a restless sleep that night. For the second time in just a couple of weeks, Iggy’s alarm system was sending wails and automated warning messages through the house in the middle of the night.

Be angry
, I told myself as I bolted from my bed.
He shouldn’t have taken off like that, shouldn’t have caused all that damage. You’re furious.
But I couldn’t stop the feelings of relief and elation that swept through me as I headed for the door.

“What is it? Who’s attacking us?” Gazzy yelled from his room. “Should I bring the bombs?”

“Max?” Angel whimpered, stumbling out of my way sleepily as I rounded the corner and ran down the hall.

“It’s okay, Angel. Everything’s fine. Don’t worry, guys,” I yelled over my shoulder as I started to unbolt the locks. “Iggy! Cut the alarm! It’s just Dyl—”

I breathlessly threw open the door, and a sea of glowing red eyes peered at me out of the frigid darkness.

Behind me, Nudge sucked in a breath—there were
a lot
of eyes, and they were feral, bloodthirsty: Erasers.

I swallowed, my words dying on my lips. “
Of course
,” I muttered, trying not to show how overwhelmed I was by the sheer numbers, how unprepared I’d just been caught. I had
opened the door
to these mongrels, without any weapon or plan. I had practically invited them in.

I cleared my throat and stepped right out onto the porch. I could hear breathing and shuffling in the darkness, animal sounds that sent chills down my spine. You’d think I would be used to it by now. “So,” I said loudly, “is there a specific reason you flea-bitten wolves are attacking? Or is it just my lucky day?”

“Just your lucky day, sis.”

I knew that voice: bitter, deep, like a bunch of rocks being rattled in a can.
Ari.

The crowd of Erasers parted so he could walk through, and he stopped just ten feet from the bottom of the stairs. My stomach turned somersaults—somehow he looked even bigger and wolfier. Maybe he had been “enhanced” some more.

“This is the end, Max,” Ari said, stepping into the beam of the porch light and showing his yellow fangs. “I promise.”

“I stopped believing your promises a long time ago,” I said. I felt just a tiny bit sad, remembering the cute kid he had once been. My half brother.

The other Erasers were moving forward now, ever so slowly. Every single one of them was staring fixedly in the same direction. At the same person.

And it wasn’t me.

“We’re here for
you
, Fang,” Ari said, looking into the hallway behind me and grinning toothily as he cracked his meaty, hairy knuckles. “We’re here to kill you, and trust me—this is one fight you bird kids can’t win.”

Fang came out to stand beside me, his fists clenched, his face tight with anger. “I wouldn’t bet on that.”

“Your funeral,” Ari said, shrugging. He held up one hairy fist, ready to give the signal to his army.

I tensed, settling my weight as I prepared to leap off the porch. I didn’t know if these Erasers could fly, but regardless, I was not going to start this fight on my feet. I was ready. I’d been ready for this for a long time. And my plan was to ignore any and all pain until every Eraser was gone.

But you know, things can always, always, take a turn for the worse.

“Just say the word,
Dad
,” Ari called out.

So there you go.

62

OUT OF THE shadows stepped the one, the only, the despicable Jeb. And get this—he was actually wearing a white lab coat. And a small frown.

“Wait, Ari,” Jeb said firmly. “I need to explain things first.”

For a moment, I thought Ari was going to ignore the command and just attack us anyway—that was what he would have done just a few months earlier. He hated and resented Jeb as much as he did us.

But after a moment’s hesitation, he nodded and slowly lowered his fist, though he never took his rabid eyes from Fang’s face.

Jeb moved closer to the porch. I kept my face expressionless, staying in battle mode. My muscles were coiled,
my heart was pumping, and every sense was hyperalert. I knew that my flock—even Angel, who was still so fragile—was ready, just like I’d trained ’em to be. Just like Jeb had trained me.

“Max, Fang,” Jeb said, sounding urgent, “I need you to understand.”

Behind him, Ari shifted, and all of the red Eraser eyes in the darkness shifted along with him. They were muttering now, and I heard twigs snapping as they moved around impatiently. I had no idea how long Ari or Jeb could keep them in check.

“Save it,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “We don’t need to listen to any more of your lies.”

“No, but you
do
need to know the truth, Max. The truth about why Fang must die.”

I laughed coldly. “That actually sounds like something we absolutely don’t need to hear,” I replied. “It sounds totally irrelevant, actually. Because Fang isn’t going to die. You may have created us, Jeb, but you do
not
get to decide when we die. The only expiration date that’s approaching is yours, the second you try to get any closer to him.”

I saw the rest of the flock out of the corner of my eye, moving to stand next to me on the porch in support. Iggy stepped protectively in front of Fang and crossed his arms.

“Max, you don’t understand.” Jeb looked up at me. “I don’t
want
Fang to die, any more than you do. But he
needs
to. If the earth is going to survive,
Fang must die
.”

Fang stepped forward from the shadows and let out a long breath. “Go on,” he said, watching Jeb steadily.

I reached out and took his hand, holding it tight.

“When you were in Dr. Gunther-Hagen’s lab,” began Jeb, “he took samples of your tissue, did all sorts of tests on you, on your skin and muscles and organs. And eventually he made an amazing discovery. Fang, your DNA is
indestructible
. Infinitely regenerative.”

“We all heal quickly,” I ground out.

“No, Max, sweetie.” Jeb shook his head slowly, ignoring the look on my face at the word “sweetie.” “Fang is different.
His
DNA holds science’s key to
immortality
.”

Okay, I did not see
that
coming.

63

“I’M SO SORRY,” Jeb said sincerely. “But now you understand why Fang must be eliminated.”

I scowled at him. “No, actually, I can’t say I do.”

“If my DNA is so special, wouldn’t that make me useful to keep alive?” asked Fang dryly. “For
science
?”

“Yes,” Jeb agreed. “And that’s exactly why Hans wants you alive—for that very reason. He intends to lock you up in his lab and put you into a permanent vegetative state. You understand what that means, don’t you? You would be just a body, unable to move, think, eat, talk. A body that Hans intends to perform live experiments on
forever
.”

I stared at Jeb in shock. Imagining Fang like that made me want to throw up.

Jeb paused, looking positively misty-eyed. “I myself would end your life right now, to save you from that endless nightmare. I created you, Fang. I could never let you endure that.”

“He wouldn’t have to endure anything,” I said briskly, my mind racing. “We’d protect him. And if you loved us, you would, too. Take him somewhere safe. Somewhere Dr. Hans would never find him. We’re good at running from idiots—as you well know, Jeb.”

Jeb coughed and looked at the ground. When he looked back at me, his eyes were pleading, but apologetic. “It’s not just Dr. Hans, Max. News travels fast in the world of science. Believe me, if I know of the discovery, many others do as well. And for something of this magnitude… They would come looking, more and more. You couldn’t protect Fang forever”—his lips curled into a sad smile—“and I’m afraid that’s how long you’d need to. What happens when you die, Maximum? Have you considered that? Who will protect Fang then?”

I clenched my fists but didn’t answer. My mouth was dry, and I felt empty and hollow.

“I can take care of myself,” Fang muttered. “Especially if I’m immortal.”

Jeb shook his head sadly. “I’m afraid you’re not immortal, Fang. We’ve determined that your DNA holds the secret to the pursuit of immortality. There’s a difference. You’re a critical link in the next great step in human
evolution.” He cleared his throat. “But this is not just about you, kiddo. This is bigger. It’s about saving the whole world.” Jeb looked at me. “It’s what you’ve been preparing for all this time, Max.”

“Wait—
what?
” Fang and I said at the same time.

My mind reeled as I tried to get a handle on this scenario. And Ari and the Erasers were having a harder time than I was—they were clearly bored out of their pea-sized minds and were visibly salivating, shivering with anticipation as they waited anxiously to tear into Fang.

Behind me, Nudge, Iggy, Gazzy, and Angel shifted their feet and unfurled their wings in case things got ugly in a hurry. It looked like they might.

Jeb went on, “Immortality might sound like a good thing, but as soon as it can be genetically engineered, we’ll have a disaster on our hands. If people live forever, their numbers will increase exponentially—like a cancer metastasizing across the earth,” Jeb said earnestly. “This is why I truly believe in the 99% Plan. The planet only has a chance if we take
people
out of the equation.”

“Oh, come
on
,” I scoffed, but Jeb was looking at Ari, who was moving toward his army of Erasers.

“It’s okay,” Fang said to me, trying to look reassuring. “They can’t hurt me. I already cheated death once. I was pretty much resurrected after I was thrown from the cliff.”