I turned and strode off in the other direction. But in the next hall, more kids looked up and, after glancing at one another, started toward me. Then the headhunter turned the corner. He hadn't seen me yet and was barking at other students. It was only moments before I would come under his fire. This was feeling bad.
I reversed direction quickly and headed down a third hall, and then I saw a door marked Teachers' Lounge. I'd never been in there. I pushed the door open and ducked in, already preparing my story about being lost.
Still facing the closed door, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. Then I turned around, ready to start sucking up to any teacher who might be in here.
There were quite a few teachers here, I observed with surprise. Including a bunch I'd never seen before. One was standing at the front of the room, as if telling a story, and others were grouped at tables. I quickly glanced at their faces, looking for someone I knew. Oh, good, Mr. Lazzara.
But-my heart took a beat and froze.
These were teachers, in the teachers' lounge.
Why were three of them pulling out Tasers?
86
Because they were whitecoat plants, ready to capture a mutant bird kid? I'm just guessing here.
In a split second I opened that door and whirled to run-
- right into the headhunter.
His ugly face split in an unholy grin, and he grabbed both my arms with an iron grip. "Leaving so soon? Surely you're not tired of our hospitality," he snarled. He shoved me back into the teachers' lounge as I wrenched my arms free.
"Why, what's happening?" Mr. Lazzara asked in surprise.
"Keep away!" one of the other teachers barked at him.
I backed up and looked at the headhunter, disappointed but not surprised to see him pulling a plastic cord out of his pocket, no doubt intended for my wrists.
"I always knew there was a reason I hated you," I said tightly. "Besides just your personality, I mean." Then I leaped into the air, aiming a kick at his head. I caught him off guard and whipped his head sideways, but he sprang up and came for me. I jumped onto a table, grabbed the light fixture hanging from the ceiling, and swung fast, hard kicks at everyone coming toward me.
Guess what, Voice? I thought. This time I'm believing what I'm seeing.
The headhunter grabbed for me again. "Oh, no you don't, you wretched little blister," he spit at me. "You're my prize, my reward for suffering through day after day of ignorant, pestilent little swine."
"I miss the gold-watch tradition, myself," I said, then I spun out of the way, kicking him hard as he lunged for me across the table. He fell and slid sideways, knocking down some other teachers, including the ones with Tasers. Note to self: Crack up later.
Some teachers were huddled against a back wall, looking terrified. Michael Lazzara looked as though he was about to throw himself into the action on the good-guy side. But the bad-guy teachers were closing in on me from all angles, pointing their Tasers at me. I didn't know who they were or who they worked for, but a good general rule of thumb is to avoid people with electric stun guns.
With a huge jump, I cleared several teachers and crashed through the door into the hallway. I wasn't sure exactly which classrooms the flock would be in at this time, so I just streaked down the hall, shouting at the top of my lungs.
"Bandada! Bezheet! See-chass! Move, move, move!"
87
I ran as fast as I could down both classroom halls, yelling, and saw Nudge and then Fang burst out of their rooms. I felt both frantic and incredibly pissed: Here was the proof I'd needed all along to convince the others to leave before now.
Other kids were streaming into the hallway, wondering what all the commotion was. Angel! Thank God, there she was, racing out of her classroom in front of me. She looked back, nodded, and poured on the speed toward the exit.
"Max! In here!" I saw Sam twenty feet ahead, standing in the doorway of an empty classroom. He motioned urgently with his hand. "Come on! Through here!"
But was he starting to look kind of Erasery around the edges-teeth a tiny bit too long, hair a shade thicker? I couldn't tell and couldn't take a chance.
"You can trust me!" he said, as I saw the Gasman rush out of his room, almost running into Nudge.
Sam stepped forward as if to intercept me, but I made one of my famous split-second decisions. I plowed right through him, knocking him to the ground.
"The thing is," I said, "I can't trust anybody!"
"Max!" Fang shouted, standing at the exit doors. The four of us raced toward him, and together we burst through to the parking lot. Behind us, the whole school was in chaos-kids filling the halls, people screaming, yelling, running around.
Looks like school's out, I thought.
"Up and away!" I shouted, hearing a car's engine race. The rest of the flock took to the air just as I realized the headhunter's fancy car was screeching toward me at full speed. He was going to run me down-if he could.
I ran straight at the car and, right before it crashed into me, I jumped into the air. As my wings gathered wind beneath them, I kicked hard, shattering the headhunter's windshield. Then I was ten, fifteen, twenty feet in the air, looking down.
Within seconds the headhunter had lost control of his car, and it squealed, sliding sideways right into several parked cars.
"Cool!" said the Gasman.
Pruitt spilled out of his wrecked car, his face almost purple with insane rage. "This isn't the end of this!" he screamed, shaking his fist up at me in time-honored custom. "You're accidents, stains, mistakes! And we'll get you!"
"If I had a nickel for every time I've heard that," I said, shaking my head.
As we rose higher, teachers poured out of the school, pushing aside screaming kids, who cowered and tried to hide. Some of the teachers were clearly working for Pruitt, while others looked terrified and confused.
Then I saw an all-too-familiar gray van careen into the parking lot, spitting gravel as it leaned dangerously around a corner. Sure, let's add some Erasers to the mix! The more the merrier! Were they in league with Pruitt or had things just gotten interesting?
"Go!" I said to the flock, and surged upward as fast as I could. Ari and some of the other Erasers could fly, but we had a head start. I saw Ari jump out of the van, barking orders, swearing, watching us escape.
"Later much," I said, and we soared into the sky, right into the weak autumn sun.
88
"Where to now?" the Gasman asked. We hovered in midair, our wings beating rhythmically, just hard enough to keep us in place. We'd kept a steady lookout, but so far no one seemed to be after us.
"We need to go back to Anne's," said Angel.
"Yeah, just real quick, to get some stuff," Nudge agreed.
"Actually," I said, "I hid our packs in the bat cave a few days ago. Just in case something like this happened. And I didn't forget to lift one of these," I added, wagging one of Anne's countless credit cards in front of them. "She'll never miss it."
"Great," said the Gasman in relief. "That was really smart, Max."
"That's why they pay me the big bucks," I said. It was taking everything I had to not yell I told you so! But now wasn't the time. Later, when we were safe, then I would rub it in.
"We still have to go back to Anne's," Angel said urgently.
"Ange, we just can't take the risk of saying good-bye," I said.
"No," Angel said. "Total's there."
Oh, crap. I took two seconds to judge the likelihood of Angel leaving Total behind, which was none, and then Fang and I looked at each other and sighed.
"We'll try," I said, and saw relief flood her face.
"Oh, thanks, Max," she said. "We'll make it fast, I promise."