Maximum Ride: The New Breed

Reed-

"The rat we saw isn't the only rat in the town, there are hundreds more. They were genetically modified for labor jobs that humans didn't want to do, but some escaped the laboratory and now they live in that town." I said quickly. "Unfortunately they are obsessively protective of their territory, so much that they'll probably come after us when the sun sets, maybe even sooner."

As I said it, my mind rose in a state of confusion. How did I know about all that stuff?

*(sorry about leaving my last post unfinished. Sometimes the site wont work for me)*

(Lexy)

"Their rats... what's the big deal?" I said.

"Doesn't matter whatever the hell they are their going to come after us." Reed shot back.

"Well we can't see our way back now. We're gonna have to track our way back."

I heard Rose groan, "I don't have enough strength to do that tonight."

I looked at Stella. "Well what do you think Stella? Should we stick it out or should we track our way back?" I asked.

"I think we could stick it out. you don't have a problem with that do you Reed?"

"Hell yes I have a problem with that. ZT help me out here."

"Your on your own I only saw one rat ok?"

"I think we're strong enough to stick it out." Mayze said.

"Your wrong." Reed yelled.

*sorry it's short I'll be back later.*

*Picking up where I left off*
(Lexy)

I looked at Reed, I'd won once again.

"Look's like we're going in." Mayze said.

"I can't walk! Do you get it?! I can't walk. I can't fly 'cause it's a building." Rose said.

"Someone can carry you." ZT said.

"Well said I think it should be you ZT." Reed chuckled.

"That's not what I-... Nevermind." ZT said.

ZT picked up Rose and she winced at her swollen and drying bloody foot. Stell and Colt walked in first and then Mayze, and then ZT, Rose, Reed and I. I crossed my arms over my chest an began walking, it was cold and it smelled weird in there. A nasty odor came for inside it took all my strength from covering my nose and mouth. Stella was talking to Colt and ZT was talking to Rose and Mayze. I turned to look at Reed,

"Does your face still hurt?" I asked.

"Yeah." He answered.

I nodded, "Good." I said. Then quietly chuckled. "I'm sorry about earlier. I just can't image losing Rose that's all. I just needed someone to blame, and since you were close nearby I choose you. So I'm really sorry, it wasn't right." I said still feeling distant.. I didn't know him, yet I'd blamed him, punched him, yelled at him and apologized to him.

"Well, thanks. I guess. Why do I get the feeling you never really apologize to people?" Reed asked.

"Because I don't." I said and caught up with the others.

(Rose)

Rose didn't like being carried by ZT. He was distracted and kept letting her slip. She sighed. ZT looked down at her. Lexy walked past and laughed.
"Let her go and your back instead," she suggested.
ZT frowned at Lexy as she walked ahead.
"What about my wings?" he complained.

Mayze laughed as ZT mumbled to himself about unfairness and put Rose on her feet. She rested on one foot as ZT lowered his wings and let Rose jump onto his back.

Rose searched the building, her eyes darting. She could see higher up then usual and wished she was taller. She couldn't see any rats. Was Reed making it up? she wondered. It was as if Lexy was sharing her thoughts.
"I can't see anything. Are you sure your not going mad" she teased.

Reed scowled at her then slammed into Colt's back. He was staring at a pair of red eyes coming towards them out of the darkness. Rose gasped. Mazye was still thinking clearly. she shot over to Rose and put her hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming. Lexy was shifting backwards. The red eyes were definitely coming closer.

((Mayze))

I barely muffled the scream that came from Rose. The pair of eyes stopped moving for a moment. They turned from side to side, it looked like it was listening. It squeaked sharply. My body stiffened, around us had appeared thousands of eyes, all red and glowing. I trembled and felt ZT move closer to me, he was shivering too.

"Shit." I heard Lexy whisper. All of the eyes whipped in Lexy's direction. I saw her tense in the dim light. She cursed a few more times and looked around frantically. A pipe lay beside her, she picked it up and held it in front of her. The rat seemed to cock its head to the side, "Friend or foe?"

That was different. A talking rat? The voice seemed off...

"Friend. Or. Foe?" it insisted.

I figured it out, the metal in the voice. It sounded robotic. Like the robots in the School, computer programmed.

"Friend." Colt replied. It almost sounded like a question.

Behind me light spilled in through a door. Out of my peripheral I saw someone open the metal door to the outside of the warehouse. The light hit the rat, making it a bit less threatening once I could see it. The black rat was sitting on its hind legs, its paws tucked into its chest. Its little tail was whipping from side to side impatiently. The light glinted of the tail and I noticed it was metal, and even in the sun its eyes still glowed red.

"Identification?" the rat responded but its mouth didn't move.

I tried to recall one of the names of my torturers, "Dr. Flora McCall."

The rat haunched over a bit, "Password?"

"Scoldbrook?" I asked, remembering her hometown

"Access denied." the rat said. It shuddered and squeaked loudly.

"What the...?" Lexy asked.

Reed answered, "I think it was a computer program." he was the one who opened the door. I realized my hand was still on Rose's mouth. I took it off and wiped my sweaty palm on my pants.

Reed shifted around warily behind us, "I also think they're going to attack."

That sounded about right. Attack is usually what comes after the access denied part. The rats came together in a big blob, their beedy eyes staring straight at us.

((I'll let someone else do the epic battle/run far far away scene ^.^))

Reed-

"What do you think of your great plan now?" I asked Lexy sarcastically as the rats surrounded us.

She rolled her eye's at me while Mayze said, "Guys we have more important things to think about here!"

"And I assume I'm the only one to have brought a weapon of any kind." I said, holding a branch I broke off a tree in the woods.

(Sorry it's short)

(Lexy)

"Oh shut up Reed." I said as I picked up a rusty pipe and began heading for the rats, I broke out my wings and lunged for one of them, the one that talked. It grabbed the pipe on the other side and twisted it, making me sprain my wrist. I pushed the pipe towards the rat, and it bit the top layer on my skin below my knuckles.

"Oww!!!!!!" I screamed seeing the blood go across the pipe then onto the floor. I didn't let go I saw Mayze slam into the damn things ribs. I could almost see a small bone of my hand. Reed began hitting the other with the stupid ass branch. (yeah that was going to do any good). Mayze helped my try to fight the large rat and Colt started to help Reed. I turned around to look at ZT and Rose.

"ZT, run! Get out of here! Go!" I shouted. There was no snow ball chances in hell that we were going to all make it out alive.

Reed-

I had to find the leader. The rat that I was fighting was chewing on the end of my staff. But I let it, with a little luck this branch would be the end of this fight. Just as the rat chewed through the branch I pulled it back and sent it through the rat's chest. Immediately the light in the rat's eyes went out and it sank to the floor. But as soon as I had done it another rat leaped at me and again I let the branch do it's work. Then I saw the pair of orange catlike eyes I had been looking for, it was the leader.

(Lexy)

Mayze hit the rat hard on the head and it finally let go of my bleeding skin.

"Are you ok?" She looked at my hand.

"At least it's not my ribs this time." I whispered between clenched teeth.

I looked around for Rose or ZT and noticed that they had left, finally for once they did what I told them to. "Do you think the damn thing has-"

"No, I don't think so." Mayze said completing my sentecne we got up on our feet and began fighting off the rest of them, helping the others.

[Blade]

The ground was, very suddenly, covered in a sea of swarming mechanical rats. She seemed to have landed in the thickest part of the rat army. Their eyes gleamed maniacally as they launched themselves at Blade. She cried out as they viciously chewed away her skin, attacking her from all sides.

She shook one off her hand, sucking the blood from the wound. Immediately, she felt a shock run through her body; her blood felt like lead and her muscles erupted in spasms.

"Don't suck on the bites!" she screamed to the others, wondering to herself if it was poison.

She shook herself violently, trying to lose some of the clinging rats, and charged toward Reed to help him with the largest rat. As she ran, she screamed repeatedly to not suck on the bites, hoping everyone heard her.

What a brilliant idea this was, Blade thought angrily. She fought to keep control of the pain as she ripped yet another rat off her shoulder.

(Rose)

Rose felt like screaming in pain as her limp foot slammed around. ZT ran out of the building into the dusk. He placed her on the floor as quickly as he could then whispered loudly so the rats wouldn't know they had gone.
"Fly!"

Rose opened her wings and took off in two sweeps. ZT followed her and shot past, hovering a bit further up.
"Why can't I fight with them?" ZT asked angrily.
Rose shrugged and wondered if she could supported her foot while hanging in the air. ZT flew in fast circles. It made Rose dizzy to watch.
"ZT you can go and fight if you want," she smiled kindly.

ZT looked torn between going and staying. Rose left him to decide. She ripped the sleeve off her jacket and gripped it in her teeth. She always wore two zipped jackets and a red t-shirt to keep warm. With one sleeve gone she a blue sleeve and a grey sleeve.

She took the grey sleeve out her mouth and make sure her wings were balanced and she wouldn't topple backwards. She wrapped it tightly round her foot and fastened it with a safety pin she had stolen form a white coat.

Reed-

I was hovering just over the rats leader. He would leap at me occasionally, trying to get his claws in me. But I would always just be out of his reach. The first time I had tried to hit him with the stick, he had grabbed on with his teeth and I had almost lost it. I was determined not to give him another chance, but with everyone already exhausted I would have to try again soon. That's when I saw Blade running toward me. For a second my mind went off the rat below me, then I felt a sharp pain in my leg. The rat had jumped up and caught my leg in it's front claws. Suddenly I had an idea, I tossed the stick to Blade yelling "Catch!". Then before the rat could react, I reached down and grabbed it's paws, allowing Blade a free shot. She slamed the sharpened stick straight through the rat's heart, and then it went limp.

[Blade]

The rats went rigid when Blade and Reed killed the leader, their little mechanical minds whirring. Then a homing signal arose from each of them, calling for a retreat to regather themselves.

As the rats disappeared into the various holes and sewer vents they had come from, we seized the opportunity and rose in the air to regroup.

Most everyone was there, although Rose had begun her retreat, and they all had new injuries to account for.

"Report!" Mayze shouted, being the medical expert.

The pain in Blade's body was throbbing now, growing stronger with each beat. She felt her wing muscles give an uneasy spasm and the fire was now alight in her veins. She bent over automatically, putting her head in between her hands as if to control the electric signals of pain.

"Dont..." she grunted hazily, her mind fading, "suck on the... rat... bites."

And then she screamed, blacking out.

(Lexy)

Blade fell backward and I caught her, she hit my hand and I winced. I held her up and slowly lowered her to the floor placing her head on my thigh as I sat down. I held my right wrist with my left hand, I could see the bone as blood dripped all over the ground. I tried to move my hand and I couldn't. Mayze tried to looked at my wound.

"Let me see your wound." Mayze reached out for my hand.

"I'm fine." I lied spacing out.

"Just-"

"I'm fine Mayze!" I pulled away from her, I saw ZT fly from around the corner landing on his heels.

"Oh my gosh is Blade dead!?"

"No, she just blacked out she'll wake up in a couple of minutes." Reed said.

"What the hell happend to you, Reed?" ZT asked.

"Rats." Reed smiled without humor.

"Mayze you ok?" ZT asked.

"Never better." She answered and smiled.

Colt and Stella were off in the shadows pushing away the dead bodies to make sure they were all dead.

"Can you wiggle your fingers at all, Lexy?" Mayze asked.

"No." I said.

"Can you feel anything in your hand at all?" ZT asked.

"No." I said again.

I'd lost the use of my hand and hurt half of my flock because of my stupid idea... my stupid stupid idea.

((Mayze))

I looked between Lexy and Blade. Who should I treat first?

"ZT?" I asked.

He came to my side.

"Try to wake Blade up. Where's Rose?"

He shifted to look outside through the door, "She should still be flying outside."

I nodded, "Some one call her in."

ZT went down to look at Blade. I turned to Lexy and looked at her hand, "I think you might have some poison in you."

Lexy stiffened, her eyes blazing, "That little mother..."

I ignored the cursing and bent to examine the dead rat that had bitten her. I noticed a blue tint on the rats teeth. I cursed out loud and brushed my hair out of my eyes.

"Whoever has been bitten raise your hand." I paused, "Or some appendage that you are able to move."

Lexy was the only one that raised and appendage. Blade was obvious, for Gods sake she was unconscious on the ground. I tried to remember what Blades last words were before she konked out.

"What did Blade say about the bites?" I asked, looking worriedly at her on the floor.

"She said 'Don't suck the rat bites'." Stella said.

"Shit. Lexy and Blade have rat poison in their blood. That's fatal."

Shock spread through the room, "How do you get it out?" Colt asked.

I conjured up another deeply buried memory, "Vitamin K. Which is in..... alfalfa and nettle."

ZT looked over at me, "Say what now?"

"You know those square hay bales? Those are alfalfa. A 5mg dose in a tablet would be better but if we can't go into a city then alfalfa and nettle'll have to do."

I paused again, "Green tea too."

Reed bent down behind me, "This is my fault, I'll go to the nearest city and get some tea and Vitamins."

I rolled my eyes, "With what money?"

His voice stayed at the indifferent tone he used, "I'll steal some."

I sighed, "You need to hurry. I can get Blade to throw up because Blade sucked on her wound, the poison's in her blood stream and stomach. She'll die faster than Lexy."

I shot a sorry glance at Lexy, who heard that she might die said in a calm tone.

"Hurry." I said. Reed ran out of the building and took off.

I hoped the wind would guide him. Looking back down at Blade I frowned, "We need to get her to throw up. Get her on her side."