“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.”
“Lose your God complex, my friend,” Ari sneered. “When we get through with you, there won’t be anything left to resurrect.”
“I created you, Fang. I created a… well, a monster,” Jeb said. “And now it’s my duty to destroy you, before Dr. Hans and those like him can torture you forever. Before your DNA can destroy our planet. I’m so sorry, Fang!”
He nodded at Ari: Take him out.
64