Chapter One: Rescue Mission That is Complete and Total Bull
I could not, could NOT, believe it. Again: could NOT!
The flock and I had to go back to Anne Walker's house! Well, technically, we had never been there, so we were going there for the first time. Whatever floats your boat. Why were we going? The answer is that flyboys are even dumber than Erasers. Which, surprisingly, is possible! A group acting away from their programming had taken Sam and the Red-Haired Wonder captive at Anne's in order to capture us. This group obviously had some glitches in their systems, because they were stupid enough to think that Fang still had a thing for Lissa (which he doesn't…I don't think), and that I still had a thing for Sam (which I don't!). They were also under the impression that we don't trust Iggy to take care of the younger kids, so the rest of the flock would have to come with us, which was totally wrong. The rest were coming because they wanted something to do rather than sit around in New York (we'd gone back to see if we could find the computer kid to get some info), and kicking Eraser butt was the best thing for them to do. I decided to go save Lissa and Sam because it was right, and I could tell Sam that I was going and never coming back, therefore we were over. I also wanted to hit Lissa and watch her bleed for kissing my Fang…
I mean, Fang…JUST Fang, without the 'my'. Ok? Ok.
"Calm down, killer." Said Iggy, jarring me out of my thoughts, "I can feel your tension from five feet away."
"She's tense because she's thinking about-" Angel started to say. Lightening fast, I swooped down to where she was flying and covered her mouth.
"I'm thinking about the last time we were at Anne's." I said, which was technically not a lie.
Angel, I thought to her after I'd assumed my position as point, No reading my mind without permission!
Well, She replied, you gotta tell Fang how you feel sometime. Otherwise he'll never be sure. And when you hurt Lissa, I wanna watch.
I held back a snort of laughter.
Okay, Angel. Just please stay out of my head.
Gotcha, Max.
I sighed. Having a mind reader in the flock was a bit scary. But Angel was my baby, even if she could read my innermost thoughts.
I glanced over at Fang, who was carrying Total. His face, as usual, was impassive, even with Total squirming around in his arms.
"When are we gonna eat?" Total whined. "I'm starving!"
Again, I sighed. That dog ate more often than we did, and we needed the food more! All the same, I was getting hungry myself, and I could tell that the younger kids were getting tired. To add to the list, the sun was setting, and I really didn't want to fight flyboys in the dark.
"Okay, guys, bank right," I said "There's a town down there with some good trees to sleep in. We may be able to find a place to eat, too.
"Max, what's 'Golden Corral'?" Nudge said, pointing to a sign below. "Does it have animals? Maybe there are horses! I loved the horses at Anne's. Or cows! Or maybe sheep! Or even pigs! Max, remember the pigs? Can we go see what it is? I really, really-"
"Nudge!" I said, "Calm down, we'll go land and see what it is." I had to let them have some fun on this trip, seeing as it had been a while since they'd had any.
"Oh, okay. Thanks Max! Thanks so much!"
No objections, Voice? I thought. Even thought I knew Jeb was my voice, I still called it 'Voice'. To my surprise, I got an answer.
Just keep alert, Maximum. It said. Watch your back, and watch your flock. Then, after a moment's silence: And tell Fang how you feel soon, otherwise, it will be too late.
