I probably shouldn't be adding another fic to my list, but hey, I've been sitting on this idea for a while now. This first part in italics is almost exactly what James Patterson wrote in chapters 80-83 of Fang. I do not own Maximum Ride, its characters, or its books.
"There's nothing anyone can do. It's too late. I'm sorry." Dr. God's sentence made no sense, even after reliving it over and over again. It simply did not compute, and never would.
I shoved Dr. Death away and turned to Fang.
I wanted shake Fang's shoulders, splash cold water on his face, tug on his hair. I stared at him. The parts of his face that weren't purple and bruised were not… life colored.
It just didn't make sense.
I couldn't look up. Fang's hand was cold and limp in mine.
With his pale face looking dead in my hands, my fingers clenching his ragged hair, all I could see was random images of Fang, not dead.
"Fang! Come back! Wake up! Snap out of it! I am going to kill you if you die on me!"
I put my mouth to his ear. "Did you hear me? Dying is not on the agenda! Not part of my plan!"
I pounded on his chest. "Get up! After everything we've been through, are you going to give up now? Are you that much of a wuss? We need you, you butthead. I need you. I-I love you, Fang!"
I was choking on dry sobs. "Did you hear that? Why I didn't I tell you before? You can't die before I tell you that. You can't."
I jolted awake. My cheeks were tearstained. Three nights now, I've had that same nightmare.
My eyes involuntarily shifted to Fang's bed. The moon light cast a shadow where his face should have been. Instead, Fang's bedding was the only thing sprawled across his sheets.
Panic automatically rose. He wasn't there.
Numbly, I got out of bed. Years of instinct told me to check on my flock.
I peeked into the dark hallway and saw nothing. Always a good sign.
I tiptoed a little ways, and stopped at the door just to my right. Slowly I turned the knob, and bright flashes of pinks and purples assaulted my eyes. In the center of the room Nudge and Ella both slept soundly. Some of the initial panic vanished.
I continued down the hall, and stopped at the next doorway. Pure white walls blinded me; the sounds of Iggy and the Gasman snoring deafening my ears. More of my panic cleared.
My least favorite room was last to check. Angel and Dylan were both out cold, and I couldn't suppress the shiver that ran through me, seeing the smirks on their sleeping faces.
Angel, her smirk was no doubt because she was dreaming of ways to someday take over the world. That was normal for her. Dylan, though, I didn't even want to think about what kind of dreams he was having.
I still had to keep my guard up around Dylan. One second he's trying to win me over, the next he's plunging a needle in his veins. I let him stay with us because he has so much to learn, but that doesn't mean that I have to trust him. That doesn't mean my flock has to trust him either.
Dylan and Fang were always at each other's throats, for example. We tried forcing them to share a room, but that idea was squelched the minute that Fang had his hands constricted around Dylan's neck.
Angel was really the only one who trusted Dylan, and she voluntarily moved her stuff into his room. No one was really complaining… we were all happy to have the duo out of our hair.
My mom had offered Fang her room, not on board with the whole "teens in love sleeping in the same quarters" thing. Naturally, I refused to let Fang take the masters, and we both agreed to keep our actions "appropriate". Above all else, he was my best friend, the one who would do anything to protect me. He also happened to be the guy I was in love with.
Shaking my head, I quietly descended down the stairs. I couldn't actually be in love, could I? Yeah, Fang was amazing, and yeah, I felt complete around him. That doesn't exactly spell out love, does it?
Oh, God, who am I kidding? I freaking admitted that I love him on more than one occasion. I was a little loopy the first time, and the second time I thought I had lost him… I shuddered. I couldn't risk losing him again, under any circumstances.
You love him, Maximum. But, he's not the only one you love. Think about it.
Thanks for that, Captain Duh! I snarled. Way to be helpful voice, clarifying the obvious.
Shuffling feet startled me before I could think of any more snide comments. I slid into a fighting stance, just as my challenger appeared. It was…
"Mom?" Slowly, I relaxed. "What are you doing out here? You scared me half to death!"
She smiled slightly. "I'm sorry, Max. When I can't sleep, I bake. I didn't mean to startle you."
I took in a shaky deep breath. Not erasers, just my mom, I thought to myself. Still, adrenaline cursed through me.
My mom must have mistaken the look on my face. "I made cookies," She offered. "Now that you're up, would you mind taking them out of the oven in a bit? I'm more tired than I thought."
I nodded, and my mom turned toward her room. "Max," She called over her shoulder, "There's some dough leftover in the fridge. Don't eat it all."
I laughed. My mom was the greatest. "Goodnight mom."
Even after I was asked to watch the cookies, I felt the need to sneak into the kitchen like I was on a mission.
I observed the left, then the right, and bolted down the stairs. My feet slid a little on the entry, and I grabbed the fridge handle to keep from falling.
An evil smirk spread across my face. I was standing in the cool air of the fridge, inches away from the huge tub of leftover cookie dough. I almost melted right there. I inhaled spoonful after spoonful of the sticky mix and nearly collapsed in contentment.
"Couldn't sleep?" A smooth voice called, making me jump.
"Nope," I tried to say. The dough in my mouth made it hard to talk, though, so I resided to just shaking my head.
"The same nightmare?" That's Fang for you. Mr. Right to the point.
I nodded meekly. "Where were you?" I attempted to ask. Instead it must have sounded like "Were wa goo?"
Fang tried unsuccessfully to keep the smirk out of his voice. "Flying, obviously."
"Wang, hat's rang-ranger-" I swallowed, "Dangerous. You should have asked!"
"I'm going to listen to someone with cookie dough on their nose. Yeah, right." He said, exasperated.
I frowned. "Fang, there is no cookie dough on my nose."
"You sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure!" What was he up to?
"Well, maybe you need to check again." My jerk of a boyfriend said, laying his index finger on my nose. I couldn't believe him! How dare he put cookie dough on my nose! It's such a waste!
Gradually, I scooped a handful of the sticky dough into my hand. "I didn't think I had any on my nose, but I can see that you have a little smeared right… here."
Fang did not look happy with me, but he looked kind of cute with chocolate chips stuck to his cheek.
He grinned. "Very funny, Max." Knowing Fang, he'd want revenge. He would never just let me off the hook.
The dough was starting to make my nose itch, so I warily turned the sink faucet on. Fang simply smirked.
Just when I thought it was safe to scrub my nose off, I froze. Raw egg fell into the sink and down my back. As calmly as I possibly could, I twisted around to face Fang.
Holding his sides in full out laughter, Fang was obviously in no shape to defend himself.
"You," I warned, "Have 3 seconds to get out of my sight or else."
"Okay," He grinned. I knew that grin all too well.
Without warning, Fang disappeared from view.
"That's not what I meant!" I hissed.
"Sure it is," His voice called. I whirled around, ready to strike, but my fist hit empty air. I growled. "Where are you?" Of course, he chose then to stay silent.
I was close to going insane from the quiet, when something behind me rustled. I happily pounced, pinning a now visible Fang to the wall.
"You caught me," He faked disbelief, "Now what?"
"Now, I get revenge!" I yelled, revealing a can of whipped cream. Fang was quiet, but I swear I saw him gulp.
Showing no mercy, I covered him in the cream. It looked funny, seeing Fang with black on under all of that white.
When I was finished, he kissed me out of the blue. I dropped the can is surprise, but ultimately just when with the sudden gushy moment.
Somewhere in the background, I heard something beeping. I didn't pay it a second's thought, until started to smell smoke and was drenched in water from the automatic sprinkler system.
My mom and the flock rushed in, looking shaken. It took them a few minutes to realize that there was no actual fire, and everyone was on their way back to bed. My mom was the only one who stayed behind.
"My kitchen!" She cried, beyond rage, "Look at my kitchen! I said you guys could stay here because you said you needed somewhere else to stay, and this is how you repaid me!"
"Mom, we can explain!"
She held up her hand. "I don't need anything explained, Max. I need to know what in God's name do you have to say for yourself!"
"I didn't eat all of the cookie dough," I tried. My mom wasn't buying it.
"That's it!" She exclaimed, "Jeb was right! You guys need more to do, so I'm enrolling you all in school."
That's it, for now. What did you think? Review; tell me if it's worth continuing, if you would. Thanks! You guys are great, as always!
~Faxisthegreatest123~
