Chapter 1: "What the hell!?"
Max's Pov
"Ok guys. I'm goin to the store to pick up some food. Stay here, and Fang's in charge." I said, leaving the hotel room. We were stay in a hotel for a couple of days to relax. We were still on the run from the School, and were currently in Chicago, the windy city!
We found the first hotel we could, and decided to stay here for the night since Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel were all complaining that they were tired. When we got our room, and saw the view off the city, they begged me to let us stay longer. I was all ready to say no, when, BAM! I got triple Bambi eyed. I looked at Fang, who wasn't any help either. He just gave me the 'you're the leader, so you deal with them' look.
"Ok, ok. Just stop the Bambi eyes already." I said to them. They all cheered, and hugged me.
"Wow Max. I didn't think you were that soft." Iggy said, laughing at me. Now since he's blind, there was no point in glaring at him, so I grabbed his arm, and twisted it behind his back, and tripped him to the floor.
"Who's soft now Iggy?" I asked as he cringed in pain. "Tap out, tap out!" I cheered. He tapped his hand on the floor three times, and I released him.
"Ow. Damn Max, I was just kidding." He said, rubbing his arm.
"Hey, watch the language, or I'll kick your skinny butt so hard, you won't be able to sit for a week." I said, sitting on the bed. I was big on the whole 'no swearing' thing. Especially with Angel. One time, I heard her yell "Fuck you!" to Gazzy, and I almost had a heart attack. I mean, she's 6! Where could she have heard that? From Fang and Iggy. So now, I'm super strict about swearing.
We turned the TV on, and started watching "Ice Age", when Nudge came over to me, and said, "Max, I'm hungry. Can we order room service?"
"Absolutely not!" I said, getting up from the bed. "Do you know how much it cost to order room service? I'll just got to the store, and pick up a few things." I went to my backpack, and pulled out the Max Card.
"But Max, the store doesn't sell Lobster, or Steak-" Gazzy said, looking at the room service menu.
"Or ice cream sundae's" Angel added.
"I said no! And don't ask me again, or we're leaving tomorrow morning. Got it?"
"Yes ma'am." The three of them said sadly, returning to their seats.
So now you're all caught up. I stepped out onto the balcony, and jumped over the railing. I fell for a couple of feet before snapping my wings out. As I flew through the night sky, something hit me. "Where the hell am I supposed to find a grocery store in the middle of freakin Chicago?"
Angel's POV
Max is so mean. I thought to Nudge and Gazzy. Both nodded their heads in agreement. I looked over at Fang and Iggy. Iggy was listening to the movie, but Fang was watching us, intensely! I felt so weird. It was like he could tell what I was thinking. So that's what Max was talking about.
"Angel, what did you just tell them?" Fang asked, staring me down.
"Nothing…" I said, using my innocent little smile that he could never resist.
"Nice lie. Now, what did you tell them?" Well, it almost always works.
"That Max was mean…." I whispered, looking down at the ground.
"Just cause she wouldn't let you guys order room service?" I chuckled. I nodded my head. "You guys should be glad Max is here to take care you. I mean, think about it. She's been taking care of all of you guys since you were babies. She's only doing what's best for all of you. She sees you guys like her children." Fang was lecturing us!? He never lectured us! This was serious.
"Yea, but just cause she see us as her babies, doesn't mean that she has to treat us like babies." Gazzy said.
"Yea!" Nudge and I agreed.
"That's because we never had anyone to care of us." Oh. We never thought about that. When they were kids, they were at the School. They never had anyone to take care of them until Jab saved us. Then, when Jeb left us, she took over as the "legal guardian" of all of us.
"Maybe you're right." I said. Walking over to Fang. "I'm sorry I said those things bout Max." I said as I hugged him. But that doesn't mean that she's not mean. I thought to Nudge and Gazzy, who agreed again.
"Speaking of which," Iggy said, "I kinda wish I could be a kid again. Just for like, a day. You know?" he asked Fang.
"I hear ya. I wish we could go back to being kids for a day, and have a normal day with no Erasers, no white coats, nothing but peace and quiet."
" I wish I could go back to being a 5 year old." Nudge said. "I think that was when I was cutest."
"I wish I could be 4 years old again." Gazzy said. "All I did was play in the mud, and get dirty. Now that was the life."
"I wanna go back to being a 2 year old!" I said. "All I did was play, and nap. I really liked it when I got to nap in Max's bed with her."
We spent another half hour, talking about how we all wished to be kids again. Then, we heard a voice on the other side of the door. "Be careful what you wish for!" An Eraser kicked the door in, and threw some kind of bomb into our room. Now our first reaction was to get out of the room. We all headed for the balcony as Fang tried to slide the door open.
"It's locked!" he said, trying to break the glass. Just as he broke the glass, the bomb went off, releasing a paralyzing gas that caused all of us to numb up. Then, it clicked, and released another spray of gas. This one most have been sleeping gas, cause everyone's minds started to drift into a deep sleep.
"Hang on guys…"Fang said to us. "Max'll be back soon…she'll take care of this…." And we were all out cold.
Max's POV
I finally found a store by a highway exit. I was high above the city, carrying 6 plastic bags full of groceries for the flock to eat. "Damn. I gotta remember to get lighter food next time I go food hunting for these kids." As I descended from the clouds, and approached the balcony, I saw that the glass was broken. "Oh my god!" I shouted. I landed on the balcony, and ran through the broken window.
I was expecting to see my flock missing, kidnapped by Erasers, and hauled away to the School. I ran inside, and saw something hiding under the covers of one of the beds. I instantly got into fight mode. I slowly walked over to the bed, cautious of whatever it was that was hiding under the covers. I stepped carefully, avoiding the clothes lying on the floor. I pulled the covers back, and stepped back, ready to fight.
My mouth dropped open when I saw what was under the covers. There was my flock, but they weren't my flock. They were kids! My flock, were kids again. " What the hell!?" I walked up to them, and was about to wake them, when the voice kicked in.
Max. Do not wake them. Let them sleep.
Hello voice. So nice to see you again. To what do I owe this pleasure?
They were ambushed. There was nothing they could do. They haven't even realized that this has happened.
They haven't realized it happened? How the hell would you not notice that you were turned into a freaking kid!?
If you were stunned, and then put to sleep.
Oh. Well that does make some sense. I never really thought about it that way. So what am I supposed to do?
It's another test Max. They are trying to test your skills as a parent.
How long are they gonna be stuck like this?
For one year. They will remain this way for one year, then they will return to normal.
So what am I supposed to do now?
…….
Nothing. Great. Just freakin great. I looked at my little flock, as they all shivered from the cold. That's when it hit me. They were too small to fit in their clothes now. I walked over to their backpacks, and took the blankets we had bought a couple days ago. Each was the favorits color of it's owner.
I wrapped Iggy in his green blanket, and laid him on the opposite bed. Green was his favorite color cause that was his eye color before he lost his sight. I then wrapped Gazzy in his red blanket. He liked red cause it reminded him of fiery explosions. I rolled my eyes when I thought about it. I then picked up Angel, and wrapped her in her pink blanket. She just like pink cause it was a "cute color" in her opinion. I put her on the bed with Iggy and Gazzy. I puicked up Nudge next, and put her under her purple blanket. It was her favorite color cause it was a calm, cooling color, and always made her feel calmer. Yea, ok. I picked up Fang last.
I held him in my arms for a couple of seconds. He still looked like the tough, little silent, emo, badass bird kid I knew and loved. I took out the black blanket, and wrapped him in it. I kissed them all on their foreheads as they laid next to each other on the bed. I walked back toward the balcony, and used my blanket to cover the broken glass. When I turned around, I found the cause of all this madness. A bomb. I picked it up carefully, and chucked it over the balcony.
I returned to the room, closed the door, turned the light out, and laid in the empty bed. I had to think of a plan. I had to think of how I was going to take care of everyone by myself. I slowly started to drift off to sleep. But as I did, one thing was clear: tomorrow was going to be a living hell.
Hey guys. dt2009 here. So as I was goin 2 bed last night, I was thinkin bout my grade school, and how much I wished I could be a kid again. Now don't get me wrong. I love bein a teen. But it can be complicated sometimes. As I was thinkin all this, my brain stormed!...lol…funny, right? Anyway, I thought: what if the flock was turned into kids again, and Max was left to take care of them? What if it was a test of her ability to take care of others, but as a parent. So I hope you enjoy it, and if you've read my previous stories, then you know what's next:
Remember: Keep reading, writing, and reviewing!
Later!
-dt2009
