Torn Asunder
Disclaimer: I don't own the Flock, nor Torn Asunder. The Flock is James Patterson's, and the Stone Coyotes own Torn Asunder. Enjoy the story!
End it, End it, End it now. Take a gun and go Ka-pow.
Stop it, Stop it, Stop it please. I'll float real high above the trees.
It was like a manta. I just wanted it to end. The voice was giving me a Max-Attack, as the Flock had dubbed them, and it was the worst one yet. I didn't even think that was possible. We were just sitting in a clearing, enjoying our scrumptious dinner of granola bars and water, when the Voice launched this on me; with only the explanation
It's time to see the reason for your creation.
Early one evening
For no reason or rhyme
I started to go back
Go back in time
It was like someone had jacked a movie projector into my retinas. Suddenly, I saw a whirl of spinning lights and colors. All that was missing was the Twilight Zone music. I got a twinge of pain for that. My headache hadn't left yet, though the pain had gotten better. At least enough so that I could think. Apparently, the voice was still here and listening in.
I saw conquerors counting
Their ill-gotten gains
I was standing on a hill. On one side I saw an army waving a French flag, and on the other side I saw an army with a flag I couldn't recognize. For the next few hours, though it may have been minutes or days, I'm not sure, I could barely see through the rush of soldiers. Everywhere I looked, I saw people dieing, or killing other people. Within the first ten minutes, I felt sick to my stomach, by the half hour mark, I was ready to go home.
Some time during the battle, a man who looked half crazy charged towards me, his sword out stretched. That's right, I said sword. Well I didn't have time to think about it, because the next second his sword was half into my chest. But it didn't hurt. There was no blood.
Don't worry Maximum. Nothing can hurt you here.
Gee, I don't suppose you could have told me that earlier? That madman just managed to scare five years off my life expectancy.
No, I couldn't have told you. Turn around. Ever obedient as I am, I turned. I wish I hadn't. You know the sword that went through me? It was meant for someone else. There was a dead man standing right behind me – supported by a bloody sword through my chest.
Why'd you tell me to turn around? GET ME OUT OF HERE! I practically shouted the thought to the voice.
It was for you own good. But very well. I'll fast-forward a bit.
The people around me sped up until they were blurred. Finally we slowed down. All the soldiers were down around a giant bonfire. Ick. My stomach felt like it had been pushed from the top of a building. It wasn't a bonfire. It was a funeral pyre. Two unlucky soldiers where heaping the bodies into the fire. In hopes of keeping the food in my stomach, I looked elsewhere. There. A little man was sitting in front of a pile gold coins. He looked familiar. Where have I seen him before? I had a sudden flash of a short and stiff looking man in an overly long blue coat and a funny hat in a painting. I'd seen his portrait before.Then it struck me.
That can't be right, I told the Voice.
He died hundreds of years ago.
There's a lot about me you don't know Maximum.
You mean to tell me…
I do indeed. That is Napoleon Bonaparte.
Ohh. My brain hurts.
No it doesn't. Now lets go, there's still more to see. Cue lights and colors.
Then the tables would turn
And they'd languish in chains
The next time I could see, I was outside Waterloo. How did I know it was Waterloo? I've seen it a couple of times. All right, I only saw it on postcards, but the cards where very detailed. Everything is different, though. More rustic. They must have re-done it.
They didn't re-do it, Maximum. This is Waterloo shortly after Napoleon was conquered. I groaned.
You mean we're not going home?
No. Watch. The voice said, accompanied with a twinge of pain. My original headache still hadn't gone away, but so far it wasn't any worse. I didn't want to risk it, however. So I watched.
There was a line of injured people, wearing barely anything, in spite of the fact it was the middle of winter. They were in shackles, but tied together in a line that led into the distance. And at the front of them all, was the midget himself. Napoleon. He opened his mouth and said…
I can't hear. I stated the obvious.
What they say is not important. Watch.
There is a lot of watching going on here. I mused.
Watch! This one was painful. I massaged my temples.
Ok, ok. Keep you hair on. Whatever Mr. N had said, it seemed to get his captor upset, because he looked angry when he retorted. Napoleon, calm as ever, said one more thing. This time his captor's temper got the better of him. He grabbed his sword and put it… he put it… this time I really did throw up.
I never heard of Napoleon getting a sword through his arm. The pain on his face was so obvious, I might have been standing right next to him with surround sound and it couldn't have been clearer.
Why? I thought when I finished barfing my guts up.
Why show me these?
You need to see some of the worst moments in history. History repeats itself. I didn't have time to think about that, because we went spinning off again.
Oh, I wonder
What will abide
I have to say, that left me curious. History repeats itself? What's that supposed to mean? But I didn't have time to ponder it, as just then, all the colors, lights, everything, tore in half and went black.
With all torn asunder
I'm just along for the ride
I was on the verge of panic.
I want to go home. NOW! I thought to the voice.
Relax. You'll be fine. We're going on a small sightseeing trip first. You know what? Some how, that didn't comfort me at all.
Heard the footfall of soldiers
Armies on the march
My eyes were closed. I had felt myself close them. Yet I saw them, clear as day. Armies. Hundreds of thousands of men, getting on ships sporting British flags.
The British preparing the red coats that Paul Revere spoke off on his famous ride.
Through the streets of Atlanta
And Constantine's Arch
I saw an army marching away from what looked like a giant bonfire. But it was too big to be a normal one… Then I realized. It was a city – now the remains of one —and from the screaming, it was still occupied. I wrenched my eyes away from the city to the army. Wait a second, there's something wrong with this picture. Besides the burning city, I mean. It came to me an instant later. The army. It was really a rag-tag group of women and children. Crying and hungry.
The Burning of Atlanta. One of the most famous scenes from the Civil War. They did it so their enemy couldn't salvage anything.
Then it changed and I saw an army marching through some town in Italy. All I could see was an endless sea of people and a giant stone arch.
Consintines Arch, a memorial to Emperor Constantine beating another emperor. I don't even want to know how he knows all this stuff.
Heard the wailing of children
The cry, "All is lost"
I was in England again, but this time during a bombing. I heard the bomb warning wailing, sort of like what an ambulance, or the police, or a fire truck sounds like. Except a hundred times louder. And a hundred times scarier. Then, get this, I sunk through the ground. A bomb shelter, watching the hundreds of people crammed into an empty subway tunnel. Life in England during the bombings was sad and terrifying. Some were eating, some reading, some sleeping, and some trying to calm crying babies. A lot of people were trying to calm one child or another. I never have, and never will see as sad or depressing a scene, counting Napoleon's beaten army.
Life in Brittan during the bombings was an incredibly scary time. People would spend days at a time hiding in "the Tube", as they called this place, waiting for the all clear.
While nuns behind walls
Made the Sign of the Cross
Then I was in a church. An old fashioned black-people-only type of church. I was in one of the children's classes, when all hell broke loose. One wall exploded, the ceiling collapsed, the floor shook, rocks and boards fell, and a boom so loud I could feel it even in my intangible state. When the church stopped shaking, the Voice did something that horrified me. Remember how I said it was like a normal movie projector was jacked to my eyes? Well, now it was like I was sitting in a freaking high-definition movie theater, where I could pick out every detail and see everyone injured or dead in excruciating detail, and I couldn't look away. There were twenty people blinded. And four little girls killed. Four.
The Birmingham Bombing. A terrible act of racism. To this day, the police aren't sure who did it.
Fate is capricious
To say the very least
Why? Those girls, or those men where completely capable of doing something with their lives. Become famous musicians, or actors, even writers But then they just… died.
That was not their original fate
Said, "I'm sorry to do this
It's just the nature of the beast"
That was not their original fate.
What do you mean that was not their original fate? I thought fate was something that you were stuck with from your day of birth. Or creation, in my case.
That is not true. Their fate changed. It changed to allow for that bombing. The soldiers you saw earlier, their fate changed to allow for getting captured. Their original fate was different. To become a great emperor, to change the style of music forever, that sort of thing. However, they didn't have hundreds of people watching their destines. You do. Another example of a controlled destiny is Cleopatra. Just look at her.
And that Cleopatra
She sure got around
I then saw, I can only call it a living time line of Cleopatra's life. I saw her when she was cleaned up, just after birth.
Then, I saw her standing next to man lying in a fancy bed, dead by the looks of it. She looked about ten, maybe eleven or twelve. I watched as a single tear snaked down her face, before a man came and led her away. From her reaction, I would guess it was her uncle who died…
Her father.
Her what?
It's her father that you saw.
But, she doesn't look sad enough.
Ancient Egyptian politics are different from modern American politics in most ways but one. That one similarity is to do anything to get power, let no one stand in your way. To her and her brother, he was merely in the way.
Harsh. I thought, still watching. Then my vision did a funny thing. It… I can only describe it as the screen split in two. I simultaneously saw Cleopatra cast from a palace, while a young boy, her brother, I thought, was crowned. Then I saw the boy lose a battle and be murdered when he stepped off an elaborate boat. Lastly I saw a man I identified as Caesar. You know, as in Caesar salad? Well, I saw him help Cleopatra back onto her throne and place a crown on her head.
The only difference between the people controlling her destiny and the ones controlling yours is that they fought with each other. Some destined her to be on the throne of Egypt, and other's claimed she wasn't worthy.
That's no difference. Jeb and the others where arguing about whether or not they should kill me, remember? And if I misunderstood, and they were in complete agreement with each other, then there's still me. No way will I get on board with this.
You must Maximum. I'll talk more when we get back. Enter lights, sounds and a renewal of my headache. Though it had never stopped hurting, I had almost been able to forget about it as I saw the scenes the voice had portrayed.
She said, "Build me a city
And then tear it down"
I felt the rocks and the roots under me again.
What was that?
You just saw the end of the world.
That? I'm supposed to prevent that? There's no way I ever could.
Not now, maybe, but time is a slow thing. What you do now could cause that to happen in a thousand years, never, or the day after tomorrow. You must start to work on saving the world.
Ummm... Can I get a rain check?
This is serious Max. I got a sharp burst of pain. That did it. I put up with his sightseeing, his history lessons, but I was tired. I was tired of the voice, of my destiny, the whole job. Couldn't the voice just leave me alone?
Oh yeah? If this is so important, why don't you go save the world? It seems the voice had had it too.
Max!!! You are going to save the world if I have to hurt you daily! As the voice spoke, my pain got worse and worse. I was crying, had been for the past few minutes. I think I bit through my tongue. I know I bit through my lip. My hands were holding my head so hard, if you put a cinder block between them, all that would be left would be a small pile of dust. I felt someone shaking me. I opened one eye as wide as I could, which was barely enough to see by. It's Fang, and he looks desperate.
Wait, Fang? Desperate? I wanted to ask him what's wrong, but as I opened my mouth I was hit by another wave of pain and all my thoughts were drowned out except for Ow,ow,ow,ow,OW,ow,Ow,OW,ow,ow,oW. I could barely hear Fang through a high-pitched keening, like something you would expect demons to sound like. So I wasn't surprised it was coming from me. It felt like a hoard of them where in my scull with pick axes, power drills, TNT, meat cleavers, and everything else they could get their hands on- including, but not limited to the kitchen sink. It was like they were trying to see if they could completely destroy the inside of my Skull. And succeeding, from the feel of it. As I said, I could barely hear Fang, which was a first, but by his expressions (and what he told me later) he was begging me to hang on. I managed one last coherent thought.
Angel, tell Fang and the Flock I'm sorry. I got to a semi-standing position, spread my wings and took off. I went in one direction for a wile. The pain had eased enough I could still fly, but it was getting worse as the voice droned Wrong way at each turn. Finally I got sick of it.
"Well, what is the right way?" I shouted. Or tried to. All that screaming earlier left me horse.
I don't know which way! Find the nearest Itex! And with that message, a final burst of pain did what none of the others had. It made me faint. In mid-air. Twelve thousand feet above the ground. With no one around to save me.
But they say - yes, they say
That love conquers all
(Fang's POV)
Max suddenly got into a position where she was half-standing, and spread her wings. Angel cried,
"Max wait!" But Max couldn't hear. She took off into the night. Angel started crying quietly. Nudge tried to comfort her, but was looking pretty miserable herself. Gazzy looked amazed, in a bad way, and was explaining what had happened to Iggy. I went to Angel.
"What did she say?" Nudge scowled at me. My voice was harsher than I meant it to be, but I was scared. That's right. I, the emotionless robot, was scared. That is a definite sign that the Apocalypse is coming. Deal with it.
"She, she said." Angel hiccupped
"She said to, to tell you and the flock that she's sorry." She finally got out. That can only mean one thing.
"Guys, I'm going to look for Max. Iggy's in charge. If you try to follow me, or leave camp at all, I will personally kill you." And with that I took off after Max.
One good thing turned out of this adventure. I learned that when Max gave me some of her blood, she also transferred her tracking ability to me. So I tracked Max. She eventually came into view. She was flying slower than usual, but after the pain she just endured, I'm not surprised.
"Well, what is the right way?" Max's hoarse yell startled me out of my thoughts. Then to my horror, she gave one last flap, and her wings folded. Not a controlled decent either, but like a rock. My breath froze as I dove to catch her. I strained, using everything I could. Why, I pushed so hard I nearly dislocated a wing, and my neck musles will be sore for weeks from straining so hard. But it was no use. I was too far away. And still I pushed, till she was two hundred feet above the ground and not showing any signs of slowing. Then something clicked, and I could speed up just a little more. Not much, but it was enough. I caught her just before she hit the ground. I sighed in relief, and landed. I checked her vitals, and my heart nearly stopped beating. She wasn't breathing. When did she stop breathing? I couldn't ponder it now, and I did the only thing I could think of doing.
(Max's POV)
I woke up with Fang's lips agenst mine. My eyes snapped open, and I tried to say something. He seemed to be performing CPR, so I must have stopped breathing. At my movement, he pulled back, and when he saw I was awake, he actually looked relived. That alone told me he was near frantic.
"You Ok?" he asked. I tried to say that I was fine, but my voice still hadn't recovered, so I made do with nodding, as I tried to remember what had happened. I remember my wings folding and I remember fainting… and then what?
I was lying on the ground, half in and half out of his lap. Judging by the lack of aches and pains, I'd guess that Fang must have caught me somehow, so I was okay. I tried to say something else, but I could only cough. Then my brain actually started working. What was he doing here? He must've seen the question on my face, because the next thing he said was
"I followed you. Good thing I did, too." I smiled grimly.
"Thanks." I croaked. Then I did something I never thought I'd do. To this day I don't know why I did it, but I suspect a subconscious nudge from the voice.
Because I kissed him. I kissed Fang. And, after he overcame his surprise, he kissed me back. And somewhere, in the back of my mind, I think I heard the voice speak. But I must have been imagining what I heard it say next. It seamed to say
Brilliant Max. You've accomplished the first step to saving the world.
So put your hand in mine
While empires rise and fall
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15/15