My eyes open and I see only blackness. It seems endless and I don't know where I am. I'm lying on a bed of leaves and I can smell the wet grass underneath me. The wind is blowing through trees and I hear an owl calling out in the distance. I don't know how I got here. I hate to say it but I'm almost… scared. Yes, I the invincible Maximum Ride am actually scared. Not of what is going to happen next, but of what happened last night. I can't remember anything after I left my house. Now I'm covered in blood and from what I can tell it's not even mine.
I try to think back and remember something, anything that will help me remember where I am and how I came to be here. Try to remember anything that can get me out of this mess.
"Max? Max! Are you still with me?" There goes Fang once again breaking me out of my day dreams. Just because they are about him doesn't mean he has the right to take them away! But of course he could never know that. We have been friends since we were in diapers and if he knew that I liked him… well, everything would change. I can't let that happen. We are friends and even if that is all we will ever be I think I could be okay with it. I just can't stand the thought of losing him all together.
"Yes, sorry I was just thinking about… chemistry. I'm worried about my grade." This wasn't a complete lie; I really have been having trouble in that area. Usually I am amazing in school not to toot my own horn or anything, but lately I've been distracted. Strange things have been happening lately, things that I don't understand. Oh well I'll worry about that later but right now? Right now I need to focus.
"Oh, if you want to study I could leave you alone." Fang said and he started to stand and head toward the door.
"No!" Fang turned around and gave me a weird look and it was then that I realized only too late that my sudden outburst was just that, and outburst. Quickly before I blushed too much I added, "I mean, no you can stay I'm fine. I really need to take a break from school for a while anyway." I think he believed me because after my explanation he let it go.
We spent the rest of the day just relaxing. We watched some movies and even spent a little time just talking. It was a real shock for me when we started having an actual conversation. Usually Fang is so closed off from me and everyone else but I think he is starting to let me in. I smile inwardly to myself as I realize this small fact. Maybe this isn't as much of a one way crush as I thought it was. Ugh! Did I just say crush? I hate that term but I can't really think of any other way to phrase that describes what I feel for him. Oh well, maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, after all it was just a conversation.
Soon it started getting late and I knew that Fang would have to leave soon. Even though I wanted him to stay I couldn't let him know that. That would mean letting my guard down and I'm not ready for that. I'm still the tough Max that I have always been and that is how it is going to stay. I can't let my feelings show because that would mean that I am not as tough as I let on and I can't let anyone see that, especially Fang.
After finally saying goodbye to Fang I try to find something to do but my mind keeps drifting back to everything that's been going on. After trying to decipher my algebra II homework my mom tells me to go on a walk. Even though I'm sure she is just trying to get rid of me I take her advice. I think a little fresh air will be nice for me. As I walk outside I notice that it is unseasonably cold and cloudy so I run inside and grab a jacket before I head out.
Our neighborhood has an amazing park that I have been going to ever since I can remember so I start heading in that direction. As I turn the corner heading to the swings, everything stops. I fall to the ground and my mind goes blank. I couldn't move for a long time and finally when I managed to get to my feet….
That's where it stops. My memory is blank from then on and I can't remember anything that I did after that moment. I have a feeling that I am in the woods behind my house considering how close I was when I, for lack of better words, started sleepwalking around the neighborhood. All I can do now is wait for the sun to rise and hope nothing too bad happened last night. Hope I didn't hurt anyone. Now that I think about it, I don't even know if it was last night. I have absolutely no idea what day it is. I need the sun now more than ever. I need to feel grounded again. I need… Fang.
I knew it was true the second the thought came into my head. If Fang were here maybe this would all seem better somehow. I get up and try to navigate my way through the woods to his house. This shouldn't be hard. I've lived here my entire life and spent my childhood in these woods, so how can I not find my way home? What is happening to me? I feel as if I am in a trance and I can't snap out of it. I start to sprint through the trees and the brush but my feet feel like lead. My body feels like it has a mind of its own and I can no longer control it. What was it that I was trying to get? I need…. Sleep. Yes! Of course. All that I need to do is go to sleep. Then everything will be better. I fall to the ground but right before I close my eyes I see a shadow heading toward me from a distance. Before I could worry about it too much my eyes were shut and I was drifting off into sleep.