I was walking downtown the other day when I realized I was late for my dance class. I quickened my pace a bit, and ended up nearly sprinting down the street. I turned a corner, and before I could even look two feet in front of my new path, I ended up crashing into a brick wall. Or rather, some person who felt as tough as a brick wall.
"Oh my gosh, I'm soooo sorry. Are you okay?" I asked as I shoveled my now emptied dance shoes off the sidewalk and back into my dance bag.
"Yeah, I'm fine." 'Said brick wall' said to me, as he helped hoist me off the ground.
I looked up, and to my surprise nearly fell over again, cause I was staring at none other than Fang. As in THE Fang from the Maximum ride series. How could I tell? Uh, duh! He's wearing all black clothing, he's got the trademark smirk, he has olive colored skin, dark hair, impossibly dark eyes, and if I looked hard enough at his back, I could even see small lumps forming where his wings would be.
"Sorry… uh… what's your name?" He asked me awkwardly.
"Caitlin. But you can call me Caity." I said, shaking his hand.
"Nice to meet you… or run into you Caity, see ya round." And with that he continued down the street with that smirk still plastered inconspicuously on his face. Little did he know I can practically read peoples emotions. Not literally, but I was good at telling if people were lying, or happy, sad, mischivious, etc.
I continued my hurried pace up the street, with one last glance at Fang as he rounded the corner I'd just come in.
Just then, I heard shrieking tires come down the street. I whipped my head around just in time to see several men in black suits rush towards me with guns hidden in their jackets.
"Don't move girl, or believe me, you're not going to like the consequences." One of them snarled at me. And I do mean snarled.
They tossed me into their van/car thingy, and I unfortunately had no witnesses to see my capture.
I screamed, and writhed around the vehicle, till one of the guys pressed a cold gun up to my head. That shut me up instantly. I love life too much to give it up to these creeps.
One of them pulled out a needle filled with a clear/bluish liquid. What were they doing to me? Poisoning me, trying to rape me, or… experimenting on me? What the heck!
"Okay, I don't know what you want from me. But please, please don't stick me with ANYTHING! I was allergic to some crazy injection I got last year at the doctor's office, and I puked on the doctor." I lied. "And I have car sickness, hence why I was walking when you found me, haha." I faked a laugh, and then faked puking. It got some of the guys to back up for a mere second. Enough time for me to bravely grab the gun that was pressed to my temple, and wrench it from his grip. With some unknown power I didn't even realize I had, I pulled back my fist and snapped the gun-holder's head back knocking him unconscious instantly. Then I used my powerful dancer legs to kick each of the other two goons in the back. They 'oofed' and I continued to kick them however hard I could. They were too stupid to even cover up their now morphing (into wolf) faces. So I managed to knock them out too, with my kicking.
The driver, meanwhile was somewhat oblivious to our ruckuss. So with one quick movement, I opened the window (since the doors were locked and not open-able at this point), and I yelled up the street as hard as I could.
"FANG! HELP! HELP PLEASE HELP!"
Fang was just out of my eyesight up the road, and I think he heard me, because before I could blink again, I saw a dark shadow start sprinting towards our car down the street.
Inside the car, I still had three knocked out goons, and an oblivious driver. Or so I thought. One of the goons managed to wake up and began morphing into some hideous creature again. He raised his arm towards the syringe and faster than I could blink, jabbed it into my thigh.
I screamed in pain, and let out a bunch of colorful vocabulary that I rarely ever use. (I'm not much of a curser, okay? Deal with it.) I used my other leg to kick his head again. After three good kicks, he went unconscious again, and I began flipping out. Ow ow ow ow, that needle hurt something God-aweful!
I screamed and screamed for Fang out the window till finally he somehow managed to catch up to us at a red light.
He saw my face and a look of confusion crossed his face. "What's up?" he asked nonchalantly.
"Um, excuse me! I'm being kidnapped, a little help here!" I screamed at him in a no-nonsense tone.
"First of all, how do you know who I am, and second, how do I know this isn't all a big setup to try and capture me?" he asked.
He had a point, this WOULD be an interesting way to lure him in. "Please, Fang, help me now, and then I don't care where you take me, what you do with me, or whatever, but I'm begging you, at least help me get away from these goons. They jabbed something into my leg, and it stings really bad. Please, please help me." I begged.
He nodded his head expressionlessly, and reached for my hands. Just then, the car lurched forward again, and Fang had to run to keep up with the car again. "Hang on, okay, I'm going to get you out of here." He said.
He whipped open his astonishing pitch-black, midnight wings, and I couldn't help but get a bit wide eyed at them. His smirk reappeared, but transformed into a determined scowl as he hoisted himself up in the air, pulling me in tow, out of the car window. The driver halted quickly, yelling profanities, and reaching for what I assumed was a gun to shoot us down.
But he wasn't fast enough, because in less than a few seconds, Fang and I were somewhere high above even the tallest downtown buildings.
Fang landed somewhere in the outskirts of the downtown area, but on the roof of a tall building.
"Okay, I want answers now." He said.
Confusedly, I asked him, "Okay, but I can't give you answers till you give me #1, a question, and #2, possibly a little help with this needle still jabbed in my leg." I said, directing my hands towards the pathetic, large needle hanging awkwardly out of my thigh.
"Alright, question for medical help, deal?" He said.
I nodded and he asked his first question. "First of all, do you know, or have any connections to the people who kidnapped you?"
"No, nothing at all, though I think I might know WHO they are. I've never had a run in with them ever before. That was terrifying. But I think I know them because of the same reason I know you."
He carefully slid the needle out of my leg. "Okay, question two. How DO you know who I am?"
"I know who you are through the Maximum Ride series."
He looked at me with a 'huh' look, and I took that as a 'explain' kind of gesture. "Okay, well Maximum Ride is a friend, er… uh, good friend, of yours I assume." He meekly nodded. "Alright, well I read these books called Maximum Ride the series by James Patterson, this really big author guy who I think lives in Pennsylvania or something, I'm not really sure. But anyways, I read Max's books all the time. They're amazing. They're all about you, and the flock, Jeb, Anne Walker, Mrs. Martinez and Ella, everyone, including the Whitecoats, and the Erasers, that you've ever been in contact with. The first book starts out with you guys living in the E-house, sometime after Jeb left you. And the last book ended just after you left Max that note after Total and Akila's wedding. So I'm not going to get into reiterating your whole life's story, but let's just say I know pretty much everything there is to know about you and your flock."
He continued to patch up my leg with a first aid kit I didn't even realize he had on him. "Alright. This is really confusing. There are BOOKS about us?" he sounded a bit worried.
"Yeah. And I know you don't have a lot of reason to trust me and all. But if you'd like I could take you to my house and let you read them for yourself. You know, as proof that they exist, and I'm not just making all this up on a whim. Okay?"
"I don't know." He said scratching his head.
"Look, I get it. You probably want to stay as far away from me as possible, so you, your flock, and I can all stay safer by not putting each other in danger. But really, since this sounds like the first time you've ever heard about your books, I really think you should take a look at them. This might be how the Whitecoats keep tracking you. Ever thought of that? I never thought James Patterson was a bad guy, but you never know. Until today, I figured your stories were all fiction, and that you didn't even exist. But now I'm just scared that I might, I don't know, turn into one of you guys, or get some crazy illness or something, after that injection they gave me, you know?"
"You're right. I'll come with you. But only to check out these books, and to make sure you're safe. Do you think you can keep me hidden somewhere at your house. I really shouldn't be spotted by anyone else who might know who I am."
"Actually, that's the beauty of this whole situation."
"What'ya mean?" he asked me confusedly.
"I own the only other separate series of your books in existence. My parents won it in some kind of contest, and they gave me the books as a Christmas present. So no one else, except the owners of the second copy of your series, who I'm assuming are the Whitecoats, knows about you. You don't actually have to be hidden from anyone in my neighborhood, school, or even home. Though if you'd like I can still keep you hidden from everyone, it's your choice."
"I think I should try and stay under the radar." He said bluntly.
"Oh, and by the way, if you don't mind me asking, where are Max and the rest of the flock?"
Fang's head drooped, and he didn't answer.
"Wait, let me guess, I'm assuming the last book, titled "Fang" was where your life left off. You just left her and the flock with that note, didn't you?" I asked him.
He shook his head in a 'yes' gesture, and I patted his back reassuringly.
"Look, it's none of my business, but being the big fan of your books that I am, I was able to see everyone's point of views on your life. The Whitecoats are idiots, the Erasers are blood-thirsty, abused kids, you and your flock are scared fugitives, and you are just trying to protect the girl you love. I get all of it. Believe me I do. But you also got to know, that after what I read, Max most love you A LOT. And I know it is your decision, and especially now that you're going to, for lack of better wording, be taking care of me, but you might just want to keep the option of going back to her open, okay?"
"Yeah, I'll do that." He said, and then he shut up for a while.
"So…" I said, trying to pick up the conversation again. "I guess I'm not going to dance class tonight, so let me just call in sick for one sec, and then I can take you to my house, okay?"
He nodded, and I quickly dialed the dance number.
"Hey Jenneanne?" I asked the receptionist.
"Ah, Caitlin, nice to hear from you. But why aren't you here tonight?"
"Sorry, I'm not feeling good, you know, that whole time of the month thing, it's really getting me good this week." I said and pretend winced to make it seem more believeable in my voice.
"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear about it, Caity. Okay, well I'll let your teachers know. And how long are you going to be out for?"
"Um, I'm not 100% sure, but for now can we at least say a day or two?"
"Sure, no problem, feel better sweetie."
"Thanks Jenneanne, see you soon."
"Buh-bye." We said in unison.
"Alright, we're all set to go. Um, I think we're going to have to fly down Fang."
"Why's that?" he asked.
"Cause this roof doesn't have a door to go down." I said in a duh tone.
"Oh, yeah, you're right." He said looking around.
"Always am." I said, going towards the ledge.