OHAI, another Maximum Ride story for you. First in a while.
Disclaimer - It's on my wishlist.

The bars on the cell seemed to be closing in on me.

It was suffocating. I felt like I was caught in a car compactor, waiting to go squish.

The smell of disinfectant was so strong here I wanted to gag.
It felt solid, like I could taste it, and it was clogging up my airways.

The flock. Where were the flock? Gone? I'd woken up alone, smaller cages around me, all empty. I hoped they'd escaped. If they were free, I could sleep easy, even be ironically happy that I was here, just so they weren't.

But I didn't know that.

They could've been taken already.

Taken for tests, with needles, and shocks and fights to the death.

Oh, god! I started to breathe faster, my heart beating erratically.
What if they've gone? Taken, tested, found to be useless and eliminated!

My fast breathing became shallow, and I grabbed at my chest aimlessly, trying to pull away what was closing up my airways.

The flock. Oh, god, the flock. Angel, my baby! She must be so scared. Nudge and Gazzy too. They act so brave, but they're still so young. Too young to have to face death, and tests and cruelty! And Iggy. Blinded because of an experiment gone awry, a sense just gone, because of some heartless person's quest for knowledge, and improvement at any cost.

And Fang.

At this thought, I closed my eyes in pain. It felt as though someone had reached into my chest and squeezed with all their strength. I felt as though I couldn't breathe, even as I felt my chest rise and fall in shallow breaths. My heart, which was beating over-time beforehand, spluttered to a stop and started again in double-time, and I let out a sound of despair.

Fang! Fang Fang Fang Fang.

I was hyperventilating, heart hammering against my ribs, feeling as though I was breathing through a straw.

Suddenly and inexplicably, I felt arms wrap around my waist, a hand cradling my head.
Opening my eyes, I was startled to see the inside of a cave, not that of a cold interior of a dog crate.

"It was a dream. You're okay. You're okay. Shhh." was whispered into my ear, as I was rocked back and forth gently, arms still wrapped around me tightly.

Still disoriented, I pulled away slightly. Fang's dark eyes watched mine, filled with concern and his strong hands held onto my upper arms tightly. Fang? Fang. It was Fang! Relief, joy and love ran through me like an electric current as I threw myself back into his arms, holding onto him as tightly as I could. And he, although probably confused, pulled me tighter too, resuming his gentle rocking.

"Was it bad?" he enquired softly into my ear, still holding me in his arms.

I was silent a moment as I thought back to what I had been seeing. The details were beginning to become fuzzy as I awoke, but the fear - the intense fear I had felt – that still remained.

Although I was holding on to him tightly already, I managed to pull him closer, to hug him tight and bury my face deeper into his shoulder. This seemed to be an answer enough for him, and his hand pressed against the back of my head firmer as his arm around my waist pulled me closer to him.

We sat like that for a long while, me holding on to him for dear life, savouring his touch, the way he was holding me against him. I could hear his steady breathing, and feel his slow heartbeat against me.

After what was a long time, but seemed all too short, he pulled away slowly, again holding my arms as he looked at me.

"I was so scared." I said. I knew he didn't need an explanation, but I gave one anyway. "I was in a crate, but it was the fact that I didn't know where you… where all of you were. And I thought up all these horrible scenes in my head of what happened to you, and the crate seemed to get really small, and I though about how you might've been gone already, and I could smell disinfectant, and it was just … overwhelming."

"But I'm here, and the others have gone to get some food with Iggy, and we're fine. Just try to forget it okay? I hate seeing you so scared." he paused, almost like he was hesitating. "It scares me." Fang stated quietly.

He drew me back into his arms, placed a kiss at my hairline behind my ear and sighed against my neck, drawing circles on my back. I closed my eyes tightly and buried my face in the crook of his neck.

And then, so quietly I almost didn't hear it, I heard, "I'm here, Max. You're okay. I'll always be here."

Thought it was brilliant?
Thought it was shithouse?

Georgina.