Loss
(A/N: This came to me right after I finished Angel. Love these books, and was inspired by view hurt I was and involved in the story's.)
Of all the things Maximum Ride had to go through as a mutant bird kid, loss was the worst.
The day Maximum Ride lost Jeb when she was only twelve was a nightmare. This was the man that had broken her out of her dog cage, saved her from The School. Gone. Killed by erasers perhaps. She was twelve, and the man who she had wished could be her father was gone.
The day she lost Ari, for the second time, wasn't as great as she thought it would be. She thought it would just be like any other eraser's death, bloodlust in her eyes, blood on her hands, and victory in her smile. It wasn't. This was Ari, her half-brother. The person who had felt neglected by his own father, which he was. The person who was doomed by evil scientist to not live past the age of 8. Who would never even get to learn to read. Ari, her brother, killed by an expiration date after all they'd been through.
The day she lost Fang was terrible. She cried for days. This was Fang, her right-wing man, always there for here, and now he was simply gone. The sense of loss brought heart wrenching sobs to her. To escape her. But she had to move on, for the good of the flock.
The day Maximum Ride lost her mother was a horrid day. This was the only adult she could trust. Her Mom, really the flock's Mom. She didn't question what Max said, didn't act like a mutant who had been on the run for year didn't know what she was doing. She made cookies. Now she would never find comfort in her mother's advice or eat one of her cookies ever again.
The day Maximum Ride lost Ella was painful. Her second half-sibling, a second chance some would say. Her mother's daughter. She was hurt. The flock could fly, and she couldn't. She felt she was slowing them down. She was wrong. Maximum Ride, who was never much for emotions, loved her. It was painful to not chase after her, stop her from not going to the scientists.
The day Maximum Ride lost Angel was worse than any other loss. So much more painful. This was a little girl. She was 7 years old. Maximum Ride's little girl. She had been raised by Maximum since she was a toddler with awkward chicken wings. Losing Angel was a whole new level of pain.
Maximum Ride was done for, done with the pain. But she had to keep going. She was the leader, and no matter what, a leader can't curl up in a corner and cry.