AN- Alright, guys, here's my baby (or, at least, one of them, haha)! I'm soo pleased with how this has started out, but as I've continued the story, we're getting information WAY too early, so it might take awhile to get more than the first two/three chapters up, and school's starting on Tuesday. PLEASE BEAR WITH ME! ...AND READ AND REVIEW! -grins-
Disclaimer: James Patterson owns Maximum Ride and it's characters. The only thing I own is this plot, the MR books 1&2 in hardcover, and several gazillion notebooks. -sulks- Not fair...
Oh, crap. I think as I stand back-to-back against Fang, with Iggy and Gazzy to one side of us and Nudge, Angel, and Total on the other, staring at the huge- no, massive swarm of Erasers surrounding and pressing in on us. Feeling my second in command's- and, secret-crush's- hand gripping my own, my other hand clamped on my baby's shoulder, I search the sea of faces for one in particular.
"Well, hello again, Max. Looking for me?" A familiar growl rises above the din, and the Erasers fall silent as the wolf-boy the voice belonged to materializes in front of me. Oh, crap.
"Like he-eck I was." I snarl at Ari, ignoring Fang's gentle tug on my hand. Angel. Get them out of here- NOW! I feel Angel's barely intelligible nod. Fang suddenly tenses, and I can almost sense him batting away Angel's thoughts as he squeezes my hand.
'He won't do it, Max.' I scowl mentally, wishing that for once he could work with me.
Would you mind, Ang?
'Nope!' A few seconds later, I'm in Fang's mind.
What the he-eck do you think you're doing? GET OUT OF HERE! He tries to push my thoughts away, but I stand strong.
'No, Max. I'm not going to leave you to fight these guys alone.'
Fang-
'No!' I growl slightly under my breath, then squeeze Angel's shoulder as Fang taps the back of Iggy's hand twice.
Three- two- The younger members of the Flock leap straight up into the air, Total in Nudge's arms, and whip out their wings, speeding up and away. Both of Fang's hands wrap tightly around mine as the wolfies around us pull out guns, shooting into the sky. It's useless, of course- my flock's long gone my now. Well, except for Fang. Why can't he just go?
'I'm not going anywhere, Max, so stop trying to get me to.'
Uh…Fang?
'Yeah. Guess Angel forgot to cut the connection. All the better for us, really.'
I guess...
'Trust me.'
Yeah, right… I sense him roll his eyes.
"So, birdies, the rest of your little flock got away, but we've got the alpha male and female. Though, you don't use those terms, do you? Ha, we have the mother hen and father hawk." Ari snorts, and the rest of the Erasers chortle. "What ever will the little flock do without their parents?" I sneer at him.
"Stay the heck away from you, that's for sure."
"Do you really think that you're the only on we chipped, Maximum? We can follow them, no problem." I knew it!
'Max, come on. Let's get this over with. Back flip first.'
I set my jaw, glaring at Ari. "Not if I can help it. Come and get me, Daddy's little experiment." He growls, striking out at me. Here we go. With quick precision, I lean back against Fang and kick out my legs, catching Ari in the face and- well, below the belt, if you know what I mean. He goes down hard with a strangled cry, and I push off again, this time following through and bonking two Erasers on the head as I flip over Fang.
"Good job." He mutters as we return to our back-to-back position.
"Oh, thanks so much." Muttering back, I hook my arms through his and jump in-sync with him to take out another handful of Erasers. I can sense him smirking as I snap a punch at an Eraser as it tries to come between us. Alright, Fang- to split or not to split, that is the question.
'I don't know.' He pauses to lash out at a few wolf-men as they advance. 'As long as we don't get too far apart, we should be fine.'
Right. 3-
'2-'
We push off of each other, immediately getting into individual fights. I can feel Fang moving further away, and throw a glance over my shoulder to see a sea of bodies between the black haired boy and myself. Fang, we- "Eep." I squeak as my arms are yanked behind my back and a gun is pressed to my head.
"Don't move." The Eraser growls in my ear. Yeah, like I have a choice. 'Max? Ma- oooh, shoot. Ouch.' Fang is suddenly in front of me as the Erasers move back into a circle around us, two of them holding his arms. I give him a weak smile, starting to feel slightly dizzy as the guy behind me pulls my arms back further.
Maximum, you and Fang have to get out of there. Ari has something planned. Well, what do you know? The Voice is back. Joy. Thank you, Maximum. Nice to know I'm appreciated. Now get out of here.
I would, but my arms are kinda being pulled out of the sockets right now, so… I catch Fang staring at me, and by the surprise look on his face, the Voice was in his head, too. Poor Fang.
'Do you know what he's planning?' Fang asks, and the Voice is silent for a moment.
I thought it was a little crowded in here. Hello, Fang, it's nice to finally meet you.
Cut the crap, Voice. Do you know what's going on? I snap, and I can feel Fang's amusement. Of course, I don't expect much of an answer, but-
I don't know, Maximum, Fang. I wish I did, but I don't, so stay alert. And Fang- I'd suggest telling her what you've been wanting to for the past year, because this may be the la-
I blink, meeting Fang's eyes to see them widen about a tenth of an inch. Fang, what's the- oh god. I start, then freeze, my mind going blank, as something sharp and pointy is pressed against my neck.
"Say goodbye, Maximum." Ari growls in my ear, and then the needle punctures my skin. The last thing I remember is Fang breaking away from his Erasers and tearing toward me, his dark eyes filled with a fear like I've never seen, and hearing his voice in my mind- 'I love you, Maximum Ride. Don't give up.'
Then the world goes black.
AN- So, what'd you think? Tell me in a review, s'il vous plaît! (That's French for "please". If you didn't know already.) R'N'R! (-glows- I'm so proud of this story...)