Deserted
Chapter One
By ilovedoodle.
Authors Note- This is the first chapter (prologue maybe?) just to begin to explain how this story is going to work. As the background of this is quite confusing, I thought I'd do this just to try and explain things more simply. So, Max is going to move to an island, and she's going to fall in love with Fang, basically. But there is going to be lots of twists.
Disclaimer- Maximum Ride isn't mine. Unless I'm secretly JP but pretending not to be... and if I am, you'll never know. HAH!
Max's POV
Jeb, mine and Nudge's father, is locked up, finally. But he stole money, and the scary guys he stole it from are after us. When I say after us, I mean they will murder us just to get their money back.
Mum's called the police lots. She's told them about how she has been receiving death threats and how she's been feeling unsafe since Jeb got sent to prison. I think that's quite ironic actually, because now Jeb's locked up she finally has no one beating the crap out of her.
She told the police about the situation, her past, how worried she was, but still they practically laughed in her face. They sent her to some physiologist after that, to try to get her sanity back. She's so paranoid now, it breaks my heart.
I'm sixteen, but still Mum won't tell me the exact details of what exactly is going on. She still treats me as a child, tries to protect me from the horrors of life, when I should be the one protecting her. Maybe protecting me helps her feel safe. Hah, I doubt it. How can she feel safe?
One morning, she just comes into my room and starts talking to me as if I'm two. She tells me that I need to dress in something sophisticated. She won't tell me where we are going, but the next thing I know, a cab has turned up to take us to a court building for a meeting.
People stare at Nudge, Mum and I walk in, but not in an intruding way, they look at us sympathetically, which makes me want to slap them. They lead us into a room decorated with bright colours and paintings, with teddies and toys littering the floor. It reminds me of one of those places they take mentally ill kids, but it doesn't phase me.
They take Mum off somewhere, and then a lady with an overly nice voice asks Nudge and I if we want anything to drink. She comes back with two hot chocolates seconds later and tells us to sit down on the couch.
"Maximum and Monique Ride, am I correct" She asks us. I give Nudge a suspicious look.
"Martinez". I reply snotty. She nods, scribbles something down on the sheet of paper she's holding and hands it to us. How dare she associate me with my fathers name! The sheet basically gives us details about our lives and we have to tick and say if they are true. It's rather pathetic if you ask me.
"You're half-sisters, same father, different mothers and you both live with Valencia Martinez?" She asks. Well yes, that is what it says on the sheet. Nudge is the creation of my Dads affair when I was two. One of the many, many, many reasons I am extremely proud he is my father. Nudge's mother died when she was only small, so she's always stayed with my mum and I. We don't look anything alike, however, and mum looks nothing like either of us aswell. We must look like quite a peculiar bunch.
I nod at the lady and smile enthusiastically, like how you would do to a baby. Nudge giggles next to me. The lady looks up from the sheet and shoots us a stern glance.
"I am aware that you know about the people who your father stole from?" Nudge and I both stay silent, but she knows we are aware. Of course we are aware.
"Well unfortunately, the situation has gotten a little out of hand. We are working with the police to do all we can, but it's too hard to send those criminals to prison, there are too many of them. As you know, your mother has been feeling threatened lately, and if we don't do something soon something bad may happen" Nudge looks scared, her face is losing its colour. I don't know why they don't just tell us it in black and white, I know what's going to happen, I don't have problems. However, this is exactly what we both feared.
I gulp. "So what are you going to do about it?"
"This is what we have called you in today about. Now, I am going to hand you a sheet of paper with some names on it, I want-" She starts. I lose my patience.
"Just tell me what you're going to do about it!" I slam my hand down on the coffee table, and our hot chocolates splash onto some of her sheets. Ooops. The lady looks taken back, a flicker of anger in her eyes, but then she just looks at me sympathetically, again. Great. Now she thinks I have anger issues.
"Well, per your mother's request, you're going to have to move away from this area". Nudge is stoned next to me, and my mouth hangs open in shock. What?
"You're not serious, right?" I laugh, you never know, this could be one of those stupid pranking shows. But what if she's serious?
"unfortunately,I 'm deadly serious sweetheart" She replies, she reaches out for Nudge's hand and squeases it supportively. Ok then, just ignore me. This can't be possible, right? I'm sure she is lying? I watch a little tear slide down Nudge's face, but she stays silent.
"We've found a lovely little beach front house on the small, tropical island of Tolikulah, off the South American coastline. There's a lovely little school and-" She starts, but then she stops. She makes a weird choking noise after noticing Nudge and then stands up abruptly. "I'm sorry, I can't do this". She runs out. Any other time, I would giggle right now, but it just doesn't seem appropriate.
I can't take what she just said seriously, it just doesn't want to sink in. We can't move? I've lived here my whole life?! Nudge starts weeping. Of course she's sad to move away from this area. She's the popular cheerleader, with all the followers and the hot jerk of a boyfriend. She did it for Mum though, and so did I.
Another man who I hadn't noticed before steps forward. He grunts something that I can't make out and shoves us a bunch of papers.
"You aren't to tell anyone here in Virginia any details of your whereabouts, where you are going, or why". The man starts, remaining emotionless and ignoring the sniffling Nudge beside me. "Not that you will get the chance" He mumbles. I only just make out what he said.
"What?! This is outrageous! You can't exactly say we died!" I shout. I'm confused, why has it come to this? I don't simply just want to leave the place I've grown up in! Nudge cries even more, so I try to calm myself down.
"That's exactly what we're doing. You and your little family are dying in a car crash at six pm tonight" The man states. I think I see a glisten of sympathy in his eyes. But I'm too shocked to notice or really care.
"We're not going to die!" Nudge chokes, her face distraught and her mascara running down her face with her tears. Seeing my baby sister upset breaks my heart.
"No. Not physically, anyway. Well, if you stay here then yes. Those men are more than capable of killing you" He shrugs. Now I kind of prefer the lady who treated us like babies. At least she actually felt sympathy, or even emotions. Nudge shakes beside me, but I don't do anything. I'm still shocked, but I understand why. I understand we will be safer this way.
The man pauses for a few moments, and I'm so deep in thought that I only just catch the next thing he says. "But mentally? You must forget the old Monique and Maximum ever existed".
I'm about to stand up and punch the man simply because he doesn't even care and I'm so confused and angry. He said it as if we don't matter, and maybe me don't. I don't punch him though, because Nudge is already bawling her eyes out and I am trying very hard not to follow.
It's all a lot to take in within a matter of minutes. I'm confused. I knew the whole Jeb thing was serious, ever since he started beating Mum I knew. I knew Mum was scared, insane even, but I didn't think it would have to be taken to such extremes. I'm scared, petrified even, because I don't know what is going to happen. But what I am certain of, is that I am never going to forget the old Max.
"Per your mothers request, we are flying you to London secretly to say goodbye to her parents" He shrugs. I've met the people six times and yeah they are nice, but am I willing to risk my family's life to go and visit them? No. "If you have any more questions, your mother has the details" The man says. Yes, I have millions of questions, but he leaves as soon as I open my mouth. This makes me angry. Do they not even have the decency to explain?!
I glance down at the papers he left on the coffee table, trying to contain myself. Everything is going to be fine Max.
There's a lovely picture of a huge, modern house practically on the beach. It does look quite nice, I have to admit."Look Nudge, doesn't it look lovely" I gulp, tapping my sniffling sister slightly. She shakes her head, burying it into my shoulder and continuing to weep.
A silent tear falls down my face too. Then I know something is wrong. I've become good at hiding my emotions for the past ten years. I can only recall crying once, the first time Jeb hurt mum. I've only hidden my emotions away for Mum and Nudge's sake. Now, however, they've all decided to come out all at once. Anger, hurt, betrayal, depression, fear.
Mum comes back then, we all lie on the sofa in the strange room cuddled together and cried for a good half an hour. Nudge and Mum are the only ones keeping me from actually wanting to die in that car crash this evening.
There isn't much more to say really. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared, because I am. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't reluctant about the move. But I went anyway, for mum's sake.
It was practically the next day that we were on the long, stuffy flight from our home in Virginia to London, where mum's parents, my grandparents live. I didn't get to say goodbye to anyone, not that I really had anyone to say goodbye to anyway.
Nudge was distraught about that though, mum said she could ring her friends, which would be slightly weird considering they all think she's dead. Those backstabbing bitches or her so called best friends will move on pretty quickly. It seemed to calm my fourteen-year-old sister though. They gave us a few hours to collect our stuff, and then they rushed us away.
When we arrived in London, and we all tried to explain to my grandparents the whole 'we are disappearing off the face of the earth, and if anyone asks you where we are, we're dead, but we're not really' thing, they didn't take it too well. Obviously being strong for someone else isn't an english thing.
It was the plane to Tolikulah next, and when I stepped out of the plane onto a field of nothingness, in fact I'm pretty certain I saw a tumble weed float past, little Max wasn't too impressed.
Too bad, because this stuffy, secluded, stupid island is going to be my home for probably the rest of my life, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to hate it.
Oh, if only I knew.
next chapter is them on the island in the new house, and we meet Fax. Opinions are muchly appreciated. Title ideas? this one's crap...