I said I'd have it up by June, and boy did I wait till the very end of it to post, huh? :P Truthfully, I wrote this a while ago, but put off posting it… Anyway, I'm not going to delay the read any longer.
Disclaimer: I will only say this once throughout the entire story, so here goes. I do not, have not, nor will I ever own Maximum Ride.
Ch. 1:
Max POV
"Sam, not again!" I sighed in exasperation.
"Max, this is serious. I can't just leave off here. I'm almost done constructing the beauty." He yelped at me, running a hand through his shaggy, chestnut brown hair.
"I'm serious, too." I glared at him. "And if you don't get in the damn truck, we're going to be late for school."
"I just have to test it out. I mean, I just tightened the last screw…"
"For God's sake, man! The past twenty haven't worked, what makes you think this one will?" I challenged.
He crossed his arms and matched my glare. While nowhere near as good as mine, I had to commend him for trying.
This stubborn… thing was what I called my best friend. Sam Haynes was a ten year-old trapped in a seventeen year-old's body. He called himself an inventor- he really just liked playing with tools he found in his dad's garage. He thought he was intellectually advanced- he was just obsessed with all things sci-fi. And currently? He was about to make us late for school.
Now, it isn't a wonder why I'm so irritated. So far, we're seven months into school, and we've been tardy more times than I can count on ten hands. Unfortunately, I made a promise to pick Sam up every day because he didn't have a car of his own, and I had to drive him to school. And I don't break my promises, ever. Hunter Creek High is pretty lenient on tardies, but the principal directly told both of us that it was getting a little ridiculous.
"This one is going to work. I can feel it Max. Just let me test it." 'The beauty' as Sam called it, was supposedly a time machine. He had been trying to construct a working one for as long as I'd known him. Everyone tried to convince him time travel wasn't possible, and that he should leave it for the novels, but he'd never give up. As much as Sam annoyed me sometimes, that was something I could admire about him. Determination.
"Sam!" I shouted. "Get your ass in the truck now!" I pointed over at my vehicle.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Goddamit!" Translation: I am not getting tossed out of school just because Sam can't tear himself away from his project. "I'll test it for you then." I stomped over and for the first time, took a good look at the machine. It was metal and very patchwork, almost as if you took the different parts of twenty cars from a junkyard and glued them all together with a glue gun. Knowing Sam, he probably did. One thing was for sure, this wasn't any Tardis.
I stepped inside the machine and slammed the door right in Sam's face, giving him a nasty glare as I went. The inside of the 'time machine' was a bit nicer, a bit shinier, but when I stepped inside, one key factor popped out to me. There was a large keypad in the center of one of the walls, with the numbers 0-9 and a large green button. In Sam's messy scrawl above the keypad were the words: Type your time period.
"Max!" Sam banged on the wall. "It isn't safe! You could get lost in time! Or mess with the space-time continuum. What if you ruin the American Revolution, Max?" I chuckled to myself at his worry. I knew this thing wouldn't work, and deep down inside he had to know that too.
Without thinking, I brushed a bit of my long, dirty blonde hair out of my eyes and punched in a random year. Did it really matter what I typed? No, no it didn't.
I slammed my hand on the green button. Nothing happened.
"Huh, Sam? What did I tell you?" I shouted. "It didn't work. Now can we please get to scho-"
I was cut off as the ground beneath me started shaking. The metal walls started trembling. An earthquake maybe? No, a twister? I ran over to the door and tried to yank it open. If I didn't get out, this thing was going to collapse on me.
It was locked. The damn door was locked.
I tried kicking the wall, but I was shaking too much, and I soon sank to the ground. I blinked back tears and threw my head in my hands. I didn't want to die in Sam's stupid machine! I'm supposed to be at school, safe, not it some horrific earthquake… or whatever the hell this is.
With a sudden jerk, the shaking stopped. I looked up. The walls were secure. I was okay. But what about…
"Sam?" I cried. "Are you okay out there?" I went for the door again. This time, the door opened with a click. I stepped outside, relieved, but Sam was nowhere to be seen. Neither was my truck. Nor Sam's house or garage. I tightened my grip on my backpack full of school supplies.
In fact, I saw nothing much at all. It was obvious I was in an alley, next to two brick buildings. I did not know this part of town that was for sure. Had the earthquake (tornado, twister?) really moved me all the way over… wherever I was.
I turned around to look at the machine, but when I turned around, the hunk of metal was no longer there. And this was where I started hyperventilating. Where did the thing go? All I had done was turn around!
Think, Max, think. Gather your whereabouts, that's the best thing to do. Taking a collective breath, I walked towards one end of the alley and peered around the corner. The sight I saw gathered a huge gasp from me, and then my hand covering my own mouth as my eyes widened in shock.
The streets were no longer asphalt, but brick and dust. There were no whizzing cars, but horses and carriages. The buildings were varying sizes and all very elegant, not the way they were supposed to be, which was large and corporate. But what struck me most was the people. Nobody wore casual pants or jeans or hoodies. Elaborate dresses and fancy shirts hit me smack in the face with a realization.
Sam was right. He really had known this one would work.
I let out a choked sob in my hand. I was stuck who knows where in who knows what time period. This wasn't the best way to spend a Monday.
No. I told myself. I am Maximum Ride, and I don't break down.
I began to back away, not taking my sights off the elaborate streets when I felt a light hand on my back. I whirled around instantly and raised a fist.
A mocha-skinned girl stood right behind me with a smile on her face, and I lowered my fist. She was wearing a peach-colored dress that was quite large and poofy.
"Hello." She greeted, still smiling. "I saw you standing there and you looked a bit confused. Can I help you?"
"No." I said immediately. "Wait, yes." I changed my mind. "Would you mind telling me where we are?"
Her jaw dropped. "Why? You don't know? We're in Pitha. The capital city." Obviously she noticed the confusion still written on my face because she elaborated.
"You're in the kingdom of Itex."
So… any thoughts? Opinions are always nice, good, bad or in between. Thanks for reading.
Follow and review if you enjoyed it!
~Cake.
