My Maximum Ride Story
Chapter 1
I pulled my headphones onto my ears and turned my music on full blast. Tossing my jacket aside, I sat down on my couch and stared at the ceiling. I had a long day.
You know, the usual: wake up at 9:30 and make breakfast (scrambled eggs, orange juice, bacon, apple pie); practice my violin (I don't want to brag but... I'm pretty good I guess); eat lunch; shoot some arrows in the archery room; restock my food supply; have a nice long nap (emphasize on the word long, as in, what, seven hours?); eat dinner...wow, I can't believe that I do that everyday. For the past six years. Huh. Yeah, um, anyway, that was my day. I checked my iPod and sighed. I've been sitting on the couch for only five minutes, even though it felt like and hour.
Suddenly I heard a tapping on my window. Tap tap tap. I paused my music, taking my headphones off and walked over to my window to shove my curtains aside. My mouth gaped open as I saw what many people know as "impossible".
"HOLY-!" I shouted, dumbfounded. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?"
Maximum Ride was hovering outside my window, putting her finger to her lips. Yes, I said hovering – as in frickin wings and everything. She pointed down towards the ground. Meet me down there, She mouthed. I nodded wordlessly and Max dropped like a stone to the first level of the house. I quickly shrugged my favorite black army jacket on and ran down the first set of stairs and jumped down the second.
I made as much noise as I needed. My parents haven't been home for the past six years. We were pretty rich. My mom was a therapist and my dad was the CEO of the Pillowpet Company.
They thought they were protecting me by keeping me in the house, being babysat by someone I didn't even know. I was one subject of the Institute. They experimented on me, giving me special powers just like the flock. I'll explain the details later. My babysitter was one of them. Of course, I didn't know that, I was only seven. That weirdo lived with us for seven whole years. Once, when I was five, I asked my mom why my babysitter lived with us. "You're too young to understand." She had said blankly.
By now you should have realized that I'm speaking in past tense.
My parents are dead.
They were murdered by the "innocent babysitter".
She was hired to watch me, to make sure my powers were developing correctly.
They were.
I had inhuman strength like the flock and could read minds.
I had read her mind and warned my parents that she was going to attack them that night and they had to escape.
But she brainwashed them, making them say that I probably made it up, being an imaginative kid. They went to bed that day and never made me breakfast the next morning.
Since I knew ahead of time, I was already prepared.
She could never fool me. She couldn't persuade me to do what the Institute wanted me to do. Go after the flock. Kill them. Oh, yes. Just give a seven year old a job meant for someone triple their age.
She was outraged when she couldn't influence me and killed my parents. Then she went after me.
As she opened the door to my room, she met a blow in the face with my special addition ceramic Pillowpet lamp my dad gave me. I damaged her nose pretty badly, shortening it. She actually had a somewhat pretty face, blond hair tied in a bun, and a blue wool vest she always wore. But she also had long sharp red nails, mysteriously pointy teeth, and now a short pig-like nose, just to name a few things weird about her.
"You'll never get away with your life, child." She had snarled. "I have the power of the Institute behind me. You will go down with the flock!" After saying that, she ran to window and jumped. I had to admit, though, that was a pretty good exit. That feeling fell short as I heard her land in the thorn bushes right below my bedroom window.
I smiled at that memory as I pulled my combat boots on. I was wearing a midnight black shirt with my black army jacket on and stained boot cut jeans.
While running towards the back door, I picked up my flaming orange cat, Spark. He meowed in protest but didn't squirm from my grasp.
I took a deep breath and opened the door, greeting the flock.
Chapter 2
Everyone was there. Max turned towards me and started to introduce herself.
"You don't need to introduce yourselves," I interrupted. "I know who you guys are."
Max didn't look surprised. "Did you hear about us on the news?" She cast a sideways glance to Angel, who flushed a deep red. I smiled and imagined the New York Times publishing a title that read, "Bird Kids on Show at the Bronx Zoo! Buy Your Tickets Today!" I shook my head. "No. I read the series. You know the one by James Patterson?"
"Oh yeah! We know him!" Nudge exclaimed.
"So why are you guys here? It's the middle of the night." I said.
Max sighed and said, "We can't go to my mom's because she lives too far away. Is it okay if we crash here for a while?"
I grinned. "You guys can stay as long as you want. I live here alone."
"What about your parents? Are they okay for having bird kids in the house or something?" asked Gazzy.
My smile dimmed. "My parents are dead." I said softly. "The Institute..." My voice trailed off and I saw Max stiffen.
"How do you know about the Institute?" She said suspiciously.
I rolled my eyes. "Hello? I read the books, like I said. I'm not as stupid as I look. I'm only thirteen."
"If you know all of us, then what are our names?" Iggy challenged. I smiled. "Okay, let's see. We've got the Gasman right there, Gazzy for short, who can mimic people like a pro, Iggy who is blind and could feel colors and could easily beat you at Monopoly, Nudge who has an amazing fashion sense and could break through any code, Fang who can blend with the shadows, and who is not here at the moment, Max who could fly to the speed of light and is the leader of the flock," I paused, my eyes turning cold as I crossed my arms and sneered, "And Dylan, the outsider, who can see things far away."
Dylan looked up. "What do you mean 'the outsider'?"
I put on my best I-wish-you-were-dead face. "You don't know everything about the flock, you're definitely not the perfect half of Max and you are just trying to replace Fang."
Max stood up and held out her hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. I don't think it's necessary to point fingers. How do you know that?" By now I was getting a little irritated. I face-palmed my forehead and sighed. "Let me explain again: Me read books. Me pro on series. Me annoyed."
Max waved her hand absently. "Right, right. Go on."
Angel came forward, holding Total asleep in her arms. "You have a special ability, don't you?" Everyone looked at me. Max looked surprised, then embarrassed.
"Uh, sorry." She said, pulling Angel towards herself. "Angel can read minds." I nodded. "I can read minds too." Angel turned towards Max. "I told you she could. You don't believe me anymore," she pouted.
I held Spark out to Total, wanting to end the awkward moment. "Um, Total, meet Spark. Spark, meet Total." Spark looked at Total in distaste and said, "You drool when you sleep." Total bolted up, confused and said, "Okay, seriously? So now there are two animals talking? I thought I was unique!"
Angel and I started laughing, and then the rest of the flock joined us.
"Come on inside guys, I've got plenty of room." I said.
. . .
The flock was having a pretty good time getting comfortable in my three-story mansion. Iggy was beating Gazzy and Dylan on the Xbox in the game room on the second floor, Nudge and Angel were exploring the huge walk in closet on the third floor, looking for something chic and in style compared to the mud stained clothes they wore during the flight. Max stayed with me in my room, asking me questions.
Max held out a picture frame. "Are they your parents?" I nodded.
"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Max sat down on the couch.
"I want you to tell me what you know about the Institute." She said.
I sat on my bed, stroking Spark. "I doubt anything I know is useful to you guys, but I guess I should tell you my whole life story." I tossed my naturally straight jet black hair (with a blond streak) to the side of my head, hoping to make a dramatic moment.
"The Institute is testing on new things." I began. "I'm one subject. They put ads up all over the place for volunteer work at the hospital, so they have the signatures of their 'patients' to verify that they agreed to help them. The scientists then run tests on them, seeing what happens when they mix certain powers into them. They called this the 'Powera Project'. You see, I was born at the hospital where they were doing the tests. After I was born, they made my parents to sign a contract that stated that the scientists were allowed to inject powers into me and have someone in my house to watch my powers develop."
"So you grew up with white coats watching your every move?" Max asked. "No," I said. "Only one person. But they chose the best. After the number of patients started to decrease they decided to test on themselves."
"Well that's a first." I heard her mutter.
"So they added powers to themselves like super strength, X-ray vision, fish characteristics, sharp eyesight, ability to change their skin color, blah blah blah." I continued. "But the effect wasn't as good on adults as it was on babies. With every ability, there was a flaw in it. The only time when they were able to have the mind reading ability put into someone successfully with no flaws was when they tested it on baby me.
"They noticed that the mind reading ability could only be added into someone at infancy. They tried to get more babies into the hospital so they could test it out with variables but the public disappeared mysteriously, somehow.
"The Institute finally decided that it was best if I was to return home to my family, with a member who had her own power. They had Jonah Mayer come home with me, watch me; see any changes, making sure my powers were developing correctly." I sighed. "She stayed with us for about seven years. She tried to brainwash me into thinking that I would be doing a good thing to..." My voice trailed off.
"What happened?" Max urged.
"She said," I whispered, "that it would be a good thing to get rid of you guys, the flock. She and the Institute wanted me to kill you guys."
"And she asked a seven year old this? How old was she?"
I managed a quick, weak grin. "She's in her thirties, I think. Jonah started to get pretty annoyed with her job. She became more strict and punished me more often." I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I still remember that day when she decided to go against the Institute's orders and kill my parents."
"Where did she go?"
"That's something I've been trying to figure out for the past six years. It's either she went back to the Institute and they are still making super humans, or she's living in a box."
Max laughed. "So...did you go to school?" I nodded. "The Institute paid for a public school. I went to C.S. MenPhill Elementary, but now I'm going to C.S. MenPhill Junior High, we call ourselves the MenPhill Pride."
"Why are you still going to school? It's extremely dangerous!"
"They force me to go. Once, I didn't go because I was sick and they sent these stupid Dumb bots to my house and literally dragged me to school. About a fifth of the students in my grade got sick because I was contagious."
"They seem to be very desperate for your education." Max noted. "Why would they pay for your education? They usually just leave you to fend for yourself and find your own school and money."
I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess they wanted me to be smart enough to be their special Subject Zero."
"Aren't you going to get to the good part?" Spark sniffed.
"Oh, right. Well the 'good part', according to Spark, is when I got him. When I was about four years old, they brought me back to the Hospital to run some tests on me and stuff. They wanted to see if there was any damages or new flaws in my powers or DNA. And that's when I got Spark. Spark used to be a stray. They took him off the streets to experiment on him."
"They treated me like any other lab rat." Spark spat. "At least I was given edible food when I was a stray." I touched his head affectionately, which meant, You're putting out a bad mojo. Just shut up.
"I felt bad for him, sitting alone in a smelly dog crate that was only slightly larger than him. I began to kind of protest, in a way. I said that I wouldn't do anymore of the tests unless I got to keep Spark. I almost lost; they just laughed at me, taunting me like I was a demented lab monkey playing with toys. But oddly enough, they said yes."
"That suddenly? They're not easy to agree with." Max said in surprise.
"Yeah, well the only reason they said yes was because Jeb said so."
"Jeb? What the hell was he doing there?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. But he let me keep Spark."
"Okay," Max stood up. "I think I've heard enough."
I looked worriedly at her. "Hey, I know you hate Jeb. I didn't mean to spark a memory or something. You okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. Do you have empty rooms for us to sleep in?"
I nodded. "I've got seven of them. Turn right when you get all the way down the hall. The suites line the hallway left and right. I'm gonna make something to eat downstairs for you guys."
"Thanks." Max said. She opened my bedroom door and closed it behind her.
. . .
Max went over to the walk-in closet door and opened it, poking her head inside. "Angel? You there?"
Angel and Nudge appeared behind the jacket aisle. "Hi Max! What is it?" Nudge said.
"Uh, Angel? I need to talk to you. Privately." Angel nodded and shrugged the blue fleece jacket that she was holding onto her shoulders. They walked out of the room and started towards on of the guest rooms.
"Do you like this jacket, Max?" Angel asked. Max smiled. "Of course, sweetie. It looks good on you." Angel grinned widely and flounced down the hall.
They walked into the suite and locked the door behind them. Angel sat down on the squishy comforter and Max sat down on the leather recliner.
"Do you see anything wrong with her that I should know about?" Max said.
"No. She's not hiding anything. I don't think she's working with the Institute." Angel replied. Max nodded.
"Max, do you think she's telling the truth about how the Institute is making new generations?"
"I think so. It sounds believable."
"Okay, 'cause I think she might be dangerous." Angel said gravely.
"How?"
"I mean, it can't be a coincidence that we happened to stop at a house where the person understands our situation and everything."
"So what are you suggesting, Angel?"
"I think we should use her, until we get where we want. We'll use her until we've got enough info on the Institute and then leave her."
"Angel! That's insane!" Max hissed. "We can't just leave her. She can't live on her own; she could be attacked without any proper training! I suggest we have her come with us. I don't want to abandon someone who could be useful."
Angel's eyes bore into Max's face. "Whatever you say. You're the leader. But my offer still stands."
Max shifted uneasily. "If you see anything suspicious, tell me. It's hard to trust people now."
. . .
I slid down the last banister and walked through the living room into the kitchen. Opening the freezer drawer, I cursed. "I swear I had, like, ten boxes of Mozzarella sticks in here a second ago!"
There were crumbs in the ground, followed by some of Spark's paw prints. I cursed again. "Oh ho Spark, we're gonna have a talk the next time I see you."
"Wow, this taste delicious!" Exclaimed Nudge. I looked over at the table where they were eating. Gazzy was already licking the sauce totally clean off the plate..
"Thanks," I blushed. "I had to make my own breakfast for six years, so I guess I got a lot of practice."
Max held out a plate of pasta to me. "You want some? It's fair to give the chef a share of her own food, you know."
I smiled and accepted the plate. This was like the family I never had.
Chapter 3
I yawned and checked my bedside clock. 6:00 Am. I groaned.
Then I remembered what happened last night, and smiled. I stretched and dressed. I rubbed my eyes and opened my door. The flock was already dressed, waiting for me.
"Oh, we were just about to wake you up," said Nudge. "We all woke up, like, five minutes ago. Iggy's making breakfast downstairs."
I nodded sleepily and stumbled down the stairs. "You guys are seriously so slow." Iggy complained. "I woke up at five and I can still hear Gazzy snoring like a pig."
"Well, we're awake now so you can stop your whining," said Max.
"What is chef Iggy going to cook for us this fine morning?"
Iggy rolled his eyes. "I was thinking that I could just make some scrambled eggs or something."
I glanced up. "Yeah, maybe some grilled cheese and bacon to go with it too. Oh, and maybe some orange juice to give it all some flavor."
"Oooh, Iggy's got competition!" crowed Gazzy. My face reddened.
"Uh, if you don't want me to help cook, I'll understand." I stammered.
"No, no, it's okay. I'll do the bacon and eggs." Iggy said.
"I'll do the orange juice and grilled cheese, then." I said. Opening the cabinet, I grabbed a frying pan. "'Kay, let's get started."
. . .
"Do you guys want to go somewhere? The mall maybe or whatever?"
I asked. Nudge looked like she would explode with excitement.
"I want to go to the mall! We can buy, like, new clothes and everything! Maybe we can get some new shoes too!" babbled Nudge.
"You already have new clothes, Nudge," Max groaned. "Plus, we don't have any more money left."
"Oh, I have a lot of money. The money is still coming in from my dad's Pillowpet Company, since I'm basically in charge now."
"Sweet!" exclaimed Gazzy. "So you're totally rich now right? We can get free Pillowpets?"
I smiled. "Sure."
"Hey," said Iggy. "We never learned your name." My face reddened, again. "Well that's embarrassing. With all the stuff happening, I can't believe I forgot to tell you guys my name. My name's Aeva. Aeva Gray."
"I like your name!" said Nudge. "It sounds better than Nudge."
"Nudge, you gave yourself your own name. Do you seriously want to change it now?"
"It's okay," I said. "Anyway, I can still pay for new clothing and stuff at the mall."
Max looked doubtful. "No, we can't possibly let you go through all the money and transportation."
"There's a Haagen Dazs there."
"Holy cow, we've got to go there!" Cried Gazzy.
"Go where?"
Max spun around. A tall dude wearing all black with black hair stood at the door.
"Fang?"
Chapter 4
Fang unfolded his arms. "Miss me?"
"Nope, not really. How's your gang doing?"
"They're fine. So is Maya."
Max's face glowed a bright red as she glared at Fang.
"Why did you come back? You're not welcome here, if that's the kind of greeting you expected."
Fang looked past Max's shoulder at me. "Who's that?"
I looked coldly at Fang. "What are you doing here?"
"I'd ask you the same question."
Max glared at Fang. "I'll talk about Aeva later. What do you want?"
"We were in the area. Maya decided to visit you guys."
I stood up, throwing a magazine onto the coffee table. "Yeah, right. Since when did Maya care to visit Max?"
Fang shot icy daggers at me. "Nobody asked you."
"I talk when I want to!"
"Then shut up already." said a voice at the door.
Max pushed past Fang and stood face to face with Maya. They looked perfectly alike except for the clothes, plus Maya had a magenta streak in her hair. "What are you doing here?"
Maya hissed. "I suggested that me and Fang were to go out and eat. We just happened to come across you idiots."
"And I'm guessing that you always agree with Fang. So when he suggested to visit Max, you just couldn't say no, could you?" I sneered innocently.
Maya slid past Max and stood nose to nose with me. "You just think you're oh-so-cool just because you're friends with Max here, do you?"
"Yeah," I pushed Maya hard, making her stumble. "I do. You got a problem with that?"
Fang separated me and Maya. "Guys, seriously? We're just here visiting, maybe go out to eat or something." He looked at me suspiciously. "Although, almost all of you guys are welcome to join us."
"Oh, you again."
Dylan stood coldly at the kitchen doorway. "I thought you were gone."
"I was hoping the same about you." Maya held onto Fang's arm. "Hey, there's no need for a fight now."
"Shut up. I'm not listening to you." I hissed. Maya glared at me.
"We are not interested in going anywhere with you and Maya." Max said softly, her voice quivering with controlled anger. "Just leave."
Maya walked to the door. "You know what. I knew this was a bad idea. Let's go Fang, they're not worth it."
Fang rubbed his hair. "Nah, I'm gonna stay here." Max and Maya looked at him in surprise.
"Fine. You stay with these losers. You know where to meet me." She ran out onto the lawn and flew away.
Fang stood awkwardly in the room. "Where do you guys want to go then?"
"We already decided before you interrupted." said Max. "We're going to the mall."
. . .
The flock gazed around the mall, checking out the shops and food court.
"Wow, you guys," I noticed. "Is this seriously the first time you've been in a mall?"
"We didn't have much time shopping around, you know, with all the Flyboys and stuff coming and going around us." Said Nudge, glancing around in awe.
"Where do you want to start?" I asked. "There's an Aeropostale around the corner. You guys want to go there?"
"Sure."
As we walked into the store, people glanced at the flock. Fang glanced around suspiciously, but Nudge was already looking through the shirts, picking a couple out once a while.
"Wow, Aeva!" babbled Nudge. "Thanks for picking this place!"
"Looks like she's going to buy out the entire store." I chuckled. "You guys want to split up or something so you can check out the store?"
I saw Max and Fang go to the back, Nudge was zooming around the store trying to get as many clothes from the racks as she could, Iggy and Gazzy and Dylan went to the teens aisle and tried to find some jeans. Angel and I went the back to check out some jackets or shirts for her.
When we got to the back, I let Angel wander around to check for her size, I saw Max go into the dressing room. After Max went in, I saw a girl go up to Fang. She looked to be sixteen, straight red hair down to her back, with a lot of make-up on, probably to cover up that nasty mole on her over-large nose.
As she closed in on Fang, I shuffled closer to hear what she was saying to him.
"Hey," She smirked, chewing gum. "You have a girlfriend?" Fang looked at her in surprise.
"Uh, no."
The girl smiled at him and twisted her red hair with her finger. "Aw, such a shame. I don't see how." She touched his arm and gave him a look of desire. "I mean, you're really cute."
I looked at her in disgust and walked up to the witch. "You know, I saw a badger yesterday, eating out of a trash can or was that you?" I asked innocently.
She looked me up and down, putting on a look of disgust. "Ugh. You call that a fashion sense?"
"You call yourself a pretty scene?" I snorted. Fang looked at me in surprise. Remembering the conflict that happened earlier, I continued. "Oh, and by the way, I will sue you if you don't walk away now."
Miss. Witch rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. I'm, like, super rich. My parents bought me a Beetle for my 16th birthday." I looked at her with a we've-got-a-live-one face. "Right, right. Well compare that to this: I live in a three story mansion, I'm a frickin billionaire, I've got thirty-five Mustangs, BMWs, Mercedes-Benz, and other luxury cars, and I can bet that you live in a box."
She rolled her eyes again. "Yeah, right. Just wait until my daddy hears about this." I snapped my finger in between her eyes. "Hey, stupid, you'll be in Juvie in five seconds if you don't walk away. Now."
"Um, how about no?" she smirked.
"Okay, what did I just say? Is your mole so big that it's blocking you senses?"
"Is she bothering you, Aeva?"
We turned around. Max was standing behind me holding a shirt on her arm. "Go away before your face scares away more children."
The mole girl flipped her hair. "Whatever." she said, and walked away.
"We should probably round up everyone," I said, "I'll pay for everything and we can go to the food court."
. . .
After eating at Little Tokyo and Haagen Dazs at the food court, I called my chauffeur to pick us up. When we got back to my house, Max stomped upstairs. I quickly took some sandwiches out of the fridge that I made the day before, giving them to everyone before going upstairs after Max.
She was in one of the guest rooms. I walked in the room and shut the door.
"You know," I said, "It's not your fault your jealous. All fans of the Maximum Ride series like Fang. I watched a tribute to the flock on Youtube and there was a bunch of comments saying that you should be together."
Max looked up. "That's not helping." I smiled crookedly. "Yeah, sorry. After I read about Fang leaving, I literally was crying my eyes out. Now that I know that he invited Maya to be a part of his gang, well, I decided that I now think he's a worthless idiot who abandons his friends."
Max smiled weakly. "You just figured that out, huh?"
I shrugged. "Yeah. I'm gonna make dinner now. You have any special requests for the cook?"
"Surprise me."
. . .
After eating dinner, the flock went upstairs to play, sleep, or try on the dozens of new clothes she just bought, *cough *cough * Nudge.
I stepped out into the backyard and breathed in the night air. I checked my watch. 11:00 pm. I shrugged and walked around the yard.
I heard a rustling noise coming from a tree a couple yards away from me. I turned around. Dark red eyes glowed between the leaves, and I turned away. Wait a minute, glowing red eyes? I froze, turning around slowly.
All of a sudden, something came out of the tree. It definitely wasn't a Flyboy, not a Dumb bot...
It looked familiar. Witch-like face, a shortened and almost normal nose...
Oh, great.
Jonah Mayer was back.
Chapter 5
"Miss me, dear?" she sneered, showing her blackened teeth. She wore the same frickin blue wool vest and khakis when she jumped out my window six years ago. The edges of her khakis were frayed and stained with mud.
"Actually," I said, "I had the best six years of my life. Nice to know you were suffering from personal hygiene." Jonah grimaced. One point for Aeva.
"I came here for a reason, dear." she said sweetly. "The flock is here, hm?"
"I see your nails are growing in again, hm?" I shot back. Her sharp red nails grew longer and were freshly painted, like tiger claws in a nail salon. Gross.
Her gray eyes narrowed and turned cold. "I see you've grown a big mouth since I've been gone."
"And I see that your nose didn't change it's length after six years."
Two points for Aeva.
"Stop distracting me with insults, you disgusting child!" she snarled.
"Where is the flock?"
I rolled my eyes. "Oh, so now I'm disgusting. If you want to see disgusting, look in the mirror you piece of-"
Meredith screamed with rage and leaped towards me. Ugh, she smelt horrible, like a rotten banana and a dumpster gave birth to her. I didn't know any kind of martial arts so I was dazed for a moment.
But my self defense instinct kicked in and I slammed her in the head with my foot. She fell to the ground and something strange began to happen.
She began to change shape.
Jonah started to look younger, her gray hair turning brown and curly, she became taller and was actually becoming pretty (yuck). My eyes widened in shock. She turned into Dr. Martinez, Max's mum. That's when I realized that she had a new power, shape shifting, apparently. She smiled cruelly at me.
"Hello, deary," she hissed. Apparently, the power didn't develop correctly. She sounded like the hag she really was. This looked very unusual coming out of such a kind person's face.
Just then, the flock rushed out.
"We heard noises," started Max. "I thought that-" Her eyes widened.
"Mom?" The hag smiled at Max but didn't say anything. I looked at her and read her mind. "Well, well, well," Jonah thought, "Looks like they were living here for a while. If I could just grab her now, maybe she would come as bait..."
I snapped out of her mind and quickly yelled, "Max, duck!" Dr. Martinez ran towards Max, arms outstretched. Max looked surprised.
"MAX, DUCK! THAT'S NOT YOUR MOM!" I roared.
Max turned around and roundhouse kicked Jonah to the ground. Her shape wavered and slowly turned back to her original shape.
At that moment, my eyes flamed and I grabbed a chunk of her shirt.
"What's wrong? The Institute didn't want you back?" I snarled. "They didn't want another potato sacked brain in their facility? You came here to try and capture Max, didn't you?"
Jonah's face blazed with hunger. "No, no deary." she cooed. "I came here for you." I tossed her to the ground. Suddenly, there was a roar. Now, I don't mean an angry human roar, I mean a lion roar.
A lion burst into the backyard, moving up to Jonah, growling softly.
"I could eat you for dinner!" it roared. Everyone gaped at it, except me.
"It's okay Spark," I said. "She's not worth eating. Probably tastes like manure."
Jonah glared up at me. "Well? Aren't you going to finish me off?"
she sneered. I kicked her on the side and placed my foot on her chest, leaning towards her.
"Trust me, I would love to. But since it would be too easy right now, I'll let you go. Next time I see your sorry butt, I'll kick it again and feed you to Spark. I'm sure you guys would have a happy time."
Did her eyes have a flicker of fear? Hopefully. I took my foot of her chest and she scrambled up.
"I will get revenge on you," she threatened. "Next time, I will definitely make sure you won't live!"
I rolled my eyes. "Well, you did a horrible job this time. I doubt you would live to see tomorrow, judging by the number of wrinkles on your face." Her face was just priceless. Three points for Aeva, looks like we've got a winner.
After sending a black toothed snarl at everyone, she pressed a button on her watch and was transported back to the Institute.
Chapter 6
After Jonah disappeared (hopefully for a longer time), everyone went back inside, followed by Spark, now in cat form. The flock sat down in the living room. Max spoke first.
"Is there more that you didn't tell us before?" she said, "I mean, something other than Spark being part lion."
"It was my father's side, never liked them." I heard Spark mutter.
I sighed. "No, that's the only thing that's big I guess."
"Is there anything small, then?"
"Well," I said thoughtfully. "I don't think so, since I-I..." I mouth remained open. I frowned and tried to talk, but nothing came out. Everything around me slowly faded away. Suddenly, I found myself standing in a white coat laboratory. I saw a group of Dumb bots being arranged into transporting tubes with a group of white coats standing by. One white coat started talking. "The Subjects 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are stationed at Subject Zero's home. We'll send the bots as close as we can, but it will take ten minutes for them to reach them."
"What if they're not at the house?" said another white coat.
"Don't worry, they will know. They have heat sensing eyes to check if they're there or not. Get ready now. We'll send them over in five minutes!"
I shot open my eyes. I was panting hard and sweating. "...so we flew over here and found her house and-" Max stopped. "Hey, are you okay? I nodded shakily. "Yeah, yeah. Just got a...vision."
Max looked confused. "A vision? What do you mean?"
"It happens sometimes, but they're usually some flashes of my past. But this time, I think it's important."
"Is this normal?" Fang muttered. Everyone was looking at me with concern.
"What is it? How important?" Nudge persisted.
I shook my head, trying to find my voice.
"They're sending Dumb bots here." I said hoarsely. "They'll be here in fifteen minutes!"
. . .
"Come on everybody! Take only what you need!" Max yelled. "Nudge! You can't take all those clothes!"
"But they're cute!"
"Nudge!"
"Fine!"
I hurriedly packed my backpack. Clothes, check. Drawing pad, a notebook, and pencil, check. Mini laptop and charger, check. Ipod and charger and headphones, check. My entire allowance and credit and debit card, triple check.
I shuddered. Am I really ready for this? I know self defense but how am I supposed to go with the flock? I can't fly, so what use am I?
I zipped up my backpack and went to Max's room. She had everything packed, considering that she didn't have a lot of stuff. She looked up as I walked in. "Max, am I supposed to come with you guys?" She looked surprised. "Of course, they're after you too. We can't just leave you here."
I fiddled with my hoodie string. "Well, you see, that's just it. If I'm supposed to be with you guys, then how am I supposed to keep up? I mean, I can't fly!"
Max smiled. "If you can't fly, then what's on your back?"
Chapter 7
I glanced at my back. "WHAT THE...?" Max smiled. "I guess you're still developing as we are. They probably put avian DNA in you on accident."
I touched the feathers. Warm and soft. They were black, with white at top. Oreo sensation, I like it.
"H-how am I supposed to learn to fly though?" Max smiled. I think you might know."
We grinned at each other and we both said, "A friendly push off the roof."
. . .
"Um, Max? I don't think this is a good idea. I mean, I have a bigger house than most people..."
"No worries," Max said. "If you can't fly, I'll catch you...probably."
I looked at her in horror. "Probably?"
Max grinned at me. "Come on, I'll just give you a push. One...two...three!"
Max pushed me off the roof. Me, Aeva Gray, a thirteen year old girl who just found out she has wings. Me, Aeva Gray, a thirteen year old girl who probably won't see the daylight of tomorrow and would probably be caught before she would go splat.
I screamed and panicked, but only for a millisecond. At the very last moment, the same instinct I had with self-defense kicked in. I stretched out my wings and flapped with all my strength. I soared up into the air in an arc, laughing like a madman. Oh my god, I thought. If I'm dreaming, that would suck!
I swung around somewhat gracefully and landed next to Max.
"Well," I puffed, "That was fun."
"You think you're ready for a couple miles?"
I smiled, nodding my head. "Yes!" Angel burst out of the house, running towards us. "They're coming in five minutes!" Max looked at me and stood up. "Get everyone out here with all their stuff. We're leaving."
. . .
Soon, all of us were in the air. Spark squirmed in my grasp.
"Do you seriously need to hold me like this? It's so uncomfortable!"
I rolled my eyes. "Well do you seriously need to keep squirming? Do you want to fall to your doom?" Spark glared at me but stopped moving. Thank you.
I sped up towards Max. "How long until we land?" Max looked at me.
"Well, I don't really know where to go right now."
"What?"
"I mean we're pretty far off from Arizona, so we can't go to my mom."
I shrugged. "We can go there. I don't mind. Just as long as we stop for fast food once in a while, I'll live." Max smiled and looked back ahead. I slowed down. And, just as I was getting pretty happy, Dylan came up behind me.
I looked at him and glared. He returned my glare.
"So now you have wings too, huh? So now are you part of the flock, since I'm not?" I rolled my eyes at him. His looks don't effect me, compared to the girls that faint as soon as they see him. "The flock is the way the flock was made." I snapped. "You will never be part of the flock, and neither will I!"
I sped forward with a huff.
. . .
As we landed in a neighborhood, I made a quick mental calculation. We traveled over 2,000 miles, with only five fast food stops.
"So, where does she live?"
Max pointed across the street at a house. "There."
We walked up the freshly cut lawn. Max knocked on the door.
"It's okay, mom," I heard someone shout. "I got it!" The door opened. There stood a girl who looked to be about fifteen with brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her face broke into a smile.
"Max! Hi! I haven't seen you for a while! Mom! Max is here!"
Someone else came to the door. She had familiar curly brown hair and kind chocolate eyes. Dr. Martinez, Max's mom. She smiled and embraced everyone.
"Oh, it's good to see you again!" When she let go, she saw me holding Spark. "Hello," she said, surprised. "What's your name?"
I smiled shyly. "My name's Aeva Gray, I'm from Long Island, on the east coast. I was a subject of the Institute." She smiled warmly. "I'm Dr. Martinez. This is my daughter Ella. Please mind me for asking, but do you have any...special powers?"
I nodded. "I have visions, I can do what Angel does, and I recently figured out that I had wings and could fly." I opened my wings, showing her the pattern.
"Please, come inside. I've baked chocolate chip cookies."
Gazzy ran inside with Total close behind.
"Looks like they're way ahead of schedule."
. . .
"Wow," I said, my mouth filled with chocolaty goodness, "This is seriously the best cookie I've ever tasted!" Dr. Martinez chuckled and handed me another cookie.
"So guys, why are you here?" she asked.
"Well, we were just flying around Long Island and we saw Aeva's house." Max started. "Aeva said it was okay to crash at her house for a while. We went to the mall. Nothing much happened. But then, Meredith Jackmen came, she worked for the Institute. They've been experimenting on themselves by injecting powers. She came to try and bring Aeva back with her to the Institute." Dr. Martinez's eyes widened. Max continued.
"Of course, she didn't succeed. But we had to leave. The Institute was sending Dumb bots to her house."
Dr. Martinez placed her hand on her throat. "What are you going to do?"
"We don't know."
I raised my hand uncertainly. Everyone looked at me.
"Um, I know you guys have this as your goal already, but, um...why don't we go to the hospitals and try to stop them from continuing to experiment on people?" I looked around the table. They stared at me like I was mad, and I probably sounded like I was.
"But that's crazy!" Gazzy exclaimed, confirming my thought.
My face reddened (God, I do that a lot). "It's mad, but not impossible.
I know where they're located."
"But are you sure they're still experimenting there? They might have moved there headquarters."
I shook my head, hoping I was sounding confident. "The vision I had earlier, it was in that hospital. I just know it is!"
"Do you know if there are any around here, though?"
I nodded. "I've done a lot off research lately. The hospitals are scattered all over the world, but mostly here, in the US. Actually, there's one a couple miles from where we're standing."
Max finished her cookie and stood up. "Let's have a good night's rest first. Tomorrow, we'll go find it."
. . .
That night, I took a shower and crept into bed. The room was very green, too green for my taste. As I shimmied my way under the covers, I took my notebook out and started to write.
May 2, 2013
Oh my god. As it turned out, the flock actually exists! Now, I'm not a big fan of writing, especially journals, so let me get this straight. I'm only writing this journal because I need to remember this forever. I want a document for proof that I wasn't dreaming. I'll try not to write to much but there's so much to tell! I'll probably write tomorrow.
-Aeva
Gray
I closed my notebook and tucked it back in my backpack. Turning off the way-too-green lamp, I pulled up my covers and closed my eyes. I definitely need some sleep, knowing what is going to happen tomorrow.
Chapter 8
"Come on everyone! Get your lazy butts off your beds! Time to eat!"
I groaned and dressed.
I met up with Iggy on the way downstairs, feeling his way with his hands. I knew enough not to help him, he would probably kill me if I tried.
As we went down the stairs, Iggy stopped and looked at me.
"What?" I said, wondering if I had something on my face.
"I just want to say that you're one of the first peoplr I've met that didn't treat me like I was useless."
I shrugged. "Even if I didn't know you pretty well, I still wouldn't treat you like you were useless. That wouldn't be fair."
Iggy smiled at me. "Nicely chosen words."
I smiled back. We continued down the stairs and reached the kitchen.
The rest of the flock were already eating. Scrambled eggs, bacon, boiled eggs, and orange juice. Mm.
I sat down at the table and started to fill my plate with breakfast goodness.
"Would you like some orange juice?" Ella handed me a cup. I smiled and accepted it. Max wiped her mouth with a napkin.
"So," Max started. "Where exactly is the hospital located, Aeva?"
I finished drinking my orange juice and took a bite out of my bacon.
"54 Jaspin Street. They are the main branch of the Powera Project, it's where the boss is located."
"Do you know where Jaspin Street is, mom?" Max asked. Dr. Martinez nodded. "It's just a couple miles away from here."
"Come on guys, pack light. We're going in ten minutes."
. . .
When we arrived at Jaspin Street, I looked around. Is it possible I got the street correct? The street was full of abandoned houses and stores, like a ghost town. I checked the decayed street sign. No, I was right, this is Jaspin Street, or was Jaspin Street. Old newspapers and pieces of wood and siding from broken houses littered the ground. But what really caught me was the smell.
It smelled like chemicals from the white coat labs. Except, these smells were fresh. I saw Fang sniff the air, scowling. "This is definitely the right place. It smells horrible."
Max turned towards me, covering her nose. "What number was it?"
I nodded towards the other end of the street. "Number 54. It might be down there on the right side."
"I'm gonna go down there and check it out."
"Can I come with you?" I asked. Max looked doubtfully at me.
"I know where it is." I reminded her.
"Oh, right."
Me and Max walked down the road, leaving the rest of the flock behind.
45, 46, 47... I checked each door number as we walked past them. 51, 52, 53...
We stopped in front of an old abandoned Walmart.
"Umm. Are you sure this is it?" Max asked, looking at the broken down Walmart.
I looked suspiciously at the building. "Hey, how come this is the only building that's still in one piece?"
Max's eyes frowned. "Do you think that means something?"
"I guess there's only one way to find out." I said, imitating a secret agent voice.
"Let's call every one else over so we can check it out."
I nodded and took my iPod out. I snapped a picture of the abandoned Walmart. "I might need to remember this." I explained to Max.
Max waved her arms, signaling the flock to join us.
I took a deep breath and opened the rusty Walmart door. We looked around nervously.
"This doesn't look like an Institute headquarters." Fang said.
The dusty shelves lined the walls, filled with worthless merchandise like old transformers, rusty tin cars, and plastic dump trucks.
"Let's split up and check everywhere. If you see anything suspicious, call someone over." Max ordered.
I walked over to the greeting card section. I poked at the Father's Day cards, reading them as the dust fell off. There were cards that read, "Happy Father's Day, Dad! I hope you live to 100!", "Thanks for living this long, Dad!" and "I said you were fat but, since it's your birthday, Mom will let it slide!". I laughed at the last one and pulled it out. As soon as I pulled it out, I saw something light up.
I squinted my eyes and realized that I was looking at a corner of a pass code key pad. I started to take all the cards out, one by one, until I saw the entire key pad.
It was shiny, new and high tech. "Hey Max," I called, "I think you might want to check this out."
The flock appeared at the end of the aisle. "There's a key pad buried under some Father's Day cards. You should take a look."
Max and Nudge walked up the shelf. "Nudge, do you think you can figure this one out?" Nudge nodded and ran her hand on the face of the key pad. She punched in a series of numbers.
"Access Granted." a disembodied female voice droned. The shelf started to slowly split in the middle. It was an elevator door. We stepped inside cautiously. I read the floor levels out loud.
"1: Walmart
2: Bathroom
3: Medicines, Hospital wing
4: Lab One – Research, Computer Help
5: Lab Two – Hospital Ad Industry, Office
6: Kitchen/Food Court."
I turned towards Max. "Do you want to check out all the other places first or do you want to go straight to floor 5?"
"Let's go to floor 5." I nodded and pressed the button. The elevator shuddered to a start. I crossed my fingers mentally, hoping that the elevator wouldn't stop to let white coats in. It didn't.
"Floor 5:Hospital Ad Industry, Lab Two"
We stepped out of the elevator. A hallway extended towards a door at the end. I scrunched my brow and walked carefully up the hallway, approaching the door.
"Aeva! What are you doing?!" hissed Max. I put my finger to my lips and crept closer to the door. I braced myself for a white coat to suddenly jump out and stab me with a hypodermic needle.
I took a deep breath and opened the door and looked inside the room. I sighed with relief.
"It's okay." I whispered. "There's no one here. Come on inside."
I beckoned the flock into the office.
The room was vast, with papers tacked onto the walls. I checked the papers and noticed that there were family names posted. My face twisted with shock and I tore the paper of the wall.
"What? What is it?" Max came running towards me.
I showed her the paper.
Possible Families
Anne and Joseph JamsonEXTERMINATED
Jack and Marilenne Geradani EXTERMINATED
Marcus and Terri MartinEXTERMINATED
John and Carrie HathenwayEXTERMINATED
Patrick and Caitlin Morris EXTERMINATED
Sarah and Jasper HandersonEXTERMINATED
James and Joanna VaneEXTERMINATED
Leanna and David Gray EXTERMINATED
"Oh, they're your parents, aren't they?" Max said, pointing at the last couple on the list. I nodded dully.
"Max, come look at this picture!" Nudge said. We hurried over to Nudge.
She held out a photograph. It was a picture of a couple and their kids.
The woman had straight brown hair and was holding a small girl with braided brown hair in one hand.
Next to her stood a man who also had brown haired that was smoothed back with gel. He wore round glasses, the kind that you would see on a Harry Potter wanna-be.
But what really stuck out was the second child. He looked nothing like the rest of his family. He had black ruffled hair that stuck up everywhere, green eyes, which were lighter than mine but were still very piercing, and was basically wearing all black, except for his shirt.
His shirt was a bright blue with two words written diagonally across the middle. I looked closer and read the words out loud. "Aeva Gray."
"Okay, that can't be a coincidence." said Gazzy. I looked in horror at the picture of the boy. He looked like the same age as me.
Max said something but her voice faded away. The office walls started to disappear and people pushing carts and shelves stocked with stuff appeared around me.
"It's a memory, Aeva."
Chapter 9
I turned around. That boy, the one in the picture, he was standing right next to me! He smiled at me and grabbed a Hershey's chocolate bar off the shelf and took a bite.
"Who are you?"
"My name's Aidan Ekmey. That picture you were looking at, my mom Anna, my sister Lizzie, and my dad Howard."
"Um, okay." I said carefully. Can I trust him? He seems friendly I guess, but how did he know me?
"I should probably explain why you're here." He looked at me curiously, tilting his head.
"Well, duh!"
"Okay well, I suck at telling stories so I'll tell you the short version. There once was a scientist who only wanted money. He decided that he could make money off doing experiments that would change the world, blah blah blah.
"So one day, he took his wife and children to his laboratory and extracted DNA from them. He used this DNA to make clones. Right now you're probably wondering, Clones? Why the hell did he do that?
"You see, he didn't like the idea of having the human race die off because of the apocalypse. So he created clones and put powers into them so that they could survive it."
"But what happened to the original life forms?" I couldn't but ask.
"He killed them. He didn't want two of the same people walking around, did he? That would totally ruin the whole idea of his experiment."
"What? So he just killed his wife and children for money and scientific purposes?"
"Well, technically yes. But he didn't kill all of them."
"What do you mean?"
"That scientist was my dad. He killed my mom for the sake of money. But he obviously didn't get me, or my sister. He extracted DNA from us and we escaped. Right now I'm living in my old house. 24 West Maple Drive.
We are both dreaming this, Aeva. Meet me there. I'm expecting you."
He gave me one last look and I shot open my eyes, back into the present.
"What is it? Another vision?"
I rubbed my temples. "Err... this is going to sound crazy but I just saw him."
"Who?"
"That boy in the picture, Aidan. He told me about Howard Ekmey, his dad who started the Powera Project. This is his office!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. He told me to meet him at his house on 24 West Maple Drive."
"Are you sure we can trust him though? I mean, he just kinda popped out of nowhere and tells you to meet you at his house? This could be a trap."
I looked at Max regrettably. "I know that it's probably going to be dangerous so... I was thinking of going alone."
"What? What if he attacks? Can you defend yourself?"
I nodded. "I know enough to defend myself. Don't you trust me?"
Max sighed. "Okay, but let's go back and eat first. You can go there tomorrow. But now let's go down to the fourth floor. We'll check it out now."
We walked back to the elevator and rode down to the fourth floor. The door pinged open "Floor 4: Research and Computer Help, Lab One."
The floor was covered with dozens of cubicles. "Do you think anyone's here?" I whispered.
"Oh, yes. Someone's here. Welcome Subjects."
We turned to the left. Jonah Mayer was there, staring menacingly at us. "Oh. My. GOD!" I groaned. "When will you ever disappear forever?"
"Get used to it, deary." hissed Meredith. "Now, come with me, and I will finally claim my reward!"
"How many times do I have to say this? Max isn't going anywhere.
You understand that? Comprende?"
"How many times do I have to say it, deary? I want you."
"Well you're not going to get her." Max stepped in front of me.
"You'll have to deal with us first."
"I have no intention to to do that," Jonah sneered. "In fact, I would love it if you would come here yourself."
I opened my mouth. "Yeah, well I wouldn't -" My mouth closed with a snap. My eyes widened with fear as I started to walk stiffly towards the hag.
"What are you doing Aeva?" Nudge cried.
"Stop influencing her," Angel said, staring straight into Jonah's eyes. "Aeva, turn around and ignore the her."
A cold feeling settled on me as Angel's words sank into me. I stopped and started to walk back.
"No! Come back here, Aeva! I command you to come over here!"
I turned towards Jonah.
"Aeva, don't listen to her. Listen to me! Come back over here!"
Turned towards Angel.
"Now, now. You can trust me Aeva, I'm your friend. Come back to the Institute with me. I will help you."
I turned towards Jonah. Ugh, my head hurts.
With all my effort, I managed to raise my head to look straight into Jonah's eyes, saying forcefully, "You are a frickin loser. How about this: Why don't you go get a real job, sending us all your money. Now, leave us and go back to the Institute. Tell them you're quitting."
Jonah's eyes turned blank, eyelids closing halfway, making it look sleepy. "Yes, I-I will obey." She droned. She slowly raised her arm and pressed her watch, transporting herself back to Institute.
I collapsed onto the ground, shaking uncontrollably.
"Are you okay?" Max knelt down next to me.
I nodded. I had used a lot of power on persuading Jonah to do a number of things. I slowly stopped shaking and stood up, holding my head in my hands.
"I j-just need to sleep." I lied. "Jonah has a really hard head. It's difficult to penetrate."
"That took a lot of power. You're good." Angel said in awe. I smiled. "Thanks."
Chapter 10
May 3, 2013
Okay, so it's settled. I'm going to meet Rowan at his house.
Max and the flock is showing me some defense moves in Flock-Fu. So far I've learned to roundhouse kick, punch with balanced power, and others. But most importantly, I learned that I should NEVER LET MY GUARD DOWN. That will lead to weakness. I hope that I will never need to use these techniques on a friend, including Rowan. I'm just hoping that everything will go well. - Aeva Gray
. . .
I packed my bag with some of my stuff in it. I took a deep breath and opened my window. A blast of chilly night air ruffled the curtains. The door creaked open.
I spun around. Angel stood at the doorway. "I just want to say good luck to you."
I smiled and hugged her. "I'll be back as soon as I can, but if I don't come back tomorrow morning, send the flock after me."
Angel nodded and looked gravely at me. "Aeva, there's something you should know. I looked up Howard Ekmey on Google and...well, it said that he was killed in a car accident."
I looked confusedly at her. "Wait, what was the date of the article?"
"The comment was uploaded a month ago by someone else onto Howard's blog. The website was called .com. Apparently it was updated every week before he died."
I nodded. "I'll check it out when I come back." After saying that I jumped out the window and spread my wings to catch the cold air.
. . .
I landed on a yard in front of a one story house. The grass was over-grown. Black tiles lined the roof of the white house. I stepped lightly onto the stones and walked up to the red door and knocked.
The door opened. I soon became face to face with Aidan Ekmey. His tousled hair swept over his bright green eyes. He was still wearing the bright blue shirt with my name on it. Creepy. He smiled at me. "I've been expecting you, Aeva."
"I know. You told me in the vision."
"Oh, yeah." He smiled crookedly. "That was nice."
"Err, yeah." Well this was awkward. Standing at a stranger's door was probably last on my list of life goals, next to going to college. "So why did you want me to come here? Did you need to tell me about the Powera Project?"
"Well, mostly."
"Okay, so if we're going to talk mostly about the Project, what's the other part? And why are you still wearing that shirt?"
"Actually, I didn't have time to buy a new shirt so I don't have much of a choice. My dad told me about you. He said that there was going to be a girl who would eventually come find him and try to stop the Project. It's like he could tell the future a little. It's a bit annoying, really."
"And so I'm guessing that he gave you that shirt for your birthday?"
"Um, yeah, actually. He said that the shirt would be a clue to you. I'm guessing that you saw the picture in his office?"
I nodded. "Can I come in?"
"Oh, yeah, sure."
I stepped inside Aidan's house. The house looked very normal, knowing that a crazy, wack-job, crap loaded, mad scientist used to live here.
We went into the living room and sat down.
I cleared my throat awkwardly. "So...err...what can you tell me about the Project?"
"Well, I told you what I already knew in your vision. I don't think I am more help to you."
"There's one thing I need to know about your dad. Where is he?"
"He's living somewhere on Long Island."
"Hey, I live there. Do you know the county and street?"
"Um, yeah. Did you ever hear of number 537 Straight Lane in Suffolk County?"
"What? That's my house address! When did he start living there?"
"Um, I think, maybe, two years ago?"
"He's been living in my house for two years without me knowing?"
Aidan looked startled. "Seriously? That's crazy!"
I shook my head, eyes widened. "I don't get it. I know every single room and entrance in my house! How could he have possibly have been living in my house for two years without me knowing?"
He shrugged. "No clue. You want some water?"
I nodded. Aidan stood up and went to the kitchen.
I heard a noise coming from the stairs and a girl's head popped out from the banister. "Who are you?"
She had straight brown hair, dyed red at the ends. She was also wearing one of those goth shirts with chains and skulls on them, and a black leather jacket.
I cleared my throat and stammered, "Aeva. You?"
"My name's Lizzie."
Aidan walked back into the room holding a cup of water.
"Oh, I see you guys have met. This is my sister. As you can see, she has decided to go goth after Dad left."
"Hey, most parents don't want their kids to do this. Look at me here! Hello? No annoying parents! This is literally ringing the disobedient bell!"
"Why did your dad leave?"
Aidan handed me the cup and I took a sip. "He left after we had a fight. He wanted me to come with him, but I argued that I had to stay and look after Lizzie."
She tossed her hair and scowled. "I don't need to be looked after. I can find my way around."
"Yeah, by pickpocketing and fooling people with your stupid with your 'special power'. You won't survive two weeks."
"That's not true!"
"Guys," I cut in, "Did he say anything about the Institute or the School or Itex?"
Aidan shook his head. "Nope. Never heard of them. They some sort of colleges or something?"
"They're other places that are in the By-Half Plan."
"Oh, well I think I've seen something that involves something with Itex. My dad had a bunch of photos of this company building with a logo that said 'Itex' on it."
"Can I see it?" I asked. Aidan nodded and went up the stairs. Lizzie sat down on the sofa. "What do you know about my dad? Is he a mass murderer? Serial killer? A pharmacist?"
"Um, I'm not sure. I think he's unemployed at the moment. Apparently he was living in my house for the past two years." Lizzie sat up. "What?"
"Yeah, I know right? I just found out a few minutes ago. Lizzie, how come you didn't know? Aidan knew."
She crossed her arms. "You can just call me Liz. Aidan doesn't tell me anything anymore. Before Dad left, we always shared our secrets with each other. But when he left, Aidan kind of drifted away. He became more independent. All he would do was shut himself in his room all day, and eat at night."
"Did you ask him why he acted like this?"
"At first I thought that it was Dad left and he missed him. When I asked him, he said it was because no one could...relate to him. He said he was waiting for you."
I took the last sip of water. "Creepy. And he waited two years? An awfully long time to live alone with no money."
"Dad left us some money and a credit card linked to his bank account. We had just enough money to last three years."
"I could lend you some money. I have a lot to give." I offered.
"Well, actually, Aidan was thinking that when you come, we could come with you guys."
"That's Max's decision, Liz."
Aidan came back downstairs with a file in his hand. "If Max says it's okay that we can come with you guys, it's okay with me. Here are the pictures of Itex and a couple of letters I found in his office."
I took the folder from him and opened it. There were numerous pictures of Itex logos and copies of letters, all signed by Dr. Ekmey.
"Is it okay if I could bring these back with me? I want to look some stuff up about it."
"Sure. You want to stay here over night? I have a spare bedroom."
"No, it's okay. I promised I would be back as soon as I got what I wanted."
Aidan took a piece of paper out and wrote his email address and phone number on it and handed it to me. "We'll keep in touch." He explained. I smiled and nodded.
I pulled my army jacket back on and opened the door. "Oh, I forgot to ask, what happened to the clones your dad made of you guys?"
"I don't know. Last I heard of them, my dad locked them into the other hospital located in Las Vegas, Nevada. But I'm not one hundred percent sure if they're still there. They could have escaped. They have powers, remember."
I grinned at him. "I'll email you."
I then ran out on the lawn, giving a running start to impress Aidan, and after going up to the driveway I spread my 10 foot Oreo colored wings and soared into the air. Aidan and Liz and the white one story house soon became a small speck as I flew away.
Chapter 11
I hovered outside my small window. Um, okay. I thought. How exactly did I get out before?
I tucked my wings in and dove through the narrow window into the green bedroom. I ruffled my feathers and folded them up again.
Shrugging off my jacket, I went over to the desk and opened my laptop. I typed in the website Angel gave me into the search bar and started to read.
April 9, 2013
Hello, bloggers! I have not written for a week but I have a reason. I have recently returned to my office on 54 Jaspin Street, Arizona to look for a few things I have left there. Some things like some old slippers I had forgotten about, pictures, extra pens, work papers and so on.
But, my fellow bloggers, I am still at large! I am planning to visit my son, Aidan, in a month. I hadn't seen him for two years since we had that fight. I hope he still doesn't have that horrible bed head of his. I must persuade him to use gel, like myself. But anyway, I'm getting off topic. I am planning to do that "fatherly stuff" with Aidan that my colleagues have been telling me about that I've been missing out on.
I might as well try it out, although I suggest discipline and punishment for children.
But I am very excited about this arrangement. I've already started packing. That girl living above me, Aeva Gray, she is very annoying, with her loud blasts of music when I'm trying to sleep. I stole some boxes of Mozzarella sticks from her a few days ago. She eats too much, I did her a favor. Oh, how I now feel about having a boy. Girls are so loud, arrogant, and just plain girly. This shall end my blog.
Farewell, bloggers!
-Howard Ekmey
I read the extended comment below Dr. Ekmey's blog.
Previous blogs have been blocked, leaving the last in memory of Howard John Ekmey. The tragic accident happened on the night of the 20 of April. He was driving to Arizona to visit his child when he was in an accident involving a devastating loss of one of the best doctors of the world.
I closed the tab and logged onto my Gmail account and put in Aidan's email address. I began to type.
Hi Rowan, it's Aeva.
You said your dad is alive? Angel showed me his blog. There was a comment, blocking all the past blogs except the most recent one, posted on April 9,2013, almost a month ago. Please explain. Email me back.
-Aeva Gray
"Are you kidding me?" I muttered. "That frickin weirdo was taking my food?"
Chapter 12
"So how did it go?" Max asked, chewing a pancake the next morning.
"It was...okay." I replied. "I found out some new information. It's quite disturbing, actually."
"What is it?" Angel asked. She grabbed her glass of orange juice from the table and took a sip.
"I asked Aidan where his dad was and he said Dr. Ekmey had been living in my house for two years."
"Two years?"
I nodded, scowling. "It's really unbelievable. I didn't even know that until he told me."
"Is he still there now?"
"Yeah, he should be. I think he was living in a secret room under my house. His blog talked about being in some sort of basement, I think."
"But the blog said he died in a car accident." Angel argued.
"I thought that was true too. But after speaking to Aidan and reading that extra comment below his blog, I'm starting to put the puzzle pieces together.
"I think that it was true that Dr. Ekmey has been living in my house for two years. He's been blogging since he first started living there. After realizing that he was giving a little too much detail to the Internet world, he must have decided to post a notice on his blog with a different user account to say that he died, an excuse for not writing his blog anymore."
"You seem to have given it a lot of thought, Aeva." Dylan said, scowling and looking suspiciously at me.
"Hey, look dumb brain." I said, snapping my fingers irritably in front of his face. "Get some facts into your system. Let me repeat this again. I did research on it whenever I'm available. GET THAT IN YOUR PEA SIZED BRAIN THAT I'M ON YOUR SIDE. I'M NOT A TRAITOR!"I was literally yelling at him now.
"What's going on?" Dr. Martinez rushed down the stairs.
"THIS BLOODY IDIOT THINKS I'M A TRAITOR!"
"YOU CERTAINLY SOUND LIKE ONE!"
"Look, I'm sure this is just a misunderstanding-" Dr. Martinez started, but we interrupted again.
"YOU HAVE BEEN LYING ABOUT YOUR VISIONS! YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN ON THEIR SIDE, PASSING INSIDE INFORMATION TO THEM!" Dylan roared.
"YOU BLOODY IDIOT! EVER HEAR OF THE INTERNET? STOP LIVING IN THE PAST! WHERE'S YOUR FRICKIN PROVE?"
"Guys! Break it up!" Max shouted.
"YOU SEEM TO BE LABORING UNDER THE THOUGHT THAT WE TRUST YOU!"
"WE? WE?" I screamed at him. "YOU BLOODY IDIOT YOU'RE NOT PART OF THE FRICKIN FLOCK! YOU DON'T BELONG HERE!"
"WELL NEITHER DO YOU! WE WERE BETTER WITHOUT YOU COMING INTO OUR LIVES!"
Nudge curled up in a ball and made a sort of whimpering noise.
"SHUT THIS BLOODY TALK ABOUT YOU BEING WITH THE FLOCK! I KNOW I'M NOT APART OF THE FLOCK, YOU IDIOT!
THAT'S OBVIOUS! BUT WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO REALIZE THAT?"
"GUYS!"
Me and Dylan turned around and yelled at the same time. "WHAT?"
Max flinched. "Stop yelling! Look, I agree that Dylan isn't apart of the flock, and neither is Aeva. But at least Aeva," Max glared at Dylan. "Admitted it herself."
"If you don't want me here, then I'll leave." Dylan stared angrily at me. I returned his glare.
"Then go already!" I hissed.
"Whatever." Dylan swung his backpack on his shoulder and slammed the door behind him.
"Wow." Fang said. "I wish I did that a long time ago."
"Yeah, but you decided to leave yourself." I growled. Fang stared coldly back at me.
"What are we gonna do now?" Nudge whispered.