The Next Chapter of
Angel
A Maximum Ride Novel
After hours of trying to receive thoughts from Max or even send thoughts to her, anything that could prove to her that the flock was ok, Angel was finally able to read someone's mind. But her happiness was short lived. She was indeed hearing someone's thoughts, which was a good sign, they just weren't Max's.
Wait a second, thought Angel, If that isn't Max's voice, then whose is it? She struggled to open her eyes to see if there was anyone else there. Finally, she was able to open her eyes a little bit and sure enough, there were two whitecoats talking to each other in the corner of the room. The voice must belong to one of them, thought Angel.
She was just about to close her eyes again when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. It was a big, red button. I bet, Angel thought, If someone pushed that button, whatever's trapping me here would shut down and I'd be able to escape. Angel focused all of her energy toward the whitecoat on the left, closest to the button. She got inside his mind and forced him to press the button.
About thirty seconds after the whitecoat pressed the button, Angel could finally move her body again. Both whitecoats looked extremely confused and just stood there, frozen in shock. Unfortunately they snapped out of it before Angel could make her escape. They ran toward her as fast as they could. Luckily, Angel was faster. She leaped past a table and kicked both of them in the head, knocking them out.
Angel searched the room for a door, but could only find a window. I guess that'll work, she thought. Taking a running start, she stretched out her wings and smashed through the window. Now all she has to do is find Max and the rest of the flock. They probably went back to Arizona to look for Ella, Dr. Martinez, and Jeb, thought Angel, I'll go there first.
Hours later, Angel was flying above the deserts of Arizona. She looked down and saw a crowd of people. Her curiosity got the best of her and she flew down to check it out. The crowd turned out to be former members of the Doomsday Group. Angel was struggling to make her way through the crowd of people, when she saw something that made her do a double take. It was Ella, Max's half sister. Angel ran over to Ella, glad to finally see someone she knew, and gave her a big hug.
"Angel!" exclaimed Ella, "Where's Max?
"I don't know," said Angel. "We got separated back in France. I haven't seen her, or the rest of the flock, since we were trying to stop the Doomsday Group from blowing up most of Europe. I thought they'd be here, looking for you."
"Well can't you try asking her where she is, you know, with your mind?" asked Ella.
"I'll try," said Angel.
Max, Angel thought, Max, are you there? She waited. No response. Please answer me, Max.
Angel, thought Max, Angel is that you?
Yeah Max, It's me Angel. After the Doomsday rally I was trapped by some whitecoats. I don't know what they wanted me for, but I was able to escape. I'm back in the desert in Arizona with Ella.
Stay there Angel, thought Max, We'll be there in about ten minutes.
"They're on their way," said Angel as she turned to face Ella.
Ten minutes seemed like ten years to Angel as she waited for the flock to get there. She was pacing back and forth, glancing up at the sky every now and then, looking for five bird-kids among the clouds. Then, just as Angel thought she might explode from the suspense, she saw the flock swoop down out of the sky and land about fifteen yards away from where she was standing.
Angel and Ella ran over to Max as fast as they could and threw their arms around her, knocking her off balance. Soon the rest of the flock joined the group hug. No one made a sound for about five minutes. They just stood there hugging. Nudge and Gazzy were crying. Even Max, who almost never cries, had tears forming in her eyes. Finally, Max broke the silence.
"Angel," said Max," I can't believe you're really here. We thought you were gone forever, that you died in the explosion."
"I have a lot to tell you," said Angel.
"Not now," said Max, "I'm not ready to hear it yet."