Maximum Ride by James Patterson
I sat in the back of my cage, my black hair fluttering around my pale face. My red eyes were bloodshot, though you couldn't really tell because of their color, and tired from staying awake so long. Quite honestly, I'm afraid to sleep and wake up to the whitecoats having done a new experiment on me. I flexed my pale red wings a little again; they felt stiff from being kept tucked at my back for so long. I carefully smoothed my red t-shirt and black jeans. My black tail swished along the floor. I unsheathed my wolf-like claws and then sheathed them again. My claws were kept dull by the whitecoats, they learned after a while that if they didn't keep them dull then… Well you get the point. My black wolf-like ears twitched as I listened to people talking outside the room. "Wolf-bird girl- Wings- Red eyes- Ears-" I heard only bits and pieces of the conversation and I rolled my eyes, ugh.
I can still remember the day I became like this, the scientists had been trying to create a new kind of eraser, a type that could fly, so they mixed the wolf DNA with that of a cardinal, I'm really glad they had slipped up and it didn't work out like they had planned. Being an eraser would have been horrid. Besides, they don't need me anymore; they had plenty of flying erasers who can actually transform into an eraser. I sighed and started to trace out a drawing of a cardinal with my finger on the floor of my cage.
The door clattered open, "Hello Addie, ready for tomorrows experiment?" One of the scientists said mockingly. I turned away from the scientist, grumbling to myself. "Leave me alone." I growled back, my red eyes flashing as I turned back around. "Well, well, you'd better prepare yourself by tomorrow." The scientist said, shaking with laughter as they turned away. "Pleasant dreams." The scientist said, and with that they walked out, turned off the light, and locked the door, leaving me alone in the dark. I'm kept separate from all the other experiments in a small room in a far off hallway so it's pitch black and cold in here all the time. I sighed and curled up on the cold metal floor, deciding that if they experimented on me in the night that it was ok. I couldn't stay awake for the rest of my whole life. ~~~
In the middle of the night I was woken by a loud crash. "Max! It's Max! And the flock! Catch her! Catch them all! They're going to get the experiments! Go guard them, all of them!" My hopes soared. "Will someone come help me get out?" I wondered. Almost at once, the doorknob twisted and a boy about my age rushed into the room. His strawberry blonde hair looked dark in the dim light. His blue eyes didn't move as if he wasn't looking around the room. "Who are you?" I demanded, slightly frightened to be completely honest. The boy seemed startled for a moment. "Ha-ha...Sorry. My name is Iggy." Iggy said, walking toward me. "I have the key to the cage; you'll have to unlock it from the inside, ok? Iggy said, handing me a small silver key. I blinked. "Okay, thanks. My name is Addie by the way." I said; shocked by his sudden entry I took the key and unlocked the door. I pushed the door open, carefully to avoid hitting him with it. I looked at his eyes, they looked cloudy almost. Then I realized why, he was blind. "Ah... It's great to stretch my wings outside of that stupid cage. "I said, stretching out my blood red wings and my black fluffy tail.
"So you have wings too? Do you have any other animal DNA but bird DNA?" Iggy asked, stretching out his tan wings which had been hidden behind him. I paused, I knew that anyone who had escaped from here had probably been attacked by erasers and had a hate of them, and I decided she would fib a bit until he trusted me more before I told him the truth about my wolf DNA. "Yeah I have wings... I have bird DNA and some sort of dog's." I said, stammering. Iggy turned toward the door and motioned for me to follow him. "Come on, we have to meet up with Max and the others so we can get out of here! We heard there was another bird kid, so we came to get you!" I was surprised; nobody had ever cared about me before. I nodded and followed Iggy.
In the hallway a group of kids was already hurtling toward the back exit. "Come on Iggy! Hurry!" A blonde haired girl about my age called. "Okay Max!" Iggy said, trying to run faster. I started to run faster too, trying to my best to keep up. "I need backup in hallway B7! The flock has Experiment A55-875!" A scientist running behind the group called into a walkie-talkie. The group in front of Iggy and I plunged through the back door and flew into the sky, Iggy and I close behind them. When we reached the door, I was nervous for a moment, I'm not very good at flying quite yet. I took a deep breath and jumped into the air, unfurling my wings a bit too quick. I felt a sudden updraft that threw me up about ten feet into the air. I felt like throwing up or something and I struggled to steady myself so I wouldn't tip over and fall. Finally, after fighting with the air for a moment I managed to steady myself. The girl that Iggy had called Max looked back at me, "Glad that's over with!" Max said, smiling at me. I smiled back. ~~~
After a few minutes of flight, we all landed on a small island covered in trees. In a small clearing, I sat down on a fallen log, leaning back and sighing with relief. Max walked up to me. "Well, I suppose I should introduce you to the rest of the flock." Max said, smiling. "This is the Gasman, also known as Gazzy." Max said, pointing to a young blonde boy with blue eyes. Gazzy smiled and waved to me, I smiled back. "This is Fang." Max said, pointing to a boy about my age with black hair and dark eyes. He waved coolly and smiled slightly, I smiled back. "This is Nudge." Max said, pointing to a young African American girl with dark hair and dark eyes. Nudge smiled shyly at me, I smiled back yet again. "This is Angel." Max said, pointing to a young blonde girl with blue eyes. Angel looked away shyly but I smiled at her. "I'm Max, and this of course, is Iggy." Max said, looking at Iggy. I looked around at them all shyly; I'm not really used to be around this many people who weren't total psychos and it was a bit unnerving. "I'm Addie, thanks for coming to save me from that place." I said nervously.
The entire group unfolded their wings. Gazzy had tan wings, Fang had black wings, Nudge had brown wings, Max had off white wings with brown stripes and tan specks, Angel had white angelic wings, and Iggy had light tan wings. I stretched out my red wings, my black tail lashing with nervousness as I looked at them all, they were like a family. Max stopped for a moment as she looked at my tail and ears. "She's part dog too Max-" Iggy started to say. "She's not part dog. She's part wolf…" Max said her voice and face looking confused. I shrank back, my ears folded against my head and my tail lying in my lap where my hands fearfully combed though the black fluff with my claws. "Addie, why did you lie to me?" Iggy asked, frowning sadly.
I froze, "I… Honestly I was afraid you would think I was evil or something and leave me in that horrible place…I'm sorry…" I said, trying to swallow the lump that had formed in my throat. Max's face softened, "We would never have left you there. Not ever, you don't have to worry about that. We know what it's like there." Max said her voice calm and soothing. "Okay Max…Thank you." I said, nodding. "Now, I can officially welcome you to our flock." Max said, smiling. Gazzy, Angel, and Nudge let out a cry of delight. Max and Iggy smiled brightly at me. Fang just stared ahead, looking calm. I smiled and high-fived Angel and Gazzy who had been running around the clearing. "We'd better get flying, everyone ready?" Max asked, taking off into the sky. Fang, Angel, Nudge, and Gazzy took off after Max. "Let's go Addie." Iggy said smiling; he grabbed my hand and took off. I blushed as I looked at Iggy. "Why is he holding my hand…?" I wondered. I decided not to try to read into it so I wouldn't freak myself out. ~~~
As we kept flying, the sun began to dip down below the horizon. Angel, Gazzy, and Nudge seemed to be getting quite tired by this time. I looked at the ocean shining below me, I realized this was the first time I had ever seen the ocean. "It's so pretty…" I thought to myself. Suddenly pair of large figure appeared on the horizon. I took a deep breath through my nose, "Max! There's some erasers coming this way, there's at least two by the smell of them." I said, flying up next to Max. Iggy flew up beside me, "Are you sure?" Iggy asked. I nodded, "I'm positive." I said confidently. Fang, who had been flying next to Max, looked back at Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel who seemed tired. "They're too tired to try and fight. It looks like it'll be up to us four." Max turned to face Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel, "You three, go down to that island below and stay put unless we say differently." Max ordered. They started to protest but then sighed and flew down to the island. By now the erasers were quite close. "Max, give me back the girl." One of the erasers said, their red eyes glaring angrily and their face contorted into a snarl. "Not a chance." Max said coldly. With that, the eraser lunged toward Max, slashing at her wings.
My blood ran cold; I had never had to fight erasers before. I took a deep breath to try and calm down. The other eraser was now flying up to Fang, Max, Iggy and I. "This is your last chance to give us back the girl without a fight; she's too weak to be of any use to you anyway." The eraser said, grinning. "No way, we won't let you take her back to that horrible place." Iggy spat back. The eraser let out an earsplitting laugh and grinned. "Laugh at me one more time and you'll really get it dog boy." I growled, my eyes flashing with anger. This just made the eraser laugh even harder. I let out a vicious growl and flew straight at the eraser, my claws extended as much as they could be. I felt a surge of pride as my claws dug into the eraser's skin and tore away a chunk of it. The eraser seemed surprised by my attack and backed away. "I dare you to laugh at me again!" I growled. Iggy flew up beside me and gave me a surprised look, "You're pretty good at fighting having never done it before." Iggy said a slight smirk on his face. Iggy turned back to the eraser. The eraser's face had turned into a vicious scowl, their claws were extended now. "No more playing around!" The eraser growled and lunged at Iggy and I. Iggy and I tried to dodge them but they were too quick and grabbed my wing with one hand. I growled and slashed my claws at the eraser but each time the eraser simply swatted my hands away. Iggy lunged toward the eraser, his fists striking the eraser's head with power.
The eraser grabbed Iggy with its other hand and dug its claws into his shoulder before hurling him toward the water, Iggy managed to stop himself before he hit the water and began to fly back toward us, he looked furious. I growled again in anger and bit down hard on the eraser's hand with fang-like teeth. The eraser winced but drew back their other hand and landed and hard punch on my face. I saw stars and blood streamed from my mouth. "Iggy, help…" I said, my voice muffled by blood. Good lord I suck at fighting, I need to work on that. Iggy dashed forward to help but the eraser was quicker and sliced down my wing with its other hand then sliced across the side of my stomach. Red feathers fluttered down along with drops of blood as I tried not to scream in agony. "These erasers are too tough…" I thought, paralyzed with pain. The eraser smiled coldly and let go of me wing, watching me plummet toward the dark ocean water. Horror seized my wings and I flapped them pathetically but it didn't help. Iggy immediately flew down as fast as he could. Iggy finally was able to catch me before I hit the surface of the glassy water. "Thanks Iggy…" I said quietly. Iggy smiled, "No problem Addie." Iggy said kindly. I smiled and turned back toward the eraser.
Max and Fang looked at them from above but they turned back just as the eraser they were fighting flew at Max. "Can you fly?" Iggy asked, I nodded and Iggy let go of me. I flew back at the eraser. "Still not giving up?" The eraser asked, mockingly. "No way, I'll never surrender to you." I growled. "Well, your brother didn't seem to have any issues with dying at the hands of an eraser!" The eraser said his voice spiteful. My heart sank, "No…No… Why him…? Why him…?" I thought, sorrow washing over me like a tidal wave. My brother had been with me ever since I was born at the School; he had disappeared over 5 years ago. I had hoped he had escaped but I guess I was wrong. I was still distracted as the eraser grabbed me around my arms and wings and began to fly away. "Addie! No!" Iggy cried out, racing after the eraser. I struggled to free myself but my arms and wings were held tightly by the eraser's strong hands. "I'm so pathetic! I'll never make it with all these erasers chasing after us if I keep needing to be rescued!" I thought, frustrated and angry. I started to thrash around, kicking my legs into the eraser but the eraser held me tightly in its grip. I felt a flash of horrible anger roar through me. "Let me go you sorry heap of fur!" I screamed, anger giving me a burst of strength. The eraser shot a look of fury at me and they dug their claws deep into my arms. I winced in pain and continued struggling to free myself. Iggy was gaining on us by now. "I didn't want to resort to this but I will." Iggy said, pulling a small black box from his pocket. Iggy tossed the box at the eraser. While the eraser was distracted by the box, I quickly freed myself and began to soar away, flying as fast as I could. As soon as Iggy and I were far enough away from the eraser, Iggy pressed a button and a loud explosion sounded behind them. I spun around; I saw only a cloud of smoke and saw a large figure fall into the water. "How did you do that Iggy!" I asked, astonished. "I'm good with explosives." Iggy said, "We'd better get back over to where the others are so they don't freak out." Iggy added. I felt dizzy and I held my arm where the eraser had dug its claws into it. I swayed a bit and winced in pain, "Are you ok Addie?" Iggy asked, frowning. I steadied myself and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine Iggy." I said, wiping blood off my mouth. ~~~
After a few minutes of flying, Iggy and I had found Fang and Max again. "You both ok?" I asked. Max looked scratched up pretty bad and long gashes had been torn across her face. Fang was holding his arm with his other hand and blood oozed out between his fingers. Fang's wing was tattered and it seemed hard to keep in the air. "Well, it could be worse." Max said, wiping some blood off her cheek. Max and Fang began to fly off toward the island where Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel were. Iggy and I were close behind them. ~~~
As the four of us landed, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel immediately ran over. "Are you all ok?" Angel asked; her small face looked worried. Max nodded, "We're okay, just some scratches." Max said, forcing a small smile. "That's good." Angel said, her face softening. "Let's stay here for the night." Fang said, looking around the island. The island had a bunch of trees and tropical plants on it, the air felt hot and muggy. My mouth felt dry as a bone, but I was used to that after spending all that time in the School. I glanced around, hoping for some fresh water somewhere, when I noticed some coconuts hanging in a tree above my head. I paced over to the tree, my sneakers sinking in the soft sand. I dug my claws into the tree's slippery bark and began to slowly drag myself to the top.
I paused for a moment and glanced down about five feet where everyone was looking at me like I had three heads. That look was nothing new for me; I'd seen that look all my life so I ignored it. I finally managed to drag myself to the top and grabbed one coconut with a clawed hand. I yanked it off and tossed it down to Fang who at once realized what I was doing. "Good idea Addie, but how are we going to cut into them without a knife or something?" Fang asked. I looked down at him, "I can handle that silly." I said, holding up one clawed hand. I grabbed another of the coconuts and tossed it down to Iggy, who, being blind, didn't catch it and it hit him in the head. Gazzy began to laugh loudly, falling down in the warm sand, Angel and Nudge close behind him. I blushed with embarrassment, held back a laugh, and called down, "Sorry Iggy! I keep forgetting! My bad!" Iggy and Fang were snickering a bit while Angel, Gazzy, Nudge and Max laughed like there was no tomorrow. I got stopped tossing the coconuts down after that and just pushed them off the tree and let the last five of them fall onto the sand where Gazzy and Angel gathered them up into a pile. I began to climb down, my claws sliding along the sleek bark and leaving long scratches. When I was about five feet off the ground my foot hit a small bump on the tree and I tumbled off, landed on my stomach. Because of the fresh wound on my stomach I winced and almost cried out in pain. Instead I held my breath and blew air out of my mouth in a small hiss. Feeling comical, I decided to stay lying down on my face for just a bit, to see how everyone would react. "Addie?" Max asked, still giggling a bit after incident with me hitting Iggy in the head with a coconut. "Addie?" Nudge asked, stepping toward me and kneeling down. "Rawr!" I said, springing up, my mouth open to reveal sharp wolf teeth and my fingers curled half-way into fists to show off my claws. Nudge jumped back in surprise, letting out a small shriek. I started laughing and sat down in the warm sand. Nudge didn't seem amused but Gazzy and Angel were laughing hysterically. "Sorry Nudge, I couldn't resist!" I said, picking up a coconut in one hand and split it open with the other. I handed the coconut to Nudge who began to drink the coconut juice inside. I split open the other six coconuts and handed them out to everyone. I sipped the juice and felt the refreshing creamy taste cover my tongue. "Ahh… This is the most fun I've had since… Yup. It's official. This is the most fun I've had in my whole life." I said, giggling. ~~~
The moon hung above my head. Angel yawned, "Max… I'm tired…" Angel said tiredly. Max smiled, "You can go ahead and sleep Angel." Max said. Angel smiled and lay down, resting her head on her arms. "Wait a sec guys, aren't we all forgetting something?" Max said; putting her fist next to the fire Fang had made earlier. Angel sat up and put her fist on top of Max's. Fang, Iggy, Nudge, and the Gasman did the same. Max looked at Addie, "Come on Addie, you too!" Max said, smiling. I felt a rush of happiness. I put her fist on top of Gazzy's. Max, Fang, Iggy, Angel, and Gazzy began to tap each other's hands so I did too. Max, Fang, Iggy, Angel and Gazzy then lay down and rested their heads on their arms. I sighed quietly; it was hard to believe that just last night I had been in the School in a cage. This was the best thing that had ever happened to me.
I looked up at the moon; it was full and looked beautiful as it shone brightly. The stars shone brightly around the moon like a picture frame. I smiled and leaned back a bit, and then I lay down and rested my head on the soft sand. I curled up into a C like shape, I'm always more comfortable like that for some reason. I lay awake for a few minutes trying to fall asleep. I sat up quietly and walked down to the beach, my black sneakers sinking in the cold sand a bit. I looked into the sky, the warm humid air blowing wisps of black hair into my face. I jumped straight into the air, no running start. I flapped my wings, trying to put as much power into my down stroke as I could. I heard wing beats behind me. "Going for a late night fly? I can't fall asleep either, I'll come too." Iggy said, flying up beside me. I smiled, "Okay Iggy." I said happily. My hair shimmered as the full moon's light caught it as I flew out of the cover of the trees. "It's so peaceful here; I don't know how I could stand it at the School. I guess I was just used to it…" I said quietly. Iggy smiled, "Yeah, its nice here." Iggy said. My face flushed and I looked away quickly. I quickly realized it didn't matter anyway and I turned my head back to face him. "Hey Addie, I know this is sort of a silly question but, what do you look like?" Iggy asked sheepishly. "Ah, that's true. You don't know; I keep forgetting that… Well, I have black hair, red eyes, black wings, black wolfish ears, and a black wolfish tail." I said, glancing at the gash on my arm which was stinging from the wind. I held my hand over the gash to try and keep the wind off of it. I felt a strange cold sensation on the gash, I moved my hand. The gash was completely gone, no scar or anything. My eyes widened. "Hey Iggy, do any of the others have weird… Powers or anything?" I asked quickly. "Yeah, they do. Angel can read minds and control people, Max can fly extremely fast, Fang can become invisible for little bits of time, and Nudge is a hacking pro as well as being able to draw metal to herself." Iggy snickered as he continued to speak, "And the Gasman can fart at will, hence his name." I nodded, then quickly remembered and said, "Okay, I was just wondering." Iggy turned his head toward me, "Why? Do you have a power or something?" Iggy asked. I paused, "I don't know. Maybe. I had a gash on my arm when the eraser had dug its claws into it and then a second ago it was hurting so I put my hand over it. Then in a few seconds, poof. It was gone just like that." I said, still confused myself. "Hm, that is weird. Maybe that's one of your powers?" Iggy suggested. I paused to think, "Well if it is, then would it work on your eyes?" I wondered aloud. Iggy was quiet for a moment, "I doubt it, but maybe." He said; some hope lingering in his voice. I smiled slightly, "Well come on, let's head back and see if it works." ~~~
Iggy and I landed on the beach. I sat down on the sand and Iggy sat down next to me. "Well, here goes nothing I guess." I said, smiling hopefully. Iggy closed his eyes and I put my hand over them. "Dang Addie! Did you put your hands in ice water or something? They're freezing!" Iggy exclaimed. I felt a surge of hope when he said that. I moved my hand and Iggy opened his eyes. Iggy blinked for a second, seeming disbelieving. "Holy, ******* ****." Iggy said, looking around. I smirked, "Iggy, are you pulling my leg? If you are it's not funny." I said dryly. "No, no, I'm serious." Iggy said, sincerity covering his words. My eyes widened. Iggy looked at me and smiled. "You know Addie, you really are pretty." Iggy said sweetly. My face flushed, the thought that I was pretty had never crossed my mind. I leaned over and kissed Iggy, just like that. My face flushed and I looked away quickly, embarrassed. "What the heck are you thinking Addie?" I thought to myself, horrified. Iggy looked at me and smiled sweetly. ~~~
The sun glittered overhead; Iggy and I had decided not to wake everyone up last night and just told them Iggy's sudden vision change this morning. "Huh, cool." Fang said in the detached way of his when we told him about it. "Well, it's certainly a stroke of luck since we seem to be lacking a bit of luck lately, besides finding you Addie, and this." Max said brightly. "It's really cool! We'll be totally unstoppable now!" Gazzy said excitedly, doing a quick fist pump. "Totally! This is so awesome!" Nudge said, grinning. Angel was quiet, she just smiled. "Let's get going everybody, next stop is the great city of L.A!" Max said happily. ~~~
I felt totally exhausted. It was dark now and despite the few stops for food and a drink I felt famished and my mouth was dry as a bone. I yawned as quietly as humanly possible and tried to imagine I was on a beautiful beach with blue waters lapping at the shore, enjoying a cheeseburger and a fancy little fruity drink and soaking up the rays with the entire flock, including Iggy. Completely normal, no wings, no erasers, and no whitecoats in sight. Yes… Ha-ha! That'll be the day when you see us on a beach without having to look around to make sure there aren't erasers coming to try and kill us. Even so, I decided to entertain this little daydream for a while, it was quite fun to imagine anyways. I was slapped back to reality when Iggy slowed down and pulled in next to me. I felt my face flush again, I am never going to live that down I swear. "Hey Addie, I've been wondering about something. What percentage human are you?" Iggy asked, seeming completely comfortable and calm. I paused, "Well, I'm two percent cardinal, two percent wolf, and I occasionally heard some of the scientists talking about some other one percent of some kind of animal, they never said what it was though. So I guess I'm only ninety five percent human. " I said, trying to seem calm but inside I was freaking out. Iggy paused, "Huh. The rest of us are only two percent bird and ninety-eight percent human. I wonder what difference it makes." Iggy wondered aloud. I puzzled over this for a moment before saying, "I dunno." Iggy nodded, still seeming to be wondering about it. "I wonder if it gives you more powers, more animal instinct or something." Iggy suggested. I shrugged, "Maybe, I wouldn't hold my breath though." I said coolly. "By the way, did you know that you talk in your sleep?" Iggy asked a slight grin on his face. I felt my face go red hot. "What did I say?" I asked, wondering if I really wanted to know. Iggy paused as if trying to freak me out even more, and then he just burst out laughing. "Something about wanting a Twix bar and a Coca-Cola." He said, grinning as he realized how badly he had freaked me out. "Good lord, even when I'm sleeping I think about food." I said rolling my eyes.
Out of the blue I felt a cold chill and my arms covered with goose bumps. A tall figure burst out of the cloud cover below us. Her icy blue eyes looked frightened and her pale orangey wings flapped chaotically. Her fiery red hair covered part of her face and blood dribbled down the other side. The flock stopped quickly, all eyes locked on the girl. "Help, the school is trying to catch me..." The girl gasped, seeming out of breath. She looked a bit younger than me and about the same height. "Where are they, how far behind?" Max asked sternly. "They'll be up here soon, there's too many of them… The erasers…" The girl said, seeming to have caught her breath a bit. Sure enough, right after she said that about five erasers swooped out of the clouds, roaring with furry. I looked at Iggy and he nodded. We both swooped forward and launched an attack at one of the erasers. Iggy swung a punch, trying to pack as much power into it as possible. It connected with the eraser's face and they roared in pain and pulled away. I dashed toward them and my foot connected with their neck, I heard a sickening snap and they dropped like a rock. I looked over to where Max and Fang were fighting off the largest eraser, probably the leader. Gazzy and Angel tag teamed one of the smaller erasers and were holding their own. Nudge and the red haired girl were also tag teaming one, and doing quite well by the look of it.
My eyes widened with horror and I looked around frantically. Where was the last eraser? A fist connected with my wing and it folded in. I dropped about five feet before unfurling it again and surging back up. I let out a small howl of rage, literally a howl. Oops, there goes the wolf DNA. I unsheathed my claws and soared over to where Iggy was already beating the stuffing out of the eraser. The eraser drew back and fist with surprising speed and hurled it at Iggy's face. It struck his cheek and he flinched as blood streamed from his mouth. At this point I saw red and went totally berserk, good lord… I'm such a spazz. I launched myself at them and tore my claws down the eraser's face, feeling quite happy as I saw scarlet streams of blood flow onto their fur. Iggy drew back his foot and with a well aimed kick to the chest the eraser was dropping like a one hundred pound weight. I drew in a deep ragged breath and sheathed my claws. Blood covered my hands and I quickly wiped it off on my shirt. My shirt was already blood colored so it didn't matter much. I looked around, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Okay, that's good, everyone, including the red haired girl, was accounted for and safe. I flew over to where everyone was gathering, Iggy close behind me. "Well, that was sudden. Hello!" Max said cheerfully to the red haired girl. The girl smiled at Max, "Thank you all so much, if it weren't for you I hate to think what would've happened. My name is Gail by the way." Gail said, sweetly. Everyone introduced themselves to Gail. "My name is Iggy, nice to meet you." Iggy said politely, ending the introductions. Gail looked at Iggy and smiled, her face flushing. A furious bit of anger rushed through my veins. I resisted the urge to growl like a little wolf monster and unsheathe my claws, it was tempting though. I swallowed hard, she was probably just nervous being around people like her, which was why. I felt a bit better and was actually kinda mad at myself for being so quick to jump to conclusions and be a major jerk. I felt like a total retard at that point and forced myself to give a polite little smile to Gail. Gail smiled back, looking totally chill and polite. God I felt like an even bigger retard now, she was so nice! "Gail, would you like to join us? There's not exactly a huge bird-kid population so it may be a good idea." Max asked, looking at Gail. Gail grinned and nodded vigorously. "Thank you Max! I would absolutely love to!" Gail said excitedly. Good lord! This girl was almost sickly sweet! ~~~
We had been flying for almost an hour now; we were only about one hundred miles from L.A. "How about we stop here? There are some unused houses down here that might have some food and supplies." Max said, pointing down. Everyone nodded tiredly. I swooped down quickly, everyone else landing after me. I paced over to the door quietly. I rang the doorbell. Nobody answered and there were no lights on, no sound coming from inside either. I lazily pulled a bobby pin from my pocket, this lock was cheap. It should open pretty easy. I shoved the pin into the lock and wriggled it around a bit. The lock clicked open and I pushed the door open. "Easy as taking candy from a baby." I muttered, walking inside. My night vision let me see pretty well. It seemed to be two floors, a main one and the upstairs. Down one hallway were the kitchen and a living room. Connected to the kitchen was a big dining room. Upstairs all the doors were open so I peered inside. There was a bathroom, three bedrooms, a master bed room, a master bath connected to the master bed room, and a game room with a TV. "Whoa! This is the nicest house we've even broken into!" Gazzy exclaimed, seeming happy. Iggy started to walk up the stairs, "I'll go try and figure out where everyone should sleep." He said, surveying what he could see from the stairs. Gail's eyes lit up, "I'll come too Iggy!" She said, bounding up the stairs after him like a little red furred kitten running after a mouse. Pitiful. Even so, I felt a twinge of annoyance. I took a small deep breath and saw a plain black backpack sitting on the floor. I grabbed it and unzipped it, It was empty except for a really nice laptop and a plain black jacket, plus the bag was really roomy and it would be good for travel. I slung it over my shoulder and headed for the kitchen. "I'll see what food there is." I said calmly. I walked over to the pantry and opened the door. There were canned foods filling about half of a shelf. It felt like we ate canned foods like they were going out of style so I grabbed them and stuffed them into the backpack. I also saw a box of Oreos sitting on the top shelf. My mouth watered and I shoved them into the backpack hastily before bopping over to where I saw a knife in a knife holder. I pulled out the black jacket from the backpack and cut two clean slits in the back, big enough for my wings. I slipped the knife back into the holder and slipped the jacket on, it fit perfectly. Max, Fang, Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel were exploring the house, looking for supplies to take with us. I set the backpack by the door and headed upstairs. I heard Iggy and Gail talking so I headed toward where they were, hoping I could be of some help. I reached for the doorknob to open the door to the room but paused. "I really like you Iggy, you're just so nice. Not like anyone I've met before." Gail said. Iggy laughed quietly. "Well you're certainly not like anyone I've ever met!" Iggy said, he sounded cheery. I felt a knot in my stomach. So what? Why should I care what they say? I don't care. I opened the door. The two were sitting on small couch in front of a TV and a Wii. They were both leaning toward the other, kissing. I felt my mouth drop open, I couldn't help it! They both flew apart when they saw me, their faces red. I barely suppressed a shriek of outrage and annoyance. I opened my mouth a bit to speak but my entire mouth felt like a desert and I closed it again. Gail smiled cruelly at me, her eyes shinning with success and pride. I blinked for a moment to keep tears from forming in my eyes, turned around, grabbed the door handle, opened the door, and walked away. I felt hurt and betrayed. I slunk down the stairs depressed and grabbed the backpack on my way down. I saw that everyone's backpacks were lined up by the door. I stood up; my backpack was awfully heavy with all this food in it. I decided to evenly distribute the food among everyone's backpacks. I gave a tiny bit less to Angel and Gazzy; I didn't want them to struggle by having them carry too much. "I'm gonna go out for a bit, I'll be back." I called out, before grabbing my backpack off the floor and heading outside, I locked the door on my way out. I walked outside; it was cold but it didn't even register in my mind at the time. I started to run and then jumped as high as I could. I pushed my wings down, yanked them up, down, up, down, up. I landed clumsily nearby in a large oak tree. I sighed and leaned back against the branch. I glanced back at the house and felt my heart ache with betrayal and pain. I let out a loud growl and glanced at my hand which seemed numb. I felt a jolt of pain and noticed that fluffy black fur was covering my arms and my teeth had grown to weird eraserish size. I stifled a shriek of shock, grabbed my backpack, and jumped down from the tree. As soon as I hit the ground my knee's buckled and hit my head on the ground, hard. Everything seemed muddled and far away. ~~~
I blinked my eyes open and tried to scramble to my feet but I tumbled quickly forward and onto all fours. I realized quickly that I had completely transformed into a wolf, not an eraser but an actual black wolf. I grinned wolfishly, epic coolness achieved. I snatched up my backpack in my mouth and started ran toward the house. When I got into the front yard part of the top handle of the backpack started to break. I dropped it, I would get it later. I knew if everyone found a wolf on the front porch it would be chaos. The door was locked anyway so I couldn't get inside myself. I paced quickly over to the backdoor. Just as I got there I heard the front door open. I ran back to the side of the house where I heard Nudge's voice. "Max! I think something happened to Addie!" she sounded freaked out. I would have run around the front of the house but I knew if I did I would scare Nudge half to death. I peeked around the corner of the house, Nudge looked nervous. I tried to call out, "It's okay Nudge! I'm fine!" But all that came out was a freaky howl. Wonderful. Nudge's face went pale. I saw the others come out after hearing the freaky howl. "We'll all go look for her." Max said bravely. Before I could even think they all took off. Oh lord…I ran to the front of the house and I started to jump up to fly after them when I realized, my wings were gone. When I had transformed into a wolf my wings had disappeared. I tried to yell at them to come back but all that came out was another freakish howl. They all looked back and when they saw me they looked like they had just seen a ghost. I ran forward and grabbed the backpack in my mouth and sat down, looking at them expectantly. Iggy paused for a moment. Yay! Come on Iggy! "What are you doing?" Max asked, looking at him sharply. Iggy looked back at her, "Nothing Max." Iggy said and started flying again. Typical. I sighed and grabbed the backpack in my mouth. I dragged it onto the porch under the roof and set it down. I curled up on the ground with my head resting on top of it. I was officially miserable, I felt betrayed, hurt, it was freezing cold, and I was going to have to sleep outside. I shivered and pulled my paws closer. I finally slipped into sleep. ~~~
"Addie! Come on Addie, wake up!" I heard someone say, they hands were on my shoulders and they were shaking me gently. I blinked my eyes open, sunlight streamed into my face. "Huh…?" I said dazedly. I looked at Iggy who was looking at me concernedly. "Oh… Hi." I said stupidly. Iggy smiled weakly, "What happened last night?" Iggy asked. "Oh… That… I turned into a wolf and you guys went flying off." I said bluntly. Good lord, one bump on the head and one transformation into a wolf and I'm talking like a complete idiot. Iggy blinked and I sat up from where I was lying on the floor. Iggy shrugged and relaxed next to me as if I randomly turning into a wolf wasn't all that weird. He looked at me, "I'm sorry about last night, I have no clue what I was…" Iggy said, his voice trailing off. He looked at the ground and seemed a little gloomy. "It's okay, I forgive you…" I said, finally regaining composure. Iggy looked at me and smiled, "Thanks, it won't happen again. I don't like Gail like that…" Iggy said sweetly. Iggy leaned over and kissed me. My brain short-circuited momentarily and then Iggy pulled back. My face went red and I quickly looked around for everyone else, luckily nobody was around. He grabbed my hand and stood up, pulling me up too. "Want to go inside?" he asked. I felt like I was frozen solid, I nodded. We walked inside hand in hand. Everyone was clustered around the TV and relaxing. "Did she finally wake up?" Gazzy asked looking up from the TV. I glanced at Iggy, "How long was I out?" I asked curiously. Iggy paused to think, "Umm… An hour? Give or take maybe ten minutes? You wouldn't wake up but you were breathing and everything so…" Iggy said slowly. "Whoa…" I said, shocked. I blinked. "Well, I guess we should grab a bite to eat and then get going." Max said thoughtfully. Everyone reluctantly got up from the couch and walked over where the backpacks were lined up by the door. I saw mine was sitting beside them; the ripped part had been sewn up with pink thread. I picked it up and saw that a few little designs had been added in the same pink thread including a few cute hearts and my name in cursive letters. I glanced up; I didn't know any of them could sew. I saw Nudge smile bashfully and a smiled back. "I didn't know you could sew Nudge, you did a good job." I said, still looking over the backpack. "I thought it looked a little plain, I'm glad you like it." Nudge said, still seeming a bit bashful. ~~~
Everyone looked into their backpacks where I had put the food. "Whoa! These people are loaded with awesome food!" Gazzy said eagerly. "That's not all!" I said, pulling the Oreos out of my bag. I pulled them open and set them down on the table where every one was sitting. Everyone looked at them hungrily. "Okay, so someone doesn't eat so many Oreos that they puke, we can each have one Oreo per meal. They gotta last." Max said very leaderly. Max pulled the Oreo container open and everyone snatched up an Oreo. I pulled my Oreo apart and started licking the icing off, it tasted like HEAVEN. I don't say that lightly either, it was really, really, really, good. I tossed one of the two cookie halves into my mouth and then the other. When I had finished I wanted to grab the entire container of them and stuff my face, but of course I didn't. I sighed happily and leaned back in my chair, glancing at Iggy who was just finishing the last bit of his Oreo. I smiled goofily and made a funny face and he did too. We all laughed and soon everyone had started a contest of making the funniest face, even Gail. Gazzy eventually won with his face and the eraser impression that went along with it. Well, we all know that nice moments like that can't last right? I mean come on, that would just be too nice. I heard glass shattering behind me and I spun around. My eyes widened, it was my brother. He was sitting on the blood, shattered glass from the window covering him and the floor around him. "Aaron…" I gasped. His icy blue eyes were cloudy and the pupils were literally nonexistent. He was dressed all in black from his black jeans to his black jacket. His icy blue wings were stretched wide and covered in cuts from the glass. His skin was pale and covered in blood and cuts. His spiky black hair was messy and full of bits of glass. His black wolf ears were flattened back against his head and his black tail was stiff. His expression was blank; he looked emotionless for a moment. Iggy looked at me, "Who is he Addie?" He asked, seeming a bit unnerved. "My Brother…" I breathed. His ears straightened, his tail curled, he smiled cutely and waved. "Been a while huh Sis?" Aaron said smiling. I felt hot tears well up behind my eyes. I ran over and threw my arms around him. I finally had my big brother back again! It felt like it had been forever! "I missed you! Where did you go?" I asked, tears streaming down my face. I normally would have felt really embarrassed to cry but right now I couldn't care less. "I never actually left, they just separated us." Aaron said; ruffling my hair with one hand. "What happened to your eyes…?" I asked, curious and concerned. He shrugged, "I think it was a side effect of an experiment they did." He said. "They improved my night vision and also allowed me to see almost anywhere in the world as long as I've been there before." He added. We both stood up and I wiped the tears off my face and Aaron brushed the glass off his jacket. Iggy blinked, "Did you really have to come in through the window though…?" Iggy asked, laughing. Aaron glanced at the window, "I suppose not but it's so much funnier that way isn't it?" Aaron asked, grinning goofily. ~~~