C h a p t e r O n e

It's been almost a full month since Fang left us; all of us. If you've followed along with my previous adventures, you'd know that I just don't do emotional. It's not me. But I must admit, I was devastated when Fang decided to move on.

You have no idea.

Nudge hasn't left my side since the little decision was made, and Iggy kind of took over as the new 'Fang'. He can't be him. He never will be. However, I gotta say that he's trying, so I give him props for that. Gazzy has been avoiding everyone except sometimes Iggy. He really resented all this…well, broken-ness. The poor kid had enough to deal with; what with having a demon for a sister. Angel's been getting worse, trying to defend her so-called title of leader. There was no way she would take over my flock. She had tried before, but I was not going to let this happen again. Ever.

Overall, I've been ignored and invisible; no one mentioned Fang to me. They circumvented me as much as humanly (or in our case, avian-humanly) possible. This could be, and was, because I was so empty inside. I wasn't myself at all.

I knew that the flock knew about how I cried myself to sleep every single night since he left. Bless them all, they never brought it up; probably because they also knew how beat up they'd get if they did.

"Good morning, Max," Nudge called from across the kitchen. I made my way to the table and sat myself down.

Iggy placed some scrambled eggs in front of me. I swear, he may be blind, but he is the best cook ever. I nodded my thanks, then realized that he couldn't see that. I've been forgetting things like that a lot lately.

"Thanks, Ig," I said in an appreciative tone.

I sat there, staring at the food in front of me. The other kids emerged from their rooms and came to join me at the table. Everyone was eating peacefully when I realized I still hadn't touched my food. Being part bird and able to fly, I go through calories like you wouldn't believe. Kind of like a hummingbird. Usually, I would be on, like, fourths by now.

I continued to stare straight ahead of me. Slowly, the kids all finished their breakfasts and broke away, doing whatever bird kids do these days.

"You ok, Max?" Iggy turned toward me, his unseeing eyes staring at a spot just above my left shoulder. Hey, he wasn't perfect.

"Yeah," I replied. "I'm just not very hungry." I pushed my plate in his direction. Concern spread across his face. He seemed older somehow; more fifteen-ish.

He started to shove the food back at me, but I was already leaving the room.

I hadn't finished a meal since the day after Fang left. I had always assumed that he'd be back. When he didn't return, my weight slipped from about one hundred and five to about eighty pounds.

Because of this new unintended diet, I couldn't fly for very long periods of time. Just walking became a chore.

Lucky us, we hadn't been attacked in about two and a half weeks. I knew it wouldn't last, but it was nice for the time being. I was too lethargic to put forth actual effort. I pictured what Fang would say if he saw me in this state.

Fang.

Just the name sent a heavy lump in my throat.

"Max?" Dylan looked at me with interest, but he was obviously genuinely concerned.

Fighting back the tears that I hated so much, I announced that I was going to the store.

But I knew I'd return with what I left with…

Nothing.