Max groaned. Captured. Again. This was getting old. She slid her fingers throughout the bars, pressed her face up against the cage, and took a look around.
As far as she could tell there were only six cages in the empty room. No doubt holding her fellow teammates. She and the flock were back in the family five by three foot dog cages that had haunted their childhood for several years. The cages were placed strategically around the room, in such a way that it would be impossible to have a face to face conversation. The whitecoats obviously didn't want them communicating with each other. But that wasn't going to stop her from trying.
"Report?" she throatily called out. Max was surprised at the way her voice sounded, as if she had been here for days instead of mere hours. Nevertheless she wasted closely for an answer. There was a decent amount of shuffling as the flock struggled to see their leader.
"We're here." chorused Angel and Gazzy. Their voices came from the cages closest to the door.
"Besides the fact that I feel like crap, it's just a couple of bruises and bumps for me." Iggy muttered. His voice came for the cage directly opposite from her.
"I'll live." Fan murmured, quiet and mysterious as always. An long moment passed before anyone said anything else.
"Nudge?" Iggy called out.
"Where is she? Who's in the last cage? Can anyone see?" Max demand, immediately taking charge of the situation.
"I can see her." Fang said quietly. "She's in the cage across from me. Unconscious. She did hit that wall pretty hard." he noted remembering the fight they had with Erasers.
"Is there any noticeable injury to the head?" Iggy, the flock doctor, asked with concern. There was a short silence as Fang craned his neck to get a better look at her. It was hard to get a good view considering that she wasn't even facing his direction. Her hair was matted down and her face was dripping with sweat, but he couldn't see any blood. But that could be a good or bad thing.
"Not that I can see. She's not exactly facing my direction." he replied at last. Before the conversation could continue, the door swung open. Immediately the flock tensed up and watched warily as four, hugely-built erasers stepped int the room. Their muscles rippled underneath their thick brown fur and wolfish grins were plastered to their faces. Max was determined not to be intimidated by them. Instead she started to let out a slur of insults.
"Okay we've been through this before. Let me guess your boss has the ultimate grudge against us. So he and/or she just had to capture us for their personal needs. You're looking for the leader right? Well, I'm the leader. So let's just go ahead and get it over with, you oversized furballs. Take me to your leader." Max spat at them. Unfortunately, the wolf men paid no heed.
"We're not looking for the leader. We're going to things differently this time." Eraser #1 growled in her direction. He turned towards his comrades. "We're on a deadline. Hurry up and do your jobs." Immediately, the second tow erasers headed toward the cages. The silence was formidable as the flock watched the Erasers slowly crossing the room, bending down and peering in the cages looking for their victims. He was enjoying this. The stupid jerk, The wolfman bent down in front of Nudge's cage. He stared intently through the bars. "Yep, this one will do." he muttered as he opened the cage and yanked the limp figure out.
The dreaded silence that had been hanging over the room earlier had disappeared. The racket the flock made in protest filled the area. The erasers, however, only took amusement in this. "Don't worry little Nudge won't be the only taking a trip to the ward. We have orders to take macho man out, as well." the ringman grinned. He motioned for the other two to follow them. They obviously knew better than to face Fang alone. Especially when he was mad. They took extra precaution. One Eraser prepared to open the door, while two others took their positions in front of the cage, while the ringleader guarded the exit. The slowly and cautiously the unlatched the hatch.
A blur of black was all that was visible to Max as Fang swung his fists in fury, but the enemy was prepared. The man who had opened the cage lunged for his legs. Catching Fang off guard and causing his to stumble. This gave the other two ample opportunity to grab his arms and force him to the ground. The leader bent down near Fang's struggling form and spit in his face. "It's pointless resisting. I don't see why you even bother trying." the leader tsked and stood up to face the fearful looks from the remaining caged members. "You guys have nothing to worry about. Blonde hair, light skin…" the Eraser trailed off thoughtfully. "These birdies however. They have hell waiting on the other side." As if to prove his point, he delivered a harsh kick to Fang's mouth. Blood sprayed from his mouth, as the steel-toed boot made contact with his skin, but Fang refused to make a sound. Max growled at them.
"Let them go!" she protested. "It's me you want."
"No dear Maxie. Don't you get it? You get a break this time. In fact all four of you do. No one can lay a finger on you four. Director's orders." the eraser sighed. "Such a shame to… I'll just have to have my way with this one instead." He said absent-mindedly stroking Nudge's hair. His crew yanked Fang to his feet, while the leader slung Nudge over his back. "It was nice meeting you, but we're on a tight schedule, I'm afraid."
"Bye bye birdies." Eraser #1 yelled as the metal door slammed shut behind him. The remaining four birdkids were left to dwell in silence
Author's Note: I do not own Maximum Ride