Hey Everyone! I know, I haven't actually been long here in the Maximum Ride category, and my past stories have been a bit crappy, but geez, I couldn't help but write a fic!
So, to everyone who actually reads this authors note of mine, I'd like to say that this fic is to be 7 chapters, give or take, about an OC of mine, with the flock. So ENJOY!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize, especially the book Maximum Ride.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Max's POV:
Flying, the air whistling in my ears and the harsh afternoon sun in my eyes, I and the flock soared at cruising altitude. We were headed Florida, I think. Why? I don't particularly know. It was the Angel who suggested we go there, and the fact that we needed to go away from the racket we created in the Itex headquarters.
It's simple really, why we're in such mess. Some people, *cough* white coats *cough*, decided to make us 'the world's heroes' yet is bent upon exterminating us into oblivion. Cause we're mutant experiments. Failed experiments that weren't meant to roam free into the earth. Such happy thoughts for a fourteen year old huh? Well, get used to it cause it just keeps on getting better and better.
Well, you see, it doesn't stop there. We've got these nagging senses that the flock suddenly wants to see our birth parents. And they could be anywhere and anyone. Even the irritating thought of what they might turn out to be keeps us on the edge.
Cause we're nothing that they may expect. We've got these extra parts, which could actually change the way they look at us and extra parts as in wings and avian DNA.
But who needed parents anyways? We're free. We've got each other; we've always been with one another for years. So why change it now?
So, as I was saying, we were flying somewhere near a forest, our basic flying formation intact. I was leading, flanked by Iggy and Nudge, followed by Angel and Gazzy and Fang flew last. Whenever we got attacked from behind, Fang was the first one to alert us.
All was going smooth. We had acquired a large amount of land since we took off from our last stop. I was looking out into the horizon, into the cloudless sky, while the others chatted to themselves. Well, except Fang I think. I was too angry with him, for the whole 'going to the football' plan of his.
"Hey how long till we get there? I think I may need another pit-stop. I think drinking all those Coke cans was a bad idea. Come on. I think my bladder's gonna burst." Nudge said, breaking the silence and my train of thought. Well, nothings too good to last. And she was right. Drinking 5 cans of Coke wasn't such a good idea after all.
"Oka-" I paused. The once clear horizon now had a small dark cloud forming. But my avian-enhanced eyes told me it was something more. I was moving less cloud-like, and looked like a flock of birds.
Except for one careless thing, flying recklessly and looked like it had injured its wing or something. Erasers? Nope, so far, versions 6.5 of erasers were not that good flyers, injured or not.
I looked around, trying to decipher if it were an ambush or just a random flock of birds, but still, I was tense. All those years of being hunted really had its ups and downs. But for now, I don't think it's one of both.
"Guys, couple of flying things up ahead. Be ready." I mumbled, and heard them shift their positions. We stopped flying straight, and started to hover on the breeze, waiting for the birds to pass.
"What are those? UFOs?" the Gasman asked, confused, while Iggy just snickered.
"That rhymed Gazzy. Didn't know you had it in you." He laughed.
The scene was no laughing matter though, but they were just boys, whether they were part avian or not.
"What's that the birds are surrounding? The clumsy and bigger one?" Fang asked from behind, his voice a bit alert. But I don't see the point. Now that those creatures are near, I could see that they are birds. Large hawks, like the ones we flew with, lifetimes ago.
And only one creature clumsily flew.
"Angel, could you detect something from it?" I asked Angel, but never turned my head around.
"Nothing. Even with those birds. It's like their not really there. But I could hear someone thinking. About…about us. I think." She said sweetly. You see, Angel here could read minds, both humans and animals alike. Another mutant gift those scientist guys gave her. But at least it was helpful. She was cute, and awfully scary, even to me.
"You mean I'm not just remembering the sight of birds?" Iggy asked, confused. Iggy was blind, sorta been an experiment gone wrong, majorly. And he was never to see again.
"You could see them?" I asked, a bit concerned. Either he developed an ability to see, or he was going mad, I'm not sure. But I'll tackle that later. For now, we needed to be alert.
"Nope. Large birds approaching us at 12 o' clock Igs, better be on alert." Fang says, his wings pounding softly in the cool breeze.
Minutes passed, and it looked like the mystery of the other flock could be felt on the tense-ness of the flock. We hovered slightly as we waited it to pass, and soon, it did.
"Wait, that's not real." Fang muttered and I looked at him weirdly. Facing back to the horizon, I saw what he meant. The images, the flock, the birds, were flicking on and off, like it was some picture in a malfunctioning monitor. Then, suddenly, before our eyes, the huge, flying lump stopped beating its wings. And like a rock, it fell to the forest floor.
"Fang, I'm going to check it out, stay with the flock." I ordered and before anyone could say more, swooped down. I noticed how all the birds suddenly vanished, making it look like it was never there.
I flew, directly into the forest, wings tucked in, and headed down the ground faster than a plane. Right before impact, I clipped my wings open and grabbed the current. Flying was the most awesome thing. Maybe after cookies I mean.
I hopped on to a tree, grabbing a branch to catch me before I fall down the other side. The open splinters on the tree embedded itself in the palm of my hands, and I had to hiss. Yeah, I've taken on the worst injuries the world has to offer, and yet a simple wound makes me whine.
I surveyed the scene. So far, there was a thick clump of soft forest trees, and it looked like something fell on it. Which something did. Which brings me back into my question of what this something is?
On the ground, there laid a seemingly small body. Its soft features make it seem to me like it was a girl who looked like she was my age or younger. Her wings, which were brown in color, until the tips, were like ours, except that it was somehow bent in a weird angel.
"What is that?" Fang asked from behind, and I literally jumped 15 feet in the air. Damn, he really could have fooled me for a shadow.
"Fang, I said stay with the flock." I said, irritated at him. And he only gave me a sheepish look with a nod to his back. In my peripheral vision, I saw everyone behind me.
"You didn't say anything about the flock not following." He said, giving me a look that clearly says: you couldn't avoid their curiosity. Or something like that. I rolled my eyes at him and turned back into the creature.
"I'm going in." I warned him, which was his cue to follow. The others were still hovering closely, not wanting to get too close to the mystery but close enough to see what it was.
I climbed down the tree carefully, feeling like a squirrel and probably looking like one too.
Walking cautiously to the girl, ready for it to somehow attack me or something, but so far, all it did was moan and take in heavy breaths.
Gradually, I placed her in the 'not-so-harmful' category, from the damage she had and her small structure. Man, compared to her, we were blue birds, while she's the small mocking bird.
"You seeing this Fang?" I called up into the trees. Within seconds, Fangs face popped into view. Mr. tall, dark and avian leaped from the tree, pounding his wings a bit and dropped next to me quietly. His brown eyes looked casual and cool, but I knew the gears in his head were working over time.
"Yeah. The trees broke her fall. And she looks just like us." He noted. No freaking duh, I thought, sarcasm dripping in my thoughts. What? She obviously was a bird kid like us.
"Well, what do you think? She worth helping or is this a trap?" I asked, somewhat tense. Boy, Erasers could easily ambush us, with a forest this thick; they could easily spy on us. Or we'd be easily hidden, but other way, both we're possible.
"We help her." Fang decides and kneels down besides the girl. With her shallow breaths and scraped form, it was a miracle that she lived.
Me, being the self-less leader I am called the others to land.
Angel, diving first, landed on a branch, and looked like a ballerina. Gazzy followed her next. Nudge swooped in, face concerned and I gave her a small smile. Lastly, Iggy, tall and pale landed besides me without breaking a twig under his feet.
"Am I missing something?" he asked, worriedly, probably hearing the shallow huffs of our mystery bird kid.
"Fang's patching up another mutant, possibly another escapee like us." I said to him, although alert of what was happening. "Be ready if I shout Up and Away though."
Iggy frowned. His face a bit concerned and wary at the same time. Who won't be? Living in School was hell-on-earth, and I won't wish it on someone as bad as Jeb. On second thought, he'd want to be there, so, never mind.
"Could you lead me there?" he asks, and I nodded, only later reminded that I was talking to a blind kid.
"I'm nodding Igs." I said, guiding his slender arms and towards the direction of Fang. Fang on the other hand was busy, dabbing anesthetics on the wounds and bandages wrapped around the girl's body.
"Igs, kneel down at 3 o'clock." I said, and Iggy obeyed, kneeling down next to Fang.
"How bad?" Iggy asked Fang, running his long fingers on the girl's arms. She was somehow awake, I guess, cause she flinched a bit but didn't say anything.
"Easraser-fied bad." Fang said grimly, working on the girl's back.
"Then we better hurry up then." Iggy said, helping Fang with the bandages.
It was a long, hard and tense hour. The kids, which I hopefully distracted were curious as to who she was. And honestly, I was too. And when Fang and Iggy finally said they were done, the tension was lifted up a bit, but didn't actually fade.
"Well, good news is, she's safe. Or as safe as safe could eve be." Iggy grinned, rubbing sweat away from his forehead.
"That's good." I breathed and turned to the kids. "Why don't we set up camp for now? And we'd deal with our mystery friend tomorrow, is that alright?" I asked them.
Nudge instantly agreed, said something about outfits and forest floors and finally set off in search for fire wood, which I didn't allow until Fang offered to follow her. Gazzy on the other hand volunteered to build the fire, which of coarse Iggy rejected.
"I'll better do that for you Gaz." He chimed in, and Gazzy pouted. I'm proud of Iggy, letting him do all the work for others.
"How'd I learn if I don't do it hands on." Iggy opened his mouth to says something, but thought again.
"Well, if that's the case." He rubbed his chin. So much for being proud of him. I rolled my eyes and walked to Angel, who was rubbing Total's belly.
"Angel, come on, we better get ready for bed now hun." I coaxed her. This mother thing was rubbing on me.
"Sure thing Max." she smiled at me, stood up and paused a bit, blinking. "Max, what does rehabalation mean?" she asked her voice sweet.
"You mean rehabilitation?" I asked and she nodded her golden head of hers. "Well, I guess it's where people go off and change their ways." I said, suspicious on where she heard that. Angel, sweet Angel could be such a creeper sometimes.
Clearly, when a six year old asks you that, you answer something much more understandable and not-so-bad sounding words. But Angel was not ordinary. She was extraordinary, like us all.
"I got it from her." Angel pointed at the unconscious girl, probably reading my thoughts.
"Angel, what else could you pick up?" I asked her, voice full of curiosity. Angel shrugged and pulled out Celeste, her stuffed bear and began to comb its hair.
You can't force kids. Sure, we're on the run, mutants, but we're also children.
That night after we made our routine before sleeping, I could barely keep my head quiet, so I took first watch. Believe me, nothing ever happens at first watch. All I did was kept on thinking. Who was this kid? Was she another experiment up to extermination? And the most nagging question yet: was she a friend or foe?
In a couple of hours, Fang took over my shift, eyes same as mine, wary and tired. And so I let him take over, and I laid my head down into a back pack next to Angel and Nudge. Thanking God for giving me a break and actually let me drift into a nice, headache-less sleep.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
So, how was it? Note, this is actually a start of something new. More Iggy-ness and a clearer story is up to come in the next chapters.
So, what do you think? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Tell me and REVIEW!