POV Max
Time Ten years after Itex fell
Ella sat across from me as we played chess. She was getting good. I nodded as she moved her pawn. I moved my knight. She killed it. I sighed.
"Oh, Max Dinner's ready," Jeb called through the voice in my head. I growled.
"Time for dinner," I told Ella. She nodded and swiped her pieces into the board. I did the same as we walked to the kitchen. Mom was putting down the mashed potatoes to go with our peas and pot roast. Mom wiped the swat off her forehead.
"I'm a vet, not a cook," she said. I laughed.
"Hey Jeb? Are you coming to the cemetery with me tonight?" I asked Jeb looked at m sadly.
"No, I can't," he told me, disappointed. I nodded, scooping up a giant spoonful of mashed potatoes.
"You're going to see Ari's grave, right?" Ella asked. I nodded. Tonight was the tenth anniversary of his death. He was my brother, no matter how many times he tried to kill me.
Today always makes me think of the flock. After a moth of making sure Itex as destroyed, I left them to settle down with Mom. Jeb started living with us too. And Ella comes by regularly since her college is nearby.
"It's hard to imagine that ten years ago I saved the world," I told the family. Jeb nodded. Mom smiled sweetly.
After dinner, I grabbed my jacket and the bouquet of flowers I bought and walked to the town cemetery. I walked up to a grave with one word put simply on the gravestone.
'Ari.' I laid the flowers in front of his tombstone. I held my hands cupped together in front of me. A tear fell down my cheek.
Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my back. I felt woozy. I fell to the ground. Before blacking out, I saw two figures standing over me.
When I woke, I was chained to a stone wall by my wrists and ankles.
Across the room I saw two figures. They looked around my age. The boy had chestnut colored hair and glasses. He was tall and lanky. The girl had a great body, and pout was pressed against her lips. She had long red hair.
"Wonderful," I told myself sarcastically. Lissa and Sam turned to me.
"She's awake," Lissa said snidely. Sam came over.
"How are you feeling?" Sam asked.
"Ready to kill both of you," I spat at his face. Lissa rested her hand on her hip.
"Told you she was a waste of your time," Lissa told Sam.
"Shut up. We'll find what's his face," Sam replied. Lissa scoffed, mad.
"His name is Fang!" Lissa protested. My eyes widened. Ten years ago, I had left the flock and Fang, his eyes filled with tears. His mouth crumpled into a frown. I shook his image out of my head.
"Do you know where he is?" Lissa asked me. I shook my head no.
"Maybe the others will," Sam suggested. Lissa nodded.
"Okay, what's going on?" I asked. Lissa rolled her eyes.
"Duh, we're capturing you and Fang, and whoever else stands in our way," Lissa replied.
"Why?" I pressed. Sam looked at me.
"So Lissa can have Fang and I can have you," Sam told me.
"Like I would ever," I protested suddenly, Sam pressed me against the wall and dove in for a passionate kiss. I resented, but he was stuck on me. Eventually he let off.
"You cocky little," I sneered. Sam shrugged it off, using Fang's famous emotionlessness.
I hung there in what I guessed to be a basement for hours, until nightfall came. Sam crept downstairs.
"Great…" I said, rolling my eyes. Sam wrapped both his arms around my waist and gave me another deep, passionate kiss. I felt sick. Good. Let me barf in his nasty little mouth. Clean it up a bit.
"Max…" Sam whispered, stroking a finger down the side of my face.
"You're stuck here until I say so," Sam whispered softly. I pursed my lips. Sam reached behind my head for one last kiss.
"Good night, Max," Sam told me, walking back up the stairs. Oh how I hated him.
Two days later, Lissa and Sam dragged two more helpless beings down here, except they got a cage. It was a girl and boy, late teens, early twenties. The girl was Africa-America and had curly brown hair. The boy was pale and long blonde hair. They seemed to cling against each other for dear life. I stared down at them.
"Nudge?" I asked softly. Nudge through herself against the bars of her age.
"Max? Max! Gazzy! Get up! It's Max!" Nudge yelled. Eighteen-year-old Gazzy looked at me from across the room.
'Max? Where have you been?" Gazzy asked.
"Living with Mom and Jeb in Arizona," I replied, "Where's the rest of the flock?" Nudge frowned.
"There hasn't been a flock for five years," Nudge told me. I gasped.
"What? What do you mean?!" I asked. Gazzy sighed.
"A week after you left, Fang left. Iggy, angel, Nudge, and I tried to stay together, but we couldn't. Nudge and I went off to Maine to live there and go to school, and Iggy started raising Angel on his own. I don't know where any of them are," Gazzy explained.
"You left Angel?" I asked, shocked. Gazzy nodded and grabbed Nudge's hand.
"Oh," I said. Nudge nodded and smiled half-heartily.
"You had better be good to her," I told Gazzy, smiling. He nodded, grinning.
Somewhere in the next few days, I lost me. I wasn't Max anymore I was quiet, reserved, calm, and weak. Thankfully Sam and Lissa only came down to give us food, otherwise I would have gone nuts.
A few days later, Sam led two people and a dog into a cage. There was a tall strawberry-blonde guy wearing sunglasses. He was caring a teenage blonde girl, and she was carrying a black Scotty.
"Angel!" Gazzy exclaimed, reaching his arms through his cage into hers.
"Gazzy!" she exclaimed, reaching out to hug him
"Hey Iggy. It's Nude," Nudge said. Iggy faced her.
"Hey Nudge. How ya been? Pregnant yet?" Iggy asked, smiling. Gazzy and Angel laughed while Nudge fumed.
"Ooo! I would so punch you if we weren't in cages!" Nudge yelled. Angel stopped laughing and looked at me.
"Hey sweetie," I said. Angel pressed up against the bars.
"Max!" Angel called. Iggy swung his head in my direction.
"Max? Max is here?" Iggy asked. Angel nodded Iggy's head.
"You worm! Do you know how hard it is to rise a kid on your own1 I want child support!" Iggy demanded. I laughed.
"Sorry Iggy," I told him. Iggy turned his attention to Gasman.
"Anything flammable in here?" Iggy asked.
"Nope," Gasman replied, disappointed. Iggy pouted.
"I'm bored already,' Total said.
"Yeah yeah, I know. But at least you get a cage!" I told him. Total scoffed.
"Just cause I'm a dog?" he asked.
"No, because I'm chained to a wall," I replied. Iggy turned to me again.
"You're chained to a wall?!" he asked, astonished.
"Yeah," I admitted.
"I guess we're lucky then," Iggy said sadly.
"Max!" called the voice.
"Jeb?" I thought.
"Where are you?!"
"I'm locked in some guy's basement with the flock. Well, most f the flock," I replied in my head.
"This is bad…" Jeb said.
"Yeah, I know," I thought.
"Any idea where this house is?" Jeb asked.
"Not a clue," I told him.
"I'll check in with you, okay?" he asked.
"Okay," I told him. The voice disappeared.
Two days later, the basement door swung open again.
"So if you stay with me, they can go, got it?" Lissa cooed.
"Okay," a strong, masculine voice replied. No! It couldn't be! Suddenly, my wall swung around. I was in another room! But I could still hear what was going on.
"See! All five of your friends! Just like I promised!" Lissa said.
"So if I stay, they go free," Fang asked.
"Uh-huh," Lissa said.
"Are you quite done Lissa?" Sam asked, annoyed.
"Fine," she said, unlocking the cage doors.
"Max?" Angel's voice called in my head.
"Yeah?" I thought.
"I' gonna ask Sam if we can talk to you before we go. Any plans of action?" she asked.
"Leave e here," I thought.
'Okay," Angel said resentfully. There was some whispering in the other room.
"Come on Fang I'll show you OUR room!" I heard Lissa say.
"O-Okay…" Fang replied. I heard them going up the stairs. The door closed. My wall swung around.
"Bye Max," Angel said, crying.
"I'll miss you," Nudge told me.
"I'll be good. I swear," Gazzy promised.
"Forget the child support, okay? Just be okay," Iggy told me, sad. I nodded.
"Okay," I replied to all of them. They all filed out of the room, leaving Sam and me alone.
"Don't worry," Sam reassured me, walking closer to me, "You'll be out of here as soon as we confirm that Fang no longer cares for you." I sighed.
"I hate you," I told him quietly, the strength of my voice lost.
"That can change," Sam said, pulling my face towards his. He kissed me so passionately; it was hard to resist.
"I hate you," I told him, tears streaming down my face.
"For now," he said, walking away.
When I woke up the next day, the shackles on my ankles and wrists were gone. Now I was like a dog. Chained up by the neck with enough chain to let me roam. I sighed. Breakfast was already on a tray beside me. I bit into the muffin, not caring if it was drugged or not. Gulped down the orange juice and looked up at the ceiling, nothing better to do. I was lonely. I missed the company of the flock near me. I missed Gazzy's jokes and angel's smiles. I missed Iggy's tomfoolery and Nudge's laughs. I even missed Total's complaints. I rolled over on my stomach.
"Jeb?" I tried, trying to find my old friend, the voice.
"Max? Is something wrong?" it asked.
"I'm bored. The flock was set free, but I'm still stuck."
"I'm sorry, Max. What would you like me to do?" it asked.
"Anything, just keep me from killing myself."
For the next few hours, Jeb told me how the family was doing, and some current world news, a couple of stories from the School, and may other things.
"Thanks, Jeb. You're a life saver."
"I know. I do it all the time." Then the voice left in my solitude. I realized it was night already. I tucked my arms under my head and closed my eyes. The door to the basement swung open. I scowled.
"What now?" I asked, sitting up. Sam walked over to me. He knelt down and kissed me again. I shoved him off.
"Stop! I don't like you," I told him.
"I don't care," Sam said rebelliously. He grabbed my head and forced it towards his own. He shoved his mouth up against mine. He grabbed me by the waist and pulled me in. One hand rested on the back of my head, the other on my waist. I struggled at first, but was powerless to stop him.
"You're mine," he told me. He started to kiss my neck, then pecked at my lips. I kept them shut. He bit my bottom lip, forcing me to open my mouth and invaded his tongue in there. And all of this I couldn't stop. He finally le goad I pushed him away from me. I crawled into the corner of the room, crying.
"See you tomorrow," he whispered flirtatiously I my ear. I eventually fell asleep, exhausted by the constant crying.
The next day, I did nothing but think.
'Has Fang forgotten me? If he has, why am I still in this basement? What's wrong with Sam? And where did her learn to o that? If Sam is this bad I wonder what Wondergirl is doing to Fang? How long do they plan on keeping me? Why can't they move on?' And the biggest thing on y mind:
'Does anyone miss me?' I hadn't heard from Angel or Jeb, and those evil two wouldn't tell me squat.
That night, Sam came back down with a shot needle. There was some green stuff in it. He injected it my arm. Soon, everything went numb. I laid down and couldn't move. Sam laid on top of me and did what he had done last night, bugging the heck out of me by making out then just leaving. What was wrong with this guy?
The next night, Sam came down again. I was sitting up against a wall in the fetal position. I threw my arms out in fort of me.
"Stay away! Please!' I begged. Instead of backing off, Sam jumped into my arms and pushed my huddled up feet down so he could kiss me again. I tried to shove him off but he wouldn't move.
"Give in, Maximum. There's no way out but to except," he told eerily. Tears fell down my face in cascades.
"But I don't love you," I told him.
"Try," he told me. This time he softly kissed me on the lips but that was all. I cried. He held me.
"Just give in. It'll be easier on you," Sam told me, holding me tight. I wrapped my arms around him and bawled. Sam stroked my hair, like a gentleman would. Though a gentleman wouldn't hold a girl up in his basement.
Suddenly, the door swung open. Sam I turned to see who it was. It was Fang. He looked down on us. He looked different. He stood about five inches taller than I would and he was packing on muscle. I so hoped he would come down here and kick the snot out of Sam, but he didn't.
"Lissa, who's this girl down here?" Fang called to his side. Lissa ran up to the basement door.
"That's just, uh, Isabelle! She's Sam's girlfriend! She's, uh, moving in!" Lissa lied. Fang shrugged and walked off. Lissa sighed a sigh of relief and turned to us.
"Guess who gets to move upstairs?" Lissa teased. I buried m face in Sam's shoulder, ashamed. Sam picked me up and led me upstairs. There was a kitchen, a dining room, a big hallway, a living room, and a family room. On the second floor, there were two full baths and two master bedrooms. Sam led me into one. Inside, there was a dresser and a king bed. Sam motioned at the bed. I laid down on one side and curled up under the covers. Sam kissed my forehead, turned off the light, and got in on the other side of the bed.
The next day, all four of us sat down at the kitchen island o have breakfast. Sam and me on one side and Lissa and fang on the other side. I stabbed my eggs with a fork and shoved a big chunk into my mouth, chewing angrily. Sam kissed me on the cheek. The phone on the countertop near us rang. Sam got up and answered it.
"Hello? Uh0huh. Okay," Sam said into the phone. He held it out to me.
"It's for you," he told me. I got up and took the phone. Lissa was fuming. Fang patter her hand.
"Hello?" I said into the phone.
"Max!" Mom's voice called.
"Mom!' I replied happily.
"Oh we've been so worried! All your friends came over to stay!" Mom informed me. The other phone switched hands.
"Max? Max are you there?" came Jeb's worried voice.
"Yeah, I'm here."
"How ya been sweetie?" he asked like he used to when he caught me at the School.
"Not so good. Sam is nuts,' I told him. Sam smiled.
"How's Fang?" Jeb asked. I cringed at his name.
"We haven't spoken they just let me out of the basement last night," I told him.
"Mm-hmm. Ella wants to speak to you," Jeb told me, handing the phone to Ella.
"Max! I've missed you SO much!" Ella said. I laughed.
"I've missed you too. How's school?" I asked.
"Great! We had a big test Monday and I got a B!" Ella told me excitedly.
'You take after Mom," I replied.
"No, I don't want to be a vet. I was thinking more of a chemist," Ella said.
"Like Jeb," I confirmed. Fang's attention shot towards me.
"Maybe," Ella said. A new voice erupted in my ear.
"Max! It's Angel! How are you?" angel asked, worried.
"I'm fine, we just sat down for breakfast."
"Total says he misses you too!" angel told me. I laughed.
"Tell him I miss him too," I said. Someone else grabbed the phone.
"It's Nudge! Guess what Max? Guess what?!?" Nudge yelled.
"What is it Nudge?" I asked I could feel Fang boring holes in my head with his stare.
"I'm gonna have a baby!" Nudge exclaimed.
"WHAT?" I yelled.
"Yeah! It's Gazzy's! We don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet! If it's a girl I wanna name her Tiffany! If it's a boy I wanna name him Nick! But we've been thinking of naming whatever gender it is after you!" Nudge babbled.
"That's nice. Put your beloved on," I told her.
"But Iggy called dibs," Nudge protested.
"Tell him to deal with it," I replied.
"Hello?" came Gazzy's voice.
"Gasman you'd better take good care of her and that baby or else I'll come and beat you up!" I yelled into the phone.
"Okay! Okay! I was planning too! It is my kid after all," Gasman replied.
"You'd better treat her right! Don't be one of those jerks who leaves after he's had some fun!" I told him.
"I wouldn't! I love he! Okay?" he replied
"Okay," I said, calming down.
"Max? Max!" Iggy's voice yelled.
"What?' I asked.
"You didn't tell me you had it made so good! Your mom is awesome!" Iggy told me.
"You'd better mean she's nice or cool and not awesome in some disgusting way," I told him, my voice icy.
"I mean she's so nice and cool!" Iggy answered, "Hey, put Fang on! I got a few words to say to him!"
"I don't know if that's such a good idea…" I replied.
"PUT. HIM. ON," Iggy demanded.
'Fine." I shoved the phone in Fang's direction.
"For you," I told him. He got up and took the phone. I sat back down and it into my bacon. Lissa stared at Fang.
"Hey! Oh, I'm fine. Hmm? Yeah I noticed a minute ago. Don't call me stupid! Am I going to what? Oh, that? I don't know. Should I? But the others… when they're not around? Okay," Fang spoke into the phone. Lissa twisted a strand of her hair, imagining all sorts of gunk that would make her SO happy.
"Okay, okay. Bye," Fang said. He hung up the phone. He walked back to his seat, not taking his eyes off of me.
"Who was tat, dear?" Lissa asked, clinging to him.
"Oh, just an old friend," Fang replied, faking a smile. I rolled my eyes and stuffed a whole sausage in my mouth.
After breakfast, Lissa and Sam had to go to work.
"I already showed this to Fang," Sam told me, herding me and Fang to the front door.
"This door has a forcefield that will shock anyone who's DNA is programmed into it. You're programmed into it. There's a forcefield is on every window and door in the house. Okay?" Sam asked, making sure I got all of that. I nodded.
"Don't touch windows or doors unless I want to be shocked. Got it," I replied. Sam nodded, kissed me on the cheek, and walked out the door to his car. I sighed and walked back into the kitchen. Fang cornered me against the fridge, his arms on both sides of my shoulders.
"What the-," I started Fang pressed his mouth against my open one. I shoved him off.
"What are you doing?" I demanded. Fang jus stood, leaning toward m.
"What do you want?" I asked him, snarling.
"Max," he pleaded, getting closer to my mouth. I pushed him away.
"It's too late for this!" I yelled. I ducked under his arm and ran upstairs into my room. I curled up on the bed, not bothering to get under the covers. There was a knock at the door.
'Max?" he called.
"Go away," I yelled.
"Max, please let me in," he pleaded.
No!" I screamed. The door fell to the ground. Fang's leg was high up in a kick. He ran over to me. I started to get up off the bed, but he got there too quickly.
I was sitting on the edge of the bed with Fan on his knees before me. His hands were up against my ears, his thumb stroking my skin.
"Max," he whispered. I started to cry.
"Get away," I whispered.
"No," Fang replied, getting in closer. He wiped a tear out of my eye.
"Please Max," he whispered, "Please." I was crying harder now. Fang leaned in and held me tight.
"You didn't remember me," I whispered.
"You weren't acting like the Max I know," Fang whispered in my ear.
"Let's leave,' he said.
"I can't," I told him.
'Just because you've had sex with him," Fang started.
"I did not have sex with him! Or anyone else for that matter!" I yelled at him angrily.
"Good," he said. He kissed me. The tears stopped flowing so hard. He switched to sitting behind me, his legs positioned next to mine. He nuzzled his head in my hair.
"Fang?" I asked softly.
"Hmm?" he asked.
"About Lissa…" I started
'I was trying to protect the flock," he whispered in my ear.
"Good," I whispered back.
"Let's go," he told me, scooping me up bridal style.
"How?'' I asked.
"There's a skylight in Lissa's room. No security system," he told me.
"Glass or plastic?" I asked. Fang grinned.
"Glass," he replied. He carried me into Lissa's room. Sure enough, there was a glass skylight. Fang stood me up and held me tight. He let out hi large black wings.
"I can fly on my own, thank you," I told him.
"Just relax and enjoy the ride," he told me, putting his face down in to my hair. He swept up and hit the skylight full force, but it broke and we got out.
"You okay?" I asked him. He shook the glass out of his hair and smiled down on me.
"Yeah," he replied I held him close as he flew us back o Arizona.
When we got home, I found the flock still staying at Mom's. We got back at night so I laid an exhausting Fang down on my bed. He was asleep in a few minutes.
The next day, Iggy made all of us breakfast and we all enjoyed a group meal. Angel told me that she went to see Ari and brought him some flowers. I smiled at her and tousled her hair. Jeb welcomed Fang back. Fang received Jeb's hug with resentment, but he still excepted it. We spent the whole day on a "family" picnic at a park near the house. Gazzy held Nude at the waist and rubbed her stomach with is other hand. Iggy discussed bombs and explosives with Jeb. Ella, Mom, and Angel talked about girly things.
I just soaked in all the warm feelings and enjoyed the time spent together while Fang hung over me all day. It was pretty annoying. When the sun started o set, I dragged Fang away from the group.
"What is with you?" I asked him. He cocked his head at me.
"Why do you keep standing over me?" I hissed at him. He came closer.
"Because I like you. I love you," he told me, tilting my chin up so our eyes could meet. I'm pretty sure I blushed.
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you I want to start a family," Fang told me softly. Fang bent down and kissed me. He wrapped one arm around my waist and held my head with the other hand. I put both arms around his neck and kissed him as the sun went down.
FIN