Disclaimer: I'm not James Patterson, nor do I own any of these characters
Chapter 1
Finally, things were going right for me. Me, of all people. I didn't even know that was possible. Fang had come back, Angel hadn't tried to kick me out of the flock (yet), and Dylan and Fang hadn't ripped each other's throats out over me. Yet. Yeah, that's the list of things I worry about. Just the average day of a fifteen year old mutant freak. No biggie.
Today has been an absolutely fabulous day. I spent the entirety of it flying around the canyon with my flock. (More about them later) And, yes, I did say flying. Am I a junior pilot? No, I most certainly am not. I'm a human-avian hybrid. 98% percent human, 2% avian. And boy does that 2% have a big impact.
I have wings.
You read that right. Wings. I can fly and everything. Just so you know.
Anyway, my crazy life had finally slowed down and started to show signs of normality. Which meant something was seriously wrong.
I was coasting back to my home somewhere in Colorado. It's not that I don't know where, it's just that I'm not going to tell you. Get used to that. Anyway, we were landing on the roof when my Mom came out. I saw the look in her eyes and knew something was up. And in my life, "something" is never anything good.
Mom took my flock of six, plus me (which, by the way, is seven, people) and our two dogs (nine, if you're keeping track) into the living room where Jeb (10!) was already sitting. If you want his back history, read the series. I'm just not getting into that. Anyway, Mom sat down on the same couch as Jeb and we all sat scattered across the room. Jeb took a deep breath that automatically me on my guard. Despite the fact that my guard was already up because he was sitting in MY FREAKING LIVING ROOM!
"I think it's time for you kids to know," Jeb started, taking Mom's hand. Sign number two that things were majorly bad. "Dr. Martinez and I have decided to get married."
OH. MY. GOD!
I looked around at my flock to see how they were taking this. Fang, the next oldest member of the flock and my soul mate (*sigh*) was gazing at me and looking mildly surprised, which means he was about to keel over from shock.
Dylan, the newest member and my supposed other half, didn't seem to realize just how earth-shattering this news was. He looked mildly happy. I wanted to strangle him.
Iggy, the only other 15-year-old in the room, was so tense he looked as though he was about to explode like one of his bombs. You couldn't see anything in his eyes, mostly because he's blind, but his face was turned in Jeb and Mom's direction.
Nudge, my twelve year old ray of sunshine, didn't look like anything. She was absolutely frozen. Even her caramel colored curls seem immobile. I hoped she wasn't comatose.
The Gasman, Iggy's partner in crime, was absolutely horrified. He looked like he did that one time when he snuck downstairs to watch an R-rated horror movie with the boys. Yeah, it was that bad.
Angel, who used to be my baby, then kicked me out of the flock, was rather serene for someone who knew how horrendous this was. It was almost as though she knew it was coming. Of course! She must have read it in their minds beforehand. Yes, Angel can read minds. She can also control them and breathe underwater.
It was Gazzy who broke the silence with one of his, er, unfortunate occurrences. Mom and Jeb laughed, but no one else moved. I finally made my lips work to croak out the vital question
"How soon?"
Ooh, cliffhanger! Leave comments if you think I should continue!
