Hey guys! I'm sorry I haven't updated. Computer issues and all! Just a warning, this chapter is rather boring. I had to rewrite a few times because it was so incredibly boring.
I'm apologizing right now if I got any of the Flock's history wrong. Just pretend it happened that way, for my sake? Thanks!
Anyways, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Maximum Ride... But I do own all the books but Nevermore! Nor do I own Mexico. But it would be awesome if I did.
Claimer: My characters, my plot, my design for the Flock's awesome home.
"Do you think they are gonna feed us today?"
"I hope so. I am really hungry."
"Why does Momma keep talking in her sleep?"
"We should ask her when she wakes up!"
"I bet Dylan knows. But he just will not tell us."
"That's 'cuz he don't talk, Lumi!"
"Well, that is weird. We all talk..."
I blinked, waking up to Jason crawling into my lap. I forced a small smile onto my face. I hadn't really smiled since I left the Flock.
I looked around our prison. Both of the girls were up and staring at me, confused. "Max?" Lumi asked. "Who is Fang?"
I blinked. "F-Fang?" I wondered. "Why?"
"You say his name sometimes in your sleep," Bree announced. Vani woke up, hearing their voices. He sat up and stuck his thumb in his mouth, leaning against me. "And Angel. And you keep mumbling, 'I have to save the Flock...'"
I looked at Dylan. The older boy just shook his head, telling me he had nothing to do with this. You sleep-talk sometimes, he mentally informed me. I am surprised they have not brought this up sooner. I think it is time you tell them. They are very curious, and a bit hurt that you have kept this from them for so long.
"I guess you have a right to know," I sighed. These kids were so perceptive. "But let me warn you now, this is a long story."
Bree rolled her eyes. "We have all the time in the wold."
I cracked a smile at that. "Ok, well, nineteen years ago, I was created. The first of the successful avian-human experiments. They took an egg from my mom, Valencia Martinez, and sperm from my dad, Jeb, and made a life. Then they added in the avian DNA. The nine months were shaky, from what I've been told. I almost died countless times. But I lived. It was a miracle, to them."
"Jeb?" Lumi asked. "But he is the bad guy!"
"I know, hon," I answered. "I'm the spawn of the Devil."
Dylan smirked at my answer. He was the only one who knew what the Devil was. None of the others did. No one here talked about God and the Devil, Good and Evil. It was just do as we say and you won't be killed.
Maybe.
"But you are not mean," Bree whispered, clearly confused.
"Thanks, sweetie," I replied. "Not all people are like their parents. Besides, my mom is good. Really good. She's a doctor." An animal doctor. Figures, right?
Lumi looked at me patiently. What an angel. "Your story?" she prodded.
I smiled a little. "After I was born, they started experimenting on me. I was the only experiment at that point. Well, the only avian one. There were plenty of others, but they were mostly all failures. Six months later, the school got Fang. His mom was a teenager when she had him. Very young. We think fifteen. And she died during his birth. His dad was nowhere to be found. They didn't even know who he was, or how to find him. Anyway, a doctor at the hospital just handed Fang over to the School. They grafted the avian DNA into him right away. He was only a few days old. But I didn't now him until we were about four. I guess six months later, when I was almost a year old, Iggy came. He was kidnapped from his parent's home. He was about five months old. They grafted avian DNA into him then, too.
"When we were four, the School introduced us to each other. We were put into a room with other experiments. Iggy and Fang had already known each other. I was a loner at that point. Bad stuff happened to us in that room. All I remember is getting hurt, and then Fang and Iggy coming over to protect me. When I woke up we were all in the same room, in separate cages. They told me what had happened and we were immediately friends.
"I'm not sure how they got Nudge. We think she was kidnapped, too, but we have no proof for that. But they grafted the DNA into her too. Eventually Gazzy and Angel came. They were sold to the School. Gazzy was almost three, and Angel was a few months old. They were given the Avian DNA as well. We met them right away. I even got to keep Angel with me, in my cage. They School didn't want to bother raising her, and I was already eight, so they let me do it.
"Around that time the School messed up on an experiment. They wanted to enhance Iggy's eyesight. Of course, he had excellent sight already, so it was a waste of time. They just ended up blinding him. So he can't see.
"Two years later, Jeb was suddenly the good guy. Of course, I followed him around and did everything he wanted me to do for most of my life before I was eight. Until I met Angel and Gazzy, that is. I couldn't understand how such innocent children would get tortured like this. I stopped doing what they wanted me to do. I fought back. Jeb was the bad guy then. And when I was ten, Jeb helped us escape. He kidnapped us from the School and brought us to this beautiful house in Colorado. We were safe for the next two years, with him being out dad. He taught us to fly. How to fight. To cook. To care for wounds. To read and write. Some math and history. It was a magical time, basically.
"But our happiness with Jeb only lasted two years. When I was twelve, Jeb just vanished. We thought he had died, and continued our lives like he was dead. He had actually gone back to the School to report on us. We were alone for the next two years, until we were discovered by Erasers. Angel was stolen from us and taken back to the School. So we went and got her back. During that trip I met my mom, but I didn't know she was my mom then. She helped me heal from a bullet wound I got saving her daughter from some bullies. After saving Angel we went to New York, where there was information about us and our past. None about me, though. We discovered Iggy's parents, who wanted to make money with his story. We found out that Gazzy and Angel had been sold to the School. We learned that Fang's mom was a dead teenager. We learned nothing about Nudge or me.
"We were attacked, flying to Virginia to find Iggy's parents. Fang had to go to a hospital, it was so bad. We met Anne, one of the scientists here. She treated us like a real mom would, until we figured out who she really was. We went back to my mom's house in Arizona then. Eventually we were sent to save the world across the ocean. Fang and I split into different Flocks. That was hard, but he refused to be around Ari, my half-brother who was an Eraser and had tried to kill us countless times. But he was good then. I'd killed him twice, and he was still alive. And very sorry for hurting me. While we were in our final battle, Ari expired. I barely got out of a fight alive with Omega- you guys know who he is.
"After a while of going from place to place, my Flock got mad. They wanted to go hide somewhere and just live. I still had to save the world, though. We kept getting attacked by the School's creations. It was hard. Finally they just kicked me out. I left them, and haven't heard from them since. It's been almost five years."
Bree had tears streaming down her face. I hugged her tiny form.
"You have been outside?" Lumi questioned, her voice awed.
"Yeah," I answered. "And so has he!" I pointed to Dylan at this.
"Well, he does not talk," Lumi sighed. "Tell us about the Flock, Max."
"Please," Bree begged, wiping away her tears.
Suddenly the door opened. Whitecoats walked in. "Tonight," I promised. We were all taken away for various tests after that, putting up varying amounts of resistance to the Whitecoats. Seeing as I was allowed to keep Ty with me this time, I didn't resist at all. I'd rather have my baby with me than on her own.
Dylan and I were the first to return, late that night. Tyler had been taken from me shortly after our first test. I sat against the metal wall of my prison, sighing in pleasure as the cold surface cooled my aching back. What a day that had been.
It hurts, talking about them, Dylan mused.
I nodded. He knew everything.
Well, not everything, Dylan stated. If I knew everything, I would know of a way to escape here, would I not?
"You've thought of that?" I asked aloud, surprised.
Of course I have, the boy scoffed. You are not the only one who wishes these children could have a real life. But there is no possibility to escape. Not one scenario I have has turned out positive.
"Same here," I mumbled. "Nothing can work here." Except the one where the Flock rescues us. But that's never going to happen.
We were quiet for a while. I laid back, hooking my hands together under my head. Suddenly Dylan's face turned into a mix of horror and disgust.
"What's wrong?" I asked him, suddenly worried. I sat up and knelt in front of him. He never showed emotion unless it was something really bad, or really good. This was bad, of course.
Have you been unconscious during any of your tests? the teen asked me.
"Yeah," I answered. "Recently they've been testing my endurance to see how long I could go before passing out. Why?"
How long are you usually unconscious for? Dylan wondered, ignoring my question.
"About five minutes or so," I answered. "Last week I was out for a few hours a couple times. Dylan, what does that have to with anything?"
You're pregnant, Max, Dylan informed me. I groaned. I can sense her in you. She is not developed enough to read her mind or anything, but I can sense her. I am so sorry.
"It's not like it's your fault," I mumbled. Why me? Why? I'm only nineteen! I shouldn't be having babies yet!
After a while of silence the kids were returned, one at a time. I winced as Jason's stomach growled. I doubted any of them had been fed today. I hadn't.
"Tell us about the Flock now, Max?" Lumi asked/ordered.
I grinned. She was strong. "What do you want to know?" Anything to keep their minds off hunger and pain. And anything to keep my mind off another pregnancy. I'd rather stand in front of a train then have another kid right now.
"Everything!" Jason exclaimed. Amusement danced in Dylan's eyes, sufficiently masking his pain. These kids were just so innocent sometimes.
"Alright," I said. Jason climbed into his brother's lap. Vani crawled onto my lap and leaned against my stomach. I held Tyler in my arms. Lumi leaned against Dylan's free side and Bree did the same to me. They all looked at me, waiting.
"I'll start with Angel," I began. "She's the baby. She has blonde curls and the brightest blue eyes I've ever seen. She's a mind-reader, but she can't penetrate mind blocks. She can also control people with her mind, but only when she meets their eyes. She's incredibly smart and strong, like all of us are. When I left, she was almost seven. She can breathe underwater and talk to fish. She's the one I raised from a little baby, and she considered me a mother."
"Like me?" Jason wondered. I smiled. He hadn't known either of his real parents, which was for the better, I suppose. Since I raised him, he believed I was his mom, though he knew I wasn't really.
"Yeah," I answered. "Except she never called me Mama!"
Jason grinned at this. He completely considered me his mom, even going so far as to call me that. I absolutely loved it.
"Gazzy is next," I continued after ruffling the little boy's hair. "He is Angel's biological brother. They look exactly alike. We named him the Gasman, because one of his powers deals with, well, gas." The girls crinkled their noses at this while Jordan and Vanish laughed. "Gazzy can also mimic voices perfectly. Sometimes, when he was bored, he would either use mine or Fang's voice to make the other very mad. The kids all thought this was so funny." The kids all laughed at that. "Let's see... Gazzy loved explosives. He and Iggy build bombs all the time. They came in useful many times, too."
"Nudge," I breathed. Louder, I manged to continue. "Nudge. She never stopped talking. We used to call her the Nudge Channel: All Nudge, All the Time. She has beautiful long brown hair and dark skin. Her eyes are a deep chocolate-brown color. She can talk about anything for hours on end, effortlessly switching topics. She is a complete fashionista. Um, she can hack into any computer in seconds too, which is a very useful thing when you're not locked up."
"Ok, Iggy," I continued again, trying to hide the pain I was feeling by remembering my Flock. "He's the blind one. But he's so well adjusted, it's easy to forget he is blind sometimes. He's our cook, because I never could. And he's an amazing cook, too. His hearing and feel is better than ours, making up for his inability to see. He has strawberry-blonde hair and is extremely pale. He makes jokes about everything and loves to build bombs like Gazzy. He was always the mediator when Fang and I fought, since we're all the same age."
"Fang," I whispered. My heart ached saying his name. "He was my best friend. My second-in-command. We knew each other like no one else did. We could read each other easily, even though we both tried to hide our feelings. He had black hair and dark eyes, and tannish skin. He rarely talked or even smiled. But... he meant everything to me. He kissed me a few times, and I ran away, but eventually I welcomed it and... yeah."
And yeah? Dylan mentally laughed. What a strong ending for the great Maximum Ride.
All I could think to do was glare. Dylan was unfazed. My anger had nothing on his nightmares.
"Do you miss them?" Lumi asked, yawning.
"I guess so," I answered. "They were my life until they made me leave."
"What about us?" Jason wondered.
"You guys are my life now," I promised.
"What's outside like?" Bree wondered.
"Amazing," I sighed. "Trees, grass, blue sky, oceans, lakes, sand... There are lots of good people and fun things to do. Sports and games to play. Books to read. It's wonderful."
"I want to go outside," Lumi whispered. Bree and Jason nodded.
But we cannot, Dylan thought. Ever.
I bit my lip. He was right. The only way we could ever escape is if the Flock came looking for us. Which I highly doubted would happen after so many years.
"FANG!"
Fang jumped up from his desk and ran to Angel's room. "What?" he asked, his heart racing ten times faster than normal.
Angel was sitting in her bed, crying like there was no tomorrow. Fang held her close and soothed her, running a calloused hand through her blonde curls.
"What is it?" Fang asked fifteen minutes later, when Angel's tears stopped.
"Max," Angel whispered, her voice breaking. "I saw her... Dead."
Fang froze. Dead? The only reason he hadn't given up completely was knowing Max was alive somewhere. If she died, he'd have no reason to live.
"She's dead?" Fang asked slowly, unable to comprehend.
"Not yet," Angel answered hurriedly, yet sadly. "But if she stays where she is, she will be. I saw two futures. One, she stays and died. Two, we go rescue her and bring her here. We have to, Fang! We have to! Please!"
"Ok," Fang agreed without a second thought. "You and I will go in the morning, once the others wake up. Do you know where they are?"
Angel nodded. "I saw it in my vision. Mexico."
"Pues, vamos a Mexico, eh?" Fang asked in Spanish. Angel grinned.
"Oh, yes!" she cried. "Max'll be so happy to see us!"
I love Angel's new power. Hehehe.
Pues, vamos a Mexico- Well, let's go to Mexico!
Thank you so much for reading my story. I will try to update once a week from now on, but no promises! I only have a few chapters written, and none are the next one. Just so you know, there is no Total the talking dog in my story. I think I may have mentioned that last chapter, but I can't remember. But there is none, and won't be one. And about the computer problems? Yeah, an overly-used excuse. But for me, it's legit. I'm awful with technology, repelling it every button I press. Ask my friend. He's fixed my computer a dozen times in the last two years. Anyway, like I said, boring chapter. Just a filler. Had to be done. Sorry!
Reviews are greatly appreciated! I reply to every single one I get, too. Feel free to ask me anything!
Finally, does anyone know why I don't get emails from fan fiction? Like for reviews and story updates? It's rather annoying.
Hasta luego, mis amigos! (See you later, my friends!)
~Krisuvial~
