We were scouting ahead; the rest of the gang was setting up base camp about ten miles back. It was late afternoon, but dark comes quickly in the rainforest.
I started to relax, seeing as nothing dangerous seemed to be poking its head up. And not like panther-dangerous, or boa-constrictor-dangerous. More like mutants-hell-bent-on-killing-other-mutants-dangerous.
Closing my eyes, I allowed myself to be carried by the air current, enjoying the way the wind brushed my feathers gently. I swear, nothing was better than flying. Just you and the sky, in a delicate dance. A serene smile formed on my face as I glided effortlessly.
Apparently my traveling companion found this funny. She laughed, and it was like the sound of wind chimes lightly tapping each other in a breeze. It was a beautiful laugh, but it was nothing like Max's. I opened my eyes, giving her a funny sideways look. "Think we should head back?"
She nodded, and angled one of her wings, causing her to soar in a large semi-circle. When she was facing the opposite direction she tilted her wing back to its original position, and with a powerful down-stroke, she was off.
I did the same, and it was easy enough to catch up with her. I would never have admitted it to her face, but it had always been a struggle to keep up with Max, even when she wasn't using her turbo boost.
It was strange how my thoughts kept leading back to Max these days. I couldn't keep her off my mind. Seeing her again had just brought up all those faded feelings of regret and breathed life back into them again.
And seeing her with Dylan especially made me wish that I had never left her. I was sure that he was taking advantage of my absence in every way possible, and I had no doubt that Max was succumbing to his charm. After all, it was only a matter of time.
I wondered if there was a soul mate out there for me – a perfect match, just as Dylan was for Max. Because, to be honest, I wanted my peace back. What I had felt just moments before was not peace, but a weak echo of it. What I'd had before was a beautiful summer day. And what I had now was only the eye of a storm – a brief rest before I had to face the tempest again.
My thoughts were interrupted by a low buzzing sound, accompanied by a strange vibrating sensation in my pocket. Realizing what it was, I took my phone out, and checked the caller ID. Speak of the devil. I swallowed hard, and looked up to see her watching me curiously. "Aren't you going to answer it?"
"Um, yeah. Right." Taking a deep breath, I flipped the phone open. "Hey, Max."
"Fang?" she asked, her voice kind of crackly and distant.
"The one and only," I replied, feeling my lips twitch slightly, wanting to smile. But the sound of her voice made me all confused again. I loved her so much, but she didn't see that what I did was for the good of the flock. I wanted to move on, but she made it so hard.
"Very funny. So what are you –" Her voice was cut off then by a large hiss.
"Max? Are you there?"
"- on your blog." Max continued as if nothing had happened.
"What'd you say? The connection's really bad, so –"
"Don't tell me that this is when you make noises like we're breaking up and then hang up on me," she interjected, sounding very annoyed.
I've already done that, I thought sadly. Out loud, I said, "No, this is when I find someplace to land." I scanned the ground for a clearing of some sort, but the canopy was unbroken for miles around. Guess I had to do this the hard way.
"Sorry, I didn't catch the last part," she said. "What are you finding?" Away from the phone I heard her say, "Dylan, stop that, I'm on the phone!"
I leaned forward a bit, my mind racing with all the possible things that Dylan could be doing to bother her right now. "Ah, never mind. Hold on a sec." I lost altitude fast, and the green rushed up to meet me. Phone gripped tightly in my right hand, I folded my wings up, and flipped so I would land feet first. My flying partner followed suit.
We hit the canopy hard, but the leaves broke our fall considerably. We slid off the wet foliage and I grabbed a branch with my left hand and swung from it, landing with a thud in a thick bed of what looked prehistoric ferns. I heard an answering crash as my companion did the same.
Both of us stood up and brushed ourselves off, and apart from a few scrapes and bruises we were fine. I was happy to see that the cell phone had survived the crash. What I was not so happy to see was that my battery was almost dead. Better finish this call quick. "So you were saying?" I asked, putting the phone up to my ear again.
"Well, I've been checking your blog, and things didn't look too promising. I was wondering if you were getting anywhere."
"Oh, well, we're following a lead that Gazzy gave us. From the phone calls that Mark guy made, it sounded like his boss was somewhere in South America."
"Is that where you are now? Great, so this is long-distance."
"Sorry," I replied.
"So you guys are basically on a wild goose chase? Because, I don't know if you're aware, but South America is a big continent."
I sighed. I forgot how grating Max could be sometimes. "Yes, I'm aware. We've narrowed it down to somewhere in the north of Brazil, with some help. Speaking of that, guess who's here?" She looked up when she realized we were talking about her.
"The Easter Bunny," Max deadpanned, and I chuckled.
"Guess again."
"A bloodthirsty tribe of Amazonians."
"Closer."
I hear her gasp. "Angel? Did you find Angel? Oh, Fang, you're the best!" The smile disappeared from my face instantly. I hadn't meant to get her hopes up.
"Um, no, Max. I'm sorry."
"Who, then?" She was angry now. How did I always manage to make her angry?
