We find the nickname "Nudgelet" random and disturbing :), hence the name of this chapter. Enjoy!
Nudge stared at the ground rushing past her as she flew low under the forest canopy. She knew it would probably be smarter to watch where she was going, but then the wind would make her eyes sting, and then she'd be crying even harder.
Nudge couldn't remember the last time she'd been alone. Had it been after the first attack from the Erasers, when she and Fang had flown with the hawks? Or sometime after that? Nudge couldn't even think of a time. Would she be alone for the rest of her life? Would she ever see the flock again?
Nudge narrowly avoided slamming into a tree. She shook her head. She had to shut down that train of thought. Fang sometimes said that she overthought things. Maybe now was one of those times. She would have to survive on her own until Max found her.
Nudge almost skipped a wingbeat. The rendezvous point! The flock had agreed on it a while ago, just in case.
Heart soaring with hope, she flew down to the ground. First, she would make sure that the strange black plane wasn't following, then she could circle back to the location….
A low growl caught her attention.
Nudge's head snapped up. She was in a forest, somewhere in the United States. Where certain animals were steadily making a comeback. Not an Eraser, surely. But something equally dangerous.
Nudge gulped, backing into a tree. Why had she landed again?
The creature's burly form stared at her from the shadows of the forest. It came closer, rising onto its hind legs to see her better.
A brown bear. Or grizzly. Nudge didn't know the difference.
She backed up slowly. Was that what you were supposed to do? Or make noise?
The bear didn't seem to care. It came closer, shaking its furry head, and opened its mouth wide. A strange, throaty roar came out; it made Nudge's hair stand in end.
Was she about to die? Would the rest of the flock know?
Nudge banished her fears. She had to make it out.
Could she fly to safety?
The bear lunged at her, still roaring a threat.
Nudge couldn't help but shriek and flare out her wings. She was about to die, she'd never see her friends again, and she'd never get to live past –
"Rawr!"
Nudge cracked open her eyes. The bear wasn't attacking her.
It was focused on something else. Someone else.
"Fang!"
Fang whacked the muscular bear on the head with a large tree branch, flying right above it. The animal roared, not so much in pain as annoyance, swatting at the bird-kid over its head. Fang ducked and dove around it, hitting it again and again.
Nudge watched in astonishment as he fought the brown-furred beast. He slammed its head down with the branch and ground out, "Go!" before the bear swiped at him again.
"But – Fang –" she stammered, but at a hard look from him, she shot into the air. Fang had saved her! She couldn't count how many times he'd done that before.
But she had to help him! Nudge watched as he banged the branch against the bear again. This time, it was ready. With a fast strike, it lashed out, knocking him to the ground. He had only seconds.
"Hey, ugly!" Nudge shouted, zooming down towards the bear. At the last second, she kicked her feet out, smashing into the animal's side.
It barely affected the bear (Nudge couldn't believe her timing for terrible humor), but her intervention gave Fang time to take off. He motioned for her to hurry, and she soared up to him just as the bear was about to swat her in the face.
"Where are we going? Did you see the others?" she panted as they circled overhead. She had about a billion questions.
Fang replied, "To the place. Meet them there," and tilted his wings to carry him toward the appointed cave.
Nudge couldn't help but worry. What if the flock wasn't waiting for them? What if the strange, black rocket had blasted them? Had she seen it follow any of the others? It might have been going after Gazzy, but she wasn't sure.
"Fang?" she said again.
He shook his head. "Wait until we get there," he responded.
When they reached the cave in the cliff wall, Nudge's worst fears were confirmed. The flock was gone. No one was there.
Fang landed anyway, and she had no choice but to do so as well. "Where are they?" she asked, unable to keep the panic from her voice.
He was inspecting the cave, as though there was some sort of trace there. After a while, he said, "Max was here." He pointed to footprints in the dry, sandy floor. Most were big, Max-size prints, but a few were smaller.
Nudge's heart leaped. Max had been there, and Gazzy or Angel could have been with her! But she shouldn't jump to any conclusions. "What does that mean?" she asked Fang with wide eyes.
He paused. "Max was either here with Angel or Gaz. Not Iggy, though. His are new Nikes that haven't worn down yet, so his prints would be ridged." He stared intently at the ground, as though the footprints would come alive and turn into the missing flock.
Nudge looked at him hopefully. "So that means that Max is okay?"
"She was," Fang said. "No idea now."
Nudge was feeling nervous again. How could Fang just stand there? They had to find everyone. What if Max left the cave for a reason? If their new enemy caught her, would she have made it to the rendezvous spot?
She was about to voice her anxieties, when two figures alighted at the entrance to the cave.
Should I write a fanfiction called "Elementary, My Dear Nudge"? You know, about Fang's life as a secret detective? My partner, Love, thinks I should, so yeah. She imagines him twirling the end of a long mustache. XD