Iggy: What No One Knows

Chapter 3: Options

Life went on as normally as possible if you overlook the fact that the house was inhabited by six avian hybrids and a talking, flying dog. The flock enjoyed their life now here in an actual home and not stewing rabbit in a cave lit by a caveman's fire.

"Hey, Ig, want to play some basketball with us?" Max called out to the boring slug that sat at the base of one of the trees that bordered the court.

"Good one, Max. Hilarious," he muttered and continued listening to the sounds of the ball smacking pavement and then bouncing back up out of range for detection. Instead Iggy was playing with some mild explosives he snagged up. Max didn't recommend carrying items that could blow the flock off planet earth, but he always kept some anyway, and they made great entertainment.

You have low confidence in yourself. It is unhealthy.

With the thought a wave of pain hit his head and he winced, feeling like his brain had splattered against his skull.

I only am here to help. I don't mean to cause you headaches. There is just something you need to know, the voice said.

If a tiny little voice in his head didn't mean he went crazy then he wasn't sure what that would be. Was this the same voice that Max had in her head, the weird one that always seemed to be telling her what to do in the past?

Yes, everything is connected. I am what you think I am. I only come with a short message though, and I will not be heard of again so listen carefully.

This sounded like fortune-cookie crap, but if Iggy could do anything it was listen. Fire away.

There is a chance for you to get everything you have always wanted. There is a chance to give you your sight back if you will return back to the School. They can fix your eyes and make them function properly again. This is your only chance.

Iggy gripped onto a gnarled tree root and listened closer than ever. All the other sounds around him were blocked out of his mind as he thought about what the voice had to tell him.

I want what is best for you, and to be able to see will be the best. You can see like you did before the whitecoats blinded you if not better. It is not too late to consider my offer. Your time to consider this is limited. Think about it.

Iggy wondered if he finally lost it after hearing that. Was that even possible? He had been blind for around nine years, and they were telling him he had a chance to see again? Sure, he was all for that idea, but returning back to the School to do so? That was scary. Because of that place he would forever fear the antiseptic smell of hospitals and fear anyone in case they morphed out into an eraser and attacked him like they have done a billion times in the past before they were all eliminated.

The flock continued playing basketball, flying up to the basket and dunking the ball, laughing and having a great time. Right, of course they didn't know that Iggy was thinking right now, and they wouldn't know either.

He did what the voice said and thought over his options, rejecting the idea with every fiber in his being, but yet feeling all the colors around him and longing to see them like everyone else did.

And then finally he decided, I have to do this.

Things are a lot easier than done. Iggy didn't leave the couch all night. All the flock plus Ella hung out in the living room most of the night after dinner, watching TV and playing card games and such. They all seemed so happy. What they didn't know was that he was planning on making a getaway to the worst place on earth for the slim chance that he might get his sight back.

You are crazy, that's it. It is a trap and once you get there a mob of erasers or robots or whatever will attack you and the flock won't be there to help. That is what will happen, and they won't come rescue you because who would guess you ran back to the freaking School like a dog returning to the same place to be fed each night. You are pathetic.

He looked up to where he thought Angel was in the room, feeling the uncomfortable sensation of being stared at. It felt weird and Iggy quickly changed his thoughts to who was going to win the game of poker.

Iggy's thoughts raced until finally the youngest members of the flock went to bed at around eleven, leaving only Max, Fang, Ella and himself. "I'm going," he finally said after hours of silence.

"Going where?" Max asked. "You normally stay up until at least twelve."

"To bed. Where else? Rough day," he answered. "Night, guys." Iggy climbed the stairs quietly, counting them as he went and finally reached his room. Feeling warm with guilt, he shut the door and plopped down on the floor next the bed and reached underneath. He felt all the crap under there and tossed it all aside until he found his shoebox full of explosives. He dragged it out and caressed the precious bombs and various kryptonite ammo, and then felt around for a bag of some sort. Rats, that's right. He kept his backpack in Max's room, partly because he didn't have a closet. Drat.

Iggy opened the door and crept out in the hallway, passing the room Nudge and Angel shared as quietly as possible to Max's on the end. He felt for the doorknob and it creaked open, making him wince. He listened and heard nothing at all. Good, Max wasn't here yet. He easily made it to the closet and felt around until his hands closed around his backpack before slipping back out in the hall.

"Night, Fang."

Foot steps approaching. Max is coming. Iggy could hear her climbing the stairs right now and stood in the hallway, not sure which way to go. He couldn't let Max see his stash of light packables. He quickly opened the door to Nudge and Angel's room and slid inside, closing the door behind him right when Max reached the top of the stairs.

Nudge and Angel were sound asleep, undisturbed by the intruder in their room. Max walked down the hall a little more and stopped by what sounded like in front of the room.

Oh no. Don't come in. Keep walking, Iggy prayed silently. His heart pounded nervously.

Max kept on walking. Close call. After a few more minutes of silence to confirm Max was asleep, Iggy made an escape back to his cave. No, the explosives didn't go in the backpack. Instead Iggy put them in his pockets, and in secret holes he hacked into the inside of his hoodie especially for hiding them and where Max never thought to look. The backpack was for food.

Here is your chance. Last chance to climb back into bed and forget this ever happened. Forget it. Iggy knew it was tempting to do just that, but instead he forced himself into the kitchen and opened the pantry, picking up various boxes and checking their contents. The first in the bag was the ever-popular Cheese-Nips followed by the protein nut bars, and the whole package of peanut butter Ritz crackers. There was no need to be inconspicuous. First thing in the morning the flock would find out he was gone, and this time wouldn't expect him to return when they discovered the precautions he made to prepare for a long flight.

They will be just fine without me, Iggy reassured himself. After all, I am the messed up side on the Rubix cube who trips over dogs and burns the pancakes. The only thing I am useful for is a hat rack.

Taking the backpack with him, Iggy launched himself in the sky without further hesitation. He wouldn't need Rachel's help getting back here next time. Hopefully when he came back he would be able to see. He was going back to the place he never thought he would go again, the lab that created him, and also the flock's worst nightmare.