Okay then…ummmmm, CHAPTER 3 BABY! Yeah whoo-hoo! To those of you who thought I wouldn't get this far-HA! Here I am! YEAH! Big thanks to Unicorn of Awesomeness, fishyicon, Mangagirl88, and the anonymous reviewer! Snaps for you!

This is FICTION! Any resemblance to people or organizations past or present is completely coincidental!

I DO NOT OWN MAXIMUM RIDE! Or the Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

Okay, FYI-this story is mostly written in flashback. So I may put little bits and pieces of what's happening in the present at the beginning or the ending of each chapter. So basically, it's the events that are leading up to the present. The best way you can tell is if it's from Max's POV-its part of the flashback. Make sense? I hope so. I'll put a little line thing in between each part just so you know.

Forever and Always

Chapter 3- Solitary Confinement

A story by camilleisabeast

"It may seem a hard task to condemn fellow creatures to long years of confinement in prison, but it is not so hard if they clearly deserve it."
-Thomas Mellon

Max:

I assure you that the capture, interrogation, and confinement of others is not something I condemn. But sometimes it cannot be avoided for multiple reasons. Reason #1-They know something we really need to know. Reason #2- They know something about us that others really don't need to know. Reason #3-Angel's already captured them and violently interrogated them, and put Fang and I in the awkward position of what to do with them. So now what? Do I just let him go? No…it already knows too much. Eliminate it? Hmmmm, now there's an idea. But do I really want to be the one to do it? Not really. Could I get Fang to do it? Probably not.

We could always torture it until it tells us everything it knows… Angel says into my mind.

Ugh. Can't a girl get a little privacy inside her own mind! I shoot back. I whip my head around to shoot her a look and she recoils into the corner of the cave. Then, I turn my head to look at the knock-out Eraser tied up to a piece of wood. What to do, oh what to do? Tie it up to a tree somewhere and then fly away? Possibly. This could work.

Sometimes, I don't know why I took a knot tying class. Other times (like today), I'm so glad I know how to effectively tie Erasers to trees using complicated knots like a Boy Scout. I step back to admire my handiwork and dust off my hands on my torn jeans.

"Whaaaa? Where-where am I?" The nameless Eraser mumbles while attempting to wipe off his eyes only to find them tied up behind him.

With one quick blow to the head courtesy of my fist, he's out cold-again. I really hate being put in these situations. I make a mental note to lecture Angel about mutant-rights sometime.

Crunch! The sound of crackling leaves echoes around me and I quickly scan the forest around me looking for anything unusual. A bunny hops into view and I feel stupid. I mean REALLY stupid…That's when things go downhill. Another figure moves swiftly through the foliage quickly-very quickly. So quickly that I can't prepare for what's about to happen next. One moment I'm checking my bearings, trying to size up the situation, and the next I'm in a headlock, fighting for air. I can feel myself slipping out of consciousness, watching little black spots appear in my vision. The world goes blank and one thought bounces around in my mind. I'm so glad I didn't bring the flock…

Metal cuffs dig deep into my skin, causing a deep stinging pain in my wrists. The air reeks of antiseptic and it make the inside of my nose tingle and my eyes burn. The room is entirely plated in metal compete with a chrome finished door with a bolted-shut, probably bullet-proof, glass window with the metal bars on both sides to keep those who can break bullet proof glass from escaping. This is confinement. Nothing but me and my thoughts, and that can get boring really fast unless….voice? Are you there magical voice inside my head? And for the second time today, I feel stupid.

You sound stupid too. And there's the voice. Weird I know; there's a voice in my head that sometimes tells me what to do. Although I have no idea how I came acquire this little companion sometimes it can really come in handy, like now…when I'm bored. And then there's other times when the last thing I want to hear is some bodiless voice trying to tell me what to do. And how do you plan to get yourself out of this one, huh, Max? Easier said than done considering that almost every movable part of my body is somehow restricted with metal cuffs. Yeah, that's what I thought. Great. And now I've been insulted by the voice in my head.

The sound of an unlocking door fills the air, followed by a series of similar sounds proving just how many locks they had on the door. Seems like a lot of effort to keep just one teenage bird kid in a room. The metallic knob slowly turns and creaks open and in comes a short, balding Asian man…Mr. Chu. I'm really starting to hate seeing him. Behind Mr. Chu is the other person I'm really starting to hat seeing-Jeb.

"Why, hello Max," Mr. Chu states.

"Yeah, fancy meeting you here." I state, trying to put as much venom and sarcasm as possible into those five words. I can only imagine the expression on my face, but I'm thinking that it's a mixture of surprised, disgusted, and murderous. All of which are a very deadly but when I'm feeling all three, it can be very, very dangerous-for anyone, standing too close.

"Max, be polite," Jeb lectures.

"As if you have any control over me traitor," I spat.

"Anyway," Mr. Chu interrupts, "Max, do you have any ides what you did you end up here?"

"No, but I suspect you're going to tell me."

"That's where you're wrong. Good night, Max" Mr. Chu approaches me and swiftly pushes a syringe deep into my blood stream. "You're just going to take a short nap." The last thing I see is Mr. Chu's evil face, grinning that mischievous grin no one likes to see.

Fang:

Something's wrong. Very wrong. Call it intuition, call it observation, but Max's been gone for 24 hours and I heard that's when you're supposed to file a missing persons notice. But since I really hate involving authorities because that always leads to trouble, I'm going at this alone. "IGGY! You're in charge! Don't screw this up!" I yell, then take off, to find Max.

Present Day

Fang:

Nothing to interrupt my thoughts but the steady beep of the heart rate monitor. Nothing to distract me except for the outdated Better Homes & Gardens magazines. No one to comfort me except for the flock, but they can't say anything I haven't already heard. Nothing to do but wait…For something, anything…I don't care anymore.