CHAPTER TWO: It's a Bird, It's a Plane!
Roger came back, feathers ruffled, ready for a good fight. He obviously knew we had planned on lecturing him, or 'plotting an intervention' as he called it, when he walked in and saw us all sitting around the coffee table in fold-out chairs. There weren't enough couches though, so it's not as if we had another choice. Unless sitting on the floor was a choice. Which, it wasn't.
"I'm a mutant teenager, not an alcoholic." He pointedly refused, "I can handle myself."
"No, seriously, this conversation is about more than you." I demanded, "Family meeting, NOW." Of course, we weren't blood related, but close enough to it. We'd been together since forever.
"Fine." Roger huffily agreed, plopping down in a chair, "But if you talk about me for more than five minutes, I'm getting up, and I'm leaving."
"That's cool with me." I shrugged.
"Good. It better be."
"Oh, quit arguing, you two!" Ralph intervened, "Maurice, do that thing! The thing that makes everyone calm their butts down! I can't take much more of this! I'm sixteen and I'm about to have a Goddamn aneurism!"
"Sorry!" Maurice explained with a smiled, "It doesn't work on Roger!"
"Ughhh!" Ralph groaned, leaning back, "You guys are impossible! Where did I even find you? What sewer puddle did you crawl out of again?"
"Haha. Beats me." I laughed apathetically, "Let's just get this over with so I can read or some shit like that. Do I even read?"
"No." Ralph muttered, "The last book I recommended to you, you ate."
"Oh yeah," I moved on, "Well, I guess that's that! Issue number one has been resolved! No more books for me!"
Roger looked very unamused still, his arms crossed in frustration. "Are you serious? Can I leave now? This is a waste of time."
"No, that was only issue one. There's still other issues." I warned.
"Was that actually an issue?" Simon asked curiously, "I don't think I've ever eaten a piece of literature in my life? Did it taste good?"
"No, it tasted like shit."
"Okay!" Ralph interrupted angrily, "No more talk of books! Can we actually be serious here?! I have homework to do! Plus, this is important!"
"Fine, go ahead." I said.
"Thank you!" He sighed, then continued on with the matters at hand in an orderly, professional manner, "First of all, Roger, you can't storm out any more like you usually do."
"Why not?" Roger argued, "I can do whatever the hell I want! It's none of your business!"
"It is! You live in my damn apartment, and you will follow my damn rules, or I will THROW YOU OUT!" Ralph determinedly asserted himself. I couldn't help but appreciate his fury. None of us would've held out against Roger's burning glare like that; and oh, was it smoldering in those red eyes of his. "You've attracted too much attention! If I'm correct, you've been on the news three times this week!"
"Make that six." Simon pointed out.
"Six then! That's even worse!" Ralph continued. The silence from his 'opponent' just seemed to stoke the coals of his fervor. "Someone from your old 'home' is gonna take notice sooner or later! At this rate, we're all on borrowed time!"
"I'll stay in then!" Roger retorted, "I'll be a fucking hermit, if that's what you desire, lord Ralph!"
"Thank you." Ralph sighed in relief and took his seat once more. He seemed to know when he had won his fights, even if Roger was yelling at him. That's the one place Roger would never win; in battles of wits. Lord only knew, he had none.
"Issue number two," Ralph began again, "We're running out of funds."
"I'll get a job." Maurice offered.
"You're eleven!" I spat.
"So?" He crossed his arms and threw me a rebellious look from the corner of his eye, "I could always be a child prostitute. I heard they make good money."
"Maurice!" I squeaked, "That's the last thing we need right now! Plus, don't talk like that in front of Simon!"
"I'd like to think that you'd have realized how much more educated I am than the lot of you." Simon muttered, "I know full well the implications of what's been said."
"Shut your pie hole, high-and-mighty." Roger directed at Simon, "They don't need any reminding. It's a shame that they have to live like that, being stupid and all. Have some pity on them."
"I was talking about you too, Roger." Simon flatly responded.
"Oh, I should flay you, little brat!"
"STOP IT!" Ralph jumped out of his chair and shouted. "STOP IT, STOP IT NOW! For goodness sake, can't we get ANYTHING done around here?! Can't you all just get along for FIVE SECONDS, so that we can have a serious conversation without biting each other's feathers off!? I wish you didn't all act like such CHILDREN!"
"They are kind of children though…" I whispered to myself. I was too ashamed to speak up though.
"You're one to talk about feathers." Roger huffed, "Human."
"Roger, shove that damned superiority complex down your throat for a moment, okay?!" Ralph continued to vent out his rage, "I live here, I'll say what I want, how I want to, kapeesh?!"
"What the fuck do cat peaches even have to do with this?" Maurice asked.
"SHUT UP!" Ralph roared, "I'm so…sick of this!" He started going on some sort of tangent then, and we all tuned out. That's when I glanced past him, out the window, and noticed it for the first time.
"Uh…."
"Hey, what's that!?" Maurice pointed to the spiraling creature in the air, right outside the window. Ralph bit his tongue and followed Maurice's finger to the single point in the sky. His eyes narrowed.
"I don't know. I think I need glasses or something." The blonde remarked calmly. Soon, we were all pressed against the small window panes, trying to get a better look. Simon had to stand up on his tippy toes, and Maurice's wings had started to unfurl again; little brown feathers fluttered dizzily from the slashes in his shirt he'd cut a while ago. I sneezed and shoved him, forcefully, into the glass. It didn't seem like he cared much. Roger was the only one who held back a bit. I could tell he was still curious though.
"I bet it's superman." Maurice muttered deviously.
"Superman doesn't exist, stupid!" Simon retorted.
"What about Santa Claus?" The crazy, brown-haired boy started up again, "You believe in him, don't you? What's the difference?"
"Stop it." I groaned, "And Maurice, Superman and Santa Claus have nothing in common."
"Whatever."
"No, guys, look!" Ralph called. I drew my attention back to the thing outside. It was mighty big, and seemed to have a heck of a time staying in the sky. Little speckled feathers fluttered from its wings, making a trail in the sky. "It's getting closer."
It was getting closer, I realized in dismay, very much closer. I spread out my own, pale orange plumage, ripping my shirt, and herded everyone back. The thing was close enough to make out now, and it wasn't a bird, it wasn't a plane, and it definitely wasn't superman. As an afterthought, I reached forward and grabbed Ralph by the shoulder, tugging him back too. I had thought that he would have been smart enough to tear himself away and back off. I guess I was wrong. Not a second later, the thing smashed into the window, scattering the glass and little droplets of red.
It was…a girl?
She tried to sit up, but immediately fell back to the carpet. We were all standing still with shock, our mouths agape, not quite sure what just happened. Even Ralph, whom I expected to throw a fit about the condition of his window, was quiet. I folded up my ruffled feathers and half-kneeled, half fell, to the ground beside the straggler.
She was exactly like us.
"Uh…hello?" I said as I shook her shoulder. Her dappled wings folded up a bit, dripping blood and sort-of brown feathers. I wasn't really sure what color they were at the moment. It was hard to make out. "Hello? Are you okay?!"
"Are you dead?!" Maurice joined in. I heard the sound of an impact as someone cuffed him across the cheek. "Ow!"
"Is she…she's got wings!" Ralph exclaimed, "She's like you! I wonder where she came from! What happened to her? Oh, I bet she has so many stories to tell!"
"If you want to hear them," I said, "We're going to need bandages, and fast. I think her right wing's broken. It looks like she's been shot."
"By what?"
"I think we already know." I muttered, drawing the serious tones back into my voice. I was in leader-mode now. I had to be. This was going to be just one more issue added to our list, I could feel it. This girl came from the School…though I didn't know her yet, I had a feeling this was the beginning of the end. There goes our peaceful existence, now that she fell into our lives. She'd blown that all the way to kingdom come. Any hopes I'd harbored for a future were gone.
"I'll get the medicines and bandages from the cabinet." Ralph announced, leaving the room. Simon had been oddly silent ever since she'd dropped in. Just as I was thinking that, I heard a hollow thud, and looked up. Oh, well, that's why. Maurice moved the now passed-out Simon to the couch unhandedly and rejoined Roger and I by the bird-girl.
"And you thought I was dangerous." Roger scoffed, "Just look at her; she screams danger. She's like a huge billboard giving away our location. I say we kill her."
"What?!" I almost screamed. Had Roger lost his mind? Someone who was in our same situation crashed through out window and, really, just falls into our lives, giving us opportunities to learn about things we maybe had never heard about before, and he wants to kill her? Right there, just like that?! "You've got to be kidding me! We're not killing her!"
"She's dangerous!" He insisted, "She could ruin everything!"
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we kill her…I mean, look at you." Maurice took up the conversation as well, "You're dangerous too, but we've never even thought about killing you."
"But she's…" Roger struggled to explain for a minute, "She's…unknown. We don't know where she came from…or what she's done…or who she even is! Doesn't that scare you?! I mean, we've never seen anyone else like us, and she suddenly just appears? That seems a little fishy to me."
"You worry too much." I brushed him off, "Right now, let's just focus on healing her. Then, we'll decide what to do with her. I'm sure she's got a flock somewhere. Maybe they'll come to find her."
"That's just what I was afraid of." Roger muttered darkly.
…
Within the hour, Ralph, Maurice and I had her patched and cleaned up, propped up on the couch and waiting for her revival. We'd even managed to pick up most of the glass from the window as well. Somewhere in the process, Simon had come to and had started to play video games again, trying to fix his mind on something other than blood. Roger was nowhere to be found, per the usual.
"Hey, guys, I think she's waking up!" Maurice shouted at Ralph and I from the couch. We both dropped the brooms and dustpans, scattering more glass, and went to go see. Sure enough, the mysterious girl was stirring on the sofa. Her dirty-brown hair clung to her forehead with sweat, and her breathes came short and ragged. We watched in awe as her eyes opened for the first time in our presence. They were brown.
"Where…where am I?" was the first thing she groggily asked. Maurice, all too eagerly, answered. I reminded myself to not let him be our spokesperson, ever.
"In our house, duh!" He, not too wisely, responded quickly. I smacked him in the back of the head, and he backed down.
"I'm going to get something to eat." Maurice sighed, retreating to the kitchen. Ralph started.
"Oh, no you don't!" He shouted, "Don't touch a thing until I get there, Maurice!"
"Fine!" Maurice groaned. I heard a door slam as he retreated to our room. Damn, was everyone here a pre-pubescent teenage girl?!
"Okay, so I'm in your house." The girl repeated crossly, "Where is your house, and who are you?"
"I'm Ralph." Ralph greeted formally, offering a hand. He sat on the coffee table, crossing his legs and trying to appear together. I mimicked his example. "And this is Jack. You're in New York City."
"Oh." The girl said, taking Ralph's hand and giving it a brief shake. I rolled my shoulders back uncomfortably. "…So…I suppose you've figured out by now…"
"That you have wings, yes." I huffily replied, "It wasn't that much of a damn secret, you crashed through our window, uh…"
"…Max." She said, "My name is Max."
"Max, then." I picked up quickly. Wasn't that a boy's name? Whatever, I didn't care anyway. "You were practically bleeding your eagle-colored feathers off. You're lucky you fell into this apartment and not a different one, Maxine."
"It's short for Maximum, not Maxine." She sharply retorted. I was taken aback by this. I hadn't really been properly introduced to a lot of girls before, and I'd never been friends with one, but the one's I'd met hadn't had such forked tongues. "And how come you aren't acting more surprised? What, did you already call animal control? Do you work for the school?"
"So, you do know them?" Ralph asked excitedly. Max looked startled for a moment, and her glance flicked quickly to the window. She was contemplating bolting, I could tell. I knew that look all too well. I'd used it many times myself, when in a sticky situation. There hadn't been many, but enough to give me the knowledge on it. I sat up straight, rolling my shoulders again. We met each other's gaze head on now, as we sized each other up. My bright-orange hair got in the way though, and I had to brush it away, making myself seem a little less intimidating.
"What do you want?" Max accused.
"Nothing." I shot back, "In fact, there are a few of us who think it would be better if you leave, right now. There is also one of us…" I paused uneasily, "…one of us, who wants you dead, quite possibly to kill you himself, but let's not talk about that now."
"Let me guess, Ari?" She sighed pointedly. I frowned in confusion.
"What? Who's Ari?" I asked.
"Wait, so you aren't with the School?" She leaned forward, then winced. Her poorly bandaged feathers probably hurt much more than they needed to; Ralph was no doctor, for sure. "At least, I'm guessing, since you don't know Ari…and you helped me…I guess."
"I tried…" Ralph defended with a weak smile, "But, we're not really used to injuries. They don't leave the house often, you see…unless it's Roger, and he hurts more than he's hurt himself…"
"Who are you people?" Max finally asked. I had been waiting for the question for a while now, waiting to show my true feathers. I smiled as deviously as I could and kicked up my feet.
"Tell us about yourself first, Maximum." I smirked, "Where'd you come from?"
"Jack, don't be rude!" Ralph crossly said.
"I wish I could tell you…" She began, narrowing her eyes and trying to be as defensive as possible, "But I really don't know all the places I've been…I don't know where my flock is either, so don't ask."
"Oh, you have a flock too?!" Ralph excitedly gave away. I rolled my eyes and lowered my guard, placing my feet on the ground once more. There goes my cool attempt at impressing our guest.
"…too?" Max raised an eyebrow and looked between the two of us. She sat up a little bit, trying to straighten out her wings. She had quite a wingspan, I must admit…for a girl, that is.
"Yeah." I sighed angrily, "Us too."
"So, that's why you're not acting like it's the end of the world." She chuckled, "You're hybrids, just like me. I didn't know there were any more of us…I guess I should be acting more surprised, but I just can't get over this. Are you…good? How long have you been here?"
"I don't know." I grumbled, "Maybe two years. It feels like forever though. And yes, we're…good. Whatever the fuck that means."
"Are you with or against the School?"
"Against." Ralph answered for me.; took the words right out of my mouth.
"So, you're good." Max said plainly, then continued questioning us, "How many of you are there?"
I quickly did a head-count on my fingers, then responded, "Four, including me, not including wingless over here." I gestured to Ralph, who snorted indignantly and crossed his arms over his chest. We really forgot sometimes that he wasn't one of us, though. He was with us all the time, and sometimes we couldn't differentiate the mannerisms. We weren't all that different.
"So, Ralph," Max addressed nervously, "Isn't a mutant. He's…human?"
"Yeah." Ralph admitted, twiddling his fingers.
"He wishes he could fly." I teased, elbowing him gently. He didn't tear his gaze away from his fingers.
"That's different…I guess." Max puzzled over our living space, "Your house is so small though…and in this big city…don't you guys get a little cramped in here? I mean, what about flying?"
"Roger." Ralph and I groaned at the same time.
"I don't know what that means, but okay." Max shrugged, moving on, "My flock has six, including me. We don't stay in one place for too long."
"Why?" I asked curiously.
"That's because the School is after us." Max whispered darkly. That's when Roger finally felt the need to interrupt. None of us had even seen him there until he spoke up, and we hadn't heard him either. He jumped down from off the countertop and ruffled his dusty feathers up, making him look much more intimidating than he already was. At the noise, Max spun. She looked…confused, but still almost terrified.
"I told you!" Roger yelled at Ralph and I. Ralph shrunk back. I stood my ground, getting to my feet at once to meet him. It was a constant worry of mine that someday Roger would explode and kill me, or possibly someone important to me; I had to make sure he knew I was capable of being in charge of our small flock, and that I wasn't afraid of him. He prodded my chest with a sharp finger as I spread out my orange plumage. "She's dangerous! You should've just let me kill her! She's gonna lead the school here, they are following her, for God's sake!"
"Fang?" Max asked from the couch. She'd turned carefully, so that she was looking out over our face-off. I motioned for her to be silent, but to no avail. Ralph looked stunned. "Is that you?"
"What the fuck is a fang?" Roger shot back indignantly. I sighed.
"Oh…never mind." Max dropped the conversation. I turned back to Roger, trying to get back to the point.
"We're not killing her!" I growled, "Don't bring it up again."
"As if you could do anything to stop me." Roger kicked up glass shards as he marched off.
"Well," Maximum laughed nervously, bringing my attention back to her as Roger stormed out…again. "You certainly have a strange flock."
Ralph smiled genuinely. "Yeah, and you haven't even met us all yet."