Oh my gosh guys! I'm so glad you guys like this- I thought everyone would think it was weird and not read. :D Thanks for all the reviews!
Logan crept into James's room, shaking him awake, envelope in hand and duffle bag on his shoulder.
"C'mon. We need to go." Logan whispered. James grumbled and got up, sleepily following Logan to the kitchen, where the envelope full of money and the note was laid on the table.
"You okay?" James whispered as Logan hesitated, staring at the note on the table.
"Let's just go." Logan whispered, pushing past James and quietly opening the door.
"Kendall! Kendall! I heard something." Carlos whispered in a panic, shaking his brother awake. Kendall looked at him, confused. "There's something there." Carlos whispered, dark eyes full of terror.
"Carlos! It's just a squirrel. Go to sleep." Kendall grumbled. It was early- the sun was just rising.
"No! It's a person. It's the Blair fucking Witch." Carlos shrieked. Kendall was about to reprimand his brother again, but that's when he heard it, too. It wasn't a squirrel. It was something big- coming toward them. He sat up, staring at the place, Carlos hiding behind him, peaking over his shoulder.
"WHO'S THERE?" Kendall called, reaching back to put a protective hand on thigh. "I'LL KICK YOUR ASS FOR SCARING MY BROTHER!"
"It's the Blair Witch." Carlos repeated in a shaky whisper.
"Shhh." Kendall shushed, listening, watching. Suddenly a man showed up. A familiar looking man...
Kendall bolted up, feeling Carlos stand behind him.
"Brother? I gotta talk to Jennifer about this." the man said seriously. Kendall's stomach dropped in realization and the man saw it. "Hi, son. Long time no see."
"Son?" Carlos questioned. The man stepped forward, Kendall's wings shooting up the way Carlos's had, Kendall backing up against Carlos, reaching back to grip his brother's wrists.
"Back the fuck up, Vincent." Kendall growled. The man's brows shot up.
"Such a way to speak to your father."
"You're NOT my father. Not anymore." Kendall spat. Carlos stepped out from behind Kendall, standing between the two and looking back and forth.
"I can see it." he noted. "You look a lot alike."
"Carlos! Get BACK here." Kendall hissed. But it was too late- Carlos's wrist was caught and the boy was jerked in Vincent's direction, the man's forearm pressed firmly to his throat. Carlos's hands gripped the arm that threatened to choke him, panicked.
"Vincent! No!" Kendall growled, wings snapping back to press against his back. "Let him go."
"I have to talk to you first." Vincent sneered.
"Vincent, I swear to God. If you hurt him, I'll rip your head off." Kendall growled, watching Carlos's fearful eyes on his.
"I won't hurt him unless you try anything stupid, son." Vincent said. "Now. I have a proposal."
"So propose."
"There's been reports of a bird boy in Saint Louis named Logan Mitchell, and a spotting of another one in a town nearby, name unknown." Vincent said.
"Okay?"
"I want you to find them. Both of them. And take them to California."
"Why?"
"That's where I transferred to. And we'd LOVE to have these boys in that lab."
"And what if I don't?"
Suddenly Vincent's hand came out from behind Carlos with an eppy-pin type thing. He stabbed it hard into Carlos's ribcage, Carlos screaming out in pain.
"NO!" Kendall growled, advancing toward the two. Vincent dropped the thing and held out a hand.
"You'll wanna hear what I have to say." he said.
Kendall stopped, fists clenched.
"Today is May 14th." Vincent said simply. "If, by July 14th, those two boys aren't in California, I'll blow your little friend here to pieces."
Kendall was silent, heart pounding.
"I injected a tiny, yet powerful, bomb beneath his ribs. And it'll blow on July 14th, unless I defuse it and I'll be happy to remove it. And if those two bird boys are in my custody by that date, your friend will be safe. But if not, say goodbye."
Tears were streaming down Carlos's cheeks, both in pain and fear.
"That's two months to find them and take them to California." Vincent said, pushing Carlos toward Kendall. Kendall hugged his brother close, Carlos burying his face in Kendall's shirt. Vincent tossed a map at them.
"The lab's marked. Do with that information what you will, son. I'll see you around."
"Wait! Where're Mom and Katie?" Kendall called. Vincent turned and smirked.
"They're in California- living with me. Dumb fucks still think you died in a fishing accident."
"Thanks for the clothes and the shoes." James said sleepily as they flew over the Arch. Logan watched it go by beneath them, knowing it was the last time he would see it.
"No problem." he said absently.
"Are you sure you're okay with this?" James asked. "You seem distant."
"I'm sure about it. Doesn't mean it doesn't make me sad to be leaving behind the place where I grew up."
"Yeah. It was hard for me, too. But it'll be fun. I swear."
After about twenty minutes Logan sighed.
"Wanna grab a bite?" he asked. "I have a credit card."
"Are you serious? You're the best travel buddy ever." James said in ecstasy. They banked in front of a little diner, which was only occupied by truck drivers at such an early hour. It was only six am.
"Uh- I'll have a stack of chocolate-chip pancakes and two eggs- over easy with hash browns and bacon. Oh- and some orange juice." James said when the waitress appeared. She raised her brows, scribbling it all down. "Sorry- I gotta eat!"
"I'll have the same with black coffee, please." Logan said emotionlessly. The waitress nodded and hurried away.
"I'm sorry if this ends up being expensive." James said apologetically. "I'll pay you back sometime."
"Don't worry about it- mine'll be bad, too." Logan said, tearing open a packet of sugar and pouring it on the table between them. He absently ran his finger through it.
"How do you have a credit card?"
"I used to have a job stacking boxes at a grocery store- behind the scenes. Saved up for years. But I guess I got sick of it and quit a while ago." Logan shrugged. "I have a thousand or so."
"Wow." James nodded. "Hardcore."
"I guess. I'm fucking STARVING." Logan said impatiently.
"Amen."
The coffee and OJ came first, Logan taking a swig of his coffee without adding anything or even blowing on it.
"You're just a hardcore guy, aren't you?" James observed.
"Or maybe you're just a pussy."
James laughed and this and shook his head.
"I'm secretly a badass." James shrugged. "I made it three states without shoes, you know."
"Yeah- what ever happened to your shoes?" Logan asked looking up from the sugar on the table. James laughed and went into this deep story, the main idea being that he left his shoes outside of a Wal-Mart in New York, the first day he was alone. The story left Logan chuckling.
"You have dimples! That's adorable." James giggled as the food arrived- two waitresses having to carry the plates.
"Yeah, yeah." Logan said, rolling his eyes.
"I happen to LOVE dimples." James said over a mouthful of pancakes. Logan shifted uncomfortably at the statement. "So, question. Are YOU attracted to girls? I mean, not that I'm attracted to GUYS, but I feel like I should be drawn to girls more."
"Nope." Logan said, neatly cutting up his pancakes. "It's cause of the lack of human hormones. I mean- I dunno about you, but I can't produce sperm. I mean- we have ENOUGH human hormones. To lower our voices and grow hair on our chins and stuff, but we're not attracted to chicks cause we aren't the usual horny teen boy."
"How do you know all this?"
"I used to go to some lab for research. That's what I meant when I said that my mom sold me to science. And they did a shitload of tests. That's how I know."
"But I mean- I don't look at a bird and think 'man, what a piece of ass!' either." James said.
"Yeah." Logan shrugged. "I guess we're not attracted to anything."
"I dunno- you're pretty sexy." James said, wiggling his brows. Logan rolled his eyes. "I'm sexy too, right?"
"Says the guy with syrup dripping down his chin, mouth full of chewed up pancake mush."
James giggled and wiped his chin.
"I'm kidding. By the way." he said. "Not that you're NOT sexy. But it's not like I'm gonna rape you in the midst of the night."
"Eat your damn food." Logan laughed.
"Oh my god- Oh my GOD." Carlos squeaked in a panic, clutching his ribs.
"Carlos! Calm the hell down." Kendall said, unwrapping Carlos's arms from his ribs and lifting his t-shirt to inspect the hole. It was actually quite a big hole- about the size of the end of a pin, and was bleeding.
"Damn."
"YEAH! HURT LIKE FUCKING SHIT!" Carlos whined. "Kendall! I have a BOMB in me."
"It'll be fine." Kendall assured. "We'll find those guys."
"But I don't wanna take them to a LAB! What if they trap US and keep US?"
"Would you rather blow up?" Kendall snapped. "We have no choice. So let's go- to Missouri. Ready?"
"Kendall? I'm scared. What if your dad chooses to be a dick and blow me up ahead of schedule?"
Kendall sighed and hugged and shaking Carlos.
"I told you. If you die, I die. Brothers forever." Kendall said. "But neither of us are dying. We're gonna find those guys and take them to California. Then we're gonna find my mom and tell her everything. She'll divorce Vincent. We'll be a happy family."
Kendall knew that there was a possibility that Vincent was lying about his mom and Katie being in Minnesota. But they had no time to go find them now. No time to waste. There was also the possibility that once the guys were found (if they even existed) Kendall and Carlos would be trapped at the lab themselves. The possibility that Vincent decided to be a dick and blow Carlos up for fun. But he didn't have the heart to say all this to his shaking brother.
"C'mon, Los." he said softly, stepping back and slinging the one-strap backpack over his back- the pack part on his stomach. "We got people to find- places to be."
Carlos sniffled and followed Kendall, who was already in the air.
"You're SURE you know where we're going?" Logan asked, following James in the air, stomach full.
"Yeah- no sweat. We'll be in Kansas by tomorrow night." James yelled over the wind. Logan wasn't so sure, but then again he had no idea where they were or which way they should be going.
And so the conflict begins. Fun fact: I've never ACTUALLY written a story with an actual plot. It's gonna be good.