Fang Point of View
I awoke to a hand gently tapping my shoulder. I groggily rubbed my eyes and then jumped back when I saw it was. It was me.
"Angel" I growled. I then looked around and saw that she was sleeping innocently.
"Not Angel" the figure said, sounding hoarse.
"Then who" I asked. I was keeping my emotions off my face, determined not to give him something to use against me. I'll admit I was just a little scared. I remembered Max and her clone and was not looking forward to meeting a clone of myself.
"Not a clone" the figure said, as if reading my mind. "Conscience" I rolled my eyes.
"Wow you got me there. I almost believed you" I said sarcastically.
"All of you mutants have one. They take different forms and come when you are the right age. So far, the only one who has a conscience is Max, and her's takes the form of a voice in her head". I pondered this.
"How come your voice sounds weird?" I asked. The figure almost winced. It wasn't a real wince but a Fang wince, something so small I almost didn't see it.
"You can't expect me to get it right the first time. At least I'm not giving you multiple painful headaches". I scowled at this, remembering the pain Max had gone through.
"What do you want?" I snarled.
"To talk" came the reply.
"What about?" I asked.
"We need a man talk".
"Right. I think I'm manly enough without your 'man talk'. Is this really necessary".
"Yes, You keep your emotions and feelings to yourself Fang. You got to cough up the bomb you've been swallowing all your life".
"So you want me to talk about my feelings?" I asked incredulously.
"Yes, It only has to be one word". Oh dear.
"Fine" I growled. Anything to get him off my back. Was I really that annoying?
"I am feeling cautious. This new kid seems edgy".
"Thank you" Fang II smiled. "I promise you this will help you in the future".
Ash Point of View
I felt a cool hand brushing over my face. It's motions were light, I barely felt them. I jumped up from the ground where I had been sleeping and stepped back. I recognized the hand's owner, Iggy. He looked surprised and his hand fell to his side.
"I'm sorry" he said, sounding embarrassed. "I'm blind, it's how I see". I looked at Max who was looking sympathetically at Iggy. I held his hand to my face. His fingers fluttered around my face before feeling the mask.
"What's this" he asked, confused. I stepped away from him and turned toward the fire.
"A mask" Max replied. "It covers half her face and she refuses to take it off". I notice that Fang is watching me suspiciously. There was a lot I hadn't explained to my dear brother. He'll survive.
"We have a long journey ahead of us" Max said brightly. "I think it's time we pay France a visit".
"Because France has a sudden urge to see seven mutant bird kids" Fang muttered. I looked around and saw that no one else had heard him.
"Can you take a 10 hour flight?" Max asked me. She sounded like a mother. I gave her a quick nod.
"All right gang. Eat as much as you can because there will be no breaks".
Everyone dug into the campfire cooked breakfast. I could see Max sneaking food onto the younger kids' plates. I took a small amount; my digestive system had been adjusted so that the maximum amount of energy was being taken from my food. I could survive with one small meal a day, whereas these bird kids needed too eat high calorie foods as often as possible. Max looked at me with shock on her face but quickly dismissed it and went back to eating. Boy, do these kids eat. "All right!" Max said brightly. "France is calling us!". Everyone launched into the air, snapping out their wings and taking big, long strokes. We flew in silence, except for Nudge who was chattering about colours on people.
"Wow! I just love flying! I never get over that big rush of happiness! I was thinking Max, you would look really nice in a dress; maybe purple or blue? With accents of brown to bring out your eyes! Angel would look really nice in a blue dress! Brings out her eyes and contrasts with her hair! And, um, you would look really nice in a green! Like an olive green? It would go really well with your skin. I really like the tone of your skin! Kind of like a light brown! Like milk chocolate!"
I looked at her and saw that she was addressing me.
"Maybe gold makeup to bring out the gold flecks in your eyes! Your eyes kinda look like Fang's! They're both black with gold flecks! Fang you could wear-" She was cut off by the look that Fang was giving her. A death look; which was funny because with his black wings, hair and eyes, against his pale skin, he looked like Death himself. He had a strange look on his face; I noticed this when he woke up. I dismissed it though; he didn't want to talk about it.
I was flying in auto-pilot, looking down at the deep blue sea below me, when I felt a sharp pain in my leg. I looked down and paled at what I saw sticking out. It was a small dart, with a small clear chamber that seemed to have held some sort of liquid. I felt my leg go stiff: I was being paralyzed. The liquid was spreading through my body, eventually immobilizing my limbs and torso. My wings stopped flapping and I was falling, fast. Again. I saw Iggy dive down toward me, I had no idea how he had known since he was blind. He caught me and started flapping his wings, determination clear on his sweaty face.
"Don't" I croaked out. He seemed surprised that I could speak.
"Get out of range. Get the others and get as far away as possible". I haven't spoken in nine years and my voice was sore from lack of use. Fang dove beside us.
"What's going on?" he asked. I looked above and saw that Max and Angel were shot as well. Looking down, there was a dart sticking out of Iggy's neck. "I don't have much time before I am completely immobilized. Fang, carry Max, get Nudge to carry Iggy and Angel to carry Gazzy. Fly away as fast as possible and don't turn back."
"What about you?" Fang asked. I sighed. After nine years and I'm finally caught.
"I'll be fine" I said sharply. My mind was becoming groggy. Would the flock be safe? Could Angel carry Gazzy? Could Nudge carry Iggy?
"Fang, get Angel to tell you. She'll know what I'm talking about. Tell Max-" it was too late. I was paralyzed completely and descending rapidly. My wings were wrapped around me, cushioning me as I plunged in to deep blue waters. My last thoughts were of the flock.
Hey guys! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been rather busy. Thanks to everyone for reviewing! What are you guys looking for in this story? Action? Mystery? Romance? Question of the chapter: What is the one thing about the world that you would like to change?
Over and out, Storm