Chapter 4: FANG
I motioned for my crew to prepare for a fight, then thought really hard to Angel, hoping she'd pick up on it.
Go with Gazzy up the mast, I projected to her. Keep your wings in. Defend from up there. Stay safe.
Angel sent me a look and replied in my head.
You baby us way too much. But she grabbed the Gasman and ran for the mast, skittering up it like squirrels. One of the Erasers lunged at them. The fight began.
Iggy swept in front of the freak heading for Angel and Gazzy and punched his face so hard I swore I could see stars spinning around it. The Eraser gave a drunken swing, but Iggy danced out of the way and upper-cut into the half-morphed man's ribs. I heard the snap of breaking bones from where I stood.
Nudge shrieked and threw herself at the second Eraser, kicking his shins. The guy grunted and started morphing, his model face elongating and getting whiskery, sprouting fur. He roared and lunged for Nudge, catching her hair and raking his claws across her face. She yelled in pain and he was about to punch her stomach until Max dived on his arm and snapped the radius bone clean in half. He wailed and started hitting her with his other hand, letting go of Nudge.
"I'll tell you a secret, Fang," Ari said, making me snap my head around to look at him as he walked up to me, his ugly self getting uglier as he morphed into Wolf-Man. He swished his claws through the air and I felt them lightly dragging across my cheek, leaving four lines of shallow, bleeding racing-stripes. I snarled at him and ducked, whipping my leg out so it sunk into his stomach and squished all the air out of his diaphragm. At least it would have, it he hadn't been a freaky half-wolf with an ego big enough for Russia.
Ari swiped at me and I feigned to the right, knifing his side as I went. A groan from his ribs let me know there was a fracture, at least. He hissed in pain and before he could catch me I shoved my fist into his side again. This time I was rewarded with a few snaps.
"You'll pay for that, freak!" Ari snarled, baring his fangs and curling his claws into my shoulder. I gritted my teeth and twisted away, feeling my skin rip and start bleeding.
"You were saying something about a secret?" I asked sarcastically, wiping the blood running down my cheek with the back of my hand. Ari growled at me and stalked forward, clenching his fists. Faster than I could dodge, he brought them down on my chest and head, making stars dance in my vision and the air leave my lungs. He shoved me over and I fell to the deck painfully, landing on my wounded shoulder. Ari stepped over me, his boots crushing my wrists into the wooden floor. His gory mouth twisted in a grin as he leaned over, scraping his claws across my face again and splitting my lip. I winced.
"Yep, a secret, old buddy, old pal." His breath was awful. "We're the good guys."
A cold fury ignited in my gut and I guess it showed on my face because he jerked back a bit.
"The good guys," I repeated, my voice dripping icicles. "Of course. Silly me."
He scowled and brought his fist back to punch me so hard I'd black out before something metal and filled with paint smashed into his head, knocking him sideways and splattering him in clear lacquer. I turned my head and saw Nudge, her nose bleeding and multiple scratches all over, Iggy, his face a party of gore, and Max, murder in her eyes and a trickle of blood running down her chin from her mouth.
Ari spluttered where he was, glaring daggers at Max, who was holding another paint tin.
"Skedaddle, dog-boy," she ordered. "Before we throw your wolf-trash butt overboard to sink with your pals."
Ari spared a glance over the side of the ship in time to see the last ripples of something hitting the water still against the boat, rocking it gently. He glanced back at Max, Nudge and Iggy, their fury seeming to bring him back to earth. His eyes lingered on me as I sat up, coughing, watching as he made his way toward the side of the Black Feather Flight. He leapt over the barrier and stared absolute hatred back at me. He waved for his ship to pull away.
"It's been fun, Ride," he yelled as the sails filled and they started drifting. "And now that we know where you are, it's about to get even better. See you soon, bird-boy!"
I didn't mind the fact I was bloody and beaten. I didn't even care that Ari had found us and would be reporting to Dylan in a matter of hours, or that my worst enemy and nightmare would sail into my ship soon.
What I did mind, immensely, was losing Max to that monster because she thought we were a bunch of freaks, mistakes.
I stumbled to my feet, listing to the side and feeling my head spin painfully. I coughed and a metallic taste filled my mouth. Iggy gently put an arm around me and pulled me onto him. I didn't like human contact, and I tried yanking away, but a furious glare from Max made me stay.
I sighed. That girl had me wrapped around her little finger and she didn't even notice.
"Fang!" A voice called, and I looked up to see Angel and Gazzy sprinting across the deck towards me. "What happened?"
"Ari happened," Nudge said, and the Gasman's face darkened.
"That guy," he muttered. "I'll punch his gut so hard he'll throw up last weeks lunch. I hate him!"
He kicked the floor and glared at the ship heading away from us. I saw a tensing in his shoulders and laid a hand on them before he whipped out his wings and flew off. Most likely to get killed.
I saw the stiff look on Max's face and lightly puffed out my cheeks, ignoring the flash of pain from the cut one.
"Bird-boy," she repeated. I felt my stomach clench.
"It's because wolves eat birds!" Nudge suddenly blurted. I looked at her. She nodded excitedly.
"Yeah, and since Eraser's are like, wolfish, Ari likes to call Fang bird-boy because wolves eat birds and Ari wants to kill Fang- eww, do you think he'd eat Fang? Gross! Fang, do you think Ari would eat you if he killed you?"
I made a face, grateful for her idea, not so thrilled about its context.
"Let's not think about it," I said. Max nodded hesitantly, and I saw she didn't truly buy our lie, but it was all she was getting, so she dropped it.
Angel had been quiet this whole time, and as Iggy helped me into the cabin, she took Max's hand and smiled sweetly. Max gave her a warm one in return, and I wondered if maybe one day I'd get that response if I took Max's hand in mine.
Fang likes Maa-aax, Fang likes Maa-aax! A little voice chanted in my head, and I mentally rolled my eyes.
Angel likes Max too, I countered.
Angel's not in love with Max.
I went so rigid Iggy had to haul me through the door with no help.
What? I asked. Angel projected a not-impressed-at-all look into my head. Jeezum, bossy little nine year old.
S'okay, Fang, she told me. There's nothing to be worried about with Max. She really loves us like a family. I bet it'd be something like, wings-and-all. Right?
I nodded stiffly, letting Iggy push me into a chair and start getting out his medical stuff.
Wings-and-all it may be, but I didn't plan on showing mine for a long time.
Love does crazy things, Fang. Nudge read that to me in a book.
I started wondering if Angel was really nine-years-old.
~"At that moment, I had no mind to change, or not to change, or throw against the nearest wall."~
The plaster on my face itched so badly, but I ignored it.
I was lying in my bed, staring at the ceiling with my arms cradling my head. I was thinking about Max, and Dylan. Ari was just a messenger – a taster. Dylan was on his way. He was probably near-by. It'd take a week at most for him to find us. For him to find me.
I shuddered, feeling my chest give an unpleasant tingle. There was a reason I always wore long-sleeved shirts.
I flicked my eyes from the roof to the small porthole in my room, watching the water slide by. Right now, we had no destination, no plan. It was just, 'Keep ahead of Ari, stay away from Dylan, keep the flock safe.' Lately I'd been thinking though…
I shifted in my bed and unfurled my wings. They spread like blankets of night sky over the mattress, and it felt like a relief to have them out after tucking them in so long. I wanted to go out and fly. Freely and without a care. I looked out the window again.
Something brushed against the glass, and I saw the outline of a huge feather before it flapped away with whatever it belonged to. With the moon illuminating everything, I saw the colour: it was creamy with brown bits, speckled and long.
Like the one I found in Max's dress.
~ "You stand out like a fart in church." ~
Dylan wiped sweat from his eyes and gently put his sword back in its sheath. Night-time was brilliant for training. It was cool, with light winds and bright stars in the sky. Dylan loved those stars.
Only because he dreamed about Fang Ride never seeing them again.
A noise brought his attention to the side of the massive ship, where a second vessel was docking. He recognised the hulking figure jumping aboard and walked to meet him.
"Ari," he greeted. "How did you fare?"
Ari grinned, his teeth sharp and pointed.
"Very nicely," he replied. "Miss Maximum seems to have been forcibly enslaved in the life of a pirate by Fang Ride."
Dylan perked up at the exaggerated way Ari had said 'forcibly enslaved.'
"Really now," he brooded. "Well, just another thing to add to the long list of reasons why I will have him hanged."
"He also seems to have kept his freak-defect to himself," Ari added. Dylan's smile stretched into a crocodile grin.
"Well done, Ari," Dylan said briskly, walking over to grab his shirt. He pulled it on and headed for the cabins.
"We should have the fleet on them by the end of the next week."
"Yes, sir."
Ari saluted and Dylan went inside. The Eraser looked up at the stars and smirked.
Helloooo there people!
Thank you for all the awesomeness you've reviewed with. And I'm sorry if this is progressing too fast for you, but that's Maximum Ride – there's an Eraser attack every fifth page or something.
And before you ask about Ari beating up Fang here; everyone remember the paint-incident in The Angel Experiment when Nudge goes to Tipisco to look for her parents? That's that part. See paint inclusion in the form of deck lacquer.
See you next time! Keep being awesome!
Jasmine Out!
To Unnoticed Silence: Yes, indeed I am a Percy Jackson fan. Love me up some PJO!