A/N Edited 9/14/08
Someone, SOMEONE PLEASE hit me a frying pan! –bangs heads on keyboard- This is so late it's not even funny
I was playing this game, Chicken Invaders and I get to this one level, right? And it's called, Speak Softly And Carry A Big Pan, WTH! What had this world come to, more poof we are all going insane! YAY!
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be strong now
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Silence, it was a wonderful sound…at least for me.
We walked in a comfortable silence, matching stride for stride. The stars were barely there through the dark but the city lights shone bright and wove a pathway of excitement throughout the whole city.
I was invisible which usually wouldn't have bothered me but with Iggy by my side and remembering my little scene in the street earlier, nobody bothering to help me I began to feel uneasy and vulnerable.
Why were these people like this? Did they think I was one of the mutants? Geez, racist much, but it wasn't like I actually was one though. I was simply taking their side but the thought that they just assumed I was a mutant meant that I would be refused help. That they could've just let me die,
"Who saved me, Iggy?" the question had been nagging like an annoying nat and I just couldn't help but swat it. It didn't make sense. If the hospital had patched me up then they would've already interrogated and pulled up my records and everything. And even if I was in that room because they thought I was a mutant didn't explain why I had left unscathed.
Iggy's pace slowed slightly, letting his feet shuffle on the ground. Without meeting my eyes he answered nonchalantly, "Me,"
"What!" I automatically halted to a stop staring incredulously at him. "But, I mean, you didn't even know me. And why…why would you bring to such a dangerous place and show me those…." I felt like screaming. My brain hurt, nothing added up and Iggy made it all the more frustrating standing there in the middle of the sidewalk smirking.
Honestly, if it had been me in his place I wouldn't have bothered. It's a selfish thing to say but nonetheless true.
"I think your little friend, Nudge was it? Might've been an influence and not all people in New York are complete jerks Max, most but not all. Who was I to deny you life?" he said matter-of-factly, not smugly just simply.
I gawked at him; he did all the work on me?
"How old are you again?" I asked mockingly even though I truly wanted to know, sure he looked young but he could be 20 for all I knew.
Oh, my, freaking, god, I could be walking with a pedophile who preyed on teenage girls!
He shrugged and answered. "Fifteen and blind, a surprising feet right?" the words sounded effortless yet rehearsed, slightly bitter. Then Iggy's words finally began to sink in.
"Wait…you know where Nudge is?!" I exclaimed, completely puzzled. I felt so stupid, I was naïve little Luke to Iggy's Yoda. Seriously, this guy is just a bucket load of knowledge.
"Uh, duh?" his intelligence response was, so much for Yoda.
I couldn't help but look at Iggy in a whole new perspective now that he had unconsciously told me he was blind. How did he get around with all the cars and people, not to mention the traps for the unsuspecting? It was one of those mysteries that until you figured them out would annoy you for the rest of your days especially when the answer was right in front of you…
A speeding car passed us going so fast I was literally swept off my feet, nearly falling back into to a loitering crowd. Iggy grimaced,
"We should hurry," I swiftly regained my balance just as he began to quicken his step.
Now paranoid, we kept to the shadows and avoided eye contact at all times. How, I thought. Has it come to this? When people are no longer safe on the sidewalk?
For the next fifteen minutes all was quiet, not another word exchanged between the two of us. I could tell we were close as the people began to disperse and the quality of the area lessened. There were deep cracks in the road, graffiti under the bridge we walked under.
All of the sudden I couldn't think of meeting Iggy's friends, it wasn't possible. My stomach was in knots yet empty at the same time. What would become of me if they rejected me? This simple thought made my head swim.
Deep breaths, in and out
Ok, it's not like they can kick me out onto the streets? I mean, I am on their team now. Iggy seemed to like me. What was the worst that could happen?
But as I thought about it more and more, our destination gradually approaching I knew what the worst thing was. And it could so easily occur. There was nothing, absolutely nothing worse than an awkward situation.
Silence is required in almost every task you do. How would I be able to deal with an awkward silence? Living with the knowledge that they didn't approve of me, the cruel unsaid words hanging in the air...
Iggy lead the way into the subway and from what I could tell it was abandoned. Not a single soul in sight. This wouldn't have bothered me one bit, I had a thing for deserted places but the distant dripping of water somewhere and our feather light footsteps echoing off the cement walls was eerie and….unnatural.
I glanced over at Iggy, his expression confirming my fears. Apparently this wasn't normal or at least not common, his expression puzzled. I swallowed hard.
Great, just freaking great, looks like I've brought my bad luck with me
I watched sympathetically as Iggy scratched the back of his head, deep in thought. Most likely wondering what the heck to do.
And I've just dumped it on some poor soul
As I soon found out that wasn't the case, "Max, follow me. Don't get lost or else…well, you don't wanna know." And he left it at that. What the heck were we doing? There was obviously no one here, why stay any longer?
I didn't dare voice my doubts though because if I did I knew the sound would reverberate off the walls. I had this feeling Iggy wanted to be quiet.
I followed him blindly through the tunnel like an obedient little student, all natural light fading as we progressed further in. My eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness seeing as we had reached a part in the tunnel where it was as black as death. I refused to look at the ground because based on all the scurrying over the floors I knew I wasn't going to find a cute little squirrel…
I shuddered, bad mental picture... Unexpectedly Iggy lashed out and grabbed my arm, pulling me into the darker depths of this underworld. I slipped over the grime covered floor and nearly landed face first into…railroad tracks?
Ok, I knew this was a subway but the way things were looking right now it sure didn't feel like one. So imagine the surprise I was feeling when I was faced with proof that something civilized had once been here. Pft, yeah right,
All joking ceased though when I was suddenly pushed through a corridor and onto the cement. "What th-" I began to say but was interrupted when a gloved hand covered my mouth, muffling my words. Thrashing around I attempted to turn and face my captor but was immobilized. Heck, this guy's strong.
I continued my fruitless attempt at escape until I heard a voice whisper in my ear, "Just…chill." The words were soft and sweet having the same affect on me as a lullaby. Or they would've if I hadn't become so incredibly pissed at the very sound of his voice.
Fury and mortification welled up inside of me as I reluctantly ceased movement. He left me and Nudge to die with nothing but a cryptic warning and he expected me to freaking chill?! Didn't he notice I was a runaway? Hello, news flash! Runaways trust no one. The second you do the next you know you're half dead in an alley somewhere.
But here I was being told to trust someone who I hardly knew and I was in a much worse situation than some random deserted alley. Bet you'd have never prepared yourself for being kidnapped in a deserted subway, now would you.
But technically Iggy lured me here so it's not all my fault.
At least that's what I'm trying to tell myself.
I glared at a distinct black spot on the wall across from me, breathing heavily as to keep my anger under control. I certainly didn't want to be rude to my captors considering how hospitable this Butt over here had been when he saved my life and then took off to let me die a different way.
I'm obsessing aren't I?
If worse came to worst I could always punch him out just in case he tried to make a move on me. But for now I'll play it cool and cooperative. Ooo, shocking!
I stood up cautiously, Chivalrous's hand dropping from my mouth to his side. I glanced around and was in for the shock of my life.
I was in a secret passage for sure but secret world was more like it. Where I had been pushed into was what appeared to be an entrance of some sort. But everywhere else there were people, mostly homeless looking types and obvious runaways. Everything was silent though save for the almost mute conversations among everyone.
The peoples' expressions were the most shocking out of everything though. Stiff and scared, frozen in time as if waiting for their deaths.
Not the most cheerful atmosphere to be introduced to.
"What the heck is going on?!" I hissed. This was beyond comprehension. Life was so much easier when you could count on a person to backstab you without worrying that save you the next chance they got.
Iggy finally stepped into view and out of the shadows. From what I could tell it was only Iggy, Chivalrous, and me in the small entranceway. No one even bothered to glance in our direction.
"Nothing, we just had to safely get you underground." Iggy answered as if it was incredibly obvious.
I bounded back with my own remark, "Uh huh, suuure. Then why did you push me and then proceed to try and gag me?"
It was cloaked boy's turn to explain, "Can you honestly say that you weren't going to scream?" he smirked the same way he had in the park when I'd blushed. Oh god, was I blushing right now? I reached up and felt my cheek.
How I could worry about my impressions on a complete stranger at a time like this was beyond me.
"..." The expression of complete uncaring had settled on his face once again. He moved forward until we were only a foot apart. Cooley, he held out his hand.
"Fang, I'm deeply sorry if I have offended you in any way considering the glares you're giving me." Even if I didn't have the heart to stay pissed at him I still had my thoughts. I was thinking along the lines of how he said all this with straight face. Smart ass, I rolled my eyes.
"Max, and what if I don't feel like forgiving you?" Yet I still held out my hand which he enveloped in his own, giving it a mock shake.
"I'll find a way to persuade you,"
"Bleh, you've been together for a record of a few minutes and you're already...bonding for lack of a better term." Iggy teased.
Fang pulled his hand back from mine as if I had burned him even though he must know Iggy's blind. Cold air drifted in and encased the place where Fang had touched me while I tried to make my face appear just as stony as his. Though I can't say it was having the affect I would've liked. It was Central Park all over again, hit and run.
Iggy apparently not taking the hint continued, "You guys are sooo lucky 'cuz if I didn't know that Angel was standing right behind us I definitely would've kept going."
What? I turned around to see what he what he was talking about and….
Met the most piercing blue eyes I've ever seen.
In front of me stood precisely what Iggy had told, an angel. Blond curls bounced of the girl's shoulder the color of honey. Her face was dirt smudged yet she still shined. The girl's skin was pale like porcelain and she held a raggedy bear with angel wings.
I looked into her eyes and was shocked once more; they were large and a shade bordering on turquoise, glistening in the dim light. At first they had appeared innocent and childish but up close they were deadly and unforgiving. It was obvious that her life had just begun but she'd more than her fair share of pain and misery.
She looked up at Fang and I followed her gaze and I couldn't help but notice how his expression softened upon seeing the youth.
"Is that the girl who dropped out of the sky?" she asked innocently. How did she know….?
"Yeah, she'll be staying with us now," Fang glanced at me for a second before starting up again, "Where's Gazzy?" he questioned, which must've translated into why aren't you with Gazzy?
The girl, Angel, frowned. "He's being boring, playing with that new girl on the laptop. Gazzy says her skin looks like mocha. What's mocha?"
"Is she talking about Nudge?" I asked hopefully, my question directed at Iggy. He had implied she was safe, said she was with them. I wanted to make sure now.
"She…." But Iggy never got to finish his sentence for at that moment a cell phone looking device that I had never noticed before on his hip began to glow and beep rapidly. We all stared at it and then I began to panic.
The fear in his eyes as they met Fang's was unbearable; Iggy had looked so strong and untouchable at the hospital. There was a silent confirmation between the two like they had rehearsed this before.
The light on Iggy's belt lit the walls blood red, flashing on and off. Iggy ran over to Angel and grabbed her petite frame in his arms. She was fragile but the determination on her face was unbelievable.
The whole cavern was blown into frenzy as the citizens scrambled around like chickens with their heads cut off. Like they were searching for something they knew they weren't going to find.
I was spell bound by the panic in the cavern that I didn't feel my own; in fact I felt strangely calm. No thoughts went through my head considering I couldn't imagine what couldn't be so upsetting that everyone was acting like it was the end of the world.
Fang materialized in front of me suddenly but I didn't flinch. "Come with me, we have to go quickly. Don't ask..." his tone was urgent but he was cut off by some unseen force in the distance. Hmmm, this seems familiar….
"Get out of the way!" Fang shouted. I didn't have time to even react as he plowed into me, both of us ramming to the ground and…
The heavens came crashing down on us.
