So sorry about the longer wait. Things have been busy.

Anyway, without any futher ado, here is chapter seven!


-Chapter Seven-

I sighed; for once in my life I was lost without any sense of direction. I felt as though I wouldn't be able to get out of a cardboard box even if I had a GPS. Looking around, I caught sight of people entering miscellaneous rooms as they were ordered to stay bound to them while we continue searching. At least they had all of their possessions in their rooms to use. Possessions. That was it.

"Do you have any idea where Owen's room is?" I asked, mostly to Fang and Iggy. They both shook their heads, eying me curiously. I let out a groan, turning on my heel and striding down the hall. When I heard no footsteps behind me, I turned. The flock was standing at the end of the hallway, looking like lost puppies. "You guys coming or what?" I asked, starting to walk backwards; they followed.

"Where are we going?" Angel asked, jogging slowly, trying to catch up with me. I looked down at her and watched her golden locks bounce over her shoulders.

"We're going to find a room, sweetie." I said, looking around the hallways and bursting through the door to the main deck, the flock on my heels. We needed to find Owen's rooms we could search it. I rounded the corner and strode into the main ballroom.

People were standing around the room, talking quietly to each other. I stood in the entranceway, standing on my toes trying to see over the heads. If only I could find my mom or even Brigid. I just needed to find that room as soon as I possibly could. I peered over the heads as I felt the rest of the flock fill in around me. I glanced over at Fang, who was looking over the heads of the passengers surrounding us. He met my gaze and nodded, turning to look in the opposite direction I was. He knew what he was looking for.

"So, uh," Iggy said, standing jumping up and down as high as he could; his head facing the ceiling. "What are we looking for again?" I smirked as I put my hands on his shoulders, holding him down to the ground. His sightless eyes rested about two inches between mine and I saw emotions sweep across his vulnerable face.

I sighed, unable to believe I had let this happen. "Just listen for my mom, will you?" He nodded and closed his eyes, concentration masking his features. I looked away, yet again looking for my mom.

"I don't see her anywhere." Fang said, turning back over to me. I nodded, finally looking back at everybody.

"Max? Why do we need to find mom?" The Gasman asked. I smiled when I heard him call her mom. It warmed my heart that the younger kids had bonded more to my mom over the last few months. It gave them an authority figure that was actually able to do things for them. She was able to provide them with food and warmth while I couldn't. It was just a great feeling that everyone loves an adult that could help us; just like we used to love Jeb (before he went bad and everything). He had been so quiet lately; I was starting to get worried.

"We need to find Owen and in order to do that we need to find his room to search his things." I said, bending down to eye level with him. I straightened out the collar to his sweatshirt as he rolled his shoulders back. I gave him a small smile and he hesitantly returned it.

"Max," Iggy said urgently, turning around to look at me. "I hear Captain Hawkins." I stood up immediately, tapping the back of Iggy's hand twice. He knew what it meant. I shot a fleeting look at Fang and he nodded, reading my expression with ease. Eventually, I would have to figure out how he did that. I walked with Fang over to one of the far corners of the room.

We walked up behind Captain Hawkins and I tapped him on the shoulder, interrupting him listening to a very angry passenger's story. I could tell that the captain was trying to get the man back into his room but apparently it wasn't working too well. The man just kept complaining how we would never find Nudge while we're still at sea and how unsafe it was to have everyone here. I rolled my eyes as Captain Hawkins turned around. That man had no idea what he was talking about. After he tried, and failed, to re-attain the captain's attention he turned on his heel and stalked off, muttering about how rude everybody was and how he wanted his money back. Yeah, well, we all wanted our money back; some more than others.

"Max, Fang," the captain greeted, nodding at each of us as he said our names with military-like distinction. "What do you need?" He asked, his eyes softening with worry once he saw our panicked expressions.

"We need to see Owen Jackson's room." I said, getting right to the point. Now was not a time for hesitation. Confusion swept over the captains face and I inwardly smiled.

"If I may ask," He started politely, sliding his hand into his pocket. "Why do you need to see his room?" I looked over at Fang, sending him a pained expression asking if I should tell the truth. He nodded. We could trust him. I took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.

"We need to search it." Fang said, beating me to the punch. I saw realization dawn on Captain Hawkin's face. "We think that it would be the best way to find out where he might have taken Nudge. It would be better than just sitting here like Jeb wants us to." He nodded, agreeing with Fang.

"You're right." He said, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket. He reached into the pocket on his navy blue jacket and took out a lighter. He cupped his fingers around the flame as he lit it carefully. I held my breath and tried not to make eye contact. He was a great guy, but sometimes he was just plain stupid. "These men don't know what they're doing and I don't have any authority over them. Jeb is sending them to every corner of the ship but they never thought to search his room. They should really let you take this over." He said sincerely. I looked up at him, seeing truth in his eyes and I felt my lips pull into a smile. Fang nodded his version of a gratuitous smile.

"Can you show us the room?" I asked, glancing back to the rest of the flock, making sure they were okay without us. Iggy had a tight hold on Angel and the Gasman, keeping them within arm's length of him. It was a good thing that he knew when to be serious. I turned back to Captain Hawkins and saw him nodding in reply. He wordlessly strode passed us, crushing the cigarette butt on an ash tray that rested on a table next to him. I glanced up at Fang, who gave me a small smile, making my heart go wild. I felt my cheeks flame up and I started walking after the captain. I didn't have to check if Fang was trailing after me; I knew he was.

Fang walked up, falling in step with me and I peeked over at him, seeing his eyes resting on me. I looked away immediately, concentrating on Captain Hawkins, who was standing with Iggy, Angel, and the Gasman. I felt Fang's hand in mine and I looked up at him, trying to hide my feelings as well as he could. He squeezed my fingers reassuringly and for a second all of his emotion showed in his eyes and I was stunned, seeing anger and worry but what stood out the most was the fear.

We reached the rest of the group- it didn't feel right saying 'the flock' without Nudge there. I loosened my grip on Fang's hand but I felt his grip tighten. I shifted my fingers so they would be taut around his and we looked over at the group. Angel's eyes weren't either one of us; they were resting on the space in between us and it took me a minute to realize it, but she was grinning wildly at our intertwined fingers. I rolled my eyes, not caring at that moment. The Gasman was talking with Iggy quietly, solemnly. I saw tears come to the Gasman's eyes. He wiped them away, trying to be brave but Iggy pulled him into a hug, comforting him like only Iggy could.

"Ready?" Captain Hawkins asked, pulling a plastic key card out of his pocket. I nodded and waited for everyone to walk in front of me. I watched as they went and followed slowly, pulling my hand from Fang's. His went automatically to his pocket as if it were on a set course while mine went to my head, pulling my messy hair out of my face.

We followed Captain Hawkins in an awkward silence until Iggy spoke up. "Somebody say something," He said, agitated beyond all belief. I opened my mouth to say something happy and optimistic that was supposed to hype everyone up but for once in my life, I couldn't say anything. "Please, somebody do something!" he pleaded, looking back at us with wide eyes. By now we had all stopped in the middle of the hallway, staring at Iggy in surprise.

"Ig," I started, wondering why he was getting like this.

"Iggy, don't worry." Angel said, interrupting my attempt at cheering him up. "We'll find her." She said her high voice soft and calm. She obviously knew something we didn't. He took a deep breath and turned around, looking at the captain and nodding for him to continue. I was really starting to get worried about him.

The captain led us through countless hallways that twisted and turned around others. We must have passed at least two hundred rooms in less than four minutes. The whole time, I concentrated all of my attention onto Iggy. I had no idea why he was acting so weird.

He misses her, a voice said in my head and I looked over at Angel. She was staring right up at me and I shook my head.

Angel, what have I told you about looking into other people's minds? I asked rhetorically in my mind. She looked away from me, her eyes darting back and forth as if trying to deny she did anything.

I narrowed my eyes at her and she gave in, saying, Not to do it, in her head I nodded triumphantly and realized what she said.

What do you mean 'he misses her'? I asked, thought reeling through my mind.

He misses Nudge! She screamed in my head. I groaned as a headache formed. Sorry, but he really misses her. You should have heard his thoughts when he found out she was really gone. They were really scary, Max. He really, really likes her!

I inwardly smiled. So that was why he has been acting even more stressed than the rest of us since Nudge disappeared. That explained a lot. I guess Iggy really had been growing up this whole time; I was just too oblivious to notice.

"Here we are," Captain Hawkins said as he swung the door open. He held it open as Iggy strode through first, flipping in the light switch as went past it. Angel, the Gasman, and Fang walked in behind him, all dispersing to different areas of the room. The captain turned to me and smiled, holding out the key card. I took it and he said, "Don't worry about messing the place up. There's no point in keeping it clean considering that he's never coming back to this place. Just make sure that you lock the door on your way out so no one else decides to go searching." I nodded and he walked away without another word said. He was almost as bad as Fang.

"Did anyone find anything yet?" I asked, walking back into the room, closing the door on my way in. I got a few 'no's and one or two shakes of the head.

"All I know is that his bed is much springier than mine was." Iggy said, a disgruntled look on his face as he bounced up and down on the perfectly made bed. I smiled as the Gasman leapt onto the bed behind him. I turned to the desk, where a black suitcase lay.

I went over to it and gently pulled it open. Inside was nothing but papers. I reached in, catching all of the loose leaf in one hand and pulled it out. I laid it out, displaying it on the desk.

"What are those?" Angel asked, hopping over to me excitedly. "Ooh! Look at these, Max!" She said, holding up pages with diagrams. I grabbed it and held it closer to my face, seeing that it was all information on how to do magic tricks with ease.

"Well that explains a few things." Fang said from over my shoulder. I nodded but didn't let my eyes stray from the words scribbled across the page. I felt his arm move around me and grab a paper. He smirked as he read. Lowering the page in front of my face he said, "This explains how he could just take Nudge. After he finished this 'trick' he just grabbed Nudge and caused her to blend into the surroundings with him." I looked at the page and saw that it was a formula for smoke bombs. Owen just set one off and pretended that it was magic.

Angel, Fang, and I went through every paper and every notebook sheet by sheet as Iggy and the Gasman checked out the rest of the room. We found out how Owen took her, but we still had no idea why. We had nearly gone through all of the papers when I cried out in frustration.

"This is impossible!" I groaned, turning the cover back onto a notebook. "None of these tell us where she is!" I guess that Owen thought about that. He probably knew that we would go searching through his belongings. He was a smart man; he never missed a detail. All those times when Fang and I had tried to get away, he prevented them, knowing what we were thinking when we were thinking it.

"Wait! Max! We found something!" The Gasman called out. I turned around immediately, hoping it would get us closer to finding Nudge. Iggy turned around and held up a metal knife- only this knife didn't have a sharp blade; it had a long, flat one that was dull at the tips.

"What is that?" Angel asked, peering over her shoulder. "It looks like a knife!"

"Why don't we let Iggy answer that question." Fang said, walking briskly over to Iggy and taking the object out of his hands.

"Well," Iggy started. I guessed it was a good idea to ask the most skilled lock-pick in existence (also known as the great blind, pyromaniac, chef, bird-boy). "It is a knife, basically, but it is used way differently. The dull side is used to put into crevices, like in a wall, and it pulls the wall out. It's small but really handy. I used to have one but someone, Max, confiscated it because that someone, Max, said it was too dangerous."

I rolled my eyes as Angel and the Gasman laughed at Iggy. Fang smirked as he studied the object. His long fingers gently brushed along the top and his eyes narrowed. "It would work." He said, probably figuring out all of the calculations in his head. He was literally like a human calculator.

"I like to call it a UFO." Iggy said, receiving questionable looks from everyone. When no one said anything, he continued, figuring we didn't get it, "Unidentified Flinging Object." He explained, making a flinging motion with his hand as if he were pulling some of a wall out. I chuckled and turned around.

"What would this have to do with Nudge though?" I asked, voicing my thoughts. Fang and Iggy looked at me incredulously. It was like they'd never heard someone ask a question before. Fang started to mumble incoherently as I looked over at them questioningly.

"That means," Iggy started, speaking at a very slow pace, "that Nudge is hidden somewhere within the walls; in some secret room behind the wood."

That was a new one; I thought to myself as I stood up from the desk, stretching my legs slowly. Now all we had to do was tear the ship apart board by board to try and find her. It would be tough, and very time consuming, but it was completely necessary.

I needed a question answered; just one. Why Nudge?


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