Hello! NaNoWriMo was kicking my butt for awhile there, but I've got it under control. If you've never heard of NaNo, its this website where you can sign up to attempt to write 50,000 words in the month of November alone. It's so much fun, and I've loved it, and its definitely worth trying next year. I've celebrated arriving at 40,000 with a new chapter of this, so don't forget to review!
So I had followed Fang, the gaping expanse of the hollow foyer making every sound seem a thousand times louder than it was in reality. Our shoes clicked against the shiny, black tile floors, sneakers squeaking on impact.
I couldn't see the security, but I knew it was there, silently watching me, hidden where even the most trained eye would never find it. This place had to be so heavily guarded that you couldn't blink an eye in the direction of someone important without them knowing about it and silently stalking you- that's how it is where I'm from.
The hallway seemed to go on forever. Maybe this is a test, something to gauge how long I would be able to last before I asked any questions. What was I supposed to do here? I could stay silent, but I could also speak up, and I had no idea what either of those options would tell the guards and Fang and whoever else about me. Maybe I'm overthinking all of this. I'm probably overthinking it all- but what else could you ever possibly expect of me? I'm Max Ride's kid; I overthink everything.
Eventually we came to a wall of doors- have I told you about this before? Anyway, I know, its oh so very climactic. What do you expect me to say? There was a wall of blood-red, fire-breathing dragons guarding the doors? I don't think so. As cool as that would be...
Either way, Fang opened the door, any and all humorous expressions that might have graced his face before this moment (and our little conversation on the plane) completely, totally, and 100 percent gone. Goodbye. Out of this world, and not in the positive way. He opened the door. Let's take a moment and pause. Alright? The author sitting behind the screen would like to point out how far I've come. (Look at me, breaking the fourth wall! I'm such a rebel!) This time a week ago, I was getting yelled at by my aunts and watching my mother on TV. Now, that mother is dead, I don't know where my aunts are or how they're doing (and I'd give anything to be yelled at by one of them one more time) and the king of the East is opening a door for me. Put that perspective. Maybe, one day, you'll wake up, and everything will have changed.
I walked into the room- I didn't know if there were people in it. It was the Maximum Ride approach- don't worry about what's coming to you, just take it as it comes. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. The first thing I noticed (after assuming that Fang had followed me into the room) was that I wasn't alone. There were two other people in this room, besides me, and only one of those people besides me was Fang. (Whoo! Simple math!)
"It's so nice to meet you, Nick. Finally."
That was a blonde woman talking, the other person in the room besides the two of us. She was really young looking, maybe in her early twenties at the most. She wasn't anywhere near thirty, and the first thing about her that I noticed wasn't any of that. What I really noticed about her, at first glance, was how she was exactly what my uncle Zephyr would look like had he been born a woman. This girl (she was so young looking that she could practically be considered a teenager, still totally eligible to be called a girl by anyone, even me) was like an exact copy of him, just with a softer face and less stubble. I knew exactly who she was, and she probably knew that. Fang knew it, too, he just didn't say anything. He just stood by, leaning against the doorway, having shut it quietly behind him. For such a vast entryway, this was a really small, dinky conference room. Maybe the East was all about setting high expectations then lowering those same expectations.
The blonde woman- obviously the third in command of the East, going by the stories that Aunt Monique tells- was standing tall, a forced smile gracing her face, which probably wasn't as pretty and naïve as it should be at her age. She's seen a lot, much more than I have and much more than she should. She had seen more than me when she was just seven years old- and I know this from the earlier stories that I've been told. You have to realize that most of my knowledge of this world and its people, past and present, comes from my aunts and my uncles and most recently, Fang (who, if you want to be technical about it, is also one of my uncles, so that doesn't really matter. I only know so much. I've been told that Zephyr's sister was the youngest flock member. I've also been told that the youngest flock member is now the East's third in command. I never got names, but that's how I figure things out- I remember details from stories and those details get me places.
You have to imagine how hard this must be for Fang and the third, here. I mean, it's already awkward for me, hell, it would be awkward for anyone. But them? They get to help train the son of the woman they loved, the woman they betrayed, and the woman who raised them. I just get to meet someone my mom just knew... But they, they actually lived the history. To me, its all just stories, but to them, in their worlds, its real life. Its their lives. They have lived this extensive past I can only listen to. I'm the product of that extensive past, the product of their mistakes (whether or not they would repeat those mistakes today, I don't know) and now they get to look me in the eye and tell me how they messed up. I've become totally aware, over the past day or so, (in conjunction with fifteen years of stories learned) that without these two people, my mom would never have felt enough pressure to give in and have me, and part of me is perfectly fine with all that. It's like, so what? She was forced to get married and have sex. It's no big deal, they did it all the time in the renaissance and stuff. If she hadn't done it I'd still be one out of a gazillion unfertilized eggs. But, the half of me that actually listens to morals disagrees. The other part of me may have a point, but these aren't the mid-1500s anymore. People don't do that anymore. Especially not at fifteen. Sure, Ella and James had Kevin when Ella was around thirteen and human, which is worse than my mother and very, very crazy... but their daughter is three. They didn't do it again. And Monique and Zephyr haven't had kids yet. With the exception of Kevin and me, that just doesn't happen. Plus, I'm pretty sure Kevin was either a freak accident, or a backup plan in the event of my failure. Which is sick, considering everything, but the guy who made my father and the man who fathered my mother- they were sick people. It makes sense, and the fact that nobody in my family, extended or adopted or outcasted or no would rather I didn't exist for the sake of my mom's happiness and sanity is a fact I've learned to deal with. They accept me and they treat me like I belong, just like Kevin, and they all keep their personal qualms about how I should never have come into existence to themselves. It gets easier, just like everything else.
"Hi, there. Nice to meet you. I'm Nick." I replied to the third. It was better just to play it cool in situations like this- its what my mom would have done.
"Hello, Nick." She said again, probably fighting back the urge to do several things, like sigh and scream and cry and yell in anger. She was good at covering up emotions, though. And she... Oh. Snap.
Didn't Aunt Monique say something about how the third could read minds? Because I feel like I'm being probed from the inside out right now... And its not the most pleasant feeling in the world, to be honest.
"Yeah, Nick. You're right. My name's Angel."
Awkward.
Review, and the next chapter will be on its way, asap!
