Chapter 9

"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."- Dorothy Gale from "The Wizard of Oz."

We do not own Maximum Ride or the Flock but we do own the people of Lafayette and Las Pennas, Mrs. Jess belle Jones, Caroline, Giovanni, and Chase.

Dear Readers,

Sorry about the late update, anyway please review and I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Happy Reading,

Loveless

THe thing about this chapter is that its what I consider an informative slow-paced chapter, its just basically setting for the other chapters to come. I recommend to pay attention to what I would say the interesting details. I don't really have any idea what else to say just that I hope you like this simple chapter and have a nice summer. -Lazy(decided last minute not to change pen name)


"But do you have a choice, in this matter?" Giovanni explained. "Since, either way, I don't have the same luxury of trusting in you too."

What the hell!? I thought, "Do you have a choice?"

"YES!" I yelled back.

Fang looked at me very strange, as well with the flock just looked surprised.

Giovanni simply looked at me and in a rather praised voice, "You said yes, Miss Ride?"

"Look, Father Giovanni or Father or whatever you're called. Everything that I had ever done has being for the good of the flock. Except for one thing, that I'm beginning to regret, is to believe that you could help us. But, I had to make that choice, of trusting a complete stranger or having my flock in the middle the desert without knowing where to go, or food, or water! And if you think, that I going to let you insult my flock, you're in entering a world of pain if you do. Because like it or not, I had no other choice, and yes, I faced bigger and scarier thing than you, priest!" I said, priest like it was an insult, but Giovanni remained indifferent and clearly focused on me.

He was standing still but his eyes were filled with emotions. He was holding back, or he thinks I am joking!

I was breathing heavily, like I just ran for my life. Once again, STUIPIT CORSET!

"I am sorry," Giovanni began as he walks slowly towards me. "Nevertheless I wasn't insulting your flock. I was making a statement that you were lucky..."

He smile at his pause at his reasoned, his dead drop gorgeous smile. No, stop, I must control myself, this guy is gorgeous but I must remember that I'm mad at him.

"No, you were exceedingly lucky that you, Max had found me and no other."

"OH, SHUT UP!" yelled Fang. "We were lucky to have founded you. No even better, we were EXEEDINGLY lucky that we found you. THAT'S BS, I WOULD HAVE MORE LUCK PLAYING RUSSIAN ROULETTE!"

Wow! That's cold, wait when did Fang play Russian roulette?

"Fang" Giovanni still had his cool demeanor but his eyes were polished gems. "Please, watch your language; you're in the house of God"

"I don't" Fang with darkest of look and coldest of voice said... "Believe in your GOD.

…………………………Oh……………………………………MY……………………GOD………………………………

FANG, YOU ARE STUPIDEST PERSON ON THE PLANET!

I carefully turn my head to Giovanni who didn't even flinch on what was said. While, the rest of the flock, had their open mouth and was shocked of what Fang just said.

THIS BAD, FANG, YOU ARE SO STUPID! WHY? ARE YOU SO STUPID, WHY?

I had even turn around, that to look that him. You just don't say that to a person who devoted their entire lives to their religion.

"Why?" Giovanni had read my mind. "Fang, bring your self so low. Why? If you do have opinions of me, that fine, but that least you have a little respect for me. Even now, Fang I have a great respect for you.

I am beginning to see why, Max, is the leader. She can express herself, without offensive her adversary, and still get her point though their head."

Ok.. I am no longer mad at Giovanni; in fact, he and I just became friends.

"Yeah," agreed Total "I can agree with you."

Fang had begun to open his mouth, but I stopped him, by "Oh Fang, shut up, before you make, all our lives even more miserable."

"By the way, Max." He gave me a strong glance of his dark eyes, which sends shivers down my shine. "I know what you saw what I did the desert. You will be the first people to know my true profession."

"Wait, you're not a priest."

"I am a priest; however I do have another profession. Now, we must save this for later, if you please not mention this to anyone. I have a belief the Tunnels hold a secret and very dark one that too. Now, Total, could you stay in the basket."

Total answer, "Dude, I'm chill-in in my crib."

Giovanni had a serious look, "Are you cold, may I bestow you a blanket?"

"No, I just said I was alright in the basket" explained Total.

Then Giovanni looked very confused which was so very cute.

"Ignore him" said Angel.

"Alright, Nudge, could lead Iggy through the stairs" both of them nodded in agreement. "Then Fang," Fang who was giving Giovanni, the darkest look in world. I swear if Fang had death laser beam eyes, Giovanni would have been killed at least 56 times in a millionth of a second. "I can trust that if you see anything that is dangerous. You would act quickly on it."

Fang barely nod his head in agreement.

"Now, before we engage in the tunnel, this one is the main tunnel. There are more tunnels, you will see them as we pass by, but do not enter any of them." He look at each of us, "I believed some are traps, while others have collapsed and others are moments from collapse. You can get easily lost in here, so never enter one unless I am with you or you had learned the way about as you well you have learned to blink."

"Wait, how do you learn to blink when you just know?" asked Iggy.

"Well, you just know," explained Giovanni as he had jumped up to the tunnel. I tried to jump too, but as I jumped, my stupid petticoats or whatever you call them, I ended up being pressed against the wall. And I kind of mooned the flock.

Surprisingly, none of the guys had laugh, maybe because I practically had pants and another dress under the dress. "Ugg, I hate petticoats."

"Here, allow me." said Giovanni as he lifted me up.

"Oh, thank you." I said, but Giovanni wasn't looking at me, but my left wing, which was showing very clearly. I quickly, adjusted my shawl and problem solved.

"All of you may show yours wing on church grounds expect on Sundays, holy holidays, and rainy days or rainy nights. The rest of the year, no one is here, expect for me."

The Flock quickly opens theirs wing in agreement. Then everyone rather flew in the tunnel instead the idea of jumping in like me.

"I would suggest not flying in here, unless the time was against us."

We all nodded our heads in agreement; even Fang had to agree because that just makes sense. As we walked down the dark tunnel, it was getting bigger in both height and length until it was 18 ft. The walls or wall was a masterpiece painting; it was like a smaller vision of the 16th Chapel.

"Who built this tunnel?" asked the Gasman.

"I don't know, however it's not tunnel." Giovanni had stopped then turned and moved the light to show us a room. The room was a bedroom, with everything that a bedroom would have had. But covered in spiders' webs and dust, it had that look that no one has been in there for years.

"It's called the First Hall." Giovanni began to explain "There are many rooms like this one that are like parts of a house. Also, there are more tunnels that are smaller than this one. However each room and each tunnel have even more hidden tunnels or rooms in some peculiar way."

He step forward, as he moves toward the bed's frame at one wooden carved flower, he pushes it. The sound of a moving stone at the foot of the bed a tunnel was revealed. But he ignores it, he moved toward the end of the bed and touch a part of it and a wall had moved to show a room with pillars.

"I don't know how this place was made or created, but from what I could tell, someone kept building for years." He stepped out of the room, and then continued to lead us down the First Hall aka The Tunnel.

"How do you know where we're going? Do you have a map?" asked Fang.

"Yes, I rarely explore about the secrets of the tunnels, due to my occupation, but the former Priest must have had day's worth of unwanted time. He made notes, maps, and clues about the tunnels. He had named them too. This hall was the first one he must have found because he named it "The First Hall". His name was Farther James Kane; he was made in charge of the church after the disappearances of Las Pennas. He was a middle aged priest from an Irish Family from New York. His lifework is small compare to the miles of tunnels and rooms. Now here we are."

He turned to a room filled with paintings and dry water fountains. Then, he led us to a wall with Grasslands paintings. He turns it to its side as a tunnel appeared from his left. For 2 minutes, he led us from a tunnel that was painted with eyes all around it. It made me feel like someone was watching me.

"Let me guess, this tunnel is called "Cave Vision." joked Nudge.

"Very amusing, however no, its called Saint Lucy's hall'" Giovanni said just he stopped at pair of yellow eyes, where he pressed on the left eye of pair eyes in the wall and a room appeared to the left of him.

"This is getting stupid, wouldn't it be easier to go outside. Then walking in the Tunnels." mumbled Fang.

"Actually, it would take about 49 minutes longer if we were aboveground. Since of the rain, it wouldn't be safe for my cousin's favorite dress. Her later husband had given her before he passed away. "

Everyone looked at me because I was wearing Mrs. Jones's favorite dress, a very important and special dress. And since I can barely walk with it, well, I see why we had to go threw the tunnels.

"We been here about"…. He took out his pocket watch…. "15 minutes, one more tunnel and we're there." He went to the room with a piano; then he hit a key of the piano. Where, a smaller tunnel opens up on the far right of the room.

'Ahhhh, when is it going to end?'

"This is it" said Giovanni, as he walk down this bright painted rosily pink, with roses, and flowers painted all-around it tunnel. That at the end of the tunnel there was a doll house, no; it's a dollhouse version of the church.

"Aww, it so cute," whispered Angel.

"Oh, I could make one for you Angel, if you wish." ask Giovanni.

"Wow, could you? That would be great!" chirped Angel. "Oh wait, what now?"

Giovanni had went to dollhouse church, and opening the main doors then he peered though it. "It's safe, to go though at the moment." As he closed the Mini-doors, then pull the gothic tower like a leaver. A small part of the wall, sided a little to left.

"Beware, its bit of a drop." As Giovanni jump down, it was my turn; I saw the hallway with windows, so I knew we're out of the tunnels. I must have jumped 5 feet down; it was kind of hard to jump down with the dress. We were in a hall with windows that were practically the size of the walls. Everything was white, sliver, or pale blue; it reminded me of the Versailles hall of mirrors but with windows.

Once everyone had jump down, the secret passage had close, and shows in instead a painting of woman in white Marie Antoinette looking outfit. It wasn't strange but what was that strange, that she was blinded folded with a black garment, and smiling toward the painter or the looker.

"Very strange, isn't it," Giovanni had to walk towards the painting. "Out of hundreds of paintings, I have seen here. She is the only one who is smiling and for her punishment for smiling, she is blinded for that."

"What makes you think that she was punished?" asked Fang.

"Someone had to paint the blindfold later in time, not the original artist. So she must have done something to be blind folded or that she is smiling when she isn't supposed to. You should ask Jessie Bell, she was the one to notice this, not I." As Giovanni began to walk away from the painting, and then walk down the hall a few steps ahead of the flock, I slowly followed.

What the heck is going on here? This place is getting weird and weirder. Who has heard of under tunnels system of a church that belongs to a city that disappeared almost a hundred years ago? That is weird even for me, and I have a pair of wings on my back.




Giovanni had stopped in front of a door, finally a real door. He opened it, the room was brightly lit, with a fireplace and oil lanterns. "If you may please wait in here, for I shall return as quickly as time allows. I have some uninvited company, to greet."

As Nudge enters the room, she said "I think we're in the library or a lost wing of Congress's library."

Maybe it was the lost wing of Congress, there were just too many books, like the walls were cover in shelves of books and you barely see the wallpaper of striking red. Books shelves were 12 ft high, were almost loaded with books. The only places that weren't cover in were the fireplace and above it, a painting of man and woman in dresses in costume of middle ages novelty while playing piano.

What, that makes no sense? That least, I know that there were no pianos in the middle ages.

"Really," said Angel," I didn't know that."

"Angel"

"Sorry Max, I couldn't help myself"

I looked around; I saw a desk that was cover with papers and open books. Hmm, so he does have a flaw.

Then I saw another table, and this table had 6 chairs around and had on …..

"Food!" yelled Total who ran towards the table. "Hey, do you think Giovanni was able to cook this for us. Maybe he does have a lot of free time?"

"Or maybe, he knows how to actually cook." said Iggy as he places his self on the table.

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"Max, they don't have cake mix or instant what-ever. Here you make ever thing from, well, everything. You even have to send your own cow to butcher to get the beef. Or kill a chicken, puck its feathers, and gut it. Nothing in the kitchen was easy. Then you have to get firewood for the oven and keep adding wood to the stove. The process for people to prepare food took hours, that's why, they had bead out before a meal, because they were still cooking."

I had eyed Iggy, just a little and ask, "Sounds that you been trying to cook yourself, Iggy."

"Yes, I have. Do you think it fair for Mrs. Jones to cook for herself and us, all by her self?"

"No, then she wouldn't never leave the kitchen."

"Well, yes, I have been helping her with the cooking, only until her cook comes back from her daughter's wedding. Anyway, can someone tell me what we're having?"

As, Gasman began to explain," We're having this giant leg of cow, I mean it's big, Iggy, like this cow had to be a bull or something. Also, there are four delicious-looking roast chickens that are the size of watermelon. Bread! Lots of bread, there's bread rolls, maybe 45 rolls, then French Bread, count that 5! Yew, there's vegetables, maybe like 18 difference types of veggies. How the heck did he get this? Fruit, a plate full of them, it looks good, these grapes are like the size of my eyeball. For dessert, its pie, but Iggy this is the biggest pie you never seen. Its biggest pie, I have never seem, it good so good that I love with it. Ohhhh, wait, there's more!"

Gasman had the looked of pure evil, I followed his eyes. I saw it, or its!

BEANS! And lots of it!

"Gasman, don't you dare!"

"But…."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" We yelled that him!




After burning most of the beans and only the ones that were highly flammable for Gasman, which was like all them. We began to eat, I had to put on like three handkerchiefs, and I wasn't going to let anything happen to this dress. Everyone was quiet as they ate. After a week, here they all seem to change a little, because they were eating better then before!

"Did any of you, hear anything about the tunnels?" I asked in no one in general.

"No," answered Angel, "I don't even think Mrs. Jones has any idea about it and she is the one who comes here the most often."

"I say, the more reason, not to trust him," said Fang, "If his only family doesn't know about this, what else could he be hiding." He got up to the china cabinet to take out a red bottle.

"Fang, is that wine?" I ask.

"Yes, Max. I believe that's people still call it that during this age that."

"NO! The last thing, we need is you to get drunk. We already know that you can't stand Giovanni, and you drunk, he could end up, never standing on his legs."

"Max, I don't get drunk." As he pour himself a glass of it. "No really, I can't get drunk. I don't have a limit."

"Yeah, it's true," debated Iggy. "When, we first started to work that the bar, Fang would come late at night to help us. Sometime he would be there until we close, and in the morning he was still sober. I had lost the count of bottles, he took."

"I still don't want you to drink."

"Fine, but its shame though." muttered Fang as he put the bottle back in the cabinet.

"Why?" I ask.

Fang was smiling as he said, "I was hoping to use the excuse of being drunk to break every bone in Giovanni's body."

"FANG!"

Suddenly, we heard footsteps; Giovanni was walking down the corridor with another person, who was talking in a low whisper.

"You can't honestly believe the rumors, Father Giovanni."

"I doubt that someone had giving that, to you and your friends." Giovanni had said as he had stop right in fount the door of the library, I could finally see the mysterious visitor. His bright green eyes were like jewels against his dirty face. He had no tan, but he has the look of an outdoor person, He looked to be around my age, maybe a year older them me. He wore a brown duster that was that least a size bigger then he was. He also wore a cowboy hat, additionally he was soaking with water; I could easily see the trail of water that he made.

Great, there's more wet cowboys, like I only had Fang to worry about.

"Perhaps, someone has given them to us and then claims that we…."

"Don't take me as a fool, boy! I had asked you to stop in your wicket ways." Father Giovanni spoke in pure anger. Then he sighed out "For your sake, Chase, change your way while you're still young."

So his name was Chase, now, I could see his face, he was very good-looking guy. He had a red scarf at his neck. He remove his wet cowboy hat, he had dark red hair which was cut rather badly.

"Your blessing, Father, I beg for." He bowed his head. Giovanni had sighed then did the cross, over his head.

"May God help you revolutionize in your ways for greater good." chanted Giovanni.

As he was dismissed himself, when he saw me and he winked at me.

"I may ask who the lovely and charming young lady is."

What the hell, are you hitting on me?!

With a priest at your side, and teenage mutant boy, who could break all your bones in your body, in full view of you flirting on me?

What's wrong with you?!

"Good Night, Chase. I trust you to know, the way back to stable."

"What? No room for me, I am a guest after all." Chase complained.

"No, you're an intruder. They are guests of my cousin and I have invited them for evening."

Chase had put his hat back on, and he tipped it towards my direction and left. I had the sense that I'll be seeing him, again.

Giovanni had entered and close, "Sorry for the interruptions. Shall we start on our business?"

"Of course" I answered.

Giovanni had nodded and then turn back to the boor. He locks it, not once or twice, nor three times but five times.

He sat on the chair behind the desk. He cleared his throat. "I take that you, Max, is the leader, and that any concerns should attended to you."

I nodded in agreement.

"Where shall I begin or I should allowed ladies to go first."

"I think I should start." He nodded for me to continue.

"First, I'd like to thank you for housing us and for keep so far our secret"

"Your welcome, but instead of thanking me, we should start discussing, for our time will end soon end." He added. "Since this discussion is no matter of leisure. I shall expect each other to be honest and inform the whole truth. I know that you saw me in that desert in combat. And that is very complicated, I hadn't even told, my cousin Jessie Bell about it. So I can trust what will be told in these walls will remain in these walls."

I nodded and began "Since you know that we have wings, which are most noticeable thing, I might add that we have super powers and we're from the future too."

"Please I beseech you do not inform me, with reference to the near future. I have no wish to know about the future, because one small incident can change yourself and the world. Unless I must know of it, or that it's so far into the future that on my death bed, no know would even know of it."

"Alright, I agree to it." I answer.

"Then, we agree on it, that to not to given you any information of the future to anybody."

Everyone had nodded.

"Then please start at the beginning."

With that being said I explained everything, from the School to the story of our wings and power, Erasers, Flyboys, and our mission.

Once in a while, he would ask a question like, what's a computer or a Cell phone, and on other terms that he didn't knew about. We did tell him about Global Warning, which he nodded said "I should be dead by then and I wouldn't have any children to be any concerned of mime."

I could believe in this guy and he seen securable, he need to know about some things but not everything. Hopefully he would believe us.

Giovanni looked towards the glass ceiling, before speaking, "Well its, very impressive."

"But do you believe us?"

"Yes, you saw no lies in you're eyes." I just gave him, a puzzled look.

"With that being said, I believed I should talk about myself."

"I am Gabriel Cosmo Giovanni, born in Milan, Italy of the March 18, 1854. When I was......"