I am quite happy that I managed to update this quick. I didn't figure I would have this chapter out so fast. Especially considering I now have three stories to keep updated, four really. My brain really needs to stop coming up with good ideas for new stories for a while. I need to focus on the ones I have out now. It's just so hard to not think up new stories. Oh the life of a teenage writer that is obsessed with all kinds of books, movies and TV shows... Well anyway, here you go faithful readers. Please leave me a comment about what you think, and if you feel up to it, check out some of my other stories. Send me messages if you have any ideas about this story. I promise I will at least think about what you say, even if it doesn't get used in the end.
Disclaimer: I own Minx, Shadow, Claw, Demon, Haze and Blaze. Nothing more, nothing less. Well... maybe more if you count the plot line, but whatever. Go read! :D
Chapter 8
Tyger's P.O.V.
This couldn't end well. Max, Ella and I trying work with two of Iggy's group? Not gonna happen. At least, not if we all wanted to live. Max and the girl with the streaked hair, whose name I still didn't know, would probably kill each other if they could and the only people that would probably be able to separate them were Iggy and Fang. One of which (*cough* Fang *cough*) would probably just let them.
"You have two minutes to decide positions, then it's game time!" the coach announced. The students in the bleachers cheered. The coach turned away from us, giving us our two minutes. I could see Fang and Max were looking at each other, talking in that silent way that they always seemed to do. The two girls from Iggy's group that were on our team were turned away from us, talking to each other in hushed voices.
Across from us, the curly haired guy and Iggy seemed to get their team into the positions discussion. Fang turned away to listen and Max looked over at Ella and I. "We gotta do this, huh?" Ella asked.
"Yes, we do. We suffer through this ten minutes together and then we never have to talk to each other again. How about that?" the girl with streaked hair cut in. She and Max glared at each other, while her friend and Ella glared at each other. I felt out of place, I was the only one who apparently didn't hate them.
"If you think that we're just going to walk away after this you're wrong. I don't know who you are, or what you did to him, but I'm going to find out and it won't end well when I do." Max snarled.
"What I did? I didn't do anything. He came of his own free will and unlike you, we didn't treat him like shit when he did! If it ends badly for anyone, it'll be you." She growled back. Her friend was standing rigidly beside her, tensed and ready to leap should Max have chosen to make a move. It was obvious they were talking about Iggy. I knew Max felt badly about what they had done to Iggy and I had heard her tell Fang one night that if she ever found Iggy, she would apologize.
I was pretty sure that if someone didn't break them up, a fight would happen. I knew I'd get chewed out later for what I was about to do, but I couldn't just stand here. I walked forward and got between the four of them. Standing in the way of Max and the girl and glaring at both sides.
"This isn't helping and even if it was, here isn't the place to do this. We have something we have to do and we have to do it before we can solve whatever this problem is. So just calm down." My voice sounded hard and cold even to me. I could see the others watching us out of the corner of my eye but I didn't care. I didn't doubt that Fang, Nudge and Iggy had heard everything. There was a fight coming, and the results were sure to be ugly.
"He's right, Max." Ella spoke up "I know you don't like this, I don't either, but we have to do this before we can work this out."
"What's there to work out? They have one of my family. I won –"
"One of your family? We have none of your family." the head girl snarled. Max and she scowled at each other and I thought that they were going to get into another fight. We were saved, or possibly doomed, by the coach as he yelled at us to take our positions. I glanced at Ella and she winced. I sighed.
"I'll take point, since I'm the tallest. Max why don't you and…" I looked to the girl with the stripped hair for her name.
"Ashlyn. This is Madison." She said, gesturing towards the girl beside her. I nodded.
"Max, why don't you and Ashlyn take offense? Ella and Madison can take defense." I instructed. Max huffed and with a muttered fine, stalked off to her position. With a final glance at Madison, Ashlyn followed after Max. Ella and Madison turned and walked towards their positions and
I headed towards mine.
It only slightly surprised me that Fang was on point and not Iggy. Iggy, along with the curly haired guy were on offense. Nudge and the other girl that looked kinda like Iggy were on defense. Fang met my eyes as I stood in front of him. The look in his eyes was telling me not to let my guard down. I almost, almost, rolled my eyes but refrained. Fang already wanted to kill me. Didn't need to add to that desire.
The coach blew the whistle and tossed the ball up. Fang and I jumped for it, but he grabbed it. I raced after him, Max and Ashlyn right on my heels. I managed to corner Fang, forcing him to throw the ball to someone else. In this case, Iggy. Max went to intercept it, but Ashlyn beat her to it. She smirked at Max as she landed on the balls of her feet from the jump and then darted towards the other end of the court. Max glared and took off after her. I groaned in annoyance, this was going to be a very long game if they fought the entire time.
Sure enough, Max and Ashlyn battled for the ball the entire way. Ashlyn kept the ball and attempted a shot, but Max shoved her at the last minute, making her miss. Ella grabbed the ball and she and Max worked together to score. Ashlyn and Madison glared as Max and Ella smirked, all four walking back to their positions. I sighed, heading back to my position.
Ten minutes later, the game ended like the first one had; in a tie. Neither side could stop fighting. Teamwork wasn't an option, so it was just whoever managed to make a basket. Of course some of us worked better together than others. Max and Ella were a team, Ashlyn and Madison. Iggy worked with the curly haired guy and the girl that looked like him while Fang and Nudge worked together. I was the odd one out. I tried to help both sets of my team, tried to bring them together. That worked out about as well as oil and water, meaning not at all.
When the game was over, everyone was cheering. They were obviously amused by the situation. My lips pursed in irritation. The Flock was glaring at Iggy's group and his group was glaring right back. I knew that the minute we walked out the school doors there would be a confrontation. Max was pissed, and when Max got pissed, someone got hurt. The coach said some stuff that no one really paid attention to and then bellowed out for everyone to head to the locker rooms to get changed.
Max, Ella and Nudge all grouped together and headed for the locker room doors, Ashlyn and Madison plus the girl that looked like Iggy not too far behind them. I walked towards Fang, hoping that he wouldn't do something stupid. He wasn't known for stupid decisions, that was usually Max with her snap decisions, but I didn't doubt that this ordeal would bring out sides of The Flock I had never seen.
Iggy and the curly haired guy were ahead of us, both talking in hushed voices that I didn't catch. I clamped down on my lower lip as we walked through the locker room doors, heading towards the bathroom stalls to change. Iggy and the other guy were already there, but that didn't surprise me. Iggy was a bird kid like us and I could only assume the other guy was too. It was only logical for them to change in here, since it was the only place no one would see their wings.
I stripped and shoved myself back into my normal clothes as fast as possible. I needed to be out there so that if Fang and Iggy emerged at the same time, they wouldn't kill each other or draw too much attention. They didn't, thankfully. They just glared daggers at each other.
Fang and I were out the door first, Fang immediately searching for the girls. I could barely keep up with him when he found them, he had long freaking legs. Max was still pissed, possibly more pissed than she had been. Nobody dared approach us as we waited for the final bell to ring. Max's glare was enough to send them running with their tails tucked between their legs. Iggy's group seemed to be faring about as well as we were.
They stood in a tight group. Iggy was holding hands with Ashlyn and I absentmindedly wondered if they were together. If they weren't, then it was the only way that Ashlyn was staying calm. The curly haired guy had his hand resting on Madison's shoulder while his other hand brushed against the Iggy look-alike's arm. Madison and Ashlyn were talking, both with glares on their faces. I guessed that they were talking about us since they were glaring. None of them looked over at us, but Max and Fang kept looking over at them. I rolled my eyes. They just couldn't let this go, could they?
The shrill bell sounded and everyone rushed for the doors. We were the last ones out, as Max and Fang were still watching Iggy's group. Iggy and his group walked through the doors but Iggy paused just before he passed over the threshold. Ashlyn stopped too, as she was still holding his hand. She said something to him, probably asking him what was wrong. I don't know if he answered but he did turn around. He met the eyes of Max and Fang and glared. Ashlyn stepped up beside him and looked our way. Her eyes narrowed.
It was a standoff between our groups. They didn't like us and we didn't like them. Well, the others didn't like them. I didn't really see what the big deal was, but I was just the replacement. What did I know?
Eventually, Ashlyn tugged on Iggy's arm, saying something and pulling him out the door. With one final glare, he followed her and disappeared down the hallway. I heard Max let out a frustrated half growl and as I turned, I saw that Fang was still glaring at the spot where they had just been. I rolled my eyes again.
"I cannot believe him! He acts like he hates us! We're the people that cared for him and helped protect him!" Max seethed. The others, save Fang who was still glaring at the door, nodded their agreement.
"I don't like the girl he's with. Don't really like any of them, but especially not her." Fang muttered. Max agreed.
"There's something about her. She's off. She's probably working for Itex. He's gonna get himself captured. We need to help him." Max ranted. I didn't know where any of this was coming from. Did they really dislike the fact that he had moved on that much? Or were they just jealous? Jealously seemed like the more plausible option.
"Maybe she's a witch! She put some kind of spell on him and he doesn't remember anything! Maybe she's making him work for The School!" Nudge gasped "We gotta save him guys!"
"But how?" Ella asked them. Fang chuckled.
"Break the spell." He answered. I scoffed and they all turned to me.
"What?" Max questioned me. I shook my head.
"Why don't you just leave them alone? What did they do to you?" I asked. A couple mouths dropped open.
"They took Iggy." Nudge snapped.
"No," I retorted "He left. So if he wants to get all mixed up with The School, let him. He made his bed, he can lie in it." Everyone glared at me.
"He's family and I won't let him get himself hurt." Max stated calmly "Now let's go. We have to get Angel and Gazzy." She stalked towards the doors, Fang right on her heels. Ella and Nudge glared at me as they passed by me. I rolled my eyes for the billionth time since the start of the gym class and headed for the door.
I didn't think that Iggy's new group was bad, I just didn't get those vibes from him. If anything, I felt familiarity. Ashlyn looked so familiar. She reminded me of the little girl that had been in the cage beside me, Shadow. She had the same streaks in her hair, but I suppose it could have just been coincidence. But her eyes were the same color too! I sighed as I followed behind the others to the elementary and middle school. This was gonna be one heck of an adventure.
Unknown P.O.V.
"How far are we on finding those kids?!" the man in charge bellowed out to the group of men at the computers. Everyone froze but no one spoke. "Well!?" the man bellowed.
A small, Asian looking man was the one who spoke first. "W-w-we st-still haven't f-f-found them, sir." He said tentatively. The entire group saw a vein pop out on their boss's forehead.
"They're just kids. How hard is it to find kids!?" the boss man shouted. Everyone shrunk back into their seats. "You had better find them, or we're going to have trouble. Now get to work."
No one moved and the vein throbbed again. "NOW!" he screamed. Everyone jumped back to work as the boss headed to his office.
He flopped down in his chair, massaging his temples with his fingers. He had to find those kids. They were escapees, runaways and powerful ones at that. If word got out about them, the whole business could be ruined. They could destroy him. He wasn't going to let that happen. He had worked hard to get this job and he wasn't going to lose it because of a bunch of kids. If those men didn't find them, then he would find someone who would.
Iggy's P.O.V.
Shad gripped my hand tightly as she dragged me through the halls to the main doors. I couldn't get their faces out of my head. They were here. I finally had something good, had made a life with people that cared about me, then something like this happens to screw it all up. Fate seemed to like being cruel to me.
I didn't care how much they tried, I wasn't going back to them. If they came near my family, I would tell them straight up to stay away. Hell, we'd leave if it meant getting away from them. I could already tell that Shad and Minx didn't like them, especially Max. I'd seen them glaring at each other. If they had been around each other much longer, a fight would have broken out. Shad against Max, Minx against Ella and probably me against Fang. I know he would have tried to help Max but he wouldn't have gotten anywhere near Shadow. I wouldn't let him.
I didn't realize we had stopped until Shad wrapped her arms around my waist. I looked down at her, winding my arms around her and holding her close. She was scared. Scared that Max and The Flock were going to take me from her. They wouldn't, but she didn't seem to accept that.
"I'm not going anywhere Shad." I whispered into her hair. She nodded into my chest.
"I know, but I just can't seem to shake that fear that you'll go back to them." She whimpered "That you won't want anything to do with us anymore." I pulled her closer.
"That won't happen. I'm not going anywhere. You can't get rid of me that easily." I smirked "Once you feed a stray dog, it tends to stick around for more." She giggled, which brought a smile to my face.
"You're more than just a stray dog now." She murmured, standing on her toes so she could place a quick kiss to my lips. "Now come on, the others are waiting. They also want to know if you think we should let Blaze come with us."
My eyebrows furrowed together as I thought about this. Was it really a good idea to risk it? I still wanted her to actually be my long lost sister, but I knew The School liked to play tricks like this. If she was with us, we could keep an eye on her. But that could also lead them straight to us. Though she and Claw seemed pretty close already. That could only get us into trouble though.
'Oh screw it.' I thought to myself.
"I think she should. We can keep an eye on her and find out more about her. We also need to make sure she doesn't do anything to Claw too." I told my girlfriend. She nodded.
"I had that same idea." She said, grabbing my hand and pulling me to the doors "Let's go tell them. Then we need to get Haze and Demon."
We walked out the door and down the five steps that led up to the main entrance. Standing under a clump of trees was Claw, Minx, and Blaze. Hand in hand, Shadow and I walked towards them. They all looked up at us.
"Hey guys." I smiled. They gave grins back and I turned to the girl that was supposed to be my sister. "We talked it over. You can come with us if you want. You don't have to though, it's up to you."
She bit her lip. "You guys won't mind a stranger being around? I know you still don't trust me." she trailed off. Shadow nodded.
"You're more than welcome. I don't know what arrangements you have going on, but you're more than welcome to come with us. We have to get to know you somehow, right?" She said with a small grin. The corners of Blaze's lips turned up in a smile.
"I've been living alone. I've got a job at a coffee shop. It doesn't pay much, but it keeps me alive." She stated "But I'd like to come with you guys. I want to get to know everyone. And show you I'm completely honest and not working for Itex." Shad nodded at this, the smile still in place.
"Well, the first thing you get to learn about us, is that we have two other members of our little group. Two members that we have to go get." Shad said. Shad started towards the trees and the rest of us followed. Once we were sure we weren't being watched, we spread our wings and one by one took off.
I looked over at Blaze as I hovered, waiting for the others. Her wings were a light grey, similar but different to my own dark grey ones. She flew well, suggesting that she flew often. She seemed to handle herself well in the air.
The flight to the elementary and middle school was short. We landed in another clump of trees, pulling our wings in and hiding them amongst jackets. We left the safety of the trees, heading to stand in the courtyard of the school to wait for Haze and Demon. It wasn't long before they appeared through the throng of young kids, their light brown almost blonde hair showing up among the heads of the other children. When they saw us, Haze made a bee-line for Claw and Minx, who acted as parents to her and her brother darted towards Shad and I. Shad adored Demon like the son she didn't have, just like Minx adored Claw, though he was considerably older than Demon. Claw and Minx acted as parental figures towards Haze, though in her twelve year old mind they were more like an aunt and an uncle. Shad and I acted as parents to Demon, though it had originally just been Shadow before I showed up.
When Demon jumped towards me, I picked him up and swung him around. He was tall for a kid his age, but most bird kids were. It didn't matter though, I could pick him up with ease. "How was the first day buddy?" I asked him, a grin on my face. He beamed at me.
"It actually wasn't bad. I figured it would be horrible but it really wasn't. The only bad things were this blonde girl who kept staring at me and something kept pushing at the mental blocks Minx keeps up for us." He told me. My eyebrows drew down and I glanced at Shadow, who had a look of worry on her face. The look she gave me told me she was thinking the same thing I was. Angel. The mind reader of The Flock. She would have been trying to get past the mental blocks Minx had up.
"That's not good buddy. Do you know what her name is?" I asked curiously. If it was Angel, it was likely that she was using the same name that she had used when we had been staying with Anne, that crazy psycho lady that had been working with Ari and The School. Demon nodded.
"She was in my class. Her name's Ariel." He answered. I paled. It was Angel all right and she would know something was up. Not being able to read someone's mind sent off warning signals to her and she would be telling Max when they got here to pick up her and likely Gazzy. Shit.
I looked at Shad as I set Demon back on his feet. I could tell he knew something was wrong by the way he was looking at me. He was a smart kid, very perceptive. He looked between Shad and I, then to Claw, Minx and Blaze. His sister, seeing the same thing he was, came to stand beside him.
"Guys, what's going on? And who's she?" she asked worriedly, pointing at Blaze. I looked back at the others. They all had the same looks Shad did. I turned back to the two children.
"That's Blaze, she's my sister. We got separated a long time ago, but we saw her in school today." I answered Haze's second question, trying to think up a way to tell them about The Flock. Demon knew something else was up though, and he wanted to know.
"What's going on? Why are you guys so worried?" he asked. My lips pursed.
"There were some other people at the high school today." I started "A group. Ariel is part of that group. Her name isn't really Ariel, it's –"
"Angel." Demon answered for me "The Flock is here, aren't they?" I nodded.
"And it looks like they realize that we're here too. Look!" Blaze exclaimed, pointing in the direction of a group of six. A familiar group of six.
"Shit. Come on, we gotta get outta here. We do not need to get into a fight. Not here." Shad growled. The others nodded, backing away, turning and heading for the trees. I grabbed Demon's hand and pulled him along, but as I looked back over my shoulder, I saw The Flock coming after us. There was going to be a fight and there was nothing we could do about it. I faced forward and sped up a little, trying not to make Demon trip because of the fast pace. We needed to get to the trees and fast. Getting as far away from civilization was the main priority if there was going to be a showdown.
