Ok. So I'm back. And I'm going to stay back as long as I don't get too much more homework. I hope you liked the last chapter, and I still, sadly, own nothing. Heeeeey… I wonder if I could buy the rights to the flock?

Thoughts Angel's thoughts'speaking'

Chapter 10 – The truth

(Max POV)

I stood there, staring at him in pure shock.

How did he know about the wings?
Apparently I said that out loud.

'I've seen you flying at night.'

Well crap.

'Have you told anyone?'

'No, but he's thought about it a lot.'

Angel was standing in the far doorway, arms crossed and a scary expression on her face.

'Fang, you should tell her.'

'Tell me what?'

I glanced back and forth, from Fang to Angel.

'She's not supposed to know.'

'But she has them too! We can trust her!'

What were they talking about? I felt like I was missing something big here, but the fact that Angel said Fang's been thinking about it a lot didn't escape my notice. How would she know what he's thinking, unless he has a journal, and she read it, or he makes a habit of pouring his heart out into her when no-one else can see…

Shut up, idiot.
'Because I can read and control minds. Fang –'

'WHAT? Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold it. You can read minds?'

'Yes.'

'And control them?'

She nodded, and my blood ran cold when I realized what this meant. Our national security has been compromised! She could've found out everything someone would need to launch a terrorist attack that would wipe out Americas entire military force!

'Relax. I'm not evil. Well, not entirely. But don't worry. I won't sell your secrets to North Korea, China, Russia…'

'Well it's nice to know I can trust you with our countries top secrets.'

I rolled my eyes internally.

'You're welcome. Fang, you need to tell Max. We can trust her. And I know you want to screw her, but do you have to be so obvious about it? Please, I'm going to have nightmares for weeks.'

She scrunched up her nose, and at that moment, Nudge walked in behind her. The two girls walked past us and up the stairs. He released me, and I glared at him.

'You have some explaining to do.'

~~~TIME SKIP~~~

So Fang and I were in my room, and he had told me everything. He, Angel, Gazzy, Iggy and Nudge all had wings and mom knew about it, although nudge wasn't related to the rest. He said she helped them when they needed it. So, she had eventually adopted them after the school – the same people who made me – had given up looking for them. No-one knew why they had stopped, but I had a hunch that it was because of me.

Apparently, I'm the most successful experiment they'd ever created. They really know how to make a girl feel special.

Dylan also had wings, though no-one had told mom. He still has his parents. I had been made in the same batch as the others; Fang said he remembered seeing him being showed off to potential buyers. So the school also runs a slave trade.

I had almost no memories from my childhood, because I suffered a brain trauma a few years before I joined the army.

They had told me all the basics, I had been brought up there, my parents were dead, I had wings and would probably develop other mutations later in life, but I remember nothing from my time in the school. And I'm glad I don't.

But then came the awkward subject of telling mom about my wings. But – and I would say thankfully, but I can't – Brigid walked in with Dylan towing her bags.

'Fang! Hey. I was wondering where you were. Why are you up here with her? And I thought I told you to move all your stuff out of here, Max.'

We both turned to look at her, and I was honestly amused, if she thought she would get me out of here.

'Oh, you did. But I don't take orders from the likes of, well, anyone.'

'Fang. Make her move.

She crossed her arms and shifted her weight. Maybe she was trying to intimidate us? If she was, it was working. I've never been more scared in my life.

Now, I know she's an annoying bitch, but can you tone down the sarcasm a little?

'You heard her. She doesn't have to listen to you. And this isn't your house. Max and Lissa can share this room. You can find somewhere else to sleep.'

Looking desperate, Brigid turned to Dylan.

'Dylan. Help me!'

Fang glared at him, and I have to say, I was impressed. He could almost beat me in a glaring contest. Almost. But while he might not be as talented as I in the art of glaring, it worked on Dylan.

'Maybe we should find somewhere else to sleep. You could share with me.'

'UGH! Why doesn't anybody care about me?!'

On her way out, she stumbled, and caught herself on the doorframe, and Dylan followed her out.

Fang said goodnight to me, and left. It was only then that I realized how late it was. I checked the clock on my bedside table, and it read 12:32AM. I wondered for a moment what the others were doing, but then remembered again that I didn't care.

I noticed how tired I was, and decided to go brush my teeth. I took a few steps before I stepped on something soft and bouncy. I looked down, and saw that it was a mattress. There was also a bag I didn't recognize sitting in the corner. Then, Lissa walked into my room in her PJ's.

You said she could sleep in your room.
'Oh, hey Max. You still don't mind me sleeping here, do you?'

'No, no. It's fine. I didn't notice you had set up already.'

She smiled at me, and I went into the bathroom and performed my new routine. Just the usual, brush my teeth, wash my face, all that jazz. All that incredibly, unimaginably boring jazz. Ah, I miss the high life.

~~~TIME SKIP~~~

I woke up at 8:26, and was lured to the kitchen by the smell of something cooking. It turns out Saturday is Pancake Day. Well, pancake morning. And I, being the marvellous creation that I am, need around 30000 more calories than the average human.

I think that's what someone said. I dunno. But I do need a lot of food, so I was pleased when I saw the massive bowl of mix. There were little brown things in the bowl, and I couldn't see clearly what they were.

Sam and Brigid were still asleep, and Lissa was sitting at the bench, eating something that didn't look like a pancake. A new diet, I suppose.

She's trying to lose weight so she can fit into a dress. Or something like that. And those little brown things are choc chips, by the way.

I jumped in my seat, and turned around, looking for the source of the voice.

I'm in your head, Max. I already told you I can read and control minds. What did you expect?
Angel?
Morning. And don't worry. Everyone else knows about this.
Right. Well, this is… normal. And choc chips in pancakes? Will that work?
Yes. And it will take delicious and you will eat it and you will like it.
Alright, fine, fine. I'll eat your stupid choc chop pancakes.

I had seen and heard a few weird things in my life, but this was just plain creepy.

'Good morning, Max. did you have a nice sleep?'

Mom smiled at me pleasantly. I wasn't sure how to respond.

'Yeah, thanks.'

'Oh, it's alright. Now, how many pancakes do you want?'

I didn't want to be rude. I guess mom knew about the calorie factor, but she didn't know about me, unless Angel had told her.

Don't worry, I haven't. I thought you would want to do that yourself.
Get out of my head, Angel. It is not a friendly place.

'3, please.'

'Only 3? Will that be enough? Well, I suppose you could make some more yourself if you're still hungry…'

Me? Make anything apart from meat that can be cooked over an open fire? I don't think so. Maybe I could get Iggy to do it for me…

And while I'm remembering completely pointless and irrelevant things, I remembered that someone in the training department had a super-rich friend who is currently building some sort of training arena.

I'm not entirely sure what it was, but it sounded great. Like a national park. You know, like Yellowstone, but not as big. And used for training outdoor survival. That'd be fun.

I'd also heard from leaked sources that there would be a massive tree house type structure for paintball. God, it sounds incredible. Already, my mind was inventing new ways to torture the newbies.

It's supposed to be finished soon, but there's no set could be anytime from tomorrow to next year. And I just hoped I would be around to use it.

Lissa's mobile rang, snapping me out of my thoughts and back into reality, which at this time, was kinda slow. It was her mom, and she walked off into another room.

Then, like some creepy coincidence, the others walked in. the others. That sounds weird. In my mind, it's like, me and them. Except, it turns out, I was one of them so the whole thing went ka-poof.

Mom greeted them in that happy-go-lucky way she has that makes me want to vomit, and took their orders.

She served the pancakes for me, and I poured some sweet stuff on it, and devoured them. And let me tell you, they were the best pancakes I've ever eaten.

Actually, before I came here, I'd never had them before. When I first heard of it, I imagined a chocolate cake being cooked in a frypan. Yeah, I'm weird like that.

Lissa walked back in, and explained something about some sort of family crisis, I don't know, it was all jumbled up, but apparently she was leaving. People really like to sleep in. Its 9:34 and everyone's still in bed.

Which leaves me, Fang, Angel, Nudge, Iggy and mom standing/sitting around the kitchen bench. And things got very awkward very quickly.

Mom noticed their silence, so this wasn't normal for them.

'Hey, kids. What's up? You're all so quiet. Is everything alright?'

Angel looked at me, and I felt a tug on my mind, if that makes sense.

You should tell her, Max. Not one of us.
Why? Why do I have to?
Because if you don't, then I will, and she may as well hear it from you.

I couldn't believe I was being pressured into something like this by a six year old!

'Dr. M, there's something I need to tell you.'

Ok, sure, I called her mom in my head, but that was the limit.

'Max, please. Don't be so formal with me. I know you're only here for a short time, but call me Val, at the very least. What did you want to talk about? Does it have something to do with why you're all so moody this morning?'

Well, it's now or never. Actually, I never really understood that saying. Or "there's no time like the present". Because if there really was no time like the present, it would be completely pointless to say something like that because you would've already done whatever you were referring to. Does that make sense? Meh. It's good enough for me.

Stop stalling, Max.

'Dr. M, I have wings.'

So it's not as long as the other chapter, and not as exciting, but it's just setting up the scene for the next few chappies. So yeah, Max found out that Angel's a mind reader/hacker and the rest of the gang have wings.

As always, please keep reading, and any and all reviews are appreciated. If you have any comments about things I could improve on, please tell me. I read what you say, well, write, and try to fix any problems with the plot or grammar.

Over and out,

- SS