A/N - Why do I always feel like I'm returning from a long abscense when I write? xD This story is always so hard to write, for some reason. Oh, well. New story out in three days, people! Ah, anyway, in a few days, I'm on visitation with my dad for the last time this summer, and then I'm off to Colorado, so updates will be NONEXISTANT! during those weeks. Heh, heh...*is killed by the readers who threaten to poke/kill me with sticks unless I update* Happy 10th chapter! (It's traditional for me to get exited/happy every ten chapters I write)

My Girl

Chapter 10

Iggy POV

What's even more depressing than seeing the situation you're in is feeling it, trust me. Instead of just being trapped in a cell and seeing it, I was actually sitting on it, leaning against the wall and feeling it all the time. And all I felt was grey, and I couldn't escape it. Normally, being blind would have been handy in this situation. But all I was seeing in my mind was grey, and I gotta tell you, it was depressing.

As much as I could, I tried to go to sleep. Sleeping distracted me from the boredom, and missing the rest of the flock. Unlike all the times before, I wasn't sure we were going to get out of this. None of us were. But I was all slept out. I just wasn't tired now, and so I was forced to stay awake.

When the door to my cell clicked open, I almost jumped for joy. To be honest, it could have been a merciless Eraser and I would have been happy that they were there. "If you're Doctor Gunther-Hagen, shoot me now," I said, despite knowing that it was Zarra again.

She punched my arm lightly as she sat down next to me. We sat in silence for a while before she spoke. I'm sorry for what happened yesterday, she commented. I guess I just have an overly developed sense of guilt. I'm sorry I bothered you.

"Don't be silly," I grinned slightly. I really wanted to speak today, because I knew she could read my thoughts. "I mean, other than you being my prison warden and holding me hostage in a grey cell, you're pretty cool." She thought I didn't notice the blush that spread across her face. I loved being able to see when she was in the room. It made me feel normal.

I meant what I said, though, she said seriously. I feel so awful, because I'm a terrible person. I know this is wrong, and I know it's not a game, and I'm not doing anything to stop it. And I like you, Iggy. You're a good person…and I'm not. I don't like doing this. I don't want to play this game. She put her head in her hands.

I put my arm around her shoulders and squeezed tightly. "This isn't your fault." It felt so…odd…to be comforting someone who was supposed to be my enemy. But it was complicated. I liked her, but more than normal. Was it wrong, to betray the flock, if she was truly on my side? I looked down at her.

"But really, do you seriously know that it's wrong? No one around here seems to know that. They look at us like we're some kind of animal, and that it's okay to do anything with us, just like we make cows into cheeseburgers. So, you seriously have a soul?" It was meant as a joke, but she answered it truthfully.

I wish I didn't, she replied honestly. If I didn't, it would be so much easier not to care about you, and just do what I was told, but I've done that for too long, and I really like spending time with someone relatively normal, like you.

I thought on it for a minute, holding her close to me. I knew how she felt. Even though it felt good to hold her so close, and like her too much for my own good, I wish I didn't, because it would make it so much easier to hate her like Max would. "If you hate it so much…why don't you fly away from here? Why don't you just escape?" I knew we'd been through this.

She sighed. You don't understand. If I leave here, I'd have nowhere else to go, and no one else to love. Zera and Zander are my life, and I love them more than anything else in the world. And they've been corrupted by this evil. I can't save them now. The only people that can save them are Gazzy and Angel, and they won't.

I nodded as she continued. I don't want to be on my own. All the time, I feel so alone, and it's hard enough to relate to people when I don't have a voice. I'm already shut out of everything, every day, and I have to use this stupid clipboard. But it's not like really being alone. I've been alone before, and I hate it. If I leave, I'll have no one.

And I wanted to make everything alright for her. More than I wanted to be able to see again, I wanted to give her a voice. I wanted her to have a real life, an easy life, even if it meant that I never would. I was scared, more scared than I'd ever been of anything, but I was also happy. I'd never been in love, like Max, so I wasn't sure what it was like. This might have been it.

When Fang and Dylan come, you'll get out of here, and you'll live a happy life, even if it won't be an easy one. You have a chance that I'll never have. I want you to be happy, but I can't help you, because I don't want to be alone. If I leave, with nowhere else to go, I won't have a flock to fall back on. I'll be on my own, with no one else in the world.

"That's not true," I tilted her chin up to face me, confusion in her dark eyes. I bit my lip. I wanted to make her see, but I was afraid, again. Couldn't I at least be honest with her, if no one else? "You have me," I said honestly, and wrapped my arms around her.

I expected for her to pull away, or run from the room as she had done yesterday. But her arms wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me closer to her. "Thank you," she whispered.

If there was a heaven, this was it.

Max POV

My eyes fluttered open when I heard Nudge whisper in my ear, "Max, someone's coming." I immediately snapped awake, fully alert. Nudge and I had been planning this for a while. Well, a while since yesterday. The people here had realized that if we were chained to the wall, someone would constantly have to come in to feed and water us, and take us to the bathroom.

Not to say that the bucket was any better, but you know. Therefore, they had opted to remove our shackles, thinking that we would just accept what we got and be happy about it. Hate to tell you, but that's not how we roll. So since yesterday, when we'd magically become friends –or something close to friends, anyway-, we'd made the plan.

We crawled over to the table, hiding behind it easily, as it was made of concrete. Careful not to make a sound, even when breathing, we were completely still. The door opened, and we looked at each other and nodded. "Max?" I heard a voice, and I was extremely happy to hear that it was Dr. Gunther-Hagen, just the man we wanted to see.

"Now," I whispered, and without a word, I leapt up from where I'd been sitting, flipped over the table in the center of the room, grabbed Dr. Gunther-Hagen and clapped my hand over his mouth. His muffled scream was drowned out by when Nudge wordlessly shut the door. And now we had him right where we wanted him.

"Bastard," I growled as I kicked him hard in the side, sending him tumbling down onto the floor.

"Dirty fucking coward," Nudge surprised me by cursing, and grabbed him by the shirt collar. It was hard not to feel real joy as her fist contracted with her nose. I grabbed him from her and hurled him against the nearest wall. I resisted the urge to grab his stethoscope and beat him with it.

He was too bewildered to fight back, as if he had seriously stepped into the room just to "ask us a few questions" yet again, and hadn't expected that he'd be faced with two seriously repressed teenage girls, who were so angry at him that they were ready to rip out his rib cage and use it as his eternal coffin.

After being kicked in the stomach, having his arm twisted at an impossible angle, and having his hair almost ripped out of his skull, he still wouldn't pass out. We only kicked and punched that much harder. We weren't in any real hurry, and we'd probably get caught anyway. We were going to have some fun with him.

And maybe part of me was beating him so hard for bringing Dylan into my life. What was with these people? I would love who I wanted to love and choose who I wanted to spend my life with, not who someone else said I should love. And Dylan had confused me more than he needed to. "I love Fang more," I whispered as I brought my knee up to his stomach.

"What?" Nudge whispered, having been too busy pounding her fists into his chest to hear me. I shook my head. "Nothing," I replied, and put Dylan and Fang out of my mind. But Dr. Gunther-Hagen looked me in the eyes, and I know he'd heard me.

"He's right for you in every way," he groaned as Nudge punched him hard in the stomach. Surprised, she jumped back. "He's the one you should choose." I gaped at him like a dead fish. "Don't you see, Max? This was all a test, to see if you and Fang could withstand the pressure. And you both failed. Dylan's waited for you. He passed. He's the better person for you."

"You're insane!" I screamed. "You set us up? Dylan was just a test for me? And you neglected to tell me that he was part of the Anti-flock destined to kill us? Make up your mind! Should he love me, or kill me?" I was ready to rip his head off and feed it to a wild boar.

The Anti-flock wasn't my idea!" he protested. "It was hers! She ordered me to make the Anti-flock with only destroying you in mind, but I saw a potential. Think about it, Max. You and Fang may be able to pair off, and Nudge and Iggy might be able to pair off, too-"

"Hey!" Nudge interjected, about to claim that, yet again, she didn't have feelings for Iggy and that he should just shut the hell up. But I clamped my hand over her mouth, rendering her silent.

"But what about Gazzy and Angel, Max? They're going to grow up one day! They won't have anyone. Do you really want them to have that lonely life? I have offered you all a way to escape from that, with a match for each one of you." I knew what he was doing. He was trying to distract me. Good luck, dude. He had a black eye on his face to prove that I wouldn't be distracted from eternally punishing him.

I slammed him against the wall. "We will decide how our lives will turn out. Not you. We are the ones who will decide our future, paired off or not. You cannot tell us who to love, who to be or what to do. We do not answer to you. Our destiny is something that we will decide, something that no one else can decide for us."

And he went limp, for no reason. "What the hell?" But then I looked at Nudge, who was removing her hands from his neck. "Wait, was that you? Where did you learn that?"

"The internet," she grinned, but it faded quickly. "Max…you're right. Just because Dylan is your match…that doesn't mean you should choose him. They're both perfect for you. But…don't make your decision just because you don't want to be controlled. Dylan really does care about you." She hung her head.

I threw my arms around her in a hug. She was surprised, not really sure what to make of this. I never give hugs. I'm not that kind of person. But I was hugging her now. "Thank you," I whispered. "I know…it's hard to give up the guy you like. I don't know…who I like more, to be honest. But I have to choose."

I sighed and pulled away. "Alright. Now, first things first – we gotta get out of here." She nodded. I walked to the door, and pulled it open. The last thing I was prepared to see was what I came face-to-face with.

Dylan POV

It was true that flying next to Fang wasn't the most entertaining thing of my life. It was only slightly better than carrying him in paralyzed form. He didn't talk. I mean, at all. I didn't know how someone could be like that. It was like the complete opposite of Nudge and her motormouth.

Mostly, it was that whole awkward silence thing. Flying was very awkward. Of course, Fang didn't seem to mind the silence. Bathroom breaks were very awkward, and I really won't go into that. Camping for the night was probably the worst, because we actually had to talk. And honestly, he wasn't even that interesting when he talked.

How did he have all those fans on his blog? I just couldn't understand it. Sure, he was all "dark and silent", but he had no heart, soul or even a sense of humor. No matter what they say, the whole freaky mouth-twitching thing does not replace laughing. End of story. He was like, a dead leaf. Well, that would be insulting dead leaves everywhere. He had the enthusiasm of a dead leaf.

"Holy shit!" Well, then again, maybe he had a little more enthusiasm. I looked over to see what he had been yelling about, and oh my crap it was the weirdest thing you'd ever see.

What we were looking at, literally about ten feet away from us, was a huge lizard-thing. If I'd ever seen a dinosaur, this would be it. It was a vaguely humanoid monster, with a large, bulky body and smaller arms. It had legs, and an extremely long tail that it thrashed around violently as it roared at us.

It must have been about two hundred feet tall, crushing even our six-foot height. And we thought we were pretty tall. Long spines stuck out of its back, running down its tail, and one of its teeth could have skewered ten people in one chomp. Its eyes were red and glowing, and it looked ready to kill.

"Hey, it's Godzilla!" Fang exclaimed, an actual smile on his face. He looked like a kid on Christmas morning.

I would have rolled my eyes, but I was still in shock from the giant freaking monster right in front of me. "Are you insane?" I yelled. "You're silent and quiet all day, unenthusiastic as Oscar the Grouch, but when you see a huge monster that's trying to kill us, you're happy all of a sudden? What's wrong with you?" He shot me a dark look.

"Plus, what the heck is 'Godzilla' anyway?" I was honestly curious.

He gaped at me. "You don't know what Godzilla is? Geez, man, you haven't lived. Godzilla is him. It was like this monster thing in this super-old movie that terrorized people and destroyed things. How could you not know that? I mean, I know you were practically raised in Dr. Gunther-Hagen's little cage, but I never knew-"

"Not the time!" I shouted. "If you hadn't noticed, the monster is right in front of us!" Well, actually, we were kind of above the monster. We fly, of course, so we were looking down on it. But that didn't help us any when we were trying to destroy it.

"You know, this one is kind of smaller than the actual Godzilla," Fang remarked. "The real Godzilla –well, I guess the fake one, since the real one is right here in front of us- well, anyway, the Godzilla from the movie was like three hundred feet tall. This one is kind of smaller. So it should be easier for us to kill it."

"Well, jolly good for us," I rolled my eyes.

"Wait, there's more," Fang continued. When did he become the talkative one? "Sometimes, this was actually a good monster, protecting Tokyo from other monsters and stuff like that. So, maybe this one's nice."

At that precise moment, one of its arms swiped through the air, intent on taking Fang with it, he quickly maneuvered around it. "Oh, really? I don't think so," I rolled my eyes. "Look, nothing like this exists in real life. Dr. Gunther-Hagen is the only one who could do something like this. This thing was sent to kill us!"

And I dug in my backpack. Normally, this would be a Dora-the-Explorer moment, digging whatever I needed out of a backpack, but I was going to be prepared for anything, and I'd taken this from one of the villages we'd stopped at. I grabbed the rope, and sped towards the monster.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Fang flew after me. "You're going to get killed!" I ignored him. The monster opened its mouth for another ear-splitting roar, and I flew in and out of it easily, wrapping the rope tightly around his mouth and around, tying it closed so thick that even the monster couldn't open its mouth.

"Great, so you tied its mouth closed," Fang glared. "Now what?" I wordlessly pulled a machete out of my backpack. "Take this," I directed, "And kill him. I did the hard part, so now it can't eat you. So, get to it." I took a seat on the monster's head. Sadly, its arms were too short to do anything about it.

He looked at me dejectedly. "You owe me," he hissed, and it might have been my imagination, but I didn't just think he was talking about the matter at hand. My thoughts flew to Max. This was slowing us down, and we needed to get to her. Hang on, Max. We're coming to save you.

The monster stomped around angrily, as Fang flew down, scanning its scaly chest for where the heart was located. But he got a little too careless. The monster swiped at him, and this time, it hit. Caught in its claws, Fang struggled against it, but found himself defenseless. He struggled to breathe as his lungs were squeezed, until he was gasping for air.

And all I could do was stand there, helpless. I couldn't do a single damn thing to help him. I knew that I wanted him gone, wanted him dead, but I wasn't this low. All I wanted was for Max to be happy, and if he died, my fault or not, she'd never forgive me. Or herself, for that matter.

I took off my shoe quickly and flung it at the monster, specifically, in its left eye. It hissed in pain, releasing Fang. He made quick work of the monster's arm, slicing it off. He did the same to the other. And when the monster was totally defenseless, he flung the machete into the heart. I stepped off the head easily as the monster crashed to the ground.

"We are good," Fang said with a real smile as he handed me the blood-soaked machete and held out his fist. I stared at it for a moment, unsure of what to do. "You pound it," he clarified. I brought my fist to his hesitantly. But it felt good. Like…friendship?

Nudge POV

We threw the door open, fully prepared to make our escape, and nothing would stop us. Whatever happened, we had wings. Let the Director shove that in her face. But what we didn't expect to see was the Director right in front of us. She had murder on her face as she registered the thought that we'd beaten Dr. G-H and were ready to escape.

Without an ounce of hesitation, her hand instinctively reached for the alarm button on the wall, and I panicked. My fist shot out, and contracted with her nose, sending her spiraling back onto the floor. She looked up at us, shocked. But we didn't have time for the drama. I stepped over her and proceeded to do to her what I'd done to Dr. G-H. In seconds, she had passed out.

Max grabbed her and shoved her into the room with Dr. G-H. She had taken the keys from Dr. G-H, and grabbed the ones that the Director had, too. Locking the door behind her, she grabbed my hand and pulled me down the hall. We knew we didn't have much time before someone would be checking on us, and we had to be well away from this place by then.

Whenever we saw a guard, we ducked behind other doors. No one saw us, but no doubt that the security cameras would give something away. We maneuvered through countless hallways and down sets of stairs, having no idea where the exit was. I didn't really believe that we'd get out of there, not in one piece.

And I was right that there would be trouble. When we made it to the main balcony above the entrance, we breathed a sigh of relief. But it wasn't over. "Stop right there," I heard a voice behind me, and looked over. Behind us, and pointing a gun, was a girl with black hair and glasses, around twelve years old. She was skinny and resembled a twig, but judging from the wings behind her, I figured she was a lot more dangerous.

She was one of the Anti-flock. I saw the look in her eyes, the one that made her look evil. But she was just a kid, a kid who'd been brainwashed into thinking that what she was doing was right. I almost felt sorry for her. "On three," Max whispered just loud enough for her to hear. "One," she said, and pulled me over the edge.

A shot was fired. A shot that was aimed at Max, but never got there. I screamed as Max pulled me over the edge, desperate to get us out of there. I'd been clipped with a shot on my arm, I saw as blood seeped through my shirt. I looked back at the railing, at the furious little girl. How could someone be that evil, to brainwash someone who should have been sweet and good?

I was pulled through the doors and out into the forest, and I remembered vaguely that we were still in Venezuela. I didn't want to, but I felt my eyes closing. I looked at Max for one last time, and then everything went black.

Gazzy POV

I heard the gunshot, and prayed with all my might that Angel had told me the truth, that Max and Nudge had really escaped. If they had, then they could bring help, and we could get out of here.

But something inside me told me that we weren't done here yet. I still had to find some way to help Zera. I didn't know why, but I wanted to make her happy, and return her to the person that she was supposed to be, not the person they'd made her. I wanted her to be like us.

Later, when she was in my cell, setting up the machines for my next test, I looked her in the eye. "Zera, why do you do this?" She looked at me in disbelief.

"Do what?" she raised an eyebrow.

"You're not evil." It wasn't a question. "You're not evil. This is just what they want you to do. I know you're smarter than this. So why don't you just break free of it all? I can't understand why you're letting them manipulate you like this." Well, maybe I had said the wrong thing, because instantly, her hands were on my throat.

"Listen, you little brat," she glared at me. "I'm not being manipulated by anyone. I'm taking care of you because it's the right thing to do for the Director. Without this job, I'll die, and what will Zander and Zarra do when they're the only ones left? I need to protect them by doing this, or they'll be out on their own, and I won't let you spoil it!"

"You like me." Again, not a question. "You guys like us, and you won't admit it. If you'd just quit it with this whole world domination thing, you could all come with us, the real flock. Wouldn't that be better than just staying here and taking orders from them?" Slap.

"S-So what if I do? It's just because you've been sort of nice. I'm sure it'll pass once you're dead."

"I mean, more than that. I mean, you like us."

Slap.

"What I'm saying is, for whatever reason, I like you, too. I like who you are. I like the fact that you have a brain, and somewhere under this disguise, you have a heart. You're interesting, and you're amazing, not to mention pretty." I had no idea why I was making myself this vulnerable.

"Really?" she removed her hands from my throat and looked at me. And I saw the real bird girl that was under that disguise, the one that I already almost loved. "You like me?" I grinned. "Do you like me too?" She didn't answer. But suddenly, she darted forward and kissed my cheek lightly.

"I'll take that as a yes?" I asked, smiling slightly.

She bit her lip. "You can take it as a maybe," she grinned, and disappeared from the room.

Zarra POV

I didn't know what was going on inside me. I'd never felt this way about another person. But when I was holding Iggy in my arms, and when he'd said that I had him to fall back on, I just felt different. I felt appreciated, liked, maybe even loved, something I'd never really felt before. And it just felt right.

I didn't feel scared anymore. I didn't want to block my thoughts from him, I didn't want to lie anymore. I was who I was, and I couldn't help what I felt or who I loved. Zera would have to deal with that. I couldn't pretend that I didn't feel this way about him. But I knew one thing for sure.

The Director wouldn't win. I wouldn't let her take away the only person I'd ever loved. Sooner or later, I'd find a way to help the flock and destroy her. I was sure of it.

My heart was hammering in my chest as Iggy looked up at me. Could he hear it?

My heartbeat accelerated as he leaned closer.

I was sure I'd have a heart attack as he pressed his lips to mine gently.

Unsure of what to do, thinking he wouldn't want me, I wanted to pull back.

But I remembered what we'd gone through in such a short time. I didn't want to let him go.

So I kissed him back with everything I had, and sealed my fate.

Thanks for reading! Don't really got much to say here. I'm so glad I finally got this chapter done. I had to do a LOT of googleing for Godzilla, having no idea at all what it is or specifically, what it looks like. I only had a vague idea. If something's not right, I DON'T CARE. I've NEVER SEEN THE MOVIES. So if that's all you care about, take your complaints elsewhere. xD Seriously though, review if you dare. :D

~Rachel