Thanks for the reviews! Here is your chapter!
The idiot had actually dropped me!
I shrieked and screamed, scratching at the air trying to find something to hold onto. "FANG!" I shrieked again.
But the dark speck in the sky didn't do anything. He just hovered in place and watched, arms crossed. If I survived, I was going to kill him. As I tumbled in the air again, I saw Angel with a horrified look on her face. But then she smiled, and remained calm again.
I looked down at the ground as it started zooming up amazingly fast. Out of instinct, I opened my wings and started to beat them furiously. But it wasn't good enough, and my wings were still too small to slow me down as I was falling at this fast pace.
All of a sudden, I held my wings out, still. The air pulled harshly at them. I was hoping that they'd act as a kite, and allow me to glide. Sure, it'd still be fast, but I wouldn't be hurdling towards the ground at least.
All of a sudden I felt a pressure under my wings. I opened my eyes (because they had been squeezed shut) and looked around me in even more panic. I was gliding just a few feet above the tree tops. I looked up, and noticed that all four others were nearby, watching me. I started inching lower and lower towards the bristly branches of the trees.
"Try flapping!" Fang yelled. Flapping?
I brought my wings up before pushing them down. Just the one act took a lot of effort, because my wings still had their un-used muscles. But it lifted me, slightly. I tried again. I raised up a foot. I was flying!
I tilted my left wing and circled around, like I had seen the others do. Now I was soaring in circles, maybe 10 feet above the tree. I crowed out in joy. I was flying! Kinda. This feeling that I didn't recognize rushed into me, filling me with adrenaline. The cold winter air brushed against my face.
"How do I land?" I yelled at Fang. I was getting tired, and quick.
Fang just shrugged, smirking. Not only was he going to force me to fly, but learn how to land too?
I started quickly descending, losing control and tilting this way and that. I was dangerously close to being impaled by a tree. My legs brushed against some branches and I felt the skin there sting.
"Fang!" I yelled again, panic clearly evident in my voice. He saw the danger and realized that I really couldn't land. He started rushing towards me. As he started to encircle his arms around me, I closed in my wings and clutched his shirt tight.
"I don't know how to land, you idiot!" I yelled at him. I pounded a fist against his arm. He just grinned.
"You flew," he stated.
"Yeah, barely," I muttered. He gracefully landed back on the rock that I had mentally named the 'launching rock'.
He released me from his grip, and I walked a couple feet away from him, my legs wobbly.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it."
I looked up because I heard giggling. I saw Nudge shove Iggy before Iggy tipped sideways in the air. Then he shoved her back. And they went into this cycle of playfully shoving each other while laughing and giggling. It was a strange thing to see from two people, up in the air, with wings.
"As soon as those two wing nuts come back down, we can go," Fang told me, rolling his eyes as he stared up at the odd pair as well. His cheeks and nose were red from the cold air. He looked kinda cute... Argh! No. Reader, forget I ever said that.
I looked at Angel, who was hovering above the launching rock. She had a determined look spread across her face, her eyes squinted down in concentration. She tucked in her wings and dropped a couple feet before snapping them back out to catch her just as she landed on the ground. She grinned in triumph. My little girl was a skilled flyer.
"Can we just do something?" I groaned in boredom. The four of us, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, and I, lay sprawled across my living room couch.
"I agree. Can we go shopping? Oh, I LOVE shopping! How about you Max? Though you don't seem like the kind that likes to shop..." Nudge trailed off, her brain coming to a million conclusions of what to do.
"I just want to eat," Iggy stated. I really wanted to eat too. Fang looked like he was just about drooling at the thought. All of a sudden he stood up, grabbed his keys, and said; "We're going to the mall."
"Fang? You ok? Are you doing drugs? Oh my gosh you must be on drugs. You poor thing, let's go see a therapist," I faked concern. But some of it was real. Out of everybody, Fang was the last person I would expect to want to go to the mall.
"No, you idiot. The mall has this huge restaurant portion. They have about a billion places to eat from," Fang said, rolling his eyes for the second time. Oh. I immediately got up and grabbed my coat.
"Let's go." I declared. Iggy and Nudge enthusiastically got up. Somehow even Angel was ready, her little pink bag slung over her shoulder. I raised a eyebrow at her.
"What? I want to buy some stuff," she shrugged. Again. The whole mind-reading thing. It really was starting to get creepy. I brushed it off and followed Fang outside.
"Can I please have 3 Big Macs, 4 fries, and 2 cokes?" I asked the lady at the cash register. I don't think I have ordered enough...
"And this is for all five of you?" the lady asked in a monotone voice. She really didn't look like she enjoyed her job...
"No, just me."
"Just you? Are you sure? That's an awful lot of food for one girl," the lady asked skeptically.
"Look, I know I am going to eat this all. I have the money. Now are you going to give me my food or not?" I huffed, getting impatient. I wanted my food!
"Alright. Your number will be called when your food is ready," the lady said, handing me a small slip of paper. The number 256 was printed across it in bold letters.
"Thank you."
I headed back to our table, where Iggy, Nudge, Fang, and Angel all sat hungrily eating their food. Hamburgers and pizzas and deserts and drinks filled the entire table. I guess bird-people eat a lot.
Fang sat there, devouring his second hamburger. I looked across the cafeteria. People seemed to stare. I chuckled.
Several restaurants lined the walls of the cafeteria. I saw McDonalds, Subway, a Pizzeria, a Burger King, and many others. I also saw an ice cream place... Maybe I could get some ice cream afterwards. And then Angel seemed to read my thoughts again.
"Can we get ice cream, Max?" Angel asked chewing between mouthfuls and pointing at the ice cream place. I stared at her.
"Sure," I told her sweetly.
"256!" a voice called. My food. I ran up to the counter eagerly. A new employee met me.
"Here is your food, Birdie. Enjoy..." the blonde girl behind the counter told me sweetly. I pinned her as Bridget, a girl in my math class. Her blue eyes seemed to glow yellow. I felt my own eyes widen in fear.
I grabbed the tray and quickly started walking back to the table. I looked over my shoulder and saw Bridget. She was waving, a sickly smile covering her slightly pointy teeth.
As soon as I got to the table I slammed my tray down on it, making everyone jump at the loud slap. "Ok, you better tell me right NOW what the HELL Dylan and Bridget are. I'm tired sick of not knowing and being so clueless!" I hissed, keeping my voice low. Everyone looked up at me.
"Bridget? What do you mean? You saw her eyes go all-" Nudge started, looking panicked.
"Yeah, I saw her eyes go yellow! And her teeth pointy! Want to explain to me what that is, or are you going to keep it a secret some more?"
"Well, you know how I told you that we weren't the only cross-species?" Iggy started, wincing at my tone.
"There's wolf-humans too, among others. The Avians and the Wolves have never been the closest of friends, because of some shit that happened centuries ago," Fang explained, glancing at the McDonalds. Lisa seemed to have disappeared.
"I want to know everything about them. NOW," I snapped, my eyes yellowing. Fang gave me a look. I took a few deep breaths and waited for them to return to normal.
"We'll explain at home, ok Max? As soon as we get there. This is not the place," Nudge told me gently, putting a French fry into her mouth. I nodded.
"So the Wolves are vicious little beasts. Around age 16, same as us, they develop the ability to morph into wolf-men. They're your modern-day scientific werewolves, basically. They are 100% predator, complete with the fangs, claws, and super-strength. Even as children, Wolves are quick to anger and have a tendency to lash out at people," Fang started, as soon as I got them all into my room and shutting the door. We all sat on my bed.
"They can choose to morph whenever they want, and have complete control over their "powers". They often have good looks and smooth talk. They aren't the brightest of them all, though," Nudge continued.
"Ok, so what about this stuff that happened centuries ago? Tell me about that," I interrupted.
"They say that long time ago the Wolves stayed in one large pack, led by a single alpha. This period of time was known as the Golden Age. The Wolves were peaceful, kind, and strong. All other cross-species loved them.
But they say that the current leader of the Avians killed their alpha. Pushed him off a cliff during a small argument," Iggy trailed on.
"But that wasn't the case. The two leaders were at their usual meeting spot, at the top of a cliff. The Wolf was too close to the edge, and Wolves are known to be heavy. The stone gave out, and the Wolf fell.
After that another Wolf took role as alpha of the pack. This leader was known to be cold and cruel. He changed the way of the Wolves. They became like their leader. Vicious. Everyone was miserable. Since then the Wolves have directed their anger towards the Avians, the ones who supposedly brought them out of their golden times," Fang concluded.
"So basically Dylan and Bridget just want to kill us? Even though we had nothing to do with it?" I asked, raising am eyebrow.
"Pretty much. Their whole pack does. They're stubborn creatures, and don't let go of things easily," Iggy shrugged.
"Their pack is big. Powerful. They outnumber us by at least 2 dozen. Dylan and Bridget aren't the only ones in the area," Angel blurted out, squeezing her tiny little eyes shut.
"How do you know, Angel?" Fang asked her, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
"I can feel them. You know, with my mind."
*gasps* Angel can read minds?!
I've decided I won't be putting any "minimum" for reviews anymore. You guys should review cause I deserve it, not cause I told you to.
Though reviews do make me update much faster. ;D I don't know when the next update will be. It will be sooner with more reviews, though.
~Falcon