This one`s a shorter chapter, but I couldn`t think of anything else to write. Plus, I already feel bad for not updating in... what? Two months? Sorry. It's just my summer been really crazy busy.

Highlight of the day: My brother told me that when he gets older, he wants his bed to be a giant pokéball. So that when he was going to bed he could yell "Capture me!" He's almost seventeen.

I forced myself to keep my appearance calm, though my mind was reeling. "What do you mean?"

She fingered the edge of the sleeping bag nervously. "I was tired. I couldn't fly much anymore due to the fact that none of the food I ate every stayed down. I was throwing up five times a day or so, and I didn't have the energy for it. And the Eraser attacks didn't stop and I was losing energy, and it went so far, and I felt so sick and desperate that I didn't even care anymore. I might have let them kill me in a fight or something. I just wanted to give up, give in. It's not like I had anything to lose."

It felt sort of like someone was stabbing me in the chest with a knife. "So you just were going to die?"

She shrugged as if it were absolutely nothing. "Well, yeah. What was I supposed to do? It was coming for me, whether I cared or not. I wasn't retaining enough calories for all of the work I did, so eventually I would've died of starvation or vitamin deficiency. I only weighed about 39 pounds. Then you came along, and I stopped throwing up, and I started gaining weight again, and... I guess... well, I..."

I raised an eyebrow at her. What?

Vic sighed deeply. "I really didn`t like you being around. Because friends suck and people always let you down, and I always got the blame for everything, and I hate the world. And I wanted to disappear so that people couldn`t hurt me anymore and so the world would just leave me alone, but then you come around and I`m suddenly your captive. And I`m too weak and tired to fight you off so I just let you take me away. Because I didn't even care what happened anymore."

"Why didn't you run away?" I asked, because long before this conversation had sparked up, that question had been circling my mind.

She bit her lip. "I didn't throw up when you were around. And for me, that was a good enough reason. At least at the beginning. Now I have to think of reasons."

"Thanks," I said without enthusiasm.

Vic looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well I guess you're okay. So that's a reason. Happy?"

I shook my head no. "What suddenly makes me seem okay?"

"I guess I'd been in solitude for so long. Actually it was more like solitary confinement; never letting anyone get close to me, sticking to myself. I guess I forgot what it felt like to have someone you could depend on. A friend."

And it seems as though she's realizing this herself as she tells me. We are friends. It's kind of funny considering our friendship started with captivity, which I doubt is normal. But then again, we have wings.

She leaned back a bit and closed her eyes. "It's peaceful."

Welcome to my life, issue 12: Confusion Strikes Back! "What?"

"My mind," she explained "It feels at ease for once... well the first time in a long time, you know? Like it's not as pressured."

"That's because I'm the world's best therapist," I told her.

She laughed. "I guess I should just lie back and pour my heart out to people more often."

"It would really help me understand all of your craziness," I shrugged.

She stuck her tongue out like a five year old. "The only reason you don't understand is because you still have a close connection to your sanity. Mine drifted away a long time ago."

"I noticed," I smirked. "It's hard not to notice."

She glared. "Haha Fang. Now shut up before I murder you."

I smirked slightly, but choked it down a second afterwards. Because she sounded just like Max. As in, that was a very Max-like thing to say. In a very Max-like tone. Creepy.

"Okay, why are you staring like that?" Vic asked awkwardly.

I didn't realize I was, but i gave her a look anyway. Me, stare? Nah.

"Freak," she muttered. Great, even when she's in the worst of condition, even when she declares I'm her friend, she still finds a way to make fun of me.

I pulled a crushed sandwich out of my bag and handed it to her. "Eat."

She stared at it for a second before snatching it from my hands and unwrapping it. She tore tiny pieces off from the sandwich, chewing them carefully before swallowing them down.

And it then occurred to me. Just like that. "That's why you chew your food up so small."

She shot me a questioning look until it was replaced by one of understanding. She nodded. "It's a lot more painful to throw up when the food is chunky; it doesn't come up as easily."

I just nodded and leaned back a bit, my head feeling heavy on my shoulders. I tilted my head back to lean against the tree, letting myself feel at peace in the late afternoon. Gray clouds were rolling in over the sky, blocking out the suns bright light; not that it was really that noticeable beyond the tree leaves.

I closed my eyes, just resting there. And I did feel at peace, like nothing was rushed. A little breeze swooped by, and then another about ten minutes later. And I just lay there, soaking in the natural tranquillity of the scene.

God, I'm becoming so poetic.

I opened my eye very slightly, just peeking out from underneath the lids. Vic was poking the embers of a fire, moving them around to a more preferable spot. It was considerably darker than before, and I guessed it was night time. Vic tossed a glance my way, and her eyes softened the slightest bit. She pulled the sleeping bag over, then placed it over top of me, covering my legs and arms. She smiled.

She rummaged through her bag, pulling out a small sleeping bag of her own, along with a book, but not a novel kind of book. It was like...almost a...notebook. Like one I used in English class while living with Anne in Virginia. Vic's hands skimmed the pages as she turned them slowly, biting her lip the way she does when she's nervous or anxious. Her face softened incredibly, but occasionally hardened up, and got stiff.

She flipped another page, and I could've sworn I saw a tear roll down her cheek.

PGAE BREAK

"Wake up!"

I heard the sound, but I remained in my current position with my eyes closed.

"Fang, get your lazy ass up!" Vic said loudly.

Once again, I did not feel compelled to move.

That was, until the sharp pain erupted in my side. Yep, there nothing better than being kicked awake.

My eyes shot open to give Vic a death glare.

"Oh no, your glare is causing me to shake with fear," she said, voice laced with sarcasm. "I'm going to cower from your line of sight, because you are so frightening. Come on, get up."

I groaned as I forced myself to sit up straight. Sunlight was filtering in through the tree leaves, one hitting my face dead on. I shifted a few inches to the left.

Vic was rifling through my bag, pulling out what seemed to be her seventh sandwich. I was making an educated guess based on the number of sandwich wrappers strewn on the ground.

"I don't think I've ever been this hungry in my life," she moaned, while shoving a ripped piece of sandwich into her mouth.

"Leave at least one for me," I said, rolling up my sleeping bag and tucking it away in my pack. The morning air was cool and crisp, the way it is when you fly twenty thousand feet up in the air.

Vic poked a log in the fire and places some dead pine needles into the bottom, causing it to flare up. "I think I can help you."

What a great way to start the morning. "With what?"

She placed a stick into the fire. "With your mission."

I stared at her in amazement. "Really?"

"Uhuh," she nodded "See, I know you're looking for mutants and I know where some are located."

"And you never told me?" I said with exaggerated patience.

"Well, it's not like you ever asked," she scoffed, rolling her eyes dramatically.

I glared. "Oh gee, I guess it's my fault."

Her turn to glare. "You know what? It is."

I shook my head, realizing there was absolutely no point in arguing with Vic. "Okay, where?"

"Minnesota, just south of Mankato. There's a group of them, living in hiding." She said plainly, but I could see her jaw tensing, the way her fists were curling up tightly. And I know, that it took a lot for her to tell me.

"Thanks," I told her sincerely.

She rolled her eyes like it was no big deal, even if it was. "Yeah, well I'll give you a heads up and tell you they aren't exactly the nicest people alive."

I cocked my eyebrow. Really?

A look of hatred washed over her face for a second, flashing for only a fraction of a second, I would've missed it if I'd blinked. "Let's just say, if the opportunity arises, I might kill the one main bitch. Just thought I'd tell you so there wouldn't be any surprises."

"Lovely," I said without emotion.

She shrugged. "Just don't say you haven't been warned."

There was a moment of silence. I mean, Vic's threat to kill the "one main bitch" could be interpreted in different ways:

She was joking around. I mean, she always make jokes about murdering people. Example, me.

She really didn't like this girl (I was making an assumption) and sometimes she wanted to kill her.

Vic actually wants to slit this girl's throat.

But I guess I`d figure out which she intended sooner or later.

Okay, so I know it wasn't the best, but could you please review? Please?