Yes, I know, I haven't updated in like a week, but this is a longer chapter. And longer chapter equals slightly longer wait? Anyway, thanks for all your reviews! Can I get ten this week? Usually I only get like 5 but more than 5 people view my story so I'll make you a deal. Once I get ten reviews I will update as soon as the next chapter is ready. Enjoy the chapter!
Blackness enclosed around me, swirling in a thick cloud that fogged my mind. After a while several sharp pains pierced my haze of darkness. I attempted to shift away from the jagged pricks, but I was frozen or held in place.
As I surfaced from my slightly unconscious state the latter was confirmed. Cool metal bit into my wrists and into my ankles through the thin material of my jeans. I shook of my blanket of darkness and forced my eyelids open.
White walls. White coats. White freaking bins! Really, the School needs a good interior designer if you ask me. I'm being to think they have a white complex.
Now I've been through a bit in the last few days. I sliced my arm open in a very weak moment, got a whooping big cut on the back of my head and got kind of cheated on. Why did these things continue to happen to me? WHY? I bet I was born on the day when God took a vacation and old Lucifer was casually up there chilling instead.
When I had finished my mini rant in my head I was all ready to bust on out of there. I started pulling on the chains that held me to the wall. I only succeeded in making the manacles around my wrists dig further into my flesh, cutting my skin into pieces. Blood started to drip down my arms in a slow trickle.
"Escapades are not tolerated." A disembodied voice suddenly projected into the room, filling every corner with a loud booming voice. Yeah, like that was going to stop me.
"Shut the hell up and get me out of these freaking chains!" I screamed wildly into the room, trying to send my voice in the direction of the invisible captor. However my impressive little speech came out garbled because my voice had been affected by lack of use.
Well damn.
I struggled again. If they wanted to stop me they were going to have to come in here and do it themselves. Electricity zapped through the chains and I fainted. Maybe they didn't have to come though after all.
When I awoke it wasn't a thick cloud of darkness that I was conscious of first but a vaguely familiar voice yelling 'Max!' I hung there deciding what to do, whether to move or not. I deliberated for about two minutes before blearily I opening my eyes, then wished I had opened them a whole lot sooner. Scientists lay on the floor groaning in pain as a black clad figure flitted with unusual grace around the room, dispatching any scientist who was yet to run or be thrown heavily on the ground.
Shards of glass littered the floor and what I had assumed was a wall was gone, revealing a plain stainless steel lab. Clear liquid was spilling on the floor and a memory was presented to me.
Gas station – stolen car – clear liquid – petrol – wait, WHAT? Oh no, no, no, no! That liquid was petrol. Not good! No one in this room had better smoke – I shook my head. No one in this room was in a state to sm – Oh sweet mother of chocolate chip cookies.
There was a stray piece of dark, smouldering paper dangerously close to the flow of clear liquid. Please don't touch the paper, please don't – damn it! The whole left hand side of the room ignited in roaring flames.
Oh my Lucifer.
Let me describe my predicament in two words. Freaking Disastrous! I am chained to a freaking wall while the room I am chained to turns into an oven. Do I look like I want to be fried chicken? When did Hansel and Gretel arrives and decide I was the evil witch? Oh well. Return to my current disaster in my oh so catastrophic life.
Black opaque smoke was filling the air and making it hard to breathe. As I realised what it was I gasped. Not the smartest thing to do. It was carbon monoxide. I'm going to be dead in a few breaths! Well, unconscious at least but then I'll turn into a freshly roasted thanksgiving meal!
Realising this I fought again with my chains not caring about my skin tearing underneath them, but they just refused to budge. What do I have to do to get these freaking things off? Break the freaking wall? Probably. Well, that's not exactly an option because I kind of used up the rest of my strength earlier.
Defeated I hung against the wall waiting for the flames to turn me into a KFC worthy meal. You know when people say they nearly drowned but it was peaceful and all tranquil. It could have just been me or it could have been the whole flames instead of water thing but my death sure wasn't looking or sounding too peaceful.
I could still feel the blistering heat of the flames burning against my skin, I could still hear the shouts of pain and rage which were echoing around the room, and then suddenly a pair of cool hands were on my arms soothing the burning pain.
"Max, I need you to fight." My rescuers voice was low and persuasive. I pulled my eyelids open and saw the dark figure start pulling at the chains which held me captive. Feebly I pulled slightly against the chains, but really, it was just too hot. The heat of the room washed over me coaxing me into a state of lethargy. Warmth, as comforting as a pair of strong arms, enclosed around me. Just as I was about to drift away a sharp pain on the side of my face jolted me back to full consciousness.
"Damn it Max. You can't give up. If your own self preservation isn't a good enough reason, then how about the Flock? You can't give up for them!"
This figure really was quite familiar, but the black smoke floating around the room made it hard to remember anything. Annoyed that he had roused me from my almost sleep I vented my frustration and pulled hard on my shackles. He pulled at the same time as me and the sound of metal cracking was the sound of my freedom.
I fell down from the wall, expecting to meet cool, hard tiles but instead being greeted by a pair of warm arms. Instinctively I snuggled closer to them smelling the familiar smell of freshly crushed pine cones that made up Fang's aroma. Oh my gosh.
My rescuer was Fang. Fang, the two timing, lying idiotic son of a dung beetle! I sprang away from his arms, ignoring his expression as pain flashed across it before returning to his usual emotionless mask, then I sprinted down the corridor. The flock must be here somewhere. Fang's footsteps echoed behind me as I slammed door after door open until – "Max!" Nudges' voice pierced the air.
I rushed over unlocking the cages as quickly as I could.
"Come on guys, this place is going up in flames. Get outside and head for the cave where we met the hawks. Got it?"
They nodded that they understood the message and with that we ran out of the door and headed to what we hoped was an exit. White corridor after white corridor streaked by in a blur as we ran as fast as we could. Alarms were ringing loudly and shrilly in the air and scientist bewildered shouts accompanied us as we darted past labs.
An then we were free. Cool clean air caressed my face and the bright beams of the sun tickled my exposed skin warmly. Moving smoothly together we leapt into the air so synchronized it looked rehearsed. Well, in some ways it was, I guess. We had done the manoeuvre enough times to know when the other members of the Flock were about to take flight. I can't really describe it. It's like the tips of your feathers just start to tingle and then you jump because when they tingle you just know everyone is poised for flight.
Quickly and easily we formed an elegant 'v' shape, each one of us flying slight higher than the person in front to avoid their slip streams. It was strenuous going – each one of us had been subject to some sort of pain over the last couple of days, whether it was simply being cooped up in a cage that was twice as small as you were or in my case being half electrocuted.
As I flew I glanced at the others watching their expressions carefully ready to decipher them. Angel looked contented at being surrounded by fresh air and her expression was mirrored by Nudge and Gazzy. Iggy looked distracted by something that was playing on his mind and traitor-boy – well I don't want to waste precious time on him so I avoided looking in his direction. I wasn't going to crack first.
No. Way. Jose.
After a couple of hours flying my muscles were wincing at every stroke of my wings so I knew that flying for much longer wasn't an option. I scanned the ground, using my raptor vision to try and spot a clearing wide enough to land in. Thankfully after about two minutes I found one, I didn't know how much longer I could stay airborne. Motioning downwards I signalled to the others to land.
Not really bothering with the whole graceful landing thing, I got about five feet from the ground then folded in my wings and dropped. For some of you this might have been painful. Try learning to fly. That's painful. I hit the ground with a solid thump and just lay there not wanting to move my aching body one bit.
The flock sat restlessly around me evidently not experiencing to whole muscles kind of seizing up thing. Groaning quietly, I pulled myself up – it took willpower, serious willpower – and looked around at them.
"Right. We all need a wash – no excuses Iggy – and food. I saw a lake not too far from here where we can wash. Iggy go with Nudge and Gazzy and wash. Nudge, he's blind, don't look at me like – oh actually Angel go instead of Gazzy. Bring back water if you can. "
I closed my eyes after correcting myself. Really, I was too tired to make good decisions, can't they see that? But really, Gazzy instead of Angel, what was I thinking? I stretched, yawning slightly and reopened my eyes. The trio was preparing to set off, Nudge looking visibly relieved that Angel was going instead of her brother.
I re-collapsed back into the grass and murmured "Gazzy, Fang you'll go when they come back, 'kay? Then I'll go once you come back."
After that I closed my eyes and sank into a light doze, slightly aware of the noises of a meal being made around me. Why wasn't I helping, you ask? I like my flock, well the majority of them, and I don't want handcuffs labelled with 'homicide through food' slapped on my wrists, thank you very much.
I didn't realise how long I had been asleep for when suddenly a hand shook my shoulder. Begrudgingly I opened my eyes, and then promptly jumped into the air as I saw a clean looking Iggy.
"What the- Iggy where did your tan go?" I stared incredulously at him for the first time in ages actually seeing his paler than milk skin. Dear lord, what miracles a mere shower can conjure up!
"Naw, it was dirt." He stalked over to the fire and nudged something with a stick.
I sighed then rose into the air and flew towards the lake. Pure, gleaming water sat delicately rippling in a large oval amongst the trees and bushes. It looked glorious. Quickly I peered around – I wasn't going to become a victim of a peeping tom – then pulled of my ragged clothes and plunged into the water. I gasped as the cool liquid touched by body, it was freezing!
I scrubbed myself clean as best as I could and tried to wash my hair. It worked to an extent. Shivering I clambered out of the water and pulled on a set of less ragged clothes out of my rucksack. I revelled in the feeling of being clean again, the feeling of having all of your worries washed away. I fanned out my wet wings and shook them gently to remove the excess water that clung to them like tiny beads of diamonds.
Then I headed back to our campsite. The little fire was crackling merrily away and the gang sat around it warming their hands with its heat. A small grin pulled at my lips as I observed the sight – they looked like a peaceful group of hippies.
Landing with a slight thump, I announced my arrival with a quirky little "What's cookin', good lookin'?" Nudge immediately took this as an opportunity to rev up the old Nudge channel and began to chatter excitedly. Turning around she spouted "Well Fangs says it's some sort of like mountain rat thingy but I don't – Ohmigosh Max! What happened?"
I froze whilst in the act of trying to nick a piece of 'mountain rat.' The whole flock was gaping at me. Well, apart from Iggy. Angel and Nudge looked freaked out just by looking at me and Gazzy's mouth was turning into a full time fly catcher. Fang, as usual, was impassive. I laughed awkwardly trying to lighten the now tense atmosphere.
"I know right, you can actually see my real hair colour! Who knew the power of a good wash, huh?"
Key word: trying. Nudge still looking freaked just pointed at my left arm. Following the direction of her finger I looked at my left arm, and promptly gasped.
The top of my arm was swollen and burnt with bruises splattered frequently around it. The skin on my wrist was all torn and also swollen and bruised. I recapped over the past events trying to match injuries to times. I decided it must have been when I was trying to escape the iron chains at the School. Looks like its long sleeved tops for me this week.
"Hey it's all good. It's just where they tied me up. It's not like they assaulted me or anything," I scoffed, "Like they could!"
I tried and succeeded in soothing the tense feelings that were evident in the camp. Key word: succeeded! Slight smiles broke out on people's faces. Not Fang's though, but he doesn't count as a person. He is a lying, cheating, emotionless rock.
Relieved I was no longer centre stage I announced that I was going to run a quick perimeter check and walked over to the edge of the clearing. I weaved in and out of the trees, always making sure that the glow of the fire was visible. In the middle of my second circle and me humming 'Bluebird' by Christina Perri a hand suddenly clamped itself around my wrist.
Startled I went into Ultimate-Ass-Kicking-Kung-Foo Max mode and spun around. As I spun around my hands flew to a fighting stance and my feet shifted to get a better position on the ground. Then I saw who it was.
Well crap.
There it is.
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x-Hephaestus-x
