A/N: Hey, check out the new-and-improved chapter 4! What's different? I got fed up looking at those stupid lyrics to "Supergirl". So it's been changed! Yay! I hope you like the new version better ( hint hint review for this one and tell me what you think about the new lyrics in chapter 4 hint hint) I hope you like this chapter, too. Plus for those of you who really wanted me to record the songs… I've started recording Rain, and I've got the webpage semi-finctional! Oh, and one other thing… I haven't been getting enough reviews lately, so I'm not updating until I get 78 reviews. That's 9 reviews to go. Much Love! MR
Disclaimer: I don't own Max Ride. Or Forgotten by Linkin Park. If I did… Well, it'd be something like this…
Max's POV-
Okay, can something go right for a change? We're doing fine at the concerts mind you, but once we're out, it's mass panic. Only Faye and I are really keeping it together, and I don't know how much longer it's going to take for her to break down. Jack still hasn't said anything about their Kiss, Wash paces every night, worrying about his sisters. Mia is tempted to sneak out at night and take a train to LA. I'm thinking that the one way to keep this band together is to take a vacation as soon as the tour's over. We can't stop the tour, that'd be bad publicity, but they're going freaking bug nuts! Iggy's been calling me on my cell almost nonstop, but I barely have time to talk to him. Beep… Beep… Beep. That'd be him. " Hi, Ig."
" Max, we need you to come back to New York right away… There's been a development…"
Faye screamed and Wash woke up, grumbling loudly. " I'm sorry, Ig! I gotta go right now. I'll talk to you soon, okay?"
" Max, I'm serious! You nee-"
" Iggy. I'm sorry! The doc said 2 weeks at least, and I'm needed here right now. The tour's gonna be over in a month, so I'm coming back in about a 5 weeks. I'm really sorry, but I gotta go now."
I quickly hung up before he could reply, and rushed to the main room where I heard Faye screaming. She had been on the phone apparently, and had dropped it, making the rigid black plastic shatter despite the plush carpet. Wash was looking at her with a look of deep annoyance, and if I was right, a little contempt. " What the hell has been going on in here?"
Faye looked up, still shaken. "My grandfather's dying. We need to get this tour moving."
Nothing really exciting happened in the next 3 and a half weeks, except everyone was at the other one's throats besides me, but then we split up for the time being, letting each other cool down before we really get mad and kill the good thing we have going here. Then Faye's grandfather died, and Jack volunteered to go with her. Mia went to Los Angeles, and from what she tells me, Random is getting better. He's doing chemotherapy, and it seems to be working, but she and Aurelie are staying there to help out with her Mami, and the next five her mother abandoned. Holy crap! I have no idea what Mia's mom does for a living, but I don't think I want to find out. Wash and I are in Chicago at the moment, trying to either get enough evidence to put his mom behind bars, or at least to get his sisters out of there. Nobody should be going through that. We walked along the streets at night, where nobody could recognize me if I had my glasses off. We were walking to his old apartment building, and although we don't know if they moved, Wash hasn't had contact with Deirdre, Lauren, or Natalie since that last phone call, and we figure something bad probably happened. " I wonder… what is you're real name? Nobody ever says it. So I want to know what it is…"
" My name's Albert Grayson."
He seemed to wince when I asked my next question. " So then why are you called wash?"
" When I was 6 my mother got in a rage and made me drink ammonia. Have you got any other questions?"
" Why didn't you do anything for them before?"
"That's none of your business."
" Hey, I was just asking! It's not like you just come out and say everything that's on your mind!"
He ignored me and turned to what looked like an old abandoned apartment building. "Home, sweet home."
Jack's POV (the only one I haven't done yet, besides Ig's)
Faye and I were on the plane to Alberta, Canada, and I was worried. I wanted, but was entirely too unsure of saying, to speak of what I felt to Faye about what happened between us. I needed to comfort her, as I watched her tense, and slightly shaking, form. I can't stand this! She won't tell me anything about what exactly's going on, but I can sure as hell tell it's not that her grandfather died! She'd be grieving if it were that. She'd be entirely too upset to be sitting there, shaking, looking as if she feared for her life!
She turned to face me suddenly, as if she sensed my unease. " Jack, do something for me…"
I didn't like where this was heading. She continued " My past is quite a bit different from yours. I just need you to understand. I'll tell you when it's necessary for you to know. Just remember, after we get off that plane, everything I say will be a lie. And if I tell you that I like daisies, it means that I need you to kill me. Do you understand?"
" What's going on, Faye?"
"Some of us lose the people we love, Jack. Some of us lose something more important than that…"
" That's not answering the question."
"But that's the only answer you're going to get."
" No it's not, Faye."
"Fine. I came from a wealthy family, okay? Only they needed an heir to the fortune, someone like them. Someone as bloodthirsty as them. Well, I was. But I wasn't like them at all. I was raised in the upper crust society, Jack. The one where you have to wear a dress to dinner. Only I wore jeans. And I spit. And I plucked up wildflowers and made mud pies, and walked to the US to learn English. Only my grandfather didn't disavow me. He did something much, much worse. That was the only one thing I didn't like about grandfather…."
Iggy's POV
Fang was starting to get better. He knew what to call things, although sometimes they were only on the tip of his tongue. I was helping as much as I could, and Angel, Gazzy, and Nudge were doing much better job at it. I mostly just kept things in order and cooked, of course. I was also the one who kept trying to call Max. Nudge was tracking her cell phone, just in case there should be an emergency on either end. She was in Chicago, who knows why! She should be here!
Suddenly, Angel screeched as Nudge ran into the room and Gazzy held a book in his hand, which hit against the door frame, as he raced in. But it looked as if all three had different problems to discuss." One at a time, please!"
Angel started, as nobody argued with what she wanted, nobody but Max and Fang, but for the moment, they were out for the count. "I had a surge of thoughts running through my brain. It hurt. Some of them were from Max, some were others. I don't know who the other ones are. They were all screaming at something in their mind. I'll be fine in a minute."
" Okay, Ange."
Gazzy started next. " I've got a book that I borrowed, from the library, and it might help Fang get his memories back. Do you think we should try it now, or wait to see what Max thinks?"
" Wait for Max, she needs to find someway to help."
Nudge sounded panicky as I finished the statement, and for a second, I was confused, bit then it dawned on me as she spoke. " Max is missing. She's off the map. I just can't find her anywhere, and I'm trying really hard."
SHIT! "Ow!" Angel glared at me, " And watch your language."
"Well, do you have any better ideas? She's gone renegade, again, in a place that I can't maneuver easily in, and you comment on my language, INside my head?"
Max's POV
GOD DAMN! I looked at the blood on the walls, and I scrounged around looking for clues between the parts that were covered in blood and the parts that were burnt to a crisp. We couldn't find anything of Amy's. It was as if she didn't exist, unless you knew better…" Over here!"
Wash was getting almost obsessive, looking at even the most obviously unimportant things as if they held the secret to life, the universe and everything. I rushed over, just because in case it was something important, I wanted to get there fast. There were blood-splattered diaries under a floor board. One had a knife inside, and inside a handkerchief was a shattered glass with brown, dried blood. Better yet, there were fingerprints. I picked up the one that looked the oldest and opened it. A crumpled, stained piece of paper fell out and I unfolded it. " if you find this: read these diaries. Take the glass to the police. This is the place of the murder of Amy Grayson. We were supposed to torch the place. But we disobeyed her, and although she doesn't know, if she finds out, we won't be able to stop her ourselves. We need you to help us. Please. Natalie, Deirdre, and Lauren Grayson."
They're in trouble. I can feel it in my bones. There is trouble in this place.
From the top to the bottom
Bottom to top I stop
At the core I've forgotten
In the middle of my thoughts
Taken far from my safety
The picture is there
The memory won't escape me
But why should I care (2x)
I looked around the place with new eyes, seeing the possibilities for what things could be in the face of a killer. And what I saw was beyond disturbing.
There's a place so dark you can't see the end
(Skies cock back) and shock that which can't defend
The rain then sends dripping acidic questions
Forcefully, the power of suggestion
Then with the eyes tightly shut looking thought the rust and rotten dust
A spot of light floods the floor
And pours over the rusted world of pretend
The eyes ease open and its dark again
I felt like the little girls now, the ones I now planned to save. I could look at a toothbrush, and see not only how infrequently it had been used, but how it could be used to kill, to maim, to beat away anything unwanted. The blood frozen in its movement down the walls, now seemed not only frightening, but full of courage, and self-sacrifice. Wash kept checking the floorboards, and I just looked around the room, frozen with the truth. Wash ran in, holding a newspaper. " I've got it! Look at this."
I did. The headline for the page read, " Amy Grayson's death labeled suicide, murder weapon at large," and on the side of it in a neat little scrawl, the page said, "We love you, Amy. To whoever reads this, we're moving. The next spot, for we may move frequently, is 23415 on 47th street. Apartment 23A. Find us, help us, save us!"
Chorus
Bridge:
In the memory you'll find me
Eyes burning up
The darkness holding me tightly
Until the sun rises up
We ran from the apartment building, and raced down the paths, alleys, and sidewalks to get there as fast as we could. The building looked newer, and we both felt that it would be needed to get inside. The window said vacancy, so I'll go in pretending to want an apartment, and see if they moved. If they're still there, I'll make sure where they are, and we know what we're up against.
Moving all around
Screaming of the ups and downs
Pollution manifested in perpetual sound
The wheels go round and the sunset creeps past the
Street lamps, chain-link, and concrete
A little piece of paper with a picture drawn
Floats on down the street till the wind is gone
The memory now is like the picture was then
When the paper's crumpled up it can't be perfect again
I walked in, and the noise from the apartments caught me off guard. An old woman seemed to be the super for this building, so I walked up to her and started talking about the vacancy. " So may I take a look at it, please. "
" Sure, deary. Just make sure you don't make too much noise. It disrupts my other tenants."
Chorus
Bridge
" Which one is it?"
" Number 23C, Miss…"
"Maxine Hawking."
" Miss Hawking, it's on the 23rd floor, so I'd take the elevator if I were you… I have some more work to do down here, though, so I hope you don't mind if I stay here."
" Not at all. I'll be fine."
It was just the opportunity I needed. I got out of my expensive looking coat, and put on a hoodie that was in a tote I carried with me. I left my bag inside 23C, and walked over with a small stack of papers to 23A. After a couple of knocks, I watched as the door opened to two tall, young girls. " Who are you?"
" Is your mother home?"
They eyed me suspiciously." Are you a creditor?"
" No, I'm not wanting to talk to her. I just want to know if she's here. May I come in, please. I'd rather nobody else hear what I have to say, and I'm sure the few girls that I'm here for would mind terribly if this was overheard."
They still watched me cautiously, but I entered anyway, and brought the stack of papers out of my pocket. "I'm here for the Grayson girls. Are you them?"
"Yes."
" Then where's the third?"
"Hiding out near the lake. Why are you so curious?"
I pulled out the scraps of the diary that were of great importance and displayed them for the girl's scrutiny. "I found this."
Their eyes widened in shock as they saw their own script, but even more so as they watched me put on my sunglasses. " Don't you watch the news?"
" Are you really…?"
" If you're asking whether or not I'm a guardian angel, the answer is, no. but I'm a friend of your brother's, and we're here to get you out of here."
" Now?"
" No. Two days from now. We'll come for you. Midnight. We'll get the other one tonight. 'Kay?"
The girls seemed to be really happy now. " Yes."
Now you got me caught in the act
You bring the thought back
I'm telling you that
I see it right through you (7x)
Bridge (2x)
" Did you find them?"
" Yes. One of them is out on the banks of Lake Michigan, hiding. The others are fine. I told them the plan, they're getting ready. So far so good."
" Which one's out at the banks?"
" Dunno. Didn't ask. "
He started getting panicky, and we caught a cab to get to Lake Michigan. It is huge! It took us about 3 hours to find her, and she was wet and cold, too close for comfort to getting pneumonia. It was Lauren, and she ran after nearly getting killed weeks ago. We should've been there sooner, I thought. I walked her to the hotel we were staying at, and Wash went to go to the drug store, and to run a few other errands. " So why'd you decide to go to the beach?"
" I just… went. It was mostly on instinct, but I didn't think my mom would search for me there."
" What'd your mom do the night you left?"
" She found out we were calling Wash. She never liked any mention of either him nor Amy after the incident, and I was hit in the side with some glass after she smashed a glass on the counter. Then I ran off…"
" Don't worry, you'll never have to see her again, except maybe in court if we're caught."
"You'd do that, for me?"
Fang's POV
It felt weird, living with my family again. I wondered why, but nobody would think anything of it, just shrug it off as déjà vu. But something didn't feel right. And I felt that I knew what was wrong. It was right there in front of me, I just couldn't say it. I didn't know how, and that right there made ma mad as heck. Iggy had probably been the most helpful, telling me what things were, and, let's face it, he had more patience then anyone else, and he knew everything that was going on and told it to me flat out. It's what I felt I needed. To be told the flat out truth. They were all in the other room, and I was here, in the kitchen, eating a sandwich. I could here them talking animatedly, and I wondered what it was about, but I let it go, figuring that if it was any of my business that they'd tell me. Finally, Iggy came out, and grabbed my arm. " Come here. I gotta talk to you."
We walked slowly into a bright room with a huge view, and it had loads of pictures lining any wall space not taken up by windows. There was a table, bookshelves, a few chairs, and a couch, but there was another door that was nearly hidden, and, even though I had never been allowed in here before, I knew that something was important behind this door. " You need to know, since we're expecting her. But, see we haven't told you about the other person who lives here…"
"Who?"
" I…I… I wanted you to hear it from her… but…she's your best friend… and…well, we all knew… you told me when we were twelve, but… you were in love with her, and… up to and including today, you still haven't told her. the rest you just have to here from her."
" Who is she?"
He got rather upset, which was unlike him, and grabbed one of the photos and a mirror from the bookshelf behind him. " There."
He walked out of the room, more like stormed, and I sat alone in the bright room. Gazzy appeared a few minutes later, and handed me his iPod, saying, "Listen to these. Maybe they'll bring back something."
I got the courage to turn over the picture. In it was the most beautiful girl, she looked to be about 10 years old, and there were two boys in there, too, one looked like Iggy, and the other one was pretty handsome, darker than black hair covering over his eyes, olive skin, a cold, menacing grin that even still looked handsome. The others in the picture didn't notice much. He must have done that a lot. Then I looked in the mirror, and stifled a gasp. That boy in the picture was me.
Max's POV
It was almost five weeks since I left the flock last, and as soon as we got Wash's sisters tonight we were heading for New York. Wash and Lauren were ecstatic about seeing their sisters again, and inwardly I smiled. But I was worried. What would their mother do? Was she in there? Possibly awake? We walked to the apartment building, and Wash and Lauren stopped short. They couldn't get caught near this building, ro they'd be taken back to their mother, and beaten, again. They were understandably afraid, and I went on, unperturbed.
There was a fire escape connected to their windows; I know because I made a mental model of the building, and I started up from the bottom to get there. The moon was out tonight, which helped me see through the cold, and slightly smoggy air. I peeked in to the first window, and found one angry middle aged lady, who immediately opened the window, and grabbed my shirt, pulling me into the room.
