13.
I was nervous. Of course, I'd never admit that to anyone in the flock – except maybe Fang. But still, very nervous. Nervous we'd get caught. Nervous Fang would be mad about the new kid, like he was mad about Ari forever ago. Nervous the rest of the flock was still way back where I left them. Nervous the flock had gotten captured, too. Nervous we'd get caught… Yah, I said that one twice.
Oh, God, Fang better be out there, I was thinking.
Focus, Max, said my uninvited visitor.
I rolled my eyes at the Voice, assuming it could see me.
Nudge, Jake, and I hurried silently down the hallway, back the way I'd come in. I swore I'd kill the kid if he said anything, or did anything to blow our cover. And as if he could read my mind, he stayed quiet. I made a left, then a right. I began to make another right when the kid tapped me on the shoulder. I looked at him, daring him to say what he was thinking. "What?" I whispered harshly. He pointed the other way.
I thought for a moment, then realized he was right. We should be going that way. We passed by the picture of Fang and Jeb again, then reached the door, where three very large men were standing guard. And they saw us.
One grabbed his radio while the other took a step toward us. "What's your business?" he said, towering over Nudge, but not very intimidating to me. Think, think, I told myself.
The lab coat!
I forgot I was wearing a lab coat.
"Taking these out for fresh air," I said. "I was told to, uhh, monitor them in the open air. See what effect the sunlight has." What! I thought, mentally smacking myself. There was no way. We'd been caught.
I readied myself to kick some butt when the guys stepped out of our way, one opening the door for us.
I stood dumbfounded for a moment, barely believing they fell for it. Then I realized what was happening, and I grabbed Nudge's arm and dragged her out the door, followed by Jake.
Once we were outside and the door was closed, Nudge and I instinctively pulled out our wings, flying off before anything could go wrong. Jake followed right behind, almost no delay, as if he knew exactly what to do.
"So what's your story?" I asked him as we headed back to where I'd left the flock.
"What do you mean?" he asked, looking straight ahead. Nudge smiled as I asked the question, but I had no clue why.
"Where'd you come from, what'd they do to you… That sort of thing."
You know, as in, are you on our side, or are you going to turn on us at any moment? Did they tell you everything? Do you know what we don't? Were you made like we were? Were you around when we were made? I was thinking.
"I'm Nudge's friend, so yes, I'm on your side. I'm not going to turn on you. They don't tell me much, but I hear a lot, so I probably know a lot of stuff you guys don't. I had avian and lupine DNA grafted onto me as a baby, so yes, made like you. I was around when you were made, but they labeled me a mistake, so I stuck around the school." He stopped, then looked at me as I flew with my mouth hanging wide open, eyes as big as Frisbees.
"He reads minds," Nudge said, which was probably the shortest sentence she had every said since she was born.
I blinked, then tried to comprehend. Great, I thought, another mind reader. Just what we need.