Hey, I've finally updated.. And I now have OVER 150 REVIEWS! Yipee! Anyways, I'm in a really good mood, and this will probably affect the way the fic turns out, so happy days!
Disclaimer: I'm definitely not James Patterson if you haven't figured this out by now so on with the fic!
previously…
"How's it feel to be rock bottom now, Max?" Dylan hissed into my ear as he pulled something, a syringe out of his pocket, and injected me with it.
My world faded to black.
"What happened?" the Director screeched as her stiletto heels click-clacked furiously against the marble tile.
"It was too much for him! Congratulations. The test was a success. Fang loved Max more than he loved life itself." Jeb said flatly as he helplessly tried to revive Fang.
Normal POV
Max awoke in a daze…and strapped to a steel operating table. Her first conscious inhale burned with the overpowering stench of floor cleaner and antiseptic. She was at none other than the endless white madhouse also known as the School.
Strapped to the same table was Fang. After her endless turmoil, Fang was lying, unconscious, next to her. Fang's ash black hair was matted to his forehead and numerous bruises, cuts, and injection wounds covered his bare arms. His shirt was gone, but she was in no mood for drooling. Max could easily count his ribs.
After everything, they were together once again. Max couldn't decide whether she should adore being close to Fang again, or if she should hate every second of it.
Fang did leave, and she's been through endless pain because of it.
To heck with her pride, she wanted more than anything just to let go and forgive Fang. After all, he left to protect her. She was so sick of not getting what she wanted. She did everything for the Flock, so why couldn't she be happy just once? Fang was what made her happy.
Max leaned over as much as her bound wrists would allow and kissed Fang on the forehead.
His skin was cold beneath her lips. Too cold for a living person. Max snatched his limp wrist and frantically felt for a pulse.
There wasn't one.
Oh no. No no no no no! Max thought, fighting tears.
She was strapped down! She furiously fought the straps that bound her wrists, but failed. She couldn't save Fang, again, tied down! She was invincible, not a magician! She had to escape! Fang couldn't be gone! Not after all that she'd been through! She did it all for him.
Just then, Jeb walked in.
"What did you do, practice acupuncture on him? It looks like it rained pins and needles on him!" shrieked Max.
"I'll admit we did administer a few… shots to him, but we didn't kill him." Jeb said.
"I'm so sick of you're stupid riddles! Just give me a strait answer for once in my life! If you didn't kill him, who did? The tooth fairy?" Max said, on the verge of hysteria.
"Max, are you sure that you wan the answer to that?" Jeb said, looking intensely at Max.
"Of course I want the answer! Whoever did it, I'll rip their intestines out and make them eat it like freaking bloody spaghetti!" Max yelled, her voice becoming shrill.
"Max, he heard you say that you loved Dylan. He saw a monitor video. He died when he saw that. He simply gave up all hope." Jeb said.
Max's hurt, wide eyes and gaping mouth was almost more than Jeb could bear.
"No, no! I didn't mean it! Dylan tricked me! I love him!" Max yelled as she pointed to Fang's battered body. Max tried to get closer to Fang, but the straps around her wrists prevented that. She futilely struggled against the unforgiving restraints.
"Jeb, Jeb let me go! I have to get to him! I have to help him, since all of you bozos can't!" Max growled as the restraints dug into her thin wrists. Tiny droplets of avian-human blood dripped down from Max's chafed wrists to the cold operating table.
"Sorry Max, but we both know that I can't let you go. Besides, Max, I…we tried to revive Fang. It wasn't possible. If we can't revive Fang… I'm sorry Max, but he's gone. It's time that you move on and focus on saving the world." Jeb said.
Max POV
I wanted to let my jaw drop, but I wouldn't give Jeb the satisfaction. I wanted so bad to sock that stupid smile off his face. How could he expect me just to leave Fang as he is and 'focus on saving the world'? That's a bunch of crap! Where on earth did they dig up morons who think that if they kill Fang, that I'll focus on saving the world? Who gave them the right to decide when Fang, me, or anybody dies?
Wait… they didn't kill Fang…I did. Those words just didn't make any sense. I froze. I killed Fang. I know the truth now, all he ever did was love me and back me up when I needed it.
I rejected him, on multiple occasions, I forgot about him, told him that I didn't want to see him again, told the Flock to shun him, stabbed him in the back by kissing Dylan, and now I've killed him.
"You monster! If you loved me, you'd let me go! You're not my father." I spat at Jeb. He looked hurt and turned to leave. Good. I didn't even feel bad. He deserved to be hurt after all that he's done to the Flock and me.
Enough about Jeb! Focus on Fang! I thought fiercely. I gravitated my attention to Fang.
"Fang, I love you! Do you hear me? I love you! Don't leave me! Fang, please!" I begged as I gripped Fang's hand.
He's not gone. I love him too much for him to be dead. I don't know what I'll do without him!
'You have a choice, Maximum. Be sure that it's the right one.'
That Erasers gravely omen appeared into my head. I dreamt that so long ago. It was all clear to me now. The dream was a foreshadowing of what was to come. I could stay in the world alone always mourning, always thinking about Fang. Or, I could give up, like Fang did. It was so much easier. Who would've thought that Maximum Ride would admit that she's sick of fighting?
Yeah well, living a constant action movie for your whole life tires you out. The only thing that I put up with all of it was knowing that Fang would always have my back. Now… I'm too tired to fight. Fang's not fighting anymore so now I can finally rest.
Or so I thought.
Normal POV
Jeb walked down the hall, trying to block Max's pitiful cries to Fang out of his head. Her cold words had cut him right through the soul.
'You're not my father.'
Fang had said something similar to him when he arrived at the School not too long ago.
'What kind of father are you?' Fang had said.
Jeb questioned the answer to that remark. It wasn't his fault that Fang had died. It was the Director's plan to show Fang the video feed. However, Jeb could have stopped it, somehow. Jeb knew that it would completely push Fang off the fragile sliver of life that he was clinging on to.
Jeb tried the adrenaline shot, but it obviously didn't work. Jeb still could hear Max begging Fang to return to her, and Jeb was all the way at the other end of the hallway.
Jeb blocked out Max's frantic cries. He couldn't show weakness. He had taught Max the same thing. That was how life worked. No one lives happily ever, that was just how life worked.
Jeb once thought that he had taught Max to not let emotions control her, but she had fallen apart multiple times since Fang left.
Loving someone isn't weakness. one part of Jeb's brain said.
Yeah, when love causes you to fall apart, it becomes one! Jeb shot back. Great, now he was arguing with himself.
Jeb was temporarily interrupted from his musings by Dylan, who nodded in greeting, then strode down the hall and walked into the room where Max was being kept. Max's pleas instantly ceased.
Max POV
"What do you want, you good-for-nothing-traitor! I spat as Dylan walked forwards, and closed the door behind him. The lock on the door snapped into place. She was trapped.
"I must've been good for something, since you chose me over him." Dylan smirked as he gestured to Fang.
"A drunken sewer rat would choose anybody over you!" I spat. Hey, my comebacks weren't at their best at the moment.
"Apparently not." Dylan retorted.
"It is, because Fang is more than you could ever be. He's dead and it's your fault! You tricked me and lied to me! I.. the Flock trusted you! We thought that you were one of us! But now I know that you're one of the scum sucking bottom feeders that works here." I sneered.
"My dear Max, I don't work here. I was born into the profession. You are too, like it or not. It's time that you met my mother, or wait… you've already been acquainted." Dylan said coolly as the door handle opened from the outside.
There, in all her hideous, stiletto wearing evil, was none other than the Director.
Dylan's mom is the…Director? Well, that explains a lot. I refused to give either of them the satisfaction of seeing me shocked, not even for a moment.
"Well now, Maximum. You've passed the test with flying colors!" The Director said with as much glee as someone who's just won the lottery.
"There's not enough color in this dump to fill a thimble, and what the heck are you talking about? By the way, long time, no see tortoise face." I said with false enthusiasm.
The Director's smile faded like those tacky spray tans that I saw in Las Vegas.
"Why, the test of your dedication to you're mate. Without a doubt, you two are fully dedicated to each other. Unfortunately…Fang was a little too dedicated to you. We were disappointed. We had such hopes for the two of you." The Director said as if she was evaluating some stupid soap opera.
"No matter, I'll leave of the rest of our experimentation to Dylan." The Director said smugly as her hopelessly high heels clopped out the door.
Dylan grinned as he approached closer to me. I prepared myself for a large amount of pain, and I would ignore it all. Before Dylan got any closer, I squeezed Fang's cold hand. I wished with every fiber in my genetically enhanced body that Fang would squeeze back, and reassure me with his glittering obsidian eyes.
Pain is just a message.
Dylan was almost to the operating table, but strangely, he had no torture devices in his twisted evil clutches.
Pain is just a message.
Dylan was probably gonna beat me up, or pull some nasty shot or knife out of his pocket.
Pain is just a message.
What if Dylan did worse? He was capable of much worse. I'm not the damsel in distress type, but I needed someone to help me, like now!
Pain is just a…
My mental chanting was interrupted by a pressure in my hand.
Here it comes, pain is just a message! Ignore! Ignore! Wait…Dylan's on my left side, something touched my right side. That's impossible, the only thing on my right side is.. FANG!
I turned my head so fast, that my neck burned. Fang had tightened his grip on me, but was it some funky post-death twitch?
I reluctantly turned my attention back towards the psycho-twisted-good-for-nothing-traitor. Aka Dylan.
Before I looked at Dylan again, Fang had winked at me for a brief moment, then resumed 'dying'. Fang was alive! The Director lied! I tried not to squeal like Nudge when she went shopping with Ella for the first time.
"So, was the whole bird kid charade a lie too? Or did you're loving mother graft your DNA to avian DNA?" I asked trying to buy time. Fang was so smart. He was listening to the whole situation, and was playing dead! In reality, Fang was slowly un strapping my wrists from their bounds.
"No. I had the latest personal wing technology. No bird-kid DNA needed." Dylan said smugly. The poor sap thought that he was so smart. He was a regular idiot when compared to how wickedly awesome me and Fang's plan was.
"But how did you look so strong when fighting you're old buddy, Dr. Häagen-Dazs?" I asked. Fang was finished un-strapping my arm, and now I freed his arm.
"Easy. The School came up with some temporary muscle enhancer." Dylan said in a cocky tone..
"One more thing, how did you fool Angel into believing that you were some perfect bird kid when you were really…that." I gestured to Dylan's sickeningly perfect body. Pretty boy perfect is so overrated. Now mysterious, tall, dark, and ruggedly handsome…that was more my speed. "Was Angel in on this the whole time?"
"Actually, Angel didn't know a thing. I have a chip temporarily implanted in my skull that masks my real thoughts and replaces them with 'good' thoughts. Came in handy around that bratty mind reader." Dylan said coolly.
Dylan leaned in closer, until he was right up in my face. I acted a little bit frightened, just to take his attention away from Fang's now freed left hand.
"The chip made any nosy little mind readers believe that I loved you." Dylan said, then he cackled. "Not likely! Why would anyone love a freak like you?"
That really ticked Fang off, because Fang's fist soared over me, and slugged Dylan across the face. I'll admit, it was a great hit, it broke Dylan's perfect little nose and everything! And that was with Fang's left hand while he was strapped from a table and almost starved to death.
Dylan shakily sank to the floor.
"I love her, And she's not a freak!" Fang growled as his arm reached over and freed his other arm.
I was in too much shock to free my other hand. Luckily, Fang freed it for me. Fang loves me? After all that I said and did to him, after all I put him through, he still…loves me? My pride sank like a lead balloon, because after Fang freed me, I kissed him square on the lips.
His eyes widened for a second in shock, and I smirked.
"You really forgive me?" Fang said in that tone that I missed more than the light of day.
"Here's the deal, I forgive you if you forgive me." I whispered as I made the beautiful mistake of looking into his depthless eyes.
"Deal." Fang murmured. He leaned in for one last kiss, but was so rudely interrupted by a groan from Dylan.
"We can't just leave him here, he'll snitch to his sweet old mother." I sighed.
Then, I had a brilliant idea. I looked over at Fang, my eyes sparkling with amusement. Fang was already looking at me, and by the look in his eyes, we had the same idea.
We dragged Dylan to the operating table, and strapped him down on it. We gagged his mouth with the hem of my gray T-shirt to keep him quiet. I grabbed his all access key card out of Dylan's pocket.
Perfect, now Fang and I had an all access pass to our favorite place, the School. That was sarcasm, for those of you who didn't catch it. I slid the keycard in the lock, and the door clicked open. Fang shut the door behind him.
I bolted to the exit. I knew where that was because those little glowing exit signs marked the way. Huh. Who knew that a top secret 'inescapable' torture faculty used exit signs like they have in elementary schools.
Fang grabbed my arm and stopped me in my tracks.
"What the heck do you think you're doing?" I hissed. "There's no time for a rescue mission today! We have to get out of here!"
"Come on. There's something that we need to do." Fang said before he led me in the opposite direction. He pulled me over to a door, which I unlocked with the keycard.
My mouth dropped open when the door creaked open. I couldn't find any words to say.
Ok, I know. I hate cliffys too. Not to worry! I'll update asap! I swear! That is, if I get any reviews…