Disclaimer: Don't own anything!
Chapter Twenty One
My mom sat down at the table and motioned for me to do the same.
"Max," She began. "I want to talk to you about Fang." She paused, waiting for my reaction. When I didn't give any she continued.
"I'm worried about you. And I think it's time for you to start…moving on." She said gently.
I started to protest, but she held up her hand.
"Hear me out Max. It's been weeks since he went missing. You have to accept the fact that Fang might not…come back."
How could I make her see that I was fine? How could I make her understand?
"I know that you don't want to, and that it'll be hard," She went on. "But it's the only way you'll begin to grieve. The only way you'll be able to let go."
Hearing those words again filled me with an odd determination. Or maybe it was stupidity. But whatever it was decided what I said next.
"I don't have to let go mom, because Fang isn't gone."
"I know that's what you want to-"
"No, mom. Fang died, but he's still around. I can see him and talk to him." I paused. "Do you believe in ghosts?" I asked her.
My mom stared at me for a long time.
"Max," she finally spoke softly. "Maybe there's someone in the refuge that you can talk to about this."
Oh, crap.
"No mom, listen. Fang is-"
"Max, please." She pleaded. "Fang isn't here." She sounded like she was desperately trying to convince me.
"Well, he's not here right now, but-"
Suddenly, the bird boy in question appeared at my side.
"Where have you been?" I blurted out to him.
"Max?" My mom asked nervously, seeing as I was apparently talking to myself again.
"Get everyone out of the house, now." Fang told me.
I didn't question him. I simply jumped up and headed to find the flock.
"Go get Jeb." I instructed my mom, walking out the door. "Explain." I said to Fang.
"Hans and Dylan are evil. They're coming after all of you." Fang explained as we hurried down the hall.
"Big surprise." I said sarcastically, and burst into the flock's room. Luckily they were all there.
"Time to go." I said, and they knew by the sound of my voice that there was trouble.
They all jumped to their feet, forgetting about whatever they had been doing, and grabbed they're packs. I took a few seconds to feel extremely proud of them.
"What's going on?" Iggy asked as I led them down the hall.
"The good doctor and his trusty side-kick are out to get us." I explained quickly. "We have to get out of the house and as far away from them as possible."
We were almost at Jeb's room when Jeb came out into the hall.
"Max," He said, seeing me. "What's going on?"
My mom came into the hall after him.
"We have to leave, now." I told them urgently.
"Max, please." My mom said. "Can we just sit down and talk about this?"
Iggy tilted his head and looked down the hall. "Someone's coming." He said to me.
"There's no time" I told my mom. "We have to leave."
I glanced at the flock. They were tense, readying themselves for a fight. All except for Angel.
She was staring at the place Fang was standing, with a small, tentative smile in her face.
I made a decision right then. I had had enough. Enough secrets, enough hiding. It was time the whole flock was on the same page.
"Look mom, I know you don't believe me but," I turned to the flock, talking fast. "Fang isn't gone. He's a spirit. A ghost. I can see him and talk to him. Angel can see him too, kinda. He's the one who told me that Hans and Dylan are up to something. And that's why we have to leave, now!"
There was a second of silence that seemed to drag on for decades.
"Max, you do realize how impossible that sounds?" Iggy asked, but I could tell there was a part of him that wanted to believe it.
"So what? Our lives are full of impossible things! We defy gravity on a daily basis!"
The urge I felt to get the heck out if there was fighting against my need for them to believe me. I was getting more and more wound up.
The longer we stood there, the harder it would to get out. I was imagining enemies circling the house, cutting off out exits one by one.
I glanced at Fang. He had been watching the flock, gauging their reactions.
Angel was smiling, and nodded at me approvingly. Gazzy and Iggy looked sceptical, weighing the likelihood of me either telling the truth, or me losing my mind. My mom and Jeb were looking at me with worry plain on their faces, although I could see in Jeb's eyes, he was contemplating the possibilities.
Only Nudge completely believed me. She was staring at me with shock, hope, excitement, and complete and utter trust.
"It's true." Angel said to them. "Fang's standing with us right now. I can see his outline." She waved her hand in Fang's direction, tracing a general shape of a person's outline in the air.
I heard someone coming down the hall, and turned to see Dylan walking hurriedly towards us. I felt Fang go completely rigid beside me.
"I'm glad I found all of you." Dylan said, getting closer.
I motioned for the others to start backing away, without Dylan noticing.
"Something's happened." He continued. "Come with me and we'll find Dr. Hans-"
"We're not going anywhere with you." I said, narrowing my eyes. "Actually we were just leaving."
Dylan's eyes widened in mock alarm. "You can't leave. It's too dangerous! You don't understand."
I was backing away more quickly now, about to make a sarcastic retort, when Dylan lunged.
He moved quickly, too quickly for anyone to react. He grabbed me and pinned me against the wall. He quickly drew a needle out of his pocket, filled with blue liquid, and brought it to my arm.
I wanted to fight back, I tried to. But Dylan was looking at me like he had before, with that strange intensity, and just like last time, I froze.
I was aware of the flock rushing towards us, and one of them calling my name. I felt the prick of the needle on my arm. I felt like there was a fist clutching my heart, and I heard my blood rushing in my ears.
Then Dylan was gone from in front of me. Fang had grabbed Dylan, literally grabbed his shoulders, and threw him into the opposite wall in the hallway.
I unfroze and saw the syringe, still full of blue liquid, clatter to the floor.
"What the hell?" Gazzy asked, looking dumbfounded. Seeing as he had just witnessed, what appeared to have been, Dylan flinging himself into a brick wall.
"Let's go already." Fang shouted, grabbing my arm and pulling me along as he sprinted down the hall, everyone quickly following us.
"What the hell was that?" I shouted at Fang, looking behind us to see Dylan slowly picking himself off the ground, a few cracks in the wall where he had hit it.
"What was what?" Fang asked. He let go of my arm, assured that I would continue running on my own.
"Grabbing Dylan. Since when are you able to do that?" I huffed.
Fang glanced sideways and grinned at me. "Took another visit to the Sangoma. Learned a few things."
"You're gonna explain that better when this is over." I told him.
We reached the front door and burst outside. It was late in the day, and the sun was just beginning to set.
"Where do we go?" Gazzy asked, still running a bit behind me.
I slowed a bit and glance back at Dr. Hans's house. There was no sign of pursuit, but I doubted that would last long.
"How about we just keep on running and focus on getting away from the evil psychopaths?" Iggy offered. "That strategy usually works."
"We can't just run off into the desert with no supplies." Jeb voiced logically. "We won't last long if we do."
I slowed even more until I stopped. I felt like I had gallons of adrenaline in me, and not half enough food, making me feel slightly shaky.
"But nowhere in the refuge is safe." I said. "Not when Dr. Hans can bribe everyone to give him whatever, or whoever, he wants. We can't trust anyone here." The thought made me feel even more twitchy, and trapped.
"Not completely." Fang said.
I looked at him. "What do you mean?"
I saw my mom cast a worried glance at me, and then looked at Jeb, as if to say 'See, she's talking to air again.' I ignored her.
"I doubt the Sangoma has much use for money." Fang said, thinking it over. "It's worth a shot."
I looked around, thinking it through. There was no one else we could even relatively trust. No other somewhat safe option. "Good idea."
On the off chance that anyone actually reads these little things on the bottom (I know I don't :P), I am extremely sorry for the ridiculous amount of time between updates.
The next chapter should be up soon (I know I always say that).
Please review and tell me if anyone was out of character or if the plot sucks, you know, the usual. :)