Yo. I'm back and updating from the car on my way back from a very interesting vacation!

I woke up and I glanced out the window. It was dark. It couldn't be later than three or four in the morning. I looked over at the clock and the red, digital numbers read '2:37'. I was right. I looked over to my left and saw Fang. His eyes were gently closed, his long eyelashes brushing over his skin. I sighed and brushed some thick hair out of my eyes, giving me a clearer view.

I walked over to the window, looking out into the night sky. Only a few bright stars lined the sky. I smiled to myself. I looked up and down the streets, wondering what would draw somebody to such a small town. It was perfect and gave you a feeling of 'home', or at least for a little while. I guess that's why we were here.

I looked out at the street lamps lining the street, the light from each lamp standing out against the dark sky. I saw a silhouette of a man standing in the yellow light. I strained to see the face the man but even with my raptor vision, I couldn't. I shook my head, feeling a migraine accumulate. I looked back at the man and found nothing. Not even a footprint left from a muddy boot. I fell back onto the bed, bouncing slightly on the springs. I closed my eyes, and tried to go to sleep, not bothering to see if I woke Fang up.

I tossed and turned all night, I still unable to fall asleep. I just gave up and sat up, grabbing Fang's laptop and pulling it towards me. I opened the screen and the bright light jumped out at me. I lowered the screens brightness scale and plugged in the hard drive that was on the table next to me. Files and strings of numbers filled the screen. I ignored most of it and went over to my file. I clicked on it and the familiar screen popped up. I didn't even bother reading anything on me. I just scrolled down to the link that said 'Jacob Logori'. I pressed on it with haste and tapped my fingers against the black keys as it slowly loaded. I was curious. Fang was the only one who had no idea where he came from. If he didn't want know, I shouldn't know, but I needed to.

As soon as the screen loaded, my eyes scanned over every word of every paragraph. The scientists must not know much about him because they only stated the things that everyone who has seen him know. They showed his spinning anatomy, just like in my profile. I didn't find anything weird at all. His parents lived in Michigan with his older brother. It turns out his family wasn't that bad. His mother was a school teacher, his father an engineer, and his seventeen-year-old brother was still in school, still mourning the 'death' of his brother.

Only one thing caught my eye. Two words that made the world stop turning. Two words that made my heart stop beating. The only two words that can put fear into my heart. Will Expire.

I felt a hot tear roll down my cheek as I thought about that. Life without Fang? Unbearable. In my mind, I replayed the conversation we had a previous night. He said he would never leave me. Maybe he didn't have a choice. I shook my head and inwardly groaned.

When had I started becoming such a softie? I was never like that. I guess things changed. A lot. I turned off the computer and looked over at Fang. I couldn't believe it. Could I tell him? How would he react? I sighed and stayed up thinking.

"Did you get any sleep?" A groggy voice asked from behind me. I turned away from my game of solitaire and looked over to see Fang sitting up on the bed.

"Nope. Not one wink." I said, standing up and stretching my muscles. "You were out like a light. I've honestly never seen you sleep that long."

He smirked and came over to me. He kissed me and looked at the computer screen. I had been up all night playing solitaire and poker. "The red four can go on the black five." He said, pointing.

I groaned and followed the directions, resulting in me finishing the game. He smirked and grabbed a towel, dragging his feet into the bathroom. I sighed and closed my eyes, listening to the sound of the running water.

I heard a knock at the door and voices. "Max! Can you open up! We don't feel like being out here all morning!" The Gasman yelled, pounding on the door.

"Yeah! Really! I don't want to stand out here! It's cold! I'm not normally cold though. Why would I be cold now then? Maybe because I just woke. I don't know. Do you guys know? Max? Are you listening to me? Is anyone listening to me? You guys are looking at me funny. Max! Open up! I'm bored. I'm hungry. Can we go swimming again? I want a chicken pot pie and-" There was an unusual silence for a minute and I stood up to see what could have possibly happened. I opened the door and burst out laughing at the sight.

Iggy had Nudge over his shoulder, holding her upside down while Angel glared at Iggy but had her hand over Nudge's mouth tightly. The Gasman was stretching out duct tape and plastered it right over Nudge's mouth. She was laughing hysterically the whole time. I clutched my stomach, holding back my own laughs. Iggy put Nudge back on the ground and she fell to the floor, muffled laughs coming from behind the tape.

"You guys scare me sometimes." I said, standing back so everyone could rush in. Angel jumped onto the bed, bouncing up and down. Iggy and the Gasman went to the other bed and started jumping on it, Iggy's head grazing the ceiling occasionally. Nudge army crawled into the room and just sat there, sprawled out on the floor.

"What are we going to do today, Max?" the Gasman asked, his voice tired.

"We are going to go to New York. Just like we planned." I got a couple smiles and one very, very familiar sound.

There was a bang as Iggy fell off the bed, holding his hands over his mouth and nose. He started -coughing as Angel held her breath. "Gas- Mask!" Iggy screamed, struggling for words. I wasn't sure what he was talking about until I took a deep breath and the horrid scent went through my nostrils. I fell backwards and groaned as the smell filled the room. I looked over at Nudge who pinched her nose shut and was carefully pulling off the tape so she could breathe.

Once the scent died down, it was silent. I got up and went over to the windows, sticking my head out and taking a deep breath of fresh air. Iggy, Nudge, and Angel followed me. I heard a door open and I turned. Fang stood there, wet hair plastered to his face. "What happened in here?" He asked, clearly meaning the four of us holding out heads out the window. We all looked at the Gasman and he smiled proudly. Fang just nodded.

I groaned and walked across the room. I grabbed the laptop and pulled Fang over to the desk. I looked behind me and watched the rest of the flock play mind games with each other. I pulled up the file on Fang, or Jacob Logori without a word. I scrolled down and glanced at Fang out of the corner of my eye. He was watching me intently. I finally reached the bottom of the page and I highlighted what I wanted him to read. I turned to face him.

His dark eyes scanned those two words and they widened in shock. I felt my eyes water but I held back tears. He wrapped his arms around my shoulder s and kissed my head. I tried to smile but couldn't. He turned to me and smiled, saying "I'm not going anywhere. I promise." I really smiled at that.

I stood up and walked over to the door, pulling it open, "Come on guys, go get your packs." They all filed out, one by one, but Iggy stopped in front of me.

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking down at me, he lowered his voice and continued. "You sound like you're going to cry."

I sighed and looked into his film-covered eyes. "I'll tell you later, okay?" He looked hesitant but he walked out of the room. I knew I could trust Iggy with things like these, but I wasn't sure I should tell him.

I closed the doors, happy I was smart enough to worry about the whole shower thing the night before. I wanted to get as far away as the school as possible. In the shortest time possible. I grabbed my pack and slung it onto my back. I looked over at Fang, whose hair was soaking his black shirt. He came up to me and smiled, leading me out the door.

We met up with the flock in the hallway and we all left the building, doing a running take off in the alley beside it. We soared high above the trees, taking in the sights. After three or four hours, we finally made it to New York. We touched down and tried to blend into the hustle and bustle of the big apple.

"Can we get peanuts again!?"Nudge asked, "Those were so good the last time we had them!"

I smiled and handed her money. She ran off with Iggy to the vendor and got six bags. I looked around and watched Fang do a quick three-sixty. I took in the sight of every person passing us and I judged whether they could be a possible threat.

"I'm not saying this isn't great or anything, but can we go somewhere more quiet?" Iggy said, his eyes darting around, looking as if he was going to be attacked at any second.

"Yeah." I said, starting to get paranoid. "How about we go get something to eat." I suggested. They all nodded and we started walking down the street, trying to find a restaurant to stay at.

Fang stopped dead and I walked right into him. I looked up from the gum covered pavement and saw yellow caution tape hung around two bodies, lying on the street. The smaller one was a young girl. Dirt covered her face and arms. I looked closely at her back and I felt my eyes widen as I saw feathers stick out of the back of her oversized sweatshirt. I looked up at Fang and he nodded.

"She was the girl." Angel mumbled.

"What?" I asked, confused. "Sweetie, what girl?"

"At the Institute. She was one of the ones we helped." She said, pointing. I nodded and pulled her into me.

I looked down at the second body. This one was bigger. Much bigger. It was a kid, but was half morphed into an Eraser. I looked carefully at the spot where its arm was cut in half. Inside his arm, there were wires instead of veins but muscle tissue built up around the bright bones. They replaced this kid's veins and organs with electronic machines. But why?

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