Chapter 25
It was quite a simple plan really; shoot Dylan and then finish off Angel. The gun, supplied to me through a secret exchange with Warren as he exited the party, was the only weapon I needed to do the job. There was nothing fancy, no smoke and mirrors, no catches or games. No. This was serious, and somehow, I knew Angel could sense that as well. I could tell by the look of absolute indifference on her face, her perfect cover that always made her appear as if she were totally in control when in fact that was the farthest thing from the truth. I knew she was scared of me, scared shitless in fact, as she should be. She had no idea what I was capable of now. I was the biggest wild card in the mix.
Still, through my manic bloodlust, I was still able to keep my composure, my smile cool and collected. I was no stranger to death; it followed me everywhere I went. The bullet I put in between Dylan's eyebrows didn't even make me flinch and I expected Angel's death to taste like sweet victory on my lips. Finally, that little bitch would get what was coming to her.
I took one step closer to the demented seven year old, the gun in my delicate hands held confidently out in front of me. I had never fired a gun before this night and yet it felt as if I had been handling weapons all my life. If I were actually thinking things through, that fact would confuse me, even startled me, but at the moment, I was otherwise preoccupied.
"You're next." I stated as if I hadn't already made my motives known.
Angel just stared blankly at me, trying to read me and see if I would really have the nerve to shoot her, but she tried with no avail. My mind had been completely sealed off, one of my greatest assets since my metamorphosis. To Angel, I was completely invisible.
Sneering at her pathetic attempts to overrun my mind, I cocked the gun back, the barrel setting into place with a click. With one pull of the trigger, Angel would be a lifeless mass. I had taken perfect aim, right between her baby blue eyes; all I needed to do was give the metal tab just a tiny squeeze. Oh, the urge to fire was overwhelming, but for some strange reason, I couldn't fire.
Swallowing back my moment of weakness, I took one more step, ready to fire, but someone stepped in front of me, someone large enough to block my view of the demon I was battling. I looked up, my eyes full of rage, and saw Fang, his dark features overwhelmed with too many emotions to count. This threw me off guard, my mind not used to comprehending Fang's emotions, and it made me feel the most extraordinary sadness. His eyes looked like those of an abandoned puppy, one that had been through love and loss and so much confusion. I felt terribly, but my rage for the creature behind him ached on, drowning out any remaining sorrow in moments.
I struggled against Fang's body weight; I could feel his hands gripping tightly on my arms, pinning me down in place. I easily could've shot him too, that definitely would've made him let me go, but I wasn't that cruel. I nearly hissed at him as he tried to keep me still, trying to avert my attention from the escaping blonde demon.
"Max…Max what are you doing?" Fang asked, exasperated. He was confused, there was no doubt about that, but now was not the time to explain.
"Let me go! Let me go Fang!"
"No! Not until you tell me what the hell is going on!"
"Let me go or she'll escape!"
"Max! Listen to me! Tell me what's going on so I can help you."
"Fang, she has to be stopped! Let me go before she escapes! Let me go!"
"Max! Would you calm down? Angel's right here. She's not going anywhere!"
And so she was. I stopped struggling for a few moments and Fang loosened his grip just enough to let me catch a glimpse of Angel. She was smiling wickedly at me, pearly white teeth a glow from under rouged lips, as if she held some secret I wasn't privy to know. She disturbed me, but I could not look away or else I feared she may run away.
Seizing my opportunity, I worked my way out of Fang's grip and shoved him about half way across the room, making my way back to Angel. We were face to face about five feet away from each other just watching ad circling, waiting for one to make a move. I kept my gun at alert, always up and at the ready in case she pounced, but all she did was smile.
Fang got up and tried to run to me, but I threw him back once more, a little harder this time.
"Stay away Fang! This doesn't involve you!"
"Max, are you crazy? I mean what the hell? Why did you shoot Dylan? Why do you want to shoot Angel?"
"Fang, the less you know the better, now get away!
"Not until you start giving me answers!"
"Fang," I shouted, aiming the gun at him. "I don't want to shoot you, but if you don't step away right now, you'll leave me no choice!"
He threw his hands up and slowly backed up reluctantly, his eyes never leaving me. I could tell he was hurt by this, but he couldn't possibly understand, at least not right now. I was only trying to protect him.
"Congratulations Max, threatening your own friends. Are you happy now?" Angel asked in a very mocking tone.
"You, shut up." I sneered down at her with nothing but contempt. "You are the worst out of all of us, you traitor."
"What do you mean traitor?" Fang asked, his hands still up by his head. We ignored him, our eyes locked in their own little power play to see who would crack first.
"Oh, but if I'm a traitor, then what does that make you? After all, you were made to-"
"SHUT UP!" I screeched. "That information was in high security files, files that I personally got rid of!"
"Well obviously they weren't so high security if you could get in them…" she retorted.
I snarled and cocked my gun.
"Touchy, touchy…" she taunted as swayed to the side. "Besides, I think you know exactly how I know."
"Trust me, I wish I didn't."
"Pity."
"What you did, what you're doing, is sick. Can't you see that? Or is your mind so warped around their fingers that you can't see straight."
"Oh no dear, what I do, I do of my own accord and no one else's. I call the shots around there." she leaned in closer as if to tell a dark secret, "If anything, they are all wrapped around my finger."
"So that's what this is about, power? You sold your soul for power?"
"See, you're still not getting it, are you? I never made any deals or signed any papers. I did this because I was made to, because I wanted to. You see? I was never your friend, never. Not even in the very beginning. I was your enemy from day one and you all just fell right into my hands, every one of you."
She started to laugh as my stomach twisted into knots. My hatred was growing by the second, and I was wondering why I couldn't pull the trigger and end this miserable being.
Something moved in my peripherals, and I saw Fang move, his hands dropping to his sides. He stared out in disbelief, throwing his body against the wall in order to maintain his balance.
"You see Fang? She's dangerous. She's the enemy; the one's who's been selling us out the entire time. She's evil and she has to be stopped."
"Angel…How could you…?"
"Oh don't give me that crap! You never liked me and to be honest, I never much cared for you either! You and your 'too cool to be a part of society' act. Please! All that did was make you weak! If you would've stayed with Max, maybe you'd be half the challenge you are now, but now, you are just a lifeless, scrawny blob whose mind I can snap like a twig. You have no idea what I could do to you, to any of you! I could destroy you all!"
"Everyone but me. You can't get into my mind." Now it was my turn to smile. "My mind is completely closed to you now that I'm like this."
"That may be, but I have other means of stopping you…"
And she looked away, her eyes focusing on Fang. She placed her finger to her temple and all the sudden, Fang crumpled to the ground, writhing in pain. He was holding his head, screaming that it burned, and I felt absolutely helpless. My anger at Angel flared as his pain escalated.
"You let him go!"
"No." she replied simply and Fang let out a louder cry this time.
His face was streaked with tears, his entire skull a bright red and the vein in his temple bulging out profoundly. He looked as if his head may explode, but right before it looked like it had the chance to, Angel let go. Fang drifted into unconsciousness, and while I was relieved he was fine, the violent emotions I felt towards the blonde child became incomprehensible.
"See Max, your weakness isn't physical pain, it's emotional. When you feel, you get sloppy."
At this, I charged her, my body ready for the kill. I lunged and missed, her tiny frame sidestepping me quite easily. I tried again and again to hit her, tackle her, swipe her, anything, but I missed each time.
"Weak! Emotions make you weak! Come on and fight me like you fought before! Use that so called great power!"
At each word I tried harder and harder to reach her, but she became farther and farther out of reach. I was exhausting myself and I hadn't even hit her once.
"Pathetic. I had no idea what I was so afraid of. The golden monster…yeah right. More like the golden pansy!"
She spat at me and sauntered off, leaving me crumpled on the floor, my chest heaving in order to catch a good breath. I was about to give up, to let her go, when something shiny and metal caught my eye. I grasped at the silver thing, its weight a comfort, and raised my arm to Angel's back.
"Hey, Angel!" I called. "Fight this!"
And with that, I fired the gun, waking Fang up from his stasis and calling the attention of a terrified Nudge from the other room. She had been hiding behind a very large marble pillar and had just now decided to come out, just as the bullet left the barrel.
It soared through the air at the speed of sound, barely giving her enough time to react before Angel shrieked out on pain. I had missed her head and instead lodged the bullet deep within her shoulder. I could see the syrupy blood flowing out from the wound, staining her dress the most vibrant of reds. Her faced formed a scathing scowl, yet she pressed on forward, trying her best to leave.
"Oh no you don't!" I shouted, forcing myself up. "We aren't done here!"
I ran after the fleeing bird child, my feet using their remaining energy to carry me up the large staircase. I was losing Angel, who was running furiously down the labyrinthine halls of the Worthington Estate at a blinding speed, the small droplets of blood my only trail to follow her by. We both ended up in the library, the giant, open area welcoming us in along with the bright glow of the stars. It was nearing dawn, I could feel it, but I had no time to dwell on extraneous facts.
Angel knew she was trapped, her only remaining option of escape being to break down five thousand windows and fight through me, and wounded, she was seriously outmatched. I was ready for her attack when suddenly, she snapped her wings open and flew straight up into the spire, landing roughly on the third floor of the library. Scrambling, she tried to gain composure to run, but I was prepared and fired at her head, missing only slightly, but the shock sent her tumbling down a few stairs, giving me the time to catch up to her.
As soon as I landed, she fled, flying over to the far left staircase on the top floor of the library, I crossed, firing twice at her wings, both missing, but sent her spinning into the bookcases across the way. We both landed, exhausted from the chase, yet neither of us was willing to give up.
"Come on Max…we are allies. We were made for the same purpose, a better purpose than this."
"You don't know anything about me!"
"Oh, but I do Max; I know so much more than you could possibly imagine. Come with me, and you can be powerful. Together, we could do anything!"
"Sorry, I have all the power I need right here." I waved the gun around, purposely firing at the windows.
They shattered with an ear-piercing crash, the shards smashing into smithereens of fine dust. Not wasting any more time, I pounced on Angel, sending us both up and out the window. We skidded onto rougher grass, the grass that grew on the southern cliffs, and rolled across the rocky terrain entangled within each other, both of us trying to tear the other apart. I could hear a snap or two and saw red from all angles, but kept pressing on.
I kicked her off of me, her teeth leaving bloody marks where she had successfully bitten me, and aimed my gun high. I was tired of the chase. It was time for this game to end.
"No more running! No more games! Now it's time you say goodbye!"
She just stood there and stared at me, her eyes a gleam with something much more evil than I was capable of. She was laughing as I failed to pull the trigger, my finger refusing to move. I cried out in frustration as my finger locked up, my failure overcoming me. I discovered I was more human than I thought I was.
No matter how much I hated her, no matter how cruel a person she was, she was still my Angel. She was my Angel, the baby who was swaddled in Jeb's arms, the child who was so innocent and naïve. She was the girl who wanted help buckling her shoes or curling her hair, who wanted a stuffed bear and then brainwashed the President. She was not the demon standing in front of me, and even though I knew that my Angel had never existed, it was still hard to wrap my head around.
I let a tear roll down my cheek, the dams finally breaking. After all the weeks of hatred and plotting and murder and feeling absolutely nothing, all of these emotions came pouring out of me. All of the shame, regret, anger, sadness, betrayal, loss, and love came flowing out of me like a waterfall, but a very controlled waterfall. If Angel had seen me crying, she would've ended me for sure.
But still, there was one question I had to know, one thing I needed to have answered.
"How could you? I really though…I actually…"
I was choking on the words, trying not to break into sobs, but all she did was laugh cruelly.
"Oh please. I never cared about you, and if you cared about me, well then you're a fool Maximum Ride."
I nodded and bit back the tears. I knew she had won this one, the battle tasting salty like tears and sweat rather than sweet, but I had no energy to try and retaliate. I had one chance to stop her, and I blew it. I didn't have the strength to do what needed to be done; I was too human to kill a monster and now the entire human race was going to suffer for my weakness.
"Look, the sunrise." Angel said nonchalantly.
I could feel the sun's warm rays beating down upon me, the power of the day rising by the second. It was the end of the road for me; all that remained was death, a true death, on the other side of those bright golden beams. I felt the sun's power through my skin, my body starting to fade between the light. I sighed, accepting my fate, my defeat, and hoped my allies were up to fight against such a formidable foe in my absence.
"It seems as if you've lost Maximum. You're time is up, and I'm late for an appointment."
She straightened herself out and then winced, spreading her wings out to full sail. She took a few powerful flaps and hovered around for a few more seconds before she left.
"It was a valiant effort, but you were always destined to fail. You can't beat me. You never will." She looked down upon me; I could feel her piercing blue eyes, but I did not look up to meet her gaze. "Goodbye, Maximum."
And with that, she flew off, leaving me alone with the rising sun, the cool breeze gently ruffling my destroyed couture gown. It was torn to shreds at the bottom, the edges muddied and frayed, and the top was soaked in various bloods, most likely a mixture of my own and the others I had claimed that night. For some reason, I was not upset at this ending, just very tired, and very sad. I had been ignoring my emotions the entire time and now they were fighting back in the most forceful of ways.
The sun was nearly upon me, the fading just beginning, and I felt an odd sense of abandonment. I felt as if I was leaving so many people behind like Fang and Nudge, people who really needed my help, and I couldn't stop it. My life, or should I say my death, had been planned since I stepped foot back onto the planet, and the fact that I didn't want to leave surprised me.
Oh, I was so confused. My emotions were delicate, complex things, never easy to decipher and always a piece of work. I knew my emotions were in frenzy, but I also knew that there would be worse pains to come. In my life, there was always a worse scenario that followed the bad one, and I feared what the next trial would bring me.
"Max?"
Startled by the sudden disruption of my thoughts, I turned to see Fang, his darkened figure leaning against the doorframe. He looked calm, his frame standing away at a cautious distance, yet I could see the worry in his face, the pain in his eyes as he looked upon me, as if I were a stranger. I practically was a stranger to him now, but the reality of this truth hit me harder than I expected.
I could tell he wanted answers, and I knew he wouldn't let me go without them even if he had to track me down in hell to do so.
Damn…I hated being right.