Chapter 25 FPOV Run

"What do you mean, she's gone? Where is she?" Dylan and I were standing in Max's room, which was conspicuously missing her backpack, her boots, and, most noticeably, Max herself.

"I don't know; you're the one who knows her best! You tell me."

"I haven't spoken to her in over a week. Besides, you were there with her on the train. That's where we met; there's nowhere else I can think of where she would go. Besides, it isn't even Tuesday night. It's Thursday morning. What did she say to you on the train?"

"Not much. Nothing about leaving. I thought she was going to fix things with you. She was brokenhearted when you didn't show up, by the way." Dylan accused.

"Yah, right. Why would she miss me when she had you?"

"Because she doesn't love me, not the way she loves you."

"Oh, of course. Because I'm the plaything, and you're the real boyfriend," my sarcasm was vitriolic.

"What? Where on earth did you get that idea?" Dylan reeled back, shocked.

"I saw you two kissing. Right after she kissed me."

Realization flooded his eyes. Bastard. "Fang," he said slowly, as if explaining something so important, he only had one chance to convince me, "I kissed Max. She never kissed me. And right after that, we agreed that we weren't the dating type. Then I told her to do what she had to do to get over Cat and get back with you because it was obvious that she loves you."

Normally, I would be skeptical. I would say he was lying. But I was good at picking up lies, and Dylan wasn't the best at lying. Not to me, at least. Sincerity rang through every word. Still, I hesitated.

"Then why…" I searched for something that refuted his claim. I thought about her behavior the past two weeks, the conversations last Tuesday, and the way Dylan almost pushed me out the window to find her.

"Then why didn't either of you tell me."

"You never gave her a chance. You just pulled away, building a wall of ice between you two without even letting her know why. She was hurt by that. She was going to try to fix everything on Tuesday, but you never showed up. I didn't tell you because I didn't know, either. Believe me, I would have told you long ago if I thought that was the problem."

I felt like such a fool. I felt guilty for all the pain I'd caused her. I had to fix this. I had to bring Max home.

"Alright, now what? Where do I find her?" I turned to Dylan, hardening my resolve.

"Think about it; was there anywhere you two may have met before? Even just a passing glance?"

I walked over to her wall, looking at the framed photos there. "Nothing comes to mind."

Dylan was looking at the book shelf, then picked up a book and began flipping through it.

"That night on the train was the first time we I'd ever seen Max. If she's going reverse chronologically, then I have no idea where she might be. Has she said anything about leaving the city? I don't know why she would, though, now that there's no threat to her or the flock."

Dylan looked up from the book. "Maybe it was the first time you saw her, but I don't think it was the first time she saw you. Those nightmares she's had. They were about the School. Weren't you and Iggy from the same place she, Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy were from?"

I looked at him, shocked. "We were. But I don't think we ever saw each other in the School. It wasn't until after we escaped that we saw each other."

Dylan looked at me, "The escape story!"

"When she saw Iggy and me escaping," I finished.

"Do you really think she'd go back there? It had to be filled with tons of awful memories."

"It is," I said grimly, "but it would also give her closure, which is what this whole thing has been about."

"Then you'll have to go get her. She's going to need you more than ever."

"How far do you think she's gotten?"

"It's Thursday night. The earliest she could have left was Wednesday night. How far could she have gotten in 24 hours?"

"Far. Especially if she was in a hurry."

"Then you'd better get going. Now."

"What about gear? I'm going to need at least a backpack and food to get there. My stuff's at the apartment. It'll take too long to get there."

"What happened to the Fang that could eat desert rat roasted on a stick over an open fire he built himself? Or at least the Fang that was clever enough to realize that this place is stocked full with camping supplies?"

I whipped my head around, "Iggy! What are you doing here?" My brother was leaning in the doorway, staring in our direction.

"Please. You're not as secretive as you think you are. We all know that you three have been going out at night, to who knows where each night."

"You all know?" Dylan looked surprised.

"Yep. Well, except for Gazzy. He sleeps like a rock."

"Ok, whatever. We'll discuss this later. What did you say about camping gear?"

"Take this," Iggy slid a backpack off his shoulder and tossed it at me, his aim impeccable. I caught it and looked in. It had a small tent, a lighter, and a ton of non-perishable food. Normally, camping stuff came with maps and a compass, but we Avians knew direction instinctually.

"You knew I would need it," I accused.

"Nope. I knew one of you would need it. I just didn't know which one."

"How?" Dylan asked.

"Easy. Max left with a week's worth of stuff for living on the run, you two didn't figure it out for a whole day, then you freak out about where she could have possibly gone. You obviously need help. She left a note on the fridge," he carefully annunciated, "saying 'I'm going to be gone for a while. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I'll be back from California as soon as I can.' It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where she's going."

Dylan and I looked at each other. From the look on his face, he felt like an idiot, too.

"Whatever, just get out there and find her, Fang. She's going to need you."

"Yah, thanks, both of you. I've got to go." I opened the window and spread my wings.

"Oh, Fang, just one more thing," Iggy warned me, "If she gets hurt, don't bother coming back again. I don't think any of us will be as forgiving the second time around."

I nodded, taking his warning seriously. "Don't worry; I'll bring her back safely."

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It took almost twelve hours, but eventually I found Max. I flew above her camp, taking stock of the situation. Once I was assured that she was safe, I landed in a nearby tree. Max looked up from the fire, clearly seeing me. Instead of saying anything, she just nodded and looked back at her dinner.

I realized then that she had flown slowly enough to let me catch up, but that she still didn't want me with her on this trip. She would have been long gone if she was really in a hurry, but she would have invited me down if she wanted me to be with her.

Knowing that, I set up my own camp out of sight range, but within hearing range. I fell into an uneasy sleep, knowing that in the next weeks we would be sleeping very little, but also wanting to keep an ear out for Max.

At sunrise the next morning, Max and I packed up our respective camps and headed southwest. As predicted, that was the most sleep we got in days. The journey began.