-- A window opens and a breeze rolls in. Max, Iggy and Gazzy swoop in through the window and land on the floor --

Max: Uhh, hey guys! So, we've got this new chapter for you on behalf of CK.

Iggy: She's studying for her Senior exams somewhere.... or crying because of Senior exams... or both,

Max: AH-EM! So, we wanted to give you guys this, since she probably won't post anything for who knows how long.

Gazzy: We stole it off her desk! It was awesome!

Iggy: Hey, we didn't STEAL it, per say. We just ...borrowed it and left her something in return.

Max: We did? What did we leave her with?....Hey, wait... oh no, you didn't!... MY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!?! 0_0 !!!

Gazzy: Anyways, we hope you like it! Cause we're awesome and stuff!

~ Love from, CK plus the The Flock

Chapter 25

\\*\\ Max's POV \\*\\

...

I had to get away. But it hurt so much. Everything hurt. My wings, my body, my eyelids… so heavy…

I had given up flying minutes ago, but it felt like hours with the way I was walking. Everything hurt. It was so heavy. It was so hard to lift my feet to take another step.

It had gotten to the point where my wings felt like they were made of stone. I had to walk, because I thought I was going to fall from the sky and crash. Why did my wings and my body feel so heavy?...

And – AHHH! Gods why did it hurt so much!? And it was so hot out in the sun, with no shade nearby! The stupid field I had landed in was so open and empty, despite the green grass and that weird white powder that was all over the ground in front of me.

… wait, what was that white powder? It was only a few feet away… Why couldn't I see it clearly?! NO! I have raptor vision so why the hell was my vision suddenly worse than an old woman's!? …

What's wrong with me?...I'm so…so…

My legs crumpled and I fell onto the white powder, ripping skin from my cheek and hands as my feet twisted awkwardly in the grass behind me.

Grass that gave way to a giant white-powdered triangle…where had I seen these?...

My eyelids were so heavy now, and everything hurt… even breathing hurt…

My eyes slid shut, and distantly in my mind, I pictured the green grass meeting this white triangle where I knew I was going to pass out…

But… it wasn't a triangle… it was a diamond…

A baseball diamond.

Hmm, I hope no-one has a game today…

Then the weight of my body, my wings, and my lungs all collapsed. Darkness swept over me like a blanket, and I felt a surge of bloodlust and desire go through me like liquid fire before, suddenly, I was numb. I fell into a dreamless sleep… and... and...

//// Fang's POV ////

...

"Fang? … Fang? ... FANG!"

I turned and saw Iggy climbing the stairs towards me.

"Yo, Fang, what's going on?" he said.

I said nothing in response, but eyed Iggy suspiciously. He sounded normal enough. There was no slurred speech and his eyes looked normal. (Well, as normal as they could get.)

As if seeing the glare I was sending him, Iggy raised his hands in surrender.

"Yeah, it's me. And I mean the real thing. No more dancing on tiled floors for me, or giving Max II nicknames. I like being alive, thanks."

I allowed myself to believe that Iggy was normal and I let him move up beside me on the top of the stairs. Silence spread between us as I tried to think of what to say; how to explain to Iggy what had just happened.

Should I tell him? He was my best friend but still, there were things Max and I hid from everyone except each other. We were the oldest so we often kept Iggy out of the loop. We hid our doubts, fears, and weaknesses from everyone else. Still, without Max, could Iggy be strong enough to replace that and –

"Fang, what happened to Max?"

Ice water took the place of blood in my veins, making my entire body momentarily numb and horribly cold. Then as fast as it had come, warm, pulsing blood regained its place and I shook of the cold feeling silently.

"What are you talking about?" I replied, glad my voice sounded neutral albeit slightly irritated. Iggy frowned at me.

"I may be blind, but I could feel your tension in the South Pole it's so obvious. Something's wrong, clearly, and the tension started as soon as I told you Max would kill me. So obviously, this has to do with Max….wait, I'm not already dead am I?"

It was an overly obvious and overly bad attempt to make my smirk. Heck, I would have smirked and punched him if Max had been here.

But she wasn't, and I wasn't exactly in a smirking mood.

I made up my mind and tried to straighten my shoulders – look taller, broader, more leader-like. I ignored the fact that Iggy wouldn't see it, but maybe he could feel it, just like he'd felt my tension.

"She left," I told him.

There was a flickering moment where Iggy seemed to take in my words and analyze them, before there was a "For how long?" from Iggy.

Just from the tone of his voice, I knew he understood what I meant.

"I dunno." Maybe for good unless we can find her.

"Oh, okay." We'll find her Fang. She would never leave us.

"….." We can't let the others know. This is just between you and me.

"So, you wanna grab something to eat and then go see if we can find that girl? You know, the Camille girl who kidnapped Lissa?." Lets make a plan and then go look for her. As a Flock, even if the little ones don't know, one of us is bound to spot her.

"Yeah, we should probably do that." Right, we need to find Lissa and her kidnapper too. Damn.

I inhaled deeply, feeling my chest rise as I reluctantly pushed aside my pride for the sake of being a 'leader'. I was smart enough to know that I needed help. Serious help.

"Hey Ig, what do you think Max would do right now?"

Iggy pursed his lips, and ran a hand threw his mess of hair before giving me a shrug.

"Uhh, make a list?" Iggy offered with a scratch to his head. I didn't reply but I thought back on what he'd said.

Yeah, a list sounds like something Max would do…

Another thought wormed it's way into my head and I turned to Iggy again. There was no way, but still... maybe…

"Hey, you remember what happened when you went into bloodlust right?"

"Uh, kind of. Why?"

"Did you have top force yourself out of it? You seemed like you had no control."

"That's because I didn't. I couldn't really make out anything. Heck, I only know that I was dancing because Gazzy made fun of me for it. But hey, I thought –"

"So it just ended for you. You didn't have to force yourself out of it or control your actions." I almost felt optimistic. "Do you still want to attack Max II right now even though you're in control?"

"…no. Why?"

I narrowed my eyes and resisted the urge to smirk in relief. Iggy suddenly seemed to interpret my thoughts and he pointed a finger at me and his eyes widened slightly.

"Fang, was your bloodlust like that with Max?"

"No. I was aware of everything I was doing, but not what I was saying or hearing. Plus, I still wanted to jump her even when I had control of my body. I… Gods, Ig, you have no idea how badly I wanted her…her eyes, her mouth, her body…just to taste her was a want so strong it nearly drove me insane every night…"

"Uh, okay. In the nicest way possible, I'm gonna say – !" Iggy made a melodramatic gagging noise, but I ignored it.

"The urge lasted for days the first time I had bloodlust, but it's gone now. Even though I got bloodlust again when Max and I went looking for groceries..."

Iggy's eyes widened further and his finger was suddenly jabbing at me excitedly "So you're saying – "

"Our bloodlusts were different."

The sentence rang in the air, and hope suddenly seemed possible.

"The bloodlust I had with Max back near the coast," I told him, "and the one Camille gave you aren't the same one. The one Camille spread to us lasted only a few minutes. The one from Max's blood lasted for weeks."

"YES! So maybe what Lissa has isn't as serious as we thought! If Camille's bloodlust is 'fake' or something, than it's not the legit stuff that can kill humans!" Iggy cried out, grinning in triumph.

I wanted to grin in return, but another troubling thought hit me.

"But, it's been almost a month since Lissa contracted it, and her boyfriend has had it for even longer."

"So what? Maybe it takes longer to work itself out of human bodies than human-avian bodies?" Iggy suggested.

I doubted that was the case, but hey, anything was possible. (a.k.a. Note the fact that we have wings.)

"So, now what do we do?" Iggy asked. I was about to say something sarcastic, but paused as I realized he was seriously asking me what our next plan of action was.

Damn it! Planning was what Max did best. Not me.

I thought back on our discovery and what Iggy had told me before. What would Max have done in the situation? Make a list. And probably hunt down Lissa and her kidnapper.

Max had never failed me before – ever – so I figured she wouldn't start now.

Fang's Mental To-Do List

* Find Max.

* Don't let Angel, Gazzy, or Nudge realize we need to find Max.

* Find Lissa and the shape-shifter, Camille.

* Figure out how long it takes for Bloodlust to spread between humans.

* Find a cure for humans for Bloodlust

* Tell Max she's the dumbest person on the planet and then make her pay for being so stupid as to think I don't need her.

"Ig, go get the little guys and tell them we're going to look for Lissa and Camille."

Iggy saluted and obediently turned to head back downstairs. Distantly, I heard Max II shriek something but I ignored it. I moved swiftly to Lissa's bedroom, and spotting my black laptop in its faded dark casing, I hurriedly pulled it out and logged in.

The keys met my hands with a familiar ease as I logged onto the internet and began typing. I had admitted to myself that I need help. And, as a man, I thought this would be a good a time as any to stick to my word...

Fang's Blog.

Topic : YOU WANTED TO HELP.

Okay guys, here's the deal. We – The Flock and I – need your help.

We don't need you to trash whiteouts offices or stop the adults from ruing everything this time. Save the dangerous stuff to us; the people who actually know what they're doing. Besides, I don't want your mom e-mailing me, complaining that you failed your Biology test because I told you that you had to save the world. (Nice job, Dylan Mrazick from Toronto, ON. Tell your mom I say 'hi')

But you guys said you wanted to help? Fine. If you really want to, here's what you can do for us :

Find Max.

If you've read anything I've written, you already know who Max is and what she is to us. She's gone. She had a moment of safety-awareness (for once) and thought that by staying with us, she might somehow hurt us. Call it PMS or whatever.

The point is – she's gone.

We're in Washington right now, so keep an eye out. I'll post more later, but let me know if you find any sign of her. (And yes, a trail of half-eaten chocolate chip cookies counts as 'a sign of her'.)

~ Fang.

"Fang?" Gazzy called as he entered the room. "Iggy said you wanted to see us all up here."

I flicked the computer shut, and turned to the Flock who were standing in doorway. They were waiting for orders. My orders.

"Were going to hunt down Lissa's kidnapper," I told them.

Nudge and Gazzy look surprised. Angel didn't even blink. Nudge opened her mouth and blubbered for words while Gazzy just nodded at me in blind, trusting acceptance.

"What? But shouldn't we…" Nudge began, but paused at seeing that we were lacking a certain someone. Confusion bloomed across her features as I saw the invisible gears in her head churning. She opened her mouth, but I cut her off.

"Max has already gone out to do her own thing to find Lissa," I said. It was a half-truth, so no-one could ever say I wasn't thoughtful of the younger guys.

"Oh." Nudge sounded almost disappointed, but she seemed to have bought my words.

"So, where do we start?" Gazzy said, already extending his wings and moving for the shattered window in Lissa's room.

Right, good question, LEADER. Where do they start?

"Hn. You should know." I told him. Gazzy eyes widened in a mixture of concern and confusion.

Nice job, I thought to myself.

"Uhh…I should?..." Gazzy said cautiously, as though afraid I would yell at him if he said the wrong answer.

"The water tower," Angel said in a positive tone. I didn't comment. She sounded like she thought this was a guessing game that she already knew all the answers too. But then again, Angel probably would know all the answers if this were a game.

"Camille should be at the water tower," Angel repeated. "I can hear her thoughts. She's angry and scared and worried. And she's injured too, so we should be able to beat her, especially with all six of us."

I chose to ignore the fact that Angel's mind reading abilities seemed to have expanded again, and the way my chest tightened for a moment as she said 'six'.

Max wasn't here to make us a Flock of six.

"You're coming with us, right M.C?" Angel said, as if reading thoughts about person number six.

Max II just raised an eyebrow.

"Uhhh, no? And don't call me M.C. I'm not going anywhere with your freaking blonde bomb boy who wants to eat me or that…" She cast a dirty look at me, "… guy, who's been in bloodlust twice already and will probably try to kiss me because I look like his girlfriend."

"Haven't I already told you not to say that I'm attracted to you? To me, you're nothing more than an Eraser in a dress. And secondly, I have no girlfriend, remember?" I spat out viciously. I was getting sick of having to tell her this. I was beginning to think she was doing it just to spite me.

Suddenly, there was a stunned gasp from Nudge.

Reason #413 Why Fang Should Not Be The Flock Leader : He reveals information to the younger ones that they would have,otherwise, been naively blind to. Because of this, the younger ones will now spend all their time worrying, panicking, blaming him, or pitying him.

"You're not with Max anymore?" Nudge cried out. To my horror, Nudge's brown eyes filled with tears and she looked at me with something akin to blame. I knew that she was silently asking what I'd done to hurt Max.

Hell, it was the other way around! Did no-one realize that Max had hurt me!? Max was just too stubborn to stop and let me fix everything!

I love her. Why could no-one –even Max herself – see that?

"No, but we're going to be together. Forever. Max just hasn't accepted that yet."

The words flowed from my lips before I really knew what I was saying. They were true though, however unexpected, and Nudge seemed satisfied by them as she blushed a dark pink and gave me a look that was either pity or adoration.

I chose to look away from her before she could say or do anything else to mess with my emotions.

"You guys should go," Max II said. "Who knows where that Camille chick is headed and she might already be on her way to somewhere other than Washington. I think I'd rather just chill out here. If I hear anything though, I'll let you know."

Gazzy let out a wet couch.

"Chicken!" Gazzy coughed out before smiling angelically at Max II. She just stuck her tongue out in response.

"Let's go," I ordered.

In a swift movement, I jumped out of Lissa's broken window, extending my wings, feeling them tug at my shoulder blades as I was pulled upwards and began flying towards the sun. I didn't have to look back to know that Max II and The Flock were right behind me.

"Huh? What happened?..." Angel suddenly muttered to herself.

We were almost to the Washington District water tower, soaring through the violet and pumpkin coloured skies of sunset, when Angel spoke.

I turned to her over my shoulder, studying her frowning face and pouting lips.

"What's wrong, Angel?" Gazzy asked his sister worriedly, before I could.

"Camille's thoughts. They just stopped," Angel said. "But not 'stopped' like she knows we can hear her. They just…stopped. Like she died or something."

The water tower came into sight as she finished speaking and I quickly analyzed it for any sign of Camille, Erasers, or blood in general.

It was a massive pale blue sphere on top of four beams that seemed thin as thread in comparison. Peeling and faded light blue paint were visible around the just as faded 'WASHINGTON" engraved in bold, black along the water tower's side. It was clear to see why this water tower, Nudge had all too cheerfully told us, was the main supply of all of Washington districts bathing, drinking, and football-field sized pool water. ( Nudge had discovered this after reading a pamphlet she'd picked up at our only rest stop for food between Lissa's house and here.)

Gazzy thought it looked like a big beach ball.

To me, it just looked like a blue long-legged spider.

Then suddenly, I saw a glint of movement, barely noticeable out of the corner of my eye and I focused in on it with my raptor vision. I heard Angel gasp as she caught sight of it too.

There was a girl standing on top of the water tower.

"Oh my God, she looks like she's trying to kill herself!" Nudge cried. Iggy was explained the situation by Gazzy mid flight, and all of us slowed our flight pace to thoroughly see what was going on.

"Fang?" Nudge said, her tone trembling, "you said that Max went on ahead. You don't think…? What if... if she… is she the one up there do you think? Is she trying to kill herself?! Oh God, is it the bloodlust!? Oh my gosh, it is, isn't it? No!--"

I'll admit, I was only half-listening to Nudge rant. Most of my attention was on the girl standing dangerously close to the rounded but steep edge of the water tower.

No. There's no way in hell that could be Max.

Nudge turned to me with wide, hopeful brown eyes.

"But how do you know?" she asked quietly. I tried not to let my surprise show. Had I said that out loud?

"Because she promised me," I finally told her.

The rest of the Flock were all looking at me by now. I tried to stand taller again, more confident for their sakes. Still, there was no doubt in my mind that the girl was not Max. I was positive.

"Promised you what?" Nudge braved to ask.

"To never try to hurt herself again. Ever. Not after what happened in Florida." At those words, an immediate and solemn darkness seemed to surround us. I knew they were recalling what had happened in Florida, just like I was.

The everlasting and horrifying sight – one more shocking than anything we'd endured at the school – of Max digging that shell unto her arm and letting herself bleed freely, dripping crimson puddles and patterns onto the sand like chalk drawings on the pavement. The sand had begun to turn dark with her blood by the time we got there…

As the moment relived itself for all of us, I saw Nudge shiver violently and Gazzy bite his lip as if to stop from crying or gagging. Maybe both. Angel just looked like she was moments away from tears and Iggy looked fearful.

Realizing the deep pit of doubt I'd put the Flock into, and forcing back my own horrified reactions, I began to clarify.

"After that incident, I made her swear she would never do it again, and she did. She said she only did it because of the chip in her arm and I believe her, don't you?..." I let my words sink in. "Max would never do such a thing to herself. She's too strong for that."

My words were nowhere near being reassuring, but I was glad to see that the doubt was gone from their eyes. They nodded amongst themselves and I saw Nudge flash a smile at Angel, almost as if they were silently laughing how strong and stubborn Max could be at times.

Max…My Max…

The thought put new determination into my blood.

"I believe you," Gazzy clarified with a firm nod. I nodded back a little and the Gasman's smile lit up.

I hid my surprise well behind my determined expression and turned back to the water tower.

Was that all it really took to make someone respect you as a leader? A small nod of acknowledgement? Geez, no wonder we'd all fallen for Max so hard.

If all I had to do was nod at the Gasman to make him smile that, Max's jokes and grins and teasing remarks must've been enough to make the kid want to explode with happiness.

Which probably explained why Nudge was always so cheerful and chatty.

… Or why I had started smiling when I realized I loved Max.

I shook the thoughts out of my head and pushed away all that soft, bird instinct that made me want to croon and think about how much I missed Max.

I didn't need to miss Max.

I was going to get her back.

Actually, we were going to get her back. Starting right now…

I angled myself towards the water tower and immediately felt a burst of speed as I sliced through the air. The hawks had taught us all this move, thanks, and it was really was handy in times like this.

As I got closer at an alarming speed, I confirmed that the person on the water tower wasn't Max. She was too thin and wearing pink.

However, even though she wasn't Max, she was covered in blood, which meant she had either fought with Max or knew something about Erasers and mutant kids.

Blood like that didn't come from a fist fight.

Nor did it leave you standing precariously on the edge of a water tower high enough to kill a human before they hit the ground. (Snapping your neck because of pure speed sucks. Enough said.)

Then, something caught my eye – a flash of red that had nothing to do with the blood on her body. It was rapidly fluttering behind her, like a scarf or …

I was close enough now to see the fluttering red hair and the face of the person who owned it.

"Lissa!?" Nudge cried from behind me. Almost as if she had heard us, Lissa turned suddenly to look over her shoulder and glance all around her in clear paranoia.

Something metallic and silver flashed at us as it caught the light, although Lissa seemed oblivious to its glare at us as we hovered above her.

It was clearly a silver dagger in her hand.

Not a kitchen knife – a dagger. Cold, jagged, and beautifully crafted.

And what was the most confusing, was that she had it poised over her stabbed and blood-covered chest, as though she meant to drive it into her heart one more time …

Gazzy : Oooooh! Another cliffie for an ending. That's a big surprise.

--Max swats him over the head--

Max : ... ^_^

Iggy: This thing just keeps getting weirder and weirder. Oh well, I'm sure CK has a plan for it all. --shrugs--