A/N: Well, it hasn't quite been two weeks…

113

"You can't just leave me here!" the Director screeched at our backs as we made our way to the door. "I demand to be released!"

"Okay, look," Fang said, turning around. "The way I see it, we're actually doing you a favor. If we leave you here, someone will eventually come along and let you out. Your only other option is coming with us, and somehow I think you'd like that even less."

I couldn't see the Director from my position on the gurney, but her silence was enough of an answer even without the expression on her face.

"Tell me again why we're leaving her here?" Iggy said. "I can't see any reason for us to be doing her any favors."

"Course you can't, Iggy," Gazzy said, grinning. "You can't see anything."

A month ago, Iggy would have rolled his eyes and replied with a good-natured insult in Gazzy's direction. Now, though, his jaw tightened and he turned his face away from the rest of us. Gazzy looked baffled.

"I didn't mean it in a nasty way," he told Iggy, his eyes wide. "I'm sorry."

Angel went over to her brother and put an arm around him. "It's not your fault, Gazzy," she said quietly. "He just went through more than the rest of us, and I think it's going to be a while before he's back to being Iggy again."

"Just because I can't see," Iggy snapped, "doesn't mean I can't hear."

"Iggy," I said warningly, "it's not their fault. Keep it to yourself."

For a moment it looked like he was going to ignore me, but then he blew out a long breath and turned back to us again.

"I'm sorry, Gaz," he said. "Feel free to tune out anything I say. I'm just being bitter, and it has nothing to do with any of you."

Gazzy nodded, looking placated. "Alright."

The two scientists had been watching the scene from a few feet away, obviously not wanting to get involved in our 'family issues', but Doctor Jones seemed to deem it safe now. He walked over to Iggy and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"My deepest apologies," he said sincerely. "I feel terribly responsible for the things that have come of those fantasies I created, and I want you to know that if I could do anything to help you, I would."

Iggy had his head tipped toward the ceiling and his arms crossed, looking like he was trying really hard not to care. "Well, there's just this one thing, really…"

"I know," the doctor said, sighing. "Trust me, if I figure that out, you'll be the first to know."

"How touching," the Director sneered. "It's good to know that my employees are so soft-hearted."

Professor Henry turned to glare at her. "Is that what you call it? Because I call it being human. Isn't it strange how these six ninety-eight percent humans have more humanity in them than you, a one hundred percent human, do?" He shook his head, chuckling softly. "Ah, the coincidences."

"What a speech," the Director replied. "How unfortunate that I don't give a damn."

"It is unfortunate," Professor Henry agreed. "Perhaps you should do some soul-searching. If you have one, that is."

This was all well and good–I certainly had no qualms about insulting the Director–but we had places to be.

"Um, Professor?" I said. "How long do we have left?"

He glanced at me, then down at his watch. "We appear to be down to fifteen minutes." I raised my eyebrows at him, and he nodded. "Let's go, everyone. We don't really have time to dilly-dally."

"Dilly-dally?" Nudge said questioningly. "Who says that?"

The professor sighed. "Let's just get going, shall we?"

114

Our journey to the loading docks was surprisingly uneventful. All the way there, something was nagging me, telling me that there was something wrong with this picture. Where were the guards? Where were the Erasers? Where were the rest of the freaking staff?

It seemed unlikely to me that Fang could have been right, that with the Director out of action, the rest of the School's personnel would just fall into inaction as well. There had to be someone else who wanted us recaptured or dead.

That's when I remembered someone who hadn't come to the front of my thoughts in a while.

"Professor?" I asked.

Professor Henry looked down at me. "Yes, Max?"

I bit my lip. "Um… What exactly is Jeb's position here?"

"Jeb?" he repeated, looking surprised. Then the surprise faded, and he seemed to realize something. "Jeb is effectively the Director's second-in-command. He has control if she's ever disabled." He looked up at Doctor Jones. "We'd better move faster."

Fang looked between the two men. "Why? What do you think Jeb is going to do?"

"I have no idea," Professor Henry replied, "but I'd really rather not find out."

The rest of the flock picked up their speed, and the gurney I was riding on started making a lot more noise.

I sighed. "Can't we go quickly and still be quiet?"

Fang grinned down at me. "Doesn't seem that way, but at least I'm not doing this." He slowed suddenly, then sped up, then slowed again…

"Ugh," I groaned, feeling suddenly ill. "Someone else can push this thing if you're going to do that."

He evened out, maintaining one speed again. "Like I would trust you with anyone else."

I frowned at that comment, deciding that replying could get me into a conversation that I didn't really want to have at the moment. Instead, I just closed my eyes and tried to ignore the fact that the rattling of the gurney's wheels and our more than audible conversation were drawing absolutely no attention to us. Or at least, no attention that had shown itself yet.

The loading dock turned out to be on a different level of the School than the lab, and we were forced to take an elevator down the appropriate floor. Nobody said anything on the ride down, and I knew that the same natural claustrophobia that was causing me to grip the edges of my gurney like it was trying to rip itself out of my hands was keeping the rest of the flock trapped in a fidgety silence.

There was a collective sigh of relief as the elevator came to a halt, but it quickly turned back into fidgety silence when the doors failed to open and let us out.

"What's going on?" I asked, all too aware of the fact that I sounded like I was having a heart attack. Honestly, I wasn't entirely sure that I wasn't. "Why aren't they opening?"

"I have no idea," Professor Henry said, pressing the button that was supposed to open them manually.

Nothing happened.

"What do you mean, you have no idea?" I exclaimed, my heart beginning to beat even faster.

The professor just looked at me helplessly.

I felt panic begin to rise up in my chest. Of all the things that could have happened to us, this was one of the worst.

Six intensely claustrophobic bird-kids, trapped in an elevator.

Things could only go downhill from here.

A/N: Muahahahaha. I'm so mean to the flock sometimes. =]

Oh, and about the "one hundred percent human" Director thing, I realize that in the books, she was supposedly also genetically modified. However, I think that her being part Galapagos turtle is absolutely ridonkulous, particularly because unless she was already in her hundreds when she was modified, she would have been experimented on when genetic modification wasn't even advanced enough to do that. What was JP thinking?

On another note, I turn sixteen next Tuesday. =O Wish me luck in the world of the sweet sixteen! And a wonderful birthday present would definitely be an inboxful of reviews. -hint hint nudge nudge wink wink-