Grrr, the NaNoWriMoing is going slow. You know how things work better in your head then they do on paper? It's kind of like that. I'm sure I'll pick up though, I just need to get rolling.

Ooooh, I likey this chapter. *grins* It appeals to the sappy Faxfan inside of me. Don't worry though, it's not a "they made passionate almost-love and then swore never to speak of it again" type moment, it's just good old pre-Max J-Pat style Faxness (in my opinion). I hope you like it!

Chapter 26 – Fighting These Feelings

After my, uh, odd comment about the afterlife, my recovery was quick, and soon I was able to walk off the gas and help the others get going. I was still a little wary of Zanna, but I did notice that she seemed different. She seemed more stable, somehow. More human.

We snuck through the halls easily, now that we had the advantage of Zanna's super strong invisibility powers. After recovering Total and our confiscated supplies, Zanna led us through an old vent that led to the outside. Alarms starting blaring as we flew over top of the fence, but there was no stopping us now. We were home free.

We travelled for about three hours before I felt we were far away enough to be safe for the night. We paid for a couple of motel rooms at a small inn on the side of the highway, putting the guys in one room and the girls in the other. There was only one bed in each room, so Zanna insisted on sleeping on the floor while the rest of us girls slept on the bed. "I don't mind." She had said quietly, taking a spare pillow and a bed sheet.

I lay in the dark for a long time, listening to the sound of cars on the highway and the quiet breathing around me. I couldn't sleep; there was just too much to process. What should we do with Zanna? Just because she wasn't trying to kill me anymore didn't mean I wanted her around. Trust took time to develop, and when we didn't trust each other everyone was in danger. Maybe this was how Fang felt when I took Ari in.

Eventually I got bored of lying there and I decided to get out of bed and stretch. Quietly, I walked over to the end of the bed, where Zanna was sleeping on the carpet. I gazed down at her, trying to understand who and what she was.

In the dim light you could clearly see the resemblance she had to Fang: the dark hair, the beautifully angular face, even her wings reminded me of Fang now that I thought about it. At the same time, she looked so different from him. She was fair skinned, and her face, though angular, was still a lot softer-looking than Fang's, and her eyes… Fang's eyes were always blank, but Zanna's eyes constantly flared with emotion and determination. I wondered if her eyes were created from some twist of Fang's DNA or if there had been another experiment who had eyes like that.

I heard the door open behind me, and I turned. It was Fang. "I couldn't sleep either." He said, motioning for me to follow him outside. We took off and flew in silence for a while, until we found an abandoned gas station down the road. We landed on top of it and sat next to each other on the old electric sign mounted on the roof. "So," I said, "Zanna seems different."

Fang nodded. "I've been keeping tabs on her. Most of the time she doesn't need my help to stay calm."

We were quiet for a few minutes, just enjoying the highway ambience. Finally I had to say something. "She can't stay with us, Fang. Everything has changed too quickly. I need time to adjust."

"To forgive." He added. I nodded in response.

Fang went on, "I get how you feel Max, but I can't drop her completely. It was like how you felt with Ari," he said, hesitating when he saw me flinch a little, "even before you knew he was your brother you felt you had to help him."

"I know," I said, "but I'm afraid this will break us up again."

"Me too." Fang said quietly. He paused for a moment, then suggested, "How about we find somewhere for Zanna to stay? Somewhere where she can just have some space, grow up like a normal kid." He smirked, "After all, not all bird kids are duty-bound to saving the world."

I smiled at him and said, "We could still visit her. I think we can work things out eventually."

Fang smiled back. "Thanks."

There was another long silence between us, and then I said, "Fang, back in the Itex building you were really uncomfortable talking about Zanna's DNA."

Fang frowned and turned away. "Yeah," he said, shifting uncomfortably.

"There was another parent, wasn't there?" He nodded. "Who is it?"

Fang was silent for a moment, and then said, "She was an experiment too. She was killed when Itex was getting rid of their unnecessary experiments, back in that place in Germany."

For a moment I tried to remember all of the faces I had seen while I had been in that mutant death camp. Had any of them had fiery eyes like Zanna? I couldn't remember, so I gave up. "I'm sorry," was all I could think to say.

"Why? It's not your fault."

"It kind of is, if what Anne said is true." What if everything really was my fault?

"Max, you were a victim just like us. You told me that it wasn't my fault that Zanna made me leave. Well, it's not your fault that you were an experiment." Our faces drew close, and for a minute I thought that a kiss was inevitable, but at the last minute I pulled away.

"I'm sorry," I said, "not now." Fang look dejected, but he nodded and turned away.

How much longer can you keep fighting these feelings, Max? The Voice asked me.

I sighed. I don't know, Voice, but now is not the time. It's too complicated.

The Voice didn't say anything else, and after a couple of minutes of awkward silence Fang and I jumped off of the roof and flew back to get some sleep.