I'm baaaaaaack!
I'm sort of riding a high today, because last night, at approximately 11:30 PM, I finished my NaNoWriMo novel. And I'm really excited and really glad I did it. And I wanted to thank you guys for your patience and understanding, because if I hadn't shut down this daily-updated story, I don't think I would have made the 50,000 words with NaNo. So thank you!
Here is your chapter. : )
Disclaimer: I still don't own Maximum Ride.
As soon as we were safely on the ground, Dr. Martinez was right there, calling out Max's name and hugging her.
"What's going on?" Max asked, squeezing her back. "I thought I wouldn't see you for a while."
"Me too." She pulled away and smiled around at the rest of us. "But Jeb and I have come up with an unusual possibility for you guys, and we wanted to see if you were interested."
At the word Jeb, I immediately went on guard. Max and I exchanged a glance: this could be a trap. "Unusual how?"
"Well, sort of a science trip," Dr. Martinez told us. Hmm… science trip. Sounded like field trip. If this was anything like the one we'd taken to Washington, D.C., where Lissa had clung to me like glue, I'd be passing. "A science trip where you would work with scientists in a pretty remote place. We think it would be kind of fun for you guys, plus you would be useful to the scientists, plus this place is so remote that we think you'd be safer than usual while you're there."
"Huh," Max said, biting her lip and thinking it over. She didn't seem as cautious as she normally would be, probably since this was coming from her mom. I trusted Dr. Martinez, but I was naturally unnerved by the way she kept saying "this place," not naming it.
"Where's this remote place?" I asked.
Dr. Martinez grinned-- not diabolically, like I would usually expect when conferring with an adult, but just… mischievously. "I'd like to keep that a secret until you're almost there. To help you keep an open mind. And now I'd like you to meet one of the scientists."
Not knowing where we were being sent didn't settle well with me, but Max seemed satisfied, so I dropped it. For now.
I watched a young blonde woman walk over from where she'd been standing by the plane. She came forward in a very serious, businesslike manner, except for her eyes. If she hadn't been forcing herself to stay composed, she would have been all over us, like, "Show me your wings, mutants!"
"I'm Dr. Brigid Dwyer," she said, holding out her hand.
"I'm Max." As Max shook her hand, I tensed: this lady made me nervous, with her intense interest in us, and I had a vision of some kind of poison being injected into Max's veins when she touched her skin. "What's this science field trip about?"
"I'll explain once we're on board," Dr. Dwyer said.
Obviously she hadn't done her homework on Max. This wasn't going to fly.
Oh, geez. Cheesy pun.
Max plastered a big, fake smile on her face and said, "How about you explain before we get on board?"
Dr. Dwyer blinked, thinking she couldn't have heard right.
"Or we could all split now," Max added, raising her eyebrows, posing a challenge.
She cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Dr. Martinez has recommended you for a… rescue mission."
"Do tell." Max crossed her arms over her chest. I mimicked her position, narrowing my eyes a little. "What-- or who-- are we rescuing?"
I watched Dr. Dwyer's cheeks flush a little bit as she uncertainly answered, "The world?"
Eww… Brigid.
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