Way Back When
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Apocalyptic-Flock Style
A/N: Hello all! Well things have finally started to settle in, so I'm beginning the long but rewarding journey of my next chapter, starting with the ever-lengthening author's note. First off, thank-you all for being so patient for the next update! And just because I'm a spelling and grammar FREAK: IT IS SPELLED SEQUEL WITH AN E. Second: The MR Awards voting has begun, and is ending October 1st, so please go to www dot mraward dot yolasite dot com and vote for Way Back When! Now to personal stuff: Skylr: review: But if she woke up for an hour she'd be able to explain everything and then she'd have nothing to worry about! LOL. I Talk A Lot: review: Read and find out! MrsZachGoode: Fav Story: Thanks! Orangeduck23: Story Alert: Thank-you! Aleria: review: Thanks so much for nominating me! Now go vote! Sorry I distracted you from your meeting. Oy, you're going to bust Iggy's eardrums, aren't you? SoC: Fav Story, review: Yup, it's coming! Summer work was awful! Edwardsstupidlamb1918: Fav Story: Thanks! IwriteUread: everything and a review: Thanks, here's your update! R4UL: review: Yup, a sequel. Glad you're excited, I am too! Re: song fics-I really hate the ones where Max sings, too. Why don't you read the songfic I've already done? I'm pretty sure it's more writing than song…for me a songfic is kind of an indulgence because the idea is already there; you're just putting details around it. It's a nice little break between stories. Let me know what you think of it! Especially cuz I kinda took sections from the book to fill in the spaces…I'm such a bad person…LOL. Re: the update-sorry, I forgot. Oh well it's not there anymore! Edward'sNewBella17: Fav Story, Story Alert: Thanks! Rehab: review: Thank-you so much for nominating me, now go vote for it! I really appreciate that you like my story so much! Euffie: Story Alert: Thank-you! Ivy: review: We'll see. HB: review: Glad it's clearer. I'm sorry; I don't mean to make people (almost) cry! Wait no longer! Anonymousxxx: review: Thanks, and I guess you will! Waiting On Yesterday: everything and a review: Thanks so much! Purplewingsfly: Fav Story, Author Alert, review: Thanks! YMF: review: Well I'm not promising anything! Fangs-girl: Fav Story: Thank-you! Maxccg1992: Fav Story, Story Alert, review: Wow, I'm flattered. I doubt it's totally original, but thanks for reading; I'm glad you like it! Thanks for being patient! Hawkgirl90: Story Alert, Fav Story, review: Thanks so much, I try. And no, I'm not JP, though I wish I was! Well actually no, I don't, because then I couldn't try out for Max in the movie…LOL. Random5185: Story Alert: Thanks! HGW: Fav Author, review: Thanks! Good to know. MC: review: Thanks! Enjoy your freshman year! Zeze: review: Hope your year goes well, and thanks for waiting! Fuzzy: review: See, it's not next year! paro4peace: Story Alert and review: Thanks for voting for me! I'm glad you like it. Moi: review: Gracias, glad you like it! Incoherent Mubling: Fav Story: Thanks! Shriker: review: Thanks for your reviews! Azzycoco: Fav Story: Thank-you! White Ice Wolf: Fav Story: Thank-you! Christinehun: Fav Story: Thanks! sportchicky12: Fav Story: Thank-you! Maximumridechick: review: Thanks for the reviews, glad you like it!
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Onward!
"Max," he said again, "have them ready tonight, ten o'clock."
"What's happening?" I demanded.
"I can't say anything here. They have eyes and ears everywhere. You just have to trust me, Max."
"Why can't you tell me anything?" He started to close the door. "And why do you keep calling me Max?!"
Jeb paused and looked at me, the warm eyes behind his glasses sorrowful. "Don't you even know that, Maximum?"
And he shut the door in my face.
I lay staring up at the ceiling, thoughts whirling around my mind. What was going to happen tonight? What did Jeb mean, didn't I even know that? Know what?!
Whatever it was, it couldn't hurt us.
Could it?
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Now, I know I've said before that patience is not a strongpoint with me, but I feel I should maybe emphasize that a little.
When I say patience is not a strongpoint, I mean that within twenty minutes of receiving Jeb's totally cryptic orders, I was going abso-frickin'-lutely NUTS.
My heart rate was through the roof, my eyes darting all around the room, noting the whiteness of the walls, the solidness of the door, and my apparent inability to get us out of here by force.
And no, waking Gazzy and Iggy up to blow a hole in the wall was not an option.
Not just because blowing a hole in the wall was maybe a teensy bit obvious, but because my pyros had actually fallen asleep, and they needed some rest before tonight.
Tonight.
Tonight, tonight, it all began tonight; I saw you and the world went awaaaaaaaaaaaaaay-sing with me!
Voice, I thought with remarkable calm, One more note of mushiness and I will stab you will a sharp, pointy thing myself.
But Maximum, it complained, West Side Story is a classic love story! Romeo and Juliet!
Romero and Julia?
No! The Voice sighed. I see it is time to educate you.
Um, no thanks, I was a getting desperate.
Romeo and Juliet are star-crossed lovers that get killed because of their stupidity.
Good for them, I thought dully. Your point is…?
Tony and Maria, in West Side Story, are also star-crossed lovers. Tony dies, Maria lives, but that is just because it was not appropriate to kill off women in the 1960's.
Where is this going?! I'd had it. I was really done. I didn't care about Romero and Julia, or Tony the Pizza Guy and Mary. I could be planning, plotting our escape, and here I was, held in the confines of my subconscious by an idiot Voice who wants to talk about LOVE. I didn't see where this was going or how it was remotely useful to me.
Because you could die tonight, Maximum.
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!
This is where the next journey begins, where you can truly change the past. And your future. You could make all of your problems; all of your enemies disappear tonight. You just have to pay attention and play your cards right. Start off with Fang. I had a feeling the Voice was seriously restraining itself.
Excuse me? I thought I wasn't allowed to tell Fang what was going on? Last time I tried you scorched my brain! I pointed out furiously.
Tell him what is going on NOW.
But you just said-
I do not mean everything, Maximum you idiot birdbrain.
Now look who's lost their temper.
I mean get him on his guard for tonight. Let him know you think something is going to change. Let him be your ally, not one of the clueless followers you have chosen to gather.
None of my flock is clueless! I snarled.
That is neither here nor there. Go talk to Fang while the others are asleep.
He's asleep too.
He never sleeps until he knows you are, Maximum.
Really? I don't know whether to be flattered or creeped. Maybe a little of both…?
You are stalling! I was snapped back from my wandering thoughts by a slice of pain through my skull.
Fine! I'm going, I'm going. Jeez, give a girl a minute to get out of bed! I grumbled, throwing off the covers and swinging my legs over the edge of the mattress, feeling the metal of the bedstead press into my legs. Instantly, Fang sat up.
"Where are you going?" he whispered, swaying from side to side.
"I'm coming to visit. Lie back down, you can't possibly be seeing straight," I answered softly.
He ignored me. What a surprise.
Padding over to his bed, I sat down on the edge, then watched him scooch sideways and motion that I could put my legs up, which I did.
"What's going on?" he asked, without beating around the bush.
"I'm not sure," I wrapped a lock of hair around my finger tightly, tugging at it experimentally.
Silence.
I sighed. "But it's gonna be crazy. I need you to be ready for anything. If Jeb's being so secretive, it can't be good, what we're doing, or easy."
He nodded. "Should we tell the others?"
I bit my lip, looking around at my family. Gazzy and Angel, past scents forgotten, were curled up together, sleeping peacefully. I recalled my flash forward of Gazzy pinching himself to stay awake, and shook my head. "They need rest."
"Iggy, then."
I looked at him. Fang, I mean. He was staring past me to the blind boy's already long form stretched out along another bed. His feet stuck out from under the blanket.
"You think?" I asked, not sure why I wanted to keep our secret so close.
Fang turned and gave me a long stare then. I shivered. "He's been with us longer than any of the others. Especially those two," he nodded towards Gazzy and Angel. I bristled. "Hey, I'm not knocking them. I'm just saying."
I pursed my lips, thinking. "You're right," I gritted my teeth and a satisfied smirk crossed Fang's face. "I'll go wake him up and we'll fill him in."
I crossed the room and bent over Iggy, reaching to touch his shoulder. But before I could, the lab door slid open. I whirled, my heart thudding so loudly I couldn't hear. I watched Fang's lips move, mouthing, "Who are you?" His eyes wide with shock.
I turned to face a small boy, maybe a year younger than Gazzy, standing in the doorway. He had thick brown hair and wide, scared brown eyes. He wore normal clothes, I noticed, and stood with the unconsciously self-assured stature of someone who's completely human in a place of mutants.
As Fang spoke, he lifted his chin and set his jaw. But underneath the bravado, I sensed a fear and anger almost as strong as the feelings my flock harbored, hovering just beneath the surface. My heart slowed, identifying with another misfit. Even if he was human, I could see by the length of his hair, curling at his shoulders, and the rip in his jeans and tear in his sweater that he wasn't as well cared for as a little boy should be.
Where were his
parents?
When the boy didn't answer, just continued to watch us
silently, Fang spoke again, louder. "Who are you?"
Iggy shot up, and I leapt out of the way with a shriek. Gazzy and Angel woke as well, staring, twin gazes of surprise on their faces. Nudge moaned loudly and heaved herself upright, rubbing her eyes. "What is it with you guys and not letting me sleep, honestly…?"
The boy turned around the room, looking at all of us. His mouth opened in a small, round 'o'.
"Look," I said harshly. He jumped. "If you just came to stare at us, you can leave. Go back to you mom or dad or something."
That got to him, I could tell. He twisted away, and I thought he was leaving, until he jumped up and slammed the tips of his fingers onto the key pad just outside the lab door. As it slid shut, he stepped inside once more, effectively locking himself in with us. Real smart, kid.
Then, he spoke.
"My name is Ari Batchelder, I'm 4 years old, my dad is Jeb, and he doesn't care about me, he cares about YOU."
Well. How's that for an introduction?
Eh, not as long as I thought it'd be. But I don't have time to do more tonight, I have the Erev (Eve) of Yom Kippur service, called Kol Nidre, to go to tonight and I have about an hour and a half to get ready. So here's a post, and I'll do more as soon as I can! I'm actually kinda annoyed, because I wanted to add another Angel arc, but I'm not quite sure if that will work out or even be necessary. I may also be able to work it into the sequel. I mean, the Flock wouldn't always be at the E house, right? Jeb takes them for vacations…and they can be found when they're not at the E house… *insert evil, maniacal (I love that word) laughter* Yep. That should do it!
