So, it's been a while. Heh. I'm sorry if I disappointed any of you, but I've been busy. The usual spiel. I like to think I'm somewhat well-known in the Maximum Ride Fanfiction Realm (Am I? I don't know. Probably not. :P) and I don't mean to be such a terrible updater, but I'm still trying to get better.
And, you guys, I don't actually plan to have them mate! Jeb wants that because he's trying to make an advanced species of Avian-Americans and hopefully have them rule a new future of super humans. Duh, guys, duh.
Ch. 28:
Fang POV
"Dwyer?"
"Yes." The blonde girl responded. "Sorry for being so blunt trying to get your attention." She smiled. "But this is urgent. I'm a close friend of Lissa's, and I know of your… situation. I've lived here my entire life and-"
"Wait, hold on." I stopped her. "You know about our situation?"
"Yes." She blinked. "Your friends were taken by the Institute. They are in grave danger and will continue to be at risk if you don't help them."
"We can't help them." Nudge deadpanned. "We don't know where they are. New York is huge. I mean, have you seen where we are? And this 'Institute' is crazy elusive. I've tried every data base in the United States, Canada, China, and Brazil and I have found nada on them and their sick gene mutation. So, if you think this shit is easy, I can assure you-"
"Nudge." I clamped a hand over her mouth. "Let her talk. I want to hear what she has to say." And I did. We certainly weren't going to get anywhere wandering around New York with all the tourists.
"Thank you." She said snottily, shooting Nudge a dirty glance. "If you'd have just listened from the beginning," She huffed, "you'd know that I know the whereabouts of the Institute."
"How did you find it?" Nudge asked, not even trying to hide the disbelief in her voice. I agreed. This small blonde didn't seem likely to have found one of the most hidden organizations in this world.
"Unfortunately, my father is a colleague of Lissa's and works in the same building. It's not too hard to follow him to work if I'm being sneaky." Brigid paused, then continued. "Here's the address." She handed me a piece of paper and then a map before continuing her speech. "It's going to be behind there, in the alley. There's a metal door behind a large slab of wood that is concealing it." I couldn't help but feel like a spy being debriefed.
"That's all I can help you with." She concluded, before walking away. Suddenly she paused, and turned back. "Look at the back of the paper if you ever want to look for something better." She winked, then turned again. Sure enough, on the back of the paper were some digits, no doubt her phone number, scrawled in small, girly writing.
Nudge sighed dramatically, "Do girls have to flirt with you everywhere you go? I mean you'd think they'd get the memo that you're hopelessly in lo-" She stopped talking when I began to glare at her.
I looked at the address in my hand, then at Nudge, then at the paper again and announced the one coherent thought in my mind to her.
"This is so a trap."
She nodded. "Definitely." Then she grinned at me. "So, when are we going to check it out?"
"This is a bad idea." Nudge told me nervously, as we got closer and closer to our destination. The streets were slowly getting darker and more run down as we passed by them. The buildings became more crippled, the streets had more cracks, and Nudge's breathing became shallower.
"We have to at least check it out. Your idea, remember?"
She shrugged and bit her lip. She wanted to go as much as I did, I knew. But I also knew that going through abandoned streets like these was taking more of a toll on her mind set than it was on mine.
After what seemed like eons, we arrived at our destination. What surprised me most was that it looked like all the others. Crumbly, collapsible, and not unique anyway. A probably once-prosperous business building that had endured years of abuse from teenagers with spray paint and inner frustrations. Maybe I had anticipated a sleek structure in between all these dying buildings, but that's not what I got.
"Come on." Nudge nudged me. "We have to go into the alley." Her voice quaked almost inaudibly. But I could hear it. It might've been advanced avian hearing, but I like to think it was a family bond.
"Look at me, Nudge." I told her, not at all prepared to give a monologue, let alone a convincing speech. So I didn't. "We're going to go into that alley and look for that door, even if it's a trap. And if it isn't, we're going to stick to the game plan and save our friends. Got it?" She nodded and tilted her head up, for once not bothering to add words to her gesture.
The alley was dark and quiet, as one would assume. Suddenly, I felt the pressure of a hand on my shoulder. As a reflex, I raised my fists and whipped around. The person flinched and shrunk away from me.
The person turned out to be small boy, only seven or eight. His hair was shaggy and long, as though not washed nor combed in months. His eyes had bags that had bags themselves. I knew that look too well. I had been that look before.
"Don't go in there." The boy warned both Nudge and I. "They do bad things in there. They turned my sister into a monster. They want to make me a monster too. They want to make anyone who goes in there a monster." A tear slipped out of his eye and he shuddered. He stumbled a bit before taking off in a sprint.
Silently, I cursed my luck. I had no chance to talk to him, to ask how he had gotten away. There was no chance to see if he could help me. And in the back of my mind, I wished that that could've been me. It could've been me escaping as an eight year-old and living the rest of my life normally. I pushed that thought away quickly. I never would've left little Nudge, who relied on me like no one else. I wasn't the coward that Dylan was.
Sure enough, the slab of wood was in the alley. Not on the door, though, it seemed to have been pushed away, most likely by the boy. I gulped, hopefully quiet enough that Nudge couldn't hear my nerves. The metal door was daunting, and the mere presence of it sent shivers down my spine along with memories of my 'School' days.
But I can do this. I know it. I am brave. I have my sister, and I'll get my friends. This will all work out, I just know it.
I nodded at Nudge and she reached out for the large door handle.
And that was when the sirens started going off.
So that's it, folks!
On an unrelated note to the story, I would like to know something about all you readers. What is your favorite song? As in number one, no multiple choices or answers. And yes, this is half to see how many of you read my A/Ns, and half because I need some new songs to listen to. ;P
Last Chapter's Song: Love Song by Sara Bareilles
This Chapter's Song:
She captures her reflection as she throws the mirror to the floor
Her image is distorted, screaming, "Is it worth it anymore?" (No…)
Are you scared of things that they might to put you through?
Does it make you wanna hide the inner you?
~Cake.
