I'm so excited! We're almost at chapter thirty! From then on, that's where all the good stuff happens! I'm super looking forward to it! In the meantime, enjoy chapter Twenty-Nine.


Chapter Twenty-Nine

Fang

Max's call reminded me for the first time in months of my blog. I hadn't thought about it at all since I'd gotten back. I'd been too busy watching to see if I'd knocked Max up. Which, evidently, I had. And now, without Max around and only Angel and Gazzy to worry about, I finally had time to check on it.

I opened my laptop and watched it gleefully whir to life. I opened up my inbox as soon as it finished booting up. A little message popped up on my screen.

Hello, Fang!

You have 2,734 new messages!

I needed to check this thing way more often.

I opened the first one and skimmed across it, then skipped to the next. Then the next. They were all essentially identical. All thanks for inspiring them to do something about Global Warming and human rights and all the things they were fighting for. I still couldn't figure out why they'd chosen to burn down Itex. Of all the possible ways to make a statement, why that?

"Fang, I'm done a bunch of the stuff Max left," Angel said from the doorway to Max's old room. "Gazzy is done, too. Can we go for a fly?"

I considered it for a second. Was it a good idea to fly in the late night in the middle of nowhere?

Yes, yes it was.

"Sure, I don't see why that would be a bad idea," I decided. Angel beamed at me. She hadn't looks so happy around me since I got back. Maybe they were finally starting to accept me again.

Gazzy was quick to jump to the idea of going for a fly. We all leapt off the porch and into the dark sky, letting it take control of us. I'd missed that feeling so much in the three years I'd been with Allison. It was hard to find opportunities to fly in urban Roanoke. So, obviously, I was a little uncoordinated at first. But once I got used to the feeling again, it was smooth sailing the rest of the evening.

As much as I was enjoying myself, I still kept a close eye on the sky, the ground, and Gaz and Angel. If I lost sight of them, even for a second, Max would kill me.

If she found out.

It was hard to remember she was a couple hours away in Arizona and not watching my every move, ready to bust me at the slightest provocation. I watched Angel and Gazzy swoop down near the ground, and just before crashing, shoot straight back up again. I remembered back when we were younger and that was the biggest thrill of our lives. The feeling of the adrenaline rushing through your veins, the ecstasy of taunting death—or at least serious injury. It was all just so…exciting. Nothing in the world could replace it. I risked one swoop, just for the fun of it.

I let the air rush across my face, the blood speed through my body. Just before face-planting on the ground, I switched directions and flew back upward.

"Nice one, Fang," Gazzy shouted, giving me a thumbs up. "Man, I'd forgotten how much more fun you are than Max. She doesn't do cool stuff like that."

"Max is a better teacher and leader than I am," I reminded him. Way better, I added to myself. I couldn't take care of five flock members 24/7 to save my life.

Well, maybe to save my life….

"Yeah, I guess so," Gazzy said thoughtfully. Angel flew up beside us and grinned.

"I guess you could say that we need both of you!" she said, giggling like a seven-year-old, though she was ten now.

"Yeah, maybe," I said absently. I was too busy thinking about all the reasons Max was way too good for me. She was smart, for one. Way smarter than I was. She was a great flock leader, something I could never live up to. She was an even better flock mom than leader. She was all-together amazing, and I was scum.

I smiled to myself. I guess that just meant I had some things to work on.