Yet again, we flew. We didn't fly very long. Just until we could find somewhere to land. And then we landed. And all was silent.
It was the kind of silence that was totally deafening, ear-shattering. The kind where you want to say something, but you can't, and anyway, you're almost certain no one would be able to hear you over the silence.
Finally the Gasman spoke up. "We've got to do something." He tried weakly to sound strong, determined, but the most obvious emotion in his voice was hopelessness. Because our situation was utterly and completely hopeless. We were nothing without the rest of the flock. Sure, we could blow up a couple of Erasers, we could crash their Hummer, but what could we do against a group of hundreds of scientists who wanted nothing more than to capture us and mess with us like we were their expensive toys?
But despite it all, I knew that in this utterly and completely hopeless situation, I had to have hope. For Gazzy. For Angel. For Max, Fang, and Nudge. And for myself, too.
"We could --" the Gasman began, but he didn't finish. He had begun to sob.
I don't do the whole gentle and comforting thing. But I tried my best. I awkwardly pulled the Gasman into my lap and put my arms around him. He threw his arms around my neck and sobbed into my shoulder. I let him, trying not to cry myself.
A few minutes later, once his sobs died down into sniffles, I said, "We're not giving up. We're the invincible Gasman and Iggy, remember? We'll think of something."
He nodded into my shoulder. "But what can we do?" he asked.
I thought for a moment. "Well, we definitely can't take them on our own. So we need to find somebody who can help us. Someone willing and able to help two flying kids rescue their four friends from an evil science lab. Someone who wouldn't be totally freaked out by that.
We thought in silence for a few minutes. Who wouldn't be freaked out by that? I couldn't think of one person who we could trust, and was able to help us.
Unless it wasn't a person. The Gasman and I straightened simultaneously.
"The hawks!" we cried in unison.
And so the invincible Gasman and Iggy were off. We flew in the direction that we had originally come from, before we stole the car.
Finally, after a few hours of flying, the Gasman said, "I see one! And another one! We found them!"
"Be careful, Gasser," I warned. "They're dangerous.
"Yeah," he said, to show he heard me. "So how do we get them to help us?"
I hadn't thought about that part. "Uh... Let me try first, I guess," I said. I sped forward nervously, listening carefully for the flaps of the hawks' wings so as not to run into any of them. Soon I was in the center of their group. "Okay, um... guys, dudes, birds... we, um, need your help to come rescue our friends. So, uh, follow me."
The hawks did nothing. They stayed dangerously silent, barely flapping their wings.
"Try moving your wings a certain way," the Gasman suggested.
"Okay," I said. I changed the way I was flapping my wings slightly. That seemed to get their attention. The hawks began screeching anxiously. I changed back to my regular way of flying, and they quieted down.
This time, I moved just the tips of my feathers, creating a ruffling movement down my wings.
"Ig!" the Gasman yelled. "Drop!"
The hawks had suddenly moved forward, fast. I folded my wings and dropped a few yards. They calmed down again. I flew back up.
"I don't know what to do," I admitted.
"Let me try," the Gasman said.
"Okay," I said. "But be careful."
There was a moment's silence. Then the hawks started screeching again, not angrily this time, but in greeting. I was surprised. "What did you do?"
"I was watching the way they moved their feathers, and I figured out how to say that we meant no harm."
"Cool. But we still don't know how to get them to come with us."
"I think we should stay for a while and watch them. I mean, I'll watch them, and you'll... well, we'll figure out how to communicate with them," he finished sheepishly. I sighed. Once again, he would get to have all the fun. I nodded, and we started flying around with them. It was quite peaceful, actually. I enjoyed just flying with these beautiful creatures.
I tried my best to listen to the way the hawks flapped their wings. Maybe I could learn something important. I did learn a few things – like how, when they wanted to get each other's attention, they flapped faster. This usually happened when one of them had spotted food.
After a few hours of flying, the Gasman flew back to meet me.
"I think I've got it," the Gasman said. He explained to me what he'd found out and taught me how he thought was the way to communicate, "Follow me, I need your help."
"Cool," I said. "Wanna try?"
"I think you should do it, since you're older, and you're in charge."
"Okay." I flew back into the center of their group, and did what the Gasman had taught me. The hawks began screeching again, and the ones that weren't in flight already began flapping their wings. They knew I wanted them to follow. I flew forward a bit, and they flew after me. Smiling triumphantly, I continued forward, the Gasman at my side, and turned in the direction of the School.
Fang would be so jealous.
