Chapter 36
Max POV
Life sucks sometimes. Like in the 'I didn't get to eat my pancakes, my clone is trying to kill me, and someone has captured the majority of people I am related to' kind of way. Although, I have a feeling, once I take care of the other two, I'll still be pretty pissed about the pancakes- they were chocolate chip. Yeah.
"Up and away!" I commanded, thrusting my clone forward with a shove to her chest. Iggy led Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel through a maze of tables, swiftly avoiding the awestruck bystanders.
Under normal circumstances, we'd try to keep the hysteria to a low, but, they had already found us, so what the Hell? "Fang, I can handle her," I grinned, watching cautiously as she gathered a handful of dull silverware. He nodded, eyes scanning the room meticulously. Turning abruptly, he dove on a crème-colored tray and tossed it to me like a Frisbee. My hand shot out, retrieving the disk thankfully.
A fork whizzed past me, digging into the drywall. More alert, my eyes flicked to hers, narrowing in concentration. Fighting someone else is easy, but, fighting yourself is a completely different story. I knew her weaknesses, but, she knew mine as well.
She launched three knives into the air, and within seconds, I deflected them with the tray. Her hands, now empty, balled into fists, swinging at her sides as she sprinted toward me. I dropped the disk, fist connecting with her jaw in the split second she hesitated to attack. Stumbling backwards, Max Two groaned, gingerly caressing her jowl. "You are a natural," she spat, rolling her shoulders. I raised an eyebrow, crossing my arms. "But, I follow directions," she continued, unfurling her magnificent wings. My wings. "So, I will always prevail."
Someone gasped, and I nervously glanced over at her. She was a lanky woman with pale skin, sandy hair tied in a loose bun. Dark, plum smudges rested under her nearly colorless eyes. It wasn't until then that I noticed the meek, fragile newborn in her arms. The baby emitted a shrill cry as something very hard slammed into my temple, knocking me off my feet. Straining to remain conscious, I clawed at the tile, fingers finding a cloth napkin. Max II's boot constrained my neck; the same, solid object that had caused my head to throb so violently. Her face was blurry, and yet her voice rang so clearly in my mind. "It's my time now."
Fang POV
"Fang," Max spoke, chocolate-brown eyes flicking back and forth between mine and her clone's. "I can handle her." To any normal human, the two would appear exactly alike, but I knew the real Max. The confidence in her stance, the gentle tug of a grin on her soft lips.
I nodded silently, foot flattening on a tray as my eyes swept the room. I spun around, tossing the disk to Max, grinning as she caught it successfully. I noticed, from the corner of my eye, two men dressed in dark suits. They seemed aware, but calm and curious.
One of the men casually glanced over, and, instinctively, I darted into a nearby booth, listening very closely. "want the girl alive," one whispered to the other. I didn't need to hear the missing half of the sentence, because it was implied. The rest of us were nearly obstacles, useless game pieces in this sick war.
My focus was divided by both the men, and Max. Patiently, I counted to twenty in my head, waiting for the right moment. The men rose almost silently and I shot my leg out before one, tripping him. The other staggered back, momentarily disabled. Oomph!
My fist connected with his abdomen, knocking him back. He sucked in air greedily. I grinned, secretly wishing for more of a challenge. "Breakfast is served," I declared, knocking their half-eaten breakfast (pancakes and scrambled eggs) onto their crumpled bodies. Only part of me considered eating the remnants of their meal as my stomach growled.
"Come at me, bro!" Iggy shouted as I bound out the old, wooden door. I rolled my eyes, slapping him, just for the Hell of it. "Hey!" he whined, gently rubbing the faint line of my palm on his cheek.
I smirked, turning to Gazzy, Angel and Nudge. "Max's clone was our waitress," I breathed, swallowing. Nudge's gaze shot to mine, narrowing in concentration.
"Did she have any back up?" Nudge questioned.
I nodded. "Yeah, two. I took care of them."
Angel closed her eyes, blonde ringlets falling into her face as she tilted it down slightly. "There are three more," she murmured, rubbing her temple. "I can hear their thoughts coming from the kitchen," she explained, blinking.
"Well, let's get to work," I cleared my throat, snapping the leg off of a stool from the bar that had somehow made its way outside. "Angel, Iggy, go help the people out," I instructed, wielding the stick. "Tell them to leave, and, convince them they saw nothing."
We split up, sneaking inside the kitchen door. I ambled forward first, holding the stool leg out, ready to attack. Gazzy followed closely behind me, with Nudge not far behind him. "You know, I'm not sure I want to be down wind of the Gasman," Nudge joked, reacting quickly as a man, dressed in a dark suit similar to the first two, lunged at her with a frying pan. She kicked upward, knocking the pan from his grasp, catching it lithely. Movement to my left caused me to pivot towards the sound, and I swung the stool leg forward with momentum. A satisfying crack came with the hit, and as I pushed my raven hair from my face, I saw that this man, too, looked equally similar to the first. It was not until then that I noticed Gazzy climbing a steel shelf. His grin deepened as the sack of flour he had just shoved finally teetered over the edge, landing in an explosion of white powder on top of my attacker. Undeniably proud, I high-fived him, waving the powder from my face.
"Where's the third one?" Gazzy asked, as the three of us formed into a strategic huddle. Nudge was looking pretty pleased with herself, twirling around the frying pan, which now had a smudge of blood on it. I scanned the petite kitchen, as finally, the dust settled. The third man emerged from the back, with a sharp, lengthy knife in his hand. I swallowed, pushing the two of them behind me protectively. At least I had one comforting thought; no one will be able to tell if I pee my pants in these dark jeans..right?
Max POV
I choked, writhing under my clone's grasp. I was waiting , bodying burning with anticipation. All she had to do was lean forward ever so slightly… "Aha," I grinned, yanking the napkin out from under her boot. She lost her footing and collapsed forward, giving me enough time to stand. Weakly, she held herself up, with the help of the diner table. I unfurled my wings as she faced me- we looked uncannily similar. "You may be my clone," I hissed, glaring at her. "But, you will never replace me." With that, I drove my fist into her chest hard, and her eyes fluttered closed.
We had roughly ten hours to fly to Niagara Falls, by order of the mysterious text message. Luckily, while the scientists were manipulating our DNA, they decided to throw in directional skills, so we knew the basic route to Ontario. "Hey Max, look!" Nudge exclaimed, holding up a bloody frying pan. Excuse my language, but, what the fuck? "It really makes an awesome weapon, and it also doubles as a cooking utensil," she nodded enthusiastically, admiring her reflection in the flat edge of the pan. I inhaled deeply, rolling my eyes.
Our pace increased, and we flew for a solid five hours before we began to show any exhaustion. By my calculations, we were more than three fourths of the way there. "Can we stop for lunch?" Iggy begged, swooping down beside me. His wings were majestic and pallid, inching towards mine. My stomach growled, and I shrugged, nose-diving. I tucked in my wings and relished the queasy feeling that overtook me as I began to descend.
We landed silently in an empty parking lot in Guelph, Ontario. Fang crouched down and unzipped his backpack, pulling out our parkas. He rolled his shoulders, tucking himself into his black, leather jacket as the others went to retrieve theirs. Fang gently tugged my parka onto my arms, accidentally brushing the delicate feathers at the base of my wings. I shuddered, craning my neck towards him. His lips brushed my ear, and he wrapped his strong arms around my waist, whispering, "I love you."
"I love you too." A faint blush crept to my cheeks, warming my chest and abdomen.
"Awe, they're kissing!" Angel squealed, pointing us out to Nudge. Reluctantly pulling away from Fang's lips, I stuck my tongue out at them.
Iggy rolled his sightless eyes somewhat bitterly. "You can give Fang head later, can we go get some grub?"
My eyes widened in shock, blush deepening. "Max, what's head?" Angel pondered innocently. I choked, glaring at Iggy, grinding my teeth. Prick!
"Max, what's a prick?" -_-
What do McDonald employees do when six kids, two of which are covered in flour, and one who is wielding a frying pan, walk into their store? Absolutely nothing. In fact, the cashier was too busy texting to even raise an eyebrow at our colossal order.
Twenty minutes later, we were down thirty-three bucks, but, wealthy in sacks of delicious grease. "Gaz, what time is it?" I questioned, tucking a large bag under each of my arms.
"Two O' Five," he replied, stuffing a handful of fries in his mouth. I nodded, making sure we were out of sight. I unfurled my wings, and we took off.
Just South of us, there was a wilderness tucked in the chillier section of Ontario. We located the driest cave, spread out our feast, and dug in. After two cheeseburgers and a large drink, I surveyed the mouth of the cave. It was windy, and the scent of our lunch lingered out into the afternoon air. "Hey," Fang grinned, leaning against the cave wall beside me.
"Hello," I smiled, tucking my wings in. I had stripped of the parka inside the cave, and was stretching my wings when he joined me. As a gust of wind dancing along my bare arms, I bit my lip, shivering. Fang thoughtfully tugged his jacket open, pulling me into his chest. I breathed in his scent, moaning lightly, blushing.
He chuckled, kissing the top of my head. "How about that blow job?" he joked, exposing his teeth in a seductive grin, stroking my hair. I raised my eyebrow, shrugging, putting on a show.
"Sure, why not," I winked, shimmying down his abdomen. Oh, naïve boy.
"Really?" he swallowed, eyes widening. I smirked rolling my eyes as I thrust him forward, barreling into his chest.
"No," I giggled as we plummeted down the edge of the cliff, in each others arms.
I could give you a million reasons why I haven't updated in forever, but, I doubt any of you really care. Lol. Instead, I'll ask you a random question. Do you listen to Nevershoutnever?