Notes: Yay, another chapter! Thanks for ALL the reviews, guys. That was totally not sarcasm for everybody who didn't know that.
Chapter 37: Decisions
Max's POV
In case you don't remember, I was standing there, talking to Daniel DelRossi. I didn't know if I could trust him or not. I decided that I might be able to, if I was careful.
"Daniel, do you have food back at that research facility of yours?" I asked putting my hands on my hips and slowly advancing on the man. He nodded and gulped.
"Can you help me out?" I asked.
"Only if you help me out, too." So Daniel did have more balls than I thought. I nodded.
"Fair enough. What do you want to know?" I asked stopping where I was.
"First of all, were those really…wings that I saw?" He began. Do I tell him? This was the moment of truth, I guess. Another snap decision. I nodded, very, very slowly. A look of bewilderment, shock, and maybe some horror over came his generally alright features. (Don't let Fang see this.)
"C-ca-can I s-see them?" He asked, his look was slowly draining from his face. I shook my head.
"Nope, sorry, nobody but people in my flock sees my wings." Oops, since when did I have an unbelievably big and Nudgian mouth? Another shocked look came over his face.
"There are more of you?" Well, he'd be dead soon anyway, why can't he enjoy he's last dwindling time on Earth. I didn't nod, yet.
"Wait here, okay? I'll be back in a few minutes." He nodded and I turned around. Big step here, so pay attention. I snapped out my wings and flew to the cave entrance. Iggy heard my wings beats and had a warm can of spagettios waiting for me. I thanked him and gulped it down.
"Guys, keep your voices down, but I have to talk to you all." I said commanding my flock to sit around the fire.
"Okay, the man down there, his name's Daniel DelRossi. He says he wants to help me, but I have to tell him how many of us there are. Angel, what can you get from him?" I asked turning to my baby. She took on a look of concentration, as if Daniel was too far away to read easily.
"He's a good guy, Max. He's thinking that he'll keep you a secret. He thinks there could be more of us, but would keep us a secret, too. He really wants to help. And he thinks that you're, like, 18 and hot." She had to add the last bit. I saw Fang glance darkly at the cave entrance but ignored it.
"Do you guys mind if I tell him about all of us. He says he has food, he could help us out, a lot." I said. All around the dying fire, the flock looked at each other nervously. Then, one by one, they nodded, Fang was the last to nod, of course.
"Okay, then on my signal, come out, got it?" I told my family. They nodded and I stood up. Jumping off the ledge, I saw that Daniel hadn't moved, almost at all. I landed gently in front and he looked pleased. Was it what Angel said, or that I actually came back.
"There are…others…like me." I began slowly, hesitating after each word. He was totally astonished. I waved behind my back and heard the whoosh of wings. Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel poured out of the entrance. They were followed closely by Charity, Rayne, and Abbey. Charity was carrying Mia and Nudge had a wriggling Total in her arms.
"This is my flock. We aren't related by blood. Well, some of us are," I corrected myself, "Me, Charity, and Rayne are half-siblings. Gazzy and Angel are siblings, too," I said pointing out each flock member, "I'm Max, by the way. This is Fang, my boyfriend. Iggy is the 3rd oldest, he's blind so don't get offended if he doesn't look at you. That's Nudge, she has a talking problem. Abbey is one of the newest members of the flock. She came with Charity and Rayne. Then there's Total and Mia, our, uhh, talking pets." I finished. Daniel shook each of our hands. Fang, being the new Mr. Emotional, slipped his hand into mine after he shook the 25 year old's hand.
"So, can you help us?" I asked anxious to get out from under his scrutinizing glare. He nodded.
"Yes, of course. But, I want to know more about you." Daniel said, no demanded, after staring at us all.
"I get it. How about you get us food, blankets, you know, stuff you need to survive. I'll write everything you'd ever want to know about us down. Bring it by in a few days and I'll start writing tonight." I suggested.
"Wow, this is unbelievable. Thanks, I'll get you anything I possibly can and bring it in maybe 2 days?" I nodded.
"Okay, guys, back to the cave. Daniel, for all your help, watch us, it's pretty cool." I told him as the younger ones took off. His eyes never left our unfurling wings. As we landed on the ledge, I looked out and saw that Daniel was walking back across the desolate ice.
"Max. Are you really going to tell him about us? What if he doesn't keep his promises? What if he tells somebody about us? What if he doesn't bring us the stuff we need to survive? Or what if he sells the information you give him?" Nudge the rambler, well, rambled. I shook my head.
"Nudge, I think we can trust this guy. I'm going to tell him everything, well, most of it anyway. Ho doesn't want me telling him about their powers? Raise your hands." I felt like a teacher. Nobody raised their hands so I picked up some paper and began writng.
Many hours later, I found Fang reading silently over my shoulder.
"Do you mind?" I asked looking up at him. He shook his head.
"Nope, but you forgot to tell him what color shirt you were wearing that day." He said, pointing to what I had written.
"Is that how you tell me that I'm putting in too much detail?" Fang nodded.
"I just want him to know about us so that if somebody gets sick or something, he can help." I said. I was always thinking about my flock. What if somebody's wings locked or something? He needed to know this stuff.
"Okay, well, it's getting late. I'll sit out here and take 1st watch." Fang said sitting down across the hot fire. I sat scribbling in the notebook I always kept handy. It was already almost full. By morning, my notebook was full and I set it aside. I wrote big, though, so it was probably only a quarter of what it looked like.
The end of that chapter. I'll update again soon. One of the chapters will be all the information in Max's notebook. It'll probably be the last chapter and the longest.