Disclaimer: It's called a disclaimer for a reason. I dis the claim that I own Maximum Ride.
The day passed quickly with nothing happening other than the usual thing. So, naturally, I had to separate Nudge and Gazzy, not once, but three times – then I had to make sure Total didn't bother anything. God, I have got to get us our own place soon.
This afternoon, I had tried to get some time alone on the roof to think. On my list of things to think about were: 1) the Flock – we'd been safe for a while, but how long will it last? 2) Family – looking back on all this has told me one thing: All the previous information we had could have been wrong. Which means there might still be a family out there for four of my flock members. 3)What this might mean for all of us. 4) Home – as great as staying at moms has been, I just think we could really use our own place.
More on all that later.
Mom got home an hour ago and we were giving everybody some time to get ready to read. In other words giving mom some time to eat dinner and actually breathe before it was time to read.
As we settled ourselves around the living room Ella picked up the book and started to read.
Chapter 79 She read.
"You know what I like about New York?" the Gasman said, noisily chewing his kosher hot dog. "It's full of New Yorkers who are freakier than we are." We laughed at the trueness – truthfulness? - of that statement.
"So we blend?" Iggy asked.
I glanced over at him. He was licking an ice-cream cone that was like a mini him: "What are you trying to say?" Iggy asked sternly, but then his face softened into a smile. "Awe, you think I'm sweet."
I hit him upside the head. Ella laughed reading the next line. tall, thin, and vanilla. Mom laughed too.
He was already just over six feet tall – not bad for a fourteen-year-old. With his height, his pale skin, and his light reddish-blond hair, I'd always felt he was the most visible of all of us. But here on this broad avenue, we were surrounded by gorgeous supermodels, punk rockers, Goths, and leather-ites, suits, students, people from every other country – and, well, yeah, six kids with bulky windbreakers, ratty clothes, and questionable hygiene didn't really stick out.
"More or less," I said. "Of course, that won't help with the Erasers." Automatically, I did a perimeter sweep, a 360 around us to pick up signs of trouble.
"Oh, please don't tell me you meet someone so soon after the incident before the zoo?" Mom said throwing her head in her hands. I smiled and she groaned.
"Don't worry, Dr. M," Fang said. "If I remember right, then we didn't run into them again for a couple days." She sighed.
"That's the least I can hope for with you, isn't it?" I nodded in time with Fang.
"Speaking of which," Fang said, "we seem to be dealing with version 6.0."
"I was thinking the same thing," I said. "This year's crop looks more human. And there are females. Which is a bummer." "Why's that a bummer?" Ella asked.
"It increases our chances of running into one," I said and she nodded slowly, trying to work it out in her head.
Even as I said the words, I was examining every face we passed, looking for a hint of feral sleekness, a cruel light in the eyes, a hard slash of a mouth.
"Yeah. We all know how bloodthirsty females are. Dirty fighting and so on," Fang said. Iggy laughed and high-fived Fang. I rolled my eyes.
I rolled my eyes. What a comedian.
"Can I have a burrito?" Nudge asked as we approached yet another street vendor. She faced me, bouncing backward down the sidewalk. "What's a nish? I can have a burrito, right?"
"Ka-nish," I corrected her. "It's like a square of mashed potatoes, fried." I was scanning every building – for what, I didn't know. A big sign that said The Institute?
"What's sauerkraut?" Angel asked. "Ew, never get that stuff," Ella said with a shudder and mom laughed. I'm sensing there was a story here. I raised an eyebrow at my sister and she looked at my mom. Meanwhile, mom tried to get over her sudden fit of the giggles. ***
"You don't want it," I said. "Trust me."
We each got a burrito, hot and wrapped in foil.
"I like being able to just buy food as we walk along," Nudge said happily. "Is there anything in New York that you didn't like?" Gazzy asked. Nudge thought for a second.
"Well, the sewers weren't that great," she said. "The people down there were interesting and creepy. I didn't like the … well, actually I liked that, too."
"If you walk a couple blocks, there's someone selling food. And delis. I love delis! They're everywhere! Everywhere you go, there's everything you need: food, delis, banks, subway stops, buses, cool stores, fruit stands right on the street. This is the best place, I'm telling you. Maybe we should always live here."
"It would certainly be convenient for the Erasers," I said. "They wouldn't have to track us down in the middle of nowhere." "Way to burst my bubble, Max," Nudge said, crossing her arms. The smile on her face told me she was joking.
"Well, someone had to do it," I muttered playfully, "It was getting to big." I popped an imaginary bubble around her and she started gasping for air. Angel quickly joined in by blowing a huge bubble that steadily covered Nudge. Nudge completely calmed down, thanked Angel then asked Ella to continue on with the book.
"I'm not even going to bother to ask," mom muttered to herself.
"Wise choice," Fang said, "I've lived with them my entire life and still don't know what the heck their doing."
Nudge frowned, and Angel took my hand.
"But you're right, Nudge," I said, sorry for raining on her parade. "I know what you mean." But it was costing money, and we were running out. And we had a mission.
Suddenly I stopped dead, as if I'd been poleaxed.
"What's wrong now?" Mom asked worriedly.
Fang examined my face. "That pain?" he asked quietly, glancing around as if planning where to take me if I suddenly crumpled.
I shook my head and inhaled deeply. "Cookies!" Mom, along with everyone else burst out laughing. I crossed my arms with a 'hmph' while they carried on.
He looked at me blankly.
I spun in a circle to see where the aroma was coming from. Duh. Right in front of us was a small red storefront. Mrs. Fields. Ella's mouth dropped, "You had a Mrs. Fields cookie?" I smiled.
"Yeah, but it wasn't that great. I've had better." I beamed at mom.
The scent of cookies right out of the oven wafted out onto the street. It smelled like Ella's house, like safety, like home.
"I must have cookies," I announced, and went into the store, Angel trotting by my side.
They were fabulous.
But not as good as homemade. I don't think Moms smile could've gotten any bigger if I gave her the moon. She took the book from Ella and read eagerly.
Chapter 80
"So what's your big plan for finding the Institute?" Iggy asked.
"I'm tired of walking," Nudge said. "Can we just sit for a minute?" Without waiting for an answer she sank onto some broad stone steps in front of a building. She rested her head in her hands and closed her eyes.
"Uh . . ." Just walk around until we see it didn't seem like a good response. "No, not really," Fang said. But Iggy had hit the nail on the head: I didn't know how to find the Institute. I didn't know what it looked like or even, really, if it was in New York City.
The Gasman and Angel sat down next to Nudge. I was struck again by what incredibly cute kids they are "Awe, thanks, Max." The three of them said in unison, cracking me up. - for mutants. Their sweet faces glared at me. "Gee, thanks." They said again, this time laying on the sarcasm.
"How about a phone book?" Fang suggested. "Every once in a while I see one."
"Yeah, that's a possibility," I said, frustrated by not coming up with something better. We needed an information system of some kind – Like a computer we could hack into. A large marble lion caught my eye; this building had two of them. Very fancy-schmancy.
I blinked and saw four lions, like images superimposed on one another. They flickered in from of my eyes, and I shook my head a bit. I blinked again, and everything was normal. "That was..." Mom said.
"Strange?"
"Weird?"
"Cool?"
"I don't even get to see one of everything. And you get to see two?" Iggy humphed.
A chill went down my spine; that was not a pleasant feeling when that image was superimposed.
A heavy weight settled on my chest – my brain was malfunctioning again.
"So what are we going to do?" I ggy asked.
Yeah, leader, lead.
Stalling for time, worried that my head might explode at any moment, I looked up at the building in front of us. "And lo and behold," Ella said, "the Magnificent Max find the perfect place to rest and research! Just like that!" Iggy and the others chuckled. I nodded.
"That seems about right," I told her.
It was called the New York Public Library of Humanities and Social Sciences. Hello. A library.
I jerked my head at he building. "We're going to start in here," I said briskly, and clapped twice to get the younger set on its feet. "I figure they've got computers, databases . . ." I let my voice trail of and started purposefully up the steps Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel followed me.
"How does she do that?" I heard Fang as Iggy.
"I'm just awesome like that," I said holding my head high. Only to have it bonked down again by Fang. He kissed the spot he hit.
"She can't help it," Mom said simply. "It runs in the family." Ella and I laughed as I took the book from Mom.
Chapter 81 I read.
Inside, the library was awesome. None of us had "Let me guess," Ella said.
"I'd feel better if I just read the rest of the sentence." I told her and she pouted.
None of us had ever been inside one, and we were staring like the out-of-town yokels we were.
"May I help you?" A young guy was standing behind a polished wooden counter. He looked faintly disapproving, but not like he wanted to rip our lungs out, "So," mom said a smirk on her face, "not an Eraser then?" So I figured he wasn't an Eraser.
"Yes." I stepped forward, looking as serious and professional as a fourteen-year-old mutant who had never been in a library can look. "I was hoping to find information about a certain institute that I think is in New York." I smiled at him, putting real warmth into it, and he blinked. "Unfortunately, I don't know the whole name or where in New York it is. Is there a computer I could use to search? Or some sort of database?"
"Poor guy," Iggy said as Ella giggled.
I looked at them both.
"You've charmed him."
"I didn't do a think, actually," I told them. Iggy thought for a second then turned to look unseeingly at Angel. "It was all Angel of course."
He glanced over all of us. Angel stepped up next to me and put her hand in mine. She smiled sweetly at the guy, looking, well, angelic.
"Fourth floor," the guy said after a pause. "There are computers in a room off the main reading room. They're free, but you have to sign in."
"Thank you so much," I said, smiling again. Then we hustled to the elevators.
The Gasman punched number four.
"Well, aren't you the charmer?" Fang muttered, not looking at me. "Someone's jealous," I muttered. And he shrugged.
"What?" I asked, startled, but he didn't say anything. We rode upward, hating being in a small enclosed space. Sweat was breaking out on my brow by the time the doors slid open on the fourth floor, and we leaped out as if the elevator had been pressurized.
"Awesome mental image, Max," Fang and Gazzy muttered, rubbing their heads with their hands.
I shrugged, "I do what I can."
We immediately found a bank of computers with instructions on how to surf the Net. All we had to do was sign in at the desk. I signed "Ella Martinez" Ella looked taken back and shocked yet still pleased that I chose her name. With a flourish, and the clerk smiled at me.
That was the last cheerful thing that happened for the next hour and a half. Fang and I searched in every way we could think of and found a million institutes of one kind of another, in Manhattan and throughout New York state, but none of them seemed promising. My favorite? The Institute for Realizing Your Pet's Inner Potential. Everyone burst out laughing. There was no in the room except for the eight of us doubling over in laughter. It took us a while before anyone could speak. I started reading through my giggles.
Anyone who can explain that to me, drop a line.
Angel was lying under the desk at our feet, murmuring quietly to herself. Nudge and the Gasman were playing hangman on a piece of scrap paper. Violence occasionally broke out, since neither of them could spell their way out of a paper bag.
Iggy was sitting motionless in a chair, and I knew he was listening to every whisper, every scraped chair, every rustle of fabric in the room, creating an invisible map of what was happening all around him. "So were there any interesting conversations going on?" Ella asked curiously. Angel looked at Iggy with interested eyes.
"Well there was this one guy reading a book to himself but he was reading it in a falsetto. Then when the character changed, so did his voice. I think he was the most entertaining. But there was also this girl murmuring to herself about which book she should get and battling with herself over the possibilities of each." Everyone was laughing again.
I typed in another search command, then watched in dismay as the computer screen blurred and crashed. A string of orange words, fail, fail, fail, scrolled across the screen before it finally went black and winked out.
"It's almost closing time, anyway," Fang said.
"Can we sleep here?" Iggy said softly. "It's so quiet. I like it in here."
"Uh, I don't think so," I said, looking around. I hadn't realized that most people had left – we were the only ones in the room. Except for a guard, in uniform, who had just spotted us. She started walking toward us, and something about her, her tightly controlled pace, made my inner alarms go off.
"Let's split," I muttered, pulling Iggy out of his chair.
We skittered out of there, found the stairs, and raced down as fast as we could. I was expecting Erasers at any moment. But we burst out into the dim late-afternoon light and ran down the stone steps without anyone following us. "That's good." Mom said, letting out a deep breath as Fang took the book from me.
AN: Hey guys! So what'd ya think?
I really appreciate all the reviews I've gotten! It makes me smile when my Inbox shows a few reviews so leave a few and I'll be ready to update on time again! ^_^ Who knows? I may be able to update earlier in the day next time. ^_^
So I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I enjoyed writing it.
Oh yeah, the *** in the story: Challenge! Who's up for one? Come up with a oneshot based off this one experience. Just a bit of Martinez fun. :) Let me know in your review if you want to. (:
Until next time!
~Jezi Raewin