This chapter is long, but all the rest of the chapters will be. I have decided to end it at 40, so I'm trying to cram a lot into these final three chapters.
Island Time
Chapter 38
Needless to say, it was a very tense moment when Iggy, Nudge, and the Gasman sat around after getting the boat to move, but having no other job passed that. Total, who was watching from the floor, would randomly yawn lazily, as he was bored out of his mind. Akila had gone off with Valencia, leaving him lonely and without purpose. Sigh.
"So…Hope Max and Fang aren't dead," Nudge offered up as they all sat at the table, basically ignoring each other.
"Mmmhmm," Iggy agreed, his head pressed against the table, still feeling the affects of the alcohol that he might have been drinking when he went on a bathroom break an hour earlier.
"Yep," Gazzy agreed, engrossed in a graphic novel, from which he was taking notes.
Sighing, Nudge sat around for a few more minutes before trying again.
"Angel too."
"Mmmhmm."
"Yep."
"…You guys suck."
"Mmmhmm."
"Yep."
She was about to push back from her chair and go find something more productive to do when the door opened, revealing Ella. She stomped over to the table and sat down, her arms crossed to match the scowl on her face.
"What's wrong with you?" Nudge asked when it was clear that neither boy cared or maybe just didn't notice…no, it was surely the first one.
"My mother just…never mind," she sighed, glancing at her ex-boyfriend. Or maybe they were together. Even Nudge couldn't keep up with that.
Glancing over at Gazzy, Nudge attempted another approach.
"So what do you have, Gasman? You've been working on a plan forever. Let's hear it."
The boy glanced at Nudge for a moment, studying her. He was trying to make sure that she was not tricking him and going to use what he said to make fun of him. When that did not appear to be the case, he began.
"Okay, well, in all bad horror movies, we know one thing."
"Which is?"
"Easy, Nudge. There's always a cool opening scene."
"…How does that help at all?"
"Well, it helps us figure out where this all began."
"Where's that?" Ella asked, deciding to put her disagreement with her mother aside and be a part of this.
"It might be different for all of us, but I think that we can all agree that Dr. Royce finding and digging up Ari's decaying body is pretty dang cool."
"Mmmhmm," Iggy agreed, still not moving from his position on the table, his arm laid out in front of it, as if shielding it. That was good, considering the fact that Ella very so often felt the need to just beat the crap out of him. She was surely the Fang of their relationship, if one of them had to be.
Nudge shook her head. "That's too far back. I think it was when Max and Fang left to go find the first set of scientists and she got bit by the dog."
Gazzy shrugged. "Like I said, it's different for everyone."
"What's next?" Ella asked.
"Well, I think the next one is a stereotype, but should be taken very seriously for some of us in the room."
"What?" Nudge asked, frowning slightly.
"We all know who's the first one to die in a bad horror movie."
Iggy nodded, lifting his head. "Yep."
"People have already died though."
"Not from the main cast, Nudge," Gazzy said. "Which would be the flock."
"Okay, so which of us is slated to die?" She asked. Ella sighed slightly.
"Poor girl," Iggy whispered to Gasman. "Doesn't even know."
"Know what?"
"The first to die is always the black guy. Well, maybe not always first, but he will die eventually," the Gasman said slowly, as if trying to convey something to her. Nudge frowned when they all turned to look at her.
"What are you guys looking at?"
"Well…Nudge…"
"I'm not a man, Gazzy," she said, frowning.
"True, but we don't have a black guy though."
"How's that my problem?"
He just shrugged, moving on. "Anyways-"
"No, wait-"
"-we know that Max is safe," he said, to which Iggy nodded.
"Why?" Ella asked.
"Virgins never die."
Nudge almost choked. "What?"
"Yeah."
"How do you know that word?"
Iggy frowned at her. "Everyone knows that word."
"Yeah, but…why do I die then?"
The two boys sniggered.
"Why?"
"Nudge, you don't mean…I mean, come on." Iggy wagged his eyebrows, making Ella huff. "It's a double whammy for you, my dear. You're not getting out of this alive."
"I have not had sex!"
"Okay, okay, calm down," Gasman said, frowning. "You're dying anyways. Now shut up."
"What else is going to happen?" Ella asked. "Gazzy? Iggy?"
"We all know the other rule of a bad horror flick."
"What?"
"Authority are idiots," Gasman said. "Like, no offense, Ella, but Dr. Martinez."
"No, no, I agree."
"She helped cure Max and Angel," Nudge said, feeling like someone had to take up for the kind doctor. She was the only adult that had ever helped her without wanting something in return. Why the rest of the flock seemed alright with just being plain out rude to her was beyond her.
"Yeah, but that's the only thing she's done. She let Jeb out, she's helping Ari, who very well may turn out to be the next villain, given we survive this to get the sequel,-"
"I don't think you-"
"- but she isn't going to be any help from this point forth. I don't know why stupid Fang keeps arguing with her," Gasman finished. "Ooh, yes, I do."
Iggy nodded. "Good job, you figured it out."
"Figured what out?" Ella asked, clearly as clueless as Nudge. At least she wasn't alone…
"There's always a main male that's really an idiot, but thinks he runs everything. Poor Fang, don't he know that'll get him killed?" Gazzy shook his head. "Moving right along-"
"You-"
"Sex will get you killed. Always." He looked at Iggy. "I mean it."
"I know. I've been celibate for at least three days…expect maybe when I'm all alone…at night..."
"Okay, stop, you sick freak," Nudge said, frowning.
"Celibate for the hell of it, Nudge."
"I'm serious; knock it off."
"Going on," Gasman started again, frowning at the two of them. "The car never starts. Ever. Don't run to the car, don't waste your time getting your keys out, don't even think about the car. You will die if you do. End of subject."
"There is no car, Gasman."
"Oh, there is a car, Nudge. You just wait. There's always a car."
"Okay, what else should we know?" She asked, now exasperated.
"If a zombie is chasing you and you can't defend yourself or even if I'm chasing you, do not run. Fly away. Girls do not do good running in horror movies."
"What do you mean?" Ella asked. "You think we're not as fast as you?"
"No," he said slowly. "Well, in your case, yes, but in Nudge's, no."
"Then what?" Nudge asked.
"It's because girls always fall. Right at the climax."
"Oh, Gazzy, you're killing my celibate for the hell of it phase."
"Shut up, Iggy," Nudge warned again. "Keep going, Gazzy."
"Even you should know this one, Nudge. What's the one thing you never ever do, but we've already done though I warned you guys not to at the beginning of all this?"
"Uh…oh. Not to split up."
He nodded solemnly. "There's no way around that one though, I fear."
"Anymore?"
"Oh, there's plenty more, but just one that we should focus on right now."
"And what's that?"
He glanced around at all of them, taking in their faces. "Well…this one is kind of a stretch, but…there's sometimes a wise, old person that can tell you everything, but no one ever listens to them because they're big idiots."
"I thought you said authority was useless?"
"It is," Gazzy said, nodding. "This guy isn't authority. Especially not in our case."
"Okay," Ella said. "Who do you think it is?"
"Jeb."
"Which cave, Rapture?" I asked as we landed. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and staring up at Fang, even though I had asked the question.
"That one," he said, pointing to the one on the far left, as oppose to the eight that were stacked in rows of four in front of us.
"Do you know how far in he is, Rapture?" Fang asked.
"Nope," he said, shaking his head a little. We were standing on a long cliff that overlooked a part of the island that I rarely visited, but gave me a good view of the zombies below.
"Do you know if the cave splits up later on?"
"Hmm?"
"Do we need you still?"
"Always need me."
Fang sighed. "Angel, Rapture…I'm only asking because…If Max and I are walking into a trap, I'd feel much better if you stayed behind."
"No way," Angel said, frowning. "We're going with you."
"Yeah!" Rapture patted the back of Fang's leg. "Fang 'n' Rapture 'n' Max 'n' Angel! Forever."
"You throw that word around too much, buddy," Fang mumbled as I led the way into the cave. I agreed with Fang on not taking Angel and Rapture, but I had agreed back on the ship and he was so dead set again it. Now that we were here, he couldn't change his mind. I didn't want the two of them trying to get back to the ship on their own and end up as zombie food.
Rapture quickly ran to be slightly in front of me, though I made sure he was in grabbing distance in case I had to pull him back, away from whatever Royce has cooked up. All I could keep thinking about was how easy this all was becoming. Too easy. If I knew anything from flying back with Gasman, who kept talking about monster movies, easy was not one of their characteristics. Also, my life was just never easy. Straight up, it just wasn't. So I knew something was up, but just not what.
"Can you feel his mind, Angel?" Fang asked, but she just shook her head.
"I can't feel anything."
"That's fine," I told her, speaking in a hushed tone. "Rapture can get us there."
Rapture giggled, but I could tell that just annoyed Angel, who probably didn't like the role Rapture was beginning to play around here.
"If I were a dog, Max, I would poop on the ground too instead of in the holes," Rapture told me. I just stared at him.
"Thanks, Rapture," I finally managed. "We can talk more after we find Royce though, alright?"
Nodding slightly, he grabbed my hand, swinging from it a little. The look on Angel's face now was indescribable, but I knew once this was all over, Fang and I would be guilt tripped by Angel so badly it wouldn't be funny.
"Alright, now shut up, guys," Fang said. Again, not unkindly; I honestly think he thinks that shut up isn't rude. Which, okay, is understandable, but not to a four year old. Rapture just giggled, never letting go of my hand.
As the cave or tunnel or whatever the heck we were in began to get more narrow, we formed a line. I was in front, Rapture behind me, then Angel, and Fang bringing up the rear. I could tell that Fang wanted to lead, but knew I'd fight him on it. This wasn't the time for fight with each other; this was the time to be prepping to fight the evil doctor.
"Shhh," I whispered back to Rapture after a few minutes, just wanting him to continue being quiet.
I could now hear Royce, speaking with someone. I did not recognize their voice, but that didn't necessarily mean I didn't know them, just that I didn't know them well. I motioned to Fang to hide down behind a rock, which sat before an opening. I couldn't see the two people in the other room, as they were standing somewhere deeper.
I crouched behind the rock, motioning for the others to follow. As he bent down, Fang forced Rapture in front of me, Angel to his side, one arm around her, and me curved so that I was against his chest. Fang knew I would be fine, no matter what, but still always felt the need to protect me. The only one that could hurt me was him, and that was only when he saw fit. Yeah. That's my boyfriend that all those stupid fangirls that followed his blog wanted. Idiots.
"-cure. She doesn't realize that there is no cure, but I still fear, Royce. I fear for-"
"There is no reason to fear," he cut off the other person. "In fact, our two main players in this game have just arrived. Step out, Max, Fang, You are most welcome here. And ah, is that Angel to?"
"Yes," the other person agreed. "I can…feel her."
Rapture made a shocked noise before darting out. "Danny!"
"Rapture!" Fang was quickly behind him, trying to force Angel to stay back, but it was no use as someone else called out.
"Max? Fang? Help me!"
God. Danny, Royce, and Jay? How many freaking people are back here?
As Angel took off to reach Jason, I came out also. We were in a huge open area of what I know decided was a cavern, though I never went to a geography class, so I have no real idea what to call it. It wasn't decked out with equipment like I was expecting, but rather there were rows and rows hung on the rocky walls of shelves which held vials of different thing.
Jason was in a cage in the corner, rattling the bars. "Max, I just wanted to help. Everyone was so scared. I thought…I thought that I could help, that I could kill zombies too. I had heard Jamie talking about-"
"Shut up," Royce told him, separating the words harshly. Angel tried to run over to the cage, but I reached out, grabbing the back of her shirt and pulling her to me.
"Max-"
"Shhh." I just stared at what had now captured my attention, which was Rapture's brother.
He was…far more…decomposed than any of the zombies I had seen before. He wasn't green like that dark green that you think of when you see zombies in cartoons or what they paint Frankenstein to have looked like. Instead, his skin was tinted a bluish green, falling apart in places, in patches. The whole right side of his nose was gone, looking disgusting and ghoulish. He wasn't bleeding, but I'm not sure that zombies had blood. However, all of his wounds, all of the patches of skin that had fallen off, left behind what I can only describe as meaty insides that looked red and…I don't know. I couldn't look any longer and turned away.
"Danny," Rapture called again. Now that he had seen his brother though, his head was pushed into Fang's leg, not wanting to see him like that. "Max's mommy will fix you. Huh, Fang?"
He didn't even try to comfort Rapture, instead staring straight at Dr. Royce. His face was impassive, and though that was nothing new, I stared at it for a moment, trying to get my bearings. Fang was the only one that could possibly help me with that.
"So this is it, huh?" Fang finally found his voice. "These vials all contain the diseases, right? Huh?"
Royce just smiled, staring at us. "Why don't you ask Angel? She can see into my mind, correct? What are they?"
I held her tighter to me. "You don't-"
"I can't," she said, staring hard at him. "What have you done?"
"My work is only just the beginning," he said, as if this answered her question. "My work-"
"Your work? Your work? I'll tell you about your work, Royce." Fang spit on the ground, away from Rapture. "Ari told me everything. All about how you never got your fame. Let me guess? Your mommy never loved you either, huh?"
"No, Fang, I believe that was you."
My boyfriend was unfazed, instead laughing humorously. "You can't create something that's stable, can you? You never been able to. Oh, sure, you do beautiful work, but who cares if it does not sustain life?"
"You think you have it all figured out, eh? Tell me, Fang. Tell me everything."
Fang glanced at me before back at Royce. "That's why you make zombies. When they die, it doesn't matter, that's what they're supposed to do."
This was news to me, Royce killing his experiments. The only thing I had ever heard about him was what Jeb said, which was that he was a great scientist. Now that I thought about it though, Jeb was crazy. No, seriously, he has mental issues, which should be obvious after his attempt to take Fang from me, all that time ago. Why we ever listen to him, even time after time he proves to be useless, I'll never know.
That got another laugh from Royce. "Is that why, Fang? Hear that, Daniel? You are the result of a disgruntled scientist that wanted to create a success. And where, pray tell, where did you hear this information? Oh, yes, Ari. My first zombie. Ha ha. You honestly believe he is on your side? That you are joined by the common goal, which would be to destroy me? Are you that naïve?"
"I-"
"As I was telling your little girlfriend here, before Jamie interrupted. I've had a tracking device on Ari since you met him that day on the ship. A listening device long before. You really think I would have created him just to allow him to turn on me? Oh no, Ari is nothing to me, but a pawn. Just like your girlfriend."
"What are talking about?" I finally spoke up.
"How long do you think I've worked on this, Max? You think it just came to me one day, on that stupid island your stupid mother thought up? And you think that I had never heard your name before? You think I didn't know what you possessed?" Royce turned to look at Fang. "And what of you, Fang? Always in Max's shadow. Never good enough. Yet you hold the key to immortality. You know, that helped me, your samples, to rebuild Ari."
"I've heard."
Royce just laughed a little bit. "Then little Angel. So sweet, eh? Do you know why you can't get into my mind?"
"No," she whispered.
"Don't speak to her," I said, glancing at Fang. Why wasn't he doing anything? Why was he letting Royce just speak to us? Then I realized that Danny was still a threat. Fang didn't want to provoke either of them.
"If I were you, Max, I would soon learn your place."
Fang stepped forward a little bit, shaking Rapture off. "No, Royce, it's you that should learn his place."
That made him laugh also, as if Fang was somehow funny. "Oh, Fang. How could I ever live without you?"
"What are you talking about?"
Royce gestured to the rows of vials behind him. "Dylan and Max's original disease, Max's second disease, Angel's disease, Ari's, Jamie's, all those poor scientists, and many more. Tell me, Fang, would you like a slow death or a quick one?"
"Neither," he said before lunging at Royce. Danny was quick to act, grabbing Fang around the middle and wrestling him to the ground. Royce just stood by, watching with an expression that was neither amused nor interested. I moved to break them apart, but Angel held onto my hand.
"Max, he'll infect you!"
When she said this, it seemed to register with Fang that Danny was attempting to do just that to him.
"Ange, can you get into his mind? Stop him!"
"I-I can't! I'm trying!"
"Does he have a brain?" I posed the question, not knowing who could answer that.
"Yes! I can feel his thoughts, but cannot control him," Angel said, panicked. "Fang!"
If we were all scared, Rapture was going out of his mind.
"No! Danny! Fang! Stop!" He rushed over to them. At the moment, Fang had Danny pinned under him, though I could tell that wouldn't last long. I rushed to smash in his brain with the wood I had in my backpack, but Rapture was in the way.
"No, Fang!" Rapture began to push on Fang, trying to get Fang off his brother. "Stop it! Leave Danny alone! Stop, Fang! Stop!"
"Angel! Get the key," Jason yelled and Angel changed her game plan from working to help Fang to rescuing Jason.
"Max, if you don't fucking hit him in the-"
"Rapture's in the way!"
"Push him."
I didn't want to hurt Rapture, but I also did not want Danny infecting Fang. Finally, I just shoved him out of the way before holding the plank of wood above my head and bringing it down. Rapture was screaming and crying. I couldn't concentrate. My hit had been enough to knock Danny out, it didn't destroy the brain.
"Give it to me," Fang said, jumping up and taking the wood from me. He pushed me so hard that I lost my balance and fell, not that Fang cared. I couldn't watch as he killed Danny, so I turned to look for Royce, but he had taken off.
"Fang, screw Danny," I yelled. "Royce! He's running back out of the cave. Fang!"
Not even thinking, Fang left Danny passed out on the ground and took off back through the entrance we came from, chasing down Royce. Angel was going through the whole desk, looking for the key. Rapture was by Danny's face, no longer freaked by the appearance of his brother, just overcome with grief. I think he thought he was dead.
"Hate Fang, hate Fang," he cried, trying to snuggle up against Danny. I rushed to pick him up, not wanting him to somehow get infected. "No!" He fought against my hold, but I mean, come on. I've dealt with hell. A little four year old can't break my grip. "Danny! Danny!"
"Do you know where the key is?" I asked Jay over Rapture's shrieks.
"I don't know. I-"
"It's okay, I found it," Angel said, coming over from a different desk. "There's a lot of keys though-"
"Just try them," I said, going over to the vials.
None of them were labeled so that I could figure out what they were. They were all numbers. How did he understand these? Then I remembered Gasman being able to figure out the one Ari told me spelled FAKE. How did he do that? Something about cell phones numbers or something. God, where was Gazzy when you needed him?
"Royce got away," Fang confirmed as he came back into opening of the cave, cavern, whatever the heck it is. He went over to one of the walls and slammed his fist into it over and over again. "I don't know where he went, he was just…gone."
"Take Rapture," I said, holding him out to Fang. "He can-"
"No!" He let out his loudest scream yet as Fang came over to get him. "No! No! Danny! Danny! No!'
"Okay, okay," I said, holding him to my shoulder, muffling his yells. "Angel, how's it going with the keys?"
"I only have a few- Got it!' She finally opened the cage and Jason immediately started jumping up and down. Angel hugged him and, though he didn't hug her back, they were both happy.
Shaking his head, Fang picked up the wooden stake again, going back over to Danny. That's when Rapture freaking bit my shoulder.
"Ow, you little brat!" I put him on the ground, now pissed at him. Rapture ran to Danny, standing over him.
"No! No, Fang! Hate Fang! I hate you! Wake up, Danny." He glanced down at his brother. "Danny!"
"Fang, stop," I said, crossing my arms. "We don't have time for this. Rapture, move."
"No! Da-"
"We're not going to hurt him."
Jay went over to Rapture and tried to drag him away, which made Rapture bite him too. "Hey!"
"That's not nice," Angel told him.
"Angel, get in Rapture's mind. Make him calm down," I said before going over to Danny. I really didn't want to touch him, but I had no other option. "Fang, help me."
"What are you-"
"We're not killing him," I said, dragging him along. He was just dead weight and there wasn't much I could do. "We're locking him in Jason's cage."
Fang pushed me out of the way, though this time it was a lot gentler, and picked Danny up, taking him over to the cage and shoving him inside. Angel was now in control off Rapture and though I normally don't condone that, I had no choice this time.
"We'll have to bring your mother back here," Fang told me, nodding at the vials. I nodded before going over to Jay and checking him over. Even though I loathed Nadia, she had saved Angel that time on that beach or at least aided in the rescue. Now I had to check on her baby.
"Are you hurt?"
Jay shook his head. "No, 'cept for my right wing. He didn't want to make me a zombie because he thought that you would come for me, that it would I would lure you here or something."
"Can you fly?"
He opened his wings, but once he did, we realized that being cramped in that cage had dislocated one.
"Fang can pop that back-"
"Not here. We need to get the hell out of here." Fang picked up Jason with ease. "Take Rapture, Max. Come on, Ange, we have to get back."
I could tell that Jason and Fang were both uncomfortable once we got out of the cave and began to fly, but neither made a complaint. I think Jay was just glad to be out of that cage. Man, do I know that feeling.
Whether it was Angel's doing or his body just gave out, Rapture fell asleep the second we were in the air. That was good, because if the little booger bit me again, I had no doubt that I would drop him to the ground.
"We have to get back to the ship," I called over to Fang. Whether he heard me or had the same plan, I couldn't tell as he refused to acknowledge me. It didn't matter though, because we did end up on the ship. I had to lead the way though, as Nudge had kind of gotten off course and taken the boat further out into the ocean that originally planned. Still, she was a big help. I mean, God, I always thought that if Fang and I were both gone, Iggy would step up, but I now knew that Nudge was the third leader. It made me proud.
"I'm taking Rapture to the room with the other little kids," I told Fang, but he just nodded, setting Jay on the ground. "You guys go to Mom. See if Ari's back, how Iggy and Gasman are fairing, all of that stuff."
Fang ran off with Angel and Jay, now taking my command as if it was nothing. What was up with him today anyways? Shaking my head, I carried Rapture off to what my half-brother called the diaper room.
Who else would have the shift of overlooking them, but Nadia?
"Hi," I called out to her, going over to the bed where most of the kids were napping and laid Rapture down.
As far as I knew, there was only one child younger than him and that was only by a few months. It still scared me sometimes, how young some children on the island are. We could hardly take care of ourselves. Who was really looking out for these guys?
Rapture snuggled against another boy, who opened his eyes a little before closing them again and going back to sleep. Nadia, who was sitting in a chair in the corner, smiled a little bit, but didn't stand.
"Hi," she whispered back, staring at me. I remembered how I was, right after Angel was presumed dead. And Angel's not even my own flesh or the only person I have. Jay is both of those things to Nadia. Without him… God, I couldn't even imagine my whole family being gone.
"We..." I started again. "Angel found Jay."
She still just stared at me. "Tell me that you were gentle."
"Gentle?"
"When you killed him."
I shook my head. "No. No, Nadia, he's not a zombie! He's alive. He's here. He's with my mother."
She blinked and stood up slowly. She had a little girl in her lap, Jane, I think was her name. She was about six and probably too old to sit in Nadia's lap, but I wasn't sure.
"Alright?"
"He's fine. A dislocated wing, but Fang. Fang can pop it back-"
She thrust Jane into my arms before running off, headed to check on her brother. I wanted to go and watch the reunion, if only because it would be the one good thing I had seen in awhile, but instead I just laid Jane down on the bed with the other kids before sitting back down in Nadia's chair. I couldn't leave them unwatched, after all. It didn't take long for Fang to show up.
"Hey, he whispered. At this point, all of the little kids were asleep, either on pallets on the floor or on the bed. I smiled when I saw him.
"Hey."
"We have to go," he told me. "Back out there, to get Royce."
"I know."
"Iggy and Angel are taking your mother out to the cave, to look at the vials."
"I can't believe that you're letting her go somewhere without you."
Fang shrugged a little bit. 'I trust your mother with her."
That statement enough was shocking, that Fang trusted anyone, but my mother? I just smiled at him.
"What about Iggy?"
"What about him?"
We stared at each other for a moment before I stood. "Someone has to watch the babies."
"They're far from babies, Max."
I just shook my head. "Someone still has to watch them."
"I'll go get Nadia again," Fang said, though he didn't move.
"Uh, Fang?"
He stared at me for a second before saying, "I didn't mean to make you fall, back in the cave. I had to though. I needed to, I mean."
I nodded a little. "I know."
"And, I, uh, wouldn't ever hurt you if I didn't have to."
"Okay."
"And…" Fang finally just kissed me. It was quick, not even long enough for me to react. Then he was gone, rushing off to get Nadia to watch over the children. When she returned, she hugged me.
"Thank you so much, Max. Really."
I patted her gently on the back before wiggling my way out of her arms. "Fang is on the deck?"
"Oh, yes, he said to tell you to hurry to meet him."
I nodded a little bit before leaving. When I got to Fang, Nudge and the Gasman were with him.
"They're going to help," Fang said, nodding at Gasman. "Go ahead; tell her some of the stuff you told me."
"Well," he began slowly. "Has Royce done his big reveal yet?"
"Big reveal?"
"Told you everything that doesn't make sense."
"Oh, no. He started, but then Fang-"
"No, he didn't," Fang said before explaining to me what was going on. "The Gasman looked into how horror movies progress. He thinks this kind of stuff can help."
"Oh," I said. "Like clichés."
"Yeah," Fang said, nodding.
Then we both looked at Nudge.
"What?" She asked.
"Well…you know…"
"No, what?"
"White people always split up and get killed," Fang said slowly. "That's the biggest cliché."
"And?"
"Well, the next is…the black guy always dies."
"I'm not a guy! God!"
I held up my hands. "Anyways, Gazzy, you were saying?"
He went into some sort of long spiel about how cars never work, girls always fall, and Fang's slated to die if he doesn't stop acting like a douche. So there's that. Then he threw the biggest bomb shell at us.
"We also have to find Ari," he told me.
"Why?"
"Because he knows where Jeb is."
"So?"
"Without Jeb, this won't stop."
Tracking down my brother was easier said than done. Unlike Royce, I had never put a tracking device on him. That probably would be a good thing to look into though… Before we left though, we had stocked up on wood and metal to attack the zombies with, if we had to. The Gasman was adamant about not wanting to fight them, but Fang told him to arm himself anyways; there is no choice in war. You either fight back or you get killed.
"Too bad we don't have Rapture," Gazzy complained as we landed on the island. "He could hold off the zombies and find Ari."
We had all agreed that if we were going to find Ari, flying over the forest wouldn't help, because we wouldn't be able to pick him out of the crowd. We were originally going to split up and search for him, but Gazzy flipped out and made us promise to all stay together. I thought that he was being a tad on the cautious side, but agreed, if only to shut him up.
"How do you want to go about finding him?" Fang asked me. He had still been keeping his distance, but at least he was speaking to me now. I thought of our kiss suddenly and turned away from his eyes.
"I don't know. Since we can't split up," I began, glaring at Gazzy, "I guess we should just all look around."
"Should we call out for him?" Nudge asked.
"I don't see why not," I said. "I mean, zombies will be after us anyways, right?"
Fang nodded a little bit, pulling the metal leg of a desk out of his backpack. "I don't want any of you guys getting hurt. If you can't actually kill them, Gasman, fly away or hide. Don't do anything stupid, okay? You either, Max. I'm not rescuing you today."
"Hey-"
"And, Nudge, I know that you don't think that you'll die before any of us, but…just…don't become another stupid cliché, okay?"
She nodded at him, but clearly didn't like him bringing that up. I clapped her on the shoulder before heading off into the forest, half my flock behind me.
"Dylan's out here somewhere too," I told them. "I tried to get him to come with me to find you, Fang, because he only has one hand, but he refused."
"Then we'll be on the look out for him too," Fang said, as good natured as he would ever get with Dylan I think.
"He is your son," I whispered to him.
"Yeah," Fang mumbled back, clearly unenthused. "My son."
"Your oldest. Firstborn."
"Don't push it." Fang put his hand on my back as we looked around, watching for zombies. "Keep your mind on the prize, Max. I'm serious, I'm not pulling any knight in shining armor stuff out for you today."
Number one, Fang stopped being my knight right around the time we turned two. Number two, I never ask him to save me. He just does it. So there. And lastly, I don't need anyone rescuing me. Ever. The idiot.
I jerked out of his hold, but Fang didn't seem to mind. Besides, we did need to focus. I didn't want Nudge or Gasman to get hurt.
Turns out that I wasn't as good at killing zombies as I thought I would be. This was mainly due to the gruesomeness of it all. The first horde that we encountered, Nudge had no problem bashing heads in and neither did I. It was Fang, however, that had to actually squash the brains, actually killing the zombies.
"Max," Fang yelled at me during the next horde. It was as if my name was a curse, how much venom he put in it. "I can't fucking do this alone!"
I was hitting most of the zombies in the stomach, trying to knock the wind out of them to leave them for Fang, but we both knew that this wouldn't work. I wish that they were some other kind of enemy so that, even though I detested guns, we could shoot them. How we had to kill them now was much more…sickening and sordid.
"Max, if you can't help, then what are you even good for?"
Why does he always yell at me?
I was finally done, now pissed at Fang. The next zombie that came at me, a middle aged white man that was slightly overweight, I swung my plank of wood, cracking him in the head. Then I got over him, bring the wood down on his noggin again and again. It wasn't until Nudge put her hand on my shoulder that I stopped.
"Happy?" I yelled over at Fang, ignoring the fact I was now splattered with blood and my shoes were covered in brain matter.
"Not the fucking slightest," he said, lifting his foot above a downed zombie, bringing it down on its head, crushing the skull.
From that point forth, Fang and I were in a competition with each other, each trying to out do the other in the style of kill we got, horde after horde. Fang would slam a head into the ground; I would pick a zombie up, take to the air, and drop it on its head. Fang would take his metal and force into the skull, scrambling the brain; I would jump up and down on the face, mangling it and all the head's contents. There was no winner in our battle and eventually it turned into a way to get our aggressions with each other out.
We had just finished fighting some zombies and were going to start walking again when Fang was attacked from the air. On impulse, he threw what had landed on him off his shoulders. For once, the little boy wasn't able to hang on.
"Rapture!" I rushed to him, but he seemed to be okay, other than he was shocked Fang had hurt him. "Are you okay, baby?"
He held up his arms, wanting me to pick him up. When I did, he wrapped his arms around me, glaring at Fang.
"Hate Fang," he yelled. "Fang hurt Danny!"
"Shhh."
"Then why did you come?" Nudge asked him, but Rapture just held onto me harder. He was choking my neck slightly, so I made him ease up.
"Rapture, you were supposed to stay with the other kids."
"No," he yelled back at Fang. "No stay! Me fight too. Fight for Danny."
I sighed, shifting him to the ground. "Can you walk? I have to fight. I can't carry you."
"Max, he can't stay," Fang said. "Gasman, take Rapture back to the ship. You're not doing anything anyways, so you stay too."
"No!" Gasman frowned at Fang. "I'm helping! I told Nudge to be careful not to die, didn't I? That's helping."
"For the last flipping time, I'm not going to die," Nudge fumed. I just rolled my eyes.
"Fang, Rapture can take us to Ari."
"He could also get killed out here."
"Fang, if we don't get to Ari, we could all be killed, so either get in line or don't. You sure were gung-ho about taking him before, but now that I say it, it's suddenly wrong? No. You know what, Fang? I'm tired of you. I'm tired of you second guessing me. Until further notice, you're on your own."
"You know what? Fuck-"
"What, Fang? Fuck me? Ha. You never could. Hell, you couldn't even get Maya in bed and she was the biggest sl-"
And then Fang punched me in the eye. Once I hit the ground, I stayed there for a moment, shocked, before realizing that was stupid. What's so shocking about Fang hitting me these days? What was shocking, though, was that I had landed on a decapitated zombie, courtesy of Fang, getting his blood and brain parts all over my hands. It made me so sick to think about, plus my head already reeling from Fang's fist, that I turned my head and vomited, which looked so nasty mixed in with the blood and brains that I puked again.
"Oh, Max," Fang groaned. Then he made a noise of surprise. When I looked back up, he and Gasman were rolling around on the ground, the little boy attempting to fight him.
"Stop it! All of you," Nudge yelled at them, seeming torn between caring for me and breaking them up. "Now, guys!"
Rapture got upset, watching Fang and Gazzy fight, probably thinking back to Danny and Fang's fight. "Stop, Fang! Fang bad! Fang mean! Hate Fang! I hate Fang! Fang m- I feel Ari!"
We all stopped at that, looking up. Sure enough, my half-brother stumbled upon us like that. He wasn't the only one.
"I feel Dylan! Hi, Dylan." Rapture smiled suddenly, rushing to greet the two of them. They both just stood there for a moment, taking in the zombie carnage, my vomit, Nudge's franticness, and my two boys fighting on the ground.
"I have never felt more awkward, walking in on…whatever this is," Ari commented. Dylan rushed to my aid though.
"Max, are you sick? Did you get infected with something?"
I shook my head as he held out his one hand to me, planning on helping pull me up. I wiped my nasty hands on my jeans before allowing this, though I felt slightly demeaned.
"No," I said. "Fang-"
"I didn't do anything, Max," Fang said as he finally just shoved Gasman off him. When he ran at him again, Nudge grabbed the little boy's arm, holding him to her. "You need to learn to shut your fucking mouth."
"Oh whatever." I looked at Ari. "How are you guys fairing? No injures?"
"A few, but not from us. We sent anyone hurt back to your mother," Ari said, shaking his head. "How did looking for Royce go?"
"We freed Jay, found Danny, and also discovered some vials that might hold cures. Iggy and Angel took Mom out there, so I don't know." I glanced at Gasman. "Alright, Gazzy, it's your time to shine. Tell Ari whatever it is you needed to."
"Okay, can you take us to Jeb?" Gasman asked, jerking out of Nudge's hold.
Ari frowned. "Why? What's going on?"
"He thinks that Jeb knows more than he's letting on about this cure," I said as Dylan wrapped an arm around me, rubbing my back gently. I think he was trying to soothe me after I puked. Fang saw this and came over, shoving Dylan back. I grabbed Dylan's arm when he moved to fight him back. "Knock it off. Now. Both of you. Can you take us to Jeb or not, Ari?"
"I can," he said hesitantly.
"Where is he?" Nudge asked, now picking up Rapture. The little boy, who had had a really rough day, laid against her, closing his eyes.
"I kept him where Royce would never look. He's in fact on the other island, where Royce's lab was."
Fang shook his head. "Royce says that he had a tracking device on you this whole time. Listening device too. He probably knew where Jeb was."
"Well that sucks," Ari said. "Where?"
"It's probably under your skin," I told him. "I had a chip in my arm for a long time. Trust me, he's a Whitecoat, he's not above it."
"I'd never trust you," Ari said, his voice cold. "You probably speak the truth though. Do you wish for me to escort you then? To Jeb? Royce will be able to find you."
"It's probably better if he does just come to us. It'll save us from coming from having to go to him, huh?" I looked around, but no one would look back at me. "Let's move out then. Lead us there, Ari."
He nodded before taking out his wings. "Let's go then."
I waited for everyone else to go first, leaving Dylan, Fang, and I on the ground last. I nodded at Dylan, but he glanced at Fang before taking to the air. Then there were two.
"Let me see your eye," he said, moving to grab my face, but I pushed him away. "Max-"
"My eye is fine."
"Then why did you puke?"
"I don't know," I said, never going to admit it was the blood and brains that did me in. "Just leave me alone, Fang."
"Is that what you want? For me to leave you alone?"
"Right now?"
He nodded.
"Yeah, it is. Until this is all over, I'm just Max and you're just Fang and we're not anything."
He rolled his shoulders. "Then go."
I wasn't sure if Fang was going to follow, so once I was in the air with the others, I watched him. Fang went over his discarded metal weapon before getting into the air. Ari nodded at him before flying off, setting the pace for the journey back to the other island. Fang flew up closer to Nudge, inquiring about Rapture, who was still sleeping. I flew in between Dylan and Gasman, Ari in front of me. Dylan smiled over at me and even though I wouldn't smile back, I did nod at him.
Screw Fang. He can have Nudge if he wants her, if she wants him. I don't care anymore. I honestly don't.
Half way there, Rapture woke up, complaining about being hungry. None of us were, not after all the zombie killing we had done, but Nudge luckily had an apple in her bag. Rapture happily ate it, never even mentioning how much he hated Fang. That was good, I guess. Maybe all he needed was a good nap and now he wouldn't flip out again.
"Where is he on the island?" I asked Ari.
"Hidden in a cave. You would be proud, Max."
"Why?"
"He's in a cage."
"More than proud," I told him. When I felt Dylan staring at me, I asked, "What?"
"What happened to your eye?" He asked. "A zombie?"
"N-"
"Fang punched her," Gazzy blurted out.
"What?" Dylan looked over at my boyfriend, or whatever he is right now. "You hit her?"
"It's none of your concern," Fang said. Rapture reared back and hit Fang with his apple core. "Hey!"
"Fang bad," he told Nudge, to which she nodded. Fang just shook his head.
"You just wait until this zombie things over, Fang, 'cause your ass is mine," Dylan told him. "Who freaking hits a girl?"
"Knock it off," I told them again, flying faster so that I was even with Ari. "Are we close?"
"Yes, we are." He just looked at me for a moment before shaking his head. "I never took you as weak, Max."
"I'm not."
"Then why do you let your boyfriend hit you?"
"He hardly ever does."
"Oh, is that your excuse?"
"What, Ari? Huh? What do you want? I thought you wanted to kill me?"
"Oh, I do. I'm not condemning Fang for hurting you. I would too. You're very mouthy."
"Thanks," I said dryly with a shake of my head.
"No problem."
"I feel Royce," Rapture told us all once we got to the island. "Close, close, Max."
I glanced back at him. "Are you sure?"
"Yes!" He frowned at me before cuddling closer to Nudge. "I like Nudge, Fang. Nudge is nice. You're nice, Nudge."
She just shook her head. "Yeah, thanks. No, really. All the attention I've gotten since me and Jamie have broken up and it's from you."
He kissed her cheek. "I like you."
Ignoring them, I looked back at Ari. "How would you kill me?"
"Why?"
I shrugged. "I just always wondered."
"Personally, if Fang were still alive, I would shoot you in front of him. If not, I'd probably break your neck."
"Like I broke yours, in New York."
"Exactly."
Letting out a slow breath, I turned shook my head a little, but said nothing. When Ari began to angle his wings down, I called back to the others to land also. We ended up outside a cave, which excited Rapture.
"Royce," he yelled. We all looked around, but there was no one. "Royce!"
"Where, buddy?" Dylan asked him, but he just shook his head. Ari let out a sigh.
"Children."
"You're what, eight?" Fang shoved into him slightly as he moved to lead us into the cave. "So shut the fuck-"
"The time for cursing has passed," Nudge told him, but Fang just shot her the bird, which is really ironic, considering we are birds. Well, I think it's ironic. I'm not one hundred percent sure what that word means, but it sounds good, don't it?
"Royce is in the cave," Rapture, who Nudge had sat on the ground, told Ari. Then he cocked his head to the side. "You smell bad."
"Rapture," I corrected, frowning. Ari just shook his head.
"I'm rotting," he said with a shrug. "I stink, it happens."
"Max's mommy fixes Danny, Max's mommy fixes you." Rapture patted his jeans before rushing to catch up with Fang. "Hi, Fang!"
I guess he's fine with him again. I just shook my head a little bit. Once we got to the end of the cave, we found Jeb, sleeping in his cage. That's not the only person we found.
"Ah, we meet ag-"
Fang ran at Royce, knocking him out cold.
"Stop him," I yelled at Dylan and Ari as I ran to do the same. Royce may be the only chance we have a stopping these zombies. I can't let Fang's ego get in the way. My yell woke Jeb, who sat up in his cage, blinking. I will add that while I find justice in him being locked up, I do not enjoy the fact that his cage is about double what mine typically are. And, God, Jeb's freaking short! It's not fair. Anyways…
Fang had raised his metal above his head, planning on bashing Royce's skull in. He was already swinging and there was only one way to stop it.
"Shit," Fang breathed as the metal came into contact with my body. It was a blow to my shoulder blade, which quickly brought me down.
"You idiot!" Whether he meant me or Fang was not clear, but Dylan tackled Fang none the less. Ari ran over to Royce, pulling him away from the fray.
"Are you alright?" Nudge came to me while Gazzy rushed over to Jeb, who was dazed, and began to question him. "Huh?"
"I'm fine," I said through gritted teeth. "Dylan, get off him! Now!"
"Can't take you guys anywhere," Ari mumbled. "What are we going to do with Royce, Max?"
"I don't know. Are there any cuffs in here?"
"Yeah."
"Can you carry him back to the island?"
Ari shook his head and I remembered, then, that he was still sick, dying. Dylan was without a hand and Gasman's too young. That left Nudge, but she's still just a kid.
Fang or me…
"Dylan, I said to leave him alone!" I finally pulled myself together, going to break the two of them up. Rapture was hiding in the corner, not sure what to do with so much going on. When I began to yell at Dylan though, he rushed over to help.
"No! No fight Fang!" Then he bit into Dylan's side, causing the other boy to jump up, off Fang.
"What the heck?"
Rapture spit on the ground. "Dylan taste nasty."
Shooting up off the ground, Fang moved to attack Dylan again, but this time, I really stopped him.
"Don't you touch him," I said, putting one hand on his chest. Fang saw that his metal had broken my skin by the fact you could see blood pooling under my shirt.
"Max," he whispered. "God. Why did you get in the way?"
"I told you, we need him."
Fang moved to pick me up, thinking that carrying me around would fix something. I shoved him back. "You can't fly. You're injured."
"In my arm. I have to carry Royce anyways."
"Oh, the heck you aren't," Fang said before looking at Gasman. "Did you get what you need from Jeb?"
"Actually, guys," he began, looking back at all of us. "We might have a slight problem."
"What?"
Jeb cleared his throat, now speaking for Gazzy. "Royce was here because he injected me with something."
I frowned. "And you just let him?"
"Actually, I was really talking about the fact that Jeb knows nothing." Gazzy shrugged. "I guess this isn't one of those horror movies."
Ari, who was still standing over Royce, looked at me. "Decide now if we're taking him or not, Max."
"Yes. Fang will carry him."
"No, I won't."
"Then I will, Fang. It's your choice."
He reached out, trying to touch my wound, but I turned away. "Then I have him."
"If you drop him, I will dive into the water and look for him."
Letting out his breath, Fang went over to Royce and picked him up. "Are we leaving Jeb?"
I looked at Nudge. "Can you stay with him until someone can come back for him?"
She glanced at him. "Why?"
"Nudge, please? I want someone on this island anyways, in case Jacob or someone comes back."
She nodded slowly. "Alright, Max, I will."
"Gazzy, Dylan, I want the two of you to go to Royce's ship and search it. Both of you are fine, right?"
They each nodded. Truly, I just wanted to keep Fang and Dylan as far away from each other as possible.
"I go with Fang," Rapture said, opening his wings.
"You weren't invited to go with us anyways, Dracula," Gasman mumbled, frowning at the other boy.
"We're going to take Royce back with us to our ship. If you guys find anything…here." I took Royce's walkie-talkie out of his pocket and tossed to Dylan, forgetting for a moment he only had one hand. Still, he was able to catch it. "We'll contact you if we need you and vise versa."
Dylan nodded. "Are you going to be okay?"
"God, Dylan, you're missing a hand. I think I'll live."
He just glanced at me, then Fang, and then back at me. "You want to come with us?"
"Go," I said simply, pointing. After they were gone, I addressed Nudge. "Under no circumstance does he come out of there. Whether he's turning into a zombie or has to take a dump. Nothing. Alright?"
She nodded. "You really are okay?"
"How weak do you guys think I am?" I asked before turning to Ari. "You ready?"
He had a coughing fit before nodding. "Let's move out."
I patted Nudge on the shoulder and told her to stay safe before picking up Rapture and heading after Ari. Fang nodded at her once and then followed me out, Dr. Royce still passed out in his arms. I was afraid of what would happen when he woke up, only hoping that wouldn't happen until we got back to our island. It was unlikely, but here's for hoping.
"I fly, Max," Rapture complained once we got out of the cave.
"I don't-"
"Just let him. We need to go," Ari said before taking off into a sprint, his wings quickly pulling him into the air. I sat Rapture down, pushing him slightly to show him that I wanted him to go first.
"You're alright to fly?" Fang asked, but I just took off running to, taking to the air. I heard him groan, but didn't care.
Once he was in the air, Fang left me alone, now concentrated on carrying Royce. It was pretty uneventful, our flight back other than Rapture, who insisted on singing loudly. We got to hear the Itsy Bitsy Spider, Mary had a Little Lamb, some sort of little kid Christian song that I had no idea where he heard, and his favorite, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. I wanted to shoot myself in the head. Better yet, I wanted to shoot myself in the ovaries so I knew I'd never have to deal with this with my own child. Yeah. It was that bad.
Royce never woke up. At all. We checked his pulse when we got back to the ship and found that his heart was still beating at least, which was a relief. My mother still had not returned when we got to her lab, so after getting directions, Ari took off for the cave where we had found all those vials to check on her. Rapture got sleepy again, so he curled up on that mattress in the lab.
Fang sat Royce up against a cabinet before chaining him to it. Then we both relaxed a little. I laid down on the bed with Rapture while Fang stood around, pacing.
"That was a waste, getting to Jeb."
I was shocked when he spoke and took a moment to respond. "I don't know. Maybe he injected him with something important."
Fang shrugged. "Who cares? This is getting pointless. We have no idea how many people he's infected, we have no idea where the cure is, we don't even know if there really is a cure!" Sighing slightly, he looked off, away from me. "I just…I'm…I'm tired, Max. I'm tired of this. I'm tired of the two of us always having to do the dirty work. I'm tired of saving people. I'm tired of watch people I love get hurt or having to hurt them. And I'm tired of working my ass off for nothing. I don't want this to be my life. I'm not a superhero, Max. I don't want that job."
"It's not your job," I told him, closing my eyes. "It's mine."
"Yeah? Then you're doing a crap job at it because it's always leaking over onto me."
"Then what, Fang? What do you want from me? You sit there and you tell me how much you love me, how you want to care for me, and you do for awhile, but then you don't. Then you blame me. Then you yell and scream at me."
"That's how I am, Max."
"No, that's how you are now. The old you would never-"
"He's evolving."
We both jumped a little as Royce spoke. Then he began to laugh slightly as he came too.
"You feel it, don't you, Fang? They never gave you the respect you deserved."
"Shut the fuck up. I should have killed you when I had the chance."
"But you didn't, did you?"
"Only because Max-"
"You could be so much more without-"
"I said to shut up!" Fang slammed his fist into the wall. "God."
I sat up. "Alright, Royce, we've caught you. You can't get out of this one. It's over."
"It'll never be over, Max. Zombies, monsters, freaks like you, that's the world now. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if vampires started to spring up. Maybe even some werewolves."
"Think Ari's got that one covered," I mumbled before glancing at Rapture. "So what's your end goal in this? To take over the world?"
"Is that what you think?"
"It's what you said," Fang told him. "That day when Dylan got bit."
"Hmmm, that was before."
"Before what?"
"You really don't know what he's done?"
"What who's done?" I looked to Fang. When someone does something wrong and you want to know who, he's a good person to start with.
"Ari."
Him too. Or Jeb. Iggy's always a good candidate.
"What did he do?" I asked as Fang stopped pacing.
"Why do you think Jacob has not been around recently?"
I shivered a little bit at his tone. "He…Ari…he killed…Oh. I'm sorry."
Fang snorted at me. "God, Max, this guy is a murderer. So what if his little boy toy got killed? Good for Ari."
"Fang-"
"God, Max, how weak can you get?"
Royce shook his head. "It's for the better anyways. Things have gotten so messed up."
"You mean now that we've caught you."
"Hmmm? Oh, no, not that, Max." He smiled at me and I was suddenly afraid of the fact we only had on hand cuff and he had one free hand. "See, I messed up. I had too many mistakes from the beginning. I let too many people in on this."
"People? What people? You turned all those other scientists into zombies."
He smiled at me. "Max, Max, Max. You do realize that we aren't the only ones alive on this planet, don't you? The population of what was Europe is still very heavily populated."
"I've heard."
"I'm not the only one that you should fear," he told me. "You do get that, right? Fang's correct. This will never stop for you. Not you, Max. Never you." Then he began to laugh. "Okay, alright, let's do this."
"Do what?" Fang asked, his arms crossed.
"The little question answer stuff the smelly one wanted. Gasman."
"You heard about that?"
Royce smiled. "You do realize this was my ship first, correct? You don't think that I've been listening to everything?"
I looked off. "Alright. That day, when I was passed out and Dylan went missing, how and why."
"Simple. That boy, Jamie was it? He overdosed you, heavily. You were so out of it…I should have never left him to do that job. I needed Dylan."
"For?"
"The disease evolved that was in him. I wanted it back."
"It wasn't one of yours," I said and he nodded.
"Yes, that is true. One thing at a time though," he said, shaking his head. "Anyways, that day you were passed out, I wanted Jamie to taunt you. I had written up something for him to say. He possesses the ability to change his-"
"We know," Fang said dryly.
"What was that evolve stuff?" I asked.
"Fang's evolving, what else do you want me to say? He's getting stronger, faster, and angrier." Royce giggled. No, really, giggled, like Angel or Nudge might. "You feel it, don't you, Fang? Your power?"
He ignored him.
"The reason is because…Fang wasn't made to last as long as you, Max."
"What do you-"
"I will say no more. Ask your mother. After all, she holds more information about you, Fang, and Iggy than she lets on. A lot." Then he looked away. "More questions, our time is short."
Fang spoke next. "When you sent us off the island and Max got bit by the dog-"
"That was an accident," Royce admitted. "I thought that the two of you would run into those scientists."
"They were zombies?"
"Yes, by then. They had infected the area you were too hit second. Unfortunately, that dog got to Max first. I wanted her to get the first batch, but that actually turned into good luck. Then I got Dylan and Max's disease and kept her from death. You do realize the first batch means quick death, yes?"
We ignored the question.
"Why did you burn the island?" I asked him.
"Ah, that question. That was honestly to get you guys away from that island so that I could have Jacob finish work on Ari. It also got some of those pesky scientists dead. Also, I got to play with your disease back in America. They were new and I wanted to study them, under the rouse that I was curing you. I also got to infect you, though yours did not turn out how I wanted."
"You wanted me to be a zombie?"
"No," he said, shaking his head. "Angel? I wanted her to be one. You? I just wanted you weakened. Then your damn mother went and cured you." Sighing loudly, he added, "That dog, you should look into that. No doubt there is something fishy with him infecting you like that."
Fang shuffled his feet. "How did you infect Angel?"
"It wasn't hard, really. We handed out regular vitamins and such to the younger kids, you know. I just put some of the disease in it and bam, zombie Angel. Her telling everyone Max was dead, that was just icing on the cake." Royce laughed again. "I never did get to tell you why she can't read my mind."
"Why is it then?" I asked.
"You see, Max, I didn't really care if Angel stayed a zombie or not. Quite honestly, I don't care for her. Everyone thinks she's so great, but really? Her brain is still young, maturing. Her powers are not expected to grow with her. She's not even expected to last many more years."
"You-" Fang stared, but I couldn't talk. Royce cut him off.
"That's why they were so invested in her, before the world ended. They wanted to…prolong her life. Max is starting to get too old, too mature. Your body, Max, is starting to level out, sure, but they would have to break you. Angel is still so young, that she's perfect psychologically. They can trick her into anything."
"Not Angel," Fang whispered.
"Yes, Angel. A few drugs and the fool believed they cut off her wings." Royce laughed at that, as if there was something funny about torturing a little girl. I no longer felt sorry that Jacob had died. "Still, though, her time will come. She will die."
"We all will, one day," I whispered, but Royce just smiled at me. "Whether we want to or not."
"Yes, Max, we will."
I don't really know what happened next. I had glanced at Fang, who was finishing his pocket knife out, no doubt to 'accidentally' drive it into his flesh. The next thing I knew though, he was cursing. I looked back at Royce to see that he had pulled out a small handgun from somewhere in his clothing.
We should have checked him was the only thought in my mind. When he pointed it at me, he didn't hesitate to pull the trigger. The only problem is Fang launched himself at him, knocking into the Whitecoat. That caused the bullet's trajectory to be off. That's why it didn't hit me.
It hit Rapture.
Then there was another shot. And another. None of them hit me, all Rapture. Fang was fighting for the gun now, but it wouldn't matter. Royce only got one more shot out and it was into his very own skull.
We will all die one day. Whether we want to or not. And it's not fucking fair.