I don't own Maximum Ride. I do own all my characters.
Good news everyone! Well, its good for me. I'm not sure if you guys will care or not. My website is up and running! Need something to read? Review me asking for the link since I can't put any websites on fanfiction. I'll reply shortly and you can find more stories to watch develop.
Thank you guys who have supported be this far! You guys are the ones who have given me the confidence to actually put my writing online for all to see. I hope that if I do make it to the big time and start writing books you guys will be there going, "Hey! I read her when she was just writing fanfics!" But that's a big if...
I promise not to let you guys down with this fanfic.
Cat's POV:
I was trying to look inconspicous in my first class seat as a girl wearing stolen clothes that hadn't been washed in literally weaks. I was holding Taz, my "little brother" who got to fly free. And Salem was the girl with the skin condition wearing a ski mask to hide her furry body. Normally this would upset her. But not today.
"We're going to meet the Flo-ock, we're going to meet the Flo-ock," she sang bouncing up and down. I put my hand on her knee. She stopped bouncing and sqealed excitedly.
"Chill. Out," I said soothingly. Salem was way beyond the point of self control.
Then the plane started to go. Salem clutched the armrests with extended claws ripping the leather.
"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" she said. Her grin was evident even through the ski mask. "I wonder if Fang's hot! I wonder if Max is pretty!" She gasped and covered her mouth. "I wonder if Nudge can show me anything I don't know about computers!" she whispered then grabbed my arm and shook it in her obsession induced high.
"This is going to be the best day of my life," she said.
"We're going to be breaking into a School, rescuing our pride members, trying not to get killed by Erasers," I reminded her. She stared dreamily at the seat in front of her.
"Yeah," she said. "But we're going to be doing it all with the Flock." Obsessed much? I shook my head and decided to change the subject.
"Has Eric emailed us back?" I asked her.
"No," Salem said irritated with being interrupted from a daydream she was playing in her head. I sighed and leaned back in my seat. I was going a little stir crazy completely cooped up in a flying metal box. Do you know how long it takes to get to freakin' France?
We got there armed with nothing, but a baby carrier strapped to chest. We stood there and waited.
"Sale? Did the Flock say they were going to meet us here?" I asked her. Salem shrugged.
"I don't know. I didn't get an email back," Salem said. I sighed.
"I thought you said we were going to meet them," I said irritated. Salem nodded confidently.
"Trust me. We are," she said. Taz shifted uncomfortably in the carrier strapped to my chest. He was getting kind of big and he barely fit in it. But we weren't exactly going to leave him with a french babysitter when he got sprouted fur and a snout. You know how fast that poor preschool would be conquered? (AN: Sorry. Couldn't resist one French joke. So don't get your fries and toast in a knot.) Taz would just have to come to the fight with us. And who knew? Maybe he could contribute. I've seen Taz at his worst before. He can do some damage.
"Eric!" Taz shouted wriggling as much as he could in the carrier.
"That's not fair! He says Eric's name before mine and he's not even here," Salem said. My eyes went wide as I followed Taz's gaze. Eric was actually here. Along with a great big gang of Erasers who had just gotten off the flight. The walked away from their gate like a bunch of secret agents on a mission.
What are the freakin' odds!? Well, considering our luck, I suppose the odds are pretty good.
Before I could even tell Salem what was going on I grabbed her by the scruff of her hoodie and pulled her with me as I hurried in the opposite direction.
"The Flock's going to have to wait. Eric's here. We need to get to the French Itron NOW," I said.
Eric's POV:
Wow. Taz had actually said my name. That's a new one for him. My sensitive ears caught the sound of Taz. I know that kid's voice. I lived with him for like...what? Three months now?
"What was that?" Layla said stopping in the middle of the airport and looking over her shoulder.
"Come on, Layla. We're gonna be late," Jason ordered leading the pack toward the taxi outside. She didn't seem to hear him. She stopped dead in her tracks and looked the other direction. In an act of desperosity, I grabbed her arm.
"Layla, hurry up," I said hoping to distract her. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of blonde hair and dark clothing. Cat. Layla turned back around and looked at me. For a brief moment my eye caught her's. I tried to see if she knew what we were up to. They didn't reveal anything. Had she seen Cat? Did she know this was a setup? Was she going to hate me if she knew?
"Layla," Jason ordered sternly. She looked passed me at Jason.
"Yeah?"
"Hurry up! You're the one who wanted to meet Lareaux so bad," Jason said folding his arms impatiently. She nodded and shrugged my grip off her arm. She walked ahead of me and through the sliding glass doors outside. Lareaux had sent a town car. How very thoughtful. Erasers aren't very big on talking and its just as well because I was distracted with my own thoughts.
I worried about Tarzan and Kitten. Now I was worried that Layla might be wise to the whole reason I "betrayed" the pride and gave myself to the School. I was worried about all of us when we were just going to burst into Itron (that was more than likely filled to the brim with Erasers) to bust out our friends.
By the time I had filed all of my worries into neat little categories the town car was turning into a giant gray massive building. Of course we had to pass the iron gate surrounded with an electric fence, armed guards, and vehicle check points. It was standard procedure. Our School had all this too, but the one in America was hidden in the desert. This one was just outside of Paris.
It was going to be tough getting out. I hoped Cat had one of her stupid half-assed plans. At least I hoped she had a good one.
The doors opened and there at the doorway was Jason, tall and standing in his white coat beside a winged kid with sunglasses who wasn't quite making direct eye contact. Wait. No. It wasn't Jason. It must have been Dr. Lareaux. Jason and Layla looked just as stunned as I did looking at him.
"Soyez bienvenus à Itron, le tigre. J'espère que vous ne vous battrez pas," said the whitecoat. The tall winged kid took a step forward.
"Dr. Lareaux says welcome," he said only to me. Then behind me the Erasers started to transform into their beast forms. I panicked and turned to run. One nameless Eraser grabbed one arm, and Layla grabbed the other. When I looked at her she stared right back at me, her jaw clenched sternly and her eyes were unapologetic. "And he hopes you won't struggle."
They knew. They knew the whole time. They were leading me to France. Why? Then it dawned on me. Salem, Cat, and Taz. They were all on their way. They were trying to group us together for the cat-scientist, Dr. Lareaux.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said lamely. The bird kid sighed and shook his head.
"Take him to the testing room. Lock him there. We have a final test run on our team," the bird kid said to the Erasers. Jason took my arm in place of Layla. She backed away watching as I started to fight. I got a good kick in one of the Eraser's guts, but I was immediately obliged with a staggering punch in the face. "Be careful! We need him intact!" I couldn't believe this was happening.
"Layla! Layla do something!" I begged her. I wanted to see something that showed she really cared for me. That this whole thing wasn't just a trap.
"What do you want me to do?" she asked angrily.
"I don't know! Anything!" I shouted back at her as they were dragging me up the steps. She just watched me get taken away.
Layla waved twiddling her delicate little fingers.
"Bye," she mouthed to me barely audible. I kicked and screamed. Not another School! No way! I wasn't going through this whole crap hole again! Where was Cat? Where was Salem? Hello, aren't I part of the rescue team? How was it that I was being captured!?
Sorry this took so long. I got really into the whole website thing. There are currently five stories in the works on my site. And there are plenty more that still need downloading. If you want to check it out just review this page or send me a private message and I'll send it to you.
There will be more to this story soon enough. This time for sure.
