I had no idea my heart could stay still that long. It wasn't until actual music started blaring into speakers that I had a pulse again. My eyes investigated hers, hoping to whatever god that governs this world that she was kidding.

"No, you don't," I said in a flat tone, though a slight chuckle came in. "You're just joking. Kill the humans?" I laughed at that point. No way was this real. A group this determined wants to murder innocent lives for the sake of peace in a new world? No, they wouldn't do that.

I rolled my eyes, hoping to see a kid or two nearby laughing as well, but all I saw were clouded expressions and chatter about plans in their new future. My stomach churned, reminding me of where I was. This group couldn't do that. They couldn't kill off… most of the world for this, right?

"They can't do that," I stated, but Speck shook her head.

"But we can. We have to; they're ruining the world. We're the new generation!" she locked her gaze on me, her voice changing to the same tone the white coated men had back at ITex. My entire body shivered. "You're the new generation."

"Speck snap out of it! You're brainwashed. You don't know what you're saying!" I cried, shaking her shoulders.

She just giggled in response as the guy began a speech regarding the world as we know it. He explained everything would go down because of a fire in the sky and other bullshit. This was bad. This was worse than bad. These people, these nutjobs were banking on the new generation of kids to change the world for the worse.

"By killing the humans, Generation 77 and beyond will thrive!" I took note of what he said and instantly thought of the post I saw on Fang's blog. No wonder Fang and his group were trying to stop it. But how would they do that? There were too many of them; too many people to topple and smack some sense into.

"Yeah!" Speck called out with the rest of the kids.

"No!" I shouted at her. Some nearby kids glanced at me, a couple pointing out my visible mutations and gawking at them. I gulped, "This isn't you. You have to think straight!"

"I am though!" she whined. "I'm thinking the right way. You're the one that's wrong!"

"No, I'm not!" I nearly screeched. I felt a hand brush my tail and I swung to slap the kid square across the cheek. He cried out, but I didn't care. They had to stop messing with me, and if this was the way to convince them, then so be it. "You want to kill people? I thought you were done with that! Would you want to kill our own parents? The people that love you and care for you?"

"Well, of course," she snidely retorted.

"That's IT!" I shouted, and I quickly grabbed her arm.

She screamed as I pulled her into a tight hug and flared open my wings. I knocked several kids off their feet in doing so, while others froze and turned to stare at me.

"She's the new gen."

"She's the future."

The kids chanted those same words repeatedly, and they gripped at my feathers hoping for a piece. It was terrifying, feeling their hands pass over them and plucking one by one. I reacted by spinning around while struggling with a wriggling Speck and bashed heads together.

"Stop! Let-" I felt a punch to my ribcage. I wheezed but laced my fingers together to keep her close to me. She screeched into my ears and kicked her legs, begging to be let go but I couldn't. I felt another feather getting pulled and finally had it.

I beat my wings with enough force to cause the smallest kids to fall over, and with as much strength as I could without any momentum, I rose above the crowd. Speck continued to struggle and fight me, making me falter in my horrible take-off.

"Stop- squirming- dammit!" I growled, trying to hold her tight without dropping her.

"Let me go! Let me go!" she cried.

"She's the future!" the kids sang below me. Somebody managed to get my shoelace, so I kicked their hand away only to have my pants leg snatched at the end. It ripped and strands of yarn hung where the cuff once was, but I kept flying. I flew higher and glanced down seeing all eyes on me. Well crap, this was not going as planned. Sure, I was expecting them to be brainwashed, but not zombified enough to want a bite out of me.

I felt another blow to my shin and squeezed her tighter.

"Put me down!" she shouted.

"No!" I exclaimed. "You're brainwashed! Wake up Speck! Wake up!" I tried to get higher but the more I did, the more she writhed about, and if I got lower, I would be swallowed by the hungry, delusional masses. I glanced at the stage in hopes that the guy could calm them down, but all he did was encourage it.

"Don't you see everybody? This is the future we're talking about! Right there! She is the future!" he pointed a gloved hand at me.

"She's the future! She's the future!"

Among the crowd, I heard several kids cry out begging for wings like mine. It was horrifying that I almost let go of Speck, but her wriggling reminded me to hold her. I had to get her out of here, but even if I did, she would just crawl right back. Dammit! How do I bring her out of this?

I couldn't think straight, with all the yelling and screaming for me plus a kid who refuses to comply, so I decided to fly towards the water knowing that whatever happens, Speck and I were going to be okay. Once I started though, she began clawing at me and begging for me to drop her.

"No! You have to wake up!" I yelled in her ear.

She shook her head and continued to fight me, limiting my speed and making me dip lower.

"Stop it Speck! Stop!" I gripped her tighter as she began slipping.

"No! Let. Me. Go!" she shrieked, pounding on my chest and landing a blow to my chin.

"Never!" I yelled back, tasting blood but ignoring it.

"Please! Let me go!"

"No- eek!" I squealed just as I felt a firm hand snatch the end of my tail. All my senses went numb just for the moment, and Speck tumbled out of my hands. I gasped and reached to grab her, but only caught air. "Speck!"

I watched her eyes widen as she fell, mouth open in fear as she slammed against the side of the railing and crashed right into the water.

"SPECK!"

I growled and turned to punch the kid square in the face. She recoiled and let go of my tail just enough for me to dive into the water. Their cheers followed me until I felt the freezing cold hit my skin. I couldn't help but gasp as I was enveloped in bubbles. Nearly forgetting how to breathe, I swallowed and took a couple seconds before peering around the somewhat clear lake.

There!

She was numbly flailing below me, her eyes slowly closing as she tried wading to the surface. I kicked my legs and aimed for her, wondering why the hell she wasn't trying to swim. Oh no. I tried to pick up my speed. She was brainwashed. She wouldn't know how to swim, let alone breathe underwater.

"Speck!" my voice gurgled as I saw her eyes shut. A few bubbles trickled out of her nose as I seized her. Her body went limp and didn't react to my touch at all. No, no no no. I angled my body vertical and kicked with my legs as strong as possible. She can't be- no! I peered at the reflecting light at the surface and braced myself for more hands grabbing at me. But once I breached, I heard sirens instead of cheers. Police officers swarmed the stage area and held the man plus a few kids in handcuffs. I swam to the shore with difficulty, as I tried to keep her head above water and keeping my distance from the fuzz. Speck, please, please be okay!

I dragged her onto the rocky beach and laid her on her back. Her eyes were still closed, and her chest wasn't moving at all. My breath caught as I placed my fingers to her throat. Oh, please please please. Her pulse was there, but barely. I had to act fast.

I took off our soaked bags and threw them to the side. The laptop was toast, and her school things had to be ruined. I stripped off my windbreaker and tore the sleeves slightly in the process as I felt restricted by it. I bent down and put my ear to her mouth.

Nothing.

No!

I moved my hands to her chest but paused, realizing she was only a kid and resorted to using one hand. I pressed down a couple of times before moving to blow air into her mouth. Please, please wake up! At every thirty compressions, I breathed into her, begging for her to come back to me. Speck, please! Please don't die on me! Tears began streaming down my face. I can't lose her, not now, not with how we left it. She can't die like this. Not brainwashed. Not mad at me. She can't die!

"Speck please!" I cried out, feeling my energy decrease at every press. "Wake up!"

She didn't react.

I kept going. I was not giving up on her.

"You have to wake up!" I sobbed, pressing down with more force than usual now.

Still nothing.

"Please!" I breathed into her again.

She was still.

"Wake up!"

She choked and my head spun to look at her, though my vision was blurry and hands numb. Her eyes slowly peeled open as she spat up water and peered around. She barely got to look at me as I threw my arms around her in a flash. "Speck!" I bawled, hugging her tight and closing my eyes. She was so close. I could feel her almost leaving me, but now she was here again. She was back, in my arms, soaked to the bone, but alive.

I squeezed her shoulders again and heaved at every sob. I was so stupid for letting her fall. I was an idiot for thinking she would be fine in the water. I was a dumbass for thinking my plan would work out. I should've known from the start, but I didn't. My body shook at my realization.

"Amber-" her voice was muffled against my wet shirt. I didn't dare to let go.

I almost lost her. My sister, my girl, my only happiness in my life. She was almost gone. I couldn't bear to see her like that again: lifeless and cold to the touch. My heart wrenched at the fact she was so close to death. I squeezed her closer, if possible, to me.

"-Mbr," she tried to speak.

"You're alive," I finally breathed, the warmness finally settling.

"Of," She finally pushed me away with all her might, which was more than I expected as I fell onto my back. "Course I am!" I tried to control my breathing as she slowly sat up and gazed around. "Where- where are we?" She shivered and looked down at herself. "Why am I wet?

"Oh Speck-" I reached to hold her again but she put up a hand.

"What," she blinked and shook her head. "What happened?"

I quickly closed my mouth and hung my head. It was all my fault. I put her in this mess. If I wasn't so hard on her, she wouldn't have retorted like she did at the bean sculpture. If I wasn't so mean, she wouldn't have reacted the way she did. If I wasn't so harsh, she wouldn't have run away in the middle of the night.

God I was such an asshole. Who does that to people? Who pushes them so hard, expecting them to be perfect in every way possible and follow every step you lay out for them? My tail twitched. Those evil scientist jerks. They did that to people. They did that to me. To Speck. And here I was acting the same way. Was I really stooping to that level? Was I really that bad of a person to do that to her? I was, and she almost died because of it. I couldn't do that anymore. I couldn't subject her to my tyrant tendencies. I had to change. Even though I kept telling myself that, I wasn't doing anything to stop myself. I had to check myself more. I had to live up to what I wanted to be, not what I was used to. I'm horrible, absolutely horrible.

I pulled her into a hug instead of answering her questions and she wriggled in response.

"Amber! What-"

"I'm sorry."

"What?"

"Never again."

"What do you mean? How-"

"I'll never let this happen again."

"I still can't believe it."

I gingerly stoked our fire and adjusted my windbreaker on the tree branch nearby. It was still dripping in some places, but it wasn't as bad as our other belongings. As I predicted, the laptop was ruined, and all her school things were mush aside from a couple writing utensils. She sat next to me, hugging her knees and leaning on my hip while staring into the fire.

"I'm sorry Speck," I whispered and put an arm around her. She was dry but still freezing and had trouble moving some limbs. I assumed it was the frog part of her and instantly decided to buy warmer clothes for this upcoming winter. I didn't know how long we'd be out like this, so I had to plan somehow. "I'll get you a big coat tomorrow."

"That's okay, I'm warming up fine," she replied, her eyes closing.

I nodded and wringed out my pants again. They collected most of the water, along with my shoes and shirt, so I sat there practically naked in my sports bra and shorts. Speck sat the same, but her pants dried the fastest. I rubbed my hand down her back.

"I can't believe they…" she started before pausing. I watched her shift uncomfortably. "Would do that." She rested her head on her knees and looked away from me.

I wanted to say something, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings more. I wanted to divulge myself to her, connect with her, but I wasn't her. She didn't feel the same why I did, and vice versa. I didn't want to project onto her. Instead, I squeezed her shoulder in a way to say, "I'm here to talk" and she rested her head against my arm in a "thank you" manner.

We continued to sit there in silence until the full moon peered behind the clouds. I yawned and she simply nodded, knowing I needed rest. Her entire left side was bruised from hitting the railing, but thanks to me, it was practically gone. I was exhausted, barely able to walk or see straight after breathing life into her. I passed out after she came to, and after an hour of napping to get my energy back, we traversed Illinois to a city that neither of us could pronounce. The flight was brutal, as she weighed like a ton in my arms and I was still not fully recovered.

I laid on my side and stretched slightly as she stared into the fire some more. I rubbed her back as my thoughts wandered in my mind, but none of them sat long enough for me to fully acknowledge them. It made me even more tired, trying to sort them accordingly, so I yawned again and shut my eyes. As quickly as I did so, I was out like a light.

Fang sat there staring at his unopened soda can in his hand, the humming of the jet engines clouding his hearing. He didn't hear Maya walk by him and ask if he was okay, nor did he hear Ratchet try to console him. Holden's eyes kept trying to search his, wanting to say something but never doing so. Kate and Star were still reeling from it all, Star the most as she still had tears in her eyes. But none of them knew Angel like he did.

He gripped the can tight, almost making it pop.

It was all his fault that happened to her, he should've done more. He should've stayed when she told him to run. He should've been the older, brotherly figure and put himself before her. But he knew Angel, he knew she could handle it, but she wasn't here to prove that. She was gone.

The can exploded in his hands and Maya came running, grabbing the shards as his vision blurred. He waved her away as she tried to fix it, closing his eyes and leaning back in his lush seat. Thank god these jets had their own little compartments, otherwise he wouldn't be able to wallow in his feelings. Maya pursed her lips but walked off, encouraging the others to follow so he could have some room. He could barely hear them whisper to each other and instead decided to listen to the humming of the jet.

Why did it have to end like this? Max now blames him for what happened, and he wouldn't be able to convince her otherwise. Her brave face wasn't convincing enough; he could see right through her. Angel was the baby of the flock, the one they all cared and looked after the most. But she was also one of the brightest, devious, and cleverest of them all. They all knew that, and at times it was scary at what she knew. But Max clearly loved her more than all of them. She wouldn't be the same after this, and Fang wanted so desperately to be there for her.

He looked out the window to see a sea of white below him. What if he met with Amber and Speck before they left? They would've helped tremendously. Less people would have been hurt, Angel wouldn't have died… but then somebody else would be gone. Gazzy wouldn't have made it, or he wouldn't have either. Either way, somebody had to be there to sacrifice themselves like Angel did.

He closed his eyes again, feeling a headache build behind them. Of all people to go, it had to be her, but at the same time, he couldn't help but not be surprised. She had that pride in her that separated her from others, but this time it separated her for good. He wished he could go back and change things, he wished he could go back and tell her not to go, but he knows her- knew her. He wished he could've said more, but all he said was "be careful." He wished he could've said goodbye, but there was no time. He wished she would come back. Hell, that was all he wanted.

He sighed, feeling a lump in his throat as her last words echoed to him:

"Go! I'll find you, go!"