The door opened and a girl about Nudge's age stepped out, she was kind of scared to see us all standing there, but when she was Max draped in my arms, she calmed a bit. "Mom! Max is back!" She turned and looked at the others carefully. "And she brought her friends!"
A lady, nice and pretty looking stepped out of the house, saw Max draped in my arms and ran over to me. "Oh my! Get her in here right now! Ella, fix our guests some drinks. I started to follow her, but Fang cut in and scooped Max out of my arms.
"I can take it from here, thanks." His voice was surprisingly thankful, and I nodded. Max's eyes were closed, but she wasn't unconscious. He looked down at here, assumed the opposite and said, "She is my girlfriend." Max's eyes shot open and she stared up at Fang astonished. His breath caught, seeing her awake and he just gaped at her.
I laughed, "It's not like I'm trying to cut in." Fang smiled and carried Max into the house. I turned to Ella and she motioned into the house. The whole group followed.
"Hi." Ella's voice was shaky and I could tell she didn't have many friends. "You guys want some juice?"
In unison, all of us nodded. She giggled nervously and got the orange juice out of the fridge. She went to the cabinet, tried to pull out like 6 cups at once. The Gasman ran over, being a perfect gentle man and helped her carry the cups over to the counter and pour the juice.
"Thanks…" She paused, waiting for him to fill in the name.
He smiled. "Gasman. Max calls me Gazzy, but that's only Max." She nodded.
"I get it, Gasman. You other's got cool names too?" The rest of the group shook their heads enthusiastically.
Angel stepped forward first, looking sweet and innocent, her light brown hair covering the gills in her neck. "I'm Angel."
"Of course you are!" Ella handed everyone a cup and Iggy's hand fumbled for the glass. Ella stared at him for a second, but not long enough to seem rude.
He sipped the glass. "I'm Iggy, so I'm blind, I do fine usually. Sometimes I mess up." He seemed a little agitated.
"We all mess up Iggy, it's okay." She seemed caring and nice, just like her mother. "My uncle used to be blind, couldn't see a thing his whole life! But last year he had eye surgery, quick and painless, and now he can see!" Iggy's face looked thoughtful, then scared.
The Gasman shook his head. "You'd have to let Iggy have a lot of time to think about it. Surgery is the reason he's blind." Ella's eyes got wide.
Iggy stepped back and took another sip of his juice, trying to act like it was a normal snack. "Enough about me, next person." Nudge's turn.
"I'm Nudge, I'm 13. It's really cool to meet you and I love this orange juice! Where'd you get it? Not that we can just waltz into a store and buy any though." She looked over to The Gasman who shrugged; Fang wasn't here to stop her and they had to know Max had wings. Nudge let out her wings a bit and smiled mischievously. "Stores have signs that say 'no pets allowed'."
Ella's eyes got bigger and bigger and her mouth kinda fell open. "And you?" She was talking to me.
"I'm Whisper, I don't really belong here and it's just kinda lucky I'm here at all." She looked at me surprised and scanned me over, noting my limp arm and bruised face smeared with blood where Max had punched me with her bloody hand.
"You better come with me; you're hurt too." I followed her down the hall way and into the bathroom.
Max was sitting on the edge of the bathtub with Fang sitting beside her, holding her up while Ella's mom sewed up Max's face with black medical twine. Ella looked at Max and winced when she saw the needle pierce the skin. "You doin' okay?"
Max looked up at Ella and smiled. "I'll be fine."
Ella's mother nodded. "Luckily she got here before she lost too much blood. I'll just finish this up," her needle went through a last time and she pulled it tight. Max shut her eyes and Fang squeezed her hand. Ms. Ella's Mom cut the string and tied it. "done!" A look of relief spread across Max's face.
"Thank God." She stood up and Fang stood up too.
"You must be Whisper, the cause of this." For some reason, Ella's mom's face still looked happy. "Max told me all about it." Fang flashed me a look, and Max shook her head at him. "I'm Dr. Martinez, have a seat."
I sat down on the bathtub edge slowly, afraid of her. She took hold of my sore arm and slowly lifted it, I bit my lip. "It's only really bruised, not broken or sprained, thank goodness." She sat it back down and placed her hand under my chin turning her face in her hands. "Ella, hand me a wash cloth." She washed my face slowly, getting off all of Max's blood, she turned to Max frowning. "She's more banged up than you, but she's got your blood on her face; what did you two fight for?" Max shrugged, Fang's arm around her shoulders. Dr. Martinez rolled her eyes. "For goodness sake, Ella, get Max a shirt."
The three exited and left me with Ella's mom. She finished with my face and rose to rinse out the wash-cloth. "You hurt anywhere else?" I lifted the edge of my shirt and she walked back over to me. "What a huge bruise!" She poked it gingerly. It hurt a lot but not terribly. "But no broken ribs? You guys sure are strong." She stood up again. "You'll just have to let those heal, but I'll be glad to give you an ice pack to hold on her stomach."
I followed her into the kitchen where the rest of the group stood around the counter.
Instead of just changing my shirt, Ella told me to go and take a nice long shower. She said she'd let us all take showers; she was wonderful. The shower felt like heaven and my cheek, though incredibly sore, wasn't pounding nearly as much as it had been. And best of all, Ella's mom washed my pants and stuff while I showered so I could put on clean clothes when I got out.
I scrubbed myself down and lifted my head under the shower head, accidentally swallowing some of the water. I squirted some of the shampoo into my palm and worked it into my shiny black hair, washing out any grime that had gotten into it in the fight. It wasn't as if I hadn't taken a shower in a long time- I had one the night before, but this one felt so darn good.
After I felt like I was thoroughly clean, I turned off the water and climbed out onto the bathroom rug wrapping myself up in a towel, my hair dripping onto the floor. I turned back around and rung it out over the tub.
I opened the door slowly and found my clothes hung on the door knob. The only thing that was missing was my trusty tank-top, which I suspected was too blood soaked to be saved. I pulled on the war blue-jeans and Ella's red t-shirt and used the towel to dry my hair a little more. I hung the towel back on the rack and stepped out of the bathroom, my hair still a little damp.
The living room was packed with everyone. Dr. Martinez was sitting on the couch talking to Iggy about animals, Ella was sitting in the floor chatting with Nudge about normal girl stuff, Gazzy and Angel were playing rock paper scissors on the carpet, Whisper was sitting in a chair in the corner, looking depressed as usual, and Fang sat up against the wall, his tanned arms behind his head. He saw me and smiled, revealing a rather pointed tooth.
Dr. Martinez looked up and everyone turned to me. "Hey honey, your cheek okay?" I nodded. Dr. Martinez turned back to the others. "Who's next?" Angel hopped up and ran over to me, hugging me tightly, her nose shoved into my arm.
"You okay Max? Everything fine?" I smiled and hugged her back.
"I'm fine, you go take your shower now." I squeezed her shoulders and she looked up concerned into my face.
"It'll stop hurting soon enough." Of course she'd heard me think 'my face hurts like heck' because that's just one of the cool things about Angel- reading minds. I pinched her cheek and she ran off to the bathroom. I walked over to the group and sat down beside Gazzy, running my fingers through his white blonde hair. I noticed Fang's eyes drift close. That guy waited until I was through with my shower to make sure I was okay, even though he was so tired from searching for Angel's dog all day. Oh my gosh! Angel's dog!
I crawled over to Fang and got ready to shake his arm and remind him about Total, but decided against it; the guy needed rest, and I wasn't going to deny him that. I stood up quietly and walked over to the couch where Dr. Martinez and Iggy were sitting.
"Igg, what about Total?" Iggy turned toward me, and Dr. Martinez did the same.
"Total?" Dr. Martinez looked at me. "Is one of you guys lost?"
I shook my head and she sighed relieved probably that there was no one else. "Total is Angel's dog. Angel's the one in the shower."
"Yeah, Fang introduced me to all of them while you were bathing. Real nice kid, Fang." I blushed and she smiled. "You guys stay here tonight and tomorrow you can look for her dog. It's getting late, and I don't want you back out there." I looked over to Fang to make sure this was okay with him, but of course, he was fast asleep, looking completely calm and peaceful.
All of a sudden Dr. Martinez's eyes glinted, remembering something. "Do you all have…" She stopped.
"Yeah, we all have wings."
Ella looked up at me, grinning in a sisterly manner. "Mom, we have a flock of birds in our living room." Dr. Martinez gave her a stern look, like she thought Ella said something rude, but when Nudge giggled and I laughed, her face softened.
I yawned and laid back against the couch, and felt something sharp press into my hip. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the ATM card that was mine. Dr. Martinez looked at me slowly.
"What's that?" I explained how I'd found it and for some reason, once I'd started, I couldn't stop. I told her everything, about the school, about the Erasers, about Angel, and about my 'voice'. She was silent the whole time, taking it all in, and Ella was listening intently now too.
Sometime in between this, Angel got back, sat down beside me and Nudge got up to take her shower. Gazzy was dozing on the carpet too, and Iggy helped me tell the story. Whisper had been so quiet I'd almost forgotten she was there.
Once I was finished I sat back again and pulled Angel, smelling of soap and shampoo into my lap.
"So you have no idea where or who your parents are?" The three of us shook our heads in unison. "And a scientist did this to Iggy's eyes?" We nodded together. "And Angel can breathe under water?" Angel looked up at her solemnly and nodded. "Those terrible men!" The white-coats were much worse than that.
I heard scuffling on the carpet and Nudge appeared from the hall-way, her hair wet and hanging in dark brown strands across her face. "That feels better." She came over and she squeezed in beside Iggy and me. "Who's next?" She walked over to The Gasman and shook him awake. He sat up, rubbed his sleepy eyes and walked to the bath room like a droid. He was so going to bed when he got out.
Dr. Martinez still looked appalled at the thought of The School. She stayed silent for a few moments, thinking it through. "I know some doctors who could fix Iggy's eyes." Iggy shivered, remembering how he'd lost his vision. "It's expensive, but painless. He'd have to wear glasses though." I looked at Iggy and tried to read his expression; we had enough, plus more, on the card to pay for it. His face was blank and he kept blinking his empty eyes.
"Will they wear white coats?"
Dr. Martinez didn't laugh. "I could get them to wear blue. They're really nice, and not at all like the white-coats. I promise." Iggy's face remained blank, and he turned his head toward me.
"Can we afford it Max?" He sounded like he was actually considering it.
"Of course, Igg." He nodded thoughtfully.
"I guess there's nothing to lose." Dr. Martinez smiled.
"I'll go call him and we'll arrange it for tomorrow." He nodded again and laid back against the couch back as Ella's mom went off to the kitchen. Iggy was silent until Gazzy got back to give him the shower. Iggy went willingly and Gazzy took his place on the couch, almost instantly drifting back to sleep. Angel climbed off my lap and I stood up, allowing her to lay on the couch too.
I turned toward the chair in the corner and saw almost instantly that Whisper was gone. She's walked out silently, and I'd never even noticed. She was so agitating! I stood up, walked into the kitchen, opened the front door and stepped out into the yard. The sky was dark blue with stars dotted across it. One star was moving, and it wasn't a star.
Whisper flew on, not daring to stop, and I didn't go after her this time. If she didn't want to stay and associate like a normal human being (even though we were FAR FROM normal human beings), then it was her loss. The flock was waiting for me inside, and I didn't want to waste my time chasing her. I turned back around, walked back inside, shutting the door and locking it. Iggy was walking back from the shower; it was Fang's turn, and somebody had to wake him.
Angel and Gazzy were asleep on the couch, Nudge was following Ella to her room and Iggy was settling comfortably into Whisper's chair. Fang was still asleep against the wall, looking solitary and comfortable. I walked over to him, my bare feet padding on the carpet. I place my hand on his shoulder and out of instinct, his other hand flew forward and grabbed mine.
We stared at each other for a second and then I looked away. "It's your turn to take a shower." He stretched and stood up, his face sleepy. He pulled his hand from mine and put it under my chin.
"I'm glad you're okay Max. I dunno what I'd do without you." I blushed fiercely and he smirked slyly. He let his hand slide down and fall. I watched curiously as he walked to the bathroom and slide inside, not making one sound. Boy was he the silent type.