Hey guys, I'm sooooo sorry for the long wait. I just finished school, finally, and I had serious writer's block. I really need your ideas! But, now that school's out I should be able to update more often. Thanks to x Step On Me x for the title 'Uninvincible.' I finally got out of Realization. Okay, this chap isn't very long, even after the long wait, so, I'm sorry, but I'll try to make them longer from now on. So, here's the chapter:
—
I circled the small mountain under me. It seemed clear, but Erasers could be hiding inside the cave with our bags, waiting for us.
"I'll go in," Fang offered, giving me a short glance, then turning his face back to the mountain. Not looking at him, I considered the option. When I didn't object, Fang lowered himself into a dive, tucking his feathers in and copying the hawks we had flown with such a long time ago.
As Fang entered the cave, a pang of guilt hit me. Fang was part of the flock. I shouldn't be letting him put himself at risk like this. But, as that thought came, the image of Ella's dead body flooded my mind. A surge of involuntary anger filled my chest.
Suddenly, Fang stuck his head out of the entrance and waved for us to come in. I waited for the others to enter before I finally stooped into a dive and went in. The cave was illuminated with the dawn light. I made my way to the bags, where the rest of the flock was crouched, and picked up my pack.
"We have to go," I told the others. "The Erasers could come here at any time." I turned toward the hole in the wall, slipped the small bag onto my back, and jumped out. I spun in the air, letting myself flip as I fell, closing my eyes and listening to the wind as it rushed past. I fell for what seemed like forever, enjoying the quiet.
Finally, I felt a hand grasp my arm. My eyes snapped open. "Max, what are you doing?" Fang yelled from right above me. I felt the rage inside me suddenly explode and opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Fang, of all people, had no right to ask what I was doing.
I let my anger run down, and I could finally speak. "What do you mean 'what am I doing?'" I yelled back at him. "At least I didn't just kill an innocent girl!" I felt tears well up in my eyes as I finally let my frustration out. I watched Fang's face form into an expression of disgust. He let go of my arm, flying up to the others and leaving me in his position- at the bottom.
The flock started heading away, in the opposite direction of our mountain home. I watched as they flew, wondering if they even cared whether I stayed. Finally, when they had flown a good distance, Angel turned around. For a few seconds, she hovered, then she waved, motioning for me to follow. I quickly flew after her, telling her to keep going in order to keep up with the flock.
After a few hours of silent flying, we stopped. We landed in a small shelter in the forest. I quietly made my way over to a patch of grass, setting my bag on a rock and plopping onto the ground, exhausted by the hours of flight. I watched the others settle down and noticed that none of them were near me.
I sighed and stood up. "I'm going for a walk." Without waiting for a reply, I took off into the woods. After a few minutes of walking, I thought about flying instead. No, I was too tired.
"Max!" I heard a voice call quietly. "Max, where are you going?" I turned around. Iggy was standing about twenty feet away from me. He started walking forward. Man, how did he do it? I'd gone so far into the forest, and a blind kid could track me?
"Hey, Iggy," I replied just as quietly.
"Max, why are you mad at Fang?" asked Iggy. My head shot up at that. Why was I mad at Fang? I felt the familiar boil of anger return to my chest.
"Hmmm… I don't know, Iggy. Why would I be mad at Fang?" I snapped.
"Max, I'm not trying to start a fight, okay? Just chill out." Chill out? "I don't know who she was, but-"
She was an innocent girl, Iggy! She saved my life, she was my best normal friend!"
"Maybe she was, Max, but what about Fang?" Is he not your friend?" Iggy had started raising his voice.
"Iggy, you don't get it!" I yelled at him. "That was Ella! She was the one I stayed with when I got shot. She was the one who didn't treat me like a freak- the one who actually cared! I didn't have to take care of her; she didn't like me because I was the person she had to rely on! She liked me for being me." I felt my insides twist as I let my anger out.
"Okay, Max, I get it!" Iggy yelled back at me. "She was your friend! I can understand that. She was your friend- when she was human. Max, that person back there was not Ella! It was an Eraser, not even a person. That thing would have killed you or me or Fang the first chance it got! That was not your friend; it was a monster, a murderer, a freak! So, if you want to choose that thing trapped in your old friend's body over us, fine! But, you better make your choice really fast, 'cause we're not waiting!" He turned his back on me and stalked off.
I stood perfectly still for a few seconds, letting Iggy's words sink in. He was right. That's exactly what I'd been doing- choosing Ella, who had been kind to me for a couple of days, over the flock, who had been my family as long as I could remember.
Feeling guilty, Max? I'm glad Iggy had the sense to talk to you.
"Shut up, Voice!" I yelled. Everything fell silent around me. The birds were no longer chirping, I couldn't see the squirrels jumping around. The only movement came from a nearby river, its steady flow creating a soothing sound throughout the forest.
Good, Max, my Voice told me, just calm down. Now, go back to camp and hope that Iggy makes it back.
Hope that Iggy makes it back? What was that supposed to mean? Iggy had followed me here, all the way through the forest. But, he had done it by sound, and now he wasn't following my footsteps or anything besides his memory. Oh, no. I darted toward the place I had last seen him. "Iggy!" My voice sounded shrill even to my own ears. "Iggy, where are you?" I ran through the woods, yelling as loud as I could, though I had no clue whether or not Iggy was anywhere near me.
Suddenly, I heard something behind me. I whipped around. "Iggy!" I yelled, jumping forward and wrapping my arms around him.
"Woah, calm down, Max," said Iggy, no laughing and pushing me away. "Someone really needs a chill pill."
I stepped back, smiling in relief. "Sorry, I was just worried that…" I trailed off. Iggy didn't like talking about his certain loss of sense. "Well, I was just worried."
"Yeah, well, I bet the others are worried now," he stated, cocking his head, trying to hear anything nearby. "We should get back to camp."
"Okay, Are you up for flying?" I asked, hoping that he would respond the way I wanted him to.
"Uh… no. We did way too much earlier."
I sighed in relief. "Good, because I don't think I could get ten feet in the air." I paused. "I guess we should get going now." I started walking to the camp.
"Yeah." I heard Iggy's quiet footsteps come right behind me as I walked.
§
It took us about five minutes to walk back to the camp. When we arrived, the others looked up at us expectantly and I wondered what they wanted me to do. "Hey, guys," I said quietly.
"Hey." Fang's deep voice rang out, seeming loud in the silent clearing.
"I'm sorry I freaked out. It was stupid. I just saw Ella and I didn't know what to do. But you guys have been my best friends forever, and Fang, I know that you were just trying to, well, stay alive. You didn't even know that was Ella, and I guess it really wasn't. It was an Eraser. Ella died when the whitecoats did that to her. And, I'm just really sorry, but now I'm rambling, so I'm going to stop," I broke off.
"It's okay, Max," whispered Angel. She stood up and walked to me, wrapping her arms around my waist in that six-year-old hug. "Ella was your friend. You just got sad when you saw her. It's not your fault."
—
Okay, was it too bad? Sorry for the short chap and the kind of cheesy ending. But, like I said- I have writer's block. So, pleeaaasssseee review. If you have ANY ideas- tell me! I'll try to make the next chapter longer. Thanx- Dringer