Chapter 9

(Max POV)

I know that was a huge cliffy, but I couldn't resist. To say the least, I think it might be a couple more chapters before their date.

I set this one in three POV's, because it's important that you know what happens to everyone.

I hope you enjoy it! I want 95 reviews total, before I post the next chapter.

And so....it begins......

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The first I noticed was that I couldn't move my legs. I just couldn't. They seemed to be frozen solid. The second I noticed was the pain in my back. I was laying on top of my wings, in an odd angle. That's when I opened my eyes. The blizzard had been reduced to a normal snow shower. No sleet or hail, only soft, white snow. And I was buried in it. Only my head and part of my chest was sticking out. One of my arms seemed to be ok, but that was just a guess, since I couldn't feel them either.

Somewhere in the distance, I heard a muffled cry, and I realized that Angel was not with me. I turned my head, trying frantically to find her, or to hear her.

"...A-Angel!" I called in a ragged voice. My throat seared with pain. No answer. I called again, this time louder.

"Angel!!"

A small whispering voice finally answered me. "...M-Max....is that y-you? Where are you?"

"Yes, Angel, it's Max. I don't know where I am, so just follow my voice if you can. Are you hurt or trapped in the snow?" I said.

"N-No, I'm free. My side hurts, but I'm ok. Please, keep talking. Tell me about what were going to do at Winter Park," Angel replied. I heard soft footsteps crunching on the snow nearby.

I started talking to her, saying how we were going to play in the snow, and go snow boarding. How we were going to drink hot chocolate and eat lots of awesome food. How we would check out the shops and have a great time in our rooms. Eventually, I asked her something.

"Angel, honey, are you scared?"

".....A little. My side still hurts. But I'm with you, and you always have a plan. We will make to Winter Park because of you," she said. My heart seemed to fill up with a sort of glow you get when you know that people believe in you, and that you will always save the day. It was a large burden, but the trust Angel put in her was irreplaceable.

Angel suddenly entered my line of vision. She gave a cry and ran towards me. Falling to her knees, she looked at me with her eyes as big as plates. Then she began shoveling the snow off of me with her hands. All the while, I murmured comforting words to her. I noticed a long cut on her cheek, running from her temple, to her jaw. It no longer leaked blood, but it could become infected if I didn't get her attended to soon.

It seemed like an hour passed before I was free of the snow. I had been right about my arms. They were ok. My clothes were torn, revealing shallow cuts on my legs and torso. Most of them had already clotted. My wings had been damaged the most. The feathers stuck out at odd angles, and it seemed a like a few bones might have bruised. Deep cuts ran along them. They were so stiff, I couldn't fold them back.

While I struggled with my injuries, Angel gathered wood for a fire. I gave up on my wings, and began trying to light the wood with some matches in my pocket.

After a few curses, and a murmured, "Where's Iggy when you need him...", I got the wood lit, and we had a small fire. I massaged my legs, trying to get circulation in them, since they were just as stiff as my wings. Angel had to drag me over to the wood to light the fire in the first place. I told her to do the same.

As we massaged our various frozen body parts, (with exceptions), I worried over where the others were. I should have been stronger, should have kept the flock together. If I had been stronger, or had seen the blizzard earlier, maybe we wouldn't have been broken apart. It was my fault. Who knows what happened to them, or where they are.

Angel looked at me fiercely. She had heard my little tirade in my head.

"This is NOT your fault. It's no one's fault. You couldn't have known about the blizzard, and you are strong enough. Natures...well...stronger, though. Stronger than all of us put together. Don't ever blame yourself for nature's fury again. Cause it's not true. You are our leader, and our stone," Angel said forcefully. I believed her. But one last self-doubt came into my mind. Fang was my stone. What can I do with out him. What if....he was....

I couldn't finish the thought.

"You can make it with out Fang. You have before, and you made good choices. And I'm sure Fang is fine. He's tough. He loves you too, and he won't rest until he finds you. Let that be your good thought. Let that help you have him as your stone, even when he's not here," Angel stated. I nodded and gathered her in my arms, hugging her.

"We will make through this; we will find the others; and we will have a great time at Winter Park when we get there. That's a promise," I whispered in her ear. She nodded.

We sat by the fire for a long time, until dawn etched the sky with a weak light. I woke Angel, who had fallen asleep against me.

"I think it's time we start looking for the others," I mumbled in her ear. She stood up and stretched, then grimaced and put a hand to her side. I raised took a look at her side. It had a huge bruise, that was a shade of many colors. It looked nasty and painful.

"For now, we can't do anything about it, but when we get to Winter Park, I will take care of it," I said as we started away from the fire and walked north. That was were I saw Nudge, Iggy, and Gazzy go down, so I would start by finding them.

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(Nudges POV)

We all sat around the fire that Iggy had lit. I had woken up to find Gazzy trying to wake Iggy, and me being buried half way in snow. All together, we had very little injuries. Iggy probably suffered a concussion, and he had a cut on his arm that needed tending to. Gazzy was relatively unhurt, though bruises were beginning to appear all over his body. I had a sprained ankle, and my shoulder was hurt.

"We are sooooo screwed," Iggy moaned for about the tenth time. Gazzy smacked him on the arm.

"Iggy, we are not screwed. Max or Fang will find us, and then we will go on the Winter Park. So just shut up, if you don't have anything good to say," I shot at him. He glared in my direction.

About ten minutes later. "WE ARE SOOOOO SCREWED!!!!"

"Gazzy, go find me a big rock. Iggy, it's going to take them a little while to find us. It's been ten minutes since you last said that. SHUT UP!!! Or I will knock you unconscious!!" I yelled at him. Gazzy went to go find a big rock, whether because he thought I would kill him if I didn't, or maybe he just wanted Iggy to shut up too.

Gazzy came back with a medium sized rock. Not a big rock, medium. I raised an eyebrow at him and he shrugged. I took it and set it beside me. Iggy tried glaring at Gazzy, but he was off by a few feet. I giggled. He mumbled something under his breath and stood up. I stood up too, and began pacing.

It must have been an hour before we were hopelessly bored. Gazzy and Iggy were playing rock, paper, scissors, after much persuasion on Gazzy's part. Iggy didn't want to play, cause Gazzy would lie and cheat. And he was. But Iggy didn't know that. I kept pacing, then decided it was time for more fire wood.

"Gazzy, Iggy, make yourselves useful and build a bomb. Hopefully, if you blow up a tree, we can get some more fire wood from it," I growled at them. My shoulder hurt, and I was irritated that Gazzy was cheating Iggy.

"Oh, and Iggy? Gazzy has paper, not rock," I said. Iggy's mouth dropped open, then he got angry and dived at Gazzy. They fought each other for a few minutes, then made up and started building......a bomb....

What was I thinking? Where were Max, Fang, and Angel? Are we screwed?

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(Fang's POV)

"...I am going to kiiiillll Gazzy!" I moaned, opening my eyes. My whole body was in pain. And why was every thing so white? All I see is white.

That's when I realized I was buried in snow. I tried to move my arms. No go. I wiggled around, and managed to get my right arm free. Sighing....was a mistake. When I opened my mouth to sigh, a wad of snow entered my mouth. Choking, I began digging through the snow, pushing it away from my face. The snow just fell back on me, while the snow in my mouth melted and I swallowed it.

Growling, I kept digging and freed my face. Five minutes later, I had my neck free. Then my shoulders, then my torso. When I got to my legs, I froze. Red blood glistened all around me. D***! My sat up and my left arm throbbed. It was broken and dangled uselessly by my side. My wings were covered in blood, from where skin had been torn off in several places. I had cuts all over my body, and I spat out some blood, coming from a cut inside my cheek. Wiping my mouth, I cringed. A large bruise was on my cheek. "D***!" I cursed out loud this time.

I uncovered my legs and feet, only to find them stiff and raw. I tried to stand, and I realized my right leg was broken. I also could not fold my wings in.

There was a tree behind me. I somehow got myself turned around, facing the tree. A branch with a fork in it caught my eye. I could use it as a crutch. I took hold of it with my right hand and threw my weight on it. It snapped and I was driven to my knee's. A excruciating pain washed over me, and I momentarily fainted. Another wave of pain woke me and I scrambled to my feet, using the make shift crutch to push myself up.

I looked around. Trees, rocks, and....snow. No flock, No Max. I was hungry and thirsty. And cold. Very cold. And there was no Max. Panic threatened to overwhelm me. For a moment, it did.

"MAX!!!" I screamed. Of course, there was no answer. I needed to find them. I needed to know they were ok.

The first step I took was painful. The next step I took, I placed my crutch on some unseen ice and I fell. Gritting my teeth so I wouldn't howl with pain, I got back up and took another step.

I was soooooooo screwed.

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Also, I have finals these next three days. Which means, no computer for me, and I get my head shoved into my notes. Sarcastic yay! I won't be able to post, type, message, nothing. Just study. Ugh!! But after finals, I have Christmas Break!! Real Yay!!!!!! So, until then, Bye!

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