Chapter 11
All right every one. You all want to know what happens to Fang, so here it is. I'm sorry if your think it's kinda short. I hope you all enjoy it!!!!!!
******************************************************************************
(Max POV)
We ran towards the smoke, praying that Iggy was up there. But who else could it be? I mean, sure, I guess a bunch of terrorists could have dropped off here in the mountains to practice their bombing, but c'mon! Lets be realistic here!
As we ran, I wondered why Iggy set off the bomb. There really was no reason to. Unless...unless it went off on accident. But if it went off on accident, was he hurt? Were the others with him? Were they hurt? I sped up, running as fast as my stiff legs could carry me. Angel struggled to keep up. I grabbed her hand and almost dragged her along.
Suddenly, we heard a loud rumbling sound. With my bird hearing, it seemed to almost echo. Angel was looking at the top of the hill, many yards away. I followed her gaze.
At the top of the rise was a mass of snow and ice, tumbling down toward us at high velocity. It was an avalanche. I skidded to a halt, panicking, wondering what to do. Then Fang came in to my mind and the panic left me.
Angel was looking at me with terror in her eyes, and I grabbed her hands.
"Fly, Angel, fly! Straight up!" I yelled over the roar of the avalanche. She snapped out her wings and shot up in the air. She seemed to struggle to rise at first, but then her jerky movements became smooth, and she waited for me, high in the air.
"Stay up there, sweetie, until the snow stops moving!" I called up at her. I saw her tiny face nod.
"Come on, Max, what are you waiting for!" She yelled down at me. I wanted to join her with all my heart, but my wings would not move. I couldn't fly.
"MAX, FLY!" Angel screamed.
The snow was only a couple of yards away. I looked around quickly and spotted a tree that looked easy to climb. I grabbed the lower branch, swung myself up, and began to climb for all I was worth. By the time I reached mid-way, the snow slammed into the tree.
The whole structure shook with the force of the impact. I was thrown off balance and my feet slipped off the branch they had been on. I dangled helplessly over the snow, it still rolling down the hill at a fast pace. My arms burned as I waited for the avalanche to stop.
Finally, after my arms had lost all feeling, the snow and ice stopped moving. I took sometime to regain my footing, then started to make my way back down the tree. Angel met me down at the bottom.
"Why didn't you fly, Max?" she yelled at me. I saw tears in her eyes. I put an arm around her and hugged her.
"My wings aren't working properly. I couldn't move them. But stop crying now, so we can go find Iggy. I assure you, he will be in big trouble for starting the avalanche," I whispered in her ear.
She put on a straight face and we continued our frenzied dash to the explosion.
An hour later, we found the bomb site. It was a large clearing, with a deep drop off at the south end. All the snow in a 20 yard radius was gone; all piled up at the bottom of the mountain. The every thing in the clearing was charred to a crisp. And hovering above it all was Iggy, Gasman, and Nudge.
"NUDGE! GAZZY! IGGY!" Angel screamed. They suddenly saw us enter the clearing and swooped down to the ground.
"OH MY GOD! MAX, ANGEL!" Nudge yelled, running towards us. Gasman and Iggy followed her.
We practically crashed into each other. All of us were hugging each other and checking out injuries.
"We didn't know what to do! We were just going to wait a couple of days, to see if you would find us, and if you didn't come, we were going to come looking for you! I was so scared! And then Iggy had to blow up a huge bomb, causing a stupid avalanche! Oh, please, Max, lets go somewhere warm and peaceful, I want to get out of the snow!" cried Nudge as she hugged me. Gazzy had Angel in a huge hug. She was crying again.
"Iggy, why did you cause an avalanche! Of all the times you could have detonated a bomb, why now?" I asked him. He actually looked proud!
"I got bored! What's a guy gotta do to get some amusement around here? While you and Angel are off skipping through the snow, we were stuck here with the company of a rock," he said sarcastically. I burst out laughing and hugged him.
"Have any of you seen or heard from Fang?" I asked, after all the happiness of the reunion died off. They all shook their heads, worry clear in their eyes. Well, all except for Iggy's. I sighed, trying not to panic. The love of my life, and he's missing. We just got together, and there was a chance that.....he could be....dead. It was time to find him.
"Alright, I guess its time we go find our silent crusader," I stated. "Do you guys remember where he went down at?"
They all thought for a moment.
"I think he went down to the southwest. It looked like it, anyways," said Gazzy.
"Alright then, lets go," I said. They all snapped out their wings and flew into the air. There they hovered, waiting for me.
"My wings are too stiff to fly, so you will have to fly slow, and I will follow you from the ground," I called up to them. They all nodded, and began to fly south, with me jogging behind them.
*****
It seemed only to have been a few minutes since we had started off, before I heard the whoosh of wings behind me. I turned around and found Nudge and Angel running towards me.
"Max, Max, there is something down in the wake of the avalanche, about 20 feet south. The snow moved and we think it might be Fang!" cried Nudge.
I started running. If it was Fang, and he had been caught in the avalanche, then he would be seriously hurt. Oh, please, please, let him not be dead!!!
I came to a halt about 5 minutes later, for I had come about 20 feet. That's just estimating, though, people. Looking around, I saw nothing but snow.
Then I saw it. Or, rather, a hand, sticking out of snow. It was tinged blue and laid limp upon the snow.
"FANG!" I yelled, and threw myself down to the ground. I took hold of his hand. It was so cold, like there was no blood pumping through his veins. I squeezed his hand, and got nothing in return.
The other members of the flock landed beside me. We all started to dig him out as fast as we could. By the time we had gotten his head free, I knew it was too late.
His lips were tinged blue, and his face was pale in death. Ragged cuts crossed on his arms and head. I seized him under his arms and hauled him out of the snow. His wings lay limp and crumpled. His left arm was broken and useless, as was his right leg. Gashes in his skin covered his body. I began to cry.
"F-Fang, Nooooooo.....not you......Fang.....", I moaned, taking his face in my hands. I placed my head on his chest and listened for a heartbeat, for anything that would mean he was still there. There was nothing. No breath, no pulse under his beautiful, bloody skin.
The flock seemed to have been frozen in time. It was as if they could not comprehend that Fang was gone. Dead. "Retired", as the white coats would say.
Then it seemed to sink in. Nudge and Angel began to sob in each others arms. Gazzy fell to his knee's and howled, hot tears streaking his face. Iggy simply stared, for once, feeling blessed that he could not see the awful sight of Fang's mangled body. Then he began to run away, with no way of knowing where he was going. He bumped into a tree, then stood punching it, tearing up his knuckles while angry tears flowed down his face.
I sobbed on top of Fang's body. My love, my stone, my best friend, my silent fighter. He was dead.
"Fang, no, no, no, why couldn't it have been me, why couldn't I have been caught in the avalanche!! Why couldn't I have died with you, OH FANG!!!!" I ended up screaming his name.
"I WANT TO DIE!!!!!" I screamed. I was nothing with out Fang!
I stroked his cheek, wishing things were different, wishing I was dead with him. The sobs could not be suppressed. I felt some thing inside me whither and die.
Looking at his, I knew I wanted to express one last act of love. His lips were parted, ever so slightly.
I bent my face over his and slowly touched my lips to his. His lips were so cold, and I ever so carefully closed the small space left between our lips.
I kissed him.
******************************************************************************
Ok, before you pull out your torches and pitchforks....actually, in today's modern world, it would probably be: pull out your machine guns and atomic bombs. So, before you pull out your machine guns and atomic bombs, let me tell you that this is not the end. I have something planned out.
Please continue to read my story. I promise you, this story will have a happy ending. I know your thinking that because I killed Fang, means that you won't read another word of this story. Please think again. I think you will LOVE the ending to this story.
I know I'm not to 100 reviews, but I can't just leave you hanging. I will start working on Chapter 12 immediately. In the mean time, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!!
And no insults please, with your reviews to this one.