Chapter 15
Hello again! This story still has quite a few chapters to go, and some of them will be really short, because I'm back in school now. Just wanted to let you know!
Also, I am crashing off Red Bull right now. And one of my best friends just moved to Kansas again, after living where I live for 2 years, living her whole life as a lie down here. So, I'm a bit depressed. Understatement. If this chapter sucks, please tell me. I want to please the readers, but I can't do that very well when I'm depressed.
Anyway, enough rambling. Lets get on with the show!
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(Max POV)
I woke up the next day to the sound of someone calling my name. I was in a deep sleep, and couldn't identify the voice.
"Max!" someone said. Or maybe they were shouting. I couldn't tell. I sunk deeper into my subconscious, not wanting to wake up.
"MAX!" someone yelled. I mumbled something under my breath, and, still half asleep, rolled over.
And fell right out of the tree. Just like that. You want to wake your sleepy cousin whose stolen your bed? Put him/her in a tree, then push them out. I can vouch for that method.
My wonderful impact against the ground left me wide awake, in pain, and very embarrassed. Even more embarrassing was the fact that I had woken everyone up during my little free fall fun. Say that 5 times fast.
I had never, ever, ever fallen out of a tree before. Or a normal bed for that matter. And the flock knew. I could tell they were all about to burst out laughing, so I pushed myself off the ground and began to walk away. If only Fang were here. I would have never done something that stupid if he had been here. I really have some issues with him.
"MAX!!" a voice yelled, sounding muffled in the wooded area. Realizing that it was the same voice that resulted in me rolling out of my tree, I ran towards it. It was my mom.
"Oh my gosh, Max! What happened?" Dr. Martinez asked when she ran over to me, with Ella beside her.
"It's a long story, mom. Did you bring the bandages and peroxide?" I asked tiredly. She nodded and tried to hug me. My wings were in the way, so she failed miserably.
"Ok, follow me. I'll take you to the place were crashing at for now," I said.
As we walked, I filled Ella and her in on what had happened since we left for New York. Dr. Martinez checked out my injuries, occasionally pressing on my skin, causing me to wince.
"You really should be in a hospital. But since you guys aren't really the hospital types, I will do what I can for you, then you will have to let your body do the rest," Dr. Martinez said, her worry clear.
We entered the clearing, and found Gazzy lighting a fire, while the rest began to eat some breakfast. There's nothing like cold fried chicken and Chef Boyardee to get you ready for the day!
My mom started to check out the rest of the flock, while I talked to Ella. She wanted descriptions of the clothes that I had bought for myself. When I got to the black and gold dress with black tights, her eyes lit up.
"That's what your wearing on your date with Fang!" she whispered to me. I looked at her like she had two arms sticking out of her back.
"What? You would look amazing! Nudge and I could do your hair and make-up, and I found this hair spray; when you spray it on, it makes your hair all sparkly, like you have diamonds in your hair! We could find some make-up, and....and..uh..." she stuttered to a halt, when she realized I was looking like I was about to bite her head off.
"Well, that's all fine and dandy, but in the mean time, I think we have a bit of a crisis on our hands!" I said sarcastically. She suddenly looked guilty.
"I'm sorry, Max. But I know you will get him back, safe and sound. I know you. When someone goes after a person you love, you will do everything in your power to get them back. Even if you die trying," Ella muttered softly.
For once, I felt my tough barrier melt at her words.
"But this Fang, Ella. Fang. My boyfriend. My best friend. My stone. One wrong move, and everything is lost. The flock, Fang, the world. I don't know what to do," I whispered, hardly believing I was telling her that.
"You do what you always do. You go in there, you kick butt, make a daring escape, and everything turns out all right. Like always. This time, your going to kick even more butts, make an even more daring escape. Because it's Fang. You know it, I know it, the flock knows it. The world knows it. Now you go out there, get angry, beat up some white coats, and bring Fang back," she said fiercely.
Now I was pumped. I was ready to take on the world. I think if Ella wanted to go into the Inspirational Speaker field, she'd be freakin' famous.
"Thanks, Ella," I said to her, before going over to check on the doctoring process. She looked quite proud of herself.
"How's the doctoring coming along?" I asked my mom, trying not to start hyperventilating from the smell. It smelled like the School. I suppressed a shudder.
"I'm almost done with Iggy, then I can tend to you," said Dr. Martinez distractedly. She was checking Iggy's head for bumps that might have caused a concussion. When he checked out ok, she turned to me.
"It looks like your wing joints have popped out of place! Let me just relocate them. It will hurt a lot, so tell me when your ready," she said gently, placing her hands at the part where my wings connected to my back.
I looked for something to hold on to. I grabbed a piece of thick fire wood, and told her I was ready. She slowly began applying pressure, pressing the joint back into it's original place. I gritted my teeth to keep from screaming as the pain built up. I heard a small pop as she finnaly popped it back into place. Gasping, sweat beginning to appear on my face, I looked down at the wood in my hands. It had snapped in two.
I tossed it away, and grabbed another one, then let her proceed. It was the same process over. Pressure, pain, pop. Shattered piece of wood.
"There. Your wings should work now," Dr. Martinez said, her voice shaking a little. I tested them. They flapped easily, with out hardly any pain.
"Thank you!" I breathed, relieved that I could fly again. A bird kid who lost its wings. Wouldn't that just be such a sad story.
Dr. Martinez continued to tend to my other injuries. She applied peroxide to my cuts, (which stung like h***!), and bandaged them. She also bandaged my legs, since it seemed that the blizzard had stripped them of a layer of skin. No wonder it had hurt so much to walk. For the numerous bruises, she had brought a cooler full of ice. Angel's nasty bruise on her side had already started to swell down, so we were making good progress.
Finally, after we were stinking of peroxide and looking like half wrapped mummies, the doctoring stuff was over. Ella and Nudge went to a nearby McDonald's and bought so many burgers, it could have easily fed a fat camp, full of chubby kids who just wanted to have a Big Mac.
We had chocolate chip cookies for dessert, and sat around the fire, just as silent as if there was nothing to talk about. And really, there wasn't. Until we found out where they were keeping Fang, there was not much to discuss. We eventually split up around the clearing.
Angel, Ella, and Nudge went over to a tree, and sat whispering, probably plotting against me. Iggy and Gazzy seemed to be making another bomb. Like we needed one of those! Pardon my sarcasm. That just left me and my mother.
I scooted closer to her and laid my head on her shoulder. She put her arms around me, as if she could shield me from everyone who wanted my blood.
"Maybe, after all this is over, you could come settle down with the flock, near me and Ella," Dr. Martinez whispered. It killed me. Because I knew we could never settle down. Not as long as white coats were still around. Evil white coats, that is.
"It would be nice," I murmured, wishing that things were different. That I didn't have wings, and Fang was still with us. That I didn't have robots on my tail all the time.
We stayed like that until the fire went out. The rest of the flock had went to bed, and Ella was passed out under one the trees.
"I guess I should be going. I'm sure you are wanting to be saving Fang by now anyway. Please take care of yourself. I don't want to find you this hurt again," my mother said, seeming close to tears. I said nothing, because I couldn't promise her something that I couldn't control.
I walked back with her and a half asleep Ella, to where there car was parked. Ella hugged me and got into the car, her face looking sad.
Dr. Martinez hugged me, and didn't let go for a while. When I finally detached her arms from around me, she was crying.
"Goodbye," I said softly, feeling the tears starting to come too. Curse these teenage hormones. And curse the constant stress I was having because I feared for the lives of my flock. Dr. Martinez said nothing, but her eyes said it all. They said, "Max, I love you, and I hope you get Fang back. But if I never see you again, then...goodbye."
She got in car and drove away, leaving me standing there alone, just waving at dust. With tears pouring down my face.
Why did things have to be this way? Why?