Sorry its been so long since I posted. Here is the next chapter. Please R and R
We walked down that tunnel for over an hour. Mind you, this was human walking speed.
Also, let's remember that we (meaning my flock) are mucho de claustrophobic. So, you could touch the tension in the air, by the time we came to the end of the tunnel.
Ryan was panting some; he did not have super-mutant-bird-kid stamina. But, I gave him some credit, he hadn't complained or asked us to slow down or rest. Not even once.
"Here we are," he informed us.
I looked at Fang, his face was tight with stress. The rest of the flock looked wary. They expected this to be a trap.
Ryan moved to a small metal door and pushed on it. Instantly, it fell forward, taking Ryan with it. Nudge and I, who were the closed, grabbed his arms, to keep him from falling forward.
The door crashed down and light flooded the tunnel. All of us squinted at the brightness. I could smell some sort of grass.
Fang peered out anxiously, while Nudge and I set Ryan back on his feet.
"Where are we?" I asked.
"Southern California, near Mexico."
That sounded about right. The air was hot and dry now. I could see that the sun was bright as well.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
We had decided to stay in a hotel for the night. Apparently, Ryan had some cash. By "some cash" I mean several thousand dollars, in hundred dollar bills.
With the cash, we had gotten several rooms in a rather sketchy looking hotel. At least they weren't suspicious of the large bill amounts.
Ryan had his own room. Nudge and Angel were sharing a room. Iggy and Gazzy also decided to share. The dogs were with Angel. That left me. And Fang.
There was NO way I was sleeping in the same room as him. And I told him that. He had smirked a little, then suggested that we get two extra rooms. "That we will do," I said primly.
So, I had my own little room. And that was that.
Around ten-o-clock that night, I heard a knock on my door. I didn't respond, but checked through the peep-hole thing. I saw a rather distorted view of Fang's face.
Without answering, I opened the door.
"I need to talk to you," he mouthed.
I stepped aside and let him in.
After the door was closed, I spoke, "What?"
"Why did you trust him?" he asked me.
Well, that was certainly cutting to the chase, no tact here. "Because, I wanted to save all of your asses."
"You could have killed us all."
"But I didn't."
"Why risk it?" he looked at me angrily.
"What is your problem?" hadn't he learned to be grateful?
"Max, while you weren't with us, do you have any idea what happened to us?"
My eyes widened, "Did they hurt-?"
"No."
My breathing slowed, "Then what happened? Why didn't you tell me before?"
"All of the time. All of the time, there was a screen in my room. Not anyone else's, unless they were with me. Do you know what that screen showed?" Fang's voice cracked.
"No," I whispered.
"You. I saw everything. Everything that they did to you. Even when you weren't awake. I could always see you."
I was silent, this was- unexpected.
"I heard every word that you said. It was like watching a movie."
"I'm so sorry," I muttered. For some reason, I also blushed, Fang had seen me break down in so many ways. I had cried so many times. I turned my head away.
"But, they told me that you were going to be killed. That after they questioned you, you were to be eliminated."
I glanced at Fang and immediately came over to him and put my arms around him. "I'm so sorry," was all I could manage.
"But, I know one thing, Max. I know where we should go."