Disclaimer: I do not own any characters mentioned in the following fanfic. They belong to James Patterson.

Name: Leaders May Fall

Chapter Name: Dealing With Pain

This switches between Fang's P.O.V. and Max'x P.O.V. Nothing "FAX" in this one, really. But there will be in the next chapters!

Thank you all for your reviews in the first chapter!!

Edit: I fixed some errors I found in the story.

FANG's P.O.V.

Max was on the ground, her eyes closed. A pool of blood was slowly forming around her like a halo. I clentched my fists together, anger filling my body. How COULD they do this? Max is all but invincible. How did she get taken out by one blow?
Without wasting any more time, I angled my wings down and glided towards her. The sounds of battle were quickly faded and replaced with the whisper of the trees as I entered the forest. I could hear Nudge calling to me, asking what was wrong. She'd find out soon enough.
Slowly, I touched my feet onto the ground, a few feet from Max. I didn't understand... I didn't know what to do... I just stared and stared and stared until finally I decided to step forward. Her blood was a sickening sight. It smeared across the forest floor. With shaking hands, I reached down and touched her cheek. It was cold.
No, no, no... This can't be happening! Max, you can't die on us... on me.
I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I jumped when I heard Iggy's quiet voice behind me.
"What's wrong? I smell blood. Is someone hurt?" he asked, panic straining his voice.
"Max got hurt. Real bad. She's bleeding all over the place..." Gazzy whispered, clinging to Iggy's shirt. All the little ones; Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy; had tears in their eyes.
Finally gaining control of my self, I slowly reached under Max's body and picked her up. Her head rolled to the left, revealing the large gash on the left side of her head.
"Are the Flyboys taken care of?" I asked, looking up to the flock.
"Yeah, we chased them off..." Angel replied quietly, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her arm.
Total whimpered in Angel's arm, his eyes reflecting the saddness that spread through the flock like a wildfire.
Without another word, I turned and jumped up. Max's hair whipped around as I flapped my wings, bringing us higher and higher until we were above the treetops. I could hear the others behind me, their worry pulsing through the air like sound waves. I could physically feel their pain and it made me sick.
After checking our position, I turned my wings to the left and flew off towards our hideout that we had been using for this trip.

MAX's P.O.V.

Ow... My head... Is this another stupid Voice message?
I opened my eyes to see Fang's face hanging over me.
"Ugh..." I mumbled, pushing him away. "Ever hear of personal space?"
Fang rolled his eyes and sat back, still staring at me.
"What?" I asked, rubbing my head. Suddenly, I noticed the bandage covering a majority of my skull. "What happened?"
Fang sighed and rested his hands on his knees and gave me a serious look. "I should ask you the same thing. Don't you remember anything?"
I blinked at him and thought. "I remember heading towards town to buy supplies... but I never remember reaching there..."
Fang looked thoughtful, his eyes narrowing. He nodded, then looked back at me. "Well, we were ambushed. Right away, you were hit on your head somehow and you fell 20 feet to the ground. You've got a nasty gash on forehead." He smirked slightly as he slid his finger across his own forehead to show me where I was hurt.
I rolled my eyes and sat completely up. Suddenly, I felt dizzy. I moaned and laid back down, gripping my head.
Fang looked at me, concern written on his face. "Max? What's wrong?"
"It's the gash... It really hurts..." I replied, embarrassed. I was suppose to be the leader, the strong one. And here I was, moaning and gripping my head like some kind of baby.
Suddenly, I felt Fang's cool hand on my forehead, barely hovering about the gash. "I don't think we have any pain killers..." he mumbled in thought, staring off to his left.
I shifted my gaze with him. He was looking at the mouth of a cave. It took me a moment to realize that we WERE in the cave. The cave where we were staying, I remembered.
"Wait... Where is the flock?" I asked, raising my head slightly to look at him.
Fang pushed me down gently and jerked his head towards the entrance. "They are outside. I told them they could come in only when you're ready for visitors." He smirked playfully, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall of the cave.
I shot him a glare before calling out their names...