Disclaimer: I claim no right to the Maximum Ride universe. Please review.
I woke to the yells of three demented little snots. At first I had no idea where I was and scrabbled beneath the pillow for the knife that I usually slept with. About five seconds in, their laughter registered in my panic and sleep fogged brain.
"Got you, Max!" Nudge singsonged from her perch on my nightstand. Angel giggled beside her.
Breathing heavily, I collapsed onto my back and tried to quell the panic and the rage. They don't know what I've been through. They didn't know that I would have sliced them to ribbons before I was half awake.
Gazzy was cackling wildly on the floor without any idea of how close to dismemberment he had come. I grabbed a pillow and swung it at his head. With a satisfying thump, he hit the floor and stared up at me with a stunned expression.
"Yeah," I said. "That's what you get." I whacked Nudge and Angel, too, while they were distracted and laughing at the Gasman. "That's what all of you punks get." I stuffed the pillow back under my head and rolled onto my side away from them. "Go away. It's too early for this." I pulled the covers over my head and tried to ignore them.
"You do know that it's already three in the afternoon, right?" Angel said.
Afternoon, Max. Sleep well?
I took a moment to run a check on myself and was quite pleased to discover that I was in great shape and I had slept through the night. I am fantastic, thanks. I pushed the covers off and sat up. My stomach growled loudly.
"I guess that I was right on in heading up with this," Iggy said from the doorway with a loaded tray in his hands. He stepped over Gazzy and set the tray across my lap. "Figured you'd be starving. How's your face?"
"Still scary," Gazzy muttered. I hit him on the side of his head with a walnut.
Iggy really outdid himself. Sitting in front of me was a huge stack of waffles topped with whipped cream, sliced strawberries, and walnut pieces. Six slices of bacon and four sausage links sat to the side, drizzled with syrup, just the way I liked it. There was also a large glass of milk and one of orange juice.
Iggy grinned. "I know that it's afternoon and all, but I'm sure it's been a long time. I also have a surprise for you when you come downstairs." He reached over and touched Nudge's knee with his face still turned towards mine. With his other hand he grazed lightly over my shoulder where the deepest slashes had been. Then he turned my face this way and that. "Yep, you were right. You look a lot better now. Not that you're presentable, but…"
"Gee, thanks." I punched his shoulder. Then I grabbed the utensils and dug in.
As I devoured the delicious repast that Iggy prepared, I could hear sounds of gagging and choking. I rolled my eyes but kept going. I was hungry.
That's no reason to turn into a wild beast. The Voice said dryly.
Who's side are you on anyway? I deserve to eat however I want. Go away. I swear that it sighed in resignation.
When I finally looked up, there were four stunned faces circled around me. Angel's mouth had dropped open and Iggy's eyes were wide, but he was obviously trying not to laugh.
"That was amazing!" Gazzy practically shouted.
Nudge shuddered. "Yeah, amazing. Gross." She'd just become a little princess, that one. I had no idea how I was going to handle that.
I fell back against the headboard, feeling stuffed to the gills. I wouldn't be able to move for, like, an hour. A groan of contentment escaped me.
"You're not gonna barf, are you?" Nudge asked tentatively. "You ate that really fast and…"
I rolled my head from side to side. "Nope, that is staying down. God, that was good." In a burst of energy, I wrapped my arms around Iggy and squeezed him. "Thank you so much!" I flopped back. "I so can't move."
"But we were gonna take you out today," Nudge whined.
It was strange, I hadn't even been around for a whole day and I was already way relaxed and going with the flow of things. I wasn't sure what I should do about the whole leader thing, after all, Fang and Iggy had been doing a great job, it looked like, and I was enjoying not freaking out every second. Maybe I'd just see how things worked out. I patted Nudge's knee.
"You can take me out tomorrow, okay? I think I need a day to adjust anyway." I blew out a breath and draped my arms across my stomach. "How about you give me an official tour of the house?" I said through a yawn. Goodness, I was starting to feel sleepy. All that food.
Iggy removed the tray from my lap and pulled the covers up. "Rest some more and maybe we'll talk later tonight. Angel?"
She focused her big blue eyes on mine. "Go to sleep, Max. Rest up." Her voice sounded strange and hypnotic. "She's not gonna like this when she wakes up," I heard her whisper.
Iggy's weight left my bed. "Yeah, well. Fang can handle it. She needs the rest. Have her wake up in time for dinner. Make her sleep good."
"Be sure to wake up at seven, Max. You're gonna sleep the best ever, and you'll have great dreams." I could hear their footsteps fading away.
"What?" Angel's voice rose a little. "You want her to have bad dreams?"
That was the last I heard as the door clicked softly and I drifted off into dreamland.