AN: Wow, two updates on Thanksgiving. :P I just couldn't wait to introduce Serena and Jayden. I think you guys are going to like them. :P Enjoy the (short!) chapter:P
DISCLAIMER: Maximum Ride belongs to James Patterson.
CLAIMER: Any new plot ideas and characters in this story are mine, unless otherwise noted.
Chapter Sixteen
Fang and I crept through the halls of the Itex in Washington, ducking under the windows in the metal doors. We had fifteen minutes to find the experiments, and we had no idea where to begin looking.
"Where are they?" Fang asked as we turned into yet another dead end hall.
"I don't know. Maybe Angel can find out? Hang on, I'll ask her."
Angel, can you hear me?
Yeah, Max. What do you need?
Can you find out where the experiments are?
Sure. Hang on a second…
They're in room twenty-seven. Take your next right; it's the third one on the left.
Thanks sweetie. How are the others doing?
We're all fine. Gazzy and Iggy are almost done setting up their bombs. All of the whitecoats are in their offices; I made them think that there was a lock-down going on.
"Down here," I told Fang. We turned to the right, coming to another too-white hallway. We came to room twenty-seven, and I turned the doorknob before I could chicken out. I was terrified of what lay behind the door after what happened in California.
We slipped into the dark room, shutting the door behind us. I heard the shuffling of an experiment backing up in their cage, and smelt the stench of dead bodies.
I ran my hand along the wall, quickly coming across the light switch and turning it on. The bright light filled the room, revealing the seven filthy cages with teens in them. The boy directly in front of us was the only one to acknowledge out existence. He was sitting straight up, his dark blue eyes looking right at me, filled with distrust.
"Who are you?" he asked, sitting up taller to be more intimidating when he noticed Fang's height. "You're too young to work here."
"We're experiments, like you," I told him. We're here to rescue you."
"Which ones will make it?" Fang asked, looking around. The boy was the only one who looked alive; the others lay in their cages, unmoving.
"Just Serena," the boy responded, sounding defeated. He pointed to a cage in the corner of the room, where a teenage girl lay curled up in a ball.
Fang nodded and walked over to the cage, unlocking it quickly. He tried to help the girl out, but she backed even father into her cage, the metal bars digging into her back. He stepped aside, letting her get out on her own.
"What's your name?" I asked the boy as I unlocked the cage. He stepped out, ending up to be a few inches taller than me when standing.
"Jayden," he replied. "Who're you?"
"I'm Max. He's Fang." Jayden nodded. "What type of experiments are you?"
"We're two percent avian, so we have wings," the boy explained. "What about you?"
"Same," I replied.
"Where are the other experiments?" Fang asked.
"Dead. Itex has been killing off all of their experiments except for Flyboys."
"Because they just had to keep those furry little robots," I said, rolling my eyes.
"You hate them too?" Jayden asked.
"Every experiment hates them. Now let's get out of here," Fang replied. Jayden and Serena nodded, and we all headed out of the room. All of the whitecoats were still locked in their rooms, so we had no trouble getting out.
"How come there are no workers around?" Jayden whispered,
"We have someone outside keeping them all in their offices," I explained.
"When we get outside, take off and follow us," Fang said. We reached the front door, opened it, and burst into the air.
Angel and Nudge took off and followed us, heading southeast. Iggy and Gazzy let us get a little ahead before setting off some bombs and speeding up to us.
As we flew away from the billowing smoke, I couldn't help but hope that destroying the building hadn't been too easy.
AN: Yay! Two down, five to go. :P Like the names I picked out? I do. :P
Happy Thanksgiving! I love it when I have days off; I can stay up late and sleep in:P
REVIEW!!! You guys can review for previous chapters, too:P I need them. Desperately. :P
Oh, and I filled out my profile! Go check out my rambling!