A/N: I am truely sorry for those of you who waited so long for this chapter. I hope that it is worth it. I dedicate this chapter to Katie3llen (even though you changed your name your still katie3llen to me.) My best friend edwardlover1313, and my polar opposite (he knows who he is.)
-twilightjunkie1313
"I'm looking to the sky to save me..."-Foo fighters 'Learn to fly'
Fang Pov:
It was godawful early when Max barged into my room. Sunlight hadn't even begun to sneak under my blackout curtains.
"Get up!" She said hurridly.
Any other morning i would have told her to let me be, that i knew when to get up. Actually that sounded like an excellent idea.
"Go jump off a cliff." I managed to mutter with the perfect amount of sarcasm. I had already gone to my dresser and was fishing for a black shirt.
"Exsactly." She shot back, the grin in her voice was obvious. Then in a flash she was gone.
Okay, that was odd. Even for Max.
I scanned my room quickly, wanting to follow Max. I still needed to get dressed, i needed a belt. Without even looking i plunged my hand into the top drawer and by some miracle pulled out a belt.
I walked into the hall, nearly hitting Iggy. Who looked slightly confused but fully awake. We still hadn't developed normal, sound sleeping habits. It had been weeks, and i suspected we wouldn't ever sleep properly.
"What's she happy about?" Iggy asked in a loud whisper. I shrugged.
"No idea."
When we arrived in the main part of the house Gazzy was putting orange juice in front of a semi-consious Nudge. Angel was sitting quietly in a chair, an empty glass in front of her. Jeb and Max buzzed in the kitchen.
"Do i sense a power breakfast?" Iggy muttered sarcasticly. Jeb heard him, and came to the dining table. Max shot him a softish glare, if a glare can be soft.
We sat at the table, it was an alkward arrangment. Jeb sat at one end, Max on his right, me at his left, Iggy next to me. Nudge sat on Max's other side, looking less sleepy than before. Gazzy and Angel sort of crowded at the other end.
It was quiet for about a minute.
One amazingly tense minute. I could read the excitment and fear in Max's eyes. Iggy was tensing up, and Nudge must have felt the energy- she was wide awake now.
Max Pov:
Fang dosen't like secrets, or surpsises. It's something that happens to you after getting 'surprised' by a new drug cocktail, or a burn test every day for about ten years. So it made sense that he was the one to ask questions.
"What is this about?" Fang's voice was calm, but his eyes had a cold glint. He tried to stare the answers out of me- lift them from my head- but i didn't know.
Jeb was grinning like a maniac.
So we weren't going to be tourtured, and nobody had found us. That was a good start.
"We, well you, are going to learn to fly." He answered slowly.
"Didn't we try that?" Iggy asked casually. In half a second Fang and I locked eyes. No, jumping off the house and almost breaking an arm did not count.
"No." Fang replied so casually that i almost beleived him, and i was there when we did the reckless little experiment.
"Jumping off the roof dosen't count." Jeb said easily. Iggy's mouth hung open a little.
"How did you know?" He asked suddenly.
"How could i not? You four make a whole bunch of noise, Iggy asks for a ladder. I heard footsteps on the roof, and Max complains that her arm hurts ten minutes later."
For a really smart kid Iggy looked very confused.
I felt stupid.
Fang just stared back at Jeb.
"So what are you going to have us try?" Fang asked, his eyes looked shallow and cold. He was tensing up, his shoulder muscles getting tighter. I started to get nervous, if Fang was anxious then something was wrong.
Silence. Six sets of eyes focused on Jeb.
"You were not getting enough altitude, the space between the launch and landing has to be bigger." He explained.
Fang cut him off with a glare. Iggy raised an eyebrow.
"What are you talking about?" I said sharply, we had found the tallest place we could next to-
"The canyon." Iggy whispered aloud.
Fang looked at me.
"No. Way." He said icily.
"We can't." I looked at Jeb and Nudge, i was not going to launch myself off a canyon. And neither would they. Jeb was being mental- we could not possibly do that without-
"We'll get ourselves killed." Iggy muttered loudly.
That effectivly shut everyone up.
"No you won't." Jeb defended slowly. He was pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket, laying it flat on the table.
"Explain it." I said slowly. I could feel Fang's eyes boring into my head, and Iggy's doubt flooding the room. Jeb began to push the paper towards me. I shook my head.
Iggy's Pov:
"No." I heard Max whisper. I didn't get it- she had just asked for the explination- and now she didn't want it?
Then i heard the paper rustle again, felt it poke my fingers. Without really thinking i grabbed the paper. Fang hand's gently oriented the paper, so it was right side up.
"Explain it to him." Max said gently.
"Okay." I heard jeb's voice shake a little, and imagined the glare Max was giving him.
I closed my eyes, to help me think. There was nothing but the sound of jeb's voice, and the flocks breathing.
"You didn't get enough altitude using the roof." Jeb began.
I nodded- i had already figured that out.
"But that roof is the tallest useable point for miles..."
"Except for the canyon." I intertupted.
"Yes, except for the canyon." Jeb cleared his throat.
"And?" I asked.
"I did the math, the concept is in front of you. You'd have the nessecary altitude and volocity." He stopped.
"I don't know if you did the math- I can't see it." I reminded him coldly.
"I need to talk it over." I said slowly, looking at the place where Max sat.
"Okay." He said easily.
"Where would you have us jump from?" I asked casually.
There was a pause.
"A section a mile east of the house, the canyon face is almost vertical." Jeb replied carefully.
Fang Pov:
Two minutes after that we were all in Max's room. Max stood next to one wall, Iggy sat on the bed with Angel, Nudge and Gazzy sat on the floor. Tension radiated off us. All eyes fixed on Iggy.
Except for mine. I was watching Max.
Sure, Iggy would tell us- to the best of his ability- if he thought this could work. But it was Max who would decide weather or not we would.
"What do you think Iggy?" I asked him calmly, he was staring at the paper. Trying to read it, see the words and numbers printed on it, even though he couldn't.
"I don't know. It's a logical idea- the higher the jump point the longer we have to get enough lift."
"But?" I could hear the worry in Max's voice. Iggy nodded, knowing what she was thinking, what i knew already.
"We could die if the drop is too high. I know our bodies heal faster, but even we can't take a fall like that without damage." He explained grimly.
Max Pov:
Fang was leaning against my wall, acting like this wasn't affecting him. But hearing Iggy say it- that we could die- did something to me. It wasn't as if we hadn't been near death before.
But this time, for the first time, we could chose to avoid it. We could opt out, and not jump, not risk falling to our deaths.
A part of me was screaming that this was stupid, and idiotic. It was common sense to not jump off canyon sides, just like it's common sense to flinch before someone hits you. But a small part of me really wanted to try. I wanted to know how it would feel to be alone and falling through the air, then flying high above the ground. I didn't know why exsactly, if Jeb had told me i had to jump, i would fight with everything i had not to.
But right now i had to know if i could fly.
"I'll do it." I said loud enough for them all to hear. But quietly enough so that Jeb couldn't hold me to it.
Fang Pov:
"You'll what?" Iggy stuttered, getting to his feet and grabbing Max's arms.
"I'll try first." She said slowly, more quietly than before. There was something odd in her eyes. An emotion i couldn't place.
"If i don't get it you and Fang are in charge." She said simply. That was it, no more decussion. Iggy and the rest filed out of her room silently.
She turned to me, waiting.
"Why?" I asked simply, my tone flat and dead.
"Why what?" She shot back.
"Why jump?"
Without a word she threw out her wings, speckled with tan and white, shaded by brown. She stood there for a moment, staring at me. Her eyes cold.
"Why not?" The answer was a whisper so quiet that Iggy would have to strain to hear it.
She had to, a force inside her needed to know if she could do it. No matter what Iggy said, nothing would stop her from trying. Not after she decided she could.
I know this because i felt it too.
Iggy Pov:
Nobody really slept well that night. Dinner was a quiet alkward time. I heard plates and cups clattering, but no voices. The tense feeling was a blanket that settled on us, not going away.
I had a terrible dream. In it Max jumped and when she unfurled her wings they were bloody, severed stumps. I heard her scream before i woke up. I didn't see her hit the bottom. I didn't have to to know she would die there in my dream. I felt it.
Fang woke me up. I was thankful it wasn't Max. Max would have said something about the cold sweat on my face or the way i had leavered into a sitting position with a slight yell. Fang didn't, but he noticed all those things.
Max Pov:
The flock assembled loosely. Standing around the table they were unusually quiet. I looked them each over as jeb began to pull cereal and bowls from the cuboards. Iggy was leaning against the counter, face paler than normal. The muscles around his mouth were drawn tight, he was afraid. I moved to the next face. Gazzy's, almost a mirror image of Iggy's expression. I blinked hard and looked to Nudge, she had a vacant look in her eyes. I cringed internally and glanced at Fang. He was standing next to the kitchen window, staring out into the canyon. His sholders were tight, from fifty feet away anyone could tell he was nervous.
There was a clap, and we looked around, broken from our thoughts.
Jeb stood at the counter looking at us with a fake smile. He motioned to the cereal and the bowls that were now placed on the counter. One by one the flock began to serve themselves and eat. It was silent.
I stared into my fruitloops, or whatever they were. I ate a bowl and then, not really feeling like sitting in my room, I ate a second bowl. Jeb said nothing, he was smart enought to know not to speak.
Fang Pov:
When I finished i looked around, Max was on her second bowl, Iggy was sitting blankly at the table. I felt my stomach churn, the cereal and anxiety mixing unconfortably. I went back to my room. The door didn't close behind me, and i knew, somehow that Max was there.
I sat on my bed and watched the floor, hearing her pace. I waited knowing she wanted to speak or be faught with. Then she stopped, and stood i front of me. I looked up.
That was when i noticed the lines under her eyes and the paleness beneath her skin. I could feel her nervousness and see the tendons in her wrists.
"Are you okay?" I asked pointlessly, i knew she wouldn't answer unless she wanted to.
"Are any of us?" She shot back. Instantly I understood, she was scared for them.
"But are you?" I stared at her, she stared back unblinking.
"It dosen't matter." She said in an even voice.
"The hell it dosen't." I began quickly, standing now. "What was the 'if i don't get it your in charge Fang' all about then?" She didn't breath for a minute.
There was a knock at the door. Iggy came in and his eyes widened, as if he just figured out what we were doing.
"All ready?" He asked quickly. I looked at Max, she didn't meet my gaze.
"Yes." She said, it was the most convincing lie i had ever heard.
Iggy Pov:
It was a short quiet hike. I held onto Fang's beltloop, but other than the sounds of footsteps it was as if i was alone. After what felt like hours we stopped. Fang turned to me and began to explain the scenery.
It was a sheer drop off the edge of the canyon. The canyon lip itself was bare, a few trees growing maybe thirty feet away from the edge. Jeb's footsteps came to us.
Max Pov:
We formed a scraggly circle around Jeb. The knots in my stomach larger than before.
"It's simple, just run and jump. Push out then down, and you'll be okay." He looked around.
"Who's first?" He asked as his eyes skipped over our faces.
"I'll go." Fang said suddenly.
Fang Pov:
The flock moved back, standing in a line, waiting. I walked away from the canyon a few paces. I felt my sholders tighten up, by lungs fill with air. My mind flashed over how stupid this plan was, run off the edge of the cliff and flap. But i didn't worry.
It was as if i lost control and my body took over. I ran, fast and hard at the lip of the canyon. I jumped as i took my last step, feeling my body rise and then begin to fall. I threw out my wings and pushed down, the air filling them up.
I closed my eyes, the wind rushing in my ears.
Max Pov:
As soon as Fang was in the air I walked to the place he had stood for take off. My worries were all gone, the fear that we would become pancakes on the canyon floor evaporated.
I let my lungs fill up with air and then i ran all out at the canyon edge. I closed my eyes as i jumped off, freefalling for a second.
Then i pushed down hard and rose, slowly, to meet Fang in the air.
Iggy Pov:
I could feel that Max and Fang were not on the ground. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, as if a bird would attack me from the sky. It was the same feeling i had gotten in the school a million times over. Then it vanished, and i heard Nudge next to me.
"I'll walk you to the right place. Run for about thirty feet, jump as high as you can and then flap." She said solftly as she pulled my hand, guiding me to the runway.
"Then?" I whispered quickly. I felt her let go of me and turn my body slightly.
"That's up to you." She said slowly, i heard her footsteps quiet. She was gone, watching with Gazzy and Jeb.
I closed my eyes and felt the world, the wind and the sky. In my mind it was the most brilliant shade of blue, stretching forever over the horizion. I pulled my wings in tight, to reduce drag.
Then i ran, blindly but surely to the canyon's edge. I jumped and didn't feel my wings snap open, i didn't feel them push the air. It was as if i was just floating in the current, better than i could have imagined. Like i was born to do this and nothing else.