Disclaimer: James Patterson would never write something like this.

Fang awoke suddenly, as he always did. The sun was starting to shine through the gloom of the black dust that still swirled in the air around them. It was just starting to settle, and he could see the lightening blue of the sky if he looked up. Max was where he had left her last night, but now she had her chin rested on one knee, and the other leg stretched out in front of her. Her eyes were so tired they looked almost sunken in, their lids drooping slightly, but she was awake.

He stood up slowly, ignoring the dull pains that shot through his body. Max's tired eyes lifted to look at him, suddenly alert, but she looked away quickly. Neither of them said anything, but this was less because of anger and more because there was nothing to say. Max rose as cautiously as Fang had, registering her own injuries. Fang could see the pain in the small nuances of her face: the way her lips tightened and twitched, the calculated stiffness of her movements, the shielding emptiness in her eyes.

Fang didn't comment on her appearance. Still silent, he knelt beside Nudge and shook her shoulders. She woke up confused; that was one thing about her that hadn't changed.

"What?" Nudge asked blearily. "Where…? Oh."

"We're leaving in a few minutes. Get something to eat. Do you think you can carry Angel?"

"Yeah," said Nudge, her eyes clearing as comprehension dawned. "Yeah, I can do that."

Max woke Gazzy, and none of them were quite sure how to wake Angel. Fang handed out rations of their remaining food and water. Max declined again, which worried him. She may have lectured him on taking care of himself, but she needed to learn the same lesson. But Fang didn't bring up the issue; he knew how to pick his battles. Right now the priority was to get the flock out of here. He could talk to Max while they were flying, since he was once again going to be placed in the awkward situation of carrying her.

Fang positioned Angel's body in Nudge's arms before the rest of them took off. Angel was either still asleep or pretending to be. Fang didn't doubt that she was as embarrassed at her weakness as Max was of her own.

"Think you can hold her?" Fang asked.

Nudge nodded, a determined look crossing her face. "I can do whatever you need me to," she said.

Fang nodded, not knowing what to say in response to such a statement. Nudge took off and she and Gazzy hovered in the air, their wings beating strong, steady strokes.

Fang looked at Max. She still hadn't spoken to him; in fact, she hadn't said much of anything to anyone. She had her arms folded tightly across her chest and her back was hunched slightly. He walked over and she turned to face him. She put her arms around his neck so that he could pick her up, but she still wasn't looking at him. Her hands were cold against his skin, and as he lifted her off the ground, he could feel her whole body shaking.

Fang didn't acknowledge it; he knew she would prefer it that way. She didn't want pity, she had made that clear last night. So he ignored his need to comfort her and unfurled his black wings, throwing himself to the mercy of the sky.

They flew over nothing but ruins for a long time. Just as Fang was beginning to give in to the irrational thought that maybe there wasn't anything left, the terrain became less destroyed. The bigger towns that surrounded the city were intact but evacuated. There would be people in the smaller towns.

"Maybe we should stay here," suggested Nudge, who was still going strong, even with Angel's added weight.

"No," said Fang. "We're looking for somewhere more on the edge of an inhabited town."

Nudge nodded, was silent for a moment, and then said, "Why?"

"Because that bomb wasn't aimed at us. Whatever's going on now is about the whole world, and we need to know what's happening."

Nudge nodded again. Normally she would have had her own thoughts to express, but now she accepted it without question.

Max was sleeping, her head resting on Fang's chest. Her body was still cold but she had stopped shaking and was now muttering occasionally as she slept. Every now and then her body would jerk unexpectedly, making it unnerving for Fang to carry her. He remembered promising that he wouldn't drop her.

After maybe another hour, they began to see signs of civilization. The first clues were cars, inching across the tiny roads far below.

"We're landing," he told Nudge and Gazzy. "Over there." He tilted his head to indicate a small patch of forest at the edge of the town.

I was cold. Frigid. Freezing. Icy. Blue. Jarring, cool colors swarmed in front of my eyes. No, I thought. No no no. Stop it. Go away. You can't be here now. The colors seemed to laugh at me, brushing against my skin tauntingly. Wherever they touched, my skin was covered in goose bumps. I started to shake and they laughed harder, forming pictures in front of my eyes with the different shades of blue.

At first, I couldn't see the scene they were making; my eyes were too unfocused and panicked. Then the blues started to darken and warp into different hues: reds and browns and greens and yellows and blacks. And then the colors shrunks and moved and multiplied and then the picture was Iggy, standing in front of an oven. Doing what he did everyday so that the flock could eat. Doing what I had asked him to. No, I begged. Please, I don't want to see. Please don't make me. I tried to close my eyes, but realized they were already closed. I tried to open them, but it was like they were sewn shut.

The alien laughter faded and then all I could hear was the sizzling sound of something baking and the hushed chatter of the store. I could even hear the distinct tones of Iggy's voice. No, I thought, over and over again. No no no stop it no no stop no. I couldn't run away; my feet were glued to the floor, my body paralyzed. Even as I struggled to tear myself away, I watched with a sick fascination as Iggy stopped suddenly and stood still, listening.

I stopped my futile internal chanting and listened. I could hear it too: people were screaming.

Less than a second later the entire world turned red and orange. The colors danced mockingly and laughed at me. Their taunting echoed in my ears until it was just a constant wave of noise, an overwhelming buzzing sound. I wanted to scream, to sob, to curl up into a ball and die, but I couldn't do anything.

The colors parted and I was standing in the ruined basement, kneeling by the pile of bodies. This one was burnt and smoking, his hair singed. No no no I know who this you don't have to show me no no no please stop no anything I'll do anything stop stop stop.

But my arms acted of their own accord and turned the body over slowly so that I could see his face. His strawberry blond hair was black from the explosion, and his features were blurred and burned. His mouth was open, but part of his lips had melted into thin, sagging flesh. The rest of his body was blackened and twisted beyond recognition.

Why? I thought, as the colors cackled from the edges of my vision.

"Max," they said. "Max."

No go away no no no.

"Max," Fang said again. I could feel the rough ground beneath my body, and a warm hand on my shoulder. Iggy's remains faded from my eyes and when I tried to open them, I found that I could.

Author's Note: This was a rather fast update, wasn't it? Well, I got home from school early today (Yay for snow!) and since we're at 100 reviews, I decided to write something. And it just kind of worked out. This was one of those chapters that just comes to you. I hope it turned out okay. I had fun writing the demented bit at the end. I hope it was gore-filled enough for all you psychopaths.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed: therealme1123, Kristin, RippedIntoPieces, FangsBestFriend, anonoymus, senoritasophia13, and Jayde3. I love feedback. So… Pretty pretty please review, and thanks for reading!