A/N: As promised, Max's debut chapter! Keep up the reviews and I'll keep updating as fast as I can!
Just a reminder, I do not own Max Ride. Although, I would gladly take Fang off JP's hands if he was in a giving mood. :)
Max (2013)
The town below us had a few signs lit up. Grocery stores and a gas station.
"Check it guys, these people still have electricity," I pointed out to the Flock. I was hoping to get their spirits up a little. The last town we passed had piled up their dead and was burning them. The column of smoke was so big, it was hard to fly around.
My positive outlook didn't seem to have much of an effect, but I was determined to stay positive for them. They had been there for me the past two and a half years as I went through my issues.
Gazzy gave me a thumbs up. Iggy, of course, didn't bother to look. Nudge just shrugged her shoulders.
Dylan tried to act thrilled. "That's great, Max! Should we go check it out? Maybe get some supplies?"
I rolled my eyes. I knew he meant well, but his enthusiasm was grating sometimes.
I dove closer to the town, doing a quick head count of the people I saw. There were at least forty, one of the biggest living towns we had seen in a while.
"Nah, I think we'll keep going. Those folks probably need all the supplies they can get. We can find somewhere a little less populated and scrounge around."
Nudge snorted. "Ha. Scrounge. You'd think with all these people dead, there would be plenty of food to go around."
I glanced at her. That last town had been devastating for her. We were all so young and had already seen so much horror, and yet the world is always providing more horrible things for us to witness.
You are going to change that, Max. It's what you were made for, my Voice said encouragingly.
I sighed, You know, I was kind of hoping you might have caught that disease…
That was genuinely unkind. I'm only trying to help you. It's all I've ever done.
I snorted. Well it seems both of us have failed. Does the world look saved to you?
Max, in order to heal sometimes we must first cut deeper.
That made me angry. So all those dead people deserved to die?
Deserved has nothing to do with it, the Voice said calmly. Something needed to be done. If it helps, look at it as if the world was defending itself.
I decided to see if the silent treatment would work on my Voice.
I know you're angry, Max. But this is the worst it's going to get.
We were passing over the grocery store, just a few hundred feet above it. The roof was littered with cardboard boxes and a few birds' nests but not much else. Suddenly, three men appeared behind the big block letters on the store. Not popped out from behind something, just appeared. And of course, they had guns pointed at us.
You were saying?
"Up, guys! Let's get some air between us and them!" I shouted, beating my wings hard to get out of range.
They followed. Even Gazzy, now youngest of the Flock, managed to keep up.
A bullet whistled over my shoulder and I flinched. If my wing had been going up instead of down right at that instant, I would be dropping like a rock right now. Another bullet hissed through the air behind me.
"Ahh!"
I glanced behind me. "Who's hit?"
"Not hit," Iggy said, "but darn close." He held his shoe forward for a second and I saw a chunk of rubber missing from his heel. "I know why I didn't see the shooters, but why didn't you?" He asked, still flapping harder for altitude.
"They weren't there, Ig," Gazzy explained, and can you believe the kid actually sounded excited about this?
"Ah, yeah, I'm pretty sure they were," Iggy said, pointing to his shoe.
"No, I mean they weren't there, and then they just were you know? Like they had transported there or something. Or they were invisible like-"
He stopped suddenly. I had stopped breathing, my wing beats paused for a fraction of a second and I dropped a few feet.
Nobody said anything.
I let my brain tune out and just focused on beating my wings.
Up, down, glide, quick-up-down, glide, repeat. Breathe. Sometimes that was the hardest part, remembering to breathe.
When the sun started to set, I pointed to a cluster of trees.
"That looks like as good a place as any to call home for tonight, guys."
As one, we started to descend, circling the trees a few times to check for any signs of danger. When it looked clear, we landed, each a few feet apart to allow for our wings.
"Firewood," I mumbled, pointing and heading out in the direction I had indicated. "You guys can unpack. Eat something."
As I was picking up dry looking sticks, I couldn't help but think. Life and death situations like that always made me think about… Fang.
If that bullet would have hit my wing, he wouldn't have been there to catch me. He wouldn't have been there to help. He had thought leaving was the best way to help me, to protect me, but obviously that was some crazy mixed up logic.
Besides, if he was going to die I would rather be with him when it happens. Let him know, again, that I loved him, even after he left.
Could he still be alive? Angel had said he would die first, and soon. But did that close brush with death count, almost three years ago? Or is he still destined to die- permanently? Did he make it through the plague? Where was he? Alone?
I leaned against a tree, wishing I could stop torturing myself like this. But not knowing whether or not he was alive was unbelievably difficult to handle. Not knowing he was at least here, on this post apocalyptic earth… It was almost unbearable.
If he was alive… Where was he? Could he be near me? Could he be just a few wing beats over the horizon? Did he miss me? Could he possibly be looking for me?
There was a quiet rustling noise behind me and I dropped the firewood I had been holding and spun around in a fighting stance. The bushes shifted and a part of me just hoped…
"Dylan," I sighed, in relief and disappointment.
"Yeah, just me," he said.
What had I been hoping? That Fang would just waltz out of the woods and everything would be okay? Things wouldn't be the same anyway. He would be different, I was different. Years had passed. And would I really be willing to trust him again? To love him again?
I knew the answer to that immediately:
Absolutely.
If he walked out of those trees right now, I would welcome him with open arms.
But it doesn't matter, 'cause he didn't.
I started picking up the pieces of wood again. Dylan bent to help me. I thought about waving him off, but it seemed easier to focus when someone was with me. Not so much with Dylan in particular. I always found myself going over every word I said about Dylan in front of Fang, wondering if it had drove him away. It had to be at least partly my fault that he left. Referring to Dylan as Mr. Perfect probably didn't help.
"Max," Dylan said carefully, like I might explode at any minute, "I know you're hurting but, are you okay?"
I glared at him. A little defiance never hurt. "I'm not hurting. What makes you think I'm hurting?"
He continued picking up wood, not meeting my eyes. "It's fine. I just, I know you are."
"I'm thinking about hurting you," I snarled. "How is it you think you know so much about me?"
"Max-"
"No, I want to know," I threw down the wood I had just picked back up and shoved him. He struggled to catch the wood he was holding. Briefly, I remembered shoving Fang at the Director's house, and him shoving me back against the wall. We had been so close I could smell him. That clean smell that was his alone, even when we couldn't find a shower for weeks at a time.
I let out a small gasp that probably sounded like a sob. But I wasn't crying. I wouldn't. Definitely not in front of Dylan.
I shoved him again and he dropped the firewood.
"C'mon, I want to know. You've only known me for like, two and a half years so what makes you think you know me so well?"
"Max-" His back was up against a tree now.
"Tell me! Why do you think you know what I'm feeling?" I was yelling at him now, mad that he wouldn't look at me, wouldn't answer.
He met my eyes slowly , with sadness and pain in his eyes.
"I know what I would feel if I lost you."
I opened my mouth, and then closed it, my anger deflating as his words sank in. His eyes flashed down to my mouth and I suddenly realized how close we were.
"I-" I started to step back slowly and he leaned forward with me.
"Max, I-" His voice was soft and inviting.
I leapt backward, stroking my wings once to distance myself further. The hand that had been reaching for my face found only air. He dropped it to his side, quickly trying to cover the pain on his face.
"You know, I think you can handle getting the firewood yourself. I'm gonna go and… check on the kids."
Before he could object, I flapped my wings and was gone.
A/N: There is a "part two" to this chapter. It's short and just finishes up these events before heading back to Fang. I'll post it tomorrow night, maybe. I feel like you guys are catching up pretty fast so I need to get writing! Your kind reviews always provide encouragement to do so! Thanks!
PS I'm going to explain Angel's (and Total's) absence all in good time, my lovelies.
