Well, I'm alive. Here's chapter 7, if you're still interested in reading. (Hopefully you are. At least, I'm still interested in writing it. Although given the two year gap between updates, you probably assumed otherwise. Understandable.)

Disclaimer: This whole idea of me owning things is silly. I'm in college. The only things I own are text books.

"Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light." - Helen Keller

Iggy, Gazzy, and I were at the airport, ready to go. I argued that Gazzy should stay home, since the circumstances for our trip were different, but Iggy said he threw a temper tantrum so intense glass shattered and noses bled. By the end, his mom was begging Iggy to take him with us. In fact, none of our parents protested to the sudden trip. I suppose it helped that we didn't actually tell anyone how dangerous it could become.

But I digress.

We had another half an hour until boarding, so I decided to call Jeb again. He hadn't answered any of my calls, which I thought was a little strange. However, both of his daughters were kidnapped, so he was probably busy dealing with that little snafu, understandably.

Everything about this whole situation was wreaking of conspiracy, though. I tried to find information on Angel and her kidnapping in the news, but it was as if the whole thing never happened. When I asked Iggy how Gazzy found out, he just shrugged and said that someone had called the house.

That's weird, right? I can't be the only one who thinks so.

That's not the only thing. I looked up more information on the shooting at Max's school. All the sites said it was a false report, made up by someone to get attention. A scam by Lissa Pensky or something.

Every article I read was basically screaming, "This is bullcrap."

Something crazy was going on here, and somehow Max and Angel got sucked into the middle of it. Now it was up to me to figure it all out. Max's and Angel's lives could depend on it.

Talk about pressure.

Once again, Jeb didn't answer. No surprise there. But Dr. M. called while I was leaving yet another voice mail. I was about to call back when Iggy yelped.

I raised my eyebrows. "What?"

"I just had a thought."

"That's surprising."

He ignored me and continued, whispering loudly across from me. "If Max is part bird, does that mean she lays an egg if she's preggers?"

I paused for a moment. "You're joking, right?"

"No. It's an honest question."

"Well why don't you ask when we find her." Because I was sure she'd appreciate that question. I rolled my eyes.

Iggy got up from his seat and sat next to me. "Seriously, dude. You don't know how this whole 'part bird' thing has messed with her. Or who she's involved with. Or how bad this is gonna get." He glanced at Gazzy. "I don't want my brother coming."

"It's a little late for that, don't you think?"

"I know, I know, okay? Just, let's try to lay low. Not get ourselves into anything we can't handle." He glanced to his left. "I think we're already being followed."

My eyes widened. "You're kidding."

"I'm serious. Guy in the grey baseball cap, green plaid shirt. Funky beard. He's been staring at us the whole time."

I subtly glanced over at the man in question. He seemed normal enough. Maybe Iggy was being paranoid.

As if he sensed my hesitation, Iggy protested. "I guarantee you that if we moved somewhere, he would follow us. He was behind us when we pulled in the parking lot, when we did security checks, when dropping off our luggage. This guy is bad news, I'm telling you."

"Maybe." I glanced back at the man. Our eyes met and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. "Okay. Say someone's following us. What are we supposed to do?" It's not like I've been trained in this kind of thing.

"We need to make sure we lose him when we get to New York."

I nodded. "New York is a big place. Shouldn't be too hard."

Iggy fidgeted in his chair. "Something doesn't feel right, man." He bit his lip. "This is getting crazy."

"Nothing about this situation is right, Igs." I leaned forward in my chair. trying to mask my own misgivings about everything. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna call Dr. M. before we-"

"Flight 139 to LaGuardia, prepare for boarding."

Oh well. Looked like calling Dr. M. would have to wait.

"Never mind then." I stand up and stretch. "Okay, guys. You ready?"

Iggy gave a not-so-enthusiastic "Hurrah" while Gazzy just kept playing his DS.

"Perfect." I grabbed my stuff and headed towards the line. "Let's do this thing."

The three of us got in line and, just as Iggy predicted, the Man in the Grey Cap was behind us almost immediately. It was spooky. Whoever this guy was, he wasn't very good at the whole subtle aspect of following someone.

Thankfully, our seats were far away from him, but it was as if I could feel his eyes staring at the back of my head. I glanced at Iggy and Gazzy to see if they noticed. Gazzy seemed blissfully unaware, but Iggy looked like he was about to vomit.

"Calm down, Ig. Everything's fine."

Gazzy looked up and laughed. "Come on, Igs. It's not like you've never been on a plane before."

Iggy chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I'm freaked out about the plane. That's it. Nothing else." He breathed in slowly. "Nothing is wrong. Everything is fine. Just a casual trip to the other side of the country."

Gazzy smiled reassuringly. "Here." He reached into his carry on bag and pulled out some sort of puzzle. Something he made, probably. Gazzy was a genius at that kind of thing. "It's an advanced sudoko puzzle, with my own personal touch." He handed it to Iggy, who took it eagerly. "I figured the trip would freak you out."

"I don't know if I should be insulted or not."

"Just take that dang thing."

Iggy smiled and ruffled Gazzy's hair. "Thanks man." He delved into the puzzle immediately, happy for the distraction, I was sure.

I sighed in relief. At least his mind was off the stalker we acquired. I, however, could not get my mind to relax. After being in the air for a good thirty-five minutes, I took out my phone to see if Dr. M. left a message. She did, and although it was short, I was thankful for what should have been a short reprieve of the anxieties that plagued my mind.

While I listened to it, though, those anxieties flooded me at full force. Why did this keep happening to me? What was going on?

It took all my strength to keep myself from breaking down on the plane. "Iggy." I nudged my friend from his concentration. "We have a problem."

"What?" His eyes searched my face. "What happened?"

"It's Dr. M." I could hear my voice shaking. "She's been in an accident." I took a breath. "The doctors don't think she's gonna make it."

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Also, Happy Thanksgiving to my U. S. readers! May your day be filled with wonderful things. And have a wonderful November 26th, to those who don't celebrate.

Live long and prosper, my friends!