Hello again! I am so incredibly sorry for not updating in so long! I know I said I would never take any longer than a week to update, but my computer had some major issues. It really did. It was awful actually. The good news is, it should be fine now, so I have finally updated. I will however, have to change my promise a bit. I might not be able to update every week, but I will try my hardest. I am just really busy and my computer is really old, so it's difficult to have so many frequent updates.
This chapter is a decent size though, so it should make up for everything, I hope :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride.
Now on with the show!
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One hot shower and about fifty cookies later, I plopped down on my blow-up mattress with a contented sigh. I turned onto my side so my back was facing the door and I could look out the window at the starry night. I had agreed to sleep in Ella's room so Gazzy, Iggy and Fang could have one of the guestrooms and Nudge and Angel could share the other. I Initially thought that Nudge and Ella should room together because they were practically best friends but Ella had clutched onto my arm, saying, "No! Max needs to stay with me. We need to talk about…um…girl things."
I gave her a quizzical look. What did I know about girl things anyway? She shot me a desperate look back so I agreed in the end.
Just then, I felt a prickling sensation on the back of my neck. At first I thought it might be Ella ready for our "talk". But then again, I'd know that prickly feeling anywhere.
"Fang!" I cried. "Don't do that!"
I turned to face him, not expecting him to be so close. He was lying on his side, right next to me. Our noses were practically touching.
"Aaah!" I shot up instantly.
He remained there, doing something I never thought he'd do. He laughed. He was actually laughing at me! I was so surprised that my anger quickly faded away and I started laughing along with him. Soon we were both rolling around on the floor laughing like madmen. I really didn't know what the heck was funny anymore. Neither did he, which started another round of laughter. Then, we heard movement by the doorway. We stopped at once to check it out.
It was Iggy, staring with is sightless eyes into the room with a big grin on his face.
"Tsk tsk." He sneered. "I heard a lot of racket coming from this room so I decided to make sure you kids weren't doing something you're not supposed to." He started chuckling.
Fang and I looked at each other embarrassedly. Then, we both turned to glare at Iggy.
" We're glaring at you Iggy." Fang announced since Iggy obviously couldn't see us.
"Whatever. Just keep it PG in there, okay?" He replied.
With that, Fang picked himself off the ground and lunged at Iggy with enough force to kill. Seeing as how they were both genetically enhanced mutants none of them were actually hurt even though Fang now had Iggy pinned against the wall.
"What's going on?" I heard a voice from down the hall say. Oh shoot! Was it mom?
I saw Ella appear next to the boys. "Fang! What are you doing to him?!" She screamed. Then, she wretched Fang away from Iggy with surprising force. I could tell from the look on his face that he'd let her do it.
"Iggy, are you ok?" Ella asked, pulling him into a hug.
He smiled and patted her on the back. "I'm fine Ella. Thanks for saving me."
She pulled his fingers up to her face so that he could tell she was smiling. "No problem. What happened?"
I cleared my throat pointedly. "Uh, Ella? Didn't you say you wanted to talk to me about something?"
Ella pulled herself away from Iggy hurriedly. "Oh yeah! Can we do it now?" She walked into her room and sat on her bed expectantly. The boys ran downstairs, not wanting to hear the horrors of girl talk. I didn't either for that matter, but I wanted to be a good role model for Ella now that I was here.
I got up to close the door and said, "Ok. Go ahead."
The way she was fidgeting with the hem of her shirt told me that this talk might be more serious than I thought. Did this maybe have something to do with the way she and my mom were acting tonight? They were much more jumpy than usual, always looking out the windows and wanting to know everything we'd been up to since we'd last seen them.
"Mom's really worried about you, you know." She began, finally looking me in the eye.
I let out a bitter laugh. "Really? It was hard to tell."
"No, Max, I'm serious." She urged. "What I said on the phone wasn't a joke."
On instinct, I stood up, curling my fists at my sides, and glancing out the window anxiously. " Are you saying that there really are 'new and improved flyboys?" I asked through my teeth. Why oh why had I decided to come here?!
Ella nervously twirled a strand of hair around her finger as she answered. " Yes, there were dispatched about a week ago. We weren't able to call you and hadn't seen you on the news lately, so we didn't know where you were."
"So, what does this mean? Are we all in danger, or what? You and mom locking the doors and checking the windows every two seconds isn't going to help much if there are flyboys out there looking for us." I pointed out.
"No, Max! You haven't let me finish yet! You see, apparently the scientists at the school found a few glitches. All of the flyboys have been sent back for the time being." She explained.
I let out a sigh of relief. Ella noticed this and glanced at me warily.
"What?" I demanded. "Is there more?" She flinched back. I instantly felt sorry for being so snappy with her, but my family's safety was not something to be taken lightly. I lightened up a bit, to show that I wasn't mad at her, but rather, everyone who was so bent on hurting my family.
"Well, we had a visitor the other day." She looked at the wall, not making eye contact.
"Who?" I wondered aloud. Embarrassingly enough, I began to worry that it might have been Brigid, Fang's favorite little scientist. There was no way in heck I wanted her anywhere near him- er…I mean us at a time like this! Even if she was freakishly intelligent…
"Max, why is your face so red?" Ella suddenly pointed out.
"Uh…just hot in here I guess. I mean, this is Phoenix, right?" She just nodded. Nice save, Max.
Yeah, nice save, Max.
A voice giggled in my head.
Angel! Ella and I are talking right now, sweetie. Please go play with Nudge or something for a few minutes.
Ok, Max.
Now I could hear little feet running down the stairs.
"So," I looked at Ella again, who was now biting her nails. Geez, that girl has a lot of nervous habits! "Who came to visit the other day?" I prompted.
"Oh yeah, that. It was Jeb." She mumbled.
"Jeb?" I repeated, anger bubbling on the surface, threatening to spill at any moment. Ok, so yes, Jeb was my father, but that didn't mean I had to like him. In fact, I don't think I would ever forgive him for all of the rotten things he's done over the past few years.
"Yeah, he came to warn us." Her brown eyes, so like mine in fact, widened a fraction.
Jeb? A warning? Pssshh, whatever! He couldn't seriously be trying to help us. His definition of help is quite the opposite, actually.
"He said the School has newer, bigger plans for you guys."
I inspected my nails carelessly. "So? What else is new?" I pretended to yawn. The School always had "newer, bigger plans" for us.
"He said this could involve other bird kids. I think that means there are other kids like you other there."
I shuttered. More bird kids? Well, the world just keeps on getting better and better everyday, doesn't it?
"He also wanted me to remind you to take this seriously. He said it isn't about fun and games anymore, it's time to really get to work now." The way Ella was looking at me now, it was frightening. It was awe, and wonderment, and something else I couldn't pinpoint exactly. At that moment, I exploded.
"Fun and games! Since when has it been about fun and games? Never! How dare Jeb say that!" I growled out. I pulled at the roots of my hairs in frustration. "I hate this! I don't want to freaking save the work, ok? I just want to be normal!" I took a few deep breaths to calm myself.
"M-max?" Ella stuttered. Then she burst into tears. Oh great. I was not a fan of tears. Anyway, it was enough to worry me. She was my sister after all, and I was the one who made her cry.
"Ella? I'm sorry, Ella, I didn't mean to!" I said frantically, trying to get her to calm down. "I'm sorry I blew up like that! Jeb just makes me so mad, and I couldn't take it anymore." I tried to soothe her by stroking her hair like I do to Angel sometimes.
After a few moments, she sniffled and said, "Max, it wasn't your yelling that made me upset. It was…just…that…I'm so…so…"
She seemed to be searching for the right words. "So what? It's okay Ella, just say it." I lifted her chin to meet her tear-filled eyes with my own.
"Jealous." She stated, looking ashamed of herself.
"W-what?" I staggered back, confused.
"I'm jealous of you." She said, more strength in her voice now.
In my surprise, I laughed. "Are you serious?" I giggled. Yes, I giggled. Get over it people, it was not a girly reaction or anything. That only happens with Fang. Wait- what? Oh never mind, forget I said that.
"Yeah, I am." She nodded her head vigorously.
"But…WHY?" This whole concept was completely ridiculous to me. My life was far from perfect.
"It's just that you're so strong, brave, and beautiful. People love you, you know." She looked at me seriously.
"They do?" I said, bewildered. My hair's always tangled, my clothes are always dirty, I'm not the girliest girl around, and I eat like a dog. What's there to like, exactly?
"Mmhmm. Don't you read Fang's blog?"
"No." I thought about it. I really didn't read Fang's blog anymore. It was getting way too crowded with adoring fangirls lately.
"Well, they do." She insisted. "Out of the all the people in the world, YOU are the one who was chosen to save the world. Just think about it!"
I thought about. Nope, not anymore interesting then a bug stuck on the bottom of my shoe. Not that saving the world wasn't an important task, but what did "saving the world" mean exactly? It seemed like everyone bent on saving it was really just destroying it in the long run. The by-half plan is one of those insane examples.
"And the wings!" She sighed dreamily. "You all have, them. But not me." She pouted.
I absently stroked one of my feathers. "These old things?" I said jokingly.
She reached out to stroke them as well. "They're just so magnificent. And beautiful of course."
"Um…thanks." This was kind of strange. I can see how someone without wings would think of them that way, but to me they just…weren't.
"What's it like to fly?" Ella suddenly blurted out.
I thought about that for a moment. To me, flying was just as natural as walking. First you crawl, as in flapping around in circles about three feet above the ground. Then, you walk, as in getting a little higher every day, flying to the tops of trees and sitting on their wide branches, or gazing at the sky-view of your house. Lastly, you run, as in seeing how high and fast you can go, twirling, flipping, and feeling as though no one can touch you. It was very exhilarating, really.
"It's nice." I said simply.
Ella sighed exasperatedly. "Yeah, but what's it like? I mean is it like a roller coaster where your heart plummets to your stomach. Or is it calming, or crazy, or fun? Does it make you giddy? Does it make you feel powerful, like no one can hurt you? I bet it's like that, it would just be so much fun to-"
"Ella! Just wait a second!" I cried. Wow. That was quite a rant there. I see Nudge has taught her well. The truth was, flying was all of those things. It was crazy, fun, calming, just a mix of everything, really.
"Sorry, I'm just so curious. You don't understand." She said, turning away from me.
"How do you mean?" I asked tentatively.
"How can you not like it all? The fame, the excitement, the glory?" She replied to the wall, which she was currently facing.
"Listen, Ella. Sure, having wings is all of those things, but there are things you just don't understand. Firstly, my flock is always in danger. Always. We can never seem to catch a break.
"Second, we can never just blend in. Because of these wings we are always different, always abnormal. We can't go too many places in public without people getting suspicious. If we ever wanted to just go to school and just be well, teenagers, that's nearly impossible to do.
"Plus, I have to save the world. I know all of that "but you'll be a hero!" crap, but frankly, I don't care. I really don't care about all the pride and the glory. Not that I want our world to go down in flames, I just don't know how to protect it the right way. I don't even know why I was chosen in the first place!
"Lastly, I'm really grateful to have found you and mom and everything, but it makes me feel guilty for the rest of my family. No one really knows who their real parents are. We've tried to find them, but it hasn't turned out too great. Take Iggy, for example, his parents were no more interested in him than you're interested in a pair of new shoes. You see, Ella? My life isn't all it's cracked up to be."
She was silent now. "I still think it's pretty awesome." She said finally, before walking out of the room.
Not two minutes later Fang entered the room quietly. "Yo." He said.
"Very chatty today, aren't you?" I said sarcastically. I sat down on my air mattress and patted the spot next to me. He sat down and looked me in the eyes.
"What was that about? I heard screaming." He noted curiously.
"Girl stuff." I responded, hoping that would get him off my case.
He scoffed. "Yeah right, Max. I know you better than you give me credit for."
True.
I thought grudgingly.
"Ella just wanted to know what life on the run was like. She said she was jealous of me." I said with a small chuckle.
He, however, did not find that funny. "Why is that so hard to believe? What teenage girl in this world doesn't have a reason to be jealous of you?"
My cheeks darkened a little. Was that a compliment, or did his words have some sort of meaning I wasn't picking up on?
"What do you mean?" I questioned.
He sighed. "Max, don't you see? You're smart, tough, pretty, and you always try to do the right thing."
My breathing picked up a bit. "R-really? You think that?" Oh, just fabulous! I was stuttering. No one makes Maximum Ride stutter! Not even my wonderful Fang. Arrrgggh! Oh God, when will this madness end?!
Just then, something happened that made both Fang and I jump up in fighting stances. Little red lights were blinking in the hallways and an alarm was going off, saying, "Intruder, intruder". Metal shutters came down over all of the windows and mom called us down to join the others.
"Max! Fang! Please get down here, fast! Hurry!" My mom shouted.
We looked at each other briefly before rushing down the stairs.
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Well there you have it, folks! I hope you liked the sisterly-love. And that teensy weensy bit of Fax and Eggy. Upcoming chapters will contain more action, for sure. Maybe not so much the next one, but some intense stuff in chapter 7.
Please, please review! I love each and every review I get, they always make me so happy!