Chapter 13 – The city that never sleeps

Let me tell you something; flying never gets old.

But it sure gets tiring. After several hours of flying, rocketing through the air and generally feeling like gods, night was falling and the bright blue sky faded into its darker brother. I saw in front of us a huge sprawling landscape of buildings, lights and cars. I angled my wings and swooped up next to Max and Fang.

"Max," I said calmly.

She and Fang both turned to look at me as if their heads were joined. Man, it's creepy how connected they are, I thought.

"Yeah?"

"Is that the 'big apple' up ahead?" I asked, gesturing forwards.

"That's it. Not the big piece of fruit you were expecting huh?" she smirked.

I was slightly taken aback. Nudge had told me New York was one of the biggest cities in America but even her vast amount of words hadn't prepared me for how freakin' big it really was. We landed in a huge park, Central Park apparently, where a music gig was taking place. We all shimmied into the back of the crowd. Max said it was the Taylor Twins whoever they were. I actually quite enjoyed the music but I felt a bit claustrophobic being surrounded by so many people. A quick glance over at Max and Fang revealed they were also uncomfortable.

After the gig finished, we casually broke away from the crowd and leapt up into a tall tree. We all nestled into the branches, finding cozy spots to sleep in. I climbed over to a branch and perched there. Should I tell them I was leaving, or should I just go in the morning?

() () () () () () () () () ()

As my treat to the flock, I offered to take first watch. It was the least I could do. I lay on my back in the little clearing around the tree, gazing into the night sky. I had never seen stars before, and what a sight they were. Each one, a little dot in the sheet of blackness, shining so brightly. They were battling the bright colours of the city lights that shone into the cosmos. It was beautiful.

My radar sensed someone coming up behind me.

"Hey Max," I called quietly, still looking up into the sky.

"Hey," she said, sitting down next to me, "How you feeling?"

"Fine," I answered. I continued to gaze up at the stars.

"You've never seen the night sky before have you?" she asked, sympathy in her voice.

"No, never. It's so much better than I imagined."

Max lay down with me, before saying, "You probably feel a bit isolated, since we know everything about you and you know nothing about us."

For the next half hour, Max told me about how the whitecoat Jeb had rescued her and the flock. How he had trained them before disappearing. She told me sadly about how after four years, the erasers found them and kidnapped Angel, and how they tried to rescue her. She even told me about how Jeb told her to save to world. I was shocked but didn't interrupt. When she finished, she unfurled her strong, elegant wings and tested the breeze. We both lay quietly for ages, just watching the sky. Eventually, I had to ask her something. I took a deep breath.

"Max, do you…do you remember what it was like… when you first realized you were…different? I mean…not human?"

I turned to her, her eyes staring at the stars. I saw her face fill with emotion. She spoke softly.

"I remember. The sadness of realizing that you're a freak…that no one will ever understand you or treat you fairly. It just seemed so…cruel," she finished.

She turned to me, her brown eyes moist. "Why did you want to know?"

I welled up inside. Part of me didn't want to say but I felt that I had to, after everything she had done.

"I don't," I said shakily. "I don't remember. All my life I've thought I wasn't equal. All my life, I believed that I was worthless. Just another lab rat."

"But, how?" she asked gently, a tear trickling down her face, "Surely when you were younger, you didn't know…"

"I don't remember when I was younger...I…lost my memory," I whispered hoarsely, "Simon, the whitecoat…he was inspecting my brain…doing surgery and stuff…but he messed up…and now, I can't remember anything."

Silence.

"I'm…so sorry," she whispered, rubbing my shoulder.

"I just-" I chocked on my words.

I breathed deeply and tried again.

"I just…see horrible flashbacks. Images and visions that I just don't understand. That was…until today."

I looked into her large, brown eyes and saw deep sadness. Her beautiful face washed clean with a few tears. Her long brown hair glistened with a hint of blond in the moonlight. I sat up.

"I need to leave…at least for a while," I whispered, "I might come find you guys when I'm done…if that's ok?"

"Of course it is," she said gently, also sitting up, "But how will you find us? We could be anywhere."

"Well, I might be able to home in on you guys."

Her eyes grew wider and she grinned. "You can do that?"

"It's a bird thing," I said, chuckling lightly.

More silence.

"You spend as long as you need to. Come find us whenever you're ready." She said quietly, shuffling closer.

She wrapped her arms and wings around me in a tight embrace. I hugged her back.

We held each other for the longest time.

I started cooing, literally. Cooing softly.

"Coo, coo."

Max gently let go and looked at me with an eyebrow raised.

"Sorry," I said embarrassed, feeling my face burn red. "That's my bird brain talking."

We sat there quietly. I starred at her, losing myself in her eyes.

After a long time, she said quietly, "I'll take over the watch. Get some sleep, Phoenix."

I moved away slowly and began to climb up to the rest of the flock.

I stopped.

I turned around, to catch one more glimpse of the black night sky, the city skyline, the shining stars, and Max.

Wonderful.