Ok, so the next chapter will change a lot of things.
Hope you like it.

I'm also not a big fan of the Niggy thing, but I thought it would add a little interest, given the context of the next few chapters…

This chapter is dedicated to Lonewolfrox624, for reviewing every single one of my chapters. You've been amazing. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!

Chapter 9: Reaction

A fresh stream of curses spewed from my mouth, and this time, Fang made no attempt to shush me. We all charged towards Iggy, who was already in combat with the Eraser he had mistaken for a toilet.

Looking around, I saw that we were surrounded by Erasers. When we had flown to Iggy, they had surrounded us, and now we were in the middle, looking like deer caught in headlights.

Angel was the first to regain her senses, and she roundhouse kicked an Eraser where it counts, causing him to double over. Then, she flew behind him and snapped one of his wings, causing him to plummet towards the ground, one wing flapping dejectedly.

A female Eraser flew towards me (new enhancement… ugh), aiming a punch, but before she could carry it out, I twisted her arm behind her back, hearing the little pop as the shoulder was dislocated.

"Max! Watch your back!" Gazzy cried out, and I turned around just in time to receive a blow to the face. Seething, I chopped the Eraser's shoulder and brought his wings together, and he fell awkwardly to the ground, shrieking in pain.

Peering around frantically, I saw that Angel was barely managing her Eraser – she was cradling her left arm and was slowly losing altitude. "Angel!" I shouted over the mayhem. "Fly to the forest over there. We'll meet you near the tallest pine tree. Go!"

Looking like she was torn, she hovered there for a few seconds, but my repeated command of "GO!" sent her flying unsteadily towards the trees. The Eraser she was fighting did not try to follow her, but instead turned to Iggy.

I took stock of our situation, and it looked as if our numbers were about even. Fang was sporting a bloody nose, and Gazzy had somehow lost a shoe (I really didn't want to know how that happened), but other than that, we were all fine. Speeding over to help Fang, I clapped my hands over an Eraser's eardrums, and his earsplitting screech almost made me cringe.

But I'm tougher than that. I kicked him in the gut, sending him sprawling. Flying over the Eraser that Fang was fighting, I brought both combat-boot-clad feet down on his head, and he was unconscious before he hit the ground. Fang flashed me a grin, and I had to, with difficulty, restrain the urge to kiss him full on the lips right then and there.

What the hell was wrong with me?

I was once again reminded by Gazzy that we were in the middle of a battle, and I performed a couple of punches, a couple of roundhouse kicks, and there was a ringing silence.

Gazing around at the Flock (minus Angel, who I could spot flying unevenly towards us), I beamed. Once again, we had proved that we were stronger than Itex and its freaky fighting machines. But, wait – wasn't something missing?

I looked over at Iggy, who had gone completely pale.

"Nudge."

. . .

She was gone.

Totally, utterly, freaking gone.

"Nudge!" Angel screamed. "NUDGE!"

Gazzy, wide-eyed, looked around at the rest of the Flock, completely at a loss for words.

Fang squinted towards the ground, his lips pressed tightly together.

But Iggy's reaction scared me most of all. His face was white, and his eyes were squinted closed. He trembled all over. His lips noiselessly formed a single word: "No."

"Iggy. Iggy," I said, my voice shaking badly. "It's okay. We'll find her. Don't worry. Please. I need you to stay with me here. Iggy," His sightless eyes flew open, and without a word, he sped down toward the ground.

. . .

We followed him, our eyes raking the area, looking in vain for a sign of Nudge. It felt as if we spent hours combing the forest, but in reality, it was only a few minutes. Iggy stood very still, concentrating on the smallest sounds – the snap of a twig, the crunch of leaves. Suddenly, Fang stopped, looking up at a large tree with broken branches near the top. Gazzy tapped Iggy's hand, and together, we flew in anticipation to the top of the tree.

And when I saw what was up there, I knew the image would be seared into my memory for the rest of my life.

. . .

You know when Mrs. Weasley faces the boggart in Harry Potter, and it turns into images of her dead family?

I had never really thought about it before, but I was a lot like Mrs. Weasley in that way.

My worst fear was for the lives of the Flock.

. . .

So, as you can imagine, when we found Nudge at the top of the tree, her eyes closed and her body twisted at a weird angle, I freaked.

"What. Do. You. See," Iggy demanded, clenching and unclenching his fists. No one answered him – we were all in shock.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU SEE?" he screamed, and this time, Fang replied with a quiet. "She's unconscious. Her leg is bent under her. Her wing is twisted at a weird angle. She's covered in… in –"

His voice broke, and he turned away.

At that moment, everything went into hyper speed. Fang and I flew over to Nudge, and I ripped away the brambles that were trapping her. Fang lifted her bridal-style and carried her down to the forest floor. Gazzy rummaged in our backpack for the first aid kit, and Angel straightened out Nudge's limbs, some of which were at grotesque angels. Iggy, who looked like he was about to faint, felt Nudge's left wing, and mumbled, "It's broken. Three different places. Some of the bones are shattered. The broken bones have already set. We're going to have to re-break them." He turned suddenly and retched into the bushes. I rubbed his back for a few seconds, feeling his pain, then turned back to Nudge.

Fang murmured, "We can't take her to a hospital. I'll re-break the bones." He gingerly felt Nudge's wing, wrapped his hands around the outer edge, and there was a sickening snap as the bone broke. Nudge jerked, but didn't open her eyes. I took the bandage from Gazzy and wrapped it around her wing while Angel held it in place.

Next, we turned to her leg. It was bruised and swelling, and it looked as if it had taken her wait as she plummeted towards the trees. Iggy brushed his hands over it, and wordlessly took a make-shift splint out of our bag and attached it to Nudge's leg with more bandages. I took the antiseptic, and shakily dumped it over the long cut across Nudge's cheek, and Angel covered it with a large band-aid.

Looking over at Fang and Gazzy, I saw that they were furnishing a stretcher out of our windbreakers and some tree branches. "We have to move her," Gazzy said. "We aren't safe in the middle of the forest." I agreed, and gently lifted Nudge onto stretcher. Iggy and Fang both carried Nudge off the ground, taking care not to jostle her. We flew up to a cave about a mile away, and carefully lowered Nudge to the floor. Iggy sat down in a corner and curled up into a tight little ball, rocking back and forth. Fang stood stiffly against the wall of the cave, staring out into space. Tears rolling down his cheeks, Gazzy went to join Iggy. Angel and I sat on the hard floor, and I noticed her arm was swelling.

"Angel, sweetie, I forgot all about your arm! Come here so I can bandage it up." She nodded serenely, and placed her left arm in my lap. I wrapped a brace around her arm, and was about to go comfort Iggy, when I saw a tear trickle down Angel's cheek.

"What's wrong, Ange?"

Angel stroked Nudge's face, and turned to me with sad eyes. "Her hair. It's full of twigs. She wouldn't like that, would she?"

And with that, Angel buried her face into my chest and sobbed.