Hey, so here I am with another chapter...
Just to let you all know, this isn't really going to be a long story... maybe ten, eleven chapters at most. Hopefully you like it anyways.
-Chapter Five-
Panic raced through me as the whole room burst into constant chatter. Nudge was on the ship and I didn't know it. She could be anywhere and I was just sitting in a café waiting for some brilliant thought to strike, telling me where Nudge was. My gut feeling was telling me that I would be waiting awhile.
I sighed and stood up, seeing that the people who had filled the room just one minute ago were racing up and down the hallways, trying to find each other. They weren't really the brightest scientists, if you ask me.
There were only ten people left in the room; the remaining flock members, Jeb, my mom, Brigid, Captain Hawkins, and Logan Fletcher. I sighed and looked around at each one of them, daring one of them to speak.
"What now, Max?" Logan asked, gathering his papers together but his green eyes never leaving me. I looked over at him, confused. Why was he asking me? They were the adults in the room so why were they asking a kid. Maybe because this kid always has a plan, well, most of the time.
"Why are you asking me?" I asked, looking around the room awkwardly. I saw my mom shake her head as she turned to me, gently placing a hand onto my upper arm. I looked up at her, and then at Jeb, who stared at me intently.
"Max, you know Nudge better than anyone else in this world." Jeb said, standing up. "You above all others will know what she will try to do and what she is thinking." I nodded, not quite sure what he meant but I figured that it would come to me eventually.
Seeing the confused look on my face, Fang spoke up. "I think he means that you taught her what to do in any situation she gets it so you'll know what she'll do." I shot him a grateful glance for clearing things up for me. I couldn't think straight and I'm pretty sure it showed on my face. I shook my head slightly and looked down at the ashen granite table, trying to collect my thoughts.
"For right now," I said, going back to my original plan, "Just search the ship. Get every passenger into their rooms and search every inch." I took a deep breath, realizing that everything depended on me. Finding Nudge, catching Owen Jackson; it all was up to me.
"What about the ship's location?" Captain Hawkins said urgently, standing up stiffly. I looked over him as he gently brushed the non-existent dirt off of his pure white jacket and his navy blue slacks. I thought for a minute; what could we do with the ship?
"Keep it directly where it is." I said, lowering my hands to the table. "If we get to shore then it will give Owen a chance to sneak Nudge off the ship without any of us knowing. No, keep it where it is."
"But, Max," Captain Hawkins said, shaking his head. "This is a cruise ship, not a fishing vessel. We need to keep moving." I inwardly groaned. Great; one more thing that could potentially ruin things even more.
"I don't care." I growled. "We need to get her back and if that means sailing in circles then so be it." For a second, he looked taken aback but then regained his composure. He nodded and left the room in a hurry; probably rushing to steer the ship away from any land.
"Are you sure about this, Max?" My mom asked, starting to look skeptical. "Are you sure this is what we should do?" I gave her a look that hopefully said 'of course it is'. She just nodded wearily and turned to Jeb.
"We'll get every spare person we have to search." Jeb said, walking to the door with Brigid and Logan following him. As they left, I received apologetic looks from Brigid and Logan but I disregarded them. We didn't need sympathy or pity. We needed help. It took everything I had in my not to have a panic attack.
I glanced over at the flock, who were all staring up at me, curious looks taking over each of their faces. Fang stood up beside me, gently placing his hand in mine. I stiffened but then relaxed, meeting his gaze. His eyes were soft and I saw something unexpected in them. If I didn't know better, I would have that he was going to cry but since I did know better, I knew that Fang wouldn't cry. He would stay strong for everyone. He knew that I needed him to keep me strong.
I tore my gaze away from Fang and looked over the remaining flock members. Iggy was gently tapping the table; each of his long, pale fingers making a small bang as he tapped harder and harder. His jaw was tight and his eyes were closed, a strained expression filling his features. His strawberry blonde hair fell over his eyes, almost covering them completely.
Angel was sitting next to the Gasman, her eyes wide and full of emotion. She was curled up into a ball on her chair; her knees pulled up against her small neck; her chin resting gently on the small indent between her knees. The Gasman stood up slowly, wrapping his arms lovingly, comfortingly around his little sister. It pulled my heart in six different directions.
Gazzy placed a protective arm around Angel as they both stood up. Angel came around to my other side, slinging her skinny arms around my waist. I patted her golden curls as she buried her face into m shirt.
Iggy stood up and stood directly in front of me, facial expressions changing from fear and pain to pure rage.
"We need her." He said simply, not caring how he sounded. I nodded and looked him directly in his blind eyes, searching for something I knew wasn't there. Hope.
"I know, Ig" I said, putting my fingers lightly onto his forearm. "I know."
"Come on, kids." My mom said from behind me. I had almost forgotten she was there. I turned my head, seeing her out of the corner if my eye. I sighed and nodded. "We need to get you five to Captain Hawkin's quarters while the ship is being searched." I nodded once again and started walking out of the room with Angel and the Gasman in front of me, Fang at my side, and Iggy and my mom trailing behind.
The walk to the captain's quarters was as uneventful as anything could ever get. I followed Jeb up to the Captain's quarters where they assumed we could be safe while the ship was searched. My thoughts were constantly being interrupted with images. Images I didn't need to see; Images I didn't want to see. I let out a low groan as they flooded through my mind.
They ranged from the flock being captured, agonized, and killed to Nudge sitting in a room alone; anxiety gnawing at her as she awaited the new forms of torture the man in the shadows had in store for her. To my great objection, the thoughts of the endless possibilities never ceased. They kept coming and each time I had to watch and endure the pain it brought me, seeing my Nudge in such distress even though it was only a vision.
We finally made it to the quarters and by then, I was rigid. My hands were shaking and I felt a thin sheen of sweat cover my forehead. I slowly walked into the room and felt all eyes on me, not wanting them there in any way, shape, or form. I tried to duck down behind Fang but he just stepped aside as he sat down on one of the miscellaneous chairs scattered around the room.
When they said 'captain's quarters' I wasn't really sure what I was expecting but I knew that this wasn't it. Realizing how nice it was, I turned and eyed the room carefully. There was a bed on the far wall with navy blue sheets and blankets piled on top of it. There was a desk against the wall, covered in papers and blueprints. Around the rest of the room, there were random tables and chairs strewn. In one corner, there was a mini-fridge with a microwave and cabinets, most likely holding food for when the Captain got hungry while working in here. Through a small hallway was a full, yet small, bathroom and a closet. Lining the walls were small port-hole windows but I refused to look through them. They reminded me too much of being underwater in the submarine just a few months back and I did not want to go back to that experience.
"Max?" The Gasman asked, looking up at me curiously. "Are you okay?" He said with all sincerity. I nodded and walked further into the room, ignoring the questioning glances I was getting from Fang and some of the adults still standing in the room. I was here, but I didn't know why.
"Now," Jeb said, standing by the door, "You five stay in here. I need you to be safe while we search the ship." My head snapped up; my whole body shaking with anger.
"What!?" I all but screamed, walking closer to Jeb. "I am not going to just sit here and wait for you and your people to go out and find my flock member!" I said, raising my voice with each word said. I took one step closer to him, seething in rage.
"Yes, Max," He said, not bothering to yell considering it never had any use on me. "The last thing we need is any of you hurt or missing. We need you to stay here where you can be watched over by our armed-"
He wasn't able to finish before I interrupted. "Don't even say it!" I spat, hatred filling my eyes. "Don't say that we need to be protected by your men because we don't! There is absolutely no way that your men can protect us from anything that we can't handle ourselves!"
I saw surprise in Jeb's eyes as I spoke. It was almost as if he had thought I wouldn't fight him over this decision. Well, we messed with the wrong Avian-American. "Max," He said calmly, trying, and failing, to keep me relaxed. "We don't need you guys out here searching where you might get lost or something might happen to you. You may not believe me Max, but I do care about you guys."
I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest, rolling back on my heels. I clicked my tongue and said, "Jeb, Jeb, Jeb. I thought I told you that experimenting on and torturing young children is not a way to show someone you care!" His cheeks flushed as he turned four shades redder. I smirked as a vein in his temple was about to burst. It looked as though Jeb had some hidden anger management issues. Who knew?
"Maximum Ride!" He demanded, putting his foot down. No, really, he stomped his foot down as he said it; and here he thought I was being immature. "You listen to me right now! You are staying here and that is final. I don't want to hear one more word out of you."
"Geez, looks like someone needs a time-out." I said, pointing to an empty corner, as if I were telling him to go sit down, facing it. He glared down at me and I tapped my foot against the floor.
"Get yourself over to that chair, sit down, and let us do our jobs!" He yelled; the anger finally spewing out of him, my job here was finished.
"I think someone should take a nap." The Gasman said from behind me, chuckling. I heard Iggy burst into laughter and Angel's high pitched giggles filled the room. Fang was chuckling slightly and Jeb, well, Jeb looked outraged. He probably expected that from me but not anyone else.
"You listen to me," He growled, mainly to the flock behind me, who were still laughing. "You will sit in here and not say another word." That did it. He could yell and scream at me all he wanted but when it came to the flock, he better keep himself in line.
"No, Jeb." I said, taking a step forwards towards him. "You listen to me. We are going out there and trying to find Nudge and if you ever talk to one of the flock like that again, I will kick your butt from here to next week, got it?" I didn't wait for an answer; I strode out of the room, the flock on hot on my heels.
As soon as we were out of hearing range of everyone in the captain's room, everyone burst out laughing. I smiled and watched as Iggy doubled over, clutching his stomach, trying to say something in between fits of laughter. Angel and the Gasman were leaning, using one another to keep themselves up. Fang was, surprisingly, laughing as hard as the rest of them. I guess seeing Jeb really get angry for the first time in his life changed him just a little bit.
"Max!" Iggy said after be finally regained his composure. "That was hilarious! How did you get him so mad?"
I shrugged and said "It's easy for the great, all-mighty Maximum Ride." I grinned as he started laughing again, probably thinking of how Jeb sounded. I cracked a smile, happy to see that the flock could still manage to be so upbeat after everything that has happened.
"Come on." I said, starting to walk down the hallway, "We need to search the ship. The people Jeb sent probably missed something."
"That's a good idea," Fang said, following me. "The only problem; this cruise ship is huge. Where do we start?"
He really had me there.
Soo, do you like it? Love it? Hate it? Despise it? Let me know :)