"No" I gasped. I took to the ground and broke into a run. The clearing was a mess. Fragments from a car were scattered everywhere. Bullet shells were littered across the grass. But that wasn't what I was looking at. I was looking at the boy. Not him. Not my Gazzy.
I burst into tears. I don't cry very often but when I do the floodgates open.
"Max!" Angel shook me. "Max he's still breathing!" Oh my god. He was.
"Angel! Go back to the house and call my mum!" She nodded and flew off. I looked down at Gazzy. His hair was tangled and stained with blood. His face and arms were bruised so much they were purple.
"Sorry about this Gazzy" I whispered. I picked him up as carefully as I could. He wasn't very heavy but I knew I would struggle to get him back to the house. As I began to lift off he moaned.
"Sorry Gaz" I whispered. It probably only took a minute to get back to the house but it felt like forever. Gazzy moaned every time I moved. By the time I had gotten Gazzy home, Angel had called my mum and Jeb.
"Where should I put him?" I asked. Angel gestured towards the couch. I put him down and raced to find some water and bandages. When I returned Angel was sitting next to her brother.
"Here" I said, passing her a jug of water. She just looked at me blankly.
"Wash his cuts. Look for bullet wounds. Wait for help"
"Where are you going then?" She asked.
"To look for the rest of the flock." She nodded.
I searched for nearly an hour. Nothing. There were two blown up cars at the clearing and dozens of bullet casings. But no other people. One thought kept rolling around my mind: Why leave Gazzy? Surely they would've noticed he was alive. But maybe this was a message to me. Or was I just being egocentric? Maybe this was an attack on the whole flock. But why leave me then? And what about Angel? After my fruitless search I went home again. Gazzy was still asleep on the couch. He had no more blood in his hair and his arms were bandaged.
"Angel? Where are you?" I called. She popped her head out from Nudge's room.
"Sorry." She said. "I was looking for something. Just give me a minute" I sat down near Gazzy. His breathing sounded normal but every now and then he would groan.
"Found it" Angel called. She walked out with a plate in her hand.
"What's that for?' I asked.
"I think the flock was drugged."
"Why do you think that?"
"Well they didn't fight their attacker. I think it was the breakfast. I didn't eat. You didn't eat and Gazzy barely ate. Maybe he woke up so they dumped him."
"Ok. That makes sense. But why were you looking for a plate?" She rolled her eyes.
"Because this is the plate Nudge put her breakfast on. She had pancakes with honey." She pointed to the dried honey that marked the plate. Before I could respond I heard an engine.
"Oh crap" Angel hissed. Any other time I would have told her off for bad language. But not now.
"We can't leave Gazzy here and I can't fly quickly while holding him" I said.
"We'll have to hide then" Angel answered. I nodded and we moved Gazzy into a cupboard.
"Stay here with him" I told Angel. I locked the door behind me. The car was pulling up now. I was running out of time. I ran and pulled myself into a skylight. I had made sure the house had skylights for a quick escape and now I was really thankful for my decision. I heard the door open and the sound of footsteps came in.
"Max! Angel? Please come out!" It was my mum with Ella and Jeb. My mum looked panicked. Her face was pale and her hands were balled into fists. When I jumped down she screamed.
"Mum its ok!" I said.
"Max! Where's Angel? Where's Gazzy?" she sobbed.
"Oh crap. I'll go get them." I raced over to the cupboard. I unlocked it and helped Angel out. I got Gazzy and put him on the couch. My mum gasped and immediately got out a stethoscope.
"What happened Maximum?" Jeb asked. While Angel told him and Ella what happened I checked up on Gazzy. Just before I uttered a word his eyes opened. I smiled at him and he blinked.
"How are you Gazzy?" I asked. He muttered some garbled response. I smiled and got him some water. He gulped it down.
"Where's everyone else?" he whispered.
"We were hoping you could tell us" I replied.
"I remember eating some breakfast and then everyone fell asleep. When I woke up I was in a car. I saw Nudge there but I couldn't see anyone else" he sobbed.
"What happened when you woke up?" Jeb asked.
"I fought back" Gazzy responded. "I kicked and yelled but Nudge didn't do anything. The car stopped and I flew out and I got shot at. I had a bomb in my pocket so I threw it at them. I blew up a car or maybe it was two. I don't remember. I heard Iggy yelling. I was still tired and I couldn't fly so I fell. When I was on the ground a man kicked me and said I was dead. " I nodded listening to his every word, looking for a hint to who had taken my flock.
"Why didn't they take me?" I asked.
"They wanted you to suffer. They took us to torment you."
"Why? Why was this attack so god damn personal?" I shouted.
Gazzy flinched before whispering: "I don't think it was so personal."
'Why do you say that?" asked Jeb.
"Because we weren't the only mutants in the clearing. There must have been 30 other creatures. I think someone is hunting all the mutant experiments down."