MAX
"The guy's name is Fang and the girl's is Angel," Gazzy informed me quietly. "And the guy is actually being pretty cooperative."
What's with bird kids and weird names? Like, was the whole wing thing not enough freakiness?
Honestly though, I'm still waiting for some angry motel resident to bang on the door and complain about loud noises and jiu jitsu in the handicap parking.
"What else?" I prompted, crossing my arms and shifting my weight.
"Uh, nothing we don't already know. Except, the dude, Fang, he said he'd talk talk, but only to you." Gazzy's puzzled expression matched mine, "These kids are seriously weird."
"Tell me about it..." I muttered roughly, pushing open the bathroom door and stepping inside the claustrophobic space.
I sat on the closed toilet lid and gave the two of them my best bad-cop face. They were tied up, almost to the point of ridiculousness, and stuffed in the cramped bathtub. Ari must have done the tying, who else would do such a ridiculous job? Blondie had drawn the short stick though. She was up close and personal with the bathtub's faucet. I had been convinced she wanted blood before we tied her up. Now the look on her face now was more similar to maybe... homicidal maniac? Not that I would put that above her.
The guy, Fang, seemed much calmer. His eyes were on me with an intensity that made me wonder how often he got out. The unnecessarily dark attire didn't help. Blondie had her eyes on me as well, but she seemed much more anxious about the whole ordeal. Angel really did look like an angel with the white sleeping gown and wings, albeit tacky. Her scowl and combat boots kinda ruined the angelic esque, though.
"So, why me?" I asked right off the bat, surprising even myself with the intimidating tone of my voice. I directed the question at Fang. Fang was quiet, just watching me. His eyes were still uncomfortably intense, but I didn't let that phase me.
"You're special, Max." He said finally.
I scoffed. "Right… And you're psycho."
Fang's face suddenly contorted in exasperation, like he was talking to a bratty child or something. "Listen, this is bigger than you, this is bigger than all of us. We don't have much time left."
"You're awfully dramatic." I muttered, slightly offended. I crossed my arms and sat back a little.
Was he including me in this 'we' of his? Because I am not part of his anything.
"You need to let us go, now!" He ignored my snarky comment.
"Okay, look," I said firmly, "You need to start talking coherently okay? So we can actually get somewhere."
Fang scowled and swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. His shoulder moved as if to brush back the dark strands of hair that were wisping across his face, but his hands didn't go very far. "We were sent by a group, mostly scientists, to influence certain decisions of yours." He said slowly, as if I was dumb.
Now we were getting somewhere... but uh, what the hell?
"And to control certain variables," He continued, earning a glare from Angel, "Of their experiment."
"What experiment?" I questioned.
"Shut up Fang!" Angel growled at him, attempting to bump him or something, but she was so tied up that she just bobbled a little. Fang shot her a condescending look and turned back to me.
"They call it the Angel Experiment. It's all of us, but mostly, you. Your friends are the expendable ones. If you don't let us go soon they'll send Erasers to the coordinates in our chips." He nudged his chin towards his forearm, as if to indicate where the chip was, his voice grim.
My heart involuntarily started to beat faster, although I knew he could have pulled this elaborate story out of his ass.
"How do I know you're telling the truth?" I asked coldly.
His jaw clenched. "Cut it out of my arm. That's all the proof you need and..." He looked away, "And I want it out."
Angel's eyes bulged at his words and she nearly yelled at him. "What are you doing?" He didn't respond to her. Didn't even look at her.
This could be a trap. The Voice decided to add.
"It could." I replied, before realizing I had spoken out loud. Fang's eyes met mine and he looked hopeful. He seemed genuine enough, despite the uh, incoherent sentences. Plus, his blonde sidekick was nearly loosing her marbles. Interesting.
I stood and gave them a final glance over before heading out, closing the door behind me. Something about Fang... I walked over to Iggy's backpack by the bed and unzipped the front pocket. Nudge and Gazzy were scattered on the other bed, flipping through the television channels aimlessly. It was almost like...
"Stupid daytime television." Nudge muttered, turning the thing off and laying back on the bed.
"Where are the guys?" I asked them, referring to Iggy and Ari, while taking the medical kit out as well as Ig's pocket knife.
"Right outside." Nudge informed me, still down. I nodded, although she couldn't see it.
"What'd Fang say?" Gazzy asked me, "And what's that stuff for?"
"He wants me to take out a microchip from his arm. He says these scientists are tracking him and Angel with it. Apparently, we're part of these scientist's experiment." Gazzy and Nudge exchanged looks and the girl sat up.
"Sounds a little..." He began, turning back to me.
"Yeah, I know," I sighed, "But I figure if he has a chip in him, he's telling the truth."
"You don't know that for sure." Nudge added thoughtfully.
"I don't," I sighed, "but what else is there?"
"Should I get the others?" Gazzy questioned, starting to stand.
"Yeah, but wait until I'm done." I offered. He nodded and sat back.
I went inside the restroom again, shutting the door behind me. I must've interrupted something because Angel stopped mid sentence and repositioned herself away from Fang. It seemed like he was still ignoring her though, and it was really ticking her off. Not like I cared or anything.
"Do you want some pain killers or something?" I asked Fang, holding up the knife. He shook his head as Angel shot me daggers with her eyes. "Alright, whatever you say." I muttered in response.
I helped Fang sit on the edge of the tub so that I could sit on the toilet lid and have a decent angle for cutting into his arm. Just thinking about cutting his skin brought back memories of Jeb, Ari, and I sitting around a table while Jeb showed us how to stitch up a wound on an orange's skin. Maybe Jeb's police training made him a little paranoid, but it was definitely coming in handy now. I felt a sudden pang while thinking about Jeb. I missed him and Kayla, although my memories of them were foggy.
Max, I forbid you from doing this. The Voice commanded as I disinfected my hands and the blade.
What else am I supposed to do, Voice? I responded, this time internally.
The Voice didn't reply and I huffed. It actually bothered me that the Voice didn't agree to this. The Voice didn't seem to lie to me. Yes, having the Voice inside my head was a little invasive, but it seemed to be on our side, and that was good enough for me right now. There didn't seem to be much of a choice in this situation.
"Can you show me exactly where it is?" I asked him, gripped his forearm in one hand. Fang pointed to a faded scar and I nodded, making a steady incision on his skin before I could change my mind. Fang watched with morbid fascination and Angel looked away. The chip was near the surface, not very deep. I was able to get it out without much trouble. It hadn't been in there too long, thankfully.
I cleaned the wound, stitched it, and wiped up the blood. Fang winced and something tugged at my mind, a memory. There was a quick knock at the door before it opened, jerking me out of my thoughts.
It was Iggy. "What're you doing?" He asked, sounding a little weirded out. I held up the microchip and he looked between the chip and Fang's bandaged arm.
"Want to explain?" I asked Fang.
Fang looked incredibly relieved. "That's a tracking device, Angel has one too. It makes sure we can't run away or disobey their orders. If we run, they'll find us. We're under their complete control." His voice was bitter. I was proud of the sucker for using complete sentences and everything.
"Max, get away from him." Iggy said tightly.
"Uh, why?" I asked, standing regardless and crossing the tiny room to stand beside Iggy.
He said this next part quietly, so only I could hear. "You obviously don't remember, but Fang snapped your best friend's neck."
"What?" I asked appalled, wheeling to look back at Fang and Angel. Yes, they were psycho... but were they that psycho? I could believe it, hell, I'm a runaway, hiding out with a bunch of flying hormonal teenagers. I can believe anything. I'm slowly learning to be more and more wary though. Being on the run does that.
Good, Max. Never let your guard down.
Thanks Voice, that's sweet of you. I clenched my teeth a little at the thought of the Voice hearing my every thought.
"The thing he forgot to mention," Angel voiced up, I had nearly forgotten she was curled up in the bath tub, "If we tamper with the chips at all, the whitecoats will send a fleet of Erasers out to hunt us and drag us home."
I felt my jaw tighten. It was a trap, and I had walked right into it... or more appropriately, cut into it.