The Renegade
Chapter 14
I smiled as I listened to Iggy and Fang spar. I couldn't believe it; I was actually enjoying myself. I gave a concerned look as I heard Fang's breath get knocked out of him.
"That was a cheap shot," He said. I briefly wondered what Iggy did that could be wrong in a fight; there are no rules as long as I was fighting.
"I'm blind, I can take cheap shots." Iggy said stubbornly. Iggy had offered to spar with me but I didn't feel like I was up to it yet. Max made me clean my shoulder again with that stupid antiseptic crap, only making the pain revive itself all over again. Fang had mumbled something about me getting an infection and my arm rotting off if I didn't. I don't really know if he wanted me to hear that or not. They had to learn that the only way to keep me from hearing something is to not even say it.
It really surprised me how smart they all were. They said they learned almost everything from books, television, and the internet. We only had a radio that got four stations, none of which were remotely educational.
"So, what do you do for food around here?" Max asked me around noon. It only occurred to me then that I hadn't eaten anything for almost two days now.
"Besides stealing it? There might be a few things in there." I said pointing to the storage area. "Probably not enough for all of us, but I don't need to eat." Without another word she started digging through the pile and found a small package of precooked hotdogs, a bag of trail mix, and some bottles of water.
"Anywhere to start a fire around here?" Iggy asked after Max handed him the hotdogs.
"Out on the ledge to the right there's a little hole in the rock, you can start one there but don't make it too big. The park rangers are looking for smoke in case of forest fires." I instructed. Iggy walked quickly away from the cave, emitting a feeling that guaranteed he had a smile on his face.
"Just don't fall off a cliff!" Max called after him.
"That's what I have wings for!" He responded from around the corner.
"Iggy's starting the fire?" I asked quietly once he had gotten farther away.
"Iggy is a pyromaniac." Fang stated from the corner he hadn't moved from almost all day.
"Fang, can you find the rest of the flock? I think they're out on the ledge with Iggy trying to climb rocks." Fang mumble a yeah and started out the cave. I listened carefully to his footsteps; he was limping a little and let out a tiny huff of air every time he stepped with his left foot. I turned to Max as soon as I lost track of him.
"Did I hurt him yesterday? I know I meant to at the time but I feel kind of bad about it now." I asked her, almost feeling ashamed of myself. A pause indicated Max's surprise at my question.
"I don't… he's fine." She said with slight confusion in her voice. "Are you sure you don't want to eat anything?" She asked, quickly changing the subject.
"Yeah," I said calmly, "I want to get some real food anyway." I stated, pulling myself up and stretching out my wings.
"You can fly already?" She asked. Just then Nudge came into the cave walking in fast small steps and whispered to Max. I lightly rolled my eyes and let another smile spread across my face.
"What do you do for a bathroom around here?" Max asked me quietly. I heard Gazzy and Iggy laughing from the ledge.
"What? I can just go on a bush like you can!" Nudge said stubbornly placing her hands on her hips.
"Well, I guess I'll have to see if I can fly now." I said excitedly. A smile lit my face as I ran and jumped off the edge of the cliff, extending my wings at the absolute last moment. I hovered in place only twenty feet from the ground. I quickened the rhythm of my wings and swooped back up to the ledge. Silence met me there.
"I'll take you there. Then I can clean up to and you guys can eat lunch. Then I'll show you how we really work." I said confidently. I kept my wings extended letting them guide me through my cave. They were just long enough for my wing hands to touch the ground when I was standing. I quickly collected some new clothes, my brush, and a bar of soap and jumped off the cliff again to take off. In less than ten minutes we were there.
I couldn't see it now, but I knew how the small abandoned brick restrooms looked. I was the first to land and I listened intently for any signs of nearby life. Max, Nudge, and Angel were soon to follow as I lead them to the tiny building.
"You don't have to worry about people here, this has been abandoned for years and the nearest hiking trail is half a mile away." I quickly jammed one of my claws into the lock on the girls' side of the building, and opened the door. From in here you could see where part of the roof had caved in. Truence and I had fixed it the first year we were here. Each of them took a stall and I waited outside gazing at what little of me I could see in the mirror. I caught Max as she started to follow the younger girls out.
"I'm gonna take a shower and I'm probably going to be a while 'cause I have to wash my clothes too." I looked down at my once white tank top. "Don't worry about me if I stay out here for a long time." I said trying to sound as earnest as I could. "Once I get back you guys can take a shower if you want to."
"Okay," She said and swiftly left after the girls. Once I was satisfied that they were far away, I let my true feelings release from me. I almost collapsed down onto the sink in exhaustion. I forced myself to wobble over to the lightly frosted windows and pull down the cloth shades Truence and I had set up, at least I could see then. I wobbled my way back to the mirror and almost gasped at my reflection. I was so pale. I had virtually no color in my skin at all. I quickly stripped and examined the bruises scattered throughout my body. None of them were terribly severe but I was still aching and terribly weak.
I finally got into the shower that was just past the stalls and let the warm water pour over me. It felt amazing. Unfortunately, it only stayed slightly above air temperature; even before this hadn't been abandoned it didn't get hot water. Now since it was barely ever used the water was warmer from sitting in the underground pipes for so long. I leaned against the cool tiles, not minding the shiver it sent through my skin. The water stung the stitches in my arm as it secretly hid my tears. My last secret from them was slowly killing me.
Author's Note: Ha ha! More suspense! I'll try to update again soon since I haven't in such a long time!