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A Lifetime by the Bedside
Chapter 5: Iggy – What would you do?

'I'm going to kill every last one of them,' Fang swore.

I could hear the unnerving creaking of the chair and envisaged him, in my mind's eye, rocking back and forth, still refusing to release Max's hand. I tried to calm him, resting a hand on his shoulder, but his posture stiffened, so I let it fall to my side.

'We all hate what they did,' I said.

He was hurting, like all of us were. It was only the lucky few who were blissfully unaware of the true danger. I have wisely decided, therefore, that truth is not beauty, but, instead, a hideous thing that we all must come to terms with eventually - unwanted, yes, but necessary for survival.

'They outnumbered us Fang. She practically sacrificed herself for us, and you getting yourself killed is not going to help anyone.'

'I may prefer it to this,' he murmured, sulking.

'Look, will you just stop that?' I yelled, gripping the bed railings. It was cool against my skin, sending a shiver down my spine. I flexed my fingers and bowed my head. I could not see Fang's reaction, but could imagine his shock at my raised voice. Sighing, I bit my lip, 'I'm sorry, 'k? But this is getting you nowhere.'

Luckily, the others were out of the room, searching for something remotely edible from the canteen. Hospitals never do seem to gather that it is a little counterproductive if the patients end up dying from the repulsive sludge they pass off as food; or die of starvation, blatantly refusing to attempt to stomach it.

The others didn't need to see Fang like this. He would mostly talk to Max, but he was able to let his guard down more when it was just me and him, allowing me to look into his head, to understand what he was thinking. I was glad that he felt he could put his trust in me like that, but another part of me hated it. I was being inflicted with his self-loathing, blaming himself for what happened, infuriated with himself because he was unable to save her.

I could imagine her then, taking on what sounded like an army of Erasers. She screamed at us to run. Fang had refused to leave her, but she had shoved him in Angel's directions, ordering through gritted teeth, 'help her!' Nudge and Gazzy were already in the sky, hovering, uncertain of what to do.

'Fang, we have to go,' I called across the yard.

Angel tapped the back of my hand and we both unfurled our wings, catapulting ourselves into the air.

'Max, come on!' Nudge yelled, worry tinting her voice.

'They've got us outnumbered,' Gazzy warned.

I could hear the sound of, knowing Max, an epic battle beneath me. Fists flying, legs kicking, noses breaking, blood dripping; except then, I had only envisaged the Erasers' blood being spilt.

'Max!' Angel shrieked.

'Max, oh my God, leave her alone!' Nudge squealed, starting to descend to her aid.

I had no idea what was going on, but everyone I cared about seemed terrified and scared. The only thing I could gather was that we were losing.

Fang came near then. 'Go!' he ordered.

Brushing close to him, I felt Max's arm drooping lifelessly – he was carrying her. We flew fast, just aiming forward.

'What happened?' I mumbled to Fang.

He didn't reply, only flew faster, the tips of his wings brushing against my face lightly.

'She's hurt... bad, Iggy. She's hurt real bad,' Nudge sobbed.

I gripped her hand tightly and she latched onto it with all her might. I felt as if I had no control whatsoever.

The room was deadly quiet for a moment and I smacked my hands to my forehead, hitting it repeatedly, groaning. I began to pace the room, my footfalls heavy, the vibrations from my feet smacking the floor jolting up my legs.

'She might not wake up Fang, you know that. There's no point in deluding ourselves otherwise, even if it would be easier to. But I tell you this...' I stopped and turned my head to where he sat. 'I think there's a damn sight of a better chance that she comes back to us, because she's a fighter, our Max, and she would hate to see you like this.'

The silence drew out...

'Fortunately,' I forced a small laugh, trying to diffuse the tension, 'I can only hear you moan about it.'

Relieving me, Fang began to laugh to. He surprised me, getting up and placing a firm hand on my shoulder – he hardly ever left Max's side. Smiling, I placed a hand on his shoulder too, giving it a squeeze.

'Thank you,' he said seriously. 'I needed that.'

Shoving his shoulder light-heartedly, I grinned, 'what would you do without me?'

Though the real question was, what would we do without Max?

A/N Hello fello fanfictionees, or just any random person viewing my work - I love you all the same ;)
Thank you for reading, it means a lot :D
Fang's been being really 'down and out' lately in my story and I thought that it was about time that good ol' Iggy snapped him out of it ;)
Just to assure you, in the next chapters Fang will definately be more responsible as the [temporary?] leader of the flock.
Soon! They will move out of the hospital ward, so if you are getting bored of the scenery this should hopefully cheer you up :P

Pleeeeeease keep reading and leave a review if you have time to spare ;)

BrownieCrumbs
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