Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride! :D

A/N sorry it has taken me so long to update :) I hope you enjoy the chapter ;)

A Lifetime by the Bedside
Chapter 8: Max – Escape Plans

I launched myself into the air, whipping my wings out in a snap. I caressed the tips of the feathers with my fingers, closing my eyes in bliss. They were soft and silky, no friction against my touch. My fingers could just slip off. The air was still up there, and the sky was a brilliant blue with swirls of pink and purple. It reminded me of something Van Gough would have painted. I almost expected the clouds to be made of cotton candy it looked so mad, but wonderful. Testing my theory, I brushed my hand over the surface; but the white fluffiness dissipated at my touch. Damn, that would have been fun. Sighing, I looked down at the small figure on the ground.

'You planning on joining me?' I shouted down.

Fang swiftly flew to my side without another moment's hesitation. His dark wings shrouded him, making him look very mysterious. Giving me a sceptical look, he asked, 'what's this all about, Max?'

Squinting in the sunlight which cascaded down on us, I digressed, 'how high do you think I could go?'

'Umm, high?' Fang murmured.

Fang has always being one for words – note the sarcasm. Nevertheless, I didn't really care for his words, however few they were. 'Fang' didn't matter. The one thing that did matter though was his reaction. His violent reaction to Ari being here highlighted one thing. Fang didn't want me to leave. He was scared that I would. That meant that it was possible. I was sure of it. His over protectiveness, his caution... He knew how. They say keep your friends close and your enemies closer, and I had every intention of watching Fang with hawk-like focus.

'Let's try it,' I replied enthusiastically.

I laughed at his confused expression, his brow furrowed; and I beat my wings hard, taking deep, steady breaths. I didn't diverge off the path I had planned in my mind. The only direction... up, up, and higher still. If I was going to get out of this world, I needed to explore its extremes. How high? How low? How long? Before Columbus, people believed that the world was flat and that, once you hit the horizon, you would fall for all eternity into space. Space – infinite, dark and lonely above all things.

Craning my neck up, all I could see was sky, more and more bloody sky. I strained my eyes, trying to see beyond. In my mind, I changed gear and used stronger movements to propel myself upwards. It seemed that the colours in the sky were becoming more vibrant the higher up I went. It started out blue, pink and purple. Then, there were oranges and fiery reds - the colours of hell. The distinctive aroma of burning filled my nostrils and I coughed to try and clear it from my lungs. Ironic, I thought, that hell appeared to be above rather than below.

Fang hung a few feet below me, uncertain of my motive. I felt exhilarated that I had one up on him. I had the advantage. The more distressed he became, the closer I was. The closer I was to reality, and the closer I was to the flock.

'What are you trying to prove?' Fang asked, worry tinting his voice.

I nearly choked, he sounded so much like Fang then. I was impressed by my brain's accurate replications of my family. But it made it so much harder that way. Sometimes, just for an instant, you'd forget. I'd be stroking Angel's hair at night, feel her warm breath on my cheek, and everything would just be too real.

The air suddenly became thin and my hand instinctively went to my chest while I gasped for breath. I felt dizzy.

'Max?' Fang called.

Oh God. What was happening to me? I wanted Fang here so much. Did he know I was still in here? Did he know that I wasn't going to give up?

I cried out in pain, the piercing noise escaping from my lips before it could be fully processed in my mind. A strange sensation coursed through my wings and I whipped my head from side to side, trying to see over my shoulders. They were crumbling. I reached out for them, grabbing at them furiously. They were dissolving into sand which ran through my fingers, no longer silky smooth, but coarse. It reminded me of an hourglass, and my time was running out.

'Max!'

I fell, plummeting to the earth like a meteorite. Then everything went black.

Fang – Safe house

Gazzy and I blundered to the ground in a hurry just outside of the barn, a few miles south of the hospital. I had seen it on our flight over and stored the location at the back of my mind in case of an emergency. Public places were always dodgy for us. At least Angel's gifts had allowed us some privacy at the hospital. Part of me, the more cynical and perhaps more dominant part of me, always knew that it wouldn't last though.

It took effort to walk once we were on the ground. That weightless feeling you have when you're flying allowed the pain to subside momentarily, but now it seemed that the pain had been gathering deceitfully, almost like a debt which I now had to pay back. An eraser had landed a powerful kick to my ribs and I thought one might have been broken, the splintered bone stabbing me from the inside. I winced and clutched my side. Gazzy frowned at me. The kid had such an optimistic view on everything. Him and his bubble would float aimlessly throughout life. Humph... I envied him. Forcing a smile, I ruffled his hair and jutted my head up to indicate that he should go inside.

Thunder clouds were forming overhead. Eyeing them suspiciously, I followed Gazzy in and shut the door tightly behind me, the click of the catch comforting me. We were safe... for now at least. The barn was bigger than I thought, though it probably appeared bigger because it was entirely empty aside from the huddle of people in the corner. I exhaled a long, laboured breath when I caught sight of Max. She looked so fragile. I could have sworn she had grown scrawnier since I'd last seen her, wearing aware. She was pale too, her forehead matted with sweat. I just stood there staring at her for a long moment, my expression blank. Iggy glanced up with his sightless eyes, hearing our entrance.

'Fang? Gazzy?'

I cleared my throat nervously. 'Yeah,' I replied firmly.

Pull yourself together, I told myself harshly. Gazzy dashed over to the others and crouched on the floor next them. Taking slow, but steady, steps forward, my eyes roamed the area. The wood appeared rusty, if that was even possible, with flecks of red paint peeling away from the wooden panels. I bit my lip and looked up, the ceiling being very high with beams running parallel to one another. It must have been ancient, I thought in wonderment. I only hoped that it would hold. My feet dragged across the floor and eventually my eyes were drawn to her again. My breath caught in my throat.

Everyone was silent, watching me, then watching Max, then me again. To my relief, I saw her chest steadily rise and fall. I nearly cried in relief. Kneeling beside the others, I leant closer to her and signalled for the others to give me some space while I checked her over. I didn't really know what I was supposed to be looking for really. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of her head, but she felt stone cold and goose bumps covered her arms. Feeling her clammy forehead and checking her pulse, she seemed stable. I prayed that she was stable. Removing my jacket, I lifted her slightly and wrapped it snuggly around her shoulders.

'We're not stupid.'

Huh? I looked up, frowning, and saw Gazzy with tears in his eyes.

'We get that Max – t-that she's not well,' he blubbered.

'Argh,' I sighed, pulling him into a tight hug.

He was smarter than I gave him credit for. I took in a sharp breath as his weight fell against my ribs, but only pulled him in tighter. 'You're right,' I admitted. 'You're not stupid, well, not all of the time.'

Gazzy let out a short laugh, but I could feel his tears dampening my black tee. I held him back from me, gripping his shoulder. Taking a deep breath and fighting back tears of my own, my gaze passed throughout the entire group: Gazzy, Nudge, Angel, Iggy, and finally back to Max.

'I'm sorry I haven't been straight with you,' I explained, guilt evident in my voice.

Iggy reached out and eventually found my shoulder, patting it, continuing for me. 'Max is hurt... and it's bad. We don't know when she'll wake up, but we'll just need to keep her safe until then, ok?'

I liked how he said when, as opposed to if. I was grateful that he was there. Iggy may be blind, but he saw through me so clearly.

'What if she doesn't wake up?' Angel barely whispered whilst stroking Max's hair.

'She will,' both me and Iggy replied in unison.

'But how do you know?' Nudge asked bravely.

I smiled. 'Because... because she's Max.'

I told the others to start a patrol around the barn, wanting to be alone with her just for a small amount of time. It was selfish, but I needed it. Brushing her fringe away from her closed eyes, I really began to wonder whether she would wake up at all. I didn't know what all of the machines had been for at the hospital, but they must have been important, right? I didn't know how much longer she could last. I didn't know what to tell the others. I didn't know... I didn't know anything. With tears burning in my eyes, I cupped her hand in mine.

'If you can hear me,' I said. 'Then just squeeze my hand. It's right here.'

Foolishly, I actually had some feeble hope that she would. Foolish...

Max – The one you love most

My eyes flashed open. I was freefalling into a bottomless pit, a tunnel of jagged rock with crevices and cobwebs surrounding me. I looked around frantically, but there was no escape. My wings were gone. I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out. I was being erased from existence...

'Oh really, you do overdramatize things, Max.'

'Ari?' I called out.

My voice. Oh, how I loved the sound of that voice. Suddenly, I was no longer falling, but was being suspended in mid-air. Ari popped up at my side, reclining lazily in the air. With one arm behind his head, he raised his eyebrows at me.

'So, you tried to get out that way...' he said, seeming amused.

'What was I supposed to do? You left me with no clues!' I argued, crossing my arms firmly over my chest.

I was frustrated beyond belief and he wasn't really helping. I couldn't help but feel comforted for him being there though. Damn it.

'It's not a treasure hunt,' Ari replied, laughing at my distress.

I sighed and cast him a glare, narrowing my eyes. The tunnel appeared to be getting lighter which I took to be a good sign.

'It wasn't actually your theory that was wrong though,' he reasoned.

So I was right, I thought triumphantly.

'Don't get ahead of yourself,' he tutted, as if reading my mind.

'But you just said –'

'Something's gone wrong and you don't have as much time as I thought,' he said seriously, interrupting me.

What?

'What?' I asked, gulping loudly.

My mind was suddenly flooded with different possibilities. Was it the school? Had they found them?

'The others have run into a little trouble and have had to move you. Without certain facilities, your condition will deteriorate quickly.' He said it so simply, so calmly, you would have thought that we were chatting about the weather.

'Don't look at me like that,' Ari warned.

'What?' I screamed. 'What the hell am I supposed to do, Ari?'

We began to fall again, to my horror; but Ari seemed to take it in his stride, no fear showing on his face whatsoever. He smiled evilly at me and I actually smiled back. Like a vacuum, we were sucked out of the tunnel and jolted onto our feet outside of the house. I staggered forward and Ari steadied me.

'Thanks,' I muttered.

'You're welcome.'

I looked at the house, overcome with nostalgia, my stomach twisting in knots. It looked more like a prison to me, no longer a home. My thoughts wondered to the flock.

'How can I get back to them?' I asked, on the verge of begging.

And I would have begged. I would have sunk to my knees and pleaded with him to send me back. I would have walked the length of this stupid world to find them. I would have done anything.

'You have to let them go,' he informed, looking straight ahead at the house, his expression indecipherable – a mask.

'What do you mean?'

Moaning in frustration at my slowness, he elaborated, 'you have to accept that they're not real.'

'But I have! I want nothing more than to see the backs of them,' I yelled, pulling at my hair.

Ari let out a bitter laugh. 'That's not true.'

My jaw dropped in exasperation and I could have swung for him. A gust of air whistled past, carrying a familiar voice which I couldn't quite grasp.

'You tuck Angel into bed at night and kiss her on the forehead as if she was your own child. And you hug Gazzy like... a brother.' He paused, and my heart ached for him. 'And whether you like it or not, you love Fang. He's not the same as your Fang. I have to admit that I find this version even more annoying than the other. I mean, he's just so -'

'So what can I do?' I interrupted, not in the mood for his insults.

'You have to hurt the one you love most.'

I felt something around my hand then, a light pressure. I glanced down, but nothing was there. It was like a ghost was holding my hand...