Max. Max. Max.
So many ways to describe Maximum.
Best friend. Mine, for fifteen years…
Mother. To her own children, to the flock…
Sister. To Iggy, to Nudge, to Ella, to Ari, to me…
Daughter. To Dr. Martinez, the way she looked at her…To Jeb, even…
Friend. To us all…
Wife. Dylan's, for the past six years…
Leader. To the whole world…
And now, seeing her like this, I realize my mistake. We would have been better if the original flock stayed together. Jeb and Angel said that our backstory, our past together, made us more vulnerable in the face of death. They said that it would make us more likely to think with our hearts and not our heads, Max especially. He was wrong. She was wrong. Our pasts, our childhood, made us able to trust and be trusted. We had potential, and it was me who destroyed that.
Maximum Ride was our leader, and by the time I see her in this way, destroyed, at my own hand, I know that the past six years were a mistake. I never should have left. I should have stayed, led the flock by her side. Conquered our enemies and saved the world in the same way we had survived all those years.
She was always right. Always, every time. Right when she saved Ari, right when she said I replaced her with Maya, right when she called Dylan an asset to the flock. Right when she said that she should have killed Maya when she had the chance, the very first time. She saw that Maya was jealous, unstable, following her own agenda. She saw every move Maya made coming. She knew that Maya had a voice too, she knew that Maya would say that she was past her time. And she knew I would agree with Maya. She knew that the flock would see Maya and me aligned against her, and would revolt, too. She knew that against us, she had no chance fighting. She might not have known she would lose at the start of the fight, but she took the beatings gracefully when she knew it was over for her. Max was always somewhat admirable like that; she manages to show you up and prove who the better person is, even in such a cruel death.
Watching her eyes struggle to stay open, I realize that she's trying to talk to me. Not with words. Half of the conversations I had with Max throughout our years together had no words at all. She could speak whole paragraphs without uttering a sound.
And I hear what she's trying to say, I do. And I don't know how to reply, because what is she apologizing for? It was I who hurt her, was her downfall, and needs to say sorry. So I look back at her, tears threatening to brim over my eyelids, and I try to say that yes, I love her too, how could I not? She was, after all, the incredible, indescribable, Maximum Ride, who I would follow to the end of the world.
And after she's gone, I find myself staring at Maya with a vengeance, but I know I can't kill Maya, not for Max, because Maya isn't the real criminal. Not here. I am.
I'm sorry, Maximum Ride. See you soon.
Thanks so much for the amazing reviews! And if anybody's interested, this chapter marks my eligibility as a beta, so feel free to ask!