Thanks for reviews!

I'm on Spring Break, so I'll probably be posting a chapter every day... as long as I get reviews :).

Well, enjoy!

I don't own Max Ride.

I could believe that I was standing here. It was the cave where the hawks flew. Where he would meet me in 20 years.

I growled under my breath thinking about it. I wasn't about to wait 20 years to seem my soulmate again. I had to find him, even if it meant that I had to give up on saving the world.

I looked out into the horizon, and saw the hawks flying through the sky. They were so… so free. They didn't have a world chasing them. They soared in an intricate pattern, and I was soon mesmerized by their beautiful dance in front of the setting sun.

Suddenly, a speck appeared in the midst of the hawks, and it started coming closer and closer. I squinted into the sun to try to identify the figure. I tensed, fearing that it was a threat, waiting for me to be on my own.

It got closer, and I saw a pair of glistening tawny wings.

"Max!" Nudge called. "Oh my gosh Max why are you here?"

"Nudge!" I exclaimed, and pulled her into a hug. "Why are you here?"

"Well, Iggy told me that you left…" she said. "I had to follow you. I knew you were here. I just knew."

I felt a small smile play on my lips. It was a strange sensation. I didn't smile anymore.

"I remember when we were looking for Angel, Fang and I came here and flew with the hawks," she said, he eyes sadly nostalgic.

She noticed how I had winced at the mention of… him. "Sorry," she muttered.

At that moment, I felt so bad for the rest of the flock. They needed strong Max, the leader Max, not the heartbroken, half-dead Max. I sighed.

Nudge put a hand on the wall, and leaned against it, staring at the hawks. They truly were beautiful, so much more gracefully and carefully created than we were. They were works of art. We were mutants -- freaks of nature who shouldn't exist.

Suddenly, Nudge gasped. She clutched the wall with her hand, and had her eyes clenched shut.

"Nudge?" I asked softly, quickly walking over to her.

She put out a hand to stop me, and whispered, "Wait."

I could tell that she was sensing the memory of the last person who had been here. She started walking around the cave, running her hand along the walls, her brow furrowed in concentration. One slow step after another, she traced the perimeter of the cave, her sensitive fingers picking up every memory.

Finally, she opened her eyes and stared at me with panic.

"It's all fake. They took him," she said. Her eyes were wide with horror, but I didn't comprehend what she had just said.

She must have seen my confused look, for she took a breath and explained,

"Fang was here. He was dragged here by these… invincible erasers. An eraser, he saw… He was limp, and bloody… and they dragged him away. The eraser, he thought… he thought…" Nudge looked at me, her eyes inquisitive, saying Do you want to know?

The thought passed through my mind, and I knew that no matter what, I just couldn't be left wondering.

"Tell me," I said.

Nudge nodded, understanding. "Fang was dead. And another eraser said, he said…" Nudge paused and swallowed. "He said 'Let's write a letter to his ugly little girlfriend.' And they all were laughing."

I bit my lip, thinking about what Nudge had just told me. He… he… he couldn't have died. He was too strong. I needed him too much. But Nudge wouldn't lie…

"Nudge, are you sure?" I asked, trying to make my voice steady.

"I saw it. Unless it's a fake memory," she replied. Her expression was sincere, and I could tell that she wasn't lying.

She was beautiful. It was like the first time I had ever seen her. I noticed how bright her eyes were, and how warm her skin was. It felt like… it felt like the last time I would ever see her.

"He's really gone, isn't he?" I asked after a long silence.

"Nudge nodded faintly. "I can feel it," she whispered.

The hole in my chest suddenly seemed twice as large, as if my entire heart was missing now, rather than just half of it.

"But Angel said she could see him in the future. He couldn't be…" I trailed off.

"Max, something's wrong with Angel," Nudge said softly. "We were best friends. I don't know what happened, but she is NOT Angel anymore."

I nodded in agreement, but I barely heard Nudge. All I could concentrate on was the immense pain in my heart, knowing that he was… dead. That I would never see him again.

I felt mad at myself. I was angry at him for leaving me… but it wasn't his choice. He had been torn away from me, by stupid freaking Itex. It wasn't his choice. I wanted to slap myself for ever feeling that agonizing hate for him.

But the truth was nothing but a long, cold knife through my heart. Fang. Gone. Fang Dead. Dead. Dead.

I didn't know what to do. It was one thing to know that he'd lied to me, that he'd broken his promise, that I really didn't matter to him anymore. At least I had known that he was happy alone, and all I had really wanted was for him to be happy. But it was so different to know that he had cared. That he had still wanted me. That they had pulled him away from me.

My thoughts were crashing around in my head, and nothing made sense.

"N-nudge," I stammered. "I need to be alone. Please."

She looked at me, and I could see the ambivalence in her eyes. "Are you sure?" she asked, her voice weak.

"Yes. Please. I need to be alone tonight," I begged.

"Uhh…" she replied. "Well, okay."

I sighed, and gave her a grateful look.

"Thanks," I said. "I'll be back tomorrow morning."

"Okay," she replied, with apparent reluctance in her voice. She slowly walked to the edge of the cave, then jumped up and flew away.

Finally. I was alone.

But it really didn't matter anymore. Nothing made sense anymore, all I knew was that he was gone.

Every memory, every single day spent with him seemed to flash through my mind. Our playful fights back at the E house. His torn body on the beach. Kissing him in the cave. Loving him, wanting him, and most of all, trusting him. I kicked the wall. All I could see before my eyes was an image formulated from Nudge's words – of Fang's body, limbs mangled, dangling from the grasp of an indestructible eraser.

My fists clenched and unclenched, and I felt a tear rolling down my cheek. I slowly walked to the edge of the cave, staring down at the ground below me.

There was no more reason to live. Everything was so blurry. The flock seemed a distant memory now, the past seemed to be just a dream. Now, all that existed in my mind was that horrible image I had pieced together of Fang's limp body.

I took a deep breath. There was no thinking about this. There was no doubt, I wouldn't let my mind wander. All I felt was pain, loss, and just plain numbness everywhere.

I pressed my wings to my back, and I let myself fall.

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!

Review if you like bacon.

Review if you like chocolate.

Review if you like ninjas, pirates, OR chuck norris.

One more thing -- if you're bored, go to Google and type in "Where is Chuck Norris?" then click "I'm Feeling Lucky"

A hug from Fang,

Tammy Angel