I am soooooo emotional that it's funny! I watched Breaking Dawn and cried, I watched The onethat got away music video by Katy Perry and cried, and watched the Disney movie UP and cried sooo much, I especially cried when Kevin got captured.
The next morning we all packed up. Well it was really hard to pack up with the little kid, Carter, running around and grabbing onto my legs. The nurse told me I could leave giving my situation with the fast healing thing. She was a member of the CSM so the whole wing thing wasn't new for her. But I was told to rest and leave the bandages for a few days. Yeah like I ever listen.
"So what's the deal with the whole transportation issue?" Holden asked.
"I used our money from Paris and rented a van." Fang gestured down the road, "It's around the corner." So we all took a little stroll around the corner where a HUGE van was parked.
"Oh way to stand out Fang." I snapped when I saw the car.
"Well there are thirteen of us Max! We can't all fly you know."
"I do not want to get in a van with twelve other people!" Iggy piped up. He was backing away slowly. "I don't care how big you guys say it is."
"Okay, the gang and I will take the van and everyone else can fly." Fang said and everyone started getting into the van or preparing for takeoff. We were going to meet at a point near the gen 77 school.
"Come on guys let go!" I gestured towards the sky. We were already to take off when I felt a tugging at my legs.
"Max?" It was Carter. The little boy pointed to his wings under his shirt. "Wings small."
I forgot about how small and young he was. He probably never learned how to fly.
"Here, I'll carry you." I bent down and picked him up. He was light, and tall like us. I still didn't know if I could trust him. But even I felt bad about interrogating a two year old. I'm not a monster.
(Line break with the name Kevin. Tee-hee.)
Some time later we were flying high up and felt really good. I had been stuck in the hospital for almost two days and loved getting out and flying.
Nudge was rambling on and on about peanut butter and jelly, with occasional comments from Iggy and Gazzy. It was like old times except that Angel was missing and my boyfriend had broken my heart but still asked me for help, oh and a little kid had found us.
Speaking of which my arms were getting tired from carrying him. I was going to pass him over to Iggy, but he woke up… and started crying. His dark blue eyes filled with tears and overflowed, he wailed and clutched me, his arms wrapped around my neck.
"Max! What's going on?" Iggy shouted, startled by the noise.
"I don't know!" I shouted and tried to comfort him by stroking his wavy black hair.
"Should we land?" Gazzy asked in a panicked voice.
"Yeah I can't do this in the air." I angled my body down and went down. We all landed in a clearing.
I got Carter on my hip and tried bouncing him up down like they do on T.V. of course television is my only source of education.
I squeezed my eyes shut and thought back to when Angel was his age. She used like it when I or Jeb swayed back and forth.
I stopped the bouncing thing and swayed back and forth with his head on my shoulder.
"Shhh, what's wrong?" I asked him now that the crying had turned into muffled sobs. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nudge talking to someone on the phone. Fang I assumed.
"Feel bad." He answered. It seemed that he only talked in two word sentences. I automatically felt his forehead. He was burning up. Ugh why couldn't he just have a good immune system like every other bird kid in the world?
"Max." I looked up to see Nudge holding out the phone. I took it and got it between my ear and shoulder.
"What?"
"Hey it's me." Fang's voice said from the other end. "Nudge told me what happened with the kid. Is he okay?"
"He has a fever. Can you guys drive here we can't fly while he's like this."
"Okay, we're close by see you soon." Fang hung up and I handed the phone back to Nudge.
"They'll be here soon." I told her.
"I'm gonna go to sleep." Gazzy said with a yawn. I walked over to him and kissed the top of his head.
"Max!" he whined.
"Get over it! I can kiss you goodnight if I want."
He shook his head and flew up to a branch and settled in.
I went back to swaying back and forth with Carter. I could tell by his unsettled breathing face that he wasn't asleep. At least now that I he's sick I know that he's not a weird robot child. Everyone else went to bed but I stayed up. I wanted to make sure that the others got here okay.
I looked up at the stars and tried to find all the constellations. I used to do that every night when I was in the E shaped house. Sometimes Fang would look with me, or I'd sit with Iggy and tell him what they looked like.
I smiled to myself as I thought back to that night in the desert with Dylan when we pointed out constellations.
"Max."
I looked at Carter. His eyes weren't all the way open and he looked exhausted.
"Hurts." He said.
"What do you-"But before I could finish there was the sound of footsteps behind me. I spun around and came face to face with Ratchet.
"What is your problem!" I screeched making Carter wiggle.
"Sorry." I whispered to him.
I looked back up at Ratchet wanting an explanation. I hated when people snuck up on me, whenever it happened which wasn't very often, I felt vulnerable.
"Just wanted to say hi. So how is the little dude?" he asked.
"Here take him. He has a fever. Just a little sleepy." I handed Carter over to him.
"You looked very natural holding him like that. Is there a reason why?" he wiggled his eyebrows and nodded his head at where Dylan was on the trees. He and everyone else were all alert. No doubt from my shrieking.
"Where is everyone?" I asked him. He was still trying to get hold of Carter who was wiggling away.
"They sent me in here first to find you." He replied. "I can hear them coming." His head turned to the woods. And sure enough Fang and Maya emerged from the trees, with the rest of the gang in tow.
"Thanks for telling us they were here Ratchet and NOT getting distracted." Maya said sarcastically. "I see you have a new babysitting job." She smirked at Ratchet trying to settle Carter down.
"Hey. Is everyone here?" Dylan asked. We all looked around and there were a chorus of yeahs.
"Kay I'll take watch." Fang volunteered.
"No Fang you've been driving all day. We've been sleeping. I'll take watch." Star spoke up.
"I'll do it." I said.
"Max you just had surgery. You haven't even taken off the bandages. I'll take watch." Kate said. And that was the final decision. Everyone got ready to sleep.
For some reason I knew I wouldn't be sleeping tonight.
"I'll stay up with him." Star said softly. She smiled as she took Carter from Ratchet's arms. Her voice wasn't so cold. I guess kids bring out the best in people. Well most people. Kids were kind of a sensitive subject for me right now.
Just as I had predicted before. I couldn't sleep.
I jumped down off my branch and walked over to Kate. "I'm going to the van. I'll just be inside there." I told her so she wouldn't think I was missing.
I pushed aside some branches and made my way through the woods. Eventually I came out to a little fence. I climbed over it to wear the van was parked. I pulled open the sliding door with ease.
I was startled to find Fang in there.
"Hey Max." he said without looking at me.
"Shouldn't you be asleep, we might have a big day tomorrow." I said and climbed in to the seta next to him.
"Not tired."
"I find that hard to believe."
"How are you feeling?" He asked, totally changing the subject.
"What."
"Max you just had surgery. Remember." He smirked.
"Oh." His little reminder brought my mind back to the subtle aching and stinging in my mid-section. "I'm okay. I've sort of been ignoring it you know. Pain is just a message. That's what Jeb always used to say."
He laughed and looked out the window. He was looking at the constellations. I could tell.
"I was looking at them too before you all showed up."
"I used to know every single one. But I can't even find a lot of them anymore." He said sullenly. He pulled he knees up closer to his chest. He looked so vulnerable sitting there like that.
On instinct I moved closer to him. He put his arm around me without looking. I tensed but relaxed. Why not? I asked myself. If he leaves I've got nothing to lose. I should be used to it by now. I didn't pull away like I had in the hotel that first night our groups met up. I just relaxed and tried to sort through all the constellations with him. Just like jeb had taught us, just like we had done so many times when we were younger.