My eyes were closed. I heard voices. I couldn't feel my legs. I moved my head to the right so that I could hear better. "…her leg is broken…" "…will heal in time…" "…give me the ketchup!" Hmm. My brain was too mushy to make any sense out of it now. I tried to open my eyes. They fluttered open, and I looked at everyone around me. Iggy, Fang, and Nudge were standing by me, talking. Angel and Gazzy were eating breakfast at the table. Wait- where did we get a table?
"We checked into a hotel." Angel called to me.
I couldn't find my voice, so I thought, "Thanks sweetie. What happened?"
"Iggy'll tell you." Angel smiled sweetly, and proceeded to scarf down her eggs. Gazzy stole the ketchup from her and dumped it onto his eggs. They both laughed. It was nice to see Angel and Gazzy getting along.
My eyes drooped as Iggy started talking. I was vaguely aware that someone was holding my hand. It must be Fang. He gently leaned forward and kissed my forehead. I wanted to scream his name and jump up and down. I wanted him to hold me and stroke my hair the way he always does. I tried to say his name, but all that came out was a choked, "Mmmng…" He stroked my hair, and I closed my eyes, drifting into a deep sleep.
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I was standing in a long corridor, with doors lining the walls on my right and left. I was looking for something – I didn't know what – but I had to find it, and quick. I was running down the hall, stopping in each room. As I raced out of one of the rooms, I saw something. It was a little girl, with red hair, holding a daisy. A smile lit her face. I stepped toward her, prepared to ask her if she was lost, when she suddenly got bigger. Much bigger.
She grew bigger and bigger, until she looked to be about forty years old. I watched in horror as she shrunk to the size of a teenager. A teenager with long red hair and bright green eyes. Her smile, suddenly very big, changed. Her smile, now so scary it brought chills to my spine, got wider and wider. "Hello, Max," she said in her airy voice. "Long time, no see." She walked closer to me. "I thought for sure I had killed you," she continued, "but I guess not. I'll just have to kill you again." She smiled at me again. Then she pushed me off a cliff. I tumbled down, trying to flap my wings. I tried to open them, so that I would at least not hit the ground very hard. They wouldn't work. I reached back to see what was wrong.
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My wings were gone.
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I woke up with a start, panting. I was still in bed, and Fang was lying beside me on top of the blankets. He was sleeping. His face was calm and peaceful, for once, and he smiled slightly. "Mmmm," he said. I smiled. "Mmmaaaaaxxxx…" he said. He was dreaming about me! Although I couldn't move my legs, I reached out and held Fang's hand. He grumbled slightly and I thought he was going to pull away, but he held my hand even tighter, which was nice.
Fang's eyes opened for a second. He looked down at his hand and then back up to me. "Oh, um, sorry…" He said. I squeezed his hand slightly.
"Go back to bed, Fang." I told him. "You're tired. Sleep well. Keep dreaming about me, okay?"
Fang looked startled for a second, but then he relaxed. I guess he was too tired to care. "Yeah, umm, mhhmmm…" And with that, Fang fell asleep once again, his breathing deep and even. I fell asleep soon after him, and thankfully, I didn't have any more dreams.