Max POV:
The flock was doing so well lately-it seemed like we were finally getting over everything that happened in the past. Angel kept her mind reading to a minimum; Gazzy learned his manners-ask before blowing stuff up. Iggy was the same light-hearted jokester, but I'm sure that will never change. Fang is just as quiet, yet way more loving-I would know;) And I. I am older, maybe a little wiser, and definitely way looser than I used to be.
Once people stopped chasing us, and checking for bombs became a non-issue, I started to have a little fun. Though being a semi-average teen is not the highlight of my existence, it's certainly not a low point. Plus, now I have Fang. We live with Dr. M and Ella, and we all go to school-Fang, Iggy and I are seniors-and Fang and I have date-night every Friday. We discovered that dating in a house full of surprisingly nosy people is not ideal, so we put together a plan-we both keep Friday nights clear, so we can go out. It's kind of a tradition now-we fly silently in a race around the city, before going to McDonald's for dinner. Then we go to an abandoned dog park, where we talk and make out. Mostly talk though, I swear. It's the only place where Fang can open up, so I tend to make sure we have a lot of time. Though sometimes our Friday nights turn into Saturday mornings when all is said and done, no one misses our presence-we make sure to be enough of an overbearing pain in the ass that the rest of the flock appreciates our absence. Of course, no one could ever replace my flock-I love them all dearly, but having a boyfriend is decidedly better than yelling at kids to clean up, or doing homework. Mmm. Yes-much better.
So you understand why I was in bliss mode when I was flying home after school one day, totally not expecting the unexpected. Which I used to do . . . but it's one of those stressful habits that I just didn't need in my new life. Well, apparently I need them now. I could just barely make out the familiar whistle of a bullet before I felt the explosion of pain in my shoulder. All I could think was OW! OW! OW! (I think my pain tolerance had lowered in the absence of pain . . .) and I barely realized I was plummeting to the earth at high speeds. Great. Fortunately, my assailants were ready for my fall, because I landed neatly in a sort of trampoline-cocoon thing. Hard to explain, but suffice it to say that I was not harmed, though I was pretty severely bound up. Wonderful.
Fang POV:
I hated seeing Max take off without me, but I needed to learn to stop being so paranoid. After the first few weeks of our relationship, she accused me of being clingy-so I backed off. What kind of guy wants to be classified as clingy? Well not me. I guess I'm still just overly sensitive to the fact that multitudes of EVIL PEOPLE have tried NUMEROUS TIMES to capture and KILL the love of my LIFE! Yeah, I'm working on that. So anyway, the point is that I had to try to control my breathing as she flew out of sight.
No need to get worked up, man. Don't be clingy. Be cool. Yeah-be cool. Just breathe in . . . and out. Good. I stopped mentally talking to myself when I realized I sounded like one of Dr. M's yoga videos. Shudder. I would be scarred for life . . .
So as soon as I finished this stupid Chem test that I missed because I was "sick", I could go home. With Max. Yessss.
Okay Fang, focus. Number one is A. Wait . . . B. Maybe C. D-all of the above? Hmm. I'll go with that. Number two . . . this is craziness! We never talked about this stuff! There's no one here to cheat off of, either-fuck. I could always go through the teacher's notes, but I think he would notice if I disappeared. Maybe I could say I was going to the bathroom . . . no. He wouldn't be fooled. Maybe I'll just leave and take a zero. Wouldn't be the first time-okay. Good plan. I stood up, and told the teacher I had a headache-obviously I couldn't take the test. He grunted, looking unconvinced. I managed to catch something about "Senioritis" before booking it out of there. I didn't care-as long as I could hang out with Max. Yeah--Max.
The flight home would have been awesome-the view was amazing due to the colorful trees in fall, but I had a weird feeling in my stomach that something was wrong. When I got to the house, I expected it to be empty-I knew Iggy and Ella would be home soon after Activity Period in school, the younger kids would be home a half an hour after that, and I thought Dr. M was working today. Apparently not. As I glided toward the house and landed in the front yard, I heard Dr. M yelling into what I presumed what was a phone.
"I don't know! She's still unconscious-obviously that won't work. Yes, I understand. Okay-thank you. Yeah, bye." I started to freak out. WHO's unconscious??? I was about to barge into the kitchen where I could hear Dr. M rustling around so I could question her, but stopped short when I saw Max lying on the couch in the living room-unconscious.
"Oh my god. Max! What happened? Dr. M!!! What happened to Max? Will she be okay?" I knelt next to the couch and looked for something wrong. Who could have done this? Why? Itex? I thought we took care of them . . . Mr. Chu, maybe. The Uber-director-no. He's dead-I hope. Well, whoever did this was going to pay. I'm going to rip their lungs out through their nostrils . . .
"Fang! Thank god you're here. I just called the hospital, but we're going to have to drive her over there. I just found my keys . . . can you carry her to the car? I'll write a note for the others . . ."
"Hold on-what happened? I saw her two minutes ago, and she was fine! Why are you even here? Do you know what's wrong?" She looked slightly amused by my chattiness, but didn't push it since her daughter was hurt.
"I don't know what happened-I found her outside, unconscious. I don't know why. And I'm here because the dog I was supposed to do surgery on died-sad, but a lucky coincidence in this case. At least I got here in time." I nodded, while slinging the love of my life like a sack of potatoes over my shoulder. Jesus-had this girl been eating rocks? I dumped her cautiously, if unceremoniously, in the backseat of the car before jumping into shotgun position. I was internally freaking out, but it was a silent freak-out, so no one should notice. I'm usually silent anyway.
We got to the hospital in five minutes flat, and I carried Max into the waiting room while Dr. M tried to get her examined. Apparently she had already tried a ton of methods to wake her up, but nothing worked. Her heartbeat was steady, but weak. What did that mean? Why did nobody help? What could've happened between school and home that resulted in her falling into some sort of coma? Dr. M came back, and said someone would take a look at her in an hour. An hour! I thought this was the emergency room. I have an emergency. This is important! Everyone else in the waiting room was just bleeding a little-who cares? My girlfriend is unconscious and I'll be damned if I don't do something about it.
"Dr. M-why is this taking so long? An hour? She could be poisoned or something! What if she can't wait that long?" I whispered fiercely to her. She sighed.
"There's nothing we can do. We're on the list, but everyone else was here first-we can't cut in line-we're not a special case. Just sit tight like everyone else, and stay with Max." She patted my knee consolingly, and began stroking Max's hair. Grrrr. I AM a special case. And so is Max! We're bird-kids! I stalked up to the desk manned by a young woman.
"Excuse me, ma'am."
"Uh, yes? Can I help you?" She said looking flustered.
"Have you ever heard of winged children? The elusive bird-kids?" I whispered confidentially. Her eyes widened.
"Yes-they're the face of CSM! I'm a huge fan." She beamed.
"Good-I've got one of those bird-kids right there in the other room. The only problem is she's unconscious. Can you get a doctor to see her please?" She looked shocked.
"Really? Can I meet it? I mean him. Or her. Whatever. Oh-unconscious-right. Yes, doctor, right away." She winked at me, and pressed a button I hadn't noticed-it beeped.
"Darlene. We have an emergency down here. Can you make space for Dr. Howard?" Another female voice responded.
"Mary, you know he's busy. Just tell them the wait's a couple hours. He's in the middle of a surgery."
"I know, I know-but we've got bird kids down here. And one is injured. Don't you realize how big this is? Just get that new guy to do he surgery-I'm sure it'll be fine." Mary winked at me.
"Wow! I hear the cafeteria's got some great chicken down there-don't let it fly away giggle. I hear Doogie Howser's a fan of chicken. He might swing by-so don't let it get cold." Mary rolled her eyes.
"Darlene, don't use the code-everyone can hear." I heard Darlene squeal.
"Well, in that case, Dr. Howard will be right down." Now it was my turn to roll my eyes.
"Thanks, Mary." I strolled away, and nodded at Dr. M.
"It just so happens we're next in line." I said sarcastically. She laughed.
"Thank you, Fang. You've been a huge help." I smiled faintly.
"Anytime." I held Max's hand until a guy with a "Dr. Howard" nametag on strode in. He was a short guy, by my standards, and wore a long white lab coat splattered with blood. One point off for that in my book, but his eyes were curious and honest. One more point for him, I guess. He had my temporary trust, as long as there is anything he can do for Max. At least I can put him through a wall easily if he causes trouble.
"Hey, Dr. Howard." He seemed relieved to meet me.
"I'm Fang, and this is Max." I gestured to the form in Dr. M's lap.
"I see." He said in a weird, raspy voice. He snapped his fingers, and two guys rolling a gurney came down the hall. Cool. We placed Max in it, and rolled her up to an elevator. God, I hope she's okay. Usually we heal really fast-so why is she still unconscious? What if she really is poisoned? Can these people even help her? If I hadn't had to make up that stupid test, this never would have happened-it's all my fault. Dr. Howard snapped me out of my reverie.
"I think we'll do a CAT scan, to see if there was any damage done to her brain. Do you know if she hit her head? How long has she been like this? Can anyone get me a stethoscope?! Oh, thank you. Yes, as I was saying-has she been sick? Does she have a history to suggest this would happen? Seizure-prone, or something? Did anyone see her collapse? I need details to get an accurate idea of what's going on . . . does this happen often with bird-kids?" I could see he wouldn't stop without an intervention, so I stepped in.
"No one was there-we found her about a half an hour ago-like this. This is completely unusual, so that's why we're here." I think that's sums it up nicely.
"I see. Well, we'll do the CAT scan first, and see what's up with that." As he was talking, he put a stethoscope to her chest."
"Oh my god! Her heart's racing like a rabbit! Vicky, get a blood sample." I jumped in again.
"Actually, it's racing like a bird-we have really fast heart-beats. Like, feel mine." Dr. Howard jumped at the opportunity. Ooh-I forgot how cold and hard these medical instruments are. Just breathe, Fang. It's okay. It's for Max. It's almost over . . .
"Hmm. So that's normal for you? I guess hers is just a little faint then. Thank you young man. Vicky, send the blood to Main-they get it done faster. Check it for everything. Okay, I'll need you to step out for the scan-it'll only be a minute." We had rolled to a stop outside a door marked, "Authorized personnel only". He typed in a code, and took Max through. My Max. God, I hope she's alright. I wonder if the flock got the message Dr. M left for them. Dr. M-hmm. She'd been practically silent through this whole thing . . .
"Hey, you okay?" I asked genuinely. She mumbled.
"I guess. I'm so worried. I'm always so worried. And I don't know how this could have happened-I just found her. Crumpled, outside. No blood, no nothing. I just hope they can help us . . . " Her voice faded out. Yeah, me too-I hope they can help us. Unfortunately, that's not been my experience most of the time. Sigh. We waited in anxious silence for Max to come back. One. Two . . . Five . . . . . Thirty-two . . . . . . . One hundred fifty-four . . . the doors finally opened, and Max and Dr. Howard came out. Well Max rolled out, but it sounds a little undignified for her. Anyway, Dr. Howard started talking again.
"I'm going to check out the results in a few minutes. In the meantime, April (he said gesturing to one of the numerous nurses gathered behind us), take these people to room four-oh-five, and set up some meal cards for them. Might as well set up a heart monitor, too. Prissy, roll in an extra pullout couch, and get cleaning service in there. Also, put Dr. Mahon on my cases today-he's ready, and I'm busy. (He turned to us) Just follow these nice ladies, and I'll be up in fifteen. Oh, and she'll be staying over-night for supervision. The cafeteria's on the fifth floor, and Child Life services are down the hall to your left. That's where the game room and movies are." With that, he sauntered off. Jeez-just another guy tooting his own horn. A lot. At least we have special treatment. Though I felt bad for the abandoned patients, it looks like we have the whole nursing staff at our beck and call. Sweet. We walked through numerous identical bleachy hallways until we came to a door marked, "405". On the outside, it looked like every other room, but when we got inside, my eyes widened. Seems like being a celebrity counts in a hospital. Awesome. The room was huge, with a great view of the surrounding city. The curtains had a silly animal print, but there was a cool bed with a remote control-hmm. I'd have to play with that later . . .
April maneuvered Max onto the bed, and hooked her up to what I would later learn is a heart monitor. A steady beeping sound filled the room, and after bustling around doing god-knows-what, our entourage of nurses left. Thank God! I pulled up the spare chair/couch thing, and held her hand. I couldn't understand what could've happened to make her like this . . . unless. Maybe she had another brain attack! But she couldn't handle it because the Voice had been leaving her alone lately . . . so when it came back full-force she was caught off-guard? Who knows . . . well, hopefully I will before tomorrow. I wonder how the rest of the flock is doing.
"Hey Dr. M, I'm gonna go give the house a call, just to make sure they got your message, alright?" She nodded absentmindedly. Okaaaay, then. I stepped out into the hall near one of the windows, pulled out my Iphone (being rich is so cool!) and pressed speed-dial.
"Hello?"
"Iggy!"
"Thank God—what's going on? Dr. M left a note that said you were taking Max to the hospital! What happened?"
"Max is fine. I hope. We don't really know what happened, but she's been unconscious for a few hours at least."
"Ouch, man. Yikes."
"Yeah, well . . . is everybody home yet?"
"Yeah, dude, they're all here. Crowding my personal space . . . Did it ever occur to anyone I might want a private conversation?!" A chorus of "Nope" erupted, plus a few cackles. Ah, the joys of siblings.
"Well, they're gonna keep her overnight here, so I think I'm gonna stay over. I probably won't be at school tomorrow, either. So get my homework and shit for me?"
"No way, dude! We're coming over right now! I have to drive Ella—can you believe she failed the driver's test again?—but everyone else is flying . . ."
"Just for a few minutes though. I would say she needs her rest, but she's getting it. So I guess I'm gonna need my rest. I'll try to convince Dr. M to go home with you guys—she has to work tomorrow. No skipping school for y'all, alright? I'm allowed to 'cause I'm failing anyway. Plus she's my girlfriend."
"Sure, sure."
"Okay then, I'll see you later. Room 405."
"Got it. 405. Ttfn!" I hung up. Ttfn? That boy has been hanging around Nudge too long. I shook my head, and went back to relay the plan to Dr. M.
We waited in silence for the flock and Ella, while I watched Max's face for any sign of consciousness.
Max POV:
After tranquillizing me, stuffing me in a helicopter, and bringing me to some underground facility, I was starting to think they were stupid. How many times had they done this? And how many times had we escaped? The exact number doesn't matter—but every time. So why did they think this would work? They are insane.
I calmly paid attention to the maze of hallways through which they took me, and went without too much of a fight into a windowless white room. What a surprise. I would make my escape when they took me out for testing, or the flock would get me. No big deal, unless they had the flock too . . .
Max II POV:
This is my chance—I will be a hero. And I will finally meet the flock! It's too bad I won't remember anything, but it's so worth it. I'll be a star, and the Director will reward me. All I need to do is relax, and let them do it. Strip me of my memories, my identity, my everything—until I was close enough to Max that the flock itself would fill in the missing pieces the School never could . . .
I slipped into blackness. My last thought was; God I hope they know what they're doing. That the flock with take me in. That I'll be okay . . . it's only a few days. I'll wake up. Of course I will. Just relax . . . and be Max!