40-th reviewer guys: Paco the Loser
From now on, every tenth reviewer shall get a lovely shout-out from me because it'll be like reaching another milestone. Yes, I should probably put their ages up but I guess I'll only do it when I remember. (Sorry...very forgetful person here.)
This will be an oddly longer chapter because I was bored and wrote it this morning for you guys. So enjoy and review!
Black dots covered her vision as she collapsed on the ground. Max could fly, finally. She could fly for almost an hour now but still needed help landing. Max jumped when someone stuck her with an electric stick.
Max rose and swayed on her feet, struggling to stay upright. She took a few tentative steps forward and lifted off before they could do it again. Small red marks appeared on her arms from being shocked. She flew in lazy circles trying to straighten herself out. Her eyes searched for the target she was supposed to land on. Her eyes locked onto the bold outline about a hundred feet away.
"I can...do...this..." Max panted pushing herself forward.
Max gave a last burst of speed and landed on the target only standing for a moment before collapsing. Her body trembled from such tremendous effort and she felt her throat go dry. Max felt the urge to cry but held back, seeing Angel standing there.
If Max could teach her how to fly before Jeb could, she wouldn't have to go through what Max went through. Angel held back, scared to go forth because the White Coats surrounded them. Max was given water and a small towel to wipe herself off. She drank it all in one fluid gulp and felt her body become a bit lighter.
"Max..." Angel's voice was small and tiny. "Are you okay?"
She smiled and wiped herself off. "Yeah, I'll be okay."
"You look so tired," Angel whispered coming to hold her hand. The White Coats became engrossed with their results. "Let's go, Max."
Max stood shakily and let Angel lead her out. They both stopped near a washroom and quickly splashed Max so she would cool down. After drying her off, they both found their way to their designated section.
Other bird kids gathered around as the oldest entered the room. Max look at all of them and gave them a tired smile. Nudge began shooting off worried questions as she usually would while Gazzy gave her a strong pat on the back. The little guy always acted tough. Angel began filling everyone in on the details while Max sat down on a comfortable beanie.
"Did you pass?" A quiet voice to her left said.
Max turned and faced Iggy. "Yeah...Jeb was a real booger about it though. He kept making me do it again and again."
The pale bird kid smiled - just a little curvature of the lip. "That's good news."
"Well, I know I won't get hurt too much anymore." Max stretched out her screaming muscles. "I just hope I get some time to recover."
His hands fluttered over her skin suddenly. His sensitive fingertips took in all the small bumps from earlier. He frowned. "Max, you didn't tell me about the shock sticks."
She looked down at her arms. "Must've slipped my mind..."
"Don't lie."
"What? They do this almost every time." Max pulled her arm away. "You don't need to worry so much."
Iggy crossed his arms. "Didn't they ask to put any medicine or ice on them?"
"Do pigs fly?" Max snorted.
"Here they do."
"...oh yeah..." She racked get brain for another retort. "Do...um...rocks breathe?"
"Very clever Max," he said sarcastically.
"I can't think of anything," she pouted as she tried to think. "You come up with one."
"Do you see Fang?"
Max felt a jolt go through her chest. "W-what? Yeah, of course."
Iggy frowned. "I don't want them punishing you because you talked to someone on the other side."
Max rolled her eyes. "I'm rolling my eyes, Ig."
"I'm serious, Max." He argued. "If you get taken away all these kids will have no leader."
"They have you," I pointed out.
"I'm blind," he said matter-of-factly.
"And since when did you care about that?"
"The point is they need a strong leader without a weakness," he continued.
"And who says I don't have a weakness?" Max narrowed her eyes.
"I do, Max." Iggy said. "I do."