Oreos are good aren't they? They are just great. Ha-ha. I'm eating Oreos while I'm writing this. Yummy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride.
Max POV
I whipped around and nearly chopped the person's arm off. But I didn't, for it had to be someone who didn't know me that well. Otherwise they would have thoughttwice before sneaking up on me.
At first I didn't see the person's face, only a blur of dark clothing under the rapidly changing party lights. But as my raptor vision adjusted, I realized I was staring at Silica.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, a worried and pissed off look in her eyes.
"We came for the party!" I said, trying to speak over the blasting music. I looked at Dylan and Angel, and they nodded in agreement as they simultaneously started dancing. They weren't able to do much in the tight crowd. The party started only twenty minutes ago and already it was packed. What ever happened to being fashionably late?
She sighed with irritation. "But you're not suppose to be here. I checked the list."
"We were on the list-" Angel started to argue, but I cut her off.
"Wait. There was no list when we came in." I said. Silica opened her mouth, then closed it immediately, at a loss for words. "You needed an invitation to get in." I continued.
Silica looked at us nervously. Busted. I was about to say more when her hip vibrated. She took out her phone, pursed her lips, and excused herself.
She started to walk away. I wanted to follow her, for it seemed like she was pretty mad at whoever was calling her. It all seemed suspicious. But she was going too fast, and before I could even take two steps, I lost her in the crowd.
Miriam POV
I was muttering to myself. I must have been pretty pissed off because I rarely ever muttered. It would be so embarrassing if anyone found me talking to myself. I would be weirder than that group of new kids with the bottomless pits as stomachs. I swear they had eating disorders.
Although, the kid named Fang was pretty cute. I could see why the blond liked him so much, but why did he like the blond one? There had to be a reason he was going out with her, and it's not because she had a "nice personality" or even a "hot figure". Her hair was so messed up (did she ever shower?), she obviously had anger issues, and she was bossy. Maybe he was being paid.
Like me.
I pulled out the beige envelope from my Chanel designer handbag. Inside was the extra $200 for my new assignment, a room key, and the message. I've read it three times already, and I had to read it a fourth time to make sure what was written on it was true. I really, really didn't want to do it. I read the note one more time before I ruined my clean permanent record.
Miriam Fettuccini,
I have been watching, and I am disappointed with your progress. The one thousand five hundred dollars from your previous assignment was given to you for one reason and one reason only. To be sure the dark winged boy is at dorm building one by seven p.m.
I looked at my watch. It was eight o'clock, two hours into the party. Two hours of the party I've missed. I was suppose to enter that party a little late so I can turn some heads and surprise everyone with my amazing outfit that was custom made just for me.
Since you have failed that assignment, your new assignment is to complete the old one. Bring the boy to dorm building one by midnight, and you will receive the last $300 you need for your father. Do not fail. I have given you the key to his room, in case you must take drastic measures. Speak to him again. If he refuses, use your imagination. If you must use the injectors, do not inject him. I wish for him to be awake when at the party. If you fail yet again, do not expect your father to visit you anymore.
Anonymous
I shuttered, still scared by the last sentence. My father visited me twice a month, bringing gifts from my mother who was presently in Beijing on a four month business trip. Again. My father tended to work closer to my school so that I wouldn't miss him. I always loved my dad. Sometimes more than my mom, but that was probably because I hardly ever saw my mother to get to know her. She was always away on business. Recently, my father came down with an illness that drastically called for a $200,000 surgery. We were pretty wealthy, but not that wealthy. We had most of the money to pay for it, but were still short $20,000 because of this stupid budget my mom had us on. This assignment could save my father's life.
I held the room key in my hand, squeezing it so hard I thought I might have broken it. I really liked Fang, but I didn't want to kidnap him! But I loved my father too much. I didn't have a choice.
I entered the building, and headed to his room. I hesitated before opening the door, checking my bag to make sure I didn't forget something. I didn't. I slipped the key into the lock, and it beeped, opening the door.
The room was dark and silent. The only noise coming from Fang and his snoring brothers. I was told that one of his brothers had super sensitive hearing, but I didn't know which one. So I took out the two syringes, and injected the weird drug into the tall pale one first, and the smaller one second. I wasn't really sure what the drug was called; I only knew that it made them unconscious for twelve hours. They slept in everyday anyway, so no one would notice. I only wanted to make sure that neither of them woke up while I dragged Fang out of the room. Like the letter said, I didn't inject Fang with the drug. But I wished I could have. It would have made this so much easier.
I took the rope and the duct tape out of my bag. I began with his mouth, silently and carefully wrapping the duct tape around it as it sagged from his drool. Gross! I then tied up his hands and feet with the rope.
He must have been one heavy sleeper, or really out of it, because he didn't even flinch when I dragged him off his bed and he heavily plopped on the floor.
Dragging him through the sand to building one was hell. He was really light, but my nails kept braking and my high heels (the ones that were put aside for the party) were giving me blisters. For one moment, I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going, I only concentrated on moving faster , and his head bumped into a big, heavy rock that was stuck in the sand.
I cursed under my breath as his eyes flew open.
Max POV
The party went on, and on, and on. It felt like forever. Angel searched everyone's mind, and Dylan kept his eyes open for anything that might happen. I will save you all the details about the annoying glances, comments, and sneers from all the students who didn't want us there. I will, fortunately for you, skip to the part where something actually happened.
It was around eight thirty when Silica came back to us with the guard from the door. Of coarse, the guard didn't recall ever letting us in, only telling us it was invitation only. Silica asked many how's and why's concerning how we got in and why we were there.
"Why do you care?" I finally asked her.
"Because I don't like trouble makers, and I know the president of the board of ed. for our school who can get all three of you suspended, or even expelled."
"Hold up, why would the president of the board of ed. care if some kids snuck into a dorm party?"
Silica hesitated, her threat going down the toilet. "I had more faith in you guys when you first came here. I thought you guys would behave because… I know there's no where else for you to go." She said sincerely. No where else to go? We had a million better places to go, and yet we were there.
"Who are you to judge us about how we act?" I said coldly, stepping closer to her as she slightly shrunk in fear. Apparently the fear was staged, for she swiped all emotion except for the ready-to-face-an-army look. Her look almost matched mine, and that was pretty impressive.
"I am Silica Elizabeth Allbright, a.k.a., your worst nightmare." She said. If lasers could shoot out of her eyes, they would have been at that moment. My eyes widened at the realization of who she was, with the help of Angel's warning thoughts.
Max, Max! It's her! I wasn't sure of it before because I only had glimpses. But now I'm positive! It's her!
It was her. Silica. She was the stalker who wanted us dead! But why? She seemed so nice and helpful at first, well before she went all teacher's pet/hall monitor on me. Plus, she was just some average, perky yet gothic human who we met in school. A school for "special" kids, but still.
Silica set up this party. It was all a trap to get Fang!
Anger pulsed through me. With every beat of my heart, I felt more hatred for Silica, and more hope that Fang was in his dorm, fast asleep.
"You're the one who's trying to kill us off." I said, slowly, so that anyone who wasn't exactly caught up (cough*Dylan*cough*if Angel hadn't already told him*cough).
Silica's eyes widened. I bet she didn't see that one coming.
"I-I" she stuttered, "I d-don't know w-what you're t-talking about-t." Wow. She really was a horrible liar.
"Save the lies for when your on your deathbed." I said, swinging my right arm back and punching her square in the nose. I think I broke it. She was tough, for she only staggered backward a few steps.
Silica touched her nose, winced, then looked at the blood on her hand. Her head shook in anger. "You bit-"
She was cut off by a girl near the door screaming bloody murder.
This is the part where all hell broke loose.
Ten minutes earlier
Fang POV
My eyes flew open. My head hurt. And I was in a very uncomfortable position. I looked up to just barely see Miriam standing over me. What the hell?
It took me a couple seconds to realize that I was laying in sand, my hands and legs were bound, and my mouth was taped shut.
"Wmmmff thmmm mlllll mmmmfff ggnnng nnn?" I said through the tape. I meant to say "what the hell is going on?" but it didn't really come out that way.
I struggled to stand, or to even brake the rope by pulling my hands apart. Miriam must have worked for the military at some point in her life time because those knots were really tight! In doing so, I spotted a bright light. It was coming from the front window of dorm building one, where Max was. I started to crawl towards it, but I blacked out as searing pain spread through the back of my head.
Miriam POV
Oh God, oh God. Okay, knocking Fang out with a rock was smart, but not when blood started to drip from his head and onto the sand. God, did I kill him? No, apparently not. He was waking up. Anonymous wanted Fang at that party, so Fang's going to that party. I mean, he was waking up. That counts as awake… right?
I kicked the doors to the dorm building open, music pounding against my eardrum, and a girl I knew, named Catty, screamed her head off. She always was first to freak out over everything.
Max POV
Standing in the very center of the dance floor with about a hundred and two kids surrounding you is not the best way to look for a psycho murderer. Read that last sentence again and tell me that isn't strange at all.
It was sweaty with body heat, and really crowded, so I had to push a couple of kids over to get to the door where the girl screamed. Miriam was standing there, holding Fang by his jacket. Fang was tied by his hands and feet, and he was half unconscious.
"Fang!" I screamed, running to him, checking his neck for a pulse. I look up at Miriam. "What did you do to him?" I said, putting as much venom in my voice as possible.
She looked at me sincerely. "I'm sorry Max, but I had to do it. I didn't have a choice."
"Didn't have a choice? Everyone has a choice!"
"I did make a choice! But I couldn't choose Fang. I. Am. Sor-"
She was interrupted by Silica pushing us both away from Fang and ripping the duct tape off his mouth.
"Ow!" Fang said.
"Shut up." Silica snapped at him.
"Silica stop!" I screamed. "Why the hell are you doing this? Why do you hate us to the point that you want to kill us?" Some gasps came from the surrounding crowd. "I mean, you barely even know us!" I noticed that the DJ had turned the music off, so now everyone could hear us. Fantastic.
"You freak mutants are all the same! Remember how I said my father was a lawyer and my mom was a cop? Well, they're both dead now. They've been dead for seven years, ever since freaks like you ruined my life!"
"Hey!" I snapped at her. "We didn't do anything! So don't go around accusing random people for your parents death."
"It was one of you. Not one of your pathetic flock, but probably someone you know who murdered my parents. A winged mutant." She spat.
"There aren't-" I stopped myself. I remembered the other bird kids from the Itex building in New York. And there were hundreds of Itex buildings around the world. Who knows how many of us were there? Was it possible that one or more of them escaped and went crazy?
"Ever since my parents died, I swore to myself and the world that I would rid the world of all mutants, winged or not."
I hesitated. "And you got RGEN to help you." I said. It wasn't a question.
"No." Silica said with ice in her tone. "I invented Rid Genetic Engineering National. Everyone in that corporation works for me. And I do well to help it flourish with my family fortune."
"Okay wait," Miriam cut in, "So you're Anonymous? You're the one who made me kidnap Fang?"
"Looks like it." I said, not moving my eyes from Silica's death gaze.
"But I don't understand. You lost your father, so why would you threaten to take away mine? He's already sick." Miriam said, sounding appalled.
"Because I knew it was the only way you'd do it!" Silica turned on her, braking our gaze. "Every two weeks your father comes here with hundreds of dollars worth of gifts, and you just seem so happy! I can never have that with my dad. I saw how much you loved him, and I knew you wouldn't risk losing that."
As they argued and talked through the why's and how's, I saw out of the corner of my eye Angel slowly walking towards me. When she was at my side, she handed my a knife behind her back, unseen by Silica and Miriam. Where in the hell did she get a knife? Did she have that the entire time we were here? Where did she hide it?
Give it to Fang. She told me. I immediately understood without question. I inched my way over to Fang and handed him the knife the same way Angel did; behind my back and unseen by anyone else.
When the knife slipped into his grasp, he silently started cutting away the rope.
"But this isn't right! If a human killed your parents, would you try and kill off every last human being on the planet?" Miriam said.
"That's not the point. My parents died because it was a mutant freak. If they didn't exist," Silica said, pointing at me, "my parents would still be alive!"
Attention was drawn back on Fang and me, and I was worried that someone would notice Fang freeing himself.
My fears came true. Silica saw the knife in his hand. She grabbed Fang by his too long black hair, stole the knife with her other hand, and placed the blade right on his throat.
"I'm ganna get this over with. And you, Max, and the rest of your little gang, are going to watch him suffer. Then it will be your turn."
Fang screamed as a small line of blood began to drip down his neck.
I tried to tackle her, but that stupid guard from the front door was holding me back. He was strong, inhumanly strong. I could beat guys like him up without braking a sweat, and he was holding me back? How was that possible? I looked for Angel, but she was no where to be seen. I ignored the screams, the 911 calls, and the commotion going on around me so I could focus on getting free and saving Fang.
Silica was slitting his throat slowly, painfully, and only cut about half an inch when someone crashed into her, knocking her down, and saving Fang's life.
I was relieved and surprised. I only saw the back of his head and the shirt he was wearing to know it was Dylan, and he was beating Silica to a pulp. That had to be one of the very rare times when I was actually thankful for having met Dylan, and having him with us.
I felt the guard release me, and I looked behind me to see him unconscious, and Angel standing behind him.
I told him to knock himself out. She thought to me with a devilish smile.
I hugged her for a brief second, then went to help free Fang. I was cutting the ropes holding his hands together, and Angel was unknotting the ropes at his feet.
Someone must have gotten through with the police because they were filling the place up, moving people outside, and trying to get the place cleared out and less chaotic instead of trying to help us. Sometimes you can't send an adult to do a bird kid's job.
Once we got Fang free, I left him to the paramedics who just walked in, and went over to finish Silica.
I shooed Dylan off her, and I saw how messed up she was. Her face was all bloody from her nose and mouth, her nose was practically hanging off her face, her eyes were throbbing and black, and it looked like she lost a couple teeth. I grabbed her by the throat, and lifted her so that she was upright and her feet were dangling a couple inches off the ground.
"I'm sorry about your parents," I said through clenched teeth, "but you don't ever, ever mess with me and my flock, or you will live to regret it. You got that?"
She didn't nod, probably because she was unable to. She let out a few choking sounds, and I dropped her like a dead fish. Her gasped and chocked on the ground, coughing up blood.
"Officers, please take her away." I said, not taking my eyes from her crumbled figure.
An officer brought her to her feet and handcuffed her. "Silica Elizabeth Allbright, you're under arrest for attempt at murder, death threats, kidnapping, and assault."
Five minutes later, an officer holding a notepad with information written on it came up to me. He was probably filling out a report. "Okay, Rid Genetic Engineering National is being shut down," he assured me, "Silica will be in Juvenile prison for a long time, so you and your friends don't have to worry about her. Miriam will be-"
"Oh, Miriam didn't do anything wrong." I interrupted him. A few days ago, I never thought I would say that. Now I'm defending her. Weird how fast people change.
"I know," he said. "Miriam will be questioned and brought home for a short period of time."
"When will she be back in school?" I asked, not really curious, but wanting to make sure she'd be alright.
"She'll be back in school in a minimum of two weeks."
"What about her dad? I heard he was sick."
"Her dad will be fine. We're taking the money RGEN had raised and donating it to her father's surgery." I felt relief and happiness for Miriam. Things would be okay for her, and for us. "Okay, so far I've interviewed a boy named Dylan, Nick Ride, and Angel Ride. Can you please share any information you have?"
I did. I told him mostly everything I knew from when Miriam asked Fang out that one day at lunch up to the previous ten minutes.
"Good, good." the officer said, scribbling the last of his notes onto the paper. "And your name is…?" He asked.
I smiled slightly. "My name is Max. Maximum Ride."
This was a really long one, sorry. Don't worry, there's still one or two more chapters to this story, so please comment!
Random Question for you guys. This might help me with the next chapters and future stories. Does it make the story better or worse when I switch POV's to characters other than Max?
Oreos are still amazing.
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