A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I appreciate hearing your views/feedback. Someone asked what time period this story was in. Mostly, it's not really set in any particular time. I wrote it with the idea that it's set in the future after some sort of tragedy. But really it's kind of timeless.
Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride.
Chapter Two: The Cage
I watch my opponent as she clenches her fist. Shadows from the cage bars above us land on her face. I know she is about to make her move. And I am ready.
She lunges and her fist catches me in the jaw. She's quick - that much is for certain. I shove my elbow into her chest and she gasps. She is stronger than me, I can tell. Perhaps she used to do manual labour before she was captured. I am a lot lighter than her – I need to be in order to fly. But I am strong. And I won't give up.
I strike out and punch her, landing it on her jaw. She reels back, but recovers quickly. She grabs my shoulders and slams me into the ground, where she lands a few solid punches into my gut. My vision starts to get spots, but I force myself out from under her.
She slams me into the side of the cage and I hit my head. She gets her hands around my neck before I know what's happening.
I can't breathe.
It's at this moment that I realise that I really do want to survive. I might have thought I did before, but now I know that a small part of me wanted to give up. Perhaps I would be happier if I could join my parents in the afterlife.
Or perhaps there was no such thing as an afterlife and I'd be giving up my life for nothing. I know that I have to live to carry on. I can't give up. Because then my parents' deaths would be for nothing. Who else could avenge them but me?
I could feel the anger flooding through me. I was hot with the need to spill some blood. If I could only get out from this blasted chokehold!
I swing my arms up and smack them down on the girl's elbows. She lets go in surprise and I gasp in a giant breath. Then I punch her. Hard. Her nose breaks and blood spurts everywhere. She falls backwards and doesn't get up. She's out cold.
The crowd roars. I can barely hear them over the sound of my blood in my ears. It takes a while for the anger to fade and my blood to stop boiling.
I am escorted from the cage by two guards. The other girl is dragged by her feet. I wince, but don't feel regret. It was her or me. This is about survival.
It isn't until I'm back in the cell that I realise I am covered in blood.
x
x
x
When I wake up, I hear the news. One of the boys died in the cage last night. The winner, a boy named Iggy, has been silently weeping in the corner of his cell. He didn't mean to kill. The other boys keep away from him.
The girls like to talk. I think it gives them a sense of purpose. I prefer to keep to myself. I would rather not make friends when I might end up killing them. I think the other girls just want to take their minds off things.
The guards pull prisoners out throughout the day. It isn't until nightfall that we are left alone.
My whole body aches, but I don't complain. I know that pain is going to be a constant part of my life now. Better some pain than being dead.
Throughout the week I am taken aboveground to fight four more times. I always win. When I'm in the cage, my survival instinct takes over. I don't think, I just do. I punch and thrash and bite and kick. I do anything to survive. To win. I've seen what happens to the losers. I watched as they gave a girl over to the crowd.
"Live or die?" the Dictator asks the crowd. He is holding a red handkerchief. If the handkerchief drops, it means death. And not a clean death either.
The crowd is unanimous. Death it is.
The handkerchief drops and the crowd descends. They flood the arena. The girl is covered in bodies. When the crowd is finally pushed back, her body is limp. She is black and blue and red and not breathing.
The crowd roars in triumph. I feel like I'm going to be sick, but I hold it in.
The crowd is ruthless. To survive, we have to win the crowd.
Sometimes I wonder why it's worth surviving.
Back in the cells we wait to receive our nightly meal. Our water trough is filled and we usually get given some stale bread and a bowl of watered down soup. But tonight something different is happening.
"Get up, you flea-ridden whores," a guard hollers. He's banging on our bars with a sword. The girls stand up.
"It's bath time."
This piques the girls' interest.
I am horrified.
We are marched outside, guards surrounding us. When we are all huddled in a small courtyard, the guards tell us to take our clothes off. The girls go still, staring at the men surrounding them. I go still for a different reason. A communal bath means that everyone will see my wings. I might as well have died in the cage.
The girls slowly undress, watching the men warily. I hesitate, wondering how I can get out of this mess. I glance up at the sky, but bars block my view. This courtyard is essentially a cage with no way up and out. Besides, they'd shoot me before I even got halfway to the bars.
Suddenly everyone goes still. I glance around to see why.
Fang has entered the courtyard.
He studies the girls and the men surrounding them. He whispers something to the man in charge and he nods grimly. Then he looks at me.
"You." He crooks his finger at me.
My feet move obediently towards him.
"You're to go with Fang," the guard says when I'm close enough.
I follow behind Fang as he leads me out of the courtyard. I'm so relieved that I feel like I could float away. When I glance back I see the girls have finished undressing. The men hand out tiny slivers of soap. When the girls are lathered up, the men throw buckets of water at them.
I grab my elbows and shiver.
Fang leads me to another abandoned courtyard. He turns to face me and I am caught up in his gaze. My stomach drops.
I consider making a run for it. But something about Fang tells me that I wouldn't get far. Even if I attempt to fly I know he will catch me. He is that scary.
"Wh-what's going on?" I hate the stammer in my voice.
"The Director has taken a liking to you, little girl." Fang's voice is low and smooth. "They are calling you the Undefeated."
"My name is Max. Maximum Ride." I don't know why I told him that.
His face stays blank as he stares at me. "The Director likes to ensure that his favourite…toys…stay alive. So I'm here to teach you a few things."
"What type of…things?" I ask.
"Tips, if you will."
"If I'm undefeated, then why do I need tips?" I ask, feeling cocky, which is foolish.
Fang moves so quickly that I don't see him. The next thing I know, I'm on the ground staring up at him.
"Because you aren't invincible, despite what you may think. You're making the Director a lot of money, and he'd like to keep it that way."
I decide not to say no to some training. I could always use it against the guards some day.
"Okay," I say with a nod.
Fang smiles and it is devastating.
He shows me the correct way to punch so that it does me the least amount of harm. His hands cover my fist, positioning my thumb correctly. His hands are big and calloused.
Then he lets me practice by aiming at his hands. My arms are shaking by the time we are finished.
He leads me back through the buildings, but doesn't take me back to the cells just yet. Instead, we go up some stairs and towards a door. There are buckets with steaming water out the front. He leads me inside, bringing the buckets with him effortlessly, even though they must be heavy. Inside is a bedroom with an adjoining bathroom. He pours the buckets into the claw-footed bathtub and nods his head towards it.
I stare at him questioningly.
"You missed your bath," he says by way of an explanation.
I stare at him.
"Go on," he says, clearly annoyed.
I stop questioning it and move into the bathroom. There is a tiny window, but there is no way I'd fit through it. I close the door behind me and shrug off my boots, along with my disgusting clothes. I step into the tub and smile. I think that's the first time I've smiled since I was captured.
I wash away the grime and scrub at my hair. The tub is already filled with dirty water, but I don't care. It feels so good to be at least partially clean.
When I dry myself off I catch a glimpse of myself in the small mirror. I look completely different. My face is hard and lean. I've lost weight, not that I had much to lose in the first place. My eyes look too big for my face. My hair is a mess. I look at my wings. They are still dirty, even after my bath.
I sigh. Who cares what I look like anyway?
I put my dirty clothes back on and snoop around the bathroom, looking for anything I can use as a weapon. I find a tiny pair of scissors and grin.
I listen at the door, but I can't hear anything.
I swing it open and lunge out, aiming my scissors out in front of me.
The room is empty.
Or so I thought.
Fang is casually leaning against the door frame. When I emerge, he wraps his hands around my wrist and twists until I drop the scissors. I try to punch him, exactly the way he just taught me, but he just grabs my other wrist. He pins me up against the wall with his body. He is very strong.
He has broad shoulders and narrow hips. He is a lot leaner than the other guards, but he is also by far the scariest. I wonder exactly what I have gotten myself into.
"That's not a good idea," he says, his mouth right up against my ear.
I shiver involuntarily.
"I know it may not seem like it…Max. But I'm trying to help you. Do you think it was a coincidence that I collected you at the same time the other girls were about to be bathed?"
He leans back and looks me in the eyes. What is he trying to say?
"I know, Max."
Slowly, his hand reaches underneath the hem of my tattered shirt. His fingers touch my waist and then slide around to my back. By now my breathing is shallow. Then his fingers touch my wings. He strokes the feathers while his gaze never leaves mine.
He knows.
"How?" I ask, completely bewildered.
"I know everything," is his cryptic reply.
He smirks at the look on my face. "Don't worry, I haven't told anyone."
My mind races. If he knows, why haven't they killed me yet? Or publicly tortured me? For some unknown reason, he has kept my secret. I don't think I've been more confused in my entire life.
Fang removes his hand and my breathing slows.
Only to pick up again when he moves his lips to my ear again.
"I'm going to take you back to the cells now. Max, no one can find out about your wings." He pauses. "If anyone asks any questions, I want you to say that you've been here. With me. In my bedroom."
My face goes red when I get the implications.
"No one will believe me," I whisper.
He pulls back and stares at my face.
His thumb brushes across my cheek.
"They'll believe you," is all he says.
"Why?" I can't help but question.
"Because you're beautiful. And I have a weakness for beautiful women."
Before I can respond, he's leaving the room. I hurry to catch up with him. I hate to go back into the cells, but at least now I am clean. Well, cleaner.
Fang leaves me with the guards and I watch him walk away for a while until the guards start prodding me underground. He confuses me so much. And scares me. But I can't help but feel warm when I think of him.
Underground, no one asks me where I have been. But I can see the curiosity in their eyes. It won't be long until they get up the nerve to ask.
I take a deep breath and let it out on a sigh.
I wish I knew what the hell was going on.