Ok, I am sooooo sorry that I haven't been on for at least a month...I have excuses, but I wouldn't want to bore you. This chappie is so short (I didn't realize) and I don't think it's very good, but feel free to have your own opinion! I'm experiancing a bit of writer's block, and so I will try to update soon, but no guarentees.
Read, review, and ENJOY!!!
Oh and the Charles Dickens refrence? I have to read it in English class and I decided to use actually literature in my story. Yay for classics!
Disclaimer: Me no own Maximum Ride at all. Nada. Nothing. And I always forget to do that, so maybe some of you thought I did. No. I don't.
As we were marched out of our cells for the last time, I couldn't help but notice the sun gleaming into the courtyard, lighting up everything outside. Could this be the last time I see the sun? I thought, terrified. Then I composed myself-of course our plan would work. I still couldn't get rid of that nagging sense of worry deep in the pit of my stomach, but I plastered a confident smile on my face and turned to face my Flock.
"Don't worry, you guys, Fang and I'll be fine." I said, and then leaded closer, hushing my voice to the quietest whisper. "Remember the plan." I then was lead off by guards to my area of the competition. I was placed in front of a podium. Weird, I thought. Where are the obstacle courses? The hundred pound weights? The torture devices?
I glanced at Fang, standing a few feet away at a podium of his own, wearing the same mixture of confusion, worry, and hope. I grinned at him, and the smile he gave me lit up my world. And then my world turned dark again when the emcee made his announcement.
"Ladies and gents, the final round of Bird-Kid VS Bird-Kid is about to begin! Please silence all cell phones, children, evil torture devices, and anything else that might make noise, because this round is sure to add up to be an interesting match! That's right, folks, today's match is…education!"
Crap. They're testing us on things that we don't even know?!? How are Fang and I ever going to get out of this one? He's always been a faster learner than me…and the scientists know that. What if our plan doesn't work?
"Annnnnnd let's begin! Max, our first little egg of knowledge goes to you! What is the area of this figure?" A giant blueprint appeared on my podium, and my jaw dropped. How am I supposed to find that? If these were the questions, this would be harder than I thought.
After seven hours of tests, Fang and I were both tired-and tied. The emcee was frustrated and seemed to be running out of questions, which was good for Fang and I.
"Ok, we have Max and Fang both at 27 right. This is the last question! If Max get's this one right, she wins the tournament! C'mon chickie, here's your question-How many words are in the first sentence of Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities,"?
Perfect. How was I supposed to know the answer? So I answered.
"I don't know, sir."
The emcee seemed perplexed as to what to do next. But Fang and I weren't. This was all part of our plan. We had both won the game.
"Sorry, suckers, but you forgot one thing-that was the last question, and Max and I tied. We both won." Fang whispered ferociously as he threw himself at the emcee. The rest of the Flock attacked the guards, who were too stunned to do anything. I attacked everything in my sight that didn't have feathers, which was pretty much everything.
"U and A, guys! NOW!" I screamed as the crowd went into complete pandemonium, screaming and running everything. We had to get out, or someone would alert whoever ran this place. I jumped up and snapped out my wings, seeing the rest of the Flock do the same. We flew up, 5 bird kids and their pet dogs reaching the bright blue sky where we belonged. Wait, 5? I did a triple head count and noticed that Nudge was conspicuously missing.
"Fang!" I screamed into the wind, and he rushed over, brushing my brown wing with his black. "Nudge is gone! They have her and I have to go back!"
"Max, you can't," Fang said with such certainty that I was sure I couldn't. But I knew I had to. Nudge was a part of the Flock, and you can't leave a family member behind, just as you would never willingly cut off your leg, or neck, or ear (well, maybe some of us would. But not me.)
"I'll be back. Don't worry, go and meet in our meeting place." I meant, of course, the cave where Fang and I had first…kissed. He knew, and nodded, giving me a solemn glance before leaning in and pecking me on the lips. Too good to last, it was over in a flash, and the Flock flew on, crying out "Goodbyes," and looking back almost as frequently as they looked forward.
And with that, I dove back into the place that I had just escaped, the place that had almost taken my life, and was probably planning to try to again.