Ch 5~ Out of the frying pan, into the fire

Okay, lets recap: I'm in the middle of a secluded forest, when 'SNAP.'

Both Iggy and I went on red-alert. We were back-to-back in the blink of an eye, me scanning the trees for any sign of movement while Ig listened. It seemed like there wasn't a single sound in the entire forest; no wind, no birds chirping, no little furry creatures scampering through the underbrush, nothing. I'd seen enough action movies to know that this is the part where something crazy and drastic happens, I just didn't know when. Fortunately, my flockmate did.

"Hit the deck!" Iggy shouted suddenly, tackling me to the ground as something whistled over our heads. I didn't have time to look up and see what it was. Five guys- big, tough-looking ones- surrounded us.

"I don't suppose they're lost," Iggy whispered. I ignored his joke, rising slowly to my feet. He followed my lead. There was no need to ask if he was ready.

Simultaneously, we both sprung into action. I collided with one of the men, blinding him with my wings before giving him a generous kick to the face. He lurched to the side, cracking his head on a tree trunk. As I went in to attack again, I saw that he wasn't bleeding, but his skin looked distorted and inhuman. I smiled.

"Good news! They're bots!" I shouted, leaping at my foe again. This time, he saw me coming, and grasped both of my wings. I winced, but quickly reached out, grabbing both sides of his head and twisting sharply. He went rigid, my wings still in his grasp as he started to fall backwards. Quickly, I tried to pry his fingers out of my feathers, but I wasn't fast enough.

Something smacked my face, causing me to roll down a small incline then crash back first into a tree. Through my fuzzy vision, I could see a man stumbling down the hill towards me. Using the tree, I tried to get my feet back underneath my body, but I was moving too slowly. Suddenly, Iggy swooped down out of the canopy, grabbing the man-droid and flinging him into the trees.

Up on the top of the hill, there were now ten droids looking down at us, and surely more to come. Iggy grabbed my arm and helped me to my feet.

"Fight or flight, what's it gonna be Max?" Iggy asked, glaring ahead with his sightless eyes at our attackers. As much as I love a good brawl, our odds weren't exactly the best, and here in the middle of nowhere, there aren't any reinforcements. I gritted my teeth.

"Flight!" I shouted. We both snapped out our powerful wings and sprung skyward, bursting out of the forest canopy.

"That was too close!" I shouted over the wind as we sailed up into the blue sky.

"Yeah, way too- LOOK OUT!" Iggy grabbed my foot, yanking me down as something flew at me. Something snagged my left wing, wrenching me out of Iggy's grasp.

I started to spiral out of control, one wing out, one trapped at my side, tangled hopelessly in a net.

A shadow passed over me, and I felt myself jolt as Iggy grabbed the net. "Tuck your wing in!" He shouted. I obeyed. "Now just trust me!" Iggy said. I couldn't respond- I was too busy staring at the earth only a few hundred feet below, growing closer and closer by the second. I could feel Iggy above me, yanking harshly on the ropes.

"Iggy," I said. No response, just more tugging on my wing.

"Ig!" I yelled, making sure my voice could be heard over the buffets of wind and wings.

"One second!" He shouted tightly. Still staring wide-eyed at the ground below, I shouted back:

"YEAH? AND WE'RE ALMOST BIRD-KID PANCAKES-" Iggy suddenly interrupted with a "Got it! Go!"

I snapped out my wings, catching the updraft suddenly and painfully, wincing as my tendons strained as they adjusted to the sudden pressure. Using my feet to kick off the ground, I cut up sharply. Iggy was circling above.

"Jeez Ig, I think you could've taken a little more time," I said breathlessly. He laughed.

"I guess it was a little payback." He grinned, tapping his swollen cheek. "C'mon, let's-" He stopped, listening for a moment. Suddenly, Ig's eyes widened. "Scatter!"

Iggy and I shot apart just as a net shot through the place we had been hovering moments ago. We performed a wonderful array of spins, loops, and dives- enough to make even the most veteran circus acrobats nauseous. The nets kept whistling by me, all of them close, but none meeting their target.

After a few minutes of continuous loop-de-loops and barrel rolls, the nets stopped coming. I wiped a drop of sweat off my brow.

"Phew, that wasn't so bad," I said, expecting Iggy to come up with a witty joke. But there was no response.

"Ig?" I spun in a 360. He was nowhere in my sight. I looked left again. Nope. Then right. Nope. Up? Nope.

Then, a sickening thought made my stomach to twist.

I looked down.

There, a pale speck against a sea of green, was Iggy, plummeting down towards the forest below.

kittychow: Aww, I'm really sorry it took me so long! This chapter is a little short, but that's because I broke it in half so I can update faster, so that's good!

NudgeIsAwesome3: Haha I know! I love Nudges character and I really wish Patterson would have shown her more :(

Bolinlover123: Aww thanks! Nevermore is out (but wow it is not very satisfying) and I sure will!

My plan from now on is to update slightly shorter chapters so I can update faster. And I know this story hasn't been updated in a while, but I was trying to figure out what I was going to make this fic. After reading 'Nevermore', I've decided this is basically my idea of what I wished had happened after 'Angel', which is basically less love triangle, more action and more of the side characters that should never have been side characters in the first place.