I smiled as angel, gazzy, iggy and nudge had goes running down the sand dunes, snapping there wings out and zooming upwards. The sun was amazing and fang stood beside me, we were on some small sand banks that came out the sea forming little islands and sand dunes. They where quiet, hot and amazingly we nothing bad had happened in months. Which actually put me on some thing of a high alert waiting for something to happen. You know a kidnapping, a sneak attack, some giant load of nuclear waste being dumped into the sea. The usual.
But no nothing.
It was… perfect. I ran down after the rest of the flock and jumped into the air pushing down hard with the wings. I didn't think of how this day could get better, as fang came up next to me his black wing tips brushing again mine. This day really couldn't get any better.
It could get a lot worse though. BANG suddenly something whizzed close enough for me to feel the wind current as it brushed my cheek.
"Guys! Scatter!" I yelled and they did so, I quickly started scanning the ground looking for the shooter. Because of course maybe my paranoia about the calm before the storm theory seemed to be coming true, what was I thinking? Great days just don't happen to a bunch of mutant bird kids! I threw a glance at fang whose face was still set looking around the ground, which made me think the same thing. Even with our raptor vision, I couldn't see where the shot had come from, the sand dunes where just as they had always been, another shot was fired and this time I heard someone yelp and it wasn't me.
"Nudge!" I saw her skip a beat in the air and fall a few feet and swooped next to her instinctively. Who ever it was had caught her arm and she was cradling it against her self, blood flowing freely. I gritted my teeth, when I found who ever it was I'd.
There wasn't time to talk as several more shots where fired and still I couldn't see where the heck from. What was the pint in raptor vision if these… whatever they were, were invisible. I turned to angel.
"Angel hon, can you hear them!" She had a deep set frown on her face and shook her head. I kept scanning the ground but we were in the open like sitting ducks… or flying ducks.
"Ok, we need to get to cover NOW!" I yelled. The san dunes where too open, and at this moment that didn't bode well for us. "Head to the town!" I yelled turning directly too it. There were small town's all over the sand dune, but they were only small. I mean you could walk from one side to the other of the island in less than an hour. So it wasn't long before we got to a small cluster of buildings. I swooped down between a few close together houses that looked like a good enough shelter and the rain of bullets seemed to stop, I went directly to nudge when she landed, seeing the tears in her eyes as she tried to bit back pain. Her arm was bleeding like a fountain and though me and the rest of the flock new a lot of first aid this looked way beyond it.
"Looks like they caught an artery." I muttered to no one. "We need to stop the bleeding, elevate your arm ok sweetie." I said and nudge raised her arm as I tied a piece of ripped cloth round it, we'd need to get to a hospital but that wasn't going to be easy. Well, then again, compared to all the over stuff we've ever done, I may want to rethink that and to make everything worse.
"Ouch, aw, now that looks like it hurts." I snapped my head up seeing a girl sitting on the building above us, and me, being who I am and just being shot out don't take well to strangers in the best of situation but in this one, with nudges bleeding arm. It a lot worse.
"Yeah, you don't say." I growled but she smile. Seriously can you say sadistic. Smiling.
"Well, technically I just did, but I could do that all day." She jumped down, from a two story building and she jumped. I put my self in front of nudge protectively as the rest of the flock go ready to fight if need be. We could easily take her out. In fact, when she got closer it looked like even a normal human could take her out. She had the body most anorexics would die for, her arms where basically all bone and her finger when long and skinny though her hair and face didn't seem to suffer from the side effect that I'd learnt of the internet so many years ago. She looked like she'd easy snap in two though. "Are you done staring or do you prefer letting people bleed to death. I mean she clipped an artery you need to close that thing up… now." She jumped me out of my own thoughts and I turned to nudge, she'd said it with such a matter of fact attitude it made me want to snap her right now.
"That what I was planning on doing." I snapped back, the real fact was I had no idea, other than bandage it up tight so I started ripping more cloth.
"You're kidding me right?" I heard from behind. "It's an artery; you can't just wrap it up tight and hope for the best." I finally snapped turning to her.
"Well what would you do miss know it all!" I growled. She shrugged a neat black bag of her shoulder and reached in and started moving forward.
"Hold you're arm out kid, now this will hurt." I watched like I was half in a dream she took out what looked like a thin metal pole and a lighter. She didn't even wipe the blood away as she heated one end of the rod.
"What are you doing?" I growled lightly, what can I say I'm protective.
"I'm closing the artery, if you haven't noticed. I need to burn it closed." She sound so stoic and sure I didn't say anything, in a flash she flipped the rod and stabbed it down into nudges arm that it didn't even look like she aimed it. I saw nudge wince, seeing as we all had been taught not to yell at pain, before she quickly drew it out again and stood up.
"Done." She wiped the rod and put it away.
"Ok who are you?" I snapped going to nudges arm again, the bleeding had stopped, so whatever she had done had work. Didn't mean I liked her.
She snorted. "Yes, because I'm going to tell you. Would you tell me you're names if I asked?" She muttered shouldering her bag again and I had to see her point.
"Of course we would." Angel spoke up as sweetly as she could, the deceptive little demon she is. The girl smiled at her and bent down to her level.
"Ok then, so what is you're name kiddo?" Angel smiled her innocent little smile.
"Princess sparkle jasmine Lilly." She grinned and I felt a smile twitch on my mouth but instead of the confusion most people portrayed when given a name like this, what did she do. Nothing, oh other than a smirk.
"Angel for short then huh." Angel blinked but she paid no attention standing up. "Max, or maximum ride, fang, iggy, gazzy and nudge." She said turning around. "Seriously kids, don't mess with the big game." She muttered. Striding away.
"How did you know that?" I grabbed her sleeve she wasn't leaving if she was a threat. She stopped and looked other her shoulder.
"I know a lot of things. It's what I'm programme for." I stopped at that word.
"Programmed?" I repeated.
"Yes, seriously you think looking like I do and doing what I just did… that I was an average human, pa lease." With that she stretched out two wings. WINGS! And I though the flock and I where the only ones… except a major difference, Which gazzy was glade to emphasise.
"Whoa, weird where are the feathers?" She gave a short laugh.
"I'm bat, not bird. I don't do feathers. I'm spliced, 12% bat, 82% human. Next question." She waved a hand as if she were acting nonchalant. Seriously getting on my nerves.
"Why can't I read you're mind?" I turned to angel, she couldn't? Our little telepath had been able to read everyone's mind, so why could she read hers?
"Because I've put a mental block around my mind, simple as. Plus whatever I'm thinking is not suitable for kids. Now anything else, because I'm hungry and I'm gonna find something to eat if you are." I snorted.
"You actually eat?" I mutter it seemed hard to believe when she was that skinny.
"Yeah, I do." She laughed. "I know it's amazing, huh, my bones are skinny thin and my organs and super small, but because I'm not bird and don't have air sacks and all that crap and my bodies metabolism is sky high, as well as that, I have to be a firkin herbivore. So yeah, I know, I'm like a walking skeleton, even compared to you." I blinked taken aback. I wasn't expecting that
"Err. Yeah." She turned grinning.
"Meh, you get used to it. Now… food." She muttered to herself.
"Hey I'm starving too." Igg mutter and suddenly gazzy and nudge where agreeing.
"You can come. But the only food you're gonna get is a heck load of…" She paused and tilted her head to the side. "Stolen apples? Yup. That's what's on the menu for tonight." I frowned and looked her up and down; sure at first I didn't like her. Ok, I still didn't like her, but she'd helped nudges arm and was now offering food to a bunch of starving bird kids who completely out number her, and yes I know bad things always happen to me but still. What's the worst that could happen, that hadn't already happened to us?
In moments we were sitting in some apple tree the flock and me inhaling most of them, while she. I still didn't now her name was actually hanging upside down… I guess she was a lot extra bat than we where bird, and for an anorexic she seemed to be inhaling food faster than any of us. I think she finished at least 10 trees before spinning so she was upright on the branch.
"The names murk, just so you now." She stated while licking her fingers and I nodded as I finished inhaling another apple.
"Nice name." Igg said he was finished and now seeing what colour the trees where when his hand slipped onto the girl, now named Murk, hand. He blinks.
"Wow, talk about white."
"Yeah, kid that'll be me." She pulled her hand back. "Pale, red hair, Malian fruit bat genes." She muttered dropping to the ground. "Sucks to be Me." she said it smiling which was strange. Then again she was strange… and that's in flying bird kid terms.