Final update! I'm posting the last three parts today for your reading enjoyment. ^_^

Regrettably, though, I do have to announce that this will, in all likeliness, be my final fanfiction posted to the website. I've had some good times with my stories, but between school and other projects and the decline in traffic in the archive, I just can't justify the time and resources it would take to continue my saga. But hey, I totally encourage the rest of you to contribute your own stories to the MR archive-things have been pretty flat in recent months, but back in the day there used to be some pretty cool stories posted here. Come up with some new ideas, break a few cliches, make things interesting around here! I bet you guys could come up with some really cool plots of your own. :) (Oh, and as I've mentioned before, this story is a prequel to my other fanfic. Check it out for further reading!)

Anyways, enjoy these final installments, and please leave your reviews to let me know what you think!


19 – A New Chapter

We stayed on Springer Island another two weeks before leaving for shore. During those two weeks all of the new bird kids—who woke up, dazed, weak, and understandably upset—built up their strength and started the long process of adjusting to life with wings. The handful kids who had mutated last minute were all dead by the eighth day; they hadn't been able to finish fighting the virus and none of them had taken well to the mutations, and so it was only a matter of time before their bodies started malfunctioning and shut down. My friends Erin and Bailey were among them. Sometimes I wonder if they would still be alive if I had done something differently, if I had broken everyone out faster somehow.

I kept everyone busy—myself included—by organizing the digging of a huge mass grave. It's ironic, I know, but working on the grave gave everyone something that could take their minds off of everything that had happened to them. I had no idea if we could make a pit anywhere close to big enough to fit all the bodies, what with us being a group of ragtag kids armed with only buckets and cups for shoveling, but it was a welcome distraction. We could burn some bodies if we needed to, but we had to kill time while everyone made a full recovery. Even the weak, recovering kids took turns scooping out dirt.

One evening, when everyone had gone inside for the day, I decided to take a short reprieve at the bottom of the pit, welcoming the calm and quiet of the evening. Physically I was feeling pretty great these days, but I was exhausted and filthy after a long day of rearranging soil with a Tupperware dish, and I couldn't quite bring myself to back to the others just yet. I needed some distance, some time to reflect, and it seemed like the best place to get both was inside a giant hole in the ground.

As it turned out, I didn't wind up with the solitude I had been seeking, but I didn't mind too much. "Ah, the great Ella Martinez takes refuge in the grave," Iggy jumped down next to me, "only to rise up and meet another challenge."

I gave him a half-smile. "It's tempting just to stay down here, sometimes," I told him. My mouth went slack, and I breathed in deeply. "I wonder if it's big enough to fit all the bodies yet. We've made progress, but there's a lot of them to fit down here."

Iggy took a seat next to me, leaning against the side of the pit. "You saved over a hundred lives, Ella."

"But there were four hundred of us to start with," I reminded him, feeling a familiar despair well up inside of me. Four hundred kids came to Springer Island, ages twelve to eighteen, and now two hundred sixty-one of them were gone. Less than a third of us had survived the experiment. "Why am I still alive, Iggy?" I struggled to keep my tears in check, not wanting to start another sob fest. "Why did I make it and they didn't? Why is Max missing and I'm still here?"

"I don't know," Iggy answered, taking my hand comfortingly, "But whatever the reason, I'm glad you are here. Even if you do have a classic case of survivor's guilt." He grinned at me, and despite my dark mood I felt my spirits lighten.

"So, how have the flying lessons been going?" I asked him, changing subjects. Iggy and Vera had been assigned to helping the new bird kids adjust to things and teaching them how to fly.

"Not bad," he acknowledged, "Considering they haven't even had their wings for a month, they're making huge progress. And I think your friend Meagan has a crush on me; she keeps asking me for extra flying advice." An impish expression crossed his face, and I tried to repress a twinge of jealousy.

"Sounds fun." I said wryly, "In the meantime, I'm still trying to figure out how to get everybody home."

"The Gasman hasn't found anything else?" Lately Gazzy had been going out on daily mainland excursions, scouting out supplies and transport we could make use of, but so far nothing substantial had turned up.

"Nope," I replied glumly, "Transportation is still a nightmare out there. Gazzy says you can barely go fifty miles without running into a fence. I suppose we could find some way to fly people around, but with only fifty or so klutzy fledglings on our hands and close to ninety wingless kids in need of a ride, I don't see how we can get them home in the immediate future." I sighed, "Also, I get the feeling that lots of them don't want to just go back home. I know I don't."

"What do you mean?" Iggy asked.

"People died here, Iggy, people I got to know, people that became like a temporary family. My life was in danger every single day, and I had no idea what was going to happen to me or when it was going to happen. At first I felt like all I could do was endure it hour by hour, but then when we managed to do something about it," taking a deep breath, I went on, "I realized I wasn't so helpless after all. I could do something about what was happening; I didn't have to stand by and watch it happen.

"And now that I'm out of that place, and smack dab in the middle of a world that's turned into some sort of nightmare, I feel like I'm still in a prison, except now I know that I can fight it. I don't want to wait and see what happens to me next; I want to do something to change things."

"What are you going to do?"

"Well, I've been thinking about it," I explained to him, "and it struck me that there's probably more complexes just like this one, all of them with different experiments going on. So I thought that maybe, if enough of the others agreed to it, we could form a team of some sort and break people out of these facilities. We could sabotage this new Supremacy government, make it harder for them to take over the world. After all, if we don't stand up to them, who will?"

Iggy was quiet for a moment, as he processed everything I had just said. "Wow," he finally replied, "that was deep."

"I sound like some sort of action hero wannabe, don't I?" I said bashfully.

"Nah," Iggy told me, "I like your idea. You're right; we shouldn't take this stuff lying down."

I looked up at him. "You mean that?"

"Absolutely." He smiled at me. "Sign me on, because I want to be there when you overthrow the government and save the world."

Laughing, I accused, "Now you're just teasing me!"

"After what you did here at the complex, I think anything's possible with you." Iggy grinned. "So really, go for it. See if there's anyone else willing to join forces with you. Because honestly, if you can organize this many teenagers using a pen and a roll of toilet paper, I think you can do anything you set your mind to."

"Thanks," I said sincerely, "And thank you for rescuing me. If you and the Gasman hadn't been flying over at that exact moment..."

"Any time," he replied, "After all, I hate to let a pretty girl drown."

"I'm flattered," I replied, trying not to sound too eager. He thinks I'm pretty?

There was a few moments of silence between us, before Iggy spoke abruptly. "Ella?"

I turned to look at him. "Mmhmm?"

An odd expression crossed his face, like he was unsure about something. "Where do you... what direction do you think our relationship is taking?"

Of course, I was taken aback by the question. "What do you mean?" At that moment I became extremely aware of the fact that Iggy had never let go of my hand, and he was grasping it tighter than ever.

"I mean, do you see us just staying friends, or...?"

"Or are we becoming more than friends." The words terrified me even as I spoke them.

"Right," Iggy went on, looking rather sheepish, "I mean, we've been just friends for a long time—which was good—but now we're both older, and things are different now. Also, almost losing you made me realize," he fell quiet, but then finished, "it made me realize that if I lost you, I'd be losing my favorite person in the world." Then he added, "I think I might have fallen in love with you, Ella. It sounds really cheesy and stupid, but it's true."

"Oh, wow," My brain was barely functioning, "I... I never realized you felt that way." Quietly I reached down and pinched myself. Yup, definitely still awake.

"Neither did I," Iggy muttered shyly, "I probably sound like an idiot."

"No," I assured him, "it's really sweet of you. I just..." I struggled to find the right words, "I just never thought you'd ever think of me as anything more than a friend."

"Why wouldn't I?" His hazed blue eyes seemed to pierce my soul.

"Because you're so... so you. You're strong, and smart, and talented, not to mention you helped save the world! And me... I'm just Max's kid sister." I looked up at him sadly, "I could never be as strong as you or Max."

Taking me gently by the shoulders, Iggy turned my body so I was facing him. "Ella," he said, looking me almost directly in the eye, "You'll never be like Max; not now, not ever. And you know what? I'm glad. I'm glad that you take the time to brush your hair in the morning, and that you don't worry about whether or not the guy standing behind you in the grocery line is an Eraser, and that you're not afraid to reach out to people and tell them how you feel. And you try to help others; not because someone's pressuring you to save the world, but because you want to help. You're kind and energetic and independent and brave, and that's why I like you. You're strong in your own way."

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. "You really think so?"

"I know so," Iggy insisted. "So, will you please do me the honor of being my girlfriend?" He smiled, then added, "Because you know, after pouring my heart and soul out like that, I'd look pretty stupid if you said no."

"Well we don't want that, now do we?" I grinned at him, "Yeah, I'll be your girlfriend."

"Thank you." A mixture of relief and elation crossed Iggy's face, which was followed by a pondering, almost nervous expression. "Then, could I...?" he brought his hands up to my face, feeling me, seeing me. He ran his thumb gently over my lips, and that was when I realized what he wanted.

"Go for it," I told him quietly, letting him feel my smile. Slowly, Iggy leaned forward, leaning down while I craned upwards, and at that moment his lips met with mine. Our first kiss.

"I think you're amazing," I managed to speak when we'd pulled apart, my heart fluttering at high speed.

Iggy grinned at me. "Funny, I could've sworn I've heard you say that before. Did we do this earlier and forget about it?" I laughed, then leaned in and kissed him again.