A/N: We are going to pretend that Garrett was there before the Volturi came. Just go with it.
Chapter 5
Max
"So are you ready to get out of here?" Fang smiled at me and kissed my forehead. It was all he could reach while lying on the hospital bed.
"Yeah, I'm ready to get out of this bed. I have some things that need to be done," he said, looking pointedly at me. I blushed. I was not completely sure what he was implying, but Fang is a guy, and we did live with Emmett for a few months...
"Well, the nurses said you have two more days."
"So about five hours?"
"Yeah, sounds about right." The nurses had done the trend wrong. I knew because I had been watching while they estimated the amount of time Fang would need to heal. I knew from personal experience that the end of the healing process took the least amount of time; it seemed to go faster than fast for us. It was very handy.
"So... there's seriously a lab in Denali?" Fang asked for the hundredth time. I nodded. He still couldn't seem to wrap his mind around the fact that the Voice had actually been helpful. Truth be told, I couldn't either, but it was my job to make it seem like I had everything under control.
"Yeah. Jeb said there's practically no protection on it, so it'll be easier to break into than the School was." We both remembered the time we had tried to break into the School. We had been trying to rescue Angel from those demons, but it hadn't gone as planned... We'd all ended up in cages... We'll try to do better this time.
Fang and I spent his remaining healing time in the hospital room. I sat by his bed, holding his big hand in mine the entire time. Occasionally, Fang would release my hand, cupping my chin and looking into my eyes. I had no idea what he was looking for, but he seemed to find it every time. Angel and the others dropped in from time to time, but mostly, they stayed in the hospital cafeteria, taking advantage of all the food at hand. Angel brought Fang and me food every time she came in. She knew the food the hospital gave Fang was nowhere near enough, and I hadn't left his room to get my own food.
"Stand guard," I instructed Iggy. He nodded and stood outside the room. We were going to take the bandages off Fang, and the nurses would freak if they saw us, so Iggy and Angel were out in the hall making sure no nurses came close.
"Hold still," I murmured as I took hold of some of his bandages. They were bloody, and that freaked me out. I knew the blood was old, but it still scared me how much blood Fang had lost. We'd all had to give transfusions.
I grabbed a pair of scissors and began cutting away the white gauze. It came off in large chunks, clotted with blood and other nasty stuff. The gauze was only around Fangs' torso, but there was a lot of it. I tried not to notice how often Fang winced as I pulled the gauze away. Some of the pieces stuck to his skin, and Fang groaned in pain when I pulled them off. I looked up at his face. He had his teeth clenched, but his eyes were locked firmly on my face.
"Get it off," he said tightly. I nodded and ripped the rest off in one quick pull. He grunted and clenched his fists. I took off the monitor wires last. We all knew that as soon as the heart monitor wire came off, it would flat line and nurses would rush in. The plan was to run out as quickly as possible. Angel would have to alter the memories of every person in the hospital. She knew how difficult that would be, but I encouraged her as much as I could.
"There you go baby," I soothed. Angel was concentrating harder than she had ever concentrated before. "There, you've almost finished." Obviously, I had no way of knowing if that was true, but it was comforting her, so whatever.
Angel opened her eyes and sagged against me, exhausted. She tilted her face up and blew a cool burst of air into my face, startling me. She laughed when I blinked at the unexpected air in my face. It was good to hear her laughing again.
"Can we go now?" Iggy asked nervously. I nodded.
"Would you like to do the honors?" I said mockingly. Fang stuck his tongue out at me but nodded.
"U and A guys." The flock nodded, as was customary, and leapt into the sky. We had a lot of extra ground to cover today, so we needed to get moving.
"How are you holding up?" I asked Fang quietly. Floating over to his side, I searched his face for any traces of pain. Of course, Mr. Emotionless showed me nothing. That is, until he looked into my eyes. That was when I saw the extent of his pain.
"Should we stop?" I asked, concerned. He shook his head and grit his teeth.
"We've already lost too much time because of me. I won't be the cause of stopping again." He sounded so determined that I almost believed he wasn't in as much pain as he was.
"Fang, you don't always have to be strong." I thought of something the Voice had said to me once. "It's ok to let others take care of you once in a while." Thanks for the recognition Max. Wasn't expecting that...
Fang looked at me as if I had gone insane. A small frown formed on his lips, but his eyes were somewhat grateful when I ordered the flock to land. Fang staggered slightly when he hit the ground harder than usual. I caught his elbow, holding him up. He glared at me and shook me off. I just stood there, my mouth hanging open in disbelief.
"No," I said firmly, following him up a nearby tree. "We are not going to start this again." Fang looked at me.
"Start what?" he asked, his voice empty. I glared back at him.
"This. I won't have it. Last time you shut me out, I tried to commit suicide." Fang winced. "Do you remember that?" I asked, rubbing it in deeper. He needed to understand how much this hurt me.
"Yes," he sighed, finally relenting. "I'm sorry. I just don't like how much I have to rely on you."
"Fang." I held his face in my hand, forcing him to look at me. "This is what we do. We rely on each other. It's how we survive. Together. It's what you do when you love someone." I didn't blush when I said this, thank God.
"I love you too," he whispered. I smiled and released his face. In turn, he grabbed my face in both his hands. "Always Max. I will always love you." He kissed me, softly at first, but it grew more heated and desperate. I was sure this was from being bedridden. Fang hates being useless.
"Ugh, can you two stop sucking face for a little?" Iggy asked from somewhere below us. Fang released my face with one hand and flipped Iggy off. "That was unnecessary," Iggy commented dryly. Angel had sent him a picture of Fang's hand.
"You being here is unnecessary," Angel chastised. Iggy grunted and I heard them both walk away.
After a little, I could feel myself getting lightheaded. I gently broke away, reluctantly, but gently. We both sucked in ragged breaths, our chests heaving as we stared at each other.
"I think we're getting better at that," Fang commented with a chuckle. I rolled my eyes.
"If you say so. Personally, I think my kissing was perfect to begin with. You on the other hand, had something to be desired." I grinned and kissed him lightly before hopping out of the tree.
"You're so funny," he grumbled, climbing down after me. I grinned back at him. He scowled at me and tackled me to the ground. I laughed as we fell through the air, his arms around my waist. Fang landed on top of me, knocking my breath away momentarily. He chuckled and pinned me down. Glaring up at Fang, I shoved him in the chest, pushing him off me. At least, I tried to push him off me. When did he get so strong?
He attacked me, peppering kisses all over my face and neck. Ah, how he made me laugh. He grinned and laughed along with me. I thought about how happy I was at this very moment. Wasn't something bad supposed to happen now? I mean, that is usually how it works around me.
I could not see Fang's face in front of mine anymore. Now, all I saw was the white of snow and ice. All around me, there was nothing to see but white.
"What's taking you so long Max?" Tanya asked, materializing right in front of my eyes. "You should be here by now." She seemed to be frowning at me.
"Sorry." Why was I apologizing to this beautiful, unknown woman? "We got a little sidetracked. Something came up, and we didn't have a choice."
"You always have a choice Max," she said wisely. I rolled my eyes at her. Yeah, I am disrespectful even in my dreams.
"No, not really. That is not usually how my life works. Things happen that I can't do anything about." I frowned, remembering all the times when I had been unable to do anything to stop bad things from happening. That happened more often than I would like…
"That may be, but you can always choose not to accept it. You can do something to prevent it." Why does she seem intent on arguing with me?
"How can I prevent what I don't understand?" I asked helplessly. This was a seriously confusing conversation.
"Then you must learn to understand," she said simply. I was getting really frustrated with her weird answers.
"Figure it out Max. Meet us here, and we can help you understand." She disappeared and Fang was nowhere to be found.
"Fang?" I called softly, confused. Looking up at the sky, I saw figures whirling through the air. Picking myself up off the ground, I joined my flock in their fun.
"Nice of you to get up," Iggy commented dryly. I glanced around, but didn't see Fang.
"No problem Ig," I replied sweetly.
Where's Fang?
Sulking somewhere was Angel's reply. I frowned. It wasn't like Fang to sulk.
Over what?
You blanked out for a while and he got mad. It just looked like you were staring off into space. When you didn't respond, he got up and left. His thoughts told me that he was upset because he couldn't do anything about what was happening to you. My frown deepened.
Fang doesn't need to worry about me.
Yeah, tell him that. Besides Max, he can't help but worry about you. He loves you.
I flew off in the direction Angel pointed me. I darted around for a bit, but eventually, I found Fang sitting morosely in a cave. Skidding gracefully to a stop a few feet in front of him, I put my hands on my hips and waited for Fang to look up at me.
"What?" he asked, sounding incredibly tired. I blinked, surprised.
"Hey, are you ok?" I asked softly, going over to sit beside him on the cave floor. I leaned my shoulder against his and it seemed to comfort him a little.
"I hate how useless I feel," Fang whispered. "It's like I can't do anything to stop the pain."
"The pain will go away soon," I promised, thinking he was talking about his own injuries. When he looked into my eyes, I realized he was talking about the pain I frequently suffered.
"No it won't." He looked so sad. It broke my heart to see Fang so upset. Wow, I am getting really mushy…
"It will," I said firmly. "We're heading to Denali to fix all this."
Fang sighed and leaned his head against mine. I snuggled closer and put my arm through his. Fang took my hand in his and rubbed small circles into my palm with his thumb.
"That reminds me," I said suddenly, scaring myself a little with how loud my voice sounded. "We should get going again if we want to make it there before those Erasers catch up with us. We've been in one place too long already." Fang nodded and stood up. He grabbed my forearms and pulled me up so that I was standing up against his chest. Holding the back of my head carefully, Fang brought our faces together until our foreheads were touching.
"I can't wait until all this is over," he breathed.
"Soon," I whispered. "Soon." He kissed me quickly on the lips before taking my hand in his and running to the mouth of the cave. We leapt into the sky, both sets of wings shooting out at the same time. We synchronized our wing strokes so that we could fly together.
When we got back to where Angel and Nudge were waiting on the ground, something seemed… off.
"Where are Gazzy and Iggy?" I asked warily, dropping Fang's hand. We both did a careful 360, scanning the forest for anything unusual.
"They're right there," Nudge said, pointing up. Sure enough, when I tilted my face to the sky, I saw two flying figures with sneakers.
"Angel, get them down here," I ordered. "Now!" Angel squeezed her eyes shut, and seconds later, Gazzy and Iggy were back on the ground beside us.
"What's up?" Gazzy asked curiously. I shrugged, not sure what to tell him.
"We're leaving now," I said abruptly. "Pack up."
"Already done," Angel said. I beamed at her and grabbed my pack off the ground. The others picked up their bags as well and joined me in the small clearing.
"Let's head out guys," I said. They all nodded and hopped into the air. I was the last to leave the ground. Scanning the forest once more, for safety's sake, I jumped slowly into the air, my wings whipping out to catch me.
I rose after finding nothing out of the ordinary. The flock was waiting patiently for me far above the treetops. I looked at my map and pointed us in the right direction.
We flew for what seemed like forever, but was really only five hours. Glancing at the map in my hands, I asked Angel to check the signs. If I was correct, and I would be shocked if I was not, we should have just crossed into Denali. Angel verified my thoughts.
Denali was like a wildlife reserve. When we landed in a clump of trees, none of us saw any sign of human life. Angel did spot a sign that said 'Welcome to the Denali National Park'. Tanya and her family lived in a National Park? I guess for the food and all, but that is still a little weird…
We walked around for a little bit, searching for some housing or whatever. We could not seem to find any permanent lodgings, just a few tents. We had to tiptoe around the tents because of the families sitting in them. Gazzy tripped over a broken branch in the dark, startling us all. Tensed, we waited for someone to come out, but there seemed to be no change in the activities within the tents.
"Nice going," Iggy muttered once we were clear of the tents. Gazzy growled and made a loud thumping sound.
"What the hell was that noise Gaz?" I asked, laughing a little. Gazzy looked at me, startled.
"That wasn't me," he said nervously. I stopped and looked around us.
"Oh crap," I muttered. Not twenty feet away were a family of bears. "Does anyone know what to do around bears?"
"Nope," Angel murmured softly. "But I don't think we should talk loud or anything." I nodded, my eyes locked on the animals. Little did we know that talking loud probably would have been best. This is what happens when you don't get a constant education. Stuff gets lost in translation.
"Are they dangerous?" Nudge whispered, frightened. This was a completely new experience for us. Erasers, we could handle. Bears, not so much.
"Are they?" I whispered to Angel. She shook her head and we all let out a collective breath.
"They're curious. The mother bear isn't sure what to do. She thinks we smell funny. If we don't anger her, she won't try to kill us." I gulped, not sure what to do.
Someone moved, but at that moment, I wasn't sure which idiot it was. The mother bear looked at us, shifting her body so that she was looking straight on. Her shoulders were hunched and I could see the muscles bunching under that thick black fur.
"She thinks we're going to threaten her cubs," Angel said as softly as she could. I shivered, unsure of how to get us out of this situation. We couldn't even fly away because there were dense tree limbs above our heads.
The mother bear opened her jaws and yawned. It was weird. Gazzy tilted his head in the universal sign for what the hell?
"Is she tired?" Gazzy asked. He spoke louder than he should have because the mother bear snapped her teeth together with a click. Gazzy himself shut his mouth, his eyes going wide.
Someone is coming. I looked at Angel out of the corner of my eye.
Who?
The one in front is thinking about you. Tanya. Who else would it be?
It's ok sweetie. They're friends… I think.
Sure enough, Tanya and the others danced to my side. Tanya slid her arm through mine. I froze, not sure what to say or do. I mean, come on, there were still a family of bears right in front of us, and Tanya wants to be friendly?
"Hello Max," she said in her familiar tinkling voice. I nodded in her direction without taking my eyes off the mother bear.
"Kate, will you do the honors?" The other blonde-haired woman nodded with a small smile and stepped towards the bears.
"What is she doing?" I asked, finally looking at the beautiful vampire beside me.
"She's going to scare the bears away," Tanya replied simply. Angels' eyes went wide.
"Wait!" Tanya and Kate looked at her, startled. "Can I try something first?" Kate hesitated, but nodded. Angel shut her eyes and pursed her lips. I knew that she was trying to 'speak' with the bears, but I wasn't sure how well that would work. Angel hadn't tried talking to animals in a long time.
After a very long minute, the mother bear grunted and turned her back to us. She herded her cubs away, disappearing into the dense forest. Angel beamed at me, her face glowing brilliantly. I smiled back at her before turning to Tanya.
"So why am I here?" I tried to sound uncaring, but my voice betrayed me with the amount of curiosity that lined my words.
Tanya smiled. "I don't know," she said, shrugging with a smile. I frowned, not sure what to say next. Be truthful. Thanks Voice…
"So there's this place here…" I started. I felt Fang stiffen beside me. His hand clamped onto my left arm, warning me. I ignored him. "We need to get in and destroy it."
"Good to hear," Kate said with a laugh. I looked at her. She was leaning against the rough-and-tough looking guy I'd seen in my dreams. "How can we help?"
I grinned, glad that they were onboard before I'd even explained. "You can help get us in. We need to wipe them out, and fast." Not to mention we have to get it done before Zane shows up again…
"I assume you're speaking of the laboratory building nearby." I nodded. "Good. Those scientists were getting too close for my taste." I grinned.
"They don't understand 'personal space'," I said. Eleazar chuckled.
"Clearly," Kate murmured with a frown at Fang. I looked at him and frowned as well. Fang had his wings out and was standing protectively beside me.
"What are you doing?" I hissed. Obviously, the vampires heard me, but they pretended that they hadn't.
"What I want," he replied frostily. I glared at him quickly before turning back to Tanya.
"Lead on," I said calmly. She smiled, her face lighting up and making her even more beautiful.
Tanya and her coven led the flock and me through the forest. We stopped somewhere outside the Park. In front of us was a large house, almost as big as Edwards' back in Forks. She danced up the steps and opened the front door. The vampires entered first, followed by a cautious flock.
The inside of the house was amazing, but in a more modern way than the gorgeous Cullen home. There were no fancy wooden banners or giant wooden crosses hanging on the walls. This house was the ideal futuristic home. It was everything modern.
Tanya led me up the stairs, the flock close behind me. We went up one flight, stopping on the second floor. She walked smoothly down the hall until she reached a door at the very end of the hallway. Opening the door, Tanya revealed a large suite. I walked slowly forward, taking careful steps as I took in the large bed in the main room. There were two connecting doors, each with another large bed. There was one bathroom between the three rooms.
"I hope this is ok," Tanya said. I nodded, smiling back at her. She produced two rows of pearly whites before leaving, closing the door behind her.
As soon as the door shut, Angel and Nudge squealed excitedly. I sighed, a small smile breaking out on my face. The two girls rushed into the room on the left. Gazzy and Iggy dissolved into giggles, for some unknown reason, as they headed into the room on the right. That left Fang and me alone in the main room.
"It's… nice," I managed to say. I was honestly just glad that I could take a shower. I missed being clean…
Fang looked sideways at me. "Why are we here Max."
"To destroy the labs," I said, surprised. Fang sighed and went to lie on the bed.
"No, I mean why are we here, like with them?" I frowned and sat beside him. Fang turned his head to look up at me, his arms behind his head, completely at ease.
"Because I had these dreams that told me to come here," I confessed. Fang frowned. He didn't like that I hadn't told him this earlier.
"Did these dreams of yours tell you exactly what the hell we're supposed to do?" he scoffed. I growled menacingly at him.
"Don't act like I made this up," I warned him. Fang rolled his eyes at me but reached a hand up. I let him touch my cheek lightly before pulling back. This was not the time for pleasantries. We had to get the job done, and fast. Zane could show up at any minute. I said as much and Fang grimaced.
"I'm gonna kill him," Fang promised darkly. A small smile played on my lips. "What?" he asked, suddenly self-conscious.
"Oh, nothing," I said sweetly. "You're just really hot when you're threatening someone." Oh my God, did I really just say that? Fang looked slightly confused for a second before a huge grin broke across his face.
"Oh really?" He seemed to enjoy my sudden discomfort. Reaching over, Fang tugged on my arms until I was lying beside him.
"Yes really," I allowed with a sigh. His grin grew and he leaned over and kissed me lightly on the lips.
"Well I personally think you're hot all the time," he said softly against my lips. I chuckled and leaned into him.
We were busy making out, so I didn't hear the knocking on the bedroom door until the door opened suddenly. Tanya stood there, leaning against the doorframe. She didn't smile, all business now.
"We should get going. I'll show you where the labs are, then I'll let you guys do your thing." I blushed and nodded. "Are you sure we can't help you wipe these guys out?"
"We can handle it," I promised. Jeb had said that there was no security at this place, so it shouldn't be too hard to take down.
"Alright, if you're sure. You and your boyfriend should get the others ready to go." My cheeks grew hotter and I nodded. Tanya didn't make me embarrassed in the same way the Cullens did. She made me feel like I'd just gotten caught by my mother and she was ignoring it for my sake. The Cullens made me feel like I'd just been caught doing something illegal. The difference was staggering.
Tanya left the room, leaving Fang and me to get the kids ready. I walked into Nudge and Angels' room, determined to lose the blush as quickly as possible. I heard Fang go into the boys' room behind me.
"Is it time to go Max?" Angel asked, getting off the bed. I nodded.
"Pack light. Only bring things that will help the inevitable fight." They girls nodded. They followed me into the main room. Fang and the boys were already there, waiting for us. Gazzy and Iggy both had packs on; I am sure stuffed with bombs.
"Bombs?" I surmised. Gazzy grinned and nodded. Yeah, that wasn't a brainteaser or anything.
We met Tanya downstairs in the front room. She was waiting for us by the door, clothed in all black. I looked down at my own outfit. We were all still wearing most of our snow gear. I took the heavy jacket off and the others did the same. It would be too much weight if we had to make a quick getaway. I hoped it wouldn't resort to that.
"Ready?" I nodded. "Good. Follow me."
I walked behind Tanya out into the forest. She walked at a brisk pace, slow for her and not all that fast for us. Before long, we came upon a large wall. I wasn't sure how people didn't come across this during visiting seasons, but I really didn't care.
"This is it," Tanya said. I nodded and thanked her. "Just go over this wall and stay to the right. The left will lead you around back, but there are no entrances back there. If you go right, you will come to a large metal door. I'll break it down if you need me to." I nodded and she continued. "Go through the door and you'll find yourself in the lobby. There are five doors in the lobby. Take the one with the X on it to get to the control room. The other four lead to the labs. Good luck Max."
"Thank you Tanya." She nodded and went ahead of us, jumping lithely over the wall. The flock spread their wings and we rose over the tall wall. Landing on the other side, we noticed that Jeb had been right. There was no security here other than cameras that swiveled around on their metallic necks.
Tanya grabbed the door handle and pulled. The metal made the loudest grating sounds and I had the urge to cover my ears. It was worse than scraping your nails across a chalkboard. The door came completely off its' hinges. Tanya tossed it lightly behind her as if it weighed no more than a cardboard box. To her, it probably didn't.
"It's all yours," she said sweetly. I grimaced at her and walked carefully into the lobby.
It was just a large room. There was nobody here, so we just walked right up to the door with the large X. It was unlocked. Swinging the metal door open, I peered inside. This room was empty as well. There were rows upon rows of buttons and screens that meant absolutely nothing to me.
"Nudge," I said, motioning to the nearest computer screen. She nodded and sat in the leather computer chair. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, her eyes closed.
"This is the mainframe," she said, her eyes still shut. "I can get into the system and shut it down if you want." Nudge opened her eyes and turned to me. I nodded. She swiveled back to face the screen and began typing on the keypad. The machine whirred to life under her dark fingers.
"While she's doing this, Gazzy and Iggy go check out on of the labs." The two nodded and headed out the door. "Angel, stay with Nudge. Fang and I are gonna go check out another lab." Angel just watched Nudge.
"Let's go," Fang said lightly. I could tell he was excited. I was too. We finally had a chance to shut this down, once and for all.
We saw that Gazzy and Iggy had left the door open to the lab directly to our right, so we took the one to the left. The door was unlocked when I tried the handle. Glancing at Fang, I opened the door after a nod from him. It opened soundlessly. I gasped when I saw what was inside.
There were hundreds of cages in here. Thankfully, they were all empty. I could feel Fang stiffen beside me when he realized as I did that the cages were exactly like the ones we had lived in for years.
"Damn," he muttered.
A shuffling of feet alerted me to the fact that there were people in this room. Looking around, I spotted hunched figures at the far corner. They all wore white lab coats. I hated them already.
"Look at that," I said, loud enough for them to hear. "They're finally cowering in our presence." Fang was grinning evilly at my side. I was anticipating some more movement, but there was none.
Fang and I walked around the horrible cages to where the scientists huddled. Taking a quick headcount, I realized there were twenty-four hiding in this corner. I didn't relish having to kill them, but there was no other way to stop this.
"Don't hurt us," one of the females pleaded. Her colleagues glared at her, hate in their eyes. I figured they weren't as close as the scientist at the School in California had been. These people could not go home. They hated each other.
"Sorry, I can't promise anything," I said wickedly. The scientists all looked up at me. The same looks crossed their faces: surprise and relief. To them, we just looked like a couple of kids. No threat, right? Wrong. Completely, and utterly wrong.
"Who are you?" one of the women asked nervously. I rolled my eyes dramatically. I was enjoying this.
"I am the one and only Maximum Ride," I said, emphasizing my name. I heard more than one gasp of recognition and more than a few curses.
"No!" a woman wailed. Her colleagues hushed her.
"Yes, I'm afraid it's me again. I just turn up like a bad penny, don't I? Remind you of anyone? No, I don't suppose it would. You were never on the receiving end of your little pets. They showed up like bad pennies…" I sighed theatrically. Fangs sniggered behind me.
"Well, time to get this show on the road," I said with another sigh. Fang grinned and took a step forward. The scientists let out a collective scream. Rushing forward, we cut off the screams quickly.
"That wasn't too bad," Fang muttered. I looked at him. He may have said it wasn't bad, but his face showed otherwise. He was pale and his hands were trembling. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths before walking quietly out of the now-silent room. Fang shut the door behind me.
"We checked the other two rooms," Gazzy said quietly. He looked just as pale as Fang. "There's no one else here." I nodded.
"That's good," I said shakily. None of us was used to killing someone who did not fight back.
We walked into the control room to see Nudge still hard at work, her brow pulled together in a frown. Angel stood at her side. She turned to look at us, her face tight.
"How many people were there?" she asked softly. Before anyone else said anything, I said 'too many'. She nodded, understanding. I didn't want to give her any numbers. She's too young for those kinds of details.
"Done," Nudge said after a few minutes. She leaned back in the chair, her face revealing how tired she was. "Can we go now? I'm hungry." I nodded, a ghost of a smile flickering across my face.
"Sure Nudge. We can go now." She rose from the computer chair and followed Angel out the door. I held Fangs' arm, keeping him back.
"Are you ok?" I asked softly. He just stared into my eyes. I saw the horror there and took a quick step into his arms. "I'm sorry," I whispered into his chest.
"It couldn't be helped," he said back, his voice thick. "I know there was no other way. I just… I just wish they hadn't looked at me while I… killed them…" I shuddered, knowing how he felt. He held me tight, his arms wrapped around my body. I leaned my head against his chest and stayed like that for a few seconds.
"I love you," I murmured. Fang did not hesitate.
"I love you Maximum," he said, kissing the top of my head. I leaned my face up to his and he trailed kisses down my forehead and over my nose until he reached my lips. I felt the tears sliding down both our faces as we kissed more passionately than we ever had. Fang held me so close to his body that I could feel his heart beating. I had my arms wrapped tight around his neck, my fingers twined in the hair at the back of his head.
"Max!" A bloodcurdling scream broke us apart. Angel… Without thinking, I rushed from the room, Fang right on my heels. We rocketed out of the building into the yard before the wall. I didn't even stop when I saw how many Erasers were packed into the tiny space.
Angel was fighting a huge Eraser on her own, the others off doing the same somewhere else. I launched myself into the fight, immediately taking out an Eraser. Fang roared and snapped an Erasers' neck. He was making his way to Angel, fighting like I'd never seen him fight before.
I took my thoughts off Fang and put them on the fight. There were two Erasers coming at me, one on my left, the other my right. Jumping up, I kicked them both in the head, making them stagger back. Launching myself at one, I broke his neck with a roundhouse kick to the face, turning to do the same to the other one.
We continued like this for some time, the wave of wolf-men never seeming to end. Finally, I could see the back line of Erasers. There were still many between Zane and me. He was standing a little way away from the fight. I growled and leapt into the air, heading towards the Eraser that looked so much like my dead brother.
"Not so fast Max," Zane called just as and Eraser jumped into the air, clamping a furry paw onto my leg and wrenching me to the ground. He slammed me into the ground, forcing a large black boot onto my throat. I could still hear the others fighting all around me.
I was so close to Zane, I just couldn't get up to get at him. The boot got heavier on my throat, cutting off my air. I choked, gasping for breath I couldn't get. Zane snapped his fingers and the boot lessened the pressure on my neck.
"Nice to see you again Maximum," he chuckled. "I see you've already wreaked havoc on the unsuspecting scientists of this facility." He laughed.
"Screw you," I sputtered, my face red. The Erasers beside him bent down and grabbed onto my arms. The one with his boot on my throat clamped his hand around my throat. I couldn't break free from their hold.
"Now Max, that isn't very polite," Zane chastised. I rolled my eyes. His jaw tightened. "Be nice Max, I won't make you watch the destruction of your family." That stopped any rude response I'd had.
"You can't stop us Maximum, you should know that by now," he said calmly.
"You can't stop us either," I retorted. "How many of you have we killed over the years? Thousands?" Zane waved a hand dismissively.
"That's beside the point. They were prototypes, worthless, practically useless. We are the elite." As if to prove his words, I flinched at Iggys' cry of pain. The Erasers holding me turned me around at Zanes' signal. I watched my family fighting for their lives while I stood helpless. I didn't want to say anything to them in case it broke their concentration.
"Stop," I pleaded. I never resort to begging, but we were very outnumbered.
"I'm sorry Maximum, but I must fulfill my orders," Zane said. "To the letter," we said together, he proudly, me with horror. "Exactly," he said, beaming at me. I glared at him.
"What are your orders exactly?" I spat. He grinned an evil, spine-tingling grin.
"'Take down the flock,'" he quoted. His smile grew. "'But leave Maximum alive. Bring her to us.'"
"Why me?" I asked softly. He laughed.
"Because you are the original. You are the best of the best Maximum." He said that with pride, as if I were his experiment. He snapped his fingers again and an Eraser leaned back his head and howled, something I had never heard them do before.
All the remaining Erasers suddenly stopped. The only ones still moving were the flock. They were grabbed and dragged over. We were herded to stand in front of Zane. Angel was on my right and Fang was on my left. He was seething, his jaw tight as he glared murderously at Zane.
"Ready to die?" Zane asked the flock. I caught my breath. This is not happening!
"In your dreams wolf-boy," Fang snapped. He struggled, fighting against the Erasers that held him captive, but he stayed under their control.
"Then I must be dreaming," Zane answered with a tight smile.
"Max!" Nudge cried, her composure finally breaking. I turned my head to look at her, straining against the paw around my neck.
"Nudge honey, calm down," I pleaded.
"Max, what's happening? Why could they get us? We have always been better than they have! We have taken down so many Erasers! Why are these ones different? We should be able to get out of here! Why hasn't Tanya come yet?" She was babbling, and I could see that it was annoying Zane. He nodded to the Eraser beside Nudge. "Max what should we do? Can Angel send them something, or are they blo—."
She was cut off mid-sentence. The Eraser had grabbed her head and… I shut my eyes, unable to watch. I heard Angel screaming, her voice getting octaves higher as the scream lasted. Iggy was whimpering and Gazzy was crying, heart wrenching sobs that tore through me.
"God she was annoying," Zane said with disgust. I opened my eyes, fire coursing through me as I glared at him. Fang was struggling harder, curses pouring from his mouth. I could feel the hot tears running down my face as I met Zanes' eyes. "Get her out of here." The Erasers dragged Nudge away, taking her somewhere behind us.
Angels' scream continued until a paw was clamped over her small mouth. She struggled against the Erasers holding her. They never even wavered when her eyes closed and she tried to break them to her will. They didn't loosen their grip at all. It scared the hell out of me that these Erasers were impermeable to Angels' mind-controlling powers.
"Why are you doing this?" Gazzy whimpered. I looked at him, startled, my eyes wide. Please don't set him off Gaz! Zane turned to him and smiled.
"Because I want to," he said simply, leaning over until he was eyelevel with the Gasman. Looking up, he met an Erasers' eyes behind Gazzy.
"NO!" I shrieked, but it was to no avail. The Eraser took hold of Gazzys' head and twisted. Gazzy hung limply in the Erasers' grasp, his blonde head lolled forward and resting on his chest. Zane nodded once more and Gazzy was taken away as well.
"I'm gonna kill you!" Fang shouted. I flinched. Please don't! Zane didn't even deign to give Fang a glance. His eyes passed over Angel and onto the silent and shocked Iggy.
"You're the blind one, right?" Zane asked, sounding amused. Iggy kept his head down and didn't answer. "Are you deaf as well?"
"No," Iggy whispered. Zane smiled, satisfied, and stood erect.
"Well, you won't have to worry about that too much longer," Zane said sweetly. Iggys' head snapped up to 'look' at Zane. His lips were in a tight line as he 'stared' unblinkingly at the Eraser that stood before him.
Fang roared, furious, as Iggys' head dropped onto his chest. Angel whimpered beside me, her chest wracked with sobs. I cried for my family. It was my fault this was happening, and I could do nothing to stop it.
Yes, you can. Why did the Voice have to talk now? This was not the right time to bug me.
How can I stop this? I can't even break myself free, nonetheless the remainder of my flock. I didn't get an answer. That was so effing unhelpful!
Max.
Don't be scared honey. I won't let anything happen to you.
It's ok Max. If we... if we don't make it, promise me you'll get them back and you'll live. I was shocked. Angel didn't sound frightened at all. My baby was trying as hard as she could to be strong. As soon as Zane moved to stand in front of Angel, I lost it.
"Get away from her!" I yelled, furious. Zane looked at me and smiled. "You touch her and I will KILL YOU!" I couldn't control what I was saying at this point. Angels' fingers brushed mine and she smiled, looking forward. I saw her eyes close and she looked almost peaceful. I say almost because no matter how together she was, she still had giant wolf-men on both side of her and a furry hand around her small throat.
Her eyes never reopened. I screamed my fury, Fangs' voice adding to mine. The Eraser had not even touched Angel. Her chest had just stopped moving up and down. Her face paled as the blood stopped running through her veins. I was sure that Angel had done that. She had done something to her brain to make her heart stop beating. My baby was smart. Just not smart enough to free herself.
I was sobbing, my chest heaving and tears rushing down my face. Fang was beside me, crying just as hard as I was. I had never seen Fang cry, and it scared me even more than our impending doom.
Zane was frowning. He seemed put out that Angel had thwarted his mini-genocide. Suddenly, he shrugged and took a few steps to the left, stopping in front of me. He brushed his hand along my jaw. I tried to shake his hand off, but the Eraser holding my neck tightened his grip, holding my head still and cutting off my air.
"Max!' Fang yelled to me. I tried desperately to free myself, but it was no use. They were too strong. The sixteen remaining Erasers circled around Fang, Zane, and I. The Erasers holding Fang back released him. Fang stumbled forward, catching himself before he fell. I was pulled to stand beside Zane.
"You want to fight me boy?" Zane sneered. Fang growled as an answer. Zane crouched into a fighting stance. "Bring it on."
I watched, terrified, as Fang lunged forward. He was too upset to think straight, and it was hurting his chances of killing Zane. He was following the blind fury that consumed his mind. He wasn't able to follow his instincts and back off when he should. He just kept coming forward, despite the slashes Zane put on his arms, his legs, his chest, his face. Zane probably sharpened his claws for this exact reason.
"Fang! Use your head!" I screamed. He was clearly losing. Either Fang didn't hear me, or he wasn't able to turn back from the anger that flooded through his body.
Zane grabbed Fang in a headlock, his muscled arms tightening around Fangs' neck. Fang squirmed, trying to slip out of Zanes' grip. Zane constricted his arm, pulling Fang down as he sat on the ground. It was as if they were two little boys fighting over a toy. And Zane was the bigger, stronger boy. Fang lay helpless on the ground. He lashed out at Zane every chance he got, but either his fists never connected with Zane, or when they did, they didn't faze him.
"Any last words?" Zane asked Fang dramatically. It was as if those words drained all of Fangs' anger. He stopped fighting and looked up at where I stood, horrified at what was unfolding before me.
"I love you Max," Fang said, his voice hoarse and husky. "Always and forever Maximum Ride." I nodded, tears still sliding down my cheeks.
"I love you Fang," I replied, my own voice thick from crying. "Always and forever."
Fang managed a smile before Zane began to tighten his grip on Fangs' neck. I cried for him to stop, my eyes locked on Fangs', but Zane ignored me. The last thing Fang saw was my face. And then it was over. His body went limp in Zanes' grip. I screamed, any composure I'd had gone. The Erasers released me at a look from Zane. He must have thought I would go straight for him, but even in my complete fury, I wasn't stupid.
Turning, I took out two of the Erasers who had held me before any of them moved. Lashing out, I killed the one who had had his hand around my throat in one swift movement. The other Erasers rushed at me. But not Zane. He stayed beside Fangs' body while I demolished his team. When the last one was dead on the ground, I turned to Zane.
"I told you I was going to kill you," I said menacingly. The fear was gone from my voice. Now, I oozed strength and confidence. His smile slipped from his face.
"You can't touch me Maximum," he said confidently. I stopped and looked at him, confused. He seemed to grow nervous under my stare. "I look like your brother. You wouldn't kill you own brother, would you?" I smiled an evil smile that made Zanes' eyes go wide.
"You were obviously not told a very vital piece of information," I said, taking a step towards him. He back away from Fang.
"What information would that be?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly. I was amazed that he was so afraid of me now.
"I killed Ari," I said wickedly. His jaw dropped with a soft but audible pop.
"No, he expired," Zane said, suddenly sure of himself.
"The second time, sure," I said with a nonchalant shrug. "But the first time? That was all me." I didn't say anything more, and Zane didn't get the chance to. I leapt at him so fast that he didn't even see me coming. Taking his head in my hands, I snapped his neck, watching the life leave his awe-struck eyes. Disgusted, I dropped him, turning my back as his body fell to the ground with a thud.
My eyes were on Fangs' body as I stood, my back ramrod straight. He lay on the ground a few feet away where Zane had left him. I knelt carefully beside him. Taking his head in my lap, I cried over my right-hand man, my best friend, my love.
A/N: I know, I know, you all hate me right now. Just trust me, it gets better and it'll make more sense later on. If you have questions about what the hell just happened, inbox me or whatever and I'll try my very hardest to get back to you. That goes for any chapter, not just this one. You know the drill, R & R people!
