The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 39
By MyNameIsCAL
---Fang's POV---
Happy New Years. I guess. I was asleep on the couch when the doorbell rang. Who the hell would be ringing a doorbell at three in the morning? I felt around for my crutches and made my way to the door.
Without thinking, I opened the door. I didn't even check to see who it was, and in another place and time, that would have been bad on my part, but standing on the doorstep was a boy with messy blond hair. He looked up at me, shocked.
"Fang. Holy crap!"
I blinked a few times. No, it couldn't be. "Gazzy?"
Max appeared next to me. "Hey, what's going…Oh my God, Gazzy!"
I expected Gazzy to jump for joy, but he walked in and closed the door. "Where have you been?"
And that's when it hit me. Gazzy was extremely pissed off at us. Especially Max. Seeing the two of us together didn't exactly send off the right idea.
---Max's POV---
We managed to get Gazzy into the kitchen before he started screaming at us.
"How long have you been here!" Gazzy pointed at us. "Why didn't you come after us?!"
He moved towards Fang.
"I swear, we've only been here for a week," Fang said, trying to move backwards.
"No, you're lying to me! You abandoned me and Angel and Nudge! What happened to Iggy? Did you abandon him too? ANSWER ME!" Gazzy unfurled his wings and lunged at Fang.
They went flying through the kitchen table. Fang didn't even try to fight back. He just took it. Then I realized it wasn't because he wasn't trying, it was because he couldn't.
"Max!" He wheezed as Gazzy pushed him against the wall.
The beeping. Oh shit.
"Gazzy!" I shouted. "Gazzy you're going to kill him!"
"GAZZY!"
Iggy entered the kitchen. There was silence except for the beeping. Gazzy stopped throwing punches at Fang. I ran over to Fang, kneeling down next to him.
"Breathe, you're gonna be fine," I said.
He closed his eyes, taking deep breaths. His heart rate monitor read 195. It started to drop slowly. 190…..193….190. Fang was sweating. I wiped his forehead.
"Iggy…" Gazzy backed away and sat down on one of the chairs. There was wood everywhere from the table that Gazzy had smashed Fang into. Everyone was downstairs now.
"We tried, you know," Iggy said softly. "I went all over the place, but you know, it didn't work so well for me. You think we gave up that quickly, Gazzy? All of us looked for each other, but we were all in separate places."
Fang grasped me by the arm and pulled me into sitting position next to him. I felt him lean against me, his hand planted on his chest. The monitor was still beeping, but it was down to 185 now.
"Sorry," Fang muttered. I shook my head and listened to Iggy.
"Fang isn't even in the condition to fly anymore," Iggy continued. "Jesus, Gazzy. This wasn't easy for any of us."
Gazzy looked ashamed. Poor kid.
---Fang's POV---
We listened to Gazzy tell his story. Now that I looked at him more closely, he looked older. You could see he was exhausted. I wonder how long it had been since he had a decent meal. Even I had to feel bad for him. There was no longer a table to sit around, so they pulled the chairs around Max and me. Ted sat on the floor on my other side, Cal next to him. Everyone else sat in a chair.
"You alright?" Ted asked me as he handed Max a damp cloth. She began to wipe the blood from a couple of cuts I had.
At least the beeping had stopped finally. I nodded in response.
"Where was the last place you communicated with Angel?" Iggy asked.
"Some warehouse in California. But they move all the time," Gazzy said, sounding defeated.
I felt Max take my hand. It was almost 5am now. My chest still hurt. My entire body was sore now. Surprisingly, nothing felt broken. Gazzy could have killed me and when I thought about it, that scared the shit out of me. He didn't understand what he had done, but later, he would.
"I think that's enough for now," Mom interjected after a while. "All of you need to get rest."
Max and Ted helped me up. Gazzy stared at the floor as we passed, refusing to make eye contact with me. By the time we reached my room, I think Ted and Max were carrying my full weight. My legs wouldn't cooperate.
"Sleep, for once, you idiot," Ted joked as they helped me onto the bed.
"Alright," I answered, giving him a half smile.
He closed the door as he left. Max put her hand to my forehead.
"You're burning up," she frowned.
"I'll be fine in the morning," I insisted. "Will you just get in bed already? It'll make me feel better that you're sleeping too."
She sighed and got into bed next to me. I win this time because Max fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
---Gazzy's POV---
I felt better now that I had told my story, and I'll admit, after almost killing Fang. Either he had gone soft or there was something I was missing. I didn't get to hear their stories yet. I was still mad at Max. Either way, she had chosen Fang over the rest of us.
Dr. Martinez had given me a few blankets and a pillow for the couch. I lay in the dark, staring at the ceiling. When was the last time I actually had a decent place to sleep? Too long ago. Yet I couldn't enjoy any of this knowing that Angel and Nudge were out there somewhere, locked in cages.
But like always, sleep claimed me because even my thoughts wouldn't be enough to keep me awake forever.
