Hey everyone. I'm back with another update. Man, I can't believe that I'm almost finished with this story. It's kinda sad really. Oh well. All good things must come to an end. I think I said this in 'With Wings Wide Open'. Well, it's still true. Anyway, read 'NeoFlock' by Talon666 and 'Dark Blue' and 'Maximum Ride: Wings vs. Wands' by Madeline Cullen. All right, let's get this show on the road.
I was a bundle of nerves during the flight to the Texas School. (Mike was following below in his car.) That dream I'd had gave me a lot to think about. What was going to go down? What was going to happen?
My stomach was killing me. It always happened when I was nervous. I'd get that bubbling feeling that made me feel like I had to puke. Then I'd have trouble breathing. I hated it. It was annoying and inconvenient. But, I was just going to have to deal with it.
We were about a mile away from the School, when Skye glided up to me, his gorgeous wings brushing against mine.
"You okay?" he asked me quietly. His face looked calm, but I knew that inside he was feeling the same way I was.
I sighed heavily, not looking into his eyes. "Uh... yeah. I'm fine. Totally fine. No worries here." I gave a nervous laugh. Okay, so I was so worried. Real worried. I was also having trouble hiding my feelings which was not normal for me.
Skye rolled his eyes. "Okay, even if it wasn't obvious that something was wrong with you because of what you just said, I'd know you were lying." He nudged me. "So, what's up?"
I knew I should tell him the truth. Or, at least most of it. Maybe that would make me feel better. "I'm just scared." I admitted loud enough so that Skye could hear me and soft enough so that Jewel and Cory couldn't.
He reached for my hand. "I know. I'm scared too. What if everything goes wrong? What if I lose you?" he asked me, sadness darkening his features. "But, that's life. No one ever knows what's going to happen. A person could be getting the mail out of their mailbox and then get hit by a car. You just gotta take whatever life happens to throw at you."
I nodded, feeling a little better. Skye was right, as usual. I didn't know what I would ever do without him. Probably freak out and scream like the scared little girl I really was.
Soon, the School was in sight and we headed down towards Earth. The closer we got to the ground, the more I wanted to shoot back up into the sky and fly away. However, I knew I couldn't. I had to suck it up.
Once we touched down on the ground, I immediately took charge. "Okay." I said as Mike climbed out of his car. "We all know what we have to do. Stop Tanner at all costs." I took in a huge breath. "And now, I have something to tell you all." They needed to know that I had no idea what I was doing.
"What is it?" Jewel asked, tucking her hair behind her ears. She need another haircut soon.
"I have no clue what I'm doing." I admitted. "I have no plan."
Cory grinned. "Yeah, I figured as much. You tend to just barrel into things and see how it goes." he chuckled. "Something I've always admired about you because, mostly, it seems to work out for you."
Skye nodded in agreement. "Hate to admit it, but he's right. I mean, look at the stupid 'plan' you came up with to rescue me from Tanner. Didn't go at all the way you planned, but it somehow still worked."
"Done!" Mike yelled randomly. When we all looked at him weird he sighed and said, "I just disabled all of the locks and the alarms. You can go bust in there now."
"And what will you be doing?" I asked, hands on my hips.
"I'd like to help you further, but I can't do squat." he said. "But, if you need me, send me a signal and I'll get the FBI or something."
"What kind of a signal?" I asked, frowning. I could scream or something, but I didn't think he'd hear me.
Jewel's green eyes shone bright. "I know." she said, excitedly. "I'll levitate one of my feathers your way."
"Brilliant." Skye said, smiling proudly. He then turned to me. "So, you ready to go and kick some butt?"
I smiled and held out my fist. Cory, knowing what I was doing, stacked his fist on top of mine. Jewel and Skye quickly followed suit. This was a Flock ritual that I'd learned and had shown Cory when we were kids.
"Let's do this thing!" I shouted at my friends who cheered in response, making my heart swell up with happiness. I'd almost forgotten that Cory might betray me. Almost.
With that, we headed to the front door s an waltzed right in, like we owned the place. I felt fear deep in my soul, but I didn't act on it. I couldn't act on it. If I did, the world would be in terrible danger.
"It's totally deserted." Jewel whispered as we walked through the empty, dark halls. "What if they aren't here anymore?"
Somehow, I knew they were there. But, I answered Jewel's question anyway. "Then, we hunt them down and kick their butts."
"Now, Melody, why would you need to hunt us down?" I whipped around to see Tanner, Willow, and Flint lurking in the shadows. "We're right here. So, go ahead. Kick our butts."
"With pleasure." I snarled, lunging at him. I never actually laid a hand on him. He managed to knock me down and then grab me by my arms.
"You're weak." he whispered in my ear. He grabbed the back of my head and made me watch as Flint broke Jewel's leg. When I cringed at the sickening crunch, he laughed. "Now, what're you going to do about that Melody?"
I screamed and tried to twist out of his grip, but I couldn't. He had me exactly where he wanted me. Jewel was hurt and I couldn't do anything about it. It was just like the firefly in my dream had warned.
"Let go of her!" Skye screamed, running at us. He collided with Tanner, making him break his hold on me.
I fell to the ground, hitting my head pretty hard on the floor. Cory rushed to my side. "It's okay, Mel." he whispered. "Skye's not gotta let him hurt you."
"Oh, please." Willow scoffed, walking towards us. "You know that you hate him. He's taken the girl you love." she said, trying to get him worked up. "Why don't you let him get hurt? Why don't you let him get killed?"
Cory looked up into her eyes. For a minute, I thought he was going to scream at her or attack her or something. Instead, he whispered, "Because I don't love her that way and he makes her happy."
Willow stared down at the two of us for a moment. She was frozen, her mouth slightly open. She looked... sad and confused.
"Willow!" Tanner yelled from behind her. He had Skye pinned down on the ground. "Help our... friends up. We're going on a little trip."
Flint grunted and nodded down towards Jewel who was crying her eyes out on the ground, clutching her leg.
Tanner grinned evilly. "You can take her down to the dungeon. She won't be going anywhere with that broken leg."
"What makes you think that we'll come quietly?" Cory asked, glaring at Tanner. "Willow can't take both me and Mel while you've got Skye and Flint's got Jewel."
Tanner chuckled, pulling a gun out of his pocket and pressing it to Skye's head. Flint did the same to Jewel. "That's why." Tanner said, knowing he had us trapped. "Now, what do you say?"
I sighed, standing up. Cory slowly did the same. "Fine." I grumbled. "You win, Tanner. But, this isn't over."
He laughed again. "Oh, I know, Melody. This is just getting started." He jerked Skye up and still had the gun pressed to his head. "Follow me."
Flint headed in the opposite direction, literally dragging Jewel. Willow followed closely behind me and Cory with her own gun trained on our backs.
They led us outside into the training yard which was filled with experiments. Tanner pushed Skye into the crowd and then Willow did the same to me and Cory.
"This is Melody Smith and her friends, Cory and Skye." Tanner announced. "They want to save the regular humans. The same people who would lock you up and do tests on you if they knew you existed. Just like the whitecoats we chased out of here." He chuckled. "Give them a warm welcome." With that, he left, Willow trailing behind him.
All the experiments, bloody and bruised, circled around us. They looked ready to kill. Tanner had obviously brainwashed them. There were little kids, no older than seven, who looked ready to rip my throat out.
"What now?" Skye asked me, sounding a little scared.
We couldn't take all of them. I knew that. "We go down fighting." I said with a heavy heart. This was where it was all going to end.
Cory took in a deep breath as the circle of enraged experiments closed in on us. "It's been a pleasure fighting with you, Mel."
Suddenly, from high above, I heard a shout. "Hold on, Melody!" I looked up to see Gazzy and Angel flying towards us with several more black specks behind them. "The cavalry is coming!" With that, he threw something at us.
"Hit the dirt!" I yelled, knowing it was a bomb. A bomb that was probably ready to explode.
Brilliant thinking, Gazzy. I thought sarcastically as Skye, Cory, and I dove for the ground.
Ooh. What's next? You'll find out soon. I probably won't be having that much homework this week, so I may be able to post a few more chapters this week. We'll see.
