"But why?" Nudge protested, "Why do we have to leave Max? I like it here
"Me too" Gazzy scowled, "The beach is awesome, I like the sand dunes."
"I agree" Total chipped in "What's not to like? The food is great, the walks are great, no need to leave, not just yet."
Akila whined, Total turned round and reached up, she reached down and he licked her nose.
"Akila agrees with me" he said.
"You would say that" Max responded
"She does" dogs couldn't scowl or Total would have.
Max was exasperated, she looked at the four of them, sitting behind them on the grass Dylan shrugged.
-Back me up Dyl- she thought silently. Was it possible to be too easy going?
At that moment Fang and Iggy returned landing neatly on the lawn a few feet away.
"Hey" Fang folded in his wings "What gives?"
"Max wants us to leave" said Nudge
"Like really soon" added Gazzy.
Fang nodded, walked to where they were,
"Okay, sounds like a plan"
"Nooo!" wailed Nudge "I don't want to leave! And your mom will be upset" she said persuasively to Max.
"Over here Ig" Fang glanced back to where Iggy still stood. Iggy turned towards Fang's voice and took a few steps towards him. Fang took his hand and pulled him down to sit beside him.
Iggy sat, wings in tight and kept hold of Fang's hand. It had taken almost no time for Fang and Iggy to become a couple. The flock had simply shifted round them and got used to it.
"I agree with Max" said Iggy oblivious to Nudge's scowl in his direction
"We've had a good time and helped the scientists, but we shouldn't push it you know."
"Thanks Ig" Max was relieved. If Fang and Iggy were on board and Dylan wouldn't argue, that carried the vote.
Although she was the leader, she led by consent, always had. She needed the flock to follow her because they wanted to.
Max understood what Nudge and Gazzy wanted. It was a great house, a nice place, everything was well- like a holiday. But no holiday lasted forever. If they stayed too long they might lose their edge and get complacent. And in their case that could be very bad indeed.
Fang and Iggy were older, and more experienced. They got it.
"Where will we go?" asked Iggy
"We need some time on our own" said Max. She was sure it was the right thing to do. The flock weren't like regular people, as much as Nudge liked to pretend they were. They needed space and time to themselves. A place where they could literally spread their wings without fear of being seen.
When Dr Martinez returned from her shopping trip with Angel and Max told her, she nodded, eyes suspiciously bright.
"Of course you must go"
"We'll see you real soon" Max assured her "I'll call loads"
"Come and see your sister" Dr Martinez said "Will I take Total and Akila?"
"Yeah, we'll come with you" Total scratched at his ear, trying to ignore the way Angel's face fell. He wouldn't leave Akila and she couldn't fly off into the wilds.
"Like Max's mom says, we'll see you in no time"
He padded over to Angel and laid his furry black head in her lap.
"Time will fly past, don't worry"
"I know" Angel stroked his ears, she was the most stoical six year old anywhere.
"Have a great time with Max's mom"
"Always do" he grinned his doggy grin at her.
"Before you go though" said Max's mom brightly "Let's all go and do something together"
"A family thing" agreed Max
They decided on a beach picnic way up the coast where they could swim unseen in the sea if they wanted.
"We'll go tomorrow" said Max "Make a day of it"
"I'll cook" offered Iggy "I'll miss that stove!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Later they walked with Dr Martinez, Max and Dylan for a meal. A more grown up affair, they younger kids were happy to stay back with pizza watching movies.
Max and Dylan strolled ahead with Dr Martinez, Fang and Iggy walked a little bit behind.
Fang glanced at Iggy, he was being unusually quiet for Iggy.
"What's up?" he asked
Iggy was walking alongside him checking around and about with his white cane, occasionally tapping the sidewalk, feeling for the edges of buildings. It was important to him to be independent so Fang hadn't offered to help him, and wouldn't unless he asked. Iggy still didn't answer
"Ig?" Fang said again
"Uh yeah?" Iggy suddenly realised he was being spoken to.
"Is everything okay Ig?" Fang asked again.
Iggy shook his head,
"Don't know Fang. I think someone might be following us."
Fang glanced round covertly, there were people but nothing odd. A few couples, little family groups. No one who looked like a mad scientist or genetically enhanced assassin. Generally it was actually possible to tell. But then Iggy may be right.
"What makes you say so?" he asked.
Iggy tilted his head, still keeping up an even pace.
"Footsteps" he said quietly, "The same ones since not long after we left the house."
"What kind?"
"A man I think, but not a big one. They sound just normal you know, not Eraserish or anything."
A man walking on his own? Fang glanced casually round again. There were no men on their own.
"Don't see anyone to fit the bill" he muttered quietly
"But he's there" insisted Iggy "I can hear him Fang. About a hundred yards behind. Maybe less."
"Definitely no one" Fang assured him
"I know what I hear!" came Iggy's response.
Their muttered argument was brought to an end as they reached the restaurant. Neither of them wanted to spoil Max's last night with her mom so they let it go. The meal was great, loads of really good food, Max's mom was paying and so they stuffed themselves.
"I love Mexican food" Dylan sat back with a satisfied sigh
"Well how about…"Max began
"Ssssh!" said Iggy cutting across her." Don't talk about where we're going."
"What?" Max frowned "I was just going to say…"
"Shut up!" Iggy hissed fiercely
"Iggy, what is it?" asked Max alarmed
Iggy lifted his head higher, staring over their heads his eyes moving restlessly back and forth as if trying to see for himself.
"Iggy thought he heard someone before" said Fang in a low voice.
"Following us?" queried Max
Iggy nodded
"He's still here" he muttered quietly "I couldn't feel him or hear him when we first came in, but now I can again."
"Where?" Max breathed.
"Over by the door"
The four of them took turns to cautiously look round.
"No one is by the door Ig" said Max
Iggy scowled round the table at them all
"There is someone" he said stubbornly " I can feel him!"
"Okay Ig" Max wasn't going to argue. Whatever Iggy felt it was real enough to him.
"Anyway, we've pretty much done with our meal. Shall we go?"
"Yeah!" Iggy was on his feet in an instant.
Outside, Fang went to take his arm.
"I'm good" Iggy shook him off and set off the way they had come, tapping his cane about furiously.
"Ig are you mad at me?" Fang caught him up
"You don't believe me" said Iggy crossly
"I don't not believe you" ventured Fang
"That's not the same as believing me" countered Iggy.
He walked faster
"Slow down" Fang said "Ig, you'll walk into something!"
In response Iggy just swung his cane in a wider arc. The others had fallen behind on purpose. Fang had to practically trot to keep up with Iggy.
"I always believe you when you tell me what you can see" said Iggy "So why won't you believe me when I tell you what I can hear?"
"Iggy you're blind it's not the same. You don't really have a choice about believing what people tell you they can see. You don't have a different opinion about it. Anyway- you don't believe everything. You didn't believe us when we told you there was no one by that door."
Iggy slowed down a little but still didn't take Fang's arm.
"I did notice that I'm blind" he said snipely.
"But being blind has one huge advantage" he continued "I can hear loads better than you, and I heard something Fang. I did!" He seemed like he might cry with frustration.
"Okay Ig" Fang admitted "I believe you. I just don't understand what happened back there. But that doesn't mean nothing did." He took Iggy's arm and drew him to a halt.
"Hey, weird unexplained stuff happening to the flock? Why is that so hard to believe?"
Fang smiled at him. Iggy smiled back.
The last day on the beach was as perfect a day as they could have wished for. Gazzy, Angel, and the dogs spent all day running in and out of the sea. Nudge and Dr Martinez chatted about schools and fashion. Dr Martinez promised to take her and Ella shopping for vintage clothes next time they were all together. Actually Dr Martinez was more of a jeans and T-shirt person like Max, but seeing Nudge's face light up, she wouldn't mention it for the world.
Max and Dylan topped up their already perfect tans. Dylan's blonde hair was more sun-streaked than ever. Even his dark brown wings were gilt edged in the sun.
Fang and Iggy went for a walk. Iggy was a lot more relaxed today, happy to hold Fang's hand and wander along the sand. Just once he turned his head back towards the high edge of the beach.
"What?" Fang asked
"Nothing- I thought I felt…It's nothing" Iggy replied.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
They flew high and fast out of San Diego that evening under the cover of the darkening sky. They flew East, Max leading the way, the others fanned out behind her in a V. Now that Dylan had joined the flock he was usually just behind Max, his excellent vision making him perfect for the vanguard position. Fang had taken to flying at the back to keep an eye on the younger kids.
Iggy dropped back to fly alongside him. Fang looked across at him. Iggy flew steadily his wings were even bigger than Dylan's but gave him more manoeuvrability and flexibility than anyone. His wings were perfect.
"Do you know where we're going?" Iggy asked raising his voice against the wind
"The desert I think" Fang replied "Texas maybe?"
Max had not said. Iggy nodded and flew easily onwards.
"I'd like to go to Texas again"
Fang flew close enough to him to brush his wing tips against Iggy's. Iggy felt him there and smiled
"We can do our own thing" he said satisfied
"No footsteps" said Fang
"Just birds kids" agreed Iggy.
Max landed them in the pitch black of the New Mexico Arizona border.
"Not Texas?" queried Iggy, he walked a few steps on landing and listened to his echo location.
"Too many hills" he said "For Texas."
Fang shrugged, moved alongside.
"It's pretty remote though."
Max and Dylan were up ahead talking in low voices. Gazzy and Nudge were yawning widely. Angel just sat down at the side of the empty highway, too tired to even protest.
"Max we need to find somewhere to rest up" said Fang
"We can find a place tomorrow" Max headed down the road." Let's just crash tonight"
"It's cold Max" Nudge complained "I don't want to sleep on rocks."
Iggy spread his wings again, pale in the dark night. He took off from a standstill, none of the others could do that. He circled above them in tight little turns before landing again on the road.
"There's a cave" he said with certainty "Up there" he gestured to the sloping mountainside.
"Okay, let's go" Max said
The flock took off again, Iggy in the lead. He took them to the entrance of a large cave set well back into the mountain.
"It goes a long way back" he said, "Stay near the front."
The younger kids needed no encouragement, within minutes they lay in a crumpled heap in the soft sand of the floor.
Fang and Iggy sat at the front of the cave on a ledge, down below the mountain road dipped away towards Arizona. Not a single car headlight was anywhere on the road. It was an almost moonless night, just a tiny sliver showing high in the sky. It made the great whirlpools of stars above their heads even more brilliant.
"Do you remember stars Iggy?" asked Fang
Iggy shook his head
"You're forgetting Fang. We didn't get out into the world until after they did it to me."
"Yeah right" Fang reached over and took his hand.
Iggy tipped his head back obligingly "Stars right?"
"Millions of them" Fang told him.
Somewhere way off a coyote howled, a single mournful wail into the night. Nearer to them a night bird screeched.
"Owl" said Iggy with conviction. "This place is really remote" he added." I don't hear planes, cars, anything"
"I can't see any town lights" Fang said
"I like it" Iggy responded." It feels – big"
He stood up, spread his wings. "Want to fly?"
"Yeah" Fang launched himself off the ledge and deliberately let himself drop straight down and waited until the last possible second before sweeping his wings down to give him lift. It felt great, his wing muscles tensing against the cool night air.
The atmosphere was dry and dust scented. Iggy circling above Fang breathed deeply. He listened for the bounce of sound that would tell him where obstacles were. There was nothing, the sound stretched on and on across the open desert below. Iggy raced forward at speed, Fang following. Flying for fun was the greatest experience in the world.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
For the next two days the flock explored the mountains, the desert, and the cave, discovering it's secrets. At the very back of the cave the rocks came close together but didn't meet, creating a fissure that went deep into the mountain.
"I can't hear where it ends" Iggy told them as they all clustered at the back.
"I think it may go right into the mountain."
"Cool" said Gazzy "This place is awesome."
He had found the bones of something ancient tucked into a corner of the cave. None of the bird kids knew anything much about stuff like that, but it was big, a bear or a lion or something. Dylan had pulled one of the teeth from the skull, and with a leather friendship bracelet begged from Nudge, had fashioned a tooth necklace for Gazzy. He wore it proudly round is neck.
"You wouldn't have found that in San Diego" observed Max.
Gazzy just grinned at her.
Max was relieved and pleased that the flock were happy here. Seeing them fly in crazy loops over the desert, or scrambling up the mountainside, they seemed at home. Much more than in crowded San Diego. Once a single truck passed by on the mountain road, they hid from view until it went. It was almost a surprise to be reminded of the world beyond this little bit of desert.
There was just one problem.
"We're almost out of food" Max spread out the remains of the things they had packed from San Diego. Just a few tins and some cookies that were getting stale.
"I guess we could catch jack rabbits or something" she suggested.
Dylan pulled a face. "Or we could find a town with a mini-mart" he suggested
"I'm with Dyl" said Fang "We don't have to hunt Max, I bet there's a town near enough to here."
"I want some more Oreo cookies" said Angel. She was covered in dust, her little cheeks flushed and dirt smeared. "And we can't hunt those."
Max could see that she was going to have to insist on a mass flock shower as soon as possible. Actually she didn't want jack rabbit either.
"Okay" she said "Fang, Dylan, do you want to look for a town that way?" She gestured East. "I'll head back West, I know we passed some places on the way here. Iggy you're in charge while we're gone."
"Sure" Iggy nodded
Gazzy huffed, so did Nudge.
"He's not that much older than me" she muttered under her breath.
Iggy heard and grinned in her direction.
"Old enough" he said.
Nudge scowled at him
"I'm scowling at you Iggy" she told him.
"Sure Okay" replied Iggy amiably.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Iggy was waiting outside the cave, the others had been gone much longer than he would have thought. He felt the hands of his watch, three hours, he didn't want to worry the others but it seemed too long to him. He listened carefully in all directions but could only hear the usual desert sounds, no steady beat of huge bird kid wings.
He tried to keep the others occupied, setting Gazzy and Angel to tidying the cave, and sending Nudge down to the tiny rivulet of water they had found in a narrow valley to fill all the water bottles.
At last Iggy heard what he was waiting for, rapid wing beats coming from the right. Dylan, but why was he flying so fast? And where was Fang? His heart began to race, something must be wrong.
Dylan landed heavily near him, out of breath, his anxiety evident.
"Where's Fang?" Iggy turned his face towards him.
"Ig" said Dylan brokenly "He's –gone. I don't know where."
"What do you mean gone?" Iggy practically shouted.
The other kids came running. Dylan flopped down on a convenient rock and they all clustered around him.
"We flew East like Max said" Dylan explained miserably. "The road forked so we decided to split up, see who found a town first. We agreed to meet back in an hour. I was there but Fang – Fang never showed. I went to look for him Ig" he said quickly, seeing the look of panic on Iggy's face.
"I flew back to where Fang had gone. I found a town alright, just a small one. One of those with just one street really. A mini-mart, a gas station, nowhere to get lost or anything."
Dylan took a swig of the water bottle Nudge had handed him. "I couldn't get close Ig, there were people to see me land. And- and I thought maybe I had missed Fang, maybe he was at the meeting point after all, so I came back there."
He stopped again brokenly, "But he wasn't, then I thought maybe he got tired of waiting and came back here…"
"Why didn't you phone him Dylan?" Iggy's world was crashing down.
"I tried" said Dylan. "But it wouldn't get a signal."
Iggy reached into his back pocket pulled out his own phone and punched in Fang's speed dial number, somewhere in the back of the cave his phone rang.
He left his phone!" said Nudge distraught
"He's always doing that! I keep telling him…."began Iggy then stopped mid sentence.
"I keep telling him…" tears began to well up in his sightless eyes.
Nudge hugged him, "Don't cry Iggy, We'll find Fang."
Max returned just minutes later carrying a backpack stuffed with provisions.
"I had to fly miles to find a town" she complained, then looking at their distraught faces,
"What?" she said
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Max did what she was best at, she took charge.
"Dylan, we'll go back to that town and really check it out."
"I'm coming" said Iggy at once
"Ig" Max paused she looked at his tear streaked face, his eyes drifted across her face before settling on a point way above her head staring up into the bright sky at nothing.
"Ig" she said gently, "You can't help us look for him"
"I can- I can listen for him" he swallowed hard, "I can help Max!"
Max took his hand, squeezed hard,
"Iggy, you know you can't, not this time."
Iggy hung his head, "I know" he said quietly his tears falling fresh. He swiped angrily at them.
"Wait here, we'll be back as soon as we can" Max assured him. "Nudge, look after things for now."
Nudge nodded, her eyes huge, looking over at Iggy's dejected figure she now wished that he was still in charge after all.
"It's going to be dark soon" said Gazzy anxiously coming to stand next to Iggy on the ledge. Iggy had not moved all afternoon, not even when Nudge had cooked some supper for them all. Mostly burnt sausages on the little open fire, Nudge was no cook.
Iggy turned his head towards Gazzy, he wanted to reassure him but the pain in his chest made it hard to speak. His tears were all dried up, his eyes felt gritty and itchy. He closed them, it made no difference to him anyway he thought miserably. For the first time in ages the limitations of his blindness upset him, he couldn't go look for Fang, he couldn't help Max.
None of the phones were working. Iggy's was now out of charge. Nudge's wasn't but Max's phone just rang and rang then went to answer phone. Dylan's didn't have a signal out here so he had taken Fang's, and now that just went to answer phone as well.
He could hear Nudge chatting brightly to Angel, even though he could hear unshed tears in her voice. She was trying to stop Angel crying, trying to be a grown up. She was only twelve.
"Angel, Nudge" Iggy called back into the cave "Come out here and help me look for Max coming back". They were just kids, he needed to be in charge no matter how he felt.
The four of them faced out across the darkening desert, the sun sank rapidly and the temperature began to drop as quickly. The sky flared orange.
"I see Dylan!" Gazzy said suddenly, gesturing to a tiny speck in the orange sky.
Iggy strained to hear but he was too far away. It was another minute before he could hear him coming, more rapid wing beats, and this time no Max.
"What happened?" Iggy dragged Dylan inside the cave.
Dylan was sobbing uncontrollably now he had landed.
"Ig- something got her!" he managed. "I bet it got Fang too!"
Angel burst into tears as well. Max was like a mom to her.
"Nudge, get Dylan a drink" Iggy was suddenly back in charge. Dylan was coughing hard, he waited while Dylan gulped down some water.
"Now start at the beginning" he said.
We went to that town" Dylan said "This time we landed way outside so that we could walk in" He stopped swigged some more water
"It was weird, there was no one about, the stores were shut, which was too early." He frowned
"Max went first, but I was right behind her, I was Ig!" As if Iggy wouldn't believe him. He was already looking to Iggy to take control. For all his good looks, his incredible fighting skills, Dylan was still only a few years old. He was younger than Angel in an almost adult body which it was sometimes easy to forget .He couldn't be in charge.
"I'm sure you were" Iggy reassured him. "So what happened then Dyl?"
"We thought we heard something, there was like an alleyway between two buildings. Max went to look, then-" Dylan paused, "She like, fell over, and something began to drag her away."
"Max fell over?" queried Iggy. It didn't seem likely, not without a fight, and Max was an excellent fighter.
"And then something grabbed me" Dylan continued, "When I went to help Max, I don't know what it was, I couldn't see it."
"It was behind you?" asked Iggy puzzled, "Didn't you even get a quick look?"
"No I mean I couldn't see it Ig – there was nothing to see" Dylan replied "I managed to kick it away, and I had to get away. I ran and then I flew – I-I left her, I left Max!" he was crying again.
Iggy reached out a hand and found Dylan's shoulder
"Listen" he said firmly. "I don't think you could have helped Max, not then. You did the right thing Dylan. We have to think this through."
Iggy sat long into the night, going over events in his head. The others had at last fallen into an exhausted sleep. Iggy couldn't sleep, he checked his watch, five in the morning, was it getting light? He didn't know. These things didn't usually matter to him, but now all the decisions were his, and he needed to make plans, and he couldn't do anything until daylight. He went to the ledge outside of the cave and tilted his head up, it was cold still, and if the sun was up there was no warmth in it. He couldn't tell.
Eventually the others stirred, a quiet deflated little group of bedraggled bird kids. They sat and ate in silence.
"I'm not hungry" Angel said, for her not to be hungry was like saying she wasn't breathing. They were always hungry. But Iggy insisted.
"I'll need you later Angel" he said "And I'll need you strong. You want to help Max and Fang?"
"Of course!"
"Then eat" Iggy said.
Angel choked down some cold beans and more burnt sausage. Nudge had cooked again.
Iggy called Nudge over to the ledge, the others were still inside.
"What is it?" Nudge whispered to him fearfully.
"I'm going to tell you all my plan in a bit, but before I do I want you to promise me something."
"Uh huh" Nudge nodded "What promise Iggy?"
"Dylan and me are going back to that town."
"Iggy, no!" Nudge gasped before he was finished. "What if you get caught too! What if you don't come back?!"
"If I don't come back, you take Gazzy and Angel to Dr Martinez" he said. "That's the promise Nudge. Will you do it?"
Nudge was sniffing.
"Nudge, promise!" Iggy reached out and pulled her close for a hug. "Keep them safe and keep yourself safe" he said stroking her hair. Without even trying he could feel how it was as black as Fang's hair.
"But I don't know the way!" she said muffled against his chest
"Yes you do Nudge, you've flown it before."
"I always followed Max!"
"Now you need to trust yourself" said Iggy firmly, "So promise."
"Yes Iggy, I'll do it" Nudge said.
Iggy gathered what was left of the flock around him. The sun was up at last, Iggy was too wired to be tired even though he had missed a nights sleep.
"I've got a theory he said "And you'll think it's crazy" he added
"Any theory is good" said Dylan
"I've gone over and over it" continued Iggy. "It makes no sense that Fang or Max would get captured without a fight. And we know that Max at least had no chance to fight. So why?" Why would someone as strong as Max – fall over- without a fight?"
"Drugs?" guessed Nudge
Iggy nodded "yeah, I think so too- but- and here's the thing. How could someone get close enough to drug her?"
"A dart like those poison frogs?" Gazzy suggested
"Maybe, but I don't think so" replied Iggy
He turned towards Dylan
"Dyl do you remember in that restaurant in San Diego, I argued with you all because I said I could hear someone, and you said no one was there?"
"Uh huh" Dylan nodded, "There wasn't Ig, no one."
"Or the other explanation" Iggy said. "Someone was there alright, a someone I could hear but you couldn't see. And when you were attacked Dylan, you said there was nothing to see, because there wasn't." he explained
"But I bet if I'd been there I would have heard something, heard someone"
"Oh!" said Gazzy understanding "Do you think they've like made invisible Erasers or something, to get us?"
"Not Erasers, but something invisible, yes" Iggy nodded
"It makes sense!" Dylan agreed enthusiastically "Max didn't fall over, she was drugged! And something invisible dragged her off."
"Think hard Dylan, did Max ever say to you where we were coming?" asked Iggy
Dylan was silent for a moment, "She did" he admitted quietly. "I was saying that I love Mexican food, you know, when we were walking back from that restaurant. You and Fang were in front…"he trailed off
"We were arguing" said Iggy, "I don't mind admitting it."
"And then Max said to me, first we'd come here, then on to Texas and we could get real Tex Mex food. But we were on our own! Dr Martinez had forgotten her scarf, she ran back for it. Oh-" he stopped. "Someone was listening" he said
Iggy nodded "yeah, we were followed for days. On the beach the next day I thought I felt someone watching us, I thought I was just spooked. But I was right."
"And if someone's been spying on us" said Gazzy
"We've flown right into a trap" finished Iggy.
"Oh" Nudge had begun crying again "How do we even know if Max and Fang are alright?" she sobbed
Iggy didn't really, but he had to believe they were.
"I think they're still near here" he said "They've not finished yet have they? They still need us, whoever took Max and Fang still need the rest of us."
"Iggy" Angel joined in for the first time
"Yeah?" he held out his hand, Angel crept towards him and sat next to him. He put his arm round her
"I know I'm not supposed to read minds, but I thought…"
"It's Ok this time" Iggy reassured her, "So what did you hear or feel?" Iggy wasn't quite sure how it worked
"I thought I felt Fang, just really quickly, then he went"
"If they're drugged they're unconscious so you won't get much" Iggy said, "But it's good that you felt Fang even a little bit. It means they're still near here."
"How are we going to rescue them?" Gazzy asked, he took it for granted that they would be rescued.
Iggy smiled in his direction.
"You're not. Dylan and me will do it."
"Okay" said Dylan at once "But how? Invisible Erasers Ig?"
Iggy sucked in his cheeks thoughtfully
"They're not invisible though, are they?. Not to me."
"Oh" Dylan acknowledged, "I guess not…"
"A flaw in the plans of our enemies" Iggy smiled without humour "I can't see anything anyway. Why would it make a difference to me if things are invisible? I fight by feel and sound anyway, always have. I don't need to see to fight. And I'm going to kick their invisible butts for them!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
It was obvious to Iggy that the whole of the one horse town must have been set up as a decoy just to tempt them in. He vaguely wondered what they did with all the people? Surely they hadn't actually built a whole town in the middle of nowhere? He had to hope that their enemies still believed that the flock were still tempted even though Dylan had gotten away last time.
Iggy had Dylan take him right to the edge of the town
"Stay hidden until I call" he said
"Yeah sure" Dylan sounded anxious, he had barely escaped last time.
"Hold it together Dyl, I can't do this on my own" said Iggy
"You can trust me Ig" said Dylan firmly "You can"
"Okay then" Iggy patted his arm and began to walk away. He heard Dylan take off behind him.
Iggy walked down the street, there were none of the usual sounds of even a little town. No cars, no footsteps of passers by, no doors slamming.
Iggy felt ahead with his cane, his echolocation bounced off of the buildings around him. He knew exactly where he was in the street, and exactly how long it was. He was half way down when he heard the man approaching him. He wasn't even surprised to recognise the footsteps from San Diego. He slowed his pace, he wanted to be caught.
There was something in front of him on the sidewalk, he was pretty sure from the sound that it was a bicycle on it's side. But he made a great show of stopping and checking it out with his cane as if it were a huge surprise to him and he was working out how to go round it.
The footsteps were now just behind him. He waited for the exact moment he needed
"Now Dylan!" he yelled. He span round and aimed low with his cane, it connected with a loud thunk on the man's legs. To his surprise he didn't yell out like he would have expected but his gasp of exhaled breath guided Iggy's fist as he punched him hard in the face.
Iggy had just enough time to fold his cane and ram it in his pocket as Dylan landed next to him.
"Here" he shoved the man's arm at Dylan "I'm holding his arm"
Dylan grabbed where Iggy was holding and felt the limp arm beneath his fingers. There was no time to lose. They grabbed an arm each, and holding the limp body between them, they took off. Iggy ran with Dylan who needed to get up speed to takeoff, luckily the man was not heavy. If anything he seemed pretty skinny. His only defence seemed to be the whole invisibility thing.
They got him back to the cave without mishap, and threw him down roughly on the floor. Gazzy had prepared lengths of rope and Iggy tied the man up, expertly and quickly. He was coming to, making little snuffling noises that even the others could hear.
Now he had him tied up, Iggy gave in to curiosity and felt across the man's chest, up his skinny neck and across his face.
"Oh gross!" he said pulling his hand away quickly
"What?" asked Gazzy. It was weird watching Iggy feel what to the others looked like thin air. Iggy shook his head, pulled a face
"Someone's stitched his mouth up"
"What?" Nudge sounded like she might barf
"To stop him talking" guessed Gazzy
"Don't need him to talk" said Iggy.
He sat the man up, propped against the wall of the cave, he slapped him hard across the cheek.
"Okay bastard, start thinking about Max and Fang. Where'd you put them?" he slapped him again. He wasn't minded to be gentle.
Angel came forward, Iggy felt the man stiffen
"That's right" he said "You think hard"
The man tossed his head around beneath Iggy's fingers. There was a tiny snick of something breaking, the briefest smell of bitter almonds and the man died under his hand.
"Suicide pill" said Iggy disgusted.
"Not in time" Angel said. "I saw something Iggy. They're somewhere dark, made of rock" She frowned, thinking. "I think it might be another cave."
"Can you find it?" asked Iggy
Angel shook her head. "I can't tell where it is exactly, but there was water dripping nearby. And something else…" she paused "There was like radio music or something. Old fashioned music you know."
It wasn't much to go on but it would have to do, and Max and Fang were somewhere nearby. Iggy stood up and sucked on his bruised knuckles.
"Time togo sightseeing again Dyl"
"I want to come" said Gazzy
"No" Iggy was firm. "I can't look after all of you. We don't know how many of these guys there are. I can listen out for Dylan, tell him where to fight, but not all of you at once"
"Oh" Gazzy was crestfallen, but it made sense.
On the way back to the town Dylan and Iggy dropped the dead body into a dry canyon. Dylan watched the dust where the body fell.
"Do you think he was just a man Ig?"
"I do" Iggy flew steadily. "He felt like a man, nothing special about him. Just ordinary."
"But somebody experimented on him, made him invisible" said Dylan
"We know who, and we know why" Iggy replied
Iggy closed his eyes to stop the dust getting in them.
"They'll never stop chasing us, trying to get us back. Not ever"
"And they've got Fang and Max" said Dylan.
"Not for long" said Iggy.
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Dylan showed Iggy where he had last seen Max
"Here, down this alley" he said
It smelt of rotting garbage in the heat but Iggy noticed something else. Far inside the building to the right a tap dripped incessantly, a worn washer.
"We're close" said Iggy.
He headed down the alley. "What's at the end?" he asked. There was no wall or anything to block the sound.
"I don't know" said Dylan. "It just sort of stops, there's boxes and stuff."
"It doesn't stop" said Iggy with conviction. He reached out his hand as he walked until his fingers found the tall pile of wooden crates that Dylan had described. He felt his way round it.
"There's a passage or something" he said.
"Oh" Dylan joined him "There's a tunnel going into the hill"
"These hills are full of caves and tunnels" said Iggy.
He walked inside, it was narrow but passable. He trailed his fingers along the wall as he went. There was a clicking sound from Dylan.
"What are you doing?" he asked
"Torch" Dylan replied
"No torch" said Iggy "We want the element of surprise."
He reached behind and took Dylan's hand. "Follow me."
Once they had turned a corner in the tunnel, the light went. The darkness was like a blanket, Dylan waved his free hand in front of his face, nothing, not even the flicker of movement registered with his brain.
It was a weird feeling, and even weirder to think that Iggy lived his whole life like this. Dylan couldn't imagine what that must be like, having to workout everything just by listening and touching.
Iggy walked steadily on, towing Dylan behind him. He wasn't thinking much about the tunnel, and certainly not about the darkness. The tunnel was easy to follow, it was well used with a level floor and fairly smooth walls. It was straightforward enough to trail his hand along the wall and keep to the middle of the passage. He was more interested in what was in front of them.
He began to pick out a faint tinny sound, it took him a moment to realise what it was, it was, it was so unexpected. It was jazz music being played very quietly on an old fashioned record player. He remembered what Angel had said. He stopped walking, Dylan ran into him and bit back an exclamation of surprise.
"We're really close now" he murmured to Dylan. "I think there's a room or a cave at the end of this passage". They walked a few more steps trying to stay silent.
"I can see a light!" Dylan whispered. Then they heard a voice, not far away at all. It was male with a distinct southern drawl.
"Ain't no one sewing me up an that's the truth. Now you an Col, you diff'rent, aint got my brains see. Boss relies on me so you don do as you're told."
Iggy listened hard, just two of them moving about, he couldn't hear more.
"Just two men, shouldn't be hard Dyl. If you can, when we get in there knock the light out."
It would give Iggy the advantage over the men and the light wouldn't help Dylan anyway.
No time to waste in case more were due back. Iggy and Dylan burst into the room that seemed more of a storage cellar. Before he kicked over the two hurricane lanterns Dylan noticed boxes stacked round the edges.
The first man yelled in surprise, the other didn't. Iggy shuddered at the thought that like dead Col, he was probably "sewed up".
It was the work of a few seconds for Iggy to find the man, punch him hard, and listen to the crack of his skull as he hit the stone floor. Iggy knelt to check for a pulse at his neck, there wasn't one.
The second man was breathing hard through his nose and made little grunting sounds of fear. Clearly they had relied solely on not being seen, neither man appeared to have weapons or be good fighters. Iggy took him out quickly and as silently as he could. He would have preferred not to have killed him, but there was no time to question him, and besides, he was probably equipped with a suicide pill as well.
"Okay Dyl, put the lights back on" he said
"They're bust" said Dylan "There wasn't actually time to turn them off Ig"
"Okay then, be quiet" Iggy replied
Iggy stood in the middle of the room and tilted his head to capture every little sound.
"There" he said satisfied. Shallow breathing to his left.
With Dylan stumbling after him, Iggy moved to where Fang and Max were tied up in a crumpled, drug induced sleep.
Iggy worked at the knotted ropes furiously until they were untied. Neither Fang or Max could be roused, whatever they had been given they were deep under. So Dylan grabbed Fang and flung him over his shoulder and Iggy did the same with Max. Then still in the lead because Dylan had lost his torch in the fight, Iggy led them back through the passage to freedom.
They couldn't fly with the weight of Fang and Max on their backs, so Dylan and Iggy had no choice but to walk the very long walk back to the cave. The others had been keeping a look out, as soon as they could be seen, Angel, Gazzy and Nudge swooped down, and between them all they managed to carry Fang and Max to the cave.
Fang was coming to, muttering in his sleep, thrashing around.
"Sssh Fang, it's okay" Iggy took his hand.
"Iggy?" Fang said blearily "Iggy? Am I dreaming?"
In answer Iggy leant forward and kissed him over and over, his mouth, forehead, cheeks, even his closed eyes.
"You're not dreaming" he said, he was crying, his tears dripping on to Fang's face.
"Wh-what happened? I was at the mini mart then…Ow! My head." Fang tried to sit up. He lay back down.
"I'll tell you in a bit" said Iggy "Just rest Fang" Iggy felt around for a water bottle, found it and handed it to Fang.
"Was-was I taken somewhere?" asked Fang fuzzily "I think I remember something.."
"I got you back" Iggy stroked his cheek, he just wanted to touch Fang. "I got you back Fang" he repeated.
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The flock had retreated to Dr Martinez's house, they wouldn't stay long. Who knew if Dr Martinez was under surveillance, if her house was being watched.
"Don't worry about us" she reassured them. "Ella and I will be on the move soon." She didn't say where, not yet, just in case.
Max had mostly recovered from her kidnapping, but it was still a sobering reminder that they couldn't afford to be complacent. And a new enemy, or at least an old one with a new weapon.
"Invisible people?" she said again. It hardly seemed plausible.
"Just regular people, but invisible?"
Iggy nodded, remembering
"I swear Max, they were just ordinary guys. In fact" he frowned "I think they were like disposable assassins. They were so skinny, and that thing with their mouths…" He trailed off. "They couldn't talk, couldn't eat, I don't know how they drank even. They weren't meant to last you know."
Fang was sitting next to him, he took his hand. Iggy smiled without turning his head. His eyes searched round the room, not concentrating on any one person.
"It gave me the wiggins" he admitted.
Max sucked I her breath. "Until we know what we are dealing with, I don't want anyone taking risks. No solo flights, no trips to the shopping mall."
"Nooo!" wailed Nudge
"When we go out, we go together" continued Max firmly. "And if we don't go together then you only go outside with Iggy. Got it?"
The flock nodded.
"You listen to Iggy, do as he says" Max continued. "Me too" she added
Despite everything Iggy couldn't help smiling, he tried to stifle it. It would be the first time ever that he had permission to tell max what to do.
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