Chap. 31
{:3 I'm soo happy right now, I could sing. Of course, I don't want your ears to bleed, so I won't. Enjoy, please! And comment too! I love hearing your feedback!}
Iggy awoke, his head swimming with jumbled thoughts. What was going on again? Where was he? The last thing he remembered was the feel of Amy's lips on his, and from there he couldn't remember a thing. What happened to him?
Groaning, he sat up, his stiff body protesting the movement. All his joints popped, and he winced when he tilted his head back and forth. Okay, maybe not the greatest idea in the world.
"Yo. What the hell happened to you?" A voice entered his thoughts, and Iggy searched for the speaker. Right. Fang. Damn.
"Eh, what?" He said, scratching his head. The air was chilly. Where the hell was his shirt? What was going on again? His head throbbed, as if there was a midget pounding away with a jackhammer. Ouch.
"Ig. What. Happened? You came in drunk, and passed out on the couch. What were you doing?" Fang's voice sounded pissed, and Iggy could almost feel the waves of stress radiating from him. Why was he so stressed? Geez. Lighten up. Iggy spoke his mind, leaving out a few obscene words he wanted to toss in.
"Don't question me, Ig." A deep breath, with the sound of chair springs letting up. Was Fang leaving? He continued, oblivious ti Iggy's confuzzled face. "I'm stressed right now, all right. Max is missing again. And you showing up home half-dead isn't going to help anything. Where the hell is Gazzy, too? Dammit, I hate being the fucking leader! No wonder why Max left!" With that, Iggy heard the door slam shut, and retreating footsteps leading away from the house. Poor stressed Fang.
He sighed. Fang was right; he wasn't helping at all. And...where was Gazzy? Iggy sighed again. He didn't want to think too much. He didn't need another headache. He lay back down on the couch, again ignoring his body's protests. In less than a minute, he was deep asleep, dreaming of last night's events. A ghost of a smile crossed his lips, before he remembered what had happened. His face flushed, had he really done all of that stuff to her one body area? Jeez, he hadn't known that just one part of his own body could-
Gazzy licked the cream from his finger, and smiled up at another woman. She had felt bad for tripping Gaz, so she took him out for ice cream. At least she knew she was doing a good deed.
Gazzy inwardly beamed. In only one day, he had jacked a car, fell in front of a lady and he had convinced her that she tripped him. Ah, the human guilt always wins over. Chocolate chip cookie dough was a flavor that Gazzy had never heard of, but now it was the only thing that mattered. It was heaven. Especially with extra whip cream!
"Thanks, Miss Williams. This is very generous of you. I really mean it, too." Gaz said, making his voice small and what seemed to be adorable to most women. Miss Williams flushed, and murmured a 'no problem' to him.
Happy, Gaz almost prances away. But, keeping his happiness reigned in, he simply walked down the sidewalk, checking out his surroundings.
It was a dirty city. Messy, closed down shops littered the alleys, and at almost every corner there was a poor run over animal, always half decomposed. Disgusting. Women stood at street corners, looking absurd in thigh-high boots in the summer.
But the city had some high points also. The other side, the Westside, was always busy with traffic. People bustled along the sidewalks, too immersed in their own lives to care about anybody else's. Humans were so selfish. Humans were-
Gazzy stopped himself. Why was he talking like he was an alien? Well, he actually was human, so he had no right to criticize the others.
But Gazzy was better. He knew it.
He sighed, kning he had to head home soon. The Flock would start to worry. Nothing fun ever happened to him anymore. It was always Max and Fang. Why them? Whatever. Gaz brushed the thought away. He changed the subject mentally, and started to ponder how he could possibly make ice cream into some form of weapon. He started home, ready for the monotonous routine of life in the Flock.
"But I don't have any money! How old do you think I am?" Angel almost screeched at the woman. Who the hell did she think she was? Making her pay almost fifty grand just for a clone? Impossible. Does Angel look like she had money?
"Young lady. Don't scream at me." Darla-the D woman-said. She added in a comment that wasn't necessary either, which only added fuel to Angel's growing temper. "Don't make me call Super Nanny. She'll be able to handle you."
"Do not make jokes with me, Darla. I don't have time for this. I need the clone, and I need it now, for the sake of the fucking world!" Angel covered her mouth. Damn, she said fuck! Dammit, she thought fuck. Stop cursing! Her thoughts screamed at her. She rolled her eyes at her inner conscience. The innocent little child needed to learn how to shut the hell up.
Gasp. Damn you, Darla. "Angie! You...you aren't supposed to say bad words like that! Now I'm definitely not going to help you! Get out of my lab. Take your revolting, filthy body and mind out of here. I never want to see you and your disrespectful self again!" Darla turned her back, and resumed her computerwork.
Angel supressed a scream of frustration. If this woman didn't want this to be easy, Angel would make it rough for her. Angel shut her eyes, and focused her mind on Darla. Slowly, she could feel the woman's mind touch hers. She grabbed out, and caught a death grip on it. She plunged deep, searching for the part of the mind that humans had no awareness of. The blank part of the brain, the part that is able to be controlled easily.
Angel found it, and almost squeezed the life out of it. She literally shot her thoughts into that small confined space, forcing Darla to do her will. 'I am your master.' Angel thought. She had no idea where the master part came from. 'You will do as I please. Create for me an exact clone. One with my personality, looks, and humor. When I let you go, you will immediately go and make me an Angel. Clear?' Angel finally let go, exhausted. Mind controlling was so draining, even though the whole time it would look as if Angel had been just simply standing up.
Darla turned to Angel, her eyes gray. Good, Angel thought. It's working. Angel did a miniscule nod, and Darla was on her way, over to the immeasurable machines in the next room. Angel sat down in the chair before her, and let out a long sigh. She bit her lip hard, a new habit she noticed she had developed around Max's second pregnancy. She sighed again, the noise echoing loudly throughout the facility. This was definitely going to be a while.
(Fang POV)
I almost stomped back in like a spoiled child. Almost. But luckily, Iggy was now awake, and he actually was acting normal. He lifted his head when I entered the room, and grinned lopsidedly. He laughed to himself and shook his head, as if I wouldn't undertstand his situation.
"Come on, Ig. Let's go. I need to find Max. Again." I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off, and stood up, stretching.
"Give me a minute. Killer headache. Can you get me some Ibuprofen? Tylenol doesn't nearly work as fast enough. Or Advil for that matter." He sighed, and headed to the kitchen to get a glass of water.
It was my turn to sigh. Why was Ig acting like a hung over addict? I got five pills, since our mutated bird bodies "absorbed" the medicine too quickly, and it simply doesn't end up working. We weren't afraid of an overdosage. Ig took all five, and stepped outside, taking a deep breath of fresh crisp air. I slept only about a few hours last night. Max had been nagging at me from the back of my mind.
One question haunted me. How could I get her to fall for me...again?
I knew she loved me. When we were young, foruteen and fifteen. I could sense it in her. She loved me and I loved her. Perfect. Too bad I had to fuck everything up.
Now we were flying, and I concentrated on the last place where I saw Max. It was in a clearing, an almost too clear clearing. I swear it wasn't natural at all. I searched for it, while Iggy flw behind me, humming to himelf, and murmuring about a woman named Amy. Who was that?
I guess about an hour later, I found it. It was obvious, and I had missed it the few times we had flown around it earlier. It was too circular, too clear. I knew this was where she last was.
I dropped down, and landed quickly. I scanned the clearing, my hopes quickly fading. What was I expecting? Max to be sitting here, waiting for me? Just because this was the last spot I saw her, doesn't mean that she's here. Damn, now where do I look?
I sighed heavily and Iggy let out a breath of frustration. He walked along the edge of the clearing, slamming his fist on the trees. I was pissed. He was pissed. Of course, he loved Max as much as I do. Okay, maybe not nearly as close.
The trees sent out a dull thud as he banged on them. He was about almost all the way around the circle now.
Suddenly there was a clang. I lifted my head out of my hands, and stood up. Iggy was staring at a tree that he had just hit, puzzled. He practically glared at the tree, and then he banged on it again.
A metal clang answered him. He suddenly flawed a grin, and murmed me over. I practically ran over to him, barely keeping my cool. Or whatever was left of it anyway. I came to Iggy, and looked at him. "What is it?"
"Einstein. It's clearly not a normal tree." He pounded on it again. "It's metal. Secret entrances are usually made of metal. Now, move away so I can find the button to open this baby."
I stepped back, as Iggy literally stated to fell the tree up. His hand scratched the bark, and pressed against it occasionally. Finally, after about five minutes, he grinned triumphantly. He stepped back after pressing something, and the door whisked open to the side.
"Whoa." I said, at a loss for words.
"Understatement of the century." Ig replied. Ouch. Harsh sarcasm. What was his problem lately?
We shuffled into the small space, and I felt wierd being in a tree. Never thought I'd say that before. Also, it didn't at all over the fact that we were going underground. One of my worst nightmares. Other than losing Max, of course.
After a bit, the door finally opened. We were literally shoved out from behind, and Iggy and I landed on our knees, in the shadow of a small figure before us.
A gasp, then silence. I couldn't believe my eyes. What...?
"...Angel?"