Chapter 37

I watched as Mela and the four other kids appear from walking out of the forest at midnight. We were up ahead of time to make sure we were ready and understood the plan. I gave her a hug strongly. "Hey, how are you?" I asked patiently into her blonde hair which was wind blown and crazy.

We stepped back and she sighed, "Fine, just ready to finish this off once and for all." I gave her a small smile in agreement. Wind blew fast and sturdy, the air was cool for autumn but it was because we were up in the mountains. The trees had turned to an array of orange, red, and yellow.

I led her inside and we all rested in the kitchen with my flock, Ella, Ari, my mom and Jeb. Ella and my mom protested my idea but they were to stay here. We all had superpowers to help us except for them and Jeb. But Jeb had fought in battles before, he had personally trained me and the flock. He would be fine in this.

I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes, "Today is it. We're going to head out now. Those with wings will fly and the rest will take Jeb's van." He had designed the engine to hum quietly so they wouldn't be heard and the path was clear of anything that might cause sound. "They're leaving early morning so we're going to head out soon in order to sit and watch. We stick together. We're going to follow them to the cliff, no matter how long it is. Pack food to keep yourself energized."

My flock nodded their heads and I even looked at Fang to see he was staring at me. He was worried. Back when we were together, he had loved me more than anything. I swear he only loved the flock because I loved them. Sure, Iggy was his closest guy friend and he would read Angel short, kid's books but he would always turn to me for his own happiness. Now, he was pulling away and I couldn't understand why.

Everyone started packing granola bars and high sugared drinks to keep us awake. I was shifting on my backpack when I realized it was just my flock in the kitchen now. Everyone else was outside waiting. "Love you more than the world, that's why I'm saving it." I told them. "If anyone isn't going to make it through today guys, I'm making sure it's me. You have a lot more life to live than I."

Nudge opened her mouth to protest but I sent her a glare. "We've fought long and hard. Today's the last day we will ever have to. Normal after that. No lies, this is one promise I tend to see through." I stuck my fist in the middle of us, we had already stood together tight in a circle. Fang's fist came on top of mine, and then the others followed suit. I smiled as I we did our last handshake of this life. Tomorrow, if I was alive, would be different.

We stepped outside and I stared at Mela and another boy with wings. The others were already in Jeb's car, including Ari who didn't seem to care anymore about the world that scared him. He knew that we had to fight, every single one of us. He would be happier tomorrow once we were done. I could treat him like a normal little brother.

"Up and Away," we instantly took flight and started heading North towards Death Valley. On wings we would be the first to arrive, I was ahead with Iggy and Fang on either side. Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel were behind us and then Mela and the boy followed after. I smiled, feeling the wind rushing through my hair and my heart pulsing. Our last possible fight, I prayed that this was true.

You should know Max, that Mr. Chu is part of an organization that is out to destroy the world. They believe we have sinned too much and deserve to die. They plan on restarting the world's population but first, they want to destroy it. Mr. Chu is their leader. Once he is gone they'll fall apart. Gone? I replayed Ari's words in my mind. We only had a simple half-hour flight and I still thought I heard wrong.

We rested on trees staring at the large building similar to the prison I had been kept in. Five minutes sitting there, a black truck pulled out. I motioned to Jeb in the van below that they were heading west. "Up and Away," everyone didn't complain even though I didn't know how long we would be flying. It look a lot in us. Iggy was busy chewing a granola bar. We stayed high and far back so that couldn't really see us.

"Max?" Mela flew up to me, "It's going to be hard isn't it?" I nodded my head. Nothing about this life was ever going to be easy. "I wish I had more time you know? To train and to prepare, but I want to let you know that I'm going to try my hardest to protect your flock. Out of everyone in this entire world, I don't think anyone cares as much as you do."

"Mela, everyone cares. It's just it's more real for my family because we're hunted for it. If someone else had been in our situation I think they'd fight as hard. Not to mention, I was raised to do this. Jeb prepared me to save the world."

My shirt flapped against my skin as the sun began rising behind us. We were flying over a very thick forest for the longest moment. Eventually, we caught the truck stopping in front of it. Two figures; Mr. Chu and Brigid stepped out. It was then that M-Geek after M-Geek began exiting through the even larger truck that had been following them through the high way. There were dozens of them and I gulped. I could feel everyone else's heart racing as we watched. They brought with them loaded weapons. This wasn't going to be easily but we had to do this. Either we faced the destroyers of the world now or we never would.

We landed on the cliff that they were walking towards. Jeb and the rest were running out from the woods to stand behind us. I lifted my arms in the air and listened to the voices. I refused to accept that the M-Geeks were carrying buckets of toxic waste. In the secluded area, no one could ever find them and the waters were be polluted. All of the toxins would destroy the beaches, kill the fish, and be worse than the large oil spill because it would be too late before someone even noticed. If the waters were polluted than we would all fall down.

I held in my breath as Brigid and Mr. Chu stepped out of the forest smiling. The M-Geeks continued walking towards the cliff without stopping. They were keep on walking as they had been trained. Brigid walked ahead of them but Mr. Chu stayed behind. I narrowed my eyes, first Brigid and then Mr. Chu. "Hold the M-Geeks. I've got the red-head and their leader!" I heard a few protests but I was already running forward heading for Brigid.

From that first punch in her face, all hell broke loose.