You Are Goodbye

Cages made of one soldier sheet flooring and four walls and a ceiling that are wires with inch by inch square holes. Beside him, touching his cage, was another one. Two other walls were pushed up into the corner of a wall. The other side was in front of him and it opened up when unlocked. That only happened with the scientist Abraham Grey came to perform experiments on him.

Fang felt his back bleeding (although at the time, his name was 00002, the second of the bird-hybrid children that had lived). He was about eleven and crawled up in the corner away from the other cage. In the darkness he could still see her. Their cages were on the floor and level with the holes that made her image distorted.

But he still made out the tawny wings and dark, mangled brown hair. His black hair had grown long over the years of captivity but every now and then, Abraham would cut chunks of it off so Fang could perform better. He shook his wings and felt the pain.

A voice was speaking loud to the room, not just him, coming from in front of the beautiful girl's cage. She had told him her name was 00001 (later known as Max) and asked him for his. He didn't have the knowledge to understand what she called a name was. He couldn't even speak. He wondered how she did that and why? Why didn't he know words?

"00001, come on, get the flock. We're leaving the School for good." The voice was of the main scientist that worked with the other winged creatures, Jeb Batchledor. He opened her cage and Max, understand him, stepped out and began unlocking the cages next to him. They stepped out one by one as their cages were unlocked.

A boy with blonde hair and bandages over his eyes since he was seven.

A girl who would constantly talk of nonsense that he didn't understand.

A toddler boy with big blue eyes and blonde hair.

A baby girl held in the eldest girl's arms.

His eyes observed as the girl whose cage was next to his handed the baby over to Jeb. The scientist took her and then, Max- he had to remember to call her that- began fumbling with the lock on his door.

"He's not my experiment 00001, I don't even know what he's like. He may be different than us." Fang watched as his door swung open. Without the cages between them, Fang could see her face better now. A serious mouth pressed in a hard line and dark brown eyes staring at him. Her pale skin seemed like the split milk he had for his meal yesterday.

She turned her head to look over her shoulder, "He's one of us." Her voice was soothing and calm unlike Abraham's. Even Jeb seemed more of a friendly scientist than the rest of them. Her face turned back to him and she reached out a hand. He flinched thinking she would hit him.

"Do you trust me?" Her voice was beautiful. He nodded his head thinking this was the normal response. He grabbed her hand and she pulled them through. When they stood, she let go of his hand. "Come on, we have to leave now." Jeb led them forward.

"You're going to have to fly out. I have a car a few miles past the woods," Jeb led them past a dark metal hallway. Fang felt his heart racing and he was scared. If Abraham caught him…

Max had the baby in her arms now and protecting her safely. Fang saw her eyes were facing forward and determined. They pushed through way through to an open field and now alarms were going off. Snarls ripped through the air and Fang almost stopped for a moment but it was the tawny wings and flowing brown hair that kept him going.

Max looked at him, "Up and Away." He understood perfect and snapped out his wings. He had only flown indoors but as soon as his wings caught the air he was free. They were flying and they were going faster than he had ever imagined.

When Max looked at him, she gave a smile. They were safe and she had saved him. There was no turning back from that. For the first moment in his entire life, Fang felt a small smile on his face but held on to his emotionless presence besides that. He still had to be a stone.

I remember here…

I stood in front of a high school. I was Max Martinez for the moment but knowing my luck, I would be Maximum Ride in the next five minutes. I didn't even bother to hide my wings. I was safe now. I heard doors slam shut and I turned to watch Iggy and Ella walked out of the van towards the school. My mom had offered to drive us. Iggy and Ella were holding hands. It was sweet really if I wasn't such a cynic. Fang, dark and mysterious as ever, followed behind. Our eyes connected and my heart broke for a moment.

I remember when we…

Well, let him go and enjoy the girls swarm around the new guy. I hope he enjoyed it. A figure came to stand beside me as I adjusted the messenger bag leaning against my side. Fang, I was still focusing on him but for the moment I couldn't. I wanted to fly away and turn away. I wanted to remember wild and wild and free. But those days were gone, baby. They were just memories now.

I remember days slid into years…

Just one year really. All of my life had come together and fallen apart almost one year ago. Now I was starting normal life, if that sounded nice. Now I was building lifetimes, thinking Fang would be here. He was, technically, but he wasn't here beside me holding my hand like I wanted. The figure was familiar. I had seen him before. He was the boy that worked at the convenient store that I had run into the day before my world fell apart. He was okay I suppose. "Hey Max, I'm Bobby Greene remember?"

I remember 'well maybe you could wait'…

That stupid lie I told myself that Fang would come back after saving the world was done. Then, I became a killer and I lost a friend, a brother, and a father all on the same day. I became a wreck and never left my room. He never once came to comfort me and now, I'm left as the cold, shattered heart that he had frozen and dropped on the floor.

I remember arms reached out too late…

Or never at all in Fang's case.

I entered the school with Bobby making small talk. In the hall, with red lockers and students, I could find Fang as if my heart depended on it. I could always feel him. I knew where he was when I shut my eyes. I could hear his breathing through the wall that our bedrooms shared. I could feel his hands on my waist as he whispered, "I remember here" as if he was reading my mind.

Angel and Gazzy were at the elementary school. Nudge was in middle school. Fang, Iggy, Ella, and I were in high school. I'd explain more but it hurts to much to know. I hated September because it meant October was on its way. It would mark the anniversary of the worst day of my life. (Well, one of the worst.)

When there's nothing left to say, I hear that life moves on.

Between Fang and I there's been nothing said since he broke it off. I never thought that silence thing he does would hurt me so much. Sure, we had conversation to try and keep things life while the flock was around. They were just as hurt by what happened as I was. I saw Fang silently opening his locker as girls swarmed over them. He had bags underneath his eyes and his lips were set in a permanent frown.

I thought of an old song we had listened to on the radio in a car, driving to the safe house (which is now our real home):

You are the sun gone down,

You are the sky.

You are the moon rushed round.

You are goodbye.

You are good, good.

You are goodbye.

You are good, goodbye.

I let out a breath. Goodbye Fang. Hello Normal Life.

Right?

Wrong.

------------

Song is "You are Goodbye" by Holly Conlan

There you have it, an unplanned Prolouge.

I love flashblacks.

Don' you?

Review if you do!