Me: Sorry for the wait everyone! But I had surgery on my arm so…forgive me? (Bambi eyes)
Shadow: Anyways, she doesn't own Maximum Ride. She owns me and Hunter and the crew. You guys know who they are by now.
Hunter: Thanks to the 35 people who reviewed.
Me: I really do appreciate you guys! Now, on with the story.
Chapter 18: Complications
Hunter's POV
"Wait, repeat that," Fang said. We were in the car, driving to a museum. There was a fundraiser there that we had to attend. Why? I don't know. Wish I did though.
"We have to be at the exhibit until midnight," I said.
"Midnight?" Fang repeated. I rolled my eyes. Usually, I was the one who was this slow.
"Yes Fang, midnight," I said slowly. He set his jaw. "What? Is that a problem?" He didn't say anything. "Fang?"
"Let's just go there and get this over with," Fang snapped. I was taken aback. Fang never snapped like that, unless something was bugging him. I stopped the car. Fang looked at me, his face impassive.
"What?"
"What's bugging you?" I asked.
"Nothing," Fang lied.
"Oh please Fang. I'm slow sometimes, but not stupid. I know when there's something wrong with my best friend. Now, what's wrong?" I said. Fang looked out the window.
"If I told you," Fang began, "You would get so pissed. But Hunter, you just have to believe me. This is for everyone." Fang turned to look at me. "I need to leave at ten thirty. I promised someone I would meet them, and it's for everybody's good that I do so."
"What, does this girlfriend of yours have the key to finally defeating Itex?" I asked, jokingly. Fang looked at me, already defensive.
"Who said I was meeting a girl?" Fang said. I rolled my eyes at his paranoia and started driving down the road again.
"Alright Fang, it's your boyfriend. Don't worry, I won't tell the group of your little secret. Just…don't take any peeks at me when I'm asleep at night."
"Shut the hell up stupid," Fang said, punching my arm. I chuckled as he glared darkly at me from his seat. I drove into the parking lot, and parked the car myself. When I stepped out the car, the guy who usually parks the cars gave me a look.
"I can park my own car," I snapped at the guy. He looked taken aback as I walked inside the building, with Fang walking beside me silently.
"So, will you let me leave?" Fang spoke up. Well…I could handle walking through a museum by myself…
"Sure, just...well be careful," I said. Fang smirked and nodded. We walked through the humongous doors leading to the exhibit. Fang and I exchanged a look when we saw how crowded the place was. That was not good.
"Brian! Nick!" I heard someone call. I looked in the direction and my eyes widened.
Jeb was walking towards us.
What the heck was he doing here?!
"I'm so glad you two are here," he said, with somewhat of a smile on his face. That made me very nervous. Something was really not adding up.
"Really? Why?" Fang asked.
"Well, you two need to be trained harder. And to do that I had to…make a mission for you," Jeb said. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
"Explain this now Jeb," I said, nervousness bleeding into my voice.
"In this place, there are five human-lupine hybrids. You have to find them and take them out. Then, one of the artifacts-I'm not going to tell you which-has an explosive in it. You'll need to call Iggy in your cell phone and ask him on instructions to diffuse it," Jeb said. My jaw slowly dropped as he explained everything. What the hell was he thinking?!
"Are you nuts?" Fang asked calmly.
"Good luck," Jeb said, ignoring Fang's question. He walked out in a flurry and closed the door after him.
This was just perfect.
The Fallen Angels
Max's POV
Shadow threw a punch at my face. I ducked and grabbed her arm. She yanked her arm away and then whirled around with a roundhouse kick. I rolled to the ground, dodging it, and I jumped up to my feet, going back into a fighter's stance. She looked at me calmly.
"Are we done for today?" Shadow asked.
"Nope," I said, and launched myself at her. She sidestepped easily.
"You're predictable when you're tired," Shadow observed. I breathed out, annoyed.
"Me? Tired? Nope, not at all," I said, and threw another punch at her. She leaned back, easily dodging and grabbing my fist.
"Enough already. You're going to wear yourself out," she said. I snatched my wrist back and rolled my eyes.
"Afraid to lose?" I taunted. She narrowed her eyes.
"No. Afraid to cripple the leader," she said. She started to walk towards me, to walk out the training room, but then I had a very evil idea.
Don't do it Max, my inner cautious person said. But it was too late. My mind was made up and set.
As Shadow passed me, I put out my leg and next thing I knew, Shadow was on the floor cursing. I chuckled as she picked herself up and glared at me.
"You are so going to pay," she said, and then she swept my legs from under me, making me hit the ground. She stood up and I did also. She shook her head.
"What's with you? You usually aren't so…violent," she said, and preformed a roundhouse kick. It hit its mark. I stumbled back and she came at me again, her fist aiming for my stomach. I grabbed her wrist and corkscrewed her arm.
"I'm just training," I answered her question.
"For what?" And the questions just keep on coming…
"Our everyday life. You know, Erasers, the Fallen, etcetera."
She pulled away from me and, not looking at me said, "I give in. No more."
I looked at her skeptically. "What's wrong?" She sighed and sat down on the ground, wiping sweat from her forehead. I sat down next to her.
"Do you want to know about my dream?" she asked quietly. My eyes widened. So, she was going to tell me.
"Yes, I do." She sighed again, and her eyes held a far off look.
"I was in a cabin. Actually, I was in a cabin with the others. Nudge, Angel, and Total were there. But the Fallen was there also. The little boy, the Gasman-I believe that's his name-Iggy, and…Hunter."
She looked at the ground. "We were all in the living room. Nudge and Angel were watching Hannah Montana, while Iggy and the Gasman were planning to make a bomb. Hunter was outside, on watch. He came running in just then, saying that the Erasers were surrounding the place." Shadow's expression hardened.
"They jumped through the windows, and separated us. There was at least fifty of them on the first floor alone, attacking us. I don't know how many were on the second floor, but all I knew was that I had to fight for the Flock." She looked back at me. "That's our group's name. The Flock." I turned away from her stare and pretended to concentrate on the wall. I needed to know more.
"Go on." I said.
"I told them all to run. But they wouldn't listen. Hunter had screamed at them to do it also. They looked at both of us. We had been pushed to a corner of the room, the probability of them capturing or killing us was definite. The Flock wasn't going to leave without us." Her jaw tightened and her fists clenched.
"I had told Iggy to leave, that Hunter and I would hold them off. But he wouldn't go. Hunter and I had both ordered them to U and A," Shadow said. I gasped.
That would mean that Iggy, and the Gasman were avian-hybrids.
Just like us.
"Then an Eraser tackled Angel from behind. I'm so sorry Max, I let you down," Shadow whispered, lowering her head. I bit my lip and touched her shoulder. She shied away from me.
"It's okay Shadow. Whatever's happened happened. Angel's okay now," I said. Shadow let out a breath and relaxed after a few seconds of silence.
"The Erasers had Angel, Hunter and I tried to fight our way to them. An Eraser had tackled Hunter and the Gasman was already in the process of saving Angel, so I tried to take the Eraser off of him. I had also called to Iggy to get you and Fang. Then the Eraser said-he said…" she trailed off, looking away.
"He said what?" I prodded gently.
"He said to Hunter that his mother was dead, and that his father killed her," she said in one shot. I breathed out and for some reason, what she had said stung.
It really did hurt. But why? It hurts as if-as if…
As if Hunter's mother was my own.
"But…I don't know… there was something wrong about that. I remember saying something about it being his entire fault,-him being an outside source entirely-but I was thinking about two people at the same time," Shadow said.
"Who were you thinking of?" I asked. I felt like a therapist right now.
"Some guy, I can't recall his name right now and Jeb," Shadow said. That made my stomach drop. That meant either of the following:
Jeb is my-I mean- Hunter's-I mean…ugh, okay…for now, let's say that Jeb is "my" father.(Since my brain feels so set on me and Hunter being siblings)
This option would mean that he also killed "my" mother.
Or…
The other guy killed "my" mother, and Jeb is "my" father and is out for revenge.
Each one pointed to one thing.
Jeb being "my" father.
But there was also this other option.
That the other guy was "my" father and Jeb was "my" mother's murderer.
And that meant that all this time, I've been helping "my" mother's murderer.
Oh crap doesn't even cover it. A stream of curses doesn't either.
"Max?" Shadow spoke up. I shook my head vigorously.
"Sorry, I was thinking. Please continue," I said. She sighed.
"I had pulled the Eraser off of Hunter. The look in his eyes…he looked so-so dead. I told him that she couldn't be dead and that it was all someone's fault-I don't know who-and then I saw an Eraser aim a gun at him. I had shoved Hunter out the way and-" she cut off, biting her lip.
"What?"
"I got hit in the stomach," she whispered. "And the neck." I sucked in air.
If she got hit in the neck, she should be dead.
Wait…wasn't she "dead" in my dream?
I squeezed my eyes shut to remember what I tried to forget. When Fang had picked her to see if she was still alive, her face…had been shrouded by her hair, and her eyes were…wide open, glassy, stricken with horror…
I shuddered. I shouldn't have remembered that. That was definitely something I did not want to remember.
Fang had checked her pulse. Her hands were covered in blood. Her shirt was soaked in it. And there was an even darker hole on her black shirt. A bloody, gaping hole…
Didn't she say she got struck with a bullet in the stomach?
"Max, we should go back to the house before the others start to worry," Shadow said, standing up and stretching.
"What time is it?" I asked absent-mindedly, still trying to put all the puzzle pieces together.
"It's…ten forty," Shadow said looking at the wall clock.
"That club where you and Shadow had sung that song, at eleven, tonight," Fang's voice echoed in my head.
"SHOOT!" I exclaimed and ran out the training area. The training area was actually the upper level of the garage. I was glad for that. I hopped onto the motorcycle but then froze. Shouldn't I get ready? But wait, why should I? It's not like it's a date…
"Max!" Shadow called. I looked in her direction. She was at the doorway, giving me a strange look, as if I finally lost it.
"I'm going to be out for about an hour," I called to her.
"Why?"
"Just trust me!" I yelled, revving the engine. She sighed, putting her head into her hands.
"Max…just be careful," she said, walking over to me. For some reason, that made me a bit annoyed.
"Hey, if I can take care of the Angels, then I can take care of myself," I said.
"Fine Max," Shadow answered. "But in an hour, I'm going after you."
"Fine," I huffed, revving the motor again. Shadow opened the garage door, and I took off.
The Fallen Angels
Fang's POV
I wiped the blood from the side of my mouth. The Wolf laughed and I narrowed my eyes. This was not funny. It was ten fifty now. I had to get to get out of here now or else Max would get angry and leave.
And that would not be good thing.
But what also is not a good thing is the situation I'm in.
I'm in a small bathroom. Why you may ask? Well, why do people go to the bathroom, ask yourself that. And then, while I'm washing my hands, this guy comes in. The first thing he does is look at me and transform into a wolf thing, or better known as human-lupine hybrid. He had punched my face. And now, he was going to pay, like his other buddies have.
I lunged at him and threw a punch at his face. I smirked when I heard the bones crack under my fist. I threw in a roundhouse kick, which floored the mutant. I went to my waistband, and pulled out a gun.
"Don't move," I said. The thing snarled at me, and I squeezed the trigger tighter.
"I'm warning you," I said. The thing lunged at me and a pulled the trigger. It howled and fell back. I couldn't help but feel a little sick. Was it dead?
It deformed back into a human. An unconscious human. I checked his pulse. Not dead. Good.
I walked out the bathroom and saw Hunter kneeling down next to something, talking to Iggy.
"The blue wire? Are you sure...Alright sorry! I didn't mean to question your bomb skills chief…I can be sarcastic all I want! Wait no! Don't hang up! Apologize? What the hell do you mean apologize?"
I cleared my throat and Hunter looked at me. "Hold on Ig. Fang, you need to go? Just go, I'll be fine," he went back to looking at the object. It was a sculpture, of a female with wings, an Angel? Oh well, I don't really care.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" I asked. Hunter nodded, looked over the statue again, and said something to Iggy. It was predictable image of an Angel; you know, no clothes, etcetera. But this one was…falling.
A Fallen Angel?
"What is that a statue of?" I asked Hunter. He stopped talking to Iggy, pulled a few wires from its base, and looked at the description.
"It's a nephilim," Hunter said, going back to pull a few wires. He grabbed a scissor. I stared at the statue. It was like it was calling out to me.
"Hunter, when you're done with it, can you take it home?" I asked, starting to walk off.
"Why?" Hunter questioned after me.
"Trust me," I said, and entered the staircase to the roof. I started to take two stairs at a time. Damn it…I was late.
I went on the roof and took off my jacket. I spread my wings. Black, 14 foot wingspan, the whole package. I jumped into the air and started to fly off. Luckily, the club was close by. That seemed to be the only thing that was going for me tonight.
I looked at the bright neon sign and landed. I tucked in my wings and put on my jacket. Now I looked normal-ish. But then, what is normal?
I used the staircase and went downstairs. The club wasn't packed, so it was okay. A human-lupine hybrid couldn't sneak in here unnoticed.
Then, there she was.
I smirked and walked behind her. She didn't notice me at first. Then I noticed her muscles tense slowly. Now was the time…
"Max," I said. Max jumped and whirled around. She glared at me.
"Fang." We stood in silence for a while.
"Let's just get this over with," she huffed, sliding into her seat. I sat down also.
This should get interesting.
Me: And we're done with this chapter. Oh and, I'm not going to get too in depth with the religion part of Fallen Angels. The title is has something to do with everything. Wow...that was vague. But anyways, that had to be said. Now review lovelies!