Me: Okay, really sorry for the long wait =] I don't own Maximum Ride, I own my characters.
Chapter 23: Capture
Shadow's POV
"Give us the files," Hunter said in a very controlled tone of voice. I kept my hand on my thigh, ready to shoot out his brains if he got too close. Fang also looked ready to pull something out at any moment.
"How about…no," Max snarled, holding the files closer to herself. Hunter slipped into a fighter's stance and I clenched my fists and stiffened my jaw.
"You lose this round. Back off," I hissed, stepping in front of Max. In that instant, Fang pulled out a gun and aimed at Max. Matching his speed, I pulled out my own gun and pointed it at Hunter.
Silence.
"Stalemate," Fang muttered.
Then, the song Chop Suey rang in the air and Hunter carefully went into his pocket and took out his phone.
"Hello?...Yes, we're here…what?" Hunter looked straight at me. "But why?...But…Hey! I-Okay, yes sir." Hunter hung up the phone, looked at Fang and mouthed something to him.
Fang blinked twice. "What?" Hunter mouthed it to him again. "But what does…she have to do with anything?" I could feel myself getting nervous now and exchanged a look with Max. This did not sound good at all.
"Okay dudes? You can continue arguing but we're going to leave now," Max said, backing towards the door. Hunter and Fang both turned to her, making the hair on the back of my neck rise.
"Oh, one of you can leave…" Hunter said, switching to a more offensive stance. "But one of you is going to have to come with us."
I stood in front of Max and had switched to an offensive stance. "You are not going to take my Leader."
"No one said we were after your Leader Shadow," Fang said. I could feel my heart beating faster.
"What are you saying?" Max asked, grabbing my arm, ready to yank me backwards if necessary.
"Shadow, you're coming with us," Fang said, keeping his voice even. Adrenaline flooded through my veins.
"How about no?" I said, backing up.
"Count of three," Max muttered. I braced myself.
"It wasn't a question, it was a fact," Fang said, coming closer.
"ONE!" Max yelled. I ducked and she threw the file at Hunter's and Fang's head. She then grabbed my arm and literally threw me out the door. I saw a window and threw myself out of it, spreading my wings and working hard to speed away as fast I could. Max cruised right next to me, grabbed my arm and then started flying warp speed. I screwed my arms shut and let myself go limp. If I struggled, it would only make things worse.
Max slowed down and looked backwards. "Well, they're not following us, which is a good thing." I breathed out in relief. Max looked at me with concern and a bit of suspicion in her eyes. "But…what the hell do they want with you?"
"Truthfully, I have no freaking idea. I don't have anything they would want. At least, I think so," I said.
Max sighed. "Well, let's just go home, we'll figure this out better if we're well rested."
I nodded and started flying when she let go of my arm. "Yes, let's go home."
-
Hunter's POV
"So," Fang said. "What the hell do we do now?"
We were in a park that was deserted at this time, with an exception of a few joggers. I ran my hand through my hair and rubbed my eyes.
"Well, I would want to ambush them while they were at home, but I have no idea where they live," I said. Fang shifted and looked up at me. "What?"
"What if I told you that I might know how to get to their house?"
-
"Wait, remind me why we're doing this again," Ghost said. "Why are we capturing this one? The Leader would be more important."
I sighed. How many freaking times would I have to explain it before he freaking gets it?! "Well, Jeb said ever since the shock treatment thing, Shadow is the most likely to turn to our side. Max would just fight and try to escape until she kills herself. However, if we treat Shadow the right way, she could become a Fallen."
"Ah, okay, so basically, since your Daddy gives you anything you want, you asked him if you could go take your girlfriend, he agreed and now we're here?" Ghost said, smirking. I turned around and glared at Ghost. He was just such an asshole sometimes.
"No, you fail," I spat, turning back around.
"Whatever, I don't care, she's hot," Ghost said, leaning back on his seat a little. I grabbed the Clorox wipes from the cup holder next to me, and threw them at him.
"Will you just SHUT UP ALREADY!" I yelled. Ghost laughed and settled down in his seat.
"Can both of you be quiet? I'm trying to concentrate," Fang said quietly, taking a sip of Red Bull. We were in our car, driving, trying to locate where the Angels lived. I sighed and leaned against the window. Shadow was going to hate me after this. And for some reason, the thought of it really irked me. And I really didn't know why.
"We're here," Fang said. I looked to where Fang was staring and there was a small, simple, little 1 floor house.
"Wow, that's small," I muttered.
"What did you expect?" Ghost asked.
"Not this," I said simply, getting out of the car. Ghost and Fang also closed their doors and trailed after me. I went up to the doorstep and made space for Ghost. He started to pick the lock, trying to open it. I exchanged a look with Fang. This is it.
The door clicked open. Ghost opened it slowly and then allowed us to walk in. The house was surprisingly neat. Everything was clean and in order. But then again, Max was the Leader.
"Ghost, I want you to go and wait in the driver's seat in the car," I said. "We may need to jump in at a moment's notice." Ghost nodded curtly and walked off. I looked toward the hallway and walked quietly, trying not to bang into anything. Fang walked ahead of me, the whole quiet thing coming naturally to him. He then whirled around and made me bang into a mirror. He gave me dirty look, put his finger over his lips and pointed into the room. I glared at him back and peeked into the room.
It was a big room, with a vanity, a dresser, various posters on the wall and clothes strewn on the floor. The room was dark with curtains filtering out all the sunlight. There were beds on either side of the room. Both held the key players of the Angels.
Max and Shadow.
Max was sleeping quietly on the bed, a bit tense, but snoring quietly. Shadow was still as a stone and I had to stare for a few seconds to realize that she was breathing.
"Do you have the tranquilizer?" I asked Fang. He took out a small syringe and squirted out some. "Do it carefully, if she wakes up, she could wake up Max." Fang nodded and went up to Shadow. I kept an eye on Max. Knowing her, she could just sit up, say surprise, smack on a sarcastic smile, call her forces and kick our asses.
And knowing her, she would do that. Just to crush our male egos.
I heard Shadow make a low grunt. I immediately turned to her and then she sat straight up with her eye open. My heart started beating faster and I slipped into my pocket for my knife.
Instead she just looked straight at me, smiled dopily, which looked so weird for her and said "My an-a-angel. M…my g-golden a-angel." She stumbled onto her feet and came to me, arms wide open.
"Shadow?" I whispered, thinking that it was some plot to get me to let my guard down. She looked up at me and smiled. Then he eyes fluttered shut and her whole body went limp. I froze and held her, sweat dripping down my back and looked at Fang. His eyes were slightly widened, which was his version of a bewildered look.
"What was that?" I asked him, my voice a bit shaky. He shook his head and blinked slowly. I breathed out, letting out all the tension from my stomach and picked up Shadow. I was glad that she was an avian hybrid. Not only was she just like me, but she wasn't total dead weight while I was carrying her.
I turned around and was about to walk out of the room when a dog walks up in front of me. It was a small Scottish terrier, with grayish-blackish fur. And for some reason it looked familiar to me.
"Good doggy, get away doggy…" I muttered, trying to sneak around it.
"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, UNHAND HER VILLAN! AND STOP CALLING ME DOGGY!" Did the freaking dog just talk?! Scratch that, did the dog just freaking YELL at me!? What the fuck was wrong with this house?!
But figuring that didn't matter when I heard the creaking of a bed behind me. I whirled around to see Max jumping out of her bed and looking all around the room like crazy.
Oh crap.
We're FUCKED.
She looked straight in our direction, realized what was going on and her eyes practically turned into fire.
"INTRUDER!" the dog yelled and ran into the other rooms. "INTRUDER!"
"PUT HER DOWN NOW!" Max yelled, lunging at us. I quickly backed up and Fang grabbed her arms and shoved her backwards.
"RUN HUNTER!" he yelled. I held Shadow closer and hurtled out this house looking for the car. I heard Chris scream and looked back and saw a dark skinned girl catching up to me.
"DUDE, let her GO!" she yelled.
"GHOST!" I yelled. Out of absolutely nowhere, the van sped into the street and stopped right in front of me.
"Duck!" Ghost hollered. I ducked and Ghost popped out the window of the car, armed with a freaking tranquilizer gun. Like really, where the front door did he GET that thing from?
I heard him shoot and looked back to see the girl get hit, fall on her knees and slump to the ground, unconscious. The feeling of guilt crept up and gripped my heart. She looked only a few years older than the Gasman. She shouldn't be fighting in this.
None of us should, the oldest I think is Max, is only 14, maybe even 16. We shouldn't be fighting like this.
"Get in the car before another one comes!" Ghost said, opening the back door of the car. I climbed in and placed Shadow in the backseat.
"Guard her, I need to go help Fang," I said. Ghost nodded and reloaded his tranquilizer. I ran back to the house and saw Fang trying to fend off Max.
No anger is greater than a woman scorned.
"FANG, LET'S GO!" I yelled.
STOP AND GIVE ME MY SISTER BACK! I heard a small voice yell in my head. I looked and saw a little blonde girl with big blue eyes. I felt sweat form on my forehead. She looked just like Gazzy.
Really, what the fuck was up with this house?
Please Hunter, pretty please? I heard her beg. That knocked the breath out of me. Where have I heard her beg like that before? Where have I heard her before?
Before I could dwell on it any longer, Fang grabbed my arm and practically dragged me with him to the car. Really, how rude?
I jumped into the front seat and Fang hopped into the seat, pushing Shadow a bit so he could get in and we both slammed the door shut. Ghost totally stomped on the gas and the car took off.
"Oh God, I feel like such a criminal," I said, shaking my head.
"Well, we could be charged with breaking and entering, kidnapping, assault, speeding, endangering the welfare of a child with…tell me you didn't shoot her with a real gun Ghost," Fang finished, his eye on the thing.
"Oh chillax! It was a tranquilizer gun," Ghost said, hitting a speed bump hard. I winced as my butt hit the seat hard.
"The one who needs to chill is you! You're going to kill us!" I said, hitting his arm. Ghost shot me and look and slowed down a bit, muttering something about me being genetically enhanced and him having delicate bones that can snap if that girl were to get to him. I shook my head and rolled my eyes. He's such a drama queen.
Then there was a thump on the hood of the car. I looked up and then a knife punctured the roof of the car and started ripping the car a new HOLE.
"Holy…" I heard Fang mutter.
"SHIT! WHAT THE FUCK IS SHE USING? A SUPER KNIFE?!" Ghost yelled, swerving the car wildly. Shadow's head banged against the window and she groaned.
This is where Leader Hunter steps in. "Okay, I'll try and get her off the roof. Ghost, you keep the car steady but swerve sometimes and keep her off balance, I'll be fine. Fang, make sure and Shadow stays unconscious, you will KILL us if she wakes up now, understand?!"
"Yes sir!" both of them said at the same time. I rolled down the window and climbed onto the roof. Max tried to stab at my hands before I got onto the roof but I quickly moved then and jumped on.
"See, I didn't deface your car," I said. She growled and lunged and I quickly dodged. I shook my head. "Tsk tsk Max, anger makes you careless."
"Give me Shadow back," she growled. I couldn't help but put on one of my more sarcastic smiles to piss her off.
"Well, you can't have her so nah nah na- nah nah!" I said, sticking my tongue out at her. That seemed to absolutely infuriate her. She lunged at me again.
And Ghost swerved the car.
Max lost balance on the tip of the car and fell off. I watched, feeling a bit bad as she rolled away. I shouldn't have taunted her. Too late now though. It was either me or her. I saw Max stop and sit up slowly, which made me feel a bit better.
I jumped back into the car and settled in. Ghost held up a hand and I high fived him. "Nice job dude!" he congratulated.
"Is Max okay?" Fang asked. I turned around and scanned his expression. He looked genuinely concerned.
"Yes, she's fine. She got straight up. How's Shadow?" I asked.
"She's fine, but I found something questionable…" Fang trailed off. I stared at him, trying to read him. What was he talking about?
He held up Shadow's hand, and she was clutching a gold and black feather.
Feathers that was identical to mine and Fang's.
I could feel my heart beating faster and clutched the seat.
"Yes," I said. "That definitely raises some questions."
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