I'M SO SORRY GUYS! It's not that I don't care or forgot that I wrote a 34 chapter-long story! I had a serious job over the summer, finished high school and a semester of college. Sorry! :( Thanks to FallenSnowAngel5297, readinglove, KENDRA1212, fuzzypompom, Kina Kalamari, STALLION OF THE CIMARRON, flock fan, CrazyNerdyFangirl, Adonai63, fangluv, xFang'sgirlx, LiveLaughandLoveForever, hysterical chicken, ihatepeople0416, LiningUpThePieces, TwilightAddict413, Jesse Rae, Dolphiness, prettygirl2012, Heart of Diamond, Soaring Without Wings, aalaal, roylpain, Maximum Ride 4ever, FangGirl1995, Avian-American Gurl, candycanelover, Tasha133, and Eee for reviewing.
Since it has been a while, I'll repost basic character relationships:
Hunter: leader of Fallen, (maybe) Max's brother, Ari's brother, Jeb's son; Max: Leader of the Angels, Jeb's daughter, girlfriend of Fang, ex-best friend of Shadow; Fang: "Traitor" to the Fallen, (maybe) brother of Shadow; Shadow: "traitor" to Fallen, has weird relationship with Hunter; Ghost: Jerk of the Fallen :P human spy and; Chris: Human spy of the Angel. Michael Anderson: The perv from chapter 32
Chapter 34: Escape
Outside POV
Time: 20:18
Hunter stirred awake again. He wasn't sure if it had been hours or days since he had last been awake. Trying to ignore his gigantic headache, he looked around the room.
Max was absolutely still. The sensory deprivation mask was still on her. Hunter wondered what she was thinking. Fang was finally asleep, vomit covering his bare chest, his back encrusted with blood. Hunter looked away, feeling sick himself. Hunter remembered that he went on a screaming fit earlier from all the pain he was in. The room was humid, and none of the hostages had been given a bucket, let alone a bathroom. Hunter felt disgusted as he hung there in his own excrement. Way to make us feel lower than low Itex, Hunter thought.
Chris was laying on her back on the ground. She was the only one with her hands free, but they were crushed so they were of no use. Ghost was staring at the ground, silent.
Hunter glanced at Shadow. Feeling his stare, she looked up at him, trying to avoid focusing on his arm that was unnaturally twisted and curved.
"This sucks," Hunter said.
"Fucking understatement of the millennium," Ghost muttered.
"They knew us," Shadow said, her voice raspy. "From before we lost our memory."
"You must've killed their mother or something. Fang must've eaten her. That's the only explanation to what's going on," Ghost said.
Hunter sighed. "Maybe. Maybe not. Itex prides itself in creating monsters."
"Fucking Itex," Ghost said. The room was silent. Ghost thought back to when Jagger was talking to Fang about "being just like us". He glanced at Shadow, remembering something. "Fang's your brother?"
"I don't know. I doubt it," Shadow answered, her voice strained.
"You don't remember a thing about him?"
"No."
"Do you think Itex is making it up?"
"I don't know, Ghost!" Shadow snapped.
"Sorry for asking a question, princess!" Ghost retorted.
"How about asking me a question I know the damn answer to?"
"Shut UP you two!" Hunter growled.
"Nobody asked you Hunter," Shadow hissed. Hunter raised an eyebrow at her. She rolled her eyes and looked away.
"I know we're all testy from being here," Hunter said, looking at her but addressing everyone. "But we can't turn on each other. We aren't the Fallen vs. the Angels here. We're us vs. Itex. Alright?"
"That'd be cool if the Angels were awake to agree," Ghost said.
"Mmmmm," Chris tried to make herself noticed.
"I'll take that as a yes," Ghost observed. Chris rolled her eyes but nodded.
The door slammed open. Bright light filtered in. Hunter squinted and watched as someone stumbled into the room. He or she closed the door behind him or herself and locked it.
"Great. Round 3 featuring Omega," Hunter deadpanned. Omega held up his hands in surrender.
"Look. I have no time. Just trust me I'm on your side. I have no time," Omega spat out hurriedly. He went up to Hunter and cut the ropes that were binding him. Hunter landed on his feet, trying to ignore the excruciating pain from his broken arm.
"You shot me in the leg. I have a limp," Shadow said as he cut her ropes.
"I'm sorry," Omega said simply. After he cut her down, he moved on to Max. He cut open the mask. Slowly she opened her eyes. Her face was tear-stained and her eyes were bloodshot. She made a noise, but stopped, wincing.
"I know it's going to be rough," Omega whispered, aware of the effects of sensory deprivation. "But please try to stand up." He cut her ropes and she stood steady, yet unmoving. Hunter tried to meet her eyes, but they were trained onto the ground.
Omega freed Ghost who, even if he was just rescued, still gave Omega a dirty look. Omega opened the cage that trapped Chris' head and sliced through the ropes that entrapped her feet. Ghost went up to her and helped her to her feet. She leaned her head on his shoulder, feeling unbelievably happy to be free of her cage but unable to say something without crying.
"What the hell did they do to Fang?" Omega murmured, eyeing him carefully. He was careful not to be rough as he cut Fang down from the ceiling beam. Fang collapsed into Omega's arms and Omega passed him to Max. Max kneeled to the ground and quietly assessed his back.
"He's doesn't look well," Hunter said, from over her shoulder. Max jumped a little, his voice loud compared to the last hours she spent in silence. She nodded her head, but didn't say a word.
"You guys can't get out of here with him like this!" Omega exclaimed, his voice nervous. "I don't have the time to help you. I'm running out of time. You guys have to listen to what I say. I know it looks weird but I'm your only way out. You have to trust me."
"What do we have to do?" Max whispered, starting to become used to her voice again.
"Fang needs bandages and painkillers. He's your responsibility after you leave here. I suggest a blood transfusion as soon as possible. His body did a good job of patching itself back up but he still needs stitches."
Hunter sighed. "Where are we going to get bandages and painkillers? They haven't answered our requests for food and water, so I think drugs would be out of the question."
Omega assessed everyone. "The humans can't get it, they're not as fast and stealthy as you guys, at least not in their current state. I can't bring it. Hunter can't carry it. Max can't stand anything brighter than a nightlight right now and obviously, Fang is out of the question." Omega gave Shadow a long, steady look and she shrugged.
"What do I have to do?"
Omega pulled a small hand held device from his back pocket and it projected a map of Itex against the grimy wall. "I'm going to pull an alarm once I leave. All the Erasers will be diverted to the left side of the building. On the right, in this large closet labeled 4C is where some of the medical supplies are kept along with files. I expect that you know what to do from there."
"Treat Fang and escape," Shadow said.
"Yes. I think it would be best if Max treated him. I mean, those burns might open while you're treating him…maybe you should get stuff for everyone." Omega looked over them again, realizing how bad it actually was.
"One step ahead of you. Let's get this over with," Shadow sighed. Hunter put his hand on Shadow's shoulder.
"Be careful."
"If you say so," Shadow said with a devilish smirk. Hunter barely managed to smile. If the Erasers found out, they would all be slaughtered.
Omega started coughing. Max was startled and put her hands over her ears because it was so loud.
Hunter was the first to say something once the coughing subsided. "Jeez Robot, sounds like your lungs are going to escape, not us." When Omega drew his hand away from his mouth, Hunter noticed the blood on his hand. Hunter felt his stomach twist.
"Oh jeez," Ghost said.
"Did you just call me 'Robot'?" Omega asked, looking amazed.
"So? You just-!"
"There's no time. Shadow, get ready and good luck," Omega said. He left the room. Hunter exchanged a look with Ghost.
"He probably doesn't feel pain. Or maybe the blood is a good thing. I don't know, he's a freak," Ghost muttered.
"He helped us," Chris whispered.
"Still a freak."
"Max…what's wrong?" Shadow asked kneeling down next to her. Max looked at her and shook her head. "Max, I'm not stupid. You would've had a thousand snarky responses by now and ripped Omega's head off. And yelled at us about trusting him."
"We-have no choice. Fang...his heartbeat is weak," Max mumbled.
"I know you don't trust me and I'm some horrible traitor, but-"
The alarm started blaring. Shadow shot up and put her ear to the door. She heard Erasers running past in the dozens…then…silence.
"Go!" Hunter whispered. She shot through the door and ran down the hallway. All the doors except for theirs were barred. Shadow wondered how she could get the supplies if they were locked.
"SHE ESCAPED!" Fear ran down Shadow's back. She whirled around and saw…Omega pointing in her direction? It was another set up?
We've got to stop falling for these things, Shadow thought. Whatever, gotta go.
Shadow ran as fast as she could down the hallway. She didn't know where she was going, as long as she wasn't caught. She turned the corner…
Erasers were there too!
She was trapped and she knew it. She would get caught and killed and the others would get more torture. Her eyes darted around, looking for an escape.
She found closet 4C. Desperate, Shadow launched herself through the door and locked it behind her. Erasers banged and clawed at the door, trying their hardest to break through. Using the last bit of strength she had, she pushed a large metal shelf in front of the door, hoping that it would keep them at bay for a while.
Shadow dropped to her knees and rested. It didn't matter how hard the Erasers banged the door, she was too tired to care. The adrenaline helped her run, but now she was hungry, shaky, and worn out. She noticed a camera on the wall and its focus was on her. She felt around, grabbed a heavy small box and chucked it at the camera. The force broke it and fell to the floor.
"Okay Shadow, get a grip," she muttered to herself, standing on her feet. She had no time to feel sorry for herself. The others were waiting for her. The room was huge, with one side dedicated to storing medicine while the other had file cabinets galore. She gathered the medical supplies she thought she might need and walked to the other side of the room to see if there was anything of interest.
The first two rows of file cabinets were locked. Shadow was about to give up hope when she saw two fat files on top of a cabinet labeled "Avian-Hybrids". She opened one of the files and saw a picture of Fang. He was just casually walking down a sidewalk. How did they take a picture of him without him noticing? Shadow thought to herself. She was now more suspicious and opened the next folder, her hands shaking.
She was shocked to find a picture of herself.
Okay, this is weird, Shadow thought. She grabbed the folders and put them in the niche where her wings folded into her back. She tightened the muscles and hoped she wouldn't have to fly out of there.
Grabbing the medicines, she rushed to a vent hoping she could get back that way. She heard the door break and the Erasers growling in anger.
Sorry dog-breath. You're not getting me today.
"Why is it taking her so long?" Ghost muttered angrily.
"There was an alarm a while back," Hunter wondered aloud, a hint of worry in his voice.
"What if they killed her?" Chris asked. Hunter glared at her.
"We can't think like that," Max said, shaking her head. "She might be trying to lose them or taking a different route."
"More like getting her nails done," Ghost said rolling his eyes.
"Shut up Ghost!" a voice said. Everyone looked at the ceiling. "I just can't find a way out of these fucking VENTS!"
"Shadow?" Hunter called.
"Nooooo, it's the box ghost. Seriously Hunter, who the fuck else?"
"Chill and you'll find a way out," Hunter huffed, annoyed.
"Really? 'Cause I tried that and it didn't work. There are decaying rats in here Hunter. DE-CAY-ING."
Max stood up slowly from kneeling next to Fang, her knees cracking. She looked at the ventilating pipe, jumped up and hung onto on of the beams that suspended the super spies before. She swung towards the vent and kicked in a panel. Shadow crawled out of the pipe and dropped down at the same time Max did. They nodded at each other and Shadow handed Max the medical supplies.
"Report," Max and Hunter said at the same time.
"Well, Omega set us up, so we should get the heck out of here before we're killed," Shadow said while rubbing balm on her skin.
"What do you mean 'set up'," Hunter questioned while helping Max lift up Fang.
"As soon as I left the room he commanded a bunch of smelly dogs to go after me."
"Cool. Next time we see him, we'll thank him by kicking his ass," Ghost said in a mock cheery tone.
"I will make every member of Itex regret ever being born," Chris snarled, clenching her fists.
"Ge… in line," everyone turned to look at Fang who was slowly trying to stand up.
"Hold on there superman," Max said, holding him. "I just gave you painkillers. Don't overdue it before I knock you out again."
Fang glanced at her. "I'm glad you're okay." Max smiled.
"That's the painkillers talking," Shadow muttered. Ghost snorted in laughter. Max opened her mouth to say something but Hunter cut in.
"I'd hate to stop a potentially witty response, but we need to get out of here," Hunter said gesturing towards the door.
Max sighed. She had a really good insult but it would have to wait. "Alright. Shadow, you'll lead up the front since you're the least damaged. Behind you will be Ghost and Chris. Behind those two will be Fang and I. Hunter, you'll be rounding up the back. Any objections? I didn't think so. Let's go."
Shadow kicked open the door and ran out. She snatched a fire extinguisher from its place on the wall. Max shouted out directions to run in from the back. She hoped she guessed correctly.
A group of Erasers jumped in front of them. Chris screamed and almost backed into Fang. Shadow pulled the pin on the fire extinguisher and released the high-pressured contents on the Erasers. Some of them flew back, but others were unaffected and lunged at her. She swung the fire extinguisher and smashed the Erasers away.
"Let's go let's go!" Max urged. Shadow rushed forward and bumped into Omega who had a crazed expression on his face, which contrasted to his panicked look from before.
"I'm going to slice you open and strangle you with your intestines!" Omega spat in her face.
"WELL YOUR BREATH STINKS!" Shadow yelled back and bashed him over the head with the fire extinguisher. He fell in a heap onto the floor.
"I bet you regret kissing him now," Max said smugly. Shadow sent a death glare in her direction while Hunter choked on his saliva laughing.
"Owned," Ghost chucked.
"Listen, I know where you sleep asshole," Shadow hissed. Fang, who was mostly quiet, started howling in laughter.
"It's funny 'cause she can't be tamed," Fang snorted. Everyone froze and stared at him, not comprehending what had just occurred.
"Guys," Hunter said, quickly snapping out of it. "I think we should keep moving." Shadow looked away and led the group onward.
"Those are what I call some strong drugs," Ghost muttered shaking his head. The group hit a fork in the hallway and was unsure as to which way to go.
"Left or right?" Shadow called from the front.
"Forward!" Fang called and chuckled.
"Obviously," Shadow muttered, rolling her eyes. She noticed a figure coming from the right. Michael Anderson, stumbled down the hallway and gasped in shock when he saw the group.
"Max? Hunter? Is that you? What are you two doing in an Itex lab?" he said. Everyone stared at him incredulously.
"How the hell do you know my name?" Max and Hunter said at the same time. They gave each other a look.
Ghost sighed. "Here we go." Shadow elbowed him so hard that he fell to the floor.
"Hunter, Max, stop joking. I trained you in martial arts. How can you not remember me?" Anderson said, his eyes wide and confused.
"Our memories were kind of wiped by Itex so we don't remember anything farther than 6 months ago. We also tend not to trust people who claim memory of us," Hunter said simply, crossing his arms.
"I can prove that I know you. Max, come here. It'll be quick and no one's coming in this direction. The facility is in lockdown. They're looking through the west wing. We're in the east," Anderson said, beckoning to Max. Hunter looked behind him and saw there was a big door that had shut behind him. Max and Shadow exchanged a glance. Even if he is trying to pull a fast one, I can take him, Max thought.
Max handed Fang to Shadow. She stepped forward and Anderson entered a fighter's stance, roundhouse kicking her. Max caught his foot, but he jumped and tried to kick with his other foot. Max blocked that one also and shoved him away. He landed on his feet, grabbed and corkscrewed her arm.
"Tsk tsk Maximum, I know you can do better," Anderson said shaking his head.
Do better, do better…
"Danny?" Max said before she could stop herself. Hunter's eyes widened as the guy smiled.
"Daniel Hughes, you always bought us chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream after practice at Lulu's Creamery," the words tumbled out of Hunter's mouth. Daniel laughed and released Max, ruffling her hair. Hunter approached him and patted him on the back. Ghost's jaw dropped.
"Daniel HUGHES? THE DANIEL HUGHES?" Ghost exclaimed. Chris shot him a strange look and Ghost rolled his eyes. "DANIEL HUGHES! The greatest martial arts expert in America and master of disguise! He's the greatest spy America has! Geez Crystal, do you know anything?"
"Shut up Ghost," Chris said, rolling her eyes.
"Maximum and Hunter, my two favorite students! How have you been? You look so grown now! How old are you? Sixteen? How's Ari?"
"He's fine," Hunter said automatically, mesmerized by the memories coming back to him.
"I see those two over there...what did Itex do to him?" Daniel approached Fang and Shadow.
"They tortured us. All of us," Shadow answered stoically. She had no idea what was going on, but she knew not to trust it.
Daniel scanned her. "Are you two the ones that were brainwashed by Itex?" Everyone turned in their direction and Shadow's eyes widened with the insult.
"I don't know what you've heard, but I think you're mistaken," Shadow spat with real venom in her voice. Fang's head slowly looked up and he stuck his tongue out at Daniel. He simply laughed.
"Hey, Itex brainwashed everyone at some point. Don't get so defensive." He turned back to Max and Hunter as Shadow seethed in the background.
"I agree!" Fang said loudly. "He's full of shit!" Everyone ignored him but Shadow sent him a sideways glance.
"I didn't say that out loud," Shadow muttered to him.
Fang went to Shadow's ear and whispered. "That's because we can read each other's MINDS!"
Shadow shrugged. "You're high. Go to sleep." Fang huffed loudly and looked away from her.
"Anyways," Daniel said, ignoring Fang. "I'm sorry about what happened to your father and mother. I never thought he would do that, but mind control is serious business."
"What? What happened to our mom and dad?" Max asked, giving him a quizzical look.
"You really don't remember do you?" Daniel sighed. "It's alright, Itex can't keep it from you. Well, your mother Valencia-"
Fang saw it a split second before anyone else did. He nudged Shadow and she saw it also.
Ella was standing in the hallway to the right. She was holding her gun and taking careful aim. Before Shadow or Fang could tell her to stop, she pulled the trigger.
BANG!
Hunter and Max screamed as Daniel's head exploded in front of them. The body fell on them and they pushed it in disgust, letting it fall to the floor. Chris and Ghost had ducked while Shadow and Fang stared in shock.
"MAX, ARE YOU OKAY?" Ella yelled, running down the hallway. Max saw the gun and shook Ella.
"Why'd you shoot HIM? WHY, HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?" Max screamed, shaking her. He was going to tell them about their past. Hell, he was practically family from what she remembered and he was dead with his blood all over her.
"I thought he was attacking you Max, I didn't know! Remember, Giovanni said he was bad!" Ella said, her eyes watering. Nudge, Iggy, and Lies rushed down the hallway, taking in the scene at hand.
"You stood there to take aim and fire. You heard the conversation," Shadow spat. "You never were a good shot, don't lie Ella."
"SHUT UP TRAITOR!" Ella screamed and marched up to Shadow. Shadow narrowed her eyes at the smaller girl.
"I saw it too!" Fang exclaimed. But everyone ignored him.
"You watch you tongue little girl. Take responsibility for what you've done," Shadow hissed.
Ella smirked. Her face was uncharacteristically smug. "You don't know what I've done. And if you did, you wouldn't be talking that way to me. Maybe you should watch yourself."
"Ella, what the hell's with you?" Chris butted in. "You're like, twelve. Chill out."
"Whatever," Ella rolled her eyes. "I came to save you. But obviously, we're feeling ungrateful today."
"You need an attitude adjustment," Max hissed. "Seriously, when we get home, no weapons and no more missions for you since you can't handle pressure, can't follow protocol, and you think you can speak down to your superiors! Please remember that I'm the only one allowed to have a smart mouth because I'm the LEADER."
Max and Ella glared at one another. Nudge, Lies and Iggy looked at each other awkwardly and Iggy cleared his throat.
"Well, we're still in the middle of enemy headquarters so maybe we should head out before they lockdown this side of the building."
"Iggy is right," Hunter said, his voice shaking along with his body. "We have to get out of here."
The group rushed silently down the hall and out of the building with no problem. Angel, Cass and Ari were waiting in one white van while the Fallen's black van was parked next to it.
The Angels and the Fallen looked at one another and knew it was time to disperse. Ari ran up to Hunter and hugged him tightly, bawling. Iggy and Lies exchanged a handshake with Cass and Nudge. They also thanked Angel for her help. Angel beamed, proud to have been of assistance. Ghost and Chris awkwardly nodded at one another and walked in their separate directions. Shadow walked up to Max and handed Fang to her.
"What are you going to do about Ella?" Shadow whispered. They watched as Ella slipped into the white van and slammed the door shut behind her.
Max sighed. "Nothing, I guess. It was a mistake. She's just too young to have understood what was going on."
Shadow's eyes widened in shock. "Are you serious? I know what I saw! Fang saw it too! He was the one who pointed it out to me!" She gestured towards Fang, who was dozing off and drooling on Max's shirt. Shadow felt herself becoming enraged. She knew what she saw and yet again, Max doubted her.
"You might not have seen what you thought you saw. It was all so quick," Max said, her voice strained. She really didn't want to argue with Shadow right now. She was too tired and all she wanted to do was treat Fang and go to sleep.
Shadow's face was impassive, but it felt like her insides were on fire. "Fine Max. Not my teammate, not my potential former friend, not my problem."
Angel suddenly ran up and hugged Shadow. Shadow stiffened at first but hugged her back. She had missed Angel so much.
"I missed you too," Angel said. She turned to Max and whispered, "Shadow's right. Ella knew what she was doing."
"Told you," Shadow shrugged. Yet she felt relieved that someone believed her. Fang moaned next to Max, bringing her attention back to him.
"I have to deal with it later. Thank you Shadow, for everything, and good luck. C'mon Angel, we've got to go," Max said, walking to the van with a delirious Fang in tow. Angel followed her, waving at Shadow. Shadow rolled her eyes at Max, feeling annoyed that it took a mind reader for Max to believe her. She hopped into the black van and the two cars went on the highway and went their separate ways.