Chapter 10

I don't own Maximum Ride. Reviews?

Max

"Miss me, darling?" Ari snarls, a malicious grin on his face. Still, he looked exactly like my brother, except for a few scars on his skin.

"In your dreams, Ari," and that's when I realized he didn't come alone.

There were dozens, even hundreds of wolves, in every possible color, from gold to black to red to brown. I even saw a deep violet one. They bare their teeth, their eyes shining with anticipation.

A scream rang out. I knew that scream even though I've never heard it before. It was Nudge. My eyes dart to my right to find the source. Nudge, Angel, Gazzy and Iggy were surrounded by a tight circle of the demons. They couldn't fly away because the wolves were practically at their feet. One sudden move and they would be literal dead meat.

In true demonic fashion, Ari chose that one distracted moment of mine to pounce. Max! the Voice shouted, leaving just enough time for me to turn and dodge. His sharp canines grazed my down feathers, not harming anything. "Let's see you fight," I spat. He growls back, looking as if he was grinning at the prospect of a challenge. It suddenly occurred to me that he's gotten stronger in Hell. I didn't wait for him to regain his balance. I kicked him in the chest, using my wings to give me leverage. He somersaults backwards, but lands on his feet. "Maybe you should've been incarnated as a cat," I smirk.

I take two seconds to survey everything around me. Fang is holding off two wolves at a time nicely. Nudge and Angel were taking turns fending off a big grey wolf with deep red eyes. For some reason, I recognize this demon, but I can't remember its name at the moment, Iggy and Gazzy have managed to fly up in the air. Red sparks rolled from their outstretched fingers, forming licks of flame. Huh, I smile. Fighting fire with fire. Those are my boys.

Ari turns back to his own form, I notice something disturbing. Ari was in fact almost exactly the same as before. Except… on his back, where his wings used to be are two ugly black scars.

He notice my stare, "Wings are completely useless," he laughs, "Come join me, sister."

"Never," I spat. I prepared to punch him until I hear a scream piercing, high and innocent. Angel! I turn quickly, a mother hen who'd lost her chick.

I saw Angel pinned beneath the gray wolf, Nudge was held by her brown wings by two demons I didn't recognize. I realized their poised to break them. A snarl rips through my teeth. Fang was behind me, completely surrounded but holding his own.

Angel! I called out to her.

I can't read their minds, Max, came her desperate reply, I can't control them.

Iggy and Gazzy descend from the sky, twin menacing looks on their faces. I fly to their aid, too, until I'm yanked back by my primary feathers. Ari! He caught me in a head lock.

"The rules are simple, darling sister," Ari purrs in my ear. I'm serious about him having the form of a cat, it would suit him. He should petition that when he returns to where he came from, "You surrender and come with us, and we won't rip your friends apart."

I was spared from deciding because something knocks me on the back of my head and I faint. The last though I have is that I've remembered the grey wolf's name. It's Cearbh.

Fang

My wings ache. I try to stretch them but I can't. Then, in the dark haze of the chamber, I remember what had happened.

Max had fallen. When Ari gave a whistle, the remaining wolves charged, trapping all of us. They took us hostage, Ari carrying a limp Max over his shoulder. My hands fisted with the memory. I'll kill you if she's dead, I thought at him.

"Welcome to the Finishing School," Ari laughs, throwing us all in a small, dimly lit room that smelled of sulfur and rotting meat, "Enjoy your stay!" The macabre threat behind the words hung in the air. It felt like obsidian in here. I touched a nearby wall. It nearly burned my hand before I pulled away quickly.

I count heads like Max would. I see Max and Angel's blonde curls right next to each other, Gazzy's short hair, Iggy's pale skin, and Nudge's brown wings. They're all unconscious and still. But there's someone else in the room with us and it's not Dylan. There's a tousle of deep red curls. It stirs and I tense, until she lifts her tired face and shakes out her creamy wings. It's another angel.

She sees me and scrambles backwards clumsily. There are black scars up and down her arms. Her face is pale, her green eyes are scared. She's pretty.

"I'm not going to hurt you," I tell her, "I'm Fang."

She looks at me, her eyes nervous. She doesn't trust me. Well, who knew what happened to her hear? I don't trust a lot of people and I've never even seen Hell before. Finally, she clears her throat twice and says carefully, like the wrong word would kill her, "My name is Lissa, and I used to be a 19th district guardian."

My first reaction is shock, "How did you end up here?"

The pain written on her face is palpable, "Th-They caught me when I was protecting my assignment. There was a pack of wolves, too big to be from earth. They threatened to break my wings. Please, you have to help me," her voice was desperate, "They're catching any angel they can find on earth. I don't know what they're doing but it isn't good."

"We'll help you, Lissa," I teel her.

She seems tired from her outburst, "Thank you," she says. Right before she falls to the floor.

Max

"Max? Max?" the voice echoed through my mind. Everything was fuzzy and misty. But the voice was so familiar. It was smooth and low, yet husky and strong. Fang?

I force myself back into reality, my head pounding. There is a raw area on the back of my head. The Flock is awake already, neatly arranging themselves in the small room. There's someone else here, too.

She's small and petite, red-haired and pretty, with the saddest green eyes.

I shoot a questioning glance at Fang, who moves towards her, and puts an arm around her shoulder. My blood rises but I push the feeling down. Fang isn't mine to control. "This is Lissa," Fang says, "She's a guardian from 19."

19? I was from 21 and I've never seen her before.

"She was captured just like us," Fang explained, rubbing a spot between her wings. My eyes narrow as I watch, he used to do that for me. The Flock, except Angel, nod in sympathy. Her eyes are pitiful, but when they fall on me there's a malicious glint in them that reminds are of Ari.

Angel? I think to her. Her cherubic blue eyes are troubled. What do you think?

I don't know, Angel thought back, I can't read her mind, just like the demons, but there are some minds I just can't read, like Dylan's. Of course, she's been here for a while and blocking me out just might be a subconscious instinct. Still, I'm getting a strange aura from her.

"Will you help me?" Lissa speaks.

"Of course we will," Fang says soothingly. I shoot him a look.

"Fine," I say, but I'm going to pay close attention to her. There's something about Lissa I just don't trust. Fang sees this and frowns. I frown right back. Lissa looks at me, her green eyes are triumphant.

Love, hate? Tell me about it. Do you think apples are vampires? My friend and I were contemplating what apples drink, if apples drink Apple Kool-Aid, wouldn't it mean that apples are vampires? Because Apple Kool-Aid is made from apple flavoring, which means the apple would be drinking the essence of another apple which would make that apple either a vampire or cannibalistic. Thoughts? شكرا (Arabic)