Sorry it's been so long guys. My friend got me sucked into a TV series, and I just watched two whole seasons of it. Blame her! (...and me)
Okay, so random thought of the day: How funny can it get when you accidentally knee the guy you like in his 'sensitive' spot?
That totally happened last week! I was dying of laughter while apologizing between the gasping for air. (It was a very sincere apology, by the way) Now, how did I manage this by accident? Well, it starts off with me being very protective over my sketch pad. The thing is like my diary, and I draw what I'm feeling... so... you don't touch it. Well, here he is, trying to steal it again and I'm sitting on a stool. He leans over to take it, I pull it to my chest, and I start to bring my knees up to curl into a ball and give it extra protection. Just as I was bringing my knee up - Oops! I was laughing so hard! I know, I'm awful. He said if it was anyone else, he would have punched me back in the boob. :P
Bwahahahahahaha! :D
Sorry, ya'll probably didn't care to know that, I just found it hilarious! So I won't keep you waiting any longer, although, this chapter is not the best...
Here's chapter 13!
Max POV
I stopped, my hand inches from the handle in annoyance. My blood was boiling. I glanced at Fang, and registered that his shoulders had immediately tensed. "Jeb is what?" I ground my teeth together.
Fang opened the door for me since I was too busy trying to contain myself. Iggy was standing with his arms crossed over his chest and leaning impaitiently on the opposite wall. "I said Jeb is coming." He ununciated slowly as if I were a child. He grabbed my hand so he could use my eye sight. "This way. Angel said he's almost here, and she said she doesn't like what he's thinking. She warned me to tell you not to kill him."
My eyes narrowed. "Why shouldn't I?" I asked, reaching out my free hand for Fang. He took it, and oddly enough, I relaxed a little.
Iggy shrugged. "Angel said it has something to do with Ella's dad."
I rolled my eyes. "What does he have to do with anything? He's dead! Been dead for the past two years from what Mom told me."
Iggy shrugged again as he brought us into the girls' room. "Guess you'll have to ask him yourself."
I entered the room to find the rest of the Flock (not including the new girl, Kaz-something-or-another, she must've been excluded from our little 'family reunion'). Nudge was sitting on one of the beds and was resting her head on Wake's shoulder while head rubbed her back. Gazzy took Iggy's hand for me while I glanced at the others. Angel fidgeted nervously by a desk lamp.
Fang leaned down next to my ear. "I don't know if I'll hold you back." He whispered. His voice would have sounded casual to anyone else, but I'd heard the silent edge to it like it was a snake waiting in hiding.
Angel's head snapped up at his comment. I expected to see anger, but there was a quiet, frizzled panic in her eyes. "You guys need to hear what he has to say. If you kill him..." She dwindled off and looked down at her feet, squeezing her hands into fists. She bit her lip subconsciously. "Just don't hurt him, okay. I can't tell you anything else because of your Voice. The Voice can't know any of this. Just, trust him."
I answered by staring at the window, daring my father to try and make a grand entrance. First, I'd take his legs out...
"Max, just chill it." Iggy said while making a face at Gazzy. "I know how you're feeling. I hate him too, but just try and act like a civilized human being." He made another strange face, and they both bust into laughter. Iggy loved testing out 'his' sight.
"Civilized human being?" Wake asked, already developing my sarcasm. "Because Max is known for her diplomacy."
I gave him a glare while Nudge snickered, and Fang chuckled behind me. I turned to shoot him a look, and he quickly smothered his laugh by locking his mouth shut and flicking away the invisible key.
"Madam Ride? May I speak to such a lovely drill sergeant as yourself?" Wake proceeded to get on my nerves.
"No."
He stood up and bowed anyway. Just as he was about to speak, Nudge pulled him back down and covered his mouth up. She was obviously holding back a smile, but she could feel that I wasn't in the mood for jokes.
"Wow." Iggy commented. "I never thought I'd see the day that Nudge shut someone else up."
I smiled.
"Jeb's here."
I frowned.
"Think Zen." Fang hummed. "Ommmm." He pinched is pointer fingers to his thumbs and acted like he was meditating. He even crisscrossed his legs and hovered for a moment by flapping his wings.
"Look! He's floating!" Gazzy gasped.
The smile slowly spread across my face again, and Fang grabbed my hand. "Don't worry. I'll only let you get a few good punches in."
"Let me?" I laughed. "I could kick your furry dog butt if you tried to keep me from anything."
He raised his eyebrows, and his eyes drifted and locked on something behind me. I turned to see Jeb standing in our doorway.
...The longest most awkward silence in my entire freaking life.
Wake, of course, was the first to speak up. "Hi, Max's dad. So, would you mind telling me why everyone want's to strangle you?"
Jeb cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Well, there's a long story behind that, but-"
"OH! MY TOUBLE MAKING YOUNGUNS!" Total came sprinting in from the hallway.
"Total!" Nudge cried, holding her arms out for him to jump up.
"Younguns?" Gazzy questioned. "Isn't he younger than us?"
"Not in dog years, my friend!" Total said licking Angel's face before making his way to Nudge's outstretched arms.
Gazzy scratched his head in confusion. "But you're also part human."
"Only six percent!" Total chided as if he'd just proved his point.
"But that doesn't mean-"
"Don't argue with the dog." Iggy shushed.
Total stopped mid-lick and turned to give Iggy a look of defiance. "Don't call me a 'dog' like I'm some kind of wild animal!"
"Dogs aren't wild!" Iggy protested. "Besides, you just said you were only six percent human. So, really, you are an animal."
"Don't argue with the dog." Gazzy reminded him.
Total rolled his eyes, and just before he could start one of his super long speeches, Jeb interrupted.
"Guys, I think it's time we discuss removing Max's chips from her arm."
I crossed my arms over my chest, frowning, but I couldn't help the look of surprise that came into my eyes. "Wait, you want to what?"
Jeb nodded. "Max, listen! I said-"
"I know what you said!" I snapped. "But why?"
"Total could tell you, but he won't." He responded and at pointed to the excited, black fluffball. "Neither of us can. You've got extra ears listening in. The rest of the Flock's chips are unimportant though, they only tell the vital signs in your immune system. No one can listen or track you through theirs. We need to remove your chip though."
I raised an eyebrow in skepticism and complete disbelief that he wanted to actually help me out.
"I thought this was what you wanted, Max." Angel wondered.
"It was." I paused, glancing at her as if she were a hard jeopardy question. "You know what he does don't you?" I asked, knowing she'd already read it out of his head.
She nodded, her face pale. "You'd never forgive yourself if you didn't listen to him."
I sighed and looked to Total for confirmation. His head bounced up and down, making his ears flop like they were pigtails on a girl's head.
I turned back to Jeb and and stood there deciding. Fang's hand grazed my arm, and then he gave my shoulder a squeeze. I spun to look at him questioningly. "Angel just 'told' the rest of us what going on." He blinked and looked back over his shoulder, before returning his gaze back to me. His light and playful voice from a few minutes ago was gone, and the muscles in his jaw were tight with tension. "You have to do this, Max. I'll be right by your side, the whole way. I promise. And if Jeb does anything that looks the slightest wrong..." he lifted his head to glare at my father, "Then I'll kill him for you."
"Me too." Total growled.
Jeb nodded. "Sounds fair."
I shook my head vigorously. "No!" I strained away from the needle. "Oh, HELL NO!" I yanked my hand back and was across the room in a split second.
Jeb raised an eyebrow. "Max, I-"
"You will not give me Valium. No way. That stuff is illegal in my presence." I looked around our tiny hotel room, but couldn't think of anything else that would work. I looked back down to Jeb's handy-dandy-portable-surgical-kit. Because, you know, everybody has one of those...
"You won't be able to handle the pain. You'll thrash around, and if you do that, then I'll hit a wrong nerve. You'll lose the use of your hand permanently. For real this time. No more second chances." Jeb stepped forward and I glared.
"Knock me out with the toaster oven." I pointed to our little mini kitchen. "Have Fang deck me, or something. But if you try to touch me with that thing..."
Jeb stood there confused. "What do you have against Valium?" He turned back to his case, not expecting an answer, and searched for other medications.
I thought back to the first time I'd had my chip removed. That was just a subject I did not want to go back to. Angel suddenly burst in to laugher. "Max!" She giggled. "You never told me about that!"
"About what?" Gazzy asked.
I glared at her and barely shook my head. She smothered her laughter. "Nothing." She said innocently.
Nudge snapped her fingers. "I have an idea, but I don't think you're gonna like it."
"Give it a shot." I said carefully.
She scratched her head for a moment. "Well, if all you need to do is stay still... Angel could just control you, right? Like, use her mind powers, and you'd have no choice. She'd just make you stay still."
"But she'd still suffer the pain." Jeb said shaking a container of tablets. "She'd be in agony, and not be able to do anything about it." He poured out three pills and held them out to me.
"What's that?" Fang asked with suspicion.
"An alternative to Valium. It will knock her unconscious." He shook his hand impatiently, and I took them from him.
I gulped them down with a glass of water Angel handed me. "And no needle. Bonus!"
"How long until it works?" Fang asked.
Jeb gestured to the bed. "Almost immediately. We should have her lay down."
He was right. My toes up to my knees had already gone numb. My fingers couldn't grip the glass cup correctly any longer, and it slipped from my hand. It broke, sending the white glass everywhere. My legs gave out next, but Fang quickly scooped me up bridal style. He laid me down on the bed and squeezed my hand. "I can't move my legs." I said worried, but I felt myself slipping away. I didn't know how much longer I'd be able to keep my eyes open.
"It will be about an hour and a half before she wakes up. She'll be a little loopy and disoriented after that." Jeb took out a pretty scary looking tool.
"WHAT!?" I gasped, fighting against the darkness pulling at my mind.
Jeb blinked with concern.
"It's fine." Fang reassured him. He chuckled lightly. "The loopy side effect was the whole reason she was avoiding Valium."
I growled while Jeb gave an apologetic smile...
"Oops."
That was the last thing I heard when I blacked-out.
That's exactly what everyone wants to hear when they're going in for surgery. 'Oops.'
Fang POV
I know it was irrational, but I couldn't help the panic that rose up in me when Max went limp. I could feel the tension of the others, too. My fingers tightened around hers until my knuckles turned white.
"Just pretend she's asleep, man." Iggy said quietly.
I glanced at her face and sighed. "It's hard. She scowls in her sleep. But right now, she just looks happy."
Nudge giggled.
"Her looking happy is a bad thing?" Wake asked honestly.
"Never try to wake her up!" Total broke in to make sure to warn us. "She'll punch you in her sleep."
Angel pulled the dog close. "Okay. Thanks. But, why are you here anyway, Total? Isn't Akila pregnant?"
He grinned. "Yes! I'm going to be a Dad!" He licked Angel's face. "But she kicked me out for now. She said she didn't want me to waste my time sitting around acting like she was helpless."
"So you came here?" I asked. "Alone?"
He shook his head. "That's when-"
Jeb's hand quickly shot over Total's mouth. "Shh!" He hissed. "Wait until we destroy the chip." He turned back to Max and slowly pulled the piece out near her wrist. He gently laid it on the bedside table. "Destroy it." He whispered as he pulled out thread for the stitches.
I picked up the chip. This little tiny square was the reason we'd always been on the run, and also why we were always found. It was the reason that Max had to listen to the Voice talk about Dylan. That was enough to make me see red. I placed the chip on the kitchen counter and slammed my fist down hard. It shattered into more pieces than I thought possible along with the section of counter I'd punched. I pulled my hand out of the gaping hole, satisfied.
"Continue, Total." I said as I took my seat back on the bed, holding Max's hand.
He frowned. "When I went out, the Whitecoats from the School got Dr. M and Ella. I tried to take them down, but I couldn't. They flew off in a chopper. Jeb showed up later and said we needed to save them. He said you'd be in France. I'm your guys' guardian. I need to protect you guys, so I came immediately."
I brushed hair back from Max's still face. This was the news Angel had thought out to us. Max was going to be mad, and probably not as careful as usual when she found out.
"Done." Jeb sighed, wiping the rest of the blood away with alcohol.
"What now?" Iggy asked.
Jeb shrugged. "We wait until she wakes up, wait until the drug wears off, and tell her the problem. After that, it's up to her." He turned to walk out the door.
"You're leaving?" I asked, shortly.
"Not until I tell you everything." He stopped at the door, but didn't turn to face us. "I'm a double agent for RAWR. I give the School false information, and spring you free every time you get caught there. But now, neither the School nor RAWR will accept me back. They both tampered with her chip. Sometimes the School gained control, and sometimes RAWR did. But they were always both listening. Now they know I removed it. I am merely here to tell you that the School has Valencia and Ella. But also terrifying, is the fact that RAWR has Ella's father."
"Wait, what!" I asked enraged.
Jeb opened the door. I sprang up to slam it shut, but a head of blonde hair beat me to it. Iggy grabbed his collar, picked him up by it, and shoved him against a wall.
"Answer Fang's question."
Jeb calmly pushed his glasses back up his nose. "This is a cold war. Both sides have great targets. Shoot at one and they kill who they have hostage. Max is going to have to decide which one dies. Trust me, even though she doesn't know Ella's dad, it's going to be hard for her to let him die."
"Mr. Martinez is actually alive, and your people took him?" I asked as Iggy pressed him harder to the wall.
"No." He said levelly. "He is alive, yes. RAWR took him, yes. But the moment I came to take Max's chip out, I no longer belonged to anyone. So, no. My people did not take him."
"I have half a mind to kill you right now." Iggy shouted bringing him back and slamming him into the wall again. "How did anyone get a hold of Ella!? I will kill who ever laid a hand on her and her family!"
Jeb sighed. "I thought you would. You have bigger problems to worry about, though. I'm sure the School has sent some visitors. They didn't exactly want me to remove that chip. Niether did RAWR."
"What...?"
"Iggy..." Angel breathed. "We have to go now! Forget about Jeb. Erasers are coming!"
I watched Iggy reluctantly drop the man, and I ran back to the others. Wake, Total, and Angel were crowded at the window. The rest were gathered around the non-functioning Max.
Max. Couldn't. Fight.
"We're running for it!" I called to them. I scooped her up and ran to the window. "How much time do we have?"
Angel closed her eyes in concentration. She whimpered. "One of them is seeing the Dairy Queen two miles away from here."
I nodded. "We can make it. Fly it hard and fast guys. They can't track us with Max's chip gone."
They all had grim looks on their faces. They knew it wasn't likely that we'd escape without a fight. The Erasers were plenty close enough to catch us.
"We can do this." Nudge said. Wake grabbed her hand, Angel squeezed Total, and Gazzy latched a death grip onto Iggy's elbow. I pressed my face into Max's hair before jumping out and taking off away from the hotel.
Okay, people. I'm not quite sure how this ending is going to work out. I just keep making this harder and harder for myself. And this is in not in anyway the last chapter coming up. There will be more! :)
PLEASE GIVE ME IDEAS! I WOULD BE FOREVER GRATEFUL!
And also, I'm just going to start asking now... What should Total's puppies look like? Wings or no wings? White, Black, Grey? Scottie sized or big like their Momma? AND NAMES? HOW MANY?
Since I asked questions, I want reviews! Tell me answers! I want to get to 100, and then I will cry with happiness!
