I'm so so soooooooooo sorry!! I haven't posted in 2 weeks, and I'm sooooo sorry! I finally had time to write since football season ended. Shoutout to my lovely guard girls! Luv ya! pEaCe!!

Disclaimer: Jimmy owns them, and I really hope they're making a movie, and that it won't suck like Eragon

Chapter 6

I was vaguely aware that I was soaking wet, but surprisingly comfortable and warm. But this was almost completely canceled out due to the fact that my brain had probably just exploded. I felt tears fall from my eyes, and I realized I was crying. Something brushed my face to wipe the tears away.

"Max? Max, wake up. Please, wake up," I heard a voice say just above my head. It sounded like Fang. Oh, poop, I somehow managed to think through the pain. Then I realized why I was warm and comfortable. I was sitting on Fang's lap and he had his arms around me, my head on his chest. I also realized that the pain was starting to numb. I hiccupped.

"Max?" he asked again. I groaned in response.

"Oh, thank god!" Fang said, then his arms tightened around me. By now the pain was almost completely gone from my head. I honestly didn't care that I was soaking wet and a little pissed off, I was just glad my brain hadn't exploded. I forced my eyes open and looked up at Fang. His face had the most worried expression I've ever seen. I smiled weakly. He smiled a little, but his eyes still showed worry.

"You okay?" he asked. I nodded. His eyes narrowed slightly.

"What was that?" he continued.

I shrugged. "I don't know," I croaked, then cleared my throat. "I think it was a brain explosion."

"Like when you first got the Voice?" he continued to probe. I shrugged again.

"Maybe," I said. I shifted to get out of his lap, then scooted to sit next to him.

"So, what happened?" I asked him.

"Well, for one you almost gave me a heart attack," he started. I smiled sheepishly. "It looked like you were choking, so I flew over to help you, then you dropped the food and started falling. I dropped what I was holding and caught you about six feet from the ground. That's when you started crying," he finished. He took my hand and squeezed it a little.

"My hero," I said sarcastically. He grinned. I smiled, then sighed dramatically.

"I guess we have to go back to the store, again," I said, the stood up, pulling Fang with me. I still had a little headache, but not a it-feels-like-a-mountain-is-crushing-your-skull-to-a-pulp headache. I stepped out from under the little overhang of rock we were under in a little ravine. Somehow, it was still raining. I mean, seriously, how is that possible in the Grand Canyon?! Whatever. I unfurled my wings and so did Fang. I let go of his hand, then took a step.

Hello, Maximum.

I collapsed, holding my head in my hands. The pain wasn't as bad as last time, but it still hurt a lot.

Miss me? my Voice asked.

What the hell are you doing here? I screamed in my head.

The Voice was silent. Wow, didn't see that coming.

"Max!" I felt Fang's hands on my face, and I looked up. He was very worried, probably about what the hospital bill would be for me to get an MRI.

"Are you okay?" he asked for the second time today. I shook my head.

"Voice," I stated simply. He understood instantly. His eyes widened slightly.

"That can't be good," he said. I shook my head again to agree with him.

Suddenly, I had that feeling that everything was about to get a lot worse.

Ever had the feeling?

"Iggy?" Nudge called from further inside the cave. Iggy grunted in response.

"When do you think Max and Fang will be back? I'm starving! I mean, seriously, I think I could eat a whale, I'm so hungry. But whales are pretty big, so maybe not a whole whale. What do whales taste like? Do they taste like whale? Or fish? Or something else? I don't like fish that much, it tastes weir-"

"Nudge," Iggy interrupted her babbling. She smiled apologetically.

"I don't know when Max and Fang will be back, so you'll have to settle with eating either bugs or dirt to satisfy your hunger," Iggy said, and he turned his back to the cave and listened as the rain continued to fall. Nudge giggled, knowing he was kidding.

Where are you guys? he kept wondering.

Don't worry, Ig, Angel said in his mind. I can hear their minds. They're about 10 miles east of here.

Thanks, Angel, Iggy thought back. She sent him a mental picture of her with a big goofy smile on her face, then went back to playing poker with Gazzy and Nudge. They were using rocks as chips, and Angel was, of course, winning.

All was quiet for a few more minutes, except for the rain outside. Then, suddenly, Angel dropped the cards and rocks she was holding, and her blue eyes widened. Iggy heard the patter as the cards and rocks hit the stone floor, and launched himself to the back of the cave.

"Angel? What's wrong?" Iggy asked her. She shook her head slowly.

"Max," she said in a monotone.

"What about Max?" Iggy asked, getting more worried.

"Voice," she said in the same monotone.

Iggy's sightless eyes widened, and so did the Gasman's and Nudge's.

"Crap," Iggy finally said. Angel nodded. Then Iggy's ears pricked, and he heard a strange low, muffled buzzing sound, coming from far away but getting closer with every second. The ground started to tremble underneath them, then it really started shaking.

"Go!" Iggy shouted to the Flock, and they sprinted for the cave entrance. They stopped just as they heard the crash of rocks behind them, and they all turned to see (well, not Iggy) a gigantic hole in the back of the cave, and crawling out of the hole were dozens of ugly, robotic-looking bugs with what appeared to be a drill for their noses. Nudge's, Gazzy's, and Angel's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Iggy just stood there.

"What's going on? What is it?" he asked impatiently.

"Bugs," Gazzy answered. Nudge grabbed Iggy's hand, and they started backing up.

"What kind of bugs?" Iggy asked warily.

"Robots," Gazzy said, simply.

By now the bugs had stopped moving forward, and were just sitting there, and occasionally twitching what looked like dragonfly wings.

"U and A, on three," Iggy whispered. "One, two, three!" They all snapped their wings out and launched into the air in less than two seconds, but danger followed them, literally. The bugs gathered in a swarm and shot after the bird kids into the rain.

Gazzy looked behind him and saw the swarm of robo-bugs following them, and they were catching up. Fast.

It was quiet for about two seconds.

Max? I hate to bug you, but you need to get out of there, the Voice said, with surprising urgency. I decided to take up the warning. I looked up at Fang.

"We need to get out of here," I repeated what the Voice said.

"Why?" he asked, then the air was filled with an odd buzzing sound. The ground seemed to vibrate with it. Fang and I stared at each other with wide eyes, then there was an explosion in the ground about 25 feet to the left of us. A large hole was now in the dry earth, and out of the hole shot hundreds of nasty-looking bugs with oddly-shaped noses. The sound their wings as they flew had a metallic edge to it.

More robots, I thought. Great. And ugly little things, too.

I looked at Fang briefly. He had a horrified expression on his face. He never liked bugs that much, and this was one of his worst nightmares. And his new ability wouldn't help much, since these things weren't even partially human.

The Bugs, as I now declared them, made a high-pitch screeching noise, gathered in a swarm, and flew straight at us.

Yayz! Another cliffie!!! ^^

Fly free through clouds of cotton candy! (omg that rhymes!)

-C