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Fang

We got caught.

The thought sprinted through my mind in circles, laughing and taunting as it made its final lap.

We got caught and it's all your fault.

I sighed quietly, dropping my head low in shame as my mind wandered through my memories, replaying my final moment of consciousness in my head before everything went black. I had stupidly thought that I could take on the nine guys that were left after Lupo went down. I had stupidly believed I could win off of pure adrenaline and want. But that's not how it works. You don't get what you want just because you want it. You have to fight hard, and I guess my best wasn't good enough.

It almost made me want to be back home, where if I tried I succeeded even if I failed. There was no such thing as a loser at school. There was no such thing as a failure or a lost cause. Everybody had a chance and everybody could take it. Everybody's best was more than good enough. And even though it was all a lie I still wished to be back there, consumed in it. I wanted people to lie to me, to tell me it was all going to be okay. I wanted a false sense of security. I wanted Ari to stop staring at Max like she was already dead and reassure me that she wasn't, but it wouldn't happen.

This was the real world, and with it came all of its consequences. Being cheered up in the worst of times didn't happen in reality, and neither did coming back from the dead. I doubted if Max's heart stopped at that moment that it would ever start again. She'd had one lucky fluke, dodged death like a pro, but normally the best you get is a second chance, and she was teetering on that tightrope a little too far to the left for my liking.

"She's dying," Ari whispered from his cell, his knuckles white from clutching onto the bars so roughly.

"No she's not," I tried to say, but my voice cracked and the walls closed in, and death seemed to hover over her, laughing as he waited for her to blow out her final breath and fade away into the light, or the darkness, or whatever you faded into after your heart stopped.

"They would have caged her if she was going to live. Instead they just threw her on the ground, Fang." Ari explained harshly, as if all of his hope was lost. Something like Pandora's Box came to my mind as I looked at Max.

The beaten and battered hope that lay on the bottom of it, having been swarmed with all the evil in the world for so long, but then it was all set free, and hope could pick itself up and heal, and grow. Hope may have been something that no longer existed to Ari, but I still held on. I still had to hope. If there was no hope the evil would win, and I couldn't let that happen.

"Ari, shut up." Nudge hissed from right next to him where she leaned against the bars heavily. Her cell connected to his, and one barred wall was all that separated them from each other's wrath. Although Nudge didn't have much of a wrath. She was more like a bunny trying to growl at a wolf. It just didn't work.

"Why don't you come over here and make me, Slut?" He shouted, turning to Nudge who instantly cowered away from him.

"That was harsh, even for you." I retorted for the poor girl, who was already trembling from the fear of what they would do with her; their new specimen. Completely unexposed to any treatments, injections, or testing.

"Yeah well, it's the only way to get through that thick skull," Ari grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked away from her and me both. Instead he looked over to the cell next to mine, where Lupo sat on a bed made of stone, a heavy sigh lingering on her lips as she stared at the floor in defeat.

"Well guys, we need a plan, so I guess we should-"

"Should what? Escape? Runaway? Live our lives in fear? Never settle down?" I sneered, utterly on edge after everything that's happened. I had an opportunity to win, but I lost, and although I kept telling myself to keep holding on, I didn't want to. I had to though, for Max. Her life was the only thing keeping me from quitting. As long as she breathed I would too.

"Yes. That's exactly what we do, and you wanna know why? Because we all got ourselves into this, and we all owe it to Max to get her and us out of here. She'd much rather run away than go through this hell, and I know you would too." Lupo growled, effectively shutting me up. She was right. I'd much rather run away from these people than face them.

"Hey guys… where's Iggy?" A raspy voice suddenly spoke up, and all four of us caged animals turned to Max, who coughed viciously as she rolled onto her side, curling into a ball of blood and flesh as she clutched her stomach and let the blood pour out of her mouth.

"Max! Baby, you're okay!" I cheered brightly, reaching my arm through the bars towards her, she smiled weakly and reached her own trembling hand out to intertwine our fingers together.

"Takes more than a little knife to knock me down," She choked out, and at that moment I couldn't help but silently thank whatever it was- or whoever it was- that was giving Max the strength to push herself up and stumble over to my cell, coughing and falling over herself before leaning against the bars. I couldn't help but be overwhelmed with a certain kind of joy I didn't understand as we hugged each other, even with the bars partially separating us she was in my arms, I was holding her. Everything was okay.

"Great. I'm glad you got your reunion, but seriously, where is my little whore?" Lupo asked, and I couldn't help but chuckle at her word choice. Everyone looked around, but Iggy was nowhere to be seen. The rest of the cells were empty except for our select four, and he wasn't laying in the middle like Max had been.

"Oh no. They must be doing something to him," Nudge gasped, and I rolled my eyes at the worry in her tone even as Lupo growled threateningly.

"You have no right to worry about Iggy." She snapped, and I opened my mouth to hush her up when suddenly the warm hand holding mine disappeared.

"Max!" Ari exclaimed just as she collapsed to the ground in a heap of forced breaths and vain attempts to get back up.

"Sweetheart, stop wasting your strength," I whispered, sitting down to be closer to her. I held her hand in mine once more, refusing to let go. She gave a little squeeze, letting me know she was okay, before mumbling something I couldn't quite understand. I didn't ask her to repeat herself though. She didn't need to waste her breath.

"Okay, Max is hanging on by a thread here people, let's start thinking of escape plans," I spoke hastily, bringing her hand through the bars to my lips and pressing them against her palm. She snickered quietly, which turned into her coughing. It took a long moment but she soon faded back into shallow breathing that meant the worst was knocking on her door.

"Alright well if Ari and I morph we might be able to use our claws to undo the locks-"
"And I can use my bobby pin!" Nudge chimed in, suddenly yanking one out of her hair and immediately getting to work.

"Alright, while Slutbag does her own thing we break out, find my little whore, and get out of here."

"You have some colorful names for everyone," I pointed out, slightly amused by the words that effortlessly fell out of her mouth.

"Everyone except me," Ari spoke up, a smirk on his face.

"Shut it, Toucan, or I'll make something up for you." Lupo hissed, and I chuckled as Max's brother literally took a step back in astonishment.

"Toucan?"

"You have a big nose." Lupo shrugged as Ari's hands shot up to cover his nose, which really didn't seem big so much as crooked.

"Anyways, get to the unlocking," I muttered and watched as Lupo began to morph somewhat, her nails extending to claws and her mouth falling into a muzzle as Ari did the same. Whereas Lupo made a quick, sleek morph, Ari's was more awkward and lopsided. It almost seemed to hurt him as he cringed every few seconds and bit his lip until he had no more lip to bite.

"Well that was… strange." I spoke up and Lupo smirked as much as a dog could as she reached her claws and shoved one into the lock, turning and jiggling for minutes on end. A whole ten minutes went by before she gave up and looked over to Ari, who hadn't managed to make the lock budge either. They both morphed back to normal, Lupo as graceful as before and Ari cringing all the way through.

"Well that was a bust," She muttered and Ari nodded in agreement, sighing deeply just as Nudge walked into all of our peripheral visions.

"Not for me. In fact my bobby pin and I have been out for about seven minutes." She spoke smugly, looking to Lupo as if she had just eaten a steak and thrown her the grimy leftover bone.

"Well then stop grinning and get us out of here, Slutface." Lupo snarled, her words coming out as fast as bullets, though they didn't seem to faze Nudge as she first sauntered over to me and picked the lock within two minutes. I got out quickly and scooped Max up in my arms. She stayed quiet, but her eyes blinked up at me with a small grin on her face. She mouthed something at me, something I just barely caught.

This is amusing. I chuckled and nodded in agreement as Nudge unlocked Ari's cage door next and he stepped out.

"Alright let's go," she said, taking her and her bobby pin towards the door.

"You forgot Lupo." I pointed out, looking towards the girl who had fury in her eyes as she watched Nudge move her hips as if she could walk the walk as much as she talked the talk. Which she couldn't. This was just one lucky fluke.

"No I didn't," Nudge shook her head and kept walking. I scowled, about to grab her and shake her when somebody beat me to it. Ari's hand latched onto Nudge's arm, and he dragged her over to Lupo's cage, bringing his mouth deadly close to her ear.

"Listen up, Go-Go Gadget. You have exactly three seconds to start picking the lock or I'll rip your pretty hand off and do it for you," Ari's voice was deadly calm as he spoke each word with such clarity the color drained from Nudge's face. Her body physically began trembling as Ari rested a hand on her shoulder and began to count, but before he could even get a syllable out she was working on it. In her rushed fear she was much more clumsy, and much less cocky as she squirmed under the eighteen year old's stare.

It took her at least seven minutes just to unlock Lupo's cell, which admittedly was impressive for the pressure she was under from the guy who continued to breathe down her neck until Lupo was completely out of the cage. She snapped at Nudge, causing the terrified girl to jump back in fear, before smirking and turning to Ari.

"You scared the crap out of her," she noted with nothing but amusement in her voice.

"And you did the same," he added, a knowing grin on his own features as he walked over to me and began to gingerly take Max out of my arms.

I instinctively pulled her back, but Ari took her anyways. "Trust me, I can hold her longer than you can," he said, the joy of putting fear into young girl's hearts gone. He was already transformed back to protective big brother, and I didn't blame him. With Max's condition and all I'd be protective to.

"Alright, just… be careful." I mumbled, placing a kiss on her forehead before turning to the door.

"Don't worry, I got her." He promised and I nodded once before watching as Lupo walked up to the door to knock it open.

"Alright Ladies, stand back and watch the-" Lupo stopped mid- knuckle crack, her eyes widening as the door opened all on its own, and there in front of us stood Jeb, a smile on his face, and Iggy, a guilty expression on his.

Well Iggy's guilty. But why? Review to find out! 10 reviews before the next update and first review gets a sentence from the epilogue!

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