Wingless – Chapter 1

By MyNameIsCAL

Dylan's in the story, but this doesn't really take place after a book, per se. Some events that took place in Fang and before that book will probably be referenced, but Fang hasn't left and isn't leaving. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

-Fang's POV-

"Fang…"

My name slipped through Max's lips, which were quavering now. I felt her take my hand, her teary eyes now meeting mine.

"Fang…" But she couldn't get the words out, so instead, she squeezed my hand.

"Max, it's okay," I managed to say.

That was when she finally broke down, slouching into the hospital bed next to me. I let her weep against me, wishing there had been a better way to save all of them. No matter what I thought of telling her, I knew it wouldn't be enough for comfort, that for the rest of her life she would blame herself for what happened to me. But I would be okay, I promised myself that. It was my choice, and it was the only way I could save everyone. Time healed all wounds, or so they say, but I would have given up my life for the flock.

"It's not okay, Fang." She breathed out, and I pulled her closer, but she only began to sob harder. "It should have been me, not you."

"Don't say that." I closed my eyes, resting my chin on her shoulder. "We're all alive, and we're going to be okay."

She knew I was right, but it would be a long time before she felt the same way about it. I closed my eyes, fighting my own tears now.

"I'll get you out of here soon," she sniffled. "I'm sorry, Fang."

I held her until she cried herself to sleep, my own tears streaming down my face, but I couldn't let her see me cry, I just couldn't.

I took my first steps out of the hospital with Max holding my hand. We were heading off to our old place, something that I guess had been one of the few places we ever called home. There was a minivan waiting for us in the parking lot, Dr. M in the driver's seat with Ella next to her. The flock filed out, slowly, and I suddenly felt this was like a funeral procession instead of a joyous reunion that we were all alive. Dylan came out last, and I had almost forgotten he stuck around.

I felt weak, suddenly, and Max gripped my arm, concern growing across her exhausted face. Angel came up to me first, wrapping her arms around me.

I'm really sorry, Fang. But we're all glad you're okay. We owe you our lives, and more. She was speaking for everyone without saying anything.

Iggy clapped me over the shoulder as I got into the back with Max's help. Mom asked me how I was feeling, and I muttered a response. The ride was about a two hour drive since we had to go up the mountain. To my dismay, Dylan sat on the opposite side of Max.

"Why didn't the rest of you just fly up?" I asked.

"We thought…we thought it would bother you," Nudge answered.

"It's okay, really." I let out a breath.

It had been a week ago since all of this happened. Jeb had us cornered and locked up. He had taken her and we were going to get her back, but Jeb knew we would come for her, so he set up an ambush. Then he offered us a deal. He'd let the others go if I gave myself up. Jeb was going to kill me, slowly and painfully. After he had injected Dylan into the flock, he was determined to get Max to fall for him, but Max stood her ground with me. Jeb kept his word and let them all go. If it hadn't been just me, it would have been everyone else too, and then Max would have found herself in a worse place, alone and probably stuck with Dylan.

But Dylan was the reason I was alive too, as much as I loathed him. He was the one that got back in and helped Max and the others rescue me before Jeb could do anymore damage. They had just made it in time to stop me from bleeding out, but of course the damage was irreversible. I would never fly again. Not on my own anyway.

I still remember all the blood. Jeb probably would have let me drown in it. I shivered, squeezing Max's hand, pushing the memory away/

"Fang?" Max rested her head against my shoulder. "What do you want for dinner? Iggy said he would cook something. We're going to stop at the grocery store."

"Whatever you want to eat," I told her. "Just…Something nice."

The car ride remained silent. Max and Angel sat in the car with me when the rest went to food shopping. Angel, no doubt, was reading through all my thoughts, and perhaps maybe it was better so she could tell the others to keep their mouths shut, to tell them that I didn't want them to feel sorry for me.

"Dylan's coming back." Angel sat up, craning her head to look out the window. "He and Iggy had an argument."

Max let out a sigh. "We all just need to go home."

Dylan got into the car, but Angel initiated conversation with him, and they exchanged words until the others came back. I closed my eyes, letting the car lull me to sleep.

I lay in bed. My bed. It felt good to be here, to feel a little at peace even though I knew Jeb was still out there. He was weak though, and flustered now that Dylan was supposedly on our side. I was weary of trusting Dylan, especially since Jeb told us that he was made to be for Max.

Dinner went smoothly. Everyone was slowly shifting back to being themselves. Nudge was talking, Gazzy was cracking jokes, and cooking seemed to loosen Iggy up. They were all watching TV now except for Max and Dylan. The two of them were conversing outside my door, and I wondered if Max had intentionally stopped there to talk so I could hear them.

"Let me help you, Max," Dylan was insisting. "It's going to be hard seeing him like that."

"The last person he wants to let in is you, Dylan." Max sounded exasperated. "I don't want to lose him. I don't know what's really going through his head. You don't just cut off someone's arm and expect them to heal and move on."

"I just…I'm just trying to fit in." He let out a sigh. "You're right, this isn't the best way to help."

"Well, look, if I need something, I'll let you know, okay?" Max was just trying to make him feel better now.

"Okay, yeah, let me know." I heard his footsteps disappear down the hall as Max entered.

"Doctor says we gotta clean around your stitches. He said there might be some bleeding and he doesn't want it to get infected, but you know, the wound should be all better in a few days." She shifted her weight.

I rose out of bed, wincing at the pain. It seemed on and off, probably due to the effects of the medication wearing off. If I closed my eyes, I swear I could still feel them there, but I tried not to think too much about them. She took my hand, leading me down the hall to the bathroom. I sat on top of the toilet, unbuttoning my shirt. I wasn't really supposed to be lifting my arms, so no t-shirts for me for a while.

"Max, if this makes you uncomfortable, maybe you should have someone else do it," I said.

She shook her head. "It's going to be me. It's better this way."

I nodded and pulled off my shirt, wincing at the cold of the bathroom. She took in a sharp breath, and I tried to catch her expression in the mirror to my side, but she angled herself to hide her face. I felt her pull off the old bandages. She let them fall into the garbage before grabbing a clean cloth.

"This might sting." She gulped, dampening it with the disinfectant. It reminded me of the hospital, the smell.

Silence seemed to ring as Max worked slowly. She was holding her breath, and I wished I could have turned around and pulled her into a hug. After what seemed like hours later, Max covered it with new bandages, telling me to put my shirt back on.

"Let me just—just was my hands."

I nodded, buttoning my shirt.

She dried her hands. "Alright, guess you're done now."

I pulled her into an embrace and she buried her face into my chest.

"Thank you, Max," I whispered. "I know this is hard on you. But I'm going to be okay. You're going to be okay too."

She shook her head.

"Max…" I let out a sigh, pulling her closer. "We're all here and alive. We always find a way to survive and to keep moving forward."

"I don't want you to feel like you're going to be left behind," she whimpered, clutching onto the back of my shirt.

"I know you won't let that happen." I kissed the top of her head. "Max, I love you, and so whatever you've been worrying about, whatever you're afraid of that might happen. You should just let go."

She let go of my shirt, arms now resting around me. "I—I love you too, Fang."

Well, this is my new story. As you can see, I've not done much work on my other ones, but I haven't forgotten about them! Anyway, I'll update something soon. Thanks for reading!