Chapter 16

For a short moment I was frozen, paralyzed with shock and fear. I stared up at the flaming ball in the sky, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

And then I snapped.

"FANG!" I screeched, feeling everything break within me. The world was over.

Barely aware of what I was doing, my legs started to sprint for the water. I forgot that I could fly. I forgot I had a flock, a family, behind me. As my feet splashed into the frigid ocean, all my mind could wrap around was the fact that Fang was in that big ball of fire.

Iggy caught up to me as I reached the water, wrapping his arms around my waist, holding me back. The salt from the ocean and the salt from the tears streaming down my face mixed as we both tumbled into the ocean, my struggling doing nothing against Iggy's ropey arms.

"No, Max!" he yelled, wrapping his arms tighter. I was too far gone to notice the despair that filled his voice, too.

"Fang!" I yelled again, not even caring that my voice cracked. "Oh, God," I cried. "Fang! Nooooo!"

Could this really be happening? Did that plane just explode with Fang in it? No. No. It couldn't be real. It just couldn't. I couldn't bear it. If Fang was gone, I couldn't live. If Fang was gone, I would die, too.

Still struggling desperately to get free, I felt Iggy pull us farther back onto the beach, out of the water. I heard someone sobbing, heartbroken, gut-wrenching sobs. It couldn't be me. I wasn't capable of making that sound, was I?

No, no, no, Fang, oh, God, Fang, I kept yelling like a record on repeat, till my voice was hoarse and cracking. Distantly, I felt Iggy stroking my hair, whispering to me. Was it my imagination, or was his voice thick with tears, too?

"I know, Max," he said.

Time seemed to stop. Everything stopped. The earth stopped turning. My heart stopped beating. Surely it couldn't continue to pump away when it's other half was gone, lost in that giant mass that was the Atlantic Ocean. Eventually I stopped struggling, leaning into Iggy's body, clutching him for support. I couldn't hold myself upright anymore. There was no point anyway. Without Fang, there was no point to anything. Even Angel, my baby, calling out to me from behind, couldn't make me respond. Nudge touching my arm in her gentle, motherly way couldn't make me turn my eyes away from the burning disaster in front of me. The flames flickered over the terrified, despair-ridden faces of my flock, but I was gone.

The pain I felt was like none I'd ever experienced before. Getting shot? Piece of cake. Broken arm? No biggie. Concussion? I'd welcome one after this. After this, I'd gladly subject myself to the torture inflicted on us at The School. Nothing compared to this, the pain of my heart ripping to shreds inside my chest as I continued to breathe.

Without Fang, who was I? I was no one.

Without Fang, I wasn't Maximum Ride.

And Fang was dead.