SNEEK PEEK:
The Flock was gone. Dispersed. Gone to find their assigned positions. It was daybreak. I marched myself forward and stood at the gates of Hell, waiting for the devil himself to wake up to find me here. Today was the day. The final battle. The day we'd win.
CHAPTER ONE: PERFECTION
Things were perfect. How often do you hear me say that word? I know, rhetorical question. But never. Ever. Just to give you poor, uninformed people a grasp at the severity of my choice of words. But I had it all:
1. Safety powered by the government (more on that in a sec)
2. Freshly baked chocolate-chip cookies
3. My mom and half-sister right by my side
4. My Flock right by my side
5. A potion that's made us pretty much immune to the slightest sneeze (and expiration date) AND
6. Fang
I sighed as I sank my teeth into my fifth cookie. Life don't get much better than this, people.
After camping out for about 3 weeks, the Flock and I managed to make it down to Arizona to my mom's house without too much trouble. Once we had settled my mom brought out the latest of her ideas to keep her little bundles of joy safe.
"Secret service?" I asked, warily.
She nodded. "Yes. Round the clock protection by trained professionals. From the same line of people who keep the President safe." Line of people? Sheesh. She made them sound like a product or something. 'Come buy your own agent for a new low price! From the same line of people who keep the president safe! Only $99.95 plus shipping and handling with your club card.' I heard a stifled chuckle from Angel and I smiled. My beautiful six-year-old mind reader.
"They'll make sure you always have back up and one hundred percent safety," she finished.
"Wouldn't that mean they'll be following us everywhere?" I pondered. In that case, no. HECK no. I don't care who it was but I wasn't going to let a bunch of rough-and-tough governmenty people stalking us everywhere. I remembered the cameras in Dr. Athens's house and shuddered.
"No," my mom replied. "But you will have this." She pulled out a cell phone and handed it to me. "Call the number on the back to talk to Mr. Landell. He's the head of the agency program and a personal friend of mine and Jeb's." She pointed to a red button. "This is for emergencies only. Press this button if you can't speak and people will be sent to find you. The device has a tracker."
I checked the device out. It looked like a normal cell phone. I stuffed it into my front pocket of my jeans and nodded to my mom. Pros: We will have security wherever we go. Cons: We will have security wherever we go. People tracking us, following us, updating us. I hate people.
An alarm beeped and my mom looked at her watch. "Well, have to go to work. You'll be gone when I get back?" I nodded. She grabbed her keys and kissed my forehead and then Ella's. She rustled Gazzy's hair, pinched Angel's cheek, gave Nudge a quick hug, patted Iggy's face (she was replied by a sour face), and then stopped at Fang and just looked up at him. She was about two inches shorter than him. She smiled at him and put a hand on his shoulder. Fang looked confused. "Take care of my baby," she whispered. Fang gave a slight smile and she turned out and to the door. My heart swelled as I watched her. We'd only spent the last three days with her and she's already provided us with so much. Ignoring my fighting emotions to keep everything in like the strong leader I am, I ran up and hugged my mommy like a freaking little kid. She just breathed in and hugged me tighter.
"I love you, sweetie."
I nodded. "Love you, too, Mom."
She finally let go and let out a teary breath. "Well, can't be late for work. I hope to see you all again soon." We all just stood and smiled at her. "Fang?" the boy's face looked alert and he gave her his fullest attention. "Remember what I asked of you." Fang just nodded nonchalantly and smiled. And with that my mom was out the door.
I turned around to face my Flock plus Ella and sized them all up. "Well?" I asked. "How shall we spend our last day in luxury?" I watched each face. Everyone had the same reaction but they each read a different response. I looked to Ella. "You pick."
Ella bit her lip and looked up in thought. "I have just the idea," she said slowly. Everyone's eyes turned towards the girl who held the fate of the day in her hands.
--
I wanted to protest. I really did. I wanted to scream and I was bouncing in between both of my feet anxiously. Fang nudged me with his elbow and I glanced up to him. I couldn't read his eyes but I could read his lips. They were straight and pressed against each other signaling for me to calm down. He didn't want to do this either. I guessed he was right. I did tell Ella she could pick our event for the day. But why this? On the other extremes, Nudge was practically jumping up and down with excitement.
"This is sooo cool!" she squealed. "I've never been to the movies before! I've always wanted to go! I can't wait to have the popcorn and a soda and candy! And I can't wait to see the movie! I've been wanting to see this one! Oh, Max, isn't this great?!"
Nudge spun around and smiled brightly at me. I quickly put out a toothy-fake smile and exchanged it with a frown once she turned back around. Angel came up and grabbed my hand.
It'll be okay, Max. Besides, we've got government people, right?
I smiled down at my sweet angel, Angel. I gave her hand a tight squeeze then she ran up as the line moved forward and met me at the desk. I had seen people do this on TV. You just said the name of the movie and how many tickets, right? I looked up through the clear plastic window just as a girl in her early twenties looked up at me. I frowned noticing her, yes, red hair. I have instant grudges against people with red hair.
"May I help you?" she asked almost too sweetly.
I sighed. "Yeah…could I get seven tickets for the Light in the Darkness movie?"
"Sure thing. How many adults and how many children?"
"Uhhh…" I looked over at a chart on the window. It read: 'Children (12 and under): $7.25 Adults, Seniors: $9.50'. "Three children and four adults."
"Okay…that will be $59.75." I handed the lady three twenties through the hole in the window and she gave me seven tickets and a quarter. I turned around to my gang and motioned for them to follow me into the theater.
Everyone ran up to the candy counter as Fang and I stayed behind and gave the guy at the front our tickets. He ripped all seven of them on the little tear line and pointed to the left. "Theater four." He mumbled. I took the tickets back and thanked him before joining the others at the counter. I looked up to see about five workers scrambling around behind the counter getting drinks, candy, popcorn and slushies.
After mounds of food got stacked on the glass counter and everyone grabbed their treats, Fang stepped up and ordered a large bag of popcorn and an extra large soda. He paid. Then he turned to me. "Wanna share?" I smiled and nodded. We made our way left to theater four and entered through the door. Inside it was pitch black silent. I started to get goose bumps. If you've paid any attention at all to my past, you'd know that I hate dark places with bunches of people I don't know or trust. And this is just what this place was. A heart attack in a stuffy room waiting to happen.
We all filed in to the middle row in the back section. I sat by Fang on the edge. He sat by Iggy who sat by Ella who sat by Nudge who sat by Angel who sat by Gazzy. That's when it hit me. Why were we here? Iggy's freaking blind for crying out loud. (A/N: I TOTALLY forgot about that but was too lazy to think up anything else for them to do. Oh wells!) I took a second glance at Iggy. He was sitting staring sightlessly at the huge screen in front of us. Well at least he wasn't deaf, I guess.
Then suddenly, all of the lights went out except for tiny dots on the floor outlining the escape path. (Yes, escape path). Then, out of nowhere, extremely LOUD music started playing from the speakers around us. I jumped in my seat, gritting my teeth and gripping my arm rests. Fang's hand gently made its way on top of mine. My heart fluttered and I shot a quick glance at him and then back at the screen. He was watching the trailers of movies play out before us and he looked tense. I don't think he liked the idea of this as much as I did. Neither did Iggy. But the others all looked enthused. I guess we could put up with this for a few hours. What's the harm?
--
Every loud, unexpected sound that came from those speakers made me jump. And each time Fang squeezed my hand gently to let me know that everything was okay. Once the movie was over I ran out into the afternoon light, carelessly blinding my now dark absorbed eyes, and gulped in the fresh, desert air.
"Gloria!" I cried. Fang chuckled and came up behind me, rubbing my shoulders.
"That was absolutely amazing!" Gazzy yelled. "They blew up an entire CITY! Didjya hear it, Iggy? Didjya?"
Iggy nodded, hands in his pockets, smirking. "Music to my ears." Angel, Nudge and Ella were all talking about the romance in the movie. About how the girl was sooo absolutely perfect for the guy and how hot the guy looked in that movie.
"Wasn't he just so amazingly hot?" Nudge asked me in a sing-songy voice.
I shrugged. "Meh. I've seen better." I sneaked a wink at Fang and he smiled approvingly. But I mean, come on. Who couldn't resist his smile? Not even a camera could-…forget I said that.
"Ohmygod!" Nudge cried again. I looked down to her excited face. "It's like…you!" I raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, sweets. Welcome to planet Earth, how may I help you?"
Nudge shook her head and her curls bounced. "No! Like, you and Fang! Like in the movie! Ya know? Growing up together, becoming best friends, the guy falling in love with the girl, the girl running away, the girl coming back and telling the guy she loves him, they get together, get married, have a wedding, having-."
"OKAY!" I interrupted with wide eyes and a horrified face and started walking away. "Who wants ice cream?"
--
After we got back to the house I ordered for everyone to start packing their bags. "You can each take one pack but don't stuff it with more than you can carry. Remember, we're gonna be logging major hours and I don't wanna stop just because someone packed one too many cases of matches." I glared over at Gazzy and Iggy who just smiled at me innocently. Crazy mutant-bird-kid pyros.
I cleaned up the dirty dishes and all of the action figures Mom had bought for Gazzy and the trinkets Nudge and Angel received and headed upstairs. I gave each doll and figure to their rightful owner and proceeded to my room. I looked around. I had already packed a first aid kit, my clothing, some food and cash and I had my new cell in my pocket. I picked up a picture from my bedside table and looked at it admiringly. It was of my family. Fang, Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge, Angel, Ella, me and my mom. I frowned. Two people were missing. Jeb and my half-brother, Ari. Ari was dead and I had no clue where Jeb was, let alone if he was safe. We left him late in the night escaping from Dr. Athens's house. He had saved us, all of us, again. He let us free and gave us our antidotes so we didn't drop like rocks with bird flu out of the sky.
I stuffed the picture into my pack and zipped it up. Yeah, it was a little heavier than I wanted it to be, but it had all the necessities. Besides, Fang had the laptop so it wasn't like he could carry any of this stuff. Speak of the devil…
Fang placed his hands on my shoulders from behind and placed a quiet kiss on the top of my head. "Ready to go, Oh Leader One?"
I chuckled at the snide remark. "Why yes, Oh Emotionless One."
I turned around to see his smile and my heart filled. I love his smile. "Emotionless?" he asked, pretending to be hurt. Something shone in his eyes as he leaned closer to me. He put one hand in between my wings on my back and one hand behind my head. He pulled me against him and kissed me slowly and tenderly. I moved my hands up his chest and onto his shoulders and kissed him back. After a moment he pulled back.
"Okay," I said. "Almost emotionless." He smirked and crashed his lips back down on mine with urgency and power. He moved forward and walked me into the wall. Fang kept kissing me with roughness and dominance. I smiled against his lips. I am the leader but…I don't always have to be. Fang was just so... I don't know. I just don't know. But I allowed it. We finally broke apart and breathed quickly and heavily. I kissed him quick before slipping through his grip and to my bed. I put on my pack and headed out the door without a word. I heard his footsteps stop out in the hall right outside my room.
"You're a wonder, Maximum Ride."
I smiled. Good, I thought. Because I hate it when people have me figured out.
I have you figured out, I heard. I froze at the bottom of the stairs and stared. Dr. Lyons?
A/N: OKAY! First chapter of the sequel. I was gonna put it up when I got back from AZ (why is it that whenever Max is somewhere I'm in the same place?? As I read MAX, I'm in Honolulu at the Pearl Harbor Memorial, as I write this, I leave for AZ…..weird.) ANYWHO, hope you like. Title not final. You have a better one (anything is better, trust me) let me know. My skills are not in titles they're what are beyond the title. There's some minor PreAP English metaphoric, go beyond the lines speak for ya! Enjoy. –burnoutbright.