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Chapter 19: Nightmares

Max's POV

I startled awake as soon as Angel tugged on my blanket. I squinted to look at her than yawned looking around the broken room.

To get the info we needed off the jump drive we had to stop and use the laptop. Only to find out we had to charge the darn thing. The younger kids had wanted to go back to Dr. M's but I have a feeling she knows what I'm up to.

Seeing as I didn't even bother saying goodbye to her.

"Morning Max or well night, you didn't sleep that long. I think I remember seeing on TV that you can get a medicine to fix that. Then I saw this other commercial where you can take this little drink to keep you up longer. Those probably come in handy, I could sure go for one right about now." I smiled sleepily at Nudges tired rant.

"Hey Nudge." I said sitting up a little. She looked up over the glare of the laptop light smiling at me. "Any luck?" I asked even though I knew she would have woken me and probably everyone else if she did find anything.

She pouted and shook her head. "Not yet, but I'm close! I swear I can feel it." She said looking at the laptop miffed. I nodded trying to stop myself from yawning again and failing.

Nudge yawned after watching me and chuckled looking tired. I scanned the dirty living room seeing Fang sitting under the broken window. Sitting up with his arms crossed, the only thing giving away that he fell asleep on watch was his closed eyes.

"We should both get some sleep." I said standing and closing the laptop in Nudges lap. When I looked at Nudge again she was already closing her eyes. I smiled to myself and pulled her up leading her over to mine and Angel's spot in the small living room.

Honestly we were lucky to find this empty house with its lights left on, something Ella says the bank does to keep people from breaking in. It didn't stop us though in fact we came just so we could charge the laptop. But that broken window is keeping the whole place freezing.

I looked at Fang knowing he was cold and picked up Nudges blanket, putting it next to him. If I put it on him he'll only wake up and refuse to sleep. Hopefully he'll get cold and use it if it's next to him.

I walked back over to Nudge and Angel taking the spot on Angel's right so she was in the middle. I fell back against the creaky wooden floor, staring at the yellowing ceiling now wide awake.

I looked over at Nudge to make sure she was asleep before I pulled the keys Iggy took from Jeb, out of my pocket.

I ran my fingers on the edges of each key; a house and car key then a third that had 'Itex' inscribed on it.

All day Nudge and Fang had been switching on and off trying to find some clue to what I'm supposed to save the world from. But the whole thing was nothing but documentations on successful and failed experiments. A lot of pictures I wish Nudge never had to see, seriously the things they do are just downright disturbing.

Fang had called me over to show me a certain file labeled 'Net Worth'. Which is basically how much a person is worth, or in this case a mutant.

And my whole Flock was in there.

I tightened my hand around the keys.

Did you do it for the money Jeb?

Angel tugged on the blanket again.

"Help him." The words were barely a whisper, but they caught my attention. I leaned closer to Angel's sleeping face and moved her shoulder a bit thinking she was having a nightmare.

Her bright blue eyes opened to slits and even through the sleepy haze on them I could tell they were fixed on me. She grabbed the front of my shirt in her tiny fist so I wouldn't move away.

"Help him."

"Help who?" I asked rubbing the spot between her wings so she'd go back to sleep.

"Iggy…" I blinked at her for a second and just stared.

"I'm trying." I said back, pushing her back a bit to lie down.

"Iggy…don't." She muttered closing her eyes again. I narrowed my eyes at her and looked straight up where the room Gazzy and Iggy had decided to sleep in was. Only to hear a light thud and see dust fall from the ceiling.

Iggy's POV

Now I don't know what type of nightmares regular people have but if you're blind like me, we have auditory nightmares. So instead of seeing a freaky monster chasing me, I get the pleasure of hearing it close in on me while I run into an endless black abyss.

That's not even the best part!

If you're me and you get your eye sight stolen from you after seeing nothing but cage doors, needles and Eraser's for the whole beginning part of your childhood. Then you get distorted flashes of white coats coming at you with stupid long needles and wolf looking monsters holding you down to strap your arms and legs on to medical beds.

So you understand the basic gist of my nightmares right?

They're like Tim Burton movies on meth.

Well tonight my brain decided it'd throw in another obstacle to my life.

"Nudge look out!" My head whipped to where I thought the Gasman's voice came from.

Tonight I get to have the sounds of my family being tortured while I run in circles like an idiot.

I stepped in the direction to the Flock that was away from the growls and howls ripping through the room. Or was it the woods? Where the hell are we? The next second it didn't matter because I heard Nudge shriek at the top of her lungs.

"Nudge, no!" Gazzy shouted coming towards me and going to the danger. I went to go with him to help Nudge but as soon as I took a step it was like I was standing on a raft in a very small pool. I lost my footing and fell for what seemed like hours before I fell back into the same area with the sounds switching sides.

"Gazzy stop! Come back!" I turned behind me to Angel's cry. Right before I heard what sounded like an explosion too far away to affect me.

"What's going on!" I yelled out hoping to get a grip on the situation, in one ear growls were coming in from all different places. One second they were miles away the next I swear I could smell an Erasers breathe in front of me. Than in my other ear the entire flock's voices were crying and screaming. But as soon as they passed me it was like they were goners.

"They're gone we need to move. Now." Fang's voice came in calm but I could hear his fear, shit this must be bad.

"What are you insane? I'm not leaving them behind!" I gasped hearing Max's voice for the first time.

"Max! Tell me what's happening!" I shouted but it was like I wasn't even there.

"It's too late." Fang said quietly.

"Don't say that!" I heard Max's voice go hysterical.

Another explosion went off closer to me and I heard Angel's scream rip through the air as it flew towards me.

"Angel!" Max's cry reached me and I dived to where I heard Angel coming from only to miss her and fall again.

"No! Angel, not you too!" Max screamed closer to me, I reached out but felt nothing.

"We have to go!" Fang shouted at Max. I went to yell at him but Max beat me to it.

"Why are you giving up?" She sounded so hurt and I felt myself look away even though I couldn't see them.

"I'm not. They're already gone we need to save ourselves."

"Over my dead body!" Max shouted.

"Fine! Have it your way." And for some reason I knew he was gone.

"No! Fang don't go!" Max's voice was pleading and for a second I got angry for no reason. I faced my right to the growls. I'm not going to just stand here and listen to this. I have to help the kids. I braced myself and walked to the noises only to fall and fall and fall…

"Ugh!" I felt like a zombie, but the pain in my head was hard to ignore. I reached up and put a hand to my forehead.

"That sucked!" I said grabbing at my ribs where something was digging into my side. I sat up and pulled a bomb off me that I had fallen asleep working on last night. I yawned rubbing at the sandman in my eyes.

"You okay Ig?" Gazzy asked.

"Yeah mostly." I mumbled holding my side; I finally opened my eyes just to see my nightmare come true.

I saw nothingness, only pointless sounds. At least the floor was under me. At least I could feel the bomb in my hand.

You know that feeling you get when you wake up from a crazy ass nightmare and realize none of it was real?

Numbly I yanked on a wire and heard the ticking start.

I wish I knew that feeling.

Mwhahahahahaha!

Next chapter is some good ol' fluff and classical Maximum Ride badassery!

R&R

-xXWriteItOutXx