I flapped my wings as hard as possible, using my new vision to locate the house before I swooped down through the snowy winds of the blizzard around me.
I landed silently and gracefully next to it, before shifting into a pure white chinchilla and scuttling towards the house. I settled on the small window sill and looked into the seemingly abandoned house, realising it was in fact being occupied; by a face that we were all too familiar with.
Brigid Dwyer
And apparently, she had guests.
I took a deep breath, listening into their conversation and trying to broadcast what I was seeing to the others – a lot of hard work I might add.
"You want me to do what?" Her eyes had widened in shock,
"I want you to work with me and my father for a little while," I looked up towards the person speaking. A tall, slightly muscular blond whose thick hair covered the upper-half of his face; there were two bigger copies standing behind him.
"Why me?" His suddenly evil grin made me shiver,
"Right now, Maximum Ride is in my care"
I knew it! Max really is still alive! I knew it!
"For her work properly I need to get rid of all distractions. The Flock is her biggest distraction at the moment. I would like you to work with me, as I'm sure you have a better idea on who I'll be dealing with. You also have a copy of your old boss' notes right?"
My blood suddenly ran cold,
"Why... me?"
"I've been doing some research on you, as far as I know those machines which you call 'Silencers' only respond to your command, they would be very effective against these nuisances,"
"How do you know about my Silencers?" His smile suddenly turned innocent at Brigid's bewilderment,
"I told you, I've been doing my research" the silence that followed lasted for a long time; long enough for Brigid's three guests to pull up chairs and sit down.
"What... what's in it for me?" A smug grin was now on this man's face, almost as if Brigid was already on his side.
"You get Fang... eventually"
That's why he's grinning, Brigid's eyes immediately begun sparkling with interest.
"What do you mean eventually?"
"I mean, after we capture them, I need to borrow him for a little while – just to prove a point. Don't worry, when I'm done he'll be handed over to, tied and drugged so you can do as you please." A sinister smile began to spread across her face, making me shudder in fear of it.
"What about the rest of the Flock?" The man relaxed in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I have no use for them, if you want I can give them to you, otherwise they'll be exterminated – they're way beyond their sell by date already."
Brigid finally decided to move from her blazing fire place, heading towards a kettle and giggling quietly as she flicked it on.
"Then I believe we have a deal – I work with you, I get Fang, perfect condition, and the rest of the Flock. Maybe if I give the others back to the school I'll get promoted. But wait..." She turned to him, balancing on the edge of her small kitchenette. "What are you going to do about Max?"
"I bought her; she's now my property... as well as something you shouldn't worry yourself about. Besides," He uncrossed his arms, stretching them above his head as if he were truly at peace with himself. Sick bastard "Maximum Ride now has two things that keep her trapped where I want her" My eyes widened as I saw the picture that flashed in his mind, a picture of two small children being held in Max's arms.
What the HELL is that about?
"Well, that's enough information leaked to the enemy." He turned his head and I found my small, furry body pinned by icy turquoise eyes. Did he know I was there the whole time? "You better scurry off now Angel, before my brothers decide to play football with that new little body of yours. This will be the only time you'll ever get the chance to escape from me. Remember that."
The stubborn part of me wanted to stay and challenge him, but the larger, wiser part of my brain sent me off of the ledge and into the sky; furiously flapping my wings to get as far away from this man as possible.
Who the hell was this guy anyway?
And what the hell does he want with Max?
-Fang's POV-
Max is alive! She's really alive!
The words continued to run in my mind as I let out a slow sigh of relief, she is alive, I wasn't going crazy. She really is out there somewhere, waiting for us. Finally, there's some good news that I can take back with me. Maybe Emmanuel will finally stop crying... but still...
Who the HELL is that guy?
I should really stop saying hell all the time; it's really beginning to rub off on Angel.
"Fang, we have to report this back to base," My head snapped up when I heard Iggy's quiet mumble, my eyes gave a quick scan of our little shelter. We'd managed to somehow start a fire in this icy cave, and all of us were huddled up around it, roasting some meat – though what meat it was, and where Iggy got it from, was a question I didn't want to ask. Gazzy sat beside me, tearing away at some of his meat and gulping down some juice whilst Nudge sat cuddled up next to Iggy (for "warmth" apparently, warmth my ass). As excited as I was that Max really was alive, I couldn't help the sickening dread I was beginning to feel. Whoever that guy was, he's the one that bought Max and now had that woman and those creepy ass machines of her on his side. He'd also just offered me as a reward to that mentally insane creature, and basically everyone else in the Flock as well. But even with that, the thing that worried me the most was that image that Angel had seen before he noticed to her.
Those two children...
Why did Max look so happy whilst holding them?
"All of you saw that right? That guy just made an open threat to us, finding Max is going become a lot harder." I picked up a log from next to me and threw it into the fire, watching it blaze as I thought out my next words carefully. "We've now become the hunted, that guy wants us badly, and Brigid is now on side. We can't afford to sit idle like this." I sighed, pulling my meat from the fire and yanking my scarf down just enough for me to eat properly. "I know everyone's tired, but we need to finish our food and get out of here as soon as possible. I'm getting a seriously bad feeling coming off of that guy, and we don't know if Brigid has any of those Silencer things on hand at the minute. I also don't particularly want to find out either," I bit into my meat, chewing slowly as I relayed the message in my mind, hoping Angel would pick up on it. "You guys get some sleep, I'll keep watch. When Angel gets back and eats, we'll head out. I'll carry her if she's too tired."
I'm not a baby Fang, I can carry myself
I couldn't help but smirk at the annoyed chime of Angel's voice inside my head; before I continued chewing my food. I soon wandered back to my thoughts on those two children Max was carrying, feeling the frown on my face.
Who were they?
And why did they look so eerily familiar?