Fang: A Maximum Ride Novel (11 page)

43

DYLAN HADN’T BEEN ALIVE much longer than eight months and didn’t know much about flock taboos, but one thing he instinctively knew:
Don’t mess with a bird kid’s wings
.

And Nudge’s were about to be snapped. Then they’d throw her out the window.

“Don’t you
dare
!” Dylan cried as he leaped for Nudge. Snarling, an Eraser shot out a boot-clad foot, caught Dylan squarely in the chest, and sent him flying across the room. He slammed into a wall and hit his head hard.

In the midst of the battle, Gazzy raced to the kitchen. One of Iggy’s big carving knives, maybe … ? A fast glance revealed nothing — the kitchen was cluttered with dirty plates and pots.

He spied a possible weapon, grabbed it, and raced back to the stench-filled living room, where Nudge was still struggling. An Eraser clamped a hairy paw over her mouth, its rough claws scraping her cheek. Gazzy punched a button on his weapon and jabbed it hard into the back of one of Nudge’s captors.

“Attack of the Kitchen Appliances!” Gazzy yelped hoarsely, never a great one for stealth.

The mixer blades quickly began to spin, and just as quickly got horribly tangled in the Eraser’s long, greasy fur. Gazzy pushed the speed button to “high,” and fur actually started to rip out.

The Eraser howled and whirled to kick at Gazzy. The moment he dropped his guard, Nudge twisted away from him hard, and freed one arm. Then she pulled back and gave the other Eraser a huge snap kick right to his stomach.

When he loosened his grip on her, Nudge instantly dropped to the floor and grabbed his ankles, yanking them as hard as she could. In the next moment Akila lunged at him, barking and snarling, and the Eraser couldn’t regain his balance. He went tumbling out the window, down, down, down into the canyon below.

Gazzy pushed the mixer into the other Eraser again, ripping out more chunks of fur and skin. The Eraser shrieked in pain, trying to bat the mixer away, but it was hopelessly entangled in his fur.

Iggy’s keen sense of smell had been the most assaulted by the gas bomb and Eraser stench. But the upside was he could easily gauge each Eraser’s position. Just as the wounded creature roared at Gazzy, Iggy flung something that glinted in the light as it spun through the air: the blade from his food processor. It sliced through the fur and embedded itself in the Eraser’s back.

“Same bat time,” said Gazzy, grabbing the Eraser’s feet.

“Same bat canyon!” Nudge coughed, helping Gazzy heave the struggling half-man out the window.

That shifted the balance. The flock, Akila, Total, and Dylan could now gang up on the remaining Erasers, two or three on one, and over the next few minutes managed to shove, kick, tip, and otherwise eject every single one of them out the canyon-side windows.

Then it was eerily silent, except for a few wheezes and coughs.

Angel jumped off the deck and flew upward, to see if there were other threats.

“Turn on all the fans!” gasped Dylan, then he leaned over and retched. He’d been breathlessly taking out Erasers since the moment they hit the floor.

Angel came back in, rubbing big dark bruises on her upper arms. “I don’t see anything else,” she said. “Everyone report.” She walked around the room, estimating the damage the way she’d seen Max do.

“Um, this place is shot to hell,” said Gazzy.

“Bloody nose,” said Iggy. “With red blood.”

Now that he’d been able to clear his lungs, Dylan was examining big gouges in his arm. “I’ll be okay, pretty much,” he said bravely. “But I’m worried about Nudge.”

She was crouched on the floor, twisting awkwardly to look over her shoulder. “I’m not sure, but one of my wings doesn’t feel right. Can you sprain a wing?”

“I jammed my pinkie finger,” Angel said, frowning. She gritted her teeth, gripped the end of it, and fearlessly yanked it back into alignment.

Akila was panting, and she and Total touched noses. “We’re okay,” said Total. “But I will never get the taste of Eraser out of my mouth.”

Angel held up a hand. “Shh! Incoming!”

Everyone braced as they heard noises outside.

Then Max and Fang landed on the deck, hopping and skipping to avoid all the debris and broken glass. Wideeyed, Max rushed through the shattered sliding door with Fang close behind her.

“Nice of you to join us,” Angel said.

“Gazzy, man, jeezum!” Fang exclaimed. “What the heck have you been
eating,
for God’s sake?”

“That was a smoke bomb!” Gazzy defended himself. “Not even I could fill this whole flippin’ house!”

44

“WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED?” I asked, taking in Iggy’s bloody nose, Nudge’s pained face.

“Erasers,” said Iggy angrily. “
Erasers
happened. But enough about us. How was your
joyride?
”

“I heard the choppers,” I said. “I came back as fast as I could.” I was still trying to process the “Erasers” part.

“Whatever, Max.” Iggy shook his head angrily. “You and Fang were off together — like always. The rest of us could have died here, but as long as you two get your face time, it doesn’t matter!”

“Hey!” came Jeb’s voice from outside. “Put down the ladder!” He was just returning from the dump. In a few moments, he was staring at us all in shock. Then he looked with dismay around the living room, which was now a poster child for the benefits of having home insurance. Which, of course, we didn’t.

“Erasers attacked,” I told him. “Apparently. While I was at the store.”

Jeb frowned. “Are you sure they were actual Erasers? Not robots?”

“These were definitely Erasers,” Gazzy said. “You can still smell them.”

“Look what I found outside.” Jeb held up a black duffel bag. “Maybe this’ll offer some kind of clue.” He opened it, and we all fell silent. Inside were black hoods. Clear vials of liquid. Hypos in cases. There were black plastic body bags.

“Those were for us,” said Gazzy, as we gaped at the bag’s contents. “They must have been trying to knock us out with that nerve gas stuff.”

“Erasers don’t use this kind of equipment. Only brute force,” Jeb remarked. “Someone else must have been out there too.”

“But weren’t all the Erasers wiped out?” I asked Jeb. Of anyone, Jeb would be in the know about the wolf boys.

Jeb nodded slowly. “The entire original production lines, as well as the next four generations, were all … retired,” he said. “But I wonder. After the School closed, the scientists, what was left of them, scattered. It’s possible — even likely — that one or more of them have set up shop somewhere else.”

“Where are the Erasers now? Do you know?” Fang asked the kids.

“Dumped ’em in the canyon,” Angel said, rubbing her hand.

“Good job, guys,” I said. “That was the way to go.” I tried a grin. “But I bet we’ll be smelling them for days, until the vultures finish them off.”

Fang strode back out to the deck, hopped up on the railing, and jumped off to investigate the remains. I saw envy and admiration war on Dylan’s face.

“So, Dylan, your first Eraser fight,” I commented, wondering how he had done.

“He did great,” said Total. “He’s a machine. Dylan’s like the top-of-the-line Cuisinart to Gazzy’s hand mixer.” Total was a bit of a gourmet, and his point was all but lost on me.

Dylan shrugged as if he’d done nothing at all, even though one arm had ugly gashes on it. His long-sleeved plaid shirt was in tatters.

“Um, we should probably be treating those wounds,” I said, sounding a little more concerned than I wanted to. That mother hen thing is a hard habit to break.

“Don’t worry, Max. I’ll be fine,” he said, taking his shirt off so he could check out the damage. I tried to avert my eyes from his muscular torso. But even more distracting was seeing just how shredded his arm really was under that shirt.

“Jeepers!” I couldn’t understand how Dylan could be so unflinching with that kind of damage. “Jeb, make yourself useful for once! You’ve got a medical background, don’t you?”

“I think I can fix it, Max,” Dylan said, as he pulled together ragged bits of skin and held them firmly in place.

The flock heals faster than normal humans, but what Dylan did next I’d never seen another bird kid even attempt: He raised his wounded arm to his mouth and used his own spit to wet the damaged areas. WTH?

“Eew!” Nudge said, and turned away. I, however, was fascinated. And terrified.

“Just a little trick Dr. Gunther-Hagen taught me,” Dylan said, as we watched his skin scab up and heal right before our very eyes.

45

I DIDN’T HAVE TIME to grill Dylan about just how much he’d been subjected to Dr. G.’s experimentation before Fang landed lightly on the deck and came in.

“There’s nothing down there,” he reported.

“What?” Nudge sounded stunned.

“Some blood. Bits of fur. Iggy’s mixer,” Fang clarified. “No bodies.”

“Whoever sent them picked them up,” Total said. “Like trash.”

“About my mixer,” Iggy began.

“It was all I could find!” Gazzy said. “You mixed someone to death?” I asked.

“I adapted to the circumstances,” Gazzy said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Hmm,” I said, starting to pace. “So — the Erasers are back. And someone came to get them. We didn’t hear or see how they got here. Choppers may or may not be related.” I rubbed my chin as I walked, trying to put this together.

“It’s nice of you to care
now,
” Iggy said, stopping me in my tracks.

“What’s
that
supposed to mean?” I put my hands on my hips.

“I’ll go ahead and name the elephant in the room,” Iggy went on, glaring over my shoulder. “You and Fang weren’t here when we needed you. You were out there” — he gestured to a wall — “because, let’s face it, you guys care about each other now more than you care about the rest of us.”

“What? That’s crazy! It was just chance. It could have been me and Nudge, or Fang and you. us not being here didn’t make this happen!”

“Unless someone was watching and saw our two best fighters leave,” Angel said.

It was a horrible thought, and it hit me right in the gut. My brain whirred.

“Look, I guess it’s natural,” said Iggy. “You’re teenagers, it’s springtime, everyone’s thoughts are turning to birds and bees and caterpillars and moths …”

“Caterpillars?” Nudge’s nose wrinkled.

“No one’s thinking about moths,” Fang said. I heard anger in his voice.

“It’s true,” Angel said. “You guys care more about each other than you do about any of us. And we’ve just seen how dangerous that is — for
us
.”

I was so horrified I couldn’t think of a snappy comeback.

“It’s time, Max,” Angel went on firmly. “You know it is.” She looked at the rest of the flock. “You guys know it too. It’s time for Max and Fang to move on.”

46

“MOVE ON?” I tried to ignore the squeak in my voice. “Have you been breathing next to Gazzy too long? What the heck are you talking about?”

“We used to be one flock,” Angel said, steely-eyed. “Now it’s like we’re a flock of four and a sub-flock of two. So maybe you guys should go be your own flock, by yourselves.”

“Listen, missy,” I began, letting danger drip from my words. “I’m still here, day in, day out, doing for this flock. So don’t be telling me —”

“I don’t have to tell you or anyone else anything!” Angel exploded. “We have eyes! We
see
how it is! All you think about is how to get away with Fang for a while! So I think it’s time you really got away!”

“I planned the whole birthday party!” I said. “For all of us! I helped create this house! For all of us!”

I shot looks at the rest of the angry — and in a few cases alarmed — flock. Dylan was frowning slightly, his face guarded. I wondered if he’d had anything to do with this.

“Angel?” said Jeb. “Be careful. I agree there might be need for a change. But maybe if I come back, we can all work toge —”

“Max.” Angel interrupted Jeb as if he didn’t exist. Her voice was quiet and calm. “I love you. I don’t wish you harm. But like you’ve said yourself, we’re only as strong as the weakest one of us. Right now, you’re making the flock weaker because your head and your heart aren’t with us. It’s time for you to move on. It’s time for me to be the leader.”

“You?” Jeb looked confused. I guessed he’d missed the first eighteen times Angel had tried to take over the flock.

“Oh, not this again!” I burst out, waving my arms. “Just once I’d like to be able to turn around without you stabbing me in the back!”

Angel’s face paled, but she stood firm. “Max, this has been coming for some time. You’re trying to have it all, and you just can’t. Look — it’s time for a vote. Max goes. Everyone who agrees, raise your hand.”

I blustered some more, but my heart sank as Iggy slowly raised his hand. His nose had stopped bleeding, but dark bruises were forming around his eyes.

Nudge, my Nudge, was next. Her cheeks were scraped, her shirt collar flecked with blood. She looked near tears, like she was making an impossible choice — but still choosing not me.

Gazzy raised his hand, not looking at me. His knuckles were swollen and scratched. And of course Angel had her hand up.

“Fang?” I turned to him. He wasn’t looking at me. He was glowering at Dylan, who was ever-so-subtly shaking his head. Like they were having some private guy talk.

“Fang! Tell them they’re overreacting.”

“Everyone is overreacting,” Fang said very slowly. “Even you.”

For a moment, I was speechless. Was Fang turning his back on me? Did Dylan have mind control powers like Angel? Was he doing a number on Fang?

Anything seemed possible.

“You’re my family,” I began, then stopped quickly as my voice threatened to break. I cleared my throat and tried again. “After the last time the flock split up, I swore I would do anything to keep us together, no matter what, for always. But it kind of takes
all
of us
wanting
to stay together.” I let out my breath slowly, to keep from crying. I shook my head. “I think you guys are making a mistake.”

The room was completely still and silent.

“But I can’t make you want me to stay.” I blinked a couple times, as if I would suddenly wake from an awful dream into a better reality — like, some stranger coming at me with an ice pick, ready to gouge my eyes out.

“So you’re sure? You want me to go?”

Nudge’s lip was quivering; none of them seemed happy, but they didn’t seem to be changing their minds either.

I couldn’t look at Fang. If he’d been holding up his hand, I would have wanted to just drop into the canyon like a stone, wings tucked in tight.

I nodded and swallowed. “Okay, then. Later.”

I turned and sprinted out through the smashed deck doors, bounced once off the deck railing, and launched myself into the sky, which seemed a million times bigger and wilder than it ever had.