Caught In Eagle Talons

Three: A Reunion

Max:

 When I woke up, Fang was lying next to me with Hope sleeping in between us. I could just make out the silhouette of Ari sleeping on the floor. I slowly made my way out of bed and down the stairs, careful to look out for my younger brother. When I got downstairs, I looked around, not sure what to do.

The house hadn't changed much since I'd been kidnapped. There were a few more pictures, but not many. There was one of Nudge in a gown and cap holding a diploma, and another of Gazzy holding car keys and jumping up and down in front of a blue car. It made my heart ache for everything I had missed.

"I thought you would be down here."

I turned around to see Fang standing behind me.

"I missed so much," I said sadly, as he pulled me into his arms.

"It was only one year." I smiled sadly into his shirt.

"You make it sound like it's no big deal."

"It isn't that big of a deal. We won't let it be. There will be more graduations, more driver's tests, and tons of other things that you won't miss."

"Still. I would have liked to see Nudge graduate and Gazzy get a car!"

"You know, I missed the birth of my daughter, so you're not the only one who has something to complain about."

"What did you do with Hope?! She can't sleep in a bed alone!"

"I put her back in the crib before I came down here. Don't worry. I do know how to be a good parent." I chuckled.

Suddenly, an alarm went off and Fang groaned.

"What's that?"

"It means I have to wake up Gaz and Angel for school."

"Could I do it?"

He looked me over then nodded his head.

"Same rooms right?" He nodded again.

I quickly ran up the stairs toward where I remember Gazzy's room being. As I opened the door, I noticed the amount of wires and gunpowder that was all over his floor. More bombs!  I sighed as I walked over to his bed. When I sat down he groaned and rolled over.

"Go away, Fang," he muttered.

"I'm not Fang," I said, smiling. At the sound of my voice, his eyes shot open and he looked up at me. Tears pooled in his eyes.

"Max?"

"It's me." I said, feeling tears of my own begin to spill. Gazzy jumped into my arms, just letting me hold him as we both cried.

"How?" he asked after a while. I just shrugged.

"I love you so much. I missed you!"

"I missed you so damn much."

"Language," I scolded, and he laughed. "I want to keep doing this, but let's catch up later, okay? Fang says you have to get ready for school."

Gazzy groaned. "Why? I mean, why?! We were having a heartfelt moment! Why did you have to ruin it?" I laughed through my tears as I stood up and walked out of his room and towards Angel's.

"Sweetheart?" I asked, cracking the door open. Angel was already up, digging through her drawers, looking for clothes. "Angel?" At her name, her head perked up. Slowly she turned around. Her eyes filled with tears when she saw me.

"Max!" She ran into my arms. Her smile could have lit up the world. "He found you! I thought I'd never see you again!"

"Same here," I said. "I love you. I love you so so much."

"Do I need to say how much I love you, because I think I'll win."

"Not possible. Now can you finish getting ready for school?"

"Okay," she said, her smile never leaving her face.

                                                                           *******

"Mmmmm. That smells soooo good!" I said as I walked down the stairs. Fang was on the couch, reading a book and a man I recognized as Iggy, was cooking. His head perked up when he heard my voice.

"I know that voice," He said, turning around. "Max?"

"Hey Ig." I pulled him into a hug, only to get another smell of whatever he was cooking. "Oh, Iggy, I'm gonna be honest; I love you but I think I love your cooking more."

Iggy snorted. "You have nothing else to say to me? You've been gone for a year!"

I shrugged. "The time for catching up will come later."

Iggy just smiled and shook his head. I smiled as I walked over to where Fang was on the couch.

"Did you wake them up?" Fang asked without removing his eyes from his book.

"Yep," I said slowly, leaning down to kiss him.

"Ew!" someone said from the stairs. Gazzy. "It'll take a long time to get used to you two together."

Gazzy was taller than I remembered and his voice was slightly deeper. He was currently wearing a gray sweatshirt with what I assumed was the name of his high school, and jeans.

Angel, who was behind him, rolled her eyes. She was taller too, her blue eyes now more vibrant and happy. She was wearing a T-shirt that said 'I'm not weird, I'm limited edition', and jeans with her blonde hair up in a braid.

"Well you better start trying," Fang said. He made a show of grabbing my shirt and pulling me down to kiss him again. Gazzy stuck his tongue out. They both sat at the island while they waited for Iggy to finish cooking breakfast.

"So, Max, where were you?" Gazzy asked. I froze. I know I should tell them. I had to. I felt Fang's hand reach out and grasp mine. I took a couple of deep breaths before finally managing to get some words out.

"Another School. A different one. Jeb was there. Ari too. They cloned him again. He helped me escape, actually. It was horrible. The things they did to me, to-" I choked on the last word. I couldn't say it. I didn't want to remember everything they did to my baby. To Hope.

I felt tears attempting to escape, and I tried to keep them in, but failed. Fang was with me in an instance. He jumped over the back of the couch to hold me and whisper sweet nothings into my ears. The others watched for a minute, before eating their breakfast as I sobbed. After about 5 minutes, I was feeling better and no longer crying.

"C'mon Ange, let's go," Gazzy said, standing up and grabbing car keys from a small bowl near the door. I looked out the window to see them get into a blue car. I watched silently as they pulled out of the driveway. The only thing left was a cloud of dust.