Maximum Ride: ENEMIES AND FRIENDS

Nudge

They came in the night without warning, but this time the Flock was ready. 

When the first pack of Erasers emerged from the woods, Gazzy sent them rocketing sky high before their alpha could howl on a charge.

Angel, controls the enemy mutants, making them fight the Flyboys in the air instead of the Flock.

Fang helps Iggy pull the bomb up to the roof, ready to end it all. Up the stairs they go. where Max's room used to send pain coursing through his veins since she's been gone, he it strengthens him to end this mess once and for all. On top of the roof, Fang sets the bomb down and immediately Iggy gets working on detonating it.

Nudge holds Total as they leave before the rest of the Flock as planned, flying low through the woods so they won't attract any Erasers.

Usually, she would be talking nonstop to Total about their new destination in Florida, but she has not talked much since the death of Max and Jesse. Total doesn't make a sound either. Where Nudge has stopped talking entirely, Total has started acting more like a normal dog than a mutant dog. He barks instead of talking, and he growls or wags his tail when he's anxious instead of cuzzing a blue streak.

  The little black terrier nuzzles his head near Nudge's chest to protect himself from the cold. Noticing this, Nudge opens her coat and secures him in there so that he'll be warm. To thank her, he gives her cheek a cold wet kiss with his tongue.

If it were any other day, she probably chuckle or complain about how gross it is to Max or Fang, but Max wasn't anywhere near and Fang was working on getting the rest of the Flock away.

She had no idea why Fang made the decision that her and Total should be the ones to head to Florida first, but whatever his reason was she trusted him. She had no idea if others could tell, but Nudge liked Fang very much. At first, it was just a brother and sister love, but then it started to grow to where she thought about him at night. Nudge loved the idea of Max and Fang together, but it was very hard to get over it.

It's not something a twelve year old should think about, but she wanted to know how it feels to touch him. How it feels to kiss Fang and hold his hand as a girlfriend and not a little sister. They weren't related by blood so it wouldn't be so wrong, right? And when she would turn eighteen(if she lived that long), he would be twenty-one(if he lived that long), right?

She loved Max as much as she loved Fang, but there was always a pang of jealousy coursing through her veins whenever she saw them alone together. They never kissed then, but she thought it was stupid that both were so confident but acted so utterly shy in front of each other. It would make anybody angry. And then Jesse cam into the picture and almost starting hating her too when she caught a glimpse of Fang and her having sex in the woods.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she heard a gurgling sound.-Her stomach.

  Giving a small chuckle, she looks down at Total. "I'm hungry, Total. I hope they don't mind if we stop and get something to eat."

By the time they land, she realizes her and Total are probably miles away from the rest of the surviving Flock. Just as she begins rubbing Total behind his ears, thunder rumbles through the sky and white lightning flashes, illuminating the dark around her . It's only twelve in the afternoon, but it looks like it's dark like it was dawn.

Pulling her hood over her head so she doesnt wet the weave that Max gave her as apart of a late birthday present, she hurries to find a restaurant fast.

  It begins to pour like stepping stones just as she runs into a convenient store.

"I want a burger, Total." she whispers in his ears. He just licks her cheek again in agreement as she heads down the aisle.

  Down in the hot food section, she finds nothing but hot dogs on a roller. Still , she was so hungry that she didn't care. "You like mustard on your hot dog, right?" she asks Total, trying not to thinks of all the processed meats rolled into the meat.

Total looks at her with wide round eyes as if she was crazy. "Just plain, Nudge, with a sprinkle of pickled relish. Thank you." Total whispers so that the people in the store don't notice a talking dog.

The both of them get four each and hot cocoa for her, and two bottles of water for them both to share. Walking up to the register, she pays the person $12.54 and takes the bag.

Walking out, she walks under a covered area to protect them from the rain until she finds a library. Sitting down in a corner outside on a set of steps, she sets Total down and  places two sets of hot dogs with a side of relish on a napkin.

Trying to make light of everything, she smiles at Total and says, "You cannibal, you."

Total looks at her almost about to say something sly back, but he quickly realizes that she is just trying to lighten the mood. " Ha, Ha, very funny. " he says instead, beginning to chow down on the delicious meat sticks.

Nudge begins eating her own, enjoying as the warmth from the food settles her empty stomach. Before she eats her third hot dog, she sets down on a cup of water for Total and begins drinking taking a sip of her hot cocoa, saving her water for later.

They watch as the rain pelts down as they continue eating. Once they finish, Nudge throws their trash in a nearby trashcan before heading back to Total who throttles towards her.

"I think I can fly myself." he says.

" Okay. " she replies, wishing that the rest of their friends, their family were still around as the Flock. As one.