Maximum Ride: If I Never Come Home Again

Freedom

Chapter 4

*The Next Day*

Urgh… I felt like I fell out of the sky. I opened my eyes, but immediately shut them from the bright light. I opened them up slower and was greeted with a white ceiling.

I immediately panicked. But I thought I had saved the world! How am I back in the Itex building? Was it all just a dream? I started to hyperventilated. I went to get up, but I felt my arms and legs were held down. I struggled and twisted trying to get up and away.

A panicked scream came out of my mouth. Everything was still fuzzy and I felt groggy. What was happening?

“Doctor! Nurse! Someone please help!” I heard a voice call out and hands pressed against my shoulders trying to get me to lay back. “Maximum please calm down!” I could barely make out a blurry figure of a man above me. I struggled harder when I heard people come running into my room.

“Her heartbeat is spiking.”

“Sedate her.”

“She’s tearing through the restraints!”

“Quickly nurse! Get the IV before she rips it out!”

Voices swirled around me. I couldn’t breathe. What was happening? Chaos ran through my mind and I couldn’t think straight. An annoying fast-paced beeping kept repeating in my ears. I closed my eyes and whipped my head around and struggled, just trying to get away from all of this. It was too much.

Suddenly a sharp prick hit me in my leg. Soon, I felt as though I was moving through jell-o. I had trouble trying to move and my eyes were growing heavy. I started to slip into a calm darkness.

*Later That Day*

                I woke up and was hit with a flood of memories. Some of my earlier panic came back, but I was able to stay calm. I kept my eyes shut as I concentrated on listening. I heard that annoying beeping and some soft snoring to the right of me. I could hear some muffled noise coming from another area. I was guessing it was from outside the room.

                Feeling that I was safe for now, I carefully opened my eyes. I saw the white ceiling. Then I turned my head to look down at myself. I was in a hospital bed. A white sheet covered my body and there was gauze on my right arm. An IV was stuck in the back of my hand and I looked away quickly.

The beeping came back into focus into my mind and I looked to the right.

It was a heart monitor. I stared, in a kind of a trance, at the machine. Those things always fascinated me. I noticed a figure in the chair and I tensed. I recognized the sandy blond hair. Jax lay in the chair, with his head tilted back and mouth open. His feet were up on an ottoman and he looked really funny. It even looked like he was drooling.

I laughed and he shot up, now awake.

“What? Is everything ok?” He was turned to face an oak door. When he saw no one there, he looked confused and scanned the room. His eyes passed over me, but a second later his head snapped back to me and stared at me in shock. I had my hand over my mouth, trying to stop myself from laughing at him. “Maximum?” He asked hesitantly.

“Umm…” I coughed, my throat dry and scratchy. “I prefer Max.”

“Oh ok.” He walked up to me slowly, and looked at the edge of the bed next to me. Then he looked up at me, as though asking permission. I thought for a second, and then scooted over and patted the side of my bed. “Do you remember what happened?”

“Umm I think that I burned down the building?” I asked, sounding unsure. He made me jump when he started laughing. He leaned over and held his side. Was he laughing at me? I thought with annoyance.