Maximum Ride: Awakened

CHAPTER 5

I received a wake-up call from an Earth-shattering headache. It felt like something split my brain apart. I opened my eyes, and all I saw were stars. I thought I hit my head a little too hard, but no, it was night time. I tried to move, and my body crumpled. I was sitting on the top of a tall tree. Twigs were stabbing into me like needles, and I had bruises all over. The moment I saw my injuries, all the pain in my body came rolling back to me.

I was barely able to move because everything was so sore. Somehow, I managed to wiggle myself free from the tree branches and gracefully plummeted to the forest floor. I came to the executive decision to stop moving for a while.

At some point, my memories started coming back to me. I remembered the attack, Ari, and Angel. Oh God, I couldn't protect her. Ari wiped the floor with me and got away with her. I didn't stand a chance.

The Erasers were off doing who knows what to her. They probably had her locked in a cage at that point. Or maybe she was sitting on an operating table, being poked and prodded at or shocked, and it was all my fault.

Just then, the bushes around in the forest started rustling. I jolted up, and my body yelled at me for doing so. The rustling got faster, getting closer to me. Was it the Erasers again? It was so dark that I couldn't make out anything but dark bushes, but I didn't want to take the chance.

I noticed a sharp branch sticking out of my wing, and I chose to take a page out of Fang's book. I ripped it out to use as a stake, and I winced from the pain. Everything was tremoring. I could barely stand up, let alone fight, but I wasn't going anywhere without making it difficult for someone.

"Max?" someone called out.

What? The voice that called my name was a girl. I lowered my bloody branch, and two dusky figures walked through the bushes. It was Nudge and Gazzy. I almost fell to the ground crying when I saw them.

"Max! We've been looking for you for hours," Nudge said. She ran over and helped me stand. "Are you hurt bad?"

"I'll be fine. It's good to see that you guys are okay. Where's Fang and Iggy?"

"They're back at the house."

I flinched, which only put me in more pain. "They went back to the house!"

"They had to go back. Fang was hurt badly, and he needed medical supplies. Iggy said that he would protect him, and he sent us out to find you."

"And Angel," Gazzy said.

I looked over to him, and he was staring at me, face scrunched together. "Where is Angel?" he asked.

I froze and bit down on my lip. "Gazzy ... I'm sorry."

He looked down at the ground, and his fists started shaking. I'd never seen Gazzy like that before; I could practically touch the rage coming from him. He was always the happiest member of the Flock. To see him angry was disturbing, especially when it was toward me.

Nudge helped me hobble through the forest, and the three of us went back to the house. Luckily, neither of them was hurt too bad, but apparently, I looked worse than Fang. I didn't complain, having a few bandages on sounded nice.

"Max?" Nudge said, "I'm sorry."

"What? Why?"

"We left you. We should have stayed and fought."

"Maybe then, Angel wouldn't be gone," Gazzy said.

He hadn't looked up from the ground since they found me. I could only imagine how frustrated he was. Unlike the rest of us, Gazzy and Angel were blood-related, twins that were born two years apart. Gazzy never left her side, even when she was a baby. When she cried, he would be the first to hold her, grab a bottle, or offer to change her, even when Jeb or one of us advised against it. His love for Angel rivaled mine. It was adorable. And I let the Erasers take her. I would have been mad at me too. No, I was angry at myself.

I took a deep breath and spoke. "Hey, you guys did what you were supposed to do. None of us was ready for that fight. You acted on your feet and survived, that's all that matters."

I put a hand on both of them. "I'm proud of you. And no matter what, we're going to get Angel back."

Nudge smiled at me, but Gazzy still looked downcast. I wish I could have taken away everything he was feeling. Either way, I meant every word I said. Nothing would stop me until Angel was back with us.