Max Ride- The Side Project 34

Maximum Ride- The Side Project 34
- Coming and Going

<Max>

I stretched my arms wide and hit something.

“Oof!”

“Sorry” I muttered not bothering to find out who I had hit. I didn’t want to open my eyes. I didn’t want to face the choices ahead of me. Why bother when it was such bliss to just lie here and soak in the warm suns rays. Something nudged me. I guessed it was an elbow.

“Max, we’re hungry” I groaned and placed my arm over my eyes as Angel pried open my eyelids.

“Since when have you come to me about food! Go find Iggy!”

“But Max! Iggy’s gone!” I sat bolt upright, eyes wide open, tangled hair clinging to my face. I looked around myself and saw Fang sitting calmly at his laptop. I narrowed my eyes.

“YOU! You let him go! You were distracting me for him!” Fang shook his head and detached my hands from his collar gently.

“No while I was making sure that you didn’t leave, he must’ve snuck out” I dropped my hands to my sides and swore. I began walking around kicking Gazzy and Nudge’s  sleeping frame.

“Up now! We’re leaving”

“Wah?” Nudge rubbed her eyes and nudged Gazzy.

“Iggy’s gone, he can’t have gone far though” Immediately they were bolt upright. When one of our own was concerned we didn’t hesitate.

“Max, maybe it’s best…”

“Don’t you start!” I yelled, cutting Fang off and waving a finger in front of his face which he followed with his eyes.

“We’re leaving. Now!” I didn’t wait for his reaction, I snapped open my wings, and took off.

<Rose>

I heard voices as I came to, though I couldn’t see.

“She’s been through to much to put back even with the treatment”

“Yes, we’ll just find out as much as we can with what we got, there’s no hope in getting anymore”

“She’s reacted well to the experiments”

“Yes, she’s due for another 2 this afternoon, if she reacts well she’ll have more of a chance of a future”

“What will they do if she doesn’t”

“I’m not sure, she’s done so well so far, I don’t know if they want to get rid of her now, but they might just discard most of her and use the rest for the others”

I heard some rustling and a door open. The voices sounded flustered and things were moved.

“N…Newt, w…w…what are you doing here?”

“Checking on the patient, I hope your treating her well”

“Well…yes…”

“She doesn’t look well, you do know she’s one of Itex’s most important guests here”

“G…g…guests?”

“She’s not one of your average hybrids doctors she’s very superior, I’ve been sent here to inspect your work and see if she needs to be relocated”

“S…s…sorry”

“From the looks of it, she seems to have been the base of some rather horrific tests”

“The board granted us the permission to test things on her”

“Yes but they also said not to damage her, she looks very damaged”

Soft arms wrapped themselves around my body and I was softly lifted of the ground.

“Newt! Please, you can’t move her!”

“The board has given me permission to move her as I see fit”

Suddenly I was moving. Well someone was moving me anyway. I could hear the protests of the doctors as Newt carried me away but I said nothing. I couldn’t. It was like I was frozen, trapped inside my body unable to do anything except think and reason. I wondered where Newt was taking me to. I tried to open my eyes but they felt heavy.

“Like I said before Rose, we’re not that different. Your one of us whether you like it or not, and we look after our kind, that means you as well”

I wanted to ask him why he hunted down the flock then but couldn’t. I made a note to ask him when I regained control of my body. He stopped and I felt myself being lowered onto something soft. Something warm and thick was draped over the top of me, I guessed it was a blanket and something thick, a pillow? Was slid under my head. Something cold touched my forehead before Newt left and I felt my heart freeze as I worked out what it was.
Newt had kissed my forehead. Newt. The bad guy. Who was keeping me here. Who tried to kill the flock. I swear if I hadn’t already been unconscious I would have fainted.

<Max>

“Dammit Iggy, Fang why’d you let him do this?! You know he can’t do it on his own!”

Fang shrugged and I let out a growl of frustration. This was not going anywhere. We had landed at the gates of the west side of the big grey building. Spray painted on a sign was the words-

“PRIVATE PROPERTY
TRESSPASERS WILL
BE SHOT ON SITE”

“How welcoming” I muttered glancing up and down the electric fence. We flew up and over with ease.

“You’d think they would have learnt” Nudge mumbled from behind me. I hushed her with my finger and we moved on. I signaled for us to split up, Gazzy with Nudge, Angel with me and I was sure Fang could manage on his own.

“Ok meet back in 5” I hissed and we took of to the left of the building”

<Fang>

All across the building wall the words “ITEX LABRATORIES” was spray painted in white. It was very unsettling to be back in the action against these guys after we had thought for so long we were done. I ran my hand against the wall and used my peripherals to look around me whilst keeping an eye straight ahead. Thought I could never hear as well as Iggy I had better hearing then most humans and it didn’t take me long to hear a twig snap. I flattened myself against the gray wall and held my breath. I heard nothing, only the gentle breeze and switched to a defensive stance. I edged around the corner and saw a shape. Without thinking I took a swing and hit the person square in the nose.


“Dang! Did you have to punch so hard”

“Sorry” I muttered for the 10th time. Iggy rubbed his bloodied nose as we walked round to meet up with the rest of the flock.

“So how’d Max buy it?”

“Completely, you’re really in for it, you know” Iggy shrugged.

“She doesn’t think for herself very much, it’s always “what’s best for the flock” and “only if it helps the flock” I wish for once she’d think about others and herself and realize we’re fine”

I nodded. When Angel had come to us and told us about Max’s worries about getting into Itex again we’d all felt pretty bad. It didn’t take Iggy long to come up with an idea and for us to agree. Max would probably never know, but what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her right? Right.

We sat on the ground and waited listening quietly for the flock to return. Nudge and Gazzy were first. They smiled at Iggy and joined him on the ground. Angel rounded the corner Max in tow. Max’s eyes lit up and she rushed over. You’d think she was going to hug him. Wrong. She punched him in the arm.

“Idiot! Don’t you know how much trouble you could have gotten in!” She droned on but Iggy didn’t seem to be listening. We never did when she went on like this. When she was finished she sat back.

“Ok, report”

‘There’s some people on the top of the building and tons of camera’s everywhere, no way can we go on the roof”

“Same for the east side” Angel added. I looked at Iggy who spoke up for me.

“The west sides pretty clear, we could go long there and see how we go?”

Max nodded and sat up, now she was here she didn’t want to waste anytime, especially thinking, it was just what she did. She was in leader mode and wouldn’t switch out of it until we had Rose safe and sound.

“Well, west word it is”