Twelve

Max POV

I stood in the center of the church balcony with everyone around me. Gazzy was constantly looking around at the destroyed buildings and begging for me to let him go explore. But I needed him to be cautious. Both he and Nudge had seen some strange creatures, hostile ones at that, and I wanted to get a full mapped layout of this dome. So here I was, arms crossed over my chest defiantly, and glaring down the Gasman.

"No, we are not splitting up. This place is way too big, and everyone would be alone. We do this as a team." I reiterated.

"It would be faster." Iggy said, finishing up his makeshift splint on his arm. I shot him a glare as well, only realizing afterwards how pointless it was.

"But then you'd have to be with someone." Nudge provided, clearly the devil's advocate.

"I can handle myself!" Iggy said but I interrupted.

"Ig, this is an exploratory mission. We're mapping this place, and I need you to be the sentry, so to speak." I said and tried not to make it sound to harsh. It was better than 'Hey, you're blind, so you're useless in seeing the landscape.' Iggy was never useless though. He had proved himself too many times to count, and was an invaluable part of my family.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Gazzy finally couldn't contain himself anymore and jumped off the edge of the balcony. His wings glided him down safely to the roof of a crumbling building. He stood and looked up at me with a huge grin. I rolled my eyes and jumped out as well, hearing Iggy and Nudge close behind. I landed next to Gazzy and folded my wings in, keeping my eyes peeled for any unwelcome guests. So far everything was silent.

"This house is mostly intact." Gazzy said as he jumped to the ground. He began moving towards it, followed closely by Iggy.

"Nudge, come with me. The boys have this area." I said, changing my plans. So long as I was within earshot of them, they'd be fine. Nudge trotted forward, browsing the rubble around us. Broken glass crunched under my feet and the walls around us were slowly falling down. I hoped that this town was just a projection of Jeb's dome world, and not a real place he destroyed.

We walked in silence as we observed the wreckage. There were no bodies, much to my relief, but at the same time there wasn't any real sign of destruction. The buildings were falling apart, but it looked like someone had built them that way. No burn marks, splintered wood, or anything pointing to a catastrophe.

"Max." Nudge froze in front of me and began backing up, her hand pointing at the ground. "They're watching us."

"Who is?" I asked and moved around her to look. My eyes widened as I saw a small, partially covered, round dome in front of us. It was made of clear plastic or glass, I wasn't sure, and seemed to be an observatory window for the school. I could see the two whitecoats standing there, equally as surprised as us.

"Should we run?" Nudge asked nervously but I shook my head, moving towards the window. I took a rock from the ground and jumped towards the dome, striking the glass as hard as I could. The glass cracked in a spiderweb spiral for a few inches and the whitecoats jumped back in shock. One furiously began scribbling on a notepad while the other said something into a radio piece.

"Get Jeb over here now! I want to speak with him!" I yelled, making sure that they could hear me. They both hurried away down a dark tunnel under the ground. So now I knew that they were tracking our every move, probably listening in to our conversations too. But now I know that these domes led back into the school, which meant they were our only way out of this place.

By the end of our small expedition, and a lot of yelling on my part, mostly at the boys for venturing to the rest of the dome, we had our surroundings more or less figured out. Gazzy provided the details for literally the entire other half of the dome, despite my orders, but they still helped. We knew now that the dome was the ten miles Iggy had predicted. The boys had discovered numerous other glass observation domes, at least ten. There was only one small town in the entire dome, which held our vantage point of the church. Gazzy had decided to name the area Dunderville. Don't ask me why, just let the boy have his fun. The rest of the dome seemed to be mostly a scatter of trees, grassy meadows, and one large creek running through the center. We had found a lot of other creatures roaming the area, but managed to stay out of sight of them so far.

"So, when can we go find some grub?" Iggy asked. I also knew that our biggest issue at the moment would be food. I had only seen a few game animals. There was the occasional bird and a rabbit here and there, but no squirrels. The creek would probably be our main source of food, provided the fish last long enough. It was also getting colder and colder out. This dome had artificial weather, but that didn't stop Jeb from testing our survival abilities. This really would be the ultimate test and I was glad that Angel and Fang wouldn't be a part of it.

Angel POV

I woke up some time later, still in the warm sandwich shop. I sat up, my eyes still adjusting to the dim light of the fire next to me. Looking around, I was glad to see that everyone had gone from the store. Only one other person remained; the owner. He was watching us carefully but his face and mind were kind. He was asking himself questions as he studied us. Who are these kids? Are they safe? Where are their parents? Let them sleep, they're exhausted. I smiled at him and his eyes twinkled as he met my gaze. I looked over the table at Fang, seeing him leaned against the back of his seat, arms crossed, his eyes watching the man as well as looking out the window at people passing by.

"Good morning sleeping beauty. Feeling better?" The man asked, stepping out from behind his counter. Fang immediately tensed, sitting up and his jaw tightening. The man crouched down in front of me with a smile still on his face.

"A lot better." I smiled and he nodded, his gaze turning soft and sad.

"You two have been through a lot." He said quietly. "I'm sure that this didn't come from any normal accident either." He motioned to one of the scars on Fang's arm. Fang didn't move, his black eyes keen. "But this town is small, quiet, and full of kind people. You'll be safe here."

"We should really get moving." I said carefully but the man held up his finger.

"Night is near, and the temperatures drop to 10 below. I'd feel much better if you two spent the night in my home."

"Thanks, but we really do need to head out." Fang said, standing. The man stood up and moved in front of him. Fang was nearly 6 inches taller but the man had over 100 pounds on him. The man had his hands up in the universal 'I mean no harm' gesture. I racked his mind, searching for any shreds of motive, dishonesty, or evil.

"Please, I'm worried about you two. You came in half frozen and starving, it's my responsibility to ensure your safety. At least for the night." The man insisted, and he was sincere, both verbally and mentally. I sent the message to Fang who showed no outward sign of receiving it. He was just as nervous about this situation as I was. We were on a time crunch to get to Death Valley, but he knew that the cold and snow were slowing us down. He was exhausted, even though now he stood tall and strong. We needed to be ready to face the school when we got there. We could stay and rest at this man's house for a day or so like he was offering, or run now and make it to the treeline and take off. But then we'd be in the cold for the night, unable to sleep very well, and be slow in the morning.

"Ok." Fang's one word answer surprised me and I looked over at him. He was nodding at the man, who was beaming. If Fang hadn't put up much of a fight over this matter, maybe we were in worse shape than I thought. It was strange to have so many kind people in this place willing to take care of a couple of strangers.

"I'm Hunter by the way. And you?" The man smiled down at me, his hand out to shake. I accepted it and smiled up at him.

"Crystal. And this is Nick." I said, using our classic alias'.

"Nice to officially meet you both. Now, I closed down shop about an hour ago, but you were still asleep. Just give me a moment to lock up and we'll be on our way." Hunter said quickly as he jumbled through a key ring. I stood next to Fang and took his hand. He squeezed it lightly, trying to reassure me. I could feel his thin frame vibrating with tension and his eyes continue to track Hunter wearily, but they were also clouded over and dull. His breathing was shallow and slightly faster than normal as well.

"It'll be ok." I whispered to him and he nodded lightly. Hunter motioned for us to leave the shop and he turned to lock the door behind him. Wind had picked up during our time inside and the cold hit me like a ton of bricks. It took my breath away and I shivered. Snow was falling and building up on the road and sidewalks. It would have been a miserable night.

"Follow me." Hunter said, his breath fogging in front of him. He shuffled through the snow quickly, moving down the sidewalk at a decent pace. Fang and I obeyed and I hugged my coat closer.

We walked for about ten minutes before Hunter stopped at a little house. It was a small brick house with a chimney and pointed roof. A small fenced in yard was full of Christmas gear like glowing candy canes, reindeer, and a tree. I had nearly forgotten Christmas was near. Perhaps that was why everyone was in such a good mood and willing to help.

"I have a guest bedroom for you guys to sleep in." Hunter said as he opened the front door. Inside was warm and cozy, the fireplace burning nicely. Fang paused as we entered the house, his gaze on a woman about the age of Hunter sitting on the couch. She looked at us, equally as confused.

"Honey, who are these kids?" She asked, setting down her coffee cup. Hunter walked over to her and whispered something into her ear. I picked it up; 'These kids need a place to stay for the night. They were all alone at the shop tonight.' The woman smiled, and I knew she was Hunter's wife. Her name was Amy.

"Hello kids, I'm Amy." She said sweetly, her face as kind as Hunters. "Make yourselves at home."

"Your room is over here. I assume you want to retire right away." Hunter pointed at an open door down the hallway. "I'll bring some food in for you too."

"Thanks." Fang said, his voice quiet and distant now. He walked into the room and looked around as I shut the door.

"We got lucky tonight." I said as he looked out the window at the rising snow.

"Yeah, for now." He sighed, sitting down on one of the beds. I sat down on my bed and marveled at the softness. "We'll leave tomorrow."

"Can I come in?" Hunter's voice asked from behind the door. I opened it and smiled at him. He was holding a tray of cookies and Amy was behind him with a couple bowls of soup. "Figured you two would be hungry again. Help yourselves, we'll see you in the morning." He set the food and drink on the small nightstand by Fang's bed and they moved left us alone.

After the soup, cookies, and hot chocolate, I felt like a sack of wet cement. I flopped into my bed and pulled the covers up to my nose, relishing in their warmth. I had missed real beds. Fang flicked out the light and lay down on his own bed slowly, clearly in pain. He let out a deep sigh once he was situated. I hoped he would sleep better tonight. We had been on the move for days, and I was exhausted. Everything hurt from the cold.

"Night." I said and his eyes met mine.

"Night." He said quietly and closed his eyes, pulling the blankets up further. I pulled my own over my head and curled into a small ball. I'd sleep like a baby tonight...