Twenty One

Max POV

I was going to kill Fang the next time I saw him. If I could find him, that is. He'd pulled one of his infamous disappearing acts. I had a good idea of where he was going but it didn't make me any less angry with him. It meant that now I had to go out to find him, effectively starting our search for Iggy. I was relieved to finally begin, but at the same time I was worried Fang would have another allergic reaction to the drugs Jeb had injected him with. Mom said that the worst was over, meaning his heart wouldn't stop, but I was paranoid.

"I still can't believe you're making us stay here." Gazzy stood in front of me, his arms crossed over his thin chest. His sister stood beside him, equally upset with me. Nudge was sitting on the bed, being uncharacteristically quiet.

"You know it's for the best." I tried to reason with him. He shook his head, his blonde hair now down to his nose. Note to self; get everyone haircuts.

"You better call us." Nudge finally piped up. I nodded, remembering the burner cell mom had given me. I had it stashed in my backpack along with its charger and a few other goodies.

"Of course, honey." I smiled but she looked away from me, still upset with my life decisions. Mom hadn't been too thrilled either. She was mostly worried for Fang's condition, but agreed it was for the best. Iggy couldn't wait forever, and we still had no idea where they had taken him.

"Let Iggy know we said hi." Angel said finally. "And smack Fang for me."

"Will do." I laughed and hugged everyone tightly. I hated to leave them alone, but they weren't really alone. They had mom and even Ella, a roof over their heads, food, and a warm bed. It was something I wish we all had at the moment. Gazzy and Nudge were still awfully thin, Fang too. I couldn't imagine Iggy's condition. I broke away and turned on my heel towards the front door, but was stopped by mom.

"As soon as you find Iggy, I expect all three of you to come straight here." She said sternly but softly. She then hugged me, and I took in her familiar smell. Cookies, vanilla, and hints of spices. She let me go and handed me my backpack. I had packed as much food as I thought I'd be able to carry, the burner cell with its charger, and a few water bottles. I shrugged on the pack and mom opened the front door. It was sunny out with a light breeze, the snow finally beginning to melt. It was early February, however, and I knew that this would not be the last of the snow.

"I'll bring us home." I reassured her and stepped outside, loosening my wings up. I turned to look as I backed up far enough away from the house. Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel, along with mom and Ella were standing on the front porch to watch me go. I opened my wings and stretched my muscles, fanning my feathers. I then jumped into the air and beat my wings hard and fast to get airborne. Within seconds I was hundreds of feet above the house. I could still see my family clearly on the ground as they watched. I banked hard to the left and poured on the speed. My first stop? The burned down remnants of the wicked school.

What would normally take the flock several hours to fly, took me only half an hour with my gift of speed. Although I couldn't do it for very long, and it usually left me famished. Fang had even inherited this trait long ago when he needed a blood transfusion from me. Which meant that he hadn't left the house much more than an hour before I noticed his absence.

As I neared the property, the smell of burnt metal, melted plastic, and charred wood filled my nose. There were even hints of burnt organic matter; some unlucky whitecoats I'd imagine. I got over the treeline and saw the hollow remains of the school. I landed just outside what used to be the main doors. The doors were warped metal slabs now, slowly peeling away from their frames. As I stepped into the building, my footsteps stirred up ash into the air.

"My god." I breathed, seeing the skeleton of the building as blackened beams of metal crisscrossing overhead. Any wood or plastic had been burned away, leaving behind piles of ash or gray, bubbled gunk. Anything made of metal was either warped and misshapen or charred. Glass had literally melted away from their panes and were now smooth mirrors on the cracked concrete floor. I rounded a corner and found myself in what used to be the experiment holding room, where all the cages lined the now non existent walls. The cages were still intact, be it charred or warped, and I thanked any lord out there that nobody was inside them.

I continued my search through the burned wreckage. The place was unrecognizable as a science facility, which is just the way I liked it.

"Fang?" I called out, hopeful that he had come here as well. There was silence, except for the light breeze whistling through the empty corridors.

"What brings you out here?" I heard Fang's voice just up ahead and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I walked forward, stepping over piles of burnt debris and found him standing in a medium sized room next to a rather degraded looking filing cabinet. His face and hands were covered in soot.

"What do you think?" I said angrily and cuffed him on the shoulder. He took a step back, his hands up, with a grin on his face. "Courtesy of Angel."

"I'll give her my regards." He said, his eyes moving back to the filing cabinet. He pried open the top drawer and began rummaging through its charred contents. I stood there with my arms crossed, scanning the area carefully. I didn't know if this site was abandoned yet by Jeb and couldn't take any risks.

"There's nothing of use in there." I said impatiently but Fang ignored me. He threw bits of blackened paper and plastic out of the drawers. He paused over the third drawer.

"There's a false bottom in here." He breathed. I leaned over his shoulder as he tried to open the hatch but it was fused shut either by a lock or melted metal. He stood after a few more minutes of unsuccessful attempts. He stood there for a moment before roundhouse kicking the side of the cabinet. I jumped from the sudden crash.

"What the hell?" I watched him pull the drawer free, the false bottom now cracked open. "I guess that works."

"Look." He said quietly, holding a small USB. Our eyes met for a few moments. He turned the small gadget over in his hands, reading off the inscription. "SOHF."

"What does that mean?"

Fang slipped the USB into his pocket. "I have no idea."

"We need a computer."

"In this wasteland?" Fang stepped over a charred desk and outside of the skeleton building. I followed behind him, trying to think of a plan. "The closest computer is your moms house."

"Then we go back and rethink our plan after looking through that drive."

"And if it doesn't work, then we'll have wasted a lot of time."

"We have Nudge." I grinned and jumped into the air, unfurling my wings. Ah yes, Nudge, the computer genius of the family.

Fang POV

"I really didn't deserve that, Angel." I said as everyone grouped into Dr. Valencias bedroom. Max was plugging the USB in and Nudge sat in the seat in front of the computer. Angel smiled wide at me, getting my context.

"And you shouldn't be running off while still potentially injured." Dr. Valencia was right behind me but I ignored her. The computer was opening the file on the USB. Nudge's fingers flew over the keyboard and she clicked on a few icons. Windows began to open with lines of text flooding the screen. Highlighted sections began to jump out at us as Nudge entered in key words. She paused over a certain portion.

"Study of Human Flight, or SOHF, was founded in 1994 by Dr. Munth." Nudge began reading. "Its headquarters is based out of Chicago, Illinois."

"That's where Iggy is?" Gazzy asked worriedly.

"It's talking about a new drug that they're testing there called Stam7. It's designed to increase resistance and stamina in a regular human 7 fold."

"Sounds familiar." I groaned and Max nodded.

"They have several places of operation. Two in Chicago, one in Wisconsin, and another in Ohio." Nudge continued. She paused and began typing in more codes. "The USB, is it corrupted?"

"I don't know, why?" Max leaned over her shoulder concerned. Nudge stopped using the mouse and we watched as a black screen opened up and white letters began to type on their own.

"Well done, Maximum. See you soon." I breathed and the computer winked out completely, the thumb drive beginning to smoke. Nudge yanked out the USB, which was now totally fried. Max cursed and flopped down onto the bed behind us. Her mom sat down next to her.

"So it's either Illinois, Winsconsin, or Ohio." She rubbed her forehead. "And we don't even know if they even brought Iggy to this place."

"I'd bet on it." I said, leaning against the wall. "It's the same drug they used on me."

"It's the common link between everything." Nudge agreed, standing now. Max nodded but remained quiet.

"But now we're stuck between three different locations, four is you count the second facility in Chicago. And we can't search all of them. Iggy doesn't have that kind of time."

"So we split up?" Gazzy offered but Max sat up shaking her head.

"It's dangerous. We need to look at the clues, try to narrow down our search."

"We don't have clues, Max." I said and she frowned. "All we have is a name, the drug, and those 4 places. Perhaps it's best if we split up?"

"I'm not leaving the kids by themselves. Besides, two groups would still be too slow. We need to find one place and go for it." Max argued.

"Chicago." Valencia said finally. We all looked at her. "There's got to be a reason there's two facilities in one city. Maybe one manufactures the drug and the other tests it?"

"It's our best bet." Angel said quietly.

"Fine. Chicago it is." Max stood up and slung the backpack over her shoulder once again. I glanced out the window at the setting sun.

"We'll start flying at daybreak." I said and she glared at me. "It's getting dark out."

"I do have dinner started as well." Valencia mentioned, which reminded me of just how hungry I was. Nothing burned energy like flying, and I was starving. Everyone began filing downstairs towards the kitchen but Max hung back. She grabbed my arm as everyone left.

"We can't keep postponing this." She whispered. "Iggy's in a huge amount of danger, seeing as how you reacted to this drug." She traced her finger over the left side of my neck down to my chest. She was referencing the large red streak I still had.

"Iggy will be fine." I said carefully. "He's stronger than you think."

"He shouldn't have to be." She brushed past me and headed downstairs. I sighed and turned to follow her. I was worried for Iggy, but I knew that Jeb and this Dr. Munth wouldn't let him die during their tests. When I had gotten to the burned remains of the school I had looked for Jeb's body. I never found it.