Twenty Five

Max POV

My dreams flitted in and out that night, lingering just long enough for me to notice them before fading away into silence. Some consisted of happy memories of my family; Iggy cooking breakfast on a peaceful morning back at the E house and Fang reading a bedtime story to Angel. Others were more dark; I tried to cut the chip out of my arm and Fang nearly bleeding out on the beach. And some were more neutral; Gazzy throwing his voice mimicking abilities around and Nudge doing her makeup for hours. As soon as I registered each, they would disappear.

I opened my eyes, clenching my jaw as I remembered the biting cold. The air was still and the snow gently fell. The sky was dark still and full of gray clouds. The moon and stars were totally blocked from view. Fang sat on the end of the thick branch, dangling his long legs over the edge as he scanned the small forest in front of us. His black wings were tucked against his back neatly and his hair was full of white flurries. Sensing my gaze, he looked back at me, his dark eyes tired but focused.

"It's early." He said, his voice sounding much louder against the silence of the forest. I sat up and stretched my aching muscles. He turned to look back out at the trees.

"I couldn't sleep much." I admitted but he didn't answer. "You ok?"

"There's something out there, moving." He pointed out towards a large tree to our right. I listened carefully and heard the soft footsteps as well. "I don't know who or what it is."

"Well, I'd rather not risk it." I stood, holding onto the branch above us.

"It could be a deer."

"What do you want to do then?"

"Just hold on. If we stay put, it might not see us." Fang breathed, a cloud of steam escaping his lips. I crouched back down next to him and sat down carefully. I shivered in the freezing air and noticed Fang doing the same. The footsteps stopped, however, and I sighed. I leaned against the trunk again but Fang kept his eyes trained.

"We should move on anyway. We've been here too long." I yawned and he nodded, standing carefully. I then heard a loud pop, making both of us jump. Fang ducked and a chunk of bark exploded from the branch next to us. We leapt from the branch instantly, wings unfurled, and we rocketed out of there as fast as we could. My heart pounding, I chanced a glance back. There was nothing but snow covered trees.

"That was a sniper." I said a few minutes later. Certain that we were far enough out of range, we slowed our pace down to a coasting speed.

"I know." Fang panted. His wings stood out against the white background of the sky. "It means that we're being followed."

"Probably by Jebs' goons."

"Jeb is dead."

"You don't know that for sure." I retorted and Fang met my gaze. "Angel thinks he's alive."

"He couldn't have survived that fall."

"And you shouldn't have survived Ari's attack on the beach." I noticed I was raising my voice. Fang said nothing and I cursed under my breath. We were both tired and hungry and getting on each other's nerves. I shook my head and rolled my shoulders, trying to clear my head. Whoever was shooting at us missed on purpose, meaning that they were probably only trying to scare us. Maybe it was just a hunter who was a bad shot?

Gazzy POV

I stood in the kitchen, looking out the window at Nudge and Angel as they built snowmen in the front yard. It was rare for Arizona to get enough snow for that to be possible, but something in me just couldn't bring myself to go outside. I took a deep breath and let it go. I was just anxious, antsy, like something was wrong. I heard footsteps come up next to me and saw Dr. Martinez in the windows reflection.

"You don't want to play outside?" She asked quietly and gently. I shook my head. Angel chucked a snowball and hit Nudge in the back of the head. She squealed and retaliated with her own snow onslaught. I clenched my jaw. How could they be playing, having fun, while my best friend was facing certain death? "Are you angry?"

"I can't just go play while Iggy is in trouble." I forced out, feeling tears pricking the backs of my eyes. I blinked them back and crossed my arms in front of my chest. I felt Dr. Martinez's hand on my shoulder and it felt soft and reassuring. I looked up at her, her brown eyes calm and caring.

"Has there ever been a time where Iggy has let you down?" She asked me. I shook my head again. "And have you ever let him down?"

"I am right now." I looked away from her and back outside at the girls. Her soft hands turned me to face her, tears now staining my cheeks. She wiped them away with a napkin and knelt to my level.

"The best thing you can do for Iggy is be strong." She smiled, but her eyes were sad. "He is fighting hard, and you must as well."

"I'm here, watching the girls, and standing around. Max and Fang are out there right now!"

"And they'll bring him back, Gazzy." She said gently. "It's in your blood to be strong, resilient, and caring." She brushed some hair out of my eyes.

"I just want my family to be safe." I whispered.

"You are you, and I wouldn't take a billion dollars for you." She smiled and I met her eyes with my own tear filled ones. "But I'd give a billion dollars to protect you and your family." She pulled me into a warm hug and I couldn't help but cry into her shoulder. She rubbed my back in between my wings and was quiet, letting me empty my frustrations and pain onto her.

"Helping you and the flock has given my life meaning." She whispered as my shaky breaths began to calm. I regained control of my breathing and she let me go gently. Her shoulder was stained with my tears but her face was a warm smile and hope filled eyes.

"I'm sorry." I said quietly, feeling ashamed of my inability to control my emotions.

"Don't ever be sorry for who you are, Gasman." She patted my chest and I glanced back out at the girls. They were now building igloos against the side of the house. "How about some hot chocolate?"

"That would be good." I looked back at her, feeling a smile tug at my lips. She grinned and stood, walking into the kitchen. She took down a large mug and began preparing. I took a deep breath, feeling like my pent up anger had finally dissipated. Dr. Martinez really was Max's mom, and I felt incredibly lucky to have her watching us here. Perhaps Max was right about us staying?

"There's even marshmallows here." Dr. Martinez set the steaming mug in front of me. She had three other mugs ready on the table as well. She moved past me and opened the door, calling out to the girls.

"Oh thank you! I haven't had hot chocolate in so long! In fact, I don't even remember the last time I had it." Nudge excitedly sat down across from me. Angel plopped down next to me and Dr. Martinez sat at the end of the table.

"I think it would be a good time to watch a movie. How about something Christmasty?" She said after a few minutes. We all looked up at her in unison. I had forgotten about Christmast. We hadn't celebrated it in a long time. "I was thinking about A Christmas Story."

"Is it funny?" I asked and she nodded. Excitement began to build in my chest. "And can we pop popcorn?"

"Of course! What kind of movie night do you think this is?" Dr. Martinez scoffed and I couldn't help but smile for the first time in weeks.

Fang POV

The only sound was the air rushing past us, and our wings moving through the frozen air. Snow continued to fall endlessly and I could barely feel my wings anymore. I was light headed and my chest felt like I had a thousand needles driving into me. I stole a glance at Max and noticed she wasn't fairing too much better. But we needed to make up for our lost time in the hospital. The sniper was far behind us and I suspected he was just a hunter who mistook us for birds. My mind wandered back to the kids with Dr. Martinez. I hoped they were doing better than us at least. I knew Gazzy would be upset that we hadn't called yet.

"We need to land and take a breather." Max said finally an hour later. I nodded, my teeth clenched against the icy air. My hands were numb and my wings felt like frozen slabs of steel. She aimed downwards to begin our descent. She was taking us down towards a small rocky outcropping with a small indentation in the side. It was big enough for us to build a fire. She touched down first and I carefully back beat my wings to slow down before doing the same. My legs felt shaky from the cold and my heart pounded in my chest.

We sat around our small fire, hands and wings out to catch the warmth. The snow was still falling around us but the rock above us provided some protection. I sighed and watched the cloud of steam dissipate into the fire's heat. My watch read 7 pm and the sun was already nearly set. Max seemed zoned out as she stared into the fire's light.

"You know what would be great right about now?" I said quietly. She looked up at me. "Tacos." I concluded, feeling my stomach growl. She smirked and nodded.

"Tacos would be great." She agreed. "Cheeseburgers too."

"Or any food for that matter."

"I wish we had those snacks mom had packed us. She had cookies in there." Max sighed and I nodded. We would have to try to find something tomorrow, maybe fly into town briefly. Flying burned energy like nothing else. Couple that with winter and you've got a really bad situation for anyone with a lightning fast metabolism. I lay out on the warm stone on my side and leaned my head on my arm. I was exhausted and knew Max was to. She'd have the first watch, then I'd be up in a couple hours. I closed my eyes and listened to the fire crackling.