Twenty Six

Max POV

Fang lightly touched my arm and I was wide awake in milliseconds. I sat up instantly and he lightly gestured out into the dark trees ahead of us. Again I could hear the soft footsteps from before, two slow and spaced apart to be a deer. I held my breath, wondering if we should run. We hadn't been on the ground long, just under four hours, so I doubted it was the same sniper from before.

"Should we run?" I breathed as Fang slowly stood. We couldn't see whatever was making the noise so it really could be anything. My heart pounded in my chest with anticipation.

"Maximum Ride. You are surrounded." A deep, gravely voice boomed out above us. It came from the rocky sloped roof. I knew it was some of the school's goons, but couldn't understand how they had found us so quickly. I was immediately airborne with Fang close on my heels. Shots popped off, missing by several feet. The bullets sprayed into the trees as we sped off into the night air. Several glances back showed that we were not being followed.

"What the hell?" I demanded, panting. "They had the guns from before!"

"So they're tracking us."

"But finding us and then not doing anything?" I again checked behind us. No bots.

"Their goal is to wear us down." Fang said finally, panting in the frigid air. "They know we're going after Ig."

"We need to be on guard." I slowed my wingbeats and tried to slow down my racing heart. I was shaking from the cold and adrenaline. "We can't let them get to us before we get to the school."

"I don't think they're trying to capture us. Just keep us on our toes." Fang leaned his left wing and flew into the wind. "But we're pretty close to a ski resort."

"A ski resort in Oklahoma?"

"No, in Missouri. We crossed the state border as we landed." Fang shook his head and beat his wings slowly, coasting on the updrafts. I followed his lead and watched the air around us. We were totally alone, it felt like, but now I knew that we had goons tailing us, watching us. A rush of dread overcame me and I became extremely light headed. I blinked past it and grit my teeth, forcing myself to focus on Fang's black feathers. The cold was seeping into my coat and the falling snow was melting against my feathers, refreezing in the air. How Fang was keeping track of these details was beyond me, but I was glad someone was doing it.

We flew for a long time in silence, each bearing the cold and the fatigue it brought. My mouth was dry and my head pounded with pain. I focused on Fang's steady wingbeats and kept myself aligned with him. His pace had slowed as he too was pushing hard against the elements and exhaustion. Eventually I began to see small black lines in the white landscape below. A small snow covered building with long fences and lack of trees seemed to be the actual ski resort cabin. But that wasn't where Fang was going.

"We're almost there." Fang called back and I nodded. He was taking us to one of the many empty cabins up here meant for hikers and skiers this time of year. I was worried that none would be empty. The snow and wind were blowing harder than ever and we struggled to stay airborne. Our coats didn't do much for us in this bad of weather. The trees below swayed in the wind and their branches were heavy with snow and ice.

"There!" I yelled over the wind and pointed down at a small structure below us. There were numerous other buildings around it, but it was the only one without light in its windows. We carefully circled downward, wings fanned out to slow down in the rapid wind. Fang landed hard in the knee high snow first. I landed as he moved to peer in the windows. Giving me a thumbs up, he shoved the door open with a hard shoulder and the door swung open with a creak. We hurried inside and locked the door behind us and against the violent snow. I stomped my feet free of snow and immediately got to work on the fireplace. Fang walked through the house searching for any inhabitants, food, water, and supplies. By the time he got back I had a large fire going. I pulled off my frozen coat and hung it by the fire to dry.

"Here, sit down." I said shakily, motioning to Fang. He hung his coat up and sat down next to me, his breathing shaky and shallow. We took a few minutes to just enjoy the warmth, catch our breath. I was wary of the goons following us, but then again I'm sure they'd be hunkering down from the sudden blizzard too. I could still hear the wind roaring outside, and the windows were now totally blocked out with snow. Fang shook his head, his hair damp with melted snow. His black T shirt and jeans were damp as well but were drying in the fire's warmth.

After warming up a bit, I stood to go explore the kitchen. Fang was on the couch, leaned onto his knees as he watched the fire dance. I couldn't even tell if the sun was up or not, the sky was totally gray with storm clouds. I got an empty glass from the cabinet and filled it with water, downing it in seconds. The interior of the cabin didn't have much aside from the fireplace, a couple couches, and a micro kitchen. There were only a couple cans of ravioli and a few stale slices of bread as far as food. I grabbed a can, popped it open into a bowl and tossed it into the microwave. I heard a pained groan from Fang and looked up to see him laying down on the couch on his back, his arms over his face.

"You alright?" I asked and he slowly nodded. I could see his ribs through his thin shirt as he breathed still rather shallow. The microwave beeped but he ignored it. I grabbed the hot bowl and set it on the armrest of the couch. "Bon appetit."

"Thanks." He sighed as he sat up carefully. I went to put my own bowl in the microwave.

We ate the ravioli in silence, each too tired to really think or care about talking. The wind still howled outside but the fire felt nice. The ravioli helped to take the sharp edge off our hunger but it wasn't nearly enough to satisfy us. The bread hadn't tasted too good but beggars can't be choosers. Fang was now laying on his back again, his breathing improved some, but he was still awake. He would take first watch.