Twenty Nine

Max POV

We had driven right into a blizzard. Snow and wind blew its way across the highway, sometimes strong enough to threaten pushing us off the road. The sky was as white as the earth and made the road difficult to see. I followed the tracks in the slush made by the car in front of us. I had the air conditioning on full blast, piping warm air into the car. I had seen a few road signs a little ways back saying there was an exit where we could get gas. The van seemed to be struggling in this weather. Fang remained quiet as he watched the snow out the window. I focused on driving, hoping I wouldn't slide us off the road.

20 minutes later and I pulled off at exit 52. A Shell gas station was waiting for me and I pulled up to a pump carefully. Fang got out and I handed him the visa card. I hoped that filling this things gas tank wouldn't cost me my remaining cash. Fang started the pump and I watched the numbers begin tallying up. I knew we were in Illinois, I just wasn't sure how far.

"Where are we? Are there any road signs?" I asked Fang and he looked up at the store and surrounding streets. The snow collected in his black hair, dotting it with hundreds of white flecks. His entire frame stood out against the white background.

"Ohren Drive and Country Road are the crossroads, but I don't see anything else."

"Go inside the mini mart and get some food, and ask where we are." I said and he nodded. The gas pump clicked and the meter stopped. Grand total; $32. I started the old van and moved it into a parking space in front of the doors of the Shell store. Fang went inside. I cranked the heat on full blast and shivered. The van had lost all its heat while I had the door open talking to Fang. I cursed under my breath, hating how long this was taking us. It would easily be another 2 to 3 hours before we reached Chicago, and even when we got there I had no idea where to start looking. I looked back at my wing feathers and saw the new tips beginning to grow in already. We healed fast, but not nearly fast enough.

"Litchfield." Fang said, opening the door of the van. "It's another 4 hours north to Chicago." He handed me a steaming hot pastrami sandwich. He unwrapped his own and took a large bite.

"That's a lot longer than I thought." I sighed and bit into the hot, gooey cheese. I glanced down at the two cans of monster he had bought as well. "We could fly that in half an hour."

"Not in this weather." Fang had nearly finished his sandwich. "Even if we could fly, we'd be grounded."

"I suppose you're right." I rubbed my eyes with one hand, sitting back into my seat. "I don't even know where to begin once we do get there."

"We'll start with a library."

"For computers?" I looked over at him. He was pulling the bits of melted cheese from the wrapper.

"If that fails, we'll just have to do it the old fashioned way. Where is that voice of yours?" He smirked, but continued eating the cheese remnants. I glared at him but he ignored it.

Jeb POV

Iggy had performed well with all my tests. I felt it was now appropriate we move onto phase 2. I signed the documents authorizing this, and handed them back to my lab assistant. He quickly left my office and I stood, slipping my hands into my coat pockets. Iggy was no longer of use to me, for now that is. He'd remain in lockdown until I developed my next project. My assistants would be moving him accordingly, and I wanted to go see him. I had found where his natural stamina began and ended and had even extended it.

I stepped into the elevator and punched in the coordinates for the lab. It was only a few seconds and I yawned, glancing down at my watch. It was nearly noon. With a ding and the doors opening, I stepped out onto the lab floor where all of my subjects were held. They were kept in large plexiglass cages along the walls of the room. I had Iggy in A4, the most secure space. He should consider himself lucky, he wasn't in one of these cages. I typed in my access number to unlock the door in front of me. It whisked open and I stepped inside, locking it behind me. I was in a new room now, one that was divided into two sections. The first, the one I stood in, was the visiting square, where I could look into the second section in front of me. It was separated by a huge glass wall, easily 6 inches thick. The cell had concrete on all three walls and ceiling, with a thick plastic like substance for the flooring. The only way in or out was through the massive steel door to the far right of the wall, and it required two keys.

I could see the lanky hybrid teen sitting in the corner of the cell, the one farthest from the door. He had his knees pulled up to his chest, his head leaning on them, and his eyes closed. I pulled one of the chairs against the wall up to the glass, taking a seat in front of it. The sound of the chairs legs scraping the floor made the boy open his eyes, dull and clouded over. He didn't move other than this, his breathing labored and shallow.

"I hope the trip here wasn't too jarring." I said finally. He ignored the comment, his head only lifting to lean against the wall behind him. His pewter wings were disheveled and loosely folded. "I'm happy to say that you won't be going through any more tests."

"Yipee." Iggy said quietly. He still didn't move. He was thin, thin enough that I could make out his ribs through his clothing. His strawberry blonde hair hung limp and his eyes were vacant and unseeing. I remembered the cheerful and devious boy he used to be, back in our large E home in the Colorado mountains.

"How about I fix you up some, just to celebrate? We could get you a shower, new clothes, some food perhaps."

"And since when were you the celebratory type?" Iggy sighed, looking away from me now to stare at the wall in front of him.

"This is a special occasion. The day we move onto phase two in our prototypes."

"Prototypes?" His head moved towards my direction again, his face confused.

"The new soldiers of tomorrow." I beamed but his face remained unchanged. I stood, moving the chair back into its place by the wall. I turned to unlock the doors. I felt very generous this afternoon, and Iggy would benefit from it either way. I closed the door behind me.

Only an hour later, I was being told that Iggy had been uncooperative. They had managed to drug and clean him up some, getting new clothes and a shower, but his system didn't take the sedative lightly. He had woken up as they were wheeling him back to his cell and managed to hurt one of the assistants, even in his weakened state. I had his system checked out during this time too, and it looked like he was suffering from pneumonia. Appropriate medication was given but it would be difficult to continue treatment if he didn't corporate. I was in his cell now.

Iggy's hair was still damp from his shower and his clothes were brand new, courtesy of one of my lab techs. His jeans were new, down to his gray t shirt. He was leaned against the wall, in the same corner as before. He was still groggy from the sedative and I'm sure the medications didn't help that either.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, taking my seat. He ignored me, looking at the wall ahead of him. "Please try to understand, I'm trying to help you." His head was slightly cocked in my direction, so I knew he was listening.

"Then let me go home. Where is my family?" He asked quietly. He had been here for nearly three months. I knew that Max and Fang were doing their best to get near this place, I had guards posted everywhere. I had my son go speak with them but it hadn't really turned out to be productive. He returned with second and third degree burns to 50% of his body.

"The flock is out of harms way." I reassured him.

"Why do you need me?"

"Scientific breakthroughs. Historical transformations." I smiled. I glanced down at the plate of food the lab assistants had left him. It sat untouched across from him. It could have been the drugs in his system, that he didn't want to eat. I'd check again on him in the morning. Iggy closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall again. He looked frail and weak in this cell, like he had no energy at all. Yet he had broken one of my assistants' arms.