Prisoner: Part 2 by I Luv Captain Terror

PRISONER PART 2

Disclaimer: Sadly, I still own nothing. James Patterson owns it all.

Prisoner- Chapter 21

"There." I said pointing out a food store below us. I observed the area for a place to land and noticed a small pack of trees behind the store. A tight fit, but the only close place. "Land in the trees behind the store. I'll go down first."

I flew toward the ground and landed in the pack of trees. I saw Angel coming down with Gazzy, Iggy, Nudge, then Fang coming down in pursuit.

After everyone was together I led the flock out to the store. We shopped quickly, grabbing the necessities. I paid with the cash I still had, but it was starting to run low.

We went to eat in a near by park. It was pretty small, but it was better that way, because not a lot of people visit small parks.

When we finished eating I ushered the flock back to the trees. Unfortunately, they would have a running start of the ground, but they were getting quite good at 'up and away'.

We flew until it started getting dark and once again chose to stay in a wooded area, they were the safest. I signaled Angel to go down first followed by Gazzy, Nudge, Iggy, Fang, and I went last. Everyone picked a spot as usual and the spots were almost in the same spot as before. The younger four in a pack and Total of course, then Fang and I off a bit on either side. I guess it was a protective and privacy thing.

"Fang," I called out to him he turned to look at me. "You want to go get some firewood?"
He slipped into the woods around us, I took that as a 'yes.' He came back a few minutes later with wood to burn.

"Iggy, can you start the fire?" I asked sitting down.

"Yeah." He said making it over to a secluded spot and setting fire to the wood.

"Thanks." I said with a grateful smile.

I still felt a bit dizzy and my eyes were slightly cloudy. I felt hot, but I would get chills. I could feel goose bumps rise on my skin when my body trembled.

"I'll take first watch." Iggy offered putting his hand on my shoulder.

"Are you sure?" I asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, you and Fang have taken watch a lot lately." He said taking his hand from my shoulder. "Plus, I'm not that tired."

"Okay." I said blinking to see his face more clearly.

He made his way back to the fire sitting in front of it.

Fang lye down in his spot with his back to me.

The younger three and Total already seemed to have given into sleep.

I decided to try to get some sleep too. Maybe I would feel better when I woke up or maybe I would expire by then.

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews are appreciated!

Prisoner- Chapter 22

Iggy sat by the fire on watch and had been so for about two hours. The only sounds that he heard was the flock's breathing steady breathing. Occasionally he would he Max shiver and suck in a quick breath. One time he even though he had heard her let out a slight whimper, but second guessed himself thinking that wasn't like Max. She didn't like to any emotions that showed weakness and that included whimpering.

He heard Max shiver for what seemed like the hundredth time and decided to go check on her. Sure, it was slightly on the cold side, but nothing too bad.

He stood and turned in her direction. He followed the direction of her breathing and carefully placed his feet as he walked. He kneeled down next to her sleeping figure and reached out one of his slender hands to rest on her forehead. The moment his fingers contacted her skin he felt a sheet of sweat and a burst of heat. Max had a fever and it was high.

Iggy stood and made his way toward where Fang slept. He nudged his sleeping form with his sneaker. Fang awoke startled and ready to fight.

"What?" Fang asked, eyes flashing wide and alert. He saw Iggy's expression and asked, "What's wrong? Erasers?"

"It's Max." Iggy answered. "Something's wrong with her."

"What do you mean?" Fang asked eyes narrowed on the blind mutant.

"While I was on watch I heard her shiver a few times, so I went to check on her." He explained. "She has a fever, a high one."

"I knew it." Fang said looking over at Max's sleeping form.

"What?" Iggy questioned confused.

"Max said she was cold and that the voice was worried about her. I tried to check her temperature, but you know how Max is. She hates being fussed over even if it's for good reason." Fang explained letting out a breath.

Iggy and Fang walked over to where Max lay.

"She looks really pale." Fang said kneeling at her side.

"Should we take her to a hospital?" Iggy asked still standing.

"Max?" Fang whispered shaking her arm gently.

She stirred in her sleep, but didn't wake.

"Max, wake up." Fang said a little louder.

Her eyes seemed to flicker.

"Max." Fang practically yelled.

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews are love!

Prisoner- Chapter 23

"Max." I heard Fang yell.

My eyes shot open to see Fang kneeling beside me and what appeared to be Iggy standing over the two of us. My eyes were clouded and I was still kind of dizzy. I blinked repeatedly. It was hard to keep my eyes open, I felt so tired.

"Hm?" I asked weakly shutting my eyes.

"Max, you have a fever." Iggy said. I could hear him move to the other side of me.

"I think we should take you to a hospital." Fang said feeling my forehead.

"It's just a fever." I said opening my eyes again as I shivered.

Fang pulled off his windbreaker and laid it on my upper body.

"Thanks." I said pulling it to my chin.

Iggy stood up quickly and looked like he was listening for something.

"What is it?" I asked looking up at him.

"I don't know, but something's out there." He said still listening.

"Era…"

"Sh." He said quieting me. He listened and then nodded. "We need to go, now."

I looked over at Fang. His jaw was tight and his eyes showed he was in thought. He then stood up and woke the younger kids that were still asleep.

"Wha…" I heard Nudge say groggily.

"Erasers, get up." Fang said straight to the point.

I started to get up, getting a little dizzy, but nothing too bad. I stood wobbling a bit, but standing no less.

"You okay?" Iggy asked me grabbing me arm lightly.

"Yeah." I answered nodding. I straightened up my posture to look more in control of my body. Iggy wouldn't see it, but he'd sense it. The others would notice too.

I walked over to Fang and gave him his windbreaker and turned quickly back to Iggy.

"How close?" I asked staring at his pale toned face.

"Not far, but we can get a good head start if we go now." He answered.

"Ok, up and away." I ordered turning to the rest of the group. "Angel first."

She did as told and was followed by her brother, Nudge, and Iggy.

"You first." Fang said looking at me.

I rolled my eyes and took off, Fang followed behind me.

I could feel my headache subsiding and my eyes were focusing. The dizziness had worn out too, things were getting better. Maybe the air was a cure. I mean, I loved it up here, so maybe this was my way of getting cured, the open air.

On the downside, I was still cold and still had a fever. I'm just praying it doesn't get worse. I'm sick of hospitals. No, I hate hospitals.

---

"Max." Fang called next to me, brushing the tips of my wings with his on the down strokes.

I looked over at him meeting his eyes. "Yeah?" I asked knowing exactly what he was going to say.

"How you feeling?" Fang asked, just like I thought.

"I'm fine." I said with a sigh. "I'm feeling better. My eyes aren't blurry and my head isn't spinning like it was. And I think my headache's gone. I'll have to remember to payback Ari for that blow to the head."

"But you still have a fever." Fang stated looking at me.

"I know." I said rolling my eyes.

"A high one." Fang said, he wasn't going to let this go.

Iggy flew over to my left side.

"He's right, Max." He said looking at me with his sightless eyes.

"I'm not going to the hospital." I said simply knowing where the conversation was headed.

"Max." Iggy said.

"No." I said stubbornly crossing my arms in the air. "It's a fever it will go away." Or I'll expire. I thought it was best if I left that part out.

"How do you know it's not something more?" Iggy asked in a harsh whisper. I knew he and Fang hated it when I was stubborn. They'd have to get over it. I hated being weak.

"It could be something serious." Fang said with his eyes narrowed on me.

"Fine, we'll go somewhere we'll be safe and I can get checked out." I said swallowing hard. I hated this. I wasn't even sure it was safe, my brain said no, but my instincts said yes. I guess we'd find out soon enough.

I looked at the ground below us, we had to be getting close.

"Where we headed?" He asked following my gaze to look at the ground.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." I said with a smirk, shaking my head slowly.

I sped away from Fang and Iggy to lead the group.

"How much farther?" Gazzy asked flapping tiredly.

"Just a couple more miles." I said signaling for Fang to come up next to me.

"What?" Fang asked stopping next to me.

"We're going to Anne's." I mouthed to him so the others didn't hear us.

"You're right, I don't believe you." He said narrowing his eyes on me.

"It's there or another hospital." I explained wiping sweat from my brow. "My instincts tell me Anne's is safer."

"Your instincts or your voice?" Fang questioned.

"My instincts." I confirmed.

"Okay." Fang said looking below at the ground. "I hope you're right."

"Me too." I whispered feeling a bead of sweat roll down my cheek.

I looked below us, we were close, a few blocks at the most.

"We're almost there." I said studying the ground.

"Great." Fang muttered.

I gave him a look that said 'I hate this just as much as you do'.

He looked away from me and down at the ground. "There it is." He said pointing out Anne's familiar large house with the huge yard.

"Okay." I called out to the rest of the flock. "Everyone land in Anne's yard below us."

"We're going to stay with Anne?" Angel called excitedly behind me.

"Yes, sweetie." I said. "For now."

"Yes!" Nudge yelled from behind me.

"Nudge, you first." I called back to her. She nodded and swooped down.

"Iggy, Gazzy you two next." I said motioning to the ground.

The two nodded and dove down.

"Angel, it's your turn, sweetie." I said with a smile. She smiled back at me at went down.

I saw Fang looking expectantly at me. I rolled my eyes and said, "Me first, I know."

I headed toward the place I dreaded with Fang following behind me.

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews are appreciated!

Prisoner- Chapter 24

Okay, put this down as one of my most embarrassing moments.

As I went to land in Anne's yard my vision was blurred again and the dizziness returned. I went to put my feet on the ground and ended up stumbling. I fell to the ground in front of me, luckily I was able to catch myself by putting my hands in front of me.

I was mortified, completely embarrassed. I could feel my cheeks heat up and that wasn't from the fever.

I felt a strong but gentle hand grab my arm and pull me to my feet. Fang. I avoided looking at him and the rest of the flock.

"Max?" I heard Angel ask sounding a bit shocked.

"Let's go." I said walking toward the front door.

It was probably about 2:00 a.m. and Anne was probably still asleep, but in all fairness she practically begged me to come here. I didn't feel guilty that I was about to interrupt her sleep, mine got interrupted all the time.

When I was at the front door I rang the doorbell, the flock waiting close behind me. I waited for a minute and then rang it again. I'm impatient. After another minute I rang it again and then started pounding on the door.

"I'm coming!" I heard from behind the door.

I stopped pounding.

"Who is it?" She asked beginning to open the door.

"Max." I answered as she pulled the door open to look at the six of us.

She smiled what appeared to be a genuine smile and hugged me.

"I hope this means that you trust me." She whispered in my ear.

"The jury's still out on that one." I said pulling away. "I figured this was better than a hospital."

"Hospital?" She asked furrowing her brow. "Which one of you is hurt? What happened?" She asked looking over all of us for injuries.

"It's nothing." I said putting my hand up to quiet her. "I have a fever."

She reached her hand up to my forehead.

"Yes, you do." She confirmed. "Come in."

I walked in with the flock following me in.

"Do you remember where your rooms are?" She asked closing the door and turning to look at us.

"Yeah." The flock said from behind me. I nodded.

"Then go on up, get some sleep." She said with a smile.

I gave them a sign that said 'go' they nodded and went up stairs, the younger three that is.

Fang and Iggy stayed put.

"Are you coming?" Nudge yelled down to us.

"Not yet." I called back. "I'll be there in a minute."

They knew I'd want to tuck them in. I always did.

"Are you feeling nauseous?" Anne asked studying me.

"No." I said shaking my head. "I get a little dizzy and my vision gets fuzzy."

"It's probably just a virus, but you need to get plenty of rest, food, and fluids." She explained crossing her arms. "Go get some sleep, I'll be up in a few minutes with a cold washcloth."

"Ok." I said with a sigh as I turned and walked up the stairs. Fang was behind me along with Iggy. They were probably making sure I didn't trip and fall on my face.

I walked into Nudge's room.

"Goodnight." I whispered walking over to the bed, offering my fist.

"Goodnight, Max." She said stacking her fist on top of mine and tapping the back of hers with my other hand. I stood up, turned around and headed out the doorway.

Next, stop Angel's room. I followed the same routine with her and then did the same when saying 'goodnight' to Gazzy and Iggy.

I looked in Fang's room, but he wasn't there, so headed back to my own room. Fang was waiting for me, sitting on the bed, washcloth in hand.

"Anne brought this for you." He said holding it up.

"I was wondering where you were when I saw you weren't in your room." I said with a smirk. He hopped off my bed and pulled back the comforter.

"I just wanted to make sure you sleep." He said motioning for me to get in.

"I couldn't resist it if I tried." I said climbing in and letting out a relaxing sigh. It felt so nice to be in a comfy bed again.

I offered my fist and he stacked his on top of mine and followed the same routine as we did every night. I gave him a smile before my eyes began to flutter closed. I felt Fang put the wet washcloth on my forehead He stood there for a moment as if debating something and then leaned down and kissed my cheek. Another surprise from Fang.

AN: Another chapter for all of you lovely reviewers. Hope you liked it.

Prisoner- Chapter 25

I offered my fist and he stacked his on top of mine and followed the same routine as we did every night. I gave him a smile before my eyes began to flutter closed. I felt Fang put the wet washcloth on my forehead He stood there for a moment as if debating something and then leaned down and kissed my cheek. Another surprise from Fang.

He stood up straight and turned to make his way out the door. I opened my eyes and watched him disappear from my room.

I still had a lot of thinking to do about Fang. Things were changing between us, I think we both knew it. I had kissed him on the beach and he had kissed me in the hospital. We never talked about either times, but I know I thought about them. I wonder if he did too.

He probably just kissed me in the hospital to comfort me and that's probably what he was doing just now when he kissed me on the cheek. He got caught up in the moment, like I did on the beach. Fang and I were good friends, best friends. Nothing more.

You're overlooking the obvious, Maximum.

'Am not, just go away.' I said pressing the washcloth against my skin.

You're being stubborn.

'You picked the wrong time to talk, as usual. I feel miserable.' I said simply.

I'm sorry, Maximum, but there's something you need to know.

'What?' I asked sighing.

Someone is going to betray you.

My eyes snapped open at this new bit of information.

"Who?" I asked aloud.

No answer.

"Who?" I repeated standing up quickly, getting kind of dizzy. "Tell me who."

Be patient Max, you'll see.

"It might be too late by then." I said rubbing my temples. "Why can't you ever just tell me straight out."

You have to learn.

"Learn what?" I screeched.

No answer.

"Fine." I said lying back down picking up the washcloth from the ground where it had fallen. "But this isn't over."

I shut my eyes and tried my best to get some sleep. The stupid voice always showed up at the wrong time. I wanted so much to dig that chip out of my arm, but I had promised I wouldn't do that. I would stay true to my word, the flock needed me.

I slowly drifted off to sleep.

I woke up a little past ten to a sunlit room. I crawled out from under the covers and placed my feet on the soft carpet. I walked over to my door and opened it to see and Angel and Total walking down the hallway.

"Hi sweetie." I said as she walked over to me and gave me a hug.

"Are you feeling better?" She asked looking at me with her brilliant blue eyes.

"How did you know I wasn't feeling good?" I questioned raising an eyebrow.

"I heard you think it." She said simply. "And Anne told us. She said we should let you sleep in because you were sick."

"Well, I'm feeling better, so don't worry. Okay?" I said stroking her blond curls.

"Okay." She said letting go of me and walking into her room.

I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen where Anne had a bowl of soup waiting for me. I walked over to the chair and sat down, starting to eat first thing.

"Max, you're awake." She said with a smile. "I hope the soup is still warm, because if it's not I can heat it up."

"It's fine." I said with a shrug.

She gave me one last smile and went to leave the room, but I stopped her.

"Anne." I called just as she left the room.

"Yeah?" She asked popping back into the room.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" I asked putting my spoon down in the bowl.

"Sure." She said sitting down at the table. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Angel said you told them that I was sick." I said looking at her sitting across from me.

"Yes, I did." She said nodding. She had no idea where I was going with this. I could tell by the confused look laid out across her face.

"I wish you wouldn't have told them that I was sick." I explained. "They don't need to worry about me for no reason."

"Max, I know you are trying to protect them and make it so they don't have any worries, but their strong kids they don't need to be kept in the dark about things like this." She argued furrowing her brow.

"I think that is for me to decide." I said not backing down. "They have enough to worry about. They don't need to worried about me too."

"Is this really about them or is this about you?" She asked leaning in.

"What do you mean?" I asked shocked.

"I mean are you really mad that I put more stress and worries on them or are you mad because you think it makes you look weak?" She asked standing up using a sincere but stern voice.

I didn't know what to say to that. My mouth was hanging wide open.

"That's what I thought." She said studying my expression.

"Okay, fine! You win!" I said holding my hands up in surrender, with a raised voice. "I am worried that I'll look weak, but I am also worried about the flock. You should have talked to me before you opened your mouth and blabbed." I said standing up and looking her in the eye.

Fang walked in on this lovely moment to see the two of us staring at each other. He looked confused and gave me a look that said 'explain'.

I was too mad to explain the situation to him and gave a huff, which followed with me storming off to my room. I shut the door behind me and walked over to the window. Late tonight I would have to go for a nice fly, just me. I needed to think.

AN: Hope you liked it! I love reviews! (hint, hint)

Prisoner- Chapter 26

There was a knock on my door and I knew that person was either Fang or Anne. Judging by the loud, stiff repetitions, my guess was Fang.

"Who is it?" I called trying to sound less miserable in case it was one of the younger flock members.

"Fang." He said opening the door enough to pop his head in.

"Go away." I said looking back out the window.

"Not until you tell me what I just walked in on." He said coming in my room, shutting the door behind him.

"Well then you'll be waiting for quite awhile." I said stubbornly.

The problem with me being stubborn with Fang is that he can be just as stubborn. Need an example?

He crossed his arms and leaned up against the desk. He was staring me down, waiting for me to say something. "Then I guess we're going to be here awhile." He said raising a dark eyebrow at me.

"I guess so." I said crossing my arms in a mock gesture.

We stayed there staring at each other, slowly getting madder with each blink. We were too stubborn for our own good, we could do this for hours. I wasn't going to let it go on that long.

"I'm getting out of here." I said making my way toward the door only to be stopped by Fang's newly found grip to my wrist. "Let go." I said through clenched teeth. I was staring him down and he was doing the same to me.

"Not until you tell me what happened." He said tightening his grip. It was tight enough that I couldn't pull away, but not enough to hurt me. Fang would never hurt me.

"Fine." I said yanking my hand away when I felt his grip loosen. I walked over to my bed and took a seat, leaning against the headboard.

"Anne told Angel, Gazzy, and Nudge that I was sick." I explained rubbing my temples.

"And you didn't want them to know because you didn't want them to worry about you?" He questioned walking over to my bed and sitting with his back against the headboard next to me.

"Yes." I said looking over at him.

"And because you hate looking weak?" He asked raising one of his dark eyebrows.

"Do you and Anne have little meetings just to analyze how I feel, because that's exactly what she said." I said letting out a frustrated huff.

"It's true isn't it?" He asked studying me.

"Yes." I whispered. "I just wish she would have asked me if it was okay before she opened her big mouth."

"She'll probably think twice about it now." He said with a small smile. "That fight looked like it was pretty intense."

"If by pretty intense you mean ready to throw a punch right at her smug face, then yes." I said breaking into a small smile myself.

"Then it's a good thing I walked in." He said looking over at me.

I rolled my eyes in response.

We sat in silence for awhile. I think we were both tired after the latest events that unfolded. There's been a lot of stress lately, more than usual. I think.

Then Fang looked over at me.

My eyes were closed, so I opened them when I felt his eyes rest on me.

"What?" I asked looking back at him.

"You feeling better?" He asked.

"Yeah." I said nodding. "I think I'm better."

He reached his hand out to my forehead.

"Fever's gone." He said pulling his hand away.

"And I feel fine." I assured. "So we can leave soon."

"When?" He asked closing his eyes.

"Would now be too soon?" I asked closing mine too.

"For me, no. For the others, yes." He answered.

I let out a breath.

"Fang, there's something I need to tell you." I said opening my eyes to see his already open and alert.

"What?" He asked looking at me.

"The voice, it told me something." I began.

Fang's jaw stiffened.

"It said that someone was going to betray me." I explained taking a deep breath. "And I don't think Anne telling the flock I was sick counts."

"Did it tell you who?" He asked climbing off my bed to stand up.

"No." I said with a bitter laugh. "It never tells me something straight out."

"So we need to watch our backs not only for erasers but someone you trust and maybe even the rest of us." Fang said in thought.

"Great, isn't it?" I asked sarcastically.

He watched me as I went to stand up.

"You think it's one of the flock?" He asked furrowing his brow. "They had a second Max, they could have a second one of us."

"None of them have been acting weird." I said shaking my head. I shuddered at the thought that there could be an imposter in the group. I knew it wasn't true, but I couldn't stop my brain from thinking about it.

A knock came on my door.

"Who is it?" I called.

"Angel." I heard my baby say.

I went over to the door and opened it, letting her in.

"What is it sweetie?" I asked.

"Can I go flying?" She asked with pleading blue eyes.

I looked up at Fang to make sure we were through talking, he nodded.

"Alright, we'll all go." I said with a smile. "Go get Gazzy."

She nodded with a smile and went to get her brother.

"I'll get Nudge, you get Iggy?" I asked looking back at Fang.

"Okay." He said shrugging following me out of the room.

Then we went flying.

AN: Hope you liked it! Now review, you know you want to.

Prisoner- Chapter 27

The next day came and my mind was still working overtime. I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that someone was going to betray me. The conversation I had with Fang played over in my head and that one question gave me chills, You think it's one of the flock?

One thing still gave me hope. The voice had said that this person would betray me, just me. Maybe it wasn't thinking about the rest of the flock or maybe this someone is just going to do something to hurt me and no one else. BUT it is possible that someone only I know is the betrayer, someone the flock didn't know good enough. Well, that included Ella, her mom, and Sam. The chances of me seeing any of them ever again are small.

I couldn't think about this anymore or I would go crazy. I'm surprised Fang hasn't put me in a straitjacket and hauled me off to the loony bin yet. He has every right to think I'm insane. I'm still trying to figure out if I'm sane.

You are sane Maximum.

'Then why do I hear a voice in my head?' I asked rolling my eyes.

To help you, guide you.

'I don't want guided.' I quipped sucking in an angry breath. 'I want you to leave me alone, for good.'

I can't do that Max.

'Sure you can. You just won't.' I said rubbing my temples. 'Just like you won't tell me who's going to betray me.'

There was no answer, big surprise.

I clenched my fists and finally grabbed my pillow and chucked it across the room. My head was pounding, no doubt a headache caused by the presence of my unwanted visitor.

"I hate this." I muttered closing my eyes and lying down on my bed.

Go have some fun Max.

'Whatever happened to not getting distracted?' I asked bitterly.

No answer, of course.

"You are literally one giant headache." I said letting out a sigh and opening my eyes to look at the ceiling of my room.

I'm sorry it hurts sometimes.

'Try all the time.' I thought.

"Just sometimes more than others." I said yawning.

I still haven't caught up on my rest. Chances were that I wouldn't get full caught up until all of this was over.

A knock came on my door, judging by noise and repetition the person wanting permission to enter was Fang.

"Yeah?" I called still lying on my bed. I sounded tired.

"Lunch is ready." Fang said opening my door.

"Okay." I said getting up.

"Tired?" He questioned raising one of his dark eyebrows.

"Nah." I said shaking my head with a smile that said 'I'm lying.'

I followed him out of my room down to have lunch with the others. Anne included. It was a little uncomfortable talking to Anne at the table, but I suffered through it. I was just enjoying having another meal with the flock without being on the run out in a forest. I tried to ignore Anne's presence altogether.

Seconds after we finished eating we heard the doorbell. I immediately went on alert.

"Please tell me you're expecting someone." I said looking at Anne as she got up from the table to answer the door.

"I'm afraid not." She said shaking her head and exiting the room.

I listened intently. I heard the door open. Then a voice said hello and Anne responded with a hello of her own.

"I'm here to see Max." The voice said.

I knew that voice.

Prisoner- Chapter 28

The walk with Sam was nice and normal. I liked talking to Sam, because he didn't ask a lot of questions like other people. He said he liked me and that I was different than other girls in a good way. He did most the talking, but I put in my fair share of words too.

Sam and I reached the front door of Anne's house. I had been gone more than an hour and I was secretly praying that Fang wouldn't notice. He seemed really worried that I was going to get attacked and he would expect me to be at Anne's no more than an hour later, like I had said.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" Sam asked with a hopeful smile.

"Sure." I said nodding with a smile of my own. I loved doing normal things.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow." Sam said leaning closer to me like he was debating whether to kiss me. I could feel the warmth of his breath hitting my mouth and neck and I was silently debating whether Sam would kiss me for what would be the second time.

AN: Since this chappy is short I'm posting the next one too. Remember I post them as I wrote them on the board. Hope you liked it!

Prisoner- Chapter 29

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow." Sam said leaning closer to me like he was debating whether to kiss me. I could feel the warmth of his breath hitting my mouth and neck and I was silently debating whether Sam would kiss me for what would be the second time.

Finally my debate ended when Sam's lips contacted with mine. It was a short gentle kiss and my second one with Sam. He pulled away and I blushed as a smile crept onto my lips. I looked up at him to see a smile on his light pink lips too.

"I better go in." I said nodding my head toward the door. "I promised F…Nick that I'd only be gone an hour and It's been two."

"He's not going to kill me is he?" Sam asked looking half sarcastic and half serious.

"No, just me." I said shaking my head in the same tone. Fang wouldn't hurt or kill me, but he would be very mad and therefore that could lead to a huge argument, one that I was dreading.

"See you tomorrow." He said kissing the corner of my mouth and then my lips once again.

"Yeah, tomorrow." I said slipping through the front door as Sam walked away.

When I turned around I saw Fang staring at me with his arms crossed.

"You're late." He said simply.

"I know." I said immediately losing the grin that was on my face. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" He asked uncrossing his arms to rest by his sides. "Max, you were an hour late. Do you know how worried they were?"

He was referring to the flock.

"How worried I was?" He asked lowering his voice. "I thought Erasers came and carried you back to the school."

"Fang, I'm sorry I worried all of you, but I'm fine." I reassured. "And I'm sorry I'm late. I guess I just got caught up in the whole normal thing."

He was silent for a few moments then looked into my eyes.

"Just be on time next time." He said keeping eye contact with me.

"I promise I'll be back early tomorrow." I said looking away from his eyes.

"Tomorrow?" He asked looking the slightest bit surprised.

"Yeah, Sam and I are going to go get some ice cream." I said with a smirk. "Where's the flock?"

"Swimming." Fang answered.

"So they weren't that worried about me." I said shaking my head.

"I convinced them you were fine, but I promised I would tell them when you got back." He said meeting my eyes again.

"Guess I better go say 'hi' then." I said with a small smile as I began to walk out to the flock.

"Max." Fang called to me.

"Yeah?" I asked looking back at him.

"Be careful." He said staring at me. "I don't trust him."

"You don't trust anyone." I said holding back a laugh.

"Guess that makes two of us then." He said crossing his arms again. "Why is this guy different?"

"I already told you." I said turning my back to him and heading out to the rest of the flock. "He's not."

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews are love!

Prisoner- Chapter 30

I was in my room getting ready for my date with Sam when I heard a knock on my door.

"Who is it?" I asked already knowing who it was.

"Fang." He answered. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah." I said pulling the door open.

He walked in and leaned against my desk.

"I think I know what you're going to say." I said looking at him.

"Okay." He said crossing his arms. "What am I going to say?"

"You better not be late again?" I asked tilting my head to the side in a questioning manor.

"And?" He asked.

"Watch my back." I said rolling my eyes.

"Max." He said sounding annoyed. "I'm serious."

"I know." I said letting out a breath. "I'm sorry, it's just, I've heard this a thousand times already. I know I can't trust anyone, but the flock and I don't."

"Then why go out with him and put yourself out in the open, alone?" Fang asked shaking his head.

"I already told you." I said sitting on my bed. "I like doing normal stuff sometimes."

The doorbell rang and Fang's eyes went from focusing on the ground to me.

"I'll be back before two." I said getting up.

"Don't be late." He said walking over to me and looking me straight in the eyes.

"I won't." I said keeping eye contact.

"Okay." He said nodding his head gently, then he left the room.

I followed him out and down the stairs to where Sam was waiting for me.

"You look amazing." Sam said with a smile.

I could feel my cheeks heating, I was blushing. Sam walked over to me and planted a quick gentle kiss on my cheek.

"Thank you." I said giving him an embarrassed smile.

Sam's head turned to look at Fang.

"I'll have her back on time." He said with a friendly smile.

It took all my willpower to keep from laughing. I put a hand in front of my mouth, so he wouldn't see me smiling.

Fang looked at me. I could now clearly see his jaw was clenched and his eyes were narrowed on me. He walked out of the room.

"He doesn't like me, does he?" Sam asked looking at me.

"He doesn't like anyone." I answered shaking my head.

"I seem to remember him getting along with Lissa just fine." Sam said taking my hand in his and opening the door. "I could call her sometime and we could double."

"I don't think that would be a good idea." I said automatically hating the idea.

"Why?" He asked furrowing his brow.

Yeah, why Max?

'Go away.' I said silently in my head.

"Because Nick isn't the dating type." I said shaking my head. "He keeps his emotions bottled up."

That's not the real reason, Maximum. You have feelings for him.

'I do not.' I thought back.

"Now it all makes sense." Sam said nodding and laughing.

"What makes sense?" I asked tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Why he comes off unfriendly." Sam said looking at me. "He just doesn't show his feelings."

"Exactly." I said nodding. "He's very quiet."

"He's also very protective of you." Sam said tightening his grip on my hand.

"He's paranoid, for a good reason." I said avoiding Sam's gaze. "We've been hurt and betrayed a lot in the past."

"I'm sorry." Sam said sounding sincere.

"Can we change the subject?" I asked with a small smile. "This one is depressing."

"Sure." Sam said letting out a small laugh. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Ice cream." I said as we walked into the ice cream shop.

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews are love!

Prisoner- Chapter 31

Sam and I exited the ice cream shop at 1:45 meaning I would be back five minutes early, perfect timing. Unfortunately, my life couldn't possibly be that easy.

Sam and I were walking past an alley and that's when I saw Ari.

"Hello Max." He said, his voice rough.

He was in human form, which was a definite plus. As long as he was in human form Sam wouldn't find this whole situation too strange. I just had to get Sam out of here.

"Hello Ari." I said with a fake smile. "Sam, why don't you go on home. I'm gonna stay and have a chat with my friend, Ari, here."

"I can wait." Sam said staying put.

"Sam please go." I said turning to look at him.

"Don't worry Max. I'm not going to hurt Sam." Ari said with a sickening smile.

I turned to look at him and he did something I didn't expect. He morphed in front of Sam.

"You see, Sam and I made a deal." Ari said showing a wolfish grin.

Everything became clear, Sam showing up at Anne's door unexpectedly and him not seeming surprised that Ari had just morphed in front of him.

I felt my eyes widen as I looked at Sam disbelievingly. "What?" I asked weakly.

"That's right Max." Ari said smugly. "You're dating the enemy."

"Max…" Sam began looking sadly at me.

"You betrayed me?" I asked staring at him angrily.

He nodded with his head down.

"Why?" I asked furrowing my eyebrows.

"Well you see Max, I gave Sam a choice." Ari said looking so proud of himself.

"What kind of choice?" I asked looking at Ari.

"You or him." Ari growled. "I was getting pretty tired of not killing anybody. So I told Sam he died or you died. Pretty easy choice, don't you think?"

"Sounds like it." I said sending Sam a glare.

"I'm sorry Max." Sam said avoiding my eyes.

"Just leave!" I yelled.

He listened to me this time. He turned and walked away, never looking back.

"Get her!" Ari yelled as three erasers came out of nowhere to try and grab me.

They'd have to fight me first.

I planted a roundhouse kick on the first Eraser's chest. He stumbled back, but only a few steps. The two Erasers at my sides grabbed my arms. I stepped on one's foot then kicked him in the kneecap. He let go of my arm, so I swung it at the one on my other side. I caught him in the nose, breaking it, and making it pour out blood.

One of the Erasers managed to claw my arm, shredding my shirt sleeve and leaving deep scratches that were releasing blood. I stepped back clenching my teeth together as pain stung my arm.

I kicked the Eraser under his jaw and he flew back, not getting up anytime soon.

Another Eraser cam at me. I swung a punch at him, but he grabbed my arm and twisted it awkwardly making pain explode once again in my scratched arm. I screamed out in pain.

Ari walked over to me, seeing that I was in a lot of pain. I was on the ground on all fours, favoring my right arm. I was breathing hard and sweat was drifting off of my forehead.

He kicked me in my stomach and I could feel the air leave my lungs. I gasped desperately for air.

"Come on Max." He taunted. "Get up."

I was determined not to let Ari win. I staggered back to my feet only to be met with a punch to my nose. Now my nose was broken, blood gushing from both nostrils.

I was down on the ground again and Ari was out for payback.

He kicked me in the side, then planted a boot on my throat.

"Not so high and mighty without your flock, are you Max?" Ari growled hate evident in his voice. "It would be so easy to kill you right now."

He was taunting me, trying to make me struggle to fight him again.

"Do it." I spat back at him. "I killed you, it's your turn."

He didn't make a move.

"That's what I thought." I said sucking in as much air as I could get. "You can't do it. Daddy won't let you, will he?"

"Shut up." He growled showing his huge yellow teeth.

"Struck a nerve didn't I?" I asked trying to push his boot from my throat. "You still can't deal with the fact that I'm the favorite and you're left forgotten."

"Shut up!" Ari bellowed raising his boot to crash down on my throat, luckily I was able to roll out of the way of the impact.

I jumped to my feet. Erasers started to come at me, but Ari signaled them to stay back.

"She's mine." He said staring me down. "This is personal."

He lunged at me, but I dodged out of the way. I kicked the back of his knee, causing him to fall. I threw myself on him making the air leave his lungs, but he kicked me off of him and began to choke me.

I could feel myself slowly suffocating, but then Ari's hands let up and I could feel myself breathing again, sucking in air as quick as possible. He wasn't on top of me anymore, he was locked in battle with… Fang.

Fang had come for me.

AN: Hope you liked it! Remember to review, because I love them.

Prisoner- Chapter 32

I could feel myself slowly suffocating, but then Ari's hands let up and I could feel myself breathing again, sucking in air as quick as possible. He wasn't on top of me anymore, he was locked in battle with… Fang.
Fang had come for me.

I lay looking up at the blue sky dotted with white clouds. My body ached in pain with every breath I took.

My arm had four parallel scratches from my shoulder down just a little past my elbow. My shoulder was sore from when it was twisted and I was quite surprised it didn't pop out of its socket. I was pretty sure I had cracked a few ribs from Ari's kick to my stomach and my nose was broken and bleeding freely. My neck felt the worst at the moment, like it would cave in any second. I had a few scratches that dripped blood and there would be new bruises by early morning tomorrow. I could hear myself wheezing, trying desperately to fill my lungs with air.

I turned myself onto my side and spit out blood. I could see Fang and Ari still locked in battle. Fang seemed to be winning and out for blood. He scares me when he's like this.

I watched on noticing the other Erasers awkwardly beating their wings to get higher in the air. They were ready to leave, but why? Had Jeb ordered them back?

Fang delivered a kick to Ari's throat, which seemed to be the end of the fight. Ari noticed the other Erasers up in the air and took off with them. Fang surprisingly seemed to come out of the fight unharmed.

He turned to look at me and I could only imagine how pathetic I must have looked just lying there staring at him.

"Max." He said walking to my side and kneeling down. "Are you okay?"

"I think so." I said, not sure myself.

I tried to sit up as Fang watched on looking at me like I was ready to break.

"Here." Fang said offering me his hand. He helped me stand up.

I let go of his hand and tried walking. My first step was shaky and I had to clasp my hand onto Fang's forearm to keep from falling.

I walked the rest of the way to Anne's leaning on Fang for support.

We walked silently for a few minutes until I couldn't take the silence any longer.

"Aren't you going to ask what happened?" I asked keeping my eyes on the ground.

"No." He said looking straight ahead. "Sam stopped by Anne's and told me what happened."

"I wish I could see him again, so I could punch him straight in the nose." I said balling my hands into fists.

"He's still there, so you've got your wish." Fang said with a smirk.

"Why is he still at Anne's?" I asked furrowing my brow and looking at him.

"I needed an explanation and I didn't know if you would still be alive to give me one." Fang said looking into my eyes. I saw concern in them.

"I'm fine." I said with a sigh. "But I'm pretty sore and I'm going to kill Sam."

I was laughing and I saw a smirk tug the corner of Fang's mouth.

"I know that if I was in that same position that I would do the same thing, but he could have at least given me warning." I said shaking my head. "I mean why not give me warning if he was so willing to tell you where I was?"

"Perhaps his conscience got the best of him on his walk home?" Fang asked raising a dark eyebrow.

Then I looked more intently at Fang. There was something he wasn't telling me.

"What are you hiding?" I asked narrowing my eyes on him.

"What?" Fang asked furrowing his brow.

"What are you hiding?" I repeated. "I know you're not telling me something, now what is it?"

"Nothing." He stated simply and stubbornly.

I raised an eyebrow and held back a smile.

"Fang…" I started, but we reached the front door of Anne's house. "Fine." I said taking a breath and dropping the subject.

"Sam didn't come here on his own." Fang said. "I saw him walking alone on the sidewalk while I was waiting for you to get here."

"How did you get him to tell you where I was?" I asked studying his face.

"When I came up to him and asked him where you were he told me right away." Fang said staring at me.

"You hit him, didn't you?" I asked with wide eyes.

Fang nodded and I swore my jaw dropped to the floor.

"Before or after he told you where I was?" I asked tilting my head to the side, still frozen in shock at Fang's confession.

"After." He said opening the door to Anne's house leaving me on the doorstep astonished.

Fang had hit Sam for what he did to me. I couldn't wait to see how much damage he had done to Sam's face. Now it was my turn to confront the person who betrayed me.

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews are greatly appreciated.

Prisoner- Chapter 33

Fang had hit Sam for what he did to me. I couldn't wait to see how much damage he had done to Sam's face. Now it was my turn to confront the person who betrayed me.

Fang walked in before me.

I heard Sam ask Fang, "Did you find her?"

"Yeah, he found me." I said walking in to look at Sam.

It was like time had frozen.

Looking at Sam's face, I felt the urge to give Fang a hug. The whole left side of his face had a purple bruise that looked like it hurt a lot. But as far as I was concerned, Sam deserved it.

Sam's eyes widened when he surveyed my injuries. Of course it was a lot worse than it looked. He couldn't see my cracked ribs or nearly dislocated shoulder.

"Max." He said looking speechless.

"Hi Sam." I said staring at him.

"I'm so…" He began.

"Sorry?" I snapped. "Are you really?"

"Yes." He said standing up quickly. "I didn't want to do it."

"Then why did you?" Fang asked from his place right next to me.

"Because they said they'd kill me if I didn't." Sam explained looking at me pleadingly. "I'll make it up to you, just tell me how."

"You can't make it up to me." I said shaking my head. "Just leave."

"Max." He said taking a step closer to me.

I stayed silent staring at the ground.

I saw his hand reach out to touch my arm, the one that wasn't bleeding and aching at my shoulder.

I let my emotions get the best of me and I put a punch to the already bruised side of his face. He dropped to the ground in less than a second and I felt great.

"That felt good." I said looking over at Fang.

He looked like he was trying to hide a smile.

Sam got up after minutes of whining about his face and ran out the door. His face looked awful and it probably hurt a lot.

After Sam left I lowered myself into a nearby chair.

"You okay?" Fang asked looking down at me concerned.

"Yeah." I said closing my eyes and taking in a deep breath.

I heard Fang start to walk out of the room.

"Fang." I said not opening my eyes.

"Yeah?" He asked stopping.

"Where's the flock?" I asked.

"In their rooms." He said knowing where I was going with the question. "Don't worry, I told them to stay in their rooms until I said it was okay to come out."

"Did they ask why?" I questioned opening my eyes.

"Yeah, I told them they needed to catch up on rest while we're here." He said with a shrug and small smile.

I smiled and closed my eyes again.

Fang walked out of the room and came back a minute or two later with scissors, a wash cloth, and bandages of all kinds. Iggy was right behind him carrying the bottle of antiseptic.

"Max, are you okay?" He asked handing Fang the antiseptic.

"Yeah, Ig, I'm fine." I said opening my eyes again.

"We need to get you're jacket off." Fang said looking at the gashes on my arm.

"Okay." I said standing up shakily.

I had a bit of trouble getting my sleeve off without hurting my arm, but managed with Fang's help. I sat back down rubbing my shoulder.

Fang grabbed the scissors and gave me a look.

"What?" I asked looking at him.

"You're not going to kill me for cutting you're sleeve, are you?" He asked raising a dark eyebrow.

"No." I said shaking my head.

"Okay." He said cutting my sleeve straight down the middle, then cutting it off entirely.

"Your shoulder is swollen." He said studying my shoulder.

"Fantastic." I muttered sarcastically.

He poured antiseptic on the washcloth, then cleaned up all my wounds that were bleeding. He started with the four parallel cuts on my arm then moved to the small scratches on my neck.

"Broken nose." He said cleaning the blood from my mouth, chin, and throat.

Then he pulled out the bandages, putting four tiny bandages on my throat. He wrapped my arm in a long tan wrap from my shoulder to just below my elbow. There was nothing we could do for my nose, nothing to put on it.

"Anything else?" Fang asked looking into my eyes.

I thought for a moment not to mention my stomach injury, but thought it was best since most likely a cracked a few ribs.

"I think I broke a few ribs." I said pulling my shirt up a little.

Fang's eyes flickered with concern when he saw my stomach. It had a large purple bruise on my left side.

"Iggy, can you check for broken ribs?" Fang asked looking over at the blind mutant.

"Yeah." He said, then reached out a gentle hand and swept it over my bruise.

When he pulled his hand away I could tell it wasn't good news. "Three broken ribs." He said shaking his head.

"I should have killed that kid." Fang said pulling out another one of those long tan bandages. He wrapped it around my middle, then I pulled my shirt down.

"Thank you." I said giving the two of them a small smile.

"Get some sleep." Fang said helping me to my feet.

I walked to my room with him and Iggy behind me. They went to their rooms once I shut my door and carefully lowered myself onto my bed.

Sleep would be so nice right now.

AN: Hope you like it! I love reviews!

Prisoner- Chapter 34

I walked to my room with him and Iggy behind me. They went to their rooms once I shut my door and carefully lowered myself onto my bed.
Sleep would be so nice right now.

I looked around my room which was well lit from the sun. I would have to close the curtains if I wanted to get any sleep. I couldn't sleep in the light, especially when the pain was keeping me up as well.

I brought myself slowly up into a sitting position then decided to try my luck at standing up. I stood very shakily, taking a thankful breath that I didn't fall right back down on my bed.

I took a small step and then another, slowly making my way to the window. I was thankful at this moment that there was only one in the room.

I reached the window and pulled one of the curtains to the center of the window with my left arm, my good arm. Then I walked over to the curtain on the other side and pulled it to meet the other in the center of the window using my left arm again.

The light was practically gone except for a line of sunlight that managed to slip through where the two curtains met.

I walked back to my bed, but didn't make it there fully. I stumbled and ended up falling to the ground. I fell on my arms, which made me scream out in pain and my ribs weren't giving me any mercy either.

I rolled onto my back and went to sit up, but couldn't. My ribs were flaring in pain and I couldn't stand it much longer.

"Max." Someone called out from behind my door, Iggy. "Are you okay, I heard something."

"Yeah, Ig, I just fell." I answered feeling miserable and embarrassed.

I tried to get up again and failed miserably. "Can you get Fang?" I asked putting my head back onto the ground.

"Yeah, I'll be right back." He said quickly. I heard him knock on Fang's door in a hurry. Iggy obviously knew by the tone of my voice that I needed help.

"What?" I heard Fang call from behind his door.

"Max needs you." Iggy said as I heard the door open.

"Is she okay?" I heard Fang ask.

"She said she was, but she fell." He answered.

I felt so pathetic just lying there, then Fang opened my door and I felt even stupider. He came over to me with Iggy close behind.

"Did you hurt yourself?" He asked kneeling beside me.

"Just what was already in pain." I said closing my eyes. "I can't get up by myself."

"Okay, let's get you up." He said putting his hands on my good arm to help me up.

I got to a sitting position and felt my body ache in pain, especially my stomach region. I laid back down immediately to make the pain subside.

"You can't get up at all." Fang said putting one arm below my knees and the other just below my shoulders.

"Ow." I said as he touched my hurt shoulder.

"Sorry." He said picking me up quickly and putting me on the bed.

"Thank you." I said putting my hand over my eyes. I was so embarrassed.

"What were you doing up?" Iggy asked from the doorway.

"The curtains were open." I said removing my hand and looking at Iggy. "I can't sleep in a lit room, it's too bright."

"Max, you could have asked one of us to do it." Iggy said sounding so sweet.

"She's too stubborn." Fang said giving me a look that said 'don't deny it, you know it's true'.

I gave him one back that said 'shut up'.

"Thanks, Ig, but I can still do simple tasks on mine own." I said trying not to sound mean.

"Is that why you fell?" Fang asked striking a nerve.

"Thanks for your help, now go away." I said directing my words at Fang.

"I think you made her mad." Iggy said leaving the room.

"Me too, but she needs to know how stubborn she's being." Fang said staring at me. He walked out and closed the door.

I didn't know whether to be mad at him or give him a hug. He helped me so many times today when I needed him to, yet he had to make remarks about me being stubborn and ruin the nice streak he'd had. Then again maybe he and Iggy were right. Maybe I needed to start asking for help, but I'm the leader and need to be strong.

The first step to being strong was to get better by getting some rest. Maybe the pain would ease by the time I woke.

AN: Hope you liked it! Thanks for all the reviews, please keep 'em coming!

Prisoner- Chapter 35

I woke up to a dark room and I guessed it must be dark outside, because the sunlight that had escaped through where the curtains met was gone.

I turned my head to look at the clock on my nightstand, wincing as the pain in my neck became noticeable. According to the clock it was 2:30 a.m. I had been asleep for ten and a half hours. I think that's a record for me. I never got to sleep that long.

Unfortunately that meant that everyone else was probably asleep on normal hours and wouldn't be awake for at least four or five hours.

I decided to try my luck at sitting up and immediately regretted it. My stomach was throbbing with pain so immense I wanted to cry.

I decided to see how bad it looked, and if it looked as bad as it felt then I'd just rather die. I took a deep breath, trying to be brave. I lifted my shirt, then my head to survey my injury. The area around my ribs had swelled so much since I had gone to sleep and purple bruising covered the whole left side of my stomach.

The pain seemed to increase after looking at it. I pulled my shirt down and closed my eyes feeling tears threaten my eyes. My breathing quickened as I let the tears fall and for a moment I swore I couldn't breathe. I tried desperately to suck in breaths and flashed back to when Ari had been choking me. I had come so close to blacking out.

I closed my eyes, squeezing them to release more tears. I began to relax as I felt air come again. It hurt to breathe, but I was going to keep doing it.

I eventually stopped crying and felt exhausted. I closed my eyes and let sleep take me again. I could definitely use as much sleep as I can get.

LATER (The ruler wasn't working, it had some kind of error.)

I woke up to a knock on my door. Fang.

"What do you want?" I asked grumpily.

"To make sure you're still alive." Fang said opening the door.

"Well, you saw." I said. "Now, go away."

"Someone's in a bad mood." Fang said eyeing me.

"You would be too if you were in as much pain as I am right now." I said taking a deep breath and wincing at the pain that came after.

"Or if I looked the way you did right now." He said showing a smirk. I knew he was trying to get me to smile, but I was too miserable and afraid that if I did that it would cause me some kind of pain.

"It's not funny." I said weakly turning my gaze away from him to the window on my opposite side.

"Sorry." I heard him say, walking next to my bed. "Hurt that bad?"

"Yeah, it hurts that bad." I said turning to look at him again. "I'm afraid to move, because I'm scared that it will trigger more pain and that includes breathing."

"Anything I can do to help?" He asked crossing his arms.

"No." I said closing my eyes and to my horror, feeling a tear run down my cheek.

"Max, it will be okay." He said uncrossing his arms, his face softened.

"I know." I said sniffing, but was met with pain thanks to my broken nose. "Ow, see what I mean?"

"Here." He said wiping the tear from my cheek with a gentle hand.

"Thanks." I said sounding almost as shocked as I was. I turned away embarrassed.

"I'll go get you some breakfast." Fang said walking away.

I was left lying there wondering what had just happened.

AN: Hope you liked it! Review!

Prisoner- Chapter 36

TWO WEEKS LATER

I woke up during the night after having a nightmare about Ari and other erasers coming to Anne's and taking the flock. I knew it could happen anytime and that's what made the dream so scary to me.

As far as my wounds go, they're healing quite well. My nose looks normal again and doesn't hurt anymore. The swelling in my shoulder disappeared along with the pain. No scars were left from the gashes Ari put in my arm, which made me happy. My throat showed no more bruises and the cuts are gone also. The only thing that still hurt was my ribs. My left side still had a yellowish green bruise and the pain came when I got up or sat down. The good news was that I could now do those things on my own and not need Fang's help anymore.

The flock didn't see me for a week and a half, I stayed in my room. I told Fang to keep them out, because I didn't want them to see me in such bad shape and he did. Unfortunately that meant that he and Iggy had to put up with me and I even let Nudge in a few times to help me.

I climbed out of my bed, wincing as I straightened out. I walked down to the living room and sat on the coach. It was dark, but I liked the dark. I just sat there thinking about my dream and the past weeks.

I silently decided that I was ready to leave Anne's. I would tell the flock in the morning. I didn't know whether to leave a not for Anne or tell her one on one. She would try and convince me to stay, and I didn't want to deal with that. I'm ready to get out of this house. I want it to just be me, the flock, and Total again.

"Max." A voice said behind me, Fang. Why was he always the one to come talk to me?

"Yeah?" I asked looking over my shoulder to see him in the doorway.

"What are you doing up?" He asked walking over and sitting next to me on the couch.

"Couldn't sleep." I answered with a sigh.

He raised a dark eyebrow at me and gave me a look that said 'what else'. How did he always know when I was hiding something?

"I had a nightmare." I admitted. I hated admitting stuff like that, I felt so childish and weak when I did.

"About what?" Fang asked studying me.

"Ari and the other erasers." I said leaning my head back. "They came here and took all of you. I woke up and you were all missing from your rooms."

"You're afraid it's going to happen, aren't you?" He asked meeting my eyes.

I nodded.

"Max…" He began, but I cut him off.

"They know where we are." I said quickly. "We need to get out of here."

"When?" He asked looking away from me.

"Tomorrow." I answered standing up. Once again pain washed over me, but slowly subsided after a minute.

Fang wasn't silent for a moment.

"I think we should stay a couple days longer." He said shaking his head, still not looking at me.

"What?" I asked surprised. "Why?"

"You're still in pain." He answered looking at me. "We should wait 'til you've fully recovered."

"No." I said shaking my head.

"Max." He said in a stern voice.

"No." I repeated. "We're leaving tomorrow."

"You're being stubborn." He said standing up.

"It's for the safety of the flock." I said crossing my arms.

"What about you're safety?" He asked walking over to me. "You seem to conveniently forget that sometimes."

"I do not." I scoffed.

"Right, so you trying to cut that chip out of your arm was just for fun?" He asked now crossing his arms.

"I told you I wouldn't do that again." I said getting angry.

"That's not the point Max." He said shaking his head. "The point is that you did that, because you thought it was for the good of the flock."

"Maybe it is." I said sending him a glare.

"Yeah, right, killing yourself is just what the flock needs." He retorted sarcastically.

I sat back down on the couch, wincing at the pain that came with the sudden movement.

"We're leaving tomorrow." I said putting my head in my hands.

"No we're not." He said from behind me.

"Yes, we are." I said looking over my shoulder to send him another glare and a defiant look that said 'I'm the leader'.

"We'll take a vote in the morning." Fang said glaring back. "I'm sure the flock will agree with me."

I knew he was right, they would side with him. But since when does Fang not go along with my plans. He's never sided against me before.

"It's not a democracy, it's a Maxocracy." I said rubbing my temples.

"Not anymore, Max." He said leaving the room.

What the heck just happened?

AN: Ok, there is the next chapter. Hope you like it. Reviews are love!

Prisoner- Chapter 37

It was morning and Anne was gone to work making this the perfect time to talk to the flock. We sat at the table everyone just finishing their breakfast. I began to clear off the table and decided to start the talk now, since it was just as good of time as any.

"Okay flock, I need to talk to all of you." I said avoiding Fang's eyes.

"About what, Max?" Gazzy asked looking up at me.

"I think it's time we leave here." I said walking away from the table with dishes in hand. I put them in the sink and returned to the table.

"Are you better, Max?" Angel asked sweetly.

"Much." I said with a smile, sitting down next to her hiding my pain. Angel smiled back.

"I think we should stay a couple more days." Fang said looking at me intently.

"Well, I don't." I said hating the fact that he was fighting me on this. "We're leaving tomorrow."

"We'll take a vote." Fang said looking at the flock.

"Like I said last night, Fang, this isn't a democracy it's a Maxocracy." I said standing up quickly causing my stomach to flare with pain. I winced and let out a pathetic whimper.

"Max, are you okay?" Nudge asked with wide eyes.

I nodded holding back tears. My ribs hurt so much.

"No, she's not." Fang said standing up. "She's still hurt, but she's too stubborn to admit it."

I sent Fang a glare.

"I agree with Fang." Iggy piped up. "We should vote."

"Me too." Gazzy said going along with Iggy.

Nudge and Angel nodded their heads and Total seemed to be doing the same.

"Fine." I said taking a deep breath once again met with pain. "We'll vote."

"All in favor of us staying a couple more nights, raise your hand." I said keeping my hands by my sides.

Fang's hand raised first, followed by Iggy, Gazzy, Angel, then Nudge.

"How many?" Iggy whispered to Fang.

"Five to one." Fang answered.

"Total, what side are you on?" Angel asked the small dog in her lap.

"In favor of staying." He said licking Angel's hand.

"Make that six to one." Iggy said with a small chuckle.

"Three more nights, that's it." I said leaving the room.

"Is Max mad at us?" Angel asked looking over at Fang.

"No, she's just mad she didn't get her way." Fang said back.

Everyone was silent. They didn't like upsetting Max.

"I'll go talk to her." Fang said seeing everyone looking at him expectantly.

"Max." Fang said from behind my door.

"Go away." I said looking out my window.

"It's only three days." He argued from behind the door.

"Three days at a house that belongs to someone I don't trust." I said brushing a strand of hair behind my ear.

"You're the one who wanted to come here." Fang called back.

"You wanted to take me to a hospital." I yelled.

"You would have been in and out in a day maybe a little more." He said jiggling the handle of my door. Good thing I locked it. I put on a triumphant smile.

"Maybe, or they could have reported us to someone who wanted to do tests on us." I said stubbornly.

"Anne could do the same thing." Fang said reasonably. "At least you would have never run into lover boy and gotten yourself beat up. Then we wouldn't even be having this conversation."

My eyes widened and I stomped over to the door and unlocked it. I opened it and glared at him asking him, "Are you saying it's my fault I was beat up?"

"No, I'm just saying I'm always right." Fang said in a calm voice with a smirk. There he goes trying to make me smile again.

I rolled my eyes. "I guess we'll see won't we?" I whispered looking up at him.

He nodded. "Everything will be okay." He said as his jaw loosened and his eyes softened.

He was always there for me. I trust Fang, if he says everything will be okay, then everything will be okay.

"I know." I said nodding, managing a weak smile.

Fang and I stood there looking at each other and I swore time froze. He leaned down to me and I instinctively moved to meet him. I was about to kiss Fang… again.

"Max, can we go swimming?" Gazzy asked from down the hallway. He looked at Fang and I oddly as we jumped apart.

"Yeah… um… sure." I stuttered, sounding like an idiot.

"Yes!" He said pumping his fist in the air. I couldn't help but smile.

"She said yes!" Gazzy called to the others as he ran down the steps.

I laughed and I saw Fang had a small smile on his face too.

"You wanna go watch?" Fang asked.

"Yeah, but there's something I need to do first." I said and I swore I lost control of my body as my lips met Fang's. It was a short gentle kiss, but so much better than kissing Sam. I think I was starting to get feelings for Fang.

It's part of growing up, Max.

'Do you have to come and ruin every moment?' I asked silently.

Don't let this be a distraction, Max. Enjoy it, but don't be distracted.

'I will be distracted if I want.' I retorted.

"Max, you okay?" I heard Fang said looking at me.

"Yeah, the voice just decided to show up." I said rubbing my temples feeling a headache coming on.

"Let's head out, they're probably waiting for us." Fang said putting his hand gently on my back and directing me to the flock.

"Okay." I said bringing my head to look at him.

"Gone?" He questioned raising a dark eyebrow.

"Yeah." I said nodding with a smile.

Things were definitely changing for the better.

AN: Hope you liked it! Please keep reviewing!

Prisoner- Chapter 38

THREE DAYS LATER

It was three days later and I couldn't be happier about it. We would leave in the morning after breakfast. Anne would be off to work, so I'd just leave a note and we'd be gone.

I shivered, feeling a cool breeze waft over me. Wait, was my window open?

My eyes shot open and a hand clasped over my mouth. My eyes widened as I looked into Ari's eyes. He had a sickening smile on as he motioned for an eraser to bind my hands and feet. After they were bound a piece of tape was put across my mouth, making me unable to scream.

"It's time to go back to school, Max." Ari said smugly.

I looked around to see five erasers, Ari, and… the other Max.

When I turned to look at Ari again I was met with a swift kick to my head and all went black.

(AN: Insert ruler here, it still isn't working.)

Gazzy rose from his bed covered in sweat. He'd had a nightmare, but it was like one of his premonitions he'd had twice before. He needed to go tell Max and now.

He jumped from his bed and headed down the hall to Max's door. He knocked softly, but there was no answer.

"Max." He called jiggling the locked door handle. "Max, are you in there?"

"Gazzy, what are you doing up?" Fang asked coming out of his room.

"I had another one of those dreams." Gasman said looking up at Fang. "I think Max is in trouble."

"What'd you see?" Fang asked crossing his arms.

"Max was fighting the other Max with a group of whitecoats watching." He answered looking worried.

"So you came to tell Max?" Fang asked.

"Yeah, but she's not answering the door." Gasman said looking confused.

"Max." Fang called knocking harder than Gasman had. "Max, open the door."

There was no answer.

"Gazzy, go get Iggy." Fang said keeping his eyes on the door.

"Max, are you in there?" Fang asked jiggling the handle like it would magically open.

"What's going on?" Nudge asked with Angel behind her.

"That's what I'd like to know." Iggy said walking over to the door with Gazzy just behind him.

"Max's door is locked and she won't let us in." Gasman piped up from behind him.

"So, you want me to pick the lock?" Iggy asked with a small smile. "And who's gonna stop Max from killing me?"

Iggy began to pick the lock with everyone standing to his side or behind him watching intently. They were all wondering what they would find behind the door when they opened it.

(AN: Another ruler would be here.)

I came to in a large bright white room with glass walls. I was lying on the ground and I had a huge headache. Ari would pay for that. My ribs weren't exactly letting up on pain, either. The pain had worsened, my guess being they bumped my bruise a couple times when bringing me to this room. Breathing hurt so much, every time my lungs expanded with a new breath of air.

I looked at my surroundings to see whitecoats and erasers outside the glass walls. Jeb walked in through an automatic sliding glass door behind me, but it looked like it only opened when he entered the right code on the keypad.

"Max, it's good to see you're well." Jeb said walking over to me and offering a hand out to help me up.

I got up on my own with my back to him, so he couldn't see me wince in pain.

"No thanks to the mutt behind you." I said turning around and sending a hard glare to Ari as he walked into the room to stand behind Jeb.

"Yes, I heard about that." Jeb said nodding. "Don't worry Maximum, Ari and the rest of the erasers are not here to harm you."

"I'm not worried." I said looking at Jeb.

"No, of course you're not." Jeb said with a disbelieving nod.

"So why am I here?" I asked crossing my arms.

"To fight." Jeb said as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"I thought you said the erasers wouldn't harm me?" I said furrowing my eyebrows.

"Oh, no dear, you're not fighting the erasers." Jeb said walking closer to me.

I took a step back and asked, "Then who?"

"Yourself." He responded as the other Max walked into the room. "We told you, there can only be one Max."

"And I told you I wouldn't kill her for you." I said narrowing my eyes at him.

"You have no choice this time, Max." He said looking at me like he cared. It was fake if you asked me. There is no way he knew what it was like to care for someone. He let his own son be turned into an eraser. He has no real feelings of love or caring for someone. That had become obvious to me in this past year.

"Really?" I asked rolling my eyes. "Why is that?"

"Because neither one of you are leaving this room until there is only one Max." He explained. "If you want to live Max, you have to fight."

I was frozen on this new information. I would have to fight or I would never see the flock again. I couldn't let her take my place.

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews make me happy! hint, hint

Prisoner- Chapter 39

"Done." Iggy said turning the doorknob to Max's room and pushing it open.

Fang went in first, then Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy and last, Angel.

The room was empty and normal except for a note laid on the surface of the bed.

Fang picked the note up and said, "This is Max's writing."

He began reading it as the other four mutants stared at him.

"What does it say?" Nudge asked with wide eyes.

"Had to go 'save the world'. Fang's in charge. Love, Max." Fang read out loud to the group.

"Why would she leave us?" Angel asked looking up at Fang with pleading eyes.

"She wouldn't. Would she?" Iggy asked shaking his head in confusion.

"Nudge, see if you can get anything from this." Fang said handing Nudge the note.

Nudge held onto it for about a minute concentrating hard then opened her eyes to look at the group. A tear slipped down her cheek.

"What is it?" Gasman asked concerned.

"Ari and his erasers took Max." She announced. "I saw it. The other Max wrote the note while the erasers bound Max's hands and feet. They put tape over her mouth and then Ari kicked her in the head. She didn't move after that."

Another tear slid down Nudge's cheek. Angel was now crying too.

"Gazzy you said you saw Max fighting the other Max, right?" Fang asked looking at the blond haired eight year old.

Gasman nodded his head, feeling unable to speak. He was trying to be strong for the flock, for his sister, and for Max.

"Then they must have taken her to Itex." Iggy said knowing where Fang was going.

"Right." Fang confirmed. "Everyone get you're stuff, we're going to get Max back."

The flock each went back to their own rooms and got their stuff.

When they were ready they left through Max's bedroom window. Nudge first, then Iggy, Gazzy, Angel, and last Fang who was carrying Total in his backpack.

AN: RULER WOULD GO HERE, BUT STILL ISN'T WORKING!

Jeb walked out of the room, followed my Ari. They joined the other erasers and whitecoats behind the glass walls and looked in on us.

I could see the sickening smile on Ari's face. He couldn't wait to see me lose, but that wasn't going to happen. I wouldn't let it happen.

Jeb kept his eyes on me, looking like he was doing his best not to blink.

I turned to look at the other me and she was staring me down, studying me.

"We don't have to do this." I said shaking my head.

"Sure we do." She retorted taking a lunge at me.

"No we don't." I said moving out of the way. "Think about it. They can't make us fight."

"They don't have to make me." She said throwing a punch at me.

I ducked, but she tripped me and I fell onto my back.

"I've been waiting to kill you for awhile." She said getting ready to plant a kick to my ribs.

I grabbed her foot and shoved her away before she had the chance to cause any further damage in my rib region.

"Fine." I said kicking her cheek. "I'll fight you, happy?"

"Very." She said throwing a kick at my head, but I dodged it.

This was going to be one long fight.

AN: Hope you liked it! Thanks for the reviews, and please keep them coming!

In case anyone is interested, I have a second story called 'The Sickness'. I would love it if you would go check it out. IT'S GONNA HAVE FAXNESS! Promise.

Prisoner- Chapter 40

Fang's Dream

"Hello Fang." Jeb said holding the door open for him. "Did you come to see the fight?"

"What fight?" Fang asked as Jeb handed him a can of soda.

"Max and well… Max." Jeb said with a smile. "I can't wait to see who wins."

"I think Max will win." Angel said walking in behind Fang and the rest of the flock.

"Which one?" Iggy snorted.

Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel all walked over to a set of bleachers and Fang walked over to the mud pit where the two Maxes were waiting to fight.

"Fang." Max said throwing her arms around his neck. "You found me."

"Of course we did." Fang said with a smirk. "What's with this fight I'm hearing about?"

"She wants to take my place." Max said sending a glare at the other Max. "So we're going to wrestle for the flock… and you."

"Me?" Fang asked with a smirk.

"She thinks you're hot." Max said peeling off her clothes to reveal a black swim suit. "I think you're hot too, you know."

"You're not so bad yourself." Fang said looking her up and down.

Fang looked over at the other Max, she was wearing a red swim suit. Max looked over at the other Max and then at Fang.

"Hey!" She said punching Fang in the arm. "Eyes here!" She said motioning for Fang to look in her eyes.

"Right… sorry." Fang said looking back at Max in time to see her inching closer to his face. She planted a kiss on his lips, then the ringing of a bell interrupted.

"I gotta wrestle now." She said pushing Fang toward two empty lawn chairs.

Fang sat in the lawn chair on the left and popped his soda open. He took a sip and lounged back in the chair watching the match begin.

"Go!" Angel shouted.

"Max!" Nudge shouted just after.

"Go!" Gazzy finished with a shout.

They were holding up signs. Angel and Gazzy's both said 'go' and Nudge's said 'Max'. When they shouted out the words on the posters, they held them in the air.

"Shoot, I'm late! I didn't miss anything good did I?" Ari asked sitting in the lawn chair next to Fang. He cracked open his soda and took a sip.

Fang shook his head keeping his eyes on the match.

"Which is which?" Ari asked moving his eyes to the match.

"Does it matter?" Sam asked pulling his lawn chair up next to Ari's right side.

Ari laughed.

"Good point." He said lifting his soda.

"I propose a toast." Sam said holding his soda up. "To mud wrestling, the greatest sport in the world."

"Here here." Fang and Ari said tapping their soda cans with Sam, then each other.

"What are they fighting over anyway?" Iggy asked coming up behind the three.

"I think I know." Ari said smugly.

Sam smiled then said, "Me too."

"Me." The two said in unison.

"Dream on guys." Fang said rolling his eyes and laughing. "They're fighting over me."

"How do you know?" Ari asked in disbelief.

"Max told me." He said taking another sip of his soda.

"Do you even care which one wins?" Sam asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, I guess." Fang said with a sigh. "The original Max is always the best Max."

"True." Ari said nodding.

"Who's winning?" Iggy asked from behind them.

"Oh that's right, you can't see them." Sam said laughing. "That must suck."

"It does." He confirmed not smiling. "Does Max look good in a swim suit?"

"Oh yeah." Fang said with a smile.

"I hate being blind." Iggy said shaking his head.

Fang awoke from his dream seeing Iggy still on watch. He couldn't believe the dream he'd just had. No one could ever find out about it, that'd be way too embarrassing. Especially if Max found out.

AN: Hope you liked it! I love reviews!

Prisoner- Chapter 41

I felt at a big disadvantage with my ribs being bruised as bad as they were still. Moving and ducking had my stomach flaring with pain and I wished I could just collapse right here and now.

I dodged another punch that was thrown at my cheek only to get a kick to the ribs, just what I didn't need. I crumpled to the floor in pain. I could feel tears come, but I held them back. They wouldn't fall, not now.

I was on my knees clutching my stomach and sucking in every breath of air I could get. I felt like I would never get the air back in my lungs.

Another kick came to my ribs, but to what was my good side. It wasn't hard enough to crack a rib, but it still hurt and made me wish I was anywhere but here.

I staggered to my feet to see the other me throw a kick at my shoulder. I ducked and put a punch to her cheek.

She spit out blood and sent me a glare.

"I'm going to make you bleed a lot more than that soon enough." I said narrowing my eyes on her.

"I'd like to see you try." She spat back.

I put a kick to her knee and resisted the urge to smile when I heard a crack. I had broken her kneecap. She fell to the ground in obvious pain.

"Now I'll make you the offer again." I said looking down at her, breathing hard. "We don't have to fight."

"I told you." She said sweeping my feet out from under me, so I hit the ground on my back. I tried my best to breathe as she stood up and looked down at me. "I want to."

(ruler still isn't working)

The flock stood outside Itex looking for their way in.

When the other Max was with them, she had led them through a fan. Fang considered their best shot, because it was either that or walk right up to the door, knock, and demand Max back. Bets are they wouldn't just give her back, so that plan didn't seem likely.

"What are we looking for?" Nudge asked walking right behind Fang in the shadows.

It was dark out, so they had a good chance of not being seen.

"The fan we used to get in when the other Max led us here." Iggy said trying not to sound annoyed at Nudge's constant questioning. That had been her third or fourth question in the last two minutes and it was getting old, very quickly.

"Oh." Nudge said turning her head back to look where she was walking. "Shouldn't we look for a stick then, because that's what Max… I mean the other Max used to make it stop spinning?"

"We'll worry about that later, Nudge." Fang said looking for the fan.

"Yeah, if we can't find the fan, then we don't need a stick." Iggy said glaring at where he could feel Nudge to be.

"Here it is." Fang said pushing back the bushes to reveal the fan.

"Now we need a stick." Iggy said talking to Nudge.

"Here's one." Angel said picking up a rather small stick.

"It needs to bigger, Ange." Fang said looking down at the six year old.

"Like this?" Gasman asked holding up a larger stick.

"Perfect." Fang said taking the stick from him and jamming it in to stop the fan.

"Well look what we have here." An eraser growled from behind them, already morphed.

"Busted." Gazzy said getting ready to fight.

"I wouldn't fight if I was you." Another eraser said walking beside the first.

"Why not?" Nudge asked giving them attitude.

"They're why." The first eraser said pointing behind him.

There were hundreds of erasers making a mob behind them.

"U and A?" Iggy asked obviously sensing the tension and that the plan had been blown to bits.

"No." Fang said shaking his head. "They have guns."

The erasers grabbed Fang and then Iggy. They hauled them off first then grabbed the younger bird kids. They were taking them into Itex, but not to Max.

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews are love!

Prisoner- Chapter 42

The erasers stuck the flock in a room together. It was completely empty, no furniture or anything else. The ground was white tile and the walls were solid white to match. There were no windows, but there was an automatic glass sliding door that opened when the correct code was entered on the keypad.

"Now what do we do?" Nudge asked putting her head in her hands and her elbows on her knees. She was sitting with her back against the wall alone.

Iggy was sitting in one of the corners of the room, with his head laid against the wall.

Gazzy was sitting next to him looking at his shoes, resisting the urge to cry.

Angel on the other hand left her tears flow. She was in Fang's lap crying while Fang stroked her blond hair.

"We'll figure something out." Fang said not sure what they're next move was.

"Yeah, Nudge, don't worry." Iggy said monotone from the corner. "We'll get out of here and find Max."

"What if they do something to Max while we're in here?" Nudge asked with a tear running down her cheek. "What if we're too late?"

"We're not." Fang said with a tight jaw.

"You don't know that." Nudge whispered letting the tears finally stream down her cheeks.

"Yes I do." Fang said surprised at what he was saying. How could he say that? He had no idea whether Max was okay or not.

"How?" Angel asked looking up at him with pleading blue eyes.

"Gazzer would have had a vision." Iggy said simply.

Fang silently let out a breath. Iggy had come up with an explanation, now he didn't have to lie to the flock.

"And you haven't had any since the one of Max fighting the other Max, right Gazzer?" Iggy asked exhaling.

"No." Gasman said shaking his head at his feet.

The door opened to the room and the mutant bird kids all noticed and prepared to attack.

Fang stood up and put Angel on the ground then pushed her behind him.

Iggy's head snapped to look in the direction of the door and Gazzy stood beside him. Iggy stood right after him.

Nudge stood and stared at the doorway waiting for the individual to reveal themselves.

"Hello mutants." Ari said from the doorway.

"Where's Max?" Fang demanded.

Ari gave a sickening laugh revealing his yellow canines then replied, "She's busy."

"Busy?" Iggy asked raising his blond eyebrows. "Doing what?"

"Fighting." Ari answered. "I didn't want to leave, but I got orders to bring you to watch."

Ari sent his group of erasers in to grab the members of the flock.

Three held Fang, Iggy too.

Two held Nudge and Gazzy each.

And one held Angel as she squirmed to get out of its grasp, following the rest of the flock's lead.

"Keep struggling little one." It taunted. "You won't get free from my grasp."

Ari led the group to their final destination as he talked to Fang.

"Just wait 'til you see it, Fang." He growled. "The final showdown."

They turned a corner as Ari went on.

"The original Max and the new Max fight it out to the death. Now my bet is placed on the original Maximum Ride to win, but from what I've seen it isn't looking too well for her. In fact I'm starting to think she's gonna lose."

Fang stayed silent. He knew Ari was trying to get him to explode with anger, but he wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

They turned another corner then entered a large room with a smaller room in it. The smaller room had all glass walls and two people fighting inside, more importantly… two Maxes fighting inside.

One of the Maxes was on the ground, but there was no way to tell which one was which.

The flock would have to watch the match not knowing who to root for and more disturbingly, sit by and do nothing to help.

It was all up to Max.

AN: Hope you liked it! Sorry if I confused anyone... I decided to split into chapters of 30 or 40 now instead of twenty. It's easier that way.

Prisoner- Chapter 43

"What's going on?" Iggy asked hating his blindness.

"One of the Maxes are on the ground." Nudge answered with wide eyes as she watched the two Maxes.

"Which one?" Iggy asked in a fit of panic.

"I can't tell." Nudge said shaking her head.

"What?" Iggy asked surprised.

"They're identical." Nudge said shrugging her shoulders as she continued to shake her head. "They're even wearing the same thing."

"Crap." Iggy muttered.

MAX P.O.V.

I still lay on the ground on my back sucking in as much air as I could get. I knew I had to get up, but for some reason I couldn't bring myself to stand up.

The other me was standing looking down at me with a smile. She took a moment to look around, probably checking to make sure she had an audience, so they could see her kill me and therefore prove she was the better Max. But she wasn't and I wasn't going to let her go on thinking she was. I was stronger and smarter and no one was going to lead my flock but me.

I watched as her head froze to look at something only to see her vision was stuck on it like glue. At this distraction I made my move.

I put another kick to her already busted kneecap and watched her crumple to the ground. I kicked her in the side a few times then looked around for what she seemed so interested in. It was the flock, my flock.

I walked over to the glass wall that was separating us and put my hand on the glass.

They were being held by erasers, being forced to watch.

"Max, is that you?" Angel asked squirming in an eraser's arms.

I nodded feeling like I was going to cry, but I couldn't. I had to fight.

"No, I'm Max." The other Max said from behind me.

I turned to look at her feeling like I was going to explode with anger.

"Keep dreaming." I said walking toward her.

I threw a punch at her seeing her stand up in front of me, but she dodged easily. She kicked me in my chest and a staggered back feeling like I would fall on my butt, but I managed to stay on my feet.

"Which one is she?" Angel asked with pleading blue eyes. She wasn't asking anyone specific, it was more like she was thinking out loud.

"I think she's the one that came over to the glass." Gasman guessed clearly confused.

"Me too." Nudge said with a scared nod.

"Come on, Max." Angel called near tears again. "You have to win."

I looked over my shoulder hearing Angel call out to me, my baby. She looked so scared. They all looked scared, even Fang who barely ever shows his emotions. I wouldn't scare them any longer. I would win, for them.

AN: Hope you liked it! Thanks for all the reviews everyone! They are awesome! Please keep up the good work!

Prisoner- Chapter 44

I was kicked in the side of my head, which caused me to take a few steps and instinctively put my hand to my cheek. I felt myself bite my tongue during the impact and then tasted the all too familiar taste of blood. My eyes became blurred and my cheek felt like it was on fire and already swelling.

I spat the blood out and sent a glare at my opponent who was returning my glare with one of her own. Her eyes were dark and set on killing me. I could just imagine mine being the same way. After all, we were identical.

Another kick came at my head, but I dodged and planned out my next move.

I placed a punch directly at her temple and seemed to have caught her off guard. She looked basically unaffected and straightened up immediately before charging at me.

I dodged and she charged again. After getting out of the way a few times I tripped on my own feet giving her time to tackle me and she did just that.

I was knocked to the ground and my breath left me on impact. I felt like my body was going numb, but I know that was just the fatigue catching up with me. I was lying there sucking in air as quick as it came. I turned so I was lying on my side and scuffled to my hands and knees, but was met with a kick to the side.

I flopped back down on my back and was sure that it would be pretty badly bruised tomorrow, assuming I lived through this fight.

She kicked my chest a few times before sitting on me and covering my throat with her hands, pressing down with all her strength.

I coughed and gasped for air and flailed under her hold. I even tried to pull her hands away, leaving scratches on her hands. I reached up to scratch her face, maybe even claw her eyes out, but she pulled her head away from my reach.

I had no way of escape. I was going to die and she was going to lead the flock. What should be my flock, not hers. I was the better leader, the better Maximum Ride.

My vision was becoming fuzzy and I could feel myself giving into a permanent sleep, permanent darkness. Things were fading to black, forever.

I looked around the room one last time before I faded away.

I saw the whitecoats looking stunned at what they were seeing. I couldn't blame them. I thought I would have won too.

Jeb was watching the two of us intently with an emotion I couldn't quite put my finger on.

Ari had a grin on his wolfish face and then I turned my attention to the flock.

They looked confused and sad. I couldn't blame them. They probably had no idea who was who, which one of us was the Max they knew and loved.

I was fading out slowly, darkness inching toward me. I lost control of my body and senses slowly and then was met with darkness that would last forever.

She had won.

CHANGE IN P.O.V.

I turned to the flock, standing and moving away from the person I had just killed.

"Max!" Nudge called shaking as she cried.

"Max, is that you?" Gasman asked looking and sounding frightened.

Angel's eyes looked pleading as she looked at the me with tear stained cheeks.

"Please tell me that's you, Max." Fang said with a clenched jaw.

"Max?" Iggy asked waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, it's me." I said weakly trying to mask my emotions, but failing miserably. Tears were falling down my cheeks as I panted for more air.

I felt sick to my stomach thinking about what I had just done. I had killed her for them. I gave them what they wanted.

"Let them go." I said wiping my tears away from my cheeks hastily. "I gave you what you wanted, so let them go."

"I'm sorry Maximum." Jeb said shaking his head ever so slightly. "That's not part of the plan."

"Plan?" I asked angrily as four erasers came at me. "I'm not going along with any plan that you think of."

"I didn't expect you to." He said as the four erasers took hold of me.

I squirmed in their grasp then was hauled away with my flock. At least I had my flock.

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews are love!

Prisoner- Chapter 45

The erasers took us into a room with white walls and tile floor. This room had a sliding door like the one I had just been in fighting the other Max.

They left us in the room together, which was definitely a surprise. They always separated us before, so this was a pleasant surprise.

I turned to look at my flock that was still looking at me with questioning eyes and my heart swelled with pride. They were making sure the right Max won, me.

"It's me." I said looking them over.

"Angel?" Fang was asking for Angel's confirmation.

'It's me, sweetie. Are you okay?' I thought to her.

"I'm okay." She said answering me first then Fang. "It's her, this is Max."

"Do I need to prove it?" I asked crossing my arms.

"How would you prove that it's really you, Max?" Nudge asked.

"Um… let's see." I said taking a deep breath and thinking. "I was sick then Sam turned me over to Ari and I got pretty beat up."

"Pretty beat up?" Fang asked raising a dark eyebrow. "You must be Max, because only you are too stubborn to admit that you were near death after Ari and his erasers were through with you."

I glared at him before responding, "I had a lot of injuries, all that are fully healed except for one."

I lifted my shirt and revealed the bruise on the left side of my stomach that was a yellowish green color showing that it was healing.

"There's your proof." I said proud of myself.

"Max, I knew it was you." Angel said throwing her arms around me. "I missed you, so much."

"I missed you too." I said kneeling down and taking her into my arms. I placed a kiss on the top of her head before standing up and taking Gazzy into a hug.

"Did you take care of your sister while I was gone?" I asked with a small smile.

He nodded and I ruffled his blond hair.

Next I walked over to Nudge and took her in a hug, rubbing her back, between her wings the way she liked. It always made her relax.

Iggy placed a slender pale hand on my back and I turned around and took him in a hug.

"It's good to have you back, Max." He said letting me go.

"It's good to be back." I said turning to look at Fang.

I knew Fang wasn't much of a hugger, except for when I cried, but I'd do my best to hug him anyway.

"Thank you." I said wrapping my arms around him.

"For what?" He asked looking down at me.

"Leading them in my absence." I said with a small laugh fighting the tears.

"Just don't make me do it again." He said with a smirk.

That's when I noticed that Fang was hugging me back. I blushed and let go of him turning to look at the flock.

"Let's find a way out of here." I said nodding my head and looking around the room.

"How?" Nudge asked sitting down. "There's no way out."

"There is always a way out." I said looking down at her. "We just have to find it."

I walked along the perimeter of the room, scanning the walls. When I came to the glass door, I looked it up and down for a few minutes then finally placed a kick to it.

"What was that?" Iggy asked obviously surprised.

"Max just kicked the door." Gasman explained.

"Is it breaking?" He asked looking hopeful.

"No." Gazzy said shaking his head.

"We'll see about that." I said placing another kick on the door, then another and another.

Nothing, but I kept kicking.

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews are love!

Prisoner- Chapter 46

"Max." Fang called out to me.

He was sitting with his back against the wall and his arms wrapped around his knees. He was staring intently at the ground.

"What?" I asked stopping kicking the door to look at him.

I was breathing hard and sweat ran down my cheek and masked my body in a thin sheet. I had been kicking the glass door for about twenty minutes now and I wasn't going to stop.

"The door isn't going to break no matter how hard you kick it." He said looking over at me with an annoyed look.

I decided to ignore him. Fang doesn't know everything no matter how much he likes to think he does. There was no other possible way out, so this would have to do.

I began kicking the door again, taking a deep breath of air in between every kick. I could feel another drop of sweat fall from my forehead.

"Max." Iggy called out to me.

"What Ig?" I asked keeping my focus on the door, still trying to break it.

"You need to stop before you kill yourself." He said sounding concerned.

"I'm not stopping until this stupid door breaks." I said putting a kick on the door with every word.

"Max." Fang said focusing his eyes on me and staring intently.

I looked at him for a brief moment then went back to kicking the door.

"Max, that's enough." He said standing up.

"You want to take over, be my guest." I said stopping and looking at him. He didn't make a move toward the door. "Ok, then leave me alone, because this is our only way out."

I placed another kick on the door to feel a hand grasp onto my arm.

"Stop." Fang said staring at me. He probably though I had lost my mind, who knows, maybe I had. I just couldn't bring myself to stop.

"No." I said shaking my head. I avoided his eyes.

"Max." He said in a harsh whisper almost like he was trying to bring me back to reality and make me realize what I was doing.

I was fully aware of how crazy I looked, but it was for a good cause.

"You have to stop." He said almost as an order. "You're wearing yourself out."

"I'm trying to get us out of here." I said meeting his eyes.

He was concerned.

I looked away from his eyes to stare intently at the door.

"Max." Angel said sounding scared.

I closed my eyes and put on a smile before turning to look at my baby.

"What Ange?" I asked looking at her.

"You're scaring me." She said looking terrified.

"I'm sorry." I said trying to hold back tears that were threatening to fall. "I'm really sorry."

I walked over to her and held her in my arms and let my tears fall.

Everything was so overwhelming. I didn't know how to get us out of here and that is what frustrated me the most. I'm the leader, I'm supposed to find a way out, yet I've been kicking a glass door for a half an hour and didn't even put a crack in it.

I released Angel then turned to look at the glass door. Fang was standing there looking at the door, then all the sudden he kicked it and then did it again.

I quickly walked over to him with my mouth hanging open.

"What are you doing?" I asked completely astonished.

He stopped and looked at me, then pointed at the glass.

"You see it?" He asked pointing to a small crack in the glass.

"Yeah." I said nodding with wide eyes. "Guess I did some damage after all."

He nodded silently then placed another hard kick on the door. The crack in the glass spread out into a wider area.

Maybe we were going to get out of here after all.

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews are love!

Prisoner- Chapter 47

"You see it?" He asked pointing to a small crack in the glass.

"Yeah." I said nodding with wide eyes. "Guess I did some damage after all."

He nodded silently then placed another hard kick on the door. The crack in the glass spread out into a wider area.

Maybe we were going to get out of here after all.

Fang placed another kick to the glass and his shoe went through the glass. He pulled his shoe out then started to kick away the remaining shards.

There were two separate glass parts. The bottom part was almost completely broken out, so we could crawl through there and make a run for it.

We would have to be careful crawling out, especially Iggy, Fang, and I, because there was still some glass that stuck out just waiting to scratch one of us.

"Alright, I'll go first." I said crawling through the door. My hands landed on the broken glass on the floor and began to bleed. Like I needed any more wounds.

I stood and looked around down the hallway. I saw an eraser go into one of the rooms, but he didn't see me.

I kicked the glass on the ground out of the way, so the flock wouldn't get scratched up like I had then I bent down and looked through the hole.

"Angel, come through." I said waving her through.

She came though without a scratch on her.

"Gazzy." I said motioning him to me. "You're next."

He went through without running into any glass, then went to stand by his sister taking a protective stance. He always tried to be so brave. He was my little trooper.

"Ig, come on." I called. "But be careful, there's still glass sticking out from the sides and small ones on top.

I held my breath as Iggy crawled through. He missed a few shards by a centimeter and ended up making it through unharmed.

"Nudge." I said waving her to come through.

She did quite easily, which made me so proud. She was handling herself very well.

I didn't need to tell Fang come through, he did on his own. I watched intently as he missed every shard of glass then stood and looked down the hall.

"An eraser went into that room, right there." I said pointing to the second door on the left. "But going past that door is our only choice."

He gave me a subtle nod of understanding then I began to lead the flock down the hallway. I walked to the first set of doors. There was one on my left and one on my right. I looked in both rooms, which were surprisingly empty.

I motioned for the flock to follow me past the doors, then went to the second set of doors. The one on the right had one eraser and the one on my left had at least three.

"At least four." I relayed back to the flock. "One on the right. Three on the left."

They all nodded with different sets of enthusiasm.

I heard a door open and turned to my right to see the eraser come out and look at me with surprise then a smug grin.

"Escapees." He growled showing his yellow canines. He smiled then talked into a radio and said, "The rats are out of their cage."

I placed a kick to his chest and he stumbled a few steps back being caught off guard. His back hit the wall, along with his head bouncing off the wall like it was made out of rubber. That seemed to make him angry, but it gave me satisfaction.

I put a kick to his knee, then another until I finally heard a crack from his kneecap. That was the second kneecap I'd broken today.

He crumpled to the ground hissing in pain.

The other erasers filed out from the other room, hearing the fighting or the eraser's previous message, maybe even both.

They took one look at us, then prepared to fight.

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews are love!

Prisoner- Chapter 48

The other erasers filed out from the other room, hearing the fighting or the eraser's previous message, maybe even both.

They took one look at us, then prepared to fight.

One of the erasers threw a large hairy paw at my face, but I managed to move out of the way in time and throw my leg out to wipe his feet out from under him.

Fang was fighting the other two erasers and one was already on the ground clutching his ears. My guess was that Fang had blown his ear drums. It was the classic way of making them feel pain and fall to the ground. It was one of their sure weaknesses.

"Max, watch out!" Gasman called from behind me.

I immediately went on alert, but it was too late. The eraser I was fighting managed to connect his paw with my cheek creating immense pain in my jaw.

I placed a kick in his stomach then to his neck. He crumpled holding his throat desperately as if he was being deprived of air. Maybe he was.

I spat out the blood in my mouth then looked over at Fang he was already done fighting. He saw me looking at him and gave me a look that said 'what took you so long.'

I glared at him then surveyed our surroundings. I had no idea where to go from here. My choices were many. Left, right, or forward.

'Voice, any suggestions?' I silently asked.

Trust your instincts.

I closed my eyes and had a silent debate in my head. My instincts said right.

'You better know what you're talking about.' I warned the voice.

Trust yourself Max.

'I do trust myself.' I retorted. 'I don't trust you.'

"Right." I said turning to the right and carefully making my way down the hallway with the flock behind me.

"Max." Jeb called out from behind us.

I turned to look at him then at the hall in front of me.

"Run." I said just before sprinting off.

The flock stayed right behind me as I trusted my instincts like the voice had said. We rounded a corner and could see the exit just at the end of the hall.

"Max!" Jeb yelled with a group of erasers charging past them.

We kept running, we were almost to the door.

All of the sudden a voice came over the speakers, so I listened while I ran. It was saying "Preparing for automatic lockdown. Initiating now in ten seconds."

We reached the open doorway and I went to stand in between the awaiting outside and the dooming inside.

"Ten…" The speaker boomed.

"Ok, Angel, go." I said grabbing her arm and pulling her out of the hallway.

"Nine…"

I looked down the hall and paused seeing the erasers getting closer.

"Eight…"

I snapped back to reality to hear the countdown continuing.

"Seven…"

"Gazzy, come on." I ushering him to go through.

"Six…"

Gazzy was not outside standing next to Angel.

"Five…"

I heard a noise, glass doors were closing around me. They were closing downwards, not sideways like the other doors I'd seen.

"Four…"

"Max move!" Fang yelled, then ran to me and knocked me out of the doorway into the outdoors where Gazzy and Angel were.

I was on my back when I heard the door close, the door I had just been.

I immediately looked up to see a glass door with Iggy and Nudge behind it. They were trapped inside.

I got up and ran to the door and pounded on it furiously. I kicked it, punched it and even rammed my body into it, but it wasn't coming open.

"Max!" Nudge screamed pounding on the door.

Iggy was grabbed by erasers, then Nudge.

They took my two flock members away with smug grins.

Then Jeb came to the door and stared out at me with a look that I couldn't place in his eyes. I hated him more than ever, right now.

I kept my eyes locked with his. I couldn't bring myself to look away.

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews are love!

Prisoner- Chapter 49

They took my two flock members away with smug grins.

Then Jeb came to the door and stared out at me with a look that I couldn't place in his eyes. I hated him more than ever, right now.

I kept my eyes locked with his. I couldn't bring myself to look away.

I felt someone walk up behind me and grab my arm.

"Max, let's go." Fang said trying to pull me away from the door.

I stayed where I was pulling my arm out of his grip, never taking my eyes away from Jeb's. I felt like I was frozen to that spot.

"Max." Fang said trying pull my eyes away from Jeb's.

"Max." Angel called behind me.

"Max, we have to go." Fang said grabbing my arm once again, a little harder this time.

I tried to pull my arm from his grip only to have him tighten his hand around my arm.

I finally pulled my eyes away from Jeb's to look at Fang's grip on my arm.

"Let go." I said trying to pry his fingers from my arm.

"Come on." He said pulling me away from the door while Angel and Gazzy walked along looking at Fang and I stunned.

He pulled me into the trees then released my arm while I gaped at him.

"What are you doing?" I whispered harshly at him.

"What am I doing?" He asked looking at me like I was crazy. "You're the one who was just having a staring contest with Jeb. What did you think you were doing just standing there?"

"I don't know." I said truthfully. "I couldn't bring myself to look away."

Then my brain was haunted with the image of Nudge pounding on the glass door looking at me with desperate eyes, pleading with me to help her.

I saw Iggy being surrounded by erasers then dragged away from Nudge, then Nudge getting pulled away from the glass door too.

Then Jeb came into my mind and I felt frozen all over again. There was something about the way he was looking at me that made me feel help less, like he was taunting me. He knew I'd come back for Nudge and Iggy and he was daring me to make my move.

"We have to get them back." I said in a choked whisper.

I was holding back tears, repressing the images of Iggy and Nudge that haunted my brain. I had failed them and now it was up to me to get them back.

"How do we get in if it's locked down?" Gazzy asked probably knowing the answer already.

"We don't." Fang said looking at me.

I turned to meet his gaze with a questioning glance.

"We don't." He repeated. "Nothing gets in or out when Itex is in lockdown."

"We can't just leave them." I said furrowing my brow and shaking my head.

"No, we wait." Fang explained.

"Wait?" Angel asked looking up at Fang and I with questioning eyes.

"Jeb knows we'll try to save Iggy and Nudge." I said knowing where Fang was going with his statement. "Eventually they'll override the lockdown and that's when we'll go break out Iggy and Nudge."

"How are we gonna do that without getting caught?" Gazzy asked looking confused.

"I don't know yet, Gazzy." I said ruffling his blond hair. "But we'll think of something."

He seemed to be pleased with that answer and started to talk to Angel who was looking at Fang expectantly.

I was confused by the way she was looking at him at first, but then realized Total was still in Fang's backpack. I walked behind Fang and pulled the dog out and handed him to Angel. She gave him a tight squeeze and he licked he face happily.

I was able to manage a small smile when Angel looked up at me with a big grin.

I saw Fang walk a few feet away from the four of us and decided to go stand by him.

"When do you think they'll override the lockdown?" I asked staring at the Itex building.

"Anytime." He stated simply.

"We were so close." I said shaking my head, fighting back tears.

He looked at me obviously hearing my voice waver from the threatening tears.

"Thanks for before." I said swallowing the lump in my throat and successfully keeping back the tears.

Fang gave me a questioning glance.

"Knocking me out of the doorway." I said with a subtle nod. "I didn't expect the door to come down so soon."

"It wouldn't be a normal day if I didn't have to save you." He said with a smug tone and a smirk.

I swatted him on the arm as a small smile formed on my lips.

"Max!" Angel called to me.

"Yeah?" I asked turning to look at her.

"The doors just went up." Gazzy said carrying Total over to Fang.

"Let's go." I said walking toward the Itex building. And once again, I didn't have a plan.

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews are love!

Prisoner- Chapter 50

"The doors just went up." Gazzy said carrying Total over to Fang.

"Let's go." I said walking toward the Itex building. And once again, I didn't have a plan.

Fang put Total in his bag then came to walk next to me with Angel and Gasman behind the two of us. I glanced back at the two younger members and gave them what I hoped was a reassuring smile before turning to look back at the Itex building.

Someone walked out of the door in front of us where I had just been minutes ago. As the figure became closer the light of a nearby light pole unmasked Jeb's face of the dark.

"Jeb, we need to talk." I said clenching my hands into fists at my sides.

"Yes Maximum, we do." He said looking at me with his all too familiar eyes.

"I want Iggy and Nudge back now." I said narrowing my eyes on him.

"That can be arranged." He said with a subtle nod.

"But?" Fang questioned from my side, crossing his arms.

"Max comes with me." He said turning to look at Fang.

"No." Fang said shaking his head.

I stayed silent considering taking the deal. It would get Nudge and Iggy out and then I could find my own way out. I always found a way out before, why should this time be any different? Fang could take care of them while I was gone or longer if I didn't find a way out.

Don't listen Max. Find another way to get what you want.

'There is no other way.' I replied silently.

"I think it is Max's choice, not yours." Jeb retorted looking at me once again. "Max?"

I heard my name and looked at Jeb suddenly being brought away from the voice in my head. I gave Jeb a half surprised and half questioning look.

"Do we have a deal?" Jeb asked with friendly eyes.

I took a few seconds to debate the question then turned to look at Fang.

Fang was stiff and giving me a look that said 'why haven't you said no yet?'.

I lowered my head and brushed a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Deal." I answered looking up at Jeb.

"No." Fang said shaking my head.

"It's the only way Fang." I said pleading with him to understand.

"No it's not." Fang said obviously angry with me.

"Yes it is." I yelled back. "If we try to break Iggy and Nudge out, that puts all of us in danger of getting taken, hurt, or even killed."

"So it's better just to put your life on the line." Fang asked keeping a hard tone.

"Yes!" I yelled. "I would do anything for the flock!"

"What if we don't want you to put yourself in danger for us?" He yelled getting closer to me to the point where he was only a step away.

"You don't have a choice this time." I said shaking my head fighting back the tears.

"Max, don't do it." Gazzy said with tears forming in his blue eyes.

"I have to." I said ruffling his blond hair before laying a kiss on top of his head.

I turned to look at Angel who had tear stained cheeks from the river of tears cascading down her face to fall to the ground.

'I love you' I thought to her, laying a kiss on both her cheeks.

"I love you too." She said wrapping her arms around my neck.

When she released me I finally turned to look at Fang. I could see the sadness in his eyes.

"Don't do this." He whispered shaking his head.

"I have to." I said wrapping my arms around him.

He snaked his lean arms around me and for a moment I felt safer than ever before. I was going to miss Fang, so much.

I looked up into his eyes and couldn't resist the urge to kiss him. I placed a light kiss on his lips not caring that Gazzy, Angel, and even Jeb were watching. I'll be embarrassed later when I'm all alone, right now I'll just enjoy these few seconds of heaven.

When we parted I avoided all eye contact.

"Where are Nudge and Iggy?" I asked finally meeting Jeb's eyes.

"On their way out." He answered looking back at the door behind him expectantly.

Before long Nudge and Iggy were carried out by erasers. Jeb turned and looked at me expectantly.

"Max!" Nudge yelled in happiness at seeing me.

I gave her a small smile.

"You two okay?" I called out.

"Yeah." Nudge said nodding.

"Ig?" I questioned.

"Fine now." He explained as the erasers released him.

The two of them walked towards us with erasers behind them.

"Max." Jeb said beckoning me to him.

"Max, what's going on?" Nudge asked looking confused.

"She's playing hero." Fang explained in a monotone voice, as usual.

"What?" Nudge asked looking at me desperately.

"We made a trade, Nudge." I said tilting my head to the side and starting another battle with my eyes to hold back my tears.

"Trade?" Iggy asked looking around with his sightless eyes.

"Yeah, Ig, you two for me." I said wiping a single escapee tear from my cheek.

"Max don't." Iggy said pleading.

"Come Maximum." Jeb said turning his back to me and heading for the door.

Well, I wouldn't be taken without a fight and for that Jeb underestimated me. I put a kick to his back then turned to the erasers, there were five of them. There was some serious underestimating on Jeb's part. We finally got the break we desperately needed.

Nudge whipped around and placed a kick to an eraser's ribs, then flew up into the air where Angel and Gazzy already were.

"Max." Gazzy called for me.

I looked up at him, he was holding something up, an explosive. I gave him a nod then looked over at Fang. He returned my gave and gave an understanding nod before flying into the air. I followed behind him, Nudge just behind me.

"Now Gazzy." I yelled.

He threw the explosive to the ground. There was a loud boom then the sound of erasers screaming. I looked for Jeb only to see him perfectly unharmed looking at me with disappointment. I broke our gaze to look at the erasers. Only one eraser had managed to stay unharmed the others were either dead or close to it.

I gave Gasman a proud smile and that brought an instant smile to his face.

"Way to go Gazzer." Iggy said with a small laugh.

WHY MUST THE RULER STILL NOT BE WORKING!

We flew for about an hour then decided to get some rest after our long day. There was no judging how much darkness was left in the night. It had been dark for a few hours, so I guessed we would only have four maybe five hours of darkness left.

Iggy made a fire then joined the reunion the rest of the flock was having, well Fang was watching not interacting.

I put my fist out, then they stacked up and carried out our routine bedtime goodnight.

Everyone lay down for the night except Fang and I, big surprise.

"Get some sleep." He said walking over by the fire. "I've got first watch."

"Fang?" I called loud enough for only him to hear.

He looked over his shoulder at me.

I walked over to him as he turned to face me. When I reached him I put my arms around him. He seemed stunned for a moment then wrapped his arms around me as I let all the tears I'd held in fall.

I hated my weakness, but I needed to release my emotions before I exploded from all the tension mounting in my body.

Fang was my comfort… again.

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews are love!

Prisoner- Chapter 51

"Fang?" I called loud enough for only him to hear.

He looked over his shoulder at me.

I walked over to him as he turned to face me. When I reached him I put my arms around him. He seemed stunned for a moment then wrapped his arms around me as I let all the tears I'd held in fall.

I hated my weakness, but I needed to release my emotions before I exploded from all the tension mounting in my body.

Fang was my comfort… again.

"I'm sorry." I said letting go of him and wiping my tears from my cheeks.

"Don't be." He said keeping his eyes on me.

I swallowed hard then looked up at him.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah." I nodded with a faint smile.

He gave me one of those small smiles before sitting in front of the fire.

I stood debating what to do. I wasn't that tired, but second watch was mine and I probably shouldn't stay up all night.

I glanced at Fang sitting silently with his back to me.

I wasn't going to sleep, instead I walked over to sit next to Fang.

He gave me a side wards glance then looked back at the fire.

I smiled and tried to hide it from him by looking over my shoulder at the four younger flock members sleeping behind us.

"That was a close one." I said finally ridding my face of the smile.

"Yeah." He muttered.

I looked over at him and noticed the familiar twitch in his jaw and tightness around his eyes. His face contorted that way when he was mad or stressed. In this case, it meant he was stressed.

"About before… I…"

"Don't worry about it, Max." He said looking over at me.

"I was going to apologize." I explained brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. I really needed to find a hair tie or rubber band or something.

"For being yourself?" He asked raising one of his dark eyebrows.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked looking at him quizzically.

"You're stubborn, Max, it's nothing new." He said shaking his head and looking back at the fire.

I kept my eyes on him and for a second I was sure my mouth was agape.

"I was just doing what was…"

"…best for the flock." He finished.

"Yes." I said blinking in confusion at how he was acting.

"You getting hurt or even killed isn't what is best for the flock." He said in a hard tone.

I stayed silent, not knowing how to respond.

I felt myself shiver and crossed my arms to keep as much warmth to me as possible.

"You okay?" Fang asked looking over at me.

"Yeah, just a little cold." I explained looking down at my hands.

Fang wrapped an arm around my shoulders, brushing his fingers lightly across the material of my sweater masking my arm from his touch.

I leant into him, resting my head on his shoulder and let out a breath.

I felt Fang's arm tighten around my shoulders before he leant his head down next to my ear. He brushed my hair away from my face to sit behind my ear.

"You should get some sleep." He whispered making me shiver feeling his warm breath on my ear.

"Hm…" I said closing my eyes for a few seconds then looking up at Fang. "Goodnight Fang."

"Goodnight." He said placing a kiss on my forehead.

I stood and gave him one last smile before I walked over to the sleeping group of four behind him and got some sleep of my own.

Things were definitely changing between Fang and I... for the better I hoped.

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews are love!

Prisoner- Chapter 52

I woke up to see the sunrise which is one of the definite pluses about having to sleep outside. It's normal and beautiful, not to be taken for granted.

I sat up to see Iggy sitting by the fire.

I was supposed to have second watch, not Iggy.

"Ig?" I whispered walking over and sitting next to him. "Why are you on watch?"

"I woke up about an hour before Fang's watch was over and went ahead took over." Iggy explained with a shrug.

"Are you having trouble sleeping?" I asked getting kind of concerned.

"Just the usual." He said with a small smile.

I felt a smile form on my lips too.

"I know what you mean." I said with a small laugh.

"Oh yes, you're an expert on the subject." He said with a larger smile.

"Haha." I said standing up. "I'm gonna go make a breakfast run."

"You should take someone with you." Iggy advised.

"Psh."

"Max…"

"Fine." I said rolling my eyes wishing Iggy could see it.

"You're debating who to take aren't you?" He asked with his back still to me.

"Yeah." I said looking over the four sleeping flock members.

My eyes shot over to where Fang was sleeping. Fang would easily go with me, but he needed his sleep, since he took first watch.

Next, I looked over at where Nudge was sleeping. She took forever to wake up. Not to mention it was too early to hear the 'Nudge channel'.

My eyes caught sight of Gazzy, my little trooper. He was a sweet kid, but also was harder to wake, so that left me with his little sister, Angel.

I walked over to where Angel slept and brushed her blond locks out of her face.

"Ange." I whispered.

She opened her eyes groggily and I immediately felt bad for waking her. Her crystal blue eyes were looking at me questioningly.

"How would you like to go get breakfast with me?" I asked her.

Her eyes lit up and a smile spread across her face.

"Okay." She said moving to get up.

Then we headed to the nearest store to pick up breakfast.

LATER

Angel and I got back to the flock a half an hour later to find the flock awake and waiting for Angel and I.

"Good morning." I said setting the bags I was carrying on the ground.

I gave everyone their breakfast then went to sit by Fang who was sitting by the fire, alone.

"Hey." I said plopping down next to him.

"Hey." He said looking over at me.

"How'd you sleep?" I asked meeting his eyes.

"Fine." He said with a nod. "You?"

"Fine." I said just as vague, cracking a smile at the look he was giving me.

I think Fang always has known that I don't have normal dreams, I have nightmares.

"Where we headed now?" Fang asked studying me.

"No idea." I said rolling my eyes. "I think we should just find an empty house and stay there for a few nights."

He nodded silently.

"That way we can rest up and have time to plan out our next move." I went on then realized Fang was giving me one of his 'shut up' looks that he always gave Nudge.

"What?" I asked.

"You don't have to convince me, Max."

I blinked.

"I'll follow you and so will the flock."

"I know." I said with a small smile and nod.

He kept his eyes on me and I had to turn my head away to hide the blush creeping onto my cheeks.

When I was sure that my blush was gone I turned back to him.

"We should go." I said standing up.

He stood up then went to get his backpack.

"Flock, let's get ready to go." I said turning to them.

They all grabbed their stuff and we were off.

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews are love!

Prisoner- Chapter 53

"Max, look there's one." Nudge said pointing at a dark house in the middle of the woods.

"Are we going to check it out?" Gasman asked looking over at me.

"Yeah, I'll go down first." I said beginning my descent.

My feet came in contact with the ground and I took a few steps to make sure I had my footing. Falling flat on my face would be way too embarrassing.

I turned to look at my flock members all coming down to the ground. Angel was first, then Gazzy, Nudge, Iggy, and last Fang.

When Fang's feet touched the ground he took one step and was in perfect balance. I hated how he had mastered flying and landing much better than me and I was older.

I turned at looked at the house then back at the flock.

"Fang and I will go inspect the house." I said turning and walking toward the house. "Iggy, you're in charge."

I was surprised to see the door wasn't locked, which most likely meant the house was abandoned. A good thing for us if that was true.

I walked in with Fang behind me. I turned to look at him over my shoulder.

"I'll take upstairs."

He looked at me and nodded then went back to looking around.

I went up the stairs carefully, my breath hitching every time the stair I step on creaks.

I reached the top of the staircase and did a quick swap of the upstairs.

Bathroom to my left and hallway to my right.

I walk down the hallway and throw open doors. There were two bedrooms on my left and one on my right. Straight ahead at the end of the hall was a closet, but it was completely empty of intruders and supplies.

I walked back down the hall and staircase to see Fang waiting for me at the bottom.

"All clear?" I asked going to stand in front of him.

"Yeah." He said with a subtle nod.

"Same here." I said turning to get the flock.

I walked to the door and stood in the doorway.

"Yo." I called out to them. "It's abandoned."

I motioned for them to come in then turned back to Fang.

"There was a bathroom up there and three bedrooms." I said going to sit on the coach.

"There's a bathroom down here too along with two more bedrooms." He said laying his hand on the back of the coach.

"Ok, so we can just have Angel and Nudge share." I said thinking things over.

"That'll work." He said looking at me.

"Ok." I said standing up and looking at the flock. "There are five bedrooms, so Angel and Nudge will share."

Angel and Nudge seemed happy with that bit of news, probably because they shared at our old house, the one I missed so much. I shook my head to release the memory from my brain. Thinking about the old house only made me sad and I couldn't stand any more sadness right now.

"There are three upstairs and two down here, so pick a room and get some sleep."

Nudge and Angel ran up the stairs, Gazzy followed behind them leading Iggy up the staircase carefully. Iggy had to get use to how the house was set up now.

"Guess we're down here." I said looking over at Fang.

"Guess so." He said walking into one of the rooms.

I sat on the coach again and rubbed my temples. Truth is I had a bit of a headache and was expecting a visit from my voice any time now.

I felt someone sit down next to me and lay their hand on my back.

When I looked up Ari was looking at me, still in his human form.

I stood up in shock then heard Angel scream my name from upstairs.

Fang came running from his room and looked at Ari then me and back at Ari.

"Go help them." I said looking over at him. "I've got this."

Here we go again.

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews are love!

Prisoner- Chapter 54

"This is getting so old." I said looking at Ari.

"I agree." Ari said morphing. "Let's get this over with."

"You mean you want to fight fair this time?" I asked sarcastically.

"Someone's bitter." Ari said with a smile on his wolfish face.

I threw a kick to his chest, but he was barely affected only taking a half step back.

"That the best you got?"

I threw another kick at him, but he dodged and lunged for me. I went to move, but ran into the couch and fell back on it.

He moved for me, but I kicked at his face, hitting his nose. It immediately started bleeding some of the blood falling on me.

I put another kick just underneath his chin and he started to gag, choke, and gasp for air. A very satisfying thing to watch.

"Max!" Angel called again from upstairs.

"See you later dog boy." I said kicking him in the side then running up the stairs to where the rest of my flock was.

I looked in the first door to the right. No one was in there and I immediately started to panic. I was silently praying that my flock wasn't already gone.

I heard a crash and followed the noises that followed to the door on the left. I looked in and all five members of the flock were in there fighting erasers.

I saw Fang grab Angel from an eraser that was trying to carry her off, then kick him out the window.

"Max, go into the room across the hall and get the bomb out of my jacket pocket." Iggy called to me. I nodded and slipped out of the room to go into the room across the hall. I searched in Iggy's jacket, but nothing was in there.

"Ig, it's not in there." I said running into the room to see Ari holding something up and everyone in the room standing deathly still.

"Hello Max." He grinned smugly. "Welcome to the party, shut the door behind you."

I shut the door and studied the object in his hand.

"It seems I've found a bomb." He said seeing me look at it.

"Head out." Ari said looking at the erasers.

One by one they jumped out of the room. He began to make his way to the window.

"You can't kill us." I said shaking my head. "Jeb won't let you."

"But what if it was an accident?" Ari questioned as I furrowed my brow. "This bomb accidentally went off, it's not my fault. It's no one's fault."

I stayed quiet.

"Speechless Max?" He asked cocking his head to the side. "That's a first, but I'm definitely enjoying it."

I could see Angel in the corner of the room behind Fang. He was standing still sending Ari a cold glare. Nudge was in the corner by me with Iggy and Gazzy standing with her.

"I'd love to stay, but I got to run." He said hopping out the window.

I took a breath of relief then realized something wasn't right.

"We should get out of here." I said pulling Nudge by her arm out the door.

Fang pushed Angel toward the door.

That's when things went wrong.

There was a loud explosion behind us and the last thing I remember is hitting the wall then everything went black.

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews are love!

Prisoner- Chapter 55

There was a loud explosion behind us and the last thing I remember is hitting the wall then everything went black.

Angel let out a cough then raised her head to see the room she'd just been it completely destroyed. Her eyes widened with realization
that the other members of the flock were still in that room and she silently prayed that they were okay.

Nudge stood onto her feet, shakily and saw Angel looking at the room in horror. Her eyes were wide and already swelling with tears.

"Angel, stay right there." Nudge said walking into the destroyed room.

There was a small hole in the floor and black covered the walls. Part of the ceiling seemed to have collapsed and the window was shattered, glass lying everywhere. The bed that was in the room was partly on fire and the nightstand was broken into large wood pieces. The closet door in the room was off one of the hinges and cracked down the middle horizontally. Smoke masked the room along with small fires in various places.

Coughing could be heard inside the room, but from who was still a mystery.

"Max?" Nudge called sweeping her hand through the air to rid the smoke from her face.

There was no answer, but the coughing could still be heard. She followed it until she touched someone's arm.

"Iggy?" Nudge questioned taking a grip on the person's arm. "Iggy is that you?"

"Yeah." He choked out followed by another coughing fit.

"Come on." She said pulling him out into the hallway. "I need you to stay with Angel."

"Iggy are they going to be okay?" Angel asked quietly at his side.

"Who's still missing?" He questioned.

"Max, Fang, and Gazzy." Nudge said going back into the room.

"Crap." Iggy muttered before pulling Angel up into his arms and stroking her blond hair.

"Everything is going to be okay, Ange." Iggy whispered into her ear.

The small girl cried silently into his lean shoulder.

"Max?" Nudge yelled hoping for a response. None.

"Fang?" Still nothing.

"Gazzy?" She yelled listening intently. There was still no response.

Nudge would have to go farther into the room and find them.

"Nudge, what's going on?" Iggy called to her.

"They aren't responding to my calls." She cried back. "And I can't see with all this smoke, it's too thick to see through."

She called their names again and was met with silence.

"Ig, I'm going to have to search the room." Nudge called to him. "You and Angel should get out of here with the smoke being so thick."

"Be careful." Iggy said putting Angel down so she could lead them out.

"You too." She said taking her first step farther into the room.

RULER

"Max?" Nudge called out walking over to the nearest corner on the left.

"Gazzy?"

"Fang?"

"Call if you hear me!" Nudge said feeling panic overtake her.

Her foot came in contact with something on the ground. She looked down, but couldn't see through the thick smoke, so she kneeled and felt for whatever was on the ground.

It was a person.

She felt for the person's neck and tried to find a pulse. The person was alive.

The smoke was clear enough so she could now recognize the individual to be Max, their leader. She was unconscious.

"Max?" Nudge asked putting her hands on her cheeks. "Max, wake up!"

She was tapping her cheeks lightly.

"Wha… Nudge?" She asked blinking a few times. "What happened?"

"Ari threw a bomb in here and it exploded." Nudge explained. "You were out cold."

"I feel like I've been thrown against a wall." I said groggily sitting up in pain. "Are the others okay?"

"Iggy and Angel are waiting for us outside." Nudge said looking away from me. I could tell she was keeping something from me.

"Fang and Gazzy, are they okay?" I asked beginning to panic.

"They're still missing." She said in a whisper looking back into my eyes.

I stood up quickly and began walking blindly around the room in a hurry. I walked to the other side of the bed where Fang had been while Nudge searched the rest of the room.

I shuffled my feet so I didn't step on him and kept my eyes focused on the ground looking intently for Fang.

"I found Gazzy." Nudge called out.

"Is he okay?" I asked stopping to look around even though I knew I wouldn't be able to see them.

"He said his back hurts and his knee seems to be very swollen." She called out.

"Help him out of here and get him outside." I ordered turning my attention back to the ground. "I'll keep looking for Fang."

"Be careful, Max." She said as I heard Gazzy scream in pain probably from getting up.

Poor kid.

"Fang?" I called still searching feeling my worry become more intense as I kept searching. I thought I might throw up.

Finally my foot came in contact with something and I bent down to see if I had found Fang.

I saw his arm then looked at his face. He was unconscious and looked to have been slammed against the bed.

"Fang?" I said shaking his arm with one of my hands.

He didn't wake up.

I took picked up his hand and checked the pulse in his wrist. He had one, but it was weak. I put his hand against my cheek, then kissed it. I was starting to cry.

"Wake up." I said closing my eyes. "Just wake up."

I opened my eyes to look at his face. I brushed the hair off his face and felt myself cry harder. I couldn't lose Fang.

I laid my head upon his chest and listened to the sound of his heart beating. I closed my eyes and let the tears gush from my eyes, soaking Fang's shirt.

"Please wake up." I mumbled against his hard chest.

I silently debated what my next move was. I couldn't carry Fang out of the house, so I'd have to wait 'til he woke up or leave his side and go get Nudge to help me get him out of the house. Both seemed like bad ideas. But one more than the other. I didn't want to leave Fang's side, but I needed to get him out of this room.

I brought my head up from Fang's chest and looked at his face. I leaned in and kissed his lips then grabbed his hand once again.

"I'll be right back." I whispered kissing his hand, then I stood.

"Great, where are you going?" He mumbled opening his eyes to look at me.

"Fang you're awake!" I said dropping to his side once again and leaning in kissing him hard on the lips.

I was so happy he was alive and relief rushed through my body giving me chills.

When I pulled back I saw a smirk on his face.

"Always kissing me when I'm hurt." He said as his smirk grew.

"Fang are your arms hurt?" I asked.

"No." He said shaking his head.

"Good." I said then punched him in his arm smiling.

"Are the rest of the flock okay?" He asked looking up at me concerned.

"Yeah." I said nodding. "They're waiting for us outside."

"Good." He said sitting up and just as I was about to tell him to take it easy he kissed me.

Yes, Fang kissed me.

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews make me update quicker!

Prisoner- Chapter 56

"Are the rest of the flock okay?" He asked looking up at me concerned.

"Yeah." I said nodding. "They're waiting for us outside."

"Good." He said sitting up and just as I was about to tell him to take it easy he kissed me.

Yes, Fang kissed me.

I was completely surprised at first and almost pulled away, but then I started moving my lips against his enjoying every second this kiss would last. I brought my hands up to his face and brushed my thumbs across his cheeks. I felt him lock his arms around my waist and pull me in closer to him. I didn't know how long this kiss would last, but I did know I wouldn't be the one to pull away.

"Max!" Nudge called from the doorway. "Max, did you find him?"

Fang and I pulled away from each other.

"Yeah Nudge." I said looking back at Fang smiling. "I found him."

"We'll be right down." I called to her.

"Can you walk?" I asked Fang looking at him questioningly.

"Yeah." He said with a shrug.

When he went to stand up I saw his jaw stiffen and his eyes showed the tiniest flicker of pain. Which on Fang's pain scale meant that something was hurting him a lot, because Fang never showed he was in pain.

"What is it?" I asked standing up with him.

"Nothing." He lied.

I shot him a look that said 'we'll talk about this later' and then grabbed his hand leading him out of the smoke filled room to where the flock was waiting for us.

"Fang!" Angel yelled running over to him and throwing her arms around his stomach and hugging him. I noticed his jaw get tighter and pulled Angel from him.

"Let's give Fang some room, sweetie." I said with a small laugh.

"Fang you okay?" Iggy asked.

"Yeah." He said with a shrug.

I shot him a glance and he looked at me with an expression that said 'don't start.'

"Is everyone okay to fly?" I asked looking at the flock.

I heard a few 'yeahs' and saw a couple nods.

"Alright, we'll find somewhere else to stay and treat our injuries there." I said letting my wings out to make sure I could fly too. I wasn't met with pain, so I would be fine.

"Ange, you first." I said looking at my blond haired baby.

She looked completely unharmed except for a couple scrapes and bruises.

She nodded then flew up into the air.

"Ig."

He took off to fly next to Angel.

"Nudge."

She handed Fang his bag then flew up.

"Total, you okay in there?" I asked with a smirk.

"Yeah." He muttered.

I couldn't help but laugh and Fang smirked at me.

"Gazzy, are you sure you can fly?" I asked surveying his injuries.

His knee had some really bad swelling and he was holding his back like it was in a lot of pain.

"Yeah." He said surely. "My wings don't hurt."

"Okay go ahead, but if they start to hurt then tell me."

He nodded then took off to the others.

"That goes for you too." I said turning to look at Fang.

He gave me a look that said 'yeah like that's gonna happen.'

I gave him a small smile then motioned for him to go up into the air.

He gave me one last look then did so with me following behind him.

We would fly for about an hour then find a new place to stay in.

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews make me update faster!

Prisoner- Chapter 57

After the day we'd had I decided to get a hotel room. That way we'd be comfortable and somewhat safe. I really was beginning to think this was one of my better decisions that I've made for the flock's best interest. I guess we'd know for sure by morning tomorrow.

"Here it is." I said standing in front of our hotel room door.

I slid the key in and pushed the door open for the flock.

There were two beds and a rollaway and a chair in the corner. Perfect for us.

"Angel." I said turning to my baby. "You take the first bath, don't be long."

She smiled them disappeared into the bathroom.

Nudge sat on one of the beds, Iggy sat on the other. Fang was standing with his back against the wall and looked like he might be in pain. It's hard to tell with Fang.

"Gazzy, come here." I said motioning for him to walk over to the chair in the corner of the room that I was waiting by.

He sat down and I immediately began looking him over.

"We need to keep you off that knee." I said letting out a breath I seemed to have been holding. He looked unhappy, very unhappy, so I ruffled his blond hair.

"You okay?" I asked feeling my heart break as a tear slid down his cheek.

"It hurts." He said looking up at me and quickly wiping the tear from his cheek.

"Knee or is your back still hurting?" I asked cocking my head to the side.

"Both."

"Stand up."

He did as told and I pulled his shirt up a little to see a large bruise on his back. I slowly closed my eyes at the sight and regained my composure. I put on a fake smile and lowered his shirt.

"There's a bruise, but not too bad."

He nodded then sat back down in the chair.

Angel came out of the bathroom and I motioned for Gazzy to go take his bath. He made his way over to the bathroom slowly and finally disappeared behind the door.

"Ange, come here." I said waving her over.

She walked over to me looking nice and clean.

"Does anything hurt?"

"Just a couple bruises and this cut." She said looking down at a medium size cut on the palm of her small pale hand.

"It's clean now." I said with a smile that she returned.

"Fang, can you grab a bandage out of your bag?"

"And Total?" Angel asked.

Fang lifted Total out of the bag.

"Bout time." He muttered walking over to Angel and I.

"Shut it." I warned and he did.

Fang gave me a bandage then returned to his spot against the wall.

I laid it across Angel's cut then kissed her hand.

"All done."

"Thanks Max." She said putting her arms around my neck and giving me a squeeze.

"You're welcome."

Gazzy popped out of the bathroom.

"Nudge, your turn." I said turning to look at her. "And remember, be quick."

She nodded and I was surprised at her silence.

"Ig." I laid my hand on his shoulder.

"Hm?" He asked looking like I'd snapped him out of thinking.

"What hurts?"

"Nose." He said simply.

I smirked, "Well, I think that's because you broke it."

"That would explain it." He said with a nod.

I let out a small laugh.

"Yeah, it would." I agreed.

I cleaned the blood from his face and checked to make sure no other bones in his face had been broken, which they hadn't.

Nudge emerged from the bathroom.

"Your turn to clean up." I said to Iggy as I walked over to Nudge.

He smiled then made his way the bathroom carefully, so he didn't run into something.

"Nudge, how you feeling?" I asked kneeling in front of her.

"Okay, but my shoulder hurts. I hit against the wall and now it's swelling." She explained all in one breath of air.

"Try not to move it too much." I said standing up. "There's nothing we can do for it."

She nodded and I made my way over to Fang.

Iggy walked from the bathroom.

Fang smirked then walked toward the bathroom.

I rolled my eyes. He thought he'd escaped from me looking him over for injuries, but I'd just bug him about it later.

"Bed time." I said to the younger flock members.

Nudge and Angel shared a bed and Iggy and Gazzy shared the other.

The flock was fast asleep five minutes later.

Fang walked out of the bathroom and made a motion for me to go on in.

After I was done with my shower I walked over to Fang who was sitting in the chair in the corner looking out the window.

"What hurts?" I asked him, now standing looking down at him.

"Nothing." A lie.

"Fang." I said narrowing my eyes on him.

He looked up at me looking like he was having a debate on whether to actually tell me what was going on or not.

"Neck and ribs." He said looking away from me.

"You're lucky I don't break your neck for lying to me." I said with a small smile.

I lifted his shirt and felt my breath catch.

I felt my cheeks heat up as Fang's gaze rested on me as I looked over his stomach. His perfectly molded abs were partially flawed by a large bruise. I pressed gently around the area of the bruise, then lowered his shirt.

"So?" He questioned.

"Two broken." I said standing up and moving to check his neck out.

"Great." He muttered sarcastically.

"Your neck looks pretty banged up too." I said seeing bruises across the whole back side.

I moved so I was in front of him again.

"You need to start telling me when you're hurt." I scolded.

"Before you lecture me, how about we treat your injuries." He said standing up making his jaw tighten and his eyes wince the slightest bit. He was in pain.

He put his hands on my face and turned it so he could better examine the cut on my cheek.

"Doesn't look too deep." He said pulling his hands away.

"I'll get a bandage." He whispered moving over to his bag and pulling one out.

He came back and gently placed it on my cut.

We were close and I wanted to kiss him so bad right then.

"This bruise on your forehead must have hurt." He said gently sliding his fingers across it.

"Probably what knocked me out." I said with a sigh.

"You were knocked out?" He asked looking concerned.

"Yeah, funny isn't it?" I asked noticing he wasn't seeing the humor, so I guess I'd just have to spell it out for him. "I mean the fact that you and I were the only ones that were knocked out and we are two of the most hard headed and stubborn people in the world."

He smirked. "So you admit you're stubborn?"

I gave him one last glance then sat in the chair in the corner.

"I've got first watch." I said looking out the window. "You can have second."

He looked at me, crossing his arms.

"Don't argue." I said looking at him.

He held back whatever he was going to say and laid down in the rollaway.

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews make the updates come quicker!

Prisoner- Chapter 58

I had been on watch for four hours, which meant my watch was over. I glanced over at where Fang was sleeping. I really didn't want to wake him up after the day we'd had, but I knew if I didn't that I would get a lot of cold stares from Fang tomorrow.

I walked over the rollaway and looked down at Fang.

He was lying on his side with his back to me, one arm underneath the pillow.

"Fang." I whispered laying my hand on his back.

His eyes flicked open and he turned his head to look at me. I saw his eyes show a bit of pain at the movement in his neck.

"Your watch." I said pulling my hand away and brushing a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Okay." He said turning and sitting up on the bed.

I watched him stand up in pain and I could tell he was doing his best to hide it. He was standing surprisingly close to me and I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks as he looked at me. I turned my head so he wouldn't see, but he only turned my head to look into my eyes then lean down and place a light kiss on my cheek.

I closed my eyes feeling his lips on my cheek and I felt myself shiver feeling his breath on the side of my face. When he pulled away I felt him still looking at me, so I opened my eyes to look into his dark ones.

I felt a small smile form on my lips and Fang had one of his own.

"Get some sleep." He said walking over to the chair in the corner.

I laid down in the rollaway Fang had just been in. When I placed my head upon the pillow I was immediately met with Fang's sent. I breathed it in feeling a sense of comfort. I was lying on my side with my back to the wall, so I could see the flock in their beds and Fang in the chair by the window.

I kept my eyes on him as he looked out the window, not for erasers or other unwanted visitors, just for the view even though it wasn't that great. He was probably wishing he could be out there right now flying high in the sky like he loved so much.

When I saw him turn his head I immediately closed my eyes so he wouldn't see me watching him. I could feel his eyes on me now and resisted the urge to turn over and put my back to him then he would know I was awake. His vision was still on me and I could feel my heart beat speed up just thinking about how he looked right now. My breathing was becoming irregular and my body tensed. He had the weirdest effects on me.

I heard him stand slowly and walk over to where I lay. He stopped in front me and kneeled down I could feel my breath catch.

"I know you're awake." He whispered.

"Am I that obvious?" I asked opening my eyes.

He gave me a small smile that disappeared almost instantly and shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess I'm not that tired." I said sitting up so he could sit next to me.

He sat down and looked over at me.

"What?" I asked meeting his gaze.

"Nothing." He said looking away.

He looked like he wanted to say something, but for some reason he was holding it back.

"Fang."

He looked at me again.

My eyes met his and I felt chills down my spine as the hairs on the back of my neck stood. I leaned in losing all function of my body and touched my lips to his. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he wrapped his around my waist.

The kiss was soft and gentle yet filled with so much emotion. Our lips moved together slowly enjoying every second of contact.

He pulled away keeping his eyes locked with mine.

"Get some sleep, Max." He said before kissing the corner of my mouth.

I watched him walk away, feeling so confused about the way he was acting. Maybe he was uncomfortable with a change in our relationship, but he did kiss me after the explosion. I was so confused.

I laid down and turned my back to him, so he wouldn't be able to tell if I was awake or not. I could still smell Fang's scent on the bed and that gave me the comfort I needed to fall asleep.

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews are the reason I'm so quick at updating!

Prisoner- Chapter 59

We ate breakfast in the hotel since it offered a continental breakfast then gathered our stuff from the room. We took up into the air and began flying back towards Anne's house. There was no way we were staying at Anne's again, I just decided if we were going to find a place to stay it should be out that way for when we start looking for the rest of the flock's parents. I hated thinking about the possibility that I could lose my flock.

We'd been flying for several hours and daylight was slowly fading away. We already had lunch and dinner and I was studying the ground below us as we flew over it for a place to stay. I remembered seeing a place that looked abandoned when we flew over, so that was what I tried to find and eventually did find.

The place was a cabin out in the middle of the woods. It looked pretty old and beat up, but it was shelter, no less.

Unlike the other place we had stayed in there was only one level with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

"Angel and I get this room." Nudge said running into one of the rooms.

"Iggy and I get the one across from it!" Gazzy yelled running into the one right across the hall from Angel and Nudge's decided room.

When you first walk in there is a kitchen to your left and the living room to the right. If you keep walking past those two rooms there is a room straight ahead which was the one Fang and I would be sharing which had a bathroom connected to it. There's also a hall to the left giving the house an 'L' shape. There was a room on the left and right then the other bathroom at the end of the hall.

I looked over at Fang. He pulled Total from his bag and set him on the ground. Total walked over to Angel and she scooped him up in her arms kissing his head.

"Everyone come here." I called making Fang look over at me with an interested look. I put my fist out, then I could see he understood. He stacked his on top of mine and the rest of the flock followed. It was our routine.

"Alright now go to sleep." I said with a smile.

The flock headed to their rooms, but Fang and I stayed in the living room.

"I'll take the couch." He said plopping down on the sofa and lying down with his hands behind his head like a pillow.

"Fang, you don't have to…"

"Get some sleep." Fang said closing his eyes.

"You take the bed then." I said crossing my arms.

"Why?" He asked opening his eyes.

"If you don't want to share, then take the bed."

"No, I'll take the couch."

"You have two broken ribs and a hurt neck." I argued. "You take the bed."

"I'm fine."

"Why do you insist on taking the couch?"

"Because you're a girl and I'm a guy. A gentlemen offers a lady the bed." He explained.

I rolled my eyes. "Now I know where Gazzy gets it."

I grabbed the pillow that rested under his feet and slapped him in the head with it.

"Stop acting like a pig." I went to hit him with the pillow again, but he grabbed it and pried it from my hands.

"Oink oink." He said standing up and looking into my eyes with a smirk.

I looked at him with a cocked eyebrow and an expecting look.

"Fine." He said with a sigh. "I'll take the bed, but you're not staying on the couch, you're taking the bed too."

"Okay." I said with a triumphant nod.

I walked into our room and lye down on the bed. Moments later Fang came in and lye down next to me. I was lying with my back to him, but I felt him shift and suddenly lean over me. I looked up at him in surprise and rolled slightly on my back. He placed a quick kiss on my temple then lye with his back to me.

"Goodnight Max."

"Goodnight Fang." I said a little disappointed that Fang had only kissed my forehead. It seemed like we were moving backwards. He and I would have to talk about what was going on between us eventually, so I don't stay so confused.

I closed my eyes and drifted into my dreams and a deep sleep.

AN: Hope you liked it! And yes, I am updating very quick and that's because I already have 94 chapters done which means we still have 35 chapters more for me to post. Plus, the story is still going and will probably end sometime around 100 chapters. Reviews are love!

Prisoner- Chapter 60

I felt myself slowly wake from sleep and let out a yawn as I opened my eyes and blinked a couple times to make them focus. I came up into a sitting position then looked over at Fang's side of the bed where he slept peacefully.

He was turned so his back was to me, but I could see part of his face, including one of his closed eyes showing the smallest flicker. He was probably close to waking. He looked a lot like he did when he was awake, strong and stoic. His breathing was soft and almost silent.

I stood and walked into the living room where I sat on the coach. I was the only one awake, so this gave me time to think things through.

I was snapped out of thought when the hairs on the back of my neck rose and Fang's breath could be felt there giving me chills.

"Will you quit that?" I asked getting a sense of déjà vu.

"Quit what?" Fang asked from behind me sounding amused, in a classic Fang way. "Breathing?" He walked over to sit next to me.

"You know what."

Yes, this was totally déjà vu of the day Angel was taken. I hated how he snuck up on me like that. I was already paranoid enough.

"How long do you think it'll be before they wake up?" Fang asked referring to the flock.

"Hour, maybe two." I guessed.

He nodded then looked over at me.

"What?" I questioned looking back at him.

"You sleep okay?" He asked studying me.

Where had that come from?

"Yeah." I nodded looking away from him.

Okay, truth is I had that same nightmare where I'm running from dogs and erasers and have a laser from a gun pointed at my chest. It was the same nightmare I always had and recently had become immune to jolting awake in a cold sweat.

He gave me a look that said 'I know you're lying.'

I hated how he always knew what I was thinking and could always tell if I was lying.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"You were tossing and turning in your sleep." He said narrowing his eyes on me.

"Really?" I asked trying to sound shocked.

He kept staring at me.

"I don't remember having a nightmare." Another lie.

He picked up on that one too, but seemed to be willing to let it go as he turned away.

We sat in silence for a few minutes until I worked up enough courage to bring up a very uncomfortable subject that needed to be talked about, Fang and I.

"Fang?"

"Yeah?"

"We need to talk." I said looking over at him feeling my stomach tighten.

"About?" He questioned.

"Us… you and me, I mean, our feelings… toward each other." I closed my eyes at how pathetic and stupid I sounded.

I felt his eyes on me again, so I opened my eyes and met his with my own. I could tell he was waiting for me to continue, so I took in a deep breath and worked up enough courage to continue with my rambling.

"It's just, well… we've kissed a few times now…" I paused then brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. "… and I was wondering how you felt about it."

He was looking at me with an unreadable expression, firm and solid. The seconds ticked by like hours and I felt like I was going to vomit.

"Never mind, just forget I mentioned it." I said jumping off the couch and making a run for the bedroom and possibly even bathroom.

He snagged my wrist and looked up at me. He motioned with his head for me to sit back down next to him and I obeyed, sitting slowly like a deer caught in headlights.

He ran his fingers from my wrist, up my arm, shoulder, and neck to cup my cheek and slide his thumb across my cheekbone. I shivered at the contact and felt my body tingle.

He inched closer and captured my lips with his, but only for a few seconds before he slowly pulled away from me.

"What about the flock?" He asked avoiding my eyes.

"I've thought about that too." I said with a sigh.

"And?"

"I don't think they need to know."

"Me neither." He said taking my hand and giving it a comforting squeeze.

A small smile formed on my lips as I looked down at my hand in his.

AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews are love!

KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR PRISONER PART 3!