Maximum Ride Fan Fiction / Maximum Ride Fan Fiction ❯ If I Asked You To, Would You Kill Me? ❯ How Much is a Good Night's Sleep Worth? ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter 4

“Fang…”

The teen opened his heavy eyelids.

Who was calling him now? Jeb? No, it was a female voice—a familiar one.

“Max? Max, where are you?”

The haze falling from his eyes, he discovered his chains gone, which was quite a relief! That's also when he noticed, that he couldn't make heads or tails of his surroundings. He was no longer in his cell, but it was pitch-black dark here—murky and dark.

He picked himself off the floor weakly, struggling to stand. “Max? Talk to me, I can't find you if you don't talk to me. This strange fog, is thick enough to cut through with a butter knife.”

“Fang…”

This time, the voice sounded closer, and straight in front of him. Struggling to see through the foggy mists with his mutant eyes, he could see a lone figure coming towards him. The person walked wobbly, as if greatly injured.

His instinct told him immediately, that that figure—was Max.

Running as fast as his fragile legs could carry him, he reached her just as she collapsed to the ground.

Glancing over her, he could see she was in great pain; her body tense and raw. She shivered almost uncontrollably, and her body was extremely hot to the touch.

He also noticed, almost absently, that even though she was streaming with sweat and her hair was matted with blood, she was extremely beautiful; almost as heavenly as the wings upon her back.

Seeing her in agony like this, cut him to the quick, as well as shortening his already short temper. “Max? Max! Oh man, what happened to you? Who did this to you?”

She struggled to reach up to his face, only when she did—she dug her nails in deep. Her voice was strained, but the trace of her tell-tale attitude was still there—as well as a strange, intense rage. “Wha-what do you mean, F-f-fang? You did.”

It took him a minute to understand what she was saying. “Max, you're delusional. You know I would never hurt you. Where's the rest of the flock? We've gotta get you—and me—out of here.”

She gasped violently and pulled her hands from his face, blood flowing out. Her voice became furious, almost hysterical—which scared him. “The flock? The flock! You killed the flock! You murdered them, you filthy, backstabbing, traitorous bastard!”

He couldn't believe it! How could she think that of him? She must be so delirious, that she was out of her mind! He began to shake her back and forth, trying his best to snap her out of it. He couldn't stand this! “Max! Listen to me! You're stronger than this; don't you know me!”

Max grabbed his hand viciously, and painfully twisted it backwards. “Get your hands off—of—ME!”

The pain was so great, to his already weak form. He let go of her suddenly, trying to resist the pain; Max slid from off his lap and onto the floor. The jarring seemed to put her in agony! Her body buckled as if in a seizure, then, in one violent spasm, she vomited up a ton a blood. The red plasma began to run freely down the sides of her mouth and from her nose, signs that she was bleeding internally!

Forgetting his own pain, Fang went to pick her up once more, trying not to panic. “Max! I'll—”

He stopped in mid-sentence, by a sound and a sight.

The sound, was the click of a safety catch, being pulled off…

The sight, was that of the barrel of a 29mm revolver, staring him right in the face…

With one steady hand, Max pointed the cocked gun at him, her face showing cold hatred. “I can't believe I actually loved you…you dark piece of crap. I guess birds have more than one life, just like cats do...because you killed me once...when youbroke my heart in two. Then you killed me again...when you killed our family. And now...you've killed me one last time...as I lay here dying…”

She bucked a little, more blood spurting from her mouth. He thought to grab the gun from her, but her hand stayed perfectly steady.

She looked back at him, still in agony, but her fierce determination kept her. “I thought I knew you. I thought our bond was unbreakable. I thought that I had…feelings…for you. But I thought wrong. You say you know nothing. Well look around you...and reeducate yourself…”

With her words, the fog pulled back, revealing four more people—lying on the ground, inert.

Max waved the gun, motioning him to take a look. His stomach was beginning to twist up, trying to not assume anything.

Getting up, he slowly walked to the first one, almost feeling Max's eyes burn into his back. The silence and tension in the air, weighed him down so much, that his body began to hurt.

As he got closer and closer, he suddenly recognized the body. His legs froze and his knees locked. His face could not hold the shock…or the horror…

Lying on the ground…was precious, Angel. She was lying in a pool of hot red blood—dead. Her beautiful eyes, stood lifelessly open, and her face formed in a vision of terror.

Her throat had been brutally torn open, blood still flowing, her vocal cords hung out…never to be used again. Blood stained her pure white wings, as the lay fully extended underneath her. Total, also dead, lay next to her—his neck broken.

Who could do this to such a cute little girl? His little baby sister? Before the full force of his anger and grief could set in, Max spoke from behind him. “Keep going...I want each scene to be burned into your memory.”

Struggling, he turned his eyes from the fallen Angel. Pushing his lead-weighted feet on, he came to the next body. Before he even opened his eyes, he tried to prepare himself for what he knew was another dead sibling. But when he did open them, he was faced with the same revulsion as before.

This time, Iggy lay at his feet. His brother's already sightless eyes, had been gouged out, blood running down his face instead of tears. His stomach had been fully slit open; his entrails, blood and guts, spilling out onto the ground. Blood ran from his open mouth, mixing with the rest, for practically all the blood that had been in his body—was now surrounding it.

Fang closed his eyes again, trying to shut it out, but failing. He knew that Iggy's death had been slow and agonizing, even more so then Angel's had been.

The next two, were closer together, and even though he knew who they were, he knew he would be just as appalled. He was right, of course.

Gasman lay with his neck broken. Huge gashes carved up the eleven year-old chest, as if he had been mauled by a tiger! His wings had been torn clean from his back, and thrown to the side like useless junk.

He lay there, holding hands with Nudge, who was the most sickening death of all. Her shirt was drenched in blood; her entire body seemed to be swimming in it… When he saw the hole in her chest, and what was in her mouth, he knew why. Someone with incredible strength, had split open her chest—and ripped out her living heart. Then taking her still twitching chest muscle; they forced it into her mouth like a gag. It had probably taken her seconds to die, but they must have been seconds of pure anguish.

He couldn't take it anymore! He fell to his knees, angry tears streaming down his face, for what seemed like the first time. Then, lurching forward, he hurled up anything that may have been in his stomach. His body trembled terribly, trying to contain the great sorrow he felt.

Max could no longer hold the gun, her hand went down hard. She rolled over and crawled weakly next to Fang. He could now see the huge gashes and stab wounds on her back, blood flowing freely as water. “Who did this Max? I will avenge you all.”

The extreme hatred and loathing had not left her eyes as she looked at him. “I could have killed you…maybe I should have…but it's better that...you live out the rest of your days...with these images in your head...and our blood on your hands.”

He turned to her, seeing that she was fading. Her body was already limp, and her once bright eyes were going cloudy. He tried to take her hand, but she wrenched it away. “Max! I don't know how you got such a ridiculous idea, but know that I care about you more than anything else! I loved them, and would never have done something like this! A piece of me dies with every one of them! A piece of me dies with you! I've never told this to anyone else, not in un-plutonic terms, but…I-Ilove you, Max! I've been hiding it from you, and from myself, for over a year, but there is no one else for me Maximum, but you. That's why; it hurts me deeply that you could have even thought something like that!”

Her eyes fluttered, and she smiled—with disgust. “I hate you. Look in a mirror…and then tell me…if…you…wouldn't do the…the same…”

With that last statement, she went totally still—dead.

Fang felt something in him crack. His heart felt like it had been shattered into a million pieces. Clenching his hands up tight, he could feel the tears pour down anew from his eyes. How! Why! Who was responsible? Was it Jeb? The Erasers? Was—?

That's when he felt the sticky ooziness in his clutched fists. Opening them, he saw that his hands were completely red…red with blood.

Finally taking the time to examine himself, he saw that he was covered in it!

His clothes were soaked in it.

His body was tainted with it.

His mouth tasted of it.

His wings were stained with it.

His feet were coated in it.

His face was pasted with it.

His hair was dripping with it!

He began to gasp, his lungs hyperventilating, unspoken horror and repulsion that couldn't make it to words. It was because, he knew…

He knew that the blood wasn't his. That it was the blood of his siblings! Of Angel, Iggy, Gasman, Nudge, Max, and even Total! Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew why, but forced himself to deny it.

“No. No! I `m not…I couldn't have! How can this be? It's not possible!”

A voice spoke out from the darkness, a voice he recognized—it was his own.

“Stop lying to yourself. You know you enjoyed killing every single one of them. They weighed you down, kept you strapped to your human emotions. Now, you don't have to worry about that anymore.”

He held his ears, trying to block his own voice. “No! I would NEVER hurt my family! I loved them!”

“You don't need love. Max didn't think you did.”

“I LOVED Max!”

“Then why do you have herblood all over you?”

“Because-because I…”

“You can't answer, because you know the truth. You killed your brothers and sisters, and then you killed Max. Look at your hands, Fang.”

Scared and sickened at himself, he trembled to look down. That's when he saw, that his fingers had sprung claws, where his nails were supposed to be! Each one was like that of an eagle's talon, but suited his human hands. Blood dripped from their steel-colored tips.

“Those are how you killed your family. And believe me…you enjoyed every minute their warm flesh and blood, squirmed in your hands, as you watched the life slowly fade from their eyes. Isn't it nice to not be human?”

“But I AM human!” He protested angrily.

“If you had one ounceof humanity left in you, the girl you love would still be alive.”

Taking Max in his arms, he remembered her last words to him. Words he didn't think, he would ever hear from her.

Now, looking at his hands—he knew they were the hands of a murderer...

His hands had ripped out Angel's throat, slashed Iggy and Gasman to shreds, torn out Nudge's heart, and shish kabob-ed Max. He had been their murderer…

His hands trembled violently as he covered his eyes in self-loathing and shame. “What…is happening…to me?”

His own voice answered him from out of the mists. “More than you can imagine…”

Fang awoke screaming. Cold sweat ran down his face and body. His heart beat rapidly, like it was coming out of his chest! His body felt on fire!

He looked around him, trying to calm himself down. He was in his cell, still in chains—and he couldn't be happier.

It was all a dream, one horrible nightmare…

He sighed in relief, licking his dry lips.

“Oww!”

His tongue had cut itself, the taste of blood in his mouth. Couldn't he get away from that taste and smell? What could he possibly have cut it on?

Moving his tongue a little more carefully, he felt it lightly snag on a tooth…a razor-sharp, over an inch long, canine tooth. Moving toward the other side, he found the other one, completely identical! No way. He had—fangs!

He had heard of people taking after their names, but this was going overboard! He hadn't had these an hour ago! What was going on?

Curling his hand in anger, his mind immediately went to Jeb. That was, until he felt the pain in his palms…

Looking down, his mutant eyes could see that they were bleeding.He could also see that the culprits were his own nails. Looking closer, he could see that they had gotten much longer and sleeker, curved and extremely keen. Like that of an eagle's talons…

He began to tremble once again, realizing that he had claws…just like in his nightmare…

Suddenly, one of his more nasty headaches overtook him, his blood running molten in his veins. His mind felt like it had been turned into mashed potatoes! Falling to the ground, he grabbed his head and tried his best to resist screaming again. Once more, as in his dream, he failed…

Jeb had been watching Fang from the Observation Quarter. Cameras had of course, been place in his cell, and there were sensors in his chains. He had watched the boy twist and turn in sleep, screaming several times. But the boyhad also done one thing he had never thought was possible of Fang—he had cried…

That must have been one really bad dream. Looking at the sensors, he knew that the boy's heartbeat had gone off the charts. His temperature had risen to over 230 degrees! They would have had to come in there and cooled him down with hoses, if the boy hadn't come out of his sleep! If what I saw in the lab, is happening in Fang's body—God help him…and us.

Turning to the room technician, he ordered, “If there's any further change in his bio-signature, alert me immediately. I'll be in Walker's office.”

The techie nodded, “Yes, sir.”

As he walked out the room, he headed towards Anne's office and quarters. It was time he explained the situation to his boss—and how drastic a turn it had taken…