Maximum Ride Fan Fiction / Maximum Ride Fan Fiction ❯ If I Asked You To, Would You Kill Me? ❯ Brothers ( Chapter 16 )

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

Chapter 16

Iggy had been trailing with the others, for what he estimated had been 4 hours. It had been 3 days since they had started off to the northwest from Florida. Feeling the changes in weather over the last few days, he could tell they were coming close to their goal.

He felt the tug of the invisible “cord” drop behind him.Hmm, Derrin's lagging behind. Wonder why?

Ever since Derrin had shown him this new power that had lain dormant inside him, he had begun using it constantly, and the more he used it, the better at it he got. He could now follow in the steps of anyone he had only slightly brushed against, each “thread” as plain as day in his mind, a different color for each person. It didn't matter if he was flying, walking, or just plain sitting, he could follow the trail anytime as long as the touch lingered. And as the use became more and more frequent, so did the amount of time the touch's feeling lasted. It had first started at only about 30 minutes, now it could last for about 5 or 6 hours.

When they landed and regrouped with Derringer, he and his new older brother would go secretly to a secluded place and practice his skills. Derrin became like a troop leader, not letting up on him or letting him quit. He would drill him and make him practice “seeing without seeing” by having him see his surroundings in detail, but only allowing him one or two touches to the general area.

Once he knew what to look for, Ig felt all sorts of sensations he'd never felt before. He felt his new power rushing through him, glad to be free. He could tell the distance the others were from each other around him. He could almost trace their outlines with his mind. He knew “seeing” moving objects, would be harder than a stationary setting, but Derrin had faith in him, which gave him the push to have faith in himself.

As of now, he was still training his body to see by feeling the air around him, when he felt something that disturbed him.

“Max, there's a storm coming. I can feel it.”

Maximum had been “dream gliding”, a new thing she did when she had been flying for a while and conversation had dropped. She basically daydreamed while gliding on the wind currents. She had been dreaming of a big double-decker cheeseburger with pickles and onions, two orders of fries, and a milkshake, when she heard Iggy's warning.

Though her first instinct was to criticize him because he couldn't see the bright sunny, cloudless sky, she almost immediately remembered that he could see things they couldn't.

She immediately went to her earpiece. “Derrin, there's a storm coming in. Iggy says so, and he's always right about these things. We're going to have to find a place to land soon. Know any towns in the area that we can hold down in?”

All she heard in response, was the familiar whoosh of wind as Derrin ran.

“Derrin? Derringer?”

This time she got a huffed reply.

“Sorry—I can't—really talk—right now.”

She felt an alarm bell go off in her head. “What is it, Derrin?”

Iggy listened to the conversation intently, also feeling the alarm. He knew Derrin was dragging behind, but he didn't know why.

The speedy mutant answered back in choppy sentences. “Well—I've—I've got news for you. The wind—has already—picked—up down here. It—might be—calm up there, but—the storm is—showing itself—down here.”

She frowned slightly. “Why are you talking like that, Derrin?”

“ Well—running across—water—is hard enough—without the—wind—hitting the water—in your face.”

“Water? What are you talking about?”

“Look down.”

Everyone look down at once, and was completely astonished that they were flying over a field of blue—a lake!

Max could see a streak of white cut across the rough waters, it was coming from behind but making good time.

“Who knew our speed demon could walk on water?”

“Well—whether you—believe it—or—not, this—isn't as easy—as it looks. I have to—concentrate and keep my speed—steady. Go to the—shore. I'll—meet you—there.”

She smiled ruefully, “Don't let me have to fish you out of there, Derringer.”

She turned to the team, but they nodded back, already knowing what to do. They all angled themselves to the right, gradually diving to the shoreline as one. It was a trick taught to them by the hawks they constantly watched, and allowed them to fly alongside.

Once they cleared the upper atmosphere, and got below the clouds, the weather changed dramatically. The wind became sharper and more violent. She could see that the storm was due much faster than she thought.

Speeding up, she connected with the shore, landing in record time. The others dropped one by one behind her.

“Alright people, we'll need shelter, and fast. And it doesn't look like there's any civilization around here. Nudge, Gasman, you know what to do. Iggy, you wait here for Derringer. Angel, you come with me. We'll get some food. Iggy, you and Derringer are in charge till we get back.”

“Got it, Max. Just get back soon, I'm starving!” Gazy moaned as he and Nudge went off to set up shelter.

Max was about to take-off once more, when she felt Iggy's hand on her shoulder. “Yeah, Ig?”

The blind teen smiled at her, his eyes looked directly into hers, almost as if he could really see her. “Just be careful, Max. We've been traveling for a while, and I think we're nearing the place Derrin meant to take us. So the danger is getting higher. Be careful, okay?”

She shook her head, smiling adventurously. “Aren't I always?”

Taking off, he tilted his head up, watching her trail as she flew.

“Why do you hide it?”

He turned suddenly, forgetting that Angel was still on the ground.

“What are you talking about, Ange?”

“I'm a telepath, Iggy. It's hard to hide things from me, especially when they're practically jumping out your skull. You touched Max so you could follow her trail and watch over her. Why do you hide your new powers? I think they're great. Now it's almost like you can see again!”

He smiled, laughing at himself that he thought he could hide it from his little sister. He bent down to her level and put his hand on her shoulder.

Suddenly, just like it had minutes ago with Max, data and information poured into his head, making an exact and colorized image of Angel and her immediate surrounding area. It was like he could once again see, only this time he saw straight with his mind, and bypassed his eyes. It was the first time really seeing his siblings, since he'd lost his sight those many years ago. To see them as they were now, without guessing—it was hard to keep the tears in…

“Then let them out, Iggy. I won't laugh.” Angel said shyly, immediately giving him a hug.

He smiled and sniffed a little, accepting her embrace. Trying to pull himself together, “It's okay, Angel. But the thing is, I need to keep this a secret, at least until I get a fix on it. It took me days to get this far, and I think I can take it further. But Ange, this is something I need to do on my own. I promise I will tell everyone when I'm ready, but until then it'll be our secret, okay?”

She grinned wide and nodded happily, “Okay, Iggy.”

Max's voice called from the sky, “Come on, Angel!”

The girl lifted of the ground with her little wings, “Bye, Ig.”

He smiled back, “See you later, teddy bear.”

As Angel got into the air and joined Max , she waved back at her older brother, before flying off with her elder sister.

Max spoke up as they flew, “What took you so long? What were you two talking about?”

Angel answered with pure innocence, “I was just telling him to be careful and goodbye.”

“Goodbye? Then why did you wave goodbye up here?”

She hunched her shoulders, “So he could see me off.”

“Angel…you know Iggy can't actually see you.”

She smiled evasively, “You'd be surprised what he can see.”

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“Zut alors! Boy, do I hate water!”

Iggy had only been waiting about five minutes, when Derringer came skidding to the shore, water spraying everywhere.

The drenched Cajun wrung the water from his hair and walked up to where Iggy was sitting silently, “Where's everyone else, frére?”

“Shelter and food, before this storm gets full blown.” The teen said quietly.

Derringer could tell the look on his face from a mile away. Sitting down by his side, he asked him outright. “What's wrong, Iggy? Have your powers regressed somehow? Look, it's only a minor setback, don't let it—”

“Derrin, was your hair naturally that red, or did you dye it?”

Surprised by the sudden question, the older teen also looked down in shock at his hand, noticing for the first time that he and his new younger brother's fingertips were brushing against each other…

He looked up at Iggy in surprise, “Frére, what color are my eyes?”

“Yellowish-gold, you have eyes like a wildcat. I think they're cool by the way.”

“What color is the water now?”

“Steely-blue with a lot of gray; the waves are covered in white foam.”

“Those could be lucky guesses, or someone could have told you.” Digging in his pocket, Derrin pulled out an object no one else had seen. One, which never left his person.

“What is the item in my hand? And what color is it?”

He felt Iggy move his fingers further onto his opposite hand. The boy looked directly at the object with his cloudy eyes. “It's a ring; it looks like it came off a small pipe or something. It's painted gold though, not a plated, but painted. It's worn too.”

Derringer looked at the boy in amazement. “When did this happen? This is a giant leap in the development of your powers. Now, through even the slightest contact, you can see things down to the molecular level, giving you the ability to see not only the shape and form of objects, but the color and texture as well.”

Iggy looked up at him, tears welling in his eyes. “Just today…I saw Max for the first time in ten years. I've never even seen Angel before now… I-I I've never felt so-so alive before in my life…”

Derringer took the boy into his embrace as his façade exterior cracked completely, and the teen began to cry like a child overcome with joy. “Hey…hey, mon frére. It's okay, I'm here. It's okay to cry, nobody's here but you and me. We have time.”

Iggy began to let go of it all.

The pain of being blind.

The pain of being his family's burden.

The pain of having his own parents betray him.

The pain of not being able to help Fang when he got captured.

The pain of not being able to support Max when she needed it.

The pain of being unsure if his newfound powers would only be a pipedream—

He let it all go…

Derringer sat with him silently for those few minutes, letting the boy relieve himself of the burdens he'd be carrying for so many years.

After a while, the sobs stopped and Iggy lifted his head from Derrin's side. He was smiling, looking like it was the first real time he'd done so in a long time…

“Come on, let's go find Nudge and Gasman. They've probably got the shelter up by now. The wind is starting to get to me.”

As he stood up, Derringer also rose and joined him. “Yeah, we've got to find them before they get into trouble. It's not safe around here.”

Ig looked at him strangely, “Why? What's wrong?”

The Cajun walked ahead of him, letting the teen follow. “The place I've been leading you to, is an automated archival computer server station, called Delta 6.”

“Delta 6? Is it near here?”

Derringer stopped at the border between the evergreen forest and the beach. He looked back at Iggy standing at the water's edge amidst the wet, hard sand.

“You're standing on it.”