Maximum Ride Fan Fiction ❯ After Armageddon ❯ Chapter Twelve: And Then There Were Two ( Chapter 12 )

 

After Armageddon

 

 

Chapter Twelve: And Then There Were Two

 

Charlie

 

You may have noticed that Liela and I have mainly been the ones writing except for those little narrator switches where Mouse helped out and that chapter from Cal. You also may have wondered why only the two of us would write when there have been times that Aaron went through the exact same thing. And if Liela and I have been able to describe Aaron only half as well as we should have, then you might have realized that someone like Aaron had no problem telling his side of the story.

I watched Aaron fall as the Flyboys surrounding him murdered him without hesitation.

Liela was crying as she stared out the window, unable to look away. We were both frozen were we sat as shock started to take over. I distantly remember hearing the Flyboys leaving through the bulky squawk box next to me, but the noise sounded like it was coming from far, far away. I was not sure if that was because I was so out of it or if it was because of my shoulder wound messing with my hearing.

A sharp pain snapped me out of my dazed state. My shoulder was killing me and I could still feel blood seeping down my back although it was slower than before. The grey impeding my vision had grown darker so that I could hardly make out Liela's trembling form standing in front of the sunlit window.

Still, I - somehow- managed to get myself into something resembling a standing position with the help of the rock wall. I pushed myself towards the window and picked up the sheet that was the makeshift blind. I did not look through the glass as I covered it with the sheet. I did not think I could handle that image right then.

Not that I could handle much else anyway. I barely remember sliding down to the ground, my back towards the window, before the blackness I was seeing finally took over the rest of me as well.

 

*******

 

When I finally woke up again, I was lying down with my head propped up on what felt like a folded blanket. Maybe the one that covered the peep hole? No, that one was hanging on the wall in front of me and as far as I knew there were no more in the cave.

A soft noise made me look up. Liela's upper body was above me. She was leaning back against the wall behind her as she cried and I could only assume that my head was in her lap.

Drowsy as I was from loss of blood and only being half awake I realized that this was an, shall we say, awkward position.

I tried to get up but a by now familiar pain started throbbing in my shoulder and I had to relax. Liela must have felt me move because she gasped and tried to get rid of her tears before I could see them.

“Charlie,” She said her voice raspy from crying. “Are you okay?”

I groaned. I was definitely not okay.

“No,” I told her through my teeth. She sobbed again and her hand flew to her mouth. I guess she thought I meant I was not going to be okay ever again. “Oh, no,” I told her again tilting my head back to look at her and reaching a hand up to peel away her hand from her mouth. “That's not what I meant. I'll be okay. I promise. It just hurts a lot is all.”

She calmed down a little more after that, but she still hiccupped occasionally. “Sorry,” She said. “That might be my fault. I did the best I could, but we only had a few bandages left and I didn't really know what to do besides the obvious.” I tried to look over at my shoulder but that did not work so well. However I did see enough starched white strips to realize that Liela had tried to wrap up my injury.

“That's okay,” I told her feeling the bandage with my right hand. “Just help me up okay?” She sniffed and nodded before moving her legs and pushing me up with her hands. Between the two of us I managed to sit up. Almost immediately the dark cave walls started spinning around me and I closed my eyes to try and get the dizziness to stop.

“Charlie?” Liela's worried voice came from right next to me.

“I'm okay.” I lied hoping she would believe me.

A weak snort told me she had not. At least not completely but she did not say anymore about it.

The silence that followed weighed heavily on the both of us. I more then half expected Aaron to squirm through the small hole that led here and make a joke about how he was being pressed into a pancake just trying to get in.

“How long have I been out?” I asked afraid to think about Aaron.

“I'm not sure.” Liela admitted. “A couple hours at least. I was thinking about going to Mom's to try and get help if you didn't wake up soon. Although,” she continued sounding more like her normal self. Maybe she did not like the silence either. “That's probably still a good idea considering you have a bullet embedded in your wing and shoulder.”

I tried to find a good reason to disagree, but the pain and the fact that the walls were still moving, plus Liela's stubborn face, all ganged up against me and convinced me that maybe Liela had a point.

“Okay, sure, whatever you think is best.” I said feeling dizzy again. I leaned back against the wall next to Liela and closed my eyes hoping that it would help me feel more like a bird person than a kid's feathered toy top.

It did not really help but it did give me a chance to compose myself so Liela would not freak out more than she already was.

“How far away is it to Mom's house?” Liela asked distracted enough not to notice anything.

I thought about it. “About three or four hours I'd guess. Why? She's the closest to where we are right now. Besides, it's not like we can go anywhere else. The nearest Phoenix nest is in Payson and the quickest way there is through the whole Tempe-Mesa…complex…city thing.”

I heard Liela sigh. “Just because the Dictator renamed the city doesn't mean that you can't call it Phoenix. It's not like we obey any other of her rules so why don't you call it Phoenix?”

I smiled just a little bit. “Because if I called it Phoenix then I would never realize that Cal lived there.”

“You can't remember that Phoenix is the same as Tempe-Mesa?”

I really did not want to talk anymore but I figured that shaking my head, or moving it in any way, would be a bad idea so I just said, “Nope.”

The nasty silence came back and I opened my eyes to see that Liela was staring off into space, thinking about something. I also realized that I probably should have been at least a little worried about what she was thinking about, but I was starting to get tired again and I could not think straight like usual.

“It's only a half hour at the most to Tempe-Mesa right?” Liela asked still sounding deep in thought.

“Uh-huh.” I said. As I drifted off to sleep again, something beginning to nag at the back of my mind. I figured it could not be the whole Tempe-Mesa thing because if I really put some effort into it I could remember that Phoenix was Tempe-Mesa. Besides, it was just a city, no big deal.

I had bigger things to worry about. Like my friend's body outside that needed to be either buried or burned so that the sick people at the School did not mess with it. Or the fact that I had a small lump of metal somewhere in my back and my friend was brooding over something. And while that may not sound like too much of a threat you're going to have to trust me on this; Liela brooding equals not good.

 

*******

 

The first thing I noticed when I was conscious again was that the sand and gravel floor of the cave had gotten much softer while I had been sleeping.

It turned out that this was because it had turned into a bed.

Actually I did not know this at first, I just guessed because the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a clean white ceiling like you would see in any normal house.

Only problem was the last time I had been in any normal house was over a month ago and that was because the backyard was plagued with the disease known as the Chihuahua.

That reminded me I still needed to give a muzzle to whoever lived in 11306 Cherry Way in Connecticut.

I also needed to figure out where I was, but I did not think that either would be happening either time soon seeing as firstly I was (hopefully) still in Arizona and not planning to go anywhere near Connecticut anytime soon, partly because of the infestation of Chihuahuas, and secondly, I was alone in the room so I could not ask anybody.

“Charlie?”

Well, not that alone I guess.

I had closed my eyes when I heard the voice so I only felt the person sit beside me on the bed.

There was a frustrated rush of air as the person next to me sighed. “I know you're awake Charlie so stop messing around.”

I opened my eyes again and saw my sister leaning over me with what I guess could be considered a worried look. I thought I had recognized the voice, but it was still a shock to see my older sister sitting next to me in what I was sure was some kind of secret room in her house.

“Where am I?” I choked out wanting to be sure about that as well as wondering why my mouth was not working right.

Cal sighed again. “Where do you think dorkus?” I noticed she sounded kind of worn out. “You're in my apartment in the hidden room.”

See told you. I opened my eyes and finally saw all of my surroundings. “More like hidden crawl space Cal. Sheesh, what the heck? You couldn't spare a little more room for your guests?”

Cal snorted. “It's hard to fit a room behind the bathroom without it being too noticeable Charlie. Plus most of the guests that use this room are illegal and could get Taylor and I killed if there seen.”

I grimaced. That was the main reason we stayed away from Cal and Taylor. Since the Dictator still did not know that they hated her I at least thought it best to avoid them at all cost so no one would become suspicious. “Good point. Now why am I here? And where's Liela?”

Cal frowned. “She's just over there.” She pointed towards the corner where a jumble of blankets and pillows lay in a heap. I thought I could see a little bit of Liela's dirty brown-blonde hair scattered on one of the big white pillows. “She finally fell asleep about half an hour ago. She's been crying all afternoon about you and Aaron. She somehow got the ridiculous idea that you were going to die.”

I did not say anything. The words `Aaron' and `die' had brought back this morning's awful event and the memories were still colorful and fresh. I took a moment to bury the memories in my head's basement where I kept all the other skeletons and then took another moment to weld the door shut behind me.

“So I take it that you managed to put me together again huh?” I asked instead. I noticed Cal was looking at me funny, like she expected me to breakdown like Liela.

But she did not say anything about it. Instead she said, “Yeah, it'll still take a few days to heal completely, but as long as you don't get an infection or try to fly too soon you should be good.”

I nodded. “Thanks. Hey, what time is it anyway?” I asked since there were no windows (since that would be stupid in a secret room) or any clocks that I could see.

Cal sighed wearily and flipped her watch around her wrist so that she could see the face. “It's almost one.” I took it from her absurdly tired state and the fact that I had probably slept through most of the afternoon anyway that she meant one in the morning.

Just what I need, freaky sleep schedules. “You can go to bed if you want.” I told Cal seeing how tired she looked and not thinking of any reason for her to stay and suffer with me. I knew I was not sleeping tonight.

She yawned. “Yeah I will. I just wanted to make sure you were going to be okay and I didn't want to leave Liela in here all alone.” She said looking sadly over at the pile of blankets and pillows.

The look on my sister's face, halfway between grief and pity, made me realize that she knew why Aaron was not with us. I figured that Liela would not have said anything because she usually gets too worked up when she cries to make any kind of sense. So I had assumed that Cal would think Aaron was just somewhere else. It was not too uncommon for us to have split up and meet later at a safe house. I have to admit that I was glad Cal would jump to the wrong conclusion. I did not want to say what happened out loud right now; it would make it too real by telling someone. Maybe this is what people mean when they say that someone is in denial over death.

I was glad when Cal did not say anything, but I was surprised when she leaned over and hugged me before getting off the bed. “I'm sorry Charlie.” She said softly before letting me go. She stood up slowly, whether it was because she was tired or upset I did not know, but she told me good night and then quietly left, turning off the small light behind her.

I was a little shocked. Cal and I had never been that close, mainly because we had grown up apart in almost different worlds. I think our only connections were our parents, Mom, and our loathing for the Director. Basically we were on the same side of the argument but we thought different things were important.

So I guess that's why I thought it was strange that she thought this was just as important and hurtful as I did. But then again, I guess Aaron had been her brother too.

I lay awake the rest of the night thinking about my family. It turned out that I had not welded that basement door as tight as I had thought and Aaron's death was not the only one I found myself mourning over.