Maximum Ride Fan Fiction ❯ Scottie Eyes ❯ Chapter 1

The morning sun filtered through the innumerable pine needles of the California forest and dappled gently over Angel's face as she slept, curled in the crook of the tree. The rustle of breezes waking things up, however, stirred her and as she sleepily opened her eyes, her first thought was of her new companion, of finding him and spending some time exploring the woods and chatting.

“Total?” Angel jumped from her perch, her wings spread out so that she drifted easily to the ground. “That was some sky last night, huh?” He was nowhere in sight. “Total?”

Angel wandered around for a while, checking the usual spots that Total slept in. Finally the edge of the clearing was there, showing her an endless expanse of tree trunks and plants bathed in emerald-green light.

“Total?…”

“Max?” Max woke up to find Angel inches away from her face.

“Max, Total's gone and I can't find him anywhere.” The fourteen-year-old rose into a crumpled but technically upright position and glanced around, getting her bearings. Total was gone. They needed to find him. Okay…

“Have you checked everywhere?”

“Yeah. Everywhere in camp. Max…?”

“Yeah?”

“What if something happened to him?” The six-year-old looked up at her with big, wide eyes . It made Max hurt inside to know she'd probably have a lot of other reasons for that same expression before it was all over.

MEANWHILE

Total glanced around carefully. This might just be the perfect spot. He carefully balanced himself, lifted one leg and…

“Hey there.” The too-angelic voice made Total's blood run cold. He knew that voice.

“You're the dog, aren't you?' sneered Ari, kicking Total against the tree with little effort. “You're just one more thing Max has to take care of…one more thing that keeps her from seeing me!!” This sent him into a rage…

(Gory scenes/words omitted)

…He left Total like that on the ground.

 

“Okay. Umm…first thing's first, we need breakfast. Wake everybody else up, I'll make popcorn.”

This accomplished, everyone gathered to discuss Total's sudden and unannounced sabbatical.

“I think he'll turn up,” Fang stated, demurely shoving some Jiffy Popâ„¢ into his mouth.

“I'm with Fang,” Said Iggy, likewise grabbing some popcorn.

“I think,” said Nudge, pausing thoughtfully, “That he found a cute little wolf friend and a deer friend and a skunk friend, but the skunk sprayed him so…” Max gave her a look. “What? It could happen.”

“You're all wrong,” Boasted the Gasman. “The reason nobody can find Total is…he was abducted by aliens!”

“Okay, okay.” Max rolled her eyes at the kids and glanced over at Angel. “Let's split up and search, whoever finds anything whistle, yell, do something. Fang, you take Gazzy, Iggy, you take Nudge, and I'll go with Angel.”

The voices of the others calling Total's name faded into the distance as Max and Angel plunged into the forest, probing carefully as they tried to find a path through the underbrush. Just as they were beginning to think about taking a rest Angel surged forward.

“I see something black!” She ran clumsily ahead, dodging the limbs all over the forest floor.

“It's probably a shadow, sweetie…” Max had heard this more times than she could count…but Angel never seemed to lose hope. Looks like it was paying off.

“MAX!!” Angel's voice jolted her out of the daze she'd been in and made her hurry forward, to the place where Angel was kneeling on the ground. She had something in her arms…could that be Total? That lifeless, bloody shape with barely a rise and fall of the chest to tell you it was alive?

“He's hurt.” She looked up at Max with that heart-rending expression. Like, My world's on the verge of crashing down around me, but you can fix it, right? “Can you…?”

“It looks pretty bad. We should get back to the clearing first, let the others know we found him. Come on.” She helped Angel up and started back, all the time trying to think of something. Total was hurt. They needed to help him. Okay. Where could they go? Who could they talk to? Suddenly a thought entered her brain.

Dr. Martinez and her daughter, Ella.

 

~oOo}{oOo~

 

 

They were only a short flight away—800 miles. Three states. Finally they reached camp, only to call the others and tell them what was going on. And where they'd have to go.

“We need to minimize exposure here,” Max concluded. “Iggy and I can go, take Total, and bring him back. It shouldn't take long.”

“But I want to stay with Total!” Cried Angel. “He's so hurt…he thinks he's gonna die. He thinks Ari killed him.” She locked eyes with Max as a whimper barely escaped.

“Ari?”

“He told me…he told me with his mind. Please let me come.”

Max sighed. “Okay.”

“I'm not leaving Angel.” Fang said intensely. “If she goes I go.”

“Me neither.” Said Gasman.

“I'm not letting her go,” Nudge said hotly. “If she goes…if you go, we all go.”

“Okay then,” sighed Max, knowing she couldn't win. “Let's get moving.”

Once they were in the air it was only an hour until they reached Ella's hometown, flying fast and hard.

Fang's eagle eyes found the school building first, but it was a Saturday. The place was deserted.

“Max? Do you remember what her house looks like?”

“Yeah. It's on the other side of town from where we came in—turn East.”

Soon they had found Ella's house and landed. Max carefully, quietly snuck up to the back door and knocked once, twice, three times in a row. She watched Ella come to the door and open it and then realize who Max was. She rushed forward and hugged Max hard, like they were sisters. After the initial discomfort Max realized she was hugging her back.

“Hi!”

“Hi.” Max squirmed uncomfortably. “Is your mom home?”

“No, but she gets off work at noon. You can come inside and wait, if you want.” She paused. “Why do you want to see my mom?…Is something wrong?”

“Umm…yeah. Something is bad wrong. We have…a sort of a dog, and he's hurt. Bad hurt.”

Ella's glance never even wavered at the “sort of a dog”. Max guessed after seeing a human with wings, it would take a lot to faze her.

“Okay, where is he?” she was reaching for her jacket. And then she stopped. “Wait…we?”

“Yes. My fl…family. A group of kids like me.” She paused. “We stay together.” Her explanation was cut short as Ella, jerking on her windbreaker, stepped out onto the porch and said

“Lead the way. On foot, please.” Max found herself stifling a giggle, a shaky squeak somewhere between hysteria and relief. They hurried across the backyard, stopping just as they reached the treeline.

“Guys?” Max said, searching out her family through the tree trunks. “This is Ella. She's going to help Total.” The gang seemed to materialize from the trees themselves and hesitantly stepped forward. “And Ella? This is my family: Fang, Nudge, Iggy, the Gasman, and Angel. And this is Total.” She pointed them out one after another, stopping on the furry shape in Angel's arms. Ella's wide eyes took in all of it. Her eyes rested on the bundle in Angel's tiny little arms. She came close and looked Total over carefully, her look of concern deepening. She did not try to pick Total up and seemed to try to guard her expression, so as not to frighten the tiny girl in front of her. As she straightened, her manner took on a brisk edge. She turned squarely to face Max, and ordered,

“Everyone into the house. You're safe here, and my mom can help.”

Max signaled with a nod for everyone to follow, meeting Fang's questioning gaze with a reassuring glance.

Safely inside, Ella turned to Max. “Max, close all the curtains. I'm going to call my mom.” As Max began pulling the curtains together over the windows, she noticed the gang standing around uncomfortably, not daring to venture past the kitchen.

“You can sit, guys. It's a house.” She quickly herded them into the living room, closing curtains as she went. “These are chairs. They're for sitting.” A nervous laugh came from the Gasman's direction as he sank down onto the couch. Angel remained standing in the center of the floor, her skinny arms wrapped tightly around her cargo. Her eyes were huge and she was getting paler by the moment. As Max stepped toward her to take Total from her arms, Ella rushed into the room. In her arms were a cardboard box and a soft blanket.

“My mom's on her way,” she said. “She has a break between patients.” Setting the box on the living room table, she made a nest out of the soft old blanket. She turned to Angel but Angel was already stepping forward. She nestled Total into the blanket and glanced up at Max gratefully, tears welling in her eyes. Max moved to Angel's side and wrapped her arms around her, willing her thoughts to be calm and soothing.

The next few moments were an awkward silence. Then Ella smiled at the nervous group and said,

“It'll be alright. I promise.” Her eyes took in the ragtag bunch, and her brisk manner returned. “Is anyone thirsty or hungry?” She asked. “I have some chocolate chip cookies and milk in the kitchen.” She turned to Max with an evil glint in her eye. “They're homemade.”

The gang looked at Max with hopeful faces but Angel pressed closer, unwilling to leave Total. Ella caught the little girl's expression and said

“Don't worry, I'll bring them in here.” In a few minutes she returned with a gallon of milk, a stack of Styrofoam cups and the whole cookie jar. She set everything on the coffee table and began pouring milk and passing out cookies. The first bite was so heavenly that Max almost forgot what she was there for, and the collective sighs and slurping of milk indicated that the flock felt the same. It was at that moment that Dr. Martinez burst through the front door.

Dr Martinez looked very official with her white coat still on, and a large leather bag in one hand. She was in such a hurry that she could not have registered the collective shock of the flock as they saw her white coat. Fang stiffened, and Gazzy grabbed for Iggy's arm, in case a quick flight was necessary. Nudge almost lost a precious bite of cookie when her jaw dropped open. Max quickly reassured them:

“It's okay, guys, this is Dr. Martinez. She's Ella's mother.” Dr. Martinez gave Max a quick hug, catching her off guard for the second time that day. Then she was all business. “Where's my patient?”

She bent over the box, a look of concern on her face. Her expert hands felt along Total's head, back and legs, looking for broken bones. Total let out a small moan, his first response to anything since they found him. Dr. Martinez spoke soothingly to him, as if she knew already that he understood every word. She lifted his eyelids and checked with a small flashlight from the leather bag, and continuing to explain her every move gently pressed on parts of his tummy. Another moan told her what she needed to know. She turned to Max, “Other than the right front foreleg and a couple of ribs, the injuries are mostly internal. We have to take him to the clinic to x-ray.”

Feeling the fear that swept the flock, Max met the worried looks with a firm gaze. “We can do it,” she assured them, “we had to x-ray my shoulder the last time. It will be okay.”

Dr Martinez checked her watch, and reached for her bag. “I have a patient due any minute, but just for vaccinations. Ella, help the gang with anything they need and Max, bring the box and come with me. You look just fine. We don't have any time to lose, even though he seems to be stable at the moment.”

Max felt Angel grab her arm and cling, frightened of the unknown. She looked down at the huge eyes in Angel's tiny face and back at Dr. Martinez. “Can Angel come with us, he is kind of her dog?”

“Of course, she will need to be there, but let's hurry. I'll get the doors and you carry him very carefully.”

}Max's POV{

We both got in the back seat with Total and the ride to the clinic was a short one. The car pulled right up to the back door of the clinic and Dr Martinez helped us get inside. Once inside, she found an assistant and ordered a full set of x-rays and bloodwork. The assistant asked us to help with Total, which was fine with us, since he would not be out of our sight. She didn't act as if anything was out of the ordinary at all. After the x-rays were done and the blood was taken for testing, she took all of us to one of the operatories and got us a couple of chairs. She started an IV drip and covered Total with a couple of warm blankets. “The doctor will be right with you.” she said.

}End Max's POV{

Angel seemed surprisingly calm for the situation. She turned to Max and said, “They really just want to help. Dr. Martinez is worried about Total, but she is very glad to see you, almost like her child. She is also very curious about the rest of us. I like her. Do you think I could be a veterinarian someday?”

After the surprise wore off, Max hugged Angel and said, “You can be anything you want to be, sweetie.”

Total stirred a little and moaned in pain. Angel moved to the side of the table and began talking to him in a low, reassuring tone, almost like Dr. Martinez. She told him about Ella and the doctor, the clinic, the tests and x-rays, and told him to be very still, that the doctor would be right back to help him. She was telling him about the chocolate chip cookie she had saved in her pocket for him when Dr. Martinez came back into the room with a file of papers and x-rays in her arms. Dr. Martinez smiled and told Angel to be sure and take out the chocolate chips first, because they aren't good for dogs. She began spreading out papers and x-rays on the table and light boxes and studying one after the other methodically. She did not speak until she had checked every single one of them. Max could hardly bear the wait, and fidgeted uncomfortably. Finally, the doctor looked up, and spoke.

“It really isn't as bad as I first thought. It won't be necessary to do surgery. There is some internal bleeding, but no major organs are damaged. From the pattern of injuries, I would guess that someone kicked him, hard. We need to set the broken foreleg and wrap his ribs so they won't hurt so much. He needs an antibiotic to make sure he doesn't get an infection, but we can put that and some nutrients in the IV for a couple of hours. He will have to stay quiet and be lightly sedated to keep him from moving around, but that will help with the pain, too. He will be fine, but it will take a few days to get him completely out of the woods. Can you stay here for a few days, Max?”

“I don't know, maybe. Angel, could you watch Total for a minute while I talk to Dr. Martinez?”

“Sure, we'll stay right here,” Angel said. She was not going to leave Total for even a second.

Max and Dr. Martinez stepped to the side of the room. Angel, of course, could read their thoughts, but Max wanted to keep this fact a secret. She explained that the others were like her, with wings, and that staying with Ella and her mother might put them all in danger. Ella's mother listened carefully, but did not seem alarmed. She thought for a few minutes, and then said, “I think I know of a solution that will make this easier for all of you. My father left us a small farm just out of town. It is in a secluded valley and has a small cabin and barn. The cabin is furnished and is in working order but very old. It is a beautiful place and would be perfect for Total once he is up an around. You could all go there tomorrow if tonight goes well, but I have to keep an eye on him tonight and manage the IV. If you could just all stay at our house and sleep in the living room or wherever, we will go out in the morning and take a look.”

Max felt relief flood over her and could not keep from smiling back at the doctor. She nodded and looked over at Angel, still talking in a low tone to Total, “Yes, that would be great!” she said.

After the IV finished its slow drain, they packed Total back into the box carefully and drove slowly back to Ella's house. The flock met them at the door and gathered around the box with anxious eyes. Max told them all about his injuries. “Ari!” muttered Gassy and smashed his fist into his palm. She told them about the farm and they agreed that it would be the best solution.

While they talked, they barely noticed that Ella and her mother had gone to the kitchen. They did remember, however, that they had not eaten since the cookies when delicious smells began to drift down the hall. Max signaled them to wait in the living room and went to see if she could help with supper, hoping that her lack of actual cooking skills would not cause a culinary disaster. They cooked burgers with cheese, french fries in the oven, macaroni and cheese, fruit salad and pudding cups, and plenty of everything. The flock ate like food was going out of style, and settled back into the living room to watch Total sleep. Angel chattered away to Ella's mom in between bites of food, never leaving Total's side. Dr. Martinez tried to answer her questions, surprised that someone so young would understand so much.

As the evening wore on, Ella and Max went to the kitchen to stir up some, you guessed it, homemade chocolate chip cookies! The delicious smell drifted down the hall and took over the living room along with rest of the house. Ella's mom went to the grocery store down the street to get a couple more gallons of milk and to restock the refrigerator. When she returned, she left the bags in the kitchen and hurried in to check on Total. As she bent over to watch his breathing for a moment, Total asked, “Is that homemade chocolate chip cookies I smell?” As if in a trance, Dr Martinez slowly straightened up and turned to face the flock. “I believe he is better” she said. Only her pale face and glazed eyes gave away her shock, that is until she fainted dead away and crumpled to the living room rug.

 

 

 

 

 

 

~end!