The Winged Legacy: A Maximum Ride Fan Fiction

Chapter 10

We kept our heads low as Jeb drove the truck forward. My heart leaped when I felt the car jerk to a stop. I could hear conversation from up front, and I held my finger up to my lips for the others to stay silent.

"Good evening Mr. Batchelder," a deep voice said. Ian let out a soft breath beside me.

"Evenin' Marcus. Why the sudden stop?" Jeb replied nonchalantly. I waited, waited for the betrayal to come. Surely this couldn't be a rescue. Maybe he was driving us to a worse fate, perhaps an execution in the desert. Yet I still climbed into the van. Stupid.

"Well you are driving a maintenance vehicle, sir," explained the Marcus. "And it's mandatory that we check all vans and trucks. Can you unlock the truck?"

I felt Cassie tense in front of me, huddled in a tight ball in Jared's arms. There was a sound of annoyance from up front. "A security check? I'm sorry fellas but I don't have that kind of time. I know how thorough you guys are."

"Sorry, sir, but it's required." There was the crunching sound of heavy boots on gravel. My heart hammered in my chest. Don't find us. Don't find us...

"Marcus," Jeb said firmly. "What I am transporting is highly classified, not for untrained eyes as yours, so if you could please step away from the vehicle that would be greatly appreciated."

I'm sure calling a security officer "untrained" was a huge offense, and I waited for the barking retort. But Marcus sounded anything but offended. No, he sounded almost...afraid? "But sir-"

"Remember who provides your paycheck," Jeb said bitterly. I still didn't trust the guy, but I gave him a mental high five. There was a mumbling response from Marcus, and a moment later we were on our way.

We remained silently for another twenty minutes as we bumped along. My legs were falling asleep and I carefully massaged them, until I heard the transition from gravel to smooth road, the engine accelerating to a higher speed. A few seconds later the window slid open again, revealing Dr. Ramirez. "Hello again," she greeted. "We'll be taking you to the airport now, which is just another half-hour. So just hang in there. Any questions?"

"Are you talking us home?" Tanya asked, her voice gushing with hope.

Dr. Ramirez frown, and all our hopes came crashing down. "Not quite-"

"Then where are you taking us?" I demanded. I began to rise up on my haunches. "It better not be another facility or I'll-"

"No! No! Definitely not. Look, we're here to help you, Max," she said then pressed her lips together, as if she said something she weren't supposed to.

I narrowed my eyes at her then. "Why does every keep calling me that?" I growled.

Dr. Ramirez appeared torn for a moment, looking at me with such sadness. "We're taking you to Colorado. We'll answer more of your questions when we're in the air." With that said, she shut the window again.

Ian turned to me. "It's just like in the books!" he said happily. "Did you guys ever read the books?"

"My parents said I wasn't old enough to read them," Cassie replied, then shared a wicked grin with her brother. "But our babysitter read a few of them to us."

I remembered reading the books alright. I remembered nearly every detail. Those books were my life when I was in middle school. During classes I'd hold the book under my desk and read happily, engulfing in a world much interesting than my own. But I still had trouble believing that I could have anything to do with a story so extreme. Ian, on the other hand, was falling in love with his theory.

"Don't you guys get it? We're the flock!" he exclaimed, the biggest grin on his face.

"But how's that possible?" I said. "I don't remember growing up in a lab or fighting Erasers."

"But you remembered the screeching from the chimpanzees," Tanya pointed out. "And I hate to admit it, Megan, but you guys all look familiar to me. Like, I recognize your faces but I can't put a name to it."

"Iggy!" Ian shouted, and I shushed him. Our drivers up front couldn't know just how crazy we were. "Iggy," he said softer. "I must me Iggy. And Tanya, you're Nudge. Andrew, buddy, you're the Gasman. Cassie's Angel, Jared's Fang, and Megan. Wow, jeez. You're Maximum!"

"Why does she have the coolest name?" Tanya muttered to herself and crossed her arms.

"But we're awesome!" Ian said. "Wow. This is so cool!"

I kept my mouth shut as Ian continued blabbering about the characters to Tanya and Andrew. Meanwhile Jared and I shared stoic expressions. You think it could be possible? his face seemed to ask.

I shrugged. Just let them go with it. It distracts them from the situation.

For the rest of the ride I thought quietly to myself. Cassie had fallen asleep in Jared's arms, and after a while we shifted her over into my lap. I found myself stroking her hair absentmindedly while staring blanking into space. What did I have in common with these kids? More importantly, how the heck was I going to get these kids back home?

My mind threw around ideas of escape. Maybe when they opened the doors to let us out, we could make a run for it, try flying even. But what if they had guns? They'd shoot us out of the sky. Or maybe when Dr. Ramirez opened the window again, Tanya could poke her in the eyes and Andrew could choke Jeb. But then they'd lose control of the van, and with my crappy luck we'd drive off a bridge or something.

Suddenly I heard the whirl of airplane turbines and the van came to a soft stop, the engine cut. The others exchanged concerned glances before looking at me.

They were looking to me for guidance. Leadership.

Oh boy.

"Just stay calm everyone," I said, trying to obey my own orders.

The doors to the van were flung open, with Jeb and Dr. Ramirez standing on either side. "Hurry now," Dr. Ramirez beckoned us out. Cassie hopped out first, followed closely behind by me, and then the others fell in line. Before us was a small airplane, turbines blasting. Dr. Ramirez led us toward the stairs before climbing aboard herself.

Inside was decorated with sofa's and plush chairs, just how I'd imagine a private jet. Only smaller. "This is so neat!" Tanya cried before falling down into one of the recliners. She gave a long sigh before closing her eyes.

"Don't sleep just yet," Jeb advised as he inched his way to a seat. "At least wait until take off."

Each of us sat down and buckled up as the plane began its crawl along the runway. Andrew sat by a window, whispering in detail of the view outside to Ian. Meanwhile, I was wishing I had a piece of gum to chew when the plane tilted up in the air and flew, and not in the direct of my home.