The Last Flight (A Maximum Ride fanfiction)

TLF Chapter 36

He didn't speak to her at all the next morning. To tell the truth, he didn't even let her catch him looking at her, which he loved to do because she would then give him that 'What are you looking at?' expression. He packed his things, and double checked the address then stayed in back of them when they walked into the lobby, taking full advantage of the 'Free Coffee and Donuts' offered to all patrons up before 9 AM. The hotel would rue that sign before eight thirty.

They checked out of the hotel and walked nearly half a mile down the road to a vacant lot to take off.

They started on a south western heading and, just as Max predicted flew over the town of Abraham at 11:35. Since they didn't really know WHERE Soaring Eagle Farms was they followed the tiny little black line of Highway 6.

About seven miles from Abraham was quite a large farm, on which was sat an old fashioned white farmhouse, a stereotypical red barn and a newer looking building the size of a small Wal-Mart.

There were acres of green field on which horses and cows roamed, and as they watched a brand new green truck pulled out of the Mini-Wal-Mart building drove toward the house a big baying dog in the back.

Fang stared as the truck stopped and out climbed a woman… A woman with long light brown hair and a slight limp. A jolt ran through him, as if he'd been shocked and for the first time since he was learning to fly, Fang forgot to flap.

He dropped straight down, spinning slightly for almost a full hundred feet before he straightened his wings and realized Max was screaming at him.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU!" She saw the dazed look in his eyes and shook her head then angled herself downward. "Land behind the barn."

Fang hung in the air for a few seconds, watching Max, and the others shoot downward then do a small circle and land. He heard someone beside him and turned his head.

Aaron was looking very nervous. "There's nothing to land in … I could be injured!"

Fang sighed, "You scared too?"

Aaron twisted his hands and nodded, "Yeah … Did you see the woman get out of the truck?"

He nodded.

Aaron shuddered and sat his jaw. "If I break my neck I'm coming back to haunt you," And he zipped downward followed closely behind by Fang.

Unlike he believed he would do, Aaron did not face plant behind the barn, he tried to land in a run, tripped and fell, scraping his hands open and tearing his jeans in both knees.

"Aaron, are you part albatross or something?" Iggy said quirking an eyebrow.

Ella giggled.

Aaron was less amused and gave Iggy the backward peace sign again.

"What's that?" Ella said making the same gesture back at Aaron.

"Same as that," Aaron flipped her the bird, "Just the proper English version."

Ella poked her tongue out at him and finger combed her hair to straighten it.

Nudge brushed dust from her expensive jeans and took Aaron's hand inspecting his bleeding palm, then she pressed her cheek against his shoulder. "Poor Mr. Albatross!"

"Okay, on we go!" Max said tucking in her wings. She walked hesitantly around the open front of the barn, peeking in to make sure no one was watching them. When she was sure no one was there she twitched her hand to let everyone know it was safe.

The big white dog leapt out of the truck and ran at them barking loudly, making loud, "Bawl-row-rowser" kind of noises.

"Duncan! Hush!" A man growled and jogged around the other side of the barn. He took one look at Max and the group behind her and did a beautiful stumbling double take his big green eyes sweeping them then honing themselves on Fang and Aaron.

"Holy SHIT!" He screamed and politely sat himself down in the dirt beside the still barking dog.

"Allan? Allan, what is it?" The woman stepped onto the porch and stared her brown eyes widening to practically the size of dinner plates.

Fang trembled as he stared at the woman…

She stepped forward slowly a hand creeping to her mouth…

"M-Mum?" Aaron's voice shook slightly and his eyes welled with tears.

Allan dove to his feet and grabbed them, wrapping his arms around their necks pulling them against his chest and bursting into deep wracking sobs. "I can't believe it! I can't believe you actually came here!"

Max's jaw hit her chest and she gaped at the woman on the steps. The woman who was staring at them as if something were terribly inappropriate about their existence … something dirty.

Max turned her head and watched Allan hugging Fang and Aaron as if they were his own sons, but then she noticed something … Something very wrong with the picture.

Fang shoved off from Allan, took one stumbling step back threw out his hands, spinning completely around, then fell over like a tree.

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"Be gentle with him … Oh, God, be gentle with him!" Aaron shrieked.

"Jesus, he doesn't weigh much does he?"

"What's wrong with him?" Aaron said.

Fang pried his eyes open and stared around. Everything looked very funny upside down and he wanted to laugh at how absurd the world was, but something didn't feel right. He felt, to put it lightly, like hell.

Every muscle in his body ached, his wings hurt … Even his eyes hurt.

He saw her out of the corner of his eye and reached weakly for her, he wanted to touch her, to assure himself that she was real, that she wasn't a figment of his imagination.

She jerked away from him and scowled.

Allan looked over his shoulder, "The rest of you come in and take a seat," He gently lie Fang down on a large, extremely soft sofa and rushed into a small adjoining kitchen, taking down a glass from a freestanding white cupboard.

"What is wrong with him?" Max sounded pissed.

Allan filled the glass with water then walked forward as if he intended to deliver the water to Fang himself, then he hesitated, handed it to Aaron and turned away.

The woman sat heavily on a straight back chair and cupping her forehead.

"Sit up and drink this, Nicky … Slowly, last thing I need is to be vomited on."

Aaron seemed eerily calm … Almost disappointed and he wouldn't look at the woman sitting just behind him.

Max was perplexed. Why was Aaron not paying attention to his mother? Why was he ignoring her? She was alive and sitting right there … Wasn't she?

Fang choked and was nearly sick but managed to cough the water out again and sit up.

Allan cocked his hip on the back of the sofa and rubbed his neck. "Feeling better?"

Fang nodded but didn't take his eyes off the woman. His hands twitched feebly and Max could tell just by the way he was sitting that he wanted to jump across the room and crush the woman in a hug, possibly even bawl his bottomless blue eyes out.

The woman sighed and wiped her eyes then stared directly into Fang's and shattered his world.

"I'm not your mother, so stop looking at me like that…"

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