If you haven't read the disclaimer in the description, I suggest you do before you read this. This is a branch off of the Maximum Ride series but I feel with how I am writing this, you won't have to have read the books to enjoy this. I'll try to explain all I can throughout the story. Enjoy. :)
***
It had been five years since Iggy had been in New York.
He hated it.
Being blind and alone in the Big Apple was difficult.
He couldn't hear what he needed to hear when he needed to hear it. It was constant honking and yelling and loud music playing on every street.
He went to the library on a daily basis just to get away from it all. He loved how quiet it was. It kept out the loudness of the city.
It also reminded him if his time with the Flock; his family. He missed them like hell.
Iggy didn't want to leave, but Max talked him into it.
More like she made him.
That's just how Max is.
But even though they were so far apart, they all agreed to meet up at Lake Mead in Arizona every month or so.
Iggy had reluctantly learned braille because NYIT required him to so he could follow along with the classes but it also helped him send letters to the Flock, so that was an upside.
He was one of the youngest students there at the technical school. He was quite shocked he even got in, seeing as he hadn't really had much experience with a proper school.
They didn't seem to care.
They only wanted his brains. He was quite knowledgeable with bomb type things, considering.
You know, considering he was blind.
Iggy was almost twenty. He didn't have an exact birthday so he just went with March 14 which was Albert Einstein's birthday. That was a month away and he wasn't really looking forward to it.
Why should he?
He didn't even know how long their muntant bodies would last so counting up the years meant counting down to death.
"Mutant bodies?!" you say? Yeah Iggy and his family all have wings. Long story. We'll get to that later.
It was almost closing time and the librarian came and told him so.
He was there so often that she knew him by name and knew his schedule and almost everything about him.
Almost.
She was an older lady and reminded Iggy of what he imagined a grandma would be like. And the best part was that she was only nice to him.
He would sometimes hear her getting onto kids messing around or someone eating or someone who returned a book late.
But with him it was different.
Maybe it was because he was blind but he didn't mind so much.
He liked to think that she trusted him.
It felt refreshing.
He pulled his jacket around himself and picked up his damn walking stick.
He hated that, too.
It made him feel helpless.
He was a mutant for god's sake; he shouldn't be blind.
Or he should at least have some super bat-like power that resembled echo location and worked wonders in crowds. But no.
He wasn't Batman.
He was just some mutant blind kid with bird wings and a walking stick.
He wouldn't even need the walking stick if the Flock had come with him.
Unfortunately for him, however, they hadn't and he had to figure out the city by himself.
Iggy left the library with a stack of books. Some were on physics, bombs and chemistry and a couple were on raptors and one was on bats.
Why not, right?
I mean he may be part bird but he was more like a bat; he had to learn their secrets.
He had managed to fit a few in his bag, but he held the three remaining books in his hand. He trotted down the steps and suddenly he was knocked down as someone smashed into him from the side
"Hey, watch it!" they shouted.
"I can't," he yelled after them but their footsteps were already gone. Stupid New Yorker. He was left on his hands and knees searching for his books and walking stick on the cold concrete. "Well this is just fucking great!" He mumbled under his breath. "One... two... Damn it! Where's the third one?!" He felt around the sidewalk for the last book.
"Is this your book?" he heard an angelic voice ask him. He froze, looking vaguely in the direction of her voice. "Uh... What's it on?"
"I think it says something about hawks... A savanna hawk maybe? That looks like an S."
"You can read braille?" Iggy asked slowly.
"I dabble," she said lightly.
"And you know your raptors?"
"As do you," She said, returning his tone. "Here," She said softly, taking his hand and setting it on the book. He couldn't help but notice how small and warm her hands were. They were like tiny blankets.
Wait- was that weird to think? Thank God his little sister, Angel, isn't here. (she can read minds and enjoys embarrassing people)
He also took note of the feeling her hand on his gave him. It was almost electric.
Iggy slowly stood up, forgetting about his walking stick.
"I'm Jenn. With two n's," she said, sweetly, holding out her hand. She immediatley wanted to beat herself up, though. She brought up her hand and smacked herself in the forehead.
Iggy smiled as if he knew exactly what had just happened and held out his own hand for her to shake.
"Iggy. With two g's."
"That's a brilliant name," she mused. "Mine is so lame. I mean it's different because it has two n's but it's not really short for anything and Jen is such a common name. Like Jenny, Jenna, Jen, Jennifer. It's just so lame and... I'm... rambling..." Her voice slowly died out as she scratched the back of her neck.
Iggy's smile grew bigger when she said that.
"So are you from around here?" She asked him.
His smile fell slightly and he shook his head, "No, actually. I'm uh... I'm from..."
"You don't have to tell me," she suddenly said when she noticed him hesitating. "I was just making conversation..."
"What about you, then?"
"I'm from Texas."
Iggy rose his eyebrows. "That's quite different from here."
"Tell me about it," she sighed, sounding exasperated. She leaned back on her heels and stuck her hands in her pockets.
"Do you not like it here?"
"I'm not a fan, no." She spoke bluntly. "I can tell you don't like it much either," she added.
"It's hard to grasp my surrounding with all the sounds," he admitted.
"Oh! Your walking stick. Do you-?" she asked, suddenly rushing to pick it up.
"Might as well." he groaned, dropping his head.
"Needing a walking stick doesn't make you helpless, you know..." she said quietly.
"How would you know..?"
"I- My uh- my sister was blind." She held it out and guided his hand to the top of it.
"Oh. Was she born that way?"
"Sadly, no."
"She's like me, then."
"What happened to you?" she asked. After a pause she said, "I didn't mean to sound rude, sorry."
"Nah, you're good. I've had worse." he said, shrugging it off. "But If I told you, I'd have to kill you."
Jenn laughed, but Iggy's face was dead serious. She awkwardly stopped laughing and they fell silent.
"It's getting late," she said, breaking the silence. "Do you want me to walk you home?"
"I think I can manage," he said, re-positioning the bag on his shoulder.
"Oh... Okay... Well I guess I'll see you some other time, Iggy with two g's. Be careful getting home."
"You too, Jenn with two n's."
And with that, they went their separate ways.