Angel_ A Maximum Ride Novel - James Patterson [43]
“Welcome to my world,” Fang said. “Okay. We need more info. Like, when is all this supposed to happen, for instance?”
Maya rested her head on her hand. “Do you think Armageddon can wait till morning? I’m wiped.”
Eyes closed, brown hair tousled around her shoulders, Maya looked more like Max than ever. But… Fang could now see minuscule differences: the way Maya tilted her head, the way her voice dropped instead of rising at the end of a question. True, Max and Maya were much more alike than they were different, but Fang was starting to think of Maya as truly being a unique person in and of herself, instead of as just a copy of Max. It was weird. Fang had loved Max for so long that it almost disturbed him to think about any other girl at all.
He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling bone tired and confused. He’d thought taking out this Doomsday Group would be a good mission, a worthwhile project for him and his gang. And he was right. But after today, he had to admit an uncomfortable truth: As much as he’d wanted to operate on his own, this mission was way too big for him and five new crew members, only one of whom had any real fighting experience. Preventing the destruction of whole populations of people was simply beyond the scope of his gang.
That left him just one option.
Fang opened his bleary eyes, scanning the room until he found the clock. Past midnight. Getting yelled at by Max would have to wait until morning.
50
I WOKE UP, feeling warm on one side and cold on the other. The warm side rested against Dylan, and the cold side faced the open desert, which was aglow in pink from the sunrise.
I decided to get the fire started for the others. I untangled myself from Dylan, feeling the usual embarrassment and confusion that I often had about him. But I’m great at not thinking about mushy stuff, so I pushed it out of my mind and scooted over to the fire. Automatically, I did a head count, like I’d done just about every day for as long as I can remember.
Gazzy, Nudge, Dylan, Angel, Iggy, Total… Ella?
No Ella.
I jumped to my feet and surveyed the area. No Ella. Her footsteps led away from us, but the desert wind was so efficient and the ground so hard and dry that her trail disappeared. I cursed under my breath.
“Max?” Angel said softly. “What’s this?” She pointed to the ground, where words had been scratched into the hard dirt:
I was meant to have wings.
Ella
“We should have hobbled her,” Total said, getting to his feet. “Or at least tied her shoelaces together.”
Then it hit me.
“Oh, my God! She’s going back to the facility!” I said. “Come on! If we hurry, maybe we’ll reach her before she finds those kids again—or before she gets lost and ends up frying herself in the desert. Let’s go!”
My team was mobilizing when my hip pocket vibrated. “This might be her!” I said, and flipped my phone open.
“Max?” said a voice, and my breath caught in my throat. “Don’t hang up!”
Numbly, I brought the phone down from my ear and closed it. Then I sat on a rock, my blood so cold that it moved sluggishly through my veins.
Nudge said, “Max?”
Dylan came and sat next to me and put his hand on my knee. I pushed it off. My phone rang again, the dull vibration sounding like a buzz saw in the silence.
“Max? Who is it?” Nudge asked. “What’s wrong?”
“My guess would be Fang,” Dylan said, his voice flat.
I looked up to see Nudge’s surprised face. Iggy, Angel, and Gazzy all looked at me sympathetically, like they expected me to wuss out.
My phone vibrated.
Gritting my teeth, I flipped it open.
“What,” I said tightly.
“Don’t hang up!” said Fang.
“In the middle of something here,” I said. “Is this important?”
“Only if you consider the end of the world important,” said Fang. “Which, I guess, usually you have.”
I didn’t say anything.
“Look, I’m in San Diego,” Fang said. “I need you guys to come here.”
My eyebrows shot up to my hairline. I still didn’t say anything.
Fang sighed. “Max. I know you’re mad. I know things are messed up between us. I know there’s no reason in the world