Between Us – Chapter 1

By MyNameIsCAL

Disregarding what happened in FANG, here's a story I thought up of staring at stuff in a mall through glass when I was window shopping. The glass was pretty much all the inspiration I got from the mall. I believe the rest came up from just having finished "Panic in Level 4" by Richard Preston which made me think about "The Hot Zone". If anything, this could have possible taken the place of FANG, seeing as Max and Fang will grow closer in this story as their romance bloomed in FANG.

Another story, another ride to take. I give all credit to James Patterson for Maximum Ride, the characters (The flock: Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, Angel and Dr. M and Jeb), and the event that made them up before I take them and shape them on my own. Ella appears to be absent in this story, and I know she should be in here, but let's just pretend she's off to school or something. I felt things were too complicated if I had to throw her in there.

-Max's POV-

DAY ONE

I stared at Fang through the thick glass. He sat on a hospital bed, wires hooked up to him, staring back at me. His lips moved, but I couldn't hear him.

"I can't hear you," I replied, but I knew he couldn't hear me either.

Mom came up next to me. She pressed a button and now I could hear him.

"How are you?" Fang repeated.

I leaned against the glass. It was cold. "Why are you worrying about me?"

He shrugged, his eyes meeting mine. The truth was that I was far from being okay. Here we were in the basement of Mom's house, Fang on one side of the glass, me on the other. Jeb, that traitor, decided he was going to try out his own experiment. A virus that could wipe out people like us. One night, he forced Fang into the basement, a place that we let Jeb have to call his own. Down there, he injected Fang with the virus. Sort of like a strain of the avian flu that didn't affect humans. There was a cure, but Jeb had it and he refused to help us. At first, he said that Fang would feel better after a few days. Mom did some testing and some yelling at Jeb. He told her the truth, one that was crushing, one that I still had yet to tell the rest of the flock.

"The medicine is keeping his fever down," Mom assured me. "I'll be back later. I have to run to my office and get some more medicine. You can use the suit if you want to go in."

"Alright, thank you," I said quietly.

She nodded, leaving Fang and I alone.

"I'm dying, Max." Fang's voice shook as he rose, walking towards the glass.

"Don't say that."

"No, you know what Jeb said to Mom. Whatever this is, it's going to kill me because Jeb's a selfish jerk." He leaned against the glass. "He has to prove that it'll kill me no matter what Dr. M does for me. And Angel even said…"

"We're going to find a way to get that cure," I whispered, pressing my hand against the glass. "I don't care what Angel said."

He lined his hand up with mine. "You have to prepare for the worst. You have to tell the flock what's going on. If you don't, Angel will just tell them anyway."

I leaned my forehead against the barrier between us, my eyes closed. It was cold to the touch.

"Angel said I was going to die, Max," Fang said quietly. "She's never wrong. We're not invincible."

It took me a while to open my eyes, to gain control of my emotions. The one thing I told myself: I wasn't going to cry in front of Fang.

"Go tell them," he repeated.

I watched him walk back towards the bed. He sat down and downed his glass of water.

"I need to rest," he muttered. "Go tell them. I'll see you later."

"Fang…"

He began to lie down. "Yes, Max?"

"Just promise me you won't give up."

"I promise. You know I wouldn't."

"I know."

He hesitated. "Go, Max."

I turned, pushing the button off, heading back up the stairs to find the rest of the flock. Iggy was in the kitchen, music blasting, swaying to the beat, stirring cookie batter. As soon as I walked in, he cut the music.

"Something wrong, Max?" Iggy turned to face me, his eyes still finding me even though they were sightless. I felt weak suddenly and he moved towards me, pulling out a chair.

"Max, your silence isn't good," he said after a while, his pale blue eyes showing concern now. "Hey, c'mon now, I'm making cookies. Max…"

Nudge skipped into the kitchen, taking a seat on Iggy's lap.

"Hey, Max, when are Jeb and Fang getting back?" she asked. "I mean, aren't we leaving here tomorrow?"

"Jeb isn't coming back," I managed to say.

"What do you mean?" Iggy asked, his hand resting on Nudge's shoulder.

I closed my eyes. "Jeb is gone again."

"What do you mean gone?"

Gazzy entered the kitchen now, Angel following.

"Hey, do we still keep soda in the basement or did Jeb move it out?" Gazzy asked, opening the basement door.

"No, Gazzy, don't go down there!" I stood, but it was too late.

"Fang!" Gazzy shouted.

They all got up and followed him down. After a moment, I stood and went after them.

Mom set a plate of food in front of Fang. He sat on his side of the glass and I sat on mine, the small tables on each side pressed up against the glass.

"Max, go eat with everyone else," Fang grumbled, picking up his fork.

"I'm not going to let you eat alone."

He sighed, thanking Mom for the food, even though it was Iggy that had cooked it. She gave me a small smile before leaving us alone. After taking a few bites, he began to cough. That was new.

Fang held up his hand. "I'm fine."

I wanted to laugh and to cry. He wasn't fine. He was far from fine, and yet here the two of us were, trying to lie to ourselves and in denial that the worst could happen. Fang was dying and the chances of getting the cure back were slim.

He went back to eating.

"I'm sorry that the others found out the way they did," I told him.

His eyes met mine. "Well, they had to find out some way."

I suddenly wasn't hungry anymore. My fork dropped to the floor and I could feel tears streaming down my face. Fang leaned against the table.

"Please don't cry, Max." Behind the glass, he looked helpless. I wanted to go in there, I wanted him to put his arms around me, to tell me things were going to be okay, but he couldn't.

And for the first time in my life, I saw Fang cry.

DAY ONE means one day since Jeb injected him. I'm not sure whether I'll break each chapter into a days or not. Thanks for reading!