xXx

xXx Chapter Six: A Computer Message Again xXx

xXx

Trying to find a place down below not near humanity wasn't easy, but we made it.
We found a place in a field and settled in for the moment.

Nudge was fidgeting with some stones, arranging them with Angel, Angel 2 and Nudge
2. Gazzy was talking with Iggy, Gazzy 2 and Iggy 2, giggling here and there, and I
desperately hoped they weren't trying to come up with a plan to destroy the world.
Lastly, I was talking with Fang, Fang 2 and Max 2.

"Okay, seriously, what are we going to do?" I asked, internally groaning at the
fact we seriously had no lead on this.

"I could try and track down where that message came from, find out there IP
address. Or Nudge could." Fang suggested, shrugging and taking out his lap top
that hadn't gotten rather beat up.

I nodded, smiling.

"Good idea." Fang 2 mumbled. I could tell he was Fang 2 and not Fang because Fang
was much more beat up, like his lap top, and Fang 2 had cleaner clothes. They had
the easier life.

Fang nodded, starting to type on his keys. Click, click, click, click, click. Fang
2 continued to stare at the ground, dark eyes just straying around the dirt. I bit
my lip. One Fang was more than enough, with his confusing little mind, and his
weird way of working his mind; but two? Oh God, no. I'm just hoping nothing is
going on between Max 2 and Fang 2, everything would get that much awkwarder.

"Well, Max 2, you got any ideas?" I asked, sighing.

"I say we just do what Fang suggested." She replied, bright eyes beaming at me.
Obviously she wasn't completely like me, the way she acted. She was... happier.
Optimistic-er. Whatever.

I nodded, and moved over to sit next to Fang. He had some weird screen up,
browsing recent files or something. He scrolled down, clicked on a file, and the
thing that had appeared earlier came on. I couldn't help but shudder at the words.

Then he started clicking at things, typing quickly and eventually tons of numbers
scrolled across the screen.

"What's that?" I asked.

Fang sighed drastically. "Oh, great, I was trying to trace where it came from...
it was programmed to come from every single freaking computer in the world."

My shoulders dropped. There goes our first lead.

Then the screen changed unexpectedly, and lettering like the message scrolled
across the screen.

Fang! Help Please!

Then it had that blinky line thing, when you have a text box open. Fang furrowed
his brow, and then typed back.
Who's this?

We waited, until more lettering came up.

It's Mike... please, help, before they come back! I need you to come and get me!

I read the sentences again. Mike... was that the guy who kept saying I was
screwing up his computer in the subway tunnels?

Mike? From the coffee shop and subway?

Yes! Now hurry!

Where are you, dude?

I'm at this place... it's weird, help! There's guys in whitecoats, and wolves or
something, and lots of computers. They're coming, oh God... Help! I got to go!

Then the message shut down.

Great. This was just perfect.

"What was that?" Max 2 asked, scooting closer on the other side of Fang.

"Well, that gives us a lead." Fang said, smiling his rare smiles that makes the
world spin that much faster.

"How?" I asked.

"We can track down that IP. Hopefully it isn't made like the other one, and we can
find where he is."

xXx
xXx Chapter Seven: We're Off To Save Mike! xXx
xXx

I watched Fang, and one by one others started to drift over and sit next to us.
There was too much confusing numbers and rather geek-ish things on that screen so
I looked away before I got a headache.

"There."

I looked back when he finally finished something, and there was... more numbers.
Great. I sighed.

"Now what?" Me and Max 2 asked at the exact same time, and we looked at each
other, smiling awkwardly.

"Well... this IP address can help us find him." Fang replied, smiling one of his
makes-me-feel-dizzy smiles.

"Yes, I understand that, but how?"

"Nudge, a little help here?" Fang said, motioning her closer, completely ignoring
my question. She came over.

"Yeah?"
"Access where this address was last at..." I droned out his next confusing, geek-
ish words and just starred at the screen. Nudge put her hand on the computer and
started doing... things, eventually ending up with something I undertood.

They were coordinates. That was much more helpful.

"Okay... do we fly there?"

Five pairs of eyes turned on me. Another five on Max 2.

"Alright, who are we putting in charge here?" I asked, putting my hands on my

hips. I forgot that the others were going to be following what Max 2 said.

"Me." Max 2 said, raising her hand. "I'm used to it."

"Yeah, and so am I." I replied in a sigh, giving her the don't-argue-or-else

glare.

"Just take a vote." She said.

Six to six.

If only we decided to bring Total...

"How about both of you lead?" Angel 2 groaned, and there was more nods in
agreement.

I hesitated, not liking the situation. "Fine. But any disagreements and you guys-
the second flock- and you're going you're own way."

"We're off to save Mike, the sadly captured Mike!" Gazzy sang in tone to that
Wizard of Oz song, stretching 'Mike' to fit the length.

xXx
xXx Chapter Eight: Great, The Military Is In It, Too xXx
xXx

I was about to fly off in a manner to show I was better than Max 2, but stopped
when I was about two feet in the air and let myself fall back to the ground,
thinking, Where am I going?

Oh yes, that's right- Fang knows.

Great.

I turned to Fang, hating every moment of it. "You... you know where to go. I don't
know." I don't know. One of my least favorite things to say. "So... where to?"

He smirked, and for once I didn't let my heart skip a beat. Instead I started
glaring at him, because of his next words:

"How about you don't give yourself a headache from this and let me lead the flock
for a bit?"

But, I knew he wouldn't give up... because, well, he's Fang. So I had one last
thing left to say.
"Fine."

I just hate giving up my leadership, no matter if it's because I'm trapped in a

cage and I have no control over anything, or if it's just my last option- either
way it is not fun.

So I let Fang get the better of me and we watched him look around, deciding which
way to go. After unfurling his shadow-y wings, we all followed him as he took off
into the air.

***

It was a huge problem, trying to fly close together in order to not gather much
attention by taking up a lot of the sky. We were all clumped up together, feather
tips brushing each other- which by the way, the speckles on my wings were exactly
the same as Max 2's, not one difference- and having people above and below you. It
was almost claustrophobic, if that's possible while being in the air.

But I digress.

"How long have we been flying?" Nudge 2 whined, already starting to give me a
headache. "I'm tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrred, and I'm
huuuuuuuuuuuuuuungryyyyyyyyy-"

I cut her off before she could go any futher. "How about you ask Mr. I-Have-To-
Take-Charge?" I snapped, giving a nod towards the temporary 'leader'.

There. That should do it. Let him be the one whined at.

"Well, we won't make it there by today, so we will have to take a brea-"

Then he was cut off, by a loud roaring-whistle in the background- one that I
recognized as a plane, like when Gazzy had dive-bombed near the Pentagon.

I turned just in time to see three pointed noised, shiny, silver, jets, pretty
small, with rockets attached under their wings. The slightly-blackened cockpit
windows revealed a person in each, all with helmets on. They were organized in a
triangle- one in front, two in back.

"This is the USA Military." A crackly speaker boomed from the front one, coming
out from some speaker on the outside of the plane. "Surrender, have it easier- or
you can take the much uglier choice."

My eyes widened. Great, had the military come to kill us because of the message?
And how did they find us?!

"Ugly is such an ugly word..." I trailed off, loud enough for them to hear. "Yet,
either way the choice would be 'ugly'. Let's make this fun."

After finishing my not needed comments, I narrowed my wings in and pointed my

hands forward, like I was about to jump off a diving board, and headed face-first
to the ground below at rocket speed.

I didn't need to look behind me to know that the flock was following me, as was
the military people. Great! This is just the situation we needed right about now!

I tried to remember what we did last time to loose the jets- we swerved through
trees.
But all there was below was a city.

"Everyone!" I yelled, hoping that everyone could hear it, but also that the roar
of the jet's engines would drown it out for the pilots. "Drop down, as fast as you
can- then have the second flock go right, and my flock go left!"

No time to check if they heard.

Two jets went after us, one for the other.

Great... still need to split up.

Thinking hard, I yelled out to Angel. "Angel! Tell everyone for the boys to go one
way to further split up, and the girls another way!"

That's the way to think it, Max!

She gave a nod- I asume, at least- and then everyone suddenly split up. Me, Nudge
and Angel jerked into a hard left and Fang, Iggy and Gazzy took a right turn. I
expect that the clones did, too, and I looked around to see that there was a jet
going after both the boys and girls on our side, and there was one following one
group of the clones- I frowned, and that's when the first missile shot out and
gunfire rang into the air.

The rapid fire wasn't nearly as quick as my heart was beating. I did a roll to the
left as I felt some bullets rip through the loose fabric of my sweatshirt, and
turned around to see Nudge falling.

The smell got me. The gut-wrenching smell of blood.

She was limp, her wings only outstretched from the wind blowing hard against them,
and I saw the blood falling out of her arms and wings.

I had just enough time to go and get her, right before a missile almost blew me
up, too. Angel looked alarmed, but continued to fly, looping around and trying to
loose the jets.

"Nudge!" I yelled, shaking her in my arms, and took the damage into account. It
wasn't fatal- but how long till she would be able to fly? About five bullets in
each wing, and three on her right arm.

And then I saw her chest.

One bullet, towards the center, and I gave a yelp. Angel looked alarmed, but
continued to fly, looping around and trying to loose the jets.

Anger started to bubble inside me.

I gave a hard stare at the jets, who were continuing to focus on the others, and
then turned to Iggy.

"Iggy, give me a bomb. Now!" I demanded, rushing towards him.

He looked at where my voice came from, nodded, and dug through a small bag thrown
across his shoulder. Before he found one I just yanked the bag and took a small
grenade-like one out, set it off, and chucked it at the one that shot Nudge. It
was harder with my left hand, since I was carrying Nudge; I could still feel her
breathing, but she needed help, and fast.

It hit right where the cockpit window was, and in an incredible explosion, the jet
exploded into red and orange flames that engourged it completely, and spiraled
down towards the earth below.

I heard Gazzy cackle.

Then I got two more in one hand, both small, and clicked the red button on both.
Then I tossed it at the others, one at a time.

At first they didn't do anything, but just stuck to the plane. Then the red
blinking got faster and faster, until they both exploded and they fell down,
falling a part while they were at it.

Then there was that ear-splitting silence that followed.

Everyone gathered around me, but I was already dropping far below. We had to save
Nudge.