730 Minutes, a blink of an eye,
30 minutes, to alter our lives,
30 minutes, to make up my mind,
30 minutes, to finally decide,
30 minutes, to whisper your name,
30 minutes to shoulder the blame,
30 minutes of bliss, 30 lies,
30 minutes, to finally decide
Time is a funny thing. One minute, you can be having a full on hot and heavy make out session with a boy you think you like, but aren't sure with. The next you could be fighting an enemy whom you had thought to be extinct, and then you're knocked out and locked up in a cage half of your size. This, my friend, is Maximum Ride's current position.
30 Minutes, a blink of an eye…
Max opened her eyes slowly. She sat up to stretch, only to realize she was being restrained from doing so. From a cage. A dog cage. Her nose twitched as it took in the various smells of a hospital. But this place wasn't a hospital, and Max well enough knew that. She was able to just barely hunch over in her crate. Her eyes scanned all around her, analyzing, strategizing, and already forming a way out. She found that Fang was on her right, Iggy was a few feet ahead of her, Nudge was on Iggy's right, Gazzy was on top of Nudge's crate, and Angel was on the left of Iggy.
Even though Fang was slightly stirring, it didn't look like he'd wake up anytime soon. Same with the rest of the Flock. All knocked out. Max looked at Fang again. His neck was at awkwardly tucked into his armpit, and his hair fell all over his face, making him look like he was just electrocuted. For some odd reason, Max found it sort of cute, although as soon as the thought formed she pushed it away.
A door opened, and there were light footsteps going across the room. Max wouldn't have been able to hear them if she was normal, but that wasn't exactly the case. The person walked down their isle, and checked every crate. Max could hear the person getting closer and closer. When they had reached Nudge, Max tensed. It was a woman, because Max didn't know of any man who wore farmhouse red high heels (besides Iggy, occasionally). She checked on Gazzy, then Iggy, then Angel, then Fang. It all took less than a minute. She finally crouched down to Max's cage.
"Hello, Maximum." She said. Max recognized the woman immediately. She felt betrayal all over again. The woman before her had housed the Flock, paid for their education, fed the Flock (aka, the children with bottomless pits for stomachs), only to be one of them.
"Anne." She hissed venomously. Anne raised a plucked eyebrow.
"Don't bite me, now," She said sarcastically, and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.
"Don't get sarcastic with me, you know I could kick your butt and make you disappear off the face of the planet within twenty minutes." Max growled.
"And vise-versa." Despite Max's current position, she tried to lunge at Anne. Some parts of her body told her not to since they were in pain, but she did anyway. Her cage tilted, and she probably would have tipped to the side if it hadn't been for Anne steadying her cage.
"Let's get down to business, shall we?" She asked.
"I'm not listening to anything that you're saying." Max said.
"You may not have to listen, but at least let me say it so I feel as though I accomplish something." Anne doesn't wait for Max's reply.
"The School wants to get rid of you kids." She said.
"Really? You're just now figuring this out? Wow, you should get a gold sticker." Max proclaims.
"They plan on doing it today by feeding you to the dying Erasers. So they can have a good meal before they expire."
"We'll escape before it happens, like we always do." Anne shook her head sadly.
"This time, Maximum, there's no escaping…Well, there's…" Max raised an eyebrow, slightly interested.
"There's what?" Anne sucked in a deep breath, and leaned closer to the cage.
"There's a scientist, Erwin, who could get anyone out of here safely. Including a few avian bird kids."
"Sounds like a load of bull. What's the catch?" Max said curiously, now messing with her fingernails.
"Well, one of you has to die." Anne said as if it was the hardest thing in the world. Max's eyes went wide. One of the Flock members dying? No…
"You just said all of us could get out safely." Max pointed out.
"No, I said he could get anyone out. You see, Erwin…he's interested in you six, and your bodies. He wants to run a few tests, and then he'll inject anesthesia into one of you, making you fall asleep. Then, he'd kill you in your sleep, and run some tests on your dead body."
"Sounds like a charming guy."
"He is. You have thirty minutes to decide if you want your whole Flock to die, or just one person in particular." Anne dug something out of her pocket, and placed it in Max's cage.
"Is that a time bomb? I swear if you're trying to freaking blow me up-"
"It's a timer, tick tock. Relax, Max."
"How can I relax when the fate of the Flock is on my hands?" Anne doesn't respond, but she stands up, and exits the isle, leaving Max frustrated. Why couldn't anyone give her straight answers anymore?
30 Minutes, to alter our lives…
A few minutes after Max had left, Fang had woken up. He looked around, finally reaching Max's eyes.
"Crap." He whispered, running a hand through his hair. Max was slightly envious that Fang had gotten a bigger crate than her. Max smirked at his wake up response.
"Tell me about it."
"Got a way out?" He asked groggily, trying to rid his eyes of all the crust surrounding them.
"Kinda." Max didn't want Fang to have to die, nor did she want Gazzy, Nudge, Iggy, or Angel to die. They were all so full of life (overstatement for Fang) and had so much to go for them in the future. But what did Max have? She had a mom who she barely knew, and a sister that meant a lot, but so little at the same time. Max was starting to lean to the option of her dying to save her Flock. That's what a leader had to do, right? Take one for the team.
"Cool. Tell the Flock when they wake up. We can make a move at night." Fang said, turning towards Max. Max sighed. She looked at the face of Angel. She had small cuts on her arms and face, and a gigantic bruise that was forming on her jaw. Max looked down.
"Fang, we don't have enough time. You don't have enough time…" Max mumbled, more to herself, than to Fang. Fang raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" Max didn't answer his question. Instead, she reached her hand out of her cage. Fang smirked and met her halfway, clasping onto her hand. He started to lightly trace circles on it. They sat there in silence. Max glanced over to the timer. It had just hit the five-minute mark. Twenty-five minutes left.
30 Minutes, to make up my mind…
Max and Fang just sat there, enjoying each other's company. Not saying anything, really. The only sound was a wail coming from the right corner, and the cruel sound of two Flyboys laughing (it sounded robotic of course), then the sound of wheels, then nothing.
Max really enjoyed being with Fang. Did she really want to give this up to being the subject to a secret test? Well, if it meant the Flock got to live…
Yes. She would do it. She would give her life for her Flock any day. And that day could possibly be today.
The thought made Max grip Fang's hand even tighter.
30 Minutes, to finally decide…
By now Gazzy had woken up, and he didn't even care that he was in the place that had made his life a living hell. He just wanted food. Anything- even if it wasn't edible. He even offered to eat the crate. That made Max smile a little. She would miss the Flock.
30 Minutes, to whisper your name…
Max had miraculously gotten Gazzy to sleep without giving him food. Now she was talking to Fang about his hair color.
"You obviously dyed it that color when we were younger, don't deny it." Max said
"Too bad, I am. I didn't dye it." Fang replies.
"Well it looks really fake. Are you wearing a wig? I bet you are." Fang rolled his eyes, and tried to pull his hand away, but Max had an iron grip. Fang looked at Max, and raised an eyebrow, staring into Max's eyes. Instead of having that creeper look, Fang managed to make himself look sexy.
"You have pretty eyes," He says smirking, "But they give away what you're thinking sometimes." Max's eyebrows furrowed, and she frowned.
"My eyes do not give away what I'm feeling or thinking." She crossed her arms. Did Fang know about the deal that Anne had offered? He'd been asleep…but Fang is good at pretending.
"You seem worried," Fang leaned closer to the bars in his cage. "Are you worried, Max? You know you can tell me anything, right?" Max didn't answer.
"Can we not go down this road? I just want to spend some form of time with you." Fang smiles.
"Sure, Max." Those two words almost broke Max down. Fang was obviously trying not to press, but trying to help at the same time. Fang needed to be around. He needed to live to lead the Flock.
"Fang," Max whispered silently.
"Yes?"
30 Minutes, to shoulder the blame…
"When I'm…gone, will you take care of the Flock?"
"What do you mean when you're gone?" Fang asked. These were one of the rare times when Max could take a glimpse at Fang's emotions. But as soon as they were shown, they disappeared.
"When-if I die, will you take over?" Fang looked straight at her, letting go of her hand, and instead using his own to point at her.
"You're not going to die. I'll make sure of it. I go before you go." He growled, looking up from under his eyelids.
"Yeah, but…before you and Gazzy woke up, Anne came in."
"Anne Walker?"
"Yeah. She told me all of us were going to die this afternoon, unless…"
"Unless what." Fang hissed.
"Unless one of us stays behind while the others escape with this one scientist named Erwin."
"Max, why didn't you tell me this when I woke up?" Fang said, his voice rising.
"Because I thought you'd react like this." Max whispered.
"Well I guess I'm staying behind." Fang said, his voice low. Max's eyes became wide. The thought of Fang dead in her head wasn't pretty. She imagined herself turning into a murderer, getting caught, going to jail, getting released, and becoming an old cat lady while the Flock did world tours and became famous.
"No. I've already decided that I'm staying. I'm the leader, and I have to do this." Max said in her don't-mess-with-me-voice. Fang grabbed her hand.
"You don't have to do it alone, Max. I like you more than anything Max, and the thought of you dead hurts me." Max was about to retort, but she paused. Did he just say he liked her?
"Um…well…" The movement of Angel and Nudge made her stop. "Don't tell the Flock about this."
"But they have to know." He retorted.
"Promise me." Max pleaded.
"Fine. Lie to your Flock."
30 Minutes of bliss, 30 lies…
Nudge and Angel woke up at the same time, yawning and stretching. Then Gazzy, again begging for food, then Iggy, claiming he had to use the restroom. It seemed as though everyone had a bigger cage than Max.
"Heh, we're in hell again. I can smell it." Iggy said, his nose wrinkling. "You know what else I can smell? My pee leaking through my jeans. I deserve a diaper."
"Ew!" Both girls on either side of him exclaimed, pushing themselves to the farthest corner of their cages. Gazzy couldn't help but laugh and do the worst thing possible. He farted.
"Gas Man!" Max exclaimed
"Sorry, couldn't help but join in on the gross." He smiled sheepishly.
"Way to be mature Gazzy." Angel said, pinching her nose.
"This smells horrible. I'm going to reek of this all day. Just gross, Gazzy. I hope you feel ashamed of yourself. Ugh…just EW! I want this stink off! Why did The School have to place me under you of all people?" Nudge said, trying to wipe invisible stink off of her clothes. Max smiled. This was her Flock, acting like they normally would (Minus Fang and herself).
Max, are you okay? Your thoughts are hard to read. Angel said from inside Max's head.
You know how I feel about you reading my mind, Ange. Angel cringed from her cage But yeah, I'm fine. No need to worry, everything's under control.
But Fang says his life is slowly falling apart. It sounds like he's sprouting poetry in my head. He's a weirdo.
He is indeed.
"Max?" This time it wasn't from inside her head.
"Yeah, baby?" She looked at Angel, and put on her best smile.
"Everything will be okay, right?"
"Yeah, everything's gonna be all right for us, right? We always get through, huh Max?" That was Gazzy
"Yes, Max. Will everything turn out alright?" Fang asked.
Max smiled even bigger, her cheeks were hurting now.
"Of course." Obviously, it was a lie.
30 Minutes, to finally decide…
There weren't any minutes left. The timer had reached zero, and vibrated silently on her leg, not disturbing the Flock.
Click, clack, click, clack.
That was the sound of Anne's heels. Anne ran into the isle and kneeled down by Max's cage.
"Give me your answer now. There are two Flyboys heading this direction, possibly to pick you up."
"I'm going with Erwin." Max answered. Anne fumbled with the keys in her hand and unlocked Max's door.
"Max, what's going on?" Iggy asked, his face pressed to the bars, as if putting his face closer will make him see.
"We're blowing this popsicle stand." Max grunted as she crawled out. Anne quickly moved to Fang, then Angel, Iggy, Gazzy, then Nudge. They heard a door open.
"Quickly, this way." Anne whispered. They got out a different door leading to a white hallway.
"Now this is what I'm talking about, baby! Sight!" Iggy exclaimed. They go down hallways, and hide behind pillars. Along the way, Fang intertwined his and Max's hands, and they ran with the same step. They stopped in front of a room with a wooden door. Anne knocked on it seven times. The door opened and a young man, maybe around his twenties opened it. His brown hair was neat and he wore square-rimmed glasses and had a small mole on his cheek. He would actually be kind of cute if he weren't working for an evil company. Max guessed it was Erwin.
"Follow me. I'll tell you my plan." They all entered the room. Erwin pulled down the blinds.
"I suspect that in five minutes or less the Flyboys will report you missing to the guards, who will call a blow out."
"What's a blow out? All I can relate it to is a sex joke." Iggy said smirking.
"A blow out is when everyone comes out looking for those experiments. Scientists, guards, flyboys, erasers, surgeons. Everyone. They'll lock down everyplace except for-"
"The Eraser field. It already has such a high electrical fence that they wouldn't think of anyone to try to escape there. Though, that fence was built around two thousand and five, and you kids hadn't been created by then, so they weren't thinking that five kids would be able to fly away. And that is what you're going to prove them wrong with."
"Listen, I'm not good in math. I'll just say upfront I suck, but I can swear that there's six of us." Nudge pointed out. Erwin cocked his head to the side, and fiddled with one of the pens on his desk.
"You didn't tell her?" Anne nodded.
"I did." She turned to Max. "You didn't tell them?" Max shrugged.
"I told Fang. Does that count?" Erwin motioned for Max to get close to him. He whispered in her ear: "Who's my test subject?" which Max replied with: "Me, no matter what anyone says."
"Mmkay, when will this game of telephone get to us?" Gazzy asked.
"Something is wrong, huh Max? You lied to us," Angel said, putting her small hands on her hips. "What's really going on?"
An ear piercing sound came from all around, and all of them bent down clutching their ears.
"That's the alarm for the blow out! Move before it gets too crowded out there!" Erwin shouted. Erwin was the first one out, then Angel, and then Anne, Gazzy, Iggy, Max, and Fang. They kept their heads low and scientists ran out of their rooms screaming, and running around with weapons. This made the Flock run harder. The got outside- no problem. It was starting to get dark. They reached the The Eraser Field in no time.
"Angel, Gazzy, up now!" Max said. The two youngest were up in a flash. Nudge grabbed Iggy's hand and they both shot up in the air.
"Fang, go." Max said.
"If you stay, I stay." Fang said. Max shook her head. "At least give me time to say something."
"Fang, we don't have time." Max said, she could feel her eyes starting to water. She looked up. The sky was getting darker, and it was getting hard to see four sixths of the Flock in the air. He grabbed Max's hand and pulled her close.
"Time is all I need, but it seems as though it's never been on my side. Maximum freaking Ride, don't you dare try to die at the hand of some fourteen year old scientist!"
" Number one, I'm twenty-four and number two, she's staying with me." Erwin said, popping right up next to Max, gripping her arm. Fang glared at Erwin and Erwin didn't hesitate to glare back.
"Put your hands up. We've caught you in the act; you're done, Erwin." Max, Fang, Erwin, and Anne turned around to see around ten of his fellow scientists carrying guns and other weapons.
"You can't sneak out anymore experiments, or kill them and play innocent anymore. You're finished." A man with a beer belly and light blonde hair yelled, aiming his gun.
"Whoa," Erwin said holding up his hands, "And here I thought we were all friends. I was planning on sitting around the campfire tonight to sing campfire songs. " Fang tugged on her hand, urging her to get into the air where hopefully, the scientists wouldn't see them.
Max wanted to go with Fang, but these were the people who had saved her from a painful death. Anne offered her to live a little bit longer, and now here she is about to die herself. And Erwin…well, at least he was cute.
Without Max's permission, Fang unfurled his wings, and jumped into the air taking Max with him. On instinct, Max unfurled her wings. Though, at the same time, gunshots sounded the air.
Time, Max soon realized, was never on her side either.
This took me two hours. Curse my slow typing. I made this because I'm in a t.A.T.u craze. Their songs are amazing and I fell in love with the band in under twenty minutes.
The song is called 30 Minutes and it's by the band t.A.T.u
It's funny because the actual song/video have nothing in relation to this story.