None of us answered her or so much as breathed, but I could feel the eyes of each member of the flock on my face as they waited for my next move. Whatever I said, they would follow my lead.
“Angel, check her mind,” I said faintly, still trying to harden my heart against the possible outcome. “See if she’s telling the truth.”
My mom closed her eyes, openly accepting the mind reading. Please let that be a good sign, I said to myself.
After what seemed like multiple eternities, Angel said, slowly, “She’s being honest. Dr. Martinez isn’t with the 99% Plan anymore. She’s a good guy.”
72
“NINO HAS A jet waiting for us, back near the city,” my mom said. “We can take the chopper there. With the 99% Plan taking effect and God knows how many scientists seeking Fang for his DNA, you won’t be safe here. You need a new beginning.”
Four pairs of eyes turned toward me, pleading. The flock waited for my decision.
“Yeah,” I said wearily. “Getting out of here sounds good.”
The flock responded with the biggest smiles I’d seen in weeks.
But as we raced through the house gathering our things, Total weaving between my legs, barking orders about packing techniques, two thoughts wouldn’t leave my mind: Where is Dylan? And: What about Jeb?
I didn’t know why Dylan had done what he’d done or where he’d disappeared to, so there was nothing I could do about the first question, regardless of how confused and devastated it made me feel. But Jeb was here, out in the Oregon air, unconscious, with broken ribs that I’d caused. If we left him, he would freeze during the night.
I was helping Angel and Nudge carry their bags to the chopper when I finally made my decision. I flagged down my mom, who was turning off the lights and shutting the front door. “Wait—we need to bring Jeb,” I blurted before I could change my mind.
“What?” Angel hissed, recoiling in surprise.
Iggy was indignant. “Max, he wanted to kill Fang, we can’t just—”
“We can’t just leave him out there to die,” I cut him off. “He saved our lives once, and we owe him this. No matter what he’s done.”
Sometimes being a leader isn’t about winning. Sometimes it’s about doing what’s right, instead of what’s powerful.
“We’ll keep him under lock and key,” my mom agreed, giving me a look that said I’m proud of you. “He’s a sick man, but not an evil one.”
She immediately set about tying up Jeb’s hands and feet while the rest of us loaded Fang into to the chopper on a makeshift stretcher. Total had to be forcefully scooped and carried into the back, protesting all the while that he couldn’t go anywhere that might be too far away from Akila. Mom reassured Total that Akila would be waiting for him at the place we were headed. She refused to divulge anything further.
The pilot started the helicopter, and the deep noise of the blades filled our ears as we fastened our seat belts.
I sighed as the chopper lifted off the ground and we left everything—all of our emotional baggage, Ari, a hundred dead Erasers, and the empty house in Newton—behind us. I wondered briefly what the neighbors would think of the mess we’d left in our wake, and couldn’t help smiling.
73
WE WERE FIVE hours into a very long flight on Nino Pierpont’s fancy private jet when Fang’s eyes finally fluttered open.
“Fang!” I shrieked. I was so ecstatic I almost kissed him right there, in front of everyone. Instead I settled for hugging him tightly, like my life depended on it—way too roughly for his injuries.
“Max?” he croaked. “What… happened?”
I took a deep breath and told Fang that he had been hurt really badly in a fight, and that when the fight was over, he was unconscious. I told him that Ari had been taken down in the fight, but I didn’t mention Dylan. I told him how my mom had come for us, how it turned out that, in the end, Jeb was just another stupid whitecoat who had lost his mind. I was breathless, talking as fast as I could. I was afraid if I stopped talking, even for a second, I’d start sobbing again.
“Whoa, there.” Fang smiled and reached up, tracing a hand down the side of my face, winding strands of my hair around his fingers. “Stop talking and let me just tell you how great it is to wake up staring at your face. Okay?”
That was maybe the most direct thing Fang had ever said to me. A lump formed in my throat. “Okay,” I croaked.
“Okay, so… it’s really great to wake up looking at your face.” He blinked, like his eyes were still trying to focus. “It’s… beautiful, actually.”
The lump in my throat got bigger. Way bigger. “I thought…” I whispered, tears pricking my eyes. “I thought you were never going to wake up.”
“Come on. You really thought I’d leave you right when things were getting interesting?” Fang gave a gruff little laugh that sounded more like a cough. “Not in a million years.” His eyes turned serious then, and he took my hand, bringing it to his cracked, swollen lips. “I’ll never leave you, Max. Not ever again.”