“There’s nothing down there,” he reported.
“What?” Nudge sounded stunned.
“Some blood. Bits of fur. Iggy’s mixer,” Fang clarified. “No bodies.”
“Whoever sent them picked them up,” Total said. “Like trash.”
“About my mixer,” Iggy began.
“It was all I could find!” Gazzy said. “You mixed someone to death?” I asked.
“I adapted to the circumstances,” Gazzy said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Hmm,” I said, starting to pace. “So — the Erasers are back. And someone came to get them. We didn’t hear or see how they got here. Choppers may or may not be related.” I rubbed my chin as I walked, trying to put this together.
“It’s nice of you to care now,” Iggy said, stopping me in my tracks.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I put my hands on my hips.
“I’ll go ahead and name the elephant in the room,” Iggy went on, glaring over my shoulder. “You and Fang weren’t here when we needed you. You were out there” — he gestured to a wall — “because, let’s face it, you guys care about each other now more than you care about the rest of us.”
“What? That’s crazy! It was just chance. It could have been me and Nudge, or Fang and you. us not being here didn’t make this happen!”
“Unless someone was watching and saw our two best fighters leave,” Angel said.
It was a horrible thought, and it hit me right in the gut. My brain whirred.
“Look, I guess it’s natural,” said Iggy. “You’re teenagers, it’s springtime, everyone’s thoughts are turning to birds and bees and caterpillars and moths …”
“Caterpillars?” Nudge’s nose wrinkled.
“No one’s thinking about moths,” Fang said. I heard anger in his voice.
“It’s true,” Angel said. “You guys care more about each other than you do about any of us. And we’ve just seen how dangerous that is — for us.”
I was so horrified I couldn’t think of a snappy comeback.
“It’s time, Max,” Angel went on firmly. “You know it is.” She looked at the rest of the flock. “You guys know it too. It’s time for Max and Fang to move on.”
46
“MOVE ON?” I tried to ignore the squeak in my voice. “Have you been breathing next to Gazzy too long? What the heck are you talking about?”
“We used to be one flock,” Angel said, steely-eyed. “Now it’s like we’re a flock of four and a sub-flock of two. So maybe you guys should go be your own flock, by yourselves.”
“Listen, missy,” I began, letting danger drip from my words. “I’m still here, day in, day out, doing for this flock. So don’t be telling me —”
“I don’t have to tell you or anyone else anything!” Angel exploded. “We have eyes! We see how it is! All you think about is how to get away with Fang for a while! So I think it’s time you really got away!”
“I planned the whole birthday party!” I said. “For all of us! I helped create this house! For all of us!”
I shot looks at the rest of the angry — and in a few cases alarmed — flock. Dylan was frowning slightly, his face guarded. I wondered if he’d had anything to do with this.
“Angel?” said Jeb. “Be careful. I agree there might be need for a change. But maybe if I come back, we can all work toge —”
“Max.” Angel interrupted Jeb as if he didn’t exist. Her voice was quiet and calm. “I love you. I don’t wish you harm. But like you’ve said yourself, we’re only as strong as the weakest one of us. Right now, you’re making the flock weaker because your head and your heart aren’t with us. It’s time for you to move on. It’s time for me to be the leader.”
“You?” Jeb looked confused. I guessed he’d missed the first eighteen times Angel had tried to take over the flock.