Part 10 (2/2)
Star shoved Holden into the center of the circle. ”I think that's you, squirt.”
”Never have I ever... owned a designer bag,” Holden quipped in response, and Star glared, raising her hand.
Fang made himself count backward from twenty by threes.
”Never have I ever... had Cheez Whiz up my nose, in my hair, and between my toes at the same time,” Maya said. Everyone laughed, and they all shot up their hands.
”Never have I ever... played down my strength so no one would look at me funny,” Kate said, holding up her hand.
”Never have I ever... been seriously hungry all day every day because I can't get enough calories to sustain energy,” Star said, raising her hand along with Fang and Maya.
”Never have I ever... accidentally chopped off my finger and watched it grow back,” Holden said, and mimed hacking his finger off, resulting in a few chuckles and a cry of ”Yeah, Starfis.h.!.+” from Ratchet.
Maya spoke up, her eyes s.h.i.+ning at Fang from across the circle. ”Never have I ever... felt the wind whip through my hair as I soared twenty thousand feet up with only my wings to carry me.” They both raised their hands.
”Never have I ever... been thrown out of my house for being a freak,” Ratchet said quietly and raised his hand. Across the room, Star raised her hand too, and they stood like that for a few seconds, just looking at each other.
”Never have I ever... been injected with hypodermic needles and locked in a cage,” Fang said. Every single hand went up, and as they looked around the room, everyone seemed to really get each other for the first time. They had all been abused, and they all needed the same help.
”Never have I ever... received a message telling me that I had to help save the world,” Maya said, staring deeply into Fang's eyes. He looked back at her, and she nodded almost imperceptibly. His hand slowly went up.
No one, not even Max, knows about that.... He felt a faint s.h.i.+ver run down his spine. He felt a faint s.h.i.+ver run down his spine.
”So... you want to do something about the Doomsday Group, or what?” Holden asked.
Fang nodded. ”I read that they're holding a big rally in San Diego, starting tomorrow,” Fang said. ”It'll be at Comic-Con, that huge convention. I don't know how the DG will fit in with that, but I think it's the first thing we should check out.”
”If it means we can get to the butchers who experimented on us, who cut us up, I'm all for it,” Kate said.
Holden nodded, rubbing the scars on his arms.
”Let's take 'em down,” Ratchet said, and Star actually smiled.
”So... San Diego?” Fang asked.
”San Diego!” the gang agreed.
40.
AFTER A DAY of zombified culties shrieking about wiping out the human race and an hour of hysterical panic holding Iggy down while fighting for his mind as he writhed in the bathtub, I'd aged about five years, and I swear I got my first gray hair from that ordeal.
However, we were now back on track. We were six normalish birdkids, one of whom had recently endured a freezing cold deprogramming experience, and a small black dog thrilled that he'd escaped a bath. Together we sat, a little freaked out, around the table, trying to plan our next course of action.
”Dr. Martinez, Jeb, and Ella are still gone,” Dylan said, and Gazzy countered with, ”Well, duh. duh.” I was glad to hear the Gasman sounding almost back to normal after the whole not-talking-for-two-days thing, which I hadn't really had time to deal with.
”Do you want to saddle up, go back, and get Ella?” Dylan asked me, ignoring Gazzy.
”That's my first instinct,” I said slowly, thinking. ”But I'm really worried about what this Doomsday Group is up to. If it's something serious, we might have to try to stop it. Fast. This thing is spreading like the plague.”
”It's just so weird that-” Nudge began, then stopped after a harsh look from Angel.
”What?” I said.
Nudge pressed her lips together and looked away. Total coughed meaningfully.
I sighed and rubbed my temples. ”Just tell me. Obviously, it's about Fang.” I was amazed I could even say his name without having to curl up into a little ball afterward.
”Well, it's just so weird that we're dealing with the Doomsday Group here, and Fang is going to California to do the same thing,” Nudge said quickly.
I'd seen mention of the Doomsday Group on the TV in the little stomach-turning video I'd seen of Fang and his Max stand-in but didn't know it was more than that.
”Fang mentioned them in his blog?” I demanded.
”Yeah,” Nudge admitted.
I sat down at the laptop and called up Fang's blog myself, for the first time since he'd left. It was painful, just seeing the words he'd written. I was aware of Dylan, who'd gone across the room and was sitting moodily on the sofa, flicking through TV channels.
” 'So, Comic-Con!' ” I read, as Total stretched up to my lap. ” 'I've always wanted to go! Looks like I'll get my chance-the Doomsday Group is holding a huge rally there. Why, I don't know, but the Fang gang is on its way. Feel free to drop by! I'll be the one with real-not strap-on-wings.' ”
I looked up. ”No one was going to tell me about this because...”
Nudge looked uncomfortable. ”You made us all promise never to mention his name,” she whispered, and I winced as that sentence came back to bite me in the b.u.t.t again. ”Plus, you were busy dealing with Iggy who was, you know, brainsucked,” she said.
I sat back. ”So the DG is going to have a big rally at Comic-Con.”
”We are so there!” Total said. ”I'm definitely getting Tricia Helfer's autograph!”
We all turned to look at him. ”What?” he said. ”She's hot. For a human.”
”If the DG is having a huge rally, we should go,” Dylan agreed, which was big of him, especially since he knew Fang would be there too.
Inside, my heart raced at the thought of possibly seeing Fang again. Did he know how much he was hurting me by advertising the new Fang gang? Was he really that cruel, to post videos of himself with his Max stand-in? Was he deliberately trying to hurt me?
That didn't sound like Fang. But I didn't know what to think.
”But what about Ella and my mom and Jeb?” I asked.
”I've been thinking about that,” said Gazzy. The serious tone of his voice made me look at him sharply.
”What's up, Gaz?” Nudge asked.
<script>