Letting Go

Fang POV

I moved Max off my lap, and she mumbled contently but didn't wake. I watched her for a moment. This was likely the first time she'd ever truly fell asleep. In my arms. I decided not to wake her.

Careful to make sure I kept a hand on her, so she remained invisible too, I shuffled forward silently and crouched down in front of Max. I tensed to pounce if something attacked. The footsteps continued to crouch loudly on the underbrush. Whatever was coming wasn't making any effort to hide it.

The light coming through the heavy branches was dismal, even for my eyes. I almost immediately regretted my location. Still the footsteps drew closer. I held my breath.

Then slowly, into the only other sliver of light from the moon that slipped through the branches, stepped Jeb. He stood there in the light, glancing around as if looking for something. He finally decided to fix his gaze on the ground below his feet. He spoke.

"Hello Fang."

Maybe it was the way he said it. Familiar. Sharp. Clean. Blunt. Emotionless. The last time Jeb had addressed me like that was when we were still trapped in the school. It was all horribly familiar.

The door would creak, once, twice, it was a swinging door. I couldn't see it. I only heard. The hard footsteps on the tile floor, one, two, three, four, five. Always five paces. The familiar smell. Always the smell of antiseptic.
Jeb would stand in front of my cage, he would bend over so I could see his face through the bars as I shoved myself as far back as I could in my cage. My breathing would quicken. I did nothing but stare. Silent as the dead.
"Hello Fang."
The words were worse than a tazer. They tore clean through your heart, you knew he didn't care. It was no more than a play, always the same.
"Come now, Fang, stop hiding. I know where you are."
My heart kept beat with my breathing now. Be brave. Don't go.
"Don't you know it's not civil to talk to someone without looking at them? Come out Fang."
I squeezed Max's hand as I held it in the cage next to mine. I would look over to her. And without saying a word, I could see all my fear reflected in her eyes. She was scared too.

The memory was as vivid as broad daylight in the darkness. Jeb stood there the same way.

"Come now, Fang, stop hiding. I know where you are."

I caught myself slipping my hand into Max's behind me. Almost unconsciously, Max's hand squeezed mine. I wasn't sure what to think of that. My mind immediately jumped to conclusions, but it could be nothing more than the fact we had been in that situation one too many times before.

Max shifted closer to me and a twig snapped beneath her weight. Jeb's eyes immediately shot up and starred straight through us. Still, Max did not wake. I was starting to wonder if she was ok.

I looked up into Jeb's eyes, and my fear was immediately replaced with burning rage. I hated Jeb, he had hurt Max, he had hurt me, he had hurt the flock. He was my enemy. I had to keep myself from growling at him.

"Fang, I'm growing impatient. Do you not know it's impolite to have a conversation with someone without looking them in the face?"

I'm not talking to you, I thought like always, but didn't move.

Jeb's look was just as hostile now as he spoke those familiar lines. Jeb knew probably better than anyone else on earth what could hurt me, what my weaknesses were. And I was ashamed that he knew.

Jeb sighed. "Must I remind you of all the things I could do to Max if you don't comply? One thought and I can set off her worst headache to date."

It hurt. A lot. Not only did he know old fears, he knew new fears as well. Why was he doing this to me?

I decided to comply to his demands. I didn't want to see Max hurt because of my stupid stubbornness. Carefully I slipped my hand out of Max's, revealing her first. Jeb gasped a little. Then, standing to face Jeb, I slipped back into the world of visible reality, making sure my 17 foot black-as-night wingspan was as intimidating as possible.

Jeb smiled. "Ah, that did it. But I still can't see you. Come over here."

I risked a glance at Max behind me. "No." I said coldly. Jeb needed to know he didn't have my respect.

"Hmmm, well, I suppose I can't demand everything of you. I may have almost earned Max's respect back, but I most certainly believe I've ever earned yours. I hope to change that." Jeb sat down where he was.

I just glared at him. He smiled at me. It was fake. I sat down where I was next to Max and picked up Max's hand again. I got the same response from her. She murmured contently and cuddled a little closer. I looked back up at Jeb. He was grim. So he didn't like that, eh? It made me smirk just a little. I had an advantage.

"Name your terms." I said flatly.

Jeb chuckled nervously to himself and fiddled with his fingers. "Well, I don't really think there should be any terms, but I'm starting to think that should be one of them," he said, nodding at the hand I was holding. I looked at him questioningly.

"I know I've hurt her a lot, just... don't hurt her again."

I looked at him in shock. "Do you really know how much you hurt her? Are you aware how much work it took just to pull her out of denial when you first left? What makes you thing I would ever ever do that? I'm not an idiot."

"I never said that, I -"

"You know what I meant." I growled with resent.

Jeb sighed and paused for a moment, thinking. "Perhaps I should tell you the same thing I told Max. You need to see the bigger picture here. I'm not the enemy. It may not seem like it, but I'm helping you out the best that I can."

"You were made to save the world, etc., etc., I know the spiel. Hello! You disappeared on us. Someone had to look after Max," I finished for him. Jeb laughed as I said it. I continued anyways. "And perhaps I know more than you think. If Max trusts you any at all, it's none of your doing. All credit would go to Dr. Martinez. And I have no mother for you to use to influence me."

"What if I told you about her?" Jeb actually looked shocked that that statement impacted me at all. But the reaction didn't last long.

"What if I told you I didn't care?"

Jeb smiled then. Apparently I had said what he wanted. He fidgeted a little before he replied. "Mmm... that's right. You never needed a mother, yes. You needed no one except Max. She was the same. She needed no one except you."

I just stared back at him. I knew my half of the statement was true, no matter how much I didn't want to admit it to him.

Jeb continued, "It's a scary thing, yes, that these things can be manufactured. What if I told you what your purpose is? Ah, there we go, a little more interest. You didn't let me finish before, Fang. You weren't meant to save the world, oh no, that's Max. You were made to save the person who will save the world."

What was he saying? That I would die to save Max?

"What do you mean?"

Jeb just watched grimly as I brushed one of Max's strands of long, blond hair behind her ear in slow motion.

"Fang, look at me for a minute, yeah?" Jeb asked. I looked up at him from the corner of my eye. The look was hostile. I didn't know if I should believe what he was saying.

Jeb continued anyways. "You were meant to save the person who will save the world. You're not supposed to die exactly, if that's what you were thinking. I mean, that's what I would think, but, like it's not something I could control anyways so I can't really say that.... I mean, it could happen by chance..."

"Get to the point, Jeb. Plain English, please. What. Is. My. Purpose?"

Jeb just sat there for a minute, his fingers pressed to his lips in thought.

"You can tell me," I whispered so quietly only Max would have heard.

"You were made for Max, Fang." Jeb said as he starred me straight in the eye.

And I knew he was telling the truth.