And just like that, boom: I had one.
57
Not too long ago (though it felt like several lifetimes), Fang, Nudge, and I had found a vacation house in Colorado. No one had been using it then, but now it was ski season, and snow lay thick on the ground. Still, it was worth checking out.
Because the others were ahead of me, I sped up to be in front. Then I changed direction slightly, knowing exactly how to get there from here.
Taking a chance, I glanced at Fang.
"Where are you going? A little hideaway that Ari knows about?" Icicles crackled on his words.
"The ski house we found. Maybe it's still unoccupied. Be a place to rest up."
He shook his head. "No way! You know the rules-never return to a place you've been! If someone's been there, they know it was broken into and will have beefed up their security. If no one's been there, we pretty much cleaned out all the food anyway."
God, I just hated it when he was reasonable and logical. I mean, if there was ever anything calculated to make me see red...
"I've thought of that," I said calmly. "But we need some downtime, and it's our best option."
"It is not!" he said. "We should find a canyon or cave somewhere and hunker down-"
"I'm tired of caves and canyons!" I surprised both of us by snapping. "I'm tired of desert rat, medium rare! I want a roof and a bed and food that I don't have to catch and skin!"
He stared at me, and instantly I felt embarrassed, as if I had just admitted I wasn't tough as nails.
Well, too bad. That was how I felt.
I sped up, leaving Fang behind, and headed right for the vacation home.
58
Imagine, if you will, a somewhat run-down, not very much used vacation hacienda. For those of us without even an everyday hacienda, the notion of having a vacation one makes us positively giddy. Even an unrenovated one.
Just like before, we came down in the woods a distance from the house and crept stealthily nearer. As we got close, we heard voices and the purr of a car engine. Fang glared at me like, I told you so. People were here.
"Okay, did you lock up?" one voice said.
"Yeah. And the fire's out."
"Good. I can't wait to come back."
"Maybe Saturday, right?"
So there you go. Car doors slammed, and the voices were muffled. We pressed against tree trunks, trying to hide our breath coming out like smoke.
I looked back at Fang and raised my eyebrows in triumph. They were leaving. It was perfect. We waited for ten minutes after the car drove away, then, unrepentant little felons that we were, broke in.
I did try to do as little damage as possible, though. Must be all that girly sensitivity they wired into my DNA.
"It's warm!" said Angel happily.
"Let's check out the kitchen!" Nudge hurried toward it.
"This is great," said Ari. Fang shot him a venomous glance, then scowled at me. I ignored him and headed to the kitchen. It was time for some serious chow.
"Oh, thank God they're not vegetarians," Nudge said with feeling, pulling out some cans of beef stew.
"What's that one that's worse than vegetarian?" Gazzy wrinkled his nose.
"Vegan," I answered him. "Let's crank those babies open." I rummaged for an opener.
"Look, they even have some dog food!" the Gasman said, holding up a paper sack.
Total looked at him. "You're kidding me, right?"
The fridge had some actual fresh food in it-cheese and apples. Jam. Butter.
"Oh, pig heaven," Nudge breathed.
Ari had a hard time eating-he had ruined his mouth. I didn't say anything. We all make choices, and we all have to live with them.
Have you thought about your choices lately, Max? asked the Voice. Are you making choices for the greater good or just for yourself?
Nothing like a disembodied voice inside your head to dull your appetite. Clearly I'm not making choices just for myself, I thought acidly. If I were, I'd be reading a good book in a comfy hammock. Someplace warm.
"What did that guy mean, that China wanted to use us as weapons?" Iggy asked, pouring half a box of cereal into a bowl. Without spilling any.
"I don't know." I frowned. "I guess we could be spies? We couldn't carry heavy arms or anything. I mean, who knows what those head cases have cooked up? Probably moronic stuff, like us duct-taped to a bomb, programming it at the last second or something."
Gazzy laughed, and I looked around, thinking, My flock is together and safe. For now.
Well, my flock and Ari, the walking circus sideshow. And a talking dog. But still.
"Can I talk to you?" Fang was standing over me, his body radiating tension.
Oh, great. "Can it wait?" I ate the last piece of canned ravioli, then scraped the can with my fork.
"No."
I debated it, but there was really no ignoring Fang when he was like that. Sighing, I pushed back my chair and stalked outside. On the porch, I crossed my arms over my chest.
"Okay, let's have it out," I said, trying not to show that he was upsetting me.
"Choose now," he spat, his eyes practically shooting sparks. "Me or him."
59
"Gosh, Fang, you romantic fool," I said sarcastically. "How incredibly sexist-pig of you."
He snorted in exasperation but didn't look as dumb doing it as you'd think. "Not as a boyfriend, you idiot! I meant as a member of this flock! God, full of yourself, aren't you? I mean, either he goes or I go. I'm not going to stay while you let someone who's tried to kill both of us, more than once, stay!"
"I know if I think about it, I'll figure that sentence out," I snapped. "But I don't have to choose between you! People change, Fang. Face it, he helped save our lives. He worked with Angel. And while we were there, he let me in on some of the stuff going on at the School."
"Yeah, and I'm sure he had no ulterior motive for that! I'm sure he's not wired, not tracking us, not telling everyone where we are right this second! I'm sure seven years of brainwashing and training just wore off once you batted your eyes at him!"
I gaped at him. "He's seven years old, you jerk! And I'm not batting my eyes at anyone! Not you, not him, not anyone! He doesn't even think like that!"
I'd never seen Fang so angry. His lips were pressed tightly together, and the skin around his mouth was white.
"And I'm sure you're making the biggest mistake of your life!" he shot back. Years of living in hiding, flying under the radar both literally and figuratively, meant that even now, when we were both spitting fire, our voices were low, pitched to reach only each other. "Ari's a killer!" Fang said. "He's toxic! They've polluted him and screwed him up so much he can't even think. He's a total liability, and you're out of your mind if you think it's fine that he's here!"
I hesitated. He was my right-hand man, my best friend, the one who always, always had my back. He'd die to save me, and I'd throw myself in front of a train for him without a second's thought.
"Okay," I said slowly, rubbing my temples. "I really think he's changed, and his expiration date is gonna kick in soon, anyway. But I know his being here is bumming everyone out."
"You picked up on that, huh, Sherlock?"
My eyes blazed. "I'm trying to meet you halfway, nimrod! I was going to say let me think about it. In the meantime, I'll keep an eagle eye on him. First sign of anything suspicious, I'll kick his butt out myself. Okay?"
Fang stared at me in disbelief. "Are you nuts? Did they finally send you around the bend? Ari needs to go now!"
"He doesn't have anywhere else to go! He helped us, remember? They're not gonna let him back in. Plus, I keep telling you, he's only seven years old, no matter how big he is. How's he gonna survive?"
"I don't give a crap," Fang said icily. "I'm fine with him not surviving at all. Remember this?" He yanked up his shirt to show the pink lines of his healed scars, the ones from when Ari had sliced him up like a tenderloin and almost made him bleed to death.