Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports

63

A sign of leadership? Facing your remaining flock with a calm face and a confident air when it's all you can do not to barf your guts up in the snow from stress and misery.

Half my flock was gone. Fang was gone. My right-hand man. How could he do this? Didn't he need me?

I straightened my shoulders. I didn't need him. Not anymore.

"Okay, guys," I said to Nudge, Angel, and Ari. And Total. I could see that Nudge and Angel were trying to keep stiff upper lips. Possibly Ari and Total, but it was harder to tell with them.

"I can't believe they went," Nudge said, typically blurting out something I was thinking but would never say aloud. "We shouldn't split up. We promised to never split up again. We need to all stick together."

Tell that to Fang. "It's not what I hoped would happen, but we're fine," I said authoritatively.

"What are we going to do now?" Angel asked. "Do we have a plan?"

I gave her a lofty look. "There's always a plan. How many times do I have to tell you guys?" Come on, Max, pull a plan out of your hat, quick.

Go to Europe.

Oh, thank God. Goddess. Whatever. The Voice finally had something constructive to say and not just more fortune-cookie crap.

"We're going to Europe," I said firmly. I handed out packs, and only then realized that Ari or I would have to carry Total, mostly. Neither Nudge nor Angel would be able to take his weight for very long.

Great. I just had to hope that Ari wouldn't eat Total.

"Europe!" Nudge sounded excited. "I've always wanted to go to Europe! Where are we going? I want to see the Eiffel Towel!"

"That's tower," I said. "Eiffel Tower. Actually, we're headed to..."

England, first. Start with England. Look for Schools.

"England," I said, holding my arms out for Total. He gave a little hop, and I zipped him inside my jacket. Only his small fuzzy face peeked out at the neck. He still looked a little mangy, and I hoped his face fur would fill in soon. "We're going to look for Schools, gather information. Learn everything we can about this Re-Evolution Plan. And we're going to have to move fast."

"I'm on your side," Ari said, sounding sincere. "I'm going to protect you no matter what." He looked down, and I caught a glimpse of the scared seven-year-old he was inside. "Until my expiration date, anyway."

I nodded, not letting any softer emotions through.

"Okay, then," I said, starting to run down the driveway for a fast takeoff. "We head east!"

As always, I felt much, much better once we were high, high in the air. The land below us was a patchwork of green and brown, with tiny silver threads of rivers and gray clumps of cities. It was cold, and the wind made my eyes water, but I felt calmer, more in control, in the air.

It started to occur to me that England was really far away, over a honking big bunch of water. We'd flown for seven, eight hours straight a couple times, but it was hard, and we'd been wiped afterward. And God knew Ari wasn't that strong a flier. Not with those weird taped-on wings. Hmm. No place to land and rest over the Atlantic Ocean.

Go to Washington DC. There's a direct flight from Dulles.

Like, a plane?

Exactly like. Right down to the shiny silver outside.

Us...on a plane. That seemed so wrong, somehow. Redundant.

Plus, there was the whole cooped-up, claustrophobia issue.

You'll be fine.

"We're headed to Washington DC," I told my new miniflock. "We're going to take a plane from there."

Everyone looked astonished. I wondered how we would get Ari, with his bizarre and scary appearance, through a busy airport.

"We're going to take a plane?" Nudge asked, her voice practically squeaking.

Total frowned. "Isn't that redundant?"

I sighed.