James Patterson: Max

“Mom! It’s me!” I said. “You’re safe now. You’re on a sub, and we’re headed back to Hawaii.” I couldn’t believe we were together again at last, that she was alive, that we had reached her before it was too late.

Her brown eyes blinked groggily several times, and she winced as the medic started an IV in her arm. “Max?” she croaked.

“I’m right here,” I said, holding her hand. My eyes felt hot, and I blinked several times.

Blearily, she looked up at me, tried to focus. “I knew… you’d come,” she said.

My throat threatened to close, but I managed to say, “I’ll always, always come, Mom. You can count on it.”

My mom smiled faintly, then closed her eyes again.

Fang put his arm around me. “You did it. You saved her.”

That was when I should have jumped up and done a victory dance, whooping my way down the corridor to the bathroom, where I could change into dry clothes.

Instead, I burst into unexpected tears, covering my eyes and gulping in breaths like a big baby. Fang put his arms around me.

Sometimes I just don’t understand myself.

AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, I was thrilled to get off that submarine once and for all. We docked, the top hatch opened, and after the medics took my mom out on a stretcher, I was the next one off. I rushed up the ladder, over the gangplank to the dock, and then -

On the dock I wobbled, couldn’t walk straight, and ended up falling over, feeling like I was going to hurl. I watched the medics hurrying away with my mom, and I would have to crawl to follow them.

Captain Perry knelt next to me. “You’ll get your land legs back in no time,” he said kindly.

Irony sort of reaches up and slaps you in the face sometimes, doesn’t it?

Anyway, let’s just resume our scene with me already sitting at a table, sucking down Fanta.

My mom was in the infirmary, where they had found she was way dehydrated, really banged up, and needed IV fluids and rest. Every time I realized she was back and alive, a new rush of warmth went through me.

And here I was with my flock, Fang’s hand in mine beneath the table. Dejected because of his many failed attempts to create huge snot bubbles, Gazzy slumped in his seat. Nudge, Iggy, and Angel were on their fourth round of ice cream.

“Max!” Total raced up and jumped on a chair next to me. He enthusiastically licked my face, which, after being encased in a snot bubble, frankly didn’t seem so bad. “Dude, I missed you guys so much! I’m so glad your mom is okay, Max. God knows the loss of a veterinarian would be a terrible thing. Ooh, Fanta!”

We got him his own Fanta and stuck a straw in it. He slurped it up delicately. “So much has happened,” he said, wagging his short tail. “There’s so much to tell you!”

I blinked. Total thought a lot had happened on his end? I felt like catching him up on our shenanigans would take about three weeks!

Akila ran up, leading John and Brigid to our table. She gave several short, happy barks, and Total turned to grin at me.

“Gotta go. Timmy’s in the well. If you know what I mean.” He winked and trotted off with Akila while we all tried very hard not to think too much about his last statement.

“Max! Max Max Max Max Max!!”

“Ella!” I got up and managed to run to my half sister without disgracing myself. We hugged each other, doing the weird rocking and patting motion that people do when they hug.

“Hello, Max.”

I stopped rocking and patting. I would know that voice anywhere. I separated myself from Ella. “Jeb.”

“Where’s Mom?” Ella pleaded.

“Come on. I’ll take you to her.” Ignoring Jeb, I led Ella down the hallway toward the infirmary. I stopped outside her door, unable to resist looking through the glass to make sure she was still there and still all right. Ella and Jeb hurried in, and I hung back. Ella, at least, deserved some time alone with Mom. Already they were crying.

Smiling, feeling warm, dry, happy, and relatively safe, I headed back to the cafeteria. A dark, quick movement caught my eye, and I saw Brigid hurrying around a corner, her face tense.

I know spying on people is wrong and an invasion of their privacy, but fortunately I’ve never had a problem with that. I walked silently down the hall until I was close enough to the corner to peer around it at my nemesis.

Brigid was talking to some suits, gesturing earnestly with her hands. I pulled back. Suits always make me nervous.

I couldn’t hear what they were saying, so I started to leave – but then someone else walked up to them and shook everyone’s hands. Brigid greeted him, and the suits smiled and nodded.

It was Mr. Chu.

Beware of Mr. Chu, the Voice commanded like a foghorn booming inside my head. And maybe Brigid.

Maybe? I asked the Voice, incredulous. I would say, definitely.

Wouldn’t you?

THE WIND SWEPT THROUGH my hair, and I closed my eyes, coasting on a thermal current, feeling the sun warming my face and my feathers.

Fang was above me, moving his wings in perfect unison with mine. We were holding hands: his was reaching down, and mine was reaching up.

Most of the flock was swimming in the ocean below us, in the shallow bay off the coast of Oahu. Some dolphins had joined them, no doubt lured by Angel. I could hear the flock’s laughter, hear the cheerful chirping of the dolphins as they leaped out of the water.

“I’m glad Mom and Ella are home again safe. And I guess Jeb is – somewhere else.” I didn’t know whether Jeb was evil or not. He was totally confusing. Maybe I would never know.

“And I hear Total’s off planning his and Akila’s upcoming wedding,” Fang added with a slight grin. “Guess what? You’re maid of honor. Can’t wait to see you in a poufy dress.”

I ignored the jab. “Here’s a more interesting piece of information: Brigid’s at a news conference,” I said. “I confronted her after I spotted her earlier. She said she was going to expose Mr. Chu.”

“We’ll see,” said Fang, sounding somewhat disinterested, to my surprise and delight. “I guess we’re finally alone” – a tiny smile curved his lips – “for the immediate future.”

“Huh,” I said, my heart kicking into high gear. “Huh. That’s… nice.”

Very, very carefully, Fang lowered himself even closer to me. I could almost feel his breath in my ear. We’d never flown this close to each other before. A delicate electric quiver ran down my spine.

Below us, a small golden head bobbed up and down in the water. I loved seeing Angel so happy, so carefree, not doing anything particularly evil at the moment.

“She really is special, isn’t she?” I mused.

“Yes,” he said. Fang switched hands, and I shook mine, trying to get some blood back into it.

“Maybe she really is the key to everything,” I said, “whatever everything is. She keeps saying it’s all about her. Maybe it really is.”

“Max.” Fang let go of my hand. “Right now, it’s really all about – us.”

He swooped down to the right in a big semicircle, ending facing me. Slowly we climbed upward, until we were almost vertical, flying straight up to the sun.

While carefully synchronizing our wings – they almost touched – Fang leaned in, gently put one hand behind my neck, and kissed me. It was just about as close to heaven as I’ll ever get, I guess. I closed my eyes, lost in the feeling of flying and kissing and being with the one person in the world I completely, utterly trusted.

When we finally broke apart, we looked down at the others, who were way far below us now. Angel was shading her eyes, looking up at us with a big smile. She was sitting on a dolphin’s back, and I hoped soon someone would explain to the dolphin that he shouldn’t let Angel take advantage of his good nature.