James Patterson - The Final Warning

“I want a baby penguin,” said Angel, tugging on my jacket to get my attention.

She snapped me out of my alarm-clock-of-doom reverie, and I looked down at her.

“No,” I said, before I really processed what she had said.

Her face got that set look I’d learned to dread.

“No,” I said more firmly. “You already have Celeste and Total. We cannot also have a baby penguin to cart around. Especially when that baby will grow up to be the size of an average third-grader.”

Angel took a deep breath. “They’re so fuzzy and cute,” she began. “They make little cheeps. There’s a bunch here- it wouldn’t even cost anything. We could-”

“Angel?” I said. “Baby penguins eat a regurgitated mixture of partially digested fish, krill, and an oily substance from their fathers’ stomachs. Are you willing to eat a bunch of raw fish and krill, and then barf it back up into a baby penguin’s cute, cheeping mouth? Like, every hour?” Sometimes my crushing logic astounds even me.

Angel bit her lip. “Hm,” she said. She straightened her small shoulders and walked away with dignity. Another disaster averted.

Leaving me with only Fang’s adoration ofBrigid Dwyer to really get stuck in my craw. (What is a craw, anyway? I’ve always wondered.)

I watched as they worked side by side, his dark head almost touching her blond one. They knelt in the snow, and at one point the brilliant scientist couldn’t unscrew the lens from her special camera. She needed the help of asuperstrong fourteen-year-old bird kid. Her smile when Fang opened it was almost as blinding as all this freaking snow.

Just then,Akila strode by on her way to where Michael was working. She was followed by Total, who had to trot a bit to keep up. I barely heard part of what he was saying.

“I admire a woman with a career,” he said, his breath making puffs in the air. “I’m very modern that way. Strength is an admirable quality…”

The back of my neck twitched. Standing up, I cast a hard 360 all around us, shading my eyes from the intense sunlight. We had to wear sunglasses all the time, evenIggy. The bright sun here, reflecting off the snow and ice, could permanently damage our eyes.

“Max- check it out!” said Nudge as she and the Gasman ran up to me.

I held up one finger, meaning wait.

Something was wrong. The horizon was clear. The sky above and around us was empty. Even using my raptor vision, I couldn’t detect anything moving toward us over the ice. I looked again and again, examining the ocean, the land, and the sky. Anything coming at us from any angle would stick out like a pork chop at a vegan convention.

I couldn’t see a thing.

But something was wrong. There was a threat somewhere.

The flock was now aware of my unease, including Fang, who immediately stood and looked around himself.Iggy instinctively came closer to the rest of us, moving unerringly over the rugged terrain.

Fang completed his surveillance and raised one dark eyebrow at me. I shrugged and frowned. We both stood still, using all our senses to assess our safety.

“Fang?” askedBrigid. After another look at me, Fang turned and went back to her. I tried to focus on the neat shell Nudge was holding out, and the large tooth of something that the Gasman had found.

But I could only give them half my attention.

Something was wrong, and sooner rather than later, I would find out what it was.

You are reading Fang’sBlog. Welcome!

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Yo, faithful readers. You know, when I was a kid, my big ambition was to someday not live in a dog crate. Some kids aim high, I don’t know. But here’s a thought, for those of you who haven’t decided on a big ambition: How about being a scientist?

I know, we all think Bill Nye the Science Guy. Or maybe Dr. Bunsen Burner from that kids’ show with the Muppets. But being a scientist (not the evil kind, obviously) can be awesome. I know, because I’ve met some non-evil scientists recently.

Right now we’re working with a bunch of scientists that rock the house. One of them is only a little older than me, and not at allgeekified. I have to say, a chick who’s super smart and super brave, dedicated to her work, wanting to help people, save the world- well, there’s nothing hotter than that.

So if you’re not a totalwastoid, consider checking out science. We’regonna need all the help we can get to save what’s left of the planet. It’ll be up to us. We’ll need to have some real skills, real tools. Remember my “Useful Jobs” list from before? There were a lot of jobs on it that could help us in the future. Put down your air guitars, quit pretending to walk down a fashion runway. Go review it.

Slimfan3 from Jacksonville writes:

What about all those guys who were after you?

Well, Slimfan3, either they haven’t found us yet, or they all got wiped out. Either way, the past week has been a primo vacation. If you like cold weather.

– Fang

MissLolofrom Tulsa writes:

Are you and Maxgonna get married anytime soon? ‹Blushes.›

Uh,MissLolo? We’re fourteen years old. We think. Who knows how much longer we’ll be around? Who knows where we’ll end up? We don’t plan more than a day or two ahead.

– Fang

Googleblobfrom Holy Oak, CA, writes:

– Fangalator-

Dude, you are the coolest. Iwanna get a tat of your wings on my back. Like, life-size.

Googleblob, unless your back is fourteen feet across, you are out of luck, my friend.

– Fang. Just Fang

S.Haarter from Johannesburg writes:

I really like hearing @ the stuff u rdoin to save the planet. U r my hero. I mgonna txt u apic of me. [picdeleted] I m readingurblog 2 my science class as my ecology project. Keep it up!

Your #1 fan.

“FANG… ALATOR?” I snickered.

Fang shot me a glance, then continued unlacing his polar boots. I couldn’t believe he’d written a wholeblog about Dr. Amazing and Her Quest to Save the World. I mean, excuse me, but who’s been saving the world for the past several months? That would be me. Do I get ablog entry? No. Who beat the Omega blockhead, back in Germany? Dr. Amazing? No.

“You’re just mad because I wrote aboutBrigid,” he said, tugging off a boot, and I pulled back, stung.

“I am not! I don’t even read yourblog! You can write about whoever you want!”

Fang looked at me. “You can’t have it both ways, Max,” he said. “You blow me off every chance you get, but then you get mad if I talk to someone else.”

“I do n-,” I began hotly, but then realized that was exactly what I did. My face flushed, and I shut my mouth. I didn’t even know what we were fighting about.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” I blustered, but Fang didn’t crack a smile.

“I said that we would never split up again,” Fang said, and my heart leaped in panic. “And I meant it. We have to keep the flock together to survive. But you might want to think about cutting me a break now and then.”

He gave me a last, long look that I could hardly stand, afraid of what I might see in it. Turning, he began to duck out the low doorway whenGazzy raced up, breathing hard.

“I can’t find Angel anywhere,” he panted.

“Maybe she’s just out flying,” I said.

“She would have told someone,”Gazzy said. “Total’s gone too. Maybe they went walking or something, but it’s getting bad out there- listen to that wind.” He pointed toward the window, and then I realized that the awful wailing and shrieking that I had assumed was just me, panicking inside my head, was actually outside, and weather caused.

We heard voices out in the hall, and then Michael Papa leaned through our doorway. “IsAkila in here, by any chance? Last I saw, she was outside with Total and Angel, but that was an hour ago. Have they checked in with you?”