Chapter III

Decisions

Her curly, red hair was pulled up into a high ponytail. It swished from side to side as she worked. Her skin had been tanned from the summer, and was only now beginning to pale. Her green eyes danced over Max as she watched him intently. He felt blush creeping onto his cheeks, and he hoped it wasn't visible to her. Her full lips were coated in a light fuchsia color, and they turned into a smile as she watched him. Her button nose didn't match her attitude, but it matched her outlook well. She wasn't extremely curvy, but she had enough so it was obvious she was a female. Her breasts were at least a B cup and her butt was flatter (not that he checked).

The white sweater she wore complimented her curves and chest, and the bootcut jeans showed off her hips and thighs. Her boots were hidden under her jeans, which ended about four inches above her ankle. They added about three inches to her five foot five height, and were a light gray color. Her finger nails were done in a french style, which went well with her sweater.

"Max," she called, looking at him.

He hummed in response, staring her directly in the eye. She shook her head, a smile flirting on her lips. "Aren't we going to finish this homework, Max?"

He blinked, and then looked at the physics project they had to do. He sighed. "Hannah, do you really want to do this?"

Hannah laughed at his question. She bopped him on the nose and moved closer to him, but not close enough for them to be kissing, much to Max's dismay. "You really don't like school, huh?"

Max shrugged. "What can I say? I just don't think I'll need it that much in the future."

Hannah frowned at his comment, but didn't push it. She sighed before walking off to go back to her desk. Max's gaze followed her before he turned back down to his work. He sighed as he pushed the paper to the front of his desk. He hated calculating the mass of an object and then applying that to how long it'd take it to hit the ground.

Max's mind drifted back to that night one week ago. It was nearing the end of November, and snow was already beginning to fall. Max knew he'd have to leave soon, but where, he didn't know. Best case he had two days before blizzards hit, and he wanted to be out of New York by then. However, he had yet to decide on the best place to go to. A sixteen year old who had yet to graduate high school out in the real world did not seem like a very appealing thing to most employers, and he knew he might have to work at fast food places and live in motels for a large chunk of his life.

Perhaps he'd make his way down to Arizona. It was way hotter than New York, but he didn't always like the snow anyways. Not only that, but it was close to California, and optimal place for the beach. However, he didn't like the beach because of the various different disasters it brought along with it. Not only that, but California was on a fault line. Texas and Arizona were practically the same, however the same thing with the beach and the fact that it was a huge state and takes hours to get through. The only thing that seemed to worry Arizonans was monsoons and droughts. Max nodded, deciding on what he wanted to do. It'd take a while to get there, but he'd make it eventually.

He set his pencil down, not needing to do his work anymore. He sat there for fifteen minutes until the bell rang, and then he bolted out the door, leaving his work behind.

Maria was waiting for him so they could walk out of school together. When he got to her, she raised an eyebrow. "You look anxious to get out of school."

"Don't you know me? I love getting out of school."

She rolled her eyes. "More so than usual, Maxwell."

Max frowned. She never called him by his first name. Maria smiled lightly at him. "Killian's younger brother is coming back to school." She hummed.

"Brady?"

Maria nodded. Max felt a pang in his chest when she smiled as happily as she did when she heard his name. He looked forward.

Brady was Killian's brother. He was the same age as them, and he was currently in Colorado at a prestigious private school. Max didn't know him as well, but he had heard he was ten times better than Killian, and was just as wanted.

Max exhaled softly so Maria couldn't hear. He would be gone by the time Brady got back. Perhaps there was a chance Brady was coming tomorrow and he might be able to see him arrive as he departed, but then again that was unlikely.

Once they arrived at the point in their journey where they parted ways, Max engulfed Maria in a hug. She seemed shocked at first, but she eventually hugged him back. "You okay, Max?"

"I hope to see you again, Maria." He said, burying his face into the top of her head.

There was no reply from her as she sat there, most likely confused. Once Max released her, he went his way and she went her way. Maybe, one day, they'd meet again.

****

Max shoved some of his clothes into the backpack he was going to use. As soon as he had the clothes, he sneaked towards the kitchen and grabbed some food and water bottles. His mother and father were seated in the living room, watching some television show.

After getting the food put in his backpack as well, he went out in the living room. His mother smiled at him as he entered the room. "Hey, Honey."

His father looked up. He had the same dark hair as Max, except his was cut in such a way to finish off the businessman physique he worked hard to create. It was mostly parted towards the left, but a small bit was parted to the right. His eyes were the same blue as Max, however they didn't seem as beautiful as his. Sure, they were blue, but they were almost a boring blue. His nose was longer and pointed, and it hooked, making almost a bird beak, or witch nose. His skin was the same tan color, however he was built. Of course, Max still had time to grow into his body, hopefully.

He wore his lounging clothes at the moment. A gray t-shirt that he typically slept in with sweatpants that matched it perfectly. His socks were the same gray color, so from a distance it looked like he was wearing a onesie. He had on his glasses because he must have taken his contacts out at some point.

Max smiled at his parents before going into the kitchen and grabbing some Flavor Blasted Goldfish to consume. His father suddenly called him out into the living room. He walked out, and stood in front of his parents. "Max, your grades seem to be falling past C's."

He shrugged. "I'll work harder."

His father sighed. "Max, I-"

"Sorry, I have to go do homework. I'll see you later?"

His mother smiled gently at him. "Of course, Max."

Max made his way back to his bedroom, sadness still plaguing his mind and body. Sighing, he sat down on the double bed that he had. Suddenly, a raven landed on his window sill. It looked like a normal raven, except its eyes were a rich, golden color, almost like golden nuggets. Max walked over and opened his window slowly, so the raven wouldn't leave.

"You must have a very simple life, right? I mean, compared to mine your life is as simple as how to make PB and J."

The raven cocked his head to the side. Max smiled, assuming it wanted him to elaborate. "Well, since no one else will get my problems, then I might as well tell you."

And so he did. He told the raven everything from his birthday to today. He told it about the kidnapped kids and how even though he disliked some of them, he still missed them. He told it all about how the weird people were stalking him even before he got his powers, and he told it about the night they made themselves clear that they wanted him out of there.

After he finished telling it everything, the raven flapped its wings and flew into his room. Max jumped back. "W-what are you-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the raven closed its eyes, and it began to grow. Its wings lost their wing look and grew more into an arm shape. His legs became human and he grew hips and a human torso. His neck stretched out and his beak shrunk down into both a mouth and a nose. His eyes opened. They were still gold and they became more human shaped. His feathers were replaced with pale skin,however his hair was the same black of his feathers. He had on a long, black sweater with black jeans and black high tops. Max blinked as he stared at the person. He looked slightly familiar, and Max knew why.

"K- Killian?"

****

Killian sat on Max's bed as Max sat at his desk, staring at him. Killian blinked as he stared at his feet. Finally, he looked up. "I know you must be confused as to why I am here, and how I did that."

Max shook his head. "You're like me, right? And those people threatened you as well, right?"

He nodded, his golden eyes portraying no emotion. "Yes."

"What about the other three who were supposedly 'kidnapped'?"

Killian sighed. "They are, in a sense, like us. However, we all have our own powers that make us unique. At the moment, we only know of five, including you and myself."

"How do you know another one has been found?"

"Well, that's a little harder to explain. Though, one of us tends to have a dream revolving around the person, and then that person does something out of the ordinary. Like, for example, Piper had a dream about you performing something with Water. I had one about Piper when she discovered her abilities, Asher about me, and Jasmine about Asher."

Max nodded. "So, you all live together?"

Killian looked up, as if pondering what to say next. "In a sense, yes. When I left, I took my money set aside for college and used it to purchase a small area of land out in a more obscure place and we built a small setup that allows us to have a place to sleep and eat. Every week we send someone out to purchase food."

"Where do you get the money from?"

"Well, I either take a small amount out of my parents funds, or if they are beginning to get suspicious, then we have to steal a small amount out of banks."

Max's eyes widened. "Thievery?"

Killian nodded, sadness gracing his pale face. "Yes. We resort to just about anything in order to stop the Snake Demons."

That caught Max's attention. "'Snake Demons'? What are those, exactly?"

The other man sighed. He clasped his hands together and leaned forward, resting his chin on his arms to stabilize himself. "Snake Demons are a race of Monsters. They are the only ones we know of so far, and they are pretty aggressive. Their main goal is to make the whole earth exactly like them."

"They can infect humans?"

"Only the leader and his two advisers. All the Pure Blood Snake Demons are extinct, killed by their Half Blood brethren. Half Bloods are ones that used to be humans. Pure Bloods are ones born as Snake Demons."

Max sighed, running his hands over his face as he digested this information. "Who is the leader and his advisors?"

Killian looked away. "Jacob Kidd is a private in the army, Hannah Lee is a general-"

"Hannah is a Snake Demon?" Max asked, his chest tightening.

"Yes, she is. One of the more crazy ones, as well. Blood thirsty, definitely. She turns a ton of people too."

Max nodded, looking down. "Continue, please."

Killian nodded, eyeing him warily. "And the Leader is Christopher Browne."

"Browne?" Max cried out, looking up.

"Yes, Chris is the leader. We aren't sure if he has ever turn anyone, but he certainly loves his job and fighting us."

Max inhaled sharply. "Well? What are we waiting for? We have Snake Demons to stop."