The Final Warning (Maximum Ride 4)

“Nope,” I said quietly.

He stared at the table, then shook his head. “I’m still — I still can’t see squat. No vision. Nothing.” He reached out his hand, moving it slowly until he felt his cup. “But this cup is blue.”

Gazzy pushed over another cup. “What’s this one?”

Iggy felt for it, then closed his hand around it. “Yellow?”

“Yeah,” Fang said. “How about this?” He put the pizza menu into Iggy’s hand. “What color is it?”

“Green?” Iggy asked. “It feels green.”

No one said anything for a while as we digested this new development. I remembered what Jeb had said, about how we might be mutating on our own, without planning. Nudge seemed to be thinking the same thing. She timidly reached out her hand, and when it was a few inches away, her fork flew into her grasp.

“Have you guys been playing in toxic waste again?” Fang asked severely, putting his hands on his hips.

Nudge giggled. “No.”

“Been bitten by a radioactive spider?” Fang went on. “Struck by lightning? Drink a super-soldier serum?”

“No, no, no,” said Iggy. He started reaching for things around the table, and his hand landed on Total. “You’re black.”

“I prefer canine-American,” said Total. “When’s that pie coming? I’m starving.”

“What about me?” Nudge asked, putting Iggy’s hand on her face.

He smiled. “You’re sort of a chocolate-milk-slash-coffee color,” he said in wonder.

“Like, mocha,” said Gazzy.

So there you go. Iggy had a new, unexpected skill, like Nudge. Would we all develop them? Surely nothing more could happen to Angel — she was pretty much already loaded for bear in terms of special powers.

The rest of us would have to wait and see.

Then the doorbell rang, and we all leaped up. Dinner!

11

THE FLOCK STOOD out of sight of the door while Jeb answered it. A short guy in a red shirt stood there holding a large stack of pizza boxes. Jeb paid him, and the guy handed over the pizzas and hurried back to his car. Mom took the boxes, and Jeb shut and locked the door. The flock came out of hiding as if we were Munchkins and the good witch Glinda had just showed up.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Nudge breathed, almost jumping up and down. The incredible smell of pizza filled the room.

Mom put the boxes on the table and opened one. “Who got the extra pepperoni and mushrooms?”

“Me, me!” I said, feeling my stomach rumble.

My mom reached into the box, and Gazzy grabbed her arm and said, “Wait!”

“Get away from that pizza!” I ordered Gazzy, moving closer. “Yours is probably next.”

“No,” said Gazzy, a stricken look on his face. “Look!” He pointed into the pizza box, and when I looked closely, I could see a tiny bit of green wire sticking out from under the thick Sicilian crust.

“Take cover!” I yelled, and then we all dove.

Everything flashed brilliant white, and then a huge kaboom! practically punctured my eardrums. I was lying on the floor behind the couch, and Fang was behind me, his arms around me, one hand covering my face. There was a bit of crackling, and then the weird post-explosion silence that sounds much louder than ordinary silence. Slight fluttering sounds told me that bits of stuff were floating to the ground.

“You okay?” Fang said, but my ears were blown and muffled, and it sounded as though he was speaking through a pillow. I nodded and scrambled up.

“Report!” I said, then instantly choked on the fine dust that filled the air. I started coughing hard, tears streaming down my face, and every time I took a breath, I sucked in more dust and coughed more.