Book 1: Missing Angel; Part 3

Edited as of 10/27/25

Climbing up a tree was in fact far harder than he thought. Nudge, the darker skinned girl had helped him up. He nearly fell, but gripped the branch tightly. They were nearly forty feet up.

“You’re a bird kid, and yet you’re afraid of heights.” Said the little boy, who he now knew was Gazzy, or the Gasman.

“Well, he’s been caged. Not his fault.” Said Iggy, the tall guy. “You’ll get the hang of it.”

Max studied him closely. She was curious, but she knew to keep her distance. “So we have the pin code to the card, so money isn’t a problem for now… but we still figure out who our parents are, and where they might be.”

“Can that wait for in the morning? I’m tired.” Angel said, rubbing her eyes. She was still gripping that angel bear.

Max hesitated, feeling guilty for not paying for it. “…Alrighty. Let’s get some rest.”

“In this tree? We have money! Why not… a hotel?”

The rest of the flock hesitated.

Fang answered. “If we go to a hotel, that makes it easier for Erasers to catch us. This tree means we can escape easily.”

“Oh.” Digi said, feeling kind of stupid. “I guess… I can try to sleep here. If I could sleep under a bench, this should be better, right?”

“That’s the spirit.” Iggy said, making himself comfy.

Digi laid there, watching as everyone else fell asleep. They seemed so used to it, hardship. He hugged his tree branch a little harder, and sighed before closing his eyes.

---

“It is unlawful to climb trees in Central Park,” Shouted a voice, jolting him awake and nearly making him fall out of the tree.

Luckily Fang was there quickly, likely reflex, grabbing his ankle just before he was about to fall. “I got you!”

“Act natural. Climb down then run, got it! Digi, grab that branch and maneuver carefully.” Max ordered, and everyone else fell in line.

Digi climbed down, ungraceful but quickly. He had heard about cops and he already wasn’t fond of them.

He stood behind them all, starting to back away cautiously, gripping his bag tightly.

“We’ll have to take you to the station to call your folks.”

The whole flock grimaced, and then started properly backing off.

“Celeste!” Angel shouted, going to grab the little bear. She ran to grab it, and so did two cops.

Max grabbed her wrist, and Angel fought her every step of the way. She picked the girl up, hefting her over her shoulders. “Let’s go!” She then bounded forwards, and the flock followed.

Luckily Digi was able to keep up, thank God for endurance testing. As they ran, he quickly realized that they were going down a one way street the wrong way. Meaning, a dead end.

“What’s that?” Called Nudge.

“It’s a church. Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.” Max replied. The cops would hesitate to burst into a church…

“Sanctuary.” Fang said in a near whisper.

And that was all she needed to hear.

They slowed down, blending into the crowd. Then filed into the church. Max put Angel down at that point, holding her hand tightly.

Digi noticed the two whispering, and then the little blonde went and kneeled in a pew. The flock filed in after her, kneeling as well, hands clasped. Fang seemed to be his official keeper, sitting to his left.

Nudge started to pray, then the rest followed.

He could hear the others, but Fang was more quiet. He hadn’t closed his eyes, choosing to keep them open. Digi was too paranoid to close his eyes.

“I guess…I want to be a really good flyer one day…and really, truly be free.” He said, voice a whisper. “Real freedom.”

Fang made a hum in agreement.

Max turned to him then. “Should we—?” Her voice cut off, instead letting out a pained noise. Her eyes squeezed shut.

She sat like that for a minute or two, before opening them slowly.

The flock was staring at her, worry in their eyes.

“Can you walk?” Fang asked, but his face showed no signs of worry.

The group headed out, and luckily there were no signs of cops.

“I saw thirty first street in my head. And a bunch of numbers.” Max explained, still looking sick. She said little else, and the flock decided to head down all of thirtyfirst street.

Digi looked around their surroundings again, and started walking, not paying attention to where they were going.

Fang noticed him, and slowed down to match his pace. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah… It’s just… this is a lot. Three days ago I had a bed and everything was so clear.”

“I get it. We weren’t always on the streets. We had a home once too. Erasers took it away from us.” Fang said, quietly. “I can’t understand exactly what you’re feeling, but I know what it’s like to lose what you knew before.”

Digi looked ahead. “So what’s the mission? Stay on the run? Hide? Find somewhere safe?”

“That’s the end goal. For now, we’re looking for a building that has info on our birth parents.”

“Oh. I already sorta know about mine. I know what state they live in too.” He admitted quietly. “They don’t want me. They gave me up to the school.”

Fang felt something else pang in his heart. What was this? Empathy, pity? It was something about Digi’s strangely red eyes, wide and soft, that made him feel… something. He frowned. “Well, then they suck. You’re leagues above them, remember that. I’m sure after a while, we’ll come around to you as a member of our flock.”

Digi smiled and the sun hit his brown skin in a way that made it glow. Fang felt his heart do that weird thing again. His face twitched, almost into a different expression. Other than blank indifference. This was going to end up being a problem. They stayed behind the group, watching their backs in case Erasers showed up.

The two had begun to form a sort of quiet understanding. Fang realized quickly that Digi was knowledgeable in random things, but severely lacked social skills. And that they could read each other, a simple gesture and they both understood. He was awkward, and seemed uncomfortable being surrounded by so many people at once.

So he stepped a little closer, shielding him from the strangers.

“Is this it?” Iggy said after well over half an hour of walking.

Max nodded. “Yep! This is it. Are we ready?”

“Aye aye captain.”

The flock marched up the steps together, pushing the revolving door open. They looked around, spotting a board with a list of companies.

Max, the leader, spoke up, asking the lady at the front desk.

Digi caught the eyes of the security guard. The man stared, gaze narrowing in. The tips of his fingers began to itch then, and he felt like things were going to get messy, fast.

He was right of course, when the receptionist's computer began to freak out. And Digi mentally prepared to run again.

Max started pushing them through the revolving door, getting a move on. Once free from the door, they started to run.

They stopped running after about ten minutes, pausing to breathe.

Gazzy then grit his teeth, face red with anger. He punched a mailbox hard, leaving a fist shaped dent in it.

“This stinks!” he yelled. “Nothing ever goes right! We get hassled everywhere! Max’s head is busted, Angel lost Celeste, we’re all hungry—I hate this! I hate everything!”

The flock stared at him in shock. They’d never seen him this angry.

Max frowned, and went to comfort him, soothing him.

Digi looked towards Fang, and it seemed that the two of them were likely going to be sharing looks as the two introverts of the group. The other teen only shrugged. Their eyes said everything.

He kept close to his dark haired flock member, and although he had no ill feeling towards anyone else, it was as if he had a gut feeling. He’d been alone for so long, that the first person he now had regular interactions with, he felt connected too. Even if it had only been a day or too. Sue him, he was deeply lonely.

They somehow ended up back near Central Park, looking for somewhere nice to eat.

There was a nice looking diner but it was far too crowded.

Gazzy spotted a place with huge glass windows, surrounded by the trees. He grinned. “This looks great!”

The older kids, aside from Digi, looked nervous. A big, flashy, expensive building full of adults was not their idea of fun. But Max looked at Nudge, Angel, Gazzy and Digi, who were wide eyed and curious, and she folded.

“Uh… okay.” She said, smiling nervously.

Fang held in a grimace, before opening the heavy glass door and motioning for everyone to step inside. He finally stepped inside, and barely held back his awe in how beautiful this place was. The three different dining rooms were all beautiful.

Max spoke to the hostess, looking nervous. “Oh it’s just us. Can we have a table for seven please? I’m treating everyone with my birthday money.”

The woman seemed concerned but nodded.

The flock was sat in the Castle Room, a large room with high rafters, and a fireplace big enough to roast a pig in.

Digi had only seen a place this nice online, when the researchers let him have his limited internet time. He felt so fancy.

“Max, this is so so cool!” Nudge said excitedly. “This is the nicest place we’ve ever eaten!”

He couldn’t help but agree. Usually his meals were bland food bars or unseasoned meats and grains. He is a bird of prey, so he mostly eats dead animals. At least, he’s supposed to. Then he realizes something. If these guys eat as much as he does, he needs to warn them. “Hey uh… we should only order a little at a time… I remember ordering a lot at a stall once, and the guy got super mad at me…”

“That’s a good idea.” Max says. “Order light, we can get more later. The more natural we act, the better.”

The flock nods, understanding. Then a short waiter with slickedback red hair, was then standing near Iggy. “Hello, are you all waiting for your parents?”

“No, just us.”

The server, Jason, frowned. “Are you ready to order?”

“Yes! Can I get an order of chicken tenders? And a glass of milk? Oh! And fries please.” Gazzy said, excited. He had a big grin on his face.

“I’ll have a hot fudge sundae!” Angel said next, practically bouncing in her seat.

“Real food first, we can get dessert later.”

Angel shrugged. “Okay. We’re not spoiled rich brats by the way, we’re just hungry… Can I get the same thing as him? But with lemonade instead of milk.” She pointed at her brother.

Jason nodded, slowly, cheeks reddening. He started writing things down.

“Nudge? What about you?”

The girl squealed. “This lasagna primavera! It comes with salad right? And bread? Some milk too, okay?”

After Nudge, Max started to speak. “Can I get the mapleglazed roast pork loins? With the cabbage and potatoes and everything? I’d also like an iced tea with that.” She then turned to Fang, gesturing for him to go next.

Fang cleared his throat. “The lobster bisque. And a big bottle of water.”

“The spaghetti and meatballs.” Iggy said immediately after. Gazzy had helped him read the menu.

“That’s on the children's menu. For our patrons twelve and under.” Said the waiter, all snide and condescending.

Iggy scowled back, brow furrowing.

“How about the rack of lamb? It comes with potatoes, spinach and a nice merlot rosemary sauce.”

Iggy sighed, but nodded. “That, and a glass of milk with bread.”

Then Jason looked towards Digi, who had been silent. “... The prime rib. Extra rare. None of the sides except extra bread. And an iced tea please.”

“Will that be all?” Jason said slowly, eyeing them all. “This will cost a lot of money.”

Max pulled out her bank card, making the server’s jaw drop. “Trust me. I can pay for it. You got all that down?”

The stocky man nodded slowly, reading their order back before nodding and walking off.

“I love this place,” Fang said deadpan, before anxiously tapping his fingers against the table.

“Did we still order too much?” Angel asked.

“No, that was a normal people order. He might just be freaking out because we don’t have any adults with us.” Max replied, sighing.

Another person stopped by with three baskets of bread and little dishes of olive oil. She looked at them suspiciously too.

Max grimaced, fingers curling into the white tablecloth. She was mentally mapping out an exit in case things went wrong.

After twenty or so minutes, Jason actually returned with their orders. He still eyed them warily, but didn’t say much else.

The flock dug in quickly, finishing their first course within ten minutes. When Jason returned to check on them, he gaped.

“Can we place another order?” Max said, holding up her card again. “We know this is a lot, so if you wanna make sure I can really pay, you can run my card right now.”

His jaw remained open, before it snapped close. “Alright.” He took her card, then returned minutes later with it. “What would you like for your second orders?”

This time, the flock went a little heartier with the food. Jason said nothing, having understood now. He went away, and again, he returned with their second course of the night.

Digi looked towards Fang, who was busy chowing down on a prime rib himself. This time, he had gotten a lobster bisque. “This is pretty good… I’ve never had lobster before.”

“Me neither. This prime rib is great. Nice and juicy.” Fang replied, nodding. “Ya know, I was worried things were gonna go south but…”

Iggy tensed. “Finish eating. Fast. I hear sirens.”

Jason returned and Max quickly paid again, the flock shoving food down their throats. At least they got to eat first. He returned moments later, and Max inwardly prepared for them to get going.

Shortly after he came back, the cops showed up.

She had thought that the kitchens would have been a great escape route, if the cops hadn’t shown up from there. Dang it!

“Up and away?” Fang asked.

She sighed. “Up and away everyone.”

A female cop began making her way towards them. “Right kids. You have to come with us. We’ll call your folks down at the station.” Max noted that this was one of the same cops that yelled at them when they were sleeping in the trees.

Max jumped up on a chair, stepping onto their table, her wings unfolding quickly. She fumbled for a moment, before rising into the air. Angel joined her, then Iggy, then Gazzy, then Nudge, and then Fang. Finally, after getting his jacket off, Digi joined them too.

Fang noticed he was struggling, so held his hand to pull him up.

Digi hated the way his cheeks felt hot at the touch.

“Thanks for the food!” Gazzy said, chewing some of the leftover bread.

Fang looked desperately for an exit, before pointing at one of the stained glass skylights. “Up here!” He let go of Digi’s hand for a moment, and then flew straight through the window. It burst, sprinkling the diners below with rainbow glass.

Digi followed right behind him, yelping. Fang was there, ensuring he didn’t go crashing into anything else. “I got you, remember to flap.”

Iggy and Nudge flew out quickly behind them.

“Angel go!” Max shouted, ushering her out. “You too Gaz!” Gazzy soared upwards after snatching someone's discarded eclair. She made sure everyone was out and in the air, before following. She knew this was a mistake, that they were probably gonna pay for revealing themselves in a restaurant.

But the astonished looks, the gaping mouths and wide eyes were almost worth it.