Disclaimer: Even though I wish I did, I don't own Maximum Ride or any of the characters in it.

A/N: I haven't written many FanFics. So if I mess up, or you disagree with how the story is going, or you disagree with how the characters are acting, then put it in a review. I'm not perfect, people and bird kids make mistakes. I apologize in advance. I don't even know why I'm writing this. Nobody reads this anyway. It's kinda just therapy for me.

(Max's POV)

The first thing I remember is a masked face staring down at me. I don't know how old I was at the time; probably around two. I had never seen daylight, only the fluorescent overhead lights that shone down on the medical table. My wings (yes, I have wings. Not a big deal. Get over it.) had never been used. The only non-forced movement was the two inches I could move inside the dog crate.

Why is a two-year-old living in a dog crate? you ask.

I have been asking myself the same question for my whole life. It's not like anyone would know that I was missing. After all, I'm most likely a test tube baby. I was born in a lab, "raised" in a dog crate, and taught life lessons from, well, no one. So I don't know anything about good and evil except that the whitecoats, as I call them, are evil.

I'm not the only genetic experiment. As far as other winged humans, there are two males, one with dark hair and dark eyes, one with strawberry-blonde hair and blue eyes. We're some of the longest-lasting around here. The cat-snake combo didn't turn out so well. Neither did the human-pufferfish. None of them ever survived, whether it was respiratory issues, eating conflicts, or vulnerability to disease, all the other experiments failed. I don't know which is better: to be the one to survive and watch the usually horrible deaths, or to be the one to die the horrible death.

Actually, I do know. My goal in life is to survive. Survival is key. Maybe that's why I'm a success: because I want to live. I want to make it out of this alive, even if it means going through terrible things.

I may only have been two at the time, but I was going to fight to get out of lab, fight to survive.

A/N- I realize that that was super short and boring, but I need to set up the next part. Remember to review and favorite!