Author's note:

I will admit this is a rather strange story, it started as a dream that later built itslef to have a real plot with real charecters and so on, in my head.

This is a very long chapter and I apologize for that, I had a long time to write it and no time to seperate it into different chapters so for that I apoligize.

There is a little language in this, simply because... well Max has a fowl mouth(pun intended), so excuse that too, please and thank you.

Also the name "Ella Meadows" is simply a pen name, not my real name at all.


"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair."
- Douglas Adams

Max's POV

"Mom?" I asked tentatively, my heart rushing. The blood was pumping so fast through my veins that it felt like liquid fire, and I was hyperventilating. I'm part bird I just don't do that.

"Yeah Max?" she said. Keeping her hands gripping the steering wheel of the prius so hard I thought it would break. I loved this car. It was great for sneaking up on people and just scaring the crap out of them when we honked the wimpy little horn. Note to self, ask Iggy to build a new horn for this car.

"Do I have to go to this?" I asked. Ella had dolled me up for this dance. By what I had heard from the kids at school, dances are "social events" where you cram about 400 or so sweaty teens into a gym and have them jump up and down. Fun.

"Yes Max, you do have to go." She said, her grip was loosening on the steering wheel. "It'll be fun."

Damn. Was all I could think.

You can slow dance with Fang. "Mom, Angel is in the back of the car."

"Oh, ummm Angel honey? It's illegal to not have a seatbelt on in this state." Yeah we were in the lovely state of Utah. The air in Salt Lake City is awful at best and the air is so dry. And the snow, don't even get me started on the snow. I just may hate it as much as my friend Megan does, but even she finds joy out of the first snow fall of the year.

"Oh, sorry. Oooooo, look at the snow." Angel said pressing her nose to the window. You would think that she would be sick of it after being in Antarctica, but noooo snowflakes the size of lifesavers just always caught her attention. "Max, can we make snowmen tomorrow?" she said pulling away from the window, there was a snow Angel nose print. A big ugly grease mark on the window.

Now some of you might be wondering what's going on here. Well Jeb sent us to Salt Lake to lay low because well, because "Nothing bad happens in Utah." A lot of bad happens here, but Jeb found us a nice house in a good neighborhood with a good school, he even gave my mom a prius. We all agreed to go to school for one semester, and enjoy being a normal kid for those long five months.

"Angel, the snow doesn't stick together here, you can't make snowmen, unless the humidity goes up… but that's unlikely, you can go snowshoeing." Said Megan, she was a Salt Lake native, born and raised here.

Megan, my friend, was sitting next to me. She had managed to straighten her long dark brown hair. She had the build of a dancer, you know long legs, long arms, and lean muscle. I could guess that she was pretty. You know how Iggy can see only if he's snow blinded? Well yeah he caught a glimpse of her a little while ago and hasn't shut up about it since. Megan is patient and gentle, and well she loves my flock like her own, so she spends practically every spare moment with them. Don't get me wrong, I like her a lot and she bakes good cookies, but it'll be hard when we have to leave to go, you know to like save the world.

One of these days I'm going to have to tell her what's up with us. You know the wings the hollow bones everything. That's going to be the tough thing to do.

The first slow song was a nightmare, Fang asked me do dance. Neither of us knew how to, so we had to ask Megan, because cell phones weren't allowed so I couldn't call Ella.

"You put your hands on his shoulders… or around his neck if you want to be closer, Max." Iggy had asked her to dance and they were swaying lightly to the beat. Left, right, left, right, left, right. He looked so happy. "Then Fang, you put your hands on her hips and ta dah you're dancing!" She had to scream over the music, and the chatter of other kids.

"Don't you think we should tell her?" Fang said, leaning his head in close to mine. A teacher gave him the eye and he pulled back just an inch.

"No."

"Why?"

"What if she's working for… well whoever is after us now?"

"What if she isn't. She loves us like she's one of the flock Max. Just think about it, okay?"

"Fine." I huffed.


Fangs's POV

"Whenever you see Max do you get this fluttery feeling in your gut, Fang?" Iggy asked.

"Uhhh, kind of." I said. "Why?"

"Ummm, there's just this girl…"

"Let me guess, Megan?" I said. Iggy didn't stop talking about her… ever. I wasn't like that with Max, but then again, we're different people.

"Yeah." He said dreamily, his sightless eyes drifted up to the full moon.

"Ig, we won't be here forever. Don't get too attached." I said.

"I… she… maybe…"

"Ig, please. Unless for some reason it turns out she's like us, forget about her."

"but."

"If you want to tell her it goes through Max, and right now she doesn't want to."


Megan's POV

I smiled. I was kind of quiet, but I can be chatty if I want to be.

"Megan?" Max said, her voice was hushed.

"Hmmm?"

"I got to… I need to… can I tell you… aww forget it." Strangely enough she did this quite often.

"Max, I trust you, can you trust me?" I said.

"Do you want to hurt me or the flock?" her voice was stone cold, quite frankly it scared me. It reminded me of some battle worn soldier suspecting an enemy.

"What… Max I would never… FLOCK?!" flock is for a group of birds is there the possibility of them being… oh forget it.

"Crap, I've blown it now."
"Blown what? Max I don't like secrets… at all. Tell me please." I don't like secrets I don't really like people who feel like they have to hide something… people like me.


Max's POV

"What if you're… what if I…" I said

"What if Max, what if doesn't get you anywhere!" both Megan and the voice said in unison. "What if I'm some alien, what if you're a mutant?" How did she know?

"You…"

"Max, first Iggy has some weird feathery feeling mass on his back and Angel can't weigh more than 30 pounds and I know you're not anorexic, then you start using the word flock instead of family. Max what's going on, because if you don't tell me, so help me God, but I will figure it out." She said, she was hurt I could tell, she was hurt and scared. And was trying to cover it up by being mad.

"Megan, I" I started. "Megan we're… Megan, We're part bird."


Iggy's POV

"Why didn't you tell me sooner!" I heard someone scream, the person was scared.

"I… Megan… you don't understand." Max said, she seemed hurt.

"You don't know that!" I heard Megan scream, she sure was loud, then I heard sobbing. "Why don't you trust me?!"

"Megan, you could be… you could have been… you could have hurt…"

"I thought I knew you! I thought… I don't get it." I heard another sob. "Why does this always happen to me!"


Angel's POV

I was perched just outside the window where Megan and Max were having their screaming match.

I not only heard every word but also their thoughts. Max was swearing like a sailor, I tried to block out the swear words and this is what I got **** I didn't ****** tell her, God damn it!!! I'm such an *** ****!!! Max swears a lot. Megan was thinking more stuff like this I can't believe… Yeah you can Megan, stuff like this always happens. Remember, you've had all kinds of mutants for friends remember those other bird kids?... Yeah I do, I gave them bacon and they flew off! Does she have a voice in her head too? No it all sounded like the same voice to me.

That sure was some colorful language, Max. I said to Max.

"Angel, so help me have you heard this whole thing?"

Yeah.

"Angel is here? Angel, sweetie, where are you?"

I'm right here.

"Holy… what was that?!"

"Oh yeah." Max said, her voice was just dripping with sarcasm like it does. "Angel can read minds and is telepathic."


Max's POV

"Oh my Go-" the window shattered. Angel screamed then Megan screamed then I felt a small pinch on my shoulder and was feeling drowsy. Awwww sh then I was out.


Total's POV

Max hit the ground with a loud thud. I tried to stay as close to the wall as was physically possible for a talking dog with wings.

That Megan girl was out cold and under the arm of one of those ninja things, as compared to my superior knowledge these things were as dumb as rocks. There really was nothing I could do to save her, I'm just a dog, and with Angel and Max out, well I was useless. So silently I hoped that she would stay alive long enough for us to find her.

They loaded her into a helicopter and flew off. "This is bad." I said. "This is really bad."


Ella's POV

My cell was ringing I looked at the number. This is so weird, why is Megan calling me? "Hello? Megan, what's wrong. Is Max okay?"

"Ella, it is Max." Max said coldly, but she sounded on the verge of tears.

"Max what's wrong, you and Megan get in a fight?"

"Yeah, but that's not the reason I stole her cell phone." Max said, I could hear her crying. "They took her, she's gone, Ella." Her voice cracked. "Angel's out cold and Total just told me what happened."

"Max calm down." I said, I think I said that more or less to calm myself down. "Everything will turn out okay."

"Yeah." There was a long pause. "If okay means that Megan's dead."

Megan's POV

"We got the one known as Maximum Ride." Said one of the ninja's in a metallic monotone.

I tried to stifle a laugh. My eyes fluttered open revealing my blue eyes versus Max's brown. "Excuse me, but I'm not Max, actually, my name's Megan."

"You idiot!" said a man with a thick German accent. "Max is ze vone vith ze vings! Zis vone as no vings!" He slapped the robot. "Although zis vone vill be excellent for ze things I vanted to try, no?" he said turning to a blond haired woman.

"Yes, she will be an excellent test subject."


Gasman's POV

"Megan is gone?" Iggy said, clarifying what he had just heard.

"Yeah, she's gone." Max said.

Iggy looked shocked. "It's okay Ig, we'll get her no problem." I said. "I have a plan that just can't go wrong."

Knock on wood. Angel said, lightly knocking on a tree nearby. For some reason she had become like that lately, you know, right shoe on before left stuff like that. You never know what could go wrong.

"Here's what we'll do." I said as strongly and confidently as Max ever had, who was sitting quietly in the corner looking at Fang, it seemed to me like they were communicating in some secret language that consisted of eyebrow rising and nodding, very confusing.


End note:

As soon as I have reviews, I will update. I do write fast and love to do so, if you like it tell me wich you prefer, very long chapters like this one, or short ones, both will have about the same update time.