I was fifteen when I saved the world. I was sixteen when my world was broken apart.

Not broken. More like "smashed" or "shattered" or "blown apart by a nuclear bomb".

My flock split. What we promised never to do again. We did it.

We destroyed Itex almost three years ago. We located their new world headquarters, in China. After wiping out that branch, we moved on to the Russian headquarters….then the Australian headquarters….then New Zealand…

Pretty soon, the rest of the world woke up. Within six months, every single division of Itex had been obliterated. Of course, since Itex owned half the world, the economy went to heck in a hand basket.

But that wasn't our problem. We were heroes, instant celebrities. Nudge went berserk with all the clothing lines she was asked to endorse. I very nearly spontaneously combusted. Several times. The whole freaking wide world knew our faces.

A year isn't very long…

After our 15 minutes of fame, I think things settled to mostly normal. We ended up in Arizona, with my mom. My paranoia never completely faded, but I was in the minority. As per usual. I couldn't blame them, though. For the first time, the younger kids were living, without fear. Even Iggy and Fang seemed more relaxed. I was just….being me.

A year isn't long at all…

Sometime that year, Nudge located her parents. Or rather, they located her. The woman she had seen in the trailer park was actually her mom. Apparently, they'd been trying to live under the radar after an Itex agent had tried to murder them, hopping states in a trailer.

One day, they were watching one of the many, many talk shows we'd been on, and Nudge had mentioned her real name, Monique. Her mom had seen the show, and immediately began to track down my mom's email.

"Nudge," My mother stood in the kitchen, holding a sheet of paper in one hand. "I really don't know how to tell you this, but I—I think we've found your parents." She handed over the printed email.

Nudge, for once, had nothing to say.

The rest of us were thrilled, but we didn't know what to say.

That was sort of the…beginning of the end, I suppose. The innocent act that brought about the apocalypse.

Nudge obviously wanted to see her parents. The trouble was, they currently lived in Pennsylvania. So they were going to come to Arizona to meet Nudge and offer her a home.

The paranoid part of me didn't want Nudge going off alone to the other end of the country.

"Guys," Iggy said quietly. "I've been thinking—I know Max doesn't want Nudge all the way over in Pennsylvania by herself, so I'm— I'm going to give my parents another chance. They're in D.C., so if there are any problems, I'll be close…"

We were in the room that Ella and I shared with the rest of the flock. As much as I hated losing another member of my flock, I had to admit that it was probably a good idea.

I was happy enough with this arrangement, until Iggy pulled me and Fang aside later that night.

"Let's face it. I'm blind and I'm not going to be able to do much if Itex gets reincarnated," Iggy stated bluntly. He turned to me. "What do you want to do, Max?"

I shook my head mutely, knowing he was right, and also knowing I was about to lose another part of my family.

Fang stood there, silent as usual.

We both knew the outcome. It was inevitable, really.

The final plan: Nudge went with her parents to Pennsylvania. Iggy went with his parents to Washington DC. Fang went with them.

The day that Iggy and Nudge's parents were coming was my 16th birthday.

"Max? Where's the laptop?"

I stood in front of the mirror in Ella's/my room. Fang was at the door.

"It's on the desk."

I bit my lip. Mom, Angel, Gazzy, Total, Akila, and Ella were all going with them as far as Maryland. I knew that this trip was awfully hard on a veterinarian's salary, and I was eternally indebted to my mother.

"Max?" Fang said softly. I turned around.

He was standing right behind me.

"Yeah?"

He looked like he wanted to speak, but he couldn't say anything. That was what was happening to me.

My heart was going twice its normal speed. Heat rushed to my face, and I was finding it hard to breathe.

Was he going to kiss me?

"Good-bye," he whispered.

"Bye," I choked out. It was finally dawning on me that this was the last time Fang and I would be alone with each other for a very long time.

"Time to go," Mom shouted. Neither of us moved.

Finally, I broke the silence. "We should go."

"Yeah." He leaned in slowly, eyes hesitant, then stopped. "After you," he said emotionlessly.

I had never hated myself more.

It's funny how years can feel so fast and yet so slow.

Nudge was doing well in school. Iggy was at a special school equipped to help handicapped. Fang was there too. Angel, Gazzy and I all became withdrawn. We felt cut off.

It was a couple of months later when we received the news. Nudge's dad got work in Jacksonville, Florida, and Fang had a lead to his parents in Florida. He would be going with them.

It occurred to me then, that Fang was the only one still trying to find parents. Iggy, Nudge and I had found all ours, and Gazzy and Angel had no desire to find theirs.

A year passed… years become so short.

We got a phone call from Iggy that February. He wanted to come to Arizona for Thanksgiving, meaning he was coming if he had to fly himself.

Our house became more alive than it had been in a whole year.

It was the day Iggy was going to arrive. I was a senior in high school, looking at colleges. Yes, it was me, Maximum Ride, going to college. The irony didn't escape me. I was staying home while everyone else was going to pick up Iggy at the airport, because I was feeling a little under the weather. The irony of Iggy using an airplane didn't escape me either.

While everyone was getting ready to leave, I was on my email, sorting through my inbox, when a little green light caught my attention. My heart leapt into my throat.

It was next to Fang's name. He was online.

I clicked on his name.

max01ride: hi

fang14: hey

max01ride: how are you doing?

fang14: i'm ok. you?

max01ride: a little sick

fang14: sorry

max01ride: how's nudge?

fang14: she was happy last time i saw her

max01ride: last time you saw her? where are you?

max01ride: did you find your parents?

fang14: georgia. i found my aunt two weeks ago

fang14: i found her old address in jacksonville

fang14: it was pretty easy to get a hold of her email after that

max01ride: that's great!

max01ride: that's really, really great.

fang14: she lives in georgia now

max01ride: that's really cool.

max01ride: well, i have to go

max01ride: tell nudge hi when you see her

max01ride: we're picking up iggy, did you hear?

fang14: yeah. ok next time i see her

fang14: bye, max

max01ride: bye

The thing about chatting is that it's too easy to lie.

I stumbled to my room, feeling hallow, and I didn't know why.

I was sitting on my bed when it hit me.

Fang found a home. He's never coming back.

Greif crushed me like a physical force. My mental barriers that everyone in the house had formed to keep Angel out, collapsed entirely.

Dimly, I heard footsteps rush down the hall. "Max?" Angel asked anxiously. "Are you okay?"

I hadn't even cried. It was lucky that Angel had learned to tune out everyone's minds, and that we'd all learned to keep her out, because now she hadn't felt anyone's full mind in years. She wasn't used to sifting through everything.

I gently re-erected my shields. "I just feel a little sick. Headache-y."

"The Voice?" Angel asked, confused.

"No." I hadn't heard the Voice—either Voice—since we demolished Itex. "Just need some sleep."

"Okay," Angel said, uncertainly, still a little shaken. "Bye, Max."

I had just successfully lied to Angel. That was impossible.

After she left, I lost it.

An hour or so later, Iggy walked in the house. "Bye!" he yelled at the car, still in the driveway. "Don't forget, I want pepperonis!"

Iggy was the only one. They were getting pizza. Good.

I sat up gently, still sobbing silently. Crying felt—so—good.

"Max?" Iggy was standing in the doorway. "I know something's wrong, and it's not that you're sick."

Why not tell him? "Fang found his aunt two weeks ago," I said hoarsely, looking down.

"Max…I'm sorry." He made his way to the center of the room. "Where's the tissue box?"

"It's on the desk," I sniffed, then gasped, remember who I had said the exact same thing to, in this exact same room.

"Here," Iggy said firmly, thrusting a tissue at me. "Blow."

I obeyed.

"Max, you know what you need to tell him, before it's too late," Iggy said. "You know what you need to tell him before it's too late."

This time, it didn't sound like Iggy's voice.

You need to tell him…

I sat bolt upright.

Still in a tree, still fourteen. A dream.

A dream.

A nightmare, more like.

You know what you need to tell him. Now, Max. Before it's too late.

Tears were running down my cheeks.

You know…

I took several deep breaths.

…what you need….

I realized I was sobbing quietly.

..to tell him…

I swallowed. It's not too late. I said firmly. That was all a dream. It's not too late.

...before it's too late.

"Okay, fine." Me talking to a little voice in my head again. This time, however, for the first time, it was actually me in my head.

I took one final breath, and unfolded my wings.

It was Fang's watch. I glided down from the tree, landing directly behind him. He spun around immediately, then relaxed as he saw it was me.

"You took first watch," he reminded me.

…before it's too late…

"Fang, I need to tell you something."