Catch Me if You Can

A Maximum Ride Fanfic

By Stranded Star

Summary: "Catch me if you can, Ari. Catch me if you can." Slight AU. Oneshot.

Warning: Somewhat dark and angsty.

I'm gasping now, my throat raspy and hot. One of my sides feels as if it's been torn open with a rusty knife, and a persistent ache is seeping into the muscles of my legs. I feel like screaming, falling, just giving up. But the frantic pounding of heavy feet behind me forces me to keep fleeing.

The hem of my jeans catches on thorns as I dart through the dense trees. The shadows press in on me, thick, dark, cloying… Shivers of fear race up my spine: I run faster, desperate to escape the confines of the forest. If only I could reach open land, then all it would take is a snap of my shoulder blades and a jump –

Suddenly, a faint brightness appears ahead of me; I race for it, ignoring the white-hot needles of agony piercing my thighs. Just a bit more…

And then I'm out, the grass cool and soft beneath my feet and the air catching at my curls. A pale sliver of a moon shines in the twilight, and a scattering of stars has started to twinkle on the horizon. The evening light is lavender, and the shadows hugging the edges of the field in front of me are a smoky gray. For a moment, I look upon its serene beauty, awed by the austerity of the meadow. But a frantic thrashing from behind electrifies my senses and I take flight once more.

As I tear across the field, my legs pound and my hair whips in the wind. With a shudder, I unfold my huge, tawny wings. I wonder if I look like a terrible avenging angel, sent from the dark pits of Hades. Desperation fills me. Do I deserve to live? Am I merely an experiment gone wrong? I wish I had the strength to let the man-wolf behind me destroy the wings only considered to be an abomination. I wish I had the selflessness, the fortitude.

The School needs me. They have my fate captured in their plans like a ship in a bottle. I cannot live inside their glass walls, yet I'm not courageous enough to let Ari destroy me forever. The conundrum hovers in my mind as I ponder my choices.

Resolve settles in my bones. Ari will not catch me tonight. He will not destroy the wings that make me who I am, nor will I play into the hands of those without a soul. Determination making me strong, I summon my last fragments of strength and launch into the sky. Air whooshes past me, whistling joyously in my ears. I feel giddiness fill me up as I rise. Turning back, I blow a kiss to the monster growling on the ground.

"So long!" I call, and plunge into the dark expanse. For now, I add silently, because I know that this game isn't over. Even as I pursue freedom in the night, I know that my respite is only temporary.

There will always be the chase. None of us will give up until one of us dies or the School falls. I will run till I lose all vestiges of my power. My fate is a sorry one, and, somewhere in the back of my mind, I bemoan my cruel destiny.

The hesitancy lasts only a moment, and then I am resolute again. I am brave. I am a bird. I am an angel.

I am the indestructible Maximum Ride. And I'm going to make this game a rollercoaster ride headed straight to hell.

"Catch me if you can, Ari," I whisper. "Catch me if you can."

A/N: Notice that this is somewhat AU. Written after the second book, I'm fairly sure the plot here is significantly different from the following books.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Maximum Ride series.

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