Author's Note: So, hey. This is a story I wrote for school a little while ago and I found it while going through old files. It was supposed to be a spin-off of some other story i was writing with the same characters. Everyone who read it went "Oh that's a cool Maximum Ride spin-off" so I thought what better place to share it than here? I hope you enjoy, because it is among some of my favorite things I've written. Feel free to review!
"See? Birds are faster!" Jason flew around, Noah trailing behind him. Ian cheered from the ground and Lilly, Rachel and I sat to the side watching. I should probably explain why I couple of ten year old boys were flying around a park.
My name is Allison and I, as well as everyone else at Home, am a nexter. Part human, part animal. We've spent our whole lives behind four tall, stone walls. We were raised by people we call "The Zoologists" who, at that point, I trusted wholeheartedly.
Jason and I are part osprey, a sea hawk. We have huge black and white wings on our backs, and talons instead of hands and feet. Rachel and Noah are part monarch butterfly, giving them orange wings and antennae. Lilly and Ian are part wolf and have furry ears and a tail, as well as paws instead of hands. We also all have a partner that we spend pretty much every second of every day with, mine being Jason.
Brrring!
"That's the bell guys!" Rachel yelled. She can be a little obnoxious.
"You don't say? We're coming." Noah shouted back. Yep, no one hates Rachel like her own partner. Jason landed near me and we started walking to class. I looked back at the others. Even then Rachel and Noah argued at a constant rate and Lilly practically clung to Ian. I guess some things never change.
"Alright, science class." Jason said.
"Well, it is our most tolerable class." I replied as we entered.
The teacher stood at the front and addressed us. "Ok class, take your seats. Lunch is exciting, I know." We sat at our desk and Cailyn (she's part peacock) shot me a quick glare. I wish I'd known then why she hated pretty much everyone.
"Today we'll be having a lesson in genetics." She began. She picked up a couple of simple flowers off her desk. "Life makes life like itself. So when a bee or a humming bird pollinates the flowers," She pointed to the center of each flower. "The female flower makes seeds. The seeds then grow into the same type of flower. Like, a daisy won't make a snapdragon.
"That doesn't just apply to flowers though. A squirrel can't have a baby elephant." The whole class giggled at that. "Squirrels make squirrels, elephants make elephants, humans make humans-"
"Nexters make nexters?" Ethan, who is part owl, asked.
"Well, that's the idea." The teacher replied.
"Wait," Maddie, Ethan's partner, began. "If everything has two parents, where are our parents?"
"Not here…" the teacher said sort of quietly.
"And they're nexters too?" Maddie further questioned.
"Of, course!" the teacher stammered ever so slightly. I'd always had an instinct for what people were feeling, and she was nervous. And definitely lying.
"I've never had fish before, is it any good?" Lilly asked in a small voice.
We were sitting in our usual spot in the mess hall. Jason and I almost always had some sort of fish, so on burger night instead of beef it was fish patty. Rachel and Noah had some sort of weird fruit and veggie burger; none of us were ever obligated to ask to try some.
"Personally, I think so. Want to try some?" Jason tore a piece off his and gave it to her. She chewed slowly, and then spit it into a napkin.
"Blegh. I think I'll stick to red meat." Conversation about fish continued around me, but I wasn't listening. My brain was far away, working at a million miles per hour. The events in science class were tumbling around in my head and I was so confused. The only things that were clear were that we had been lied to and that no one's parents were nexters.
Why did they lie? I wondered. What's the truth? Where were our real parents? Who were our real parents? Did they not want us? Maybe we're the only nexters, and everyone else in the world is human. I was almost sure our parents were human. Did they not want us because we were nexters? All my thoughts were jumbled and I felt like I was going to scream.
"Hello? Earth to Allison?"
"Huh?" I looked up at Ian.
"Can I try your fish?"
"Goodnight guys!" Jason called down the stairs. We were in the dorm building after dinner, headed up to bed. I looked up. Our ceiling, since we're on the top floor, was made of glass. You could see the whole night sky from there.
"Goodnight Jason." I said in a low whisper. I quickly slipped into my dorm before Jason could say anything.
"Lights out. Please go into your dorms for the night." The intercom system did that every night. I changed into a long, white night gown and curled up under the covers. I had been holding it in since dinner, so I buried my face in the pillow and screamed. I sobbed and screamed some more.
I felt so betrayed. I trusted them and they lied to me. They lied to all of us. I cried for what seemed like an eternity, just thinking about what freaks we all must be if everyone else in the world was human.
"Allison?" I sat up and looked at the door.
"Jason? What are you doing here? It's lights out." I said between sniffles.
"I wanted to see if you were ok." He walked over and sat next to me on the bed. "I can see you aren't, so do you want to tell me what's wrong?"
"Well in science today I could tell the teacher was lying. Our parents aren't nexters and we don't know if our parents even wanted us. And what if no one else in this world is a nexter and we're all total freaks?"
"That could be true, but think about it."
"I think that's my problem." I said leaning my head on his shoulder.
"No, like, you're really nice and so are lots of others, so our parents must be good people. If we're all here it must be for a good reason.
"And you are not a freak. I mean, look at yourself! You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen and those wings just add to the effect."
"Thank you." I sat straight up. "But we were lied to. I trusted the zoologists, but now…"
"That's also true. How about this?" he looked me in the eyes. "We can promise, right now, to never lie to each other, to always look out for each other and always be by each other's side."
"I promise." I said, taking his hands in mine.
"I promise too." He said, and I looked into his deep brown eyes.
"No matter what." We said together.
He wiped a tear from under my eye with his thumb. "You good?"
"Great." I said, giving a slight smile.
"Goodnight Allison." He said, pulling me into a hug.
"Goodnight." I whispered into his hair. All too soon he was gone and I was alone in the dark. I lay back down and closed my eyes. Silently, I thanked God or whoever was in charge of my life for putting Jason in it, because without him, I don't know where I'd be.
Small disclaimer: I would like to say I own the idea of Nexter's and these characters. I came up with this idea before I had even heard of Maximum Ride, it just sort of fits with the idea.