Sheik: Hello, if you've read my one-shot story, you probably know I like Maximum Ride. Probably because our lives are almost exactly alike. (Read profile if you have no idea what I'm talking about) I was bored and thought, "Hey! Why don't I try writing a fake third Maximum Ride, but add my own characters?" Well, I hope you enjoy this.

I don't own James Patterson or Maximum Ride. I do own the mysterious creature, though, and anything else not associated with James Patterson.


My life has to stay secret. Actaully, our lives have to stay hidden. They have to be hidden within the trees that are supposed to be our haven, for now that is. If people were to know about us, things would get messy. Really messy. My flock and I are very important to people. In fact, we're like priceless gems to some twisted people out there.

Doctors, scientists, white coats they want us. Everything is so complicated because of them. I haven't seen anything outside these trees because of them. We have to go into hiding because of those people, because of what I am. What we are.

Sorry, I must have completely lost everybody out there reading this, but that's the point for now. Actually, I don't even know if there is a point to this. Isn't that what a story is all about? Well, I guess I can let you in now. Please watch your first step. It's one heck of a doosey!

"Max!" Nudge called to me. She must have been somewhere in the downstairs living room, but I was on the third floor in my room. "Max! Gazzy won't stop making fun of me and I asked him so many times to stop, but he won't! Aren't people supposed to stop when you asked them too? That's what everyone around here keeps telling me, so shouldn't he? Why won't anybody ever stop when I ask them too?"

"Will you be quiet?" Fang not so much yelled at her, but spoke in a volume louder than he usually would.

God, thank you Fang. I owe you. Of course, I would never tell him that. Pulling my pillow over my head again, I tried to drift off into sleep. Sleep.

"Max." A hushed voice called to me.

I groaned, pulled the pillow off my head then looked up to see Iggy standing there. He looked a little worried. "What is it Ig?" He held something up in his hand. My alarm clock. No, I'm sorry, my broken alarm clock. I quickly looked at my desk then snapped at him. "Iggy! Why did you take my alarm clock?"

He placed the completely useless piece of metal on my bed and shrugged. "I tried making something useful out of it. Actually, that's not why I'm here."

I sat up, stretching, already over the clock. "Then why are you here?"

"I think somebody's found the house." He informed in a dead-serious tone.

Stopping in mid-stretch, I stared at him. "You sure? I thought for sure this place was abandoned."

Shrugging again, he motioned for the door. "I made some motion sensors and placed them all over the woods. About four of them went off."

Not good. Not good. Not good. We've just been resting for three days! Is that fake Max here again? Did she live that sonic blast with Jeb? Bolting out of my room, I stared down the railing that revealed the other floors. There were four floors to this amazing building. "Fang, Gazzy, Angel, Nudge! Trouble in the woods! Time for a search!" After giving the commands, I ran down the hall to the window at the end of the passage. It was open, the way I left it in case of a quick escape.

I lunged through it like a missile leaving its halo. When I felt the open mountain air on my face, I smiled and inhaled. How I loved this. Relaxing my whole body, I allowed my mind to take over. The rushing wind pushing my hair, my clothes rippling wave-like, and the familiar tug on my shoulders and back.

Flapping open from the force of the wind, my wings unfolded then fanned out. I began to beat them, pushing the air out of the way. Flapping counters gravity. This was a need to know basis thing for us. Flight would be impossible if this wasn't true.

With my wings keeping me aloft, I flew up and over the house and waited for the others. Sure enough, they came barreling out of the house in an almost orderly fashion. Fang leading in the front with Iggy behind him. Then it was Nudge followed by Gazzy and Angel. Their wings unhinged and flapped open. They all caught the same rising vortex and rode it. We all met above the house and made the plans.

Ha! What plans? It seems all we've been doing lately is flying to and from wherever we wanted. Well, sort of.

"Which way did your sensor things track the intruders?" I asked while I scanned the skies for flying Erasers. Darn those things for being able to fly. That's our thing.

Does everything have to be a problem? My Voice asked.

Well, it wouldn't really be a problem if they were meant to fly. We'd be prepared for it. I countered. Of course, it didn't say anything back. "Iggy, which way are the intruders?"

"Western. About three miles out from the house." He answered, his powerful wings beating hard but steadily.

I took in the information and was already planning something. "All right, if it's an Eraser, bring it as far from the house as you can, but shout loud enough for us to follow. We'll meet up and fight together. They are getting better at flying, as Angel proved by reading their minds. Their flapping is becoming instinct to them, like us."

"What if it's just some wandering hiker?" Total asked. The Scottish looking dog was seated comfortably inside Iggy's jacket. Hey, better him than me.

"Then avoid them." I answered, eyeing everybody with a sense of significance. "We've had enough problems with humans. There's no need for anymore problems." With that, I tipped backwards then took off for the western part of the trees. I ducked into the green covering and the others followed me. Their flaps almost silent against the sounds of the woods. Birds sang, deer ran, squirrels quarreled in the branches, and foxes yipped. I was listening for anything out of the ordinary.

"Get away from me!" An ear-splitting shriek cut through the air and hurt my ears. I had to cover them for a second to make the ringing go away. That is, until the scream sounded again. "Get away you jerk!"

"Oh God, Max, do you hear that?" Nudge asked with her ears covered. I didn't look back at her. There was no need to. After all, my eyes were set on what was going on in front of me.

"Max, what the heck is that?" Fang asked with bewildered eyes. I was just as lost. What was in front of us wasn't an Eraser. I didn't know what it was. Whatever the thing was, it saw us and was flying right at us.

"Duck and cover!" I shouted as I folded my wings to drop toward the ground. While falling it past right over us. I looked up and got a good look at the black thing.

It had the body of a very powerful Eraser, maybe more some, but there were major body differentiates. Like the fact it had big hooked ears on the side of its head, instead of the canine kind of an Eraser. Its muzzle wasn't really a muzzle but a snout that showed a big nose and two very sharp fangs.

The wings were probably the most fascinating thing.

Instead of the big, leathery kind that the wolf people have surgically implanted to their bodies, this thing seemed to be born with wings morphed like a bats'. Growing from its back and shoulders and leading down its arms were where the wings were. I could see where the arms were, but they were wings too. The hands seemed to work, it's just that the fingers seemed a little longer and had claws. Leading off the hands were the rest of the wing. It looked like a giant bat!

When I was about to hit the ground, I snapped open my wings and surged upward, expecting a fight. The thing, though, had flown away. It was already above the trees and far in the sky. Gazzy flew over to me, big blue eyes wide. "What the heck was that?"

I was curious and afraid at the same time. Had Jeb and the others made a new species of hunter? Was this another thing we were to be tested on? I seriously hoped not. Angel flew close to me, our wingtips touching. "It was chasing something." She told me in a voice just above a whisper.

"What was it chasing? Where is it?" I asked. How did she know it was chasing something? Oh yeah, the screaming.

She turned her head and pointed toward a cluster of trees. "She's watching at us right now."

"She?" Gazzy dropped closer to the trees. "Hey! Who's there?" Sure enough, we heard the quick scrambling and snapping of twigs as whoever it was ran away. "Wait!" Of course, the little guy took off after her.

"What the heck's going on? What's so shocking?" Iggy asked, completely lost.

Fang explained. "There's a new breed of flying bat thing and Angel found it was chasing something and Gazzy's chasing it now."

"Her!" Angel corrected. "Now, come on!" She flapped her beautiful white wings and followed her brother. They both had set chase to something we had no idea of what it was.

Great. Just great. What next?

"Oh my God!" Gazzy shouted at the top of his lungs.

God dang it! "We're coming Gazzy!" I called and took off into the trees.

"Where are they? How come Gazzy shouted just now? What was that big bat thing? Are we in more danger?" Nudge asked with nervousness clear in her voice.

"Nudge, let's go and find out." Iggy said with reassurance, but I could hear the wariness in his voice.

The two weren't far from where we were, but the trees had thinned considerably and there was a river. Angel and Gazzy were standing next to the river, their wings half folded behind them. A sign they didn't know whether to fly off or not. They were staring into some cattails. There were many shrubs around the river, a perfect hiding spot for some predator.

"Guys! What's wrong?" I landed and ran to them. Angel threw up her hands, motioning for me to stop. I did then crept forward. Fang, Nudge, and Iggy landed right behind me and walked beside me. For once, Nudge was keeping quiet.

We all made it to the little ones, that's when Gazzy put his finger to his mouth, the universal sign for be quiet. He then moved aside some of the cattails and I saw what was hiding within.

I couldn't help it. I let out a shout of shock at what it was. Oh my God! What have those sick jerks done?