Disclaimer: I am NOT a female James Patterson and therefore do not own the Maximum Ride series, although I wouldn't mind buying Iggy.

Keep it simple, keep it real, keep it believable,the Voice whispered quietly to Fell, who was crouched on all fours not far away from the flock's camp. Fell, of course, realized all of this before the Voice had contribution but he wasn't ready to make any snide remarks to someone with so much power above him. Even so, if he dared to speak a word someone would hear and catch him before he even put on his act. Instead he nodded and crawled his way out from the bushes ignoring the burns and scrapes that rubbed sore from the rocky ground.

One of the older boys twitched at the sound of his rustling and paused. He looked directly at Fell and for a moment he was afraid he been caught. Fell quit breathing as the boy looked over him continuing to scan the area.

He didn't see me, Fell thought elated and puzzled at the same time. He continued to watch the boy trying to keep quiet so he wouldn't make any more mistakes giving him away. Thankfully the boy looked away and Fell rose to his feet to persist with the plan. Just a minor set-back, nothing he couldn't recover from.

Something brushed against his shoulder but Fell dismissed it as a branch or small rodent. Suddenly the grip grew stronger making Fell cry out in pain. He heard and felt breathing down his neck, fast and hard as if in anger.

"Who are you?" They demanded with Fell's back still turned to his captor.

Fell clenched his fists to keep himself from trembling or giving himself away and cleared his throat which had gone dry from panic. "Fell," he answered truthfully closing his eyes tight. "And you?"

Fell had tried to keep his voice down to a barely audible whisper but whoever had him in this stranglehold had raised his voice to a shout, attracting the flock's attention. "That's none of your business is it?" He spat allowing Fell to look at the boy's face clearly.

He reminded Fell of the dark; dark clothes, dark hair, dark eyes. He had seen pictures of him in Itex, but never anything more. No background information, names, just appearance so he could bond with them better without making judgments.

The boy looked at him up and down while two others made their way to the shadowy clearing. He made a face and ran his fingers down one of Fell's pointed ears in curiosity and awe. "What are you?" He demanded his voice softer now that his allies were surrounding him.

Fell bit his lip wondering how much to tell him. Nothing had gone as planned at all. Tell the truth, the Voice whispered urgently.

How much of the truth? Fell wondered silently looking directly into the boy's eyes. He cleared his throat roughly forcing a smile. "Fell," he repeated. "I'm like you… a mistake." He wondered if those were the right words. He thought so, it wasn't like everyone at Itex exactly kept quiet about that kind of stuff. If he wasn't one why would they send him out on a suicide mission?

"We're not mistakes…" The boy said harshly keeping his voice to a barely audible whisper. Now he wants to be quiet, Fell thought bitterly.

The girl stepped in front of Fell with a stern look raising an eyebrow. "Iggy go back to camp before Angel and Gazzy do something stupid. Fang? Shut the frick up," she ordered. "Now, what's with the ears and tail ensemble? Some kind of Eraser wanna-be thing going on?" She demanded avoiding Fell's gaze.

Fell looked puzzled. Erasers? What were they? He shrugged off the question and answered the best he could. Be truthful. "Like I said, I'm like you. Well without the wings. I don't have avian DNA, I have a jackal's." He said twitching his lips at their confused faces. "They're like coyotes, kind of. Like the Egyptian god Anubis." Again they looked at him like he was crazy. He sighed wondering just how smart these kids really were. "You do know about Anubis right? He had something to do with the mummification?" He asked desperately.

Fang, Fell believed that was the name the girl had used, rolled his eyes in boredom. "We don't want a history lesson." He pointed out darkly melting back into the shadows. "What do you want?

Fell thought about what to do now. Telling the truth was defiantly out of the question. 'Oh just came to wipe you out like you did to Itex. You did know you didn't wipe out all of us right? Forgot about those who dispatched ourselves didn't you?' Fell knew this was a suicide mission but dying so soon seemed like a lost cause. "I was looking for you guys. I escaped too, you know. I thought I would be safer from Itex if I was with you guys."

"We destroyed Itex," the girl said sternly. "As far as we know there's no current danger. Besides how do we know you're legit?" She asked narrowing her eyes.

Fell's smile faltered, but only for a moment. "I-I really just need someone to… to be with. I don't like being alone."

Fang, although Fell couldn't see him, gave away a low snarl. "We don't need any deadweight. You think a bunch of bird kids would take you under their wing?"

Fell chuckled at the statement not sure if it was a joke or not. "I was hoping… of course I took in account that you guys could fly-"

"Fell," the girl interrupted. "How fast can you run?"

Did ya like it? Too much describing not enough action? I thought it was too slow, but I'm a fast writer and I tried to slow it down. Anyway has anyone seen The Unborn? I was laughing so much. No, I do not need a physiatrist, but when all the girls screamed and my friend through her popcorn up in the air and some weird random guy was mocking my friend whenever she talked to the screen (Friend: "Don't go up the stairs you idiot!" Guy: "Yeah don't go up there!" Friend: "Good job people! Maybe if we yell loud enough she'll LISTEN") Sigh, this is why people go to scary movies.

-Fallen