((A/N: Well, this idea randomly came into my head, so I just decided to write about it. This first chapter is probably kind of rushed, but I was tired when I typed it up. . Anyway, I hope it's okay! This is my first try at a Maximum Ride fic.

DISCLAIMER: James Patterson owns Maximum Ride; I don't.))

"Max?" I looked up as I heard my voice being called. "Max… Where are we going next?"

I sighed. Here comes the hard part…Coming up with a plan. Normally, I usually just made things up as we went along. It was a lot easier than doing something stupid, like coming up with a schedule or something. "Uh…" I paused, trying to think of a place. "Maybe… Illinois?" I nodded, going along with it. "Yeah, we'll go to Chicago."

"Oh, well, okay," Nudge was silent for once, obviously at a loss for words. We had been on the run for a couple of weeks now, trying to hide from all the evil people who wanted to murder us and whatnot. Everyone was tired, especially the little kids. They didn't have as much strength as the rest of us. We had already been in the air for about six hours.

I quickly glanced over at the rest of the Flock, noticing how exhausted and dirty they looked. Everyone was silent, seeing as talking just wore them out even faster. "Okay, so um… Does any-"

I was interrupted by Fang, who spoke quietly, "Max, I think we should stop for the day. Everyone's tired."

I was kind of surprised by his interruption, though I blew it off, figuring that it was nothing. Eventually, I nodded and said, "Okay, guys, we're going down, I guess. Maybe there's a hotel that we can stop at nea-" I was cut off yet again as I felt a sharp pain in my wing. For one scary instant, I forgot how to fly and I plummeted to the ground. I had been shot; at least, that's what it felt like. My eyes fluttered open and shut as I fought to regain consciousness. What was happening? Was I just going to fall to the ground and die?

"Max!" I heard the distant yells of the flock from on top of me. The next thing, I knew, someone had caught me and was struggling to land. I jerked open my eyes, looking straight up into Fang's concern-filled eyes. He was staring down at me, his eyes wide with surprise. I sighed with relief as I saw his face, though there was pretty much nothing to be relieved about.

"It's alright, Max," I heard Fang mutter under his breath, stumbling onto a halt as he landed on the dusty ground. He set me down on the ground gently, then felt my wing, checking my wound. "Max, it's alright. You just got shot in the wing; don't worry, everything's okay. Everything's going to be okay." He repeated the same thing over and over, as if he were trying to reassure himself. I began to lose consciousness, barely aware of the rest of the flock landing around us.

I was beginning to zone out, due to the fact that I had already lost a lot of blood. How much exactly…? I couldn't tell, but I knew that it was a lot. I could barely even see the flocks' faces as they looked down at me anxiously. I could barely hear their voices. …And I felt so pathetic. I hated this feeling of helplessness, this feeling of vulnerability. It made me angry to realize that I could die this very instant, and leave the flock on their own. What were they supposed to do without me? I was their leader, and I was supposed to take care of them. Who would bandage their wounds? Who would secretly push the salt shaker towards Iggy's hand, so that he wouldn't have a hard time finding it? Who would take care of Angel?

Unlike what everyone says, your whole life does not flash right in front of you. All I could see was blurry images of my friend's faces. One face was perfectly clear to me, though. The last thing I saw before I lost consciousness was Fang's tear-stained face.

((A/N: Okay, so I'm not sure if Fang would really cry or not, but I had no clue what to write. Please review if you read this! ^_^ Oh and yeah, I realize it was kinda short.))