"Wahoo!"

I watched as the Gasman cannonballed through the air on top of Iggy. He extended his wings, but it was too late – the boys went careening into the cloud. With an exaggerated sigh, I dove down to collect them, feeling the sweet breeze rush past me.

Gosh, I loved flying. Just dropping down from an unimaginable height – it was amazing. I caught sight of the boys, circling each other below. With a grin, I grabbed their arms and dragged them up to where the flock was waiting.

"Max! Did'cha see that?" Nudge asked when I came back up holding Gazzy and Iggy by their elbows. Their wings, beating in sync, whapped me in the head with each downstroke. I let them go in a hurry.

"No, Nudge," I said, soaring up to her. "What happened?"

"Well, that cloud over there – you know, the one that looks like a headless chicken?" I gave her a look, and she moved on. "There was a thing in it, like an airplane or something, and it created a hole right in the center of it! So now the cloud looks like a chicken body with a hole in it!"

"Where?" I asked.

She pointed to the cloud. She was right; it really did look like a headless chicken. The airplane-shaped thing, small, sleek, and black, was zooming from its center… right toward us.

Any sense of well-being or happiness dissipated. "Scatter!"

Instantly obeying my command, the flock immediately shot in different directions. I powered up my super speed, and seconds later I was flying above the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

Oops. Too far.

I backpedaled, beginning to wonder exactly what had been chasing us. Another enemy? Some corrupt government? The scientists from the School?

The flock was not waiting at the rendezvous point, which was a cave on the side of a cliff we had discovered a while back. I dropped into the cave, ignoring the dread settling in my stomach.

When five minutes passed and no one still showed up, I was ready to worry.

"Guys!" I shouted over the cliff, overlooking the canyon. "Angel! Fang! Nudge?"

My voice echoed in the empty stillness of the sky. I kept hoping for the Gasman to suddenly hurtle down on top of me, laughing his head off. But no one came.

I extended my wings, prepared to go looking for them. If our unknown enemy had somehow caught one or more of us, I was going to show them exactly why not to mess with Maximum Ride.

The air gathered my wings on takeoff, lifting me high above the canyon. I was in no mood to enjoy it. My flock was missing.

But where could they –

Ooof!

The wind was knocked out of me, and I went cartwheeling out of the sky. Whatever heavy lump had slammed into me, it was off now. I focused my gaze on the object; saw that it was a person…

"Gaz?"

The Gasman's fluffy golden hair, his bird-kid wings, the torn, stained clothing… but not his face. Where Gazzy's round, happy expression usually was, an appearance of terror was present. Gazzy glanced at me and hugged me so hard that I forgot to flap.

"Max – it's you – the others –"

I embraced him, scared to death over what could have made him so terrified. "Come on. The cave."

He followed me back to the cave in the cliff, where I sat him down and demanded the story with a shaky voice. He told me.

"The plane thing was sent to kill us. Not capture. It tried to fry us with a laser, I saw, it went after me. I weaved in and out of trees, down low in a forest, but it blasted right through them all, and they just… fizzled out of existence. Like those egg-dying tablets mixed into vinegar. Poof, gone. So I flew as fast as I could. But then…" he paused, losing focus. I snapped my fingers to get him to continue. "Right. Angel came out of nowhere and flew right towards it. At the last second, she swerved away, and it must've had heat sensors, because it followed her. I couldn't find her again – I looked – so I came here."

Gazzy stared at me. I knew he wanted me to come up with a plan. "And the others?" I asked.

He frowned. "I didn't see them since we split up."

For the first time since the beginning of his story, I felt the sudden need to console him. "It's okay. We'll go find them and kick the butt of whoever our new opponent is soon." I reached out and hugged him again.

"Okay," he said.

We sat in silence and worry, watching the sun fade into the horizon.

"Max?" He looked at me with wide young eyes. "We'll do something, right?"

I squeezed his shoulder. "Oh, yes. And whatever we do, it will be big."