Maximum Ride: Saving the World?

Part One: Rebellion

Chapter 1: As the World Burns...

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." -JFK

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Iggy couldn't sleep. For some reason, he felt like he had to be awake. So he silently sat in the tree, listening to the sounds of Chicago at night. He could hear the rest of the Flock breathing as they slept in trees nearby. He heard the splashing of Buckingham Fountain on the other side of the park. He heard a motorcycle pull up, stop, and drive away. And this was one of those moments– he wished he could see all of this. It made him feel terrible, but he pushed the thought out of his head and just listened. And he nearly fell off of his branch when an explosion shook the night.

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"Emergency crews have finally gotten the enormous blaze in Chicago under control, but not after it destroyed most of the city. The death toll is unknown, and approximately 30 people are currently being treated for injuries. The fire supposedly ignited all over the city at about the same time, about 2:30 A.M., presumably with some sort of firebomb; the nationwide rebel group Alien Youth has claimed responsibility for the attack. We have Mel Sanders at the scene now, let's take it to hi–" I shut of the TV.

"Hey, I was watching that," Angel complained.

I didn't care. We had almost been killed by that fire, and I was pretty pissed. Not to mention that it was the Alien Youth– again. I hated them, though I wasn't sure why.

Your hate is grounded in fear, said the Voice. You hate them because you are afraid of them. Learn to conquer you fear, and your hate will...

Shut up, I thought back. I hate them because they're trying to tear down the government, for crying out loud! That's just wrong! I mean, okay, so the government may not be that great, and yeah, they could probably be doing a better job, but… Hmm. I couldn't think of a "but". Maybe their cause was a bit nobler that I had thought. Just a little bit. But I'm not about to go burn down a city with them. And that was the second time, and I wasn't sure we'd be able to escape the next time…

"Don't worry, Max, you don't have to hate them. They're not trying to kill us; it was just a cuh-, a coi-, a coincidince. Yeah, a coincidince." Angel smiled happily up at me from her seat on the couch.

I sighed and asked, "Hey, Iggy, can I have some more scrambled eggs?"

"Sure," he responded casually, shoveling some onto a plate and handing it to me. Okay, he just held it out in my general direction and I took it, but this is Iggy. He's blind, remember? At least he could tell where I was.

I sat down at the table next to Nudge and started to wolf down the eggs like I was starving. Because I was. The constant hunger is one of the biggest problems with being a mutant bird-kid, believe me.

I noticed that Nudge hadn't been that talkative this morning, which was the number-one sign that there was something wrong. "Hey, what's on your mind, sweetie?" I asked.

She sighed and said, "I'm just really freaked. That was the second time. I want to get out of the country until this whole thing is over."

I hugged her, saying "Don't worry. Like Angel said, I mean, mind-read," I glared at her, and she just smiled back, "it was just a coincidence."

"I know, but the time when they gassed that subway was scary enough. And now this…"

"Hey, but you gotta admit, it was pretty dramatic," said the Gasman. "I mean, where'd they get that many firebombs?"

"Aw, come on, man, we could make enough to destroy a city in less than 24 hours," said Iggy.

"Don't get any ideas," I warned. Then I returned to consoling Nudge, with the good old "There's no reason to panic."

For no good reason, Angel decided to give her opinion. "We should go get Total and Akila from your mom and go to Paris! The boys never got to see Europe! We could stay there, and explore all the different museums, and eat lunch at the Eiffel Tower, and we'll stay until the government squashes the rebels like bugs!" I swear, she's the only six-year-old who thinks like that. But there was no way we were going to run from nothing. Heck, I still had to save the world, right?

You're right, said the Voice. You must fulfill your destiny.

That did it. "Alright, but we can't bring the dogs. I'm not carrying Akila halfway around the world."

Maximum…, started the Voice.

Screw you, Voice. I'm going on vacation.

"Paris? OMG Thank you Max!" Nudge exclaimed, hugging me very tightly.

"French girls, Iggy!" said Gazzy.

"Heck yeah!" Iggy replied from the stove.

Sexist pigs.

"Awww, why can't we bring the dogs?" asked Angel.

"Come on, you've survived for a while now without Total, you can live a bit longer," I said. Thankfully, the whole Paris prospect was enough for her to give in.

Oh, and guess who hadn't commented yet?

I slid down next to Fang on the couch. Okay, I sat on him, 'cause he was doing his fade-away thing. After he jumped up and scared the crap out of me, I sat down next to him and asked, "So how long do you think we've got until the hotel manager notices we're bunking in here?"

"With the way you've gotten them going about this little trip, I'd say fifteen minutes, tops. And why exactly are we going there again? To escape a non-existent threat?" Whoa, that was quite a speech from Mr. Silent.

"Pretty much. But, hey, they're happy. When was the last time you've seen everyone like this?" I said.

"Well, if we're actually flying there, this'll probably be the last time in a long time," he pointed out casually.

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Man, I hate it when Fang is right.

To everyone reading this: if you happen to sprout wings, do not fly across the Atlantic. There's nowhere to stop, and it goes on and on. At least the Pacific has islands.

And if you're ever in Ireland, make sure you stop by O'Reiley's Original Pub and Eatery. It's the least you can do after we dragged ourselves in there and ate everything they had. And then slept on the benches outside for a whole day. I repeat, never, ever, fly across the freakin' ocean.

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A few days later, our "Tour de Europe" had us admiring the scenery and eating like pigs from a café in the Eiffel Tower. Or should that be on the Eiffel Tower? It's on that big platform… ah, forget it. Just look at a picture.

And much to my dismay, nobody could keep their eyes off the French girls. Well, except Iggy. But Gazzy served as his eyes, and he obviously forgot I was there. Nudge, thankfully, cared only about the fashions. Angel, un-thankfully, was reading everyone's mind. Fang seemed to be comparing them to me.

I didn't see any redheads, thank God.

After we finished eating, Nudge wanted to do some exploring, so we all trooped over to the elevator. Something felt wrong, but I pushed it out of my mind and focused on, well, walking.

Oh, and yes, we could have just flown off of the platform. But we didn't want to make a scene. I figured we'd make one without trying eventually anyway.

Naturally, there were already people getting in, and them plus the six of us wouldn't fit. I'd survive a few minutes alone, so I waved the others in and told them I'd take the next one.

Turns out five bird-kids couldn't fit either. And who do you think decided to join me?

You get one guess. I'll give you a hint. He's a guy, and he's not excessively fond of blowing stuff up.

No, my ex-boyfriend Sam didn't jump out of the elevator. My life isn't that weird.

So as Iggy gave us his "Keep it G-rated" look, the doors closed, and the rest of the Flock disappeared, Fang and I walked over to the guardrail to look out over the Champ de Mars.

"Why do I feel like one of us should have gone with them?" I asked cautiously.

"Well, maybe because every time we leave them alone, things go wrong," He replied.

I looked up at him. "I sure hope you mean wrong for them."

"Well, naturally," He said, putting his hand on my chin, "because things were perfect on our end." Then he kissed me, and my world was complete.

He pulled me closer, and I would never have dreamed of resisting. We held each other close, and it was perfect– we were safe, we were together, and there wasn't a gun in my back or anything.

But this is my life, right? So of course my heaven was rudely interrupted by what felt like a gun being jammed right between my wings. Judging by the way Fang jumped, he had been unwillingly introduced to a new friend as well.

"Don't move," someone said.

Right, I thought, like that'll happen.

On three, mouthed Fang. I nodded subtly enough that our armed companions didn't notice, but Fang did.

One… We each stepped back, seemingly giving in to our captors.

Two… I noticed we had been surrounded. I tensed, ready to make these idiots pay.

"Three!" shouted Fang, and I snapped out my wings and kicked backwards, knocking down at least two baddies– I was in the air too quickly to get an exact count.

"Take evasive action!" I yelled to Fang. "Weave! Get out of firing range!" He immediately banked sharply to the right, but then grunted and started to fall. Fast.

"NO! FANG!" I screamed, diving after him. I heard the sound of a bullet cutting through the air, and then it felt as if my chest was on fire. But before I could react to the pain, it disappeared. What the...?

And then I realized that I was falling.

Work, wings, come on, dammit! I thought desperately, but they didn't respond. Neither did my arms. Or my legs. I tried to scream, but no sound came out. As everything faded to black, I had time for one last thought: Who had attacked us?

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