This story was started in November, and the reason it took me so long is because honestly I am lazy but also because I wanted it to make sense. I don't know if it does make sense but it's to late now. Anyway, I wrote this because he ending to Nevermore was so . . . meh. No offense to James Patterson of course, because I still loved the book. Also this is a very super duper late birthday present for my best friend whom I love and I'm sorry this is so late but I promise to make this as good as I can.

I own nothing, The Maximum Ride series belongs to James Patterson and this is simply for fun

Okay so let me get this straight. You thought this was over, right? You, who have been around since the very first page, looked at that last sentence, closed the book and moved on. You literally thought it was over. I don't know what to say to you except ding-dong you're wrong!

This thing is just getting started okay, so go take a seat and get some snacks because this might take a while. I've spent quite a long time telling you these stories with all my odd adventures up until the last one. But here's the thing kiddos, I'm not dead so there is no last one. Not in the slightest. The story goes on until I fall to the ground and don't get back up, until then you are pretty much stuck with me. We've had some good times, in between the bad time of course but hey, we had fun on the way. I mean, sure, there were many near death experiences but we are still here and we're healthy. So where did we leave off anyway? Right, okay, so I died and then somehow I didn't die. Sounds kind of confusing but let me explain and it might clear things up so this won't feel as weird like, "Wait hold on is Max dead or like what?"

So yes, I lived and so did Fang. In the end we found my mom and all the others who were huddled up underground. It didn't take long to find them and soon we were settled into our own little crook in the ground. You guys know me and you must also know that I cannot stay underground without having a panic attack, so of course we didn't stay under for long. After a few days of hiding away we were out, breathing fresh air and sleeping under the stars. I know that this sounds weird, and you're probably wondering why I'm telling you the story like this. The answer of course is that I grew up, I actually feel more mature now and this is a good thing. Don't worry I'm still the same old Maximum that will call you a sissy every now and then and tell you about her amazing teenager life with hormones and the whole deal. Not much has changed, aside from the fact that my wings are a little singed and we are actually able to relax for a change. Yes folks you heard right, wings. Honestly I don't think I should be explaining the wings anymore, okay? It's been a while you'd think you guys would get used to the idea of a hormonal teenage girl with wings. Sheesh. Moving on now that we have established I am a lab experiment.

Right, so I died but I guess I kinda came back. I mean I didn't see heaven or any angels flying around. (If I had seen angels I'm sure we would have exchanged tips on how to accessorize our wings and not look trashy.) But I do know that for a moment I was gone. The weight had been lifted off my shoulders and I was able to just let it all go without caring. Then I was back, struggling to catch my breath, dazed and a little confused. In a way I was ticked off because I was finally done and then all of a sudden the universe decided it wanted to mess with me more.

I mean, sure, it's cool to not be dead but to be honest I have been grated like cheese for years and I thought maybe I was done for good and it was finally time to rest. But I'm not here to tell you about what I thought would happen. I'm here to continue a story that you seriously thought was over. I'm Maximum Ride, and this is me telling you about the afterlife. My life after the world ended.

If there is one thing the flock is good at it's eating, so when it come to dinner we are first in line. Or at least we used to be; now that there are more mouths to feed we have to think about others before ourselves. We are super kind, us bird folk. Because I'm older and responsible I get to serve dinner for others. Also everyone else is lazy and selfish so I'm kind of stuck doing the job. But I don't really mind, serving food is a great way of getting to know all of our happy campers. Dinner is weird, in a way. We have all these tables set out in a clearing next to where our tree houses are located (weirdly enough they survived and no one questions it even though we totally should be suspicious) and it's set up like a sort of outdoors cafeteria. There's a long table where all the food is and then kids form a line to get their food, arms outstretched, holding plates and using their manners. When I'm in Lunch Lady Mode I get to meet some interesting characters, so I really do like it. I met a girl one morning during breakfast, probably younger than Nudge, and she seemed normal at first. So normal that I honestly doubted she was even a mutant, and then I focused on her eyes. Cat eyes to be exact. She told me how she had feline DNA in her, and I tried to act like it was totally cool. To be honest it is totally cool until you find out that cat DNA means you get to be freaking stealthy as heck, maybe even stealthier that Fang and that also means you deserve an award. I also met a kid with sharp teeth, who doesn't know what he's mixed with but he just uses his teeth to his advantage. Sharp teeth are useful and I will admit to having used a fourteen year old as a can opener at least once maybe twice. I'm not ashamed of it but maybe I should be, whatever.

"Yo, need some help?"

I turn to find a smiling fang jogging my way.

Yes, Fang smiles now, it is weird but you will learn to accept it and his dorky grin whenever I tell him to get a haircut. Okay I'm getting off topic here forgive me.

I wave him over and when he's close enough I hand him a spoon and point at a pot of what I think is chili. Just as the line starts to move he nudges me with his elbow.

"What?" I ask, looking up away from the plate of rolls I'm attending.

He smiles again and shakes his head. "Nothing."

I roll my eyes and that's the end of the conversation.

Stephanie, one of the much younger kids, reaches Fang and holds her bowl out without saying a word. Fang smiles and reaches over to ruffle her hair, takes the bowl and ladles a healthy portion of reddish mush onto it.

"There ya go kiddo," he says as he hands her back her food. My heart melts when the kid giggles and runs away, holding her chili away from her as it splashes around the edges of the bowl.

"Cutie," Fang says softly.

That's when I lose it.

"Oh my god," I say before cracking up.

Fang shoots me an irritated look. "What?"

I shake my head, trying to clear away the giggles as the line moves on, handing rolls and napkins to the kids passing by me.

"You literally just said cutie," I barely manage to say through the laughter. "I mean it's not a bad thing, it's just so . . . un-Fang."

Fang rolls his eyes and shoves me with his hip causing me to drop a roll on the table but he's smiling too, spooning chili into bowls.

That's the one big change from this whole thing, Fang actually seems happy now and not to sound cliché or anything but when he's happy I'm happy. Okay never mind that was totally cliché. But also when he's happy he sleeps peacefully, when he's not he snores louder than anything I've ever heard before. Now you're probably thinking, "How do you know how Fang sleeps, Max?" The answer of course is that we sleep in the same room. And don't get any ideas you perverts, we just sleep and sometimes we talk. I guess when you come back from the death it's nice to have someone who understands how you're feeling. So don't judge me, because let's face it, I've done worse things.

So that has become our daily routine. Wake up, feed the kids, do some chores and then sometimes we go out exploring the island.

Some other times the flock decides to just hang out, spend some quality time together in one of the tree houses. Tonight it's Fang's place, and we all sit around on the floor, sharing a bag of tortilla chips that I stole after dinner.

"So, who would win in a fight, Spider-Man or Batman?" Fang asks.

Iggy throws his head back and laughs.

"The answer is obviously Spider-Man," he says before taking the bag of chips from Nudge's grasp.

"I don't think so, Ig." Fang leans against the wall. "I mean if you think about it it's a trick question, neither of them would win because they both have so many unresolved issues. I think Batman would feel bad hurting Spider-Man because he sees himself in Peter Parker. Just a lost kid, looking for acceptance. And Spider-Man just looks up to Batman, sees him as a hero he can only aspire to be someday."

The room is filled with a sudden silence as we take in what Fang said.

Ig nods in agreement, his hand shoved inside the bag of chips.

"That was deep, man."

And these are the things we talk about. Now that we're not running away or fighting for our lives we actually have time to sit around and talk about random crap. The old me would've complained about wasting time, but new me just goes with the flow and actually enjoys sitting around doing nothing. I guess this is what it feels like to be a normal teenager, just relaxing with friends, being actually happy.

The weirdest thing out of all of this that now I don't see the flock as my family- I mean I still do see them as family, but now I don't feel like I'm responsible for them all as if I was their mother. Now I can actually feel like a friend rather than a leader. It's nice, being able to do things I never thought I would do, like go swimming with them or having sleepovers, teasing each other.

"Hey guys," Gazzy says, breaking the silence.

We all turn to face him. His face is a sudden mixture of surprise, sudden realization and maybe a little bit of terror.

"We don't have a TV."

Nudge takes the chip bag from Ig and raises her eyebrows.

"You're right, I totally forgot about TV," I say.

Fang takes the chips from Nudge and sighs.

"I guess we won't be watching TV any time soon, huh?"

Iggy gasps exaggeratedly and puts a hand against his chest.

"You mean we won't be able to watch and see what's on TV? Oh, no what are we going to do?" His voice is high and sarcastic.

Fang throws a chip at his face but he grins. "Shut up," he says.

"Even if we did have a TV here I doubt we'd be able to watch anything. I mean, the world ended so I don't think they're still airing new episodes of The Real Housewives of New Jersey," Angel says calmly.

This makes everyone quiet down, and awkward silence filling up the room as we remember that while we're eating stolen chips there could be millions of dead people back there.

Fang clears his throat and puts on a fake smile.

"Alright guys it's getting late, we should get sleeping, big day tomorrow."

Nudge frowns at him.

"What big day? We're not doing anything tomorrow."

Fang stands up and rolls his eyes.

"That was my nice way of saying 'get out' guys."

Everyone stands up, we say our goodnights and in the end Fang and I are sprawled on the floor again laughing until past midnight.

He pulls a blanket from his hammock and throws it over our legs.

"Let's go for a walk tomorrow," he says.

I raise an eyebrow. "Are you asking me on a date?"

"No, I'm planning on abandoning you in the forest so you never return- yes Max I am asking you on a date," he says with fake exasperation.

I smile and pull the covers up to my chin.

"Hmm. I'll think about it in the morning," I say.

Fang rolls his eyes but he throws and arm around me. "You are such an ass."

So we roll over until my back is against his chest but we don't fall asleep. He talks about stupid things, like how he hopes there are coconuts on the island, and how he thinks I would look funny bald. And I complain about his breath on my neck but really the only way I can fall asleep is with his warm breath against my ear and the rumbling in his chest when he laughs. This is good, and I like the way things are. But because this is my life and I am me I soon realize why.

Everything is calm before the storm.

Dear Ri, thanks for waiting, I know I suck. I hope this wasn't horrible for you. Your friendship means the world to me and I wake up everyday knowing that no matter how bad it gets I've got you. You have always reminded me of Max in that you try your best to help everyone as best as you can and also in your brave heart. You both protect your friends and are two of the strongest, toughest, and smartest girls I know. I love you both but if one of you were to win in a fight my money will always and forever be on you. And if one of you were to save the world I know it would be you who would save it, because I have complete trust in you and you've already saved me hundreds of times. I love you, and I thank the universe for letting me meet you that first day of 3rd grade because that was the day my life changed.

Thanks for reading!