Ok! This is my second fanfiction ever! :) Maximum Ride is one of my all time favorite book series, and I feel like I just have to write a story for it. This idea popped into my head a few days ago, and I just couldn't get rid of it! Writing it down was the best thing I could do. Soooooo, here it is, and I hope you like it! Oh, and please comment on what I can improve on! (Because I know there is always something I can do to make my work better!) :)

Chapter 1

Caged In

My best friend is gone.

He was always there for me.

I was his own daughter!

He left me for them...

Those... those bird kids...

They will pay...

Dear Kathrine,

I've been wanting to tell you this for a while, but didn't really know how. I'm going to become an Eraser and help the school's scientists to find Dad and the bird kids. I know, you probably don't want a wolf as your older brother, but the scientists say it has to be done. If I don't do this, who knows how long it will be before we see Dad. Years, maybe. So, if you'd like to see me one last time as a human, then I'll meet you in the main hall in front of Paul's security desk. I'm sorry if this startles you, but~~~~~~~~~~

Your big bro,

Ari

The letter was left drifting to the floor of my bedroom, words stained with my tears.

"Ari! Wait up!" I stopped at the corner of the main hall, catching my breath. Geez, how fast can he walk? I wondered as I started to pick up speed once more. Chemical scents approached me as I passed multiple labs and experimenting rooms. "Ari! Wait! I wanna say goodbye! Ari!" Finally coming into earshot, Ari turned towards me. A perplexed expression came across his face as he knelt down to my height, ready to receive my embrace.

"What are you talking about Kathrine? I'll be right back!" He replied, ruffling my short blonde hair. I hate it when he does that.

"But, you won't be the same! I wanna say goodbye to my brother Ari, and not hello to a blood-thirsty Eraser Ari!" I looked up at him with my large blue eyes, watering and ready to spring tears. "I know you want to help the school and all... but..." I couldn't take it anymore. I've been trying to hold everything in an attempt to stay strong, but I can't lose my big brother too. I've already lost daddy... Not being able to take it any longer, I burst out crying. No, I can't lose you! "Ari! P-please, don't! Please!" My sobbing made my voice sound like weird chokes, but I couldn't stop.

"It's alright. Don't cry. I'll be fine. So, I'll look different, and I might not be around as much, but I'll still be here. Okay?" Standing up out of my grasp, he extended his hand. "Come on. You can wait in the lab with Mrs. Harper. Everything will be fine." My sobbing had subsided, and I gingerly took his hand as I was lead down the long winding hallways.

"But, I thought becoming an Eraser could make you more... um, mean."

"They told me I can keep my personality, because I wasn't born an Eraser. And I won't be too different than I am now, so you don't have to worry too much." We had reached the mutation lab door. It almost looked like something from a horror movie. Large gleaming bolts held metal slabs and bulletproof glass together. There was no handle, but there was a keypad, where you could buzz in to the scientists inside. Pressing the largest red button, Ari verified his voice, how many were entering, and whom. With a loud eardrum-shattering screech, the door slid open to reveal a laboratory like I had never seen before. Like a normal lab, there were test tubes, beakers, and chemicals all around. But, what made this room interesting, was the number of cages scattered about, each containing some sort of mutated creature. All were a mix of a human child, and some sort of animal. I saw fish kids, dog kids, and even more bird kids.

I winced as I saw a failed experiment rolled away on a cart, dead. Does anyone other than me feel sorry for these people? Ari didn't even show any sign of emotion as the cart was wheeled by, he just kept pulling me along to a group of white coated people in the very back of the room. Before them was a large television screen which was showing a model of what Ari would become. Somewhat unlike the other Erasers, Ari wouldn't be quite as wolf like. He could still keep more than 50% of himself as human, but not much. His eyes would remain human when he changed, but they would change to a deep brown permanently. No longer would we share any of our favorite traits. Including my favorite, him being human.

"Are you ready Ari?" Mrs. Harper-the second in command scientist- walked up to us, clipboard in hand. "We have some great things to-" She stopped in mid sentence as she noticed I was party hiding behind my big brother, not yet ready to give him up. "Kathrine? Ari, what is she doing here? You know my boss has been looking for another child! If he sees her, she could become something worse than another Eraser!" Her face was stricken with panic and fear. I've known her for most of my life, and see cares about me and my brother deeply, even if she is just another scientist. "He's been working on a special project Ari! She's just the age of child he was looking for and has exceeded the average intelligence for her age too! He would take her in almost immediately! You have to get her out of here before he comes!" Ari's face almost turned chalk white.

"Y-you mean, he finished his research on that? He's ready for a specimen? B-but, Kathrine's only seven! She's too young to-"

"No Ari." Mrs. Harper cut him off. "She isn't. Our test subjects are getting younger and younger. Remember those bird kids that left with your father?" Those bird kids that left with your father... Those words stung the second she let them go. "They were born with wings! Now get her out of here! My colleges can't even see her, or they'll report to him! Now go! We'll transform you later!"

Making a mad dash for the door, we fumbled over boxes and crates.

"Sorry! Ouch! Sorry!" I apologized as some experiments-Or children?- got knocked over onto the hard white tiles below.

"Ugh! Why won't this lock open?" Ari pounded on the inner keypad with no avail. The sliding metal door would not budge.

"Ari! We need to be quiet! What if they hear us and see me?" I tried to pry open the large metal wall of a door, but like Ari's attempts, it was no use.

"They won't. Mrs. Harper distracting them! But, I don't know how long she can keep it up!" I looked over to Mrs. Harper and her colleagues, she had driven them into a deep discussion about one of the fish children swimming around in a tank built into the wall.

"She didn't distract all of us..." Came a harsh voice from behind. Upon turning, I found a rather large man in a completely black uniform. A shining gold security badge pinned to his chest. "Hey!" He shouted over to the group of scientists, "We got a runaway!" The group turned and made their way over to the door where Kathrine and Ari were still frantically trying the lock.

I felt a pair of large arms grab hold of me as another security guard appeared. The first one had taken Ari.

"Ari! What are you doing? You know this child would be perfect for our latest experiment!" One of the scientists exclaimed. They can't be serious! I don't want to be changed into a mutant! I don't want to be caged and beaten! "Get her to the boss! He can evaluate her! And as for you..." All of the scientists turned on Ari, dragging him into an experimental chamber on the far side of the room.

"No! You can't do this! She's my little sister! No! You can't-" The doors closed between me and my brother, cutting off his final words. Tears came to my eyes the second time that day.

"W-what are you going to do with me?" I asked the few scientists remaining in the room. One of which was Mrs. Harper.

"You will need to be evaluated." She replied in an almost monotone voice. Probably to disguise the grief she was so skillfully hiding.

Suddenly the large arms holing me opened the door and led me out to my fate. I watched silently as Mrs. Harper mouthed the words 'I'm sorry.' That was the last time I would ever see her, and my brother as I knew him.