A/N: Sorry, but all of the information related to the actual book included in the story is not all accurate. I read this book a while ago, and I forgot some of it. Also, I made up a lot of stuff that's not in the actual book by Scott Westerfeld. Please keep this in mind for the rest of the chapters. Thanks.

Chapter One:

Shay's POV:

A chilly wind swept over me and into the cave. I shivered and moved closer to the fire, feeling the warmth spread throughout me.

The cave I lived in was located very high up, a little pocket enclose in a cliff, with endless hills of grass beneath it. Even if I had wanted to leave, I wouldn't know how to because it was so far away.

This was the best shelter I could find. The cave was about the size of a closet, but it was snug and warm. The cave had built in shelves that were perfect for storing things, deep spaces inside the wall where I put supplies and food, and had a deep pit in the middle, perfect for a fire. I had decorated the walls with drawings, beautiful leaves, and other pretty objects. And I had set up a nice sleeping space with blankets and sleeping bags.

"Co-chee chee, co-chee chee". I smiled at the sound. Shanee was back again.

The creature flew smoothly into the cave, but accidentally crashed into the wall, coming up dizzy and confused. I chuckled. That was the 20th time Shanee had crashed like that.

Shanee was a crossbreed between an eagle and a monkey, I had guessed. Shanee had deep brown glassy eyes, broad feathered wings, nimble fingers and toes, and soft, furry fur.

Shanee had been my best friend for the years I had lived in the cave. I talked to him, ate with him, and lived with him. It might be weird to talk and be friends with some flying monkey, but Shanee seemed to understand me, and I could understand what he was saying. I named him Shanee because in my native language, it meant "curious one".

The way we worked was that he would go out in the early mornings, when the sun is just barely rising, and he would get edible plants, vegetables, and roots- he knew all the best and tastiest plants- and then I would start a roaring fire, and make breakfast, with some of the leftovers from the night before. Then, when he came back, we would rinse the plants down by a clear, bubbling stream, slice them with a jagged stone, and store them in little shelf formations in the cave. We would eat our breakfast. After breakfast, we would both go exploring more of the area, or play a game of catch with some rocks. When we came back to the cave, I would cook lunch over glowing coals, and then, we would eat our lunch. Next, he would go collect buckets of water, and we would heat them up to kill germs and bacteria, and they would be ready to drink. We had free time after that. I would take a nap, or weave grass to make decent clothing so I could change, or write on the cave walls with juices of red berries. Shanee usually didn't do much either. He would nap, or eat.

But sometimes, I would tell him stories of my life before, and everything I went through, and you could tell he knew exactly what I was talking about.

On this particular day, though, I told him about how I came to the cave.

One day many years ago, all of us captives were in the prison. It was just another day for us. Most of us had been there for more than ten years. They were going to keep us in there until we died, and wasted away. No one cared about us. Suddenly, we all heard chaos above. And that must of meant they were really loud, because the prisons were fitted with special devices that absorbed 98% of the sound from above so prisoners couldn't listen in. Crashes, and booming noises followed. We were all confused about what was happening. Someone ran down to the prison with keys and unlocked all of our cages. I couldn't make out the face, because the person was covered in black from head to toe. But I do know we were all crying tears of happiness, as we ran for our lives out of that prison. Up in the city, fire erupted everywhere; people were screaming and crying as they fled. Police with huge guns pelted bullets without a care. It was the first time I had been free in 5 years, cramped in that cage. I think I was 18 at that time. And then I saw her. Tally. She was roughly grabbing one of the escaped prisoners, one of the best friends I had made in prison, and tears were streaming down her face, but not of happiness, as she tried to kick Tally in any way possible. Youngblood chained her up and threw her into a cage, along with many other of my friends who looked empty, heartbroken, and forlorn. Then, she saw me. Giving a cruel grin, she launched towards me with open arms, I dodged her and kicked at her. Not giving up, she grabbed me and attempted to chain me. Almost captured, I ripped my hands away, and punched her face, so hard, it was a punch that showed her the years of being chained up, in a cage, all the pain I had been through, and the horrible damage she had done. But even I could feel how painful it was, that I even felt a tiny twinge of pity. But I brushed it away, and sprinted far, far away from that horrible, horrible place. The last image I saw of her was blood pouring from her artificial face, with hatred in her eyes.

I ran to the headquarters where I remembered they had hoverboards. If I was to escape, I needed one. I stopped in an alley, stopping to breathe heavily, after all that running. After a few minutes of rest, I silently crept back to the door. Opening it, I silently slid in. No one was inside. I ran up the staircase to the 7th floor, and as I remembered, room 6b, was the travel storage room. I opened it, and I worked fast. I grabbed four backpacks stuffed with a water purifier, blankets, meal packets, sleeping bags, and warm clothing. And a hoverboard. But the moment I stepped out, an alarm wailed, screaming "Intruder! Intruder!". I could hear the rush of agents and police running up the stairs. Panicking, I looked right and left for an exit. I found another set of stairs leading to the balcony, and sprinted up the staircase. And trust me, it was not easy. I was carrying about an extra 100 pounds of things, and running for my life. I was hit with a blast of cool air as I opened the balcony door. Quickly, I set up the hoverboard. My heart beating extremely fast, I was about to set off, when a police grabbed my leg. "Gotcha!" he sneered. Heart sinking, I struggled to get away, but he had an iron grip. Rapidly, I scanned my materials. Then, I had an idea. I swung the 25 pound backpack at his face. He fell back and lost his grip, leaving me to soar into the sky.

That was about the first time I had smiled in 5 years.

Regaining my balance, I searched my brain for memory of the hoverboard route to the Smoke. For all I knew, that was the safest place I could go to. I looked below, and saw the scene of smoke, alarms, fire, and fighting. I shivered, remembering that I had almost been recaptured again, like my friends. I wish I could've saved them, but I knew I would have only been captured.

The air was crisp and clear, as I swerved back and forth on my hoverboard, and leaned forward to go faster, just in case someone was trying to chase me.

I passed over beautiful, dark green trees, towering peaked mountains, and fields of colorful flowers. Finally, I saw it.

A barren wasteland. The grass in and around it had been burned up, and only some homes were still standing. I slowly landed. A fresh round of tears began rolling down my cheeks, as I remembered what used to be my home, the only place where I belonged. I walked, touched the ground, and breathed the smoky air. This was the Smoke.

I decided to look inside the houses for any still remaining objects. I walked into one that still looked in pretty good shape. Walking in, I saw it was slightly destroyed in the inside. Suddenly, I heard a quiet moan. I was shocked. Was someone living here? Then, I heard it again. It was coming from the right, which was the bedroom. "…He..llo?" I asked uncertainly. "Help…" the person asked weakly. I walked inside the room.

My eyes bugged out. "Maddy!"

I ran up to hug her, but then I realized the state she was in. She had two black eyes, and her left leg was raw and bloody. Her arm was also awkwardly twisted. Flies were buzzing around her.

"Sh-Shay?" she asked with amazement. "Why are you here? How did you get here?" she managed to get out. "I heard them say everyone was killed".

I told her everything, about the escape, Tally, and everything I saw. "You look terrible, I have to help you!" I said.

"There's no need for help anymore" Maddy said hoarsely. "I am half dead already. Look at me. I am starving, thirsty, injured. There is no hope anymore for us. They are too powerful. Look what they did to me. They killed my friends, my husband, my family. And now me. Do you know how much pain I went through to come here?"

"Why did you come all the way here?" I asked.

"I refuse to die at their hands. I will die at my own, at the place where I loved and belonged." She said.

"But you can't die now! I can help you. See, I have food, blankets, clothes, you can live! We could defeat them together!" I exclaimed, about to burst into tears.

"SHAY!" Maddy said in the loudest voice she could muster. "Can you not see what's happening? There is no hope for us to help. Go give yourself up to them. They defeated us already. Go live a normal life like them. I am not going to live, and you know it. Kill me now, Shay. That is my last wish. Just kill me. Please do this, and take me out of my suffering. Please." She said.

Tears were pouring out of my eyes, as I looked at this weak, trembling person lying on the bed. "But I can't! It hurts too much." I cried.

"Fine, then I'll do it myself" Maddy's voice shook. She grabbed the bag from me with her good arm, and searched its contents. Finally, she pulled out a package of tablets. "Do you know what these are? These are poison tablets. The moment they hit your stomach, you are dead."

Ripping it open, she took one out. I could only watch in shock.

Maddy popped it into her mouth, and swallowed.

She closed her eyes and lied down in the bed.

"Meet me in heaven, Shay. That's where I'll be with Az, and David."

And like that, Maddy was gone forever.

Tears streamed down my face, as I recalled that moment. Shanee peered at me curiously. She crawled next to me, and snuggled next to me, as if to make me feel better.

"I'll finish the story tomorrow, okay?" I told Shanee. He walked back to his original place, and went into his sleeping position.

I yawned. "I guess I should sleep, too". I curled up in the sleeping bag, and fell into a deep sleep.