A/N: I am currently thinking of a title. For now I will call this "Maximum Ride, Fang's POV". No, this is not the books in Fang's eyes, but a different story.

Disclaimer: I don't own the flock or erasers, etc. I do own the plot.

Chapter 1

It was my watch. We were deep in the forest of Lost. It was after eleven, I knew that. I looked around at the flock; Angel's arm around Total and Celeste, Nudge's motor-mouth closed, the Gasman's silent breathing. I glanced at Max. When she was asleep, she was the most beautiful thing in the whole world. Her blonde hair, her pink lips, her smooth skin…

Then something caught my eye. Max's arm appeared to have a scratch. I know that she had tried to get the chip out of her arm weeks ago, but this one was higher up and a bit darker. I reached out to grab her arm, but almost instantly she woke up and jackknifed into a sitting position.

"What are you doing?" she snapped, voice trembling. It looked like she was covering her arm.

"What is on your arm?" I asked, calmly and quietly as possible.

"Nothing," she said, almost immediately.

Just by her response, I could tell that she had done something terrible.

"May I see your arm then?" I asked, holding out my hand.

Slowly, Max extended her arm, revealing over ten marks, one of them covered in dried blood. Though it scared me, I showed no expression. I ran my fingers down her arm, gently like a feather. Why haven't I seen this before? I asked myself. Then it occurred to me, lately Max had been wearing a lot of long sleeve shirts.

"What happened?" I questioned, staying calm, forcing my emotions down my throat.

"I want to be normal. I want an actual family with a mom, a dad, and maybe a sister or brother," she yelled, waking up Iggy. "I hate this life! Why can't I have a normal teenage life?" Max's anger rose, and she took out a knife, pressing it against her wrist, and cut along the vein. Blood spilled out of her arm, and she cried.

While I was racing to grab the Band-Aids and things, Iggy started wondering what was going on.

"Uh, Fang," he said, "what is happening? Why is Max crying?" Getting up, Max opened her wings, and shot up, using her supersonic flying ability.

And just like that, she was gone.

Chapter 2

Iggy looked confused, having just waked up from an 'argument.' I was still in shock. Never had this happened before; not even at the School.

And yet, there it happened. An 'experiment' just cracked. Max couldn't handle it anymore. We had to find her.

"Iggy, we have to find Max," I said, gathering our gear.

"What do you mean find?"

"She flew away, she got mad and scared," I recalled. "She had cut marks going up and down her arm. One of them looked like it was still bleeding."

"So what are you saying?" Iggy asked. "That Max has flown away, with a little bit of blood dripping?"

"Before she left, she cut along the vein." I hope I didn't look terrified while saying that, but I'm sure I did. It's just that I care about Max, and the flock, but watching Max fly away with most of her blood coming out? I sure couldn't handle that.

"When do we leave?" Iggy questioned.

"More importantly, what do we tell the others?"

The next morning, everyone woke, except me, who had taken all shifts that night. Nudge was the first to talk, not a surprise.

"Uh, Fang, where's Max?" Nudge asked concern in her voice.

"She's out getting some breakfast," I lied. "She'll be back in a few hours." I know they'll get suspicious, but how was I supposed to tell them the truth? I knew that Angel or the Gasman wouldn't be able to stand not having Max around.

I will admit it; even I can't stand life without Max. I've known her almost my whole life and she would always try to help me when I was 'down.' I was there for her when she was down, and I thought we always would be there for each other, but I don't know now.

"Where's the river?" Total yawned. "I'm thirsty."

"Come on, Total," Angel said, getting up, still holding Celeste. "I'll go with you."

"Don't go too far off," Iggy called to them.

"What's for breakfast?" the Gasman asked, rummaging through his backpack.

"Whatever Max brings back," I lied again.

"If she comes back you mean," Iggy whispered, a bit too loud.

"What do you mean if she comes back?" Nudge asked with a worried and confused look.

"Max ran away," Iggy said. "Well, actually, it was more of flew away." That really wasn't what I had in mind of how to tell them, but it worked.

Nudge looked stunned. Never had she ever thought that Max, the leader, would run away. Max would always be there for her when she was down, chase away the nightmares, and keep them all safe. Never had Nudge thought that Max would just disappear.

"Ran away?" Nudge mumbled, eyes wide.

"Don't tell the others," I told her, trying not to look threatening.

"Don't tell the others what?" the Gasman chimed in.

"What we…are getting Max for…Christmas," Iggy lied.

"We can actually get presents?" the Gasman said, looking amazed.

Just then, Iggy shot me a look – a look of surrender. I knew we had to tell them the truth. I knew that in a few hours, we would be searching for Max.

And there was nothing more to it.

"Actually, Gaz, no," I started. "The truth is that Max has run away." He stared at me, mortified. "And I don't know if she will live." And then, tears came raining out of Gazzy's eyes.

"Max is gone," he stopped to think, "and you think she'll die? Why would she die?"

Sighing, I turned to Iggy for an explanation.

"Last night, Fang saw cut marks on Max's arm, and when he tried to get a better look, she freaked. Next, she took a knife and cut along her vein," he explained, trying not to cry.

Just then, Angel and Total came up, smiles and glowing expressions, not knowing what had just taken place.

"Is Max back yet?" Angel asked. "Cuz I'm starving. I think I could eat a pig or two."

"Same here," Total agreed. "I think we all need food."

I sighed again, knowing this time I would have to explain things.

"Angel," I said, trying not to cry. "Max isn't coming back unless we go to her."

"What do you mean?" she inquired. "Are you saying that she ran away? Why would she do that?"

"I don't know." But I did know.

And that's what I almost cried about.

Chapter 3

Hair being pulled back, wind against her face, the world rushing below her. Max felt alive, but knew she wouldn't be for a few more hours. Her arm covered in sticky red blood. She knew what she had done was deadly and dangerous, but that was part of her intentions – to be free of this world.

Slowly and painfully, Max started dropping. She wouldn't have minded much if she dropped over a forest or an ocean, but she was above the heart of a major city.

A light in every building, and the sun was just about to get up. Max looked down and saw that she was heading straight for a busy street. Smiling, she tucked in her wings, and drive bombed for the pavement.

She could hear cars honking, dogs barking, and a murmur of people's voices. She felt the wind against her face, eyes closed.

She waited to no longer feel, but instead, felt arms.