AN: All right, people, here's what's going on. I'm rewriting this story. I think I took a little too much from the Maximum Ride series and I want to remedy that, so I'm completely redoing it. Same Ninjago characters, same Maximum Ride plot, but now with 100% more original prose! I hope you all stick around for it. Enjoy!
This was not how I thought my day was going to turn out. Then again, maybe I should've expected it, given how my days usually go.
C'mon, Lloyd! I berated myself. This isn't the time for thinking, this is the time for running for my life!
Yup. Running for my life. Again, not how I thought my day was going to turn out.
The sounds of the chase behind me got a little louder, like they were gaining on me. I didn't think I could run any faster, but I had to try. Pouring on the speed, I raced forward, stumbling over rocks and tree roots and incredibly pointy sticks. If I could have chosen, I wouldn't have picked a forest as the place to run for my life. Then again, if I could have chosen, I wouldn't have picked running for my life at all.
My lungs were aching, absolutely straining for air, and my heart pounded like it was going to burst, but I couldn't take a break, not even for a moment. From the hissing and snapping behind me, the Serpentine were still getting closer.
I hated Serpentine more than I hated almost anything else, except possibly getting the ending of the newest issue of my favorite comic book spoiled for me. The Serpentine were mutants, a mix of people and snakes and a little bit of pure evil thrown in there just for the fun of it. And they were chasing me, like they often did during some types of testing, but this time, the chase was real. I had escaped, and the scientists were not happy. Well, at least things couldn't get any worse than running for my life through a forest from the Serpentine.
My thoughts were broken by the sound of barking and howling. I shouldn't have thought that. Evidently things could get worse. Now I was running for my life through a forest from the Serpentine and a bunch of bloodthirsty dogs. I was faster than most Serpentine, all of us were even Zane, even though he was maybe six years old, but none of us were faster than a big dog.
The sounds were getting louder again. I tried to speed up, but I was going at my top speed. Then I realized that it seemed to be getting lighter through the trees up ahead. Was it a clearing? Was it some kind of open space? I desperately hoped so.
Still going as fast as I could go, I raced through the trees, bursting out into an open space.
But it wasn't a clearing.
It was the edge of a cliff.
Skidding to a stop just a foot's width from the edge, I stared out over the drop. It overlooked the rest of the forest, with birds chirping and flying all about, pretty much the ideal peaceful scene.
I felt the opposite of peaceful. The Serpentine and their dogs were getting closer, closer, ever closer behind me, and in front of me was a cliff dropping to a floor so far down I could barely see it. Neither option would work. It wasn't fair.
But fair wasn't a word where I came from.
I didn't have a choice. As the Serpentine came roaring through the edge of the trees, guns aiming to fire at me and dogs leaping to bite me, I did what I had to do. I jumped.
Then I opened my wings.
My whole wingspan spread out, more than twice as long as I was tall, all creamy yellow with golden bands edging certain feathers, and I began pumping them.
Rising slowly at first, than more quickly, I swept up the face of the cliff, up through the air, up past the confused dogs and angry Serpentine.
The Serpentine in front bared his fangs and aimed his gun at me. A little red light showed up on my torn-up shorts, the targeting system of the gun in action. Thinking quickly, I soared up and to the west so that the sun would shine directly into his eyes. He screeched in anger and began swinging his gun around, trying to aim at me again, but I was already too far away, laughing in sheer wild joy.
I had survived. I would always survive.