A/N: Heyo, this is a grounded Jessica coming to you from Abby's computer. Don't tell my parents.

Aw, who am I kidding, my mom reads this story. Really, no joke.

Anyhoozles, I worked hard on this chapter. I took all of my energy needed for Health class and applied it here. I hope it was worth it. Enjoy. :)

WE DON'T OWN MAXIMUM RIDE. IT WOULD BE A LITTLE WEIRD TO OWN A PERSON. I'M SORRY, BUT IT'S TRUE.

Chapter One: Oh, Hello Ground

Jessica POV

I'm starting to think that the white coats ran out of proper bird DNA. I mean, really, who gives a girl owl DNA when you know perfectly well that she could handle a different kind. Preferably one that doesn't make her nocturnal.

"Come on Matt! Wake up!" I whined. Matt, the sixteen year old in charge of our flock and was two years older than me, just grunted and rolled over in his sleep. I sighed dramatically. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Very carefully, I put my hand into a fist, opened his mouth, and stuck the fist in.

"Aah!" came a startled exclamation, muffled by the fist. Works every time. I grinned and pulled out my fist. "Jessica! What the heck?"

"Oh good! You're awake." I feigned surprise.

"What time is it?" he grumbled. I checked the pocket watch that I had found abandoned on a bench the other day.

"Three in the morning." I beamed at him.

"Go back to sleep," he mumbled irritably. I rolled my eyes.

"You know as well as I do, I can't. Nocturnal insomniac, remember?" I snorted. Yup, that's me. The hyper-active bird-kid that can't sleep. Wonderful.

"Then what do you want?" he groaned. He knew better than to fall asleep around me. Darn, I was looking forward to pranking him. Oh well.

"Teach me how to fly!" I was the only one in the flock who couldn't fly yet. I was also the only one who had gotten shot in the wing when we escaped the School. Multiple shots. I felt like a bleeding block of Swiss cheese. The others learned how to fly during the 'do-or-die' situation. But I had to be carried. By Matt. It was humiliating. My wing had finally healed after a week.

"At three in the morning?" I could see him struggling between the idea of not having to carry me while he flew and the idea of going back to sleep. "Fine." I grinned. "I'm going to drop you from the sky," he added.

"Do or die, huh?" I was bouncing with excitement. He laughed at me as he got up and stretched, his wings unfurling as he did so.

Ah, adrenaline. The only way to describe my feelings right now. I could fly. Finally.

I looked down at Matt, who was flying below me in case I fell. Really? Please, have a little faith.

As I flew, I thought about our flock. Besides Matt and I, there were three others. There was Christine, who was fifteen, Abby, who was fourteen like me, and Noah, Matt's nine year old brother. I'm sad to say, I'm the most different of our little group. Of all of us, I'm the newbie. I've only been with them for a month. I'm the only one with no memory from before I woke up to the white coats; the only one to know what kind of bird DNA I was given; the only one to actually act like their kind of bird; the only one without some special sort of power. Christine could turn nearly invisible, Abby could read minds by touching someone, Matt could control someone's speed by focusing on them, and Noah gained knowledge just by touching whatever contained the knowledge, like a book or a computer. But I've got nothing. Except my freakish survival instincts.

Now I know you're probably thinking that my survival instinct isn't special because everyone has it. Well, you see, my instincts are insane. If my body thinks I'm in danger, it causes a panic attack. Let's just say I have a lot of panic attacks.

"Did your mouth stop working?" Matt called up to me, unnerved by my silence. I just snorted and continued thinking. Then I felt a twinge in my healing wing.

"Uh Matt…" Was all I got out before my wings collapsed from strain. I fell too fast, even for Matt. I closed my eyes waiting for the inevitable panic attack before my death. It never came.

And neither did the impact.

My eyes flew open.

I was hovering above the ground, surrounded by a purple-tinted shield. A force field. My force field.

Slowly lowering myself to the ground, I looked up to see Matt land. I stumbled forward and did something I never thought I'd do.

I fell asleep.

DIS IS ABBY. I will be doing the footer from now until the end of time. :3