A/N : Alright, so for a good while, I was obsessed with Maximum Ride. I still am, I just don't read it as much since the 9th manga book came out. I read all the chapter books, although I can't really remember them, sadly. I can remember faint parts of the beginning, and faint parts of the middle. I cannot remember the ending at all, unfortunately. Anyways.

This will be a shorter chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride.

The only characters I own are the two men, Archer, and Zinnia.

Rated T for cursing.

Chapter 1: Why are ya still runnin'?

Running is so difficult. Now, if I could just fly, that would be great. Too bad these freaks would shoot me out of the sky the moment I take off. I pant, desperately looking for a place to hide, or at least take a break. My long, platinum blonde hair flows out behind me as I run to my saftey. I look around frantically, so tempted to shoot out my white, 14 inch wide wings and take off.

"Why are ya still runnin'?" One shouts, laughing as he holds his gun up. He's an ugly man, that's for sure. I wonder if he has any kids, let alone a wife or a partner. With his big belly, his short appearance. Not to mention his bad attitude and stinky breath. Scratch that. Stinky everything. I scrunch my nose up at his question, my short legs desperate to go just a little bit faster. Just so I won't be able to smell his gross scent.

"I see ya wings, girl!" The other one yells, laughing at my attempt to run faster. "We're gonna rip 'em off right off of ya!" he adds, taking off after me. This one isn't too bad to look at. He's a tall man, with much longer legs than myself. He has brown, messy hair. Big, green eyes, although with ugly bags hanging from under them. He looks sickly skinny. You know what, forget what I said earlier. This guy is hard to look at, too. I blink, my long eyelashes fluttering against my cheekbones as I listen to his words.

"I don't see you trying!" I try to yell back tauntingly, running a bit faster somehow. They stop, hearing my voice.

"Damn. She sounds like a little girl."

"I am 14!" I say instantly, skidding to a stop. Shit. Why did I do that?

"Ehehe. Don't look like it, sweetie."

I turn around, glaring at their guns. I brush my thick, curly bangs out of my big, bright blue eyes. "Who do you guys think you are, anyways?" I demand.

"Who do we think we are?" one of them repeats, laughing shortly after.

"Well, we're gonna be rich fellas in a second once we have those wings."

I flinch. I knew I shouldn't have stopped. These guys have guns and what do I have? Two, small legs that will run for their lives. Or, a pair of big wings that could be shot during flight. I contemplate whether I should run or not for a breif second, before unfolding my wings quickly but carefully. I take off with speed and experience, hearing gunshots from below. I manage to miss one bullet, literally hearing it go past my ear. I shudder. Imagine if that got me.

"Agh! Dammit, we missed her!" One of them yells.

I smirk. "Yes, you did," I mumble, flying farther away instead of flying higher. I peek down at them, looking back up shortly after. They're already getting in a loud argument.

I hear a gunshot a moment too late. I let out a gasp, feeling it hit my wing. In my attempt, I flap my wings faster, able to at least make it to a roof and collapse there.

"S-Shit," I whimper, curling in on my self. "No," I whisper, sitting up. I unfold my wounded wing, hearing the stupid crooks' cheers in the background. I stare at the damage, carefully stroking my feathers. It's a big gash, as far as I can tell. Dark red stains my pure white feathers. I wince, looking away as tears collect in my eyes. My wing has gone numb from the blood loss already.

"How am I supposed to get this fixed?" I murmur to myself, standing up and looking around for the men. They're probably already making their way towards me. Well, they'll lose track very quickly, I decide, huffing as I look for a way to get down.

Jump off the roof. That's what I have to do. I smile in slight panick, knowing I will have to go on foot once more. I could break an ankle jumping down at this height if I don't land correctly. I stare at the ground, sweat collecting on my forehead as I furrow my eyebrows. I breathe deeply, flinching when I hear their cheers in loud voices. They're getting closer.

I jump, landing just right on my feet. I let out a breathless gasp, hesitating and checking to see if I broke anything. Nope. Just my wing. I begin to run, no matter how much pain it brought to my wing. I pant, sweat already rolling down my back. I'm getting too much exercise these days, I think to myelf, my eyebrows wrinkling once more. I pant, looking around. I have stumbled into a neighborhood. I doubt they would try to get me here. I begin to walk, feeling not only sweat, but blood run down my back. I shudder, blinking.

Where do I go now?

A/N: Heehee! Well, sorry for the shortness. It usually takes me a while to type this all down. Review, please!

~iiCollz