A/N: Max and the rest of the lovely Maximum Ride characters, sadly, aren't mine. Only the plot is.
I could smell the sickening odor of disinfectant as I woke. Still groggy and disoriented, I looked around me, trying to figure out where I was.
The test tube racks on my right told me I was at The School once again. And I had no idea how I ended up here.
And I was inside a dog crate far too small for me -- I was crouched low now, almost squatting. I glanced around, looking for my flock.
I could feel someone was missing, but I couldn't pinpoint who. I peered through my dog crate, checking if everyone was there.
"Max?" asked Angel innocently, stirring from her dog crate. "What happened?"
"Sweetie, I'm afraid we're -- we're back in The School," I gulped, still looking around. Gazzy was in the crate right in front of me, and Nudge was in the crate beside Angel's, still fast asleep. I looked around for Iggy and Fang.
I turned my head to the left and saw Iggy's crate beside me. Good. He was still there. But where was Fang?
"Max, I don't think Fang's here," said Angel, obviously reading my thoughts again.
"You sure, Angel?" Already, I was dreading the worst.
"Yes," she replied, a frown slowly appearing on her face. "Total's gone too."
Which only meant one thing.
Crap.