Echo POV
Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride... :(
Echo of the Forgotten
Chapter 1
The air pushed me forward at about 250 mph. I didn't even know if this was possible or how exactly I did it. I just told the wind to propel me and it did. I didn't even have to flap my wings or move muscles, but I couldn't fall asleep which was a real bummer. (Don't ask how I know that one) I was heading for Las Vegas. The city that never sleeps. Being I could fold in my wings, it would be pretty easy to blend in with the nonconformities of Vegas. I looked around and saw nothing. Here was a good place to stop for the night. I slowed slightly and began my descent to the ground below. I was on the outskirts of Vegas and this was the only patch of trees for miles around. I landed lightly on the branch of a large oak. I felt the bark of the branch under my bare feet. My jeans wouldn't last much longer and my t-shirt had rips everywhere. I folded in my wings and sat on the branch.
"Dang, you look horrible." A voice said. I looked around, but no one was there. Something shifted in the tree opposite me. Suddenly, I saw a black haired boy sitting on a branch. I willed the branch to snap beneath him. Huge, black wings shot out from behind him and he grabbed onto another branch. I felt my eyes widen in surprise.
"Yeah, you aren't the only one with wings around here." The boy said. I spread out my wings in a petty attempt to seem more threatening. He laughed and balanced on the branch he was.
"You look familiar..." The boy said. He flew to the edge of the branch I was on. I willed the branch to withstand the now doubled weight. I inched backwards slightly. The boy stared into my eyes. He shook his head.
"Sorry, you look like someone I know." He said.
"No, it's fine." I answered. He met my gaze and stuck out his hand.
"Fang." He said as we shook hands.
"Echo. Actually I'm looking for someone that looks like me. Can I trust you?" I said, looking at him warily. Fang looked at me and smiled.
"Yeah, you can. What do you need?" Fang asked. I looked around and saw the distant lights of Vegas.
"Well first I'm going to need some new clothes. Second, I need to find my brother. He was taken away about four months ago." I told Fang.
"Number one is easy as long as we go to Vegas. Number two might be the slightest bit harder. What's your brother's name?" Fang replied.
"Dylan" I said as I leapt down from the branch. My feet touched the ground lightly and I turned. Fang leapt down after me.
"Dylan? As in looks like a supermodel Dylan?" Fang exclaimed. I glanced at him weirdly.
"Yeah, sure. Why not?" I answered. Fang looked astonished.
"He's a member of my old flock!" Fang exclaimed.
"Flock?" I asked, cautiously. I didn't like the idea of more people being involved. A stick cracked to my left. We both paused. I willed my heat vision to come on. There was a human shaped figure about fifty feet off on my left. Fang suddenly disappeared. Stupid. I knew I shouldn't have trusted him. I tucked in my wings and lowered myself to the ground. The human walked into the clearing and looked around. It was a white coat. They knew I was here. I shifted my form into one of a white tiger. My wings disappeared when I shifted.
I sprung out of the brush and attacked the white coat. He tried to shake me off but I broke his neck with my powerful jaws. Another white coat appeared from the trees followed by two more. Damn! They had us surrounded. Fang sprung out of the trees and stood by my side. I saw two fallen white coats in the patch of trees from which Fang had sprung. I shifted back into my normal form.
"Stay in one spot." I whispered to Fang. He nodded slightly. The ground cracked around us and a huge rift was created around us. I shoved the mauled white coat into the crack. I snapped my fingers and a small spark started in my palm. I breathed on it and the flames grew at a rapid pace. Trees snapped and fell around the white coats. They all turned in fear, but couldn't escape. I shot the bit of fire out my palm and the fallen trunks lit on fire. I turned to Fang who wore a surprised, but impressed, look on his face.
"We've got to go. Like now." I told Fang and pushed off the ground. It took minimal effort to start flying through the dark night. Within seconds, Fang was flying beside me. I hit turbo and shot off. I stopped after a few seconds when I realized that Fang wasn't following. I paused and waited for him to catch up.
"I need to stay. Go and find the flock" Fang said grabbing my arm. I rolled my eyes until I noticed that he was writing down the directions on my arm. Fire began to light up the night.
"Thank you" I said as I turned and flew off. Fang waved weakly. I hit turbo and shot off into the night. I flew for hours, doing absolutely nothing but humming to myself, before I spotted the small cliff house that Fang had described. The sun had started it's rise into the sky about an hour ago. A dark haired figure sat on the roof of the house. As I flew closer, I noticed his eyes were closed. I landed gently next to him.
"Max?" He asked with his eyes closed.
"No. Someone much better, Dylan." I answered. He opened his eyes and shot up. He touched my face gently.
"Echo." He exclaimed. We hugged each other tightly.
"You're a mess" Dylan said when we finally let go of each other, "C'mon, you look like you're Max's size." He jumped off the roof and flew into the house. I followed him.
"It's about time you came in Dylan, Iggy's almost done cooking." A dirty blonde said as we walked in the door. She paused and screamed. I spread my wings and glared. Four bird kids turned to stare at me.
"Who the hell is she?" The dirty blonde shrieked.
