Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride, which is the greatest novel in the world.

Ryan had the gun to the soldiers head, which was freakin' crazy. He attacked a soldier, thinking it had been an Eraser. If there were any other soldiers in the area, he was screwed. The soldier under him struggled briefly, but when he pushed harder on the pistol, the man stopped moving. There was complete and utter silence while Ryan thought about what to do. There was a sudden rustling behind Ryan , and before he could move, the barrel of a rifle was pushed up against his head. Ryan froze ,and the soldier underneath him rolled to his feet. He looked slightly dazed as he went to pick up his rifle.

"Who the hell is that guy? He took you down no problem. Maybe he's a terrorist! That would explain why he's in the middle of nowhere. We should take him in and see what we could get out of him." The new soldier said. He pulled Ryan roughly to his feet and walked around to look him in the face. He only complied because these guy had rifles. Otherwise he would have destroyed them. The soldier pulled off Ryan mask and disbelief covered his face.

"Yo, Joe! This guy's only a kid .Ha! You were beaten by a kid! That's pathetic."He grinned as he approached Ryan . "Hey, you know what? I'll fight you. For the fun of it. No gun," The new man dropped his rifle on the ground, as well as his pistol. " We'll see who's the better fighter." He took a defensive stance, as did Ryan there was complete silence as the two combatants stood completely still. The man suddenly charged at Ryan throwing a right hook.

Ryan easily dodged it, then replied with a punch of his own. The man caught it, but was promptly knocked off his feet by a sweep kick. The man grunted as Ryan jumped on top of him and started wrestling with him. The first soldier, Joe ,was watching this match with interest, quietly nursing his bruised ribs. It seemed even at first, then the battle began to tip towards the boy. There was a flash of movement , then suddenly The kid was sitting on the soldier, twisting the mans arm.

"OK I give! I give!" The man shouted. The strange kid had let the man up and was standing a few feet away, looking watchful. The soldier stood up uneasily, then started laughing. Ryan was dumbfounded, but remained silent. "Well, I must admit, you've given me quite a challenge. Say, you look like you don't have a home. Do you have a home?" The soldier was eyeing Ryan's ragged clothes and worn look. Ryan looked uneasy, but shook his head.

The man looked thoughtful, then grinned. "You know what? I just had a great idea. Why don't you come back to base with us. I'm sure the general can find a use for you. Plus you would have a warm place to stay and something to eat. I'm surprised someone of your skill is living on the streets. Well, do you want to?"

Ryan was uncertain. He was a living mutant mistake, with bird wings, and yet he was being offer a place to stay. It seemed like a trick by the erasers, but Ryan didn't have much of a choice. He nodded , then stood there silently. The man grabbed his rifle, then the two men began to walk off into the darkening woods. Ryan trailed behind them, keeping his distance. The soldier noticed this after a while, and turned back and approached Ryan.

"what's wrong? Don't trust us yet?" He asked, looking at Ryan.

"No, I guess not. You are soldiers , and I live on the street. You would trust a person like me so readily?" Ryan said, leaning up against a tree.

The man thought for a moment, then pulled out his handgun .Ryan stiffened, until the soldier held the gun out to Ryan, handle first. Ryan took the gun slowly, expecting a trick, but the man grinned, letting go of the weapon. Ryan quickly checked if it was loaded. When he saw it was, he held it at his side, keeping his guard up.

"I'm Mairen, by the way. That over there is James. We were patrolling these woods . The army could use someone of your skill. You bested both of us, and, frankly, I'm amazed." He began to walk off without another word. James shrugged, then followed his comrade. Ryan still didn't trust them, but he felt better now that he had a weapon. He followed them back to their base, keeping his distance.

At the military base, Ryan felt mall the more uncomfortable. Steel fences with barb wire, as well as many men in army uniforms screamed danger. Ryan had a mental alarm that alerted him to danger. It was a handy tool, but right now it was blaring. He silently followed the soldiers in to a building and into an elevator. That wasn't good. If he needed to make an escape, he wouldn't be able to. After about a minute of descending into the earth, the elevator stopped. The door opened into what appeared to be a conference room. At the end of the room, stood a man in army uniform, medals adorning his suit. He looked slightly amused as Ryan approached the man, keeping an eye on everything around him. The man, apparently the general, noticed this. He greeted James and Mairen, then turned towards Ryan, who had been standing nearby, watching the proceedings quietly.

Finally, after the two soldiers had finished talking to the general, he turned towards Ryan. "So, you're the kid that bested my soldiers. I must say, I'm impressed. If you need somewhere to stay, we can offer you a place here. However, you will be put to work. How good are you with weapons?"

Ryan thought about how to answer this. "Well, why don't you put me through a test or something, then you can find out." He said quietly. The general had not been expecting this response, but nontheless he directed ryan toward the firing range and cautioned his not to get angry if he was outdone.

After the challenge, All the soldiers that had been present were in awe. Ryan had outdone all of them, getting direct hits on all of the targets. All the pain and torture Ryan had been put through at the Prison to become a soldier had paid off. He had made himself, however closed in it was, a new home.