Recap

I notice the Uinta Mountains not too far from us and grin. "We're almost home!" I cheer to the others, who whoop and laugh. We're one big, happy family. Me and my flock. My family. My friends. We reach the house, which isn't exactly a house. It's a cottage –a large cottage- sitting on the side of a mountain. Each of us land, one by one, and head into the house. We stop cold when we see six kids inside.

"Who the hell are you?"

End Recap

They all stare at us in slight shock. Why? This is our home! I level each one with a glare and step forward, out of the group, to indicate I mean business. "Do I need to ask again?"

They don't answer.

I narrow my eyes and survey each one. There are three that seem to be the oldest. One girl with dirty blond hair and chocolate eyes. The next is a boy of black. The last is a strawberry blond with eyes devoid of pupils. The remaining three are younger. One African American girl with wild hair. The next a boy with an innocent stare and a fair-haired fringe. Lastly, a girl who looks suspiciously like the innocent-looking boy. Who are they? Certainly not anyone I know.

"You're right." The smallest girl nods once. "You don't."

Everyone looks at her in surprise and confusion. I gasp, realizing she just answered an unspoken conflict. "You...?" I can't understand what's going on. How?

She giggles. "I read minds!"

Wow. I'm honestly surprise. Testing it out, I think what are you, little girl?

"I'm just like you. Everyone in this room has avian DNA in their system." She stares directly at me, ignoring everyone else's shocked protests and gasps.

And you're here why? I think in irritation.

"We thought this was a random hiker's cabin, but I guess we were wrong!" She shrugs nonchalantly, grinning childishly at me. I can't help but think of how much she looked like Ryu. At that exact thought, she turns to Ryu.

"You're Ryu?" She asks curiously.

"Angel!" The eldest girl lunges forward, grabbing "Angel's" wrist and yanking her back. She looks angry and irritated and confused. Oh, so we're on the same page.

"Who are you?" She snaps. I narrow my eyes. Oh, hell no.

"I believe I asked you first." I counter. There is no way I'm revealing my identity to her first.

She looks extremely peeved, but turns to the five children behind her. She nods once before turning back to me. "I'm Maximum Ride. This is Fang-" she gestures toward boy in black "-Iggy-" she gestures to pupil less eye guy "-Gazzy-" innocent looking boy "-Nudge-" African American girl "-and Angel." Mind-reader.

"That's just wonderful." I smile sarcastically. She narrows her eyes to match mine.

"What about you?"

I pause, thinking it over. If I tell them, they can use it against us. How? I don't know. I just know they can. If I don't tell them, I might start a fight with this Maximum Ride and her friends. I suppose I didn't want that. And if I think she will harm us, I can always kill her. I see Angel wince, staring at me with wide eyes.

"Fine." I finally say. "My name is Ria." I'm proud to say it. I know it means obstinate, rebellious conqueror. I don't know how I know that, but I do. I nod at Darren and he smiles.

"I'm Darren," he flashes a sunlit smile. "I'd say it's nice to meet you, but I don't want to lie." That's Darren for you. Sharp and snappy at times and nice and friendly at others. Another thing I love about that guy. Notice how I said about him. I do not love Darren.

"Hello," Ryu steps forward, next to me, and grabs my hand. She gives it a reassuring squeeze. "I'm Ryu."

"My name's Gale!" Gale hops forward, in between Darren and me. I can't help the small smile that forms on my face.

"Now that introductions are finished..." I look toward Maximum Ride with steel in my tone. "Good-bye."

She blinks, looking affronted. Darren looks at me hesitantly, but doesn't refuse. He doesn't like this any more than I do. I am just able to be meaner than him.

"Wait." The calm, quiet voice of Ryu reaches my ears, and I look down at her.

"Hm? What is it?" I ask, kneeling down to her level when she gestures. She puts her lips by my right ear and whispers to me.

"They're like us." She says. I nod.

"And...?" I press gently.

"And I want to know what they're like. Can they stay since they don't have anywhere else to go?"

I sigh and grimace. We don't know these people, Ryu! I want to tell her. But I don't, because she has a point. They have no where to go. I'm starting to regret leaving as late as we did from the school. If we left earlier, would this have happened?

"Ryu..." I murmur, shaking my head. Her eyes are staring up at me, not in sadness or guilt or anger. But it is hope she's staring at me with. "Why do you always win this sort of fight?" I persist softly, chuckling. Her eyes widen and she grins. We're no longer whispering.

"That means...?"

I sigh again, running a hand through my hair. "Yeah."

She giggles shrilly and bounces over to Gale, whispering in his ear. His eyes widen and a smile spreads on his face. He nods once, looking up at me with his eyes nearly screaming "Is it true? Is it true?" I give one subtle nod, smiling softly when he throws a fist into the air. I look over at Darren, who smiles slightly, nodding in approval. I grin at him and shrug, gesturing to Ryu. She got me.

As he passes me, he whispers a barely audible "Whipped," before rushing forward to greet the newcomers. I stare after him, mouth agape. Okay, so maybe he isn't all that nice. But I'm fine with him being a jerk one minute and a caring, teddy bear the next. It suits me.

I follow behind him and greet the others. I don't know where we'll get the space for everyone in this house. It's big- but I'm not sharing a bed. No way in-

"You won't have to." Angel cuts into my thinking. I grind my teeth in frustration.

"What do you suggest?" I inquire, upset that she keeps reading my thoughts. Where's the privacy to that?

"We can sleep on couches." Maximum Ride steps in. "We don't mind. We'll sleep on the floor. You have your beds to yourselves."

I stare at her, considering. "Hm... Fine," I finally agree, and I see Gazzy and Iggy high-five. I almost smile, but I refrain. Looking out the window, I see night falling. I clap my hands together once, loudly. My flock turns to me. Maximum Ride and her group just watch.

I direct my attention to my flock. "Alright, guys, time for bed. We're going to get up bright and early tomorrow. I'll go hunting, Darren will cook what I get, and you three will do what Darren says while I'm gone." The three younger ones groan and whine, but soon stop at my amused smirk. They frown, huffing dramatically before heading to their rooms. I laugh after them, and Darren just smiles. I turn to him. "And as for you... don't make anything too spicy. Remember what you did to Gale's eggs that one morning? He-"

"Ran off screaming 'water! Water!' I get it. Keep the spices on a low." Darren nods once, trying to keep the amused tone out of his voice.

"Oh, and one more thing." I look down the hall towards Ryu's room. "I'm taking Ryu with me so she can learn how to hunt."

"So you're leaving Gale to me? What am I going to do to entertain the kid while preparing to cook?" He looks at me incredously.

"You'll think of something." I ruffle his hair, and then realize I have to stand on my tiptoes to do it. I hate being shorter than him.

He grunts and heads off, toward his room. I turn to Maximum Ride and shrug. "So we've got blankets in that closet," I point to a closet by the front door. "And... I have to know something."

They look at me curiously, but their eyes look guarded. They don't trust me. Smart kids.

"What are you guys?" I narrow my eyes to show it's not going to fly if they don't answer.

Maximum Ride looks at Fang, and he nods once. She turns to me, looking reluctant. I'm not that bad. "Okay, fine. We'll tell you if you tell us."

I look at Angel questioningly. Don't you already know? You must've heard us land.

"We want to confirm our suspicions." She replies chirpily. Whoa. Large vocab for such a young girl.

"The DNA injected in me was Eagle DNA, Raven for Darren, Swallow for Ryu, Black-billed Magpie for Gale." I fold my arms across my chest, keeping eye contact with Maximum. She looks directly into my eyes without hesitation.

"I'm not sure what breed we have, but we're Avian-Americans, like you."

Oh, that's... wow. More Avians? I'm starting to really detest the School...

"So do we!" Angel giggles and smiles up at me. I turn to her exasperatedly, but stop cold. Staring up at me isn't Angel- its Ryu. I sigh. Great. Just what I need. Another Ryu. I find myself smiling at her.

"Good."