Chapter 2:

Max POV

When I woke up, it was sunset. I felt weird waking up at sunset, but I'd run on a nocturnal schedule before. I looked around my room. Zoey was still asleep. Good. Silently, I opened the window a jumped out, unfurling my wings as I did.

It felt so good. My wings were a bit stiff, and you have no idea how good it felt to let them out. I had a feeling I'd be hiding them for a while. I flew around, seeing if I could spot my flock. I couldn't. I would need to e-mail Fang.

Oh god. I hope that this place has computers. I wouldn't put it past the vamps to go completely medieval.

But I kept flying, looking for my Flock; even though I knew I'd never find them.

Zoey's POV

I woke up the morning (or night) to find that Max wasn't in her bed. Lovely. I wouldn't have been surprised if she had pulled a Zoey and snuck out to see her boy friend. After I got dressed, I went to brush my teeth (it was a Saturday, thank Nyx). Then I heard the squeak of the window opening. Uh oh. How was I going to explain Stevie Rae if Max came back? I walked over to the window.

"Stevie Rae I—" but it wasn't Stevie Rae, it was Max. And she had wings. Oh my god. I gaped at her.

Max POV

After awhile I decided to go back to my room. I didn't know what day it was, but people were probably going to be waking up soon. I flew to the window that I had left half open and pulled it up. It squeaked. Loudly. Zoey came around the corner.

"Stevie Rae I—" then she gaped at me. Hmm, I wonder why. But who was she expecting to come through the window. Who's Stevie Rae? I climbed through the window.

"Um, hi." I said with my genius use of words.

"You…the window…wings!" she said.

"Yeah, about that. Um, you see…I'm 2% avian, so…I have wings and can fly." I said.

"How?"

"I was taken when I was a baby and experimented on." She was silent for a moment.

"Can…can I see them?" I stretched out my wings. "They're beautiful. Your mark has the same golden color." She said. I nodded.

"I think that's why my mark is that color. Because of my bird DNA."

"But I think the Goddess has gifted you. Otherwise, your mark wouldn't be filled it." We stood awkwardly for a moment.

"Don't tell the others please." I said.

"Oh, um, okay." Zoey said.

Zoey POV

Wings! She had wings! It was weird, but they were beautiful, and the same golden color as her mark.

"Don't tell the others please." Max said. Wait, what? They had just gotten over being mad at me for lying to them. Actually I wasn't lying to them, I was deliberately not telling them the truth. I think that's worse than lying to them. And so did they. I looked at Max, she looked ready to either beat me up or plead with me. I honestly couldn't tell.

"Oh, um, okay." I said smartly. Max smiled.

"Thanks. I wouldn't like lying to my friends either. Wait, that reminds me. Are there any computers here?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I need to e-mail…my boyfriend." She said, shifting awkwardly.

"Oh. Yeah I'll show you. Does he, um, have wings too?" I asked. She hesitated, and then I guess she decided she could trust me and nodded. "Are they like yours?" I wasn't trying to pry. I was just insanely curious at the moment. Anyone would be too in this situation.

"Like in color? No. We weren't all merged with the same type of bird. His wings are black and a little bigger than mine." Max said. She had a look on her face that kind of said 'I can't believe I'm telling her this'.

"Are there more like you guys?" I asked once we made it to the solitude of the library.

"Six of us." She said before going onto the computer.

Max POV

I could not believe I was telling her this. I expected I'd blow my cover eventually but this is pathetic. It's, like, day one and I already blew it!

You can trust her Max that little annoying voice in my head said.

That's good, because I just told her just about everything you need to get Itex all over our asses.

Naturally, there was no response. I logged onto the computer and found what I needed quickly.

Welcome to Fang's blog!

You are visitor number: still broken

Fang, it's Max. I'm fine. Did you find a place to stay?

"Are…um…" I tried to find the right words to use. It still felt weird coming to say. "Can non-marked people visit?" I asked.

"Yes, once a month. The next one is next Saturday night at ten."

Come here next Saturday at ten pm. That's when people are visiting.

And don't worry, I still love you.

I hit the send button. That last line was added so I sounded more like Max and less like a Robot. And because I missed him and the Flock and needed to let him know me becoming a monster didn't mean I didn't love him anymore. He told me I wasn't a monster and had no doubt I still loved him, but still.

"So," I said on a random thought, "Are vampires stronger and faster than humans?" Zoey laughed.

"No. They just fare better in the night and worse in the day. We also have special abilities sometimes. It's a Goddess given gift." I was mentally disappointed. I was still third strongest. Darn those boys and their inhuman strength!

"Do you have a goddess given gift?" I asked. She suddenly looked shy.

"Yes. I can control all five of the elements. Damien and the twins each control and element. Aphrodite can see the future. Jack has a thing with electronics." She said. That was pretty impressive. I suddenly felt like less of a freak. I guess they weren't monsters. Then I remembered the blood.

"Do we…do we need to drink blood?"

"Not unless we complete the change." Okay, so maybe they weren't monsters. Good thing Fang wasn't here to say I told you so. I may be the leader, but Fang is usually right. Then I remember something else completely and totally unrelated to what we were just talking about.

"Who's Stevie Rae?"

"What?"

"When I came through the window you called me Stevie Rae."

"Oh. Um…Stevie Rae was my old roommate. Her body rejected the change—"

"Wait, I might not live through this?" why does nobody tell me anything important? Oh and by the way there's a slight chance that you'll die soon.

"Everyone has a 50/50 chance." Oh, I'm sorry. I meant to say that you have a 50 percent chance of surviving the next few years and there's nothing you can do about it. "But fledglings here have a habit of coming back if they reject the change. They are the red fledglings. Stevie Rae is a red Fledgling. Most of the people here don't know about them." Well. That was just plain, flat out, creepy.

"Zoey! There you are!" Aphrodite said.

"Oh, hi Aphrodite." Zoey said.

"I need to talk to you." Aphrodite said, not even sparring me a glance. And at that, she dragged Zoey away. Am I invisible or something?

Aphro: Oh, hey Zoey.

Me: Yo.

Aphro: um, I believe this is the 21st century.

Me: I'm sorry. Not all of us can be as smart as you.

Zoey: What did you need?

Aphro: I need to talk to you.

Zoey: Is it okay if I go?

Me: No problem, this is obviously important.

Aphro: Majorly, come on.

Zoey: See you later Max.

That would've been nice. But no. Because apparently polite conversation is much to complex for the likes of an uneducated bird kid.

This is why I need people.

And guess what happened next? If you guessed that Aphrodite came in and apologized for her rudeness then you obviously haven't read the books. Now if you guessed that I had a brain attack, then obviously you have familiarized yourself with the randomness of my life.

And everything went black.

R&R?