Eternal

by Rikku3198

Jeb introduces this new girl, Kay, into the flock. She doesn't talk much, keeps herself hidden mostly, but soon the flock realizes there's more to her than what it seems. And there's these other two kids too that they keep seeing at weird places. Oh yeah and the erasers are back, and they burned down their house, so the flock is back on the run, only this time the stakes are higher

4. Chapter 4

NEVERMORE came out YESTERDAY~! SUPER excited for that to come out, can't wait to get it, and two other book I've been waiting for come out in August too, so I have a feeling this will be a good month. I only have 2o something more days until I start high school though :'(. I asked my brother for advice, and he said to avoid getting run over by staying to the sides of the building, like the lockers. I haven't gone shopping for anything yet, though I don't have my schedule or my supply list, but we don't get those until school starts. Our family went to Chick-fli-a, and you know it's busy when you see the manager buying stuff from Walmart. We waited there, for like two or so hours just to get four sandwiches. It was kind of a let down, but at least we got our food in the end, at like, ten o clock at night. Anyway, enough of my insane ramblings. Onto the story~ Oh, one more thing to add. I was checking the official website for Maximum Ride, and they have the first 16 chapter of Nevermore up, so if you guys want to read it, it's free and stuff.

Thanks to:

BlackVenom: Thanks! I started this chapter as soon as I finished the third, because I was so excited about writing this. I think it's one of my best stories :D. Hopefully you guys think that too.

Guest: Thanks. Somehow I knew you'd like it :]

SAFFIRA'S POV:

When some guy wearing a white lab coat walks in and tells you he's going to rescue you from this horrible place where a bunch of other people walk around in white lab coats but they try and see how long you can last with fifty or so wolf people attacking you, what would your reaction be?

My reaction was to look at him like he was stupid.

"Okay, Jeb. I don't believe that for one second. If you're testing our intelligence levels, I'd say we passed the test. Can you leave us alone now?"

Instead of answering me he unlocked my crate, then did the same to Chase, who had been sitting there silently, watching Jeb.

I just sat there, staring at the open door, wondering if this was some kind of trick.

Lick, maybe the floor would zap me if I set foot on it, or as soon as I tried getting out, wolf man would return and shred me.

Jeb bent down and held out his hand to me, showing that he wanted me to take it.

How about no.

"Come on, we don't have much time. They'll figure out that I'm here soon enough."

I just sat there, staring at his hand then decided, what the heck.

If this guy was evil, then I could just take him out.

So I grabbed his hand and he pulled me out of the dog crates and held his other hand out to Chase.

Chase didn't touch it, but climbed out of the crate himself and looked at me.

So maybe we were going to get out of here.

Jeb told us to follow him and stay very closely, and act like we didn't want to go with him.

That wasn't too hard for me, so I pretended to struggle and fight as he dragged us out of the halls, Chase doing the same.

We got to the front doors, and wolf man was there.

"Why do you have these two?"

"I was told to run some tests on their wing strength, and to do that I need the space provided out doors. Don't worry, I have them secure."

Wolf man glared at me, and I smiled and waved at him.

He growled, but allowed us to pass through.

Wolf man was dumb, but I didn't really expect much different.

We kept pretending to struggle and kick until Jeb led us far away enough for us to stop.

"Alright. We should be out of their radars by now, so it's safe enough to stop struggling."

I said nothing as he let go of me and Chase, just looked at him like, Okay genius, what next?

"If we walk a little bit further I have a jeep we can use to get to a safe house."

He looked at us, as if waiting for us to jump up and down like excited little kids, but all he got was stares.

"Follow me."

And we did, mostly because we had no idea where we were, or how to get away.

So as we loaded up into his jeep I looked around, and I knew that there was no chance of ever getting back home.

Jeb started the jeep and drove away from the horrible building and wolf man.

"You're lucky we got out so easily. If you get captured ever again, it won't be even the slightest bit easy to escape."

Naw, really? I thought we could just walk right on out waving.

"So where are we? What say you, Chase? California?"

Chase smiled weakly at me, and I could see how beat up he really was.

"Looks like California. If it is California, it's a long way from home. I don't think we'll be home for dinner."

I smiled, knowing Chase to always brighten up the mood.

"I'm taking you to a remote location where you'll be safe from Itex."

"Okay, first of all, is that what they call that building? Second of all, where is this "remote" location?"

Jeb smiled at me through the rear-view mirror. "Yes, that is what they call the building. As for the remote location, you'll just have to find out."

It turns out that the remote location is a tiny island off the coast of California that was big enough to walk around and come back to the same spot in about a day, maybe less.

I frowned at the small shack on the shore.

"Something tells me that there's going to be no TV."

TV was my life, take that away, and you've got nothing.

Well, I had Chase, which I supposed counted for something.

He always knew how to brighten up the mood and make you run.

We went inside the shack and I was right. There wasn't really much there except for two laptops, one which looked brand new, some couches, two doors, a bathroom, and a kitchen with a huge fridge.

Like seriously, the fridge was so big, I could shut myself, Chase, and Jeb inside of it and still have plenty of room.

I stared in awe of it and when Jeb asked what I thought of the place, I said that there was a big fridge, and Chase agreed.

"I need to go over some thing with you guys, so please, have a seat."

Jeb gestured to the couches, and both of us took the one opposite from him.

He cleared his throat, and the way he looked made me think of the time my dad made me sit down and have "the talk" with him.

That was, undoubtedly, the most embarrassing moment of my life, mostly because Chase had been there, and my dad had given us no warning.

I shivered at that memory and focused back on Jeb.

"First of all, your bone structure has become lighter, so you can now fly. Also, because your genetics have been changed, you are also now two percent bird. Though this might sound cool, you will need to eat between a three thousand and four thousand calorie diet, so you will need to eat a lot more. You may also develop special abilities, like being able to read minds or fly at the speed of light. You are also stronger and faster than before. Your senses have also been improved, like sight and hearing."

I'm sure the entire time he was telling us this; my face was twisted into some confused expression, because he lost me after genetics.

"Cool." Chase said, after he was done.

I looked at him like he was nuts.

"Did you actually understand all of that?"

He shrugged, and then I remembered he was a science whiz, so of course he would understand all of this stuff.

I, on the other hand, was lost.

"The first thing we need to do is get you some food, then teach you how to fly."

That was the first sentence he had said so far that I understood and liked.

He made us like, a super buffet, and we loaded our plates up with so much food, I didn't think I could see over it.

We dove in, going back for thirds.

Once we were done, I realized what he meant about needing more food.

"So, let's learn how to fly."

Jeb led us to the roof, and I thought it was going to collapse under us.

It didn't though, and I was glad for that.

"Okay, I want you guys to jump off this roof, and then spread your wings and flap a few times. Don't worry, the fall isn't really enough for you guys to hurt yourself, and with your new bone structure and everything, you are quite safe."

Okay, call me crazy, but one of the things I'd been told to do is not jump off any roofs, and I wasn't so sure about this one being different.

So, instead of doing what he said, I crossed my arms and gave him a you're insane look.

He sighed and rubbed his temples, like he was tired of us.

I looked at Chase, just to see what he was doing.

He was staring at the roof with a funny expression, like he couldn't decide whether he liked gingerbread or chocolate chip cookies better.

That was a serious argument between us, and it involved lots of throwing cookie batter and cookies, as well as a huge clean-up mess afterwards.

So, I decided to tease him about it.

"What's wrong? If you're trying to decide, chocolate chip are the best, not gingerbread. That stuff is nasty."

He looked up at me with a glint of amusement in his eyes, like he was visiting that memory too.

"Nah. Just trying to decide when I should jump off the roof. Eating the best cookie in the world, gingerbread, or without the best cookie in the world."

He grinned at me, probably at my expression, which my mouth was slightly open, ready for my next snarky remark when he took me by surprise with that whole "I'm-going-to-jump-off-the-roof thing."

"You're really going to jump off the roof?" I finally asked, wondering who had replaced Chase.

"Yep. Jeb's right, with our new structure and stuff, we won't get hurt."

I just stared at him. Now I knew he was replaced with a clone.

"Dude, you are so a clone. What have you done with the real Chase?"

Chase (who may or may not be a clone) just smiled at me and jumped off the roof, spreading his wings and giving them a few flaps.

That was the first time I had ever seen Chase's wings, and they were…. well, very very pretty.

His wings had a base color of light brown, with a few shades of darker brown mixed in here and there, and the tips were cream colored, with a black streak running through the center of each feather.

He grinned up at me, and I realized that he was flying, not falling and staying above the ground with a few strokes of his wings.

"Your turn." He sailed up to me and landed perfectly next to me, grinning the whole time.

"Well, okay then. But only because you jumped off first, and it looked really easy."

I stood at the edge of the roof and took in a deep breath, then jumped off the roof, spreading my wings and giving a few powerful thrusts.

And then I was flying.

If felt amazing, and I didn't really want to land.

So I flew around the shack once, then landed next to Chase, grinning like an idiot, even as I stumbled a bit when I fell.

"That. Was. Awesome." Each word deserved their own sentence.

"That was excellent from both of you, especially for your first flight. Now, if you guys don't mind, I would like to try and find out your abilities."

All sense of happiness gone.

"What? Did you take us away from Itex just so we could be your personal lab rats here? Well, if that was your intention, sorry bud, not going to happen."

I just snapped. I mean, who does this guy think he is?

He takes us to a remote location, gives us food, then tells us to jump off a building.

After that, he gives us some kind of report on our flying, then says he wants to find our special abilities.

Yeah, not going to happen.

"I meant no harm, Saffira. I only meant to help. By finding these abilities, we could train them and strengthen them."

Which means, I can study you and see what you do when I put you in certain conditions.

"No. That's my final answer." I snapped, crossing my arms.

Jeb sighed but nodded.

"She's just like Max." He muttered, and I wondered who the heck that was.

I peeked a look at Chase, who was pretty much in the same stance as me, only with less attitude.

"Chase, can I talk to you?" I asked, motioning him over.

"Sure. So, what's the plan for escaping?" He grinned as I glared at him, because that's exactly what I was going to talk about.

"Well, there isn't really a plan. I was going to say we just take off and leave, get back to the mainland, you know? Maybe somehow get back home and check up on our parents."

Chase nodded and spread his wings. "Sounds good. Shall we go now?"

I nodded and spread my own wings, then jumped off the roof for a second time in one day and started flying as fast as I could; knowing Chase was following close behind.

"Bye Jeb! See you when I see you!" I called back and waved as we left.

Jeb just looked up at us and sighed, then waved his own goodbye.

I frowned; because that was so much less dramatic then I thought it would be.

"Back to the mainland?" Chase asked me, coming to my side.

"Yep, back to the mainland."

KAY'S POV:

I made sure to get up extra early the next morning, before three, and sneak out of their room.

If anyone caught me, my excuse would be a drink of water.

So that morning I got up at two forty-five, feeling plenty rested for unknown reasons, and went down to the kitchen to wait for fifteen minuets.

I grabbed a glass and ran the tap water from the sink, trying to be very quiet.

Okay, so I hadn't gotten rid of Iggy and Gazzy's bomb.

I had kept it and set it back up after I was sure the coast was clear, then went back to sleep.

I hadn't destroyed it because of Iggy, and he had felt so proud about that bomb.

Though I didn't know why I hadn't set it up in the living room to wake them up, but it was fair enough.

When we were in the forest, and Iggy kissed me, I had been too shocked to do anything at first.

And then, slowly as the shock wore off, I had started to kiss him back, feeling like someone who betrayed their best friend.

Ella liked Iggy, and I had kissed him.

There was absolutely no way I would ever have a chance of fixing my feelings now.

I took a few sips of my water, then decided that I was going to move the bomb down stairs.

I snuck back up and grabbed the bomb, then made it back down the stairs and halfway into the living room before I realized I only had a minuet, and that minuet was moving very quickly.

So I just set it down next to the couch Iggy was sleeping on and practically ran back to the kitchen and grabbed my water.

I was so ready to pretend that I had nothing to do with this.

Sure enough, in a few seconds the alarm/bomb thing went off, like super loud.

There were noises like police sirens, dogs barking, and every other imaginable loud sound possible.

I could hear someone yelling, and then Fang cursing, and then the sound being muffled slightly, most likely by a pillow, which didn't help very much.

And then the smoke must have come, because there was some slight coughing, but nothing too serious.

There was some more yelling, then it got quiet, and all three of the boys walked into the kitchen, looking quite mad.

It was really hard not to laugh at all three of them.

Fang looked totally p.o.'d and ready to murder whoever did this, and his hair was sticking up.

Gazzy had wide eyes, but they were kind of excited, and his hair was like Fangs.

Iggy was mad, but I could sense that undercurrent of pride that his bomb actually worked. Half of his hair was sticking up, while the other side was pressed flat against his head.

I took a long, slow sip of water, watching them and waiting for them to notice me.

The entire time I was trying really hard not to laugh.

"What was that?" Fang asked, turning to Iggy.

"That was the alarm bomb. Nice to know it worked. Dude, that was awesome, too bad it wasn't in the girl's room though."

Gazzy nodded enthusiastically in agreement with Iggy.

Fang turned and saw me, and he smirked.

"What are you doing down here at three in the morning, Kay?"

Iggy raised his eyebrows but said nothing, though I could sense his surprise and his slight awkwardness at this.

"Getting water. I woke up early and I was parched." I shrugged, knowing I was a really good at lying.

"And it just happens that the bomb went off after you got down here? Iggy told us he didn't get the bomb back from you."

I took another sip of water before answering.

"I slipped it back in his pocket before I ran back here. He must not have noticed."

Iggy frowned, like he was trying to remember if I did that or not, and Gazzy was looking slightly confused.

"No, you definitely had it and took it back to the house with you."

Iggy crossed his arms, looking happy with himself.

I noticed a shadow behind the guys and smiled to myself behind another drink of water.

"Nope, you had it. I gave it to you after you pinned me. I must say, it worked pretty well. That was some good handiwork."

Iggy grinned, and so did Gazzy.

"Yeah we did build that one pretty good, huh Gazster? Still, it would have been even better in the girl's room, where it was meant to be."

"So you were trying to put an alarm bomb in our room? I can't believe I didn't notice it before. You are so busted Iggy."

Turns out the shadow was Max. Huh, who would have known?

Max stepped in to the kitchen, looking tired and mad with her arms crossed.

"Hey Max. What are you doing up?"

Fang asked, pretending to be innocent.

Max just gave him a flat look then nodded to me.

"The dumb alarm thing woke me up. I could hear it clearly even in Ella's room. You're lucky everyone else is a heavy sleeper."

Max gave Iggy a death glare, while he just stood there shifting his weight.

"It wouldn't have caused any harm Max, just woke all of you up."

"I'll leave so you can decide how to punish them, Max."

I said cheerily, pouring the rest of my water down the sink and resting the glass beside it.

As I passed Iggy, I whispered in his ear.

"Payback."

And then I slipped out of the room, going back to Ella's and snuggling down into my sleeping bag, falling asleep in the warm cocoon quickly.

SAFFIRA'S POV:

I looked up at the sky as I flew, enjoying the sense of freedom.

We had been flying all night, and both of us were exhausted. It was around one in the morning, and we had barely made it halfway back home.

"Chase you still hanging in there?" I asked, looking over to him.

"Yeah. I'm still here, though I may not be for much longer. I'm ready to pass out. How are you doing?"

I smiled when he tried to put enthusiasm in his voice, but ended up sounding like he was on medication.

"I could go for a quick nap, or you know, sleep 'til twelve. Let's find a place to rest."

Chase nodded and we slowly angled down, trying to find a good place to rest.

"Well, I don't see any luxury hotels around here, so I guess we're going to have to settle for a tree or the ground."

We landed in some forest, in some state and almost collapsed as soon as we touched the ground.

"Come on. I bet you I can beat you to those branches on the tree."

Chase pointed up to the branches of some huge oak tree and grinned at me.

"You're on." I said, and he quickly started climbing up the tree with surprisingly good skill.

I, on the other hand, just flew up there and sat on a branch, dangling my legs over the side.

Chase popped up next to me a few minuets later, even more tired.

"How'd you get up here so fast?" He asked, panting.

"I flew." I stuck my tongue out at him as he scowled.

"Okay, you won." He reluctantly agreed, then leaned back against the trunk next to me.

I leaned back against the tree and pulled my legs up, and my wings in.

I closed my eyes and was halfway asleep when Chase started talking.

"Hey Saffira, do you think our parents are looking for us?"

"Of course." I said, my word slurred by sleep.

"Do you think we'll see them again?"

"Yes."

"Do you think they'll accept us like this? With the wings and everything?"

"Yes, Chase. Now can we go to sleep and stop with the twenty questions?"

Chase was silent for a while, and I thought maybe I'd been too hard on him.

"Sorry Chase. I'm just tired. I don't mean to be rude."

"It's okay, Saffira. I was just wondering what you were thinking."

"Well, my brain is functioning properly, and I'm not sure if my thoughts make sense right now. I'm still trying to take all of this in, you know? Like, I'm not sure if this is a nightmare or a dream."

I hadn't meant to spill my guts like that, but I did, and I couldn't take back those words.

"At least we have each other, right? I mean, not all hope is lost if we've got people we know and trust."

"True."

"Saffira, do you love me?"

I was now wide awake, wondering where the heck that question came from.

"Of course, like a brother. You're like family."

There, that was a safe thing to do, but if he asked any more, I was going to pretend to be asleep.

"But do you love me more than like a brother?"

Sleep time. I evened my breathing and pretended to be asleep.

Chase didn't do anything for a while, and once he thought I was asleep, he gently kissed me on the head.

"Good night Saffira." He whispered.

I didn't fall asleep for a long time after that.

My thoughts made no sense what so ever, and I knew I wasn't asleep, so I was awake, and this stuff had really happened.

Chase and I had never really ever had romantic interest in each other.

Sure we teased each other, and we had been best friend basically since we were born, but we had never really said we liked each other that way.

We were always competing too, trying to one up each other, Chase usually winning the races clearly, but me winning our wrestling matches.

And Chase was…. Chase. It was almost impossible for me to think of him like that, because I'd known him for so long.

I highly doubted he liked me too. I wasn't pretty or anything, just normal and me, a couch potato with a knack for getting into trouble and exploring.

Chase was athletic and strong, well muscled and handsome, with lots of girls throwing themselves at him.

He was sweet and caring, but if you got on his bad side, you'd have a lot of trouble, and there's no point in running, because he can outrun you.

Chase had everything it took to become popular and a track star, yet he mostly kept to the shadows, not liking to be noticed and sticking by me.

I've always thought of him as a brother, and I always thought he thought of me a like a sister, but apparently not.

I tossed and turned for a bit, almost falling out of the tree a few times, looking at Chase sleep.

Eventually I fell asleep too, somewhere near dawn, thinking about what it meant.

KAY'S POV:

I woke up before Max could make me go deaf again, and I wondered why I was such an early riser.

Max was sleeping this time though, and I realized she must have stayed up late to chew out the boys.

I looked over at Ella and her peaceful sleeping face, and again I felt like I'd betrayed her.

It wasn't my fault; honestly, Iggy was the one who kissed me, though I did kiss him back.

I decided I wouldn't tell her, just to spare her feelings, and propped myself up on my elbows, looking for the time.

It was seven thirty a.m. and the sun was already up.

I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, but it didn't work very well, so I just lay there, staring up at the ceiling.

And then I wondered if I could feel people's emotions when they were asleep.

I hadn't really tried it before, out of respect for their privacy, but I didn't think they'd mind that much.

So I stretched out my sixth sense and realized that yes, I could feel people's emotions when they were asleep.

Ella's was relaxed and chilled, and I wondered what she was dreaming about.

A nice day at the beach, maybe.

Angel's were…. I wasn't sure what hers were; it was like she had a barrier.

Max's were slightly panicked, but a clam sense was over her too.

And then I wondered how far I could stretch it, like maybe I could reach the boys.

So I tried, and ended up mentally exhausted, ready to curl up and go back to sleep again for… five minuets.

Instead of doing that, I ran last night through my head again, remembering all the details and storing it.

Max woke up at eight and looked at me, realizing I was awake.

"Hey." I said, smiling.

"Hi." She managed to get out, then stood up and stretched.

"I'm going to go take a shower. There's another one downstairs if you want to take one too." Max said, gesturing at the door.

"Thanks." I said, getting up and stretching myself.

I nodded to Max before going downstairs and grabbing a towel and slipping into the bathroom, making sure it was unoccupied.

I took a quick shower, letting my muscles relax and wash away the tension in them.

I wrapped the towel around me and grabbed my clothes and headed out the door, only to bump into someone.

"Sorry." I said, blushing as I realized it was Iggy.

"Uh, it's fine, Kay."

I wanted to ask how he knew it was me but said nothing as I slipped past him and back into Ella's room.

"Hi Kay! Max is still in the shower but she told me to pick out some clothes for you! Here, these will work just fine."

Nudge beamed at me and my stomach dropped as I realized she was holding a jean mini skirt and a red spaghetti strap tanktop.

"Um, thanks Nudge but do you have anything else?"

She looked offended, and I grabbed the clothes after she gave me the bambi eyes.

"Dumb bambi eyes. Why did she have to give me a mini skirt?"

I muttered as I changed in Ella's closet, then came out.

Nudge handed my some shoes, and I let out a sigh of relief when I saw they were regular ankle high, red converse.

"Okay, now we have to do your hair!" She beamed at me, and I frowned.

"I'm just going to brush it. I promise that in three weeks you can give me a complete make-over, however you want. But for now, I'm just going to brush my hair."

Nudge nodded excitedly, and I wondered what I had gotten myself into.

I walked downstairs, tugging on the bottom of the skirt the entire time, trying to lower it.

I went into the kitchen, where everyone was gathered, waiting for Iggy to cook breakfast.

Fang looked at me and raised his eyebrows, while I mouthed "Nudge."

He smirked and went to go sit by Max, who was now sitting at the table, her hair still wet from her shower.

"Why are you wearing a mini skirt? And a tank top? I didn't think that was your style." Max said, practically laughing.

"It was Nudge. And it's not my style."

I shot a death glare at Nudge, who beamed at me and went back to reading her fashion magazine.

Iggy announced that the food was ready and set it on the table, and we sat down in the same place we sat last night, which meant I was by Iggy again.

I filled up my plate and dove in, keeping my mouth occupied.

"Did I hear you were wearing a mini skirt?" Iggy asked with a smirk on his face.

I blushed and tried not to choke on my food.

"Yeah. So?" I asked, getting a little bit defensive.

Iggy shrugged and took a bite of food.

I grabbed my bacon and took a big bite out of it, trying to ignore the fact that Iggy was sitting right next to me.

"So how's the food?"

I really wished he would stop talking to me. It would make ignoring him a whole lot easier.

"It's good. But tell me, why does a blind guy cook our breakfast?"

"Max burns water."

Max heard that apparently, because she broke off her conversation with Fang to glare at Iggy, practically boring holes into his head.

I ate in silence for a few more minuets, glad that Iggy hadn't started talking to me again.

I spoke too soon. As soon as I took a huge bite of scrambled eggs, Iggy whispered something to me.

"So why did you kiss me back in the forest last night?"

I, of course, started choking like crazy, with everyone staring at me.

I grabbed my orange juice and chugged it down, my face flaming red from lack of air and embarrassment.

"Do you need CPR? Or like, the Heimlich maneuver?" Nudge asked as I was still choking.

I shook my head and drank some more orange juice, and eventually I stopped coughing.

"What was that about?" Max asked, concern on her face.

"Nothing. I just swallowed wrong, that's all. Now, may I be done?"

I didn't mean to sound so rude, but I was going to die of embarrassment or something if I didn't get out of there soon.

"Of course Kay. Just put your dishes in the sink."

Dr. Martinez nodded at me, a smile plastered on her face.

I smiled back and dumped the rest of my food down the trash and set my dishes in the sink and walked calmly past them, then out the front door.

I just walked in the forest for a little bit, not really in the mood to fly, and I found myself retracing the steps I had taken last night while I was chasing Iggy.

I found the spot where I had tackled him and noticed a slight impressing in the dirt, and one next to it.

I sat down in front of it and just stared at it, unsure why I had come here, of all places.

"That's actually a good question, Iggy." I muttered, looking at the impressions.

I wasn't sure how long I sat there, just thinking and staring at the impression, but apparently it was long enough for them to come looking for me.

Iggy found me, apparently having the feeling I would be back here for some reason.

He yelled out that he had found me, and told the others I was okay, then went and sat down next to me.

He didn't say anything for a while; we just sat there, in silence.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Can you forgive me?"

I nodded, then realized he couldn't see it.

"Yeah." I said, realizing that my voice was kind of broken, like I had been crying.

"Now you don't have to answer me if you don't want to, but I would really like to know the answer."

I said nothing for a while, trying to come up wit ha response.

"It was just the heat of the moment." I finally said, even though the real answer was I didn't know.

Iggy nodded, looking straight ahead.

And then I must have broke down or something, because the next thing I knew, I was sobbing.

And it wasn't little quiet tears, it was gut wrenching tears that just came out of nowhere, and you could her them clearly.

Iggy's face softened and he gently put his arms around me, and I leaned into him, crying like no tomorrow.

He hushed me and wiped the tears from my face, and eventually I stopped and just sat there, not willing to move.

Iggy lifted my chin and looked me in the eyes, and I wasn't sure how he did it, but he did, and his eyes were soft, asking.

I wasn't sure what the answer to his question was exactly, but I whispered yes, and he leaned in a kissed me softly, gently.

And this time I didn't hesitate to kiss him back.

I'm sure I looked horrible, my face all puffy from crying and my eyes red, and my hair kind of frazzled.

But I didn't really care then as I closed my eyes, realizing that I was in bliss.

We broke apart after a few minuets and Iggy was happy, and so I was I, and still confused, but a little bit less confused.

We sat there for a while, Iggy holding me gently in his arms, when I spoke up.

"We should probably get back."

Iggy nodded and stood up, then held out his hand and pulled me up, smiling.

We walked back slowly, not saying anything, but it was a comfortable silence, not filled with tension.

Before we walked back inside I fixed myself and my hair.

I walked inside then, and everyone looked up at me, probably wondering where I had been for the last few hours or so.

"Hey. Sorry about that, I just needed some time to think."

I was glad my voice came out smooth and there wasn't a trace I had been crying.

Everyone just nodded, but I could sense the relief that I was safe.

Everyone looked to Iggy, and he must have felt it.

"So was in the forest. Just sitting, doing nothing else."

Which was true. Max smiled at me, and so did the others.

"I'm glad you're safe, Kay. Everyone was getting a little bit worried."

Dr. Martinez came over and hugged me, and I hugged her back.

It was then that I realized I had a family, and that they all cared about me.

It almost made me tear up again. Almost.

I sat down on a couch next to Ella, who smiled at me and we were quiet for a bit, happy.

"Oh! I almost forgot. I found someone who could help, Iggy. He's an old friend of mine since collage. Very smart and nice. He said he would love to help, and he can see you three weeks and a day from now. It may seem like a long time, but I'm sure it will pass quickly."

Iggy brightened up, and so did everyone else.

"What's she talking about?" I asked Ella.

Dr. Martinez heard me and smiled. "Iggy's going to get his eyesight back."

I couldn't stop the grin that spread across my face.

"Really? That's great, Iggy."

So I knew we were staying here for at least three weeks. Sounded like fun.

"However, because you'll be staying here so long, I've also enrolled all of you for school so nobody gets suspicious."

My smile immediately disappeared.

"School? Like, the place where you learn things?" Gazzy asked, sounding bored.

Dr. Martinez nodded, and I though Nudge was going to explode fro excitement.

"Oh my gosh. This is so cool! We're going to get our schedules and everything and we'll be able to make new friends and learn stuff! Isn't this great Max? When do we start? I hope we start soon, like really soon. I can't wait to go!"

Max didn't look too happy, but I knew she couldn't say no to her mom.

"You start tomorrow." Dr. Martinez said, beaming at Nudge.

"But… tomorrow's Wednesday."

I said, realizing this meant we were going to start in the middle of the week.

Dr. Martinez nodded.

"I know, but they said we needed to put you guys in school as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Ella's school wasn't accepting any more students so late in the year, so we had to send you to a private school. Nudge, you'll be going to the public middle school though, and Angel and Gazzy will be going to the public elementary school."

I processed this, realizing that meant there was going to be a lot more stuck up rich kids and most likely uniforms.

"Sounds… great." I said, trying to come up with a word.

Dr. Martinez nodded, and told us our uniforms should arrive after dinner.

Max and I were less than enthusiastic with the whole idea of going to school, but we agreed to it anyways.

SAFFIRA'S POV:

I woke up in a tree, cuddled up to Chase, and I almost had a panic attack.

Instead, I fell out of the tree, somehow grabbing Chase as I went down and bringing him down with me.

Well, if he wasn't awake, he was now, as we fell to the ground, flailing our arms and trying to slow the fall.

There wasn't enough room to spread our wings, so we ended up hitting the ground.

I landed first, Chase right behind me.

I groaned dazed, but surprisingly not hurt.

"What the heck was that for? Shaking me gently would have been enough."

Chase sat up and glared at me, though a smile threatened to show on his lips.

"Yeah, whatever. Well, now that we're wide awake, we should get going, you know, back home."

Chase rolled his eyes then jumped up and held his hand out for me and I took it, pulling myself up.

I suddenly remembered the questions he had asked last night and blushed as I dusted myself off.

"Let's go."

I started walking, trying to find a clearing, when we ended up at a road, in front of cops.

They look startled as two kids just came out of the woods, looking horribly beat up and battered, but well rested and moving.

One of them snapped into action.

"What are you two doing here, and why were you in the forest?"

So, what did you guys think? This one took a little bit longer to type, and I'm still not sure I like how it's written, so I might come back and edit a few things later, though. You'll see it posted in bold if I do. Thanks for reading! Don't forget to R&R!