HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! Sorry this one took a while, too. But we went to the mountain for a couple of days, and there is NO internet there :P

Anyways, I love this chapter, personally. So, enjoy!

Special Thanks to: Psychopathic Fangirl, for always reviewing and just being awesome!

Chapter 7: The Secret

Fang's POV!

I hopped down the stairs, taking in my surroundings. There was a big table, much like the ones in our science classroom, in the middle, a sink and little bookcase filled with science books on one wall, and on the wall parallel to the sink, there's a big cabinet.

Was it... a lab?

My curiosity got the best of me. I walked over to the sleek, clean table, where a single notebook sat upon the surface. I picked it up, even though my conscious told me not to; I flipped open to the first page. It was an entry from Jeb: of course! Jeb was a scientist! But I read on anyway.

March 13, 1996

Just yesterday the subject was born, and the DNA is already injected into the child. So far, there has been no signs of anything unusual, but we are being patient

Me. I bet the journal entry is about me, and by "we" he probably means Anne and him. It all fits, except that my birthday isn't March 12...

August 2, 1996

The subject has sprouted wings. They are tan, white, and speckled, and a lot bigger than we had expected, but so far the results are good. The subjects health seems normal, except for the fact that she eats a lot more than a regular baby should. Also, she excels physically: the subject can already walk and run perfectly fine.

Hm, my wings are black, and I'm not a she... it could possible be a mistake, like he accidentally put "she" instead of "he", and my wings could have changed color... right?

October 17, 1996

Today the second subject was born. The DNA has been injected, and , just like the first, no abnormalities have come up yet.

October 17 is my birthday...

December 1, 1996

The second subject's wings appeared. They are pitch black, and they are bigger than expected as well. This subject has all of the side effects as the first one, except he eats even more than the first subject.

I flipped through the notebook a little more, but nothing caught my eye like the first four entries. I knew now that I was the second subject... but who was the first? I would say Nudge, but she's younger than me. Max? No, I'd think Anne would've told me if my neighbor where a birdkid, like me.

I set the book down, and wandered off to the big cabinet: if I could find more answers, they would be here. I opened the doors, to find an organized shelf system, with 4 shelves. The first shelf contained feather samples. Some were labeled "bird", while the other "Subject 1" or "2". There were bird feathers of many kinds, but I couldn't identify them (Do you really expect me to know what different types of birds' feathers look like? Didn't think so). There were five feathers for Subject 1, each a different size, and just like the description, they were tan, white, and speckled. There were the same amount of feathers for me, Subject 2, and they varied in sizes, as well.

The second shelf consisted of even more books. Unlike the bookshelf, which contained books about birds and genealogy, this one held books labeled things like "Gene Splicing" and "Mutations". I guessed these books were meant to stay secret or hidden.

The third shelf held bag of... was that blood? There were packs of blood sitting, and, though the cabinet was organized, this shelf wasn't. The packets looked like the ones from the doctors, and they were scattered about in no apparent order.

The last shelf was full of just stacks of pictures. It was filled, so, being the snoopy kid I am, I took a stack down. The first picture was of a baby, one that looked just born. I flipped it over, and, in scribbly handwriting that matched the journal, it said "Max". Maybe Jeb kept personal pictures here, even though that made no sense. I placed that picture in the back of the pile, and what I saw next surprised me. It was a picture of Max when she was about 5 or 6. She was smiling up at the camera with big, brown eyes and a toothy grin: but that part wasn't what caught my eye. Out of her back sprouted two tan, white, and speckled wings. Max was Subject 2.

Max's POV!

55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60. "ready or not, here I come!" I scream loudly, hoping that at least someone could hear me. First, I checked my room, looking under my bed, under the desk, and lastly, out on the roof (just to make sure, even though I doubt anyone would hide out there).

I walked out of my room, and into the bathrooms. No one was hiding in my shower, or Jeb's, and the cabinets were filled with too much items to fit in there.

Next was Jeb's room. I only stayed in there for a little bit, partly hoping no one would hide in there, but also not wanting to spend so much time in his room (because I hate him, if you're wondering).

Down the stairs I went, and then I turned into the family room. There was no trace of someone being in here, except for an opened door with the lights on- wait. Oh crap.That's Jeb's lab!

"Crap! Crap crap crap!" I mumbled under my breath, running through the door and down the stairs, to the dreaded lab where all of my secrets were hidden. If it were Angel or Gazzy, they'd pretty much just ignore everything in there, I reassured myself, and Nudge already knows that I'm a mutant. But Fang... I just have to hope it's not Fang.

Fang's POV!

"Crap! Crap crap crap!" I heard someone mumble, coming from the door (Birdkid hearing; it's pretty awesome). Only one name popped into my head: Max. Well, shoot. I have a feeling I wasn't supposed to know about Max's wings, and she probably wasn't supposed to know about mine, either.

I dropped the pictures back on the shelf quickly, not bothering to put them back in order. I was turning around when I saw Max, standing in the frame of the doorway.

"So, you found out, huh?" She said, her eyes studying her tennis shoes, and a hint of sadness in her voice.

"About the wings? Yeah," I replied lamely, causing Max to look back up at me. She walked over and sat on the table, and I joined her. For a while, we sat there in silence: I was pondering weather or not I should tell her about my wings.

But Max interrupted my thoughts. "I bet you think I'm a freak now," she said, glumly.

"Not really," I pointed out, looking sideways at Max.

"Why?" She questioned, almost as if she wanted me to think of her as a weirdo. But the truth was, I was a freak, too. "Shouldn't you be running away, screaming? Warning the police about a 'crazy mutant girl' in the neighborhood?" She looked at me again, and said in a smaller voice: "I know I would".

"I wouldn't do that," I reassured her, again. I took a deep breath, and blurted it out, "Because then I'd be calling myself a freak, and turning myself into the police, too,"

"What do you mean?" She asked, a confused look in her chocolate-brown eyes. Suddenly, they grew wide, "Oh! So... you're a mutant, too?" She asked, a small smile appearing on her face.

"Yeah. I'm 'Subject 2'"

"As in... from Jeb's journal? The one with black wings who eats more than me?"

I smirked, "Yeah,"

Max's smile grew even more, "Really? Yes! Then I'm not the only one! So does Anne keep you locked in your room for pretty much your whole life, too? I mean, no offense, but it's kind of a relief to know I'm no the only one," Jeez, she's turning into Nudge. Locked in your room for pretty much your whole life... what?

"Wait... what do you mean by 'locked in your room for pretty much your whole life'?"

Her smile disappeared, and the gleeful glint in her eyes faded. "Oh. Well, Jeb never lets me do anything outside of school, he thinks I'd get caught, and he'd go to jail. He doesn't even let me use my wings,"

"That sucks," I said, being oh-so helpful.

"Yeah... what about you?"

"Well... Anne lets me use them. I can fly to school and back, and go for a ride when I want to. I just can't let anyone find out,"

"Lucky,"

"Flying is the best feeling in the world." I looked over at Max, and smiled, "You should try."

"I wish I could. But Jeb won't let me."

"Who says he has to find out?" Max looked at me with curious eyes, and I gave her my signature smirk, "How 'bout I stop by your window tonight. We can sneak out and you can finally use your wings,"

She was smiling now, and the grin was ever-present even as she said: "Sounds like a plan."

Wahoo! So, thanks for reading! R&R? And also thanks for all of the subscription, reviews, and favorites! It makes me happy! :)

Also, if you notice any grammatical issues, please tell me! I suck at grammar, but I'm trying to get better