Disclaimer: I don't own the idea of Maximum Ride.

I got kind of bored with how slow this story is moving. There's a lot left, and if it's boring for me to write, I can only imagine how boring it is for you to read. So I'm trying to speed it up. That's why some of the story is told in past tense, instead of as it happens. It's not really my favorite style of writing, but it sure beats writing the whole insignificant details out. So here we go!

Third Person POV:

Ari howled in rage as he watched Max and Fang fly away. They had escaped! He punched the wall next to him. It bruised his knuckles, but he didn't care. It just gave him more incentive to be angry.

How had it happened? Who had been careless enough to let them escape?

Jeb, Jeb, Jeb. It was ALWAYS Jeb! It was always his fault! So Max had been crying a bit. Why'd he have to soften up so much as to relax his guard, to ignore his security?

Ari was surprised that girl didn't break sooner. Keeping silence even through all that pain, he knew first hand how brave she was.

And he grudgingly respected her for it. And he wished he was in her place. If he was, he would have had a chance to prove himself. It just as easily could have been him that was mutant bird kid on the run, and she the Eraser. Even though Max didn't know it, they had the same Dad, for god's sake!

So why wasn't it him? Why did he never, ever get any sort of opportunity?

Ari knew the answer, on the inside.

He knew what Max had said was totally true.

Jeb had always liked Max better than Ari.

Fang's POV: (because it's so much more fun to write :D )

I had a smile on my face.

If you know me at all, you know I don't smile very much. Actually, I almost never smile. I smirk at bad guys, and my lips might turn up slightly if something is funny enough for every one else to be laughing.

But I don't smile.

So why was there a huge grin on my face as I was flying with Max, away from our prison?

Well, I sort of just answered the question. I was flying with Max, away from our prison. Trust me, if you'd just escaped captivity, you'd be smiling too.

So I'm justified. And that wasn't it.

We'd been totally lost, hungry, and tired when the excitement at escaping faded away. Max was still hurt really badly, and we had no supplies and no food. So we'd coasted to the nearest town, and were about to buy some food when Max remembered that Iggy still had her card. He still had it from when he had nicked it, weeks ago.

It was a good thing, in a way. So they were able to buy their food and clothing. But it was bad for us. They at least had Angel, who could (when absolutely necessary, never otherwise!) manipulate people into giving us free stuff. But Max and I were stranded, in the middle of nowhere with no food or way to get food.

But then Max's Voice popped up. And told her fortune cookie crap she stormed around muttering, until a light bulb almost literally glowed on top of her head.

It had told her 'you reap what you sow,' which sounds like total bull crap. We could hardly plant a garden now, could we? And wait for everything to sprout and grow and cook it and eat it?

But then Max got it. She saw a little farm, and so we knocked on the door and asked if we could stay the night and have dinner if we worked for it. The old women took one look at us, beaten, tired, bloody, and probably quite horrible overall, and said absolutely not.

I didn't blame her. If I was a normal person, and I saw kids like this asking to stay the night, I would lock my doors.

But that wasn't what she meant.

This sweet old lady said that it would kill her to put us to work, not when we looked so in need to food and shelter. So she sat us in her tiny kitchen and cooked us a huge pot of soup that we inhaled.

She seemed a bit surprised at how much and how fast we ate, but she cooked another pot full without batting an eye. So for the first time in days, we had a nice, hot, fresh dinner.

She said there wasn't enough room in her house for us to sleep, so she directed us to her barn, where she kicked the cows out for the night and put together straw beds for her. We offered to help, but she insisted on doing it all herself.

While the straw wasn't comfortable as a bed, per say, it sure beat sleeping on the ground. And without bothering about watch, the two of us fell asleep immediately in the comfortably warm bundles.

…..

"Good morning!" the old lady greeted. I blearily opened my eyes and saw Max already sitting up. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and faced the old lady. (Gosh, I really need to stop calling her old lady. Note to self: ask for her name.)

"Thank you, so much for everything. We'll leave now; we don't want to be a bother." Max said. Wow, she actually had manners. Why wasn't I special enough to get treated to that side of her?

The old lady glared at Max sternly. "Young lady!" she warbled. "I have no idea what the two of you have been up to. You look like you've been on the brink of death, you look starving, and tired."

"We-" I began, scrambling to think of a halfway plausible explanation. But the old lady put up a hand to stop me.

"And I don't want to know. When I look at you, I think of my grandkids. If they were ever in a bad situation, and they stumbled upon a little old lady with a ton of food and a big comfy barn, I'd like to think that lady would help 'em, just like I've helped you. Your family would like to think the same thing. I'm glad I could help you both." She said.

I was stunned by the pure sincerity that rang in her words. She meant what she said. She hadn't called the police, or turned us out, or treated us inferior in anyway. Instead, she had taken us in, fed us, and compared us to her grandkids.

Whoever those grandkids were, they better be might grateful to have a grandmother like her.

I didn't know what to say, so Max did it for me. "Thank you. For everything." She said simply, but it was the truth. There was nothing more we could do for her.

"I'm Max, and this is Fang." she introduced, sticking her hand out.

The old woman mused at her. Ignoring the hand, she enveloped Max into a large hug. "It's so nice to meet you, Max. I'm Cecilia."

She came over and hugged me too. It was a bit awkward because I wasn't a very huggy type, but Max narrowed her eyebrows at me until I put my arms around Cecelia.

I don't know how the voice knew, but quite honestly, the stroke of luck that we would find someone as nice as Cecelia was a blessing. I don't know how I felt about god, but if there's something or someone up there, thank you.

Cecelia fed us a spectacular breakfast of buttered toast and eggs. She packed us sandwiches for lunch (3 each, she was learning) and put them in backpacks for us. She offered us her credit card, but Max turned it down.

"No, Cecelia, we can't accept that. We may never see each other again; I would never get to return it. And…" I had never seen Max struggle for words so much before, "And meeting you is a blessing. Really. I would like to pay you back."

Pay her back? How? I was curious, but I didn't say anything.

"Do you have a camera, Cecelia?" Max asked.

Cecelia nodded. "Sure do."

"Take a picture of what I'm going to show you. When you go to town, sell it to the newspaper. It's not much, but it's all I have."

I understood where Max was going.

Cecelia looked confused, but she took out her camera, like Max instructed her too.

"And one last thing, Cecelia. What I show you might scare you. It might worry you. You will be confused. But I need to ask from you one last favor."

Cecelia nodded.

"Say that you saw us in your fields. Don't tell anyone what you've done for us. Say that you can't be sure what we are, the picture's all you have. Say that we just appeared, stayed a minute, and disappeared. Didn't talk or anything. Okay?" Max told solemnly.

"Okay honey" Cecelia replied, looking unsure.

Max walked out into the fields. She spread her wings out wide, and hovered in the air.

Cecelia gaped at her. "What…but. How?" She whispered.

"Take the picture." I reminded her. She looked at me, scared, but did as I said. Max flew back and tucked her wings out. Cecelia reached out and felt Max's wings, as if to prove she hadn't imagined it all.

"We're still the same people, Cecelia. And you were right. We've been through a lot. People are out to capture us. Thank you." Max repeated.

"Max…" Cecelia looked like she would cry. She looked scared, and angry, and slightly nervous. Then her jaw set and I saw a glint in her eye. "People don't thank their grand mothers." She said fiercely and all of a sudden she and Max were hugging and crying. (Well, Max was hugging and Cecelia was crying)

Max slowly pulled away. "We have to go now." She turned and mouthed to me 'invisible'

Cecelia nodded. She wouldn't ask us to stay. "Will I see you again?"

I stood behind the two of them, already invisible.

Max let out a shaky breathe. "I really hope so." And then I grabbed her hand, and we flew away.

So here we were. Flying away. We were one step closer to the Flock, one step further from Jeb and Ari.

What's not to smile about? Oh, and here's one more reason I was smiling.

We needed to stay invisible.

So I was still holding Max's hand.

…..

A bit cheesy, a bit easy, a bit action less. A bit convenient that they find Cecilia. But they deserve a break. Call it a filler chapter if you want, but it actually sets up for some other stuff later.

Review! Hope you liked :)