Not Quite Maximum Ride

by obugg7

At the lab, there were two human-avian test groups. Jeb Batchelder worked primarily with the younger group, and when he left, took only that group with him. 6 years later the older group managed to escape without his help. They now live on their own, unsure of what the future holds for any of them, afraid to part ways and grow up. Mostly OC. Rated T for language and some content.

10. Chapter 10

POV: Ari

I saw her. On the island. She was there with… the big one, the strong one. She was the best fighter, the best Eraser at the School. The Whitecoats gave her so much praise. Then she went bad. She was always a bad one, too full of herself. The Whitecoats saw it, too. So they punished her by making her work with the one of the smaller ones, the small one with short, black hair and no tongue… Atia! That's her name. But Kimu and the other bird-kids became friends. It wasn't fair, I was always asking to play with Kimu, but she just went to talk with the bird-kids. Then they all escaped, and the scientists sent us out to look for them. After months of searching, a team of Erasers found them in the mountains or something. They somehow lost in a fight against the Flock, and the bird-kids escaped. They were gone for no more than a week, and here comes Kimu and… Smosh, causing a big scene in the area that I've been assigned to. It was perfect. I feel it was destiny.

The other flock escaped, too. That was a few years earlier, though. I had been one of the Erasers sent to look for them, but I never found them. My father was too good at hiding to let them be found. He loved them, all of them. I don't know why he didn't take the older flock with him; they probably would've been easier to travel with, not as annoying. Although I can't vouch for all of them. If I remember correctly, the red-headed girl was always complaining and shouting at the scientists, and the small, blonde girl was so rude to everyone. Even me.

The other flock was annoying, too, of course. Fang was always talking to Max, always keeping her for himself. Nudge, like Artie of this flock, was always talking: blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Non-stop. The tall strawberry blonde, Iggy, was cool, though. The other two, the only real siblings, never said much, seeing as they were practically babies. Those 2 were the only ones I could actually stand.

The scientists wanted all 13 of the bird-kids back, and now, after months of searching for any of them, I found the 2 that can lead me right to the others. It was perfect. Perfect. And I would follow them back to their house, or wherever they were staying.

I pull my cell phone out of my pocket and go to the first number in my contacts. "Subjects have been spotted," I said into the microphone. For a while, there was no response. Then-

"Wonderful, Ari." I know that voice anywhere. It's my father. Jeb. "We'll send in backup right away." Then the receiver clicks, and the line is dead.

I know what I have to do. I decided to follow them back. They crossed the bridge, so that's where I went. I would find them, then the other flock, then Jeb's wonderful creations would be back where they should've been, and there would be no one standing in the way of me and my dad. Jeb. It would be just us, just a father and son, the way it should be.