I rewrote this chapter over and over, and I think I finally got it the way that I want it. If anyone has any really good ideas for the plot or anything, I would really love your input! Thanks for reading!

You know, I like to think that my list of 'Things that annoy me" is relatively small. But guns are definitely on this list. I mean, I had a chance of getting out of there without any damage for them or me (except for maybe a broken skylight). But oh no, it just couldn't be that easy, now could it?

Mrs. Angus felt the need to pull out a gun, which put me on the losing side of the fight. As soon as a gun is put in the picture, they have the ability to say BANG you're dead.

So now Mr. Angus was leading me into the basement with a gun pointed to my head. You can see why I was a little upset.

"What the heck is going on?!" I heard Tommy say behind me.

I could hear the firm voice of Mrs. Angus telling him, "She's not what you think she is, Tom."

What he thought I was. I wasn't an object, I was a person. My fists clenched at my sides.

The basement was pitch black. Memories of the dark room where they had killed my family came back into my mind. I wanted out. Right now.

I felt a rough arm push me into the corner.

"Take off the jacket," Mr. Angus barked. His voice sounded so different than the soft voice he used when he had bandaged my head.

"I said, 'Take it off'!" he repeated, and I shrugged it off quickly. The rips in the back of my T-shirt clearly revealed my wings.

"So it is true," he said, more to himself then to me. "Where are the other two? The two you were with in Florida?"

So the news had spread. Most of the Itex branches most likely knew that the Flock was reuniting. And now that Mr. and Mrs. Angus discovered we were in Nebraska, they probably knew we were heading to Montana. So much for the element of surprise.

"Answer me!" he said. His voice was shaking. He was either really mad or scared to death. I couldn't really tell.

"Last I heard, they were off to the optometrist's office. Did you know my brother can't see?" I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

He gripped the gun tighter, and I could tell he was losing patience. Just then, Mrs. Angus and Tommy came down the steps.

"I heard something outside!" Mrs. Angus reported. "It must be the other two."

Mr. Angus nodded, handing the gun to his son. "Make sure she doesn't move."

Tommy held the rifle awkwardly in his hands while his parents rushed back up the stairs.

He stared at me curiously, and I realized he was staring at my wings.

"So..." I said awkwardly.

His brows knitted together firmly. "Why did you lie to me?"

"Yeah, Tommy, because 'Hey! I have wings' would have been the right thing to say."

He looked tired, confused, and really stressed. I knew that Tommy was harmless, even with the gun, but I didn't want to hurt him.

"Look, Tommy, I'm... sorry. I shouldn't have lied to you. But you have to understand that it was to protect me and my family." I stood slowly, making my way towards him.

"Stop moving. I'll shoot, I swear I will!" he said, backing up a little.

"Come on," I said. "You aren't really going to shoot me. You're too caring to ever hurt someone."

"Mom told me that you're a freak. That you're unstable and need to be destroyed."

Ouch. That one hurt. "Everyone in this world is different, Tom, you know that. I'm still human. Just not completely." I slowly got closer to him. "I have feelings. I eat. I sleep. I bleed. The difference right now is that you're a good kid who wouldn't hurt a fly, and I do what I have to to stay safe."

Just then, the ground shook beneath us, and I heard a huge bang. I held onto one of the shelves to keep myself upright but Tommy fell.

"What was that?!" he yelled.

"That would be Iggy," I explained, a small smile on my face.

Angel appeared in the doorway. "Nudge!" She jumped over Tommy and wrapped her arms around me. I ran my hand through her hair and she smiled up at me.

I looked at Tommy, who had stood up again to face me.

"My parents are wrong... You aren't a freak, Nudge..." he said quietly. He moved over to let us pass him.

"Come on, Nudge, Iggy can only distract them for so long," Angel said, taking my arm. I nodded and rushed up the stairs, Tommy following behind.

We looked out the window to see uprooted trees and newly blown up holes in the ground.

"Wow," Tommy said simply.

I turned to see Iggy running to the house, and we let him in.

"That was so cool," he said, laughing. "But they're coming this way. Which isn't cool."

"Dang it," I said quietly to myself.

Tommy stepped out towards the door. "Don't worry... I'll handle it."

He opened the door, meeting his parents in the clearing.

"She escaped!!" he said, sounding distressed and angry. "She ran out and headed into the forest. That way!" He pointed towards the trail.

Mr. Angus nodded. "That's the way to the river. We can take the shortcut and beat them there."

Then they ran off again. I smiled. Sometimes adults were almost too gullible.

I ran out to meet Tommy, and he turned with a proud smile on his face. I laughed.

He smiled at me, and was drawn in once again. I felt the corners of my mouth turn up into a grin.

Iggy cleared his throat behind me, which jolted me back into reality.

"Thank you, Tommy, for helping us. I appreciate it."

"Anytime." he replied. He brought a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to me. "In case you need to talk to someone."

I mumbled a thank you and tucked it into my pocket.

"Come on. We need to get going," Iggy said, tension in his voice.

"Give me a second, Ig," I replied. I turned back to Tommy and smiled.

I stepped up to him, and I gently kissed his cheek.

I backed up. "Bye Tommy. Up and away, guys!"

We took off high into the sky, and I could still see Tommy looking up at us, shielding his eyes. I couldn't see him that well, even with my raptor vision, but I'm pretty sure he was smiling.

I sighed. I was tired, but so glad to be in the air again.

"So how much farther until we get to Montana?" Angel asked.

"I have no clue," I answered, looking down at the winding roads below us.

"What do you think, Iggy?" I asked.

"Hm?" His head turned up, and I realized he hadn't been paying attention. "Oh, um, I dunno."

I stared at him a for a little bit, wondering if he was alright. He seemed kind of off, but I decided he was just tired.

"Well, I'd guess about 400 miles. We'll stop somewhere to eat before we get there though."

"Sounds good," Angel said, swooping down. She looked like she was doing ballet in the air, really. She was so graceful.

A little while later, while Angel was flying ahead of us, I flew a little closer to Iggy.

"Those explosions were pretty awesome, Iggy. I totally felt the vibrations!"

He turned his head to me, and I see any emotion on his face.

"Oh come on, Ig! Don't go all 'Fang' on me! What's wrong?" I looked down every once in a while to see if there were any big towns we could stop at.

"I'm blind, but I'm not stupid. You kissed that kid, didn't you?"

I'll admit, I was shocked. Not that he knew I had kissed Tommy; I knew he managed just as well as most kids who could see. I was just confused about why that mattered to him.

"Sure. And your point is?"

"Nudge! You can't go around throwing yourself at any guy who crosses paths with you! How could you be so... so..." He sighed angrily.

"Iggy, he saved our butts! He's not just 'any guy'. What's with you?"

His face revealed a deadly anger that was so uncharacteristic of Iggy. "What's with me?! Nudge, the rest of our flock could be dying right now and your going around kissing people!"

Okay, now I was ticked. "If I do remember correctly, I'm not the only one who's been kissing people!"

That ended our conversation. Iggy sped up to go catch up with Angel, leaving me by myself, wondering what on earth just happened.

So, there we have it! What will happen next!? *dramatic music* Stay tuned! :D