Thank you so much to all reviewers- you guys are absolutely amazing! I'm sorry for making people so panicked with the obscure ending if the last chapter!! =P
I hope you enjoy this one, make sure to tell me what you think of it =]

~ Fang POV~

My phone rang irritably, disrupting the silence around me. There was no other noise up here in my room, the refuge where the rest of the world wasn't allowed to enter. To be honest, I was grateful for the distraction my phone posed- there was only so much silent contemplation that even I could take in one day. "Ig" flashed up on the screen.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked by way of greeting. I was lying on my bed with my laptop open in front of me- just because I was spending most of my time checking up on the Flock it didn't mean I couldn't keep searching for Max… not that I had been having any luck.

To be honest, I was getting very worried- paranoid and anxious in a way that would put Max to shame. The message in make-up had been erased from my window but it was now imprinted on my mind, my overactive subconscious had jumped to every conclusion and reached no answers. My hope was keeping me alive, my duty to the Flock was giving me a purpose. I still needed her, and I was more afraid then ever- Max's warning had rattled me to the core and disturbed my every thought. But the same old clause held me to my supposed home- she needed me to protect the Flock, and as such I couldn't leave the way I wanted to or search the entire world for her. If I found her, then I would be home- then it would be alright. Right now, I could only hope to do that from this prison-like refuge that was my so-called home.

"Turn on the News," Iggy said. There was no greeting or small talk: it was a simple command issued in a no-nonsense manner, and it was clear that he was expecting immediate obedience.

I was more then slightly perplexed at this stage. "Why? If this is another documentary on-"

"Fang, turn on your goddamned TV and meet me ASAP in New Orleans."

"Okay, okay." I had no idea what was going on, but Iggy sounded very panicked and frantic. That was enough to worry me. His sentences were short and snappy… and slightly terrifying. Why on earth did he want to go to New Orleans? If this turned out to be for something stupid like the PlayBoy Bunny Sponsored CarWash or something, I would wring his neck for scaring me like this. I had enough to scare me as far as Max was concerned- if Iggy was giving me unnecessary causes to worry, I would (in Nudge's eloquent lingo) "freak". I was already on my way down the stairs, taking them three steps at a time, urgent to get to the television. The line crackled as the sound of my pounding footsteps undoubtedly echoed loudly in Iggy's ear.

"And Fang?" he added in a strangely hollow tone. The sound of… regret? My heart started to race- something was very, very wrong. Suddenly I didn't want to hear the end of Iggy's sentence, and for the first time in my entire life I was completely frantic and focused on what was on the television. The first time I had ever actually cared about what was happening on that stupid box that all the regular people were obsessed with. I didn't want to hear what was so awful from Iggy, I just needed to get to the television. He beat me to it though, he finished the sentence before I even reached the end of the stairs.

"I'm sorry."

He sounded hollow and choked up. The call cut off with a flat line beep. A horrible noise symbolising the end. Those two words made my stomach drop and I smashed through the hallway door. Sprinting towards the sitting room, I grabbed the remote off an indignant Kate and hastily flicked to Channel 5. Stabbing the little gel button with my finger so hard that I nearly dislocated it, I jammed it down too far and the tiny rim of plastic that it was sitting in dug into the pad of my finger. This did not sound good- at all. I was getting frenzied, and the only way to calm my fears would be to see the News Report like Iggy had asked.

"Hey!" Kate yelled indignantly, a whining sound that was as head-wrecking as sharp nails being dragged down a blackboard. "That is so not fair, I was watching-"

"Ssssssshhh!!" I hissed through clenched teeth as I stared at the woman behind the news desk. A redhead in the usual tailored suit- she looked very serious and very professional. Then again, for the amount of money she was no doubt getting for this- it was no wonder. A big, fake smile of falsely white teeth adorned her cosmetic covered face- but I didn't care, I was just intently focused on the words escaping between them.

"... Some believe that it is set to be a continuation of the bestselling Maximum Ride series which have featured heavily on this programme in the past. The notebook would appear to be penned by the leader of the so-called Flock; the group of winged children who are still anonymous to us after all this time. The motel room showed signs of forced entry and a violent struggle with a considerable amount of blood shed at the scene. In all accounts it seems to be a very hostile incident, with what would appear to be numerous injuries. The young woman who was staying in the room is described as tall, blonde and very slim. There was no CCTV footage recovered which -combined with the fact that the woman paid in cash and left no details- will make it difficult for police to find leads. Of course, with the discovery of the notebook at the crime scene -which is presently being held and studied at the New Orleans Police Dept.- it causes us to speculate: are the winged children going to fly once more?"

My heart plummeted. Sick- I felt dreadfully sick. My breath hitched in my throat and died. I found myself coughing loudly in an effort to regain the ability to respire. I grabbed my black leather jacket off the back of the armchair and made for the door.

"I'm going out, Kate," I yelled over my shoulder. "Might stay with Iggy. Don't wait up."

That was all that needed to be said- they didn't need any more of an excuse then that. It was sufficient. As I took to the air and unfurled my wings, I pulled out my phone and redialled Iggy's number.

"Where are they?" I demanded. "Where are the Flock?"

"They're all with me," Iggy muttered. "We just picked up Angel and Gazzy. We should meet you just before you hit New Orleans if we keep up this pace. I'm sorry, Fang. So, so sorry. I should have believed-"

"It's too late for that now, Iggy. Just keep flying, we have to get there soon. I need to find her."

Flying was more important now. All that mattered was getting to the destination. My head and my heart could wait until we got there, all that mattered now was the wings and the way they kept constantly moving. I wondered how Iggy felt now, and Nudge- all of them really. Did that crashing sense of realisation weigh down on their shoulders? Pushing them down to the ground and crushing them over and over. Did it finally sink in now? They should have known, they should have helped me- and now they knew how it felt. But I still couldn't bring myself to hate them for it- Max had told them the lies that they wanted to believe. The lies that were so much easier to believe then the truth. It wasn't really their fault. But I wished that they had realised sooner. I still wished that it was different.

Muscles slowly loosened as I propelled myself towards New Orleans. Cold air pushed my hair back from my forehead and chilled my face. It would have been refreshing, but I was too far gone to use that nice description now.

A book- apparently written by Max- found at the scene of a violent disturbance... A very violent disturbance. Panic and cold, hard fear gripped my already wounded heart. It froze me from the inside out as though a shot of pure nitrogen had been shot into my veins. My injured heart threatened to stop, but thoughts of her kept it beating. It sounded corny, but sometimes the truth is. What was it Max said? "That boy has some poetry in him."
Trust Max… and I did. I trusted Max- I trusted in Maximum Ride: the awe-inspiring person that I knew and the heroic lie that others believed. I trusted in the fact that she was strong, and capable. I trusted that she was alive… Alive and waiting. Waiting patiently for me.

New Orleans. Maybe I would find her in New Orleans. No, I would. I would find her. Hope and faith- keeping me alive all the time. All that mattered was getting hold of that book from the police department. I would get the book.

Then, once that had been taken care of- then I could get started on finding Max.