Okay, here's the new chapter. I haven't had the time to update lately because of school. The only reason I have this one is because the only friend who has the same lunch as me was absent, so I had time to write it then. Unfortunately, I wrote it in third person because I'm an idiot, so I had to go back and change it to first without it sounding dumb. Despite all of these barriers, I'm posting, so you can all stop yelling at me.

I don't own Maximum Ride.

Chapter 10

The Fury of the Storm

MPOV

I fly with wings of fire. They attack the air, devouring rather than slicing through. I don't bother with super speed, half-hoping to be followed by a certain, repentant, dark-haired someone. I honestly don't know what I'm feeling. Rage, hurt, confusion, exhaustion, fear, and worry combine like colors in my heart to make a sort of soupy, gray mixture. It paints the world, coating it in a murky slime.

It starts to storm. Gray clouds open and spew gray water down onto gray earth. My wings grow heavy, and I know I should land. I don't. I feel like I'm running, like stopping would allow the world to swallow me whole. Although there's not much below that could be more dangerous than this wind ridden storm cloud.

I keep flying, maybe I'm running. Am I running from Ig, from his harsh words, from the way he looked at me? Am I running from facing Fang's anger, afraid he'll agree with Iggy, ask me to leave? Or am I running from Fang himself, from the fact that he didn't argue back at Iggy, from the cold agreement glittering in his eyes?

Maybe an evil part of me wants him to feel guilty. Maybe I want to feel the storm ravish my wings to the bone and draw blood, so I know what I'm feeling is real. Real. It hits me like the lightning that crackles around me. Everyone was on an emotion high. Could it have been a trick, a trap? Could they have made us lash out? I'm probably just paranoid. I know I'm paranoid, just fabricating a reason for the things they said.

I still do not land or turn back. My muscles are shaking with the effort to move my wings. I'm buffeted by the winds, and I drop a good distance when I miss a beat. My heart flutters wildly, but I right myself. Lightning strikes, and I feel it's crackling remnants in the air. My hair stands on end. This is unnecessarily dangerous, but I couldn't turn around now if I wanted to. I'm caught in the fury of the storm.

I almost get hit by another crackle of lightning, nearly blown into it by the wind. I even feel my wing scorch. The tattered feathers that had been numb light up with pain, stand on end before falling limp. I start spiraling, unable to maintain my balance.

I fly sideways, desperately trying to right myself. My strength is giving out, and my body is still being cut by hard slashes of rain, causing me to quickly lose the little altitude I gain. The glimpse I catch of land reveals jagged rocks opened heavenward at the tips of the mountains, dangerously close to my failing body.

Another bolt strikes behind me, and the ensuing thunder nearly deafens me. I have no escape from the crashing, striking, ripping storm. I'm not giving up, but I'm most likely going to die, a sacrifice to the storm's fury. And even if I make it out, Fang's going to kill me.

FPOV

I'm almost certain that the scientists are up to something. I don't believe in coincidence. Max getting driven away from the Flock at the same time that we return to the School? Too much of a accident.

The other thing is that all of my anger was so heightened. I was angry, and I think Iggy made some good points, but neither of us would ever have said those things to Max under normal circumstances. We're both capable of seeing the logic, but it was like logic was blocked out.

And now there's a giant storm on the horizon that I just know Max is in the middle of. I can feel it in my bones. It's like my entire world is perched on the edge of a cliff, and I'm running, running to save it. I have this terrible, wrenching suspicion that I won't get there in time.

Nevertheless, I'm flying as fast as I can toward the spot where I watched Max disappear into the clouds. Is she suicidal? There's no way she could fly though that, even with her hyper speed. My heart's beating intensely fast. It feels like I'm fighting for Max's life all over again.

I got a slow start to my pursuit because of the remaining anger that I still felt. All of that is gone. Max and I will have to have a serious talk about her decision to come here, but I know it will come back to the fact that she's the leader and I should trust her. And I do. I trust Max with my life.

Maybe the scientists' emotion-heightening experiment was already taking effect way back when we were flying. I don't know. We're completely ignorant to the extent of their power, but it would explain why I got so bent out of shape, why Iggy decided to attack Max verbally. I wonder why the kids seemed to escape unaffected. Now's probably not the best time to peruse that subject. I really should focus on getting to Max.

The great clouds loom before me like an angry god, waiting to consume me. I'm not afraid. Max is in there. Nothing in the world could stop me from following her. I have a very real fear though, and that is the fear of losing her. It's greater than any fear I've ever known, and I had hoped to never experience this terror again.

If only Iggy had held his tongue…but I shouldn't blame him. If he hadn't lashed out, I might have even though I'm supposed to be Mr. Emotionless, Mr. One Word Sentence. I know that my lack of yelling didn't stop Max from sensing my anger. She'd have known that I was silently agreeing with Iggy's words, even while the sane part of me was screaming out in denial.

MPOV

With ever sluggish beat of my wings, I fall closer to the knife-like rocks below. I'm desperately trying to keep in the air long enough to be free of them, but I don't know if it's possible. I know I'm going to come crashing down eventually. If I could just make it above some less threatening scenery, I might have a chance.

And all the while Iggy's words float in my head.

"Being the leader doesn't mean being selfish."

"Was it really necessary, Max…to expose the kids to the place where their nightmares spawn from."

I am confronted with my own shortcomings repeatedly as I fight for my life, for the future of the world because I still believe that it's my job to save it. I idly, somewhat insanely, wonder how I'll save the world if I'm nothing but a Max-shaped smear on the jagged tips of the rocks below. I'd laugh if I had the strength.

If the anger really was just a scientist's experiment, then Fang's probably somewhere behind me in the storm. The thought is both comforting and frightening. The idea of him undergoing this torture is despicable. But maybe he's just lounging comfortably by the fire, sharing tales of my failed plans with Iggy under the starry sky, free from the rage of the storm. One can only hope, although I do loath the idea of him hating me. Obviously, my mind is fragmented, confused.

I fight forward, gaining a little "ground" with a small surge of strength. The advance is quickly lost as a wind throws me back. I can almost feel the sharp rocks cutting into my skin. What the hell was I thinking? I should have stopped when I had the chance, but I kept going when I knew it was a possibly fatal decision. I all but abandoned my Flock and the world. Maybe I really am as selfish as Iggy claimed. As I duck my head to soften the whip-like force of another stream of rain, I'm seriously questioning whether I'll make it out of here alive.