I'm sorry I haven't updated lately. I totally hate when people don't touch a story for a year or two. I understand why they don't though. I think I'm making the story weird. I'm not certain, but please reader tell me if I do. I tend to stray from the story's original purpose and make it way too outlandish. Anyways, I'm so sorry. Please don't be too angry. I deny owning anything that has to do with Maximum Ride or the Maze Runner. Please continue to read. If ya'll have any suggestions, comments, or concerns you can always hit that little review button…. Wink wink. Anyways I'm totally experiencing writer's block. If ya'll wanna help out, well, by all means do so!

Max's POV

It took my amazing genius to figure out where the flat trans was. All I did was open the front door and there it was… a big, black wall. Teresa asked me if I could go last, to make sure everyone made it through okay. Though I felt like I should be leading the mission, I stayed behind.

As Teresa stepped through the wall, the little girl took my hand. I think her name was Angel. She was so small and fragile looking, I just couldn't pull my hand away. She needed someone to hold on to. Now, don't go telling people I'm getting soft. I am not getting soft. I was just feeling a moment of kindness.

I caught Total staring at me as if I'd grown a second head. He cautiously walked up to me, seeming to consider something as he did. A bad feeling formed in the pit of my stomach as the dog put his front legs on my knees. He whined softly, nudging my hand with his wet nose. I would not hold that stupid dog. I could only tolerate so much…

"C'mon Max," he begged.

"No," I said sternly, pushing Total away from me. "Bad dog!"

"I am not simply a dog. I am a Canine American, thank you!" he sniffed. How could these girls not hear this dog talking? How? Were they deaf or simply impervious to this mutt's whine?

I watched the last girl file through, unaware of the talking dog she was passing. A creepy feeling on the back of my neck caused me to turn. Three girls sat defiantly on the floor, staring holes into my back.

"Nothing good's going to come from you sitting there," I said.

"We're going to wait for more of our rescuers to come," one of them murmured.

"We're bound to be found eventually," another one chimed in.

I sighed, "I'd go with the rest of the group if I were ya'll."

"Nope, we're waiting."

"Come with us," Angel whispered softly. Her blue eyes sparkled with unshed tears as she looked at them. They were Bambi eyes. One of the girls got up and walked through the flat trans without another word.

The other two looked at each other, confused. "Why'd Kate do that?" one of them asked.

The other glared at me and stated a bit harshly, "We still ain't going with you!"

"We're just going to have to leave them," Angel murmured. "I can't get to them for some reason." I nodded; Bambi eyes didn't work on everyone. I turned around and took one last look at Angel. With a deep breath, we both stepped into the unknown.

It was completely black in the flat trans. As I moved forward, I could tell we were in a different area. While my eyes were utterly useless, my ears worked well in their place. I suddenly understood how Iggy could get around so well. Wait, who in the heck was Iggy?

That wasn't important. I needed to listen and concentrate. The others were just up ahead; I could hear their footsteps as they shuffled along. Everything smelled damp, musty, as if this place had never seen light… It probably hadn't.

There was a cry of pain and a soft thud as someone fell. Somebody turned on a flashlight up ahead. I could see the dim glow of it as it shined towards us. The glow abruptly flipped off and Teresa called for us to keep moving. I had an extremely bad feeling about this.

Max, get to the center immediately.

Okay, snappy much? I asked, pulling Angel behind me as I slid past the girl I was tailing. Normally, I'd take a little time to argue, but I didn't know what had happened back there. This could be a life or death situation. I wasn't questioning the Voice right now. If it could save my and Angel's hides, I'd take it.

Something grazed over my head and collided with the girl I'd been behind. I heard her hit the ground, but I didn't turn. I wasn't exactly afraid; I just knew I couldn't help her. We walked down the dark corridor for an extremely long time. At one point, I realized I'd gotten beside Teresa. Angel and the dog were close at my heels, but not beside me.

The things soared over my head periodically. Sometimes they took a girl down, sometimes they didn't. It was enough to set me on edge though. After forever and a decade, I tripped over a stair. I realized we were beginning to ascend. I couldn't believe it; there was actually a way out of this purgatory.

"Everyone stay at the bottom of the steps. There's a hatch right here," Teresa called to our group. I hadn't realized it, but she'd made it to the top of the stairs. "I'm going to see where it leads."

"I'm coming with you," I said. The sooner I got out of here, the better. Teresa sighed then flicked on the flashlight, illuminating the steps for me. I inhaled sharply as I realized how close the walls were to me. In the dark I could imagine that they weren't closing in on me. I didn't have that convenience anymore. I hauled on my big girl panties and climbed the stairs, cautious and quick. As I neared the top, I realized there was light shining through the hatch.

"What's that?" one of the girl's yelled. I turned to see a molten teardrop fall from the ceiling just behind me. As if possessed, it floated in midair before zooming towards the cluster of girls. A girl let out a scream of agony as the molten teardrop found it's home on her face. It covered her body in a matter of moments. She dropped like a rock, writhing against the material. Anger and sadness swirled in my mind. I turned away, rather purposefully, and looked towards Teresa.

She stared, transfixed by what was happening. It sickened me. I pushed her aside and threw open the hatch, the need to escape greater than I could ever have fathomed before. Heat and light seared my eyes. It felt like a brick oven compared to the damp tunnel. Nevertheless, I booked it into the oven. It was better than the horrors of the tunnel.

It took several moments before my sensitive eyes adjusted to the intense light. We were in what appeared to be a desert wasteland. I turned to the north, and found myself staring at an infinite amount of desert. I wheeled around to look at the south. Surprisingly, there was a smallish town sitting smack dab in the middle of said desert. It was a welcome, if not startling, sighting.

Just beyond it were a group of jagged mountains that partially encircled the town like a broken bowl. From this distance, it appeared as though the mountains were only a couple miles away from the town. Unfortunately, I knew better. It would probably be a days walk from the town to the mountains, if that.

Even more regrettably, beyond the mountains was probably going to be our destination. I sighed and glanced at Teresa and the other girls. They were all blinking owlishly, still trying to adjust to the sunlight. I guess that was the good thing about raptor vision, you adjusted to things rather quickly.

I searched for Angel and the dog. They materialized by my side as if they knew I'd been looking. "Okay," Theresa clapped her hands together, finally taking in the scene. "I think we need to head east, and circle around the town. It pro-"

"We should probably head south," I interjected before she could continue. She gave me a look, but I ignored it. "The town will provide us food, water, and shelter. It's also the most direct route to our destination."

"And where's that?" one of the girl's asked me snarkily.

"Over the mountains," I said simply. "It's the hardest but most obvious point to reach. They don't want to make it impossible, but it's going to be tough getting there in three days."

"But," Theresa butted in, "we have another mission to complete."

"And what would that be?" I snapped.

"We have to kill Thomas, one of the boys. He did horrible things to me, Max. You disappeared before everything went crazy. He tried to kill me! He'll do the same to all of you if we don't kill him. It's his life or ours!"

"What?" I cried, incredulous. She was talking about murdering Thomas, a boy who was trying to escape as much as we were. Thomas wasn't the enemy here. Besides, if he tried anything he'd be ten feet under before he so much as blinked. If it came down to it, it'd be him against Max… The other girls didn't exactly count. I wasn't sure about their skill in fighting, but I was with my own.

The girls murmured amongst themselves, obviously as disturbed as I. I was glad. They'd all agree with me and Theresa would drop the notion. There'd be no ifs, ands, or buts about it. We'd go to the city, rest up, and maybe find some protection and ammunition.

"Ok," one girl whispered, sadness gleaming in her pale eyes. As one, they all agreed. Self-preservation triumphed over logic; they'd rather kill than be killed.

"No," I said, refusing to just go along with it. "I will not have his blood on my hands. I'm out of here."

Angel looked at me with wide, well angelic, eyes and slid her hand in mine. That's my girl. I thought to her, though I knew she couldn't hear me. She seemed to smile extra sweetly at me when I thought it. It was just a trick of the searing light.

We began to walk towards the town together. I figured the dog would follow, no matter how much I wanted differently. I wasn't disappointed. A few seconds later, Total was trotting in front of us, grumbling under his breath.

Someone took my other hand. I looked to my side and saw a girl who couldn't have been more than eight. She looked at me with big, brown eyes, afraid I'd reject her. Compassion filled my heart for this small child. I couldn't help but think that I still loved Angel more.

"Annie," Teresa called after the little girl. "Don't go with her. It's a death sentence."

"Things not turn out right?" I asked with mock sympathy as I turned to Teresa. I registered the brokenness and shock in Teresa's eyes before I turned towards the town. I knew why she was shaken. She hadn't figured anyone would break away from the group. Her lack of forethought vaguely reminded me of someone, I just couldn't remember who. I tried to dredge up the person I was thinking of. My memory was back to being a stubborn, illusive slate again. I mentally growled, trying to make a hole with my mental fist. It just wasn't happening.

Teresa didn't say anything else as we departed from the group. She seemed resigned to let us 'walk to our deaths'. I say this because I knew she'd have put up a bigger fight if Annie was in danger. Me? I doubt she'd care. Angel? That'd be an iffy. Annie? Yes. She cared about that child, even if it was just a little.

For about a mile we walked in blissful silence. Yes, I mean there was no idle chatter coming from the four legged miscreant. Amazing isn't it?

"I'm Annie," the little girl whispered softly, breaking my bubble of peace. It would take seconds for the dog to hear us speaking and join in. Ugh.

"Max," I said kind of roughly. I wasn't in the greatest of moods. It was sweltering out here. The sun was inexorable, not even allowing a slight breeze to ease our suffering. To make matters worse, my hair was plastered to my back with sweat. It was way too long for it's own good. I needed to take a knife to it soon.

"I'm Angel," Angel said sweetly. Total opened then closed his mouth. I think that was the first and last time I'd ever see him at a loss for words. I futilely hoped he'd stay quiet. I had no such luck. As soon as the thought had occurred the dog began to speak.

"My name is Total!" he said. And that was just the beginning of our long trek to town…

Okay, so I finally got this done. Sorry again. I have failed you all miserably. High School is such a pain. Hope ya'll have a good one. God Bless.