By now, most of you have probably noticed that I am VERY bad with updating quickly. My apologies, it's just me! I don't want to write a chapter if I'm not sure what exactly to write it about…  More of that later. Let's get this show on the road…if any of you are still there… (lol!)

Dragon's POV

Just so you know, if you spend several years living alone, without memory of human interaction you should never fly with twelve other bird-kids. I mean never. That is, unless you wish to be harassed to the point of insanity. There's Tiger, Kairi, Gazzy, and Nudge, an unstoppable group of bickering chatterboxes, then there's Scorpius and Fang, furious, flying at opposite ends of the formation. Not to mention Cloud and Angel, who have apparently bonded and are releasing their own steady stream of words to Mantis, Iggy, and Jaguar. You can almost fell sorry for Max as she struggles to move them in the right direction. Almost.

She glances up at me as I swoop around, several feet higher, casting shadows over the rest of them. She's given up asking me questions finally and that's a relief. It's bad enough to fly with them. I don't want them to hear my awkward words. I coast down to their level, idling on the thermals, several feet behind them.

Eraser's POV

I grin to myself, lifting the binoculars to, my face yet again. There she is, flying a bit behind the other targets. Of course, at the moment none of them really matter to me. Only that one. I motion to my fighters.

"Their almost there. A little closer…a little closer…"

As they fly almost directly over our base, I nod. Thirteen tranquilizer darts are launched into the sky…all heading for one bird-girl. I can't stop my smile. This mutant is ours.

Dragon's POV

All I know is that one second I'm flying, and the next several darts have pierced my skin and I'm…you guessed it, falling. Furiously, I reach for the first dart, ripping it out, heedless of the damage I'm inflicting upon myself. With a roar of pain, I hurl it toward the group of Erasers that I can now see clearly. But my vision is blurring. Shit! They're tranquilizers! My coherent thoughts are disappearing quickly.

Max's POV

I look back over my shoulder at Dragon's cry. With a yell of my own, I dive after her as she begins to fall, Fang beside me. I've almost got her, when Fang slams into me, knocking both of us several feet down and away. None of the Eraser's bullets find their marks.

"Come ON!" I yell, hearing my voice crack in panic, gesturing to the rest of the flock.

For the first time in twenty four hours, no one questions me. They wheel and we dive as one toward the Eraser's little camp. The Eraser's have stopped firing now, desperate to catch Dragon before she hits the ground. They want her alive. I wait. As one Eraser knocks into another three from the impact of his catch, I spring. I move fast, punching one dog man twice before he can react. A solid kick to his chest sends him to his knees for a moment. Furry arms suddenly cut off my air supply. Of course, my would-be strangler isn't too thrilled about Fang's boot connecting with his face. I'm vaguely aware of the others trying to fight their way to Dragon. But we're losing. Again. A sense of déjà vu overwhelms me and I fight off the memory having entered another struggle. I barely acknowledge the sound of a chopper overhead, and my brain doesn't make the connection.

"Move out!" an Eraser yells, and they bound off into the trees.

Desperate, I leap into the air, my now bloody flock following me. They're too fast. Before we can even pinpoint the noise of the chopper, it's up and away. I turn slowly back to face my flock, scanning every face. And that's when I realize that Nudge isn't with us. A fresh wave of panic washes over me, and I push it down, not succumbing to the hysteria that is testing my control of my emotions.

"Has anyone seen Nudge?" I ask shakily.

The members of my original flock pale instantly.

"Nudge?" Scorpius asks, "Is she the one with the curly brown hair?"

"Yes." I hiss, reining my sudden fury, "Have…you…seen…her?" I say with slow deliberate patience.

I only have to look at their faces to know their answers.

I dive to almost treetop level. They cannot have taken her, too. They cannot have taken her. They CANNOT have taken her. THEY CANNOT HAVE TAKEN HER!

"Nudge!" I call, "Nudge!"

But no one answers. I fly slowly calling and calling. Taking my lead, the others begin searching too.

"Nudge!... Nudge!... Nudge!" I yell. "Nudge!" The panic is rising. "Nudge! Nudge! NUDGE! NUDGE!" I scream.

"Max!" the cry is faint, but I can hear it.

"Nudge! Where are you!"

"Over here!"

"Keep talking! I'm coming!"

She calls my name again and again. I fly quickly, and everyone joins me as I follow her voice. It's getting louder now and I pour on some speed. I see her as we reach the clearing where we had last seen Dragon. She is lying on her stomach, tears running down her face and I run to her. I stop, gasping in horror. She glances up at me and winces.

"Oh Nudge," I whisper, in pity.

Her left wing, the one furthest away from me is fine. But her right wing is far from it. It hangs at odd angles in several places, and sticky blood stains most of her feather. Fragments of frail bone have broken through her skin in several places and several areas are swollen. As I kneel beside her I smooth her hair back from her face and wonder, Will she ever fly again?

Dragon's POV

I open my eyes a slit, the dull sound of chopper propellers pounding my sore head. All around me Erasers are laughing and talking. My hands are definitely tied behind my back and if these wolves aren't totally brain dead my legs are restrained too. Have you ever been flying toward something worse than death itself and felt like breaking out into hysterical laughter? I have. If these idiots think that a few tranquilizers are going to keep me here, then they have another thing coming.

Tada! Now people, I'm expecting veritable FLAMES because of what I've done to Nudge… But it's time for my thank yous. Thank you sososososooooo much to:

I-see-thestrals

Silver-head angel

zanuto

Veronica

Da Jitter Bug

vampirechick54

Astronomy Geek

KittenofShadows

Yascarocks

Winged-Lady-Inari-the-2nd

skyboard91

crash

KelleyFitzgerald

Ashley

Brandi

leonessthefirbenderJK

blueeyesbetter

R-Starcat

You are all awesome people. Thanks for reviewing!

review please…

pendragoness