Notes: wow, this is the 36th chapter! Squeeeeeee!!!!! My inspiration has returned, but I'm sad to say, that there are MAYBE 5 more chapters in my story, including this one. It'll be finished by the end of next week. But on the bright side, there will definitely be at least 1 sequel. R&R if you want a sequel. If I don't get at least 90 by the end of the story, there won't be a sequel.

Chapter 36: Antarctica

Max's POV

Antarctica is basically a giant sheet of ice. Luckily, thanks to our body temperature changing abilities, we didn't feel the unbearable cold. Not even Total shivered. The water is freezing, but a warm current comes down from the north and heats up the water slightly. The freezing water is teeming with living organisms.

We decided to take up residence in the Transantarctic Mountains. Heat rose, so it was a little warmer there. We found a nice little ice cave and settled down for a possibly horrendous wait. Gathering the few sticks we could find from frozen Antarctic trees, we built a cozy little fire.

"Iggy, want to build us a fire, and then cook up some vegetables? We need to ration our food, so only a can per person." I said passing Iggy 6 cans of corn and 6 cans of green beans. I decided I'd go scout the area because I'm the fastest.

"Fang, I'm going to go scout the area, you're in charge." I said and my beloved nodded. Leaping off the ledge, I felt the cold of the air for the first time. It was like ice shards, stinging and ripping at my exposed flesh. I ignored it though, and poured on the speed. The world around me blurred and I slowed down a tiny bit, so I could see the icy empire as I passed it. Below me I saw research facilities. I memorized their location and flew on.

Scientist's POV

This whole God forsaken continent was practically barren. We were only here to study the effects of global warming. I looked up into the sky to see if we could see the hole in the O-Zone layer. I'd gotten here 3 days ago, and my room mate said you could. He was right. Then a shadow passed my line of vision. I looked up again and saw something flying. It was super fast and huge. Oddly shaped, too. It was too oddly shaped and too big to be a bird. Luckily, we had video cameras trained in the sky. I went to the monitor and rewound the tape. Watching it again confirmed my suspicions, it was a girl. A girl with wings.

"Haven, get over here. East wing, outside, there's something you need to see on the monitors." I called to my boss through the walkie talkie that I was required to keep handy.

Max's POV

I flew easily back to the cave after scoping out the majority of the continent. My flock had saved me a can of corns. I held it over the open flames, and chowed down on it once it was steamy and hot. I didn't realize how long I'd been gone. When I got back, most of the kids were already in the back of the cave, fast asleep.

"Max, I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't want to kiss you. In fact, it was kind of gross," Iggy said as he came to sit next to me. He sensed my fake expression of shock and mistook it for real shock, "No, no. Not that you aren't pretty, well, I mean I wouldn't know but…You're just not my type." He knew he dug himself into a hole and I laughed.

"Don't worry about it Iggy, you aren't my type either. I much prefer the tall, dark, and handsome type. You know, like Fang the silent over there." I said pointing to Fang who sat on my other side. Iggy, of course, didn't see me point but smiled anyway. I toyed with the necklace that hung around my neck.

"Okay, you can wait to tell the others until tomorrow, but I want to know what is going on exactly, now." Charity said coming to sit next to Iggy. I nodded. For the first time, I told every bit of information I knew about anything to a person born outside the flock.

When I was done, everybody was staring at me. Even Fang. I felt a pair of eyes on me from the back of the cave. Turning to look I saw 4 pairs of eyes. Rayne, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel had mysteriously woken up.

"Max, is all that true?" Nudge asked slowly joining us at the fire. The others followed and they sat down, contemplating everything they had heard.

"Yea, it is. All of it. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before." I said looking each member of my flock in the eye and lingering on Rayne. To my uber-surprise, Rayne, my real little brother, stood up and hugged me. I wrapped my arms around him and felt a tear fall down my face. I gently pulled him away and looked him in the eye.

"I really am sorry I didn't tell you before," I said and he nodded, "You would have loved your mom. She's an amazing woman. And your twin, Ella, she's incredible. I wish you 2 could have met her. I wish I had known that you 2 were my siblings earlier. I never would have left you in New York." I said to both of my half-siblings. By now, tears had sprung up in Charity's eyes and she wiped them away. Finally, after answering everybody's questions, I made everyone go to bed. Taking 1st watch, I sat down at the entrance of the cave and cleared my mind. I must have fallen asleep at one point because I woke up to Iggy shaking me gently.

"Max, someone's coming." He said.

"Oh God. I fell asleep. I'm sorry. Who is it?" I asked Iggy, he normally knew these things.

"It's a person. They know we're here. They want to help, but they don't know how. They saw Max earlier." Angel had been reading the intruder's mind. The flock turned to look at me and my only answer was a shrug and leaping off the ledge.

I flew/climbed down the mountain side. Landed gently in front of the man, he stared dumbfounded at me.

"Hi. Who are you and what are you doing here?" I asked walking slowly towards the man. He was pretty young, maybe 25. His hair was dark and covered in a hat. Tons of scarves covered his neck. He was wearing a heavy jacket and staring at me. I looked down at myself. I was in jeans and a long-sleeve shirt. He must have thought I was crazy.

"Uhh, I'm Daniel DelRossi, and I work at the research station about 3 miles from here. Something turned up on our monitors and I followed it here. It looks like it's you." Daniel said holding out his hand to shake. I didn't take it.

"Okay, what are you doing here?" He asked me. I shrugged.

"I live here. Duh. Why did you follow me?" I asked.

"Well, on the monitor, it looked like you had…well…wings." I feigned a look of total shock and he totally bought it. Casually glancing back up at the cave entrance I signaled for the flock to stay back.

"Can you just leave me alone?" I asked him with a steel tongue. He nodded.

"I can't, I know you want me to, but that's impossible. I want to help you." I almost felt like I could trust this random, but like I was going to trust my gut instinct.

And…end. Send me a review and tell me what you think. Should Max trust this guy? Send me a review and tell me what you think of their situation. Your opinion counts.