i'm getting really good at these cliff hangers. mwahaha. =) anyways, the song in chapter 41 was LCM by Children 18:3. it's a good song. so, THANK YOU for all the 6 new reviews! =D i was sooo psyched. i've gotten 10 reviews today, i think. idk for sure, because i don't feel like doing math. it's summer. who does math in the summer? lol.

DISCLAIMER: James Patterson owns Maximum Ride and its characters and stuff, not me. =(


What do you see
When you look past smoke and mirrors?
A broken mess that you have kept hidden from viewers

But that's just surface
Look what's beneath
Hope is rising

Runaway
Not today...
...I'll face my fears and take a chance


I couldn't believe what was happening. Instead of ripping him to shreds, the wolf was shoved off, and the man ran and jumped back in his car. He started to just run over me, but the wolf started chasing his car. It was a convertible, so he decided to turn and just drive off instead.

And then, as soon as he was gone, there was a girl standing there, looking towards him with a look of hatred and disgust.

Her hair was bleach blonde, almost white, and she had bright purple streaks in her hair. She was tall, slender, and muscular, just like me. Actually, she looked like she had the exact same body style as me. I wasn't gonna look at her...women areas…to be sure, though, if we were the exact same body style.

She looked at me, and I instantly was surprised by the bright purple color of her eyes to match her hair. Her skin was just a shade darker than mine, and she was absolutely beautiful. She was dressed in a pair of dark blue jean skinny jeans, a tight, white v-neck t-shirt, and a black mini-vest. To top this off, she had on a black and white checkered belt, and she had on high top black and white converse.

I couldn't understand why I cared about what she was wearing, but for some reason, I trusted her because of it.

"You're really gonna have to learn how to trust people to defend themselves, you know," she teased, laughing now as she looked at me. I was sure I was looking at her as if she lost her mind, but that only made her laugh a little harder. "My name is Sam, just Sam. It's not short for nothin', and there sure ain't nothin' behind it."

Her Southern accent surprised me, to the point I even smiled brightly at her. Of course, she laughed at me, but I was already starting to like her.

"Who are you?"

"I'm an experiment, just like your parents," she informed me, making my eyebrows pull together in confusion. "How do I know this? Well, I'm good with computers, and I've looked up all the information anyone has on previous successful experiments. Your family are the only six left alive, and you guys are the most wanted creatures in existence."

"But, they didn't even make us," I protested softly, not liking where this was going.

How was she doing this? After all, I just lost my best friend, before I got a chance to explain myself. And, to make it worse, my brother has decided on her, and she's dead now. She's dead, meaning in less than a year, he will be too.

She looked away from me, all the humor and happiness gone. "I know what that's like."

"I didn't say anything."

"I can read minds," she said quietly, eyes staring impassively out at the horizon. "It's somethin' I wish I could help, but if you're within a mile radius of me, I can hear your thoughts."

"Oh," I said softly. "Well, that must suck. I have to control their mind to be able to do that."

"I'm curious about you and your family," she informed me, now softly smiling again. "Look. I don't know what your name is, but I think we need to go before your family goes crazy. They're probably freakin' out. You really need to work on that..." she grinned at me. "Ari."

I just laughed. "Um, well, Sam, in case you didn't notice, I'm sorta bleeding and shot and unable to move."

"What can I do?"

"I just need some more energy," I sighed, my eyes scanning the surroundings around me. I wasn't sure why this was happening, but my vision wasn't fixing itself, like it usual does. Now, it seemed to be dimming.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "I'm sorry. You're the only one within a mile radius of us. He's long gone. But, where all are you hurt?"

"My leg, really badly," I admitted with a sigh. "My stomach, and my shoulder." Then, my eyebrows furrowed. "I think my head too. It's just…hurting now."

"Could be blood loss," she sighed. "Well, I can run get my car, but that could take a while, and I'm not sure that's a good idea."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Look, Sam, don't go out of your way to help me. I'll eventually be able to snap myself home."

"Try it," she suggested, kneeling down beside me now. "We can always come back and get the bike later."

"I'm not sure I can get both of us," I moaned, eyes closed. "Look, Sam, I don't know you, but I trust you, and that's not normal, at all."

She placed her hand gently on my right shoulder with a reassuring smile. "I trust you too, Ari. You can do this."

So, I tried it. But, instead of ending up in the tree house, we ended up in the middle of the woods somewhat near it.

"Close enough," I mumbled before forcing myself to somewhat sit up so I could drag myself there.

Sam rolled her eyes. "You must think I'm some kinda heartless monster if you think I'm just letting you drag yourself there."

"My right arm is fine," I said firmly, giving her a firm look before continuing to drag myself, causing myself more and more pain.

And then, I was being lifted by strong arms, and I didn't like it, to say the least. Sam just smirked at me, and I rolled my eyes at her.

"If you're still here when I'm better, I'm kicking your butt."

She laughed. "Yeah, probably. You're the strongest out of everyone in your family, right?"

"Yes," I said quietly with a scowl. "But, enough about me. What about you?"

"I'm stronger than the original flock," she admitted. "Not you, though."

"What about Alex?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "I never saw you had a sibling. You and the little girl are the only children known."

I snorted. "There are two more guys. I guess that just proves that only girls matter."

She laughed. "Yeah. It totally does."

And that's when I realized that, yes, today, I lost my best friend, and I was not over that. Once I was alone, I was gonna cry until I couldn't cry anymore. Tomorrow at school was gonna be rough, but I was going. No one was stopping me.

Maybe Sam can come too. That would be fun.

"Put me down," I said quickly, firmly too. She started reading my thoughts as to why, so she did as I said. Of course, I almost instantly fell back over, but she caught me and stabilized me while I limped my way to the tree. Only I could open it from the outside, and only Daddy and I could open it from the inside.

I did everything that I needed to do to open the door—it's a secret, so you can't know—and Sam just sighed.

"So complicated for a tree house."

"This is more than just an ordinary tree house," I said resolutely before pulling her inside.

But, suddenly, out of nowhere, everything went completely black.