DISCLAIMER: I don't own Maximum Ride. But I'm looking to buy the second book soon.

A.N. Thank you to:

Boglesinthecloset – glad you're enjoying it. And comparing me to JP in even the slightest way was really up-lifting – thanks!

Silentkiller – Here's the next chapter – enjoy!

Wings of Hope

Chapter Three: Keep Out of Reach of Children

The sudden appearance of the flickering torches surrounding me was not a very comforting experience; firstly, my eyes complained loudly from the unexpected lift of darkness; secondly – and probably more importantly – the realization that I was not only surrounded my light, but also by people just about froze my nerve endings into frosty icicles that trickled cold water continuously down my spinal cord, causing me to tingle with icy dread.

The people were so close now, I could make out their facial features by the light of their dancing orange torches. I frowned; from what I could see, they were just children, the eldest not more than my age and standing slightly to the fore of the circlet of kids. He had a rugged look, with what seemed to be light brown hair and eerily green eyes that glinted an evil yellow as the light reflected off them, casting deep shadows under the sockets from which they peered out of. He was very Iggy-like: pale, tall and gangly, minus the blonde hair. I just hoped he wasn't a pyromaniac like Ig – he was the one holding the flaming torch, after all.

The circle of people closed in on me, different pairs of bright eyes shining out from the backdrop of darkness. I tried to shake off the feeling of deep freeze out of my bones, but my joints only creaked in complaint. Tension snapped all my muscles into a brick-like consistency and my wings were practically quivering by my spine. My hands curled themselves into tight fists, as my body automatically went into a combative stance; all the while, the children stepped uncomfortably closer.

I counted how far the green-eyed boy was from me: around ten meters away and advancing quickly. I vaguely considered attacking first, but initiating an attack was basically asking for an outright battle. There was still a chance that this was not supposed to be a violent encounter, and that the kids only wanted to –

Something jumped at me from behind, and my wonderfully efficient super-senses gave me around a split second warning before I was sent sprawling into the dirt with whoever attacked me. I rolled over before my face kissed the ground and leaped to my feet, doing an immediate sweep of my current positioning. A rustle of clothing to my right caught me off guard and for the second time in the past ten seconds, my face got an unwelcome greeting from the soil. This time, I didn't get the chance to roll, and grimaced when I tasted blood erupt from a split lip.

"Great," I muttered, scrambling ungracefully and quickly heaving myself to my feet. A fist shot out of nowhere, aiming for my nose, and I blocked, bringing my leg up for a kick a mere second later. My knees clicked as my leg snapped straight, and I heard the satisfying poof of air as my heel forced all the oxygen out of my aggressor's lungs. My foe fell backwards, colliding bone-crunchingly with some other person that was standing behind him, eliciting a strangled scream of pain that echoed off into the night.

The reprieve didn't last long; another grimy pair of hands grasped my arms from behind and others followed, fastening themselves around my shoulder and elbows, restraining me as effectively as an extremely tight straitjacket. I could feel the heat of a torch burning close to my bare arms and the firm grips of my aggressors' fingers digging into my skin. I struggled furiously, astounded by my lack of energy and strength; I should have been able to defeat these kids with just my little finger, no wings, arms or legs attached. As it were, I couldn't even lift my stupid little finger, let alone perform amazing combative skills with it… Fang better not catch me in this scene; I'd never live it down. The incredible Maximum Ride, defeated by a group of infants. Human infants. How embarrassing.

My hair prickled as a voice spoke out over all the hokum. Deep and resonant, it invoked a sense of dread in me that flew straight out to the tips of my feathers, and for a brief moment, I ceased all kinds of movement or thoughts of escape. "Who are you?"

The three words bounced around in my head for several seconds before I could muster a reply. "Well, I was kicking your ass. Who are you?" It was a real shame my voice wasn't as deep or blood-freezing; try coarse and raspy, due to dehydration and excessive dust inhalation.

One out of the dozens of hands released me, and the torch came away from my arm. I looked up as the footsteps came round to in front of me, and my eyes met with two big pools of acid yellow, black pupils so small, they were barely visible. Hello, Mr Deep Voice.

I became uncomfortably aware of the sudden rush of heat next to my face as the guy staring at me pulled away and his eyes were replaced with something just as yellow, but all the more deadly. I shut my eyes from the glaring heat and retracted my head as far back as it could go, as the dancing flames billowed closer and closer to my cheek.

"Who are you?"

"Who wants to know?"

A tendril of fire licked at my skin, and I tensed. "Answer the question," the boy growled authoratively.

"Why don't you answer hers?" An equally sonorous voice rumbled through the space around us, as a huge dark shape dropped out of the sky. Gusts of air blew the torch by my face into a frenzied dance that singed my hair, burning my skin a little too. Even though his voice and presence made me feel largely relieved, I still wanted to kill Fang for that. Instead of retracting his wings once he had landed, he extended them to their full fourteen feet, stunning the kids witless, making his appearance all the more impressive. But, oh yeah, it also meant that he completely blew our cover. I'll have to kill him for that, too.

The yellow-eyed boy whirled to face the direction of his new visitor, and was immediately greeted with a swipe that took the torch right out of his hands, followed almost simultaneously with a strong cuff to the head. I could feel the people holding onto me hesitating; should they keep a hold on me or help their leader and try their odds with the stranger with wings that just dropped out of space? Hmmm, let's see…

Taking advantage of their being stunned from Fang's surprise arrival, I gave an almighty burst of strength and finally broke free of my restraints, upturning a couple of people along the way as my arms drove upwards and out. I fell forwards and almost crashed right into… Nudge?

"Oh, my gosh! Max, are you ok?"

"Nudge! Duck!"

A plank of wood soared cleanly over our heads and struck someone behind us. The person who'd lobbed it was looking at me a bit guiltily.

"Sorry," Angel said innocently from where she was hovering, "but they're right behind you!"

I turned around, throwing out a protective arm to stop Nudge from proceeding further to our foes. "Don't! Where're Iggy and Gazzy?"

"Right here!" yelled Gazzy, flapping about to my left, chucking a brick at one of the kids that had caught me earlier. The girl squealed and dived behind the remnants of a wall for cover, and the brick fell into the space where her head had been seconds before.

"Gazzy!" I shouted, appalled. "Stop! She's not the threat anymore!" He looked at me, guilt identical to his sister's clouding his pure, childlike features, but I was not paying too much attention to him, instead, ordering Nudge back into the sky to rally Iggy (flying beside the Gasman, with not much of a clue as to what was going on), Gazzy and Angel and to keep and eye on them. "Make sure none of the other kids try anything." I said, (translated as, 'Throw more garbage at them – but only if they attack.') That sorted, I looked around anxiously for Fang.

CLICK.

"Don't move!"

I froze, not knowing if that order was meant for me. But the cocking of a gun was a clear enough warning for everyone in the clearing. Sweat trickled down the side of my face and soaked the neck of my T-shirt as the gut-wrenching silence tore the atmosphere up into a million tiny pieces with its pent up tension. I bit my already-severed lip and inched my head round for a peek at the surroundings.

The yellow-eyed boy was holding a pistol levelled to Fang's forehead. They both sported rapidly-forming bruises and various shallow cuts, evidence of a minor scuffle where neither had come out best. That worried me – a mere human, equal to Fang?

The gun was steady in the boy's hands; he seemed confident and unhesitant about handling it, unafraid to shoot. Fang's arms were rigid by his sides, shoulders tensed and alert for any sudden movement. Not that that could save him – we're fast, but not fast enough to dodge bullets. This is not the Matrix, however sci-fi the story gets.

"Don't move," the boy repeated, backing away from Fang, but still training the gun to his head. I relaxed, knowing that I wasn't in immediate danger, and began a slow and steady tread towards them, hands up in a placating gesture.

"Come any closer," the boy warned with a snarl, "and I'll use Crow-Boy's brain to decorate that wall over there."

'Crow-Boy'? I would have laughed at Fang's expression at that, but given the dire circumstances…

I froze, mid-step. "Who are you and what do you want from us?" I asked him as evenly as I could manage. I wanted Fang to give me some indication that he was ok, but he was looking straight down the barrel of the gun and nowhere else. A few more beads of sweat traced their ways down my cheek.

Defiance edged the boy's voice as he responded, "I'll ask only one more time: who are you people?"

"We're… friends."

The boy shook his head. "Wrong answer."

My heart seized as his finger tightened around the trigger. "Wait!" His finger drew short, and no bullet exploded from the end of the gun. I breathed a sigh of relief; Fang blinked.

"What are you?" the boy snapped, firing another question at me, even though I had refused to answer his previous ones.

He wanted answers? I took a deep breath. "We're genetically enhanced, post-amniocentesis, ninety-eight percent human, two percent avian DNA, physically empowered, winged recombinants, fighting for survival in this harsh environment we all like to call 'Life.'" I waited for that the message to sink in, then stuck out my hand, even though I was way too far away to actually reach him. "Hi, I'm Max, nice to meet you." Well, I had to answer all the questions, right?

The boy flicked a glance in my direction but Fang didn't even bat an eyelid at my rambling (he's probably gotten used to it by now). I waited, anxiety tearing up my insides as the boy kept stroking the trigger, as if itching to pull it.

"I've answered all your questions," I said boldly a few seconds later. "Why don't you be a good boy and answer mine?"

The boy nodded and I took this as my cue to pose a question.

"Who are you?" I wonder how many times we've heard that in the past five minutes?

The boy frowned, as if trying to come up with an answer as long and as detailed as mine. I felt an urge to yell 'Ha, beat that, sucker!' – but this was hardly the time. And I'm mature enough not to, of course.

The boy's cold voice filled the atmosphere after a quiet moment's contemplation. "We are the Vallum."

I was baffled before, but now I'm officially confused. And I thought my long words and clever answer would confuse him. 'Amniocentesis' I said, 'physically empowered' – then he says 'Vallum' and I'm like 'HUH?'

It's usually me that gives the confusing speeches that befuddle everyone. This guy just topped mine with a four-word phrase. The sucker actually beat me.

Damn.

A.N. Thanks for reading… review?

Daygoner