Hey, I'm FINALLY updating. I have the rest of my story pretty much planned out, so I'll try to make updates quick, but there's actually not too much left in the story. Well, I know that I've already made you wait too long, so I'll let you get on to the actual thing.

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The autumn breeze seeped through my hair, cooling my head after long hours in the sun. How long had we been away from the Hunters? A week? A month? It had been long enough to fly across the country.

Utah wasn't a bad place. It had a bit of everything- green grass, flat lands, forests, mountains, city, and just a mix of wilderness. There were blue skies and fluffy white clouds one day, and the next there would be a giant storm full of lightning, rain, and sometimes hail. Those days made it impossible to fly. So, thankfully, today was a blues sky day, although the heat was soaring.

Suddenly, someone dropped down onto the rock beside me. I looked over to see Fang sitting in silence and I smiled. He really hadn't changed at all. One thing that had changed, though, was our friendship- and this time, in a good way.

After leaving the Hunters, things had been awkward between the two of us. I still don't know exactly what happened, but eventually our friendship had mended and turned into even more. Nothing was official, and I wasn't sure it ever would be, but Fang and I were closer than ever and something had formed between us. What that something was, I didn't know.

"Max!" a voice called from behind me. I turned around to see Angel looking my way. A smile was stretched across here face and she had here hands cupped so I could see something brown between her fingers. It was moving.

"Angel, what do you have?" I hurried over to her. She turned away from me, trying to hide it now that I'd disapproved. "Angel, sweetie, I need to know what it is." I reached out and turned her around. Slowly, I peeled her reluctant hands open and jumped back as something leaped at me.

"No!" yelped Angel. She immediately started chasing after the furry brown creature as it ran across the dirt trail. "It's getting away!" she screamed as the animal ran under some sagebrush and into a deep rabbit burrow.

"Angel," I called. She searched the sagebrush frantically, not aware that her temporary pet was gone. "Angel," I repeated, trying to get her attention. When she continued to ignore me, I walked over to her, placed my hands on her shoulders, and pulled her from the ground. "Angel, I'm sorry, but you know we can't keep a mouse."

She glared at me than looked back at her feet, purposefully ignoring me. "He was a mouse."

I raised my eyebrows. "Well, what was he?"

"He was a rat."

As I wondered what kind of rat would fit in a six year-old girl's hands, I said, "Angel, we can't have rats, either."

I pushed my hair out of my face and then I noticed Angel's. It was everywhere- whipping around her face and sometimes floating straight up for a few seconds. I turned around to see if Fang had noticed anything and saw him staring at the sky.

I looked up. Gray clouds had moved in fast so there was now only one small circle of clear sky, which was almost as gray as the clouds.

I took Angel's hand and, despite her struggle, took her over to the rock where Fang sat. The wind was blowing even harder. I hurried to gather the rest of the Flock and get them to the boulders as well.

As soon as we were all assembled, I yelled, "What's going on?" I pulled a lock of hair away from my face, which now stung because of the strands that had whipped it.

"Is it a tornado?" asked Gazzy, eyes wide with fear.

"Utah doesn't get many tornados," shouted Iggy over the roaring wind. "Maybe it's a micro burst!"

"Max!" I turned to look at Fang. "We're missing two food bags."

I frowned and looked through the bags we'd gathered. He was right. Two of the bags that we had filled with food just a week before were now gone. We barely had two days' worth left.

"We have to find them," I told the others.

"We can't go out there!" screeched Nudge.

I spared her a second's glance before turning back to Fang. "We can't get by without them." He nodded and stood. As I got up, I told the others, "You guys stay here. We'll be back soon."

Steeping out of the boulder's shelter felt like being hit by an eighteen-wheeler. I had to fight to stay upright. As soon as I saw Fang coming out behind me, I set off. Hunching my shoulders and bowing my head, I walked through a tall field to the clearing where we had been just earlier that day. When I reached the clearing, I had to kneel down to see the ground clearly through the blowing dust.

After I had searched the whole area, I stood up, but had to quickly duck down again when some sagebrush flew over my head. I hurried back into the field, now going against the wind.

Minutes late, the tall stalks were being ripped out of the ground around me. Crouched as low as I could get while still being capable of moving forward, I felt my skin being peeled off by the stems that were slapping my face. I was certain that the back of my head had swollen to the size of a watermelon after being hit by unknown objects.

I ducked as more sagebrush flew at me. When I stood back up, I barely had time to register the huge tree branch being hurled toward me before everything went black.

Dazzling light burned my eyes as I opened them. After squinting for a moment, I slowly lifted my eyelids until I had adjusted to the brightness.

As I stood up, I felt my feet stumble and barely managed to catch myself. I glared at the debris all around me. Fence posts, large boards, tree branches, and sagebrush made up most of the wreckage, but every once in a while I saw a soda can or a cardboard box.

I slowly started to kick my way through the trash, wondering the whole time where the Flock was. Were they safe? Had they been trapped? The worst possible scenarios ran through my mind as I walked. So much for 'not many tornados in Utah.'

Suddenly, I noticed that my way was blocked. A wall of garbage lay straight ahead of me. It stretched as far as I could see on both my right and left. The mound was huge, but I couldn't go back, and I couldn't fly with my wings being such a mess. I slowly started climbing, placing my feet on objects that could fall and start an avalanche of garbage, burying me under many feet of trash.

It took what seemed like hours for me to reach the top, and when I finally poked my head over the pile, I froze. The other side was almost completely clear of debris. A few stray branches were strewn around, but other than that, there was only one thing. A body laid face down in the dirt just one hundred feet ahead of me.

I rushed down the garbage pile, all thoughts of safety gone. I jumped over the stonewall that had caused the mound and started running to the shape in front of me.

As I approached, the form became clear. Fang didn't move from the pool of crimson he was lying in. I hurried forward, yelling his name again and again, then reached out to turn him over. His whole front side was covered in blood. I shook him in an attempt to wake him up. "Fang!"

"Fang!" mimicked a voice from behind me. I spun around. An Eraser stood about ten feet away, and behind him, more were approaching. I swiveled my head around and saw that they were everywhere. Every inch of the stonewall had part of an Eraser on it. They climbed quickly, coming straight toward me the second they hit the ground.

I could fly, but they had guns and I was too close. Plus I would have to leave Fang, which I wouldn't do. An Eraser approached me, and just as I was about to attack him, I heard a click from behind me.

"Don't move." I turned around to see the Eraser who had mocked me before. He had a gun- and it was pointed at Fang's head.

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Was it okay? I know this wasn't a very exciting chapter, but I needed it in order to get to the rest of the story. Well, I'm going to update as soon as I can- it will be a lot quicker than last time. PLEASE review! They make me feel all tingly inside. Thanx- Dringer