WOW- reviews! I got a ton in one day! Thanks, guys.

—

A twig snapped behind me, causing my body to spin around in search for the noise. I was outside of the School. Although I knew I was here to save the flock, I had no clue how.

As I scanned the area that the noise had come from, I felt something hard hit my back, forcing me onto the ground. I jumped to my feet, ready to attack.

"Max," croaked the shape in front of me.

"Fang?" I whispered. His normally olive skin was pale in complexion, except for the dark red streaks running off his forehead. He sat up slowly, making his deep breathing become even more ragged.

"Max!" I spun around, facing the School again. Nudge ran up and jumped on me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. As I tried to complete the awkward hug, she began to ramble. "After you left we didn't know what to do and Iggy said it actually was a tornado so we had to find better shelter until you came back, but you didn't come back and we didn't know what to do so we just started flying but it was too windy so we had to walk; then Erasers found us and brought us to the School and the whitecoats stared at us and we didn't know where you were-"

I cut her off. "Breathe, Nudge. Just breathe." When the girl stayed silent, I asked, "Are the others here?"

Nudge nodded. "Guys!" she yelled. I quickly put my hand over her mouth. As the bushes around me started to rustle, I released Nudge and looked at the rest of the flock as they slowly appeared before me.

"Hey," I greeted them.

"Hey, Max," replied the Gasman.

"How'd you guys get out?" I finally asked the question that had been nagging at me since Fang had turned up.

"The Erasers-" explained Iggy, "they just let us go."

"It's just like Talon said, Max," Angel piped up. I smiled as the young girl jumped forward, excited to be out of her cage.

Just then the heavy breathing in my ears brought me back to reality. I turned around to look at Fang, trying to see how much damage had been done.

"I'll be fine, Max," he whispered as soon as he noticed me looking.

I nodded, unsure, but in a hurry. "Guys, I-" I paused, not knowing what to say. "I got some information."

Iggy looked up, still amazing me by knowing exactly where I was. "What kind of information, Max?"

"About us," I explained. "About our families." I could feel the tension wrapping around me, tightening at my throat until I couldn't speak.

"What about them?"

I glared at the ground, making sure my eyes never landed on the people I had grown up with. "They're dead," I whispered. The others looked like they would drop to the ground at any second; I wouldn't be surprised if they did. "The Erasers killed them."

"Why are we just standing here, right next to the School?" asked Gazzy, obviously trying to change the subject.

I suddenly realized the danger of the situation. We could be captured again in a single second. "Let's go."

"Why would they do it?" Angel asked in a voice so fragile that I was surprised she could speak at all. We sat on the cold floor of an abandoned apartment, trying to ignore the things that were scuttling across the room. Although I'd gotten rid of some of the cobwebs, the place was a mess.

"Because that was the only way to make sure that we didn't have anywhere to go." I glanced at Fang as he slouched against the wall. His breathing hadn't gotten better, but he'd been doing okay. "The whitecoats don't want us running home to Mommy and Daddy where we can live happily ever after." He paused, and then continued. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. They're dead and we have something more important to worry about." He glanced at me and I frowned. I hadn't expected him to bawl about his parents, but he could show a little emotion every once in a while. The sadness in his eyes told me that he did feel something; he just wasn't willing to reveal it. Even if he didn't want to expose his own feelings, he could let the others mourn a little.

But I knew he was right: Their parents were dead, and we had another serious problem. Of course, I had been trying to help them by letting them have some time to grieve, but I was getting impatient.

Because I had forgotten to mention one thing to the flock. My parents- they weren't dead.

"Fang's right," said Iggy. "We can deal with this later. We need to think about other things right now." He turned to me. "We have to stop it."

We flew silently through the air. I didn't know how long we'd flown, but I did know that I was ready to collapse. My stomach was empty and my wings ached.

I glanced at Fang. Although he'd never admit it, I knew he was in a lot o pain. If I was tired, I couldn't imagine how he felt.

Angel suddenly flew up next to me, jerking me out of my thoughts. "He'll be okay, Max," she whispered to me. "We can't stop yet."

I gave you her a reassuring smile. "I know. I'm just worried."

We continued flying, and Angel slowly fell back. Soaring through the canyon, I could feel the muscles in my wings pulling, straining to keep me in the air and I knew that if we didn't reach our destination soon, we would have to stop. Just as that thought passed through my head, we emerged from the canyon. A building loomed before us, towering above everything else. The side of the building displayed the company's logo, with one word written in the middle. Itex.

—

Well, that was kind of another fill-in chap. I know it didn't answer many questions, but you'll just have to guess for now. The next chapter is the last. It's really weird. I thought this story would be longer. The last one should be good, though. I'm having fun writing it. There should be some action, lots of emotion, and other stuff. So, thanks for reading. Please review! -Dringer