Chapter 35

"Max, you should come out now!" Jaz yelled, banging on the door.

"Why?" I yelled back, desperately scrubbing my face with a towel that I'd found. "So you guys can put more of that makeup junk on me?"

"But Max, you looked good with makeup!"

I rolled my eyes. "That's a lie and you know it. There's no way I'm coming out. Go away."

For once, Jaz didn't say anything. Finally, I heard the sound of her retreating footsteps and breathed a sigh of relief, then looked around the bathroom. There was a tiny window that probably not even Angel would fit through. It looked like I'd have to find another escape method.

I unlocked the door and peered out into the hall. No one was around, so I cautiously crept out of the bathroom, looking for an exit. I could just open a window and fly out, but Daisy lived in a freaking mansion. No doubt there was really good security here.

As I tiptoed down the spiral staircase, a shadow made me freeze. Crap, someone was down here. It was probably Daisy, getting more snacks.

"Hello, Maximum Ride," a man said, walking towards me. I scowled. It was Daisy's father, of course.

Recap: Daisy's dad was working for the School the last time we met, which was at his daughter's birthday party. Besides escaping his Erasers, we also destroyed his very lavish ballroom where Daisy was having her party. He most likely hated us even more now.

"Uh…hello?" I said. "I was just….looking for the bathroom."

Daisy's dad made no attempt to point me in the direction of a bathroom. "I knew we'd meet again, Maximum Ride."

"Well, duh," I replied despite my fear that Erasers would suddenly attack me or something. "Daisy probably told you. She's having a sleepover, after all."

His arm shot out and he grabbed my wrist. "I'm afraid you're coming with me."

"I'm afraid I don't give a crap!" I shouted, kneeing him right in the….er, a bad place. Let's just go with that. He lost his grip on my wrist and I turned and bolted back up the stairs.

"You are coming back to the School with me, Maximum!" he shouted, sounding like he was in serious pain.

"I don't think so," I replied with a smirk as I reached the top step. "From the looks of it, you can't even get up!"

"I need backup!" he shouted.

Backup? Okay, that didn't sound good. I turned and ran down the hall, trying to remember the way to Daisy's room. Maybe he wouldn't haul me off to the School with his daughter and all her friends watching?

As I raced down the hall, I realized what Daisy's dad had meant by 'backup'. Two guards were blocking my way, standing in the middle of the hall.

"Come on, little girl," one of them said, as suddenly they began morphing into Erasers. "Don't you want to go home?"

My fists clenched. "The School is not my home! It never will be!" I shouted, roundhouse kicking the first guy in the chest. I heard his breath whoosh out as the other guy grabbed my arms and twisted them behind my back. The guy I'd kicked started punching me as I struggled to break away.

"Max?" a familiar voice cried. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Daisy, flanked by all the other girls. Jaz's eyes were wide. Most of the other girls looked shocked, both at the Erasers and my now bloody face.

"Now, that's enough," Daisy's father said, appearing on the other side of us. "Let's not damage it."

"I'm not an it," I spat, grimacing as blood continued to run down my face.

"Dad?" Daisy's voice sounded shrill. "What….what's going on?"

Daisy's dad crossed over to her. "Daisy. This girl, Max, is not really your friend. She is dangerous. A menace to society."

"What?" I protested. "No, I'm not! Daisy, your dad is lying. He's evil. And he wants to kill me. If you ask me, he's the one that's a menace to society."

"What's going on?" Daisy shrieked again. "There's these strange….things in our house!" She pointed at the Erasers. "Isn't that a little more dangerous?"

Her father shook his head, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Daisy, they're not going to hurt you or any of your friends."

"They hurt Max," she pointed out, her voice steely.

Daisy's dad shook his head. "Maximum Ride isn't like you. She's not your friend. She's very, very different." I scowled. The Eraser was still holding on tightly to me, and his claws were digging into my skin. I screamed out in pain as blood ran down my arm.

I took a deep breath. "Listen, Daisy. I'm not sure how to tell you this, but-"

"Enough talking," her father said, striding over to me. "Now, Daisy, you will see exactly why I must do away with Maximum Ride. She's very dangerous."

"What are you talking about?" Daisy protested. "Do you mean Max? Because Max isn't dangerous! She wouldn't hurt anyone!" Daisy looked at me. "Right, Max?"

"Uh…" I hesitated, then looked at Daisy's dad. "Yeah. Now what do you want with me?" I felt kind of faint, and I realized that it was from all the blood I was losing.

He smiled, but it was one of those cruel smiles. Then he looked at the Erasers that were holding me and uttered two words.

"Show them."

My eyes widened as I realized what he was talking about and I tried to pull away, but two Erasers against an eleven-year-old mutant bird kid were kind of tough to beat.

They forced me to the ground and one of them yanked off my already-shredded jacket, revealing my wings.

A collective gasp rose up from the girls. Daisy looked horrified. The rest of the girls were staring at me as if….as if I wasn't even human.

Except Jaz already knew….wait. Jaz was missing.

"Stay away from Max!" I heard her voice yell from somewhere behind me, and then something struck Daisy's father on the head and he collapsed.

Daisy screamed. Jaz grabbed my arm while the Erasers were distracted and started running. "Come on, Max!" she yelled as we ran down the long hallway.

"Okay…" I agreed, not feeling so well. I wondered how much blood I'd lost. Judging from the fact that I was covered in blood, I'd say a lot.

Then Jaz stopped and I slammed right into her. "A dead end," she grumbled. I looked around. The only choice was a window, but-

"Go!" Jaz yelled, opening the window. Alarms started going off. I heard the snarls of the Erasers coming from somewhere down the hall.

Jaz shoved me towards the window. "Come on!" she yelled.

"Jaz." I glared at her. "As annoying as you are, I can't leave you here."

Jaz bit her lip, looking around nervously. "I'll be fine. They don't want to hurt me," she replied. "I think."

I started to object but she was practically shoving me out the window now.

"Careful!" I yelled at her, losing my patience with her.

"They're down there!" I heard one of the Erasers shout. Then they were suddenly running towards us, incredibly close.

"Go before they catch you!" Jaz ordered. "I'll be fine!"

Without another second of hesitation, I stood up on the windowsill and leaped. The Erasers growled and clawed at me, but they were just a second too late.

I grinned weakly as I soared away, hoping Jaz would be safe. Just because she was annoying didn't mean I wanted her to risk her life for me.

As I flew, the wind beating against my face and whipping my hair around, I thought about how Daisy and all the other girls had seen my wings. What did they think of me? Probably by tomorrow, the whole school would know our secret. We'd be forced to move.

Back when I'd started school, moving hadn't seemed like such a bad option. But now, I couldn't imagine living anywhere else. What about all the people I'd met?

But if it was to keep the rest of the flock safe…

I frowned. I'd think about it again later.

Suddenly I realized I was flying way too low. I was much weaker than normal and – I was going to crash!

I screamed as I smashed right into a field. Somehow I survived, but I felt sore all over. I wondered if I was going to die.

Weakly, I noticed something bright in the darkness. A beam of light hit my face and I winced, which hurt a lot.

"There's someone out here!" I heard someone call, right before I blacked out.