Well, this is a long chapter - my longest one yet! And it took me a while to write because I wanted to make sure it was exactly the way I wanted it. I considered breaking it up into two parts, but it didn't really feel right to me, so here's the whole thing! You may have noticed that the story seems to be coming to a close - I think there'll just be a couple chapters left after this one. It's wild to think that this fanfic is almost over, but I hope you guys will stay with me until the end. Anyway, thanks as always for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 61

"Max! Max! Wake up wake up wake up!"

"Huh?" I barely had time to blink my eyes open before my bedroom door slammed open and Nudge burst in. "Get up!" she cried. "You're gonna be late!"

Usually we had to drag Nudge out of bed to wake her up in time for school, so the fact that she was waking me up was a clear sign of how late it was. "What time is it?" I yelled, bolting up out of my bed.

"Time to go!" Nudge hurled my backpack at me. "Come on!"

I rolled my eyes at her. "I'm not going in my pajamas."

"Well, hurry up! I don't want to be late for…" Nudge trailed off, her eyes downcast. "Well, our last day of school."

"Oh. Yeah." I bit my lip. In the commotion, I had almost forgotten.

"Tell Max if she doesn't hurry up I'm eating all the pancakes!" Gazzy called from the kitchen.

"Like you didn't eat enough already?" Iggy responded.

Nudge glanced up at me. "I…" she murmured, uncharacteristically quiet for once. "I just wish today didn't have to be our last day. I wish it was safe here and we could stay here forever and ever."

I put my hand on her shoulder. "I know, Nudge. Me too." Racking my brain for something else to say, I just mumbled, "Uh, better go get some breakfast before the Gasman eats it all."

Nudge nodded. "Okay. You better hurry up, then! He's eating those pancakes like they're the last ones in the world!" But as she turned and shut my door behind her, her big brown eyes looked sad. I took a deep breath, then turned to get ready. A couple minutes later, I sank down into a chair in the kitchen, yanking my shoes on. Fang glanced up at me as he picked up his plate and took it to the sink, but he didn't say anything.

"Can I pack pancakes in my lunch?" Gazzy was saying as he grabbed his Batman lunch box.

Iggy groaned as the Gasman pulled several granola bars out of the pantry. "You ate them all already. I'm not making more."

"Max! Max!" Angel babbled from her chair, messily eating some Cheerios. She held some out in the palm of her hand. "Max is hungry?"

I shook my head, ruffling her hair. "I'm good, Angel."

"Guys, come on!" Nudge bellowed. "The bus is coming!"

"I'm still packing my lunch!" Gazzy yelled back. Fang rolled his eyes at them as he grabbed his backpack.

"Bye, kids. Have a good day at school," Jeb called, leaning out of his office. I gritted my teeth. The only reason Jeb hadn't pulled us out of school yet was because we hadn't told him what had happened. When we came home this afternoon, though… that would be a different story.

As I slung my backpack over my shoulder, all I could do was hope that nothing would go wrong. Yeah, right. That was about as likely as winning the lottery.

"Everything okay, Max?" Jeb asked as Fang herded the rest of the flock through the front door.

I glanced away from Jeb, hoping he hadn't read too much into my tense expression. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just, uh, worried about a math test we have today."

"Well, good luck!" Jeb called cheerfully. I took another deep breath as I followed the rest of the flock down the driveway towards the sidewalk.

Fang paused for a moment so I could catch up with him. "You good?"

"Oh, yeah. Everything is just peachy!" I shot back, my voice full of tension. Fang shrugged and raised his hands.

"Hey. We're all nervous too. But…" he glanced towards the rest of the flock – Nudge was digging through her pink Hello Kitty backpack, while Gazzy was grinning as he talked to Iggy about the science experiment his class was going to do today. "The younger kids, Nudge and Gazzy… they really needed this."

"I guess." But that didn't help to make me any less on edge.

"Everything will be fine," Fang said, but even he sounded like he wasn't so sure.

I didn't have time to ponder it any more because that was when a horrible screeching sound made me wince. Of course, that noise could only be coming from the big yellow school bus that was pulling up to the curb.

"Hi Fnick! Hi Max! Hi Jeff! Hi-"

"Jaz! Keep your entire body inside the bus!" the bus driver called back at Jaz. She stopped waving and shrank backwards into her seat.

I rolled my eyes as we made our way to the back of the bus. "Well, good to see that at least nothing has changed with Jaz."

"Max!" Daisy cried from her seat next to Jaz as we all sat down. "I'm so glad you guys are okay! We were so-"

"Shhhhh!" I hissed at her, turning to glance around the bus. But no one else was really paying attention, so I relaxed a little.

"I'm glad you guys are okay too," Nudge whispered back. She frowned, glancing out the window, then turned back to look at Daisy. "But… well… today is-"

I shot her a look, and she immediately shut her mouth. The less people that knew we were leaving, the better. Not that I didn't trust Jaz and Daisy, but it was just too risky to let them know.

"Today is what?" Jaz asked curiously, leaning over Fang, who was sitting next to her.

"Today is, uhhh…." I trailed off, trying to figure out a way to cover.

"Today is when my class is doing a science experiment!" Gazzy burst in. Whether he was trying to change the topic or was just obliviously cutting in, I couldn't tell. "We're going to make a volcano! And it's going to explode!" He bounced up and down in his seat, looking excited. "Maybe it'll blow up the entire school!"

"Yeah, that's one way to go out with a bang," Iggy whispered to me.

Before I knew it, the bus was lurching to a stop in front of the school. I took a deep breath and let it out as I grabbed my backpack and waved the flock in front of me down the aisle. Fang shot me another glance.

Iggy nudged me with his elbow.

"Come on. How bad could one more day be?" he said, but it was clear he was nervous too.

As we stepped off the bus, I half expected Erasers to leap off the roof and instantly ambush us. When we made our way down the hallway towards our classes, I was so sure we'd turn the corner and find those terrible wolf hybrids snarling back at us. Gazzy and Nudge waved goodbye as they headed off to their side of the campus, and it took everything I had to not grab their hands, take off running down the halls, and do an up-and-away.

But somehow, I managed to hold it together.

Jaz arched an eyebrow at me. "Max, are you okay? You look like you're about to barf."

"I'm fine," I muttered, turning away from her. Okay, maybe I wasn't really holding it together.

"Maybe she's nervous about the math test today," Daisy said, looking concerned, as we filed into the classroom.

I groaned as I sank into my seat. "Wait, we really do have a math test today?" Then I remembered it didn't matter after today. Like multiplication drills would help us stay alive?

"Good morning, class," Mrs. Jenkins called, grabbing her clipboard. She began calling out names, taking roll. I tuned her out until I heard, "Maxine Ride?"

"It's just Max," I grumbled. How long had I been in this lady's class and she still insisted on calling me Maxine?

Iggy snickered next to me. I elbowed him. "Shut up, Jeff."

Mrs. Jenkins seemed to ignore me. She just made another check mark on her clipboard and continued going down the list. I went back to tuning her out again, which was easy to do considering I was busy glancing around the room, planning out escape routes, ready to grab Fang and Iggy and run out of here in case any Erasers just so happened to bust in. This was a terrible idea, I thought to myself. I should have never agreed to one more day of school.

"Maxine Ride!" a voice bellowed, and I nearly leaped out of my seat. My classmates giggled. I whirled to face Mrs. Jenkins, who was standing right in front of my desk, frowning down at me.

"Y-yes, Mrs. Jenkins?" I asked, then straightened myself up, crossing my arms over my chest, trying to show that I wasn't intimidated by her.

Mrs. Jenkins sighed, walking over to her desk. "Oh, Maxine. As I was just saying, I have a special surprise for you."

"For me?" my eyes widened, and I turned to exchange a nervous glance with Fang. Whatever she meant, that couldn't be good. I curled my hands into fists as Mrs. Jenkins dug around in her desk, wondering what she was going to pull out. A phone to make a call to the School? A stun gun? Honestly, at this point, nothing would surprise me. I was about ready to jump up from my chair and race out the door, but Mrs. Jenkins was already on her way back over to me, holding something behind her back.

"Whatever that is, I don't want it!" I told her, standing up slowly, pushing my chair back. "I know you're working with the…"

My voice trailed off as she placed something on my head. Mrs. Jenkins looked down at me with a bewildered expression on her face. "What on earth are you talking about, Maxine?"

"Huh?" I reached up and snatched the item she'd put on my head. I was holding a yellow paper crown, decorated with smiling children and balloons. On the front, Mrs. Jenkin's neat handwriting spelled out "Happy Birthday Max!"

I gaped up at her, at a loss for words. Finally, all I could come up with was, "Mrs. Jenkins, my birthday was like six months ago."

Mrs. Jenkins smiled. "I know, but that was before you transferred here. I thought we could celebrate your half birthday instead."

I stared at her. "Then why didn't F-Nick get a crown on his birthday? That was three months ago, and it was definitely after we transferred here," I retorted.

"I did," Fang whispered. "Gazzy stole it from me during recess and said he was the king of the playground."

"Oh." I'd forgotten about that until now, but I suddenly remembered Gazzy leading a bunch of other kindergartners around, proclaiming that he was now their king. "Oh," I repeated.

Daisy tapped me on the shoulder, laughing as Mrs. Jenkins turned to pass out cookies. "She does this for everyone's birthdays, you know."

"I didn't," I murmured back. I'd never really paid attention to that kind of thing. I turned to look at Iggy. "Hey, your birthday is coming up soon too. I guess that means you'll get a crown too." If I remembered correctly, Iggy's birthday was a couple weeks after my half birthday. None of us knew the actual days we'd been born, but after we'd all escaped from the School, Jeb let each of us pick a day to celebrate as our birthday.

"Yeah. We can all match crowns with Gazzy," he said, snickering, as Mrs. Jenkins placed a chocolate chip cookie on his desk.

"Looks like you'll have to fight to see who the real king of the playground is!" Jaz declared, dropping cookie crumbs everywhere.

I made a face at her. "No thanks. I'm not about to fight a kindergartner." No matter how good that particular kindergartner was at hand-to-hand combat.

"And now…" Mrs. Jenkins announced, placing the rest of the cookies on her desk. "It's time for our math test!"

Almost everyone groaned. "Wait!" Jaz yelled, shooting out of her seat.

Mrs. Jenkins winced. "Yes, Jasmine?"

"We didn't sing happy birthday to Max yet!" Jaz protested.

I shot her a look. "It's fine. It's only my half birthday, anyway."

That didn't stop Jaz from launching right into the song. "Happy birthday to you," she bellowed, as the rest of the class joined in. "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Max, happy birthday to you!"

Iggy elbowed me, grinning as he sang along. Even Fang was following along with the rest of the class's singing.

"And many more, on channel four," Jaz started, putting her hands on my shoulders. Daisy giggled, singing along with her. I playfully pushed Jaz away, turning my head so that she couldn't see the smile I was trying to hide.

~~::~~

"Max! I thought your birthday was six months ago!" Nudge yelled, sitting down next to me in the cafeteria. I winced – she'd yelled right in my ear.

"Nudge, keep your voice down!" I murmured as I opened my juice box. "The whole cafeteria can hear you."

"Mrs. Jenkins decided we were going to celebrate Max's half birthday!" Jaz cut in. "So that's why she's wearing a birthday crown!"

"Ohhhhh!" Nudge said. She turned to look at me, her eyes shining. "Did you get cake? Did you get to open presents? Did you play any party games? Did you-"

"Mrs. Jenkins just passed out cookies and Jaz made everyone sing happy birthday to me," I told her. "It wasn't really a party."

"Yeah, unless you count taking a math test as a party game," Iggy joked.

Before I could say anything else, I saw a blur of blonde hair in my peripheral vision. I turned just in time to see the Gasman yanking the birthday crown off my head and placing it on his own messy hair.

"Your crown is mine now!" he proclaimed, cackling wildly.

Fang rolled his eyes. "Yeah, happy birthday, Max," he said to Gazzy sarcastically, pointing at the name on the crown.

"You look different, Max!" Jaz said to the Gasman, who snickered.

"Alright, give me that," I said, snatching it off his head. "You already had your birthday. I distinctively remember Iggy making you the biggest birthday cake I've ever seen."

Gazzy just grinned, sitting down on the other side of me. "That was the best cake ever. I can't wait until my next birthday. Maybe Iggy will make me an even bigger one!" He looked across the table at Iggy hopefully.

Iggy shrugged. "Don't forget my birthday is coming up too! Maybe you guys can make me a cake this time!"

"I wouldn't count on that," Fang cut in, and I glared at him – he was obviously remembering the burnt cookies I'd tried to give Iggy as his Secret Santa. Fang caught the look I was giving him and just smirked in response. Infuriating, as always.

"Hey guys!" Daisy's voice called out, and I looked up to see her holding her lunch tray with a slice of pizza and a milk carton on it. "Sorry I took so long. That lunch line was crazy!"

Jaz leaned over and looked at Daisy's lunch. "Oooh, pizza!" she exclaimed. "Can I have some?"

I shot her a look. "Jaz, you already have your own lunch."

"So, your birthday is coming up?" Daisy said, looking at Iggy. "That's cool! Are you guys going to do anything?"

"Well, I-"

That was all Iggy managed to get out before a piercing shriek echoed off the cafeteria walls. For about three seconds, the whole massive room went silent. My eyes met Fang's and I had about half a second to think, Oh no, before a first grader burst into the cafeteria through the back door and screeched, "Monsters!"

Instantly, I was on my feet, grabbing Gazzy and Nudge's hands and yanking them up. "Go!" I shouted. "Move move move!" Wildly, I looked around for an escape route. I couldn't believe I'd been so dumb – letting my guard down after all the birthday celebrations. The Erasers hadn't made an appearance yet, but I was sure that those were the monsters in question. We needed to get out of here.

Apparently, everyone else had the same idea, because they were all rushing for the exit, pushing and jostling each other. A couple lunch aides were yelling at everyone to exit the building calmly, but clearly no one else was listening.

Fang was on his feet too, Iggy's fingertips just barely brushing his shoulder. Fang quickly scanned the room. "Main entrance is no good. Everyone's trying to go that way – we'll get trampled."

"Well, what about the back door?" Nudge offered, brushing some of her hair out of her eyes. I could tell she was trying to hold it together, but she looked terrified – her fists were trembling.

"Max!" Jaz shrieked. She grabbed onto my arm, her eyes wide. "What are we going to do?"

"Jaz?" I looked down at her in surprise. "Why aren't you evacuating with everyone else? Where's Daisy?"

Jaz pointed under the table, where Daisy was hiding, a scared expression on her face as she peered up at us. Jaz looked back at me and crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't know what's going on, but I want to help you guys!"

I shook my head. "Jaz, don't be dumb. The Erasers don't want you guys. If you get out of here, they'll leave you alone!"

Jaz shook her head. "You guys are my best friends!" she said defiantly. "And best friends help each other!"

"Jaz, we really don't have time for this-" I exclaimed, just as the cafeteria windows smashed open. Nudge shrieked, and Gazzy ducked behind me. I gritted my teeth and held one arm over my face, trying to protect my eyes.

"Hello there, little pigs," an Eraser's voice called out. I lowered my arm to see one of the School's horrible wolf mutants picking his way through the smashed window and over the broken glass, which crunched under his boots.

"Just one Eraser?" Gazzy said. "We can take him!" He threw up his tiny fists.

Iggy shook his head.

"No," he whispered. "That doesn't sound like just one Eraser."

He was right. As the dust settled, I could see more Erasers, some fully morphed, some in the middle of their grotesque transformation, climbing over the window ledges. There were a dozen – no, maybe two dozen – and then I stopped counting, because clearly, the best option now was to run.

"Through the kitchen!" Fang yelled, as if he was reading my mind. He began sprinting towards the side of the cafeteria where the lunch line usually was, Iggy practically glued to him. I shoved Nudge and Gazzy ahead, and they charged after the two boys.

"Come on. You too!" I shouted, hauling Daisy out from under the table. She nodded at me, eyes wide, as I pulled her along behind me, and Jaz took her other hand. It definitely wasn't the most ideal situation for running away from the Erasers, but there was no way I was leaving Daisy and Jaz to fend for themselves now – not when the Erasers could tell that the two girls were associated with us.

"Get them!" an Eraser at the front of the pack shouted, and the whole group began racing after us.

I charged past the lunch counters and into the kitchen, where Fang was waiting. "Why aren't you running?" I shouted at him, but he just grinned. He and Nudge pushed one of the massive metal lunch carts at the doorway just as the Erasers burst into the kitchen. The Erasers at the front of the group slammed into it and got knocked down, cursing and howling, while the other Erasers tried to clamber over the fallen ones.

"That'll buy us some time, but not a lot!" Nudge yelled, grabbing Jaz's arm and yanking her forward. "Let's move!"

"This way, this way!" Gazzy pushed the doors open on the other side of the kitchen and we rushed through them, out into the hallway.

"To the back exit!" I yelled back to the rest of the flock, running alongside Gazzy. "The one that leads to the playground! We'll do an up and away from there!" We'd have to bring Jaz and Daisy with us, but maybe we could drop them off somewhere safe before making our way back to our house.

"Not so fast, little piggies," a voice growled. I sucked in a breath as an Eraser burst out of a classroom in front of us, blocking our exit. He grinned, his sharp teeth gleaming under the fluorescent hallway lights.

"Crap!" I yelled as a couple other Erasers filed in behind him, all ready to take us down.

"You can say that again!" Iggy yelled back.

"We're surrounded." Fang gritted his teeth. "Nowhere else to go."

"Can't we go back the way we came?" Nudge whispered, backing away from the Eraser, still clinging tight to Jaz's arm. Jaz was breathing in and out sharply, her eyes frantically darting around.

I whirled, but it was no use. Several Erasers were making their way down the hallway, coming from the direction of the cafeteria.

Daisy was yanking desperately on the door of another classroom, but the door handle didn't budge. "It's locked," she gasped, looking distraught. "We can't go that way either."

"We've got them," one of the Erasers barked into his earpiece. He grinned down at us, a horrible, wolfy grin. "Come on, now. Isn't it time for you to go home?"

"The School isn't our home!" Gazzy yelled at him, furrowing his eyebrows. "And we're not going back, no matter what!"

"They've got us cornered," I hissed, clenching my fists. "Everyone, get ready to fight."

Just as I said it, the classroom door next to us swung open with so much force that it smacked the closest Eraser in the face and sent him sprawling to the ground. I turned to see who had opened the door, a look of disbelief on my face.

"Come on, hurry up now!" Mrs. Jenkins beckoned, holding the door open and ushering us inside. "Before they can follow you."

"Huh?" I stared at her as the rest of the flock plus Daisy and Jaz ducked into the room.

"Maxine. Get inside, now!" Mrs. Jenkins grabbed my arm and yanked me inside her classroom with a surprising amount of force for such an old lady. She slammed the door behind me and locked it, then shoved a chair under the door handle. I heard fists pounding against the door and angry shouts out in the hallway, but the door didn't budge. "There. That should hold the Erasers for now."

"M-Mrs. Jenkins?" I gaped at her. "What's going on? How did you-"

Mrs. Jenkins shook her head. "Maxine, please. We do not stare at people in the fifth grade."

"How do you know about the Erasers?" Iggy asked. "And how-"

Mrs. Jenkins held up her hand. "We don't have time for questions. You all need to get out of here – it's not safe anymore."

"We're not leaving until we find out exactly what you know," I cut in, narrowing my eyes at her. "Do you work for the School or something?"

"That doesn't make sense, though," Nudge said. "If she worked for the School, why would she be helping us escape? Wouldn't she want the Erasers to catch us?"

I bit my lip. Nudge had a point.

"Why did you help us?" Fang asked, arching an eyebrow.

"And how did you know about the Erasers?" Gazzy piped up.

"I can't believe you took one of them out like that!" Jaz exclaimed. "You should have seen the look on his face when the door hit him! It was priceless!" She grinned.

Mrs. Jenkins just glanced around at all of us. "I'm a teacher," she said simply. "Helping my students is what I do."

"That literally doesn't answer any of our questions," I groaned.

Mrs. Jenkins arched an eyebrow at me. "I didn't say I was done explaining," she replied, and I shrugged.

"Okay, okay. Explain away. Because I really want to know what's going on here."

"We really don't have a lot of time, so I'm going to explain quickly." Mrs. Jenkins cast an anxious look at the classroom door, from where the distant thuds of Erasers' fists still echoed. "I do not work for the School. However, I was hired by them. To teach at this school."

"I don't get it," Gazzy whispered. Nudge shushed him, holding up her index finger to her lips.

"So this was all part of their plan," I muttered, clenching my fist. "This whole time, the School has been involved."

"A test," Fang murmured. I clenched my fist harder, thinking back to that fake Girl Scout troop leader Laura – the lady who'd turned out to work for the School. Her words echoed in my mind: This is all part of a test, Maximum.

"Why?" Nudge cried. "What's the point of testing us like this? Going to school with other kids and that kind of thing – why could they possibly want to test us like that?"

We looked at Mrs. Jenkins, waiting for the answer. But she just sighed and shook her head. "I wish I knew. Honestly, they kept us in the dark about many things. What little information they provided to us, they told us to keep a secret from absolutely everyone. All the other teachers and I were made to sign contracts saying that we couldn't mention the School's involvement or we'd be terminated."

"You mean your job would be terminated, right?" Daisy asked.

Mrs. Jenkins just slowly shook her head in response. Nudge and Jaz gasped at the same time.

"That's not surprising," I muttered. "The School's always been the type to silence people that get in their way."

Mrs. Jenkins frowned. "It doesn't matter to me at this point. After seeing the way they've treated you children – trying to hurt you with those horrible monsters – I can't sit by and just watch anymore. I'll be filing a police report about this."

"Good luck with that," I heard Iggy whisper to Fang. "Something like that won't stop them."

"There was one thing they did tell me," Mrs. Jenkins said after a moment. "When I asked what the point of all this was. They said it was for one thing only." She peered down at me, looking me right in the eyes. "To prepare you for your purpose, Max."

"My purpose?" I arched an eyebrow. "Well, how cryptic is that? Whatever my purpose is, does it have something to do with taking math tests and dissecting frogs and going on field trips? Because somehow, I doubt it."

"Maybe Max's purpose is to recite love poems," Iggy teased. "She wrote a pretty good one for Valentine's Day."

"Oh, you shut up!" I elbowed him – hard- and he winced.

Mrs. Jenkins frowned at us. "Maxine, Jeff, that is enough," she said in her strict teacher voice, and we both straightened up.

"You said Jeff," Nudge said, "but you probably know our real names. Right? Like, I bet you know that my real name isn't Tiffany-Krystal and that it's actually Nudge and that Gazzy's name isn't actually Zephyr and-"

That was the last thing she managed to get out before I slammed my hand over her mouth. "Mmph!" she protested.

Mrs. Jenkins gave Nudge a forced smile. "Yes, Nudge."

"And yet she still calls me Maxine like fifty times a day," I muttered, rolling my eyes. When Mrs. Jenkins shot me a disapproving look, I held up my hands defensively. "Hey, just saying."

"Guys," Iggy's voice piped up. He was standing next to the classroom door, his head cocked to one side. "I think they're gone. I heard their footsteps going in the other direction."

I pressed my ear to the door, listening. "You're right." I turned to the flock. "Now's our chance. Let's get out of here."

Mrs. Jenkins put her hand on my shoulder. I tried to shake it off, but her grip was surprisingly tight. "Hey, what are you doing?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at her. "Going to turn us into the School after all?"

"No." There was a hint of exasperation on my teacher's face. "I don't think it's safe for you to go out there."

"I agree," Fang cut in. "They could be waiting to ambush us. They know we're still in here."

I grimaced. "Well, anyone else got any bright ideas?"

Gazzy crossed his arms over his chest. "I wish I had a bomb. We could blow them up and escape at the same time!"

Jaz shuddered. "Yeah, if we don't get blown up too."

If Mrs. Jenkins was irked by their conversation, she didn't show it. Instead, she just strode over to her desk and pushed back a curtain that was on the wall. Behind it was another door.

I just stared at her. "Why is there a secret door in our class? Where does it lead to?"

Mrs. Jenkins shook her head. "It connects to the first grade classroom on the other side of this wall. I keep the door covered up because we don't use it very often. If you go through there and out the other door, it should take you to the playground. You can escape from there."

"A shortcut!" the Gasman exclaimed.

Daisy ran to the door, pushing it open. "Well, what are we waiting for?" she asked. "Let's go!" Jaz nodded, running behind her.

I shook my head. "No."

"No?" Jaz arched an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"It's safer if you two stay here," I insisted. "The Erasers will be after us. It'll cause a distraction, and then you guys can escape."

"No way!" Jaz shot back. "We'll fight alongside you!"

"Jaz." Fang fixed his gaze on her. "You really should stay here."

"But…" Jaz frowned. Her lower lip trembled. "But I'm worried about you! If we go together, I'll be able to help you guys!"

"The only thing you'll be able to do is get yourself killed!" I shot back. "Jaz, I'm sorry, but there's no way you can fight them. We can barely handle the Erasers ourselves. If you're worried about us, then stay here. You'll only slow us down if you come."

"Max is right," Daisy murmured, putting her hand on Jaz's shoulder. "I wish there was something we could do to help, but…" She cast her eyes down at her feet.

"Actually," Gazzy piped up. He was wearing a devilish grin on his face. I knew exactly what that expression meant. "There is something you can do."

~~::~~

"Everyone ready?" I murmured. Iggy and Fang nodded.

"Ready!" Nudge whispered.

"Me too." Gazzy grinned.

"Same with us!" Jaz murmured as Daisy nodded along. I pressed my hands against the door, ready to put our plan into action.

"Be safe out there," Mrs. Jenkins murmured. "And… one more thing. I-"

"Well, what is it?" I glanced up at her, narrowing my eyes.

Mrs. Jenkins frowned. "Maxine, we do not interrupt people in the fifth grade."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Is that all you wanted to say?"

"No. I wanted to say that it's been a pleasure having you three in my class. Max, Fang, and Iggy. I don't know what kinds of tests the School were doing while you were here, but you've passed my class at least."

"Great," I muttered. "A passing grade in fifth grade. That'll really help us defeat the Erasers."

I expected Mrs. Jenkins to tell me off like always, but instead, she just laughed. I stared at her, shocked. "Well, it was certainly entertaining to have you in my class. I'm sure you'll do just fine wherever you go."

"Guys!" Iggy cut in. "I hear footsteps coming back! Let's move it!"

"It's now or never." Nudge beat her fist into the palm of her hand. "Let's kick some Eraser butt! They won't know what hit them!"

"As soon as you can, take off and fly back to the house," Fang reminded everyone. He glanced back at Daisy and Jaz. "And you two, stay here. Mrs. Jenkins will make sure you're safe."

"Wait!" Jaz cried. I tried not to groan in exasperation, but she continued with, "You made it sound like you're not coming back to school. Is this… the last time we'll see you?"

Nudge sighed, looking down at her feet. "Probably. It's not safe here anymore. In fact, we were planning on leaving yesterday, but Max let us come back for one more day at school and-"

"The short answer is yes," I cut in, putting my hand on Nudge's shoulder. "There's no way we're sticking around in a place where the School can follow our every move, testing us however they want."

"But… but…" Jaz's eyes filled with tears. "But what if I never see you again?"

"It's probably for the better," Fang murmured. "Pretend you never met us. You'll be safer that way."

"I don't want to!" Jaz cried, grabbing Fang's arm and burrowing her face in her sleeve. Fang shot me an embarrassed look, which was a very rare sight. "Fnick, I'll miss you so much!"

Daisy was blinking back tears. "I wish you could stay," she whispered. "I wish we could all be friends forever." She wrapped her arms around me, squeezing me tight. Now it was my turn to be embarrassed. I stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Nudge sniffled, hugging Daisy. She pulled Iggy into the hug. Gazzy looked like he was trying to keep a brave face on, but I saw even his lower lip trembling. Fang reached out and ruffled the Gasman's hair, Jaz still clinging to his shirt.

"I wish," I mumbled in response to Daisy as everyone broke up the hug. "But unfortunately, that just isn't possible. Not for us." Not when we had those twisted scientists treating us like we were just pawns in their huge, confusing, twisted game.

Jaz peeled herself off of Fang. She then launched herself at me. "Max!" she cried, tears rolling down her cheeks. "No matter what you guys say, I'll never forget you! Never as long as I live! Never ever ever!"

"Oh, jeez." I tried to wriggle out of Jaz's grasp, but she was hanging on like her life depended on it. "Yeah, I don't think I'll ever forget you either."

"Really?" Jaz's eyes shimmered.

"I meant because you're so weird!" I retorted, pushing her off me.

Jaz just grinned. Tears were still sliding down her cheeks, but she brushed them away. "Alright, sure that's what you meant."

"It's time," Gazzy whispered. "Are the weapons ready?"

"I wouldn't exactly call them weapons," Iggy retorted.

"Shhh!" Jaz hissed. "Yes, the weapons are ready."

"Everyone knows what to do?" I murmured, and received a chorus of yes's in response.

"Be safe out there," Mrs. Jenkins instructed. "And…" she nodded at me. "Good luck, Maximum Ride."

"Huh?" I stared at her. "Mrs. Jenkins, you actually got my name right-" That was the last thing that came out of my mouth before Fang pushed the classroom door open and all hell broke loose.

"Go! Go! Go!" the Gasman shouted as Daisy and Jaz ran forward, with fire extinguishers that they'd taken from both our classroom and the first-grade classroom we'd cut through. They pulled the pins from the extinguisher the way Mrs. Jenkins had shown them. Almost at the exact same time, they aimed at the huge crowd of Erasers that had swarmed the door as soon as it flung open. The powdery chemical shot out of the end of the nozzles, enveloping the Erasers in a cloud of thick white smoke.

"Where are they?" one shouted angrily.

"I can smell them – they're over there!" another Eraser called back.

"Over where?" a third Eraser called, sounding agitated.

"Yes!" Jaz and Daisy slapped high fives.

Gazzy had a proud smile on his face. "I am a genius."

"Well, genius, you'd better take off in the next two seconds!" Iggy shouted, snapping out his wings. "Before they figure out where we are!"

Nudge grinned, extending her beautiful brown wings. She leaped into the air, wincing a bit, but then with a couple strong strokes of her wings, was airborne. Iggy followed closely behind her, his long fingers brushing the edge of Nudge's pink sneaker as he soared into the sky.

"Me too!" Gazzy shouted, snapping his wings out. He backed up a couple feet, then ran forward and jumped into the air, flapping as hard as he could. "So long suckers!" His foot smacked an Eraser in the face, which made the Gasman cackle wildly.

"That's our cue too," I said. Fang nodded as he extended his wings, and in an instant, he was high above the schoolyard, motioning for the others to follow him. I shook my wings out and prepared to do a running takeoff just like how Gazzy had.

But something sharp dug into my skin, and I howled in pain. I whirled to see an Eraser gripping my arm, a cruel smile on his face. "Well, well, well," he growled. "Looks like the little bird can't fly away." I tried to yank my arm away from him, but he just dug his claws in tighter. I hissed in pain as blood dripped down my arm towards my wrist.

"Get away from my friend!" I heard Jaz shout, and then a metallic clunk echoed as the fire extinguisher she'd been using slammed into the Eraser's head. A dazed expression passed over his face, and his grip loosened as he fell to the ground.

"Nice thinking!" Daisy yelled.

"Fly, Max! Fly!" Jaz screamed. She didn't have to tell me twice. I leaped into the air, beating my wings hard to stay aloft as I soared over the playground. Erasers howled and shrieked as they clawed at me, but I zipped away from them quickly and grinned down at them triumphantly.

"Better luck next time!" I taunted them as I hovered about twenty feet above them. "Oh, wait. There won't be a next time! Because guess what? We're done playing your stupid game and doing your dumb tests! School is officially out!"

"Go, Max, go!" I heard Jaz shriek. The Erasers swiveled to look at her, Daisy, and Mrs. Jenkins. They were standing in the doorway of the first-grade classroom. Daisy still had her fire extinguisher in her hand.

"And that's our cue," Mrs. Jenkins said. She pushed the two girls into the classroom, pulling the door behind her as the Erasers surged towards it. Distantly, I heard Jaz shout one more time, "Go, Max!" and caught a glimpse of her pumping her fist, a triumphant smile on her face. Then, the door shut, and she was gone, along with Daisy and Mrs. Jenkins.

"They'll be fine," Fang said from behind me.

If it was possible to jump several feet while flying, then that was exactly what I did. "Fang! Do you have to always sneak up on people like that?"

He shrugged. "It's a habit."

I rolled my eyes. "Anyway, I sure hope you're right. About them being fine." Jaz was kind of weird, but she was my friend. My friend – it felt weird to say it. Besides the flock, which was more like a family, she was the first friend I'd made in my entire eleven years. Daisy, too.

"Let's get home quickly," Iggy said. "We need to get as far away from here as we can before the Erasers try to attack us at home too." He paused, cocking his head. "Man, it really sounds like a ruckus is going on down there."

I peered down at the schoolyard. It was still filled with Erasers, who were pacing back and forth and looking up at us angrily. They usually carried guns – I wondered why they didn't shoot. Maybe they needed us alive for something.

"That reminds me," I started, but Nudge cut in.

"Oh my god. The police are here, they're pulling up with their sirens on and everything – teachers and students are running around, looking really confused – and who are those official looking people in suits?" Just as Nudge said, there was a group of about ten very neatly dressed people walking around in front of the school. They looked like they'd just come out of a business meeting, but as I watched, one of them walked up to a kindergartner, kneeled down, and stabbed something into his arm.

Nudge gasped. "Did you guys see that?"

"No," Iggy grumbled.

"I did," Gazzy said. "That dude in the suit – he just shoved a needle into that kid's arm! That's Mikey – he's in my class!" His eyebrows furrowed with anger as he described the scene to Iggy.

"Over there, too." Fang pointed. One of the suit guys was talking to Nudge's teacher, who was waving her hands and gesturing wildly. Without any warning, the suit guy then stabbed the teacher with a needle. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she sank to the floor.

"What are they doing?" I exclaimed. "Going after us, I understand – but why bother to do all that to everyone at our school?"

Nudge blinked slowly, like she couldn't believe what was going on. "I hope they'll be okay."

"Maybe we should go down there and stop them," I muttered. "I don't know what they're doing, but it isn't right."

Iggy shook his head. "Too risky. We need to get out of here."

"I know, but…" I trailed off. I couldn't help but think that those strange men in the suits might do the same thing to Jaz and Daisy and Mrs. Jenkins.

"I think they're okay," Fang spoke up, pointing. As he said it, I noticed the kindergartner who'd gotten the shot stumble to his feet. He looked dazed, but overall unharmed. Besides, of course, the small injury on his right arm from the needle. "Let's get home."

The flight home was a blur in my head. It felt like one moment we were hovering over the school, the next we were stumbling through the front door in a tangle of limbs and wings.

"Jeb! Jeb!" Nudge hollered, running down the hallways and peeking into each room. "Jeb, are you here?"

"That's so weird," Gazzy said. "Isn't he usually home during this time?"

"I hear something," Iggy piped up. "Voices – from Jeb's office."

Fang came out of Angel's room, carrying her in his arms. "Angel's here too. She was taking a nap."

"Max! Hi, Max!" Angel exclaimed, waving her arms towards me. Fang passed her into my arms, and she smiled, completely oblivious to everything that was going on around her. Or, at least, she was for a moment, until she must have read my mind, because her eyes suddenly grew worried.

"It's okay, Angel," I whispered, setting her down into her chair. "We just need to leave quickly so we can go to a safe place. Okay?"

"Okay," Angel replied. She frowned. "I'm hungry."

"I'll pack some food," Gazzy volunteered, patting his sister on the top of her head. He and Nudge started pulling granola bars and cereal out of the cabinet.

"We'll grab the essentials," Fang murmured, tapping Iggy on the back of his hand. "Some clothes and stuff. Everyone, be ready to go in five minutes."

I nodded. Normally, I would have been annoyed that he was acting like the leader, but for now we had bigger problems to deal with. "Alright. That leaves me to talk to Jeb, then."

I made my way down the dark hallway, towards the sliver of light that was peeking out from the bottom of Jeb's office door. His voice grew louder as I got closer, and I picked out phrases such as "This was not the plan" and "the test has been ruined" and "I would have never chosen to do it this way."

My throat grew tight. Jeb had known about everything – about how going to school was just one big test for us.

Jeb had been in on it this whole time.

What did that mean for us? For me and the rest of the flock? The implications of that were something I didn't want to consider.

The floor creaked under my foot as I took another step forward, and I cursed under my breath. Jeb's voice stopped. Light flooded out into the hallway as his office door swung open.

"Max?" Jeb poked his head out of the door, a puzzled expression on his face. "What are you doing home from school so early?"

"Don't give me that," I hissed, backing up. "I heard everything you just said. When were you planning on telling us that this was all part of some dumb plan the School made up?"

"Max, I have no idea what you're talking about." Jeb had such a genuinely confused look on his face that for a moment, I worried that I'd misheard what he said.

"Don't play dumb!" I retorted. "You knew about everything. You knew about the Eraser attacks, about our principal working for the School, about how the School was able to track us everywhere we went. I should have figured it out, the very first time an Eraser showed up. The first day that Jaz came over. I wondered why you never did anything about it. How we kept living here, even though we were in danger. I thought maybe you were oblivious to it all. But… you knew."

"Max, it wasn't my intention to hurt you," Jeb started. He took a step towards me, and I instinctively took a step back. "You have to understand. This is all for the greater good. Yes, it was a test. But Max, you passed."

"Don't give me that!" I shouted. "I'm tired of all the dumb tests. Of jumping through hoops and running in mazes like a lab rat. When you brought us here, I thought we could trust you. I thought we were finally free. But we're not."

"Max?" Iggy poked his head into the hallway. "Why are you yelling? Is everything okay?"

"We wanted to see how you would all do among regular humans," Jeb went on, putting his hand on my shoulder. "If you would be able to integrate with them, interact with them. We wanted to test how well you could fight in an unpredictable environment. And how well you would function as the leader of the flock. Those were things we couldn't test while you were at the School. This is all crucial to your purpose, Max - the reason you were created."

"Which would be?" I arched an eyebrow at him.

Jeb hesitated for a moment. I grabbed the edge of his shirt. "Tell. Me!"

"Max… you were created to save the world," Jeb replied. He had a big dumb smile on his face like he was telling me that I'd just won the lottery. "That's your purpose."

"I – what?" I released him, staggering backwards. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"Batchelder!" a muffled voice called from inside Jeb's office. It sounded like whoever Jeb had been talking to was on speakerphone. "That's enough! You're telling her too much!"

I glanced at Jeb, then back at his office. "Who is that?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"The director of the School," Jeb informed me. "We were just discussing you."

"Of course you were," I muttered, clenching my fists. I couldn't believe I'd been so stupid. Trusting Jeb, thinking he was our savior – when this whole time, he was just as bad as those other scientists at the School. He hadn't defected and helped us escape – he'd been working with the School this entire time.

"Prepare the mind wipe," the director's voice instructed. "Even if this test has been compromised, our entire plan can still be salvaged. But it is crucial that the experiments do not remember anything."

"Max, what's going on?" Fang asked, slipping out of his bedroom. He glanced back and forth between Jeb and I, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Fang, get the rest of the flock together! We need to get out of here!" I commanded. "Jeb's a traitor."

Fang raised his eyebrows – his way of showing extreme shock. "On it."

"Come on, Max," Jeb insisted. "I'm not a traitor. I'm your friend, remember? We're like family, Max."

"Family doesn't lie to each other," I spat, turning away from him. "You're not my family."

Jeb grabbed my arm, and I winced in surprise. I tried to pull away from him, but a sharp pain in my upper right arm made me flinch.

"Ow! What was that?" I asked, whirling to look at Jeb. He held a syringe in his other hand and was looking down at me with an unreadable expression. Was it pity, or regret? I couldn't tell.

My eyelids started to grow heavy. "That's right," Jeb said, his voice soothing. It was the same voice he used back when we were at the School, back when he would comfort me as I laid in my cage, my body aching from hours of being poked and prodded and experimented on. Hearing that tone in his voice made me angry all over again. "Take a nice long rest, Max. When you wake up, it will feel just like you've had a bad dream."

My knees sank to the carpeted floor. I tried to stand upright, but it was like my body wasn't listening to my mind. "Jeb – you can't do this. You can't do this to us."

Jeb shot me an apologetic look. "Sorry, kiddo. But this is for the sake of the entire world." The last thing I saw was Fang staring down at me, a concerned look on his face, and Jeb advancing towards Fang with another needle.

"Fang, run!" I tried to yell, but my voice failed me. My eyelids grew heavier and heavier. My head tilted forward and I found myself lying face down on the floor, the carpet rough against my cheeks.

"That's right," Jeb's voice called from somewhere nearby. "Just take a nice, long nap. Goodnight, Max." And then my world went dark.