Chapter 8: No.

Max fell to her knee as soon as she came across the pond that she and Liu always hung out at. Regret coursed through her as the water below made small waves. Max couldn't help but choke back some sobs that threatened to escape once more. Max looked to the sky and she thought about her flock and she wished that she could fly once again with her family. But after killing Liu she knew that she could never face her family ever again.

2 years later.

Max held her shiny blade against the mans throat, His pleads escalated to a loud volume as he tried so desperately to escape Max. He squirmed from under him and wailed his body around trying to throw her off, but she remained pinned ontop of him. Max let out a chuckle as she watched fear course through his eyes.

"Oh Jeb, How you have failed me." Max said as she pulled the hood off of her head, revealing her face. Jeb's eyes widened as he watched his creation slowly move the knife around his body like it was just some kind of game.

"M-Maximum?" Jeb asked in disbelief as he looked over the young woman's appearance. No longer had she held the face of a innocent youth but rather a horrid face of a psychopath. Her once lively eyes that held so much emotion was now masked with an empty expression that sent shivers down Jeb's spine. Her skin was now a sickly grey instead of the once peachy color. Most likely from the lack of sunlight. Her whole body screamed death and murder.

"Don't call me that, Jeb, You've lost the right to call me anything." Max said her voice held no emotion as she glared at Jeb. "You don't know me anymore."

Jeb was left dumbfounded as Max stood up. Her figure now scrawny toward over him. "I know you know where they are Jeb. We can do this the easy way or the fucking hard way! That's all up to you." Max yelled as she grabbed Jeb and hoisted him up as if he had been a rag doll. Jeb's eyes widened with realization as he then realized what she came here for.

"Why do you care for them anymore? You left them about three years ago, Max. You cant just come back. They are much better without you and if you went back to them... You'd ruin the life they built without you." Jeb said quietly as he held his hands up in defense. "But of course you cant get that through your thick skull, your a monster. They know that its you conducting all of the murders and breaking hell. Why do you think they never thought to come back to you?" Jeb added quickly.

Max stared at Jeb, her face softened as she dropped him on the floor. "You don't know that!" Max yelled as she threw him against the wall. "They are my family! I need to go back to them. They are the only ones who can save me now!" Max walked up to Jeb who had been trying to recover from the last blow. He struggled but he managed to regain his composure.

"I don't think that you understand that they have been watching this whole time." Jeb said slowly as he stared off in the distance behind her shoulder...

"What do you mean old man?" The 16 year old maniac said as she turned around to look where Jeb had been staring. Her scowled expression softened as soon as she saw her flock, much older, taken care of, and frightened staring at her as if she had been a predator and they were the prey. Max just stared at them and they just stared at the knife.

"M-Max?" A young blond headed girl spoke, she had been no older than 8 as she stared up at the girl before her with tears threatening to fall from her bubbly blue eyes.

"A-Angel!" Max cried as she took a step forward dropping the knife behind her. The flock took a step back and Max watched a certain Strawberry blonde boy pipe in front of the group. His eyes glued to Max, though he could not see. He glared at her his eyes looked like fire as all Max could do was shiver in horror. "G-Guys-" Max choked out before Iggy spoke.

"Go the hell away Max! Don't you see? We don't want you here. Look what you've caused! All the pain and the suffering. You inflicted this upon us, your killing innocent people! They didn't even deserve to die!" Iggy said and Max looked down her whole heart plummeted downward.

"But it was all for a greater cause right?" Max head shot up as she recognized the voice from anywhere. She found a familiar white headed boy standing before her. His eyeless sockets dripped the same red substance as she remembered. "You had to cease the blood lust!" Liu cried out and Max could see the pained expression that wrapped his body. She looked down to see a knife lodged into his stomach and she let out a small scream. Everyone around her began to scream and fill Max's head with pain. The screaming escalated to an excruciating pain and Max couldn't help but scream loudly herself. She fell to the floor as the screaming got louder and louder and soon the room began spinning which made her feel sick. Soon everything stopped and-


Max woke up and her head shot up from the tree branch in which she was sleeping on. Her heart pounded in her chest and she looked around.

"Just... a... dream?" Max shook her head. She hadn't had a dream in a while but each dream she had always had left her scared and upset. Max jumped out of the tree, her hair flared around her and she pulled the hood over her head. She hadn't cut her hair so now it almost scrapped the back of her knees. Max rubbed her eyes and cracked her back as she walked through the abandoned playground. The smell of rusty metal filled her nostrils as she walked past an old swing set that had looked as if it would blow over with one touch

Max found a small stream and she dunked her face in it. She couldn't help but resting her head there for a while even as her lungs screamed for air. When Max pulled her head up she felt refreshed as she decided to start her day and leave the dream behind her and tried not to think about the terrified faces of those she once loved. By now Max has lost Most of her memories of her flock. She did however keep a few of them, and even their faces. Max didn't want to forget them because remembering them is what let her hold onto her sanity a little while longer. Max shook her head and she wondered around for a little while until her stomach growled at her.

It had been weeks since Max ate anything. Max hadn't had any food for a while since money was tight business and she couldn't get fast cash unless she stole. That's something she'd only do on a rare encounter. Max walked until she finally reached the town. With the right ability she could make her self blend in to look like any old homeless teenager.

Nobody paid any attention to her as she navigated through the crowded streets. The early morning had already been filled with many people just walking around to no where in particular. Max walked around and she decided that she was going to test out her pickpocketing skills. She set off making sure her hood was hiding her face. She tucked as much hair into her hoodie as she could and she walked amongst the people.

Soon she spotted her first target. It had been an older male, probably in his mid 30's. He had been rather well built and he wore a clean suit. A wallet sat neatly in his back pocket. Max leaned against the wall as he made his way over her way and she hid her face in the shadows of her hood. She watched the man pass by her and she smirked slightly and as he walked she followed behind him, a few yards away from him. Soon he stopped in front of a coffee shop and he peered into the window. Max took this time to walk past him and slowly reached her hand to take the wallet. She managed to take the wallet and she walked off ducking down in a crowed of people. After a few minutes of walking she decided to have a look to see what she had snagged.

Inside was mostly credit cards and Max sighed and tossed them over her shoulder as she walked. She then found 10 dollars in cash and about 83 cents in change. Max smiled and she whispered to herself "Score"

Max walked into a small corner store and she walked around looking for something she could snack on to hold her over until she found some real food. Max walked around browsing the selections and she grabbed a handful of granola bars and she walked up to the freezers and she grabbed a few water bottles. Sure it would be a lot for her to carry but if non of her things were messed with back at her little camp she would be able to stash some things in a small backpack. As soon as Max was about to cash out she saw five kids in the corner of her eyes walk into the store. Each one had a different look and they all varied in ages. Max took a note in their appearances and she wanted to pass out.

She held her hood closer to her face and she turned her attention to the cashier who was checking out her items and she quickly paid him taking back her 3 dollars in change. She held the bag of items and she literally ran out of the corner store, her hood flopped down making her hair flop around awkwardly as she ran.

"Hey! Wait!" A voice yelled after her, but she couldn't wait. Her legs pumped as fast as her scrawny bird legs could carry her and she ran all the way to her camp and she threw together her things and she was about to spread her wings and jet that town before a hand grabbed onto her shoulder.

"I know you!" The boy said, he looked about 10 or 11 and he smiled with the same smile Max grew to take comfort in. Max shook her head as she witnessed that she had been surrounded by a group of people.

Or rather the flock to be exact.

"I think You've mistaken Child." Max said trying to act calm. On the inside her mind trembled with the thought that her family had been surrounding her with curious glances.

"No, there is no mistake Max. We found you." A boy stepped up. His raven black hair swooped down and covered one eye. his black ominous eyes stared deep into Max's dulled brown eyes and Max let out a whimper. Max looked for a way to run but she was surrounded and she couldn't find a way out.

"I don't know who you are! My name isn't Max!" Max yelped acting as if she was a helpless teenager. Her body trembled and she scooted away. The group around her looked taken aback as Max pulled out her handy dandy knife and pointed it towards them. "Leave me alone! I don't want to hurt you!" Max yelled and Angel gulped and hid behind Fang. Max took the opening as an opportunity and she ran from where the little girl had been standing and she ran through the abandoned Park trying hard not to fall or attract attention to her self. Max found a cliff and she couldn't help but just run right off the edge. As she fell her hair whipped around her blinding her. She then whipped out her wings and took off into the daylight, hoping that non of the flock spotted her.