Disclaimer: I claim no right to the Maximum Ride universe. Please review and tell me what you think of the changes.

I don't know how long I flew, but it can't have been very long because the episodes don't take long to manifest. I found a small copse of trees and dropped into it, my legs giving out on the landing.

I felt like my blood was boiling out of my veins and would soon ooze from every pore. Maybe I was going to melt into a puddle of mush. Maybe someone was going to come by and barbecue something on my back because I was that fricking hot.

I hated this feeling, knowing what was coming, being unable to stop it, and realizing that this buildup is nothing compared to what I'd soon have to deal with.

I ripped off Fang's clothes, trying to let the night air cool my burning skin, although I did have enough presence of mind to leave my underwear on. I sprang into the air, hoping that airflow would help, but I was barely fifteen feet off of the ground when the vision hit.

My senses warped and I couldn't see the trees anymore. Instead I saw the neatly manicured grounds of the School, smelled the faint lingering scent of antiseptic and Lysol on my own skin. I snapped my wings in a powerful down thrust, to escape this disgusting hell hole and was rewarded with a paralyzing zap of electricity through my body. Unable to move my wings, I fell.

I landed in a crumpled heap, gasping for air and trying to regain mobility. The bastards had wired my wings so that I could only go so far before getting zapped. I could see two or three Erasers loping casually across the lawn toward me, feral grins, twisting their handsome faces. I pulled my wings in as best I could and forced myself shakily to my feet. The electric shock still reverberated and I couldn't stop twitching as it moved across my nerve endings.

"Hey, baby," one of them snarled musically. They stopped a few yards away, standing casually, but their eyes were focused hungrily on me. I turned slowly, mainly because I wanted to save my strength for fighting, precious little that I had left. There were only three around me and they hadn't morphed yet, if I fought smart, maybe I could do some real damage before they took me down. One of them licked his lips and I shuddered. Way gross.

I faced the one who had spoken. "You know," I said conversationally. "I'm not your baby." And I launched myself at his face.

The sudden attack took him by surprise and he went down easily. I managed to blow his eardrums before the other two dragged me off.

Razor sharp claws dug into my skin, piercing deep and drawing blood. I screamed and kicked Casanova in the face real good when he tried to get up. The crunch of his nose and his immediate trip back down to the ground pleased me to no end. He would be feeling that for a long time. If I had gotten lucky, he wouldn't be feeling it at all. One can only hope.

My white hospital clothing was already spattered with blood and it was only going to get worse.

I stomped hard on the foot of the Eraser on my left and wrenched my arm from his grasp. In a quick sweep, I rammed my elbow into his face as he bent over and brought my fist up to smash the other one in the face, too.

He caught my fist in a crushing grip and dug his ragged claws deeper into my shoulder. My legs almost buckled at the pain, but I managed to bring my knee up and sink it into his stomach right as he was morphing. He doubled over for an instant, then ripped his claws from my flesh and backhanded me in a powerful blow.

I crashed to the ground, dizzy and with blood pouring from my lip. Before I could move, one of them was on me, snarling and raising his paw to deliver a killing blow.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that this was only a memory. But the little twist of fate that declared I have this power make me victim to it. The visions became real to me. If I was cut, I felt the pain and smelled the blood. Something like, "what the mind thinks is real, is real." The wounds stuck around, but healed within a few hours.

"Stop. Now!" someone yelled. "Get her on her feet."

The Eraser that had come so close to finishing me, growled, but backed off. He morphed back to human form and glared at me while he jerked me to my feet. I refused to make a sound as he almost dislocated my shoulder.

My arms were wrenched behind my back, nearly popped out of their sockets. My vision cleared. Ari grinned at me in human form, his not quite human features highlighted by the cruelly gleeful look in his eyes.

"I have to say, that was impressive," he said, stroking my cheek with a morphed hand, the claws drawing shallow lines across my face. He seemed to forget himself as he focused on the blood welling from the slices and rolling down my cheek. He ignored the blood from my lip, drawn by another Eraser and just stared at my cheek. His tongue swept across his lips as if he wanted to taste me. His eyes flashed red for just an instant. My stomach turned in revulsion.

I struggled against the iron grip of his lackey and the movement seemed to break his concentration.

The blow across my face temporarily stunned me and I was released to drop to the ground.

"I don't want to hurt you, Max," he said, crouching low so that I could see his face. Yeah, right.

He sounded oddly distant, strangely rational. I spat blood in his face, employing whatever resistance I could muster.

He grabbed my throat, effectively cutting off my air supply with his huge hand and jerked my face close to his. Can we say "breath mint?" All together now.

"That doesn't mean that I won't," he snarled, his features twisting as if he were trying not to morph and not quite succeeding. "You are mine now, Max. You will submit."

My senses were dulling and my vision narrowed rapidly. It all started to get fuzzy.

He licked the blood from my face. "I will make you." I almost heaved on him, but I didn't have anything in my stomach. Lucky him.

I fought tears at his words. I had no doubt that no matter how hard I tried, he would get his way. That little boy no longer existed anywhere inside him.

I came out of the vision, gasping for air and staring up at the bits of sky visible through the trees while my body stabilized. My strength was completely gone. I was beaten and bloody and feeling so defeated that all I could do was let the tears come. Somehow, I managed to roll onto my side, feeling a little less exposed and gave up fighting the breakdown.

I cried quietly and for a long time. I just let it all flow out through my eyes. My mind took me through the events that followed after Ari had let me breathe again. The devastation of reliving the events through a vision did not occur, but the first time he violated me completely remained the worst memory of the last three years, with the exception of leaving the flock.

As the tears ceased to flow, I heard a light crackle above me and the soft thump of something hitting the ground. My instincts screamed at me to run, but I couldn't even move. The visions, manifestations, really, weaken me for a long time. They just sap away every scrap of energy I have.

I prepared myself for death, only wishing that I could have said goodbye to the flock properly, that I could have told them that I loved them more than my own life. My only consolation was that they were in good hands, the best, with Fang.

"Max?"