Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride. If you haven't gotten that by now, then there is a problem.

"… so we entered the rift and ended up here," I finally finished explaining.

We were back at Ella and Dr. Martinez's house. They were really happy to see that we were back, but when I told them everything that's happened, those expressions quickly changed.

"Wow, what an amazing story," said Ella.

"My gosh," said Dr. Martinez, "Those Itex people are so terrible. Doing that to your friends.

"So what are you going to do now?" asked Ella.

"Well," I said, "we were hoping we could stay here until we could figure that out. But now that Itex is after us again, I'm not sure I want to do that. I don't want to endanger you."

"Max," Dr. Martinez said, "Don't worry about that. Like I said before, you are always welcome here. Besides, you all look like you could use some rest."

I couldn't help but smile. I couldn't believe that Dr. Martinez was willing to take us in, despite the story we just told her. She truly was amazing.

"Thanks, Dr. Martinez."

"In the meantime, why don't I make you something to eat?"

"Stop being so nice. You're gonna make me feel so bad to leave you again."

"I don't mind Max," she said, getting up and heading into the kitchen.

"Your mom is amazing," said Iggy.

"I know," said Ella, "but I'm still really glad that you're here. It's just too bad about your friends. I wish I could do something."

"Trust me Ella," I said, "the best way you could help is not get involved. The last thing I want is you guys in trouble because of us."

Ella looked a little disappointed, "Oh, okay Max. If you say so."

For a while we just sat around. We weren't really in a talking mood. We had never been this depressed before. Especially me.

Everything around me was falling apart. Itex had found us again, half of the Counter-Breed was gone, Asch had disappeared, Angel and Lily had been kidnapped, and Fang was still missing. This was just a complete downer.

Nudge decided to speak up, "Hey, why don't we check out those things that guy gave us in the weird place?"

I looked over at the box. I had left it on a table in the living room. I went over and picked it up and brought it back to where I was sitting. I pulled out the photo and the DVD.

The photo wasn't anything special. There wasn't anything on the back. It just showed the manor where the others and I were kept for the past two years. I still wondered what it was supposed to mean. That guy in the hoody must have been trying to tell me something with it. But what?

The DVD of Birdman of Alcatraz was even more puzzling. I opened the package up, expecting to find a note or something. No such luck. It was just DVD disc.

"Maybe we're supposed to watch the movie," suggested Gazzy, "Maybe there's something on it that we're supposed to see."

"Maybe it's not even a DVD," said Iggy, "Maybe it's a disc in disguise with stuff on it that we need to know."

"There's only one way to find out," I said, "Ella, do you have a DVD player?"

"Sure, we do," said Ella, "Give me the movie. I'll put it in."

Ella walked up to me and I handed her the disc. She went over to a cabinet with a DVD player in it and opened it up and put the disc in the player.

The movie came on. It was in black and white, so it must have been old. We all watched, except Iggy who had Gazzyy explain some things, the story of Robert Franklin Stroud played by Burt Lancaster. He was a prisoner who had murdered a man in Alaska. He was one of those rebellious, stand-out fighter types, I guess kind of like us. During his imprisonment, he started adopting birds and when they got sick, he started experimenting with them to find cures. All in all, it was a pretty good movie.

The only thing was that we didn't see anything that was related to us. After watching it, Dr. Martinez announced that dinner was ready.

We went into the dining room to find that she had made about seven pizzas for us.

As we ate, we all started getting into the habit of conversation again. "So, what were you watching in the other room?" asked Dr. Martinez.

"Birdman of Alcatraz," said Nudge.

"Oh, I saw that one. It was good, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was," I said, "That guy in that void thingy gave it to us. I think it's supposed to be some sort of clue as to what we're supposed to do next. But we didn't find anything."

"Hmm… maybe you need to watch it more closely."

"I guess that makes sense."

After we all had our fill of pizza, we went back into the living room to watch the movie again. This time we analyzed it rather than just watched. Still, we couldn't find anything that was remotely related to us. Except for the guy who likes to study birds. We could relate to that, sort of.

"Well, I don't know," I said when the movie ended again, "I don't think there's anything on the movie itself that's supposed to help us."

"There must be something to this," said Iggy, "There has to be a reason why that guy gave it to us."

We weren't getting any closer to figuring this out and it was really frustrating me. We had all the pieces to the puzzle, but there was no way to connect them. All this stress made me want to scream.

"It has to be right in front of us," I said, "we just can't see it."

"I can't think of anything," said Nudge.

"Neither can I," said Gazzy.

"Well, maybe you've had enough thinking for today," said Dr. Martinez, "You look worn out. Maybe you should go to bed. We've still got those rooms set up for you."

"I think I'm gonna take you up on that offer Doc," said Iggy, "I'm getting tired."

"Me too," said Nudge, afterwards yawning.

"I guess I'll go too," said Gazzy, "Good night." They all headed upstairs into their rooms.

"What about you Max?" asked Dr. Martinez.

"I don't think I can sleep," I said, "I've got way too much on my mind to be able to sleep."

"Well, whenever you feel like it. I'm going to be down in my office. If you need anything, just let me know, or ask Ella." She got up and headed out of the room.

"Thanks, Dr. Martinez." Oh man. I had been saying that a lot. She was just so perfect and always willing to help us. And she was one of the good guys. It was just so great.

"Your mom is so great Ella," I said, "You are so lucky to have her."

"I know. I'm really glad she's my mom. And I'm really glad to have you for a friend."

"I'm really glad you're my friend too."

"So, what about this friend of yours who you're looking for? Fang, I think his name was. Have you found any sign of him?"

I shook my head. Then I realized that I had tears coming from my eyes. All the frustrations of the day must have been finding a way out.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset."

"No, it's not your fault. I'm just… feeling really bad."

"There was something I wanted to ask you the last time you two were here, but I never really got the chance. Are you guys, you know, more than friends?"

The question kind of startled me. I looked at her like she had just caught me with my pants down.

"I'm sorry," Ella said again, "I'm asking you a bunch of really dumb questions. I'm sorry."

"Its okay, Ella," I said, "I get it a lot from the flock. But yeah, we are more than friends."

"Do you love him?"

The question really got to me. Do I love Fang? For the strangest reason, the conversation I had with Asch the other day came into my mind. How he said he loved me but he would accept me choosing Fang over him. How he said he could tell Fang loved me. I did love Asch, but like he was my brother. Fang was always there for me. But Asch was too. Or he would have been if I hadn't been kidnapped.

Then again, Fang always drove me nuts with his blank expressions and refusal to speak more than three words a day. And yet, that just made him all the more attractive. He was a mystery I always wanted to solve. And he was always concerned about me.

And then there was Asch who was willing to kill me back in Roland City. But he was doing it for the greater good, stopping Itex. And it wasn't like he wanted to do it. That should show how brave he is. And he could be really sweet too. But he just gets so reckless, it scares me.

I couldn't believe I was having this debate with myself. The answer was obvious. Even Asch told me what it was. And it would have been who I'd choose anyway, if it came down to it.

"Yeah, I do love Fang," I finally said.

"That is so sweet," said Ella, "I really hope you find him."

"Me too, Ella. Me too." Then I did the one thing I absolutely hate doing. I hunched over and started crying.

Just a little note, for all you Twilight fans out there. It kept popping up on this section so much, I decided to look it up and now I'm hooked. So thanks a lot all you Twilight fans. I hate you. lol No, I don't. It's a good book. Can't wait to read New Moon and Eclipse. (I feel like I'm cheating on Max with Bella)

Anyway, enough of my rants. As always, keep review'n. Thank you