Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride. And if I did, I'd trade her in for Fang.

When I saw the three of them sleeping there, I was so happy I felt like crying. Only I didn't, of course. I don't cry anymore. But I did tear up a bit and I had to swallow a couple of times to gain control of myself. The sight of them just made me overwhelmingly relieved. I hadn't failed them, not yet.

Nudge's eyes opened almost immediately. "Max?' she said. "Fang?"

I smiled brokenly and hugged her. I don't know how I could already sense it, but Nudge seemed a bit broken herself. The boundless, carefree energy that she had retained throughout all of our hardships was gone, and I knew why. She'd never truly been in charge before, although I had trusted her on occasion to take the younger kids somewhere. This was a real hardship, and I knew better than anyone how she felt.

"Thank you for taking care of them," I whispered in her ear. "You did a good job."

She nodded, biting her lip, and I let her go. She stumbled into Fang's arms and then Gazzy was awake. I hugged him tightly but he obliged for only a second before pushing me away, his eyes wide and hungry.

"Do you have food?" He looked almost desperate.

Fang pried Nudge off of him and wordlessly tossed me his backpack, which was alarmingly light. I handed it to Gazzy, who practically ripped the bag open to get inside.

And then there was Angel. The lump in my throat swelled again to look at her. She was lying on her back in the dust, looking very pale. I knelt shakily beside her fragile form.

"She's been a lot better," said Nudge, her voice strained. "She opens her eyes a lot and she can move her arms and legs and sit up if she really thinks about it. But she has to rest a lot."

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. I tucked Angel's hand into my own. It was white and cold, and the skin somehow felt both dry and clammy at the same time. Her eyes flitted open and her cracked lips formed a slight smile when she saw me.

Max, she said in my head. I bit my lip and squeezed her hand.

Max, she said again. Are you okay?

I'm fine, sweetie. Don't worry about me. Everything's going to be okay.

You don't really think that, she said, her blue eyes wide and expressive.

But… I stopped. I didn't really have an answer to that. It wasn't like I could deny it.

It's okay, said Angel. Everything will be okay. You have to believe it too, or else it won't happen.

I'll try, I said. We can get out of this.

Her lips turned up at the corners and she nodded, her eyes crinkling at the effort. I wiped my eyes and looked back at the rest of the flock. Well, the rest of the flock minus one. But I couldn't think about that. I had to take care of the ones that were still here.

"That's enough, Gaz," I said, gently prying Fang's bag out of his hands. "There's got to be something left for the rest of us too." He nodded in agreement, but watched the bag hungrily as I took out a bruised apple and handed it to Nudge.

Angel, I thought. Her eyes opened again and she looked at me questioningly. Can you eat? I asked. She nodded.

"Give her something really compact," said Fang, who seemed to have picked up on our unspoken discussion. "Like, a lot of calories in something that's pretty small."

"We don't have much to choose from," I responded. Our lack of supplies was starting to scare me. We'd have to find more food and water soon.

Fang reached into the bag and pulled out a protein bar, similar to the one he'd tried to get me to eat earlier. I regretted dropping it now. He knelt next to Angel, pulled off a small piece of the food, and placed it in her mouth. She chewed slowly, with a look of concentration on her face. I could tell that she really had to focus on what she was doing, but I was relieved that she could eat at all.

"You should have something too," said Fang, looking up at me from his seat next to Angel.

I shook my head. "Save it for them," I said, gesturing toward the younger kids. "We'll have to find a way to get more soon anyway."

He nodded. "We have to get out of here," he said, and I knew it was true. "Find… civilization."

"Yeah," I said weakly, contemplating the difficulties that lay in our path. "Tomorrow. It's the middle of the night, and you've been flying all day."

Gazzy was asleep as soon as he'd eaten almost half our food and chugged an entire bottle of water. He'd hardly said anything to us. I knew he had a big appetite, but lack of food seemed to have reduced him to a primitive mindset. It wasn't his fault. I was surprised that we weren't all a little more messed up, considering the traumatic childhood factor and all.

"I'll keep watch," Nudge offered, but I could see from the circles under her eyes that she needed sleep.

"It's all right, Nudge, I've got it," I told her. "You get some rest." She curled up next to Angel and closed her eyes. I watched her fall asleep, her breathing becoming slow and deep. I noticed that my own heart rate was a bit faster than normal. I still felt awful and my entire back ached, but I automatically hid the feelings now that I was with the younger kids again. I thought of weak and pathetic I'd acted when it was just Fang and me. Had it just been a release, after all these years of holding everything in? Or was there really something wrong with me? I hugged my knees to my chest and laid my head back against the rough brick wall.

I heard someone get up and come sit next to me. I didn't have to look to know it was Fang.

"Go to sleep," I said, without looking at him.

"Max-"

"No. Don't be stupid. You flew all day and you're going to have to do it again tomorrow. I don't have to do anything, just hang there and hope you don't drop me. That shouldn't be too tiring."

"I wouldn't drop you," he said, sounding the slightest bit hurt.

I sighed and turned my head to look at him. "I know you wouldn't drop me, okay? I didn't mean that. But you've taken care of me enough. I'm sorry I fell apart and acted insane and everything. But I'm fine now. So stop worrying about me and take care of yourself. You've only got a few more hours to rest, and then we're leaving."

His face was completely impassive, and he made no sign that he had even heard me. He walked almost silently back to his spot across from me and laid down. I was sorry that I'd taken my frustration out on him like that, but I hadn't been too harsh. He might retreat inside himself for a while, but he'd be there when we needed him. When I needed him.

Author's Note: So… That's that. I'm still figuring out the smaller details as to the nest of the plot, but I've got the big picture all figured out. There's a bit of a turning point coming up, when they reunite with civilization and all that fun stuff. Depending on how in-depth I get with the rest of the plot, we're either about a half or a third of the way done.

Thanks to these wonderful people for reviewing: senoritasophia13, evilcarrotofdoom, Jayde3, therealme1123, RippedIntoPieces, Aqua279, praypray, FangsBestFriend, and Kristin. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!