Yeah, this story used to be called Surprise! Sorry for any confusion. I just thought that the new title fit a lot better. :)

Disclaimer: No I'm not JP, but I bet you already knew that.

And with that I just took off. I leaped into the air and opened my wings. I heard the kids asking Fang if they should go after me and I could barely hear him say no. But, none of that mattered. I was getting out of there. I was escaping reality for a moment. Leave it to me to be the weak leader and run away when my flock needed me the most. But, by now the tears were streaming out of my eyes. I couldn't go back there like this. I just had to take a moment and calm myself down. I was flying really high and there was a small, rocky cliff nearby. I landed and leaned against the back of the cliff. I wrapped my arms around my knees and cried my eyes out for I don't know how long. Somewhere in the midst of my crying fest, I heard someone land on the ledge and kneel down next to me. I didn't have to look up to see who it was. He put his arm around my shoulders and I tried to pull myself back together. God, this was embarrassing.

I pulled Fang's arms off of me and leaned back against the cliff. We both sat there looking out over the canyon for a moment. I wiped my eyes and tried to act like none of that had happened.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said with a sigh. "I just don't get it."

"Get what?"

"Why would they take my mother? What had she ever done to the School?"

"Maybe it's not the School this time." He said. "Maybe somebody else is messing with us."

"Who else is coldhearted enough to steal parents from their own children?" I asked as a shiver ran down my spine.

"I dunno…maybe we're dealing with some kind of supernatural force here," he said.

I stared at him like he had grown another head.

"Like….aliens?" I asked skeptically.

"Maybe. Just something out there that we don't know about. I mean, if you weren't a mutant, would you believe people like us existed?" He asked.

"Probably not," I answered honestly. A long silence followed and I stood up. He did too.

"And it's okay to break down once in awhile. It happens to the best of us," he said with a smile.

I didn't really know what to say to that so I just lightly pushed him off the ledge. I jumped off shortly afterwards. I glanced at him and realized that he was losing altitude fast. That and he didn't even have his wings open! How come he hadn't opened his wings yet?!

"FANG!!!" I called as I swooped in to rescue him. The canyon was only about 600 feet deep so I had to act fast. He was falling with his back towards the ground and he looked pretty lifeless. His eyes were closed and his wings were definitely still not out. I had caught up with him pretty fast and I reached my arms out to grab him. I had planned to swoop in and grab him and turn upwards fast so we didn't hit the ground. But as soon as I reached out for him, he vanished. Vanished. Just like that. He was there one second and gone the next. I looked at the ground to make sure he hadn't already landed and he wasn't there. He wasn't in the air or on the cliff, or anywhere. I landed on the ground and backed up to the huge canyon walls. I curled up in a ball once again, and this time, I really let the tears flow.

It was like déjà vu. A minute ago, I was leaning against the canyon mourning my mother and sister and Fang was comforting me. Now, he was gone too. And I had no idea if I was ever going to see him again. God, why him? When I needed him the most? I mean, yeah, I loved the rest of the flock too, but he really was my best friend. I needed him more than anyone. We was my one constant. He was always, always there for me. The worst part is not knowing. I have no idea where my mom, sister, and best friend were. I didn't know if they were dead or if this was all just a test like Jeb had always said my life was. And how did he just vanish? What kind of crap do they have going on at the School that makes people literally vanish into thin air? But, maybe he was right. Even though I highly doubt it, maybe the School isn't involved. There was only one way to find out.

I had to get to Cape Cod. I knew that the Voice was connected with the School, and the Voice wanted me to go to Cape Cod. So, hopefully, when we got there I'd finally get some answers, whether it killed me or not. I stood up and headed back to the rest of the flock. I had to be strong for them.

A/N: So what do you think? Please review and tell me! :D