Aren't I such a nice fan fiction author, updating sooner than I usually would because of that cliffy?

Yes. Yes I am. : D

Here we go!

The sound of shattering glass-- from the twins' room-- cut me off, and then Gracie started screaming at the top of her little lungs. I whirled out of Fang's arms, switching from Mushy Max to Battle Max, and burst through the door to find Gracie already out of bed, still crying and yelling. As she rushed toward me, I held my arms out and scooped her up.

Fang hurried past me, to Devin, who was cowering in his bed. He picked him up, having to pry his tiny hands away from the blankets he was clutching, and brought him back over to me. I placed Devin on my other hip and kissed both the kids' heads, trying to soothe them as they continued to sob.

"What's going on?" asked Iggy, coming in behind us with the rest of the flock in tow. "That was some crash."

"We don't know," I told him, locking eyes with Fang as I started to bounce the kids on my hips. He cautiously walked toward the window, kneeling down to examine the glass littering the floor. I took a step closer, but he held up his hand, motioning for me to stop.

He looked… worried. Scared. Two emotions that Fang never showed, no matter what.

"What is it?" I asked softly, barely heard over the cries of the twins.

Fang stood and walked back over to me, something in his hand. I furrowed my brow and gave him Gracie, then Devin, and then took the object.

It was a rock, I realized as I looked at it. And there was twine around it, holding a piece of paper against the rock. With a shaking hand, I carefully pulled out one end of the string. It fell off, and I unfolded the paper.

Listen.

That was all it said. One word. Listen. Listen to what?

Me.

I gasped in spite of myself, and the whole flock stared at me. Nudge edged closer, touching my arm. "Max? Are you okay?"

"What does it say?" asked Angel, trying to peek over my shoulder, but I quickly scrunched the paper up in my hand.

"Nothing," I said, working to keep my voice steady. "It doesn't say anything. Guys, go to bed. It's okay."

"Shouldn't someone take watch?" Iggy asked.

"I'll do it," I said, ushering them toward the door. The quicker they got out of here, the quicker I could talk to the Voice and do whatever it was I needed to do. "And, um, Nudge and Angel, go in the boys' room. I'll be in ours with the light on for a while. 'Night."

The flock left reluctantly, leaving me with Fang and the twins. I could tell he didn't believe me about the paper, but he didn't say anything. I usually would have told him right away, but I needed to figure out what was up with the Voice before anything else. So I looked at Fang and said, "Can you tuck them back in? I'm, um, going to get ready for bed."

"I don't wanna be tucked in," Gracie wailed, clinging to Fang's neck.

"Can't we sleep with you?" asked Devin, the tear tracks still evident on his face.

"Yeah," Fang told him. He looked up at me. "You coming?"

I nodded, though I wasn't quite sure what I'd be doing. "Yeah. Just give me a minute."

I left the room, going down to mine. As soon as I was in, with the door locked behind me, I told the Voice, Okay. I'm listening.

They know where you are, it said.

No dip, Sherlock, I thought back irritably. They just vandalized my kids' room. Tell me what to do. No fortune cookie crap, either. I mean it.

I think the Voice sighed. Fine. Well, Maximum, you're aware of the School's intense search for your children.

Yes, I thought, reaching down for my bag and starting to pack. I just had that gut feeling that I'd be needing it.

While they are interested in the ability of their experiments to reproduce, the children were created with your motherly instincts in mind. If the opportunity presented itself, they planned to use the kids to lure you to the School.

I stopped in the middle of stuffing a shirt in my bag. They're just after me?

Yes. They want you dead, Maximum, and they figured that was the best way. They don't see Gracie and Devin as important enough to spare, so they're basically being used as bait. The dreams they've been having? That's the School threatening the children. They will try to capture them if they can't capture you.

Anger filled me. I couldn't believe people-- people! Supposed human beings with supposed hearts!-- would use a child like that in order to kill another child. I quickly shook the thought, forcing down my fury for now and getting back to the information. So if I leave and go to the School…?

Everybody will be safe.

I swallowed the growing lump in my throat. I didn't want to leave the flock or my children, especially not now that I'd accepted Fang, but it was for their own good. As their leader, their mother, and their best friend, I had to.

You may not come back alive. The Voice supplied the obvious, and I scowled. But there is a chance you will. At the School, there is a person who has engineered this whole project over the last three years. Destroy that person, Max, and you destroy the heart of the School. And you and your family will be able to live freely once and for all.

Is it Jeb? I asked, really hoping it was.

No. I'll tell you when you get to the School. For now, though, just focus on getting there. You won't hear from me again until you're there. Good luck, Max.

And then the Voice was gone.

I quickly finished packing and grabbed my windbreaker, tucking it under my arm. Before I left the room, I made sure nobody was in the hall, and when the coast was clear, I tiptoed down to the boys' room.

Watching my sleeping family-- Iggy and Gazzy in their beds, Nudge and Angel sprawled on the floor, and, finally, Fang and our kids in his bed, I felt tears prick the backs of my eyes. I blinked them away, though, and set to work finding a scratch piece of paper and a pencil.

I found it and quickly wrote something down, folded it in half, and slipped it onto Fang's bedside table. Then I knelt beside the girls.

"I love you," I whispered to them, kissing both their foreheads. They stirred but didn't wake, and I did the same with Iggy and Gazzy. Then I turned to Fang and my kids.

I kissed Gracie and Devin, murmuring, "Mommy loves you."

"Max?" Fang blinked, awake at just the wisp of my voice. "What're you doing?"

"Going to take watch," I said, forcing myself to look him in the eye and lie. It was hard, but I managed. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Aren't you going to wake me up in a few hours?" he asked.

"Oh," I said. "Sure." And then, acting on impulse like I had earlier, I leaned over and kissed him. "Goodnight."

He said the same to me, and I walked out of the room, trying desperately not to cry. What Fang didn't know yet was that by 'goodnight,' I was saying 'goodbye.' And 'I love you'… the words I had started to say, but hadn't been able to get out. Now there was a chance I never would.

Tough it out, Max, I told myself as I stepped out on the porch, shutting the door very, very quietly behind me. This is for your family.

With that thought in my mind, I took off.

Aww. Sad.

Review?