A/N: Here's the next, and very muchly long-awaited chapter. I'm sorry guys and thanks for being patient! Err, I was going to have a summary, but please, I think it would be much easier if you just go back and reread the previous chapter. You know, refresh your memories, since it has taken me so long to post this. That would be really helpful, and you won't be so confused. Thanks.

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Chapter 3: Rejection

I just stared. Seriously, that's all I was capable of for the moment. Shock had frozen my brain, and I could barely remember how to breathe, let alone the other exceedingly complicated concepts of talking, moving, or even thinking. I. Just. Stared.

Looking down, I was able to register that Fang, Fang, was holding me roughly up against the door, so that my feet were dangling, my toes just barely grazing the floor. In this awkward position, I was almost eye to eye with him, and for the briefest of seconds, I saw the anger and confusion that were seething in the depths of his almost black eyes. Then they closed off, and became the expressionless chips of stone that I was used to.

His eyes narrowed, and that's about when I came to my senses. Normally, I would have attempted to stay calm longer, but jeez, this dream was getting on my nerves. So basically, I lost it.

"What are you doing Fang?! Get off of me, and hell yes I know your name!" I've known you for what, forever? Wh–

Struggling wildly, I whisper-screamed at him, and attempted to kick him with my lethally swinging feet, so that he'd get off of me. Ignoring my angry words, he suddenly slapped a hand over my mouth. Glaring at him, I tried to bite him (when me and Fang had fought, back at the old house in the good ol' days, we'd always taken it upon ourselves to use the dirtiest, most underhanded fighting moves as possible), but he only shoved me harder back against the door.

The breath whooshed out of my lungs, and I finally stopped struggling, as I tried to figure out if they had collapsed or not. But I didn't stay silent for long. Hey, I might be no Nudge, but I am quite capable of talking, especially when the person I am apparently trying to reason with a) doesn't know who I am, b) is, or was, my best friend, and c) is doing his very best to strangle me while, may I add, crushing me against a very cold, and very hard door.

I choked out my next words. How feeble of me. "Fang, what are you talking about? It's me. You know, the one person you love to annoy the heck out of the most? The one person who can still totally kick your butt? Your best friend? ME. Part bird, human, mom, sister, leader of this Flock. Ring a bell?"

While I was talking, I watched as Fang just looked at me in total confusion and detached blankness. But, surprisingly, it was when I reached the part about me being leader of the Flock, that I got any reaction out of Fang.

He leaned closer, until be were almost nose to nose, and growled in a low and tight voice. "I don't know who the hell you are, but you are not, and never will be, the leader of this Flock. I'm the leader here. Now, you're going to tell us what you're doing here, right now, or I promise you, I'll have to kill you."

I was bewildered for a few seconds, and then I finally realized what had been so shocking. Fang…had actually spoken a complete sentence. Several of them, in fact. Even more astounding. I decided that it would be better if I focused completely on this little phenomenon, instead of paying attention to what Fang had actually said. It sounded too painful. But, no luck. His next words completely blew me away.

"I don't trust you, so answer me!"

A wave of unbidden hurt and disappointment flooded over me, crashing unremorsefully onto my head. I sagged. What's wrong with me? Why should I care what this dream-Fang thinks? It's only a dream. Pull yourself together Max.

But I couldn't.

Abruptly, a look of pain flitted across Fang's face, and he dropped me, backing away from me as quickly as he could. When I'd picked myself up from the floor, the weird look on his face was gone, replaced with one of disgust. I went back to staring; my tongue appeared to have gone on vacation. Go figure.

Feeling suddenly alone, I pulled my gaze away from Fang's face and glanced over at the rest of the Flock, still hiding behind Iggy. All of them looked horribly emaciated, and I was stunned by how defeated they looked. Whenever we were feeling down, we always found a way to keep going, because we had each other. Now though, I could see, from their slumped postures and dead eyes, that they had long given up hope.

Nudge had her thin arms around Angel and Gazzy, and she was staring at me from around Iggy with big eyes. Like a little deer, caught in the headlights of a car. Her eyes seemed even bigger than usual, because the skin on her gaunt face was drawn tightly back over her bony cheekbones. Weakly, I tried to smile at her, but she flinched away. My expression felt twisted and frozen, so I didn't try to move it, for fear that my face would shatter from the tension, just like my heart.

Carefully, I shifted my gaze over to Iggy, and felt only marginally better when I caught sight of his familiar strawberry-blond hair and pale face. I tried to edge around Fang, but he growled at me, so I retreated back to the door. I opened my mouth, and embarrassingly, my voice cracked when I started to talk.

"Iggy?"

Iggy looked at me warily. I could tell that he didn't trust me either. "…yeah?"

"Iggy, you know me, right? Remember how I would always be up in your face, telling you to quit trashing the house with your bombs? And you'd always steal my stuff to get back at me…" I grinned weakly.

Something's different…

"What bombs? What house?"

"What are you talking about Iggy? Bombs. Your number one pride and joy. Come on Ig, it's me. Your annoying older sister…

Something isn't right…

And that's when I realized what was different.

"Iggy. What's wrong with your eyes?" Or rather…what wasn't wrong with them…

He looked at me again, looking faintly disgusted and confused at the same time. "Um…it's none of your business, freak?" My brain was so messed up by now that I didn't mind the sarcastic tone he was using. Actually, I felt better hearing it.

"But–

"Just go away and quit bothering us."

I narrowed my eyes at Fang. You know what? I've had enough of acting so helpless. I've got to do something. Be myself, boss people around, save the world, whatever it takes.

I pinched myself.

I mean, what better way to wake myself up from this freaky nightmare? I pinched myself again, harder, on the arm, and only vaguely felt the pain, as if it was coming from far away, at a great distance. At any other time, I would have been totally psyched to not be feeling pain…but now, pain was exactly what I wanted. Otherwise – a spasm of worry crossed through me – what if I was stuck in this dream, with no way to wake up? How long would I stay here? A minute, an hour, a week? Forever?

I gulped, and then smacked myself on the forehead for thinking such stupid, weak thoughts. I peered over at the five other birdkids standing around me. They were watching me warily, as one would watch an escaped, deranged lunatic. And with good reason. They'd just watched me pinch myself, twice, and then hit myself, for apparently no reason at all. I was definitely crazy.

I clutched my stomach, feeling sick, as another wave of horror came crashing down on me. Fang winced, and I glanced up at him, wondering what the heck his problem was. He met my eyes with another black glare, and this time, I couldn't look away. I probed his eyes with my own, hunting for even the smallest spark of recognition or, at the very least, the ever-present and infuriating smirk that never really seemed to leave his face.

I was doomed to be disappointed. His eyes were as dead looking as the eyes of the rest of the Flock. I looked around at them again.

Nudge was biting her lip, and for once, she wasn't talking…I took that as a bad omen.

Gazzy still looked absolutely petrified, though he was trying to hide his fear from his sister. I saw his eyes rest on something in the far corner of the room, and I followed his gaze apprehensively. There was a tiny metal cage in that corner, and it wasn't empty. My insides lurched horribly. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the sight. Miserably, I caught sight of the wings…another avian, a failed experiment from the looks of it. She…he…it – I couldn't really tell – looked near death, with the gruesome sores and gashes that covered its body, and the faintly glowing, silver liquid that was pooling around its broken body, in place of blood.

I looked away quickly, with a sympathetic and horrified shudder, as my ears registered the horrible hissing sound, and realized that the bird-creature was being burned alive, by its own unnaturally silver blood. And there was no way that I could help it, seeing as it was locked in a cage, doomed to die with no chance at escape. I wanted to help…but in this dream I was, with some exceptions, insubstantial as a ghost.

When I could focus on Fang again, I noticed that he too had followed our glances at the poor thing in the corner. He was still looking, and his already pale face was rapidly turning a lovely corpse-like white. His teeth gritted together, and his eyes looked in danger of rolling back in his head. Alarmed, I pushed away from the wall I was pressed up against, walked quickly over to him, and shook him by the shoulder.

"Fang, what the heck is wrong with you?"

His eyes broke contact with the creature in the corner, and shifted cautiously over to me. He shoved me away, and glared balefully at me again, his voice dangerous and ominous.

"Get. Out."

I felt half-strangled. I knew that I looked and sounded half-strangled as well. Taking a deep breath, I rushed forward, and before he could back away, I grabbed his wrist. My heart almost stopped when I realized that I could wrap my fingers all they way around his wrist. Just how thin was he? Was any of them?

He felt real. I couldn't be sure that this was only a dream anymore. So I did what I knew I needed to do. Holding tightly onto his arm – he was viciously trying to yank away, and I was only just barely holding on – I reached my free hand back, and roughly yanked out one of my feathers. Tan, with a dash of freckly spots across one edge. I grimaced at the sharp pain, and Fang stopped struggling. I looked up and locked onto his eyes, trying to communicate to him my pain, and make him remember me. He stared back at me, frozen, and for once, anger wasn't clouding his eyes. Only confusion.

Roughly I yanked his hand towards me, and placed my feather there, closing his fingers around the feather, just a soft little speck of a memory.

"You can trust me, Fang." My voice was just a whisper, but I knew by the way his jaw clenched, that he had heard me.

I let go of him then, and he opened his fist, looking down at the feather, a peculiar expression on his face, one that I couldn't understand. He looked up at me, and for a moment, he looked almost sad, his forehead creasing. But then the glare returned.

My throat was most definitely closing up. I need to get out of here. Now.

Quickly, I spun around and made for the door, hoping fervently that I was still transparent enough to run through. I glanced back at the five frightened faces – well, only three were frightened, the other two were just angry – and turned away. I was almost at the door when Angel called after me.

"Come back soon…Max."

I froze.

Slowly, I turned back to look at her. She took a step forward, and gazed right back at me, her pale, beautiful little angel's face confident and hopeful. She smiled a tiny smile and I almost ran back, to hug her and thank her for knowing me.

But Iggy grabbed her around the waist and dragged her back safely behind him. The spell was broken. He glared at me, his blue eyes penetrating, and gently scolded Angel for speaking to me, the unwanted stranger, the real freak, amongst all these other freaks.

Forcing the sob that was threatening to explode in my chest back down, I let momentum carry me forward, as I lunged once again for the door. Quietly, I slipped out, and collapsed outside, in the white, sterile hallway of the School. I looked up at the door, and when I caught sight of the wings that were etched into the black paint covering the window, Confusion and Anguish ganged up on me, overwhelming me with their blows.

I slumped against a white wall, cringed back from its coldness, and let my conflicting emotions have me. Not very Max-like, I know, but what would you do if suddenly, the only people that you care about, that you love, in the whole wide world, hate you? Don't know you, and can't remember anything you once had with them? You would cry too, right?

My throat felt raw. The tears slid down my face. I wrapped my shaking arms around my knees and concentrated on not hyperventilating. Not that I expected to have much luck with that…

Where is my family? Where is my real Flock?

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A/N: I made it long, to make up for not posting for so long. Hope you guys liked it, and I would absolutely love you guys if you could post comments/reviews! And don't hesitate to ask questions, any questions at all.

Oh yeah, just in case any of you didn't understand why it was so significant that Angel said, "Come back soon, Max."

It's significant because, Max never says her own name, so this proves that somehow, Angel knows her. Max only ever said things like, "It's me."

I'll post the next chapter as soon as I can.

THANK YOU REVIEWERS!!!