kay im extremely sorry about not updating in a while. my english homework piles up and i have no time to post at all. i feel really horrible. :/ but...lucky for you guys during spring break im going to deleware and they dont have internet there so ill be typing like crazy trying to get as many chapters done as possible. :) the bad part is youll have to wait till the eighth or something like that for a new post. :/ but again lucky for you...i have a new chapter put up.

read and review please.

oh and btw.... tonights movie night with me and my friend and im really excited. just thought id share that little tidbit of info for you guys because you are so awesome

now...ON TO THE STORY! its kinda short and im sorry.

ASHLEY P.O.V.

I was awoken to the smell of bacon sizzling in a frying pan. I looked over to see if Max was still in the room and found out she wasn't. I quickly threw on a hoodie and walked into the living room area of the suite we were in.

"What's up?" I asked, a little too groggily for my taste. "The ceiling," I heard the Gasman say with a smile. "It is isn't it?" I asked going along with him. I sat down at the little table that was set up in the dining area and looked out the window. "Want anything to eat?" asked Iggy. I looked away from the beautiful scene I was looking at and looked at him. "No thanks. I'm good." I told him. The sooner we get out of here the better, I thought. "Ashley us growing bird kids need lots of calories to eat if we want to have the energy to last the day." Nudge piped up. "Actually it's the carbohydrates that give you energy not the calories. So that's why people who count carbs all the time are always tired." I said, not wanting to offend her. "Oh." She said dropping her head. "I'm sorry Nudge; it's just when I'm tired I tend to spout random facts out to anybody who says something wrong." I said trying to make up for my mistake. "It's okay Ashley. I forgive you." She said, going back to what she was doing before.

"How do you even know that?" Came Fang's velvet voice from behind me. "Don't do that! I see why you get annoyed by it Max." I said, and Max looked up at me from across the table while she was eating her bowl of cereal. "I want to know too. How do you know that we need carbs not calories? Even I didn't know that." She asked. "Simple. I took a foods class at school. Well, technically I didn't. I only went for a week before switching out. That's basically all I learned." I said which was true. "So, you can't beat me at a cook off?" Iggy asked. "Nah. You're still the best Igs. Is everyone done so we can get out of here?" I asked, wanting to get out as soon as possible and save my brother and boyfriend.

Pretty soon we were off into the air. Everyone was in formation. Max in front, Fang behind her off to the left. Nude and Angel were behind him, chattering away about shopping and such. Iggy and Gazzy were behind them, heads together, talking in whispers about a new bomb they were designing. And I, I was off behind them, feeling like an outcast. "You're not an outcast Ashley. We just haven't seen you in a while, that's all. We're still getting used to having you around." I heard Angel say from beside me. Evidently she shifted from her spot beside Nudge to talk to me. She sure has grown a ton. Boy, do I regret ever leaving. That was one of the worst choices I could have ever made. "It's okay Ashley. We forgive you for doing it. Well, we will eventually. Not all of us are easy to forgive." She said looking at Max. Of course she was the one that wouldn't forgive me. I left her to take care of five other bird kids just like me. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for her, having to make sure everyone was fed and safe. Angel dropped back into her position, probably leaving me to my thoughts. I saw her nod slightly without looking me, telling me that that was exactly what she was doing.

"Yo." I heard from beside me. What is with people doing that today? "Yes Fang?" I asked, annoyed that he interrupted my silent rant. "You gave us quite a scare last night Ashley. What the hell were you thinking?" He asked, trying not to raise his voice so the others won't hear him. "Who knows Fang? It was just something that I did. I don't know why, but I did. I guess it was a way to forget everything and think of just one thing. Or maybe it is because it is the one pain that I can control. The one thing that isn't affected by anything. You know?" I asked. "No, not really. I actually think it is a stupid thing to do. Why try to kill yourself when you have people here who care about you and would be devastated if you die." Wow. I was astounded. "Do you really think I'm trying to kill myself? It's not that at all. I told you, I just wanted to control the pain, just numb the pain I couldn't control and create my own. Like my own safety device. I'm not trying to kill myself at all." I told him, being completely serious. "I know there are people who would be devastated if I were to…keel over. I'm not retarded. (A/n: no offense to mentally retarded people. It's just something I say.) It's like that Walt Whitman poem.

"Trickle drops! my blue veins leaving!

O drops of me! Trickle, slow drops,

Candid from me falling, drip, bleeding drops,

From wounds made to free you whence you were prison'd,

From my face, from my forehead and lips,

From my breast, from within where I was conceal'd, press forth red drops, confession drops,

Stain every page, stain every song I sing, every word I say, bloody drops,

Let them know your scarlet heat, let them glisten,

Saturate them with yourself all ashamed and wet,

Glow upon all I have written or shall write, bleeding drops,

Let it all be seen in your light, blushing drops."

He just stared at me for a second, eyes wide as saucers. "Where did that come from?" He asked. "I learned it in English class at school and it kind of stuck. But it pretty much summarizes everything I was trying to tell you. That's it." I said. Then he soared back to his spot probably thinking about the poem and its meaning. Hopefully, I didn't scare him.

Too late for that now is it?

I almost fell out of the sky when I heard that. Everyone looked at me strangely but soon turned back to what they were doing.

Long time no annoy Mr. Voice. Or are you a woman? I could never figure that out.

This is no time for your childish games Ashley. Your life is about to be put in danger. I suggest you don't go to ITEX to save your brother and…boyfriend.

Like my life never isn't in danger…wait what do you mean about not going to ITEX. I have to. My brother is the only person I have in this world. I can't just leave him there to die!

I subconsciously saw Max drop back and stare at me. "Voice back isn't it?" She asked. I just shook my head and continued my conversation in my head. You don't know how weird that sounds right about now.

I have to save them and no matter what you say, you can't stop me.

Well, it's your funeral then. I'm just warning you. Things aren't as they seem. You need to take a good look at them.

The voice then left but I got a vision.

I saw myself sitting on a log in a forest, crying. I hear some rustling in the bushes and out walks this massive wolf. Its fur is a rusty color, a russet brown. (A/n: bet you can guess who that is my Twilight lovers XP) It walks up to me and I shy away. I then look it in the eye to tell it who is the dominant one. But somehow, the eyes of the wolf look almost…human. They look sad, and actually concerned. "What's the matter boy? You are a boy right?" I ask, not daring to check. I could almost hear it chuckle ant my remark. "Are you alone too? Is nothing going wrong in your life also? Are you in love with your best friend and don't know what to do about it? Look at me; I'm talking to a dog for God sakes. No offense." I said to the wolf standing in front of me. Suddenly the wolf jolted up, and ran off into the woods. I have a feeling this isn't the last time I am going to see this wolf.

I jolted myself out of the vision and looked around. Everyone looked at me like I needed to be put in the loony bin. "Ashley are you alright?" Nudge asked. "Cause Max was talking to and then you like spaced out and were whispering stuff like wolf and russet and eyes. What wolf were you thinking about? And was its eyes a russet color? Oh that would be pretty. Kind of like yours Max. I'm just stuck with these boring brown ones. Max when we go back home..pmfff." She said as Iggy slapped his hand over her mouth. "Yeah Ashley, you kind of spaced there. What was that?" He asked. I sighed, getting ready to explain the weird vision I just had. "Well the Voice came back to me. Yes, it is the same Voice that Max has. It said I shouldn't go save my brother and boyfriend because 'things aren't as they seem.' Who knows what it was talking about that. But then I got a vision of me sitting on some log in the middle of the forest somewhere, and this wolf comes up to me and it looks like it has human eyes. Or like it could actually feel emotion, you know? But I was sitting there having a conversation with it like it was a human. Then it ran off and I got the feeling I would see it again." I told them, leaving some things out for obvious reasons.

Pretty soon we were off, everyone thinking about the vision I had and what it meant.