A/N: Please don't kill me for taking so long. Honestly I am truly sorry. I am such a procrastinator and it is a habit I am trying to break. But on another note, chapter 4.

Chapter 4

Flying with the Flock

"I don't know if we can trust her," I heard Max say to the others. I pretended to be asleep. I knew they didn't trust me. The feeling was mutual.

"I promise: she's not lying!" Angel said. At least I had one of them going for me.

"I know Angel, but still…"

"Her story was really weird," Nudge said. "I've never heard of someone growing wings before."

"None of us have," Fang put in.

"I think it's awesome!" the Gasman added. Well, that was two going for me. "Its kind of like Total, you know? Growing wings?"

"Yeah," Max said, "But Total's grew slowly. If her story is right, she completely changed in about three days. I think we should take her to see Jeb. At least then we can know what's going on."

Sleep Ivy. You've got a long day of flying ahead of you, my voice said.

What if I don't go with them? What if I go back home?

Simple. You die.

Are you kidding?

No. Sleep. Now.

I slept. No use arguing with a voice that issues death threats.

xxx

"Get up! Come on!" That was Total shouting in my ear.

"Shut up Toto!" I said, rolling over.

"It's Total. Now up!" I refused and soon found a wet nose in my ear. I groaned and got up. "Here's your jacket," the dog said and walked off. I pulled it on and noticed wing-sized holes in the back. I stood and walked over to the others.

"You know," Angel said. "We really don't know your name."

"I'm Ivy," I said, looking at them.

"Not anymore," Max said. "If you fly with us, your name is not Ivy. Think of something new, some nickname or something, fast."

I thought. Leaving Ivy behind… forever. Then suddenly, I knew. "I'm Blue Moon."

"Blue for short," Iggy said. I smiled.

"Hey Ig, while were up, can you give her the basics?" Max asked.

"Yeah, sure thing."

"Alright. Up we go!" She said and her wings snapped open. She rose gracefully into the air, Fang behind her, then Gasman, Angel, Nudge and Total. Iggy smiled then rose too.

"Come on Blue!" He called. I mimicked their movements, launching myself into the air and spreading my wings.

"We're heading west!" Max called, facing away from the rising sun. She started off. The others followed. I looked back, for maybe the last time. My family. My home. Joey, Kevin, Mom, Dad, Eryn… my soon to be sibling. A lump rose in my throat when I realized that I may never see them again.

"Blue, you okay?" Iggy called from above me.

I flew up to meet him. "I will be."

xxx

We had been flying for a while and quite frankly, my wings hurt. Let me tell you, it was weird, thinking about my wings. Flying felt completely natural, but other than that… it just took some getting used to. I sighed as we kept flying. Suddenly, a shape caught my eye.

"Scatter!" Max called. I veered to the left as another winged figure shot up between us. I started and almost forgot to stop flying. It was the boy who had been outside my English class! The one with no shoes! I was about to say something when the Voice spoke up.

Don't say anything! Keep your mouth shut! I did so, still unsure why I was listening to this voice. The boy looked around at the Flock and me.

"I'm Aeris," he said. "And you are the Flock." Max nodded.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"You set us free in New York," Aeris said, motioning to the small dog beside him. "This is Kellogg. He and Total are litter-mates." A small brown and white dog emerged from behind Aeris. "We've been trying to find you for a while. We've got important news to tell you."

"Yeah? And you also could be Itex spies in disguise. We don't trust strangers all that well," Max retorted.

"Well what about her?" Aeris said, motioning to me. I looked at the feet, feeling uncomfortable. Why did he have to drag me into this? Why was I in this mess at all?

I suddenly snapped again and angled my wings and headed for the ground again. I landed and promptly sat on the ground, tears streaming down my cheeks. What was I doing? I was leaving my family and friends behind, possibly forever.

"Blue?" That was Iggy. I looked up from my spot in the middle of a corn field. "You okay?" he asked. The others landed nearby.

"It's easy for you, isn't it?" I said, choking out my words. "You've been gone so long… you don't even miss them anymore!"

Iggy was silent for a moment. "'Them?'" he asked. "You mean my family? None of us have a family," he said. "Well, except for Max. But we all grew up in dog crates. The Flock is my family."

I sat in shocked silence, looking at the ground. "My mom was pregnant. My sister is ten. I have the greatest friends in t he world… and now it's all gone. I'll never see them again."

"You can't go back," Iggy said, softly. "You don't belong there. You belong here, with us."

"I didn't even get to say goodbye…" I whispered quietly, never wanting any of them to hear me. We sat there for several moments before Nudge spoke up.

"I saw a library nearby…" she said. "You could send an email…"

"Sorry Nudge, but we have no time," Max said, walking forward. She held out her hand to pull me up. "We have to keep moving. I'm sorry." After pulling me to my feet, she turned and took off. Fang looked at her, sighed, then followed. The others followed her as well, leaving Aeris and I behind on the ground.

"Let's go," he said, lifting into the air. I followed, tears streaming down my face as I flew farther and farther from the life I knew.

xxx

That night I was curled up in a ball under Kevin's jacket in the middle of a cornfield. A single tear dripped down my face. I felt like such a wuss. All the Flock must have thought that I was. It didn't help that I was treated like an invalid by most of the Flock. The only ones who really accepted me were Iggy and Aeris. The others merely tolerated me.

The night was silent, until voices from the rest of the Flock reached my ears. "You could have at least let her send an email!" Fang was saying. "Think about what she is going through!"

"Fang, we don't know who she is or if she's really made by the enemy! She could be a spy!" Max said. Strangely, I didn't feel angry with her for not… not letting me say goodbye. I kind of understood where she was coming from.

It's not nice to eavesdrop, Ivy. I sighed.

Hello, Voice. It was silent for a moment.

Voice? It's Aeris…

I froze, in utter shock.

Aeris? Has it been you the whole time?

Whole time? No. I don't know anything about this "Voice."

Then how did you know my name was Ivy?

You kept repeating, "I am Ivy," over and over when we were flying. Just out of curiosity, but who are Kevin and Joey? You kept thinking about them too.

I've got an idea. How about you butt out of my head! Aeris had touched a nerve. I rolled over, breathing in Kevin's smell from his jacket. I felt angry and sad and upset. I gave a shuddering sigh, then fell into an uneasy sleep.

Xxx

"Sir, the spy is in place." The Administrator smiled.

"Perfect. Remember, do not activate the spy until the time is ready." The man at the consol nodded. He turned back to the fuzzy image of a girl sleeping on a bed. Tears were running down her face. A woman came in and held the girl close, sobbing as well. The man felt some sadness, but nothing more.

Xxx

"Mommy, is Ivy ever going to come home?"

Megan's heart broke into a thousand pieces as her daughter broke down into sobs. Nathan stood behind them, looking out the window. They were still at Abbey's farm, and were exhausted from a long search throughout the whole day.

"She will, sweetie," Megan said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I promise." Megan heard footsteps leave the room and looked up Nathan had walked out. She sighed and looked down at Eryn. "Honey, try to sleep, okay? I promise, we'll find Ivy." Eryn nodded. "I love you, Eryn."

"I love you too, Mommy." Megan kissed Eryn and got up, walking into the hallway. Nathan was nowhere to be found inside the house. Megan looked out the window and saw him punching the ground. She ran out the door and ran out to him, kneeling by him and wrapping her arms around him.

"Nathan!" she cried, sobbing into his back. "Nathan, please!" She could feel his body shaking with sobs.

"We have to find her, Megan. We have to!"

"We will! I promise! We will Nathan." She heard the door open. Somehow she knew it was Abbey standing there, watching her best friend's hear break more than she ever knew.

"Megan, Nathan, come inside. You need to get some rest," she called. Megan sighed, letting tears stream down her cheeks. She slowly helped her husband off the ground and they walked towards the house together. Abbey hugged Nathan as he went into the house. Megan stayed outside on the porch with her.

"What if we don't find her, Abbey?" Megan, asked, whispering to the night air. Abbey looked at her friend, whom she had admired and been so close to for so long. She had always found at least something to say, even if it wasn't the right thing. Now, she seemed at a loss for words.

"I don't know…" she finally whispered. Megan let out a sob and Abbey took her into her arms, holding her friend close. "But I do know we'll sure as hell try!" Both friends held each other close in the night, comforting and reassuring one another, before another day of desperate searching.

Xxx

"And where are you going?" Joey looked up at Kevin. He had a backpack with him as well as his hiking clothes on. Kevin looked back at his twin brother.

"I'm going to find her. I can't just sit here and do nothing!" Joey looked closely at his brother. He nodded and got out of bed.

"Did you pack a bag for me?"

In a short while, two horses could be seen galloping out of the stable and into the woods, their path lit up by the moonlight.

A/N: Woo! I finally finished it! I apologize for it taking so so long… =( In the upcoming chapters I'll have more blurbs about Megan and them back at home. I like writing those =)

Loz727: =) Thanks and sorry this took so long

Hopekills16: Thanks!! =)

--Neko signing out!