With a gasp, I woke up. I looked around me. Max was awake, and so was Fang. Iggy, Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy were all still sleeping. Max smiled at me, and came over.

"Snow? What's wrong, did you have a nightmare?" She asked in concern.

"Umm….. yeah, I guess," I replied. It wasn't a nightmare. I knew it had to be a vision. I'd been getting them a lot lately. I didn't know when that would happen, or how. I just knew that I had to stop it. At any cost. Even at the cost of my own life. (Wow, that's really dramatic. But true.)

"Do you want to talk about it?" Max asked me, gently rubbing my back in between my wings.

"No, not really…." I told her, frowning.

"Okay, Fang and I were just discussing where to go next," she smiled reassuringly at me.

"Okay," I replied.

She walked back over to Fang, who sat…. stoically. They talked softly, and I sat quietly as the rest of the flock woke up, one by one.

When Angel woke up, she looked scared for a minute, then relaxed. I guess she dreamed about the School.

Nudge smiled at me as she combed her hair. She didn't say much, which was weird.

Gazzy had a bad dream, I think it was about Erasers killing all of us. Dark dream. Max and Iggy were trying to calm him.

"Snow?" an angelic voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Yeah, Angel?" I asked.

She smiled sweetly. "Could you braid my hair?"

I felt sheepish. "I'm sorry, I don't know how."

"Ooh! I do!" chimed in Nudge.

"Where did you learn that?" I asked.

"From the Internet," she replied matter-of-factly.

Then she showed me how to braid hair, using Angel's hair as the test subject.

…A FEW MINUTES GO BY…..

"So it's three pieces, and you bring the one on the left to the middle, and then the one on the right to the middle, and then do it again, with the new hair on the sides?" I ask, after attempting braiding for the eighth time.

"Yes!" Nudge claps her hands in delight. "You got it!"

"Wow, you're excited," I note.

"Nudge is always excited. Well, she's always hyper," smiled Angel.

Nudge pouts. "That's not true!"

"It kind of is," I point out. She frowns.

"Well I blame my parents. Genes are passed down, right?" Nudge asked for clarification.

"I don't think talkativeness is a gene that can be passed down," I smiled.

Angel looks pained. "Guys, I have something important to tell you. Really important. Everybody." She looks pointedly at Max.

(Okay it kinda makes sense that Angel would bring this up because Nudge is talking about parents and genes.)

Max walked over and pulled Angel onto her lap. "Of course. What is it sweetie?" She asked gently.

Angel's eyes were full of pain. "Okay, so….at the School, I heard things. In people's minds. About where we came from."

Nudge gasped. "I know I was a human baby, I know it!"

"Nudge, let Angel talk," Max scolded quietly.

"No, she's right," Angel gasped out. "We came from human mothers."

No one spoke for a few seconds. Then Fang spoke, breaking the silence. "What did you hear about us?"

Angel sniffed. "Umm…..well Nudge….she was born and the doctors told her mom Nudge died, but she didn't."

Nudge sniffled, her eyes brimming with tears. "I did have a mother," she whispered. "I did. I knew it."

I wrapped my arms around her, comforting her with a hug. She sat down and cried, and I sat with her, trying hard not to cry myself.

"And Iggy.."Angel continued. "His mom…died. When he was born." She took in another shuddering breath.

Iggy turned away, his normally sharp blue eyes now dull. I wanted to comfort him, too, but Nudge kept crying, so I stayed next to her.

"Fang," Angel frowned. "Your mom was a teenager. She gave you up for adoption."

Fang broke the stick he was holding, his eyes turning dark and cold.

"What about us?" asked Gazzy, looking small and sad.

Angel burst into tears. "Our parents sold us for money!" She sobbed, and cried even harder. Gazzy looked taken back, and his eyes filled with tears, too. Max gathered them both into her arms. I felt bad for everyone but I needed to know…..

"Angel?" I projected into her mind.

I heard a sniffle. "Yeah?"

I almost couldn't get out the words. "Did….did you hear anything…about me?"

She sniffled again. "Yeah. I'm so sorry." Then I could hear her tears bursting out in her mind.

"Angel, what did you hear?" I ask gently. I just needed to know.

"Well, your parents….they're dead. Missing," Angel told me sadly.

"What?! How!?" I practically screamed at her in my mind.

"I don't know…I think they were gone and the whitecoats took you because they found you, and later they found the dead bodies of your parents, who had been murdered and robbed, I think."

"…."

"Snow? I'm really sorry…."

I said nothing. I didn't want….I didn't need to deal with this right now.

"Guys, I'm sorry, but I need a break," I said shortly, and started for the exit of the cave.

"Snow? What are you talking about?" Max's voice was genuinely confused.

"I just…. Can't be here. Maybe I'll see you guys in a couple weeks; I need to clear my head, take some time by myself. I can always track you guys down again when I need to find you guys. I just….I know it's stupid, but….that's me. I'm stupid," I can't stop the tiny tear that rolls down my check as I turn away, and fly, without looking back.

…..A QUICK MAX POV….I JUST WANT YOU GUYS TO SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE FLOCK AFTER SNOW LEAVES…..

"What did you do?!" I practically scream at Angel. I know, mean. But Snow had just listened to Angel, and then left. No explanation. Snow was gone, left us in the blink of an eye. She was my family now, Nudge and Iggy's best friend, she felt like my sister…..

"I just…. Told her what she asked me to," Angel replied, horror stricken.

"WHAT-DID-YOU-TELL-HER!?" I yell.

"I just told her what happened to her parents!" Angel yelled back. "I didn't know she would take it that badly!"

"What happened to her parents?" Asks Nudge.

Angel shakes her head. "They're dead. They were robbed and murdered, all that was left was Snow, and the scientists took her, too."

My eyes widen. "Oh my god….."

Angel's bursts into tears. "I'm sorry! She asked so I told her what I knew!"

I immediately feel bad. "Oh Angel, I'm sorry for yelling at you. But Snow is gone…"

Nudge bursts into tears. "Max, we have to find her!"

I clear my throat. "No."

Everyone stares at me in shock. "You don't want to find her?" Iggy asks.

"No, I do, it's just…. She doesn't want to be found. She needs time to cool off, to cope with what she just heard. We'll keep moving on with our plan," I nod at Fang. "And Snow will find us later. I know she will."

Everyone nodded. But I didn't know if I believed it myself.