….SIX DAYS GO BY….. SNOW IS LEAVING TODAY…

I flip another pancake as Gramps walks in.

"Kate, you've outdone yourself! These smell delicious," he smiles.

Yes, I told them my name was Kate. Calm down. I smiled back. "Well today is a very special day."

He smiles and sits down as I give him three chocolate chip pancakes, stacked and covered in butter.

"How is it special?" He asks.

My smile drops a little. "You'll see," I promise him, as I dish out eight chocolate chip pancakes for myself, and another three for Gramma, who walks in. She smiles at me.

"Kate, you eat like a horse! But you're so beautifully thin….how do you do it?" She smiles in wonder.

I smile back as we all start breakfast. "I just have a high metabolism, I guess."

The day goes by too quickly. We go fishing, buy pasta, and play Scrabble, which I've gotten pretty good at. For dinner that night, I cook the salmon we caught and put it with the pasta. It comes out great, but I pick at my food.

"Kate? What's wrong, honey?" Asks Grammar.

"Yeah, you never pick at your food," adds Gramps.

I can't tell them that I'm leaving today… it breaks my heart…" Snow, you have to," I tell myself firmly.

I take a deep breath. "Gramma, Gramps, I'm…. leaving today. After dinner."

Gramma gasps. "Kate, you can't leave! We love having you here. We love you! You remind us of Cindy…." Her daughter…

I take another deep breath. "That's because….I think… I'm your granddaughter."

They stare at me in shock. "The baby….. that disappeared?" whispers Gramps.

I nod. "I was kidnapped…. By evil scientists who gave me these." I open up my wings.

They gasp in shock. Gramma begins crying. "Can it be…..are you really Annie?" She asks me in wonder.

I nod. "I think so…I was told that my parents were robbed and murdered, and I was kidnapped….. it makes sense. And I feel a connection with you guys."

Gramps had no expression on his face. "So Cindy and Andrew…. They were murdered."

I can't nod. I just turn away, sobbing.

"You can't leave," sobs Gramma, her voice sounding strangled. "You're all we have left."

I shake my head. "I have to leave, I'm sorry."

Gramps cries. "No! Please stay!"

I start out the door. "I'm so sorry…."

"No!" They both shriek. In horror, I realize that I have drove two innocent people to madness.

"I'm so sorry," I say quietly and jump and fly away, not looking back.

….A FEW MINUTES LATER…

I fly through the air, my tears streaming behind me like ribbons. I just drove my grandparents insane! I shouldn't have stayed, I should have left earlier, never stayed in the first place…..

Maybe I never should have left the flock…

That's where I needed to go, right now. Back to my family. I hoped they didn't feel too bad about my leaving, and would take me back. I missed them all, I shouldn't have known them that well, I mean I've only known them for what, 3 weeks? But I feel connected to them somehow, I was meant to be with them, I would have always been with them if Jeb wasn't such an asshole….UGH.

Anyway, so time to use my radar scanning GPS thing to find them. Hmmm…..

And I turned it on, I don't know how to describe it, it just turned on somehow and I knew I needed to go north. Actually, they were pretty close, they were in New York. That state right above New Jersey. And I was in New Jersey right now.

Happily, I sped off at 250 miles per hour, hoping to meet them in NYC in about fifteen minutes.

….ABOUT FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER….

"Wow," I thought as I landed quietly in a tree in Central Park. New York was… just amazing. There were giant buildings that would be so much fun to jump off of, feeling the breeze run through my feathers….. there was food everywhere, and people everywhere, it was awesome! I loved this place!

"Snow. Find your family first. Eat honey roasted peanuts later," I told myself firmly, passing a particularly appetizing looking food cart. But it was cold that day, and I was hungry…..

Five minutes later, I was holding three bags of honey roasted peanuts. God, they were amazing! I chomped on them as I walked, my "flock radar" started to go faster and faster as I got closer.

Finally, as I finished my third bag of peanuts, I went to throw it out in a garbage can next to a big white building, and then my radar thing went off like crazy. I looked around. I couldn't see or hear them.

"Where are they?" I mumbled under my breath. I got closer to the building, until I noticed-

BINGO.

There was a trapdoor thing with a latch, I saw that it had been opened. For some weird reason, they were down there. I got a bad vibe from it, but I trusted Max. So I ran over to the trapdoor, opened the latch, and jumped in.

….

As I landed on the ground, I squished.

"Ewww!" I hissed under my breath. I was afraid of alerting something, or someone, down here. I kept walking, squishing softly with every step. Finally, I came to a door that had already been opened.

"Keep on going," I thought and continuing walking. Then I stepped on something, and it squeaked. I forced myself not to shriek, and looked down to see a dead rat. Oh crap.

I watched my step, rats looking at me with their beady red eyes. I wasn't afraid of rats or anything. Anyone would have screamed or at least gasped if they suddenly stepped on one though.

Then there was another door, with a lock that had been opened. As I stepped inside, I could feel the floor change from "sewer" to "nice carpet." I smiled, noticing the change until I saw something that wiped the smile off my face.

Cages. Dozens of them. They were everywhere, in small rooms. But there were no kids. At least… no alive ones.

I choked back vomit and tears as I saw a poor boy, about 2 years old, covered in black spots with two toes on each foot, and three fingers total. He wasn't breathing, but his sharp green eyes were still open…..

I quickly moved on, past all the cages. Only dead kids. Where were the live ones? Were there none? Or Max….. Max and the flock probably saved the live ones! They were probably up here somewhere. I spotted a path out of the lab, but as I headed towards it, I noticed a small blue button on the right wall in the bottom left hand corner.

I went over and pushed it. To my amazement, a secret passageway opened up in the wall. I walked into it without hesitating.

I walked down the hallway. Well, it was barely a hallway, just a straight passage. I finally got to a point where there was a door that was slightly cracked open. After opening it, I saw a room made of clear glass. I walked over to the center and looked down, seeing Ari. Meh.

Then came Max and the others with a bunch of kids. It must be the mutants they saved. Ari stepped into their way, laughing meanly.

Max stepped in front of the flock, forming her hands into fists. The she gestured at Fang, Iggy, and Gazzy to take the mutant kids out. (leaving her, Nudge, and Angel)

They couldn't see me, the glass was one way I guess, which was kinda cool. So I could watch everything without them even knowing I was there. But I didn't plan on just watching.

I distinctly heard Ari say, "Max, it's just you. There's no one to help you."

He was somewhat right. Max would keep this as her fight, protecting Angel and Nudge by not letting them fight against the Eraser. But of course, there was me.

I pounded the glass as hard as I could, making a huge crack in it. After pounding it again, it cracked in half. And I fell.