109 reviews! Thanks to each and every single one of you! Especially Lauren for all of those reviews! Well, I have a beta now! Yays! Anyways, I have loads of time today, so I'm going to do two chapters! And Kassidy, I haven't written anymore. A wee little case of writer's block. Team Will is better!!!!!

Onward ho!

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We went inside when it started raining. Fang never let go of my hand or his arm stayed around my waist or on my shoulders. I was so happy, I didn't even think of my own death that was in four short days.

I began wondering what they would do. Would they take us in the middle of the night? Or would they fight us and take us? If the flock saw that I was going willingly, without a fight, they would give up too.

Fang leaned down to whisper in my ear. "You should forgive your mom."

That's all he had to say. I was so happy; I couldn't even exclude Jeb from it. It was if Fang and I were in a bubble of glowing light, and I wanted everyone to be a part of it. Nothing could go wrong.

Not even the raging storm outside could wipe the smile off of my face.

When my mom caught my eye and smiled, I smiled right on back. I could tell she was relieved that I forgave her.

Pretty soon, the wind was howling, and lightning was lighting the whole house, even though the clouds were black as night. Rain pounded on the windows.

When the lights went out, we all collected flashlights and candles and huddled together in living room, watching the storm through the glass wall. With Fang beside me, I wasn't claustrophobic at all. I was actually pretty comfortable.

Until Mom found the right station on the radio and heard that there was an unpredicted Category Five hurricane coming toward us.

"Shouldn't we go to the basement or something?" Gazzy suggested.

And so we did.

And we heard the wind howling above us. And I realized something. Iggy had gone with Ella to buy groceries. And they weren't back yet.

I leapt to my feet and started for the stairs.

"Max, where are you going?" Fang asked, immediately following me.

"Iggy and Ella aren't back yet!" I said, itching to be off.

Mom was suddenly aware of their absence.

"They aren't back yet?!" She demanded.

"No, I have to go help them! You never know, they could be hurt!" I was yelling over the wind now. Fang grabbed my arm.

"Max." I tried to yank my arm away, but he was too strong.

"Fang, if you try to stop me…" I warned.

His face hardened.

"I'm not stopping you. I'm going instead of you."

My mouth opened slightly. He couldn't be doing this. I was going to die anyways. I should risk my life. My flock was my life. And they were in danger.

After Iggy left to be with his parents when we were staying with Anne, I knew I couldn't stand to be away from my flock again. I couldn't deal with missing one of them.

"I'm going with you." I said through my teeth.

"No."

"Fang—" I started, but he interrupted me.

"I don't wanna have to do this, Max."

Before I could process what he'd meant, his fist shot out and then the black enveloped me.

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When I woke up, Mom informed me that it'd only been about an hour. The storm was still raging on.

I gathered Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel into my arms.

"Max?" Gazzy looked up at me, his big blue eyes worried.

"They'll be okay, right?" he asked, his voice wavering just a bit. I knew what he was feeling. His best friend was caught in a bad storm, more than likely hurt. And Fang had gone out to save him.

I was going to kill Fang when he got back.

But he was probably right to do what he'd done. But… It was still stupid.

"Yeah, Gaz, they'll be fine. Fang went to go get them. He's probably the most capable of us all. He'll get them back." I said, and all three of them seemed to visibly relax.

But I knew the truth. They most definitely weren't fine. They could even be….

No, I won't let myself think like that.

Go upstairs, Max. Now! The Voice.

I immediately leapt up and headed for the stairs.

"Max!" My mom called after me.

"I'll be right back!" I called.

I ran up the stairs and pushed the door open.

Fang was stumbling in the back door holding Ella, with Iggy collapsing behind him. I didn't know why he used the door. There were holes in the ceiling, and all of the glass was blown out.

"Fang!" I yelled, running towards him. The wind was pushing me back, so I didn't go as fast as I would've liked.

"Take Ella!" he shouted. I could tell he was drained of most of his energy.

I grabbed Ella from him and he turned around to get Iggy, who was unconscious.

We slowly made our way to the basement door, drenched from the rain.

With difficulty, we shut the door, and then carried the two bodies downstairs.

"Are they okay?" Nudge asked, her brown eyes wide with fear.

"I—I don't know." I said, watching my mom check their pulses.

"They're both alive. Ella's pulse is faint, but…She's okay." I could tell that it hurt my mom to say things like that. Her own daughter was dying. Hurt. In pain.

"Iggy has a few broken ribs and his left ankle is probably broken. He'll just need a lot of rest. Ella has broken ribs, too, and her right leg is broken, as well as her right wrist. She more than likely has a concussion." Mom was whispering.

I shrugged away from Fang and turned towards him, a steely glare set on him.

"Why'd you do that?" I demanded.

He just stared at me, his eyes drooping a little.

"Fang, why did you risk your life? You just got out of your death today, and you're already trying to get yourself killed!"

Suddenly, Fang drooped towards me, and my arms automatically reached out and caught him.

"Fang!" I cried, slouching to the floor, my knees buckling under his dead weight.

I heard his gasps for breath.

"Mom! Help him! He can't breath!" I yelled. She came rushing over.

I laid him flat on the ground and saw the huge purple spot on his throat.

"Max, get me a pen!" my mom ordered, ripping Fang's shirt off. I found one and handed to her.

She pulled a pocketknife out of nowhere and did some scary stuff to Fang that involved sticking the pen in his throat.

I made the other kids go away to check on Iggy and Ella and then kneeled beside her.

She did something else I didn't see, and blood squirted out of the pen, and then Fang was breathing again.

Tears welled up in my eyes. I'd almost lost him again. That seemed to be happening a lot lately.

Mom sighed and sat back, running a shaking hand through her hair.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked, grabbing his hand, my eyes never leaving his.

His chest was moving up and down normally now. Well, as normal as it can get with us mutant bird-kids.

"Something probably hit him in the throat, damaged his trachea." She said, patting my leg.

"He'll be okay, won't he?" I asked, my voice sounding almost exactly like Gazzy's had earlier.

She nodded. "He'll probably be okay in about three hours. And I'm estimating here. You guys heal faster than I'm used to." She gave a tiny smile.

Those words made me feel immensely better.

She got up and went to check on Iggy and Ella.

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As the storm raged overnight, we all slept down in the basement, and I never left Fang's side.

But then they came. Three days early.

I saw them, and didn't warn the flock.

I knew that this moment would haunt me forever, but I just couldn't warn them. My time was over.

It was time for my sacrifice.

It was time for me to save my family's lives.

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Yay! This chapter wasn't as long as I was hoping for, but I'm doing another chapter. It gets sad in the next chapter. Tell me what you think!

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