Ayo people.:) I had an idea to update again, so here it is. Hope you like it.

Disclaimer: Maximum Ride is James Patterson's, not mine. I only own the plot and my characters.

I didn't bother going to school the next day. I slept through my alarm because I was so wiped out from last night. My mom was gone and I hadn't had a chance to tell her anything yet, and I was planning to tell her when she came home for her break. I didn't know what or when I was going to tell Drew, or if I was even going to. It could have something to do with the people that had been following us, so he should know. But he could think I was a freak and stop talking to me, if he even was anyways after I blew him off. He probably hated me. I sighed and rolled over onto my back, forgetting about my wings. I hissed and sat up, then put my head in my hands. Why had this happened to me? Had I done something to deserve this? Did this have something to do with my father, who had been non-existent for practically my entire life. He was a scientist, and I saw him about once a year. My mom didn't like him much; she said that she was stupid to marry him, much less fall in love with him. Ella had a different dad, and I didn't even remember him. One of my mom's many dates, and soon she turned up pregnant.

I heard the door open and close downstairs, and my mom put her keys on the counter. I got up and started to slink down the stairs as mom opened the fridge.

"Mom?" I asked, and she turned around, her eyes wide.

"Max! What are you doing home? I thought you were at school." She said as I walked down the stairs slowly, my back hurting with the new weight on it.

"I slept in. My alarm didn't go off." I told her, and she nodded suspiciously.

"This isn't going to be a habit of yours, is it?"

I shook my head. "No. I just… had a rough night last night." I looked at my feet and took a deep breath, wondering how she would react.

"I heard you screaming… what happened?" her eyes got wide, and she took a few steps closer to me. I took another deep breath and held it this time, and turned around. She gasped loudly, and I could see her out her hands over her mouth and her eyes get as wide as dinner plates. She scrambled over to me and touched my still-sensitive wing and I hissed in a breath. She turned me around as tears started pouring down her cheeks. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close, careful not to touch my wings.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know, I thought they weren't going to postpone it or not do it at all, or- or- or-" she was rambling and sobbing into my shoulder, and I didn't understand a word she was saying. I pushed her away from me and held her by the shoulders, staring into her brown eyes so much like mine.

"What are you talking about? Who was going to postpone what? Mom, what do you know about this?" she was hysterical, sobbing and mumbling incoherent words. I brought her over and sat her on the couch as she started to calm down.

"It- it's Jeb. Your father. He knew." She ground out, putting her face in her hands. My jaw tightened. So he did have something to do with this. Something big, it seemed. Maybe he had planned this for me, had chosen this to happen to me by himself. I stood up, ready to find him and give him a piece of my mind. My mom's hand stopped me and pulled me back on the couch though. "Max, wait, you need to hear the whole story." She begged, her eyes dig and pleading. I sighed, and she went on. " Your father is a genetic scientist, and so he works with different DNA and mixes them together, trying to make new species. And… you were made as an experiment, Max. You were meant to be tested on and observed, like some zoo animal." She told me, and I stared at my hands.

"Wait… are you really my real mom then? Was I made in, like, a test tube?!" I shouted.

"Max, calm down. Let me explain." I clenched my jaw tighter, but shut up. "You are a regular child, and you are my child. You were…conceived normally, and then Jeb decided to make you an experiment. He injected 2% of bird DNA in you, and then he… he took you, and yes, technically you were born by test tube." She whispered the last part, and my mouth was hanging open. I stood up, angry beyond belief.

"And you let them do this?! You let it happen?!" I shrieked at her, and she got tears in her eyes again.

"Oh, Max. I didn't want them to. Jeb drugged me, and took you from me when I was knocked out. He did this against my will, and I hate him for it. I hate him for taking your normal life away, and I hate him for taking away what we could have had. Now I have to live with this guilt, eating at me."

"But Mom, did you let them inject the DNA into me?" I asked. She burst out sobbing again and I turned my back on her.

"I was a scientist, Max! I was young, and I thought I was helping! Jeb talked me into it, and I agreed, and I regret it. More than anything. Jeb must have set some sort of a timer in you, or some way to control you from a distance." She whispered, and sniffled.

"I can't believe this, Mom." I whispered, my back still to her.

"You shouldn't have to, Max. I'm so sorry." I took a deep breath, and turned back around. She was curled in a ball on the couch, her face in her hands.

"Why was I made?" I demanded. She sniffled again and looked up.

"You were made…" she took a deep breath, "To save the world, Max." she whispered, and my breath hitched. I couldn't save the world. I was just one person!

"Are there others?" I breathed. She nodded slowly. "Drew? Angel? Nikki? Jaz? Gerik, Ian…?" I shook my head as she nodded. "No. No. No, they can't. I won't let them." I ran back upstairs as Mom tried to get me to listen to her. I put on regular clothes and shoes, careful not to move too hastily or jostle my wings. I needed to find Drew, Angel, and everyone else.

"Max, wait. You need to rest. Your body is changing, adapting to your wings. Don't do anything too fast or anything that might give away your wings."

I gave her a sour look. "I'm not stupid." I growled at her, and she sighed.

"If people find out about you, they might kill you. Or capture you and experiment on you. That's why I took you away Max. They do horrible things there, at the School. They hurt little children, make them do tests, and sometimes they just kill them for fun. They made another experiment, and they call them Erasers. They're half wolf and half human, they transform from supermodel-looking people to deadly weapons. Don't underestimate them, if you ever have to face them. they are strong, but I know you can take them." she took a deep breath. Why was she telling me this? Was she expecting something to happen? "You can't trust anybody, Max. The School will be looking for you non-stop until they get you, and you can't let them win. They'll just hurt you and torture you until you're dead." She whispered.

I closed my eyes and took her advice in. I was mad at her for doing this, but she was still my mom. I still had to listen to her. I took a deep breath and walked over to the closet to grab my jacket. I walked past my mom and down to the kitchen, then grabbed a knife from the drawer. Mom walked in a few seconds later, just as I was running the knife through the back of my jacket.

"What are you doing?" she gasped and I slit another line.

"Making holes for my wings. I can fly, right?" I spat at her. She winced as I put my jacket on, positioning the slits. I slowly extended my wings, and they fit perfectly through the holes. It felt so good to stretch them. My mom stared in wonder as I extended them fully.

"May I touch them, please? They look so soft…" she breathed, and I nodded slowly. She reached out her hand and brushed her fingers across the soft feathers and gasped. "Oh, Max. They're so beautiful. I can't believe it…" I blushed a little and looked down.

"I have to go, Mom. I need to find my friends, and tell them about this." I insisted.

"Max, you can't trust anybody. I told you. The School will stop at nothing to get you." She said urgently. I looked at her, staring into her eyes.

"These are my friends, mom. They will be going through the same thing, I know it. I have to tell them what to expect, or they'll be completely in the dark like me. I don't want that. They need me, mom." I told her, and she nodded. A tear escaped down her cheek.

"Okay. Just… be safe, Max. I don't want you to get hurt." She hugged me, and I hugged her back. I didn't know if I was going to see her again. Now that I was part bird, the School would want me. And I had to warn my friends. But I could get hurt, or kidnapped, or captured. "I love you, sweetie." She whispered into my hair, then let go.

I let her go, and nodded a goodbye. Then, I walked out the door and into the cold air.

Okay, kind of a little depressing, but informative. If you have any more questions, just review and tell me. And any ideas for the next chapter too. PLEASE REVIEW!!

BoOk-NeRd38