Disclaimer: I own only Carter, and subsequent characters I designate as mine. James Patterson owns everything else. These events take place after Maximum Ride: The Final Warning.

Sorry I haven't updated in a while guys, busy with school and stuff, but now its summer :) hope you enjoy!

Chapter 2

Sirocco

I watched warily, staring at my own stony reflection in the water of the lake, which stood undisturbed by the turbulent Wind. The lake was spread out before me, stretching to the bleak horizon.

The gray sand disappeared under the blackness of the water, matching the undulating clouds in a seamless mirror. I saw the unforgiving Wind beat against the topography, disintegrating everything to a fine dust.

Yet, I felt a strange calm in my being, as if I had constructed defenses against the deterioration commanded by the Wind. The desolation was terrifying, while also humbling all in the same instant. There was no sun, the only light thundered through the thick cloud layer, baking the soil to ash.

And the Wind's scourge never let up.

Suddenly the world turned around, and I saw the desolate desert of the wasteland spread out to the other horizon.

There was a presence in this desert, a mutual drive shared by the land, or more like a common will to survive, against the harsh scouring by the Wind.

This presence was not friendly, nor forthcoming. It had long since blocked out external invitation in hope of a lasting effort at self-preservation.

Whispers shifted through the wind, through the grainy dust. Cutting lines in sparse earth that also shifted swirling, beneath my feet. While the movement of the Wind never let up, the tides of the palette of dust never yielded either. The Presence, commanding the sands, gathered itself up, the dust moving, swirling, dashed by the tortured Wind, set itself into a stony likeness. Filling the form of a Winged Colossus, the dust went, tumbling, gathering, and coagulating into such a monumental form that it blocked the Wind, fought a triumphant uphill battle against it, until standing far above me, the Colossus took shape, the stone smooth as chiseled limestone, the dust turned into statue.

The Presence now inheriting itself into the monument, spoke. "It is apparent that what you will become is like a statue built on sand." The Colossus didn't move, but the Wind and the dust, flung high in the air made the solid image waver unsteadily in front of me.

"Your power is baseless, and the Wind is strong, it is ever-blowing."

With a thundering crack, the statue knelt on one knee, its wings splayed out beside it.

"Your resolve against the Wind will be continually tested, You will question those around you, your most trusted, your most feared. Even doubt will infiltrate your soul. A most well constructed fortress will you need, and the Question will be come singularly rendered upon you."

The Colossus, again shuddering lifted its staff as to use it for support, meaning to stand, or kneeling in fealty.

"Will you let the Wind fill your wings? Or will it erode your very self, into the all consuming Dust, that fills this void."

The Wind howled through my head, increased to the likeness of a bloody screeching. The Colossus wavered once more, but it was not simply the image of the dusty air, this time the Wind was chipping away at the façade, the Colossus was melting away taken by the screaming wind, consumed by the false landscape. The clouds opened, and the disintegrating Titan was lifted into the heavens by a maelstrom of vapor.

The Dust was choking, swirling around, creating a vacuum. I clamped by hands over my ears, shut my eyes, holding on to my defenses as I thought them so well constructed. Falling to my knees, I inhaled desperately knowing that this Dust would be my end.

I looked up, not seeing far through the shades of gray dust, only for my eyes to meet Death, its hand outstretched in a welcoming invitation.

I awoke with jump. Still clinging to the dream, the haunting Presence and its message.

The sheets I were lain in were saturated with sweat, I turned over to look at my clock on my nightstand to see the time.

Neither my clock nor my nightstand were there.

I was not in my room.

I was not in my life.

I let out a choked breath, realizing for a terrible second that all the events of yesterday had not been some fantastic dream. What did I feel? Listlessness, some sort of emotional reverie. And a hint of ... regret?

I had never thought of my parents or friends I'd left behind. My Father was very distant, always kept himself busy with work, or work meetings, or work-related golf outings, almost taking every chance to remove himself from my life. My Mother had left long ago. I had watched her leave, remembering it vividly as if it was a day when part of me died. I think I was 5 maybe 6 years old, she left down the front walk of my childhood house, her one old traveling case in her left hand to the taxi waiting out front. I remember it this way because I had my face pressed against the screen of my front door, too scared to utter one word of "come back" or "miss you" My father was standing close behind me.

Putting the suitcase in the trunk of the taxi with her other baggage, she turned and flashed one look of spite to my father, and one look of longing toward me.

The look wasn't enough to keep her there.

I got out of bed quietly, maneuvering around Iggy, who was sleeping on the floor beside my bed. I had shared the guest bedroom with him and Fang for the night. Max, Nudge, and Angel shared Ella's room, and Gazzy had a room to himself - for obvious reasons. I nimbly skirted Fang's sleeping bag, hoping both their superior senses would not alert them to my night stalking.

I made my way to the bathroom and closed the door behind me.

"You will question those around you, your most trusted, your most feared..."

I splashed cold water on my face, letting the droplets run down my aching body. There was not one place that I didn't feel when I moved. The body-wide pain reassured me that I was still awake, still alive.

Whom did I fear? Whom did I trust? I had not had the chance to learn fear from trust in this new pretense, I had left all that I feared behind, my nightmares could not follow me here, could they?

"A most well constructed fortress will you need..."

I had always been a introverted individual, I had no problem blocking people out. But I had a feeling the desert presence was speaking of something I didn't see yet. And emotional fortress maybe? Who knew? It was all very enigmatic to me, more like something you would hear Yoda telling his young padawan in Star Wars.

Something about its Yoda-esque nature told me that presence knew far more about 'me' than I knew myself.

The Question:

"Will you let the Wind fill your wings?"

What did that mean anyway? Wasn't Wind the enemy? I was starting to wish I never spoken so soon, what had I gotten myself into?

I shoved the Presence and its cryptic message to the back of my mind, blotted the water out of my eyes.

I stood in front of the mirror examining the bandages wrapped around my torso, tentatively figuring the line of thick gauzy pads that signed the incision where Dr. Martinez set two of the three broken ribs. My arm was in a cast too, in a sling to take pressure off my shoulder, which was also dislocated. If I remember right, Fang had plowed into my side, instantly snapping my arm, dislocating the shoulder joint and shattering two ribs, the third rib snapped when he threw me against the opposite wall of the alley.

Max told me later that Fang was pulling out of a full speed dive when he bulldozed me over, at speeds upward of 200 mph

I was beaten up pretty badly. I didn't blame Fang though; it was my own fault that the Flock was put on the defensive.

Had I not heard the infinitesimal sigh come from the other side of the door, I would have opened it and run smack into her.

Max was leaning against the doorframe, her eyes shut methodically as if in pensive thought. I would have thought her sleepwalking had her eye not snapped open when the door creaked.

"If I didn't know better I'd say only girls take that long in the bathroom."

When I didn't answer, her face softened.

"Something's bothering you."

"Just the pain, I haven't hurt like this since the days at the School." Which was the truth since my memory had taken me to experience every syringe, every electrical shock, and foodless, sleepless night in a dark, damp dog crate.

She eyed me a moment longer, most likely not believing me for a second, but she just pushed passed me and shut the door to the bathroom.

Rounding the hallway corner, I caught myself before letting out a small squeak. Angel was standing there, arms folded across her chest, raptor-like eyes scouring me, as if seeing through my soul.

"Suspicion runs rampant through this Flock. If you want our trust it won't come easily."

I stared at her warily before answering, "I didn't expect as much."

"And you shouldn't, but know that if anything should be known about you, it will come through me first. I'll be watching you closely."

With that she turned and disappeared through the dark bedroom door.

"Don't worry about her, she gets off on making other people paranoid," Max said passing from behind me.

"You'll have a chance to prove yourself soon enough, just make sure when you do its something…epic." She gave me a sly smile.

"If its any consolation, I'll give you some leeway since I took you out yesterday." Fang said, emerging from the darkness, the dim light of the hallway highlighting his fierce.

"Jeez, is everybody up?" Max wondered aloud, turning toward him.

"Yes" came several voices from the two different rooms.

"ugh," She sighed, "alright, everyone, come on, spontaneous Flock meeting."

There was a scramble of hushed footsteps as everyone piled into the boys' room. Max walked and stood at the window searching for signs in the night that something, anything could be wrong. The moonlight cast a long shadow down the room, throwing the rest of us into darkness. I let myself down on the bed easily, mindful of my broken condition. Angel stood leaning against the adjacent wall, casting me dubious glances every other minute. She was the only one of the Flock that completely terrified me.

"Our new… addition," she said motioning at me "has come at a surprise to all of us. And ever since declining the offer to attend the Lerner School, I've been thinking." She cleared her throat, the Flock all-listening intently.

"We have never really socialized with out-of-Flock people, mostly to keep ourselves alive, but I think this is an opportunity," she looked at me, then back to the Flock, "Carter has had different experiences than all of us, and I think he will offer a different perspective on our situation, which will be good for us all, think of it as a horizon-broadening opportunity."

"That is why I have decided to put it to a vote; all in favor of making Carter a probationary Flock member, until he has had a chance to prove to us that he fights the good fight." She finished.

Everyone nodded their approval.

"And I wouldn't dare barge in on this little pow-wow, would I?" Total said, trotting into the dark room, Akila following behind him.

"Of course not Total, how could we discount your vote." Max rolled her eyes.

"Apology accepted," he answered sincerely, "Just let me say that they'll let anyone into the Flock these days, but if we're all for broadening our horizons, Carter is the one to do it."

I became fairly self-conscious with that and aware that almost everyone, save Angel, was staring at me. I felt me cheeks flush.

"I have a question, I have a question!" Gazzy said standing.

Max looked at him, "Well, I didn't mean for this to turn into 'Story Time with Carter', but if he's feeling up to it…" She trailed off, looking at me.

"Yeah sure, anything you want to know." I got the hint.

"Why are your wings red? Why were you grafted with 3% avian DNA? Do you have any special abilities? Can you like, talk to birds? How did you escape the School…?" Gazzy asked rapid fire.

Max must have seen the bewildered look on my face because she stopped him, "Gazzy! Please, its 4:00 in the morning, one question at a time!"

"Oh, ok sorry," he apologized and shyly sat back down.

I cleared my throat. I was not good at the whole public speaking bit, especially with the whole Flock staring me down, including Angel this time.

"Let's see, my wings are red because I was actually grafted with two different avian genome sequences. One percent C. Cardinalis and two percent Diomedea exulans..."

"The Common cardinal, and the Wandering Albatross." Angel clarified.

A nodded my gratitude, "From my file I learned that the goal was to combine the agility of a small bird to the power of the largest one."

"Where's the file now?" Iggy asked.

"Gone, destroyed, I was hiding out in an abandoned building up in Seattle, trying to lay low, when someone set the place on fire, burning the file and most everything I owned, to ash. I narrowly escaped myself.

"I don't have any special abilities that I know of, but if I have learned anything in my 16 years of life, it is that the most powerful abilites are those of an intelligent mind, and a convicted heart."

"Bravo!" Total exclaimed, "exactly the kind of horizon-broadening we need!"

I smiled, looking down, and continued. "The hardest part of my journey so far has been finding closure. What I know is that the School was merely a facade for a much larger project. Itex, the Uber-Director, the Institution for Higher Living, all just pawns in a game run by a group known as 'The Administration'."

"Wait, what?" Max said, "'The Administration?' How come we are just hearing of this?"

"Because we all play in their game. Its their world, and their rules. They operate by keeping each of their factions separate, idependent of one another. If their is no organization among the ranks, their can be no dissent, no dissent means stronger consolidation of power. They work through mediator corporations and organizations so that there is no paper trail. Their infrastructure is hierarchical, one company controls five others below it, and those five oversee five more."

"Are you telling us that after all these years we have just scratched the surface?" Fang asked, genuine concern crossing his face.

"Not even, you guys, the 'Notorious Flock' are at centerstage of a puppet show; you are being played by master puppeteers. By my investigation, I have narrowed down a teir 3 company that controls a central portion of The Administration's infrastructure. The company is called Novacore."

"Novacore." Nudge said to herself, "Sounds like a giant Chemical Corporation to me."

"In a way, it is, however, this is hardly the time to be breifing you guys on another mission, you have your own to fulfill."

"The whole 'Flock against Global Warming' is not nearly as important as what you just described." Max said sternly, "How do you fit into all of this?"

"When I escaped, I escaped with two others, one was a guy my age, his name was Ratchet, he said that he was part of what the whitecoats called "Generation 77" and that they would bring about a New Advent of Humanity. I didn't believe him at first, until I stole my file, and found that I was part of an experimental test group known as 'Seventh Column' which was defined as the 'precursor study to perfect all techiniques, in preparation for G-77' which assumed refered to Generation 77; what I was a lead-up for."

Max had her head in her hands, rubbing her temples. "I absolutley hate when we think we have it mostly figured out, only for someone to come a tell us we aren't even close."

Fang stood up, "How do we know you aren't making this up, or covering for the real bad guys? How do we know you're not one of them?"

Honestly I had no idea how I knew this myself, It was all in the new memory that flooded my persona in the alley yesterday. This new person that I was becoming was more and more mysterious to me with every passing moment. The Presence was wrong, the question was not 'Will you let the Wind fill your wings" The Question is 'Do you know who you are, what team you play on, and what you truly stand for?'

I was horrified because I couldn't answer any of these.

"He's not the bad guy, trust me I've read him like a book," Angel cut in, "I don't know about this 'Administration' but what I do know is that our misson has changed."

The whole Flock was silent.

"And there was one more thing," I said, my eyes growing wide, "all of this, what you guys knew, or thought you knew, is all coming to an end." I said, thoughts suddenly racing through my head, pulse climbing, heart beating in my ears. I rose to my feet

"I can't believe you guys overlooked such an important detail!"

My mind was becoming fuzzy, I hardly understood the words falling from my lips, but they had to know. Blackness was creeping up from all sides of my vision, I looked but could no longer focus on my hands or feet. I looked back up at the Flock but they were unresponsive. Max's face, fading into oblivion, her eyes troubled and questioning, A furrow creased her brow, realizing what was about to happen.

"How could you guys have missed it...?'

"how could you...

"...have missed...

...it."

I collapsed.

Blackout.

Hope you guys liked it, I'll update sooner because I have more time to write. Reviews and/or constructive criticisms are appreciated, Thanks!

Skyclaw - You wonder what 'would' happen to him or what 'will' ? Thanks for the Review, glad you liked it, I try to keep it original.

Maximum Ride is awesome89 - me too! Thats why I chose this as my plot line, craziness makes for good storytelling. Thanks!

geekyreader1234 - Sorry this chapter is really late! Hopefully it was worth it? Thanks for the review!