Chapter 2:

Numair stared in horror at the six children. Their wings were singed and there were metal bands around their necks, cutting off their air supply. A taller child, with dark hair and equally dark eyes, glared at him, mouth pressed into a thin line as he edged closer.

"Get us out of here. Please," he bit out.

There was a loud boom, and Akio's frantic calls came through the silence after: "Get out! It's malfunctioning! This place is going down, now!"

He could no longer hear Sam fighting outside, and tried to pry off the lock, pulling with all his might. "The keys," he hissed. "Where are the keys?" He lifted his head, holding a part of the hood not covering his face to his mouth. The smoke was starting to get thicker.

"In the lab, somewhere," cried a frantic girl with caramel skin. "Just, please. Get us out of here!"

Numair nodded and got to his feet, making no sound as he moved across the rubble. Suddenly, another blast sent him scrambling back, soot covering his face and hands. He caught sight of the fallen guard, and a gleaming set of silver rings hooked into his pocket. He grabbed them and went back for the children, fingering the keys nervously. He tried one, but it didn't work. Fire was licking at the walls, and he knew he would have to get out soon.

"Behind you!" screeched the girl with brown hair.

Numair jerked backwards, the keys dropping to the ground, as a hand grabbed the back of his cloak. He landed on his back, staring up at a very angry-looking Sam. Her face was covered in soot, and the fire danced wickedly in her eyes; like an avenging angel of hell.

"Again, Numair! I'm pulling your ass out of trouble again!" she growled, eyes flicking back and forth, alert for danger. "Get out of here!"

He looked to the cage. "But-"

"Get out of here, Numair," she snarled, turning to the cage. "We can't survive without you."

She looked at the floor, trying to find the keys that had skated underneath the crate. The children looked fearful. "Now, Numair!" she roared as she stood.

He growled, but nodded his head, brushing past Jaxon and grabbing Kihaku, who had a firm hold on the twins. "We're getting out of here!"

"Jaxon," called Sam. "Give me your gun."

Sam slipped her pistol into its holster and caught the other girls M4 as it sailed through the air towards her. "Don't be frightened," commanded Sam as she brought the gun up, then slammed the butt of it against the lock. For a few tries, it held, before shattering under the force.

She flung wide the door, passing the weapon back to Jaxon. "Can you walk?" she growled to the six kids as they scrambled from the cage. There was the sound of creaking wood, and they all dove out of the way just as a flaming beam fell on top of them. Sam grunted with pain as her pistol went skittering away, back towards the flames and under the pile of burning debris.

"Get them out of here!" she screamed at Jaxon.

"What about you?"

Sam motioned towards her gun. "I've got to get her!"

Without another word, Sam dove for the debris, dancing over the debris until she reached the gleaming silver death instrument. Jaxon rolled her eyes and led the others away, weapon at the ready. A hole had formed in the corridor wall, and she shoved them through it, out into the smoky sunshine.

They were coughing horribly, retching to be rid of the smoke in their lungs. Max picked up Gazzy, Fang grabbing Angel, and they unfurled their wings.

"You won't get far with that damage," choked out Sam as she hobbled from the wreckage. "Get deeper into the woods."

Max glared at her saviors, holding tighter to Gazzy and wings stiffening as she prepared to take off. "Says who?"

Sam snarled. "Says me. Unless you want to be a toasty piece of barbeque, I'd do as I say in, oh, about five seconds."

There was a high pitched screech and Max stared in horror as the building seemed to shrink before beginning to bulge outward once more. "Guys…move. Move now!"

They hit the trees, diving for cover, just as the building blew outwards, debris striking the trees and ground like shrapnel from a grenade. Sam laughed, her voice cheerful. "Well, that was most definitely interesting. Don't you think Numair?"

There was a rustle above them, and the Flock was on their feet in an instant. Numair dropped down, violet eyes easy-going and ears pricked towards the newcomers. "Absolutely."

Jaxon grinned and followed her two companions as they began to walk away. When the flock did not follow, she turned. "Are you coming, or not?"

Sam scoffed, "Let them stay, if they want."

Numair, the obvious leader, turned. "Come, Sam. You can't be that cruel?"

She growled something and began walking once more, dark cloak swirling around her ankles and hood hiding her features. "We don't need them…but if they want some food, shelter and rest, they should probably come," she faced them, eyes blazing. "don't you think?"

The flock looked uneasy to be so helpless, but until their wings were healed and the bands were off their necks, they were. Max nodded and said something in gibberish before walking, with Gazzy in her arms, behind Numair.

"Who are you?" she demanded. "Why did you save us?" Her gaze turned gentle as it fixated on Gazzy as he coughed.

Numair didn't turn back. "Later. Jax," he called. "Walk alongside the blind one, will you? It's going to get pretty narrow, and we don't want him bumping into anything."

"I can-" began the strawberry-blonde boy, but the olive-skinned boy touched his hand. "Oh, whatever. Fine."

Jaxon nodded and fell behind rapidly, walking alongside the tall boy. She hardly reached his shoulders. "Hello," she said. The boy blinked in surprise. "I'm Jaxon. What's your name?"

He looked startled for a moment, before his face shut down on her. "Iggy."

She blinked. "Oh, well," she mumbled. "that's a cool name, too." She looked at his wings, which were still slightly un-tucked to cool them. "You have nice wings. What kind are they?"

"I," was she asking him what he was mixed with? "um, I don't know." His long, delicate fingers trailed across the bark of a tree, one of the many close-growing ones that formed a sort of ring around Numair's chosen camp.

Jaxon blinked again. "Oh. That's cool. You remind me of a Kestrel," he voice lowered to a conspirators whisper. "And that girl, with the brown hair? Hers looks like a hawks, but your are prettier. And the boy, with the dark hair, well, he kind of reminds me of a crow."

Iggy laughed aloud, and Max spun on her heel to see his head bent close to the girls, a grin spread wide across his face. She couldn't feel hatred towards these people, she realized, when they made her family feel so happy.

When they finally passed the last of the claustrophobic trees, Max saw a small fire going, with something yummy-looking roasting on a spit above it. A girl was sitting there, her hood thrown back to reveal startling reddish hair and a pair of animal ears at the top of her head. She turned, and she was taken aback by her wide sky-blue eyes, full of welcome and motherly love. She smiled, flashing a pair of small fangs and the girl, who was obviously older than Max, waved at them, motioning to the spots around the fire.

"Come sit down. We just started roasting the rabbit, so it'll be a while," he gaze shot to the boughs of an oak and she muttered something to herself that made Angel-mind-reading Angel-giggle. "Akio, Eddie, get down from there. You'll drop branches on everyone's heads!"

Two boys, both with black hair and looking almost like twins, dropped down, dangling from a lower branch. "Hi there!" they chimed as they hit the ground and whisked to Kihaku's side. "Can't we go play, Kihaku?"

She puffed out some air and looked to Numair, who had positioned himself at her side. "What do you think? Are those dogs gone?"

Max was baffled. Dogs? Shouldn't they be more worried about the men tromping around?

Numair nodded. "From what I know. If not, they can scramble at first sign."

"Oh, they're gone," muttered Sam, still cloaked like Jaxon and Numair. "That explosion took care of the last of them." Jaxon sat beside Iggy and Sam fixed her with a menacing look. "Have a new friend, Jax?"

Iggy blushed and turned away from Jaxon. She scowled. "Yes, thanks. Get your gun, Sam?"

Max was zoned in on the conversation completely, identifying each of her could-be opponents. Sam raised her chin, flashing pale skin, and Max couldn't help but think of how much she reminded her of…death. Death with a pretty face.

Sam patted her holster beneath the cloak. "Yep, got them both right here."

Fang cleared his throat. "Who are you?"

Numair chuckled and the twins stopped their bickering as they decided where to play. Sam and Jaxon snapped to attention. "My name is Numair, and this is my group," he lifted his hood, revealing dark black hair and ears and violet eyes. "We're mutants, just like you."

Beside Jaxon, Iggy went stiff, and she sighed as she rose to her feet to step to Sam's side. "My name is Jaxon," she announced. "I'm sixty percent human, forty percent ocelot." Max looked on in wonder at the girl's reddish-orange hair and icy eyes. "That's Kihaku. Our 'mother,' so-to-speak. I'm more of the voice of reason, I suppose." Kihaku bowed her head and poked the fire.

"The twins are raccoons," Numair filled in. The two boys had vanished into the woods quietly. "They're twelve. Jaxon is thirteen-"

"-fourteen, thanks. My birthday was last week," her words were clipped, but her eyes shining with humor.

"Sorry, Jax," Numair allowed. "Kihaku is nineteen, and I am twenty. As is Sam, if she so decides to admit."

Sam growled, arms crossed over her chest and hooded face turned away. "Sure."

Max nodded and turned suspicious eyes on Sam. "Why won't you take off that hood of yours? Do you have something to hide?"

Sam snarled and moved away from the tree. Jaxon caught her arms, all traces of humor gone form her eyes. "I haven't got anything to hide from the likes of you! You're mutant freaks, just like the rest of us, so don't go and act all high and mighty with me."

Max was on her feet in an instant, Fang at her side. "I do not act high and mighty with you, you're just a sad excuse of a mutant, if you ask me!"

Sam roared with outrage and Max took a step back, the sound triggering memories of Erasers. "Who do you think you are?" snarled Sam. "I saved your little group from being burned to death, so shouldn't I be getting a hero's thanks instead of a traitors welcome?"

"Sam, back off. Come one," cooed Jaxon. Sam shook her head and spun on her heel. Tromping to the other end of the fire, away from Max and her gang.

She spun on her heel. "And I didn't want to frighten you, that's why!" her voice became softer. "Most have a problem with wolf hybrids…"

The flocks eyes grew wide. "Wolf…?"

With a feral grin, Sam threw back her hood, revealing a soot-streaked, tan face with odd-colored eyes. Her hair was white in the sunlight and two wolf ears were fixated on the winged children. Her canines were longer than the others and her claws were digging into her palms. "Yes. Wolf. I'm a wolf hybrid. One of the few successful, might I add." She looked away. "People tend to think that I'm bloodthirsty. I didn't want to frighten you."

She waved at her group of friends. "We were created by the scientists to be weapons. Trained to be assassins…and now we're on the run for blowing up our laboratory. Just like you are. I'm sure you think that being a normal, run-of-the-mill mutant is hard, but try to live like us. It would tear a lesser man's soul apart."

The blonde girl jumped to her feet. "But, we aren't everyday mutants!" she protested.

Sam laughed. "Really?"

Angel shook her head. "We've got special powers! Iggy can feel colors; Fang can become invisible; Max can fly really fast!"

Numair looked interested, leaning forward with Kihaku touching his shoulder. "Interesting. Can you tell us more?"

Max shook her head. "No. That's enough. We don't want to know about you, you don't need to know about us."

"But, Max!" exclaimed Angel. "You're supposed to save the world!"

Sam shook her head and gave a soothing smile towards the girl. "That may be," she whispered. "but we were meant to destroy it."

Jaxon licked her lips and tossed another bone towards the forest. Across from her sat Iggy, who was chatting quietly with the blonde boy named Gazzy. At first, things with Sam had seemed to ruin the happy mood, but then peace had settled when Eddie and Akio had learned that the two boys-Gazzy and Iggy-were bomb makers, and they had launched into deep conversation with Max and Kihaku warning them about blowing up the camp and what they'd do if they caught them with any pocket-sized grenades.

Fang and Numair seemed to get along well, and Max and Angel had latched onto Kihaku, it seemed, for motherly love. Nudge and Jaxon were almost inseparable, being just like twins in mindset. Nudge was a jabberer, a fashion diva; Jaxon was quiet as a mouse, and just cared about getting into a clean set of jeans…yet they both agreed that the world would be on its knees without, of all things, shoes. Flats, sandals, boots, heels…every kind of shoe imaginable. To their brains, shoes were a necessity. Jaxon would kill, quite literally, for a pair of stilettos, and Nudge heartily agreed.

Sam sat alone, ignoring the scathing looks that Max and Fang, the dark haired boy, would flash her from the corners of their eyes. She poked the fire with a stick and glared at the forest, her left eye, her green eye, hidden by her bangs. Jaxon yawned halfway through the night, and Kihaku took immediate notice.

"Okay, you all," she called. "let's get some rest, shall we?" Numair smiled at her and she blushed delicately. Sam mentally growled at them.

"But, Max-" Gazzy began to whine, but the brown-haired girl cut him off with a stern look.

"Sam, could you take the first watch?" Numair called. "Or should Eddie?"

Sam grunted and rose to her feet, leaping into a tree. Only her leg was visible, the denim-clad limb hanging down from her perch. Numair bit back a snarl and Kihaku yawned, Jaxon and the twins moving closer. The flock were stacking fists and Max said something too low for them to hear before they settled down for the night, arranging themselves in an organized circle. Angel and Gazzy slept in the middle, and the four others encircled them, Max sitting straight up as the rest closed their eyes. Numair looked at her strangely.

"Old habits die hard, I suppose," she shrugged. "I'll stay up with Sam. Extra precaution."

In the tree, Sam snapped her teeth together. "We don't need any more than me. I'm worth a dozen of you flea-bitten bags of fluff." In the firelight, her eyes sparked almost with a deadly light, blazing at her in warning.

Max bit back a retort and smiled. "Well, I'll keep you on your toes at least. You won't dare fall asleep now."

Sam's eyes narrowed to slits. "I wouldn't dare fall asleep. I'm the only thing, right now, between a peaceful-" at this she snorted "-dream and mass chaos. Don't underestimate me."

Max's eyebrow rose. "Mass chaos, hmm? Well, that's a new one."

For a moment, Numair sat on edge, thinking his friend would attack, and was shocked when Sam's laughter rang out instead. Kihaku and Jaxon sat up immediately, reveling at the fact. The twins were already sound asleep.

"Just…go to sleep," Sam said softly when she was finished laughing. "I've got an eye on things."

Max rose to her feet, signaling to the others to stay there. When she reached the tree, her wings spread wide, the singed tips ugly looking and charred black. She grimaced at the pain as she tried to lift herself to Sam's side. When she couldn't, she cursed her weakness and jumped, grabbing a hold of the lowest branch and hauling herself up.

"I hate being useless and helpless," she muttered when she was finally able to find a nice spot on the branch. "I absolutely hate it." Sam chuckled at this and pulled out her pistol, rubbing her shirt on it to clean any smudges off of it. Max stared at it in awe.

"You guys seem to have an arsenal of your own," she commented. "What, are you planning for; World War three to break out?"

Sam looked gently down at her weapon. "I suppose you can say that." She slipped it back into its holster and slid her two swords, both of which were strapped to her back, from their sheaths, driving their tips into a branch higher up. They stuck, and she left them there as easy-access weapons in case of an emergency.

Max fiddled with a feather that had come loose. It was one of her singed ones. "I suppose we got off on the wrong foot," she mumbled. "I'm Maximum Ride. Flock leader. And you're Sam, the muscle of your little group…from what I can tell."

She shrugged. "I suppose," her eyes took in the full moon as she turned her face to the sky and breathed deep, eyelids sliding shut.

Max watched for a moment, intrigued by the wolf woman. She was…just like her: bossy, smart-mouthed, independent, and strong-willed. Yet, so totally different. Sam didn't seem to have a care in the world, except for keeping her family safe; meanwhile Max had to worry about food and shelter and whether her flock was happy or not. There was strength in Sam, most certainly, but pain was hidden behind that mask of anger. She supposed that she was lucky; nothing in her life could have been so hard as what they did for a living.

Assassins. The word range out in her memory like a cold steel blade, manifesting distrust and anger where it sliced. How could she distrust those who'd saved her, though? Those that were like her, only stronger and harder than she?

"What kinds of weapons do you use?"

Max jolted from her reverie at the sound of Sam's voice. "What? Weapons? Oh, no. I mean, Gazzy and Iggy like to build bombs, but most of the time we're just bare-handed fighters. I wouldn't…trust myself, or any of the flock really, with a weapon. We occasionally get a hold of a crowbar or pipe or something…but we don't use guns ever. Ever."

Sam raised her eyebrow. "Oh?" she shrugged a moment later. "Ah, well. I guess it's all for the better. You could end up like me, otherwise."

It was Max's turn to raise her eyebrow. "What do you mean by that? It wouldn't be so bad to be more like you."

«Be careful of flattery, Max.»

"I'm bloodthirsty," Sam murmured. "remember?"

«And beware what you say. The trees have ears…»

«Well, hello Voice. How have things been in the back of my brain?»Sam noticed the girl was suddenly withdrawn, sucked into the recesses of her mind. She growled low and slid from the branch to the ground.

"Hey," Max called. "Where are you going?"

Sam motioned to the other end of the camp. "If a sniper wanted us dead," her lip raised to reveal one sharp canine. "we'd be sitting ducks. We'd drop like stones."

Max sat back and fluffed up her wings before tucking them back in tight to her body. "Whatever," she muttered.

Sam was walking away when she shot over her shoulder, "Next time you decide to chat, make sure you listen, too." Then she leaped onto a pile of rocks and sat, fiddling with the swords Max hadn't known she'd grabbed.

She glowered and turned to face the woods. Sam was closer to her flock, but Max was closer to her little 'band.' If the wolf decided to make a move against them, then she'd be able to take, at least, Eddie and Akio out with her. Maybe Kihaku, too, as repulsive as she found it.

«That's more like it, Max.» The Voice said with praise. «Learn about them; it may be in your advantage later on.»

«Can it, Voice. Max hissed back. I'm totally not in the mood right now. Please, by all means, don't try again later.»

The Voice seemed to sigh, and Max came on full alert. «Beware the enemy under the hood, Max. The band is much more experienced at fighting than the flock is, and they have the materials to back that experience up. Don't underestimate them.»