Capri's Note: Guys, please review so I know if everyone who reads likes the story or not. Less than five reviews for one chapter is a little discouraging. So, since I'm updating more than I should, could you please at least review what I post?

Enjoy and thank you to those who have reviewed. I really, really appreciate it. Not my best chapter…it's been stressful week.

Thanks!

Disclaimer: I forgot this in the past chapters, so this is my disclaimer for the entire story: I own Rae, the shadows, and anything else not having to or taken from the Maximum Ride series. I don't own the flock, the school, erasers, etc.

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Chapter Five

"What?" tears spilled over and rolled down Rae's cheeks, her trembling hands in Iggy's. A few renegade tears managed to escape Iggy as he pulled her into a bone crushing hug, holding onto her for dear life. The flock had burst right into Rae's house and the first thing she heard was that they had to leave again. Fang, feeling out of place, waited out front so that he could warn them of when they needed to leave.

He knew what was going to happen and the risk he took saving Max from her attackers, but to him her safety was more important than what would happen to him. He was surprised at the amount of over protectiveness and rage he felt when he barged into the library and saw her in the clutches of that trash. He was even more surprised at the fact that she didn't kill him right then and there for showing up after for years of complete silence on his end.

He didn't expect the cold shoulder to last very long for Max. Eventually she'd break down and start pounding on him for answers and a damn good explanation. But he had none of those. He wanted to be able to tell her he had a good reason for leaving the way he did, but he couldn't because that reason didn't exist. He'd been beating himself up for the past four years for how much of an idiot he was. He was an even bigger idiot because all of the times he wanted to go back, to beg for her forgiveness, but his pride got in the way and he stayed gone.

The front door of Rae's house creaked angrily as Iggy walked outside, shoving his hands in his pockets. He leaned against the porch rail, listening to the sound of Fang's uneven, raspy breathing. His anger was defused by the sullen mood of the flock including Rae.

"What the hell are you doing here, Fang?" Iggy asked quietly, sighing as he did so.

Fang rolled his shoulders, but didn't answer.

"Or better yet," Iggy sat down on the top step. "Why did you leave?" he knew the questions would make Fang uncomfortable, so that's why he asked them.

"Were you surprised at the way Max and the rest of us reacted?" he pushed. "You honestly didn't think Max would just go crawling back into your arms, did you? After the hell you put her through four years ago?"

"I don't know why the hell I'm here," Fang answered, mostly to himself. "I don't know why the hell I left."

"Well, you can start by explaining to me who the hell those people were that tried to kill Max. That's a start."

Fang turned around and sat down on the porch next to Iggy, rubbing his hands together slowly. Sighing, he rubbed the back of his neck.

"They're Shadows," he said quietly. "They're not experiments from the School or Itex or anything we've heard of. These people make Itex and the School look like a day care. One shadow could take down 100 erasers if compelled to do so."

"What does that have to do with you?"

"More than you think," Fang mumbled quietly, but Iggy heard him.

The two sat there for a few minutes. Iggy was finding it hard to be mad at his old brother at that very moment. As much as he hated to admit it, Iggy missed Fang the past four years. He loved Max to death, but Fang was his brother, his best friend, the one he'd talk to about things that Gazzy was too young to understand. It was always nice to just sit down and have a 'guy' talk with his best friend who understood where he was coming from, even if the friend barely said a word.

On the other hand, his best friend had betrayed him. It took him months to get over the fact that he lost not only a best friend, but a brother as well.

Nobody took it harder than Max, Iggy thought automatically. He sighed and ran his hands over his face.

"What kind of car does Rae have?" Fang asked suddenly.

"An SUV, why?"

Fang thought to himself for a minute. "Do you think she'd mind if we borrowed her car?"

"What?" Iggy pulled his brow together. "What do you mean?"

"We can't all fit in my two-seater truck, Iggy," Fang rolled his eyes. "And this way she can tag along."

"Tag along?" Iggy's anger flared. "Tag along? You're suggesting that I bring along my fiancée where she could possibly die?"

"She won't be harmed," Fang assured him. "They won't harm…well…humans that haven't been genetically engineered. It's not in their nature or training. They only hunt hybrids. Hybrids with wings, to be exact, and now that we're the only ones left they've turned it into a sick game."

"Who are these people?" Iggy asked in disgust.

Fang didn't answer, just sat there with his thoughts. He wasn't ready to tell them the whole truth; not just yet. It was something he couldn't, wouldn't burden them with until the time was right. If anything, Max deserved to know before anyone else. The door behind them creaked again as Max stepped out, tears staining her passive face.

"Iggy I think you'd better go inside," she crossed her arms self consciously.

Iggy, eager to ask Rae to come along, quickly walked inside leaving Max alone with Fang; again. Max pulled her arms tighter across her chest and sat down a few feet away from Fang on the porch steps. The two sat in silence, not knowing or wanting to break the awkward silence that pulled them in.

Fang rubbed the back of his neck and winced. He glanced at his hand and sighed at the blood rolling down his fingers. He walked over to his truck, Max watching his every move, and yanked out a first aid kit. He ripped out the antiseptic, made a face, and poured it on the wound lining his lower neck. He hissed as it doused his wound and grabbed a rag to wipe away the now dry blood from his already healed wound. Max furrowed her brow, but didn't say anything. Fang tossed the rag and first aid kit back in his truck and sauntered back over to Max, stretching out his frayed wings.

"How long do you think we have?" she avoided looking at him as much as possible.

"Not long," he sighed. "If Rae's coming with us she'd better get a move on. We need to get moving within the next half an hour."

"Coming with us?" Max was taken aback. "She can't come with us! It's too dangerous for someone like her!"

"It's actually safer. These people won't hurt a regular human. It's not in their nature. The Shadows only hunt hybrids…with wings if you want to get technical about it. Since we're the last ones left, we've just made their game a lot more interesting."

"Shadows?" Max pulled her brow together.

"Not human and not inhuman either," Fang explained. "Fifty erasers wouldn't stand a chance against one of them. They're powerful and merciless. They'd kill a child if it got in their way."

"Where'd they come from?" Max was truly intrigued…and intimidated.

"Beats me," he shrugged. "All I know is that they're a fearless bunch. Nothing ever stands in their way."

"Then how come you beat six of them without any effort?"

Fang stayed silent. Rae saved the day when she walked out just when Max was about to start hounding him with questions. He excused himself to go make sure his truck was ready for the long trip ahead of them. Rae, smiling big despite her tears, sat down next to Max who was still watching Fang with a blank expression. Rae sighed in relief.

"Are you ready for this?" Max asked Rae.

"I have to be. I'd follow Iggy anywhere. I can't lose him."

"I hope you know what you're getting yourself into," Max stood and went to gather the others. "We don't even know; and that's saying something."

Max walked into Rae's house and yelled at everyone to gather in the living room while Rae went to her room to pack clothes and necessities that she would need. It didn't take her long, what with Iggy and Max's help, and soon the flock plus Rae were sitting in the living room, moods and spirits low.

Max took a deep breath. "As you guys know, Rae is tagging along with us on this little adventure. Before you say anything, Fang knows for a fact that she'll be unharmed. These people don't harm…well…people like her. It's us they're after and only us. I don't know where we're going or exactly who we're running from. I know it's been a long day and our days will just get longer from here. You're all confused and I know you guys have a butt load of unanswered questions, especially you, Nudge. We don't have time for those questions right now. Right now, the only thing I'm concerned about is your safety, okay? We're taking two cars. I'll drive Rae's car and follow behind Fang—"

"Wrong," Fang jogged inside, sweating and looking a little nervous. "Max you have to ride with me. Rae and the others follow in the car behind. Rae will have to drive."

Rae nodded and gripped her bag even tighter. They all sat there for a minute, soaking in the fact that they were leaving behind the lives that they'd been building for the past four years. Max studied Fang's facial expression so closely that she nearly jumped out of her skin when she zoned back in and found him staring right back at her. Stubbornly refusing to show any facial emotion, she turned her head away like it was nothing.

"What's the plan?" she asked him after the others began to talk quietly amongst themselves. "Where do we go from here?"

"We drive northwest. Once we're out of their range, we could fly but since Rae's tagging along and we have all the bags, I think driving would just be the better thing. We'll shack up in a hotel or an inn or something until it's safe to start moving again."

"Why can't we fly again?" that part was still rusty in her mind.

"Max you have to understand that these guys are more advanced than the school ever was or ever could be. The shadows' senses are so heightened that they'd be able to find us in a matter of seconds if they picked up anything larger than an eagle that breathes in the sky. It's not worth the risk."

Rae walked back outside with the rest of the flock and put her things in the back of her SUV. Max put her arms around her flock, minus Rae and Fang who stood awkwardly watching the exchange.

"I don't know who we're running from or what's going to happen," Max said, feeling no need to lie to them and tell them that she had a plan. "But whatever happens we're a flock and we stick together, okay?"

"Where are we going?" Nudge asked, her mood depressingly quiet.

"That's what I plan to find out when we leave," she smoothed Nudge's hair back and gave her a comforting smile.

Fang watched the flock; his flock talk and eventually embrace into one big group hug. Nudge and Gazzy were crying. Iggy was silent and Angel hadn't said one word since he showed up. He felt a pang of angst as he thought that he could be in that embrace. He could be the one comforting the flock and Max in such a shocking and despairing time. He shoved his hands in his pockets and waited until they were done saying their goodbyes.

"What's the plan?" Max asked Fang weakly, refusing to meet his eyes.

"You and me in the truck," that made her stomach churn uneasily. "Rae and the others in the SUV." He turned to Rae. "Keep right on my tail. If I swerve, you swerve. If I floor it, you bet your ass you better floor it."

Rae nodded and walked with the others to the truck, growing a little nervous as she glanced back at her house.

"Go give this to Ig," Fang handed Max a walkie-talkie. "We'll have the other one so we can keep in touch. Channel six."

Max jogged over to Iggy and pressed it into his hand, turning it to channel six before she did so. "Keep this so we can keep in touch. Fang has the other one. I'll radio you guys when we get close to wherever we're going."

"Just like old times, huh?" he sighed and climbed into the SUV.

Go figure, Max thought as she hopped up into Fang's truck. She surveyed the inside while he shut the bed of the truck. It was nice. Very nice. Leather seats, black paint, XM radio, etc. She wondered how he could afford a truck like that. That thought made her even more eager to learn where he'd been the past four years. She wasn't eager for the heartache that would come on the journey to find that information.

She slid down in the seat and pulled her knees to her chest. Fang noticed the blank look on her face, not to mention tense set of her jaw and shoulders, as she stared out the window. Fang revved the engine of his truck and peeled out of the driveway. Rae followed close behind, just as she was instructed.

They drove for an hour and not one word was said between the two. Max thought about trying to cut the tension with a butter knife just for the heck of it. Fang drove with one hand on the wheel and the other resting on his knee. Every so often he'd switch hands and rest his elbow on the door, then go back to his previous position ten minutes later. Out of the corner of her eye, she'd notice him glance around and tighten his hand on the steering wheel, press the accelerator just a little bit harder, and then look in the rear view mirror to make sure Rae was right on his tail. His profile was older, sharper. He's grown up and different. The thought entered her mind unwelcome and unwanted. It pained her to think that he was a completely different Fang then she had…

She was distracted by the sudden clench of his jaw and the pale shade of his face. He gripped the steering wheel fiercely with both hands, the knuckles on his hand turning an unnatural shade of white. She looked around her, perhaps there was some threat she was missing. Nothing as far as she could see. She glanced down absently and saw a trail of blood trickling down his side. Then she remembered. The library. The knife. Idiot!

Same old Fang.

"Fang, pull over." She said firmly, unable to look away from the blood running down the side of his shirt and onto the driver's seat.

"It's nothing."

"You were stabbed, Fang," she reached for the walkie-talkie. His hand shot out like lightning and had her wrist in an iron vice.

"It's nothing," he repeated, staring her in the eyes as if saying 'go ahead and try it'. "It would be pointless to stop for something that doesn't need to be attended to."

"Fang you'll bleed out! You need to patch it up!"

"No, I don't," he gripped her wrist harder, but not hard enough to hurt her.

"Let go and pull over." She stared right back, refusing to back down.

They held a staring contest for a few seconds before Fang sighed and pulled over to the side of the road. Max radioed Iggy and told him that they were simply switching seats.

"I'll drive," she told Fang. "You clean that up."

He muttered something incoherently under his breath as they got out of the car and traded positions. Max revved the engine and sped back off down the road, being sure to stay close to Rae and her flock. Fang grabbed the first aid kit from his glove box and began tending to his wound, an all too familiar scowl on his face the whole time, especially when he used the antiseptic. He threw the first aid kit back where it belonged when he was finished and leaned back in the seat, failing to relax his tense muscles. He looked over and observed her behind the wheel for a few seconds.

"When did you learn to drive?" he asked, half joking, half serious.

"About a year after we got to Chicago. I went and got my license."

"Why Chicago?" he shook his head, trying to understand. "Too many people, too much smog, can't fly without being spotted. It's practically suicide."

"You really want to know why I picked Chicago?" she turned to glare at him, ice hissing off her every word.

"Please."

"Because it was the last place anybody would come looking for us. Anybody."

He knew he was included in that last 'anybody' and the guilt he'd felt and that had been building up for four years weighed just a little bit more every time he saw her hollow eyes and pale skin. He wanted to tell her, wanted her to know, that he regretted leaving her the second he saw her tears, but his pigheadedness kept his wings flapping and his tongue rolling. It wasn't the right time for his lame explanation, if at that he even had one.

"I'm sorry it happened like this," he stared straight ahead as he spoke those words. "I'm sorry you guys had to leave your life in a split second. It's not the way things were supposed to be, the way they were supposed to happen."

"And how were they supposed to happen?" she spat the words like venom. "We would just continue on pretending to be happy? Pretending that a big chunk of our messed up puzzle wasn't missing for four years? Great alternative." She was practically foaming at the mouth. "And yeah, it was hard. Unlike some people, it's hard for us to leave people or things that actually meant something to us."

The words hurt Fang more than they should have, though he didn't let it show. He just watched the road ahead, clenching his fist against his knee, trying to keep himself in one piece and not pass out. Max didn't speak another word to him for the next two hours until she got too tired to stay awake.

"Fang," she yawned from the driver's seat.

"Pull over."

She did as she was told and pulled over to the side of the road. She didn't even have the strength to move herself across the seat, she was so tired. Fang effortlessly lifted her across his lap and set her down in the passenger's seat where she slept for the next few hours.

He found it hard not to look at her as she slept; so fragile and small looking. She was curled up against the door at an odd angle, and his stomach lurched when he saw the outline of her ribs sticking out through her black shirt. He couldn't even see an outline of her wings, as if they'd disappeared into their back. Her face looked and pained, even in sleep. Her pale features and the purple bruising under her eyes gave away the fact that she was far from being as healthy as she should be, even for an avian hybrid. He couldn't help it: it was his fault she was like that; unhealthy and obviously unhappy and lost. He focused his attention back on the darkening road.

You were an idiot, he silently cursed himself. You are an idiot.