You guys like it, so I'll keep up with it. Here's chapter one! And I found the buttons! Yay! Btw, the Maximum Ride awards are up, here's the link: .net/forum/Maximum_Writing_Awards/97395/

Chapter One: The Portal

Ridley

When I woke up, the birds were chirping, sunlight shone through my window, and a little butterfly flew by, not before stopping for some nectar on the flowers on the window sill. I waved at the neighbors, and then ran downstairs for a big breakfast of bacon and eggs. My family and I hurried up and ate, we couldn't wait for school. I mean, we were popular, teachers loved us, and homework was easy. My parents greeted us with cookies at the end of each day. It was perfect.

Yeah. Yeah right.

In my horror film called a life, that kind of morning is extinct. There's no birds chirping, no butterflies. I can't keep a goldfish, never mind flowers. You never go outside, unless absolutely necessary. You especially don't wave to neighbors. The houses are kept dull colors, like gray, and the sun rarely shines happily. I have never woken up to breakfast, probably because I wake up first. Always. And school? Don't make me laugh. (No, seriously. We're not supposed too.) At school, you get your work done. End of story. Besides, my family mostly keeps to themselves. I could count on my fingers how many people talk to us. And my Parents? They're gone. But, I already told you about that, right? But for me, this kind of life works. I keep my family from getting executed, make sure no one knows our secret, and get my homework done at the end of the day. I don't need anything else.

Right, I should probably tell you about our secret. So, Jason, the twins (Shawn and Skyler), Cameron, Jamie and I, we have wings. We can fly. Our bones our hollow and we eat more than ordinary humans. But that's not all. Rachel, she has superhuman sight and hearing. It's so sensitive, she has to wear sunglasses and headphones all the time. Her brother Derek, he has super speed. And I mean super speed. Like, speed of light, you-can't-see-me speed. Marissa… she was born without wings. So, she's a normal human. Probably because her mom, Ella, doesn't have wings. But we love her anyways.

I quietly walked down the stairs so not to wake anyone, which isn't hard since my footsteps are naturally silent. I went in the bathroom that was down the hall and closed the door behind me. I turned on the shower and let the warm water wash over me for a few minutes, rolling out my shoulders and letting my wings expand a bit. My wings are a deep black color, with some of the wings underneath a tawny color. That's sort of the way my hair is, black, but underneath at the roots I have brown and blond. After a little bit, I realize I can't stay in forever, and turn off the water, leaving myself in the cold air.

After I got dressed in my usual black (although Marissa and Rachel might change that) I waltzed downstairs and crossed the living room into the kitchen. I opened the refrigerator and frowned. We needed to go to the store. As I was pouring myself a glass of ice water instead of milk like I planned, I heard a yawn and shuffling footsteps. Looking up, I saw my baby sister Cameron slowly coming in. She's twelve, the youngest of all of us, so really Cammie's like a sister to everyone. But some people think she's related to Jason instead of my brother Jamie and I. We both have black eyes and hair and olive skin tone. Cameron, however, has creamy skin, chocolate brown eyes, and brown hair with blonde streaks. But if you look closely, you can see the gold flecks in her eyes that all three of us have.

Cammie smiled sleepily at me so that I couldn't help but grin back. "Hey squirt."

"Morning," she said in her chirpy (ha, I cracked a joke) way.

"Want me to make some breakfast?" I asked.

She stared at me and stopped pouring the water she was fixing herself.

"…Yeah, um, want me to wake up Marissa and make her cook some breakfast?"

She grinned and nodded. "Yeah!" I smiled at her enthusiasm and walked upstairs to wake up Marissa. I would have Grandma and Aunt Ella do it, but the work from midnight to four in the afternoon. I certainly can't do it, so that leaves Marissa. I just hope she doesn't make me change…

-Scene Change-

Gladly, Marissa didn't make me change. She did put up quite a fight at getting up. After a few minutes and a short cat fight, she was, along with the others, up and in the kitchen. She fixed everyone breakfast professionally, and we were off to school. We would fly, but we couldn't risk being seen by the Doomsday Group. They'd try to force us to join, we'd refuse, and everything would explode. It's easier to just take a bus.

So here I was in History with Rachel, listening to Mr. Cornell drone on about how the DG's take over. Aggravated, I flipped my hair over my shoulder. Rachel's cold green eyes narrowed.

"The mark of WW3 started when Maximum Ride disappeared." He explained even though we've heard this story since third grade. "They searched for the One Light, knowing that they were about to attack. They arrived at the old headquarters twelve years ago today, never seen again."

We turned the page in the history books and saw a picture of them, all of them younger than me. Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, Angel, Star, Ratchet, Dylan, Maya, Kate, and Holden. None of them older than Jamie, who was fourteen. The supposed 'saviors' of the world. Until they disappeared twelve years ago. The all the schools were headed to the spot were they were last seen today, as some kind of reminder of the day that we refer to as Doomsday. When our only hope of winning the war that was out breaking was gone. The bell rang and we all headed to the bus. Rachel and I headed to the bus in silence. This wasn't just the day Maximum Ride disappeared, it was the day our parents vanished.

Our bus pulled away, and I made the mistake of looking through the grime covered window. I saw a younger kid fall and hold up the line to one of the buses. The teacher hauled them up and hit them across the face. I didn't have to be out there to know the child's cheekbone had cracked. He couldn't have been older than Cameron. Peeking a look at Rachel, I saw her tuck her blond hair behind her ear, her eyes were furious. She had seen it too. Then I made a decision.

I would find out what happened to Maximum Ride. I would find them, and force them to stop this, whether they wanted to or not.

-Time Skip-

Marissa, Rachel, and I hid behind a thick line of bushes and watched the group of students walk away. Slowly and quietly, we walked into the open. Rachel stood in front of us and listened.

"All clear." She announced.

Marissa skipped around here and there, searching the ground. She looked back up at me with her pale blue eyes. "What are we looking for again?"

This place was really like a dump. It was set up in a forest, but the headquarters were long since deserted. I'm pretty sure it was bombed, wreckage was strewn everywhere, and all that was left was rubble that was covered in dirt and moss. A thin layer of ash also covered the ground. I don't think anyone has been here in twelve years.

I answered Marissa's question with a shrug. "Something that looks out of place, out of date."

Then something moving in the bushes caught my eye. My head snapped to the side and I searched them cautiously. I took a few steps forward, Marissa and Rachel flanking me at either side. The moving continued and we took battle positions.

…Then Jamie, Cameron, the twins, Derek, and Jason all popped out of the bush. I held back a yell of surprise. After I recovered I gave them my death glare.

"What are you guys doing here?" My voice was sharp and demanding. "If you're caught sneaking away you'll be whipped!"

Jamie crossed his arms and met my glare with his. "So will you three. But it'll be worse, because you're older." I gritted my teeth. My baby brother was the only one who knew how to get around my authority.

I groaned. "Fine. Just stay with us and stay quiet." They nodded and started to search the area. After a few minutes of nothing but the sound of crunching leaves, Derek's voice rang out in the cold December air.

"I found something!" I shushed him as he held up some type of machine disk. Skyler, Cameron, and Jason all ran over.

"Go Derek!" Cameron praised. He grinned cockily.

Way to inflate his big head, I thought to myself. The rest of us stared to walk over to them.

"This is a dinosaur." Skyler pointed out. It did look out dated. The steel was dirty and rusted, buttons and lights covered the top of the disk.

"What do think it does?" Jason asked them. His question sparked everyone's curiosity. Derek made the mistake of pressing one of the buttons. It let out a beep and sprang to life, its lights flashing. In surprise, he dropped it.

"Nice going butterfingers!" Rachel scolded. He glared at his sister.

But something was wrong. I shared a glance with Marissa. She had seen it too. A sort of ripple where the others were standing when the disk fell. But they were oblivious. Then out of nowhere, a blue and purple spiral vortex opened up behind them.

"No!" I yelled. We all broke out in a run. They screamed and a strong wind started to suck them in. The portal shimmered. It better not close! I heard footsteps in the distance. Was it an echo? Or were we caught? I never found out. The wind lifted Rachel, Marissa, Jamie, Shawn and I off our feet and into the portal.

I was weightless, not flying, but floating. It was dark. And cold. I had my leather jacket, but it didn't do much. I wasn't sure if I couldn't hear or if there was nothing to hear. My body was numb, and my brain had shut down. I couldn't process what was going on. I saw small lights appear all around me.

Stars? I thought. Am I in space?

My thoughts were sluggish. I'm not sure how much time went by. Five minutes? Five hours? I wasn't sure. I remember after a little bit gravity kicked in, and I feel to what seemed like endless space. I could only hear my scream echoing all around. Then I blacked out.

Ta-da! Sorry it took a little bit, schools been busy. Don't forget to spread the word about the MR awards! R&R