Ouch.

And that was a very drastic understatement.

I woke up with a splitting headache, feeling a little dizzy; my arms felt like they were going to fall off, and my wings? Were they even still there? They felt numb. I was weak, didn't know where my flock was or how long I'd been hanging from this wall and— you guessed it—extremely ticked off. I focused on keeping my breathing normal, opening my eyes for the first time in what felt like decades. Okay, time to see what I could do about this.

I lifted my head and glanced around, checking out my prison. The cell wasn't very big, and it consisted of this wall and a big slate of glass that blocked me from the outside world. I looked, couldn't see a door, but if I squinted I thought I might be able to make out faint lines. A small blinking green light told me that they had a camera set up and a bunch of scientists were probably gathered around a TV watching my every move—or lack thereof.

I looked over my shoulder and had to grind my teeth so that I didn't wince—my arms were wrenched up behind me in a crude way; no wonder they felt like they were practically being ripped off! I growled—someone was going to take a serious Max-butt-kicking. I was relieved to see the little tufts of my brown feathers peeking at me, because it really didn't seem like my wings were even there.

I sighed. Alright: iron chains, numb wings, doll arms, and I couldn't touch the ground…I'd been in worse situations. The isolation tank quickly sprang to mind and I suppressed a shiver. How was I going to get out of this…and where was my flock?

A sharp stab of pain went through my chest.

Fang.

Cold sweat started up on my forehead as I remembered the hazy vision I'd had before I'd conked out like a wuss. Had that really been Fang? Or was the School making more clones, like Max II. Had that been Fang II? It had to have been. But even as I went over those scenarios in my mind I couldn't shake the feeling that that had really been him.

Now I had to deal with getting out of here myself, finding my flock and getting them out, and finding Fang, who hopefully hadn't gone evil, and getting him out. The School was so getting a taste of Gazzy and Iggy's bombs.

I wiggled a little bit on the chains and sucked in breath as the back of my head throbbed. I felt my throat close up and I quickly looked up at the ceiling and breathed deeply, fighting back the tears. Fang had done this to me? I couldn't grasp that. The time we'd shared together on the roof of that little cabin seemed to have happened centuries ago. I looked down at my feet, dangling uselessly about an inch above the ground. What had the School done to Fang that would make him turn against me like that? He'd said he loved me…could he have? How could he love me, but be turned against me so easily? It didn't make sense.

I closed my eyes fiercely and felt like screaming as loudly as I could. Had I been stupid? Of course I'd been—this is why I didn't do mushy things like fall in love. I should've known it would end badly. But this…this was beyond my imagination. I needed to tuck away my feelings about Fang for now and focus on getting his possibly-betraying-butt and the rest of the flock out of here. I was a big girl, we'd been through worse; I could handle this. I sucked in a breath and looked through the glass with a new sense of determination.

I used my raptor vision to examine the glass again, more thoroughly this time. The dizziness had worn off, but my head still throbbed. I ignored it, clenching my teeth together as I raked my gaze over the glass that caged me in here. It seemed to be a few inches thick, probably bullet-proof if I knew my good buddies the mad scientists. Now that I was concentrating on it, I could definitely make out the vague outline of the door. It was practically invisible, but with my raptor vision I could see the thin white lines that shaped the door. I didn't see a handle, though, and wondered how to open it. Judging on the thickness of the glass, I doubted that a good kick was all it would take.

I spotted a small slot in the glass, probably to feed me through, and focused on that for a while. I went over plans in my head, wondering if I got a good hold on someone's hand if I could get someone else to open the door. That could be a good escape route. Then I'd just have to find the rest of my flock—my entire flock. I could beat-out any badness the scientists might've implanted in Fang.

As I tried to move my arms a little, I suddenly became aware of the fact that even if someone did stick their hand through the slot to give me food, I wouldn't be able to reach their hand from the wall. They would have to release me to even reach a tray. Good, then. Once they let me off of the wall, I was not going to be hooked back up to it.

Plan in mind, now I began to relax a little bit and listen for any kind of footsteps. Almost as if they knew I'd be listening, I heard two pairs of footsteps coming down my hallway. I was happy for the noise—it was eerily quiet in this part of the School. I felt myself tense, knowing that the only thing I'd be able to do to anyone who came into my cell was kick at them and hope I hit. I scowled; being chained up was very inconvenient. I made a mental note to avoid this kind of thing in the future.

"Are you sure she's awake now?" My eyes narrowed as I recognized the cold voice of Ethan.

"Yes, we've been watching the security camera like hawks." I felt my heart stutter—I recognized this voice too…all too well.

Ethan rounded the corner first, squinting through the glass as though I was a prize bug and he'd won. Then I saw her—rather, me—come up and stand beside him. My first thought was that it was Max II, that it had to be her. I looked her over, seeing myself as clearly as though I were looking in a mirror, whenever I did that anyway. She smiled coldly at me, seeming to read my mind. Maybe she could.

"I'm not Max II," she said calmly, swishing her short blonde hair over her shoulder the way I always did. I felt myself glare at her. "I'm another Max proto-type—a successful one; the perfect one" she sneered.

"Oh, really? You're sure? Because, I have to say, I hate you're hair. It's a little off on one side." Fake-Max's eyes lit in alarm as she tried to casually sweep her hair up into a ponytail. My own hair, so like hers, was so matted with blood that I wondered if I'd even be able to braid it ever again. Other than the totally nonchalant ponytail, Fake-Max didn't respond to my jibe. I was about to say another snide remark from my endless supply when my stomach betrayed me—it growled. How long had it been since I'd eaten, anyway?

Ethan smirked. "Hungry?" he asked me, raising one of his eyebrows. His dark eyes studied me carefully, and he took a step towards me. I stayed strong as he reached a hand out a dragged a finger down the length of my cheek. He smiled and then stepped back. He looked at Fake-Max, "Would you get her something to hold her for the next hour or so? Nothing big—she won't be around long enough to enjoy it anyway." I felt a slow shiver of fear creep down my spine but I kept that to myself.

"Please and thank you," I said with fake politeness. I batted my eyelashes at Fake-Max and gave her a smile that I'm sure could've given the sun a run for its money. She eyed me suspiciously before turning to leave the room. I hated accepting food from these people, but I needed some form of strength. I'd been watching carefully when Ethan and Fake-Max came into the room, and I noticed that the door did have a handle, but it only came out when their hands moved over a certain pressure point that read Ethan's palm. Crap.

Ethan was studying me curiously as I reassessed my situation. It gave me the creeps. "Take a picture; it'll last longer," I told him, trying to get past the eerie way light seemed to avoid his eyes. Ethan smiled.

"Don't worry; we already have plenty of your x-rays, so even after we've destroyed you, you and your flock will still benefit this institute." I felt the blood rush from my face, and Ethan laughed quietly. "What? You're surprised; but Maximum Ride is never taken by surprise, am I correct?" I quickly swallowed and straightened up as much as I could.

"Look, I don't know what you're planning for me, but you should know this; I always win. And I cannot wait to kick that stupid smile right off your face," I growled. Ethan's normal composure shifted a bit, and so quickly that I missed it he'd stepped towards me and backhanded me. I let out an embarrassing oompf noise as my head violently snapped to the left. I felt blood in my mouth, and, always the little rebel, spit it out directly on his shirt. I couldn't help feeling just a little bit victorious, but as I brought my brown eyes up to meet his black ones, the shudder of fear that had rushed down my back before returned. He looked appalled, enraged, and, if I may say, totally and completely insane.

Now, if you've been keeping up with my adventures with the flock, then you know full well that having an appalled, enraged, insane scientist out to kill you is not the best thing in the world to have happen to you. But as I watched the last of Ethan's composure drip off completely, I saw the full amount of the real cruelty and evil that his self-control had masked some. It was terrifying, and I don't scare too easy.

Just then, Fake-Max walked into the room with some warm bread and a tin cup; the smell of the bread made my mouth water and my stomach rumble, but I refused to look away from Ethan first. He looked at Fake-Max, who actually took a step back.

"None for it," he hissed at her, and he turned back to me. Fake-Max stepped out into the hallway and beckoned something over—an Eraser. "Take her now," Ethan said flatly.

The last thing I saw before I was bound, gagged, and bagged, was the complete hatred of me in Ethan's eyes. The Eraser shoved my body into the bag and bashed the back of my head, where Fang had hit it with…actually I hadn't seen what he'd hit me with. I winced and looked up at my captors.

Okay; so I was in a little more trouble than I'd estimated.

There's chapter 10! Thank you to everyone who's reviewed my story up to this point! I appreciate each and every review that I get! I hope you enjoyed; review this chapter please and thank you!

Falling Rose Petals