I'm sorry for the ridiculously late update! I know I've probably lost all my readers, but a massive THANK YOU to those who are still reading this! I tried to make this chapter include lots of important stuff, and loads actually happens, and it's like 1,000 words longer than I'd normally do. Hope it's okay :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride... but Collin is all mine!

Nudge POV:

I backed away from the teenager we had up against the tree, in a daze. Was that what Collin and I looked like? Like, a boyfriend and girlfriend? I wasn't ready for all of this. I mean, me and Collin? I just couldn't picture it. I supposed it made sense though; he was the only person I had gotten close to since... The Flock. The mere thought of them made me want to burst into tears, and smash something into a million pieces. Just like my heart when they left me. But then, when I thought of Ig-Iggy, I got confused. Like, majorly confused.

A familiar noise made me turn to look at Collin, who was smashing the guy's face in. In his defence, he totally deserved it.... so what if Collin got a little protective? I watched as his (perfect) hair flopped into his (perfect) face, while he brought his (perfect) fist into the guy's face. Looking from an outsider's view, Collin was perfect in every way. But did that mean we should be, you know... together?

For that question, I simply had no answer.

'Collin...' I whispered softly, afraid if I spoke louder it would give away the cracks in my voice. He dropped the teen immediately, whirling around, and instinctively looking for danger. His eyes met mine and I jerked my head. It's time to go.

He seemed to read my expression, which I tried to keep totally neutral, and glanced back down at the creep who kissed me against my will, and then at his friends who were cowering behind a tree in fear. Stupid humans... 'Clean your friend up,' His voice was husky and in the perfect pitch to make my heart flutter. 'And, if you ever mess around with girls against their will again... I will find out.'

'So will I', I said in a dark tone, unfurling my beautiful wings for effect. 'And we will hunt you down.' One of them screamed like a little girl, while the other two scrambled backwards as I took a menacing step towards them. I snarled like an animal, and I swear they all wet their pants. Classic. Collin held out his arms, his metal hand glinting dangerously in the moonlight, and I grabbed them, lifting us up into the air. We hovered in the air for a couple of seconds, watching the teen and his friends run away screaming.

'And that's how you do that,' Collin smiled with satisfaction, looking dangerous in the moonlight. I shivered, not feeling the cold but my confused feelings, rubbing my hands up and down my arms. 'Oh, Nudge, are you cold? Sorry! Here take my jacket, its fine, really.' And, just like that, Collin shrugged out of his leather jacket and draped it over my thin shoulders... just like a proper boyfriend would. I gratefully took it, giving Collin a rare, quick smile, but the back of my mind niggled annoyingly. What about Iggy? Iggy or Collin? Collin or Iggy? I really have no idea....Why is my life always so complicated?!

'Thanks,' I decided to just go with the flow, and there was no point in letting myself get any colder, so I slipped into the warm leather and headed off in a random direction. Collin was right on my heels, and he slipped his hand into mine as we walked. I could feel his warm hand squeezing mine softly as I headed for a secluded are, away from the drunks and weirdo's. I felt light-headed, my eyes flickering oddly, but I foolishly mistook it for the fact that Collin was so close. My head pounded and I could feel every movement I made as if I was made of stone.

The night was silent, and the tree comfortable, as we settled down to sleep. I just had to ask one thing before Collin fell asleep, though. 'Collin,' he grunted in reply, half asleep. 'Why did you get so mad at that guy, when he kissed me? It wasn't that much of a big deal, and I could have handled it, you know...'

'I know, but... I mean—he shouldn't have done that, and I wanted to—I just didn't want to see you get hurt, Nudge. I really, uh, like you and I want to protect you.' He seemed to stumble over the like part and I felt my defensiveness rise and cover my embarrassment.

'So you think I can't handle myself?! Is that what you're trying to say? Because you know, better than anyone else, that I can manage perfectly well on my own,' I couldn't help it, I was exhausted but so angry I was ready to fight Collin. It felt like darkness was seeping in, into my brain, and making me act all weird and aggressive. I screamed internally, as my body started to move against my will.

Collin looked very taken aback, suddenly wide awake, and he raised his hands in defeat. 'What?! No, you don't understand, Nudge. I just was—you see...' I was advancing upon him, fire in my eyes but totally confused everywhere else. What the hell am I doing? This is Collin, stupid! But still, my body kept moving towards him, my hands curled up into lethal fists. 'Nudge, calm down. This isn't you... Im not sure what it is, but it's definatly not the Nudge I know,' His gaze was so innocent and earnest, his eyes searching mine so intently, that the fire that had been flaring up within me was snuffed out.

'I-I... sorry,' I swayed slightly, my head dazed and my mind confused. What the heck just came over me? Collin rushed over and lowered me to the ground, his cool fingers finding my hot forehead with precision. I felt faint, like everything was pressing down on me and squishing the breath out of me. 'I... can't... breathe...' I choked out as my chest closed up and the dots started to invade my vision.

'Damnit... Nudge! Nudge!' He was calling my name, but it sounded so far away, like he was at the other end of a really long tunnel. I tried to reassure him that I was fine, but all that came out were these pathetic little wheezes. Great, so now I sound like a ninety-year-old man on top of everything! 'Help! Someone help!' Collin was yelling his head off now, completely overreacting.

The tiny black dots were starting to blossom into massive black dots, clouding my vision. I shook my head wildly, with the last of my energy, trying to get rid of them, but it didn't work. I just got woozier and my eyes drooped. Maybe he wasn't being stupidly overprotective after all... for once. The sound of footsteps running made my head pound even more, and I vaguely wondered who was so concerned about two mutants on the run. Suddenly, Collin was ripped away from me, his scream echoing through my head.

I tried to jump up and fight, but I just... couldn't. I felt hands grabbing at me, as I twisted weakly, but it was all too much.

My last thought before I was lost to the darkness surprised me, even though I had been the one thinking it: I really hope I don't die this time... I want to stay and be with Collin. I think.

Fang:

We were all frozen in shock, after watching the girl slink away into the night. First Nudge, now Iggy. They were picking us off like flies. I snarled, an inhuman sound in the darkness, and swung around to face the tall tree I had been leaning against. Bam! That was the sound of my fist slamming into the bark with perfect precision, splitting the skin on my knuckles, again and again.

When I felt like my headache was about to crack my head open, I stopped, turning to look at the rest of the Flock. Max was walking around in circles, muttering different scenarios to herself, trying to find a way to escape this nightmare. Gazzy was crouched beside Angel, his small hands moving impossible fast, connecting wires to different wires, finish bombs and starting on new ones. I think his way of dealing with extreme stress is either blowing things up or making things to blow other things up. Angel was simply staring at me, her deep blue eyes filled with sadness and knowledge far beyond her years, the old bear Celeste clutched in her right hand. I hadn't know she still had that scruffy thing, and it made my heart ache to think that she only took it out in times of pain. Iggy was lying flat on the grass, twitching slightly every few minutes, his blind eyes staring up at the sky that he couldn't see.

I sank down to the ground, hating the fact that I couldn't prevent this coming disaster. My hand, streaming with blood that looked black in the night, reached into my pocket and drew out a pencil. I toyed with it for a few minutes, finally pressing it into my skin, my face emotionless as it dug into me. The pain was good. But I had a reason for this, a stupid reason, but a reason. I drew a straight line, watching the pencil's dark outline appear on me, and slowly made out the symbol of a single wing.

I went over it a couple of times, watching with detached interest as the blood welled and started to drip to the grass, to make sure that it was well and truly there. Then, I turned and punched my fist into the tree, again, and saw with satisfaction that my bloody wing symbol had been transferred onto the bark. Max came over and raised her eyebrow at me, not bothering to use words to convey her confusion.

'It's to symbolise the way, wherever we are, our past always catches up to us. A wing to show our freedom, but the blood to symbolise how our lives are always constantly in danger. A bloody wing.' My voice came out husky and low, catching the attention of the others. They came over and we had a real Flock moment, just us and the night.

We stayed like that until, of course, there was a rustle in the bushes. Max's intake of breath was enough to make me instinctively push the others behind and get into a fighting stance. Things dropped from the trees like spiders, moving too fast for me to attack, and within seconds a needle had been plunged into my arm. I roared and struggled to get away, hearing Angel's and Gazzy's shout of surprise. 'Get. Off. Me. Or. Die!' I yelled, bucking them off.

I got to the Gasman before my legs started to give way under me. I yanked the needle out of my arm, seeing Gaz's look of horror as I started to fall. I fell to my knees, my arms beginning to go numb, a quick look showing I was the only one who had been injected with the sedative/drug. So far. Within seconds I was completely immobilised, unable to move. The Gasman was holding my hand tightly, and he screamed bloody murder as the moving figures ripped him away from me.

My eyes were starting to close against my will, and I fought to stay conscious. But the drug was too strong and the last thing I saw was Max's look of fear and concern (she hid the fear well) as they forced her into a metal cage.

This was by far the worst trip to New York. Ever. I think I'm going to have to complain to the New York tourist's office... Then the world melted away in a river of gushing blackness, and I was a goner.

The Gasman:

They had us. Again. The creeps just dropped from the trees and pounced on us. Then they injected Fang with some crazy stuff and he went down like a ton of bricks. No kidding, he landed on my feet... and he's damn heavy. We were all shoved into tiny cages, Fang lifeless in the one beside me, and loaded into some big truck with huge headlights. I think I saw another two cages in the back, with a boy in one cursing fluently to himself under his breath, but I could only see shadows in the one next to him.

'Report,' Max hissed, her voice deathly quiet.

'I think I'm okay... can't feel my left arm, though,' Iggy whispered back. His arm was hanging at an odd angle, so I guess he broke it. The other replies came back, with no one really that hurt. Except for Fang, of course.

'Gaz, is Fang next to you? Is he okay?' Came Max's worried voice in the silence that followed her report. I nodded a swift yes, noticing the weird things that had captured us starting to move back to towards us. I motioned for her to be quiet so they didn't hurt her, but she didn't see me, focused on Fang. 'Gazzy! Answer me.' Our captors kicked her cage savagely, making it tumble over and roll around the truck that was bouncing around because of the stupid road. I winced as her cage went flying into one of the wall, falling down with a horrible crunch that had to hurt even Max.

But she didn't make a sound, only glaring with her eyes, which glinted in the darkness like creepy glowing stones. I shifted slightly, freezing as they turned big blank yellow eyes at me, easing a small object out of my pocket slowly. My bomb. Well, one of them. But the biggest one by far. There was still some work to be done, so I started to connect various wires in the semi-darkness, feeling a small smile creep onto my face. I love making things blow up.

Finishing the bomb took about the rest of the journey to wherever we were going, so I had something to keep me occupied. We were hauled out of the truck and placed on a transport cart that had a squeaky wheel.

I peered though the bars of my cage, feeling dread settle in the pit of my stomach as we approached tall buildings, which were in the middle of freaking nowhere. There were guards in the distance, looking half human, but there was something feral about their stances and general body language. Erasers. I gulped as I noticed a small training ring that was set apart from the buildings, a small figure running desperately from what looked like a huge wolf.

We were at the School. At least one of them. Please no...anywhere but here...

They rushed us down a load of hallways, turning the corners so fast my cage nearly tipped off. I tried to catch Max or anyone's eye, but they were all occupied with other things. As always.

I twisted around until I could see the other mystery boy that had been placed with us, and maybe the person that had been with him, but all I could see was his blondish dark crop of hair... and his lethal gaze that seemed to penetrate to my very soul. Creepy. The person that was with the boy seemed to be unconscious, slumped over, not moving. I stared at him/her for a few minutes, trying to detect some sort of breathing, but they stayed perfectly still.

'Max! Max! That person's not breathing!' I whisper-yelled, feeling my heart beat a mile a minute. The boy reacted instantly; turning to state at her (I think it was a her...) with an intense expression, which then turned to blind panic. He shook the bars of his cage, looking more like a wild animal than a person at that moment, desperately trying to get someone's attention.

The rest of the Flock looked instantly, but it took longer for our captors to realise something was wrong. 'She's not breathing! You idiots, you killed her! I'll kill you! I'll murder you all!' The boy was rocking the whole cart, his entire body racking with a dangerous rage, his deep black eyes tormented and full of an unbelievable anger. He shook the bars of his cage with such force they almost snapped, reaching out his hand as far as it would go, trying to reach her. 'God-damnit! No!' He yelled, his strong voice cracking at the end, tears starting to well up as he looked desperately at the lump in the cage.

They finally realised something was wrong. The cage was hauled off the cart and the limp person inside it thrown on a gurney, rushed down the hallway. I stared after it, my whole chest aching. The boy was yelling again, yelling with uncontrollable loss that broke something inside of me. I began to sob, the hot tears rushing down my face like a waterfall. 'Gaz... Shhh, man, it's going to be okay. It's all going to be fine,' Iggy was trying to calm me, but it wasn't working. I didn't know why this random person's death was upsetting me so much, I didn't even know her, but it triggered something inside me. Like a flick of a switch that had been long forgotten.

We were dumped in a blank room, the other whitecoats rushing off like the place was on fire or something. Max gathered me into a massive bear-hug, Iggy behind us checking out Fang, while Angel wrapped her arms around me. The boy was banging on the door, demanding to be let out, but there was something in his expression and body stance that showed he had given up.

I stood slowly, shaking off my weakness, and placed a hand on the guy's shoulder. He whirled around, a savage look on his face, and pushed away from me, pacing around the room. 'They killed her. What am I supposed to do without her? They grabbed her, away from me...' He muttered to himself, running his hands through his dishevelled hair.

'Dude, you okay?' Came Fang's low voice, slightly weaker than before, but there all the same. He must have woken up while I was cryi-- he just woke up, okay? I turned to look at him, relieved when I saw his tanned face looking back at me from his sitting position against the wall. He still looked kinda shaky, but you couldn't have told unless you had spent your whole life with him, and his face was slightly sweaty.

'Of course I'm not okay! They just killed her; they god-damn killed her! Oh my God, what the hell am I going to do without her?! They- I... couldn't save her... failed... gone...' He trailed off, a wild look in his dark black eyes. 'No!' He cried again, throwing his body against the door, like he could break it down or something. The boy's fist slammed into the door, over and over, in a continuous rhythm. The rhythm of a desperate man.

I stood back, really looking at him for the first time, knowing there was nothing I could do. He was quite tall, lean muscles visible under him torn shirt, his blonde scruffy hair streaked with a familiar brown shade... an Eraser colour. Realisation kicked in, and I gasped, and scrambled further away, my past sending horrific flashbacks back at me that all included the particular shade of brown that seemed weirdly unique to Erasers. He turned around, looking at me with a tired confusion, while his hands clenched and unclenched into fists. My eye caught sight of his hand, my brow burrowing in confusion. His hand was... it was... metal, somehow, as if he had slipped a metal-looking glove on.

He saw me staring at his hand with a horrified interest, and he smirked slightly, a coldness visible in his eyes. 'Like it? You want one too? I got this one for free, luck me, huh? They even spliced my DNA with an Eraser's, and lots more fun stuff too!' He said with a fake cheerfulness that changed to a dead monotone. 'I was normal, like, just a regular kid. Until they got me, and turned me into this monster.' He turned away again, and continued to try and break down the door.

'Wait. You're friend might not be dead.' The boy had Max's shirt in his hands in seconds, his eyes searching hers wildly. She threw him off, Fang struggling to get up off the ground and Iggy already ready to help her if needed. But she was Max, so obviously she didn't need their help.

'Tell me!' The boy howled, sounding utterly defeated and desperate. 'You have to. Please!'

'Number one: Don't ever grab me like that. Ever. Or I will kill you. Number two: They did seem really anxious to save your friend, so maybe they did. Save her, that is. I've seen them bring someone back to life after I- well, it's just some options to consider before you go all crazy,' I shuddered, remembering Ari, who had been killed by Max, brought back to life, and then killed again. It had been horrible (not to mention confusing).

Iggy, who had sunk back into a sitting position in the corner softly jerking every so often, suddenly opened his mouth and screamed. But it wasn't his scream that came out of his mouth, scaring the hell out of us. It was one of a teenage girl, a real high pitched scream, which was full of utter agony. A scream that I knew. A scream that I had heard all my life, when spiders appeared in the bathroom, when the shower turned cold suddenly, when things were lost... It was-could it really be Nu-

Before the thought could fully manifest itself in my mind, Iggy had slumped over onto the floor and was making gasping fish noises, making us all rush towards him in terror. Is this his time to... you know, go? I tried to shake the thought out of my head, afraid that if I truly considered it, it would become real. We were all crowed around him now, yelling at the top of our voices, trying to do something useful and just basically screaming out heads off.

All the while, the boy with the metal hand stayed crouched in the corner, with a confused expression on his face as he listened to Iggy's screams intently. Which weren't really Iggy's screams at all.

He recognised them too.

Lindsay POV:

Stupid, stupid, stupid. I crouched in the corner of my cage, my head whipping around every few seconds as experiments moaned and screamed softly. I'm not supposed to be here. I'm normal. Well, somewhat.

My fists clenched as I thought of the traitor Jeb. Damn him. He scammed me, made me do his dirty work and then he shoved me in here to rot. I really hadn't wanted to tell those kids that one of them was going to die. It had killed me on the inside. Well, I sure wasn't going to sit around here until they needed me again, or before I died. I'm out. I looked carefully at the lock that was keeping me confined to this damp and dirty hell hole.

I figured I could bust it open quite easily; it was only a matter of what to do once I'd gotten out of this damn cage. Maybe if I jumped the guard at the door, and then... break through the reinforced metal door? Could I even do that? I guessed I would have to at least give it a shot; after all, it was all I'd got. On the count of three. One, two, three...

Go! I quickly bashed the lock in and sprinted out into the corridor between the blocks of cages, the pitiful experiments crying out after me. I would be back to get them after I found him. Provided he was still sane. And alive. The Eraser thing that was standing at the door had a split second to look surprised and open his mouth, but I had silenced him within a matter of seconds. I was good. I left the freak unconscious on the floor, a stiletto heel stuck in his leg, he wasn't going anywhere for a while. I quickly took off my other shoe, ready to run.

A glance out the door showed an empty corridor with shadows lurking around the corner. I hesitated, but then dashed down the hall, afraid that if I actually thought about what I was doing, I would realise it was pure madness. But I was used to total craziness, so I figured a little more couldn't hurt.

I couldn't fail now, I had to find him. It could be my last chance.

Let's do this.

--

So there it is... I tried to do the Gasman's POV, but I don't know if it worked or not. Please let me know if I should try and do more of him (and maybe an Angel POV?) or I just completely failed at it!

Anyways, I had like horrible writer's block for the past couple of weeks, so this chapter may be utter crap :$ If you guys have any suggestions or things you want to see, please either PM me or review!

I'll try and get the next chapter up quicker... But I need a little help!

addicted-2-oxygen :)