Chapter 2

"Surprise!" Three familiar voices rang out. Okay, if you know me than you probably figured that I was freaking out. I hate surprises becuase in my past experiences surprises usually meant someone was going to try to kill me just about now. I jumped to my feet and held my fists in front of me only to realize my flock was all standing there in front of me. And guess what? They were perfectly fine, not one of them injured, and I was having a panic attack wondering where they were. I was a little ticked off for the moment.

Angel's wide blue eyes were staring at me, she had a large grin on her face, and in her hands was a clumsily wrapped item. "Happy Birthday Max," she replied, shoving the gift into my hands. I stared at her and gave a weak smile. My heart beat was starting to calm down now. Iggy and Fang were in the back with their arms crossed. Even Iggy was staring right at me as Gazzy and Nudge piled their presents on top of Angel's. What was today's date? Oh right, August first, the day I picked as my birthday. I was techically fifteen now.

"Um," I mumbled because I hadn't expected to have a birthday. It meant we were growing up and getting closer to the day we all died, whenever the experiation date came along on the back of our necks. Angel, who was now claiming she was seven, dragged me to a log and made me sit down. I stared at the presents wrapped up with brown paper bags. They wer decorated in crayon. I could tell who had given me what without even opening them.

I opened Gazzy's first because his was right there in front and I was afraid if I moved it wrong I might gain a whiff of some stink bomb before it was ready. I moved aside the paper decorated with stick figures with wings and a dog. I opened it up to see it was my old pocket knife from the house. I had one until it had gone missing one day. Not once did I expect to come across this again. Max was written on the handle and I smiled, this would be useful in case we had to start surviving on our own all over again. "Thanks," I smiled wide and let Gazzy know I approved.

"It's from Iggy too becuase he's the one that took it," Gazzy said with the classic giant eight-year-old smile across his face. I messed up his blonde hair for a moment and laughed.

"Did not," Iggy muttered but he had a grin on his face that let me know he had. Those two were always my little terrors, even Iggy who was a good two or three inches taller than me.

I placed the pocket knife in my pocket and went to Nudge's present next. On the paper she had drawn a bunch of clothes that obviously were her own designs. Some of them, I have to admit, were pretty cool. Gazzy moved from sitting next to me so Nudge could. Her carmel color hair was a frizz today from traveling in the wind but she was still pretty. Her clothes were wrinkle-free and designs of her own. She too was growing up pretty fast and at one point, she didn't need me anymore. Now she was here by her choice and not mine which sort of was a gift on its own. I pulled off the paper to stare at a new windbreaker. My last one, we can all assume, is tattered to pieces from all of my recent endeavors. This was a Nudge original with a nice dark green rain resistant fabric. The sleeves were long but there were buttons so it could be folded up to my elbows. The coat would end just below my knees in a non-fashiony way that still looked good. And oh yeah, had two slits for wings. It was perfect. I smiled, "You're getting real good at this."

Nudge's smile was bright. The sunlight from the opening where we sat shone down on her perfectly. "Thanks Max, I hoped you would like it." I was starting to feel real guilt about all of this though. I mean, here I was getting presents, while the rest of the flock just watched me get them. Birthdays are so selfish and all about one person. I was the flock leader and we were at a point where our adventure wasn't just about me saving the world. We all had a part in this now no matter what Jeb said.

I slipped the coat on to find it fit perfectly as Angel skipped over. "Mine next! Mine next!" She sat down and Total sat at her feet. Her small hand rested on his head scartching him behind the ears. "I hope you like it Max, it's from me, Ella, and you mom!" Her eyes were wide with joy. I wished she could've had this, a birthday when it really matters. I wished she had those parents who recorded her blowing out the candles and told her to make a wish. "It's okay Max, I've got you," she said with the cutest little smile that made me wonder how much longer she would need me for. Angel was so special that eventaully she wouldn't want me to hold her back. "You wouldn't do that," she whispered. "Now open your present."

I moved a curl away from her eyes and smiled. For the moment, she could be my baby and that would be good enough. On the paper was a simple picture drawn of her and me. We were hugging and there was a smiling sun. We had our wings and the flock was behind us too. I made sure not to tear this up becuase it made me smile. Inside I found something even better. At first, I thought it was just a wallet with a little chain that could connect to the loop in my jeans. Then, when I opened it, I found one of those little booklets that holds a ton of pictures and you know what? Someone had taken the time to put pictures in for me.

They were from the day we left. My mom had come out of the hospital and we went straight to Arizona to her home. I wondered how they had managed to get these pictures and I remember everyone just passing the camera around having fun. It was a celebration I suppose to have made it through another day before the flock and I departed for the time. We couldn't stay in one place with the M-Geeks and Mr. Chu after us. We had decided to lead them away from my mom until we had to return for Total's wedding.

The first couple pictures were of the entire flock with our wings spread out in the open. In another, my mom, Ella and I are sitting at the counter in her kitchen with a plate of delicous chocolate-chip cookies. Next, Angel and Gazzy playing a game of cards while Iggy and Nudge leaned over a book as Total slept in the background. Even Jeb was there with a smile and I was there too oddly smiling as well but I was looking off in the distance. The last picture made my heart skip a beat. It was just Fang and I sitting out on the porch in front of my mom's house when we thought we were alone. I was sitting next to him with my head on his shoulder. We were both smiling but not looking at the camera. His arm protectively over my shoulders. I loved it and with it in the wallet, I could carry it with me all the time.

"That's my favorite one too," Angel informed me. I wrapped my arms on her and hugged her. Then, Gazzy and Nudge had run in too. I pulled back and smiled. I was just so thankful to have a flock like them. They were so perfect in everyway even when they got on my nerves. They were the cutest, most lovable kids in the whole world and a part of me was angry that their wings made others think of them as freaks. Wings and all though, they made the having to save the world a little bit easier. I loved them. "We love you too Max," Angel replied with a grin.

I went through the pictures one last time before finally putting the wallet in my pocket and putting the chain on the belt loop so I wouldn't loose it. I, Maximum Ride, had the best birthday in the world. Now who would've seen that coming? And it turns out, it wasn't over just yet.