Two

"Max, if we pick enough strawberries can we make strawberry short cake?" Angel was picking through the vegetation. Her blonde hair was catching on the breeze. I was busy sitting next to Ari, being alone with him. In our silence, we both sulked. Ari was naturally alone because his normalness actually made him an outcast among us. I was choosing silence because when it came to the flock (and its pairings) I had no one.

I gave my baby a smile, "Maybe Iggy should make those cakes, not me." I wasn't in the mood to hear Iggy's snide remark or even Gazzy's mimic of Iggy. Of things I didn't want to deal with, the fact that hearing I sucked at cooking was not one of them. I pulled my legs up to my chest and wrapped myself up in a hug. Ari's brown eyes were casted on the ground. There were moments, when he turned to look at me, that I saw the same resemblance in me that I found between Gazzy and Angel. It was very odd and unsettling.

"Max," now Nudge was turning towards me, running a hand through her wild hair. I sat back while resting on my hands in order to prepare myself for the long speech. "Ever wonder what's out there?" To prove her point, Nudge looked over her shoulder to the open sky that lead away from the house, the forest dipping down at a hill.

"Sure," I replied. "But it's not safe. It will never be safe." I had to keep placing that in their minds- that the outside world was scary and there was no point in risking our lives just to see people who would most likely make us their new source of their MTV pandemonium or whatever you normal people do.

Just then, a scream brought my attention over to Angel. I instantly stood and snapped out my wings, raising my fists in defense. I was glad to know that I had still practiced the fighting that Jeb had taught me. "Max!" Angel was sitting on her butt staring up at a large, black figure. He had cold, emotionless eyes that stared down at her. He wasn't an Eraser, I could tell by his tall, angular body. Most Erasers were all bulky but not him, he was skinny like the rest of us.

"Run!" I yelled as I pushed myself forward into a sprint. The boy was about to reach for Angel when his eyes darted up towards me. The scowl on his face deepened, strands of his black hair falling in front of his eyes, and his entire body went rigid in order to prepare for contact. My body collided with his. I watched in the corner of my eye as Angel stood up and ran back towards the rest of the flock who were searching the skies for anymore of our enemies.

When we landed, I sat straddling on top of the enemy's chest. I began swinging my fists so fast that he had no chance at catching them. "You-never-mess-with-my-family!" The bones of my fingers cracked and jammed into his cheeks a few times before I felt myself being raised and flipped over. Now, he was on top of me trying to take swings at my face. I took a few hits before jamming my fingers in his eyes. I know it's a cheap move but it managed to get him to stop. I pushed him off of me and I stood up. I felt the blood of my split lip and one of my eyes was close to shutting up on me.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you to never hit a girl!" I yelled while raising my fists up. I went to attack him again, doing a roundhouse kick to his gut. Then, I swung up at his face and hit him a few more times. He backed off, one of his eyes slightly swollen. "Now go before I kill you," I warned him. He wiped away the blood dripping from his nose down to his mouth. "Believe me, I will." I bit my tongue from saying anything else.

Silently (which I learned must've been his trademark because even when he was hurt he barely made a sound), he turned his back on me. For a moment, I thought he would go for my flock who were staring at him as well. It hit me then that he was all alone, different from the rest of the School and it's evil creations. Then, I felt my breath leave me as if he had kicked me in the chest.

In reality, a pair of black wings opened from his back and he flew away.

Fang's POV

"So you've failed," Jeb whispered as I placed a pack of ice against the side of my face. Stupid Maximum Ride and her cheap fighting moves, I would've won had she not poked me in the eyes. She wasn't a real fighter, she was a complete lie. Ugh, how much I despised her. If anyone deserved to be at the School right now, having no choice but to work for them, it was Max not me. Her stupid family, watching her beat me, they did nothing, didn't recognize me. I might as well have never met them in my entire life. Max had no idea as to who I was- which was good I supposed. If Max had remembered, I wasn't sure if I could handle beating her to a pulp.

I nodded my head to Jeb's question. He was standing beside me. We weren't far from their safe house. In my pocket was the note Jeb had given me. I still hadn't read it when he handed it over to me those few hours ago. Instead, I just let him bring me here where he hid the flock (he was hoping they had left).

"You understand what this means right?" Jeb asked, crossing his arms. He wouldn't even look at me. Was he still feeling guilty about leaving me behind? I hope so, stupid bastard. I bit my lip from saying anything- which was really something because I was always silent. At the School, if I ever spoke, I was always in deep trouble so I chose never to speak again. I nodded my head again. Several Erasers stepped in front of me. If I was going to die right now, I was going to fight to the death. It was only fair though- I was a failure experiment. The School no longer had a need for me.

I lifted my fists. Two fights in one day, I supposed my life wasn't worth much. One of the Erasers, in full dog mode, was foaming at the mouth as it chuckled. I must smell delicious to them from eating all the ravioli that I do in a day. I tried to remain positive but you just can't in this situation.

Bodies collided and sweat began to pour down my forehead as I made sure to not get hit while making contact with the thick, smelly fur of an Eraser. If you've ever smelt dog, think about that plus someone's really stinky, bad body order and you've got yourself an Eraser smell. Disgusting right? At least you don't have it surrounding all of your senses.

At one point, I heard something of mine crack and it sent pain all throughout my body. If Jeb taught me one thing, the stupid man, it was that you always keep fighting until your last damn breath. So I did just that. I punched and kicked until there was nothing left to do. Finally, the Erasers I had been fighting laid on the ground in a bloody mess from broken bones and noses. I turned my attention to Jeb who had witnessed the entire conundrum. "Run," he informed and I didn't even hesitate.

I went to jump off into the night sky. I felt the pain of my wing, it must've had a crack in the bone but I would fly until it broke. I winced but made no noise. I was strong. I wasn't weak. I could take this. Eventually, I would get back at the School but first, I just had to get away. I'd find Maximum Ride and show her the pain she's caused me, whether she was aware of what she did or not.

Max's POV

"What happened out there? I mean- you guys can see?!" Iggy was pacing back and forth. All of us were in a slight daze from the sight of our attacker (except Iggy of course who only heard the silent boy flapping his wings to get away from us). Everyone was in good condition except for Angel's dress was ripped from running away. Let's not even talk about my injuries.

"He knew about us, he found us, but, he isn't one of us," I explained. Angel whimpered a bit, probably scared. I wanted to ask her what was going on in the enemy's mind but she was too distraught. I know I was. If they had taken my baby, well, I would've flown after him until I got her back. "Guys, get some rest. I'm going for a fly to check the perimeter. Chances are they haven't found the house yet. Lights out before dark."

The sun was setting when I stepped through the door. I easily lifted myself into the air. Wind brushed back my too long hair. Note to self: Cut hair before it becomes as annoying as Nudge on a sugar high. I was searching until I discovered that the moon was up behind me and the sun was gone. I was in the darkness but hey- another wonderful gift about being a mutant is night vision. Woohoo!

I settled onto a tree branch by balancing on the toes of my feet. In the silence, I normally hear everything but I was being extra careful to listen for the silent attacker. I knew he would be harder to find than any Eraser or human. He could've been a ninja or an emo kid with a mute button, whichever came first.

Finally, in the distance, I caught it, the flapping of wings breaking through the still air to create a swishing noise. I lifted my eyes towards the pale moon and not far away from its light, I saw the staggering figure that was too large to be a bird start to decline. I jumped from the trees and slowly flew over towards the falling figure, one of its wings pathetically trying to catch the wind with no success.

By the time he could've noticed me, he was already at the ground, stumbling and collapsing. I went to land a few feet away from him. His breath was staggered as he sat up pathetically. He rested on an arm on one of his propped out knees. From the looks of it, he was in worse condition than when he had left our little battle.

Suddenly, his dark eyes traveled to mine. I read a lot more than I think he wanted me too. He was in pain, more pain than when Gazzy had broken his arm on an accidental fall down the stairs. He was lost and hurt in more than physical ways. He was in need of help. I stepped into the light of the moon and closer to him. I suppose now was the time where we truly looked at each other- the enemy.

He was my age dressed in a black shirt and dark jeans. He had on no shoes. Black eyes, black hair, black eyelashes, etc. all caught my attention in the pale moonlight. For a moment, I felt my heart pitter patter at the sight of him. He was pretty good-looking, to be honest, I narrowed my eyes. Why in the world should I help him?

Suddenly, he was moving and I panicked. I jumped back a bit and unfurled my wings, ready for flight. From the sights of it, he had a broken left wing so I would definitely beat him in a chase. He raised one of his hands to tell me to calm down while his eyes told me he wasn't going to hurt me. I was surprised at how easily I could read him like an open book. Then, he pulled out the object in his pocket and handed it to me.

Hesitantly, I walked to him on the balls of my feet (we bird-kids do that out of a strange habit). I reached my hand out and my fingers grazed his cold skin as I took the paper. Slowly, I opened it while exchanging glances between the paper and him. I tried to hide my shock as I read the paper, You are one in the same –Jeb. I inhaled my breath, I was secretly hoping that the man had died after betraying us like that. Now, I was even more pissed to know that he was in contact with this assassin from the school. I glared at the boy but it softened as I caught another moment of weakness from him.

I offered a hand, "Come on now. Before it starts to rain or something terrible like that."

Fang's POV

There it was, a tan hand sticking out in front of me as she offered me her help. Why hadn't she done that four years ago? What had changed? I suddenly was glad that I had risked everything by handing her the note from Jeb. It figures though that he would write something and she would be able to connect to the words just as easily as I could've. I didn't want to know what was written. I didn't want to know what I could possibly have in common with her- Maximum Ride.

Many situations could've arisen in which I would've accepted the hand and many more in which I would've rejected it. Had I not been in so much pain from my broken wing, I wouldn't have gone. Had I not been rejected by the school, no way would I even be here. Had the sight of her in the moonlight, so serious and caring while offering me her help even though we had fought, I wouldn't have gone. So little factors, seeming so unimportant, had affected the choice I would make in three quick seconds.

I reached for her hand, feeling a light shock of energy shoot between the touch of her warm palm closing into a tight grip with mine. Her strength still caught me off guard as she lifted me off the ground. When my feet were firmly on the ground she instantly let go. Then, she was walking into the woods with her back trustfully turned from me.

When she didn't hear me moving, she looked over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. Then, Max was facing me, "Listen, you're not going anywhere with your wing broken like that. Iggy will have a look at it and then set it for you. I promise you can stay peacefully with us until you heal and as long as you don't try killing any of us. Understand?" I nodded my head. "Then, come on."

I walked beside her in the woods. I saw now that I stood a few inches above her. She was still dressed in the clothes I had seen her in before- a baggy sweatshirt that was the same brown as her eyes and jean shorts. She too was barefoot like I was. I wondered why she had no shoes. Then, I slowly drifted off into wondering what her life must've been like- living in complete freedom for four years. Then, I grew jealous.

I was jerked back into reality when she finally said something. My jealousy disappeared just as soon as my ears caught the calming and trusting tone of her voice. "What's your name?" She didn't even seem mad at the fact that she had to repeat the question.

"Fang," I whispered knowing she would hear.

I caught a smile on her lips even though she tried to hide it in the darkness.

Congrats to Lifeisrad for getting the answer correct. I just always remember Fang eating ravioli in the first book at the begining. I hope I'm showing the difference in characters without Max and Fang being together (hence Max's loneliness). This is a changed version of the Erasers attacking Angel in case you didn't catch that.

The only way I know to keep going with this story though is if you review. The more you guys like it the more I am encouraged to keep going. I'll take anything- good things, bad things, ideas of yours, or even your cat's name. Whatever! It just lets me know your reading. Thanks to those who already have.

Enjoy the fly,

flyerac1029