Ash's PoV

"HOLY FREAKING GOODNESS!" Savannah shrieked, yanking a sharpie marker out of my hand. "What the heck do you think your DOING?" I raised my hands in defence. "Gosh, Savannah, I just wanted to write my name on it!" I protested. Savannah scowled and tossed the marker in the fountain. "Ash, you may not deface-uh-" She glanced at the sign, "Buckingham Fountain." She read.

"Oh, come on. Nobody would even see it." We began to walk out of Grant Park, leaving the huge beautiful fountain behind. "Why in the world would you want to do that in the first place?" Chase asked. "You're not...the "rebel" type, hun." I fell back behind the rest of the flock and pulled Felix's arm. "You are such a jerk!" I hissed. "It's not fair to double dare me to do something illegal!"

Felix snickered and raced ahead to the rest of the flock. "Don't care!" He called back to me, walking in time with Chase. I hurried forward too, between Savannah and Andrew, taking Andrew's hand. "What was that about?" Savannah asked. My face heated up-no way would I be telling her that Felix and I have been double-daring each other to do things all day. "Uh...nothing." I said, shrugging it off. "Where are we going?"

The flock was currently touring Chicago, at the same time looking for somewhere to get clothes and stuff. "Can we go to the zoo?" Andrew asked, swinging my hand. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Savannah making a face. "You mean Lincoln Park Zoo? Um...maybe. If we have time. But Andrew we just went to the San Diego Zoo yesterday." She told him. Andrew stuck out his lower lip. "I like aminals." He said stubbornly. "You mean animals?" I asked. Andrew moved his little shoulders up and down. "Please?" He whined.

"Chase?" Savannah called ahead to him, but it didn't sound like how she normally talked to him. It sounds weird, but it's true. Usually Savannah talked to Chase in a voice that sounded like she liked him. Now her tone sounded kind of strained, awkward, and annoyed. Like how she talked to Felix if he left his dirty socks on the ground or something. Anyway, Chase turned around. "Yeah?" He asked.

Chase still talked in the way that sounded sad. "Andrew wants to go to the zoo. What say you?" Savannah asked. Chase slowed till he was walking with us. "How about tomorrow, Andrew, okay?" He said gently. Andrew's jaw quivered. "Zoo now." He protested. Savannah laid a hand on his shoulder. "Chase said tomorrow." She said firmly.

Suddenly something caught my eye. "Savannah!" I hissed, tugging on her arm, "look!" I pointed at the biggest building I'd ever seen. "What's that?" Savannah glanced over to where I was pointing, looking glad for the distraction. "Oh, that's the Willis Tower, formally known as the Sears. Tallest building in the U.S, I think." She rattled off.

By now, with our quick walking, we were now in downtown Chicago. "Can we go shopping now?" I asked. Savannah nodded. "First store we can find, how about that."

20 Minutes Later

We ended up going to this super cool store with totally amazing things. "Oh...my...gosh." I breathed. "It totally has ALL the newest fashions!" Chase groaned. "Yeah..great if you're a girl. I think you must hate me-dragging me in a store like this." Savannah clapped her hands together. "Okay, guys, listen up. Ash will help Chase, then Chase will help Felix. I'll help Andrew, and Ash will help me too." She announced.

Felix looked confused. "Wait...why is Ash helping the two oldest and doesn't need help herself?" He asked. Chase grinned. "Ash has probably the best fashion sense out of all of us, that's why. She'll make sure we fit in, look a little normal." Felix nodded. "Oh. Well, yeah, that makes sense." Savannah took Andrew's hand. "Alright, let's do this!"

She headed off in one direction, Andrew in tow, and I dragged the boys with me. "Chase! Chase! OhmygoshyouSOneedtogetthis!" I squealed, tossing him a pair of jeans that was totally in right now. He looked at them doubtfully. "Ash, how would I be able to fight in these? And-UGH, they're, like, skinny."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, fine, we'll try something else." Of course, it only took a few minutes of searching before I'd piled at least seven things on him and pushed him towards the dressing rooms. "Show me everything!" I demanded, leaning against the door. "And make sure to match those cargo pants with that black top and the jeans with the white-AHH!" I yelled, as Chase had slammed his fist against the door and making me fall over. "Don't worry, I got it." He called to me.

In a moment he opened the door. "Here." He held out his arms and modeled the next pair of jeans. I tilted my head. "Uhm...almost perfect. Instead of the white-ugh, I'm so ashamed I ever picked that out-put on the black shirt. Then you'll be perfect." Chase nodded. "Go find Savannah and Andrew, help them. I'll take care of Felix."

I hurried off to find Savannah, who had already outfitted Andrew in mesh shorts, a tee shirt and a sweatshirt. "Aww, Andrew, you look so cute!" I said. I glanced closer at Andrew and saw damp tear streaks on his face, and judging by Savannah's look, it hadn't been easy getting him into clothes. It was almost funny, 'cuz Andrew didn't cry when we were getting attacked by Erasers, but he cried when getting changed into different clothes. "Okay, Ash." Savannah said wearily. "Let's make this quick."

It took no longer than ten minutes to completely change Savannah into skinny jeans, and a long sleeve tight black shirt. "Gosh, you look so cute. You could probably be a model!" I told her, beaming. Savannah smiled a little at me. "Thanks, Ash."

Of course I didn't tell her I'd made her matching with Chase. That was for my own personal enjoyment-they were so cute together, and they probably looked even cuter matching. "Now for me!" I muttered to myself, dashing away to the girl's section of the huge store. Savannah and Andrew followed, and we met up with Chase, who'd helped Felix pick out a green shirt and jeans, with a dark hoodie.

"Great! Are we done?" Chase asked hopefully. I shook my head. "Let me find something, first." I held up a pair of pink cargo shorts but Savannah immediately shook her head. "No. Absolutely not. Those are way too short-just imagine what'd happen to them in battle. And they're pink, honey, anyone would be able to spot you from a mile away." She reminded me. I rolled my eyes and saw a maroon, super cute top. "Look! Gosh I so need to get this, please?" I asked Savannah, making my eyes go wide and pleading. Savannah shrugged. "Yeah, sure."

To go with the maroon, I grabbed tan pants, and was about to go to try them on when I saw a booth of jewelry. "Oh, no..." Chase moaned as he saw me making a leap for it. A huge stack of bracelets caught my eye, and I slid them on. "I am SO getting these." I demanded to them.

Ten more minutes later we'd paid for all our stuff and were now back in the streets of Chicago, feeling fresh and looking fabulous in our new clothes. "One down, two to go, guys." Savannah informed us, while her gaze swept the streets. "What now?" Felix groaned. "I'm hungry."

Then, suddenly, to all of the flock's total surprise, purple shot out from Felix's hands, forming a disk-like shape. "What the heck?" Felix muttered, and we all stared, totally confused. "What is that?" Chase asked. Felix looked the most nervous. "I don't know. It just happened." Then the purple disk disappeared. "Did you do that?" Savannah asked. Felix shook his head. "Try to somehow do it." Savannah urged.

Felix scrunched up his face in concentration, and the purple disks reappeared. Savannah bit her lip, then reached out and touched it. Her hand jerked back. "It-like, shocked me, or something." She said. Andrew laughed. "Forth 'ield." He announced. Chase frowned at him. "What'd you say?" He asked carefully. "Forth 'ield." Andrew said again, cheerily. Chase glanced at Savannah. "Did he just say "force field"?" Savannah said.

My mouth dropped. "Gosh, Felix, you're so lucky! You can make force fields! Wait...what are force fields anyway?" I asked. Savannah pursed her lips. "Well, a force field can usually block most anything. So...I guess we'll find out." She looked around, then pulled us off the sidewalk into an ally. I picked up a pipe-type thing and handed it to Chase. "Try it!"

Felix made his force field thing again,and Chase whacked it with the pipe thing. The force field didn't break or even crack. "Dang!" I said. "That is wicked cool!" Chase grinned at Felix. "Looks like someone has a new power."

Savannah nodded in agreement. "It'll come in a lot of handy."

Harlow's PoV

My anger at the flock had mostly boiled off, and now I was missing them. In fact, I told that to Horace when Indy wasn't around. "That's great, child!" He said enthusiastically. "That's a sign that you really do want to go back to them." I raked a hand through my hair. "Maybe it is. I wonder how Andrew's doing."

Indy was back then, appearing out of what seemed like nowhere the way she always did. "What's up, guys?" Indy had warmed up to me a little, which was fine. She and I mostly got along if we didn't talk to each other much. "The bird-child is missing her flock again!" Horace announced. He certainly was very honest. Indy gave a little smirk. "So does that mean you're leaving?" She asked.

I shrugged. "You know what, I don't know. But I'd like to talk to them." I said a little wistfully. I was curious about Chase and Savannah's relationship, and how Felix and Ash were holding up. Being with this small flock, it was very quiet. Indy didn't talk much, and Horace just mostly walked around with a smile. There was no Ash with her constant mouth, no Chase's humor, no Savannah pretending to be annoyed at Chase, and no real joy in this flock in general.

Sure there was Horace who was smiling and talking and stuff, but it seemed to lessen every day. Finally, I stood up from where I'd been braiding grass and unfurled my wings. "I'm going back to my flock." I decided. "Do...you want to come with me?"

Indy sharply looked up and hissed "no" at the same Horace smiled and said "we'd love to!" I blinked, confused. Horace looked down at Indy, who glared at him. "Harlow, dear, will you excuse us for a moment?" He asked gently. Slowly I nodded and backed away, jumping into the air. "I'll be back soon." I whispered.

I smiled a little as I soared through the air, glad for the chance to fly. It was wonderful, the wind whipping back my hair, the sun on my face. Here, in the meadows, with Horace and Indy, was the longest time I'd ever been away from my flock; been able to think in peace, and been able to get different perspectives than I ever had being around the flock. In a way, despite my love for them, I was glad to be rid of the flock for the time I had. But now it was time to return. I wasn't exactly sure why I'd asked Horace and Indy to accompany me, maybe it was because I was nervous about Chase and Savannah's reactions and needed backup. Or something.

I knew I wanted Horace and Indy to meet my flock because my flock would probably be eager to meet more avian-human hybrids. It was sort-of comforting to know that there were other people in the world like us, but bad at the same time. I mean, how many of us really were there? For all we know, us hybrids could be swarming the nation but none of us knew it. A noise down below interrupted my thoughts. It was Horace, motioning me to come down.

I circled then landed, skidding to a halt. "We've made our decision." Indy said grimly. I waited. Then, a hint of a smile brushed over her face. "Where are we headed?"

Chase's PoV

I was still upset at Savannah. Boy, was I upset and frustrated, but I couldn't help my mouth dropping open at the sight of her. We'd all gotten our hair cut, thanks to Savannah's declaration of our hair being to long, and we all looked much better. Uhm, might I add, especially Savannah...Her red-gold hair had been hacked off to a little past her chin, and now it was feathery and wispy. She looked-girly? Was that the right word?

We hadn't done anything to Andrew, considering his hair was already really short. Felix's hair and been cut shorter, and brushed back. Ash's shoulder-length hair was trimmed a little, and styled so it framed her face. She'd loved it, saying it totally made her look two years older.

For me, my stylist had been a little weird. "Dahling, you're hair! It covers your eyes!" She said, in a heavy French accent. I nodded. "Oh, zis is not good. Vee need to make your gorgeousssss eyes show!" She exclaimed. "What ever you say, ma'am." I said back cheerfully.

Within two minutes, my hair was cut across my forehead at an angle so it didn't fall into my eyes. Ash rushed over. "Oh my gosh CHASE you LOOK LIKE JUSTIN BIEBER!" She screamed, clapping her hands together excitedly. I looked in the mirror and groaned. "Don't rub it in." But the French stylist was watching, so I turned on the charm, grinning at her. "I love it. You are fabulous." The lady placed a hand to her heart. "Such a fine young man." She beamed.

Once we got out of that place, the only thing left to do was get shoes. Ours were beaten up and grimy from months of battles and being on the run, and I thought we deserved some. So as not to bore you with all the details, let me just say we all got new were pretty cool.

Twenty minutes later we were at Navy Pier, leaning over the rail, gazing at Lake Michigan. "It's so pretty, isn't it?" Ash said. Felix nodded. "The sun makes the lake look like it's glittering." He agreed. I squinted in the sunset, thinking I'd seen a few dark shadows among the red and orange fading sun. I looked over at Savannah-she'd seen it too. "Sorry guys, but we have to split." I muttered to the younger kids.

They looked disappointed, but they'd seen the shadows too. "Are those bad guys?" Felix asked. Savannah didn't reply, her eyes were scanning the horizon, calculating. "See the slightly awkward way they fly?" She whispered, to no one in general. "Erasers. About seven of 'em." I slowly glanced around, and since Navy Pier wasn't to crowded today, nobody would see if we got out of here quick with our wings. "One," Savannah said, and the rest of us tensed. "Two," Ash crouched, Felix went on his tiptoes, Andrew looked ready to jump, and Savannah and I balanced on the edge of the railing. "Three!" I yelled, and almost in unison, we all dove up into the air, unfolding our wings and flying up, up, up.

Once we were at about three thousand feet, we angled our wings to turn and flew away from the Erasers, gradually picking up speed. "Where are we going?" Ash called. "If we do fight the Erasers," I shouted back, "we need to lead them away to somewhere where we have a fighting advantage!"

Savannah cast a glance over her shoulder. "They're gaining on us!" She warned. How were they going so fast? Because of Andrew, we couldn't have gone as fast as we'd like, but it was almost enough to get away from the Erasers. "They keep finding us!" Felix wailed.

I scanned below, looking for someplace to land and possibly fight. No where! We were still on the outskirts of Chicago, and the Erasers were getting closer by a second. Finally, after about three minutes, the Erasers were practically on top of us but I saw a place to land. "There!" I shouting, folding in my wings and starting to drop. The rest of the flock followed, and the clumsy Erasers didn't know what to do for a second. They swooped down after us, but we were going much faster. Finally, about forty feet from the ground, I snapped out my wings and braked.

I landed with a thud to the ground, then whirled around, mentally prepping myself for a fight. The rest of the flock landed, and I pulled Andrew upright and behind me. "We might have to fight them." I explained to him. Andrew nodded. "Felix showed me how to house kick someone." I was pretty sure he meant roundhouse, but the Erasers were about to land and there wasn't time to correct him.

To our surprise, the second the Erasers landed they grouped in a perfect line, staring at us coldly. "We do not want to fight." One of them announced in a silky voice. Savannah and I automatically stepped forward, pushing the rest of the flock behind us. "Oh yeah?" Savannah snarled. "What do you want then?" The Eraser was unfazed. "We will capture you for research."

I rolled my eyes. "Gosh, that's new." I said, "so were you simply trying to kill us all the other times?" Again, the Eraser seemed to have ignored me. "Come with us peacefully so we do not have to hurt you." I laughed. "Yeah right!"

Then I leaped in the air and dove at the Eraser, slamming my foot into his knee. He howled in pain and tried to grab at me, but being the amazing graceful hybrid I am, avoided his morphing paws and punched it. After that, the pack of Erasers began attacking us and I could barely see anything except the Eraser in front of me.

I snapped, kicked, and punched wildly, applying every bit of training I'd ever learned. My hand connected with his shoulder blade and the Eraser fell to it's knees. I kicked his chest and he flew backwards, and to finish it off, drove my foot into his ribs. I could hear the sickening snap of some of them breaking. Suddenly, a piercing scream, louder than any scream I'd heard before, sliced through the air. Everyone halted and looked towards where the sound was coming from. It was Ash, and an Eraser was holding her upside down by her wings. "Help!" She squealed, and before any of us could react, Erasers had grabbed all of us. "We only need one." The Eraser said. "Take the screaming child."

"No!" Felix yelled, trying to squirm away from the Eraser's grip. "Let us go!" We all started protesting, trying to get away from our captors, but it was no use. They were kidnapping Ash, and we had to watch, unable to do anything. "Stop!" Savannah said, in a loud, commanding voice. "Take me instead of Ash. I'll come willingly. You want me more than her, I swear. I'm much more useful."

The Eraser who was stuffing Ash into a huge bag stopped, and looked at the commanding Eraser, who was holding me. "Yes, take the older one." The Eraser threw Ash to the ground, and she whimpered. "Savannah, what are you doing?" I whispered. She glanced at me with those dark green eyes that were the exact color of mine. "Chase, Chase." She said in a falsely soothing voice. "I told you three days ago, Savannah is in Georgia. But if I'm wrong, find me and tell me."

It was the most obscure thing she's ever said. The Erasers were confused, but they didn't waste any time throwing Savannah inside the bag. One threw her over his shoulder and jumped into the air, flying away. "Savannah!" Ash screamed, tears streaming down her face. Andrew tried jumping into the air to follow them, but I held him back, focusing on what she said. Felix looked stunned. Then he yelled out, "why aren't we following them? Why aren't we trying to get her back?" He slammed a tree with his fist.

I smiled, because what Savannah said now made sense. She was giving me a message. "Guys, Savannah's going to be okay." I reassured them. Ash looked at me with wide eyes. "Chase!" Her voice was high. "Have you gone crazy? She just got kidnapped!" I put a hand on either of their shoulders. "She's going to escape. She's going to meet us in Savannah, Georgia in three days."

Felix blinked. "Is that what she meant by what she said?" I nodded. "And if she isn't there in three days, we have to go and find her." Ash looked up at me, looking terrified. "Let's go, then." She whispered.

Ohhhhkay! So first, sorry for not updating in forever! I was busy, then grounded, then blah blah blah...Anyway! So yes, I know that what happened is sort-of copying what happened in the first Maximum Ride, but common, James Patterson stole ALL of the ideas! xD So, if what happened here is kinda unrealistic, sorry about that. But yeah! I've got great ideas! REVIEW! :)