So I realize that I just updated like two days ago, but I could not sit on this one any longer. Not much to say. This chapter is quite long, so enjoy! Keep reviewing! You guys rock!

REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! Especially on this chapter! I need to know your opinions!

KarleeRay

"That's because you didn't subtract, nimrod!" I snap at Iggy, sitting next to me on the car ride to school.

"Max, you don't have to subtract those! You already have the freaking answer!" He shouts, beginning to write down the answer onto our partner math paper… the wrong answer, I might add.

I slap the pencil out of his hand so that he can't keep writing.

"Oh really?" He asks, incredulous. "You are so mature."

"I'm not going to fail the paper just because you're being stubborn!"

"I'm being stubborn?" Iggy raises his pale eyebrows as if he can't believe what I just said. "Stubborn is your middle name!"

I start to fire back at him, but Mom stops me. "Alright enough you two! I've heard enough. No more arguing."

"Fine, Mom. I'll just let Iggy do the paper and have to re-take Basic Math Class next year all because Iggy is officially an idiot."

Okay, don't look at me like that. We all have our bad mornings.

"Max, don't be so dramatic," Mom chuckles.

I huff, turn out the window so I don't have to look at any of those cretins. Okay, that was harsh too. I take it back. The flock aren't cretins. But I don't need to see Fang's face to know the expression he would have, half amusement and half reprimanding. He would give me that annoying look, the one that says that he knows that I know I'm being a major pain in the ass but he isn't going to say anything about it. He'll just let me start to feel guilty.

The rest of the way to school is a tired silence. We were late getting home due to Gazzy's soccer game across the city, which, come to think of it, is probably the reason everyone is cranky.

As us older kids walk into school this morning, it is immediately clear that something is up. Clusters of kids stand together, backs turned, chattering excitedly while they all stare intently at a cell phone screen.

"Jessica!" A girl yells, waving her phone in the air. "Come here! You have to see this!" She giggles as another girl, presumably Jessica, joins her, and they huddle around the cell phone. A few moments later, Jessica's jaw drops, and she snickers. "Slut."

"What's going on?" Nudge asks, eyeing yet another group of kids surrounding a phone.

I shrug, unconcerned. "Probably just some pointless gossip."

Nudge nods, wringing her hands as if it's everything she can do not to run up and demand to know what's up.

We keep on walking, and I begin to pick up on the fact that as I walk by these clusters of people, the laughing gets a little quieter, backs get turned a little sharper, eyes flash in my direction like they always do, but no one can meet my eye.

"Did you see that?" I hiss to Fang.

He shrugs but says nothing.

Curiosity begins to creep up on me. Whatever is on those cell phones, it must be a pretty dang big deal.

"Max! Fang!" I turn to see Austin jogging up to us, face twisted with an angry expression. "Have you seen it?"

My eyes meet Fang's before I shake my head. "Seen what?"

Austin barks out a laugh vacant of humor. He looks at me. "Oh you're going to love this," he says, anger lacing his words.

He yanks out his cell phone, presses a few buttons. He casts a quick look at Nudge before dismissing whatever thought he had and handing me his phone. "Press play," He commands. And if it was anyone else bossing me around like that I would have done a double-take and laughed in their faces, but if you remember correctly, I like Austin. He and Carter made the perfect couple.

Speaking of Carter, I am surprised to see her face when I play the video. The phone focuses in on her. She's drunk obviously and only half-dressed, a t-shirt and underwear. She's sitting on a bed, smiling sexily at whoever was holding the camera.

"Come here, baby. Don't keep me waiting all night," She slurs, reaching towards the camera man.

There's an all too familiar laugh, and everything makes all too perfect sense as the camera is set down, aimed towards the bed, and Nolan walks into view, Nolan, as in the person responsible for getting Carter where she is now.

I feel the color drain from my face as I remember the night he crashed my mom's party trying to get Carter to leave with him. "Oh no," I whisper as I remember what was said during the confrontation.

'Besides if you leave me, you think you can find someone better? Baby, I'll make sure everyone knows just what kind of trash you are. I've still got the video.'

Carter had been so scared when he mentioned the video, she had tried to actually go with him because of it. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. How could I forget something like that?!

Knowing there's nothing I can do, I force myself to focus on the video. My stomach sinks as I watch Nolan go over to Carter. Their mouths crash together, and he pushes her backwards onto the bed.

I feel sick. "Okay I've seen enough," I snap, knocking the phone out of everyone's view.

I turn to see Fang with a slightly disgusted look on his face, and Nudge and Ella looking sympathetic. I level my gaze with Austin's, not wanting to know, but needing to ask. "How long does it go on?"

Austin scoffs. "Long enough."

I nod, take a shaky breath. This could not be happening. Carter cannot know about this! It could ruin all of her progress!... But what if she comes back and relapses when she finds out?

My jaw tightens. Nolan. He better hope he never sees me in person again. He'll be sorry if he does.

Fang throws an arm over my shoulders. "Easy," He murmurs.

But I'm so angry I can barely see straight. Not my best friend. You don't mess with Maximum Ride's best friend. I push Fang's arm off of me and turn in the direction of a new mass of students snickering around a phone.

"Don't do it," Fang warns, but I'm already gone, marching straight up into the middle of the huddle.

"Give me that," I growl, snatching the kids' phones away from them, and they let me because who really wants to argue with Maximum Ride? No one. It takes me seconds to delete the video off of all of them. "You think that's funny?" I ask, voice dangerously low. No one answers me. They all just lower their eyes to the ground while their cheeks grow red. I snort. "Pathetic."

A shrill laugh makes me look up. Alexandra. Quite frankly, I've had more than enough of her lately. So when I see her and one of her followers pouring over a cell phone, I march up to them and slam my fist down on her phone as hard as I can. It drops to the floor, shatters. "Oops," I say tauntingly.

Alexandra stares down at her phone, jaw hanging open. "Are you serious?"

She takes a threatening step towards me, and I don't answer her question because I felt it was pretty obvious that I was, in fact, serious.

"You shouldn't have done that," She whispers, eyes boring into mine.

"Hit me," I breathe, balling my fists up. "Give me a reason to beat the hell out of you. Go ahead." I turn my cheek toward her. "Take your best shot."

For one splendid second, I think it's actually going to happen. Her eyes flash, and I think that she might just slap me, and then I might just have to rearrange her face in self defense.

But no. Strong arms encircle me from behind, pull me away from her. I could have screamed in frustration. I turn to find the interrupter to be Kace. "Do you have to ruin everything?" I snap.

"You and I both know that you can't afford a stunt like that right now. How many times have you been in detention this month?" Kace answers me calmly, as always, infuriatingly calmly.

I glance at Alexandra's retreating figure. "It would have been so worth it."

He stares at me for a moment, purses his lips. "You have issues."

My eyes snap back to Kace. "I don't have issues. I have an issue. And it's her."

Kace smirks. "Actually I think they call it anger issues," He corrects me before walking away. "Thank me later!" He calls over his shoulder, and I don't have time to tell him that I will be doing no such thing before the bell rings for class.

The next few periods went by quickly, mostly because my mind was elsewhere….. like where my best friend's sex tape was getting leaked around the school.

Now, I'm sitting in biology next to Fang where the teacher is droning on and on, interrupting my thought processes.

I raise my hand. "Can I use the restroom?"

Mister Chanel pauses in his lesson, gives me an annoyed look. "Is it an emergency?"

I nod.

"Make it quick, Miss Ride."

I massage my temples as I walk down the hallway, trying to think of the best way to approach this with Carter. Basically I had two options: approach it or don't approach it at all. Yeah, that's the best I got. Pretty much a lose-lose scenario either way.

In the bathroom, I stand in front of the mirror, splash my face with water.

I reach for my bathroom pass, but drop it in surprise when I hear a blood curdling scream.

What the hell?

I pause, listen. Cautiously, I approach the door, slowly pull it open. There's a girl standing in the middle of the hall, right in front of me. She looks like a dear in the headlights, silent tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Please," She whispers. "Don't."

I open my mouth to ask her if she's okay, but the gunshot drowns out my voice. Once. Twice. Three times. She drops like a stone, crimson stains blossoming across her white shirt.

My jaw drops in shock, and I can't breathe. I slam the door shut. What is going on? Am I hallucinating? Did I get out of bed this morning?

Yes, Fang woke me up. I pinch my arm hard enough to draw blood. Definitely awake.

Breathing heavily, I sink to my knees, clutch my hands to my throat as if they can push in the air that I need.

Suddenly, I hear another round of gunshots. A door slams. The thundering of frantic feet pounding the floor ensues. Screaming. So much screaming.

Another gunshot. Another. Father away, but still there. My mind goes to Fang, to Iggy, and Nudge, and Ella. I spring up, swing open the door.

The school is in total chaos, everyone running and trampling each other, doing anything and everything they can to get out the front doors.

I shove my way into the mass of students, take a hard elbow to the gut, but that's the least of my problems. The mass of people is moving so fast, I'm practically being carried. I can only describe it as being in the ocean, caught in a wave that carries you with it regardless of where you want to go.

"Fang!" I shout, turning around, but even I can barely hear myself over the ruckus.

The only clear sound I can here is the sound of that damn gun going off again and again.

One minute I'm running, the next I'm falling. On my hands and knees, I look back to see that I tripped over the dead body of one of my classmates.

I want to sit there and stare in shock, can't. I move quickly to my feet, take off at a sprint.

"Where is he?!" Zane Esters shouts. "We can't go towards him!"

I grab him by the shoulders. "Who is it?" I demand. "Who's shooting?"

"It's Nathan! Nathan is shooting! He, oh God, everyone in his path!" He yells before turning to keep running.

I stand there, trying not to vomit while simultaneously trying to remember someone named Nathan.

We make it out to the main hall. From here, I can see people making it to safety. I take off towards the front doors, using my skinniness to my advantage, slipping between people. So close.

I keep my eyes open for my family, and for the first time in a long time, I find myself praying. To who? I don't really know. God, I guess?

I just need my family safe. Please don't take them. Please don't take them.

Suddenly, the mass of students turn, begin running in the opposite direction of the front doors, in the direction we came from.

"There he is! He's coming!"

I get trampled three times, and I'm positive three of my fingers are broken.

Alright Max. Think. You need a hiding place.

I decide to go to the locker room, pray that this Nathan kid doesn't think to go in there.

I'm running at a dead sprint when someone pops out from behind a chair, blocking my path. We both go tumbling down.

"Kace!" I cry when I see who it is.

I grab his hand. "Come on! We have to keep going!"

He gets up immediately, keeps pace beside me. I push open the door to the dressing room, only to backpedal when I see three bodies lying in pools of blood.

I turn, wanting to run away, but Kace blocks my path. "NO! No, we can't go back out that way!"

I struggle against him, desperately needing to be away from these dead or dying figures.

"Max," he breathes. "Listen."

My breath catches. The gunshots are so close, right through the wall, in the main hallway.

"We have to stay in here," Kace tells me grimly. He pushes me inside, shuts the door behind him.

The next ten minutes are the longest ones of my life. I can hear people dying just on the other side of this wall. I'm sitting next to three dead kids, kids that will never go home to Mom and Dad, kids that will never graduate or get married or have babies.

I sit extremely close to Kace, needing to feel the warmth of another alive and healthy body. Neither of us cry. Neither of us even say anything. We just sit in complete states of shock.

Eventually, the screams die down. We stop hearing the gun go off. I'm afraid to leave this room, but not because I'm afraid I'll get hurt. I'm afraid of what I'll find. What if my family didn't get out of this one? What if today is the day the flock finally loses?

"You ready to try?" Kace asks me softly.

I nod, and we stand together, make our way to the door.

I take a deep breath before I push open the door, step out into the main hall. I avert my eyes from the bodies on the ground. Blood. Everywhere.

Kace grabs my hand and begins to tug me toward the front doors. Through the glass, I can see kids covering the lawn, parents seeking out their children.

One second I'm running, the next I'm staring down the barrel of a gun.

Kace and I both tense. I raise my hands in surrender, and for the first time, get a glimpse of the kid behind the madness. Nathan.

I didn't know that was his name. I should have asked. I didn't even ask his name.

His grip tightens on the trigger, the gun aimed directly at my chest, and I thought, I am going to die. Right here. Right now. I'll never get to hug my flock again or kiss Fang or tell my mom that I love her. This is it. It's over.

"Wait," I breathe. "I helped you. Remember? In the hall? I helped you."

Yes, this was the nerdy kid with glasses that I stood up for the other day, Dean Mickelson's son. I should have known. You never ignore your bird-kid alarms.

Nathan stops, ponders. He scratches his chin thoughtfully with the barrel of the gun. "Yes… I was wondering if you could tell me why you did that."

I hesitate. "I already told you."

His eyes meet mine from behind his glasses. "Maximum Ride, you have to have a better reason than that."

I swallow, so very aware of the gun that was pointed at my chest. I can feel Kace beside me, standing stiff as a board. "Because it wasn't fair. Three on one. It goes against my beliefs."

Nathan looks me squarely in the eyes. "You said the strong picking on the weak wasn't right. The strong picked on you, didn't they Max?"

Cautiously, I nod. "The erasers and whitecoats."

"But you aren't weak anymore. And now, neither am I," He smiles ruefully, glances around at the bodies on the floor as if they're a work of art.

He smiles again and lowers the gun.

Slowly, I begin to move towards the door. "Thank you," I whisper.

He looks up at me. "You. Not him." And faster than I can even blink he aims the gun at Kace and fires.

"No!" I yell, leaping back towards Kace.

I'm sure he's hit. I'm sure he is, but the next thing I know, he's barreling into me, shoving me towards the front doors. "Run Max!" He grunts.

At any moment, I expect to feel bullets searing into my back or legs, but the bullets never come.

We make it out the front doors and into the mess of people outside.

I make sure Kace is okay before sprinting into the crowd in search of my family. Frantically, I scream their names. I shove people out of the way, elbow my way through the mass of chaos.

I'm beginning to panic. I can't breathe. What if? Oh God, what if?

I lift my arms over my head while I run, hoping it will help the air flow.

A frantic woman stops me, grabs me by my shoulders. "Have you seen my son?" She sobs.

I shake my head quickly, slide out of her grasp. All around me, I see parents finding their kids, parents looking for their kids, kids looking for their parents, friends finding friends. It is utter madness.

I start to feel like I'm going to pass out, but just as I'm about to sink to my knees, I spot a dark shaggy head across the lawn. I stumble a few steps forward, wanting to cry out his name but I can't make a sound.

I watch him twirling in the crowd, head turning this way and that. It's one of the only times in my life I have seen Fang look frantic.

I begin hurtling towards him at full speed, and when I'm about halfway, he catches sight of me. I can see him exhale in relief.

He takes a few jogging steps towards me before I launch myself into his arms, wrap my legs around his torso. His arms come up around my butt to support my weight. Our fingers scratch at each other's clothing and skin, frantic, feeling the need to be closer and closer still. My hands wind into his hair roughly, and he holds me so tight that it hurts.

"Thank God," He whispers, and I thought I heard his voice crack, but this was Fang so I must have imagined it.

I nod, bring my lips to his forehead. He holds me for a few more moments before setting me down.

"We have to find the others," I tell him desperately.

I grab his hand, and we make our way through the mass of people, yelling the names of our family members.

"Nudge!" I screamed for the thirtieth time.

"Max!?"

My head jerks up when I hear my name.

I let go of Fang's hand. "Nudge," I whisper.

"Max where are you!?"

I can hear her. She's so close.

I shove my way through a few more people before I can finally see her.

"Max!" She sobs, running at me. Her clothes are covered in blood, and I feel my face go pale. "It's not mine," She tells me through her tears. "I drug someone out…. But it was too late." She crumples in my arms, and I scoop her up as Fang comes up behind me.

"Hey Max!" I turn to see a girl I've never even seen before, running up to me. "Your mom is over there." She points. "She's looking for you."

I nod, then take off in the general direction of where the girl pointed.

A few minutes later, Mom comes into view along with Iggy and Ella.

I feel a relief so deep I can scarcely stand it. We're all okay. For once, we're all okay.

My mom sweeps all of us into tear soaked hugs, and then we share a group hug. My fingers desperately hold to Iggy's, so unbelievably happy that he is okay.

It almost feels wrong to get into the car, to leave while parents are looking for children that they won't find. But my mom insisted that we go home, said we didn't need to see anymore of this.

We pick up the younger kids from elementary school where they had been watching the news and had no idea who was okay or not. Needless to say, there was a very tearful reunion.

Mom made enchiladas that night because they're a flock favorite, but no one really felt up to eating. No one felt like going to their rooms either. It was like we all needed to feel each other near.

We decided to make this huge pallet in the living room, so that everyone could sleep in there.

I curl up next to Fang on the floor at about two thirty in the morning, and I reach my foot out just far enough so that I can feel Nudge on my other side. Fang wraps his arms around me, buries his nose deep into my hair. He murmurs incoherently into my ear, and the sound is like a lullaby. I press close to him, put my lips to his bare chest.

I thought I was going to lose him today. I thought I might lose all of them today.

For the first time all day, I let the tears slide out of my eyes. Fang feels the sudden wetness on his chest, lifts my chin up. He doesn't say anything. There's nothing he can say. So he just kisses away the tears that steadily leak from my eyes.