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Chapter 1: Finally Out of Europe and Into Trouble

MAX POV

The sky was extra bright as we soared majestically through its awesome blueness. I felt incredible. It was almost too bright... too clear… to my shock and paranoia, there were no flying Erasers anywhere. Well, hallelujah! Though I shouldn't be rejoicing just yet, since they were bound to turn up sometime, even with their demented wings and whatnot. But hey, why not enjoy the freedom and safety while we could?

I looked to my right, and there he was. My… right hand man. Clever, right? Anyway, Fang was flying beside me, his large, dark wings spanning about fifteen feet. He was staring intently ahead, as if there were something extra important in front of him. Then again, he almost always looked that: dark eyes glistening, lips set in a straight line, barely even moving except for his wings. And he was freaking gorgeous. His silky hair was so black… and shiny… Let me tell you, I'm not usually one to like shiny things. Fang's hair was one of the rare exceptions. I must've looked like an idiot when he glanced over at me with raised eyebrows. I blinked back to reality. Well, it was reality to me. To most of you "normal" readers out there (whom I really envy), bird mutants flying through the air and escaping certain death on a daily basis is not reality. At least, for your sake, I hope not.

Back to what I was saying ('cause it's just soo interesting, right?) When Fang looked at me, I think that maybe I might've actually barely blushed lightly. Like a real girl. In case you didn't know this, I'm not what you'd consider a "real girl." "Real bird mutant freak girl" is more like it. And then, the unthinkable happened. Fang – oh, my God – smiled at me. I felt my heart beat just a tad faster. And I didn't understand why. He barely ever smiled anyway! Let alone for no reason!

"So where we headed, almighty Max?" he asked in that adorable sarcastic way of his. Okay, hold up. Since when do I refer to Fang as adorable? Since when do I refer to anything except Angel as adorable? Oh, my God…

"Uh," I stuttered, racking my brain. Crap. I just realized that I didn't have a plan.

Let's back up. You guys are probably confused about the flock's situation. Well, we just escaped the Itex headquarters in Germany about a week ago, and stowed away on a plane back here to the States, much to Nudge and Total's dismay. They , of course, had wanted to go to France. Too bad Total was the only one who could speak French and, hello? He was a freaking dog. So no France. Now we were flying over the hills of Illinois, I think. We were just sort of floating around aimlessly, discovering new talents and whatnot. It was almost peaceful. And I didn't know what to do next. But I couldn't tell the flock that. Not even Fang, who happened to be my best friend.

"Let's get to the nearest town for food." I replied as if I knew what I was talking about.

"Awesome! I'm starving." The Gasman clutched his stomach as it growled.

"Me, too. I want a hamburger, and mashed potatoes, and French fries, and coke, and a large strawberry milkshake, and chocolate cake, and hot fudge brownies, and sugar cookies, and steak, and green beans, and—," Nudge began listing everything, and I knew it could go on forever.

"Nudge!" Iggy screamed, rolling his sightless eyes. "We don't need to hear it!"

Poor Nudge pouted, and I felt bad for her, but Iggy's reaction to her list was so funny that I had to stifle a laugh.

"Don't worry, Nudge." I comforted, smiling at her as we flew. "We'll get food as soon as we can."

"How long have we been flying?" Gazzy moaned, running a hand through his blond, ruffled hair. I was actually asking myself the same exact question. I'm just an awesome leader, aren't I? No, seriously, I sort of am. You should see me when I'm acting like one.

"Me and Total are hungry, too!" Angel whined, and Total squirmed slightly in Iggy's arms.

"Stay still, you stupid dog. I might just drop you…" Iggy warned. Gazzy chuckled quietly, and Angel gasped as her blond curls blew around her face.

"Excuse me?" Total cried, appalled. Nice Iggy. Way to hurt the dog's feelings. In response to Total's angry question, Iggy let go of Total for a split second. Angel screamed as Iggy caught Total just before he began his freefall through the sky. Iggy then proceeded to burst into laughter.

"I told you so." He snickered.

"I will not put up with this treatment!' Total said. Oh, great, here it comes. "Let Max carry me." Yay. Iggy shrugged, ready to toss Total to me. "Wait! Wait!" Total suddenly screamed. "Don't throw me! You're blind!"

"Oh, my God, really?!" Iggy acted shocked. "No way!"

"Just throw the dog." I sighed, holding out my arms. Total probably hated me for calling him "the dog," but he kept his mouth shut. One snide remark, and I might not catch him. Maybe that wasn't such a bad idea, actually…

Following the sound of my voice, Iggy threw Total high into the air with a chuckle. The little Scottie squeaked in fright as he began his descent. Right into my outstretched arms.

"Don't EVER do that again." Total whimpered as he trembled in my arms.

"I won't make any promises." Iggy smiled mischievously, swaying slightly as he flapped his wings gracefully. Total curled into a ball, and I rolled my eyes at Iggy.

"I'm rolling my eyes, Iggy." I said.

"Eh." He shrugged as if it was obvious, though it looked weird while he was flying. "I figured as much." I thought I heard Fang snicker (the apocalypse must be near), but when I glanced over at him, his face was expressionless.

Awesome. Now, besides the facts that I had five other people to take care of, we had no money or food, I had no plan whatsoever, and I was acting all weird around Fang (for sort of unknown reasons,) now I had to worry about a sarcastic, talking dog squirming around in my arms. And everyone was hungry, including my wimpy self. And as I looked at the flock, I saw that they were also tired. I noticed my own wings slowing down a smidge. But, of course, Fang was just as fast and strong as ever. Yeah, nice endurance buddy!

"Max, I'm tired.' Nudge yawned to prove her point. "My wings are starting to ache, and my throat is dry, and my stomach is growling. You know, we could've just went to France! Then we wouldn't be like this!" There she went, on one of her famous rants.

"Sweetie." I interrupted gently. "None of us can even speak French."

"Ahem." Total cleared his throat. I decided to ignore him.

"Max. Down there." Fang caught my attention. I was kind of startled, because he had barely spoken for hours. At least, as long as we'd been flying. I was pretty sure it'd been hours.

I glanced down and, lo and behold, there was a town not too far below. I whooped gratefully inside of my head, because to be honest, I had had no idea when the next town would show up. But nobody could know that. Especially Fang. I had to be the tough leader who always had the plan and who was always prepared for anything. I wasn't too far from that, actually. Just saying.

"All right, guys! Going down!" I announced as I angled downwards, loving the feeling of wind on my face. "Hey, Nudge, can you carry Total?" I asked. Nudge nodded and began talking about Total, or France, or something else that I didn't pay attention to as I gratefully handed the resistant Total to Nudge. I practiced the methods that the hawks had taught us what seemed like years ago, and their flying techniques worked perfectly. We were like ballerinas as we weaved our way through the clouds.

"Finally!" Gazzy cried as they all followed my lead (something I was used to.)

"So, how're we gonna get some chow?" Fang asked so quietly only I could hear.

"I was thinking that a nice dumpster would suffice." I smiled at him, and he rolled his beautiful eyes. That's right. I said it: beautiful. Fang was, ultimately, beautiful.

"Chez Dumpster, here we come." He grumbled bitterly, obviously not happy about having to eat from a dumpster. Right, like I was so thrilled about it.

Then, like, the weirdest thing ever happened. As the rest of the flock soared down, Fang grasped my hand and pulled me back. He hovered there, holding my hand. It felt so utterly awesome, and I didn't even resist his grip. The flock didn't notice that we were hanging behind a bit, and I heard Iggy scream at Nudge to shut up. Poor Nudge, stuck with the blind kid and the ultimate fart machine. Oh, and Total. And Angel, who could probably control her thoughts at any single moment.

"What's up?" I asked Fang, still holding his hand. I couldn't help but trace the scars and calluses in the palm of his hand. Oh, my God, what the heck was wrong with me?

"Nothing. I just…" Fang paused, racking his brain for the right phrase. I raised my eyebrows, waiting intently for his answer. "I just wanted to be alone for a while." He finished. I was speechless. As in, I didn't know what to say. My answer was real intelligent. Something like: "Uh." Just what Maximum Ride would say, right? Before I could even blink— and, not to brag, but I'm a pretty fast blinker– Fang put his hand behind my neck and pulled me towards him. When his mouth met mine, all of my problems disappeared. My wings almost stopped working, and you know what, it wouldn't have been so bad if they had. I would've just fallen, and Fang would've caught me, and then we could've resumed our making out. Which, did I mention, was TOTALLY awesome? I wrapped my arms instinctively around his neck, and I felt his hands at my waist…

"We have to get back to the flock," I swallowed as I hesitantly pulled away, trying really hard not to smile. Fang nodded wordlessly, a sparkle in his eyes. Gosh, how could he just make my heart flutter like that? Maybe it's just a boy thing. Or a Fang thing. Who knows? All I know is that making out with Fang is pretty dang cool. There is something seriously wrong with my brain these days. Then we began our silent descent.

The flock was a bit scattered as we landed in a small clearing near the town, and I came to a running stop on the ground. We were surrounded by trees, and we were standing in lush green grass. Flowers were all over the place, and there colors were very bright. The aroma in the air was fresh and full of nature when I breathed it in, but I couldn't help wishing I was back in the sky. My heart was still racing from me and Fang's little kiss (it wasn't really little. It was actually sort of big). Gosh, the awesome feeling of flying would never, ever get old. Then, Angel's earsplitting scream cut through my thoughts.

"MAX!" she screamed.

"What? What?" Iggy asked, moving his head from side to side as if he could actually see.

"Max." Fang elbowed me, and gestured behind me with his chin. Just like always, he was astonishingly calm, and by that time, I was practically freaking out. Then I turned around. Little did I know that I was about to freak out even more.

"What is it?" I asked, swiveling around frantically. Then I saw them. Yeah, the sight of Erasers? That could definitely get old.

And, you want to know what else? Are you sure you want to know, because it's sort of crazy… these Erasers weren't normal. I mean, it's not like they were ever normal, what with the morphing, and the wolfiness, and the trying to kill us, but I think you know what I mean. Anyway, these Erasers were as freaking tall as the trees. And, oh, my God, did that one just turn its hand into a freaking sword? I think I saw that one set the grass on fire... with its foot. I think my mind is just playing tricks on me, like always…

There are no tricks, Max. The Erasers are getting stronger. Hello Confucius. Here to make my life even more miserable?