Hello. You're probably reading this because you have nothing better to do. Or you're a Maximum Ride freak, and you read everything you can.

Either way…Hi. How are you? I don't expect you to answer, so don't bother. I'm babbling now, so I'll just get on with it…

I felt hands touch my arm slightly. Someone shakes me.

"Max? Max, wake up. There's someone here," I hear someone whisper in my ear. I snap my eyes open to see Iggy above me.

"What?" I ask him. Okay, I admit it…I was pissed. I mean, how much would you appreciate it if someone woke you up before the sun had deemed worthy enough to peek its head over the distant mountains? That's what I thought. No.

"I can hear someone."

"What!" I say, "What kind of someone? Erasers? Humans? What?" I snap. He shrugs.

"I don't know. Like someone looking for something. Scuffling…here, listen." He stands and steps back. I listen closely. He's right…Someone's scuffling around in the bushes. Not on two feet, not on four…On three?

"Can you hear-"

"Yeah," he answers, "It's limping."

"I'll be right back," I whisper to him. He nods. I jump in the air and fly to a nearby tree. From there, I can see it…'it' because I still can't tell if it's a boy or a girl. Its hair is tangled and I can see something shoved through its foot…Maybe an arrow? Or a stick?

I push a branch away from my face, just as it collapses onto the ground.

I jump down and spot a trail of unnaturally bright red blood leading from its body off into the distance. I nudge its body with my foot, tensed and ready to spring. It doesn't do anything. I lean over.

It looks extremely delicate, and strangely familiar. It's definitely a girl. I roll the body over and check her pulse. Strong and fast…Like normal for the flock, and me. Her forehead is so hot, I have to pull my hand back in fear of being burned.

"Iggy!" I yell, scaring a few birds.

"Max?" I hear Fang yell.

"Fang, come here!" I yell. I hear some moving of the undergrowth of the forest we've camped in for the night. Fang appears. His hair messed up and he has a wrinkle mark on his cheek from what I assume was his blanket. He yawns.

"Wha-Oh." Is all he says. I roll my eyes.

"Help me move her, please." He grabs her legs.

"Why can't you carry her yourself?" he asks. I point to her foot.

"Because I don't want to move that." He glances at it.

"Yeah, I can see where that might be a problem." He replies dryly. I glare at him.

"Well, let's move her, then!" I tell him.

"Right." He grabs her legs, I grab her arms and we manage to move her into camp. We set her body down on my sleeping bag. I drop onto my knees and look at whatever's in her foot.

"Ouch," Fang says, raising an eyebrow at her. I nod. Iggy walks up.

"Hey, did you check it out?" he asks.

"Yeah…She's right here. I think she has a stick through her foot." Iggy frown and reaches down. He runs his hand down her foot until it comes to the problem. He touches it lightly. The girl flinches.

"What do you think we should-"

"MOMMA! MOMMA, WHERE IS YOU! MOMMA! I BROUGHT YOUR ACKPACK! MOMMA, WHERE IS YOU? MOMMA?" I stand.

"I'm getting Angel." I tell them. They nod and go back to staring at her. I roll my eyes.

"Angel? Angel, honey, wake up!" I tell her, touching her shoulder lightly. She opens her eyes slowly.

"Ouch," she says, wincing, "Who got hurt?"

"MOMMA!" that voice again. I wince.

"Gawd, that kid is loud…We found a girl in the woods, and she has a stick through her foot."

"Oh. That explains the pain."

"Right. Um…Iggy and Fang and me were wondering if…"

"MOMMA, I WANT FOOOOOOD!"

"You could read her and see what she did."

"Okay." Angel yawns and walks over to Fang.

"Hi, Fang. Hi, Iggy. Hi, Psyche." She says calmly. We blink at her. She closes her eyes and sits for a few minutes.

"MOMMA, THEY'RE COMING!" I look towards the voice and frown.

"You guys, I'm going to check that out." I tell them. Iggy stands.

"I'm going with you."

"Me, too," Fang says. I shake my head.

"Fang, you have to stay here. We need somebody to watch the flock." He doesn't look too happy about it, but he stays.

"Hello?" I call into the forest.

"MOMMA!" I hear. Something flies against my knees. I fall backwards. A little girl is smiling at me happily.

"I, um…I don't think I'm your momma." I tell her. She frowns and stands, brushing her little dress off.

"Where's my momma?" she asks, frowning. I stand.

"I don't know, sweetie. What does she look like?" The little frowns in concentration.

"Watch!" she says. I watch her. An image appears in front of me, flickering. It shows a sad face, smiling, and open arms. The image flickers and disappears. I shut my mouth slightly.

"I think I know where your Momma is…" I tell her, grabbing her hand. Iggy yawns.

"What happened?" he asks.

"She somehow made a picture of the girl from the forest appear in the air."

"Oh, okay." Completely nonplussed. Just like him. Psh. I walk the little girl back to camp and shake my head.

What are you doing? They're strangers! And you're letting them in with the flock! The voice says.

Sorry to burst your bubble, Voice, but I'm a little busy right now! I reply.

You never have time to listen to me, even though I saved you from that tank. I growl.

Voice, later. I answer. We stop in front of my sleeping bag. Fang has his hand on the stick and looks about to pull it out.

"Stop!" He jumps and pulls his hand back.

"What? It's the only option." I stare at him.

"Fine. Do it." He takes hold of it again. I drop the little girls' hand as Angel stands and walks next to me. Fang frowns at the stick, and suddenly it's not in her foot anymore. I blink. Did I miss something?

"Uh…That was quick…" I tell him. He's staring at the stick in his hand. I see him drop it and wipe his hands on his pants.

"Uh…I didn't pull it out." He says. I stare at him.

"Then how did you…" It dawns on me.

"Oh." I say. So. Fang's found his power. Telekinesis. That could definitely be useful. Iggy frowns again.

"Hello, blind kid here! I need some info, people!"

"Fang can move things with his mind." There's a slight pause.

"Cool." He says, completely nonplussed. I shake my head.

"Well, we have to sterilize her, um, cut." Fang says. I nod and grab my pack to get my first aid kit. I get back to them and pull out one of those alcohol pads.

"Brace yourself," Fang mutters. I reach down and start to touch her wound with the cloth.

"What?" I ask. She sits suddenly with a scream and pulls her feet back in. She hisses at us like a cat would and crouches back on her feet.

"You won't get me. I'm done with your tests! No!" she screams at me. I sit back.

"Momma!" the little girl throws herself at the teenager, whose eyes are wild and breathing erratic. The little girl begins to sob.

"Momma, it's okay, be okay…" says, holding tight. The teenager lets out a deep breath and closes her eyes.

"I'm sorry." She says after her breathing's calmed. "I didn't mean to be so loud. They'll find us, now, so you'd better run."

"What?" I ask, surprised. She opens her eyes.

"I also want to thank you."

"For what?" Iggy asks. There's a slight rustling noise as Gazzy walks over.

"For saving me twice." There it is again…The overwhelming feeling I've seen her before. I frown.

"Twice?" Fang asks. A rueful smile plays across her lips.

"Twice. You probably have more important things to do than remember the people you saved." She pulls the baby towards her and hugs her. "Let me help you. New York. Experiments? Erasers? Anything?" It dawns on me.

"You're that girl, from the Institute for Higher Living!" I see her grin.

"Right on cue. And thanks again for getting me out of there. Me and Din."

"Din?" A smile plays across her lips.

"You may have noticed, she's loud."

"Momma, I broughted your ackpack, and the lady took me here." She points to me and keeps babbling. The girl frowns. 'Talkative, huh?' I mouth to Fang. He smiles a little. The girl bursts out laughing hysterically. We stare at her and she stops abruptly. She stands and holds her stomach.

"They're…coming…run…" she gasps out and runs for the trees. I follow her. She retches into the bushes.

"Who's coming?" I ask her. She pukes again.

"The…Erasers…Take…Din…" she trails off and pukes again, leaning against the tree. She spreads a pair of dark wings and takes off. She's doing something to her arm. I squint.

She's gnawing on her arm. I turn and run back to camp.

"Everyone, grab your stuff, U and A!" I yell. They grab their stuff and take off. I see Fang's carrying that baby-Din. In the distance, I see her-Did Angel call her Psyche?-hanging midair.

"I'll be right back!" I yell to Fang. He nods and hovers midair. I use my speed to go to her. Her arm is bleeding and she has tear streaks going down her face. Now that I look, I see how thin she is. She has these huge dark streaks under her eyes, and her cheeks look hollow. She can barely keep herself in the air. I shake my head and grab her.

"Hold on tight," I say and speed back to the flock. We look below. Erasers are flooding our makeshift campsite.

"Let's blow this joint." I tell them.

….:….

I heft Din up a little as I feel her slip. She clings tightly to my arms.

We've been switching off with Total and Din for the last four hours. Me and Fang, that is. I'm exhausted. I feel like my arms are about to fall off. I spot a likely looking cave nearby and sigh in relief.

"Over there," is all I can manage. Fang nods and turns that direction. I dawdle behind to let the flock go ahead of me. Nudge holds off and flies just above me.

"Yes, Nudge?" I ask.

"You know, me and Iggy could help. Carry those two, I mean. We're not weak, you know, just because you and Fang are oldest doesn't mean-"

"Nudge, if you want to help, go talk to Psyche," I say. Nudge frowns.

"No. I want to take Din. You need my help. Please? It's only for a few minutes." I sigh. She's has a point…If I drop the baby, several people will definitely be angry. I hand Din to Nudge.

She smiles and coos at her. I smile and shake my head. I shake my arms a little to get the blood moving again. The rest of the flock lands. I see Fang drop Total and reach into his pack for something. He gestures for Psyche to sit. She rolls up her sleeve and I wince at the marks she's inflicted on herself. There are deep gashes around her arm. He cleans it off and starts to wrap it with a bandage.

He laughs at something she says. I frown. Why am I so jealous?

I land in the cave.

"I'm sorry. I never caught your names," she says politely. Fang grabs her foot and starts to clean it off. She gasps and twists her threadbare shirt while wincing. He starts to wrap her foot, too.

"You probably shouldn't walk on this," he tells her. She nods and winces again.

"My name's Angel." Angel tells her, smiling. Psyche grins.

"A fitting name," she says.

"My name's Nudge. I don't really know how I got it, but I think it's a great name, don't you? You're name's awesome, too, but I don't know where that came from, either. And-" Iggy puts a hand over her mouth.

"Iggy," he says, holding out his spare hand. She grins and shakes it.

"Pleasure,"

"My name's The Gasman, but you can call me Gazzy."

"Why…Never mind, I don't think I want to know." She laughs a little.

"Fang." Fang says.

"Max. Maximum Ride." I tell her. She smiles at me.

"My name is Psyche…And, before you ask, the scientist who…Created me decided I reminded her of a girl from Greek mythology. I won't go into the story right now, but Psyche was supposed to be the most beautiful girl in the world. I told her she was wrong, but the name stuck and that's who I've been ever since. They gave me an unlucky name, and that's how my life is. I'm unlucky, so in all of your best interests, I'd suggest you get rid of me as soon as possible." I blink and stare at her. She seems sincere.

"What's so unlucky about being called beautiful?" Gazzy asks. She shakes her head.

"Psyche did something stupid and made her true love leave her. She was doomed to look for him for all eternity."

"Oh." Gazzy says. Psyche smiles again, sadly and stands.

"I'll be going now."

"No." Fang says. We all turn to look at him. There's that jealous feeling again.

"I feel like…Like there's a reason she found us again, and she needs to stay until we figure it out." The flock stares at him. They've probably never heard a speech so long from Fang.

"Fine." I say. Woah, that came out surprisingly childish-sounding. There's an uncomfortable silence.

"That's good, 'cus Din is really cute and I like her, she reminds me of Angel when Angel was little like her. Except Angel had really light hair and Din has brown hair. And Din is really, really loud and Angel was always quiet. And Din sleeps a lot. As far as I know, anyways. I haven't really known her that long, and…"

She needs to stay with you, Max.

Why? It's not like she can do anything useful.

You don't even know her. She's an empath. And she has…certain ties with Fang you don't know about.

I snort. "What, did he get her pregnant?" the flock turns and stares at me. I cough.

"Uh…. Sorry about that. I'll be right back."

I already hate this girl.