Disclaimer: Not James Patterson. Don't own Maximum Ride.

Nowhere to go.

We're trapped again. That's all that ever seemed to happen. We get trapped and caught. Our lives are an endless cycle of terror and misery.

No matter how many villains we defeat, how many people we save, someone else always rises to fill the place.

In our lives we really don't have options. We can't go to school. Normal school anyways. I guess Dr. Martinez or someone could home school us, but really, what's the point?

Because it's not like we can get jobs. Whatever work we'll get won't be a legit career. No one will hire weird mutant kids who are two percent bird with freaky powers.

We can't go majorly public either. It just adds to he list of psychos. Sometimes I wonder if there's a waiting list for picking on bird kids. It certainly feels like it when there's a new terrorist every other day.

It's really impossible for us to settle down, too. We really wouldn't be able to stay anywhere long. Unless of course w became corn-farmers in Kansas or something. Yeah, sorry, but I don't farm.

Last, and saddest of all in my opinion, we can't really have families. Iggy's parents showed us that finding our birth parents isn't going to work, except for Max. She scored big on her mom. I won't say anything about Jeb, because you just know i'll have to start swearing, and we don't want that. We wouldn't want to risk having kids either, because human DNA is fragile and could totally mess these kids up.

I sat on a rock, thinking about all this. It was on the edge of a cliff, and I stared down into the abyss. I wondered what would happen if I jumped--and held in my wings. The sun was almost at the horizon and it didn't shine at the bottom. Even with my excellent night vision, I could barely see the trees that would break my fall...

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Max, looking at me. I smiled and turned back, scooting over and wrapping my arms around my knees. She sat beside me and squeezed my hand, and I knew what would happen if I jumped.

Max would go crazy. She'd be overcome with sadness, and I wouldn't be there to comfort her. When we thought Jeb had died, I comforted her, and every time after that. Now she was comforting me, her presence solace enough. She didn't even know it, but it totally worked.

I stood up on the rock, and to her surprise pulled her up with me.

"Ready to fly?" she asked, her beautiful brown eyes searching my inscrutable face (to most anyways, but she could read me like a book) and must have seen something of my thoughts, since her eyes widened in alarm.

I kissed her in response, then jumped off the edge, with her right behind. But I opened my wings. We flew, me right above her, wings in sync, up into the flaming sky, and I knew I was wrong.

We had nowhere to go but up.

A/N: Hey all, I realized that this story had this weird format thingy...so I fixed it. I don't know if that made it cool, or if anyone liked it like that. So sorry if you did.
Don't forget to review! I really appreciate it. :)

Hearts, Brooki