This is a story I decided to begin writing. And I know what your thinking (doesn't she have enough stories?) I agree with you, but I think this is actually one of my favorites - so much so that while I've been sitting around at our rental beach house for this week, I've written several chapters without even having published it yet - well now of course it is XD. So I hope you guys enjoy this because I do NOT own Maximum Ride or Twilight~

Prolouge

Peace.

That was the only way to describe this feeling that made the look of happiness cross each of the faces of the flock.

Freedom from Itex's cloud of intimidation.

With Itex gone, the Erasers no longer chasing us 24/7, the remaining experiments living outside the confines of the cages they grew up in, and the School reduced to a pile of rubble - we finally had nothing to fear or run from.

We could live like normal people - well like normal mutants at least - and settle down in one place without the fear of being found again.

For years, and years we've wished for this feeling of glee again - the only time we ever felt this…free…was those two years we lived with Jeb, my so called father, after our escape from the School.

I not only loved this feeling - but I loved to see the bright smiles it left on the faces of the flock - and they always seemed the brightest when we soared hundreds of feet above the ground, the air beneath our wings, and the freedom of the open sky as we goofed around - even if we were trying to get somewhere.

Currently the flock was traveling towards Canada where my mother and sister Ella had moved to. We were stopping in a small diner in Central Washington for a "refill" of our stomachs before we spread our wings again and continued onto the Canadian border.

"I can't wait to see their house!" Nudge exclaimed, pointing her sausage armed fork into the air as she spoke. "I bet it's gonna be like one of those BIG Victorian mansions you see in those old movies! I wonder what color it is? Oh! Maybe it'll be a bunch of different colors like a rainbow house…Do those even exist? Rainbow houses? I wonder if the people who live in them are colorful-"

"And now we have officially tuned into "The Nudge Channel," I said dramatically, rubbing my forehead as Nudge continued to ramble on about people who live on rainbows.

"Hey Max?"

I turned my head with a smile to the small form of Angel sitting beside her brother opposite of me at the rounded booth. "What's up Ang?"

Angel smiled at the use of her nickname and chewed her mouthful of eggs before asking her question. "How much longer until we reach the border?"

I tapped my chin for a moment. "Um, if we stopped with all the dive-bombing and air acrobatics - we'd get there in about four hours tops?" I said, looking at the two mischief makers out of the corner of my eyes.

Iggy and Gazzy both gave sheepish laughs, averting their eyes - not even stopping in shoveling the piles of eggs and bacon into their mouths.

"Wow, when you said you had large appetites, you really meant it," our waitress laughed as she came back to refill our glasses, laughing when the younger kids - and Iggy - scrambled to chug down the white liquid.

I laughed nervously at the waitress. "Sorry, but manners have never been our strong point," I muttered, handing the woman my magic credit card.

"Believe me, my kids are worse," she confessed before walking off to charge the bill.

With our bill "paid" and our stomachs full we exited the diner and headed towards the back of the building for privacy.

A chill suddenly ran up my spin and I spun to look at the dense forest behind me as the others ascended to he sky.

'Something doesn't feel right'

"Is something wrong?" Fang asked, setting a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

I slowly turned to look him in the eye. "I'm not sure…I just, feel like we're being watched."

He shrugged. "You're just being paranoid, years of being on high alert can do that to you."

I rolled my eyes, and nudged him with my shoulder when I passed by and unfurled my wings. "Being paranoid is my specialty."

He chuckled and followed behind me, rising into the air with several powerful flaps of my brown streaked wings.

And soon enough, we were flying over the forests of northern Washington - but the feeling had never left me, and it was becoming more and more hard to ignore.

I gazed down at the forest barely meters beneath our bodies, the dark foreboding feeling telling me that something was not right. I watched the trees closely, the forest floor peeking out from beneath it where the small gaps between the forest canopy did not cover.

"Max? What's making you so on edge?" Angel asked, flying up beside me and allowing her small immaculate white wings to brush against the tips of mine with each down stroke.

I shook my head slowly, my eyes not straying from the green trees beneath us. "I-I don't know…I just feel like we're being watched. I felt like this back at the diner, but it's worse now - I think someone's following us."

"But the Erasers are gone!" Gazzy exclaimed. "They shouldn't be following us anymore!"

"And that's where you're wrong," a deep foreign accent laughed

The flock pulled back in their flight, each screaming in shock when suddenly there in front of us were nearly a dozen Erasers hovered, another half-dozen armed fly-boys floating behind them.

"T-That's impossible…" I breathed, "you Erasers are supposed to be dead…"

The Eraser at the front of the group sneered at me, his yellowed over-grown fangs peeking out from his lips. "Oh believe me lassy, Itex will never be gone - you've only just chipped at the North American branch."

Behind me I could hear Nudge let out a chocked sob and Angel whimpered slightly as the Erasers slowly hovered closer.

And then they attacked.

We all swerved off in different directions, splitting the attackers into small numbers as they chased each of us. One Eraser came up next to me, swinging out his clawed hand with a growl.

Me, being more agile and accustomed to maneuvering in the air, ducked beneath the hand, and shot up to slam my fist into the underside of the Eraser's jaw with a deafening crunch.

Ah…You gotta love super strength~

Another Eraser had come up behind me while I had been distracted with the other one, and quickly raked its nail across my back. I let out a shrill scream, dropping several meters before catching myself just before I became impaled by the sharp points of the large fir trees beneath.

As quickly as I could, which was pretty fast if I do say so myself, I shot back into the air - knocking myself into the Eraser.

It fell down and disappeared among the trees, and I left it be for the moment - pretty sure that it wouldn't even be able to stand after that.

My gaze wandered to the others to find they were faring just as well as I had - if not better. Several fly-boys found themselves blown to pieces by a small explosive was thrown by the two bomb-experts who were sharing a high-five.

Little Angel and Nudge were finishing off one last Eraser, and Fang had just disposed of a fly-boy before flying off to aid the girls.

I frowned for a moment as I watched the familiar battle ensue.

We had been so happy, nearly half a year since the destruction of the Itex facility, and it was only just now they were coming after us. I would never forgive them for that false sense of hope they had given the flock in that time (although I could never forgive any of the other things they did to us in the past either).

"MAX!" Angel screamed.

I turned to look at the curly-blond haired girl, her eyes widened in fear. She raised a shaking hand to the sky behind me, and I was almost scared to look - hoping it wasn't as horrifying as it seemed.

Slowly, I turned my head over my shoulder, flapping my wings harder as I turned to look.

My heart nearly stopped in my chest.

Almost hundreds of fly-boys and Erasers were waiting for us in the sky - creating an almost net like pattern in attempt to catch us.

And boy, did they want to catch us.

Nudge cried silently next to me, floating closer and using me as a shield from the wolf-men and guns.

"So close…" I breathed, clenching my hands into tight fists, the taut flesh straining against the bones of my knuckles. "We were so close - almost free."

"Iggy! It's time to bring out Big Boy Jr.!" the Gasman yelled.

"WHAT!" I screeched, turning and watching as Gazzy pulled a large package comprised of several foot long cylinders from Iggy's backpack. "YOU WERE MAKING BOMBS!"

The two would have grinned if the situation hadn't been so dire, and Gazzy lit the small fuse at the end of the bomb and set it hurling towards the Erasers.

We took off higher and as far away from the bomb as possible. When I turned I realized that we had all flown in different directions.

But it was too late.

The bomb exploded, taking out the Eraser's and fly-boys just as the two mischief makers planned. It started off as a small red orb, expanding in a swirl of dust and trees. And then it grew bigger, expanding rapidly - and we were still in range. When I saw the others fly off, I did the only thing I could think of.

I flew.

The perimeter of the explosion singed the tips of my wings as I took off, but I escaped it just as quickly.

I didn't know how far I flew, but it felt like hours; I didn't want to turn back.

But whenever I found my way back - I just hoped the others were all right.