Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride or its characters

Chapter 1

The girls tanned fingers tapped nervously on the stainless steel table top. It was quite clear to the man standing in the shadows at the back of the room that she was scared and uncomfortable. The way she sat tall with a stiff back, feet shaking beneath her chair, teeth constantly chewing her bottom lip. Whilst her breathing was slow and controlled her heart beat as if she were running a marathon.

The fast rhythm of her heart was music to his ears. His perfect and vivid vision enabled him to see the way her blood pulsed through her veins, so sweet and endearing. He had waited so long to taste her blood. To have it finally penetrate his lips and sooth his scorching throat. The mere thoughts of doing so made his throat sear with pain, but now was not the time to thirst on the young girls blood. No, now was the time, for he was curious as to why the girl had come here.

Her scared brown eyes swept over the shadowed area at the back of the square room. There were no windows in this room, the only light coming from the fluorescent bulb that shone dimly above her head. The room rung with a silence so quiet it caused shivers to convulse through her body. She was aware of the male in the room, but the fact that she could not see him put her on edge.

The man had always found the girl with dark chocolate yes and brown wavy hair fascinating; he could have watched her in this state for eternity and never be bored by the sight of her. Yet he felt it was time to break the ice and say something; for with every second that passed the girl was getting closer and closer to having a nervous breakdown.

"Why have you come here, Max?" his voice, the most beautiful sound in the world cut the cool air like a dagger. The words he spoke reverberated off the walls as a whisper that hung in the air. A slight sheen of sweat had broken out on the girl's brow, yet she did not respond to his question; did not make any sign that she had heard his question apart from the fact that her hands were now nervously twining together.

The man unhappy with her response tried again his voice stern and crisp.

"Why have you come to me now? After so long? There must be reasoning behind your actions…"

More silence followed. The man was starting to lose his patience, he was about to ask one more time with more force when the girl finally spoke, her tiny voice held a slight waver.

"You've no idea of my actions or there reasons. As for why I have come, I simply had no choice" Her words hung in the air, their meaning taking their time to sink in.

"Had no choice you say?"

Max nodded stiffly and opened her mouth as if to start explaining but was silenced as the man continued on.

"That is where you are wrong Max; you have always had a choice. You chose to keep your silence when the police inquired you at the time. You kept that silence for thirteen years, and now you say you had no choice on whether or not to come here? I'm not a fool so I will ask you one more time. Why are you here?" His voice held no trace of anger but the steel and coldness to it made it more frightening and intimidating.

He stood, still concealed by the shadows as he watched her with dark midnight eyes. Her breathing had become heavy and laboured as she was no doubt remembering those frightful events that took place thirteen years ago. Still she held her silence as she tried to calm herself down and fight the pain the constricted her chest.

"Are you feeling guilty for not giving evidence, Max? Is that why you have come now? To relieve your conscience in the hope you can forget that night?"

"I have never felt guilty for my actions" She spoke boldly, much to the surprise of the man.

"But that is not why I have come. I came because I felt his presence. I fear that more will be hurt by him and it is in my power and mine alone to stop him"

The man took her words in thoughtfully as he paced the shadows silently. He had not expected this to be her answer and was astounded by the fact that she wanted to take action. Finally he was able to ask one simple question.

"Can you identify the man who attacked you?" his voice rung around the room as he finally stepped into the light.

Max stared in shock, her breath caught in her chest as her eyes roamed over his familiar face. His eyes were cold and dark as midnight. His hair just as dark was swept lazily all over the place, yet it was not any of these features that had her frozen in her seat. It was his pearly white teeth; in particular the white incisors that were just visible resting on his bottom lip.

"It's you" she managed to whisper before darkness engulfed her except for the burning image of his face on her eyelids.

Max awoke with a start. The sheets of her bed were twisted around her body, her thin cotton top stuck to her sweat drenched skin. Streaks of sunlight covered her bed and dimly lit her bedroom. Dragging herself out of bed and the stairs her eyes met the stern but concerned gaze of her adoptive mother Valencia. As Max took her place at the kitchen bench bowl of cereal in hand she heard the almost inaudible sight that left Valencia's lips.

"Not another nightmare Max?" she frowned her eyebrows creasing. "This has to stop!"

Her eyes met Max's and she barely fought of a flinch. The piercing coldness of Max's glare was unsettling, when she spoke however he voice was void of emotion but polite none the less.

"It's not as though I can control what I dream of"

Valencia pursed her lips as if to say she could control it but did not voice this thought in fear that Max would crack and become angry.

"No, I guess not" she said instead and walked briskly down the hallway and away from Max.

It was at this precise moment that the overly bubbly Ella, Max's adoptive sister, skipped into the room. A slight frown crossed her completion as she saw the concerned look on her mother's face, still she did not let it dampen her energetic mood.

Ella despite being of no blood relation to Max still shared some traits with her sister. Both girls had a warm brown head of wavy hair and both had brown eyes although Max's were a shade darker. Apart from these similar traits in appearance they also shared traits that ran thicker than skin deep, a trait in their blood that bound them both to a world that should never have existed. Both girls were aware of this world but only one knew the full story on how both of them were connected to it.

Taking the seat next to her sister, Ella studied Max's profile, the slight tan to her skin that never faded the perfect curve of her nose, and her slightly almond shaped eyes. Max in Ella's opinion was the epitome of gorgeous. She could see why all the boys fell head over heels for her, yet Max seemed oblivious of just how beautiful she was. There were many things Ella envied her sister for having; her beauty being just one of them.

"Max come here" There mothers voice called out crisp and clear from somewhere down the hallway. Swiftly Max rose from her chair and silently wandered in the direction of their mother's voice, her hair bouncing on her shoulders. As Max vanished out of sight Ella scrambled out of her chair, nowhere near as graceful as her sister had, and stood in the opening of the hallway, hoping to catch some of their conversation.

"What do you mean you arranged me an appointment?" Max's voice shook slightly with anger.

"I had to Max; things were getting out of control. Your nightmares are getting worse and worse every night. You need help" Valencia's voice was also shaking but with concern not anger.

"Why are you doing this to me now?" her voice rose an octave as her anger slipped into her voice more and more. "I had nightmares thirteen years ago and you didn't take action. Sure these are a little worse, but I don't understand why you are so concerned all of a sudden"

Silence followed as Valencia surely grappled for a retort to her daughters words.

"I gave you my reasons Max, you will see this psychiatrist even if I have to drag you there" she spoke with a deathly calm.

"Fine. Have it your way" Max's words were spoken no more than a whisper but they still hissed harshly through the air.

The audible sound of the front door slamming alerted Ella of her sister's departure. Hastily shoving on a pair of shoes she followed suit.

So yeah this is the first story i have ever written in 3rd person so i have no idea if its any good so you guys are gonna have to tell me. Sorry if it got a bit dry at the end but i think it was still quite good. I already have the next couple of chapters written and i hope they'll have you on the edge of your seat so make sure you review to let me know if it's worth updating!

i didn't want to do the typical cliche story so i hope this one is different and a breath of fresh air, so yeah if you read it please review cos if you like it i'll update quicker! :)