Part 1

No Parents

No School

No Rules

Sweeping, swooping, soaring, air current thrill rides- there's nothing better. For miles around, we were the only thing in the infinite, wide open, clear blue sky. You want an andrenaline rush? Try tucking your wings in, dive bombing for about a mile straight down, then woosh! Wings out grab an air current like a pit bull, and hang on for a ride of your life. God, nothing is better, more fun, more exiting.

Okay, we were mutant freaks, we were on the lam, but man, flying-- well there's a reason people always dream about it.

" Oh my gosh! " the Gasman said excitedly. He pointed. " A UFO! "

I silently counted to ten. there was nothing where the Gasman has pointed. As usual. " That was funny the first fifty times, Gazzy. " I said. " It's getting old. "

He cackled, several wings spans away from me. There's nothing like an eight year old sense of humor.

" Max, how long till we get to DC? " asked Nudge, pulling up closer to me. She looked tired-we had one long, ugly day. Well, another long ugly day in a whole series of long ugly days. If I ever actually had a good easy day, I'd probably freak out.

" Another hour? Hour and a half? " I guessed.

Nudge didn't say anything. I cast a quick glance at the rest of my flock. Fang, Iggy, and I were holding steadily, but we had mucho de stamina, especially compared to dinky little nonmutant humans. But even they gave out eventually.

Here's the deal- for anybody new on this trip. There are six of us, Angel, who's six, Gasman, age eight, Iggy who's fourteen and blind, Nudge, eleven, Fang and Me ( Max ), were fourteen too. We escaped from the lab where we were raised, were given wings and other asorted powers. They want us back- badly. But were not going back- ever.

I shifted Total to my other arm. Glad he didn't weigh more than twenty pounds. He roused slightly, then dropped himself across my arm and went back to sleep, the wind whistling through his black fur. Did I want a dog? No. Did I need a dog? Also no. We were six kids running for our lives, not knowing where our next meal coming from. Could we afford to feed a dog? Wait for it-- No.

" You okay? " Fang cruised up alongside me. His wings were dark and almost silent, like Fang himself.

"In what way?" I asked, I mean there was a headache issue, the chip issue, the voice-in-my-head-constantly issue, my healing bullet wound..." I mean, can you be more specific? "

" Killing Ari. "

My breath froze in my throat. Only Fang could cut right the heart of the matter like that. Only Fang knew me that well, and went that far.

When we'd been escapingg from the Institute, from New York, erasers and white coats had shown up, of course, God Forbid we should make a clean gateway. Erasers, if you don't know already, are wolf like creatures who have been chasing us constantly, since we escaped from the lab, or school as we call it. One of the erasers had been Ari. We'd fought, as we'd fought before, and then suddenly, with no warning, I was sitting on his chest, staring at his lifeless eyes, his broken neck bend at an awkward angle.

That was twenty four hours ago.

"It was you or him." Fang said calmly. "I'm glad you picked you. "

I let out a deep breath. Erasers simpled everything up; The had no qualms about killing, so you have to lose your squeamishness about it too. But Ari had different. I'd recognize him, remembered him as a little kid back at school. I knew him.

Plus, there was that last, awful below from Ari's father, Jeb, echoing after me again and again as I flew through the tunnels.

" You killed your own brother! "

2

Of course Jeb was lying, cheating, manipulator, so he might just have been yanking my chain. But his anguish after he discovered his dead son had sounded real.

Even though I loathed and dispised Jeb, I still felt at though I had an anvil on my chest.

You had to do it Max, you're still working toward the greater good. And nothing can interfere with that. Nothing can interfere your mission to save the world.

I took another deep breath through clenched jaws. Geez, Voice. Next you'll be telling me that to make an omelet, I have to break a few eggs.

I sighed, yes, I have a voice inside my head, I mean another one beside my own. Im pretty sure that if you look up the word nuts in the dictionary, you'll find my picture. Just another fun feature of my mutant-bird-kid-freak-package.

" Do you want me to take him?" Angel asked, gesturing towards the dog in my arms.

"No that's okay" I said. Total weighed almost half of what Angel weighed - I didn't know how'd she'd carried him as far as she had. "I know" I sad, brightening. "Fang will take him."

I gave my wings an extra beat and surged up over Fang, our wings sweeping in rhythm. "Here." I said, lowering Total. "Have a dog." Vaguely Scottie-ish in size and looks, Total weighed a bit then quickly settled into Fang's arms. He gave Fang a little lick, and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep on snickering at Fang's expression.

I sped out a bit, flying out in front of the flock, feeling an excitement overshadowing my fatigue and the dark weight of what had happened. We were headed to new territory- and we might even find out parents this time. We had escaped the Erasers and whitecoats- or "former" keepers- again. We were all together and no one was badly wounded. For this moment, I felt free and strong- as if I was starting fresh, all over again, we would find our parents- I could feel it.

I was feeling.... I paused, trying to name this sensation.

I feel kind of optimistic. Despite everything.

Optimism is overrated Max said the Voice. It's better to face reality head-on.

I wonder it the Voice could see me rolling eyes, in the inside.

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*Why do I need to make 500 words... gosh💢

Dont mind me here..........

Knock knock. Who's there? Nana. Nana who? Nana your business.

Knock knock. Who's there? Adore. Adore who? Adore is between us. Open up!

Knock knock. Who's there? Control Freak. Con— Okay, now you say, "Control Freak who?!"

(ノಠ益ಠ)ノDamn 500 words with this cheezy jokes*

3

By dusk, we'd crossed over a chunk of Pennsylvania, and a thin spit of ocean twined below us, between New Jersey and Delaware. "Look at this, kids, were learning geography!" Fang called out with mock excitement. Since we'd never been to school, most of what we'd learned was from television or the Internet. And, these days, from the little-know-it-all Voice in my head.

Soon, we'd be over Washington DC. Which was pretty much where my plan stopped. For tonight, all I worried about was food and a place to sleep. Tommorow I would have time to study the info we'd forgotten from the Institute. I'd been so thrilled when we'd hacked to the Institute's computers. Pages of information about our actual had scrolled across the screen. I'd manage to print out a bunch of it before we'd been interrupted.

Who knew - by this time, tomorrow we might be on someone's doorstep, about to come face-to-face with the parents who had lost us so long ago. It sent shivers down my spine.

I was tired, we were all tired, So when I did an automatic 360 and saw a weird dark cloud heading toward us, my groan was deep and sincere.

"Fang, what's that? Behind us, at ten o'clock."

He frowned, checking it out, "Too fast for a storm cloud. Too small, too quiet for choppers. Not birds, too lumpy." He looked at me. " I give up, what is it?"

"Trouble." I said grimly, "Angel gat out of the way, guys heads up! We've got company!"

We swung around to face whatever is coming. Fast!

"Flying monkeys?" the Gasman called out a guess. "Like the Wizard of Oz?"

It dawned on me then. "No," I said tersely. "Worse, flying Erasers."

4

Yep, flying Erasers. These Erasers had wings, which was a new and revolting development on the Eraser front. Half-wolf, half-human, and now half-avian? That couldn't be a happy mix! and they were headed at our way about eighty-miles an hour.

" Erasers, version 6.5." Fang said.

Split up Max! Think 3-D. Said my Voice.

"Split up!" I ordered. " Nudge, Gazzy! Nine o'clock! Angel, up to top! Move it! Iggy and Fang, flank me from below! Fang, ditch the dog!"

"Nooo, Fang! " screeched Angel.

The Erasers slowed as soon as we fanned out. they're huge, heavy, looking wings backbeating the air. It was almost pitch-black now, with no moon and no city lights below. I was still able to see they're teeth, they're pointed fangs, they're smiles of excitement. They were on a hunt, it was party time..

Here we go, I thought, feeling andrenaline speeding up my heart. I launched myself at the biggest one, swinging my feet under me to smash against it's chest. He rolled back but righted himself and came at me again, claws slashing the air.

I bobbed, feeling his paws whip past right my face. I turned sharply just in time to have a hard hairy fist crash into my head.

I dropped ten feet quickly, then surged back up on the offensive.

On my peripheral vision, I saw Fang clapped both hands hard against an Eraser's furry ears. The Eraser screamed, holding his head, and started to lose altitude. Fang had Total on his backpack. He rolled out of harm's way, and I took his place , catching another Eraser in the mouth with a hard side kick.

I grabbed one of his arms, twisting it violently in back of him. It was harder in the air, but then I heard a loud pop.

The Eraser screamed and dropped, careening down hard until he caught himself and flew clumsily away, one arm dangling.

Above me an Eraser lashed out at Nudge, but dhe dodged out of the way.

Max? Size isn't everything. Said the Voice.