Maximum Ride

        My name is Maximum Ride, but everyone calls me Max. I have long blond hair, and ……. wings. Yep, that's right, wings. I also have a brother with wings, Iggy. As far as i know we are the only ones with wings. Iggy is the same age as me, 14. He has blond hair, same as me. He is also blind. I have no idea how it happened, but he can feel colors. Back to the wings. We are 98% human, 2% bird. We were born in a DNA lab. My mom, Dr. Martinez, agreed to let them inject me with it, and now I'm stuck with it. But I like it. I never feel so alive when I'm in the sky. The wind going through your hair, the beautiful views, it's just exhilarating. Anyways, recently my mom moved with us to Ohio. It is really magnificent with its luscious, green grasses.
        DING DONG!
        "Hey, Max! Answer the door, will ya?" Iggy asked.
        ''Sure," in an unusually enthusiastic voice. I even surprised myself. I opened the door.
        "Hello, my name is Nudge. We are your neighbors! I've been waiting for someone to اقدام in! I've always wanted a best friend! We-," suddenly she was cut off because a boy that looked the same age as me covered her mouth. He looked steaming HOT with dark hair, and dark, mysterious eyes. Forget I ever کہا that.
        "Fang," he said. I almost laughed out loud. What a stupid name!
        "And I'm Angel. I can tell that we are going to the best of friends! Nudge how about we hang out with her today? Oh, sorry, we forgot to ask what your name was," she said.
        "My name is Maximum Ride, but most people call me Max. Iggy! Come meet our new neighbors!" I screamed.
        "And my name is Ella. Very nice to meet you, Max," she کہا as she shook hands with me.
        "Iggy? That's not a very good name, now is it?" Fang asked.
        "It's better than Fang,'' I giggled. He smirked at me, and for some reason, it made my دل melt. Forget I کہا that, too. Just then, Iggy came down, and told everyone hello. I saw Ella blush when she saw him. 'EEEEEWWWWWW!', I thought. The thought of anyone going out with Ig just made me want to hurl.
        "So, Max is it? Do آپ want to hang out today? Oh, maybe we could talk about guys in your bedroom. Come on!'' Nudge کہا as she pulled me away. I just followed because there was nothing I could do about it.
        "Ella, what about آپ and Iggy? آپ like him right? Ask him out!'' Nudge said. Ella's face turned a deep crimson red.
        "Yeah,…… I guess, but he would never say yes, especially to a girl like me," she said, sounding disappointed.
        "I could ask him for you, if آپ want me to, anyways," I said.
        "Really? Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Ella said.
        "And Max?………. آپ and Fang?" Nudge asked. Ugh! I hated talking about mushy stuff like this! That's why I never had any friends!
        "He's…. ok, I guess. I mean, I don't know," I said, feeling confused on how I felt about him. I've never really liked anyone before. Never thought about it until now.
        "You mean hot and sexy right?" Nudge asked.
        "Yeah, I guess so," I کہا casually.
        "I'm telling!" Nudge said. She ran out the room before I could tell her no.
        " I HATE YOU, NUDGE!" I exclaimed.
        "Love you, too!" Nudge said. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now.
        The اگلے دن I told my mom that Iggy and I were going اگلے door. We went, and I was confronted سے طرف کی Fang. Iggy left me alone with him, and so did everyone else,of course!
        "So, Max, according to Nudge, I'm sexy and hot. Who کہا that? Was it you, perhaps?" Fang کہا questioningly.
        "Um……. I just came to drop off Iggy, so, yeah, bye!" I said.
        "Friday night?" Fang asked. I turned, confused for a moment.
        "What?" I inquired.
        "Friday night, at 8, I will be picking آپ up, and we are going see a movie. See آپ then!" He smirked in that heart-melting way he had. I turned and walked away. Inside I felt excited, confused, and, well, happy. I'd never been on a تاریخ before. What movie were we going see? Would we even go see a movie? Would he lie to me? Oh well, I guess I'd find out on Friday. Later on, Iggy came ہوم happier than I've ever seen him. He went upstairs without saying a word to me, which was very unusual, especially if he looked that happy.
        At dinner, we usually tell each other about the دن we had, but we all just sat there, quiet, staring at each other. If آپ ask me, it was very awkward. I was being quiet because I had gotten asked out سے طرف کی a really cute guy, but I don't know why they were being all quiet. Suspicious, much?
        "So…. what'd آپ guys do today?" my mom asked.
        "You know our new neighbors?" Iggy asked. "That girl, Ella? I asked her out today, and she کہا yes. We are going out to eat together on Friday night. I mean, as long as it's okay with you," Iggy said. I couldn't believe it. My brother? Going on a تاریخ with a girl? Wow, just wow.
        "And you, Max? What'd آپ do today?" my mom asked.
        "Well, our neighbor, Fang I think it is, asked me out today," I کہا it like it was no biggie, but I was actually really excited.
        "And آپ said……"
        "I didn't really have a choice because he said' I AM taking آپ out to the movies', and then he کہا see آپ then. He کہا he would pick me up at 8 on Friday,so yeah." I think she was just as surprised as I was when I told her. My brother had the same expression as I did when I heard he was going out with someone. Brothers…..
        
                                     FRIDAY
        FRIDAY! Wonderful. I had gone over to Fang's house every دن to hang out with him and he wasn't that bad. I really didn't mind spending time with him. Sometimes I actually wonder what he thinks. Does he think I look hot? Oh gosh… I can't believe I am actually wondering about that. I never used to. I used to wonder if I was good enough to kick somebody's butt, which usually I was. But then I had to meet a boy, of course. All I needed was مزید drama in my life. I mean, I have been told that I am supposed to save the world……meanwhile I am having a تاریخ with a random boy with a stupid name. I still laugh at it when I hear it sometimes. Whoops! I don't guess آپ are supposed to do that if he could end up as your boyfriend. While I'm thinking about all of this the doorbell rings. I rush to get out of the bathroom. While I was in there, Iggy left with Ella on their تاریخ already. I was really nervous.
        "Hi, Fang. Nice to meet you. Be back سے طرف کی at least 1:00. Please. Have fun, آپ guys!" my mom said.
        I left with Fang. His mom drove us to the movies. As I looked out the window, I could feel him take glances at me, as if I looked hot. All I wore was a tank-top and jeans. Nothing special, but he seemed to think it was. Fine with me. We finally got there and Fang's mom told us to be محفوظ and have fun as we left.
                                             Fang's Point of View
        God, Max looks so hot. I can't believe she actually came with me tonight. I have asked a ton of girls, but most of them had کہا no. The ones that کہا yes ended up being weird so none of the relationships worked. But Max seemed genuinely nice. I just wore some pants and a black جیکٹ on سب, سب سے اوپر of another black شرٹ, قمیض I had , but she wore a nice tank-top that made her look really hot. I blushed. I really hoped she didn't notice, though, because that would make me seem kind of weird. We got dropped off سے طرف کی Mom. I told her thanks, and I helped Max out of the car. I guess she didn't really need the help, though, because she got out the car without taking my hand. We walked in, and we picked a movie to watch. It was a fighting movie. I didn't think girls had an interest in things that I did, but we watched it anyways.
                                                 Max's Point of View
        Cool, a fighting movie! I miss those days where I would go out with Iggy, and fight to save the world. Those days were over, for now. We sat down at the very back of the theater. Alone. Fabulous. After the movie we went out to eat.
        "So, how was the movie?" Fang asked. The first words since the beginning of the date.
        "Fine," I said. He looked disappointed. I don't know why. I've been having a great time.
        "Listen, I'm having a really great time, just, can we go get some کوکیز after this? They're my favorite! I mean, as long as we have enough money,'' He smiled. I guess that meant a yes. I hope so, anyway.
        "Sure. And then we have to see something that will be very awesome. آپ will definitely love it. یا at least I hope آپ will. It's beautiful,……. like you," Fang said. My دل skipped a beat. I am beautiful? Huh. Who knew?
        After that we went to go get cookies. He brought me to the beautiful place that he told me about. It truly was beautiful. We sat on the edge of a cliff, eating کوکیز in the moonlight.
        "This has been one of the best nights of my life! کوکیز and I get to go on a تاریخ with a really hot guy!" After I کہا that, I realized I had کہا that out loud. Darn! I think I just ruined the date! There goes that chance!
        "Oh, really? Well, how about I make this night even better?" he said. I had no idea what he meant until he did it. He put his soft, gentle hands under my chin, and brought my lips to his. It felt magical. When he kissed me, I kissed him back. This felt مزید beautiful than the view in front of us. I had to pull away to breathe.
        " Wow, just wow," Fang said. I bit my lip. After that we got up, and we headed back home. I couldn't believe how much fun I had had. When we were on my front step, he stopped in front of me.
        "Well, goodnight, Max," He kissed me once again, and again it felt just as magical. I wished this moment would last forever, but of course, it didn't. When he stopped, I smiled.
        "Goodnight," I said. I walked into my house. It was 2:00. Uh-oh. I tip-toed to my bedroom.
        "Well, how'd your تاریخ go?" Mom. Phew! She scared me!
        "Um…… Great!" I said. "We went to the movie, went to get some food, and then we got کوکیز while sitting on a cliff, it was cool!" I کہا quietly.
        "Alright well, go get some sleep, honey," she said. I went to my bedroom. I laid there, in my bedroom, bored. I was definitely not tired. I ran off my balcony and jumped. I spread out my wings, and flew. I loved the feeling of the wind catching my wings. It was wonderful. I flew out to the docks. There was someone there when I landed. They scared the heck out of me.
        "Um…..hey, Max,"
        "Fang, what are آپ doing here!? Did آپ just see-?"
        "Yeah, it's okay. Did آپ see mine?" Fang asked.
        "What? آپ have wings, too? So does Iggy. It's weird. I thought Ig and I were the only ones!" I said.
        "Funny, we thought we were the only ones, Nudge, Angel, Gazzy, and I. Now it makes our relationship, in my opinion, even better. We have a lot of things in common," Fang کہا passionately.
        "Yeah, I guess so," I کہا quietly. I brought my face to his, and I kissed him gently. Gradually, it became مزید passionate, but it didn't go any further. I wanted to sit there all night, and just kiss him. But my mom might get suspicious. So i told him goodnight, and left. Definitely one of the best nights of my life. My first kiss with a guy. AAAAHHHHHH! It makes me feel so happy! Back to bed. I got in bed, and thought about my whole day, and I only had 1 word for it…… WOW.
        The اگلے دن I woke up, and went into the باورچی خانے, باورچی خانہ to get some breakfast. It smelled like bacon, eggs, and toast. YUM! I saw Iggy eating already which means it's late in the morning because he always wakes up around 11.
        "Hey Ig! Mom, what time is it?" I asked.
        "Um… Max it's 1 in the afternoon. I guess آپ were tired last night. You've never slept that late, ever. Had fun I'm guessing. Did آپ guys, آپ know,……… kiss?" my mom asked. I blushed and smiled. Iggy made a 'EW' face, and I scowled at him. "How was your first kiss, huh? Nice, right?" she smiled at me awkwardly. Creepy…..
        "Yeah…..," I had a happy tone in my voice. It sounded pleasant, and I guess my mom thought so, too, because she grinned widely. Again,……. creepy.
        Fang had a way of distracting my whole mind. All I could think was 'Fang, Fang, Fang……' and it goes on and on. I couldn't wait until I got to go over, and hang out with him. Meanwhile, Iggy had already left to go over either to go hang out with Ella یا Gazzy. For some reason he liked hanging out with Gazzy. I think they have something in common that I don't know about, except for the wings, of course, because they didn't know about that. I sat there thinking about the دن before in silence. After breakfast, I went over to Fang's house. It always surprises me with how big it is. And it is definitely the prettiest house I've ever seen in my whole life. It has a chandelier as آپ walk into the home, and a big, grand staircase leading up to all the kids' bedrooms. The parents' bedrooms are downstairs. I walked up the stairs, and into Fang's bedroom. It was empty. I walked up to his bedroom window, and pulled the curtain so I could see the backyard. I saw Iggy sitting with Ella and Gazzy playing with something I couldn't identify. I turned around to go look for Fang. As I did something dark jumped out at me, and I screamed.
        "Boo!" Fang exclaimed.
        "What the heck is wrong with you?! Don't scare me like that!" I کہا as I slapped his arm playfully.
        "Just messing with you. So what are آپ looking at?" Fang asked.
        "Well, right now I'm looking at you, but just a سیکنڈ پہلے I was watching my brother hang out with his friends. So, what do آپ want to do today?" I asked, almost out of breath.
        "I was thinking, maybe, we could just sit in here and relax. I mean, as long as that's fine with you," he said.
        "Yeah, sure," I کہا as I jumped on the bed. As soon as I jumped on the bed, I heard a loud BOOM. I looked at Fang as we exchanged glances, and ran out the room to the backyard to check on our siblings. They sat there, mouths agape, seeming to be in awe. I looked in the middle of their circle, and I saw a miniature bomb. I glanced at Iggy, and he had a mischievous look on his face, as well did everyone else.
        "What'd آپ guys do?" I کہا in an authoritative voice.
        "Um…. we kind of made a bomb, for fun," Iggy said.
        "Kind of?" I asked. He looked at me, even though he is blind, with a ' I-know-I'm-in-trouble' face. I actually turned my head to laugh. Usually I would've been yelling at Iggy like he wouldn't live to see tomorrow. His face was priceless. He was so confused. And so was I. I never laugh at things like this. Then everyone started laughing, which made me laugh even harder. Eventually they realized that they weren't in trouble. Later that day, we went ہوم still kind of giggling at what had happened. Iggy and I sat at the میز, جدول with Mom, eating our wonderfully cooked dinner.
        "How was today?" Mom asked.
        "Great, we even got to make a bomb and blow it up!" Iggy said. My mom had a distraught look on her face. Boys! Common sense would tell آپ to keep that a secret!
        "Is this true, Max?"
        "Yeah," I کہا with a mouth full of rolls.
        "Max, آپ are supposed to care of everyone! Especially your brother! What were آپ thinking? آپ are grounded for a week! And Iggy, don't ever do that again! آپ guys make me nervous!" My mom screamed. That made my blood boil. Iggy gets a stern 'Don't do that again, mister' and I get grounded for a week? What the heck? I've never been grounded!
I walked away from the table, and ran into my bedroom. It wasn't me that set off the bomb! I have مزید important things to do than sit around, and keep an eye on my brother that is the same age as me! I ran out the room, onto my balcony, and took off. I went to the docks again, hoping that Fang would be there. He has a way of comforting me that no one has ever had on me. And of course the one time that I need him there, he isn't. I hope he comes, though, because I would love to see him right now. I waited for three hours, and finally he came to the rescue. Thank the Lord! I scooted over, اگلے to him.
        "Hey, what's up?"
        "Well, Iggy blurted out that he made a bomb today, and I got grounded for a week. He was just told not to do it again. I mean, how fair is that? It's not like I blew put he bomb!" I کہا angrily.
        "Whoa, آپ won't get to see me for a week? Oh, man, it's just the end of the world isn't it?"
        "Fang, I'm serious," I stated.
        "It's okay, I'm just trying to lighten the mood," he said, as he pulled me into a hug. He kissed me on the forehead. I sat there, in his warmth for at least an گھنٹہ before I went back home. A soon as I got home, my mom confronted me.
        "Young lady, don't آپ ever do that again. Now, tomorrow آپ are going to sit in this room all day, and not do anything except think about what آپ have done. Goodnight," she کہا as she left my bedroom. Why has she been so angry with me lately? What have I ever done to deserve this? Whatever, at least I get to sleep all دن tomorrow. I got into my بستر after changing into my pajamas. I laid there, thinking about what I had done to be stuck in my room for a week, and what Iggy didn't. Eventually, my eyes drooped, and I fell asleep.
        The اگلے day, I sat in my room, waiting for something to happen. I had had a bad feeling about today all day. I haven't had this feeling in a long time. I looked around my room, listening with my raptor hearing. Suddenly….. BOOM!! That sounded like it was اگلے door. I hope it was just Iggy messing with bombs again. I got up, and looked out my window. No one was there. I looked into their front yard, and the front door was blown out. I ran off my balcony, and into the sky. When I landed, I heard a cry of pain from Iggy. I dashed into the once beautiful home. I stopped, and waited for his cry again so I could find him. Once he cried out, I ran up the stairs, and into Gazzy's room. There were these black, ninja-looking guys beating my brother down onto the ground. I jumped up, and landed a roundhouse kick into one of their chests. He staggered ( یا at least I think it was a he, I can't see his face.) backwards for approximately 2 سیکنڈ before he recovered, and landed a مککا, عجیب الخلقت across my face. Just as suddenly as that had happened, Fang jumped out, and drop-kicked another BN. ( I'm going to call them BN's from now on. Black Ninjas سے طرف کی the way.) I then landed another مککا, عجیب الخلقت on the last guy. After that, I checked them all to make sure they were, in fact, knocked out. I ran to Iggy desperately. He hadn't fought the whole time. I knelt down اگلے to him. He had a look of pain on his face.
        "What happened?" I asked exasperated.
        "I think they broke my leg, and maybe my arm, too," he said
        "Fang, pick him up gently سے طرف کی his legs, and I'll carry him سے طرف کی his arms," I کہا as calm as possible.
        "Be careful!!!" he screamed.
        We flew up to my bedroom balcony. We put him down on my bed, and I realized how much he had been bleeding. My arms were caked with blood. I looked at my brother. His face was filled with fear. I dashed out the bedroom to find my mom. It just so happened she was a vet. I found her in the kitchen, looking around nervously for the ذریعہ of the large 'boom'. She could tell سے طرف کی the look in my eyes that something bad had happened. I motioned her towards me, and she followed me up the stairs. As soon as she looked at Iggy, I saw a tear roll down her cheek. She sprinted to him, and checked his leg first. She gave me a deeply concerned face. She sent me a look that said,' What happened?', but I didn't say anything. She then checked his arm, which, to me, didn't seem broken. Then she acted on her thoughts. She told me to go get a stick out the yard. I sprinted as fast as I could to get one. How big should it be? Does it matter if it sticks in some other places on his leg? Will he be okay? That was the last سوال that popped to my mind before everything turned black…..
                                                 Fang's Point of View
        No! This was the worst time for Max to pass out. I ran up the stairs with a stick, and I found some tape on my way back up. I told Dr. Martinez that Max had passed out in the yard, and that I would be right back. Where were Angel, Gazzy, and Nudge? They should be back سے طرف کی now. I flew to my house to see if they were there, and sure enough, they were.
        "Hurry! Run to Dr. Martinez in Max's bedroom. Angel, you're with me. We are going get Max. Now, GO!"
        We all تقسیم, الگ کریں up, and Angel and I went to go get Max. I hope she's still okay. We dashed as fast as we could to the backyard. She was in the arms of a BN.
        "Let go of her!" Angel screamed. I shushed her.
        "On three! One!" We both ran at the BN's. They seemed to be caught off guard, which means they have minds. I immediately went for the BN holding Max. She was still passed out in its arms. I kicked it in the face. Max fell backwards, on سب, سب سے اوپر of the BN, now. It pushed her off itself, and ran at me, full force. I held out my fist as it ran into it. It fell, and landed on Max. She grunted, but still wasn't awake. The BN got up, and snarled at me. Angel had already knocked out the rest of the BN's, which either means that this one is stronger, یا I'm just weak, which I highly doubt. Together we took the BN on, which made it no problem for us. I ran, picked up Max, and brought her up to her room where Dr. Martinez was. As soon as we got there, Dr. Martinez told me to put Max on the ground. It seemed that Ig had passed out from pain on the bed. I feel sorry for him. These BN's weren't easy to fight alone, and hopefully the worst of it is over. Just then I heard a voice that stated that they would be back. Who? Whatever, I have better times to worry about this other than now.
        Max didn't look very good. Her skin was pale, and she had a fever. But there was nothing I could do about it because Dr. Martinez was still focused on Iggy. What am I supposed to do? Her pulse was slowing down. I notified Dr. Martinez, but she told me to wait.
        "I can't wait! I'm not going to let her die!" I کہا as tears rolled down my cheek. "I know I've only known her for 2 weeks, but I need her. So help her! Now!" I said, مزید focused. I had never cried in front of the flock, ever. But something in Max….. I don't know. All I knew at that سیکنڈ was that she needed to wake up. Black……
                                                 Angel's Point of View
        What is happening? Everywhere I look, the whole flock is passing out, including Max and Iggy. Maybe there is some kind of gas in the air. That had to be it! There is no way we would all just pass out like this. I just need to find the source, but where would I look? I ran out of Max's room, and flew to mine. There had to be…… There! I saw a gray container emitting some kind of gas. I held my breath, and ran for it. I turned it off, and finally felt the point of my exhaustion, but I couldn't sleep here. Everyone would look for me. I flew to Max's room again, and laid down. I told the rest of the flock about the gas, and we all told Dr. Martinez we were hitting the hay. She let us, and we fell asleep. My dream was about all 6 of us: Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and I flying throughout the sky with our wings spread out wide. We looked happy, and very graceful. I wished this dream would never end.
                                                 Max's Point of View
        I woke up with Fang اگلے to me, passed out as well. I looked around the room, and found Iggy lying awake in my bed. How did I get in here? Last thought I had I was in the backyard. Weird…. I went downstairs to see everyone else. Each step I took hurt for some reason. As I wondered that, I found that my mom had tried to patch up a rib that broke. I noticed when I touched my face that I also had a small gash from being punched in the face سے طرف کی that BN. They were all sleeping, too, except for Angel who had heard me coming.
        "What's up?" I asked like nothing was wrong.
        "Your mom is in her بستر if آپ were wondering," she said, nonchalantly.
        " How'd you-?" I started to ask.
        "I can read minds. What? Fang hasn't told آپ already? We all have powers. Me? I can control minds, and read them. Nudge can attract metal to her, and Gazzy? He's really good with bombs, just like your brother, can mimic voices wonderfully, and…. well, do آپ want to know where he got his name?" she told me.
        "Oh, wow! آپ guys are so cool! What can Fang do?" I asked.
        "Well, if he stays still for a little bit, he can become invisible. It's pretty cool, actually. Is Fang up yet?" she asked.
        "No, I woke up with him passed out اگلے to me. What do we do while we wait for everyone to wake up?"
        "Play games!" she screamed quietly. She went off, and got games from her house.
        After everyone was up, Angel told everyone why they had passed out, which made sense. I confronted Fang about not telling me about the powers his flock had, and he shook it off. I really hate it when guys just ignore women like that! Like, oh yeah, we'll talk about it later, and then آپ try to bring it up again and……. Well, I just realized I can't think about my feelings because there is a mind reader in the house. I looked at Angel. She had a guilty face as she pretended to listen to the conversation.
        Since the other flock's house had burnt down, they had to stay with us. Luckily we had enough bedrooms for everyone to have their own. For رات کے کھانے, شام کا کھانا we got some pizza. Since us bird kids need, like, 2,000 extra calories, we bought 10 pizzas to share, and we ate every last bit of it. Meanwhile, I found out where Gazzy gets his name. It stunk so bad, but at the same time, it was funny! I liked this, just hanging around, acting like we were a family, but we weren't. It still made me happy to know that we got along. Fate brought us together, and we were going to keep us together.