Max (Maximum Ride 5)

They stopped, and if they'd been on dry land, they would have skidded. As it was, they came to an abrupt, surprised stop, inches away from the three bird kids. Angel shook her finger at them, in the universal gesture for "Bad! Bad shark!"

Gaz, Ig—you guys back away really slowly.

Gazzy did hear that part of Angel's message, so he touched Iggy's hand and, gently, they let themselves drift backward. Gazzy put the regulator back in his mouth, feeling like his lungs were about to burst from lack of air.

Looking sheepish, the hammerheads slowly turned and glided back to their group. Once there, they joined in the feeding frenzy again.

Gosh, they were big, Angel thought to Gazzy and Iggy.

Gazzy nodded, trying not to cry from the pain in his face and arms.

We

need to get you out of here, Angel went on sympathetically. You got stung by something. Can you do a burst out of the water to get airborne?

Gazzy had felt a lot of pain in his life, but this was different—a horrible, searing sensation, as if someone were holding a lit match to his face and arms. Under water. He nodded bravely to Angel, hoping he wouldn't shriek when the warm air made the burning feel worse.

Okay, then, Angel commanded Gazzy and Iggy. Hunch down, gather your strength, then burst up through the water as hard as you can. As soon as you're in the air, snap your wings out. Okay?

On any other day, Gazzy would have said, "Who died and made you Max?" But, all things considered, he could barely think straight. He was thankful that Angel was taking charge. He managed to nod again, then concentrated on balling up his muscles.

One! Two! Three!

Gazzy's face mask was filling with tears, but he hunched down and surged toward the surface. When he broke through the water, he stretched out his wings, pushing down and pulling up as hard as he could.

He rose in the air slowly at first, then powerfully and fast, relief beginning to wash over him.

Only to collide hard with something huge, right above him.

Oof! Gazzy let out a strangled cry—it felt like his face and arms were splitting open—then he felt himself falling.

And this time, he didn't think he'd manage to save himself.

45

RAPTOR VISION allows us to see tiny things from great heights and to see incredibly well in the dark and in much more detail than regular people. But, for the life of me, I couldn't tell what that thing was, shooting toward us.

"If it's heat-seeking, we should go under water," Fang said tensely. "It'll still get us, but maybe some poor whale or dolphin will confuse it."

Great. A lovely choice. I squinted, wishing the rolling bank of thick gray clouds hadn't totally covered the moon. But—wait…

"Fang—that thing has wings. Is it like an albatross? What's the biggest seabird there is?"

Fang frowned and tilted his head. "Uh—what kind of seabird wears preppy Top-Siders?"

My eyes went wide as I stared first at Fang, then at the dark thing. "Oh, my God! It is wearing Top-Siders! It's Nudge!" 'Cause, I mean, how many preppy mutant bird kids are there? Not a lot.

Fang and I poured on the speed, scanning the whole sky as we streaked toward Nudge, my Nudge! Nothing seemed to be pursuing her; she was flying fast but not panicky. Now we were close enough to see her long ringlets streaming out in back of her, her bright white smile shining in the deep night sky.

My heart swelled, and I admitted to myself just how much I'd missed her, how worried I'd been, how hurt I'd felt that she'd chosen safety, calm, and education over us.

"Nudge!" I shrieked, and she beamed and waved.

Just then, something huge shot out of the water and slammed into her. It shoved her off balance, knocking the wind out of her. Fang and I surged forward, going into battle mode, and then two more things shot out of the water as if launched from a huge slingshot.

Two large, wet, familiar things.

"Max!"