School's Out- Forever (Maximum Ride 2)

“Okay, guys,” I said. “New agenda. Forget looking for our parents. We’ve hit a dead end. And besides, I don’t think I could bear to give one of you up again right now. How about moving on to saving the world?”

“Yeah, let’s get out of here,” said Total, looking up at me.

“But where to?” asked Nudge.

“I’ve been thinking about that,” I began.

“Florida,” said Angel.

“What? Why?” I asked.

“I just feel like Florida is where we should go,” Angel said, shrugging. “Plus, you know, Disney World.”

“Yes! Disney World!” said Gazzy.

“Swimming pools, sunshine—I am so there,” Total agreed.

I looked at Fang. He shrugged. And actually, I didn’t really have any other plan.

Go with the flow, Max. Ride the flow.

After that pithy nugget from my Voice-turned-travel-agent, I said, “Well, okay, then. Florida it is. Grab your packs.”

PART 5

BACK TO SAVING THE WORLD

96

“I see. You had a plan.” Jeb poured himself a cup of coffee.

“Yeah,” Ari said sullenly. He wasn’t sure if Jeb was mad at him or not. Sometimes Jeb didn’t seem mad, but then it would turn out that he was. Ari hated that.

“You were going to steal Max for yourself.”

“Yeah.”

Jeb took a sip of his coffee. “And why were you going to do that?”

Ari shrugged. “I just want to have her to myself. I’m tired of chasing the others. I don’t care about them.”

“But you care about Max. How old are you now?”

“Seven.” Which was another thing. Jeb never remembered his birthday. “But I’m big. Bigger than you.”

“Yes.” Jeb made it sound totally unimportant. “Ari, I’m proud of you.”

“Wh-what?”

Jeb turned and smiled at him. “I’m proud of you, son. I’m impressed that you made a plan for yourself, and that you chose Max.”

Ari felt like the sun was shining warmly on his shoulders. But—was this a trap? He looked at Jeb warily. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yes. You’re only seven, but you’re thinking like a grown-up. It’s incredibly interesting. Tell you what—I want to see where this takes us. We’re going to find out where the flock has gone, and when we do, you can put your plan into action again.”

“My plan?”

“Yes, your plan to steal Max. I’ll help you make it happen. We’ll take out the rest of the flock, but you have to grab Max. Where were you going to take her?”