The Final Warning (Maximum Ride 4)

And that was when the superstrong, hurricane-rated, Gozen-bounced-against fancy windows all imploded.

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IN CASE YOU DON’T KNOW, safety glass can still shatter. They call it safety glass because it tends to shatter into somewhat-less-sharp cubes, rather than saberlike shards. Little bit of info for ya there. See? I’m fun and educational!

In the next second, we were all slammed against the back wall, as the wind blasted in through the broken windows, seeming as if it wanted to snatch us out into the storm.

“Gozen!” the UD screamed. I wondered if he had volume buttons for “scream” or could just raise his voice. Anyway, Gozen heard him and lumbered awkwardly over to the wheelchair, putting himself between the window and the UD.

“Flock!” I bellowed. “Get down! Under the table!”

Immediately Fang, Angel, Nudge, Iggy, Total, and Gazzy rolled under the table. I grabbed Akila’s collar and dragged her under with me. Around us, chairs were whipping around, smashing against the walls, getting sucked out the windows.

“Can we fly out?” Gazzy asked, almost shouting.

Fang and I both shook our heads. “The wind is too strong. We should get out into the hallway,” Fang said, and I nodded.

Angel was watching something out in the room. The remote control for one of the big-screen TVs must have whizzed around and smacked up against something that caused it to flip channels.

“What is it, Ange?” I said.

“There’s a hurricane report on TV,” she said. “It says it’s almost a Category five, and they think it was caused by global warming.”

There was that global warming again!

“There have always been hurricanes,” I pointed out.

“Not at this time of year. Plus, there are many, many more of them now, and they tend to be stronger and more destructive,” Fang told me.

I looked at him. “Okay, maybe global warming is bad,” I admitted.

He made a no-freaking-duh face, and then said, “Category fives have winds more than a hundred fifty-five miles an hour. In other words, enough to rip most things apart. Including us. There’s no way we can fly in it.”

“Okay, hallway it is,” I said. “We’ll get out there and see if there’s any place we can wait out the storm. Fang, you’re in charge of Akila.”

“We are not leaving her!” Total stated.

“I know,” I said. “Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel, stick as close to me as possible. Everyone ready?”

Five pairs of determined bird kid eyes met mine.

“Okay. Let’s do this thing.”

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OUR PLAN WAS TO ROLL out from under the table and crawl fast to the double doors, avoiding Gozen and the UD if at all possible. While I had been bantering with the buyers, Fang and Iggy had been very productive: They’d shredded a couple of our Antarctica coats and knotted them into several long lengths

of rope. Now Fang tied one to Akila’s collar, and Iggy tied one around Total’s middle.

“It’s not a leash!” I snapped as he protested. “It’s so we don’t lose you!”

The electricity was off in the conference room now. The wall of TVs had been shattered. Lots of stuff had been sucked out the windows, and other things were hurtling around.

“Gozen!” the Uber-Director shouted. “Don’t let them escape!”

Gozen began to move toward us, his bulk and weight helping to keep him steady. The UD’s wheelchair was being knocked about, and if I were him, I would have been freaking out, waiting to break apart into messy building blocks.

“Kids! Go!” I yelled, and we began to crawl fast toward the doors. I had no idea how we’d get them open.