Okay, you guys, this is my first fic, so please be nice to me. I'm really looking for a title because this one's so lame, so pleeaaase review. All right, this is just another random story about the Max and the others. Max/Fang. I don't really know where I'm going with this so I'm sorry if it takes me a while to update for the first few chaps. Okay, I've talked enough, so here we go:

My wings pushed down as I flew higher and higher. The air whistled around me and blew through my newly cut hair. I soared through the sky, beating my wings to gain more altitude. I took a quick glance around. Angel flew on my right side, Iggy floating under her. The Gasman rushed through the wind on my left, further ahead than the rest of us, and Nudge flew a little behind him.

I looked at the dark shape twenty feet below me. Fang. He was furthest from the flock. The rest of us floated to the side of under each other, giving just enough wing space and no more than that, but Fang always seemed to drift lower, as if there were an invisible bubble pushing him away. Fang had gotten a little strange these days. He talked less than usual, spent less time with the rest of the flock, and closed off his feelings better than ever. Something has to be going on. Maybe I should talk to him.

Of course, talking with Fang had been a little more than awkward lately- ever since he'd fought with Ari on the beach, ever since I'd done something I should have thought over first. But, there's me for you, me and my cute little mind that seems to be missing a few pieces.

Suddenly, something flashed in front of my face, headed upward. A few more shot up around us. Were they rocks? No, we were way too high. I looked down, trying to locate the source. The first thing I saw was Fang, now forty feet below, when just seconds before he had been twenty feet higher. I guess he was looking for them too. He was flying awkwardly, slanted as one wing flapped harder than the other, trying to dodge the small flying objects as he went lower.

"Bullets!" Fang suddenly yelled as he made an amateur swoop to the side.

Realizing the danger of the situation, I immediately flew higher, zigzagging and yelling for the others to do the same. Bullets whizzed past, screeching in my ears. I felt a sharp pain in my arm. Looking down, I saw that it was nothing more than a small graze, so I started searching the ground, trying to find our hunters. As I examined the ground, I found what I was looking for.

In a small clearing of trees, stood three boys, two holding guns aimed at us. Why is it always boys? Even though I knew that they assumed we were just large birds, it made me mad that they would try to shoot us. For one thing, the graze on my arm still stung, for the second, they shouldn't be hunting birds, and for the third, they were SHOOTING at us!

I felt the anger rise in my chest just as I noticed Fang. He was now a good fifty feet below us. We had moved up some, but he should have moved up more than us, or at least as much. What is it with him? I asked myself. I would definitely have to talk to him.

"Fang!" I called down. At first, I thought he hadn't heard me. As I was about to yell again, his face tilted up to look at me. I motioned for him to come up.

"Max, there's a cave right there," I heard the Gasman holler at me. Turning to look, I saw a ledge leading into a hole in the small mountain next to us. Making a quick decision, I nodded my approval and looked over my shoulder to make sure Fang was coming. As soon as I saw him flying after us, I turned left and made my way to the cave entrance.

I waited until Iggy had gone through, then tucked my wings in and dove through the opening. I felt my skin tear as my palms scraped along the dirt floor. Brushing my hands off, I felt for the cave ceiling, trying not to hit my head, when I realized that all of the others were standing, and I could see them perfectly fine. I stood up and looked at the ceiling. It was pretty high, and there were various holes dotting the cave walls, flooding the cavern with light, although most were too small to climb through.

Suddenly, a shadow fell across us. I looked at the entrance and saw Fang climbing through. Without sparing us a glance, he retreated to a shadowy corner, turning his face away from us at an angle that would allow him to see us if he wanted to.

Trying to distract the others from Fang's behavior, I told them to sit down around me. "Fan, do you want to come?" I asked, although I knew that he wouldn't. Proving my guess right, Fang shook his head slightly, without showing any other sign of life. Ignoring his actions, I asked the others where they wanted to stay.

"Why don't we just stay here?" Angel asked. I thought about it for a moment. There really wasn't any reason not to stay. Plus, it would mean that we wouldn't have to get past the hunters again. I shrugged, giving my approval.

"Yeah, that'd be cool," Iggy said. "This cave is awesome. It doesn't have a million rocks poking us, we aren't cramped, and it's not too hot or humid. This is way better than any of the other places we've been staying lately."

"It is pretty cool. So, is that all right with everyone if we stay here?" I glanced at Fan. Still motionless. Well, he wasn't objecting, I thought as the rest of the flock practically begged to stay. "Okay, then. We'll stay. Let's go flying."

"But, the hunters might still be out there," Nudge pointed out.

"We'll take an exit on the other side. Besides, the hunters have probably stopped looking for us by now." I stood up and looked at the top of the cavern, opposite to the side we'd entered through. I chose the biggest hole and pointed at it, telling the others to go out that way. As the flock flew out, I tried one last attempt with Fang. "Do you want to come flying with us?"

"I'll keep watch," he answered, pushing himself further into the shadows.

Sighing, I went to the hole I had pointed out and climbed up to it, pulling myself onto the ledge outside. I backed up to the mountain wall and pushed myself out, spreading my wings as I leaped off of the narrow ledge.

As soon as I saw how far the others were, I pushed harder, forgetting about the Erasers and all of my other problems, trying to quickly catch up with the flock.

After about an hour, we started drifting back towards our new cave home.

"I don't want to go back yet," Angel suddenly cried. "Lets just fly around the mountain for a while"

I nodded. Flying was always fun, but I needed to do something and this would be the perfect chance, while the rest of the flock was out. "Okay, I'm just going to make sure that Fang's all right." I flew toward the entrance we had gone through first. The rest of the holes were almost invisible from the outside, covered in shadows or bushes growing from the mountain's cracks.

As I approached the landing, I noticed a dark trail on the rock. The sun created a glare, making me assume that it was a liquid trail. I flared my wings, slowing down just before I landed. Picking myself off of the ground for the second time that day, I turned to see what the trail was, and my heart almost stopped.

I stared. The thick blood was still running off the edge, and there was a pool of it right in the front of the entrance. That's when I noticed the rock wall next to me. Less than a foot from my face, a now-dry bright red handprint smeared across the wall, creating the image of a hand dragging down the rocks.

Erasers.

Okay, how was it. Review please! Constructive criticism always welcome. Please, no flames. If you have any suggestions for the title, story, or anything in general, please tell me. Thanx! - Dringer