Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Maximum Ride.

He dreams that he's running. He dodges through a group of trees; the branches scratching through his clothes, leaving his sleeves and pants tattered around the sides. His face is covered in cuts as well, and blood seeps down his cheeks. He wipes it away, smearing it across his face and probably making it worse. He ignores the pains in his chest and legs, powering even faster; his Converse shoes slap the hard ground and kick up dust and rocks. He stumbles over a rock, turning to look over his shoulder.

"Oi!" A loud, deep voice yells. He catches a look at a large man who is also dodging trees to chase him. The man's face is blurred, like it always is. He turns his gaze back in front of him and realizes that the trees have ended, and he can't breathe. He just wants to stop running. He's at the end of the line. There's a large drop-off in front of him that ends with a river that probably has sharp rocks at the bottom. He skids to a stop. Looks back. The man has reached the end of the trees too, but doesn't stop running.

"Blaine!" A voice yells, higher pitched than the blurred man. He turns towards the voice, thinking it comes from below the cliff, down in the rushing water.

"Blaine!" It repeats, and this time he feels a sensation of awareness.

He ignores the feeling of the man right behind him. And jumps.

The ground rushes up towards him, the water churning around those sharp rocks. He closes his eyes, takes a breath, and unfurls his wings. When he opens those brown eyes again, he's soaring above the cliff and the man. He takes a look back triumphantly, seeing the man raise a gun with a rather large scope on it.

Not today, Blaine thinks, swerving in front of the sun so that the man loses focus. I'm not dying today.

"Wake up, asshole." A loud voice calls, and Blaine Anderson bolts up in bed. His sheets are damp with sweat, and he notices the stains on the collar of his ribbed tank top. He pulls it off, throwing it on the floor. The shorter boy stretches his wings, letting his feathers cool off. He swings his legs out of bed, walking towards his door and opening it to reveal his 'brother', Jeff.

"'Ey, Jeffy." He says, putting on a mask of indifference, as the shorter blonde boy looks him straight in the eye.

"You were screaming again." He says simply, looking quite old for a boy of only ten.

"Don't worry about it, kid." Blaine ruffles the boy's hair. Jeff dodges out of his way, revealing his own light brown feathers. Blaine smiles as he walks towards the kitchen, seeing Flint half passed-out on the couch in the joint living room.

"Look alive, Giant," He calls, and the fifteen year old is startled to awareness.

"Morning, Blaine," He calls, standing and stretching his own dark brown wings with little white flecks. He stands at a good six foot four, with short-cropped blonde hair and a bright smile. He's Blaine right-hand man.

"Could you go wake the rest of the guys?" Blaine asks, and Flint smiles his bright little smile before climbing the stairs towards the other boy's rooms. Jeff ambles into the kitchen after Blaine, leaning on the counter and looking at the dark-haired boy expectantly.

"I'm fine." Blaine tells him, and the blonde boy shakes his head. "Now help me make some breakfast." Jeff walks to the fridge, pulling out some bacon and the carton of eggs, pushing Blaine out of the way to get to the stove.

"How about I make the breakfast and you go clean or something. I don't trust you with the stove." Jeff snaps, already laying the entire package of bacon in the pan and turning it on High.

"Fine." Blaine says defiantly, walking into the living room and laughing as Flint stumbles down the stairs, attempting to hop on one foot and clutch the other in his hand.

"Wes tripped me as soon as I walked in and David stomped on my foot. I hate those kids." He pouts and falls onto the couch next to Blaine, sighing heavily.

"They're a year older than you." Blaine counters lightly, hitting Flint's shoulder with his own.

"Shut up." Flint grumbles, covering his face with his hands. "And go put a shirt on. You're grossing me out." Blaine laughs heartily, standing.

"You just wish you were as ripped as me," He gestures to his body and Flint throws a pillow at him. "Okay, fine. I'll go wake Nick up while I'm at it."

He walks down the hall; stopping first at his own bedroom to throw on another ribbed tank top. He continues down the long hall, coming to a doorway on the end. He throws it open, taking in the clothes on the floor and books strewn all around, the two boys sleeping soundly in their bunk-bed.

He goes to the top bunk first, waking up Thad. The boy opens his dark, chocolate eyes first, smiling as soon as he sees Blaine.

"Blaine!" He calls, throwing his arms at Blaine and asking to be lifted out of bed. Blaine complies, lifting the small six-year-old and setting him on the ground. Thad then jumps on the bottom bunk, startling the eleven-year-old that sleeps soundly there.

"Ugh, Thad, get off me," Nick cries, pushing the rowdy six-year-old to the other side of his bed, rubbing his eyes and sitting up.

"Morning, Nicky," Blaine sing-songs, also ruffling his longer brown hair. "You need another hair-cut, kid."

"Don't let Flint do it this time," He jokes, tickling Thad. Blaine winces, knowing that letting Flint around a pair of sharp scissors and Nick's head was really a bad idea. He'll never make that mistake again.

"Deal. Now come on, Jeff is making breakfast and Wes and David will probably eat it all if we don't hurry up. " Blaine grabs Thad's midsection, throwing the squealing boy over his shoulder and running out the door with him, laughing all the way.

"Dude, you're gonna make him sick again!" Wes exclaims as Thad and Blaine run through the living room.

"I refuse to clean up his puke." David states plainly, flopping down into the old, worn recliner.

"He won't puke, will you Thaddeus?" Jeff asks the boy as Blaine sits him down at the kitchen table.

"Nope!" He says enthusiastically, popping the 'p'. Nick, who's just stumbling into the kitchen sleepily, plops down next to him and rests his head on the table.

"Flint, come help me set the table." Blaine calls to the tall boy, already opening up cupboards and pulling out mismatched plates. "Wes, David, can you two help Jeff get the food on the table?" All three boys come into the large kitchen; Flint grabbing silverware and glasses and setting them around the large, eight-person dining table.

"Look out, hot pan coming through," Jeff says, spinning around Flint and setting a large pan of eggs down on an oven mitt. Wes follows with a plate piled with bacon and David has two large stacks of toast. Once the food is on the table and the plates are set, the boys sit.

Blaine begins shoveling eggs onto Thad and his own plates, then passing the pan around to his other brothers. The boys eat in silence for a while, only punctured every so often from a giggle from Nick after Jeff burps or a cough from Flint who's been coming down with something lately. Finally, Thad breaks the silence.

"Blaine, what are we doing today?" He asks, turning those big brown eyes on Blaine and he has to stop himself from reaching out and pinching his pink cheeks.

"Well, I was thinking we could go walk around down by the lake, maybe do some swimming," Nick and Jeff high-five happily.

"Sounds like a plan," Wes says,

"I'm with Wes." David agrees, the two boys wearing twin smirks.

"Okay, I know you're up to something, but I'm not even going to ask. Just don't hurt anyone." Blaine looks to the two younger boys, but they just grin back deviously as Wes passes the eggs to David, never breaking eye contact with Blaine.

"We promise."

"Blaine, watch me!" Thad screams, running full speed off the dock, flailing his wings and arms as he splashes into the lake.

"Great job, bud!" Blaine yells back as he reclines in his lawn chair on the grass. Jeff and Nick are out swimming in the lake, probably seeing who can hold their breath the longest. Flint is lying on a blanket in the grass not far from Blaine, throwing a basketball into the air and seeing how many times he can catch it before it falls on his face. Wes and David are nowhere to be seen, which, truthfully, scares Blaine quite a bit.

Thad swims around in the lake for a while, diving underwater for longer and longer periods of time, scaring Blaine more and more every time he goes under. He's just about to dive in after him when he feels a hand clap on his shoulder. He jumps more than he'd care to admit, almost falling out of his chair as he spins around. Wes is laughing, David standing behind him.

"Hey, calm down bro." David says, and Blaine sticks his tongue out.

"What do you guys want?" Blaine asks, sliding a bookmark into his book and standing.

"You should check this out." Wes says, pointing to an area of trees.

"Why?" He asks.

"You should just check it out." Both Wes and David are completely serious, which almost makes Blaine want to tell Jeff and Nick to take Thad back to the house quick. But he doesn't. Instead, he tells Flint to keep an eye on the boys as he follows Wes and David into the trees.

They walk for a while, on a path that Blaine had no idea existed. They come to a clearing, and Blaine takes a look around before turning and facing the two boys that brought him here.

"I don't see anything." He declares, and the boys share a look before pointing through another group of trees.

"Go look." David orders, and Blaine snorts before walking across the large circle of blown-down grass. He peeks around a tree and swallows.

There's a helicopter. It's large, black, and ominous.

But no one knows we're here, Blaine thinks to himself, shaking his head. He's about to turn around to face the pranksters when a movement catches his eye. Someone's climbing out of the helicopter. Someone with wavy brown hair and a cocky demeanor.

Jesse.

Blaine's mouth grows dry, filling with cotton and almost choking him. He forces himself to turn around and run. David and Wes watch him run across the grass with weird looks on their faces.

"Run!" He yells, probably alerting Jesse, but he doesn't care. They need to get the fuck out of here. The three boys stumble through the woods, running towards the lake where their brothers are still playing.

"Jeff, Nick, get out of the lake!" Blaine cries, and the two boys start swimming for the shore, both wide-eyed. "Thad, c'mere," He yells, and the six-year-old runs at him from his place on the bank, leaving his sand castle behind. Flint has jumped up from his blanket, and is running towards the house with their things. Blaine starts running after him with Thad in his arms, only looking back to make sure Wes and David are following. Wes has Jeff thrown over his shoulder, running in front of David, whom has Nick cradled in his arms.

Blaine's almost made it to the house when a shot rings out. He almost drops Thad as he turns around, checking his brothers. David and Wes are both still running, neither with any injuries. Blaine puts Thad down, telling him to run over to Flint. He runs towards the other boys, making sure whoever is shooting at him doesn't hit either of them. They climb up the grass hill to their house, where Flint is standing with the door open for them.

Thad is standing on the deck, screaming for Blaine to come while Wes and David literally throw Jeff and Nick inside. Wes tries to grab Thad, but the kid won't budge. Blaine continues running up the hill, only running faster when a bullet hits the grass next to him, spraying dirt in his face.

"Blaine!" Flint screams as Wes finally gets Thad inside. The fifteen-year-old leaves the deck, running full-speed down the hill to Blaine and trying to tug him up. Blaine's eyes are still firmly on the trees, watching for anyone to come out. He pushes Flint forward, away from him as another shot rings out. That one is closer than before, almost skimming Blaine's outstretched arm.

He's still staring at the trees when a silky voice purrs in his ear.

"You can run, but you can't hide." His neck snaps around to see a tall, tan woman with Flint in a headlock. She must be strong, because Flint towers over her and he still can't move. Her dark eyes glint in the sunlight.

She's wearing all leather, dark hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail. She smirks, her lips a dark red. There's a gun on her hip, tucked into her belt. There's also a knife attached to the side of her boot. Blaine gulps, staring at the knife. She notices and laughs, grabbing it from its holder and holding it to Flint's neck.

"Don't move, or the giant gets it." She sneers as he lunges forward a little bit, wanting to attack her and save Flint. He stops as she presses it harder, making Flint whimper a bit. Blaine looks in his eyes and sees fear. He stops moving, holding his hands above his head in a surrender pose.

"Good." She purrs, loosening her hold a bit on Flint, making him gasp for air that the knife had deprived him of. "Now, I'll just be taking Giant here, and you and your pack of misfit bird kids won't follow us. Great." She begins to stalk down the hill, knife still pressed to Flint's throat. She turns to walk to where a large SUV is waiting near the lake. Blaine runs towards her, fully intending to save Flint, but she turns at the last minute and points the knife at him.

"What did I just say, you stupid hobbit?" She snarls, pressing the knife back into Flint's neck. She puts enough pressure on it to draw blood, making Blaine stop immediately. "Damn, I thought you were supposed to be the smart one." She yells in exasperation.

"Where are you taking him?" Blaine asks, calculating in his head how exactly he's going to get Flint back.

"The School, of course." She laughs, and Blaine stares for a moment, all the breath whooshing out of his body. The School, where they'd all been created and experimented on and tortured.

"No," Blaine gasps, seeing the pain and fear and tears in Flint's eyes as the woman laughs again.

"Yep," She says coldly, popping the 'p' and moving backwards. "And they'll be seeing you real soon." She laughs once more before turning and walking away with Flint still in her iron grasp. Blaine struggles for breath as he watches them go, another large guy with a Mohawk jumping out of the SUV and helping the woman wrangle Flint into the back. Blaine considers whipping out his wings and flying after them for some whoop-ass, but he knows it won't do Flint and the boys any good if he dies. So he watches them drive away into the woods and get into their helicopter and take Flint back to the place where they'd spent the first ten years of their lives trying to escape.

"Dammit!" He yells, sinking to his knees and slamming his fist on the ground.

"Blaine!" Jeff calls from behind him, and Blaine can just imagine all the boys sliding down the hill after him.

"Blaine, what the hell happened?" David asks, and Blaine looks up to see all his boys looking down on him with confused expressions. Thad wiggles out of Wes's grasp to tackle Blaine, throwing his arms around the short boy's neck.

"Where's Flint?" Nick asks quietly, and all eyes turn to Blaine for answers. He squeezes Thad quickly.

"They're taking him back." He says blankly, watching as Jeff begins to cry, knowing what he's talking about before the other boys do.

"Back where?" David asks, almost silent as he stares at Blaine with dark eyes.

"The School." He chokes, and Thad tightens his hold around Blaine's neck as he begins to cry loudly. Nick has a hand on Jeff's shoulder, and the blonde boy turns into Nick's embrace, letting the dark haired teenager hug him. Wes and David stare at him in disbelief. He's about to open his mouth when there's a whooshing sound behind him and Thad screams.

Blaine whips around on his knees, looking up a tall boy who'd dropped down behind him.

"My name is Kurt Hummel," the stranger declares, stretching his pure white wings out and brushing his hair from his eyes. "You should come with me."

A/N: I've had this in my head for a while and I figured it was about time to post the first chapter and see what you guys think. I haven't written any more of it, so it's definitely a WIP, but it seems promising to me! :D If you haven't read Maximum Ride by James Patterson, you're probably a little confused, but don't worry- I'll explain it all later. If you have read MR, do you see anything familiar? ;) Feel free to drop some suggestions and ideas to me!

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it, and don't be afraid to tell me so! ;)

lessthanthree,
Max.