"The boss needs to see you. Now."

The harsh words were spat out in Chinese by the scientist standing in front of her. Xiang looked up into the stern, rigid face of the geneticist and immediately felt a sense of foreboding settling over her heart. How many times had she heard those words? Every time, they had resulted into some frightening new test, often a test that would leave her body aching all over by the time they were finished. Sometimes wounds were left on her skin, bleeding, and only when she was too hurt or exhausted would they stop. What was going to happen to her this time?

"Shen di!" snarled the scientist coldly. "Right now!" She shoved Fong, the boy standing nearest to her, so roughly that he stumbled and nearly fell against the floor. Xiang put out her hand to help him up, gritting her teeth. She hated watching anyone hurting any person in her flock—from Jinlong, the oldest and the unofficial leader, to Jiaxing, who was only three.

There were five of them. Each one had been genetically modified, their genes combined with that of birds. They were ninety-eight percent human, two percent bird. Astonishingly enough, they had wings.

And they weren't the only ones.

They had been created by a School in China a few years before the flock of Maximum Ride had been created in California. At the time, many scientists were planning to experiment with recombinant DNA life-forms, but China was the first to test their theories. The first group of hybrids had come out wrong, and had died. Their first successful experiment was Jinlong, the sixteen-year-old leader of the Chinese flock. The scientists hadn't gone to brag about it to the Director, though. They had kept him secret, and created four other successful hybrids. When word reached the scientists of another flock being made in California, they immediately became interested. They began to search for any records of the other flock's abilities, and the Chinese flock was forced, day after day, to try to beat their records.

They had been created to rival Maximum Ride, every one of them.

Jinlong, Hybrid 105, had been crossed with the DNA of a Chinese Goshawk. By far the strongest and toughest out of the Chinese flock, he was gifted with a pair of enormous, powerful pale blue-gray wings, tipped with black. He was sixteen years old, and fierce-tempered, suiting his protective nature to defend the flock. His name meant "golden dragon." He acted as a father or older brother to them all.

Second oldest was Yueyin, Hybrid 112. She was fifteen and extremely beautiful. Her eyes were pieces of sky taken from the night, and straight dark hair fell past her shoulders, cut into shining layers. Her wings were that of a crane's, snowy white and graceful. She was a gentle mother and older sister to the rest of them, and her sensitive character made her second-in-command to Jinlong. Her name meant "moon cloud." Xiang loved her beyond words. Yueyin was what she and the others had never had; while Jinlong protected the flock, she was the one who cared for them.

Fong, Hybrid 127, was eleven. Xiang thought of him as a younger brother. He had feathery black hair that always seemed to stick up, despite Yueyin's efforts to comb it straight, matching his easy temper. He liked to tease, but never minded being teased back. A pair of pale thrush's wings adorned his back, pale brown rimmed with dark gray flight feathers. His name meant "wind."

The youngest of the flock was three-year-old Jiaxing, Hybrid 131. Her name meant "heart of the family," and it suited her. Being the youngest, Jiaxing was greatly spoiled by the other members of the flock, and she was the center of their attention. She was adorable, Xiang thought, with large round eyes and short-cut black hair. Her wings were so tiny and feathery, taken from an Asian Brown Flycatcher. They were pale dove-gray and very light. She was beginning to learn how to fly.

And then there was Xiang, Hybrid 120. Her own wings were a slightly teal stone gray, streaked with bright blue feathers, taken from a Fairy Pitta. She was nearly thirteen, with dark hair cut a little higher than her elbow and round eyes. Her name meant "to circle like a bird." She had a mild personality and a strong sense of love for her flock, but sometimes she wondered if she wasn't strong enough. One time, one of the scientists had hit her when she hadn't flown fast enough, and she'd cried, right in front of them. Jinlong had told her she needed to be tougher, to keep up a hard exterior and always be on guard.

Xiang hated the School passionately, having to be trapped inside this disgusting building of horrors, where she could never enjoy flying just for the sake of it. No, whenever they flew, the scientists would be below, tracking their speed and height and screaming, "Gun gao! Gun kwi! Higher! Faster!" And if they weren't making progress, they would be punished.

Sometimes, she even hated Maximum Ride.

Her senses would return to her though, and she would remember that it was the fault of the School. Wherever Maximum Ride and her own flock were, they were sure to be suffering the same fate as her flock. They were avian hybrids, and under the control of scientists. Perhaps, in their School in California, the American scientists were forcing them to try to beat records, just like she had to. When she thought of this, her anger would dissolve in sympathy. But her hatred for the School was a hard, cold rock in the pit of her stomach, heavy and unmovable.

"Move!" snapped the scientist suddenly, pushing Xiang forward. Startled out of her thoughts, the hybrid stood there, confused for a second, before the scientist shoved her again. "I said, move, you fool! This is extremely important!"

Yueyin took Xiang's arm gently and glared at the scientist. "You didn't have to push her," she said coldly. "We're going." She could be as tough as Jinlong when she wanted to be. Yueyin led Xiang and the younger children down the empty lab. Xiang looked back at the scientist and was shocked to see a flash of fear creasing her face. Something was definitely wrong. This was no ordinary conference with the boss. Fear ignited like a leaping flame in her stomach, and she held on to Yueyin's arm.

At the head of the flock, Jinlong strode confidently through the door to the conference area, his face stoic and cleverly masked. Xiang followed Yueyin, and Fong came last, carrying Jiaxing. Panic flared in Xiang's chest as she looked around at the blank white walls, the stage where the lectern stood, the rows of tables. Wild thoughts raced through her mind in a tangle of confusion and fear. Anything was possible here in this madhouse—what new sick experiment were they going to perform on them? She glanced around at her flock members for comfort, and saw that every line on Jinlong's body was rigid with suppressed tension. He was expecting something, too.

At last, the leader of the School entered the conference area, flanked by other scientists. Xiang felt her flock tense around her, preparing for his words. She glared at him as he seated himself at a table in front of them. The leader of the school was an averagely tall man, slightly wide around the stomach, with thinning black hair. Xiang disliked his eyes most of all—tiny eyes like a pig's, set in his round, squashy face, always narrowed in a cruel, malicious expression. He sneered at his experiments for a moment with the contemptuous look he reserved for them, as he if he didn't consider them worthy of being equals.

Terror latched itself to Xiang's throat as he turned his eyes on her, but she forced it down. Be brave, be brave.

"Well?" demanded Jinlong as the boss continued to stare steadily at them. "Are we going to play a staring-contest game? Or will you actually tell us what you summoned us here for?"

Xiang admired his courage, his willingness to defend the flock. She could never have faced up to the leader like that. She stared at the leader, words of loathing pushing up in her throat, words she would never dare to say.

The boss slowly turned his eyes on Jinlong, who returned the glance steadily. "It is obvious that you have been summoned here for something," he spat. A superior look entered his eyes. Xiang felt as if he were secretly taunting them, mocking them. How foolish you all are! I know more than you do. I made you. Like a cat would toy with a captured bird right before the kill. It made Xiang feel hunted, knowing that someone else knew more about her than she did herself.

The boss laced his fat fingers together. "I have just received a message from the Director," he began. "Concerning all our recombinant DNA life-forms." Xiang felt Yueyin stiffen beside her. "She had something of great importance to say."

Here he paused, and a cruel smirk twisted his features before he continued, every word loaded with spears of ice:

"You are all going to be terminated."