Maximum Ride Forever Read Online Free PDF Page A

chin.
    “It’s f-fine,” she lied, her voice quivering as she bit back the pain.
    I thought of all the times she’d spent scrapbooking fashion models and tried to make a joke of it. “What girl doesn’t want more defined cheekbones, am I right?” She nodded and forced a weak smile. “Zombie chic,” I pressed, and she actually giggled.
    “Lame, very lame, Max.” Nudge shook her head and adjusted the bandage, but her eyes were smiling.
    “Does that count as zombie chic?” Angel pointed.
    A silence fell over the flock as we took in the grim scene below us.
    So that’s where all the people are.
    Our hill overlooked a subdivision, and while we couldn’t see inside any of the houses from our perch, we definitely saw the circular cul-de-sac drives—or the vagueshape of them. I only caught a glimpse of cracked asphalt here and there, because the cul-de-sacs were
littered
with… skeletons.
    Humans, animals, young, old. The ash was doing its best to bury them—it had already piled in drifts several feet deep in some places—but you could still see thousands of corpses in the mass grave.
    “Jeezum,” I whispered.
    It was a modern Pompeii: Some of the skeletons were curled in fetal balls, with arm bones circling skulls. Others lay side by side holding hands, or clasping their own hands together. Many looked like they’d been crawling away, their jawbones hinged open in a permanent, silent scream.
    I felt the vomit rise in my throat.
    “What
happened
to them?” I asked helplessly, looking for something, any type of answer that might make this somehow easier to understand. “The volcanoes couldn’t have erupted until pretty recently, or this whole place would be one big ash pit. But something killed these people long enough ago so that only bones are left.”
    Gazzy started hacking again, and Nudge lifted a worried eyebrow. “Ash inhalation from some other volcano?” she suggested. When we’d flown over the open ocean, we’d seen any number of “new” islands being formed. It was like the earth itself was splitting in two, and volcanoes were erupting everywhere.
    Gasman shook his head. “What about aftershocksfrom wherever that sky fire thing crashed? We got a lot of quakes on our island, and that’s hours from here.”
    “Or starvation?” Iggy countered. “Maybe they didn’t have any rats.…”
    “Everywhere has rats,” Angel scoffed. “Besides, they’ve got loads of snakes, rabbits, dogs, cats, deer, even kangaroos. Tons of protein for the taking.”
    “Maybe the climate change drove all the animals nuts and they went on a murderous rampage,” Gazzy said.
    “Or someone—or something—more powerful did.…” That was probably Nudge’s conspiracy-theorist mind going into overdrive, but I wasn’t ruling anything out.
    “Could’ve been mass suicide,” I said seriously.
    “Stop it. Just stop it, will you?” Total snarled suddenly, and I looked at him in surprise. “These aren’t statistics. They were families. Look at them holding each other, protecting each other. They died with dignity. Just like… Akila.”
    Shocked, I looked at the bundled cloth that Iggy had set down carefully when we’d landed. I hadn’t even thought to check on her, though I’d noticed Total licking her face and talking quietly to her.
Oh, Akila. Not you, too.
    “Total, no—”
    Gently Total nudged her nose with his, and I hurried over to kneel by the still, beautiful dog. Her eyes were closed and I put my hand on her side, praying that I would feel her ribs rising and falling with breath. I didn’t.
    “Total, no,” I whispered again, unable to think of anythingelse to say. The rest of the flock crowded around. Nudge and Angel had tears rolling down their cheeks, leaving odd, pale lines where they washed away dirt.
    “A couple of the Cryenas got her good,” Total said, his words muffled. “And the ash—she breathed too much of it. She sacrificed herself. Miserable excuses for canines…” He coughed