The James Patterson Pageturners

The James Patterson Pageturners

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment

Maximum Ride: School’s Out—Forever

Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports

The Final Warning: A Maximum Ride Novel

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X (coauthor Michael Ledwidge)

Other novels featuring Maximum Ride

When the Wind Blows

The Lake House

Dedication

For Andrea and Lucy. The flock grows and prospers; all is well, all is good.

Many thanks to Gabrielle Charbonnet, my conspirator, who flies high and cracks wise. And to Mary Jordan, for brave assistance and research at every twist and turn.

Preface

To the reader:

THE IDEA FOR the Maximum Ride series comes from earlier books of mine called When the Wind Blows and The Lake House, which also feature a character named Max who escapes from a quite despicable School. Most of the similarities end there. Max and the other kids in the Maximum Ride books are not the same Max and kids featured in those two books. Nor do Frannie and Kit play any part in the series. I hope you enjoy the ride anyway.

Prologue: CATCHING BIRD FREAKS: HAZARDOUS DUTY AT BEST

Prologue

CATCHING BIRD FREAKS: HAZARDOUS DUTY AT BEST

Chapter 1

1

Windsor State Forest, Massachusetts

Ssssss.

The soldiers’ armor made an odd hissing noise. But besides the slight sound of metal plates sliding smoothly, flawlessly over one another, the troop was unnaturally quiet as it moved through the woods, getting closer to the prey.

The faintest of beeps caused the team leader to glance down at his wrist screen. Large red letters scrolled across it: ATTACK IN 12 SECONDS . . . 11 . . . 10 . . .

The team leader tapped a button, and the screen’s image changed: a tall, thin girl with dirt smears on her face and a tangle of brown hair, glaring out at him. TARGET 1 was superimposed on her face.

. . . 9 . . . 8 . . .

His wrist screen beeped again, and the image changed to that of a dark-haired, dark-eyed, scowling boy. TARGET 2.

And so on, the image changing every half second, ending finally with a portrait of a small, scruffy black dog looking at the camera in surprise.

The team leader didn’t understand why Target 7 was an animal. He didn’t need to understand. All he needed to know was that these targets were slated for capture.

. . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .

The leader emitted a whistle pitched so high that only his team members could hear it. He motioned toward the small run-down cabin they had surrounded in the woods.

Synchronized perfectly, as only machines can be, the eight team members shouldered eight portable rocket launchers and aimed them straight at the cabin. With a whoosh, eight large nets made of woven Kevlar strands shot out from the cannons and unfolded with geometric precision in midair, encasing the cabin almost entirely.

The team leader smiled in triumph.

Chapter 2

2

“THE PREY HAVE BEEN CAPTURED, SIR,” the team leader said in a monotone. Pride was not tolerated in this organization.