ILL IT HURT?” Nudge asked quietly as she put on her shoes. Early-morning light was breaking through the leafy trees outside and sprinkling sun across the room, and the flock was gathering for their next “field trip.”

“Oh, I’m sure not,” Angel said vaguely, digging around in her backpack for her coupon. “I mean, not more than, like, getting punched by an Eraser. Or a sprained wing.”

“Comforting,” Iggy commented. “I think it’s a great idea, personally, but I don’t think Gazzy’s so thrilled.” Iggy went to look for the Gasman as the others headed toward the front door.

“Are you sure everyone wants to go through this, Angel?” Dylan asked. “I mean, most of us aren’t … fond of needles. Lab associations and all.”

“Come on, guys. If Max were here, you’d be all into this,” Angel said a little testily. “The tattoos were Max’s birthday presents to us, after all.”

“Not to me,” Dylan said, wistful.

Just then, Jeb strode in, looking like he’d just rolled out of bed. “Good lord, Angel! What did I just hear you talking about?”

“We’re going to get our tattoos. Max gave us gift certificates for our birthdays.”

“You most certainly are not!” Jeb said firmly, just like the old days. “You’re underage — it’s illegal. I won’t hear of it.”

“You’re not the leader, Jeb,” Angel reminded him. “I

am.”

“Well, Jeb’s a grown-up,” Nudge pointed out.

Angel’s eyes narrowed. “You guys elected me leader.”

“Hmm,” said Nudge, sounding doubtful. “More like we elected Max not leader. I wonder what she’s doing?”

“You mean besides not worrying about us?” Angel started to feel angry. “I’ll tell you what she’s doing — she and Fang are off somewhere, having a great time, not even thinking about us! They’re all cozy, just the two of them, and’ve probably forgotten our names by now!”

“I bet not,” Nudge said stubbornly, as Iggy and Gazzy entered the room.

“Look, everyone, I have news for you,” Jeb said. “In the future, it might be that each one of you has a flock of his or her own to lead.”

Everyone looked around, blinking in surprise. Jeb sat down on the floor and motioned for them to do the same. He had a lot of explaining to do.

“Max has actually been a pretty good leader — she’s kept you alive; she’s taught you how to survive. I know you have your problems with her. I do too.” He gave a little laugh. “But here you are: You’re a flock and you need a leader. Angel says that she’s the leader, and I guess you guys are agreeing to it. So here are my questions:

“What are you going to do differently from Max? How will it be an improvement? How will you handle another attack like the one yesterday? How will you all work together to grow and change and adapt, to maximize your chances of survival?”

Angel thought. She listened to her Voice. She thought some more.

“Jeb? I’ve been thinking about it and I have something to say to you. To everyone.” She paused. One by one they stopped what they were doing and looked at her. “Maybe living is more important than just surviving.”