Where It All Goes Down
The School and the Big Apple
The School
The School might be the place where the flock members come from, but it's the furthest thing from a real home that they can think of. When Max brings up the fact that they're going to have to go back to retrieve Angel, no one is pleased—especially not Max:
"Map of a secret facility," I said, feeling my stomach clench. I'd hoped I'd never have to see it again, never break that wax seal. "In California. The School." (10.23)
The School is the secret facility where scientists carry out experiments on DNA splicing to create hybrids like the flock members and the Erasers. Even though it's called a "school," the flock members didn't exactly get a formal education or proper childhood there. Instead, they were locked into dog crates and put through a series of painful and uncomfortable tests. Not surprisingly, they're not willing to go back to that life. It would probably be more accurate to call this particular facility the Prison instead of the School.
New York City
The flock members go to New York City out of necessity (it's where the Institute is), but they immediately take to it like ducks to water. Max is completely amazed by how alive the city is:
Basically, if you put fence around New York City, you'd have the world's biggest nontraveling circus.
When we woke up at dawn the next morning, there were already joggers, bicyclers, even horseback riders weaving their way along the miles and miles of trails in Central Park. We slipped down out of the trees and casually wandered the paths. (76.1-2)
The great thing about New York City is that it's chaotic, hectic, and full of diversity—in other words, it's the perfect place for a bunch of mutant kids to hide out and evade their captors. They describe New York City as a lush, exciting place where they can blend in for the first time in their lives. In a bustling city where everyone is a freak, the kids can feel like normal people for once—and it's a wonderful feeling.