The Angel's Birdcage

[(¯`·._.·Baron·._.·´¯)]

Prologue

Summer was a great thing for any teen, a time of goofing off, relaxation, and hanging with friends at the movies. And, of course-Doctor apointments. Yes, doctor appointments, regular check ups and the like. So much fun is to be had at the doctor's, like waiting around watching educational videos that you could memorize after the seventeenth time, and century-old magazines. Yes, what could be more fun?

Jalen Styr sat alongside his father, one of the wealthiest men the New Age had to offer, Mr. Styr, silently tapping his foot in time with the scratchmarks the older man wrote on a clipboard. The boy couldn't think of a time where he actually had fun with his father, always being shoved away as "Mr. Styr doesn't have time to play with you". In all his fifteen years he never truly found out what his father did, but whatever it was, he was very successfull, and always very, very busy.

Even the world could only guess at what went on behind locked doors. Mr. Styr claimed to be a scientist, but nobody ever saw any experiments, no products, no test tubes or beakers, not even a scalpel. He shipped cargo boats all over the known world. Everything was top secret, like everyone's favorite spy movie. Security was tight, everyone he knew was influential in the company, and there was nobody his age...anywhere. Sure, one of his maids had a nine year old girl, but she was never allowed to visit.

Only lately, Jalen had tried to sneak around, desperatly trying to answer his deepest question: What did his father do? And why didn't he know about it yet? He was always met with locked doors and dead-ends, and the occasional guard pushing him back. Fifteen years and not even a squeek about inheritance.

Now, back to the doctors for the third time this week, even though there was absolutely nothing wrong with him. Not even a runny nose. Why he was here was also a secret, and he was getting tired of it. Yeah, like there was anytihng he could do.

"Mr. Styr?" The receptionist had pulled back the sliding smoky glass window, and the burly stranger sitting next to the hapless teen stood and went over. They talked in hushed voices...as usual. Jalen strained his ears to be rewarded with a few words "Sign...release....confidentail...you understand? Thank you, sir" And finally "Please come right in"

Jalen stood up and walked over to the white wooden door leading to different rooms and tables that was all too familiar. His father made to follow, but "I'm sorry Mr. Styr, you'll have to wait here" Bold. Telling that man to wait? Boy, oh boy. Mr. Styr held his mouth open to argue.

"Father. I'm not a kid anymore. What could happen" Geez. The comment went unspoken as the man grumbled and sat down again, clearly unhappy. On the other side of the door, a young nurse was waiting to greet him. "Good morning Ms. Kelly" Jalen greeted cheerfully as he took off his shoes for the routine measurements.

"Welcome back, Jalen" She replied calmly, all rehersed. Plain and boring. The whole office building was plain and boring. Blue carpet, white walls, no decorations. All done, Jalen stepped off and carried his black sneakers as he moved down the hallway, just like every other time. Left here, down the corrider, the room on the right..."I'm sorry, that room is under maintenance, continue down the hall, third door to the right, if you please"

Maintnance? What happened between now and the beginning of the week? Jalen didn't question, 'Not like he was going to get an answer', he thought as he entered the specified room. It looked just like all the others, a raised bed, a useless chair, a desk with papers and bottles. In fact, it looked just like the others, just a tad bigger and had more interesting looking magazines.

He closed the door before wandering over to the window opposite, and pulled the chord, loosing the blinds and letting natural light filter through. There really wasn't much to see out of the third-floor of the building. The doctor's office was one of the oldest buildings in the city, and one of the smallest. Other buildings esaily dwarfed this one, reaching the sky, and limiting the view. People mostly walked on the sidewalks below, not truly crowded, as one would expect at this time of the day.

The door closed behind him. Jalen spun around "Hello again...wait, who are you?" The man who had stepped through the threshhold was somebody he had never met before. Short, balding, ugly, with a large wort on his chin. "What happened to Dr. Zaan?" He asked, Jaan had always been here, rain or shine, Armageddon or otherwise.

"He's sick" The man answered matter-of-factly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Jalen automatically didn't like him. The new doctor went over and closed the blinds, making the room dark aside from the lamp overhead. "I'm Dr. Manini." He spoke in a monotone, walking like a robot, not even glancing at Jalen once. "Sit down please, I promise, you'll be out of here sooner than you think"

What was that supposed to mean "Whatever happened to 'We care about our patients'?" Jalen asked cheekily, just to ruffle the guy's proverbial feathers. Apparently it didn't work. Amenior came right up to the teen, looking him in the eye and smiled. His breath smelled heavily of whisky and he was missing a tooth on his right side. The rest weren't too pretty either.

"Oh, I do care about you, Mr. Styr. From now on you'll be one of my finest patients. We'll get to know each other quite well I believe. Now. I'm going to give you a little injection, and you should come see me in another week" He said. Jalen had to turn his head to stop from barfing in the guy's face, and he sat down on the uncomfortable raised bench.

"What exactly do I need this injection for, doctor?" Jalen asked.

"Oh, it's not important" The doctor replied with a wave of his pudgy hand, and he grabbed Jalens wrist forcefully and held it up, taking a neddle from the other.

"No, stop! I have a reight to know what this is about! Get off me!" Too late, the needle entered his forearm, with no preparation, no dampening, no rubber band, no stress ball, nothing. It hurt, and extra blood dropped from the corners as a green liquid was injected into his skin. Jalen struggled, but the 'doctor' held firm. Removing the needle, Jalen leapt up and dashed for the door, wrenching it open.

Outside, Jalen wobbled, a wave of intense dizziness nearly made him fall down "Father! Father help me! What's happening!?" His vision was becoming blurry, whatever it was seemed to work fast. Two figures blocked his way, their faces obscured, and the small guy came out behind him. Darkness crept p from the corners of his line of sight, tendrils of smoke curled aorund his ankles, and moved to his wrists. They mingled with the blood drooling down his arm, and Jalen frantically tried to brush them away, but to no avail.

The shadows wrapped around his whole body and he felt light-headed, a sense of euphoria come...he didn't even feel his head hit the floor.

[(¯`·._.·Baron·._.·´¯)]

Chapter 1
Awakening

"Kid.....Kid, wake up. You okay? He-looo?" A voice. An outside voice. The blackness receeded. Slightly. The voice was beckoning, it was hard to follow "That's it, it's only temporary. Come on, wake up" The shadows dissapated, to be replaced with silver and white. Something on me twitched, it was a weird feeling. Feeling came back to my limbs, which were as alien as, well, I couldn't think of what.

Cold. Everything was cold, and hard. I was in an uncomfortable position, with my arms over my head, and legs curled around me. "How you feeling?" That voice again, deep yet tender. I tried to move, to look at whatever was making that sound. Coordination didn't exist, arms twitched momentarily and legs kicked out, which landed me in an even worse position. "Not so fast, move slowly"

"Mrrwah?" My reply. Pathetic, even mouth muscles were difficult to move. Alright, time to get up. With effort, my muscles managed to straighten out with many groans and weird noises eminating from me. A hand managed to land on the floor under my chest, and slowly, the othre hand scrabled and grabbed onto something slim and cold, but solid. With effort, both arms worked together to get myself upright.

Standing vertical was accompanied by a harsh wave of dizziness, and before I could stop myself, I fell backwards. Luckily, my fall was broken by long cold strips. But, between me and the solid lines was a cushion of softness. Shutting my eyes, the nausia passed, and I was able to look around.

My first sight was confusing, with the dominant color easily being white. The floors were some sort of metal and cold, and about three feet away was a perferated wall. More precisely, there was a line of metal bars, different from the metal on which my bare feet were resting on. The bars be about five inches apart and were quite thick, obviously meant for keeping something out. But as I looked around, I found that the bars extended in a box...around me, it had been what I had fallen on. The bars weren't to keep things out, it was to keep me in.

With that realization should have come panic, but everything seemed...I don't know. Natrual isn't the word, right definatly wasn't it either. But I wasn't scared, or angry..or sad.

"You really shouldn't fight 'em. I'm honestly surprised you could move after that" There was that voice again, the same voice that had awoken me. Searching around, it wasn't hard to find. It was off to my left. I hadn't really looked outside my own cage until that point. When I saw his face. I don't know what I expected, but what I saw was a really hairy man. Really big too, easily a head taller than me, and nearly twice my own girth.

I didn't realize it at the time, but what I was looking at was probably the most unnatural thing this world has yet produced. I was staring at a wolf, standing on it's own two legs, with black and white fur. The chest was a creamy white, as well as the insides of the arms and legs, and the bottom of the long bushy tail. Evreything else was black, apart from his deep golden eyes.

This...creature was in the same predicament as I. That is to say, also in a small cage with metal bars. Flicking around, I noticed there were many others like him and I. There were rows upon rows of cages, most were occupied by furry creatures standing on two legs. Some had on raggedy brown cloths, just like I was adorning, but others, like the furred wonder closest to me, were bare chested and pantless.

The wolf was speaking again, so I focused on him. "So, Kid. Why do you fight?" The words forming in the long thin muzzle so easily, and his tail twitching every few seconds, it all seemed unreal, like a dream. As of yet I didn't know what a dream was. I didn't even know who I was, let alone what he was takling about.

Tilting my head to the side I just stared at him "Hey, can you understand me? You're not some foreign dude are ya?" When I still didn't reply, he turned around "Jeez, another dead-beat. Just my luck" And with that the black and white figure ploped down in one swift movement.

Still utterly confused, and yet intrigued by my...well, new aquaintance, I wobbled over, still not completely in control of my own movements, to the edge of the cage and gripped the bars. I opened and closed my mouth in an attempt to form words. I must have made some weird noises for the wolf turned his head to look at me sideways and politely waited.

"What...d-do...What do you mean?" I managed to force out, albeit with some difficulty. He seemed to perk up at the sound of my voice, his tail wagged and his ears twitched. But the person in the cage over started yelling, and our attention turned to another large fellow mostly in black. This one didn't have that brown clothing on, but his skin was a charcoal black, with a long tail snapping furiously, claws gripping the bars and his mouth agape in a snarl of rage.

He looked similar to the wolf in size and basic shape, but the head was more rounded and it looked like he had no ears. As I watched, the black-skinned creatured let out a snarl and smashed the long tail against the bars. The resulting clamour made me wince and step back as it carried throughout the large room and echoed like mad.

Over and over it repeated, and other people from elsewhere in the room added to the noise with banging, scraping, hissing, clanging and thunking that even putting my hands over my ears didn't do much to drown it out. It took a long time, but most of the others in the room gave up or grew tired, until the black-skinned man was the only one still hitting the bars as hard as he could.

I looked on, an immense feeling threatend to overwhelm me. My cheeks were wet, and with no idea of how they got there, I wiped the tears from my face with the back of my hand and gripped the bars hard. This is what I should be feeling, rage. I should be slamming the bars trying to get out. It felt wrong, I shouldn't be in a cage, none of us should be locked up. What had I done wrong? I had no recollection of doing anything that would put me here. I shouldn't be here, I needed to get out. Still, it seemed as if these bars would hold through anything, the lizard-man attested to that.

"I was the same way" This was the wolf figure. Prying my eyes from the pitifull sight, my feet carried me to the ajoining wall of the cage with a mind of their own, "I've tried everything I can think of. There's no way out" This man looked almost as sad as I felt, head drooped, tail motionless on the ground. He looked defeated. That was the word for it. "He must still be new" He added as an afterthought.

"What do you mean?" The words came easier this time, even with a large lump in my throat making it hard to breathe. He looked upwards, and I followed his gaze. What was there was something of immense beauty, and intense sadness that filled every fiber of my body with awe. There were bars a few feet above my head, but througth them you could see a darkness littered with millions of tiny bright lights, which seemed to flock around a much bigger disk that gave out the light to see by. This bigger light had a chunk missing, like someone took a massive bite out of it. Poor thing, whatever it was.

"Eh? What do I mean? Man, they must have hit you harder than the truth hit your parents. I've been here a while. Nothing works, security is to tight. Everyone rebels at first, but ya just gotta accept it. They planned it this way and we aren't getting out without their say-so, and they're never gonna say-so" There was agitation in his voice as he lightly hit the ground "I wonder why they did this to us? That fatso, he must have a big part in this" He mused to himself for a time, talking about things I didn't understand, and touching his large fingers together.

"I..am not sure I understand" That was a complete understatement, I was utterly confused. Parents, fighting, security? These meant nothing to me. And, oddly enough, another thought wafted through my mind. I don't know why I didn't think about it before, but when I woke and fell on the bars, there was something blanketing my back. Looking around, I was certain it wasn't there anymore.

The wolf watched me, and when I noticed I tried to guess what he was thinking "Kid...are you okay?" What kind of question was that? I supposed I was fine, there was no pain that I was aware of. But perhaps that wasn't the whole question. I was confused, and scared and...I don't know, there were so many emotions buzzing around I couldn't count, or define. I decided not to answer, and when he figured that, he continued, "How about this, what do you remember?"

What did I remember? I remember waking up in an uncomfortable position, feeling emberrassed when it was hard to move my body, the dizziness, seeing this wolf guy for the first time, hearing the black-skinned lizard try to get out and the others joining in a horrible ruccus, and that terrible feeling. I told him as much, and he scratched his chin with a paw and nodded, "I expected as much." Was all he said.

Now he had peaked my interest "And?" I prodded, as if the subject was a tangible thing. Again he didn't answer straight away, just muttered to himself.

"What's your name?"

"What's with these questions? I want answers, you haven't once answered my question, just piled your own!" I cried out, not loud, because I had the impression I shouldn't be. But I got the message accross. He finally looked at me full on, and I could see the intelligence behind those great eyes, soft, fierce, angry and sad all at the same time, and he smiled. At least it could have been a smile, the corners of his great maw curled upwards, which revealed glistening white teeth. Out of instinct I backed up slightly, but did not back down, I wanted to know what was going on, and if I had better chances getting it out of the lizard man, who had stopped banging the bars sometime ago, than I would ignore this beast to talk to another.

"Tell me your name, and I will tell you everything I can" Was what he replied, as cool as the metal ground he was sitting on. With that, my anger dissipated, as I tried to remember my name. What was a name, and did I really have one? Thinking hard, I tried to recall everything, anything, as I realized that a name was something that identifies something, but where that knowledge came from I don't know. "You don't remember?" The black and white wolf asked, and all I could do was shake my head. "Thought so"

"Then what's your name?" I asked, for I had forgotten about demanding answers.

"Jason" Was all he said. Jason.

"Oh" Was that only thing that escaped my lips, for I had nothing else to say. I was still trying to think what my name was, still drawing blanks. My legs were weary, so I sat, facing the wolf with legs stretched out. The floor was cold and hard, but I had on those brown clothes, so it wasn't all bad. But when I sat, I felt that soft blanket. It touched my back lightly, and it felt no heavier than a cloud, and far softer than these rags I had on.

The curioosity was immense, why did I feel it sitting or laying down, but not when standing? I reached back as fast as I could, and my fingertips touched the substance, whatever it was, but it played out of reach. It tickled my fingertips again and I grabbed it. I was shocked when I found that I felt something on my back. Not the cloud-soft thing, but like when a foot touched the ground, or someone touched your arm, you could feel it. It wasn't part of my back, and felt weird, alien.

Certain that I had it, I turned my head. I found myself looking at...white. It was large, fluffy, and strangely beautifull. They were white wings, and craning my neck some more, understood why I 'felt' them. They were attached to my shoulderblades. Blinking wildly, the image didn't go away, there were indeed two large, white wings protruding from my backside. The base of the white wonder was about the size of a tenis ball, and expanded, growing long feathers until it reached where my hand grasped it.

I was on my feet before I knew it, and let go of my wing. Somehow, I knew, these didn't belong, it weren't right. Although why it was wrong I couldn't tell, I had nothing to compare it to. Should I look like a wolf like Jason, or the black-skinned lizard? But this wasn't how I should look, I just knew.

I must have screamed, for complaining voices arose from all around, and Jason hissed "Not so loud! Some people are trying to sleep" I tried twisting and turning to get a better look, but it was as difficult as trying to lick your elbow. "Calm down, just calm down or else you'll wake the whole place and bring in the scientists, you don't want that do you?"

That got my attention, and I jammed my mouth shut, coming over to the bars looking at Jason "Why didn't you tell me?" I demanded, and on second thought "And what are scientists?"

He sighed but didn't look at me directly "I thought you knew" He replied, very calm "And as for your second question....they are the ones that gave you those wings and me this shape. None of us looked the way we do now before. I know, 'cause I heard them talking. I don't know for sure, but I reccon I looked something like you, without wings" He said, pointing a large finger to emphasize his point.

"But what are scientists?" I demanded, but expected I wouldn't get an answer just like before.

"Scientists...How to explain...Scientists look like you do without wings. Now I don't know why they look different than us, I know they've been doing some testing, perhaps they want to look like us. But I know they made us look the way we do now. They walk around during the day wearing white clothes" He stopped and looked at me skeptically, as if realizing I had no idea what he was talking about "Clothes are those brown things you have on your chest and legs. 'Cept theirs look different, and white"

He waited as I digested this information, and I had to finally ask "You said you knew why I can't remember anything before I woke up." I said haltingly "What did you mean?" Again, Jason didn't answer at first, but looked thoughtfull, as if finding the best way to explain it.

"A result of the scientists" The wolf said at last "It may be part of the experiments, an unfortunate side-effect or accident, or it could be intentional, I don't know. But it is a result from something they did to us. Nobody here can remember anything before we look the way we do now, and sometimes people just forget and have no memories whatsoever. I've talked with other people, we try our best to understand everything, and most of what I know resulted from those chit-chats, see? I've falen prey to these memory blanches too, and friends remind me everything we have currently deduced." He explained, and remarkably enough I understood most of it.

"Now, people come and people go, I've been here a while, like I've said. Scientists take people away, only to be replaced with others, and nobody ever sees them again." Jason continued, and I got the feeling he must have said this a hundred times to other people, and probably a few times to himself to convince himself it's right, "Everyone in here is your friend, remember that. We're all in the same situation, and we all want the same thing; freedom, and if anybody gets an idea, we share it. Because even though this is a horrible place to be, we don't want to leave and never be seen again, and we want to get out as soon as possible, got it?" He said that so urgently that it almost sounded like a threat.

But ever since Jason had said his name, something started bouncing around in my head, and more questions came. Some I could answer, some I couldn't, and many others were forgotten in an instant. One of them was, "How do we actually get out? I mean, you said these scientists take us out for testing, but I don't see a way to get out" Unconsciously I had been casting around, examining the cage that held me and not finding a way, there was nothing that looked like an exit point, or a door, everything looked almost identical, and one could very easily get confused.

"Ahh" Jason replied, as if taking pride in something he figured out "Yes, it doesn't look like there's a door does there?" He sounded as if he was trying to sell something, a sleezy merchant or something, but the idea came and went as he continued "Look at that wall" And he pointed with a large furry finger at the adjoining wall of his cage, then to mine. "There is a tiny metal square somewhere along that wall, where the scientists insert a key, some doors swing open, others slide, I don't know why they are different, but yours swings, and mine slides." That was a little confusing, but I was able to grasp it.

"They'll more 'en likely come for some testing on you tomorrow" The big wolf mused.

"Why do you say that?" I asked, I was certain he had no idea, and I was curious why he would say something like that in the first place.

"Call it instinct." Was all he said.

With that, we both fell into silence, and that big disk slowly flew accross the sky, and I felt a sensation deep in my gut, a longing to be out in that sky and just run for the sake of running. It was fun to imagine what was beyond that domed ceiling, what is was like to be free, for I could not remember anything like it, and as I speculated, I let my mind wander. And I got something into my head and it wouldn't go away. It was a single word, I didn't know what it meant, but I felt that it held some importance.

"Hey Jason?" I called softly, not sure if he was asleep or not, for we had both been silent for a while. He grunted in reply, it looked like his eyes were closed. "Does the word...Jalen mean anything to you?" An eye opened and it shone even in the darkness.

It was easy to tell the big brute was deep in thought, and I might get an answer, but he shook his head finally, and my own head hung in despair "Means absolutely nothing to me kid. Does it sound familiar?"

"Mmm-hmm"

"Think it could be your name?"

"Hmmm....." It could very well be, it hung in the air, and voicing it out loud seemed to set it in concrete. It might not be my name, but I would use it as such. Jalen. It seemed to fit.

No one else spoke, and I felt exhausted, as if remembreing my name was a physical excersize. So, naturally, I lay down trying to find a comfortable position. I ended up on my belly, with my wings, they were still alien, folded around my arms. Time passed, and I fell asleep.

[(¯`·._.·Baron·._.·´¯)]

Chapter 2
Arrival

There is a state between conscious and unconscious, this state is not easy to understand or recognize, but once recognized, the feeling dissipates. That was what I felt for a long time, halfway between awake and asleep, everything was peacefull, in a way I could tell everything that was going on around me, but once I assessed what was going on, my mind snapped awake. No matter how hard I tried, I could not slip back into that state, or even fall asleep again.

Oddly enough, I found I was not in the same position I had fallen asleep in. I was on my back, wings underneath, yet partialy covreing my chest, and my knees in the air. It was comfortable, and I imagined staying like that for a while. But the events of yesterday, or more accuratly, last night convinced me that was not a good idea.

Again, being vertical was accompanied with a light dizziness, not as strong as last night, but annoying nonetheless. I stretched and looked around, and got a better idea of my surroundings. Everything was clearer in the daylight....Daylight? Looking up the sky was blue, with no sign of that large disk or tiny sparks of light, instead there were fluffy white things, clouds. The source of the light overhead was hard to discern, as nothing showed above the dome.

Looking around, I was still in a cage, the bars cold and menacing, and there were more cages around me, just like last night. But last night I couldn't tell how large the room actually was, nor the fact that there were cages as far as the eye could see, arranged in numerous rows and columns, each with some creature inside, some stirring like I was, others fast asleep. One thing I noticed was that no two creatures looked alike.

There was the black-skinned lizard man, which in the daylight I could see the small scales, and even saliva dripping from his mouth to a small pool where he slept. There were creatures I couldn't name, some with small furry faces, others with thick skin, some were black, others brown. A lot had fur, like Jason...Speaking of Jason.

Trodding over, I nearly gasped, what had hapened to Jason? There was nothing aside from a large furry mat, a large and lumpy mat at that. I nearly called for help, until I saw it move, and realized, this was Jason. He was sleeping with his back facing me. I felt foolish for panicking, and searched around for something to do.

Mainly I paced, like a wild animal, I paced. I thought about everything the big black and white wolf had said earlier, about the scientists and the freedom, and them coming today. I didn't know what would happen when they came, but Jason gave me the idea I didn't want to. The only way to avoid it, or so it seemed, was to escape, which the wolf also said was impossible.

It never hurts to try. My feet dragged over to the bars, they looked sturdy, it didn't look like I was getting out that way, even without grabbing it and shaking furiously. I paced around the cage and remembered the other words from last night. I cast around a little and found what I was looking for. The metal square, where the scientists inserted a key. It really was small, a little bit bigger than a bar itself, the edges could barely be seen, for it did rest on one of the bars. I had an urge to find out how it worked, but without a key the door would not open.

Looking up, the bars above my head looked to be made of the same material as the others, and was as unlikely to break or bend, even if I could find a way up there. So, not being able to think of anything, I paced...and paced...and paced, until a golden orb rose above the lip of the dome overhead, and the metal shone as if it was newly polished. It was blinding at first, but I rubbed my eyes and continued walking around the cage, first one way, now another.

"I'm surprised your up...and not dizzy with all that infuriating pacing" That was a familiar voice, and turning Jason was up and stretching. Now it was my turn to not answer, as he stretched I examined his furry fingers. There were five thick fingers, the average wolf paw, but with an opposable thumb. On each finger there was a small claw, a sharp, curved, and pointed talon. It gave me an idea, and I said as much, to which he looked intrigued, but kept silent.

Sitting, I first tried to discover where the idea had come from, I was certain I had never seen or done anything like it before. But, the idea was there and that's all that mattered. My wings were still puzzling, and I had no idea how to move them by myself, so I tried the game of cat-and-mouse like last night, but instead of looking and grabbed two feathers and pulled hard.

I gritted my teeth and winced as the feathers came out, it felt like I was stabbing something sharp there, not ripping something out. Glancing, the feathers were quite large, the bigger one about the length of my whole left arm, the other sligtly smaller, and there was a dap of crimson blood on the thick stems of both. Jason was rubbing his shoulderblades, as if just watching me gave him pain too, but he didn't have the plan.

Getting up once more I found myself at the small lock easily this time, and grasping a feather in both hands, the stem away from me, my hands reached around the bars and inserted the small thick stems into the lock at the same time. At first nothing happened, so I prodded around in the lock until the feather stems touched something hard. I gasped slightly yet I didn't know why, but that brought some attention my way.

Eyes were on me, the cages closest, which I later found out held a weasel and a llama, started whispering to each other. Still nothing happened with the lock, so I pulled back and felt for that lump again, and pushed in, still nothing. Holding it in with one, I fiddled around with the other and found something else a little further in.

By now, word had spread "Look, birdie's got something!" I heard someone whisper, and among words of encouragement which I did my best to ignore, were skeptical voices "You think that hasn't been done before?" and "That'll never work, but I wish him luck" and so on. I kept fiddling away at the lock, exploring the invisible crevaces and knobs, biting my lip here and concentrating hard. Little by little I became aware of a soft chant "Go Jalen, go Jalen" How they all knew my name didn't matter, probably Jason had been spreading rumors.

It felt awkward, having people look and expect something when I myself didn't even know what I was doing. But, my arms were becoming tired, and I pulled them in, bringing a sad sigh that seemed to come from the room itself. Swinging my arms in circular motions and flexing the muscles, Jason came over "Almost kid, almost. You were probably the closest anyone's ever come to escaping this joint. I gotta hand it to ya, that was clever"

"But I didn't do anything, I'm not even sure what I was doing!" I confided, frustrated that I couldn't do it "But...I think I'm understanding the lock" While I was picking away I had made a couple mental pictures of what I assumed the inside looked like, and if I was right, I could do it. But then the possibility that these scientists didn't think of that wasn't good, the way Jason spoke of them. 'Security is too tight...they planned this' It was likely the lock only reacted to the key, or even metal at best, neither of which I had. Nonetheless, I wanted to continue, it was better than sitting idle.

Feeling slightly better I resumed my position at the lock and inserted the feathers once more, putting my theory to the test. But before I could begin in ernest, a breeze fluttered around the room, a breeze of voices, whispers. I couldn't make it out, as I was only half listening, but Jason knew full well what it meant "Jalen, get in, scientists!" That was enough, I retreated into the middle of the cage, accidentally dropping a feather outside the door. I didn't dare go back for it, because I could see movement a little ways off. White, that was all I could tell.

Curious, yet frightened, I tried to get a better look. I didn't need to do much though, as the white coats came into view down a little corridor. The closer they came, the more nervous I became, they weren't stopping anywhere, and that was bad for me, if Jason's instict was to be trusted. But, as they got near I could tell there was something else with them, at the moment it was only a blotch of darker color, brown I think.

A little longer and they were here, standing in front of me, two scientists and one other thing. The other thing wih them was a figure. It was, in truth, mostly white, but there was brown around the ears, chest, feet and tail, and a bit of black mixed in. It was quite pretty. The head was down, and the limbs were limp. But the white-garbed scientists, who indeed looked a lot like me, but much...cleaner, had been speaking while looking at each other.

"I know, I know, not these are not ideal times, it's either this or...you get the idea." One of them was saying, he had a white overcoat and long white pants. He was the one to my left, with a plain face. He, like his comrade, was holding one arm of their captive. His fellow nodded.

"Yes, you're right. But we've got to file for a transfer soon, this facility will soon be overrun. This will just be temporary, right?" He sounded upset, they both did. But this scientist had brown hair and golden whiskers on his upper lip, and his face was pockmarked with holes. A shame, he looked young too. Also, his clothes were made of a different material than the first scientist. This was all very interesting, but confusing as I didn't understand what they were talking about.

"But of course. Temporary" With that the conversation seemed to end, and scientist with the bushy upper lip searched in a pant pocket with his free hand and pulled out a small metal key. It was plain, but had a funny knob attached to it. It was inserted into the square lock, and suddenly noticed I was so close to the bars. While they were preoccupied, I had been reaching out my foot, trying to cover my feather and proof of my escape plan. Of course, if the door had opened, I could've gotten out.

But the scientist reached a hand through the bars and shoved me back, hard. I ended up falling on my rear. As I as scrambling to get up they opened the cage, it swung open, just like Jason had said, and thrust the creature inside. But just as it crossed the threshold, however, it seemed to wake up. For a split second I saw a deep fire in her eyes as it spun and thrust herself at the bars, reaching out and grabbing the plain scientists coat and pulled towards the bars. He squeeled, but the other one hurried to get the door closed and locked.

When he finished, he had more time to free his friend, as he pulled his friend back and hit the feline's wrist, effectively forcing her to let go. "Stupid pet!" plain-face spat, as he went to relax against the bars of another cage, only to reel back as he now saw the lizard was awake and dangerously close to those very same bars. Muttering to themselves, they hurried off, brushing their coats clean and breathing hard.

"Pigs!" My cell mate called, shaking her fist at the retreating scientists, before turning her wrath on me, "What on Earth were you doing? If you had done something we could've gotten outta here, you daft-!" But she stopped herself, sucking on her teeth. I disagreeumption was correct, she was female, her voice was lighter and had a good accent.

I just stared, which had been exactly what I had done when she was fighting. My mouth opened and closed, but no words came out "Ugh! You're useless!" She went around and around in circles, stopping momentarily to cream and shake the bars, then return to circling.

Jason, who had been silent so far, let out a soft chuckle which soon turned to a groan of thought at the cats fierce glare. But before she could come up with a snappy remark Jason cut her off with a simple "Interesting" Which stopped her in her tracks.

"Huh?" That came from both of us, wondering what the big brute was thinking now. He muttered to himself and counted on his fingers as he licked his lips, reminiscant of last night, leaving us to wait patiently for his answer.

"Were you listening?" He asked, and as we both shook our heads he sighed and continued, "Don't you find it strange that they'd put two people in one cage? They haven't done that before, I'm sure of it. Also, they were talking about temporary stuff, and transfers" This wasn't making any sense for me, but it did seem weird. The cat, however seemed to grasp his gist.

"I s'ppose" She murmered "What do you think it means?" She asked, her anger evaporated, just like mine had last night.

"I'm not sure. But I think...they're running out of room here."

"And how does that help us?" She snapped, the fire was back ad it was ready to burn the tiniest thing.

"In many ways..." But he changed the topic "Jalen" He looked right at me "Go get your feather"

I didn't argue, but went to the bars. It was unlikely my arm could grab it, so I stuck my leg out again, sticking up to my thigh through the small gap. Feather and foot touched, and I curled my toes around it and pulled it back, grabbing it and holding it triumphantly.

"A-ha!" The black and white wolf exclaimed, and seemed to revel in an unseen victory. He was brimming with so much energy he could hardly contain it. Me and my new mate exchanged glances as our neighbor hopped around like a child.

"You mind filling us in?" I asked, interrupting his happy time. The wolf stopped and looked at us through the bars, head cocked to the side, showing his large fangs in an unmistakable grin.

[(¯`·._.·Baron·._.·´¯)]

Chapter 3
Escape

"Jason...what makes you think this will work?" I asked skeptically "This is all a whim, and I bet you don't know where the exit is. The scientists planned this remember? This is all crazy" I wanted to escape too, but what he was suggesting was crazy, I was sure of it. I had never done anything like it, and a lot of it was based on chace from the sound of things.

"Listen, I've tried many times to escape. Every singe one ended in in more than a fair share of bruises. This time, I've got you." Still confident in his plan "Listen, this will take all of us, you need to be with us. This could be the only chance we ever get. Renpet here won't be with us much longer, so it has to be now" The house cat who had been put in my cage knew a little about the scientists and the facility.

"Look, kid. We don't have time, you have to. Not just for you or me, but for everyone in this damn place!" His voice was calm, but full of an urgency that gave me confidence, if only a little. It had taken a while for the wolf to explain his scheme, and the sun was directly overhead now. It was a matter of luck the men in white hadn't taken me, for whatever reasons, and I didn't want to give them a chance to.

Finally I nodded, looking at Jason and my newest companion, Renpet. Each repeated the gesture as I moved towards the bars. It still seemed unlikely, and my hand paused reaching for the space between the metal bars. A shiver ran down my back, but I forced myself to continue, fitting my wrist through the gap, then my elbow and now my shoulder. It was tight, but I pushed my left leg forward up to the thigh.

Further and further I inched through, the bars were really close together, the gap smaller than the width of my hand. My shounder fit through, but it sqeezed on my chest, the brown cloth on my chest was causing friction with the bars, making things worse. At one point, I had to use both hands, one p-ulling, one pushing, and slowly I slid through. But I wasn't out, a sudden jerk slammed my wing against the bars.

Crying out, the wings flared on their own account, nearly hitting the cat. Needless to say, I paused, trying to think myself out of this position. I was stuck, if I continued, my wings would slam the bars again, but I wouldn't let myself go back. "Twist, you an do this" Jason whispered as I looked at him for ideas. Right, twist. Well, worth a try.

Twisting was harder than it sounded, it meant I had to get my whole chest through before I got my wings free. I had to use both arms, exerting as much energy as I could spare. I must say, I had gotten myself effectively trapped, I was no sideways, stuck in between the bars. "Renpet, help!" I hissed, waving my hands frantically, "A little push". Perhaps she was hard of hearing, but what I got wasn't a 'little push'. She shoved so hard that my whole upper half flew through, wings and all. But being faced forward caught my hips in the middle, so being caught between being shved through and pulled back, I must say that it really hurt.

But I managed to get up and twist my hips, enabling me to get my right leg through. I had done it, I was free. Jason let out a subdued hollar, and I turned around looking at Renpet "I said a little push!" I hissed. She held a curled figner to her bottom lip, smirking.

"You're welcome" Was all she said, managing to surpress a laugh as I masaged my waist and stretched my arms.

"....Thanks" I grumbled, after all she had gotten me through. She also handed me my two feathers I had plucked earlier and I tried to get back to work on the lock of the cage that had held me a few moments before. I still remembered what I had thought it looked like and inserted the stems again. But progress was slow as every few seconds I was interrupted by a call of "Let me out" and "How d'you do it?" "Get me out first" and any variation of such.

It got so bad that Jason finally let out a loud howl, which silenced almost everyone in the large room "Enough, we are working here!" He bellowed, probably louder than he needed "Keep silent! And everyone keep watch, if anyone sees scientists, you tell us, got that?" Apparently everyone did, for there was not a squeak since, and I got back to work. Still, everyone was watching me, yet again, and that was unnerving by itself.

Just as I thought I was about to unlock the cursed contraption, that whisper spread though "Scientists" Nervously, I pulled back with my feathers. I had no idea where they were coming from so I couldn't hide. But I got close to the Komodo's cage and cast about for anything that moved. Seeing nothing, I looked at the different creatures in the cages, and eventually I saw the black lizard pointing with his whip-like tail at the same place where they came from before. Now they had been pointed out, I could see them, and hid my skinny body behind the black scaled guy, who leant against the wall, ensuring I couldn't be seen.

A couple gasps reahced my ears from cages as the scientists came closer, and I made myself as small as I could, heart racing, hands quaking. And then they were at my...former cage. There were two white-clad scientists, and one other. This one was about half the size of the other two, and wore a facny blue suit with a white collar. From what I could see, he was balding, there was a shiney circle at the back of his head, with hair covering his neck and ears.

I knew him. I couldn't say from where, but I was certain I had seen him, and perhaps talked to him before. Whatever had happened, I hated him. My heartbeat skyrocketed and I shook with anger and nearly didn't hear their conversation.

The short man was speaking "What do you mean?" He asked, his voice was deep, even deeper than Jason's. All three were close to Renpet's cage, cleverly out of her reach. Renpet just looked on innocently, snatching a few wuick glances at me, and I in turn wondered what I should do. It was possible, and probable that at least one of them had a key, but how to get it?

"We put her in with Jalen, only temporarily. She attacked us before we could close the door completely and we forgot about bringing the bird. But we swear, he couldn't get out." It seemed to be the scientist on the far left was saying with hand gestures to emphasize his point. Clearly he was nervous, which told me the bald man was someone quite important. Scientist? Possibly.

"Search the facility. I don't know what happened, and frankly I don't care. You find him, and you fix this." All this was spoken with such venom I nearly recoilled as if it really was deadly.

"Dr. Manini, I really don't see how one kid could be such a-" The right scientist started, but before he could finish his sentence the short man, Dr. Manini, turned on him and grabbed his shirt bringing the hapless man to his level and spitting in his face "You wouldn't, would you?!"

I actually felt somewhat sorry for the guy, but I caught a glimpse of both of their faces. The scientist I recognized as the whiskered one who came before, but I already deduced that from their conversation. The other man's face, however, was revolting. Short, fat and just...ugly. His eyes seemed to almost pop out of their sockets, and there was a visible vein running down the side of his face.

Just then I caught a glimpse of Jason, who had previously been blocked by the scientists. He was gesturing with his eyes, meaning it was time to do....something. Trying to look around, I caught the lizard's eye, who put his claws in front of his face and fabbed them outward. I got the picture, scare them. Which I had no idea how to do. But I remembered the way Renpet had attacked the two scientists earlier, and it gave me an idea.

Inching accross to the other side of the cage, I was at an angle so I couldn't be seen behind the bars. Flexing my muscles, I prepared myself, mainly working up the courage to do what had to be done.

I leapt forwardand yelled. It was the only thing I could think of, but it worked. All three of them spun around and backed up a few steps, which put them in reach of both Renpet and Jason. So, just like before, Renpet grabbed a white-coated scientist, coincidentally the same was she nabbed before, and Jason caught the other one and slammed him into the bars. That left Manini facing me, as my friends were currently occupied.

"Jalen!" He stammered, apparently startled. Now he was facing me directly, my stomach churned at the sight. He was wrinkled, but not in an old way, and a high forhead. But what drew my eye was a large wort on his chin, and I couldn't help but stare. The doctor regained his composure, at least enough to speak "It's been a long time, what are you doing out?" He spoke as if we were old friends, as if he was talking about the weather.

"Give me the key" I snarled, anger rising. I had the impression he was evil, how could I not after seeing the way he treated the mustached scientist? And now he acted completely different with me, like I was a child. I hated him for it.

"Why?" He asked, while reaching into his pant pocked.

"I want to get out." Clenching and opening my fists, I paid no attention to anyone or anything except the man in front of me. He took out something from that pocket, it was small and shiney, but I wasn't going to get distracted.

"You're already out" He explained, waving the metal object in front of his face "What more do you need? Just go" And I must admit it was tempting, but I didn't spend more than a second thinking about it. I had friends, and I would get them free, they deserved it. Why should I be free without them, what right did I have to leave them here?

"The key" I repeated, causing a frown to appear on his face. He made no move, and I was getting impatient. So I lunged again, aiming for the key. I missed as Manini instinctively backed up, but his hand hit the bars and the metal trinket flew from his hand to land in Jason's cage. I don't know what happened, as I took my eyes off the doctor for just a second, but I was bowled over. Manini was on top of me.

I struggled, trying to get him off and get upright again. Strangely enough he was heavier than he looked. We locked hands, and I got a close up of his face. His breath stank, and his teeth were all yellowed and deformed. But as suddenly as he had tackled me, he was lifted off and thrown to the side like a doll, and I found myself looking up at the hairy form of a wolf.

Jason extended a hand and helped me up. Taking a side glance I watched as Dr. Manini, slumped against Jason's former cell, pressed a hand to his ear and shouted something and red. Instantly the room was flooded with red light and a hude horn sounded from all directions. While I had watched, the my freed friend must have unlocked Renpet's cage, as each one grabbed a shoulder.

"Come on!" One of them yelled, I couldn't tell which one over the noise reverberating everywhere. Unconsciously I heard cheering, or perhaps it was my mind imagining things, but the whole room was in an uproar, every creature was yelling and shouting at us to let them out. I went to the Komodo's cage and realized I couldn't get it open without the little metal thing the doctor dropped, which must've been the key.

"Jason-!"

"We don't have time, we have to go! We'll come back!" He shouted making his way in the direction the scientists had come from, Renpet a little in front. I would've argued and stayed, but there was movement between the cages from all directions, so I ran after my companions with tears streaming from my eyes.

I silently swore I would help as many as I possibly could, even if it killed me. But I ran on, having no idea where I was going, and followed Jason and Renpet praying they knew what they were doing.

A silver wall loomed in front of us, apparently that was our destination. Hands and limbs extended from cages all around tring to grab us to let them out, but we didn't stop, couldn't stop, as figures were getting closer. They were not clad in white, but darker colors which were given a red glow from the flashing lights everywhere. They were bad knews, and if we even paused for a fraction of a second we would land back in those cages, that's how it felt at least.

How did I feel when a small line of those dark-clothed men appeared in front of us with weird pointed contraptions aimed at us? Who's to say I felt anything at all, aside from determination? Nothing would stop us, and Jason proved that easily as without hesitation he got on all fours for a brief second. What happened next was just amazing. The wolf leapt, snarling, onto the side of one of the cages, gripping the bars before leaping at the men.

I heard soft 'click, clicks' as whatever it was in their hands fired, but Jason bowled three over, snapping at their faces in turn before getting up and running again. One guard, however was still standing, and as e took aim at the wolf's back, Renpet slammed into him at full speed, knocking him to the ground to lose his weapon.

I was still a ways behind, giving the man time to try to get to his feet before I was on top of him...literally. I had leapt, to come down on the person's head, before sprinting off after my friends. Luckily, the line of soldiers didn't get up or try to fire at us, either out of fear or lack of bodily functions didn't matter. I just felt pride in having done my part to help, no matter how small.

Before I knew it we were at that large wall, that extended a long way before turning into the glass of the dome. I half imagined trying to climb up that wall to escape, but gladly that wasn't to be.

At the wall the two in front took a left, and I lost sight of them for a brief second in which I nearly panicked. But when I rounded the corner, I saw them turning into a doorway....How did they know where to go? I'd have to find out later, because more of those clicks from those weapons were following me, and I instinctively ducked as I went in through the door.

Jason and Renpet slammed the door shut, which looked heavier than it should, and Jason held it closed with his body while Renpet looked for something. I had no idea what they were doing, until the feline had taken a long pole from somewhere and brought it over. She cleverly set it in the handle, effectively jamming the door shut, letting us all relax, if only a little. But the attempted wrenching of the door made us all jump and remember we weren't free yet.

Now I took the time to see where we actually were, and what I saw made me freeze. I knew this place, I had been here before. It was still all white, with large tables and counters with many tubes and glass containers filled with green and black liquids, as well as many metal tools and needles. I rising fear glued me where I stood, taking it all in, and my eyes kept returning to an upturned platform with leather straps hanging loosely.

"You'll pay for this, you can't do this!" I spat, I couldn't move any part of my body, I was strapped in, and the talbe-like thing moved until I was laying down "I swear my father-"

"You're father will what? Haven't you noticed, he's not here! I told you we'd get to know each other very well, and I keep my word" His face was much closer than I was comfortable with, but since when had anything been comfortable? THat breath, that wart, his teeth. Revolting.

"Jalen, Jalen!" I snapped out of my reverie to shaking. I was crouched on the ground with my hands gripping my head and my wings surrounding me. Jason had a hold of my shoulders and was trying desperatly to rouse me. I felt cold, as if what I had just witnessed really happened, and slowly my surroundings made themselves known to me. The door was still trying to be opened, and more things had been propped up against it, mainly a large moving table.

"What happened?" Jason was asking, as I got to my feet, feeling sick. I didn't know how to answer, for even I couldn't describe it.

"Guys, over 'ere!!" There was a female voice, and it took longer than it should have to recognize Renpet's accent. She stuck her head in and paused "WHat happened?"

Neither of us answered, but made our way over to where she was standing at the end of the room. She had found a door that lead to another room almost identical to this one. "I remember this place" She informed us, and I couldn't comprehend how that would help us unless she'd found the exit, which seemed more than unlikely.

Still, we both followed her, room after room, closing doors behind us just in case, and closing other doors as another precaution. After too many turns to count, and much backtracking, we found a door labeled "EMERGENCY USE ONLY" Well, if this wasn't an emergency, I didn't know what was. We opened the door to bright light and a cool breeze.

[(¯`·._.·Baron·._.·´¯)]

Chapter 4
Freedom?

If there was an alarm because we opened the 'Emergency Door', we didn't hear it. Partially because there was an alarm already blaring. If anything it was louder out here. And if the dominant color inside was white, out here it was easily green, for what Jason Renpet and I were looking at, was a large forest.

Trunks larger than the three of us put together rose high above our heads to reach a sea of green leaves shutting out any light. And the ground, aside froma few brown patches near some trees, was overgrown grasses and weeds (all of this I found out later). Not knowing how long our maze of shut doors would keep the guards at bay, we set off at a good jog to save at least a little energy. Now that we were out, none of us had any inkling of which way to go, but for the moment it didn't matter, as long as we got away from here.

I kept looking over my shoulder, expecting those men in dark clothes to start shooting, but there was nothing aside from the bushes and trees. Luckily, the alarm started to fade as we put distance between us and that place, and we all visibly relaxed.

The alarm was still audible, but barely when we just stopped in a wide clearing. All of us just sat around the same exact time, each of us breathing in varying degrees of intensity. I was actually sitting with my knees up and out and my head resting on my hands, which in turn rested on my knees. Jason sat with his back to a tree, and Renpet just lay down completely.

Nobody knew what to expect now we were free from those scientists, and we were all wary. After a time, all three of us recovered, and just looked at each other. I looked at Jason, Jason looked at me...and after a quick glance at the wolf, so did Renpet, as if I knew what to do. Talk about unnerving. "What?" I suddenly blurted, confused and annoyed.

Both looked away innocently without answering. I burned holes into each of their heads until finally, "I want to say thanks" Jason said "We got out of that place, because of you Jalen" At that Renpet snorted, but ultimatly kept silent.

I, of course, didn't know what to say. "What?" I asked "I'm sure-" but I was interrupted.

"We couldn't have gotten out if you hadn't been there"

"Don't be stupid!" I cried "It took all of us, and you bloody well know it! I would never have thought to fit through those bars, heck I wouldn't have been able to free myself if it hadn't been for Renpet. We wouldn't even had known where to go if it wasn't for her" I had stood up now and was gesturing like mad, it didn't feel right to take the credit.

"Someone appreciates me" Our little calico exclaimed in a huff.

Jason laughed and continued "But if it wasn't for you, it would never have been possible in the first place. Besides, even if you couldn't fit through the bars, you could've figured something out with that lock." He left no room for arguement, and wouldn't hear anything else on that subject. Instead "We are not safe yet. We should keep going. You all alright?" He asked, getting up himself and being followed by the house cat.

"Jason...I can't. We have to go back and help everyone else. You said yourself, we help each other. It's not fair that we are free and they aren't" I said. I looked at Renpet and watched as she nodded and turned to face Jason too.

"Jalen I know-"

"If you aren't coming with me, I can go with Renpet, give us the key" I held my hand out, just like I did with that ugly man...Manini was it? He didn't flinch, or hold out the key.

"Listen to me. WHat do you think will happen if we go back now, hmm?" He asked "Don't be unreasonable. We'll get caught, we barely made it out as it is. Now they're looking for us, and if they find us, we're screwed. I know how you feel, I want to help them too, but we can't help them if we land ourselves back there!" It was weird, he wasn't shouting, nor crying, but I got the feeling he wanted to do both, just a weird feeling. I couldn't say anything.

"That being said. I don't know what to do. I know we should keep moving, but other than that..." He trailed off, and without words we all moved off, still having no idea where we were going, or what to expect out here. For all we knew, we could be the only creatures outside that facility.

We had been walking for some time, luckily we hadn't run into any scientists or guards. A few animals who came up and sniffed, but other than that an uneventfull trip. Neither Jason, Renpet or myself spoke a word, for there was nothing to be said. The great orb of golden light had lowered in the sky, becoming more orange. Night was fast approaching, and no sign of scientists or anything like that. I felt alone and vulnerable, the forest seemed to go on forever and ever.

Luckily, a little while back, we had found a beaten path, it was large enough for the three of us to walk alongside each other, and was all hard-packed dirt. One way stretched out in the direction we had been heading, while the other went back to where we had come, that horrible building. After a short and univentfull discussion, we decided to follow it, but keep off. It was obviously placed here by people...scientists or otherwise.

As the light was starting to fade and we were going to call it a day, we were hit with...strange sounds. I couldn't place many of them, but there was humming, buzzung, whooming and honking. It was far off and faint, but as we got closer, and it became louder, we started slowly creeping along, for neither of us had any idea what was a little ways in front of us.

Finally we saw light streaking from in between the tree trunks and branches. That was when we stopped and had a long discussion. "Well?" That was Renpet, placing her hands delicatly on her hips and looking straight at Jason.

"Well what?" We both replied, at which we exchanged glances.

"You know bloody well what" She spat "What we gonna do?"

None of us spoke for a little while, at which I tentatively broke the silence with, "Do we really have a choice?" Our feline brought a blush to my face with a single look, and Jason kept it there with his inquisitive one "The way I see it, it's either brave what's in front of us, or risk what's behind us" The sounds in the background droned on as again a rather long silence ensued.

"He's got a point"

"What?" Renpet cried, "We don't know what we're facing out there"

"True, but we do know what we'll be facing here eventually. Neither of us had eaten for a while, and the scientists must be looking for us" Jason stated "And I'm not going back after we've got so far" He said with finality. He had just decided for us what we were going to do, but still Renpet argued

"What if they're worse than what the scientists are?" She asked.

"And what if they're not? Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'd rather find out now, than not find out and regret it forever" That last was a mixture of both Jason's and mine, I couldn't tell who said what really.

Jason continued "You can stay here if you like, but I'm going...and I think Jalen is with me, right?" They both looked at me and I nodded once. I was terrified, I believe we all were at that time, but I didn't know what I feared more, the scientists or this. And I would rather be with Jason. I doubted he would actually leave Renpet here, but that statement seemed to make up her mind, she nodded too, finalizing her choice.

[(¯`·._.·Baron·._.·´¯)]

Chapter 5
City

As we parted the suddenly-think underbrush and came out the other side, we all froze. What we were staring at was something...undescribable. Seriously, I can't describe what I was seeing, nor could I even begin to understand even a fraction of it. Everything was new, everything was...shiney. These large contraptions were protruding from the ground until it looked as if it intersected with the sky itself. These were blocky and shiney and solid. The fiery ball of light had almost dissapeared behind these...buildings, the ight reflecting off the windows, when large poles suddenly illuminated everything.

I moved my eyes down to eye level and saw many more strange things. These large pieces of...well, they were the same looking as the buildings, they were moving, faster than Jason or I could run. Then, the smallest detail, the other things moving. Scientists? They looked exactly like those men in white coats back in that domed facility, but...they weren't wearing white. There were a plethora of colors, like greys and blues, and oranges, (Of which I didn't know the names at the time), but they were walking just like us.

They were walking on what seemed like stone. Stone that had been modeled and cut just for them. Strange. Neither of us moved, but Renpet sneered "Glad you decided to brave what's in front of us?"

I wasn't exactly sure of my answer, but Jason moved forward, cautiously. Taking looks in all directions before each footfall. I decided to follow, and I guessed Renpet was behind me. There was a stretch of grass between us and this stone...stuff, laying even on the ground, and as the distance between us and the people who weren't scientists became smaller, our heartbeats became faster.

"Tey...I sink Uu-vanna" It was a tired sounding voice, and we all jumped and stared to a patch of grass which held an upraised platform on which the form of a person was propped up staring at us. But as we watched, he put his head back, and was promptly snoring. We continued, and each placed at foot on the...pavement.

It was hard, just like the stone I thought it was. Then another sound hit our ears...the sound of a scream. We ran, it was an automatic reaction. We ran out onto a darker stone and were bathed in light for a scant moment. Deer in the headlights. The moving contraptions which I mentioned earlier was the source of light, and it was approaching fast. The light was accompanied by the sound of honking and screeching, but we were already moving again, as we crossed the darker stone and made it to the other side, with the lighter colored pavement.

There was the metal building there for us to lean on and catch our breath. I closed my eyes and placed my hand on my heart, shaking all over. "Umm..." Renpet had tapped me on the shoulder, and when I didn't respond, tapped me harder. Opening my eyes, I found we were the center of attention. We were surrounded by a crowd of people, with expressions I assumed were similar to my own a few seconds before. We didn't move, neither did they. At least we weren't being chased. They seemed just as afraid of us as we were of them, which I found to be weird.

Jason took a step forward, and the people in front of him backed up several paces. Jason paused, and so did they. He stepped forard again with the same results. "Jace" I whispered, to which both he and Renpet came close to me "Any ideas?"

"Talk to 'em" Renpet suggested.

"Who?" I hissed

"You!" And with that she pussed me forward, and I stumbled about two feet before I regained my balance. My wings flared, but to my surprise, these people didn't move. "Go on" She urged.

"Erm..." Needless to say I was at a loss. I thought they were similar to scientists, who wanted us captured. But they weren't chasing us or seemed to wish us any harm "I-...We wa-" but before I could get anything out, a smaller version of these creatures appeared from under the legs of the others. I had the impression of youth the way it was stumbling on it's legs and carrying something fuzzy in it's hand.

"Bree no!" Came a shriek of a woman. I backed up and the little one came straight to me. Another figure, the one I suspected owned the voice who had just spoke pushed her way to the front of the crowd, but didn't come any farther. The small figure stopped at my feet and stared up at me. It was a child, I could tell, as I bent down, drawing a gasp from those gathered.

"Wow..." She breathed rather loudly. She, for it was a girl's voice, made the word much longer than it seemed it should be, "See Mommy? They do exist!" He extended my hand...I had no idea what this mini creature was talking about, but it didn't seem to matter. Bree, the girl, flung herself at me, nearly knocking me back, as I wasn't expecting it. She grasped my legs, and I closed my hands around her frail body. Gently, I lifted her, and stared right into her eyes for a long moment, befre stepping forward and extending the child towards its mother.

She accepted the girl, albeit haltingly, as it bought us close together, and as we touched, my wings folded around us both, before I broke and stepped back towards Jason and Renpet. Now, neither of us knew what to do. I believe it was then we decided they were a different breed from the scientists, and the only way we could tell the difference was the clothes they wore, because they all looked the same, in a different way.

"Well?" I asked, Jason was at my back, and Renpet was close to the building wall, when we heard a loud blaring noise, a noise that announced something. Like a siren. And that was when my blood rang cold. I didn't know what it was, but I knew it was bad, especially now. It got closer, and the people around us looked nervous and some started to leave, hiding their faces.

Two of those fast vehicles had come into view as they rounded a corner a ways off. These were like any other, but were flashing harsh red and blue lights on top. Our reactions were identical; we bolted. I didn't even see where Renpet went, but Jason and I went in opposite directions, I guess our thoughts were to confuse whatever these things were. I made a point of going through people, doing my best to not hit them, for they weren't involved in this.

Twisting left, right, I did every measure not to stay in a straight line as I ran. Keeping off the black stone and rounding buildings as much as possible. After a while it seemed evident that the two cars weren't following me, and I was relieved, until I thought they were after Jason and Renpet. I knew I had to find them as soon as possible, but I couldn't go back in, and I had no idea where they were heading. Besides, we all stood out from these people like a sore thumb....that was how I'd find them.