Setting
Nessa stood in a room- a pitch black one to be exact. She felt weightless, as if she didn't need her wings to gracefully lift her through the air beneath her veins. She thrusted herself forward, only to see her hand rush through a cloud of darkness and black smoke. A sensation of fear began to erupt through her body, an emotion she had often experienced. Many questions filled her mind, flickering anxiety to fufill her thoughts. She felt she had lost the things she cared about most, but didn't know what actually had been taken from her grasp.
"Nessa?"
She froze while every goosebump decided to visit her skin. The delicate voice of Jubilee began to echo through the everlasting darkness. Shifting her weight, Nessa began to paddle through the atmosphere, though a restricting force kept her inability to fly. Jubilee- she needed to find her. Stretching her arms outward, her fingertips began to reach for something, hoping a chance Jubilee would grasp onto her own.
"Nessa, where are you?"
The haste in Jubilee's voice made Nessa feel sick, as if the needles came to visit her once more. Nessa opened her mouth, wishing to yell out to Jubilee, but nothing escaped her lips when air passed through her arid throat. She moved her arms once more, fingers extended, millimeters away from what might be Jubilee. Nothing met her skin. She shook within herself as Jubilee's voice began to fade away, leaving her presence unknow. A sharp twinge of pain skipped across Nessa's chest; a scream, warning her. It seemed so important, like her life depended hearing the message, but she was unable to hear clear words. Nessa cringed in angst as she clenched her chest, holding her head down as if she had failed. The words were clear now, they bounced through the darkness and into Nessa's mind.
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The turmoil inside of Nessa created a small wail that escaped her lungs. Pressing her palms against the sheets, she jolted upward, now breathing laboriously. Sweat coated her face, indicating the inner horror that bursted from the nightmare. The rise and fall of her chest faded when she realized her setting was now reality, not a place of fear. Her eyelids shut when short breaths of air folded across her lips. Her head turned, revolving her eyes to examine the room; It was still the same, it was still a simple bedroom that held many pictures of the flock, but nothing too fancy. Nessa didn't have a knack for "girly things". "Everything is ok- I'm here. I'm here with the flock." She bit her lip, a common habit to signal when she collected her thoughts. Releasing the sheet from her tight hold, Nessa swung her legs over to the edge of the bed. Her bare feet met the floor, feeling its hard texture against her skin. She let out a slight yawn when she unfolded her tense wings, stretching them as she stood. Usually observing them, Nessa saw the familiar brown and white mixture of feathers- much like a hawk. But, she didn't want to think about her wings right now.
It brought back- memories.
She would rather wake the girls up instead of having to deal with the thoughts of pain that would begin to overflow through her mind.
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"Up and at em'!"
Nessa walked towards Ebony's bed, pulling the curtains away from the now beaming window. She looked outside at the truly alluring view. Their home had once been an isolated place, a home that had been considered shielded or abandoned from the public. It was located in the mountains, near the tall pine trees that could guard them from the outside world. "Ebony?" Nessa looked toward the tangle of blond hair that had been disputed between the pillow. Nessa let out a slight smile, tapping her fingetips along the dusty windowsill. "Another thing that needs to be cleaned..." She thought, watching her drumming fingers. Nessa ruffled Ebony's hair, signaling it was time to wake up. Ebony shuffled, pulling the sheets up closer to her shoulders. Nessa rolled her eyes, giving Ebony a slight peck on her head. It infuriated Nessa that the whitecoats had messed with Ebony's voice. Nevertheless, she cherished her and loved her all the same. She turned to the opposite side of the room, now observing Jubilee's half. Jubilee had always managed to put a smile on Nessa's face. With her positive and bright attitude, she always seemed to make you laugh... which the flock sometimes needed. Many pictures and paintings hung against the wall next to Ju's bed, they created the house not to feel so- isolated.
"Hey, Ju?" Nessa lifted the bright curtain upward from the bed-frame of Jubilee's bed. She looked at her, giving a slight smile as she watched her sleep. It occured to Nessa that people looked often younger and more peaceful when they rest. Nessa pulled the brown hair out of Jubilee's eyes as her eyelashes fluttered. She gave her a small kiss on the forehead. "Time to way up Ju." She whispered softly. Jubilee gave a yawn and shuffled into the colorful sheets. The nightmare flashed back to Nessa's mind when she thought of Jubilee, who had called her name in a panick. Nessa gave a slight sigh, folding her arms together and walking towards the doorway. "Don't worry about it Nessa..."
"Breakfast in 10 girls!"
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Nessa looked at the barren cabinet. "Tomato sauce, canned beans, peanuts, and the last bag of potato chips..." Nessa raised her eyebrows as she tapped her fingertips along the edge of her lips. "What a perfect breakfast!" She rolled her eyes in sarcasm when she shut the wooden doors of the cabinet. "Shit, I remember I was supposed to go out and actually get some food... Typical of me to forget. Nico's going to hate me for not getting his damn coffee..." Nessa turned to the fridge, hoping there would be a possibility of food. "Bacon and a couple of pieces of fruit. Maybe I could make this work..." She quickly began to rip the bacon package open as everyone began to file in.
"At least it isn't food from the School."
"Nope, eyes open, now." One of them said, as if they were talking to an animal or a small child. Nico, just to be rebellious, kept them closed, smiling a little inside. However, that was soon responded to with one of the whitecoats prying his eyelids apart by force. Nico grunted. He shook his head about to try and shake him off, but that was kept firmly still too. Next thing Nico knew, a chemical was prepared, and a pipet filled with the neon blue liquid was hovered above his open eyes. Two of them in fact, one for each eye. He squirmed a bit, but before he knew it, the chemical was dropped into his eyes, and an extreme stinging sensation rippled through them. Nico howled out in pain, everything went blue and fuzzy, he couldn't tell what was happening. However following that, he felt two needles being inserted into his eyeballs, a liquid shooting into them. He screamed out loudly, the strange excruciating pain ripping through him and making him wretch about on the operating table. He was held down, and held there for a while, eyes squeezed incredibly shut as he tried to rid the feeling, try to get rid of the ominous blue.
Half an hour later. The pain had died down. Nico was alone in the room, apart from those watching from the window to the side of it. Nico let out long heavy breaths, exhausted and in utter pain. 'Okay... should probably see what's going on...' He thought to himself, gently opening his eyes...Well, tried to anyway. "...Wh...why can't I open my eyes?" He asked himself, trying to open them again. In all honestly, it certainly felt like he was opening his eyes. And yet, he was still surrounded by darkness. An expression of confusion stained his face. His now blue eyes stared vacantly up at the ceiling, blinking over and over. Suddenly realisation hit, and a pang of sorrow shot down his spine. "...I'm... blind." He kept on opening and closing his eyes, panicking slightly as nothing happened. "I can't see a thing... I'm blind. I'm blind!" He was hit by a sudden rage and thrashed about, fists banging against the metal of the operating table. "Are you happy now bastards?!" He called towards the direction of window.
"ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?!"
Nico had sat up quickly with a gasp, eyes wide whilst hot sweat dripped down his forehead. He panted slightly, facing the end of the bed and clutching onto his bedsheets. He swallowed and then heard distantly Nessa yell 'Up and at 'em' in the girls room. He let out a gentle sigh. Nightmare. End. Reality. Back. He patted down his body, carefully releasing his bed covers and then holding his head in his hands. He hated that stupid dream. That stupid memory... He swivelled his legs round and then got to his feet, walking in the direction that he walked every morning. It was more of an autopilot thing now. He knew every segement, every way around this place. And he'd never seen it once in his life. He heard the sound of cupboard doors slapping together and then the unmistakable grumbling of a certain flock leader. He smiled a little. Ah Nessa. Always saying she's going to cook. They all knew she wasn't meant for cooking. She was meant for flying, and for fighting. Meant to be a leader. He wandered over to her, the sound of her swapping from one foot to the other wandering around his head and he ever so happily took the bacon from her and pushed her out of the way. "I don't feel like setting the frying pan on fire agin Nessa..." He commented with a small smirk, opening the cupboard and tapping around. He picked up a can and shook it. 'BEANS' he identified in his head, putting them down and then getting out the frying pan.
"Time to wake up Ju."
"Two more minutes," she mumbled, waving Nessa away and turning towards her wall. She didn't feel like getting up quite yet and knowing the flock's leader, breakfast could be anything from garbage to McDonald's, pizza to those weird things called salads. Oh how she hated salads. Why was it that they never had fortune cookies? Jubilee knew that she would probably be able to survive off of those delicious little cookies. Anything was better than starving to death at the hands of those white coats, in the name of 'science'.
The brunette grumbled a bit and untangled herself from her sheets. Looking at the rainbow striped cloth, she wasn't sure which end of her bed she was supposed to be sleeping on. She pushed some of her long hair back over her ear and went about fixing up her half the room. Other than the cluttered bed and crayons lying everywhere, her half of the room was fairly clean. It could be worse couldn't it?
"Ebony, come on let's go get some food. Maybe Nessa will give us something good today!" she cheerily told her roommate and friend. Given that Ebony could not speak, she wasn't expecting much of a reaction from her.
Ju happily skipped out of the room and down the hall to the kitchen area of their home. "Good morning all!" She scanned the minds of Nico and Nessa, just to see if she had missed anything. As usual, Nessa was lacking in the feed-your-kids-so-they-can-fly department of being the mother and leader of the group. Nico on the other hand seemed content with his beans. She giggled, wondering if it would give him gas then. "I don't think she'll burn the frying pan this time. I mean, it wasn't like we burnt down the kitchen or anything- we just murdered a pan. There are more, right?" she replied to Nico's comment. "I'm a fish!" she cried randomly, then looked in the fridge for any source of food.
There were some bright colored and round objects in there- ew, fruit! Jubilee preferred sweets over all else. Closing the fridge she walked over to the cabinet and opened it. Seeing the last bag of potato chips, she quickly snatched them before one of the others did. Potato chips and bacon sounded like a pretty good breakfast to her. Now all they needed were waffles.
Zane's eyes met the floorboards. An aching pain lingered in his chest while he began to rub his forhead in confusion. He felt distant, like reality hadn't taken him by suprise yet. Another sleepless night. He couldn't deny he was tired, yet, he had spent so many countless hours thinking to himself. Propping his elbows against his knees, Zane hung his head on another impact of a restless night. He looked to the opposite side of his bed, seeing Nico still asleep as the sheets engulfed him. Zane let out a small sigh as he looked out toward the window beside his bedframe, to notice it was only dawn. He was done with thinking-
It was the perfect time for flying.
He looked at the view parallel to him. The familiar pine trees brought in a strong scent of warmth to fill his nostrils. They stood tall, puncturing the sky with their thick tips of bark. Behind the trees, lay the intrusive grey mountains which also added more to the scene. Stepping forward, Zane watched his abhorrent steps pace across the wooden deck. The wind met his face, whipping his dark hair around as a pure rush encircled him. Dawn was the perfect time for flying, it contained the element of freedom to match the colors of the sunrise above him. Zane met the edge of the deck, still eyeing the sky. He closed his eyes and stepped forward, circling down towards the ground that could soon meet him. But, it wouldn't meet him. Hurling himself forward, Zane felt the dust of the nearby dirt meet his fingertips. His dark wings began to unfurl through the slits of his t-shirt, folding outward, catching himself before he met the ground. He tilted backward, thrusting his wings into the air as he rushed upward with them. He couldn't help but let a smile inch across his face as he soared above the pine trees. He looked at his wings, black feathers bursting in every direction as the wind paddled through them. He curled his fists when he jolted through the air, speeding above the rocky ground below. The wind circled around him, meeting the adreniline that rushed through his long wings.
"Yeah!" He exclaimed, spinning as he pulled his wings in tighter. Flying was one of the few things that made him happy. Of course he wouldn't give credit to the School for giving him this trait, for he knew he had overcome other horrid experiments that wouldn't ever slip his mind- or the rest of the flock's.
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"I don't feel like setting the frying pan on fire again Nessa..." Nico said, taking the pan away from Nessa's grasp. Zane let out a slight chuckle about Nico's comment as he scanned the room, eyeing most of the flock with their usual morning routine. Nessa was the leader, but she still didn't have the talent to cook, so they usually gave her a hard time. Nico began to open a can of beans while Nessa protsted. Jubilee sat in front of Zane, engulfing a bag of chips while Ebony sat next to her. He drummed his fingers against the table, waiting for an unusual breakfast. Well, at least Nico could cook.
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Peyton's eye snapped open, shivering after the horrid nightmare. That was the last time he watched a horror movie right before bed. He'd had nightmares before, but that one really got to him. Of course Peyton wouldn't hurt anyone in the flock, they were family to him. He nodded to himself, as if he was agreeing with his own thought. He put away the movie, sighing as he did.
He sulked out of his room, rubbing his tired eyes as he entered the kitchen, still clad in his mismatching pajamas. Peyton looked to the scene of Nico and Nessa fighting in the kitchen with tired eyes, "I don't feel like setting the frying pan on fire again Nessa..." Nico said, taking the pan away from Nessa's grasp. Peyton started laughing slightly at Nico's comment. Sitting down next to Zane, he groaned as he bent over, resting his head on the table, it wasn't like he had gotten much sleep last night. The whole flock was in the kitchen, making Peyton feel a little better to have his 'family' surrounding him. The drumming of Zane's fingers against the table made Peyton recall the nightmare he had not too long ago.
He tried to focus on something else, looking towards Nico. "Hey, Nico, when's breakfast ready?" he questioned, never having the ability to be patient. The drumming sound still penetrating his ears. He could feel his eye twitching, very much at risk of crying from the memory of the nightmare. Clearing his throat, he walked back to his room, grabbing his IPod and headphones. He blasted his music into his ears, smiling at this simple solution as he walked back to the kitchen. Randomly downloaded songs poured into his ears at loud volume, Peyton closed his eyes trying to forget what his horror ridden subconscious had created.
((if the dream part is too graphic just tell me I can tone it down))
Ebony slowly opens one eye, clammy sweat dripping down her back. She really needed to give her mind a pep talk; no more freakish nightmares. At that moment, she noticed it was Nessa who had arroused her. She pulled the sheet back over her head, shuffling around. Nessa ruffled her hair and walked over to wake Jubilee up. Ebony pried herself off the bed, brushing her hair away from her face. She grabbed a brush and ran it through her hair. She throws on a cream colored top and blue jeans. Ebony normally likes starting the day off with clean clothes (one of the only ones who normally has normal clothes on before breakfast).
Ebony sleepily walks to the kitchen and situated herself next to Jubilee who was eating the potato chip bag like a starved cat. Immediately, she set to "work", pulling out a pencil and pad of paper, dawning a detailed picture of Jubilee eating her chips. She holds it up to her and slides it over, hoping she likes it. jeez, who even gave that kid potato chips for breakfast anyway? Looking around she smiles as Nessa decides to "cook" *cough* burn *cough* *cough*. She looks over to find a sort of worried look on Peyton's face. She taps his shoulder before giving him a worried look herself. She taps her head, which meant "What are you thinking, what's up" stuff like that. she developed sort of signs like this so she didn't have to write every single little question down on paper.
"I don't feel like setting the frying pan on fire agin Nessa..."
Nessa rolled her eyes as Nico took the pan from her grasp. She had to admit, she was a terrible chef, but as the leader of the group, she felt as if it was her duty to cook. She looked at Nico, now pulling out the can of 'BEANS' she had noticed in the cupboard earlier.
"I don't think she'll burn the frying pan this time. I mean, it wasn't like we burnt down the kitchen or anything- we just murdered a pan. There are more, right?" Nessa turned towards the doorway, now seeing Jubilee enter.
Nessa nodded, looking towards Nico. "Yeah, Nico! Ju's right!"
"Believe it or not Ju, we only have two frying pans in this place. And one of them, is burnt." Nico raised his eyebrows towards Nessa. Her face fell, in a sarcastic way, as she proceeded to seem annoyed. Crossing her arms, she raised her eyebrows. "Fine, Nico. There's no use protesting..." She elbowed him while sticking her tongue out, now stepping away from the counter. Nessa often worried about Nico and his blindness, but he had made an impression he was capable of doing things, (like cooking), without her help. She observed the small kitchen; a petite table was propped upward against the worn tile, and many of the chairs that stood around the counters needed fixing. She sighed, now meeting the eyes of the hungry flock members. She gave them a slight smile while watching. Ju was engulfing a bag of chips, Zane drummed his fingers against the table (she hadn't even noticed him enter- as usual, though, she did begin to smell the scent of pine trees.), and Ebony looked at Peyton with a worried glance. Nessa drifted her eyes upon Peyton, who looked a bit lost in thought. She walked over to him, "Sleep ok?" She rubbed his hair, meeting his now upward glance. She gave him a wink, "Looks like you need some food in your system-" She paused, looking towards the stove. "Nico, hurry up with those beans!" Nico let out a small grunt as Nessa chuckled to herself.
"Done now. But there's hardly anything here..." Nico walked over to the table, dispersing the plates around everyone. Nessa felt guilty for forgetting to go to the store nearby, so she quickly brushed it aside, pretending nothing had happened. "Oh, and Nessa, could you make me some coffee? I don't know where you've hidden it this time, but I can't find it." Nico sat down next to Ebony and Zane, now chewing on bacon. Nessa froze, pulling out a chair to sit in next to Peyton.
"Um," She stuttered, biting her lip. "Well, Nico- you see..." She began to twirl her fingers through the back of her hair nervously, knowing Nico would be pretty pissed about the absence of his precious coffee. She looked to the side, trying to make the situation not feel important. Picking up a piece of bacon, she muttered quietly. "I forgot to go get it- since we all slept in yesterday I kind of, forgot..." She looked towards Nico, who was clearly not amused. Suddenly, an idea began to flow through her mind. "Hey, I know! Why don't we, you know, go get some frsh air in the strawberry field nearby? It can help with all of this hunger... Then, Nico and I can go get some coffee. Sound like a plan?"
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Nessa watched Jubilee skip across the field of greens and reds. Jubilee held Nessa's old basket in her hand, while quickly running to collect the juicy berries. Nessa's eyes met the mountains in the background, standing tall behind the rows of pine trees. Many rows of strawberry plants dotted the grass that formed a steep and inclined hill. Jubilee proceeded to collect the red berries as Peyton followed behind his sister. Nico and Zane walked passed Nessa, who was still observing the view with a smile, and watched the young siblings. Ebony sat closely nearby, breathing in the fresh air. It was a beautiful sight, which obtained no comparrison the dreaded School.
The place they would never go back to again.
Nessa glanced down at a bursting plant that stood beside her. Quickly plucking the fruit away from the plant, Nessa began to run down the hill, gripping onto the plump strawberry. She paced faster and faster, soon jumping up into the atmosphere above. "Fly time." Closing her eyes, Nessa's wings unfurled to stretch past her fingertips. The feathers began to whip through the air as the wind pressed against her wings, pulling her higher above the field. She opened her eyes, now looking at the clouds above and the flock below.
"Woo-hoo!" She pressed her arms backward, boosting her wings to fold in and shoot her through the air. She gave a slight wave to everyone, and zoomed inward to the right, circling the field. "Anyone care to join me?" She exclaimed, shutting her eyelids to let the freedom sink in.
The response was a scream. A scream of pure horror. Her eyes flashed open while her nerves shocked her in fear, she dropped the now squished strawberry.
Erasers. There were erasers, taking one of the flock members.
"Shit!"
Ebony snapped open her wings, she just had to get to the sky. She was met with a sickening thud to her back, knocking her breath away. She tumbled down, and an Eraser punched her in the head, and she blacked out. The Eraser flung her over his shoulder and ran off with her, heading towards a van, shoving her in. Then he wheeled around, searching for his next prize: Jubilee. The one they came for. The mute one was just an added bonus.
Zane let the crisp air flow through his nostrils. It was a sweet smell, it reminded him of the lingering pine in the distance. Shoving his hands in his warm pockets, Zane felt at peace. His eyes followed Peyton and Jubilee, skipping around through the field of plentiful strawberries. They laughed together, dancing around in a meadow of freedom, though, he felt as if Peyton was distance. "Maybe he couldn't sleep..." He shrugged the thought away, now returning to his deep breaths of the pure air that filled his open lungs.
He remembered the memories from this morning; the constant laugher of his family began to ring through his ears. He thought of the incident of Nessa forgetting Nico's coffee, and how she tried to hide it. It made him chuckle to know she did this, and how different it was of her to forget the beverage. But, now they were here, resting in Nessa's plan of a beautiful time.
"Woo-hoo!" Nessa exclaimed, circling above the field of colors. Zane looked up at her, observing the feathers fall from her long and elegant mixtured wings. He smiled, his eyes following her flight pattern through the sky. Nessa had always been there for Zane, comforting him in a time of need, though, he usually forced her away from his inner thoughts. This is the factor that pushed him away from becoming the flock's leader. Nessa was an outstanding leader, always telling the group what's best. But, Zane knew he could never fufill the duty, even though he was the eldest. He watched her long brown hair whip through the wind as she closed her eyes, a smile inching across her joyful expression.
A piercing scream flew through Zane's ears. His gaze was forced down, his eyes widening with the jerked movement. He saw Jubilee running from an eraser's extended hand. Peyton ran with her, holding her close.
"Damn it!" Zane's foot pressed against the grass, thrusting himself forward to race towards Jubilee and Peyton. How could they follow them? Hadn't they forgotten? Hadn't these bastards finally left them alone?
Nope.
"Jubilee, use your wings!" Zane exclaimed, eyeing the beast that was now inches away from his targets. Zane glanced to the side, still running in the now heavy air, to see Ebony struggling against another forceful eraser. He looked up, seeing Nessa close to him, flying towards the siblings as well. "She's already in the air, she'll get there faster." He gave Nessa a slight nod, reckoning that she could know what was going on. He turned to his right, practically jumping in the air to reach Ebony. She was knocked on the ground, gasping for air- Zane couldn't bare the sight. The scent of the sweet pine had turned into a scent of violence, the scent that had usually followed him in the School. He watched the eraser almost take Ebony, his filthy fur glistening in the sun. "Get away from her!" Zane jumped onto the eraser, wings flinging out with his adrenline pulsing. The rage quickly overcame Zane, making him curl his fists tightly to puncture the beast's face. Each hit he pushed harder and harder, knowing that the eraser would soon fall.
But it wouldn't go down without a fight.
The eraser stepped over Ebony, thrusting his weight towards the bird-kid flying around him. His arms clasped around Zane's wings, forcing them together. The excrutiating pain filled Zane's veins as he let out a cry. He kicked his leg, forcing his sneaker to hit the eraser's jaw. The beast growled, backing away to steady himself. Zane thrusted forward, his arms extended to scoop Ebony with a quick lift.
"Not today kid..." Another eraser, that Zane hadn't noticed, swung his arm out to knock Zane to the ground, smashing the strawberries beneath him. Zane skidded across the ground, feeling thorns run across his skin.
"Ebony..." Zane muttered, his eyes squinting to see the eraser's place the girl in a large sack. "No, how can this be happening?" Zane's hand reached outward, as if her coud reached the sack, but he was feet away from what could possibly be a tight grasp. Forcing his hand up, he steadied himself, pushing his wobbly legs to actually stand. His energy level was low, he could not deny, but he pushed forward, running towards the van that the eraser's had now reached. The white van sped towards him, running through the once beautiful strawberries that had grown into healthy fruits. He stood there, positioning himself for the exact moment to jump. Through the windshield, Zane could see the devlish eyes that lifted when the erasers' snarls turned into evil smiles.
Zane's dark wings flew out, pulling his weight upward to meet the roof of the van. He skidded across it, gripping his fingernails into a crease of metal. The wind whipped through his wings, making it even harder to grip on with the added limbs. His open fist pounded the roof as the eraser's began to swerve to knock him off. His legs were flung outward, he then gripped tighter, gritting his teeth with each swerve. He looked to the side, seeing the grass being kicked up with the forceful tires. The van began to move downhill, indicating he couldn't hold on much longer. Using his leg, he kicked his foot against the side windows, trying to break the glass. Kicking harder and harder, that cracks began to extend outward, reaching to the corners of the window. With a large bump, the glass shattered as the van skidded across the srawberries. Zane let out a cry of pain, forcing himself through the window of the van. Seeing the sack with Ebony inside, he shielded her, now noticing the eraser's were pulling out their guns. Wrapping his arms around Ebony, he pulled her upward, placing the sack in his arms. Kicking the other door open with his bruised foot, the latch opened as the dorr flew to the side. Zane pulled forward, clutching onto Ebony who was still out cold. He thrusted forward, hearing the gunshots that echoed closely. Zane flew outward, trying to extend his wings though a pain overcame them. He skidded across the ground, holding Ebony close. He circled over her, gritting his teeth with various grunts until they came to a final hault.
"Ebony..." He quickly opened the sack, seeing Ebony lying limply. "Ebony- Ebony c'mon!" He pulled her out, using his remaining strength to run with her in his arms. He looked behind him, seeing the van turn back. He headed towards the forest, away from the nearby danger. He looked down at Ebony, seeing claw marks across her face. He had to get her to safety. He looked back, a pain in his chest.
"Nessa, protect them..."
Senses on hyper-drive, she whisked open her wings and started running. She jumped up in the air, barely missing a swipe from an Eraser, and began to rise. I know the Erasers are all vicious and stuff, but she sort of felt bad that they were stuck, on the ground, doing the scientist's dirty work for them. That sympathy sort of disappeared when she kicked one in the face before surging upward again. She looked around. Zane was circling above her and she caught his eye before wordlessly mouthing 'thank you'. She felt like crap.
Ebony then searched the area, trying to look through the trees that obscured the flock. Please let them be safe. Please let Nico have heard and gotten the hell up into the sky.
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Peyton smiled, taking a bit of the bacon Nico had set down. Nessa had been ever motherly to him, always taking care of him and even lecturing him. He had always been thankful to her for looking out for him and Jubilee. He knew they might have not lasted very long on their own. "Just a nightmare, not too big a deal." he explained once again, chomping away on bacon.
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Peyton walked behind Jubilee as she collected red berries, picking a few himself only to pop them in his mouth immediately. He and Jubilee joked around, laughing and smiling. Dispite the smile on his face, his mind wandered back to his dream. Was he really just effected by the horror movie or had he just bottled up too much anger? Peyton had been bended over a plant, facing away from his sister for just a moment, when he had heard a loud scream. He turned quickly, an eraser coming up fast on the two siblings. Instinct took over as he grabbed Jubilee's hand, dragging her along as he ran for it. Looking over his shoulder to the large wolf behind them, Peyton hadn't seen the eraser ahead of them. The eraser he crashed into, growled down at him, swiping him to the side. Peyton landed to the ground with a thud, looking back up to the eraser than now grabbed Jubilee. Peyton shot up, surging forward as he tackled the eraser. The wolf lost its hold, letting go of her hand as it fell. "Jubilee, go!" Peyton yelled, looking down too the eraser, grabbing it by the fur as he punched it, his anger and frustration of anything and everything pouring out as he repeatedly hit the eraser. The eraser was long past consiousness, but that didn't stop him. What did was another eraser pulling him up by the throat. Peyton choked and sputtered, the air was being cut off from his lungs, his face turning red. He lifted his knees, using both legs to kick the eraser in its face. He landed to the floor, inhaling heavily to recover the air lost.
He was up to his feet again, grey wings spread and pushing up into the air. He only made it a little ways into the air when an eraser jumped up and smacked him down. Peyton screamed in pain as he landed on his wings. A howl of laughter reached his ears. He tried to stand back up to fight but a foot landed on his chest, pinning him to the ground, once again he found the air cut off from his chest. He grabbed the erasers leg, flipping it so it landed on its back. He grabbed the throat of the eraser, holding it tightly, "How does this feel you jerk?!" Peyton asked, crushing it's windpipe. His anger fueling him. Peyton eventually dropped the eraser, trying to fly up but as soon as he flapped his wings, a pain jolted through him. He bit his lip, bearing the pain as he flew higher. He saw his shirt had blood on it, and judging from the pain, most of it came from himself rather than an eraser. He touched spot on his side lightly, hissing in pain and dropping a few feet, he knew he had at least a broken rib or two.
A thought popped into his mind: Jubilee. He looked around the sky. No Jubilee. Peyton's mind went into panic mode, racing and scanning the ground despite his pain. He called his sisters name loudly, wincing from his bruised throat. He spotted a van racing away. Peyton flew toward it quickly, his mind scattered with panicked thoughts. He could only see the form of his sister but knew it was her. His gut just told him. Peyton was so close to the van but his wings gave up, leaving him to fall to the grass on his stomach. He slowly and cautiously tried to pull his wings back in, a horrifying pain ripping through him. He bit his fist, squeezing his eyes shut tight as he slowly tried to pull his wings back in. Peyton just lay there exausted as he looked wide eyed into the distance, the direction where they had taken Jubilee.
The colour green lit up in his head, with little tints of red here and there. He gathered the green was grass, but was unsure about the read tints. Were they strawberries? Or patched of blood? He struggled to get back up, his arm shaking as he pulled himself up. "How does this feel you jerk?!" Nico's head immediately flicked up. Not Peyton... He opened his wings and escalated himself above and out of all of the dribbling wolf men, flying low and then diving down when he heard less and less growls. He landed on his feet and walked forwards, only to trip over something laying on the floor. He turned towards the body and touched the head. The colour brown lit up in his head as he felt the short locks of hair. "Peyton?" He heard his breathing and wished so badly that he could see if the boy was okay. "Peyton, what happened?" He asked, head flicking around. He could only wish that he could see what happened.
Where was everyone? Nessa? Zane? Ebony? Ju?
She found herself being knocked to the ground by a powerful hand/paw, causing her head to throb and her vision to blur. As she lifted up her body she was met by another forceful blow to her lower back. While it spared her wings it still hurt like heck and she began crying, memories of the School flooding back to her. Everything was a blur now, reality and fantasy mixed in one. She could hear the others yelling, but she couldn't decipher what exactly they were saying or where they were. Everything was a mix of hate and live, freedom and cages, syringes and fortune cookies. Finally she gave up the fight of consciousness, groaning as her head fell back to the ground.
The Eraser chuckled and picked up the small girl. Well, she was small to him at least. While the rest of the flock was distracted he quickly retreated to the van the pack had used to get here. He tossed the limp girl into the back and gave a howl, meaning that any conscious Erasers had better get in the van or suffer the wrath of the bird kids. Soon, the pack of Erasers departed, driving as fast as they could down the road, Peyton on their tail. Fortunately for them, he was too exhausted and injured to continue the chase for long.
The driver looked back, seeing that the others had tied Jubilee's hands behind her back as her head lolled to the side. "What do we do now?" one of them asked. The others looked at him like he was a complete idiot. "We're taking this one back to the School. Then we can get some reward time and a new play toy." The group cackled as they eyed up the girl, grisly scenes playing out in their minds.
Jubilee was slowly regaining consciousness, desperately trying to lift her head up to see where she was. She knew that she was on a floor, in a vehicle with... Erasers. She could hear them talking amongst themselves as she tried to open her eyes. But when she did, it only brought on a throbbing headache from the earlier hit. She closed her eyes, trying to focus on the minute spots of semi darkness behind her eyelids. Nessa... Nessa please help me... she thought, as she could hardly mumble a "help". The poor girl was going to find herself back in the school wasn't she? Chained to a cage and constantly experimented on. She cringed a bit at the thought. She couldn't stand that again. For so long, she'd forced herself to forget and forget what she'd gone through, telling herself it was just a bad dream. But this wasn't. She was doomed to be a guinea pig again.
Her wings felt fine, but there was a burning pain in her back and she knew that she wouldn't be able to move much without breaking down into tears or passing out. It seemed like something out of one of Peyton's horror movies. She'd never been fond of the particularly gory ones, but she found that she missed them already.
She wasn't sure how far from the School or the flock they were and could only hope that the flock would find her before the Eraser filled van reached the School. She whimpered as she was thrown against an Eraser and then pushed back into the center of their group as the van took a sharp turn. Ju could sense the anger within them, the pure evil bred into them by the white coats. It scared her and she wished that she couldn't feel their rage, couldn't see them wanting to tear her limb from limb. It was going to be a painful and terrifying ride for her, no matter how long it was.
Jubilee was gone, to be turned over to the psycho path scientists, the ones that did this do her, made her mute. She shook, heaving silent sobs witch caused tears to spill down her cheeks. She flapped upward settling into a tree. Tears plopped onto the bark. What would they do to her? Make her deaf? Yeah that would certainly add to the merry band of misfits. A blind, a mute, and a deaf child. Probably try to enhance her mind reading ability and end up loosing her ears all together. She formed her hand into a fist. They messed up on two of us, they could do it again. They needed Jubilee back.
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Peyton looked up to Nico, a little calmer now but his pale blue eyes bloodshot from crying, "Where's everyone else?" His voice was small, he was a little afraid of what the answer might be. "D-Did you see them take anyone else?" Peyton mentally face palmed himself as the word 'see' came up in the conversation with Nico, "You know what I mean."
Ebony left the room and hustled into the boys room, filling packs for them, and one more for Nessa. They needed to follow, immediately. They couldn't lose a flock member. Not now, not ever. Normally she wouldn't be taking action so quickly, taking charge. She just left the leader stuff up to Nessa. But Ju was the only person who seemed to understand her. Granted, she could read minds, but still. She blinked away more tears. Jeez, its like Niagara falls over here, she thought to herself. She walked out the front door, carrying five backpacks in her hands. She joined Nessa, Nico, Zane, and Peyton, handing them their backpacks. Then, wordlessly, she unfurled her wings, tucked them in a tad bit, then ran forward, swinging them out to catch the air, taking to the sky. I'm coming Ju. I'm coming.
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