《Creature of Creation》


 Part one - Chapter One - Two Birds

    Fluorescent lights hummed overhead and clicked like insect wings. Shadows persisted through the sterile white light and made the cramped cell feel much smaller. A pipe dripped in a steady rhythm somewhere within the stone walls of the laboratory basement.


    Project E1 turned up the television and let I Love Lucy blare to ensure she would not be overheard. They were always watching. Always listening. She crouched low to the concrete floor and pressed closer to the vent. The metal grate was cold against her cheek and she inhaled the heavy scent of dust.


    A2''s voice echoed through the vent. It sounded tinny like she spoke through a can far away. Ethereal. Sometimes E1 wasn''t certain if A2 was truly there.


    "Clay, are you there?"


    No one but A2 called her that now. Their names remained a sacred secret shared only between the two of them. When Rachael died, they stripped E1 of everything. Now, even memories began to slip through her fingers.


    "I''m here," E1 assured her.


    "Doctor James is coming for a visit, and so is the new one."


    "Do everything they tell you and it''ll be alright."


    "You have to promise to be good too," A2''s small voice commanded.


    "Of course."


    "You didn''t mess up today?" fear quivered in A2''s voice and reverberated through the vent.


    "No."


    "Nothing? They always pick at anything...Then they''ll get me."


    "I can''t think of anything..." E1 wracked her brain for any instance, no matter how small, the lab director could possibly find fault with. A heavy ball of tension formed in her stomach. "There''s nothing. I''m sure of it. It''ll be ok."


    "Promise?"


    "I promise."


    The heavy ball in her chest twisted.


    The sound of footsteps halted their conversation. E1 scurried over to sit on the side of her bed. It was little more than a cement slab with a thick pad laid over top.


    Doctor James Smith shuffled into her cell and immediately turned off the television. He was younger than most of the other scientists and orderlies here. When he first came to work for his father at the lab eight years ago, he was fresh out of school. In the beginning, he had at least tried to put himself together, but now his unruly blond hair sprigged up in multiple directions and E1 noticed his lab coat was misbuttoned to reveal his wrinkled red t-shirt and slacks.


    She kept her posture straight, and her head forward.


    "There is someone new I''d like you to meet," James said as he pushed his square glasses back up over his nose. His blue eyes twinkled.


    James stepped aside and another young doctor entered the room. E1 studied him through the corner of her eye and quickly formed an assessment. He looked to be the same age as James, perhaps in his early thirties. His lab coat was buttoned to the top, starched, and ironed. His brown hair was neatly combed to the side.


    "This is doctor Sean McGuire," said James. "He''s been assigned to your project and I''m taking him on a tour of our facility. He came highly recommended by me." James, overly pleased with himself, rocked up and down on his heels. "So I''m certain you''ll be in good hands."


    "Does it talk?" Sean interrupted. He approached her. E1 turned her head at the sudden movement. James rushed to put a hand out to stop him.


    "I wouldn''t do that," he warned.


    "Why not?"


    "Though it''s currently under control, this project is incredibly dangerous. I know it doesn''t seem like it now, but it has a temper."


    Sean looked her up and down. "It seems pretty docile to me."


    "I''m sure you''re aware of the nature of the project. It holds up to its reputation."


    "If you say so."


    The minute James left with Sean, Project E1 leapt off the bed and returned to the wall to listen at the vent. Their voices were muffled. E1 pressed her ear closer to the grate and listened for any shifts in tone that could indicate distress. She knew there wasn''t anything she could do from inside her cell, but she needed to know A2 was alright. Soon the voices stopped and she heard footsteps fading down the hall once again.


    "Anpiel, are you there?" she dared to ask.


    After a moment of silence, E1 heard A2''s shallow breath before she spoke. "I don''t like doctor Sean."


    "You behaved yourself, didn''t you?" E1 twisted a strand of her long blonde hair around her finger and tugged at it as she spoke.


    "I think so..."


    "Then everything is fine."


    There was another pause. "I still don''t like him."


    "You don''t have to like him."


    The lights abruptly clicked off and E1 was in complete darkness. She said good night to A2 and quickly got herself into bed. She pulled the scratchy wool blanket up under her chin. The only pillow was threadbare and flat. The blackness of the space was so definite no shapes formed through the shadows while she stared up at the ceiling.


    The sound of someone at the door startled her awake before she knew she had even fallen asleep.


    E1 sat straight upright. The baby hairs on the nape of her neck stood on end. No one ever came to her cell after hours. Her instincts told her to get out of bed, but it was against the rules. Lights out. No talking, no moving.


    The cell door opened. The scrape of the steel against the concrete floor ground against the silence. James and Sean stood on the threshold, their silhouettes illuminated by the hallway lights. E1 caught the scent of over-ripe fruit. Even Sean''s lab coat had come unbuttoned.


    "Get out of bed E1," James commanded. The cadence of his voice was off. His words came out slowly as if he spoke them through a carton of molasses.


    She did as she was told. Direct orders overruled implied ones. The concrete floor was cold against her bare feet. A thousand questions burned in her mind, but she knew better than to ask even one of them. She stood in the hall with the two doctors as they opened A2''s cell door.


    Sean called to her in a sing-song like a dog. "Come on, come out. We won''t hurt you."


    Slowly, A2 emerged into the light. She hunched, curled in on herself, and shuffled forward like a woman of eighty rather than nineteen. E1 noted how her bones were visible under her thin, pale skin and jutted out in sharp, awkward angles. A2''s once white wings hung dingy and limp down her back. The long primary feathers trailed across the floor. She stooped low, and her mass of black hair fell across her face. Piercing blue eyes peered through the thick, knotted curtain, wild and terrorised. They shifted from one doctor to the other, then finally landed on E1. They flashed surprise before A2 returned her gaze to the floor.


    "Follow us," said James. He and Sean began to walk down the hall. "We''re gonna do a little demonstration."


    E1 and A2 walked shoulder to shoulder. E1 kept her eyes forward and watched as both men staggered down the hall. Her chest grew tighter. This situation was unprecedented. She and A2 hadn''t been taken out for testing, lessons, or activities together in over nine years. In the time since, they had only gotten to see each other during punishments. She couldn''t remember what she''d done this time.


    The doctors guided them into an empty room at the end of an unfamiliar hallway. When the lights flickered on, E1 saw the steel tables and counters were covered with white sheets to prevent dust from settling. A chill swept through her and she tried to maintain her composure. James locked the door behind them.


    "Line up," he commanded.


    E1 and A2 looked at each other, confused. E1 saw the terror in A2''s eyes. She tried to offer A2 a reassuring glance to distance herself from her own anxiety.


    Look at the floor Annie, not at them, she thought. You can''t let them see you''re afraid. If you can''t push it down, look away.


    "Line up!" James spat, annoyed he had to repeat himself when they didn''t move fast enough.


    They both jumped, then shuffled into position. E1 stood straight, shoulders back with eyes forward. A2 curled further into herself and looked down at the floor with intensity as if she could burrow a hole with her eyes and escape.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Sean strolled around the room and leisurely investigated his surroundings. He peered under the protective coverings, curling his lip with disgust and wiping his finger over the metallic surfaces.


    "James, are you going to get on with it or what?" Sean slipped a small flask out of his inside pocket and took a shot. "You said we could go out tonight like we used to back in school."


    "We can, we can," James assured him. "I just thought you''d like to get to know both projects a bit better now that the others are gone, and we have a little time. They''ll both do exactly as they''re told, no hesitation."


    Sean raised an eyebrow. "Really? So that''s what you meant when you said E1 was under control. I read its file before coming here and I must say, it''s very impressive."


    Sean approached her. E1 smelled something sour on his breath. A2 shrunk back and shuffled from foot to foot. E1 remained steady. Sweat pooled under the collar of her lab-issued sweatshirt. She knew better than to move. Even her breath was carefully controlled. Sean reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her jaw clenched and pulsed. Sean didn''t appear to notice.


    "Absolutely incredible." Sean slowly reached his hand toward her chest. This time she couldn''t help it and flinched back. For a moment she lost her composure and her expression slipped from her usual flat affect to rage. Sean twisted his lip in disgust but was the first to drop his eyes.


    "Hey," James said, "We can have our fun, but we can''t touch them ok? Especially not that one."


    "Why not? If they''re as compliant as you say, what''s the worst that can happen?"


    "Just trust me on this. Not that one."


    "Fine. That one seems ornery anyway." Sean backed off and turned his attention to A2. "What about this one then?"


    "Here, let me show you," said James. "A2 step forward."


    A2 did as she was told and stepped toward them. E1 picked at the skin around her fingers and ripped at a tender hangnail to distract herself. A2''s slender frame hunkered down, and somehow she became smaller and more hunched than before -- all matted hair and wings. The harsh fluorescent lights gave her sun-deprived skin an almost transparent look.


    "We can make them do whatever we want," said James. A smug grin spread across his face. "Undress, both of you."


    Both did as he commanded. E1 had been naked for exams many times before, but this time felt strange. She ignored the pit in her stomach and pulled off her sweat suit. A2 unclipped the straps of her halter top from around her neck, struggling for a moment to get the fabric from around her wings, and stepped out of her jogging pants. The basement air was cold against E1''s skin and gooseflesh rose across her arms.


    Sean sucked in behind his teeth and pointed at E1. "I do like this one better. It doesn''t have any wings to get in the way. The other one looks a bit... Sick."


    James shrugged. "That''s fine. A2 has always been my favourite." He leered at her thin, and frail frame.


    Sean approached A2 for a closer look. E1 broke form and turned her head to look at them. Her heart in her throat.


    This isn''t right. No exam has ever been like this.


    Her fingernails dug into the centre of her palm and tore into the thick scar tissue there.


    Sean took another shot of his flask. "Can''t say I can really see how it''s your favourite Jamie. It doesn''t even have any tits. It''s totally flat."


    "The avian DNA. She is a remarkable creature in her own right. A perfect, functional combination." James put his hand on A2''s shoulder. She shrivelled under the weight of it.


    She''s shivering, E1 thought. I can see it. Why can''t they? Leave her alone. She couldn''t dare speak up and willed them both to look at her instead.


    "I wonder what else the avian DNA might have changed?" Sean cupped his hand between her legs. A2 jumped but tried not to move.


    "This is unauthorised," E1 said before she could stop herself. "Doctor James, please, we should wait for authorisation."


    Both men looked at her with surprise.


    "Mind yourself E1," said James. "We determine what is and isn''t authorised, not you. Remember that." James moved A2''s hair away from her face and tilted her chin up to look at him. A2 trembled.


    E1 bit her tongue but couldn''t look away. Her back molars crushed painfully against each other as she grit her teeth.


    "Hm, looks like everything is in order down there," said Sean. "Put her on the table."


    James wrapped his arms around A2 and tried to lift her, seeming to have forgotten the only rule he had set. Though she was light, her wings made the process awkward. Sean tore the protective sheet off the steel table and began to fumble with his belt.


    Blood pounded in E1''s ears and the fringes of her vision went dark. "Doctor James, I think your father..."


    He rounded on her. "Father doesn''t have to hear of this. E1 I highly suggest you remember your place."


    A2 screamed as they struggled to pin her to the table. The sound was like the screech of an owl in the night. She spread her wings out fully and thrashed. James fumbled around the edges of the table for straps. Sean momentarily forgot about his zipper to strike A2 across the face.


    The throbbing in E1''s head grew. Her skin became hot and tingled with pins and needles. While the men were occupied, she held her arm out straight in front of herself as if in a stop motion.


    Heat flared across her chest and ripped down into her arm until a drop of blood shot out of her palm like a bullet aimed straight for Sean''s head.


    The droplet entered his skull clean and a mixture of blood and brain sprayed out the other side. His body collapsed to the floor.


    James stopped trying to restrain A2. She hopped off the table and hurried over to E1.


    "What did you do?" James demanded. "What did you fucking do!"


    Her arm returned to her side. A2 clung to her.


    James pointed a shaky finger at her. "You have no idea what you''ve done or the kind of trouble you''ve gotten us both in. Same goes for A2. We''re all fucked."


    *****


    James paced the length of his office as he waited on his brother Rufus to arrive and tell him what to do. Unlike the cells and test rooms, the offices were located on the main floor. James compulsively checked out the window at the empty parking lot for his brother''s vehicle. After he got both projects squared away in their cells, he immediately called Rufus. He was team lead on the Eternity Project, surely he would know how to handle this.


    Finally, James saw Rufus'' Dodge Charger pull into one of the parking spaces. James'' palms were slick with sweat and he quickly wiped them on the front of his lab coat. He caught a glimpse of his reflection in the glass. His hair sprung up in all directions, small specks of blood dotted the lenses of his square glasses, and his coat was dishevelled.


    Shit. There''s not enough time...


    Rufus let himself in. "God, you look like shit. It''s bad enough you have to create a disaster, you have to look like one too?" Rufus towered over his younger brother. His dark hair was pushed back and stuck with gel. His olive complexion was free of blemishes. James averted his eyes from Rufus''. They were too much like Rachael''s. It was as if she were chastising him from beyond the grave.


    "I know, I know," said James. He allowed himself to collapse in one of his chairs. Now that Rufus had arrived, a wave of emotion overcame him and he began to sob.


    Rufus rolled his eyes. "You have got to be kidding me. Get up. This is the last time I''m covering for you, you got it? We''re getting too old for this shit."


    James stumbled back to his feet and sniffled.


    "Here''s what we do. We report the body."


    "What?"


    "Just listen. We do an incident report. While you were overseeing Sean''s first exam with E1, she got defiant and he ended up dead. End of story."


    "How do we explain the time of night?"


    Rufus clicked his tongue. "Let me think." Then after a pause, "We could tell them there was so much to go over, and Sean was so eager to fully comprehend the project that you both stayed late. It''s not as though Father has never done so himself."


    "I suppose. What do we tell him about A2?"


    Rufus shrugged. "Nothing. It doesn''t have to be a part of the story at all, especially considering your past, um, transgressions, its presence would only make things worse. Frankly, I think we should have gotten rid of it a long time ago. I can''t wait for the day Montello finally shows up and ships E1 off to SunSetTechnology and we can be rid of at least one of them. Nineteen years is a helluva long time to be hung up on a single project. Father needs a break."


    "Can you call?"


    Rufus raised a well-manicured eyebrow. "And how am I going to explain why I''m here? Grow up and do it yourself. I''ve got to get home to Cherry. I told her I went out for chips. It''s movie night."


    "Enjoy. I''ll just die alone here."


    "Father isn''t going to kill anyone. Well, not you at least. Stick to the story and you''ll be fine. You might want to clean yourself up first."


    Rufus took his leave, and James watched from the window as the Charger pulled out of the parking lot as quickly as it had come.


    He choked down the urge to vomit in the waste bin and called his father from the office phone. James repeated to him Rufus'' modified version of events.


    After a twenty-minute wait, James pressed his nose to the window once again to see his father''s Cadillac enter the same spot Rufus had pulled out of.


    James wrung his hands. They were slimey with sweat yet again.


    Why did Rufus have to leave? He knows what to say. I don''t know if I can do this...


    Alexander Smith let himself into James'' office. His strides were long, and graceful, especially for a man in his seventies. James'' chest tightened. Smith''s slow, deliberate movements barely concealed his rage.


    "Have a seat James," Smith ordered.


    James immediately obeyed. Smith glared down his nose at him and he scrunched inward. "So, where is it?"


    "Where''s what?"


    "The body!"


    "I - I left it. It''s in one of the labs, in the basement. I''ll take you there."


    "No need," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I''ll have a team take care of it. You can show them later on. What triggered E1?"


    "Uh, what, what do you mean?"


    Smith''s sharp blue eyes turned to ice. "I mean, what caused it to kill Dr.McGuire? He wasn''t even here for a day. E1 has been so compliant lately. I was so certain it was ready for shipment. I hope this incident does not jeopardise anything."


    James averted his gaze, and shrugged, unprepared to go off-script. He wrung his hands together in his lap, the sweat slick between his palms. "I dunno. You know how it can be sometimes with E1. One minute things are fine, and the next, it just, you know, snaps. Sean wanted to get more acquainted with the project, and like I said, I was supervising his first exam. One minute E1 was calm, and the next..."


    Smith tapped his chin. "That''s unusual behaviour. There''s usually something."


    James shrugged again and adjusted his glasses. "Perhaps there was and I didn''t catch it. E1 was in one of its moods."


    "This alarms me. After all this time and effort put into the project, E1 remains ungrateful. We don''t have to give it such nice accommodations but we do out of the kindness of our hearts, and here we are, repaid with disobedience."


    James cringed. Hearing his father say ungrateful and disobedient in the same sentence brought back childhood memories spent in the closet he''d sooner forget.


    "What do you suppose the punishment should be?"


    "Hmm?"


    Smith furrowed his brow. "Jamie, pay attention. This is important. Do you have cotton balls in your head boy?"


    "No sir."


    "Then answer me," Smith snapped.


    "Rufus is team lead of the Eternity Project, shouldn''t he decide?"


    "No, he has enough on his plate already, and you were the one present. You saw what happened. Not to mention Sean was supposed to be your friend. What do you think would finally get E1 to settle down and know its place?"


    "A week in solitary?"


    Smith shook his head. "Not enough. You know it doesn''t respond well to such punishments. It''ll have to involve A2." Smith leaned against the wall and steepled his fingers under his chin. "I think I have it. We can kill two birds, no pun intended, with one stone. I think we should teach E1 a valuable lesson in loyalty and compliance. Since the day Rachael created that thing, A2 has been nothing but dead weight and a liability. E1 is headed for the B.C. facility shortly anyway, so we will no longer need A2 around as leverage."


    James fidgeted with his shirt collar. Sweat formed beneath the fabric. "A2 could be repurposed somehow. We don''t need to..."


    "I know that it''s your project. I appreciate that. But it''s not worth the food keeping it alive, much less the cost of electricity for the light bulb in its cell. A waste of time and resources. I made the mistake of indulging Rachael in creating the thing in the first place, I''m not going to shoot myself in the foot twice."

 Part one - Chapter Two - One Stone

    That night, E1 hadn''t slept. Instead, she sat vigil at the vent. A2 hadn''t felt like talking, she only cried. E1 wanted her to know she was there regardless. Each sob echoed through the vent like a punch in the chest.


    E1 dug her fingernails into the soft flesh of her wrist and pulled. Just as the bloody gash would form, she would clot it immediately after. She picked at the edges of the scab and pried it away. Fresh blood oozed up, and she stopped it. The scab reformed. Rinse. Repeat. All night long.


    When the guards came for her, she quietly went with them.


    "I wouldn''t want to be you," said one with a grin. "Smith was in a tizzy this morning."


    His partner chimed in. "Well, why wouldn''t he be? Did you see it?"


    "See what?"


    "The body. Poor bugger''s brains were everywhere. One side of his head looked normal but the other side was like a busted watermelon."


    The guard made a face. "Yuck." He nudged E1. "Do you have anything to say for yourself? Any last words?" he chuckled.


    "I wouldn''t push her, Gary," said the other one, his tone now much more serious. "The guy was a doctor for God sake. If she''s willing to risk that, lord knows what she could do to us."


    E1 kept her head forward. It was easier to pretend not to hear them. Anxiety twirled her intestines like spaghetti on a fork. She closed her eyes, let her feet do the moving, and breathed deeply.


    He''ll understand. I was doing what was best for the project. He''ll have to believe me. I have to find a way to undo this. She wanted to believe Smith would see her side, but she had never killed a doctor before.


    The guards unlocked a set of double doors and followed her into the room. It was one of many gymnasiums usually reserved for training and obstacle courses but now stood empty. Somehow she found that more intimidating. She had never been here before, but it was similar to the other test chambers they had put her in previously. Like the rest of the laboratory basement, the walls, ceiling and floor were all concrete. The only break in the bleak space was an observation window fixed in the wall across from her. Smith sat on the other side behind a microphone and switchboard.


    The doors locked themselves with an audible thunk.


    E1 stood at attention. Plenty of words wanted to rush from her all at once, but her tongue felt dry and thick. The roof of her mouth became sticky, and her throat pinched.


    Smith leaned toward the tiny microphone. "E1, do you know why you''re here?"


    She struggled to remain composed. "Yes. I killed Sean MacGuire. He was..."


    Smith waved his hand. "I didn''t ask for you to elaborate. James has already told me what transpired."


    The wind knocked out of her, and she sighed with relief.


    "You have displayed an egregious act of disobedience. After all we''ve done for you, we''ve fed you, clothed you and given you the finest education and training, you still insist on stepping out of line."


    E1 stiffened and readied herself to hear whatever punishment Smith deemed fit to dole out.


    I still killed a doctor. I deserve whatever is coming.


    "I spent a great deal of thought on what punishment could teach you a lesson in loyalty and compliance. Then I thought, what a better way than to have you dispose of A2 yourself."


    E1 blinked in shock as though slapped. In fact, an actual slap would have been preferable.


    "Sir please, I''ll literally do anything else you ask, anything but this..."


    Smith''s face turned an alarming shade of purple, skipping several stages of red altogether. "You dare to stand there and negotiate with me after what you''ve done? This only serves to show me you have no respect for me or this institution. You will do as you''re told."


    Or what?


    A chill rippled from the top of her head to her toes. If it was from excitement or fear she couldn''t tell.


    You''re already asking me to do the worst thing imaginable. There''s nothing left to take from me.


    The double doors pushed open and two guards entered with A2 restrained between them. Her wings drooped behind her, her shoulders rounded forward. Already, purple, blue and red bruises began to pepper the visible parts of her arms and legs.


    A2''s sobs echoed off the cement walls to fill the silence.


    E1 struggled not to look at her. She swallowed around the lump in her throat. Darkness crept along the edges of her vision. The sting of her finger nails against the tender fresh scabs in the center of her palm distracted her from the rising heat searing in her chest.


    "E1, I am not going to ask you again. Kill her," Smith commanded.


    "Sir please, I don''t think you understand what happened. Doctor Sean attempted to perform an unauthorised examination on A2. I - I - " she closed her eyes as she struggled to find the words to describe what she saw. Her fingernails bit into the scab.  When she opened her honey brown eyes again, she thought she could explain. "I saw them both restrain A2 and they touched her, and attempted to restrain her in a way that I''ve never seen before. I know it was a bad thing they were doing. I reminded them this interaction was not authorised....."


    "How dare you try to tell me what I do or do not understand. James has already informed me of the situation, and the matter is settled. I should have A2''s tongue cut out to pay for your lies. Even if you''re correct, a doctor was murdered and you are responsible. An eye for an eye. Now I''m not going to ask you again. Kill A2." He smashed his fist down on the control panel. "Now!"


    "I''m sorry sir, I can''t. A2 has done nothing wrong. I swear I will never question you again, or step one toe out of line if you allow me to spare her life." Her chest grew hot and tears stung her eyes. She struggled to push them back for fear of appearing weak.


    "Don''t beg E1. It''s disgusting. I told you, I wasn''t going to ask again. Guard, break its finger."


    "No!"


    One of the guards took A2''s hand and snapped her right index finger back at a terrible angle. Her hollow bones cracked with a sickening pop, and she shrieked.


    The pounding in E1''s temples grew into a continuous ringing in her ears.


    Until this moment, A2 had managed to stay still and silent, but now she struggled against them. She spread her wings and flapped hard enough to get away from their grip. A2 ran as fast as she could towards E1. Not fast enough. The guards snatched her up and slammed her to the floor.


    E1 winced. Everything in her wanted to go to A2, but her feet remained firmly planted in place. Her heart thundered while her mind ran a mile.


    Smith leaned in towards the microphone. His gelled hair had come undone from its normally slick position and dangled in loose strands in front of his wild eyes. "We''re going to break every one of its joints until you agree to put it out of its misery. Everything that happens to A2 from this point forward is entirely on you. You decide how long it has to suffer."


    The pressure in her temples grew. Her eyes felt like they would burst. Her vision shrunk to a slim tunnel. Even the sensation of clothing on her skin grew too much. Hot pins and needles pricked every inch of her flesh.


    Her body knew the decision before her mind had settled on it.


    E1 raised her hand.


    Blood carved a path of searing heat as it coursed through her arteries and fired, ripping through the scab in her palm.  Pain flared through her arm as the pressure released.


    The droplet entered the guard''s skull.


    E1 shifted aim and quickly disposed of the other. Her vision swam. If she was lightheaded from blood loss or exhilaration, she didn''t care.


    A2 scrambled out from under the guards'' bodies and ran to E1''s side.


    Smith recovered from his shock and locked himself inside the gallery with the push of a button. The brilliant white fluorescent lights turned a deep shade of red and a loud whirring alarm blasted through the room. Both girls covered their ears with their hands.


    E1 struggled to concentrate with the shrieking sound system blaring overhead.


    There''s no going back now. I have to finish this.


    Part of her wanted to back down and plead for forgiveness, but there would be no mercy for her, and especially not for A2.


    "Stand down E1," Smith commanded. She detected a slight tremor in his voice.


    Don''t beg. It''s disgusting.


    She ran with A2 to the double doors only to find they were locked. E1 backed up and rammed her shoulder into the metal as hard as she could. It dented but didn''t buckle.


    "Stop, E1, I order you to stop!" Smith spat into the microphone. By now, panic had fully entered his voice.


    E1 paused for a moment to think. She knew she couldn''t keep up ramming the door long enough for the metal to bend, and recalled her infiltration training. She darted back to one of the guards and retrieved his baton and knife. While she was at it, she snatched the pass card off the lanyard from around his neck.


    A2 pressed her hands firmly over her ears as Smith screamed commands over the wailing alarm.


    E1 jammed the knife blade between the door frame and the hinge. She smashed the baton against the knife handle over and over until the hinges bent and then finally broke. She progressed through the other two hinges until the door finally let go and popped open. E1 tried to pry the knife back out of the hinge, but the blade had become bent and broken from the repeated abuse and was stuck.


    She left the knife jammed in the door and rushed into the hall with A2 straggling behind her. Her wide and wild blue eyes blazed with terror. They ran down the corridor, unsure which direction would lead them out. The alarm clicked off along with the red lights. The silence was somehow louder inside the complete darkness. E1''s heart pounded in the base of her throat so fiercely, she wondered if anyone had ever choked on their own heartbeat before. Then the emergency lights came on. The power was off.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "Clay, what''s happening?" A2 whispered.


    "I don''t know."


    "What are we going to do?"


    "We''re getting out of here."


    A2 made a noise like a startled chirp. "How? What will we do out there? Where will we go?" She wrapped her arms around herself and started to curl up.


    E1 knew she needed to get to her before she fully disappeared into herself. She reached out and softly touched her arm.


    "Please Annie, you can''t give up. We can''t go back. They wanted me to kill you, you know that? What do you think they''re going to do after this? We have no choice, we have to leave. Whatever is out there is better than what they''ll do to us in here."


    A2 trembled but nodded.


    They continued forward through the labyrinthine hallways of the laboratory basement. The darkness unsettled E1. The locking mechanisms on every door they encountered were disabled, and she opened them easily. It appeared whatever had tripped the power had also initiated the fire system. All cells would be locked, but other doors would allow access to ensure scientists and other staff members would be able to escape while all test subjects and evidence would be left behind to burn.


    The sound of heavy boots on the ground stopped E1 in her tracks and A2 nearly bumped into her. A squadron of guards rounded the corner.


    They must have been alerted before the power cut.


    E1 squared up. Her jaw set. Her teeth ground together. The group of five guards blocked their path with tranquilliser rifles at the ready.


    "Stand down," the one in the centre ordered.


    She didn''t wait for a second request and launched herself toward them.


    They were momentarily taken off guard, surprised by her disobedience. E1 kicked the rifle from his hands and dove for the gun. Before the other guards could stop her, she wrenched it from his grasp and wielded it like a club, smashing the two on either side of him, cracking their skulls.


    The centre guard regained his composure while the two in the back rushed forward. She used the close quarters of the hallway to her advantage. They could not take her on all at once.


    The tranquilliser rifle clattered to the floor so she could free up her hands.


    "Come on E1, it doesn''t have to be like this," said the previous centre guard.


    In the dark, she hadn''t recognised him, but now she knew him to be one of the guards that escorted her often. He hadn''t been unkind to her. She stopped. The other two guards stood behind him, rifles ready.


    "Let me take you and A2 back to your cells and it can be like none of this ever happened. I''m sure it''s just some kind of mix-up." He extended his hand. "Come on. I know you''re good. We''ll get it sorted out."


    "You know I can''t."


    "Sir, what are you doing?" one of the others muttered. "Disengage."


    He shook his head and kept his eyes locked on E1, his hand still extended.


    E1 felt frozen in place. It''s too good to be true. Either he''s intentionally tricking me or he''s just that na?ve. This can''t be undone. There''s no way Smith will let me get away with this and Anpiel will surely be destroyed.


    "Let me pass. I don''t want to hurt you, but I will."


    "You know I can''t let you do that."


    She narrowed her eyes. "Then I have to kill you."


    A loud crack sounded and a dart whizzed past, barely missing her. The centre guard jumped and looked over his shoulder at his colleague who had fired his gun.


    "What are you doing I -"


    I allowed myself to drop my guard. If that had hit me, it would have been over for both of us. Never again.


    Rage erupted like an undammed river and consumed every inch of her body. She seized her opportunity and gripped her hand over his face. Heat ripped through her arm as blood exited through her palm. The guard''s face burst under her fingers in a sticky mess of blood, soft tissue and bone.


    A fist caught her in the side of the jaw and she stumbled back with the iron taste of blood in her mouth. She quickly composed herself. The remaining two guards rounded on her.


    E1 had become accustomed to the dark over the years of training and knew how to orient herself in space without overly relying on her eyes.


    The guard had also regrouped and brandished his knife. He swiped at her. For a second, she thought she had managed to avoid it, then a blazing heat erupted in her side. E1 looked down to see the handle jutting out of her hip.


    There was no time to tend to it now. Every movement shot pain through her body when she manoeuvred. The guard took a swing and she ducked. On her way back up, she gripped the guard''s elbow to use his force against him and hurtled him to the floor. His skull cracked against the concrete.


    The last guard had circled behind her and pulled her arms back. She struggled against his grip. The knife dug deeper into her side.


    He pulled her in tighter. His fingers dug into her flesh. She looked desperately towards A2 who had curled herself into a tight ball on the floor. Her hands still pressed tightly over her ears and eyes squeezed shut.


    I have to get her out of here.


    E1 kicked her feet out furiously. The guard grunted with the effort of holding her in place. She squirmed and struggled against his arms with all her might. One of her boots finally got some purchase on the opposite wall. E1 pushed off against it and pressed all of her weight up against him for leverage. She climbed up the wall with her feet until she could perch herself in a handstand on his shoulders.


    E1 pushed down and heard a loud snap as his knees buckled under him. She used her momentum to push off him and landed back on her feet. The force of her lift-off had caused the guard to lose his balance and he fell to the floor. Before he could regain his bearings, she swiftly crushed his windpipe with a stomp of her boot.


    E1 took a moment and gripped the protruding knife handle. She grit her teeth and pulled. Blood poured from the open wound. She steeled herself and forced it to clot over into a thick, hardened scab. The searing pain faded out into tenderness.


    The carnage was over. A2 remained in her ball, unmoving.


    "We have to get going before they send more," E1 said.


    A2 didn''t move and trembled instead. E1 took hold of her arms. She tried to keep her grip gentle but firm. A2''s delicate bones were easily palpable beneath her fragile skin. E1 pried her apart, surprised by the strength of her resistance and got her back on her feet.


    "We can''t afford to give up now, we have to keep going." She kept hold of A2''s arm. A2 came along easily enough, but E1 knew if she stopped even for a second, A2 would freeze up again.


    As they progressed through the maze of hallways, E1 began to doubt if this was a good idea. ''Outside'' was almost like a mythological location, only known to them through Rachael''s stories. If it wasn''t for her distant memories of brief, covert outings with Rachael, she wasn''t sure if she would have the nerve to leave at all. That felt so long ago now, she couldn''t guarantee she hadn''t dreamt it.


    Though the doors had been opening for them thus far, she feared the elevator would malfunction. She held out hope for the fire escape. Finally, they rounded the corner and E1 saw the exit at the end of the hall. She reached for the handle and hesitated.


    It can''t be this easy. Where are the rest of the guards? Why have we not run into a single locked door? Could this be a test?


    She swallowed. Her throat was parched and swollen. The blood on her hands made the knob slick under her fingers. She exhaled in a gush of relief when she opened the door to find nothing but an empty staircase.


    E1 and A2 ascended the stairs. With each step, blood pounded harder in her ears.


    We''re so close now. It''s only a matter of time before more guards come to stop us...


    None came, and they finally reached the top.


    "This is it," said E1.


    "Are you sure? Maybe we can go back."


    E1 shook her head. Her blonde hair, now matted with blood and sweat, fell into her eyes and she pushed it away. The blood on her hand smeared a streak across her face. "Do you know what just happened back there? Do you understand what they wanted me to do?"


    A2 blinked at her, looking so much like an owl that E1 may have found her expression comical at any other moment.


    "They wanted you to kill me," she whispered.


    E1 nodded. "If we don''t leave now, we''ll never get another chance like this again. They''re going to ship me off to the SunSetTechnology facility..."


    "That''s what you wanted, isn''t it?"


    "I thought I did, but not anymore."


    Without further discussion, E1 opened the door and the two girls stepped out into the afternoon sun.


    "Before we go any further, we have to get the trackers out. I can''t reach mine, you''ll have to do it. I''ll do yours," said E1.


    A2 paled. "I don''t think I can."


    "You have to. Come here, we don''t have a lot of time. I''ll do yours first."


    A2 did as E1 asked and turned her back to her. She lifted her long hair out of the way to expose the back of her neck.


    "This is going to pinch, ok?" E1 located the tracking chip implanted just above her seventh cervical vertebrae, and the second RFID chip meant to contain their information. She took the knife out of her belt loop and touched the tip to A2''s delicate skin. Suddenly, she felt overcome with nausea. It felt impossible to cut her, even just a little.


    This has to be done, and it''s gotta be fast.


    In one movement she opened the superficial layer of skin and used the tip of the blade to pry out the tracking chip. E1 crushed it between her fingers like a tick.


    A2 cried out in pain. "That was more than a pinch, you lied!"


    "I''m sorry," E1 handed her the knife. "Your turn."


    "I can''t..."


    "You have to. Please." E1 turned her back to A2. She lifted her hair up and out of the way. "Just do it fast. You know where it is."


    E1 could feel the cold metal on the back of her neck. The blade trembled, scrapping some of her skin.


    "You''re going to fuck it up if you hesitate like that, here, just give it to me. I have a better idea."


    "Sorry." A2 handed the knife back.


    "You guide me. Put your finger over it or something."


    A2 did as she asked.


    E1 reached back with the knife. A2 moved her finger away and watched, mouth open, as E1 dug the chip out of herself. Once the chip was in her hand, E1 crushed it.


    "That was messier than it had to be."


    "Sorry."


    The parking lot sprawled out before them. Both took a moment to take in their new surroundings. E1 hadn''t seen the sky in nine years. Not since Rachael had taken her out for the last time. She doubted if A2 had ever seen it at all.


    Once she regained her bearings, E1 sprinted across the pavement towards the tree-line, only looking back to see if A2 was behind her. A2 ran as fast as she could but was not capable of keeping up.


    Instead, she spread her wings.


    E1 caught her breath. From wing tip to wing tip, they must have spanned three metres. The wind caught under her feathers and lifted her into the air as she ran. A few powerful flaps allowed her to ascend higher. Soon she soared over E1.


    The wind itself lifted and moved in response to the movement of her wings. E1 felt the rush of air blow her hair back as she stared up at A2, enraptured. She regained her composure and raced to keep up with her.


    A2 disappeared into the forest canopy. E1 was not long behind her. The branches of the trees and bracken tore at her exposed flesh and jogging suit, but she hardly felt it. A loud snap alerted her to movement in the trees above. E1 looked up to see A2 perched in a large oak. She dropped down onto the forest floor with a flourish of feathers. Together, they continued to push through the foliage.


    "Can we rest?" A2 asked.


    E1 shook her head. "We have to keep going. They''ll be right behind us." Though as she said it, she noticed the silence and found it unsettling.


    Where are they?


    Only a solitary crow cried out in the distance to answer her thoughts. The sound of its wings as it took off rippled through the empty forest.


    Eventually, the trees made way for a chain-link fence. Barbed wire coiled across the top in painful loops. E1 gripped the metal links and hoisted herself upwards. A2 took to the air again and flew over the fence. She struggled to hover as she watched E1 climb. Her wings kept getting obstructed by the nearby branches and leaves.


    E1 carefully swung her leg over the wire and found purchase on the other side. A2 helped to guide her by stabilising her body while she gingerly brought over the other leg. The barbs snagged on her clothing and bit at the tender skin of her inner thigh. She scaled down the other side.


    A part of her had almost expected something dramatic to happen when she touched down on the grass. She had anticipated a blaring siren and the howling of dogs, but nothing. She slowly took a few steps forward, wincing each time.


    Any minute now they''re going to step out of the trees and tell me this has all been part of the test.


    They continued to move with no interruptions. The sun grew brighter as the trees grew thinner. E1 thought she heard static, something similar to the white noise the lab would sometimes play during relaxation hour. The noise became louder until they finally stepped out of the woods and onto a rocky shore. An ocean sprawled out in front of them. It was now the only thing that stood between them and the freedom of the forest that lined the opposite shore. E1 knew a small city existed beyond the tree line and rural farmsteads. Rachael had taken her there on the final day.


    E1 led A2 along the edge of the beach. She recalled the day Rachael took her off the island, and the long covered bridge they had driven across. The sunlight had come through the wooden slats in speckles across the roof of the car like the stars she had yet to ever see.


    "You can fly to the other side," E1 said to A2. "Go on, I''ll catch up."


    A2 stared out at the vast body of water. She shook her head, then groped for E1''s hand. E1 moved before A2 could intertwine her fingers.


    "I can''t go without you. I don''t know... I''ve never been out here." The breeze rustled through her pin feathers and twisted her knotted black hair around her bare shoulders. It was early spring, so much of the weather still felt like winter. A2''s skin prickled with gooseflesh and she shivered. "I don''t know what to do."


    "Follow me, but if they come after us, I want you to fly out of here as fast as you can. Promise?"


    A2 extended the pinkie of her uninjured hand. "Promise."


    E1 shook it with her own pinkie as they touched thumbs. They walked along the shore in search of the bridge. E1 was prepared to scour the whole perimeter of the island if it came to that.


    Then she saw it on the horizon and picked up the pace. The rocks beneath her shifted and rolled under her feet. A2 stumbled, but E1 managed to catch her elbow in time and stopped her from going down.


    The entrance to the bridge opened like a wide mouth. The forest waited for them on the other side.

 Part One - Chapter Three - Creature

    The scent of bacon mingled with the heady aroma of an open fire coaxed Zach into finally opening his eyes. The stiff throbbing throughout his back soon caught up to him. He had begged Gabriel to let him bring an air mattress for the tent but was shot down.


    "Not unless you want to carry it," Gabriel had said.


    Yesterday, Zach had skipped his afternoon courses to set out on an investigation with Gabriel. They had spent most of the daylight hiking through the groomed walking trails of the York Creek nature reserve, then set up their camp. Gabriel had insisted they go as deep into the forest as possible. The further they got from the other hikers and civilization, the more likely they would be to see the creature. All the reports he and Zach had read so far took place within the dense part of the forest where most of the trails hadn''t been cleared in a few seasons.


    There had been several accounts of a winged creature raiding camps. Some people had seen it skulking about in the dark. One story spoke of the creature''s intense blue eyes that seared like hellfire from between the trees. Its wings were five metres long. Sometimes they were feathered, others said they were leathery, like those of a bat.


    Zach unzipped the tent and joined Gabriel by the grill. The sun barely peeked over the treetops, but Zach still had to shield his deep blue eyes against the crisp dawn glare.


    "You''re up early," Zach said.


    Gabriel shrugged. "We can''t afford to waste daylight if we want to be the first to document the creature. Other people are probably after it too." He flipped the bacon. "I figured we could eat then head out."


    Zach groaned.


    Gabriel frowned at him. "This was your idea, remember? I could be home with Sam right now, but you wanted to do this."


    "I thought it would be easier, ok?" Zach crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. "There I said it. Are you happy?"


    Gabriel grinned, and his green eyes twinkled. "So you admit I was right?"


    "I wouldn''t go that far," Zach mumbled. He pulled up the hood of his sweater. The early morning breeze was starting to bite at his exposed ears. He was envious of the thick black toque Gabriel wore. He made a mental note to ask Sam to make one for him too when they got back to Gabriel''s farm.


    After breakfast, they packed up camp and continued their journey further into the forest. His camping rucksack grew heavier with every step while Gabriel forged ahead. As they progressed, the trail became more and more overgrown. Zach grew weary of seeing only the plaid back of Gabriel''s jacket ahead of him and the endless rows of trees and underbrush on either side. A strange fear they might be lost choked up in his throat.


    "I don''t think we''re in the park anymore," Zach said.


    "We left the park boundary a half hour ago."


    "Do you think we should go back before we get too turned around?"


    Gabriel shrugged and kept going. "We''ll be fine."


    "You might be."


    "I won''t let you die out here," he laughed. "It''s not my first rodeo. Hopefully, we won''t have to spend another night but I''m prepared if it comes to that."


    "Ugh, I hope it doesn''t. I have school in the morning. I can''t afford to miss any more classes if I want to graduate on time this year."


    "This could be the story of a lifetime, but that''s only if we''re the first ones to get to the bottom of it and report it officially. We''ve been researching the GreenerPastures laboratory for so long, I don''t want to give up now. Not when we''re so close to finally getting some proof."


    Zach sighed, "I know."


    He had been so enthusiastic at the start. When he and Gabriel decided to begin their blog, and other social media platforms to investigate local occurrences of cryptid sightings and paranormal activity they had both gone full steam ahead. Then, as the years inched onward with little to no valid cases of anything, not a single convincing ghost video or bigfoot print, he had slowly begun to lose hope they would ever find anything substantial. Then, about a week ago, there were multiple sightings of the winged creature. York Creek''s very own Mothman. Zach and Gabriel both set their sights on becoming the next John Keel. The Newspapers hadn''t even gotten around to naming the thing yet, so they figured they had a decent head start.


    "I think we''re getting close now," said Gabriel.


    "To where?" asked Zach. All he could see were trees.


    "GreenerPastures. I can smell the sea air. The little island is just off the peninsula. Have you ever been over there?"


    "To the island? No."


    "I got as close as the bridge once. A couple of friends and I back in high school made a trek out this way to see how close we could get."


    "Did you see anything?" Zach asked.


    "No. We didn''t hear anything either. The only reason we even bothered was because Kenny''s brother Duncan told him some guys he knew spent the night out here and heard terrible screaming coming from over there."


    The wind became gradually colder as they got closer to the shore. The briny air started to make Zach''s nose run and he wiped it with the back of his sleeve.


    "Do you remember when we were in high school, Jason''s Uncle told him he overheard someone at the bar claim to have worked security or something for GreenerPastures?"


    "I think I heard that one going around. That one always kind of spooked me. Didn''t the guard say he had to watch over this furnace room? I think Jason''s uncle said the guard told him he had to watch over some orderlies as they shovelled foetuses into the furnace."


    "I heard some of them were all deformed with extra eyes on their bodies and four arms. It''s friggin'' dark. Could you imagine doing something like that? Do you think this creature has anything to do with the lab?" Zach asked.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "I certainly don''t think it''s a coincidence, but it''s hard to say what''s really going on. I always kind of thought it was aliens. I think they''re harbouring alien technology and making hybrids or something."


    Zach found he was getting short of breath. He wheezed as he struggled to keep up with Gabriel. The trail had become overgrown with roots and bracken from the nearby trees. Gabriel manoeuvred with practiced ease through the tangled mass. Zach tried his best to follow his lead, but still somehow managed to trip over roots, as well as his own two feet.


    "Do you think we should stop and set up camp?" Zach asked.


    Gabriel laughed. "Zach, it''s barely mid-afternoon. We can stop for a snack soon, but if we want to make the most of our time, we should keep going."


    Zach groaned. Though the spring air was brisk, sweat had begun to paste his shaggy brown hair to his forehead.


    "What''s that?" Gabriel asked, and gestured towards the bushes.


    Zach broke out of his pity party to see that Gabriel had pointed at a long white feather. Gabriel got down on his haunches and picked it up,


    He held the feather in the light. "I don''t know any birds this could have come off of."


    "An eagle?"


    "Their primary feathers are black, and they don''t get this long."


    Gabriel pocketed the feather, and the two picked up the pace. Zach felt a renewed sense of energy now they had finally found something solid. Finally, he had some evidence he could actually hold in his hand. Gabriel made sure to take careful note of any crushed leaves, broken twigs or scuffed-up imprints in the dirt. Soon, they had left the trail altogether.


    Zach grew nervous, but Gabriel was undeterred. The trees were thick around them. The naked branches reached their spindly fingers to the sky like pleading skeletons. Dead leaves formed a spongy carpet under their hiking boots.


    An eerie shriek cut through the chick-a-dee song. Gabriel stopped in his tracks, and Zach bumped into him. After a moment of silence, the shriek returned, but louder this time. Gabriel hurried off in the direction of the sound, and Zach tried his best to keep up.


    A mixture of anxiety and excitement played tug-o-war with Zach''s intestines. He anticipated the disappointment and relief he would feel if it were to turn out to be nothing more than an owl. What really churned his stomach and spurned him on further was the elation and potential terror of finding the creature.


    Is it some sort of eldritch horror? A deformed beast? An alien?


    *****


    The ethereal scream led them to a woman. She laid in the underbrush with one leg curled beneath her and the right one stuck outright, firmly clamped in a steel-toothed bear trap. The woman''s eyes were wide. Her long black hair frizzed out around her head in a corona of mats and knots.


    Zach and Gabriel barely overcame their shock, when she opened her mouth and emitted the scream they had heard previously. A shiver ran up Gabriel''s spine. The woman leaned back to scream again, and this time a pair of white wings spread up over her head as she flapped them in her struggle to get free from the trap.


    "Holy shit," Gabriel gasped and instinctively stepped back. "It''s real, it''s really real." He could only blink and soak up the surreal image in front of him. The sense of uncanny valley was overwhelming. A deranged angel, dressed in torn blue jogging pants and a bloody halter top didn''t make any sense.


    "Come on Zach, we have to help her," Gabriel said. He approached the creature cautiously with one hand out as one would walk towards a strange animal.


    Zach took another moment to recover from his shock before he followed Gabriel''s lead. "What are we supposed to do?"


    Gabriel tried to recall what his Grandfather had taught him. Before his passing, his Grandfather had taken him hunting many times. On one such occasion, they had come across a fox trapped in a similar leg hold. Disgusted, his grandfather showed Gabriel how to disarm the trap and set the animal free.


    "We gotta get her out of the trap first." Gabriel addressed the creature. "You have to stop moving, ok?"


    It was as if she didn''t even see them there. She continued to shriek, and thrash. Her large wings flapped in a flurry of dead leaves and pine needles. Gabriel bent to work on the trap and saw the jagged metal teeth had torn through her flesh and crushed her tibia.


    "Hold her still," Gabriel commanded. "I can''t get to the springs, and she''s going to do more damage moving around like this."


    Zach moved as if in a dream. He ducked to avoid her flailing wings and took hold of her shoulders. He struggled to keep her in place.


    The moment Gabriel freed her leg from the trap''s jaws, she scurried backwards away from them. The creature attempted to stand on its good leg before falling to the forest floor.


    "Whoa, whoa, slow down," Gabriel said. "We''re not here to hurt you. Your leg is in real bad shape. We can help."


    The creature stared up at them with fire ablaze in her blue eyes. Her chest heaved with every rasping breath. It was the look of sheer, primal, helpless terror he had seen many times before in the eyes of deer.


    A twig snapped. Both men tore their attention away from the creature to look towards the sound. A young woman burst from the trees. Her blue jogging suit was caked with what looked like mud and what Gabriel suspected to be blood.


    "What are you doing?" she demanded. "Get away from her!"


    "We were helping her," said Gabriel. "Did you set this trap? You know these things are illegal for a reason..." Gabriel trailed off. He finally processed her appearance, and it became obvious to him she couldn''t have been the one to set it. No hunter would be out here without any gear, and what seemed to be the one set of clothes she''d been wearing for the past couple of days, if not weeks.


    Her honey-coloured eyes pierced into him. "I did not set this trap. I thought you did."


    "We came to help."


    The young woman knelt beside the creature. Gabriel realised the creature''s jogging pants matched the woman''s outfit. Zach attempted to get Gabriel''s attention, but he was far too preoccupied with the scene in front of them. There was a lot more going on here than he had anticipated when they first set out that morning.


    "You can go," the woman dismissed them. "I can take care of her. You never saw us."


    "Her leg is torn up. She needs serious medical attention," Gabriel said.


    Under the layer of filth, the woman went pale. "No doctors."


    Gabriel shook his head. "No doctors. My wife Sam can help her. She''s not a doctor or anything but she''s had lots of experience caring for animals."


    "She''s not an animal," the woman snapped. "I can care for her. I''ve been caring for her."


    For the first time, Gabriel noticed the make-shift splint on two of the creature''s fingers. "I can see that. You''ve done a good job, but it''s clear now her injuries are more than what can be cared for properly out here. You''re smart, I can tell, so you know it too. Don''t be stubborn and let us help her. If you don''t, it''s only a matter of time before infection sets in. She could lose that leg or worse."


    The two women huddled together on the forest floor. The blonde one was silent as she thought over her options.


    "Fine, we''ll go with you."


    Gabriel visibly relaxed.


    "But I have conditions," the woman said.


    Gabriel took note of her affect. Despite the situation, her voice remained even. Her face revealed no emotion. It was as if they simply discussed the weather.


    How can she be so calm? I''m about to burst out of my skin!


    Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "What are your conditions?"


    "You can''t tell anyone about us. We leave as soon as she''s better. It will be like we were never there."


    Zach looked to Gabriel, then back to the blonde woman. Gabriel watched as his renewed hopes and dreams began to slip through his fingers. Their article was kiboshed before he could even attempt to write it.


    "Fine," Gabriel said.


    The woman stood up, and for the first time, Gabriel truly noticed how tall she was as she nearly came eye to eye with him. Her shoulders were nearly as broad. Gabriel stooped to help the winged woman, but she stopped him.


    "I''ll take her." The blonde lifted the other woman and cradled her in her arms easily. Up close Gabriel could see the bone between the torn flesh and muscle. Her wings draped across the blonde''s arm.


    "What should we do about her wings?" Zach asked.


    "What do you mean?" The blonde asked.


    "We''re going to get back to more civilized areas soon and we don''t want anyone to see her wings."


    "That''s a good point," Gabriel agreed. He took off his backpack and rummaged through it for his ground sheet. When he finally found it, he put it over the blonde''s shoulders so that it would come around her like a shawl and cover the girl''s wings. All the while both women stared at him, the blonde with suspicion, and the other with terror.


    "I''m Gabriel by the way, and that''s Zach."


    "I''m Proj..." she paused. "I''m Clay. This is Anpiel."

 Part One - Chapter Four - Home

    Anpiel''s frail arms wrapped around Clay''s waist like a life raft as they bounced down the dirt road in the bed of Gabriel''s pick-up. She faded in and out of consciousness. Clay''s fingernails tore into the palm of her hands. The taste of copper filled her mouth. Her teeth had ground so hard together, she had bit into the side of her cheek.


    We had to do this. There''s no way I could have cared for her alone up there.


    The truck drove them further away from the cover of the forest, and the ball of tension in her stomach tied into even more knots. When she first saw the two men in the clearing with Anpiel, she had been prepared to kill them, but when Anpiel''s injuries became apparent, she thought better of it. Plus, people would notice them missing and she''d only draw in more attention. A murder case in the area would surely get the laboratory''s attention. She rationalised that in the worst-case scenario, it wouldn''t be hard for her to escape with Anpiel if she had to.


    Soon the scenery changed from forest to pastures. They drove past fields of crops, cattle and sheep. She couldn''t help it and stared with her mouth wide open. After the escape, they had been overwhelmed by the forest, but Clay had made do for the few weeks they''d been out there. She and Anpiel had come across a small hunting cabin where they had been able to hole up. After they ran out of the abandoned cans of food on the second day, they both foraged through the forest and camps for food scraps.


    Though it had been nine years since Rachael had last taken her out, the woods had been at least semi-familiar to Clay. As they drove further away from the island, the change of scenery astounded her. She had only seen these crops, and animals from behind her television screen.


    They slowed as they neared their destination. The front yard was overtaken by large oak trees. In the summer, the leaves would surely obscure the house from the road. The truck pulled down the long, winding driveway towards the small farmhouse. Some areas of the covered front porch sunk into the earth as the wood had begun to turn grey and sag into the dirt, while other sections were recently constructed and made of fresh, yellow pine. The second story only took up a small section of the top of the building. A little steel pipe chimney jutted out the top. When they got closer, a baby barn came into view accompanied by a paddock.


    The property was surrounded on either side by wood lots, and a small forest further in the back. Clay''s eyes darted around as she absorbed her surroundings. She noticed how large the backyard was, and could see what looked to be a chicken coop, a small pond, and a vegetable garden in the distance.


    The truck stopped and Gabriel and Zach got out and came around to the back to speak to them.


    "You guys stay there, I''m going to go on inside and give Sam a heads up," said Gabriel.


    Gabriel disappeared into the house. Clay grasped at her thoughts. They raced through her mind, and she struggled to hold on to them.


    What am I supposed to tell them? How can I explain about us without giving ourselves away?


    During the ''real world'' role-plays they drilled her with back at the lab, she was clearly instructed never to tell the truth about where she came from. When the time came for her to enter the wide world, they would give her careful instruction on what to say.


    Now she was lost. The mock conversations she had with the orderlies, and often Smith himself, eluded her, and none of them came close to touching on this situation.


    Her finger stung. She looked down to see she had absent-mindedly ripped most of the hangnail away from her thumb.


    Zach peered up at them from the side of the truck bed. "How''s she holding up?" he asked.


    "Not good," Clay said simply.


    He dug around in his pocket and brought out a cigarette. "Would you like one?"


    She shook her head.


    "Suit yourself," he said and lit it. "What were you guys doing out there?"


    "I dunno. What were you doing out there?"


    "He thinks you''re aliens, you know."


    Clay blinked, confused.


    Zach exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Gabriel. He thinks the GreenerPastures laboratory contains aliens and alien hybrids, but I don''t think so."


    Clay bristled. "How do you know that name?"


    "Everyone around here knows about it. Kids in school tell stories about it to scare each other, but the kosher talk around town is that they''re a research centre that specialises in pine beetles and deer ticks. That''s not entirely true though, is it?"


    Clay''s cheeks burned. Thankfully, she was saved from replying when Gabriel returned with a woman at his side. Clay saw concern shadow her hazel eyes. The woman wrangled her curly auburn hair back into a loose ponytail while she walked.


    When she reached the bed of the truck, the woman reached out. "Give her to me, I''ll do what I can."


    Clay hesitated. Anpiel groaned in her sleep.


    "We''ve got to get her looked after," the woman insisted, though her tone remained soft. "I promise, I''ll be as gentle as I can. I only want to help."


    "I''ll carry her in."


    "That''s fine," said the woman. She stepped back so Clay could slide out of the truck bed with Anpiel still in her arms. Clay followed Gabriel, and who she assumed must be Sam, back into the house with Zach following behind.


    Despite herself, Clay''s hands shook. Other than her brief time in Rachael''s house, she had never set foot in one before. They climbed up to a small porch and manoeuvred around the plastic deck furniture and barbeque as they all crowded through. Gabriel held the door for them and Sam ushered them forward into the kitchen. A sense of claustrophobia took over Clay. Her mouth and throat became puffy and swollen. She struggled to catch her breath.


    What have I done? What did I get us into?


    Sam guided them from the kitchen, through the living room and into the master bedroom. The queen-size bed nearly took up the entirety of the room and was perfectly made up with a pink and purple floral duvet and pillows to match. At Sam''s direction, Clay placed Anpiel down on top of it. Her left wing draped over the side of the bed, while the other spread out behind her. She whimpered, and her eyelids fluttered, but she did not wake up.


    Clay ground her back teeth together and wrung her hands. Every muscle in her was tense, ready to run, but she knew she had no choice but to trust these people.


    What else am I supposed to do?


    Gabriel and Zach squeezed into the tiny room, just so Sam could turn them out again. "There''s not enough space, go make yourselves useful and bring me the first aid kit, warm water, boards, rope and some towels."


    Gabriel and Zach hustled back out of the room to do as she asked. All Clay could do was stand back and watch, her heart in her throat.


    Sam stripped away Anpiel''s pants and for the first time, Clay saw her wound fully. Anpiel''s flesh was torn away from the muscle. White bone appeared between chunks of gristle. Anpiel began to shiver, and her jaw chattered. Her face turned grey, and the cracked skin of her lips took on a light shade of blue.


    Sam patted down Anpiel''s hair and gently hushed her. Suddenly, Anpiel''s torso lurched forward as she vomited down herself. A thin sheen of sweat glistened across her forehead.


    "What''s wrong with her?" Clay asked. She picked at the frayed skin around her thumb and shifted her weight from foot to foot.


    "She''s going into shock. We need to get this taken care of quickly." Sam did her best to clear away the majority of the vomit with a spare throw blanket. She took another quilt that had previously been draped over the headboard and used it to cover Anpiel from her chin to her waist.


    Gabriel and Zach returned with the requested supplies and passed them over to Sam.


    "Gabriel, I''ll need your help to hold her steady," Sam said. "You guys should leave. I''ll let you know when we''re done."


    "I want to stay," said Clay. "What are you going to do to her?"


    "We''re not going to hurt her," Gabriel assured her.


    "What are you doing to her?" Clay repeated, this time more slowly, in case he hadn''t heard her in the first place.


    Gabriel met her brown eyes with his deep green. They unsettled her, and not for any reason that would have made sense to her. It was because they were utterly calm, but not in the cool, confident and cruel way she was used to. Instead, she found compassion.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    "The bear trap crushed her leg and fractured the bone. Sam and I have to clean it up, stitch it and set it. I won''t lie to you, it''s going to hurt, but it has to be done. She''s already going into shock. You can either stay here while we work or go in the living room. It''s up to you. Either way, we have to get to work."


    Clay hadn''t expected his blunt honesty. At the lab, she learned quickly not to ask about Anpiel or many other questions for that matter. She stepped out of the room and allowed Gabriel to close the door behind her.


    The walls of the narrow hallway closed in on her, her vision swirled as her stomach rolled. Her clenched jaw zinged pain and pressure into her temples. She rolled her shoulders back, straightened up and joined Zach in the living room.


    Zach sat on the couch, fidgeting. When Clay entered, he half stood, then sat back down. He looked anywhere but at her as he fiddled with some of the books left out on the coffee table.


    Clay gingerly sat down in the armchair across from him. The neat room made her painfully aware of her own appearance. Her jogging suit was stuck to her skin with blood and dirt in some places, while other stains had become crusted and hard. The damp scent of dirt mingled with the sickly-sweet smell of old blood. In the woods, there had been too much going on to pay attention to anything else but survival. Now, it was all too evident how wild she must look. Not to mention the stench. The most pressing thing on her mind was how could she possibly explain this situation.


    Then Zach finally asked the question she had been dreading; "Where did you guys come from?"


    Clay shook her head. Her hands were clenched firmly together in her lap to stop from trembling. "I can''t say."


    "Was it GreenerPastures?"


    She bristled. "You already asked."


    "You didn''t answer."


    "I can''t. Please understand, I can''t tell you." These people had been so kind to her, she did not want to put them in any more danger than they already were. Plausible deniability could be the only thing that stood between them and death, and even that was not a certainty.


    "We just want to help you. My friend and I have been researching GreenerPastures for a long time now. When we heard about the sightings..."


    Her heart sank. "The sightings? Who else knows we were out there?"


    Zach shrugged. "I''m not sure, really. We were getting messages on our blog off and on about a winged creature stealing food out of trash cans and bear hangs. We weren''t sure what to make of it, of course. Then, when it got mentioned on the local radio and news station we had to check it out."


    Then they know. We have to get out of here as soon as possible. The moment Anpiel is fixed, we''re leaving. If they come for us, it''s over. I''ve betrayed them and they''ll kill us both for it.


    Though the thought scared her, it felt logical. She had turned her back on the lab and crossed a hard line. There was no going back from here.


    For my disloyalty, I certainly deserve death, though I wish they would let Anpiel go. She didn''t do anything wrong. If only for her sake, I have to keep us safe.


    The sudden opening of the bedroom door made them both turn to look as Gabriel stepped out.


    "How is she?" Clay asked.


    "She''s doing a lot better than she was. Sam managed to set the bone and sew her back up, but she''s still in a lot of pain. All we have here to give her is some Tylenol I''m afraid. I''ll have to see what I can do to find something a little bit stronger." He paused and pushed his long dark hair out of his eyes. "There''s something else I wanted to ask you about."


    Clay felt her muscles tense, but she kept herself steady, and let Gabriel continue.


    "While Sam was cleaning her up, and helping her into some fresh clothing, we found something between her shoulder blades. I think it might be an RFID chip. I have a reader from when I tagged the goats last spring. I may or may not be able to read this one, but it would be worth a try."


    Clay froze. The chips had been placed in them both shortly after birth as a matter of record-keeping, and she hadn''t given them a second thought any more than she thought of the project title tattooed on her ankle or a mole.


    "My question is," Gabriel continued, "before I try and scan it, did you want to tell me what I might find?"


    She stared blankly at him. It hadn''t occurred to her to question the contents of the chip, so she wouldn''t have been able to tell him what was on there even if she wanted to.


    "Ok, I''ll just have to do it this way then."


    "You won''t hurt her though?"


    "No, of course not. It''s just a scanner, it''s not invasive at all."


    Clay relaxed her shoulders, but only a little. Her anxiety began to mount as she thought of what they might find, and then she''d have to explain. Gabriel left to grab the scanner from the barn, and her heart pounded until it crashed against the base of her throat. Everything happened so fast, and it was all out of her control. If Anpiel wasn''t immobilized, she would have grabbed her and bolted.


    Sam emerged from the room next and closed the door softly behind herself. Her freckles stood out against her pale face, and her hands shook. All the steadiness she had commanded of them earlier had disappeared. The cool, confident woman Clay had encountered in the driveway had crumbled into exhaustion. Sam opened a narrow closet door and gathered large bath towels into her arms.


    "Here you go," she said and passed them over to Clay. "You''re welcome to use our shower. I''m not sure if any of my clothes will fit you, but Gabe''s might. I''ll see what I can find for now, and then at some point, we can go into town and get things for you."


    Clay took the towels into her arms and stared at Sam in confusion. She scanned her face for any hint of motive.


    Why are they being so nice to us? Are they trying to make us comfortable just to spring some agents on us when we drop our guard?


    Sam smiled wanly back at her. "Oh, I''m sorry honey, I didn''t tell you where the bathroom is at." She pointed down the short hallway to a door across from the bedroom. "It''s right in there. The shower is pretty straightforward. You can help yourself to anything, shampoo, soap, whatever. If you need anything we''ll be right out here."


    In a daze, Clay followed her direction. The bathroom, though cramped, was wondrous to her after a lifetime of the clinical laboratory showers. Clay analysed the taps, too awkward to go back out and ask Sam how they worked. She tried to recall what she had seen on television and fumbled around with the taps. When the water first came out, she jumped back, then slowly dipped her hand under the stream. Clay eventually found the correct temperature and figured out how to get the shower on.


    She pulled off her jogging suit. The blood and grit had stuck the material to her skin and it came off like a peal. Clay stepped into the tub under the stream. The warm water soothed her aching muscles, but the knife wound in her side continued to burn. Luckily, there was no sign of infection. By now, the scab had hardened but hurt at the slightest pressure. It would form a scar shortly, as all the others had before it.


    Her body was a tapestry of scars. Most had long ago turned shallow and white, while others were raised, pink and angry. The largest, most jagged ran vertically down her left deltoid and into the bicep. Even as she washed, she couldn''t bear to look at it. The feeling of raised skin under her fingertips threatened to conjure up the memory of how it got there and she urgently pushed the thought away.


    When finished, she towelled off and stepped out of the tub. A sudden knock at the door startled her.


    "It''s just me," called Sam. "May I come in? I got some clothes together for you."


    "Uh sure."


    Sam opened the door and immediately closed her eyes. "Oh, I thought you''d be covered, sorry." She quickly dropped the clothes and left.


    Clay was confused, but got dressed regardless. Sam had given her a pair of jeans, and a black tank top to wear. The jeans must have been Gabriel''s as they were about a size too large and she had to keep hoisting them back up.


    When she emerged from the washroom, the others except for Anpiel were waiting in the living room.


    "We were able to scan the microchip," said Gabriel. "It listed a lot of basic information such as height, eye colour," he put the next one in air quotes, "and extraction date. The most interesting bit was that it claimed her to be the property of SST inc, and I''m wondering what this means. Can you elaborate?"


    The acronym was all over the laboratory and plastered on all of the equipment and paperwork, even the pillowcases, sheets and clothing, but it hadn''t occurred to her to question it.


    Clay shrugged. "I don''t know."


    "Look, here''s the deal," Gabriel began. "We want to help both of you, but for us to do that, we have to know what we''ve gotten ourselves into."


    It was on the tip of her tongue to remind him that he had found them, not the other way around. She had been prepared to live out the rest of their days in the forest, living off the land if she had to. Then she reminded herself that if they hadn''t come along when they did, Anpiel probably wouldn''t be here. She sighed and ran her fingers through the tangles of her wet hair. Her throat became so dry it nearly impacted her ability to speak. When she opened her mouth and took a deep breath, she found her voice again. Anpiel was much too weak for them to leave anytime soon. She knew their only hope was to hide, at least until Anpiel was able to walk again.


    "We''ll leave as soon as Anpiel is better," Clay said. "I''m only going to tell you what you need to know to understand the danger you''re in by having us here. Please understand. I don''t want you to be in any more danger than you already are. Anpiel and I escaped from the GreenerPastures facility." As she said it, she felt a flush of relief that was quickly replaced by guilt.


    There, I''ve done it. I''ve told them the truth. There''s no going back now for any of us.


    "I knew it!" Zach exclaimed. Gabriel gave him a look and he settled down.


    "How did you get out?" Sam asked. Her eyes were like saucers. "That must have been awful for the both of you."


    Clay shook her head. They can''t know what I can do, or what I''ve done.


    "I can''t say the details."


    Gabriel leaned forward in his chair. "Ok, so I''m going to be real with you. For us to help you, we will need details. It doesn''t have to be today, it doesn''t have to be tomorrow, but at some point, we need to know. Zach and I have been trying to research GreenerPastures for a while now. We''d like to compile an article that exposes them and gets them shut down once and for all."


    "I can''t talk about them. Just by leaving, I''ve thrown mine and Anpiel''s lives away. It may already be too late to keep you all out of it, but on the off chance that it''s not, I don''t want to make things worse. As soon as Anpiel gets better, we''ll be out of here."


    "No, don''t leave," said Zach. "You guys are the missing pieces we need to put everything together to blow everything open. No one will believe us if we only have rumours and theories and not any actual evidence. With your help, we can get them shut down."


    "What if I don''t want them to get shut down? They gave us a home for nineteen years, we should be grateful." An unexpected mass of emotion welled up in her chest and she struggled to push it back down. "They gave us everything, and we betrayed them. I accept that I deserve whatever I get, but Annie doesn''t and neither do any of you."


    "What are you saying?" Sam asked. Her sharp tone took Clay by surprise. It seemed ill-suited to her previous sweet, caring demeanor. "They must have tortured you and Anpiel for years. I don''t need to hear details, it''s easy to see by looking at the both of you, especially Anpiel. She''s merely skin and bones. They may have been giving you food and clothing, but it doesn''t look like they were doing jack shit for her."


    Clay cringed. It hadn''t occurred to her before, it was simply the way things were. Intense guilt burned through her that she hadn''t noticed the inequality before.


    "If we don''t stop them they''ll continue to operate and replace the two of you with others," said Gabriel.


    "That''s not my concern."


    "It should be. As long as they go unchecked, they will hunt you down."


    She crossed her arms. "I know that, but you don''t realise the risk public exposure poses to us. Especially for Anpiel."


    "I think we can have a pretty good idea," said Sam. "I mean it''s hardly rocket science..."


    "What do rockets have to do with this?"


    "Nothing, just forget it," said Sam. "What I mean is that it''s easy to see that public exposure could end badly, but there''s also a good possibility GreenerPastures will be shut down in the process."


    "Fine," Clay said sharply. "I''ll think about it."


    "Ok, good enough for now," Gabriel agreed. "We''ll need time to do more research on this SST company, and for Anpiel to heal and get her strength back anyway."


    Clay''s hands shook and she tucked them into the pocket of her jeans to hide them. She felt as though the ground slipped away from beneath her, and she was powerless to catch herself.