Of Birds and Wolves

Leara's face lit up; the white coats were in frenzy, too worried about the other experiments. She slowly pushed her crate door opened and stepped out. She stretched and looked outside. The kids outdoors were finishing their job. Leara had a sudden epiphany: what if she was to escape with these kids?

A door next to the window set off an alarm as she barged through. A couple of kids were already in the air. As two more were beginning to take off, she yelled, “Hey! Wait!”

The girl closest to her age turned around and gave a surprised look. “You... But, Jeb... I thought there were no more recombinant experiments... What is going on?!” Leara just shrugged her shoulders. “Alright then... Well, I guess we could always take another. C'mon; let's go. Just try to keep up with us; we like to fly a little fast.”

“Umm... That's the problem. I kind of... don't know how. You think you guys could maybe show me how?” Leara's cheeks turned a little pink. All six of the kids gave a shocked look.
Leara blushed even deeper when she saw one of the boy's faces; he was... attractive.

“Well, I suppose that shouldn't surprise me. Umm... How about you try to run, jump, and just try to flap your wings? Fang, if she starts to lose altitude, help her out, okay?” The girl turned around and Leara watched carefully as she took off. Fang landed near her and watched her.

Leara took a deep breath and began to sprint. She let her wings spread out, and the wind blew through her feathers, making her feel alive and free. She closed her eyes and jumped. The muscles along her shoulders pumped, so she could feel her wings moving in a rhythm up and down. She opened her eyes, and saw the ground about seven feet below her. She
pounded her fist into the air, but started to fall a little.

She felt a hand come up and grab one of her elbows and pull her higher. She looked and blushed when it was Fang. He gave her a sideways glance and said, “Keep your focus. Work on flapping. I'm Fang, by the way.”

Leara nodded and replied, “I'm Leara...”

After a couple hours, Leara was beginning to get the flying thing down. It actually was really easy; but she was one of the slowest right now. Fang had stayed by her side the whole flight and whenever she started to lose altitude, he pulled her up either by her arms or hands.

Each time he even looked at her she turned pink or even an embarrassing red.
A lake came into view, and they all landed on a nearby cliff. Down the cliff side was an entrance to a small cave, which they all entered. The sun was setting on the horizon, and the other bird kids were settling down.

Leara watched with curiosity as they took their fists and stacked them atop each other and made a little handshake. They broke apart and began to lie down and curl up into sleeping positions.

She too was tired, but yet was wide awake. One by one, the other bird kids fell asleep; except for the oldest and Fang. The oldest girl looked over to Leara and said, “Sorry I never introduced myself. I’m Max. That’s Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, Angel, and you know Fang.” She pointed to each person as she introduced them.

“Gasman?” Leara repeated. “What does that stand for?”

Max laughed under her breath. “You don’t even want to know. Trust me.”
Leara gave an unsure smile, but replied, “I’m Leara. At least, that’s the name I gave myself. I don’t really know if I have a real name.”

Max nodded, and whispered, “Just like us. We’ve always wanted to know, and we’re going to go find a place where it will tell us about our past.” She shot Leara a smile. “If you don’t mind coming along…?”

Leara smiled, and whispered happily, “I don’t think I could let this offer down. As long as I’m out of that lab, anyplace is fine for me.”

Fang and Max soon fell asleep, but Leara was wide awake. She felt odd for some reason. These emotions had hit her hard right after she escaped and she was unsure if she could handle it all. I just need to get some rest and find something good to eat tomorrow. I’m sure they’ll have something planned…

The next morning was a “hurry-up and wait” kind of morning. Things were being packed as people were aroused from slumber. Leara rubbed sleep from her eyes and groggily began to stand up and stretch. She smiled with mock surprise and muttered, “Hey! I can actually stand up!”

Max heard her and laughed. “Feels different, huh? At least you had a size large and not medium crate…”

Within the next ten minutes, they were off in the sky. Leara was flying a little easier this time, but Fang was still a couple wingspans away, just in case. Her face always turned pink as she looked at him from the side, but not deep red like the day before.

She overheard as Angel flew up to Max and asked, “So, where are we going again?”
Max replied sweetly with a smile, “We’re going to New York to find the Institute. It should only take a few hours; we’ll be there in no time.” But, suddenly, Max’s face changed and she dropped from the sky like a rock. Everyone dove down quickly, but Leara struggled. Fang grabbed her hand and pulled her with him to the ground.

Max lay on the ground, curled up and holding her head. Leara knew she must’ve been in great pain. Questioning looks took over everyone’s faces as they watched her. After a few minutes, she stood up holding her head. Everyone began to ask questions, like “Are you alright?” or “What happened, Max?”, but her mouth was sealed. They soon took off again, and Leara eyed Max curiously. This must’ve been new to everyone, even her. What was going on now, when she thought things would go so smoothly?