"RUN FASTER!" I scream as I guide my flock out of the school. We'd been there long enough, and now we are escaping. My feet pound against the ground, and I know the soles of my feet will be sore in a few hours. My flock is running ahead of me, and is trying their hardest. Not hard enough, I decide when I look back to see the Erasers gaining on us. I turn back to the flock and scream "RUN!" They obey with effort and duck their heads like angry bulls on the charge. We're almost out- I can see a large, full-body window at the end of the endless hallway we're fleeing through. It looks thin, but then again, things aren't always what they seem. "Keep going!" I command as I see my right-hand man hesitate, but at my command, he nods once, knowing it is meant for him. The others are speeding up, gaining momentum for the collision. Suddenly, to keep my flock safe, I make a descision. "Let me through!" I order. "I'm going to smash the window out so you can get out!" The three flock members in front of me nod solemnly, and I find myself bulleting towards the glass window. Forget covering my head for the impact; I throw my fists into it and shatter a good amount of space. They should be able to get out easier and unharmed. As I'm in the air, my "gift" unfolds, revealing wings like an eagle's. I was grafted with eagle DNA, so it was only predictable my wings turned out to be copies of an eagle's wings.

I hear wings unruffle behind me and count each pair. One... Two... Where's the third? Where's my third flock member? I turn and gasp angrily. An Eraser has the back of her hospital gown in his clutches, cackling like a maniac. The other Erasers are falling behind in stamina, looking like death. But that Eraser is living it up, unaware that I'm beelining right towards him. Avoiding my third flock member, I jam my feet into his torso, making his breath fly out in surprise. He falls back, dropping my third member. My hand shoots out and wraps around her thin waist before she can hit the metallic floor, lifting her into the air. I look straight ahead as we fly, and once I reach the other two members, I nod once to the northeast. If we fly continuously, we'll reach our home in the Uinta Mountains in Utah. Once we're far enough away from the school, I recite my plan, and –unsurprisingly- the flock obeys happily. I look down at the girl in my arms.

"Ryu, are you okay?" I murmur. She looks up at me and smiles, nodding.

"Uh-huh. I'm okay." Her hand, so much smaller than mine, pats my arm reassuringly. She suddenly frowns. "I must be heavy."

"That's okay. You're fine. I'll let you fly in a few minutes, though." I love this girl. Love, love, love her. She's the youngest in our flock. Like a daughter to me. What would I do without her? Absolutely nothing.

She is only five. Her name –the one she gave herself- is Ryu. She told me, when we first met at the school, that she over heard a few female whitecoats talking about baby names. One of their own was pregnant, I suppose. But anyway, she heard them say Ryu meant dragon, and she immediately fell in love with the name. So now, everyone in the flock calls her Ryu. Ryu is pretty. Her hair is long, uncut, and slightly wavy. It is the color of an acorn. Her skin is dark- she is African American. Her eyes don't fit in with her brown look- they are a vibrant, electric green. They're the prettiest to look at- like a famous diamond accented by the perfect lighting. She is pretty. I don't know why she is my favorite, but she is.

My second-in-command veers over to me. His light hair is emphasized by the sunlight. Ryu giggles at me before dropping out of my grasp and spreading her own wings. Her's are the wings of a sparrow.

My right-hand man is two months younger than me. I am fourteen, and so is he. His name is Darren. We all call him Ren. Darren is very cute. Handsome, even. But I will never admit that. I'm not even sure I mean it. Darren has eyes that rival the sky on a cloudless day. Almost as pretty as a lake near our house. We named it Sapphire Lake, after the way the sunlight makes the rippling water look like the sapphire gemstone. His hair is a neat color- a bleached blonde color, almost white. His skin is sunkissed, making him look like the kind of boy who goes to the beach everyday. He is lean, too. Muscular. His tropical look is the opposite of his wings. They are of a raven. Deep, endless black feathers on his wings make him seem out of place with his sunny exterior. He hates it, but I beg to differ.

He smiles softly. "We did it."

I nod back, looking solemn. "I should have done it earlier." Then I notice a small gash on his arm, dripping blood down his forearm. "Why didn't you tell me you got hurt?"

"Huh?" He looks down at his arm and chuckles. "It doesn't hurt. You're too protective."

I don't know what to say to that, so I stay silent, staring ahead. I am protective, but I don't think I'm too protective. It's to keep them alive. Is that so bad? I start thinking too hard about Darren's arm. Did anyone else get hurt too badly? Oh well. I know we'll all get hurt sometime. We already have, beyond repair.

I look at the remaining person in the flock and smile. "How are you holding up over there, Gale?" He looks over at me and smiles, trying to look hyped up.

"Great!" His voice is empty of tiredness, but I can see it in his eyes.

"Are you going to be okay to fly to the house? We're only..." I look down at our destination. We've been here before, so I know where we are. We're above Mesquite, Nevada. Almost home. "We'll be home in about three hours. Can you tough it out until then?"

"Of course I can!" He nods once, a determined look in his eyes. I smile.

Gale is the second youngest in our little group. His hair is russet, and always falls in different directions around his face. His eyes are a creamy green color. They look like the fabric on an elegant couch if you think about it. He named himself Gale because his brother was named Gale, but died at the School. That's what he told us. He said he wasn't always an only child with a sad smile on his face, and then dismissed it, deciding on a much happier topic. Like, "What's for breakfast?" or "Can we go flying?" He is definitely the most optomistic in our group. No "buts" about it.

Then, you have me. I am fourteen, and Ryu often describes me as pretty, or beautiful. I disagree. My hair is long- it's never been cut. It dangles down to the small of my back in a tight braid. It's the color of coal or black ink. Ebony. My eyes are light brown- like the skin on a coconut. I used to be taller than Darren, but he outgrew my by an inch. Not much, but I still don't take kindly to being shorter than him. My skin isn't as tan as Darren's, but I'm not pale.

I notice the Uinta Mountains not too far from us and grin. "We're almost home!" I cheer to the others, who whoop and laugh. We're one big, happy family. Me and my flock. My family. My friends. We reach the house, which isn't exactly a house. It's a cottage –a large cottage- sitting on the side of a mountain. Each of us land, one by one, and head into the house. We stop cold when we see six kids inside.

"Who the hell are you?"

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