Chapter 1
I flew in a circle, my face reflecting from hundreds of different angles off the mirrored walls of the buildings.
The clock tower off to the east chimed three times. 3 am. I was free now; there was no one to take my picture or do something annoying like point up in the sky and shout OHMYGOD she's flying, call 911 before her wings give out and she DIES! And make sure to take lots of pictures because you're retarded and have no respect for-okay, so maybe they don't say that last part but...
I brushed a loose lock of thick black hair out of my face as I landed, touching my toes gracefully down on the roof of a building. Then I popped up my dark hood, further hiding myself from view as I settled down for the night. Only then did I notice I wasn't alone.
"No," I whispered, shaking my head. They'd found me. Not that they hadn't found me before but… this was my home. I thought I'd hidden myself so well.
I forced myself to prepare for a fight, even if there was really no hope. If they knew I was here, which, obviously, they did, they would have already sent out a signal.
"She's afraid," said a tiny, girlish voice from the shadows.
Were they making erasers that young now? I glared. Stupid school. Stupid Samantha. Stupid-
"We're not Erasers," the girl said.
I had to roll my eyes at that. What, was she new? It wasn't like I hadn't heard that one about a million different times before. But at least she hadn't said something like 'Don't worry', or 'We won't hurt you'. That always really annoyed me.
"I know it annoys you, but we're really not that bad," she said.
My eyes widened, but only momentarily.
"Can we please just get this over with?" I sighed.
"Angel, tell her we're running form the school, too, " a new voice said, this one also feminine but more expectant and hopeful.
"It's true," the young one, Angel said," we're human-avian, too."
I wanted so badly to believe them. But they were not catching me again. I wasn't going back to that place.
"Come out, then," I snickered, getting ready.
"All right," Angel murmured, coming out and unfurling… wings.
I gasped, staggering back. This wasn't happening.
"I'm Nudge. This is our Flock," the other girl who had spoken earlier said, stepping into the dim light. Four more children came out next to her.
"Oh my-" I paused looking at them, "Wait. I know you." I cocked my head to one side, my hood falling back. I gasped in recognition, and punched the nearest person in the nose.
