Chapter One
Day 3,976, or something close to that. Another day in my short and pitiful life.
I opened my eyes to the boring, blue plastic side of my dog cage. From what I could see, it was still early in the morning; the Whitecoats wouldn't be in for a few more hours. This was my favorite part of the day; when it was quiet and still, and the only sounds were those of the others breathing in the cages next to me.
Just for the record, I'm not a dog. Or any other types of pet either. I'm a human girl . . . sort of. My name is Maximum, but most people just call me Max. I'm 98% human and 2% bird. No, you don't have to get your eyes checked, you read right. I'm one of six human – avian hybrids, who are tested and experimented on, in this hellhole of a science lab, we call the School. Those "others" I mentioned a second ago are the other hybrids. We all have wings, thanks to the whack-job scientists we call the Whitecoats, and we can fly. But besides all that, I'm just your typical 10-year old girl.
Now you might be asking, "if this place is so bad, then why don't you just escape?". I can answer you in just one word: Erasers. No, not the type that you find on your desk at work. Erasers are the one other successful genetic experiment that the School has developed. They're half-human and half-lupine, which is wolf for those of you who aren't very good at science. Erasers are bloodthirsty and attack just about anything that moves. They're used as the Schools security system, rule inforcers, and executioners. Along with the Erasers, there are ID scanners at every door, and security cameras too. If it weren't for these minor issues, we'd have all flown the coup ages ago. No corny pun intended.
Though the odds are not in my favor, I've tried to make a few escape attempts myself. Obviously they haven't worked, cause I'm STILL HERE. They all basically ended with me being caught by Erasers and having my butt dragged back to my cage with no food or water for a few days. I try to keep the scientist on their toes, though, so I cause a little havoc every once and a while.
Suddenly the door opens and a Whitecoat comes in with two bulking Erasers behind him. He looks down at his clipboard before having the Erasers pick up my cage, as well as another. Looks like another day has begun. Boy, is it going to be a long one.
At the end of the day I'm put back in my cage, and brought back to the area where they hold experiments who aren't being tested on. A couple of the others are crying and whimpering. I try as hard as I can not to, though I'm still hurting from all the tests. I'll spare you the details, but I'll let you know that it included a lot of needles, and would probably give you nightmares for the rest of your life. A while later a guy comes in and gives us all our dinners. The special today was a few pieces of bread, a slice of some kind of meat, and a cup of water.
"Hey!" I said to the guy, " I ordered a hot dog and fries!" he just glares at me and goes on feeding the others. " Sheesh the service here stinks." I called after him.
I sit in my cage and start to nibble at the food, while I try to forget about the day's events. Every so often a Whitecoat or two walk by, other than the whimpering of the other creations, it's completely silent. There is never any talking. You can't afford to get to know anyone too much, because you never know how long they'll be here for. I've been here so long, and seen so many experiments get killed, or just plain die, that I learn not to get close to anyone or thing.
I lie down as best as I can in my cramped cage, trying to get in a somewhat comfortable position. I wrap my wings around me like a blanket, close my eyes, and drift off to sleep.