The Island of Deviated Monstrosities

Chapter One: Happiness is Transient

Max POV

Breezy, wistful air blows and twirls happily through my hair as I soar through the sky, free as a bird, alongside my family. A lifetime of bitter contempt and bad luck has soured every second of joy and contentment into a transient dream, laughing at me and mocking me for hoping, even for just one moment, that I could have anything more than just an hour's peace––at most. In an attempt to enjoy the fresh, gleeful wind, I push all anxieties to the back of my head. Today will be good. Today my mind will rest at ease. I feel utterly and perfectly happy.

Iggy and Gazzy are underneath me, laughing about some absurd joke that I can imagine they're making up. Angel flits around me like a little sprite, so jovial that it seems as though she has just been granted her wings for the first time and is determined to make the best of it. She smiles at me when she sees that I am looking at her. To my right is my right hand man, my partner in crime, my best friend, the man of my dreams: Fang. We've been through so much together, and apart, that it is wonderful to have him back at my side. Nothing can go wrong.

Until everything does.

Instantly, I can sense something is not right; it isn't hard to figure out, either. Nudge hits it first. One minute, she is flying about peacefully, and then the next, she suddenly is thrashed backwards, as if repelled or hit by a wall of some sort. Before the rest of us have time to stop or turn around, I feel my body connect painfully with an odd net-like material. The only problem is that I don't see anything.

My head collides into Fang's as I am flung out of flight and I cringe in agony as my head pounds and throbs incessantly.

"Freaking white coats upgraded their technology." Fang growls in annoyance as he rubs his head. I look up to see what he is talking about. My common sense had been right; peacefulness is always going to be transient for me. There above me, slowly appearing into sight, is a massive aircraft.

Invisible technology? Seriously? A net begins to appear around us and I know we're trapped. The net starts to close in, and the six of us are squished together in an uncomfortable manner. I start to feel a bit woozy when I feel Fang's warmth crammed against me. I practically smack myself in the head when I realize I'm acting like a retarded romantic little girl, and blame the fact that I probably got a concussion when I hit my head against his. Yeah, a concussion from LOVE.

I turn my head to give Angel a menacing glare, but she just smiles at me, as much as anyone can smile when they're being crammed into a net like a swarm of fish caught for an eager fisherman's supper. But we're no fish and the people on board of that aircraft are not simply eager little fisherman. I know that what awaits us is definitely not as simple as what would await a fish after it had been reeled in. No. We aren't going to be killed quickly or left to die from being out of our element. They're going to torture us in the most inhumane ways possible. Which makes sense when you think about it; they don't even consider us to be human.

I finger the net in front of me. It's strong; too strong. I know that we can't break our way through it, so we're going to have to be ready to fight once we get even the worst of chances at a moment's notice.

It isn't long before we're completely enclosed inside of the aircraft. I begin to feel uneasy when everything is completely black, and I see absolutely nothing. Angel's hand finds my own in the darkness, and I squeeze it tightly. My flock has been through too much. The odds will never be benevolent to us. Evidently, just one day of peaceful quiet is far too much to be granted to a group of teenagers and children. What has this world come to? We've been forced to grow up due to awful circumstances. It pains me to know that my little Angel probably won't even be a child much longer. She may not have broken into the double digits, but mentally and psychologically, she, like the rest of us, is having independence forced upon her. None of us asked for independence, but independence seems to constantly be asking for us.

Suddenly, the lights––without even a flicker––switch on. I'm blinded by the immediate overthrow of luminosity, and squint, trying to find something tangible to my eye. After a few seconds of searing pain in my vision, I make out a throng of white coats encircling us, all with clipboards and headsets. And gas masks.

When I start feeling woozy and dizzy again, this time I know it's not because of Fang. Everything goes black again as I pass out.

xxxxxXxxxxx

I open my eyes slowly and carefully, in a mild state of confusion. My head throbs as I sit up, and I rub my temple for a few seconds––as long as I dare.

A gasp escapes me when I finally get my groggy eyes to fully open and perceive my surroundings. I'm in a forest.

Dense and looming trees surround me, their luscious leaves far up into the sky like clouds in the heavens, and bushes and vines weed their underbellies. Grasses and shrubs mist the ground sporadically. In a moment of panic, I spin around frantically. I'm alone. I had just gotten Fang back! Angel back! We had all just been reunited! What kind of joke is this? White coats would never just abandon me in a forest. Maybe I can use my wings––my wings! Are they still there? I reach my hands toward my back and sigh in relief when I feel their downy feathers.

Okay. So I have no provisions, no family, and no idea where I am. I determine to do what I do best: fly. But when I look up above me, I know the trees are far too dense and I would scratch myself to bits if I attempt to fly through them. Hardly any sunlight even peeks out at me, but what few streams of sun I do see are taunting me with their freedom. It is as if the sun knows there's nothing I can do but attempt to survive. I've been doing this all of my life. Surviving is my greatest hobby. I can do this.

Walking through the thick brush proves to be a bit of a challenge as I stumble my way through the roots, plants, and rocks, but all I can think about is getting my flock back. This single force propels me at rapid pace through the woods until I am in dire need of rest. For fear of passing out, I stop, sitting on a mossy rock next to a large freshwater pool of water. There is a clearing above it, so after I've rested I can take flight in search for my flock.

I bend down and splash a bit of water on my face, then cup some in my hands and drink it. It always takes being alone for me to remember how much I utterly hate and detest loneliness. Loneliness is egregious in every way possible. It's like how I felt when Fang left me. For Maya. And the rest of their little pseudo-flock.

Just the thought of that whole experience sickens me to the point of wanting to either throw up or punch something. I remember the relief––and the anger––when our flock was finally reunited. It was all Angel's doing.

After that explosion, when Fang had been so certain that she was dead, we found her several weeks later. She had escaped, on her own, from an institution, and managed to give us a hint about her whereabouts via a note placed discretely for us to find. Little did I know that she had done the same for Fang's band of misfits––I can hardly call them a flock. A flock is what we had; what he had destroyed willingly.

We met again in the location hinted at by Angel's note. In a cave near an immense meadow, I had expected to find Angel, tied up and in distress. Instead, I came face to face with Fang, his gang behind him, and mine behind me. It was a very bittersweet and awkward moment. I hated him and yet loved him at the same time; I was so ambivalent in how I felt. Neither of us said a word, but stood there in silence, our posses entirely taciturn as well. It was only when Angel bounced into view that we all became lively. I immediately ran to embrace her.

In a breach from my reminiscent moment, I notice that the sky is darkening with a red hue. Dusk is approaching. I'm going to need to start heading out soon if I want to find my flock.

I bend down to take another sip of water. Who knows how long it will be until I can find water again, especially fresh water? I have to take use of the resources given me if I want to survive out here, considering the fact that I know nothing about what lies beyond these woods.

A large, shadowy blob begins to appear deep beneath the surface of the water; a big fish, probably a trout. I cup my hands into the cool, running water and bring them up to my mouth to drink the refreshing liquid. Just as I am lowering my hands, I see a head rise from the water. I scream out of shock and then make an extreme revelation.

"Angel!"

Thanks for reading! Comments and reviews are always welcome!

~Kristen