This is a first for me, so please, if possible, try to gice me consrtuctive criticism. Also, this takes place shortly after the second book. So, yeah... read and review. =D

My name is Zephyr. Uh, let's see... I have no family, as far as I know. I had only one friend, but he died three months ago. His name had been Darian. We were both human-avian hybrids. Well, now I guess there's only me... I had escaped from the School while some trouble was going down, and was now wandering aimlessly across America. Darian had attempted to escape as well, but the Erasers had gotten him. He had saved me though, and to him, I bet that's all that matters.

I coasted on an air current, angling myself more to the east. My wings were almost black, but in the sunlight that was warm on my back and shoulders, they had a distinct bluish tint. Suddenly, at the very edges of my vision, I saw six blobs. Instinctively, I dropped several feet. They were flying in a loose formation, and as they drew nearer, it turned out they were human shaped. It tucked my wings in, and swiftly dropped into the tree line below me. I perched myself on a tree, and sat as still as... Well, as still as death. Overhead, I could see them circling, and was able to catch their conversation. "...sure that I saw something drop right here... Or I could just be going crazy. Not that that's anything new..." It was a girl speaking. I had been seen.

I was now holding my breath, as I continued to sit still. A boy's voice answered the first voice with, "You're not crazy. I saw something drop here as well." Shit! I thought. "We should check it out. Could be another flying Eraser." Whoa-whoa-whoa... Wait right there. I mentally started. Erasers FLEW now? Since when? Oh, and for those of you that don't know, or simply don't remember, an Eraser is a human-lupine hybrid. Wolf people, basically. They were very heavy, and very strong. But now... they could FLY?

The breath I had been holding hissed out, and I silently sucked in a new one. Not silently enough, because right then, six shapes dove through the trees. One with strawberry-blonde hair and pale blue eyes landed right in front of me. He was looking right at me, but then he turned around and cocked his head as if he was listening. But, he had been staring strait at me... How does that work? Next to him landed another boy with black hair. His back was to me. I heard him ask, "Hey, Iggy, do you hear anything?" The strawberry-blonde shook his head. The black haired one looked around, until he spotted me. My wings were pulled in tightly, so he probably couldn't see them.

Before I could move, the black haired boy had me pinned to the trunk of the tree. He was taller than I was, so my feet were currently dangling a few inches from the ground, as he held me up by the neck. I managed no more than a squeak as it happened. The sound made Iggy look in my general direction. Now it made sense. Iggy was blind. He called out, "Sounds like we caught what we were looking for. Fang, what does it look like?"

I started to say that I wasn't an it, but Fang's grip on my neck made it hard to do so. But I did know what I must look like: a ragged girl, in desperate need of a shower, and terrified beyond all measure. Out of my peripherals, I saw four others land, then Fang said, "She has black hair, almost violet eyes, and is scared shitless. Accurate enough description, eh Max?"

One girl, who had brown hair with blonde highlights and pretty brown eyes, said, "Yep." It was the girl who had spoken earlier. "Now... What to do with her? Angel, what are you getting?" She was talking to the youngest, who had blonde curls and blue eyes.

"Nothing much. Just what Fang had said. She's scared..." She looked at me, curious. "Also, she's got wings."

I started freaking out. "How do you..." My breath was suddenly cut off as Fang pushed me up against the tree even harder. I had kept my wings tucked, so that no one would have been able to see them. Then again, I was told that Darian and I were the only successful human-avian hybrid experiments, so I guess anything's possible. "Who...are...you?" I finally managed to choke out pass Fang's hand. They all looked at me like I was insane.

"We are the kids that the School is after. The six human-avian hybrids that are supposed to save the world. Fang, put her down, she can't breath," Max said, making te second part sound almost like an after thought. Fang dropped me, still obviously very suspicious and I sat down, gasping for breath. The only other girl, who was black, suddenly opened her mouth. Max stopped her with a hand, before she asked, "And who are you?"

I coughed a bit, before replying, "Zephyr. I'm fourteen, and Darian and I were supposed to be the only human-avian hybrids. At least, that's what the Whitecoats at the School told us." After I said my name, I swear I heard a few of them snicker.

"Darian?" It was Iggy who asked this, and immediately, my face fell, as I struggled to fight off tears. As if he could tell something was wrong, he quickly said, "Sorry..." It could have been the fact that I didn't answer right away, or also a million other things.

"I-it's okay... Darian was the only other kid my age that had been at the School when we had escaped. He died three months ago, when an Eraser grabbed him as we took off. I've been hanging around here ever since..." I suddenly saw Fang, Max, and Iggy stiffen, as if they knew something I didn't. Which was probably true.