Chapter 1: The Beginning
Violet's POV
I woke up on a hard, cold plastic floor. I've got to stop waking up this way, I thought. I looked around everything was white except for the dark grey floor of my dog crate. Happy Pet brand, size: Large. My home for the past fifteen years, fifteen years of waking up hoping I'm somewhere else. Fifteen years of being prodded and poked by evil men and women. You see I'm not your normal fifteen year old girl, if you couldn't tell by the whole 'waking up in a dog cage' thing. I grew up in a dog crate, in a lab, in London. I'm a 'special' kind of girl. You see I have wings, but thanks to those evil men and women, I don't just have wings I also have this ability to "morph" into a cat-like thing. Well the key to my not being normal is the whole two percent avian, two percent feline leaving me only ninety six percent human.
I grew up in a lab as you already know but the lab I grew up in was a branch of Itex. There's another branch near Death Valley and the Bad Water Basin, in California. Where there were two other life forms that made it past infancy. One group had been named the Erasers, they are two percent lupine, and ninety eight percent human, and they are entirely predators, monsters, like me. Then there was another group, two percent avian, ninety eight percent human. There were six of these experiments; they called themselves, 'the Flock'. However, five years ago the Flock managed to escape, while I rot here in a place worse than hell. You see, when you don't naturally occur, scientists like to play with your head like you're some huge life-sized doll that has a real nervous system. That's all I am to them. That's all I ever have been. To them I don't even have a name, or emotions. And I have both. Even if I did name myself, it's still a name. To them I am 3490613 I call myself Violet. I must've heard it somewhere and thought it was pretty, most of the time I imagine that my parents called me it when I still knew them, not that I ever have. Even though I know I don't have parents, I know I had them once, maybe, but now they're probably dead, or a test tube.
Even if they were alive they wouldn't want me. Who would? Who would want their precious little daughter turned into a monster, something that could cause world ending destruction, because that's what I am. It's what I've always been. But for now my dream isn't finding my parents, or that Flock in California, or wherever they are, it's getting out.
I suppose that's all I ever wanted but what we want, we can't always get. I must've had a thousand escape plans formed in my head and today, I was going to try one. The thing is since I'm a mutant I have certain… mutations, to start off I can read minds, that's the most common mutation between well, mutants. I also have super-mutant speed, agility, and senses; I can also be dead silent when I want to be and the mutation that really takes the cake. I can communicate emotions and pain through touch, for example, if I were in pain then touched someone who wasn't then they would feel my pain, literally. Not the best thing when you're me and pain is in the job description. I've killed countless other experiments by trying to help them up and being in pain but it's just being too much for them. But all of my mutations, plus being able to fly and be a bloodthirsty animal, are quite useful when you are going to escape humans.
I waited until I was taken for one of my daily tests, when a whitecoat would take me from my cage and into a testing room. When he was escorting me with his hand on my shoulder, I would think of my most painful experience and relive it which, would hopefully make him unconscious or maybe kill him. Then, I would use my speed and flight to get the hell out of there. Then, I'd finally be free.
Amazingly enough, my freakish plan worked, and in the end it did kill the white coat. But honestly, he deserved it, after everything he had done to me, they all deserved it. Since I was on my own I considered finding my parents, but then decided against it. So then, I decided to find the Flock. I figured if they didn't take me in they'd have the decency to do me in. So I figure I'd fly over to New York City, there was a huge Itex branch there, the Institute they called it. With any luck I'd be able to sneak in and find the Flock's whereabouts.
Well, I had luck and skill on my side. I found the Flock and luckily enough, they were in New York City. I saw pictures of each of them and memorized their experiment numbers. One of them really caught my eye. He had the most beautiful eyes. They looked as the winter sky did, clearing up after a storm. He was truly remarkable. One look and he was etched on the inside of my eyelids. In one sense, it was amazing but in another it was quite odd, because I didn't even know him, or his name. All I knew was his experiment number 1727389. How romantic that was.
I reflected upon this as I lay in an apartment I had "talked" the landlord into giving me when I decided that I was chasing a dream. And the best thing for me to do was stay low, but unfortunately the other renters were asking if I was going to school, so I had to start. I figured I could get some information this way. I was right, I had found the flock. Apparently they had also started school.
I remember my first day at P.S. 108 that was when I saw him in person for the first time. He was even more amazing. I wanted to go over and tell him. I felt his pain and so much more, but me being my socially awkward self, was afraid to. I was starting school as Violet Meyers, a transfer student from London. My father had died recently and my mother had left us when I was not but six. So I was in New York City, in the care of an aunt who was much too busy to go into the school, so everything had to be done on the telephone. The principal showed me around, showing me how there was a story for each section of the school, the elementary on the first floor, the middle on the second, and then finally the high school, which I would be attending based on my schooling or lack there of. I was placed with my age group, which was the ninth grade, and luckily enough for me there were the three eldest hybrids, in my class. Sitting right across from me was 1727389 I later learned that he went by 'Mike' but then I hacked into the others thoughts and heard that his name was Iggy.
Being in that classroom was like being in hell, and I would know. There were so many thoughts all at once. I tried to block them out, but there were just so many. I finally managed and noticed Iggy deep in conversation with a girl 'Max' I read and 'Fang'. I was about to make my way over when the bell rang. That was when the teacher came in and shut the door.
"Good morning Ms. Morgan." The class chimed tunelessly.
"Good morning class." She said with a matched enthusiasm. She noticed a note on her desk notifying her that I was in her class. "Today we have a new student, Violet Meyers is it?"
"Yes," I answered sticking to monosyllables.
"Well get up here and tell us about yourself," she said. Yeah right, I answered in my mind as I walked to the front of the room. Tell them what? I asked myself. Tell them that I lived in a cage until about a month ago? Tell them I'm only ninety six percent human? Tell them I'm a monster? So instead I stuck with a safe and believable lie.
"Hi I'm Violet," I said, "I'm from London, and um I um like it here, um it isn't much different from um London." I lied; I didn't even know what London looked like, like I had ever really seen it. Until now, I had ever seen anything outside of my dog crate.
"Why did you move to the United States Violet?" the overly large underpaid woman asked.
"Because my um father died and my mother left me when I was only six." I lied hearing the distaste of my lie from the three mutants in the corner when all the sympathy went around.
"That's very sad Violet." She said. If only she knew my real life, I thought. How would she find that out? "We hope you like it here," she said and let me take my seat.
"I'm sure I shall," I said glancing at Iggy. I was just hoping I wouldn't run into any Erasers while I was here, because they were the last thing I needed. I was already paranoid about being found, I didn't need those freakish hell dogs around.
I endured the long lesson on why America has to fight other people's wars and lose innocent people for it. Then the bell struck for the next class and I attended the lesson on Biology, which was equally boring and then I had a Math lesson. After Math, a bell chimed signaling lunch at noon. Time for me to meet the Flock, I thought. I grabbed a tray of pre-warmed food and snuck past the lunch lady, the last thing I wanted was her goggling at me because of my accent or the way I look. Attention was the last thing I wanted; I had already had so much of it. I found Iggy, Max and Fang, and what appeared to be the rest of the flock. I made my way over and asked a polite "May I sit here?" and was answered by a group nod. I picked up bits and pieces of things left unsaid. I also picked up the rest of the names Nudge, the Gasman-I didn't want to know the cause of that name- and Angel. The Gasman and Angel appeared to be the only blood relatives of the bunch, but the lot of them were closer than any family would ever be. The group had been through so much, and I sympathized with them. I was interested to see if any of them had any… mutations, like mine. There was so much tension that I had caused I could practically taste it. I had to break the ice somehow, I couldn't exactly say I know who you all really are, and I'm like you only I morph like an Eraser except into this cat-like thing. So instead I decided to go with something as lame as, "That was some lecture huh? America can't seem to do anything without fighting." I said thinking, well neither can I, and I read that they all thought the same thing.
"Yeah," the three eldest said in perfect unison. Then I heard Fang think 'Man, it's a shame Ig can't see this chick, she's kinda hot. I think he'd like her. It's a shame she's normal.' Right then I'm sure a blush worked its way to my cheeks, making them warm with blood. I had heard thoughts all around me saying I was cute or hot. Well, I hadn't really seen myself or other people so I had no clue if I was "pretty" or not. I had black hair that shone blue in the sunlight and grey eyes that turn black when I get angry or morph. I also have black spots all down my back so if that's normal I guess I could be "pretty". But all that aside I could tell that Max, who appeared to be the leader, did not trust me. Then all of a sudden something came bursting into my mind.
"Finally," a voice said, that when I realized one of them could read minds. I later figured out it was Angel. I filled myself with my believable lies and block everything out until I heard Angel tell Max that everything checked out about me. Then I let everything rip once more. Finally the lunch bell rang dismissing us to our next class. Once class had started I saw Max leave the class room heading for the toilet. I excused myself from the room to find her, to confront her about not trusting me.
"Hi, Max." I said seeing her at a sink.
"How do you know I'm Max?" she asked alarmed.
"Let's just say I know more than you think." I said as she paused looking for a way out, only to see I was blocking the only exit. Then she prepared for combat and then she waited. She waited for me to become what I really am. She waited for me to become a monster.
"No, I'm not an Eraser Max, don't worry I shan't hurt you, all I want is your understanding," I said.
"How did you find us? What are you?" she asked.
"All in good time Max, all in good time." I said sensing that now she hated me I had cornered her; I had put her and the flock into a dangerous position. "But for now," I said, "all you need to know is that, I have been looking for you, and that for you current knowledge, I am exactly like you."