I breathed hard as I pressed my back again a painted brick wall.
For anyone who doesn't know who I am –which is let's see, all of you– my name is Athena like the Greek goddess of wisdom and just warfare. I have two brothers named Poseidon and Mars and my friends, Iris, Hestia, and Aphrodite. You've probably noticed the trend, we all chose names of gods or goddess. Why? I don't really know we thought it was cool. Now you're probably thinking, Chose? You guys chose your names? Well, yeah, we did because we're all mutated freaks. Yep, we were tested on when we were little by scientists at a place called the School. That sounds familiar does it? That's probably because an escaped mutant named Maximum Ride decided to publish her story as a book series, which is why I decided to tell you my story, well, part of my story. Now back to the story.
I didn't know how far or long I had run to get here. The School. I had only been here three other times. First when I was just five years old, my parents sold me to the School along with my older and little brother. Next, after I escaped for three months with my little brother then agreed to come back. My little brother did the same a year later. Now you're probably thinking why would anyone want to come back to the school? Well, you'd have to understand the circumstances. We didn't know anything but the School, and our parents wouldn't take us back. An eleven year old and a five year old didn't exactly have the best chances to live on their own. Plus our older brother was still there. Anyways, a month ago, my little brother and I escaped again –this time for good. A week after we escaped and got used to living on our own, being four years older definitely helped, we went back for our brother and successfully broke him out. Now, I was back for maybe another rescue mission… That is if she wanted to be rescued. To explain that let me tell you about my last trip to the School.
"Poe, keep quiet. We don't want them to hear us," I chided my little brother.
Poe fell dead silent.
"Good," I whispered, "Now get up on my shoulders."
He did as he was told and climbed up on my shoulders. He squirmed on the ledge of a window. I grabbed onto his hand and pulled myself up.
If we chose the right window, we'd be looking down into a dark room full of dog cages. To my surprise, we had, but now most of the cages were empty except for one. Below Poe and I was a cage containing a muscular lump with shaggy dark brown hair, Mars, but I couldn't make out what was in the other cage.
I pulled the window out of its frame. Sealed shut windows were no match for a kid with super strength. I crawled through the small opening and dropped down onto my brother's cage, while Poe kept watch from up top.
Feeling his cage quake, Mars sat up. "Athena?"
"I'm right here, Mars," I said, climbing down to the front of his cage.
I pulled the bars, which Mars had softened by punching daily, far enough apart that he could slink through. Siblings with super strength, who's great idea was that?
"Thanks," he muttered to me then climbed out the window.
I should have followed right after him, but there was something I needed to do. I snuck out of the room and into a bigger room. In the room was a shocking lack of dog cages. It looked like it should of held dog cages, but it only contained an old, gray couch, a small table with a pile of magazines on top of it, and in the center of the room, two girls painting each other's nails. Luckily the girls didn't notice me, but I couldn't keep my eyes off of them.
Aphrodite and Hestia.
I was so confused. They we mutants, freaks like me, but there they were painting nails like normal girls in the School. Something was up, but I didn't have time to find out what because my brothers were signaling me to get out of there and because if I stayed there any longer I swore my heart was going to break. Aphrodite, my best friend, had never looked that happy before with me, but there she was in the School with Hestia smiling like she'd won the lottery.
I had really been hoping to leave with two more people, but I guess one would have to do. I didn't want to ruin my best friend's happiness.
So now you know. Like I said, I don't understand why but she was happier there, but I wasn't happier without her. I had be free for almost a month, but I longed to be captive again more than anything. I needed my best friend with me to be happy. I needed to at least try to get her to come with me.
Just like the last time, I climbed up the wall and onto the ledge; though this time I just kicked the window in instead of being careful. As the glass shattered below, I heard a cry of pain, a familiar cry. It was Aphrodite's cry. I peered down into the room. The room now held three cages containing mutants unlike before, and one of them was my best friend. I quickly dropped down into the room. Ignoring the fact that I landed on a shard of window glass and cutting my bare feet on it, I looked into Aphrodite's cage.
She looked horrible with bruises and deep gashes all over her body. Her face was pale white and her golden hair was mess with dry blood and other things. Her emerald green eyes were glazed over and were blood shot from crying in pain. She looked exactly the opposite of how she looked three weeks ago.
"Tee, are you okay?" I choked out, feeling tears well up in my eyes.
Aphrodite didn't respond. So I used all my strength to bend her cage bars so I could reach in and scoop her out. I had to get her out of here.
"You won't be able to get her out through the window," came a sweet but weak voice.
"Iris?" I questioned.
No, it can't be she escaped a month before I did. I thought.
I was proven wrong. In one of the cages beside Aphrodite's was a small girl with pale blonde hair that reminded me of sunshine and bright blue eyes that burned with hope that I never had.
"Can you take us with you?" Iris said, hoping I would break her and the third experiment out.
I nodded and gently placed Aphrodite's frail body on top of one of the cages. I easily bent the bars on Iris' cage then moved onto the other as she climbed out. Unsurprisingly, the last cage held Hestia who looked much oddly better than either Iris or Aphrodite. When I went to bend the bars, the cage door opened at my pull. It wasn't even locked. Something was up, but I didn't bother to question it. All I wanted was to get Aphrodite out of there.
"Here, it'll be easier if she runs with us," Iris said, touching Aphrodite's chest with her hand.
Aphrodite's body twitched then her eyelids began to flutter. Aphrodite slowly sat up.
"What's going on?" she said groggily, as if she had just woken up not come out of a coma.
Iris smiled. Her healing powers had yet to fail her.
"I'm getting you out of here," I said, smiling at her.
"Really?"
I nodded and helped her down from on top of the cage. "What's the best way out of here?"
"Follow me," Hestia answered.
No one questioned her, as we followed her through the School.
Out of nowhere appeared four Erasers and a whitecoat.
They must've followed my bloody foot prints.
"You're not going anywhere," the white coat said.
The Erasers grabbed the four of us. I reflexively kicked the Eraser in the jewels and punched the one holding Aphrodite. I was about to kicked the one holding wriggling Iris, when twenty more Erasers showed up.
"Get out of here you two!" Iris hollered.
I couldn't handle all twenty of the Erasers on my own and the others were in no condition to fight. Iris was right we had to run.
"Yeah! Go on without us!" Hestia shouted.
I grabbed Aphrodite's arm and ran, pushing my way through the Erasers.
We ran for what felt like forever before finally reaching a door that took us outside. I swiftly kicked the door down. Together we ran outside, but before we got even thirty feet away from the school, I felt a brutal pain in my knee. I whipped my head around and saw the whitecoat from before. He was holding a gun.
He shot me in the knee!
"I told you that you weren't getting out of here, and I meant it." The white coat pointed the gun at Aphrodite's heart.
One second there's a bullet hurtling towards my best friend. The next I'm on the ground with and unbearable pain in my gut. Aphrodite dropped down beside me.
"No. No. No. You can't die. You can't!" Aphrodite squeaked, tears rolling down her cheeks.
I struggled hard to say what would probably be my last words. "If I had to choose a way to die, this would be it, dying for my best friend."
I smiled at Aphrodite through the pain. Aphrodite smiled back and grabbed my hand. Then a shocked expression took over her face. I saw blood well up on her shirt. Aphrodite began to cough up blood trying to say something. It was hard, but I made out three words. We, die, and together.
Still holding her hand, I said my actual last words just before my life slipped away, "Together, now and forever."
