Umm, this is my first story, so please give me feedback on how to make it better. Thanks.
Chapter One
Phoenix darted behind a wall, her heart pounding. She could hear the heavy footsteps coming closer. Phoenix had to get away. Silently, she crouched down and began to crawl into the shadows. The man was coming closer, with intent to capture her. Suddenly, there was a loud thump behind her.
She shrieked as strong arms wrapped around her. "Got you!" cried Fang. Phoenix struggled, but Fang's arms were like iron bars.
"Daddy!" she cried. "Fine! You got me!" Chuckling, her father let go of her and stood up, stretching.
"Why don't we fly back to mom?" he suggested. Phoenix nodded, but inside, she was a bit nervous. She had only flown once before, and that had been the most terrifying and most exhilarating experience ever. In sync, they spread out their identical jet black wings. Fang grinned, and jumped into the sky, flapping his powerful wings. "Come on, Phoenix!" he called to her. Phoenix bit her lip.
"I'm scared!" she shouted. Fang swooped back down to her.
"It'll be fine, sweetheart," he murmured. Then he flashed her one of his trademark smirks. "You know I'll never let you fall." Phoenix took a deep breath. She understood that her father would never let her get hurt, and she trusted him a great deal. Phoenix spread out her wings and launched herself into the air. Immediately, she began to fall, and she cried out to Fang for help.
"Fly!" he shouted. "Fly!" Phoenix closed her eyes and flapped her wings hard. She lifted a little higher into the air.
"I'm doing it!" she shouted joyously. She was so entranced by the view that she completely forgot to follow her father back home. After twenty minutes or so, she noticed that she was far away from any landscape she recognized. "Daddy?" Phoenix cried.
There was no one. She began to fly slowly over an abandoned building when suddenly, there was a sharp pain in her leg. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Instead, the world turned black, and Phoenix began to fall.
"It's remarkably strong!"
"Got the father's invincible DNA!"
"Wonderful specimen, in strength, intellect, and looks!"
Phoenix groggily opened her eyes and blinked, the fluorescent lights blinding her. "Where am I?" she asked, frightened. A man wearing a lab coat leaned over her.
"It can talk!" he murmured excitingly to his colleagues. Phoenix suddenly realized that her arms and legs were restrained by thick leather bands. She began to thrash and scream, her high pitched voice echoing off the walls.
"Let me go!" she screamed. Phoenix remembered the stories her mom and dad had told her, terrifying stories about the School. In her stomach, she had a queasy feeling that she was in the School right now. What would they do to her? Would they slowly dissect her, part by part, or would they run tests on her to test her extreme limits? Aunt Angel had once said that the School had made her run around in a maze, and if she stopped, they would shock her.
Phoenix's heart pounded harder and faster. She didn't wish to find out what fate was in store for her. An unseen door creaked open and footsteps came to the gurney she was lying on. A woman with long blond hair and bright green eyes peered at her. "Number 34562," she said. "Beautiful." The woman reached out and stroke Phoenix's head.
"What a beautiful child, gone to waste because of these corrupt wings," she said, gesturing to Phoenix's jet black wings. The woman plucked out a few feathers, and Phoenix flinched.
"Who are you?" Phoenix said through clenched teeth. The woman smiled.
"I'm Dr. Unglur, but you can call me Ryme. Phoenix shook her head. No way she was going to say anything more to this woman. The doctor stood up. "Take her to Lab 3," Dr. Unglur instructed. "Run the tests on her there." Strong arms grabbed Phoenix. The leather bands were taken off, and she was dragged down a spotless white hall. After a few turns, she was tossed into another white room. The door closed, and the lock turned. Phoenix was trapped. She turned, scared out of her wits as more white clad people reached down and hauled her to her feet. There was a treadmill a few feet away. Somebody fastened a collar around her neck and said, "Run for a day. If you can do that without stopping, you'll receive food and water. If you stop before the time limit, we'll shock you through the collar. If you are unable to continue, we'll continue shocking you until you get back up onto your feet.
"If you make any attempt to escape, well, you'll get electrified."
Without another word, Phoenix was shoved onto the treadmill which promptly turned on. At first it was slow, but then it gradually became faster and faster until Phoenix's little legs were a blur. Only after an hour she began to feel tired. She stopped for a second, and a painful shock washed over her body. Phoenix cried out, and her legs began pumping again.
She must have been running for at least 20 hours before her small body finally gave away, and Phoenix collapsed onto the treadmill. When the dreadful shock did come, she didn't feel a thing. Phoenix was out cold.
She was in a dark, dark place. No sound could be heard, and Phoenix couldn't see anything but black. "Help!" she cried. Her voice echoed off invisible walls, and no one came. "Hello?" Phoenix shouted. No answer. Then two people did appear, reaching out towards her. Mom and Dad. Nearly sobbing with relief, Phoenix stretched out her hand to them. Time slowed down. Their fingers came closer and closer. Right when they were about to touch, her parents disappeared in a flash.
Phoenix bolted awake, sweat trickling down her face. Anger and frustration filled her. She had been so close, yet so far. Then she noticed her surroundings. Phoenix was lying on a cot in a small white room with no windows. In the center of the room sat a black box with a note.
She crawled off the cot and read the note. It said: FIGURE OUT HOW TO OPEN THIS BOX. IT HAS YOUR LUNCH IN IT. IF YOU DON'T OPEN THE BOX, YOU DON'T GET YOUR FOOD. THE MINUTE YOU TOUCH THE BOX, THE TIME WILL START. LET THE LIGHT GUIDE YOU! GO!
Phoenix's stomach grumbled. She hadn't eaten since breakfast. Her anger was replaced with determination. I can do this, she said to herself. Her fingers grazed the box, and she knew the stopwatch had started. Quickly, Phoenix turned the box over in her hands. It was heavy and about the size of a ten by ten Rubix cube, if there is such a thing. She shook it, and something inside rattled.
This sound made her even more set on finding a way to open the box. Phoenix ran her fingers over the surface of the box, searching for any hinges or anything that might give a clue on how to open the box. There was nothing. The surface was incredibly smooth with no bumps what so ever.
She began to smack the box in several different places, hoping to accidentally hit the right spots. Five minutes and a red hand later, she gave up trying to guess the spot. Phoenix read the note again for any clues. Then something caught her eye. LET THE LIGHT GUIDE YOU. She frowned. Let the light guide her? She squinted at the only light source: the overhead lights.
Acting on a hunch, Phoenix held up the box to the light, and she waited. And waited, and waited. Finally, just when she was about to pull the box away, she noticed something. Phoenix rubbed her eyes. Yes, it was still there. The faint image of a small tray. Excited, she held the box up to the light a little longer, and gradually with every passing second, the black box grew more translucent.
At last, the box became completely transparent, and Phoenix could see a small tray with something wrapped in tinfoil on it. She eagerly tried to open the box, forgetting that there was no lock. When she experienced no luck, Phoenix let out a scream of frustration. She was so close, only separated by a stupid layer of glass. Her mouth watered at the sight of her food.
Again and again she tried to open it, but luck was not granted to her. When her patience was completely gone, she smashed the box against the floor in anger. She didn't care what happened to it. Just as Phoenix turned away, she heard the sound of glass shattering. Whipping around, she saw broken glass littering the floor. There, in the center of the shattered sat the little tray with the wrapped mystery food.
With a feral cry of hunger, Phoenix snatched up the food and viciously tore away the tinfoil. She revealed the juiciest and coldest hamburger she had ever seen before. Within seconds, she had devoured the meal. As soon as she let the tinfoil fall to the floor, she smelled the scent of intoxicating flowers. Before she realized where the strange blue gas was coming from, Phoenix was knocked out.