Have you ever randomly been yanked out of your cage while sleeping, then shoved into an empty room with your mutant friends? No? Count yourself lucky.
The four of us had been rudely awakened and unceremoniously hurled into a dark room. Dusting myself off, I stood up and took in my surroundings. We were in a large, cement room, maybe twenty-by-twenty feet. Small pipes and electrical outlets ran along the walls. About forty feet above us, where the roof was supposed to be, were huge iron bars that spanned from wall to wall. Past that was a balcony full of scientists that obviously had no life. I mean honestly, what self-respecting human wears giant black glasses, a stupid white overcoat, and prefers watching mutated children to going on a date with some brain-dead blonde? Beats me.
"Are we in prison?" Alex asked.
"Ha, I wish," Zach muttered. "Any place would be better than here."
Here's a quick note about us. It's just the four of us, two guys and two girls. We've all been mutated by a group of crack pot scientists. So, instead of being human, we are now mostly human and slightly animal. Have you heard of Maximum Ride and her gang? Well, her group and mine were made in completely different labs (theirs was in California, ours is in Florida), but we're sort of alike, except my group's not as lucky as hers. They actually managed to escape. We haven't…yet. Anyway, here's some info you should know about us.
Let's start with Alex. He's this little nine-year-old that has sort of tawny colored hair, bright hazel eyes, and light brown wings with creamy spots. Yes, I said wings. See, Alex has been mutated to be part human and part hawk. When you first see him, he looks like this cute, innocent little kid. Don't believe it. He is one of the most mischievous and dangerous people I know. One time, when we were being tested with these sticks that shocked us every time they touched us, he managed to get one away from a scientist and chased him all around the lab, zapping him anytime he got close enough. It took five of the lab's security guards to bring Alex down. He got solitary confinement for a week after that, but he told us that it was totally worth it. And oddly, he's completely terrified of falling. Go figure.
Next is Megan. Megan is an eleven-year-old, part dolphin, beauty queen wanna-be. She's got silvery-blonde hair halfway down her back. Meg has a light tan with sparkling blue eyes. Oh, don't freak out, but her hands and feet are slightly webbed. She's a bit paranoid (she grew up in a lab, I say she has the right to be) and is always watching what's going on around her. She hates the color black and any sickly color in existence. Other than the whole 'I'm-part-dolphin-thing', she's like any other average sweet, eleven-year-old girly-girl.
Then there's Zach. Zach's the oldest of our group at fifteen. He's part panther, which fits perfectly with his looks. He's got eyes as dark as the midnight sky, jet black hair, and dark skin. He always wears dark clothes and mostly keeps quiet and in the shadows. Zach's also the unofficial, undisputed leader of our group. Nobody even signed him up for the job; it was like we all just unconsciously voted him in. Yet he's kind of afraid of thunderstorms. At least I think he is. Every time one hits, he gets all tense and sits as far back in his cage as he can. Don't tell anybody I told you that though. I'm the only one who knows, and he would so kill me if he found out.
And now you get to meet me; joy (not.) My name is Jackie. I'm part cat. Sadly though, I couldn't be part lion or part tiger. No, instead, some moron decided I should be part housecat. I mean come on! What idiot does that? Anyway, I've got short brown hair and light green eyes. I'm not exactly a tomboy, but I am so not a diva. I absolutely despise pink. If pink were a living thing, I'd probably rip its throat out and feed it to a rabid bear (which Megan would kill me for). Don't laugh, but I'm sort of afraid of water. Oh, and according to Meg, I like to hide my emotions, which is a total lie. I only like to hide any pain, sadness, and fear; you know, all of those sappy emotions that get in the way. Anyway, back to the story.
"What are we doing here?" Megan complained. "I was busy trying to get some sleep. You know, without sleep, a girl doesn't look that good."
"Quit whining, Meg," I snapped. "Let's see if we can figure out what's going on." Looking up at where the scientists were, I started shouting. "Hey numskulls, why'd you drag us in here? You know, we were trying to sleep. Even mutants need it once in a while."
"Experiments," a voice boomed over hidden speakers, "you will be performing a few tests. Then you may return to your beds."
"You mean we can go back to our pad-locked dog cages?" Meg shouted back, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Thanks, that's wonderful. Oh, and I love our new name: experiments."
"The tests are beginning," the voice said. "Prepare yourselves."
"How exactly do we prepare ourselves for tests when we have no idea what they are?" Alex asked. We all turned to Zach, expecting at least a halfway decent answer.
"Not sure," he whispered. "Just be ready for anything." Then the "tests" started.
A high-pitched, sharp, whining alarm filled the air. I covered my ears and started screaming. Zach grabbed the sides of his head and doubled over in pain. Alex scrunched up his face and hunched his shoulders. Meg cringed and rubbed her forehead.
"Make it stop!" I screeched. My head felt ready to split open.
"Jack, screaming isn't going to help us here," Zach growled through clenched teeth. Looking at Alex, Zach pointed up and said, "Find it."
Nodding and covering his ears, Alex jumped up, his wings spreading out and lifting him toward the barred ceiling. A collective gasp came from the scientists, along with a lot of head nods, murmurs of satisfaction, and other little side conversations. Alex kept circling tightly, steadily climbing toward the ceiling. About ten feet from the top, he turned down and folded his wings, dropping like a rock and unfurling them just before landing.
"It's in the right corner," he said loudly, pointing toward whatever he'd found. Looking up, I could just make out the shape of a bullhorn. "I think there's a wire down here that leads to it."
"Nice job kiddo," Zach said. "Now where's that wire?"
"Found it!" I shouted triumphantly, darting to the corner where the wire was tucked in and surrounded by a pipe. Jumping up a good ten feet, I grabbed the pipe and started scaling the wall, wincing more as I got closer to the siren. I saw the scientists pointing at me and making notes on clipboards.
"Oh yeah, watch this, bimbos," I whispered, feeling my lips stretch into a smile. Finally reaching the top of the pipe, I took one look at the siren blaring in my face and ripped it out of the wall. I glanced up at the scientists (who now had either gaping mouths and wide eyes or seriously ticked expressions); I held the dead horn out to my side, smiled sweetly, and dropped it. "Oops." I laughed before sliding halfway down the pole and jumping off, easily landing on my feet. The horn was lying about five feet away from me, broken in half with little bits of plastic all around it. Megan and Alex were doubled over with laughter and Zach was wearing one of his rare smiles. Stepping forward, he picked up one of the halves that lay at my feet.
"You know, Jack," he called loudly, directing his voice toward the balcony, "I don't think you did a good enough job with this." He drop-kicked the horn, sending it spiraling up through the iron bars and into the face of one of the scientists.
"Whoop!" Megan hollered, her eyes lighting up with joy.
"Goal!" Alex called, holding his arms in the touchdown form as a huge toothy grin spread across his face. Cackling, I high-fived Zach and stuck my tongue out at our audience.
"Second test, now beginning," the voice called, though it was much quieter and sounded sort of grumpy.
"Oh great, what've they got now?" Alex sighed, rolling his eyes.
A second later, ultra-bright light blazed through the room, nearly blinding me. Megan screamed and slapped her hands to her eyes. I knew that since dolphins lived in the dark ocean, they didn't like light too much. Apparently, brightness didn't work well with Meg either. Still screaming her head off, she stumbled into Zach. Catching her, Zach winced as her cries pierced the air and squinted as the light reached his eyes. Closing my eyes as much as I could so that I could still see, I caught sight of Alex staring around blankly, as if the light had no effect on him. Lucky little demon I thought.
"Alex," Zach shouted over Megan, "can you still fly in this?"
"Yeah, easily," he answered. "Why?"
Zach sat Megan down in a whimpering pile. "Both of you come with me."
Alex and I followed him quickly to one of the walls covered in electrical pipes. Grabbing one of the pipes, Zach grunted, "Jack, help me get part of this off." It didn't take long for Zach and me to snap part of the piping off. Loose wires crackled on each end like a cattle prod.
Shoving the pole into Alex's hands, Zach pointed up. "Tell them to shut off the lights," he instructed Alex. "If they don't, have fun throwing that thing."
Nodding and smiling devilishly, Alex thrust himself up, his wings spreading wide to lift him higher. Zach dashed back to Megan and wrapped her in his arms. Glancing back at Alex, I saw him hovering just below the iron bars.
"Hey morons!" he hollered at the scientists. "Yeah that's right, I'm talking to you, you lifeless ninnies! Shut off the lights or else!" Alex floated there for a few seconds while the lights remained on. "Fine, you want to play like that? Then bring it on, freaks!" The next thing I knew, Alex's pipe was flying through the bars. It slammed dead-on like a spear into the light grouping above us, blinking out every light except for the dim reserves. "Now that's what I'm talking about!"
Gliding back toward the ground, Alex landed and started doing a completely idiotic victory dance, whooping and shouting throughout the whole thing. Megan was on her feet again. She was still holding onto Zach like he was life itself, but at least she was laughing.
"Third test, now beginning," the voice droned above us.
Instantly, the sound of thunder rolled over us. Zach's arms fell from Megan as he tensed, his eyes darting to each point in the room. Then the water came. It started as a light (and seriously irritating) sprinkle, droplets falling from somewhere above us. Gradually, the lab storm began to grow in intensity. I felt my muscles bunching as my hands began to quiver. Water was running down little gutter-like tracks carved into the walls and falling to the floor, slowly exiting through small drains. (How did I manage to miss those earlier?)
"Finally!" I heard Megan cry. "A test I can actually pass."
"Yeah, and one that the rest of us will fail miserably," Alex called back to her. He wasn't afraid of water or thunderstorms like Zach and I, but he still hated getting his wings wet. Cold liquid brushed against my shoes, and I jumped about five feet straight up, letting out a blood-curdling screech. Water was starting to pool on the ground instead of flowing out the drains.
"Zach!" I shrieked hoarsely. Darting across the room, I ran straight into him, locking my claw-like nails into his shirt. I felt his arms wrap around me so tightly that I could hardly breathe. "It's not going out," I choked. "The water, it's not draining."
"What?" he gasped in a shaky voice.
"Warning," a computer's voice blared, "water malfunction. Experimentation chamber now flooding."
"What!" I screamed. Obnoxious, deep sirens blared through the room. Whatever was feeding water into the room had messed up because water was gushing from the ceiling like mini waterfalls. Puddles near the drains gurgled and sputtered before erupting as water was forced back out into the room. The room was filling fast; the water was already halfway up my calves.
"Idiots, don't they ever think about this kind of crap!" I heard Zach shout over the noise. "Alex, fly!"
"But my wings are wet!" Alex protested.
"I don't care, just try!" Zach countered.
Alex started jumping, trying to lift himself off the ground. On the third or fourth try, he finally got it. But he still wasn't doing well. His wings were soaked, and the extra weight was only forcing him to work harder. I heard pipes twist and break above us, then an avalanche of water slammed down, forcing us to the ground. I was ripped away from Zach as the water swirled around, slamming me into a wall. I finally resurfaced, sputtering and gasping for air.
"Zach! Alex, Megan!" I screamed.
Glancing up, I could barely see Alex desperately clinging to the bars. His wings drooped as water cascaded over him. I caught sight of Zach paddling through the churning water, trying to grab hold of one of the poles on the walls. I couldn't see Megan anywhere. Then again, being part dolphin, I was ready to bet almost anything that the little imp was swimming around as if nothing was going on.
The water was so high that I couldn't touch the floor anymore. I was about to shout for help when I was dragged under by a current. For a split second, everything was peaceful. All of the noise and chaos was blocked out as I floated through the water. Then I was pulled back up to the surface, only to be dunked under again. Flailing and desperate for breath, I felt a cool, webbed hand tighten around my wrist. I looked around to find Megan holding me and smiling reassuringly. Then she started to drag me through the water. Bringing me back up to the dim surface, Meg threw my hand against the wall.
"Grab on," she shouted over the waterfalls, slapping my hand against something round. Gripping a pipe, I pulled my drenched body from the pool and started climbing for my life, my feet slipping along the slick walls as I went. About ten feet from the ceiling I finally stopped. The waves were only another ten feet below my shoes.
"Alex, where are you?" I heard Zach shout.
"Hanging from the ceiling," Alex called back, his voice almost lost in the roars around us.
"Jackie?" Zach called to me.
"I'm on a pole!" I yelled back. Despite our life-threatening problem, embarrassment turned my face as red as a tomato. I pushed the thought away. "Meg's in the water! I don't know what she's doing!"
"Zach!" I heard somebody yell below me. It was Megan. "Zach, I think I found a way out! There's a keyhole in the wall. If one of you can get your claws into it, we might be able to get out!"
For a second, nobody said anything. The water was only about two feet under me, and the overhead waterfall was forcing me down closer to the raging pool. "Alex, Jack, hold on," Zach finally yelled. "I'll be back soon."
After a few moments, I heard Alex call out to me, "Jackie, I can't hold on! My fingers are slipping."
"Just try Alex! It won't be much longer," I said, hoping my voice sounded encouraging.
The water was now halfway up my thighs. At least I hope it won't be long I thought. I heard Alex yelp, followed by a loud splash. A second later, there was a huge sucking noise, and then I was whisked off the wall by the force of the water. I started spinning and twirling in a miniature whirlpool. It felt like forever before I finally shot through a door-sized opening and into a lit hallway that could've been a river. I lay on the floor, gasping for air and choking on water. I could hear the two boys near me doing the same thing. Megan, on the other hand, was pacing around us, fuming in rage. I heard a group of heavy footsteps thudding down the hall toward us.
"Let's hope those experiments are still alive, otherwise we'll all be dead," I heard.
"Yes! They're all here and fine," I heard somebody else nearby say.
"Fine?" Megan exploded. "You call this fine? Because of you deranged, moronic, baboons, these guys just almost drowned in your torture chamber."
"Somebody needs to call security, I think this one's about to lose it," the first person said.
"Oh that's it!" I heard Megan shout.
I looked up just in time to see her tackle a scientist into the slowing river. The man screamed in fear as Megan swung away with her fist. Then I heard the unmistakable sound of the security's boots pounding down the hall. In seconds, Megan was thrown off the scientist, landing with a heavy thud on the hard floor. Seeing one of the guards moving toward her, I darted to Megan, scooping her into my arms and hissing at the man. A moment later, Alex was behind me with his wings stretched wide and Zach was in front of us, baring his "claws" and "fangs". He let out a low, rumbling growl that could've fit perfectly with any wild cat. Apparently though, the security guys didn't like being threatened by four mutant kids.
Let's just say that things didn't go too well after that. The four of us were basically beat down by the guards and dragged down three flights of stairs to another room where we were gently chucked into cramped cages.
"Well," Megan squeaked, "at least we got a few good hits in too."
"That's true," Zach whispered, wiping a bit of blood from his lip. Even though we'd been bruised and beaten, we'd managed to get in some decent punches, bites, and kicks.
"Except we're stuck in this dungeon now," Alex grumbled, rubbing a purple spot on his arm. He was right. The room was tight, maybe only seven-by-seven feet. The ceiling was only about five feet above us. The walls were completely smooth. Damp, frigid air floated around us while low lights cast a faint glow. "Okay, I have officially remade my mental list of most hated rooms in this prison, and this place is now number two."
"Good for you, Alex," I growled. We sat there for what seemed like hours, trying to fall asleep in any semi-comfortable position we could get in to. Unfortunately, with all of the noise Alex was making, none of us was having any luck.
"Hey bird-brain, what the heck are doing over there?" I hissed as a particularly loud bang issued from Alex's crate.
"What does it sound like, I'm trying to get out," he whispered.
"You're doing what?" Megan said, pulling herself into a crouch and peering through the bars of her cage. Zach's eyes flicked open and focused intently on Alex.
"I'm trying to get out," Alex repeated.
"How exactly do you plan on doing that?" I asked.
"Simple, I just have to open this lock," he explained. I realized now that all the banging coming from his cage was Alex twisting around, trying to get to the pad lock on the front. "Finally, it took long enough," he grumbled, tightening his fingers around the lock.
"Okay, now how do you plan on opening it?" Megan asked, bits of sarcasm leaking into the question.
"Oh, that's the easy part," Alex smiled. Twisting the lock around so he could see its face, he started spinning the dial. "I saw the numbers the guys turned to when they were opening these things. The idiots didn't think that anybody would be watching." Yanking down the lock, Alex whooped with excitement as it came undone.
"You evil little genius," I gasped. Pulling the lock off and unwinding his hands from the bars, Alex slipped the door of the cage open and crawled out.
"Not bad," Zach complimented quietly. "Good thinking, kid, watching them open the locks. Did you catch the combinations to our cages?"
"I think so. Let me see if I remember which combo goes where." Pulling himself up to Zach's cage, Alex started fiddling with the lock, squinting and tilting his head as he went along. After about a minute, Alex grinned and pulled on the lock, popping it open. Pulling the lock off, Alex slid the door open, backing away as Zach slinked out of the crate.
"Nice one," Zach whispered as he high-fived Alex. "What's Jack's combo?"
"33-5-49," Alex answered.
"Thanks, now get Meg out." Within two minutes, Megan and I were released from our prisons.
"Thanks guys, but what do we do now?" I asked.
"What I want to know is how you could even see the numbers in this light," Megan told Alex.
"Hawks and cats have awesome eyesight, remember?" he smirked, tapping just under his eyes.
"Oh, yeah, I knew that," she blushed sheepishly.
Clearing my throat and attracting their attentions, I asked again, "What do we do now? I mean, yeah we're out, but what now? Do we just sit here and go nuts or what?"
"They brought us in through a door," Zach started. "Knowing these guys, there'll be lock on it. If there's a lock, then that means there's a keyhole. And if there's a keyhole…"
"Then either you or Jackie could use your nails and flip the switch," Alex finished, excitement rising in his voice.
"Would it work?" Meg asked.
Zach shrugged. "It might, and it's definitely worth any risks." He ran a hand over the wall until he found the keyhole. He struggled with the lock for a few seconds before backing away in frustration. "My nails are too big, I can't get them in." He turned and eyed me. "But Jack's nails are smaller than mine, just like a house cat's claws would be. Want to take a whack at it?"
"May as well," I sighed. I worked my nail into the lock and started twisting it. It wasn't long before there was a tiny pop and the door swung open about an inch.
"Awesome," Megan whispered.
"Alright," Zach started, "Jack and Meg, you two take the lead. Use your sight and echolocation to get us out of here, got it? Alex, stick to the middle and listen for any noises that we don't make. I'll take the back. Stay as quiet as you can guys. We might actually make it out this time."
Nodding, we all turned and slowly filed out of the room. The hallway we stepped into was nearly pitch black and smelled like hand sanitizer. (Did I mention that we all hate anything that smells like it belongs in a hospital?) Grabbing Meg's hand, I pulled her along the corridor. It seemed like we walked for hours through dank halls, up staircases, and past dark rooms. Finally, we opened a door into a lowly lit hall.
"We're on the main floor," Zach whispered behind me. "Jack, go to where you and I get our exercise."
"Why your exercise place and not mine or Meg's?" Alex whined quietly.
"Because your place has a roof on it and Meg's is full of water. Ours is open-roofed with ten foot electrical fences," Zach answered.
"So then why are we going there?" Meg asked as she crept along behind me.
"Alex can fly out since there's no roof and the rest of us can climb out."
"What about the electric fences?"
"I heard some janitors a couple months back saying that they had to go shut off the electricity going to our area for the night. I'm hoping that they do that every night."
"Oh, so you don't even know if you're about to get electrocuted, but you're still going to go through with it? You know Zach, you are truly a genius," Alex hissed sarcastically.
"Shut up and walk, Alex," he growled back.
A couple of minutes later, Alex spoke up again. "There's somebody down the hallway, the one we just passed."
I heard Megan lightly click her tongue before saying, "He's right. Two people are coming. They don't seem big like the security guys though."
"Alright," Zach breathed, "Alex, Meg, hide in that alcove."
He pointed to a tiny indent in the wall a few feet ahead of us. As the two scampered quietly into the hole, Zach motioned for me to follow him back to the hall we'd passed. We took up positions on each side. He held his hand up to me, palm out with his index finger touching his lips. The sign was simple: shut up and wait. A couple of seconds passed before Zach's hand changed, sporting three fingers before clenching into a tight fist. I nodded my head in understanding: wait three seconds, and then make a move. Counting out the beats, I launched my leg into a side kick half a second after Zach's hand flashed into a punch. My foot collided almost instantly with a man's head, sending him crumbling to the floor. Looking up, I saw Zach's man down, too, and a huge bruise was starting to form over the man's right eye.
"They're just janitors," Zach whispered, crouching over the two unconscious men.
"Nice punch," I complimented Zach.
"Nice kick," he mumbled back. "Come on, we need to stash these guys."
We dragged them down the hall and hid the men in the alcove
"Did you kill them?" Megan gasped in horror.
"No, now shut it and move," Zach snapped at her. "Jack, take lead. Move fast."
I started half-walking, half-jogging down the hall, hardly making a sound. I could hear Meg's feet tapping lightly against the floor, telling me that she was on her tip toes. I couldn't hear a thing from Zach as he filed down the hall nimbly. Alex's steps were light and erratic though, like he was missing every other footstep. Glancing back, I saw his bunched up wings slightly shaking, lifting his feet off the ground every now and then. When we reached the exercise room, I started yanking on the handle, but the door wouldn't budge.
"Hey dork," Megan snickered behind me. She pointed at a number pad. "You have to type in the code."
"I knew that," I mumbled, feeling the heat rise in my face.
"Does anybody know the passcode?" Zach asked, eyeing the keys intently.
"Maybe it's the same as one of ours," Alex suggested. "I watch them punch mine in all the time. It's 5-8-3."
"I've seen them put mine in a couple of times too," Megan added. "I think it's 8-3-5."
Zach thought for a moment and said, "Try 3-5-8." I punched in the numbers, and then heard a faint click as the keypad lit up green. "Wow, very original."
"Come on," I said, pulling the door open. Instantly, an alarm blared and red lights flashed around us.
"Move!" Zach shouted, shoving us all through the door. Pelting across the open exercise space, I saw the gates surrounding the area. They were sitting quietly instead of buzzing like they usual.
"Zach, the gates are off!" I called.
"Good!" he shouted back. "Alex, fly."
A gust of wind ruffled my hair as Alex launched into the lightening sky. Dogs started howling and shouts filtered through the open door behind us.
"Faster!" Zach yelled as he bolted past Megan and me.
"Come on Meg, move it!" I shouted, grabbing her wrist and dragging her after me. I watched as Zach jumped into the air, caught the bar on the top of the fence, and balanced himself on it.
"Throw her!" he shouted down to me.
"Alright Meg, are you ready to fly?" I asked, pulling her right up next to me.
"What?" she shrieked.
Without answering, I grabbed her waist and threw her as high as I could toward the gate. She managed to grab the fence about five feet above the ground, climbing desperately toward the top. When he could finally reach her, Zach grabbed Megan's wrist and yanked her up the rest of the way.
"Drop!" he shouted before throwing her over the top and toward the ground. She managed to pull herself into a messy somersault, landing on her hands and knees with her face inches from the ground.
"Jack, vault it!" Zach cried as he swung himself down, landing in a crouch next to Megan.
Backing up about ten feet, I took a deep breath and raced at top speed toward the gate. Bunching my muscles, I heaved myself into the air just as I heard a charge run through the fence. Everything seemed to slow down as I realized that the gate had been turned on. I was dimly aware of Megan screaming and Zach calling for Alex. I could tell from my height that I wasn't going to clear it. Death by electric fence I thought. Well this sucks. Then somebody grabbed my arm and screamed at me to tuck. Pulling my legs up to my chest, I realized that Alex had me. Time sped back up as I felt electricity fry the soles of my shoes. A second later, Alex dropped me on the other side of the fence. I easily landed on my feet
"Yeah!" Alex cheered as he flew back up. Then the ground next to my foot exploded as a bullet slammed into it, barely missing me. Soon, more shots were peppering the ground beneath us as Alex weaved through the air.
"Get clear!" Zach ordered, dragging Megan to her feet and dashing toward a nearby swamp area. Bullets whizzed past us as we zigzagged all over the place. Finally, Zach ducked into the trees with Megan. I turned around before following them and saw scientists, guards, and dogs lining the fence. Looking up, I found that Alex had done the same thing.
"Sayonara, suckers!" he shouted, saluting the people before circling around and flying off. Smiling and shaking my head, I turned and darted into the woods. We were finally out, and there was no way we were ever going back.
Well, I hope you guys at least kind of liked it. If not, oh well. No biggie, it was just a little one-shot. And I must give credit to my awesome friend who wrote this with me back in middle school and convinced me to upload it. That's all. Peace out, people.
