Chapter 2
My eyes snapped open to meet with total darkness. The first thing that hit me was that disgusting rotting smell. I scrunched up my nose and started moving my hands around feeling my way through the dark. All i could feel was the cold cement beneath me.
Where the hell am i? i thought. Something beeped and my hands flew up to my neck.
I growled. Damn it! They put the stupid shock collar on me! No wonder they didn't feel the need to tie me up. Last time i wore this had been when i got punished for breaking a guys leg; completely his fault, he shouldn't have hit Youichi. Another guard had come up behind me and snapped the collar on me. And with a push of a button they had me on my hands and knees in a second flat sending 100 volts through my body. Stupid thing hurt like hell.
"Subject:017834 we will be conducting a series of test on you to test how your abilities have grown. Please cooperate with us. If you resist we won't hesitate to use the shock collar or use other methods as well." The voice came from all around me so i couldn't pin point the speakers location.
Then the lights came on, blinding me for a moment. I blinked and looked around me. Well i can see why it smelled so bad. They had Howlers in here and they reeked. Howlers are another experiment of the White Coats. Probably the closest thing they have to success other then Youichi and I. Well i would hardly call them a success, seeing as they were horribly deformed. There was three of them that i could see, they were in a heavily secured cage behind me that towered over my 5'4 height.
I walked closer to the one in front. I crudely smiled at the one in front. I remember him. His left head growled at me and the green eyes on the right head seemed to follow my every move. Its front paws clawed into the cement and the muscle in his hind legs twitched with excitement.
Seems he remembers me too.
Not all Howlers had two heads like this one. No this Howler was special. He was smart unlike the others. His left head had a mouth full of shark like teeth and flaring nostrils, but it had no eyes. This head was made for the sense of smell and taste. The right head had nostrils as well, along with piercing green eyes that gives him the ability to see in the dark, but he lacked a mouth. All he had was a long row of stitches along where his mouth should be. His skin was mostly scar tissue and what had once probably been beautifully adorned with pure white fur was now reduced to thin pieces of dirty tufts. Youichi and i were the ones to name them Howlers, apparently the White Coats thought the name was befitting of them. The worst part of when they attack is their deafening screeches that pierce your ears and bring you to your knees from the pain it causes. And it doesn't affect them because they had their ears cut off and stitched up.
I looked behind him to see two other Howlers. These had only one head but their eyes were black instead of green and their tough scarred skin was a nasty brown.
My eyes traveled back to the green orbs that burned with an intent to kill. I can't blame him for hating me. After all i had killed one of his kind during one of the White Coats "little tests" on Youichi and I. They had thrown us both in a large room with two howlers to see who was stronger. I was pretty sure i could've taken them both down but i hadn't known that they were capable of coming up with a plan. I underestimated them and that had almost cost me Youichi's life. While i had been wrestling the White Howler i noticed i couldn't see the second Howler or Youichi. The White Howler was just a distraction for the other went after Youichi. Like the smart boy he was Youichi flew up and out of the beasts reach giving me the time to throw my opponent to the wall momentarily rattling the creature and tackled the one who was snapping its teeth at Youichi. We fought over dominance and in the end i'd gotten my arms around it's neck and used all my strength to break it's neck. I'd felt the life leak out of its body and i dropped it. Then i heard the mournful wail of the White Howler. I threw my hands over my ears and i saw Youichi fall next to me. I kneeled down and hunched over Youichi covering him with my large wings trying to protect him from the head rattling sound. When the screeching stopped i wasn't exactly ready for the attack that came at me. I'd pushed Youichi away and he flew upwards like i wanted him to. He knew he couldn't help much at his age, so he made sure not to hold me back. When i fought the White Howler for the second time he was a lot stronger. He was out to kill me this time. I couldn't beat him. If it hadn't been for the tranquilizers the White Coats shot him with i would be dead.
Apparently Narumi hadn't been in that day and the other White Coats hadn't bothered asking for his approval over the test. Someone had called him to tell him about the experiment and Narumi had blown his top. He'd raced over and demanded for them to sedate the remaining Howler. When they got the beast out of the way i had been lying on my back holding my wounds while Youichi was crying and trying to stop the bleeding. Narumi had to stitch up three large gaping wounds on my abdomen. It had healed alright after four days, we heal a lot faster than humans do, but that doesn't mean we can't die. I still have the ragged scars on my abdomen to remind me that the White Howler will always be out for my blood.
I heard the sound of doors opening and that snapped me out of my trance. I looked up and i mean all the way up. This building was over 800 meters tall at the very least. And at the very top i could see the roof sliding open revealing a bright blue sky.
I also heard the rattling of the cage behind me. I turn and see the door of the cage opening. I could see the anticipation in the White Howlers eyes as his other head sneers at me.
"For shits sake!" I start running and jump in the air unfurling my wings and felt the muscle in my wings working to pull my body higher and higher, faster and faster. When i felt the wind hitting my face and heard it whistling past my ears i couldn't help but let out a joyful laugh. Flying always made me feel so light like nothing could ever touch me as if i had no worries in the world. Then i heard claws against metal. I turn my head to the right ,slightly slowing down. What i saw made me speed up and go as fast as i could. I zoomed past the Howlers that were running up the metal sides of the walls. When i looked closer i could tell they were hooking their claws into the metal.
I worked my wings faster leaving them behind. I was close to the opening so very close. Then the stupid collar shocked me and i fell.