Chapter 3
Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride otherwise I'd be rich and famous.
Xy:
Walking around in the pristine white halls of the institute I thought about school and humans and the way that we interacted with them. On the way to the training facility, we passed many of the doors where the other mutants were stored. One of my friends is in this room, I just know it. He had been captured along with me. His name was Cato and when I had known him he was a bear. A black bear, to be precise, and at that moment I smelled his scent wafting from behind a closed door.The professor jerked on my lead line, I loped after him to catch up, and together we walked up the stairs to the training center.
We walked through another set of doors that lead to a huge field outside. I heard a whirring sound and a maze appeared before me. There were four gates and Miro, Aldon, Larken and I were herded inside, each in our own gate with our own stretch of the maze in front of us. I waited for the gates to open I made a mental visual of the maze using signals that I got from different objects. All right. So. First left, then right, then straight ahead, left, and another left, and down, and down again, right, another right, up, and take the middle path. Got it! The bell sounded and the gates opened. I surged throught the maze, going a little faster than I should be going, skidding around corners while following my mental map. I heard yips and yelps of suprise and pain when other members of my family ran into dead ends or electric fences. No matter. I could deal with it. I surged ahead. Okay, I should be about halfway through the maze by now. Got it. Now down! I raced down the narrow passage and then down another one. Oh crap! Right! I braked hard, skidding forward, and then raced around the 90 degree angle turn. Now up all the way. And now straight ahead. Yep! Top time! I thought as I burst out of the opening at the other end of the maze.
The professors were astounded by my sudden appearence and when they looked at my time. I had the satisfaction of watching their eyes almost pop out of their heads. It had taken me 4 minutes to run 3 miles; and that's with the hairpin turns. I could have done it in less if it had been flat. Do you know how hot it is in Georgia? It's so hot that on most days you can't see ten feet before you hit a heat wave. You know the shimmery air? And if that's not enough the sun rises early! Just then Miro burst out of the maze and dropped next to me, exhausted. Who wouldn't be when it's 98 degrees outside, you have dark gray fur and you just ran 3 miles?
"So how did it go?" I whispered.
"Fine, just fine," he hissed back.
"And how is fine?"
"Usual. I can sense the fences but I'm so focused on speed that sometimes I run right into them." I smothered a laugh.
"We all have some kind of issue, don't we?" I answered playfully. "I mean, I can get through it so fast that I make you all look bad."
I was rewarded with a small wolfish grin from Miro. At that point, Aldon and Larken emerged from the maze, nearly colliding.
"Wow, guess what, guys?" Said Aldon, "I can hear the auras of different objects and they all ring at different pitches."
"Cool!" We choroused and Aldon glowed.
"Okay, guys, next test! Let's go kick some cheetah arse!" Miro said as our professors came to get us.
And so went the first half of the morning. Alternating between long walks on our way to new destinations and then pouring on the speed in different courses and trying to beat the fastest times. It was really tiring. Later when we were back in our cages we took turns keeping watch for one hour while the others slept. I took the third watch. When Larken woke me up, I growled at him first and then watched as he took my place in his cage and went to sleep. Fine then, be that way you idiot. I looked over at Larken and let my gaze slide over his sleeping face, he looks so cute, almost innocent in sleep. No more silent apparitions and all that stuff. I sighed then subtled down in my prefered position for keeping watch, silent and sneaky, eyes half closed, body relaxed but was ready to move at the shortest notice, and, head resting on my paws, I waited. An hour later I woke Aldon and went to sleep, bored out of my mind.
After 4 hours we all woke up in more or less the same manner as we had the previous day, although a little more rushed.
"Wake up, wake up!" Aldon howled frantically.
"What?" I yelped, leaping to my feet. The others soon followed suit.
"There are footsteps heading this way! It's the professors!"
"Assume your positions!" Miro yelled. The foot steps were coming closer.
We just made it we were all in our places just seconds before the professors slouched into our rooms. They let us out of our cages and told us to morph. We did.
