4

Apparently, I was tranquilized, because I woke up with a pounding headache and a trip down memory lane. In the cage across the aisle from mine there were the ten-year-old versions of the flock. I knew we were ten, because from my angle, I could read the labels on our cages. I never noticed the labels complete with subject numbers, no names, and ages before. Course, I couldn't read when I was little, either.

Everyone was here except for Angel and Gazzy. My heart ached, but if I was ten, she and Gazzy were in another part of Itex and not with us yet. Nudge was so small, sucking her thumb in her sleep.

"He, hello?" I stated bewilderedly. I was losing touch on reality. But the more I thought about it, this shouldn't be all that shocking. Most the flock had their own clones after all.

But I didn't dwell on that any longer. Instead I wondered things like, "why aren't they talking to me, or even seeing me?"

"Hello. Iggy? Fang? " Even a ten-year-old Fang was mildly comforting. He was so cute! I didn't remember him being that cute.

They didn't notice me. I started looking around me expecting to see the ghost of Christmas past. "Jiminy Cricket," I muttered, shaking my head.

I was sleeping or unconscious. (ten-year-old me). Even ten-year-old me didn't look completely innocent, though it helped that I was ten and sleeping. Apparently I had a rough night. I couldn't remember this particular night, though I tried not to remember this time in my life PERIOD. Fang kept a vigil over me. He looked really worried, a couple of times he reach through his cage and into mine, brushing my hair away and checking for a pulse. Iggy eventually succumbed to sleep.

I watched us, mesmerized. We were almost peaceful. A terrible explosion in the fighting yard made Iggy spring awake, sitting up. Nudge groaned in her sleep. I didn't stir. Fang noticed and scowled deeper.