If you read this story before the edit, you'll be very happy from the ending here.

The lights of Vegas lit the grounds ahead of me. I knew it was Vegas at first sight, due to the distinctive skyline. My hunger was overwhelming, demanding all of the attention that wasn't devoted to staying in the air. I had been flying for what felt like hours, and my wings were sore beyond belief. A couple times they had cramped, and I had plummeted towards the ground faster than a rock. Somehow, despite the pain, I managed to bring my wings around before I went splat on the desert floor. but when the cramping came back, I somehow found that I didn't care. As long as I made sure I didn't go splat, I could fall to the ground and walk the rest of the way to civilization.

Only opening my wings to slow my descent, I watched the ground get bigger and bigger. It was dark, the sun having set a while ago, but my eyesight had improved to the point of giving me decent night vision. When I finally touched down, I took a 360 of the area around me. It was a typical western desert, with some scrubby plants and rocks scattered. More importantly, there was no water that I could see. I moved to hide my wings inside of my shirt, afraid that even in the dark desert, someone would see them. The highway, however, was about a mile to my left, so the chance was low. Right now hitching a ride looked more appealing then walking the twenty or so miles to Vegas barefooted, even with the risk of riding with total strangers. With that thought in mind, I moved towards the road.

It only took ten minutes or so to reach the highway through the desert. Once there, I just stood and stuck my thumb out, like in the movies. Most people just blazed right on by, but after a few passes, a small green car slowed and parked on the road about twenty feet in front of me. I walked to the drivers side door, and whoever was behind the glass rolled the window down.

"Where you headed?" It was a college aged man, with a woman sitting passenger. She looked at me and smiled.

"Vegas," I replied nervously.

He looked at me decisively for a minute.

"Rick," warned the girl. He looked at her, and they did the whole silent conversation thing that most parents are experts at. After a minute, he looked back at the steering wheel and she looked at me. "You're welcome to sit in the back until we reach our hotel."

I smiled at her before opening up the car door and sitting on the seat. It was so soft, I could have sworn that I sank at least three inches into the padding. The car started, and we pulled away from the shoulder and into traffic.

After a few minutes of silence, the woman spoke up. "My name is Catherine. This here is Rick. My parents live in California and we're headed out to visit them, since school starts soon." It was clear she wanted answers from me, but she didn't want to come right out and say it.

"I'm Quinn," I told her after a long pause. "My life sucks. I've got friends in Vegas I haven't visited in a while, and figured they could help me." Nothing I said was a lie but my name, which made it a lot easier to stick to one story.

"How old are you?" quizzed Catherine.

"Sixteen." I didn't get any weird look at that, so I guess I looked older then before the whole mess. "My parents kicked me out, and I've been in a bit of a rough spot lately."

Understanding lit up Catherine's face. "That's too bad. Do you have any possessions?"

I shook my head mournfully. "Not anything."

A bout of dizziness made my dehydration known, and I closed my eyes until it passed. "Do you have some water?" I asked breathlessly.

Wordlessly, a bottle of water was pressed into my hands. I twisted open the cap and greedily started guzzling, ignoring the fact that some was spilling onto my shirt.

"Woah, slow down," laughed Catherine. "There's more where that came from."

Regretfully, I lowered the bottle and shrugged. The water had made its way into my stomach, and it was making me queasy. My head slowly came to rest between my knees as I tried to calm the rising nausea.

"What's the date?" I asked to distract myself.

There was the click of a phone. "August 30th."

My 'days' must have been longer than I originally thought. From June 12th to August 30th was 79 days, just a week or so short of three months. Well. "Thanks," I uttered, the queasiness fading. I sat up and sipped the water slowly, just to be sure.

The ride continued on in silence. I assumed that the two in the front had taken the stance of plausible deniability. That, of none of us were big talkers. The lights of Vegas were all around us before anyone spoke again.

"Do you need to be dropped off anywhere?" were the first words Rick spoke on the ride.

I bit my lip. Shoeless, I wouldn't get very far. But I also didn't want anyone tracing me anywhere. Then I laughed at my ridiculous thought. Track me? I flew who knows how many miles. No one could track me anywhere. "Are you sure? I could walk..." I trailed off.

"Brought you this far. Might as well finish it out."

Catherine looked at Rick and gave him a small, warm smile. As if on an impulse, she scribbled something on a paper and then looked back at me. "Where do you need to be dropped off?"

"7868 Scarlett Road," I replied, no hesitation. I once spent a whole summer out here, when I was 10 and Shane had left. I knew everything there was about my friend out here. "It's in the gated community near Caesars Palace."

They exited the highway, and I directed them along the road leading to the house. Almost as if it was a dream, we pulled up in front of the two story stucco house, grass lawn, bench on the porch.

Twisting around in her seat, Catherine handed me a piece of paper. "My mom's address," she explained as I unfolded the paper and looked at the contents. "Also my phone number and our address from back in Colorado. If you ever need any more help."

I looked back up at her, and a light smile grew on my face. "Thanks." Not wanting to extend the slightly awkward moment, I pushed the door open and slid outside. The warm air was still as I let the door slam behind me. I looked back to see that the digital clock in the car read 10:30, so it wasn't too late in the night. Someone must be up inside the house.
My foot, without command, moved forward, and I took the first step towards my home. Ignoring the winding path, I walked across the grass to the door and raised my fist to knock. It hesitated for one second, before coming down to break the silence.

Knock.

There was silence for a few moments,before the door cracked open. "Chris?" came the disbelieving voice, before the door slowly opened itself more.

I gave an empty smile. "Anika."

I put a poll up on my profile about reviewing. It'll help me see how normal I am compared to others, so please vote. :)

Also, everything up to this point and probably the next two chapters was just the first chapter in the original. In the original, I had her get kidnapped, knocked out for a month, woke up with wings, was set free by a rouge Eraser, flew home, got the books, and then ran away. All very lazy, and way too fast. I like this version better.

1. How do you like the couple in the car? Are they realistic?

2. Are any of you re-reading this? Do you like the differences from the original?

Thanks to all who took the time to review the last chapter.

~Wryder