Dinner hadn't been that hard actually. At first I struggled with the fork and Nudge dutifully told me exactly how to hold it and what tasted best and how to use the fork with my knife. Eventually I just threw them away and ate with my hands. It was much easier, and, surprisingly, much neater.

We all wandered into the living room and sat down to watch some TV. I stared at the strange device. When Max held up a small box and pushed something, it came to life.

The screen flashed with pictures and sounds came pouring out. My sensitive ears screamed in protest and I gave a barely audible hiss. Angel smiled up at me and patted a spot on the sofa, "Watch with us Kira. It's fun!"

I shifted uncomfortably. I wasn't quite sure that I wanted to, but it couldn't hurt right? I sat down awkwardly on the floor. There was no way I was going to sit on the sofa. I had never liked being close to people, and Fang was glaring at me venomously. As if he was daring me to sit down beside him.

"You go sit there." I mumbled. Instead, Angel gave me a soft smile and sat beside me instead. I stiffened, but made an effort not to show it. Evidently I failed, or maybe she read my mind again, because Angel gave me a warm smile and placed a tiny hand on my arm.

It was then that a shocking thought crept into my mind. She trusted me. But, she knew my secret. How could she? I felt a strange dull ache in my chest. Whatever this was, I wasn't sure that I liked it. My time here was making me soft. I should leave. I should run far away. It would certainly make Max and Fang happy, but I wasn't sure that I could leave Angel behind… If I left I would never be able to learn to cook tomorrow.

"I trust you." My sensitive ears caught the whispered words and I stared at Angel in confusion. But why?

I didn't get an answer to that, but I allowed Angel to shuffle closer to me. The little girl snuggled against me. Tentatively I put an arm around her. I patted her blond hair. Fang cocked his head and stared at us in confusion, but at the moment I couldn't have cared less if he got up and decided to present a speech. Maybe getting soft wasn't a bad thing.

I ignored Fang and focused on the TV screen. It almost hurt my eyes to stare at it, but I ignored the pain. The pictures whirled across the screen. It was like a book, except it showed you the story instead of telling you. I liked books better. They were quieter and they didn't hurt my eyes. It was so damn bright! The person who made this must have been blind!

I allowed my gaze to wander across the room. Everyone was settled onto the sofa. Gazzy glanced at me occasionally and I got the feeling that he was jealous; about Angel? Possibly, the whole time I had been here she had been spending a lot of time with me; possibly trying to help me adjust. Well, whatever she was doing, it was working.

My gaze fell on Iggy. He sat on the floor, his head cocked slightly. Why was he sitting there? Just listening couldn't have been that much fun. You only got half of the story! Why was he blind anyways? Had they done it to him? I gave a mental groan. I had been obsessing over the mystery of Iggy's blindness for the last few days. I hated obsessing.

"So, Iggy, why are you blind anyways? Were you born with it or did they do something?" I asked casually.

The room went silent. Even though the TV was still on, I could hear each individual gasp of shock. Angel gave a small whimper as Max reached for her. Fang scooped up Gazzy and Nudge. Soon Iggy and I were alone. Maybe I shouldn't have asked…

Iggy fidgeted nervously. The silence pressed down on us, ready to crush us under its weight.

"Iggy?" He could have been a statue.

"It was them." Iggy said quietly, "They didn't even drug me first. They just came at me with knives and…"

I crept closer and placed a hand on his, careful to keep my claws sheathed, "They shouldn't have done that." I said softly.

"They tied me down to a chair and then they started… operating. I screamed and screamed for hours afterwards. I, I couldn't sleep for weeks. I thought that if I did they would come again." He hung his head low, and his wings seemed to drop slightly. My tail lashed angrily. How dare they? How could they have done this?

"They were trying to improve my eyesight." He spat out bitterly.

I wanted desperately to comfort him, but nothing I could think of seemed comforting. How did Angel do it so easily? Well there was the mind reading. That must have been a great help. In desperation I tried to remember how I had felt back in the cage. Like I was the only one…alone even though I could see others in pain all around me.

"When I was with them. They wanted me to be another version of those wolf-creatures-"

"Erasers." Iggy said quietly, "We call them Erasers."

"Well, they wanted me to be like that, but stronger. When I didn't listen to them…" My ears flattened and I stiffened with fear at the unwelcome memory.

"They put me in the courtyard and…" The blood, the battle. The fear.

"They set all of the Erasers on me. They have so many." I whispered.

I glanced at Iggy. This wasn't helping. He looked more depressed than ever. Well give the girl a prize!

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that you're not alone Iggy." I said forcefully.

We sat in silence for a few moments, but Iggy shattered it.

"What happened next?"

"I fought. I lived. They pulled the Erasers off and kept me." I said stiffly. Frantically I tried to expel the memories from my mind, but they refused to sink down again. They kept playing before my eyes. Over and over I saw them leaping at me.

They were everywhere! I couldn't get loose. I gave a strangled yowl as one of the wolf-creatures tore into my chest. Another one fastened its teeth on my throat .They were everywhere. Biting and ripping off chunks of flesh with relish. There were no words in my mind. All I knew was fear. The pain had left a few seconds ago. I must have been dying.

Then they were gone. Pulled off of me by the men. They gathered my shattered and broken body and carried me away. All I could see were white coats around me. White coats. White coats… White coats everywhere.

My vision was fuzzy, and I couldn't feel anything. The white coats started to move. Dim fuzzy white shapes. Everywhere. My eyes slid shut only to be pulled open. I couldn't see anything but white coats. White coats and dim fuzzy grey blotches. I lay awake for hours. The white coats moved around me. Electricity lanced through me whenever I tried to sleep. The white coats were bringers of pain. They had no mercy. White coats. I had never liked the colour white. The seconds blurred into each other and slowly, the pain came back. They didn't need to strap me down. I was too weak to do anything. All I could do was scream as they moved around me, poking at me with silvery rods.

I don't know how long I stayed there, but when they threw me back into my cage I was more or less alright. I gave a whimper, grateful for the darkness that enclosed me. It was a cocoon of protection. No white coats. No grey blotches. White coats… I shook and cried, tears falling in a never ending stream. I curled into a ball and started to rock back and forth. Something inside my head strained and strained, threatening to snap. I clung to the dark, protection of my cage.

"White coats white coats white coats white coats white coats." I whispered into the darkness. It didn't help.

"White coats white coats white coats whitecoats whitecoats whitecoats whitecoats whitecoats." I would whisper that for days on end. Hiding in my cage from the white coats. The Whitecoats who had brought so much pain and fear. All I could think of was wolf-creatures. And white coats… Whitecoats everywhere…

Then Angel was there. Wordlessly she pulled Iggy and I together and enveloped us in a hug. Shakily we held her back.

The others crept in and Angel gave them a firm nod. As if granting them permission to turn on the TV. I was almost grateful for the noise. It helped me forget the memories a little…

I excused myself early for bed. The joy had let the room anyways. The Flock sat there stonily, each of us remembering things that we would love to forget. I leapt onto the sofa and whimpered quietly. I shouldn't have asked him. A few moments later I heard Iggy walk down the hallway. Looks like he left early too. A few moments later, the TV turned off and silently everyone crept to bed.

The door opened and I feigned sleep. Max stood over the bed for a moment, before turning and collapsing into her own.

It was a very silent night. There were no noises. I don't think anyone actually slept. I know I didn't. All I could see the entire night was wolf-creatures. And white coats…Whitecoats everywhere...