Chapter Ten:
Kya sat in bed silently, listening to the sounds of the forest that chirped at night. She desperately missed the Bunker and being with Sam and Dean. She knew that this was for the best, but... She wished that she could visit them again, just once.
Kya sighed, but continued to read, silently. Jody had a lot of books that Kya had never heard of, like Alice in Wonderland! It reminded her of the Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz, with both protagonists being quite peculiar. Kya was also able to learn new things called 'Math' and 'Science' from school! It interested her, all the possible things she could read about and hear about and learn about. It was like a endless waterfall of knowledge and she was read to soak as much up as possible.
The door opened and Kya jumped, gasping, she stared, calming down as she noticed it was just Jody. "Hey kiddo, lights out," she told her.
"Ri–Right, s–sorry!" Kya nodded as Jody flicked off the light switch.
Jody smiled at Kya as she sank under the blankets. "Don't sweat it. Goodnight, Kya."
"Go–Goodnight, Ms–Ms. Jody," Kya replied meekly, watching slowly as the woman closed the door plunging her into darkness. Kya waited until she couldn't hear her footsteps anymore before jumping out of bed, and running over to the door, swinging it back open. The light from the hall flooded in and Kya breathe a sigh of relief. She hated the dark, it reminded her too much of her experience with the School.
The thought of the very place made Kya shudder, she didn't like thinking about it. When she did, it dug up scary memories that tended to keep her awake at night, shivering under the blankets, sobbing.
Kya hated the dark. Darkness was scary, darkness gave them a better chance at hurting her.
Kya slipped under her covers, and squeezed her eyes shut. She could remember all the times she was forced to use he power, or be subjected to punishment. Drowned in ice cold water, beaten until she couldn't move, whipped, hallucinating beyond her senses, all so that she could try to muster up the strength to make her invisible. It was terror — it was torture, but... It worked.
Kya had to stop herself before her thoughts strayed too far. She squeezed her eyes, just sleep! She chided herself. Kya should sleep — she'd be much more equipped with strength tomorrow, and it was a school day.
She took a deep breathe and slowly drifted off to sleep.
0/0/0/0
Kya couldn't breathe. She could feel Grey's clawed hands crushing her windpipe. She clawed at his arms, surely drawing blood, but not enough to stop him. "Grey," she choked the words. Grey didn't react, he didn't flinch, "Please." She coughed, something causing blood to well up in her throat. She spat out a mouthful of blood, black spots dancing across her vision.
Someone came into the pit and shot Grey. It was a tranquilizer dart, enough to make his hold loosen. Kya pried his fingers off her neck and fell to the ground on her hands and knees. She couldn't breathe, she realized. He crushed something in her throat. She crawled away, her heart pounding in her chest.
Someone came up behind her, rushing her into a medical room. She knew what was going to happen all to quickly. Kya screamed, moving to get away but their grip was strong. She was slammed into the table an quickly strapped into place. Kya sobbed as a other adults quickly began to make their way around the table.
Kya felt something cut into her throat and cried out in pain. They jabbed something into her throat, and she jerked, but no damage was done. At the movement and noise, a man strapped her mouth shut. She could feel oxygen slowly making its way back into her body, but pain seared in her throat.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Grey's limp body enter the room along with a tall, red haired woman behind him. A tear slid down her cheek, as they placed him on the table adjacent to her's. "... Box too damaged. We can replace it with Subject 198-E's."
"Do what you must," a woman said, waving a hand. "I just want it functional."
"Yes, Ma'am," the man said and she turned to leave. "Begin the procedure." The Whitecoat ordered. Someone placed an oxygen mask on her mouth, and Kya squirmed, but they managed to get it on her anyway. As the sedating gas fill her airways, she heard the Whitecoat say, "Transfer their voice boxes. Subject 61-A's survival is our goal..." Kya didn't hear anything else as her eyes fluttered closed.
0/0/0/0
Kya woke up, shuddering. She could feel the scalpel cutting into her throat while they did the procedure. Kya resisted the urge to vomit, and instead sat up. Her bedroom door was still open, the light in the hall still burning, but the sky was still dark. Her eyes were heavy, but the sight of the Whitecoats standing over her was ingrained in her mind.
A chill ran down Kya's back as she snatched her book and a flashlight off the nightstand beside her. The least she could do right now was read, at least until she felt ready to sleep again.
Kya sat awake for hours, somehow managing together through the entirety of Alice In Wonderland. By the time she was finish, it was morning. Kya was tired, but knew that there'd be no time for her to sleep anymore, so she got out of bed, getting ready for the day.
0/0/0/0
"Mr–Mrs. Jody?" Kya spoke up from the back seat. Jody smiled, glancing at her in the rear view mirror.
"Yeah, what's up, kiddo?"
"Ca... Can I... U–Uhm, i–is it ok–okay if I–I... Pr–Practice fl–flying?" Kya asked carefully. "Be–Be–Because, my–my wi–wings a–are a bit, u–uhm... M–Messed up, a–and I th–think i–it would b–be go–good t–to practice so–so that—"
"Of course you can, Kya," Jody assured. Kya slumped in the seat, relief washing over her. "You can't go far though, and you'll have to be careful. We get hunters around here sometimes, so if you do—"
"I–I understand!" Kya grinned, excited. She had been mustering up the courage to ask Jody for the past few weeks now. Now that she had her permission, she was nearly bouncing in her seat. "Th–Thank you Mr–Mrs. J–Jody!"
"You're welcome," Jody smiled as she pulled into the drop-off area for the elementary school. "Now, hurry up, or else you be late for class."
"Ye–Yes, M–Mrs. Jody!" Kya grinned, about to jump out of the car, but Jody stop her with a loud, "Ah! Ah! Ah!" Kya froze, turning back to the woman.
"You forgot somethin'," Jody said as she reached over the seat. She wrapped her arms around Kya, and she could feel wings shoot up in surprise before she relax and smiled warmly.
"Th–Thank you," she murmured as the two pulled away."
"Knock 'em dead, kiddo." Jody grinned, but Kya seemed surprised.
"Yo–You want me–me to kill—"
"I mean, you're gonna to do great. Now, hurry up, we're holdin' everyone up." Jody mussed up Kya's hair before gently shoving her towards the door. Kya laughed as she left, and headed to class.
0/0/0/0
The rest of the day's class went by easier than Kya expected. She was quiet, but knew a lot of the answers they asked in her classes. Most of them, she didn't answer, not until any of her other classmates hadn't ventured for an answer. Kya wanted to give them a try, it was only fair, after all.
At recess, she played on the jungle gym. A lot of the kids were surprised when she was able to do the monkey bars so quick. Although she usually didn't like attention, this one made her feel good, and enjoyed it — but only a little.
Once it was time for her to leave, and Jody had picked her up, Kya had all kinds of stories to tell the woman, including her new friends she had made, a question she got right in reading class, even though she was only sixty-seven percent sure it was the right answer. She even talked about how much fun they had in P.E! Jody listened to it all and was more than glad she enjoyed her new school classes.
When she got back to Jody's house, after she finished her homework, Kya flew around the woods. She wasn't able to stay in the air for long, and it was a bit harder to start, but it was comforting. Her wings were healing, the burned feathers falling out and new ones sprouting. The bullet wound she got a few months ago had healed significantly, until it was nearly nonexistent.
Kya sat high in a tree, looking out at the forest below. She could see a few baby deer playing around and a rabbit skittering about. There were several birds settled in the trees beside her, singing. Kya smiled. She loved this forest.
A gunshot made her jump, and Kya stared as one of the baby deers feel crying out in pain. Kya jumped, flying down to it and settling beside it. There was a bullet hole in its shoulder. The deer writhed in pain, crying for its mother. Kya was careful not to touch it.
Footsteps made her look up. Three tall men were approaching. One saw her and began to run over. Kya backed away, her eyes darting from the baby deer to the men. "The hell...?" One of them muttered, raising his hunting rifle her way.
Kya ran, her wings stretched so she could fly. After a few failed attempts, she was in the air. Bullets whizzed past her wings, causing her to duck and move expertly away. Once she was far enough, she settled on a tree. Kya was shaking, that was too close.
Kya began her way home, deciding that that was enough flying for today.
0/0/0/0
Kya waited for Jody to finish getting ready. She was already set, with her school bag by the door. A thud hitting the door made her freeze. Kya glance out the window, it was just the newspaper.
She stepped outside, grabbing it, and bringing it in. Kya was going to toss it, until she saw an article on the cover the made her gasp.
"Sorry, kid, I couldn't find my badge, but I'm ready now." Kya jumped as Jody walked down the stairs, hiding the newspaper.
"O–Oh, ok–okay. Uhm, I–I will ge–get in–in–in the, uhm, then ca–car then," Kya stammered, hurrying to leave the house.
"Wait," Jody called out. Kya could feel the suspicious stare from her. "What are you hiding?"
"No–Nothing," Kya lied. "I should—We sh–should, uhm, go–go, s–s–so I a–am not la–late." Kya turned to run but Jody was faster, snatching the newspaper out of her hand.
Kya slumped against the door, watching Jody's expression as she read the headline news. "Damn it," She mumbled, and Kya flinched. "Kya, I said you have to be careful if you were going to fly!"
"I–I–I kn–know!" Kya said, her voice shaking. "Bu–But the–they sh–sh–shot a ba–baby de–deer and I–I–I went to–to go ch–check on it–it, th–then th–they ca–came!" Tears were growing in her eyes, and she turned her attention to the ground, "I–I–I a–am so–sorry, M–Mrs. Jo–Jody. I... I–I wi–will no–not f–fl–fly an–anymore..."
Jody sighed, running a hand down her face. "Go get in the car, we can talk about this after school," Kya gave a defeated nod, but followed the woman's instructions.
0/0/0/0
Kya was twitchy all day at school. Everyone was talking about what had happened, the two men who met an angel in the woods. Some speculated that maybe the angel was upset that they killed the deer, others believed that it couldn't possibly be true. Luckily, they hadn't had any cameras to bring as evidence, so nobody could really prove anything.
Kya sighed, she really wouldn't be able to go flying anytime soon, especially if the woods would be riddled with people trying to find and capture this mysterious angel.
"My daddy says that he knows he saw it!" One of the girls boasted. Her name was Alexandrea, and she was albino with silvery hair, white irises and pale skin. "That's why he was in the news!"
"Your dad was with them?" A male student questioned incredulously.
"Yep!" She grinned, "My daddy was the one who shot the deer." Kya rose an eyebrow, she didn't remember seeing an albino man in the three men that attacked her. But, she supposed, that she had been in a hurry, and didn't get a clear look at his face. "There were even reporters at our house today, they were big men, asking about the angel. My daddy is gonna be famous now!"
Kya froze when she heard it, big men? Could that be Erasers? She was moving to question the girl on it, but her teacher walked in, settling the class as he began to teach.
Later, during dismissal, Kya sat outside, waiting for Jody. She was usually late, but if she knew she was, she usually had someone else pick her up.
Alexandra skipped past Kya, going to a car that had just pulled up. A man stepped out, smiling. "Daddy!" Alexandra grinned, running to him. He smirked, picking her up in his arms, laughing.
Kya blinked, her eyes wide, this was the man that she saw the other day. The one that shot the baby deer. He was talking to Alexandra, but Kya wasn't listening. She saw Jody's car driving in, stuck in a bit of the carpool traffic. Kya willed her to go faster.
She heard a small gasp from the man and flinched, but didn't look his way, "Hey, sweetheart, who's that?" He asked, motioning towards Kya.
"That's Kya, she's new," Alexandra said. Kya hissed, standing, and beginning to run to Jody's car.
Alexandra and her father continued talking, staring holes in the back of her head. Kya flinched, but didn't stop running. Soon, she made it to Jody's car and jumped in the backseat.
"Kya, what's wrong?" Jody asked, confused.
"Th–The m–man wh–who sh–shot the–the baby d–deer. He–He rec–recognized me. Er–Erasers me–met up with hi–him, we n–need to g–go, no–now!" Kya said, her heart pounding. Jody understood and turned out of the school parking lot, heading straight home.
0/0/0/0
As soon as she got to the house, Kya jumped out of the car, running inside, heading straight for the kitchen. "What are you looking for?" Jody asked, following her.
Kya found it in the fridge. She snatched it out and set it on the counter. "Lemon juice?"
"Ke–Keeps do–dogs a–away," Kya replied, closing the fridge and going to the drawer. She pulled out a packet of chili powder and set that down too. "Ca–Ca–Capsaicin helps to–too."
"You think it'll keep the Erasers away?" Kya nodded, running to the supply closet, pulling out an empty spray bottle. She poured the lemon juice and chili pepper seasoning into the bottle, then began to spray herself with it. After she deemed herself 'unclean' she began to spray the entire house.
"Wi–Windows, o–open," Kya said distractingly, but Jody got the message. Soon, the entire house smelled like chili peppered-lemons, which wasn't the best scent in the world.
After Kya finished, she sighed, sitting at the kitchen table. Jody was getting her things ready, she had to head back to the station. "Do you really think this'll work?" Jody asked, and Kya nodded. "Won't they realize that the house smells too strange and check it?"
"Er–Erasers a–are dumb," Kya replied, "Th–They will n–notice th–that the h–house s–smells bad, an–and they w–will tu–turn away. Th–They wi–will pr–probably th–think you a–are a–a hi–hippie." Jody snorted, and Kya smiled. "Th–This will ma–mask my s–scent. I sh–should be g–good for a–a–a few da–days, th–then I sh–should g–go to th–the Bu–Bunker."
"Are you going to stay at the Bunker?" Jody asked, but Kya shook her head.
"O–Only un–until th–they le–leave." Kya paused, frowning a bit, "I–I ap–apologize, Mr–Mrs. Jo–Jo–Jody. If I–I ha–had j–just listened to–to you, th–then—"
"This isn't your fault, Kya," Jody assured. "You couldn't have possibly known that was going to happen. What's done is done, so we just gotta work with the aftermath," Kya nodded, and Jody smiled.
"I–I wo–would hu–hug yo–you, bu–but th–them I would h–have to sp–spray you a–again... So–Sorry." Jody laughed, and waved as she left the house.