Thank you everyone for your wonderful reviews! They always make my day, and to all my U.S. readers, happy Fourth of July! Yay for fireworks and independence :P

The first part of Plan B wasn't any different from our initial plan. We still had to get my dad out and Fallon still had to distract the guards who were positioned outside the basement prison. Thankfully, when Jet staked out the place the other day he reported that there were only two guards standing guard. Despite the bad news that Drew had stolen our escape route (and had gotten caught doing so), Jet told Fallon the next morning that he had even located the keys to my dad's prison on one of the guards. It was my job to grab them.

I just hoped that we were actually able to successfully execute this plan.

I tried not to think about what would happen if we got caught. Aside from the few choice words she had for Yvette and the chief that night, no one had seen or heard of Drew since Yvette had carted her away. Part of me felt bad for Drew. Like me, all she wanted was to escape the tribe that wrongfully imprisoned her. If we had more time, I would have considered finding her and helping her break out too, but, with Yvette's warning echoing in our heads, we agreed that the sooner we left the better.

Checking the time, I opened my window and stuck my head out into the chilly morning air. The temperature had definitely increased a bit over the past two days—it was still pretty cold out—but it rose just enough to melt most of the remaining snow. That meant that, if we were successful, we would be less likely to leave footprints for anyone from the tribe to follow. Of course, there was always the fact that they could track my scent, but, hopefully, once Jet and I made it to Brad it wouldn't matter whether or not they found my scent.

It was still dark out—at four-thirty in the morning the sun had yet to rise. I had gotten out of bed an hour ago, figuring at that point an hour of sleep (if I miraculously managed to fall asleep during that hour) wouldn't help me any more than no sleep. I had gone over the plan in my head at least a dozen times as well as practiced shifting into various small animals.

I knew I wasn't just prepared, but also ready—and yet, I couldn't help feeling nervous. I still hadn't perfected my flying. If our plan did work and we made it home, I would have to ask Skye for pointers. Flying was the one part of being a shapeshifter that didn't come naturally to me—well, that and possibly breathing fire when in dragon form—I had yet to try that and, truthfully, wasn't too eager to start. While being able to shift into any animal was fun and exciting, having that amount of power also scared me.

But I couldn't worry about that now. Fallon and Jet would be waiting for me.

I shifted into a black cat, jumped up onto my open windowsill and down into the dirt below. Keeping to the shadows, I managed to make it to our meeting spot, just outside the main square. Fallon and Jet were already there, Jet still in human form—but, then again, him being a wolf wasn't exactly part of the plan. I, on the other hand, had to be able to shift between multiple animals.

"You ready?" Fallon asked, holding out her hand for me. I nodded my cat head, something that I was sure looked odd. Concentrating on the small bird form I was supposed to be morphing into, I shifted from the black cat to a wren—a smaller bird typically with brownish coloring and a beak longer than a sparrow. Fallon had thought it would be the best type of bird for what I needed to do, and still be small enough to hide in her pocket.

Spreading my wings, I stumbled a bit as I hopped into the air, fumbling to flap my wings just enough to settle in Fallon's palm. I saw her purse her lips in amusement but thankfully she didn't say anything. She knew I wasn't the best flyer.

She carefully helped me into her jacket pocket, then she and Jet snuck off towards the cottage behind the chief's house. We came around the back of the cottage, being sure to stay hidden in the shrubbery that lined that section of the wall.

"Okay, remember," Fallon whispered to Jet, "Don't come out until you hear me say 'you'll never catch me.'"

"I know," Jet said, rather irritably. I smiled to myself. Clearly Jet wasn't too fond of Fallon, but, then again, Fallon did tend to push a lot of people's buttons, mine included.

Leaving Jet crouched behind the bushes, she tiptoed around the side of the house to the front door. Not bothering to be quiet anymore, she turned the doorknob and walked right in as if she owned the place. She let her footsteps echo across the floor as she made her way over to the basement door.

Fallon held the door open for a few seconds, both of us listening. Then… "Hell-ohh?" Fallon called down the steps, smiling when we heard the grunting and shuffling of the guards below. She quickly closed the door, pushing back against it as the footsteps of the guards thundered up the stairs towards us.

When the door didn't immediately give under their light pressure, one of the guards yelled, "Who's there? You're not supposed to be here."

I did my best to fly out of Fallon's pocket, landing on the counter nearby as she backed away from the door. A second later, the two guards came barreling into the room, no doubt expecting the force holding them in the basement to still be against the door.

"You again!" One shouted spotting Fallon, "Did you not learn your lesson last time?"

Fallon crossed her arms over her chest as I crept towards the belt loop of the second guard. "What lesson?" she asked, sugar pouring from her upturned lips.

"This area is off limits," the second guard told her, "And, you're out after curfew."

Fallon frowned, glancing quickly at me before returning her gaze to the guards—they could have mistaken her eye movement for a fleeting look at her watch. "Technically, I'm out before curfew's been lifted."

I flapped my wings, desperately trying to keep myself airborne while also not attracting the attention of either guard, especially that of the second seeing as I was hovering right next to his right hip.

"Doesn't matter," the first said, "Either way you are breaking the rules."

Sticking my head forward, I grabbed the set of keys with my beak, gently lifting them off the chain on the guard's belt.

"You're coming with us," the second guard said, stepping towards Fallon. I silently breathed a sigh of relief and pumped my wings harder—the keys were heavier than I anticipated—but, then again, I was only a three inch bird.

Fallon smiled, seeing I had the keys, and turned towards the exit. "You'll have to catch me first." She then darted outside and the guards ran after her. I sung to the floor under the weight of the keys.

From outside, I heard Fallon sing, "You'll never catch me!" Pounding footsteps then…silence.

I shifted into human form and picked up the set of keys, glad to have fingers and opposable thumbs again. The front door of the cottage creaked a bit and I looked up to see Jet sneaking inside. Under normal circumstances, I would have blushed and attempted to cover myself in his presence, but, since nothing about breaking out of a place that was more of a prison than a happy community could be considered normal, I tried not to care.

"This way," I said, slipping down the stairs, Jet following behind. At the bottom, I turned and walked to the small opening in my dad's cell door.

"Marina?" he asked, already standing at the door, "What are you doing here?"

I smiled at him. "We're getting out. And you're coming too."

"Marina, you shouldn't have worried about me," he said, "Just go. Go now before the guards return."

I raised my eyebrows at him, smiling wider. "Then what was the point of getting this key?" I raised it for him to see before inserting it into the hole next to the doorknob. A click later and the door swung open. My dad stepped out, smiling too now. "Besides, they shouldn't be back for awhile…hopefully."

"John?" my dad asked, noticing Jet for the first time, "What are you doing here?"

"Later," I said before Jet could speak, "Fallon bought us some time, but eventually the guards will be back. We don't want to be here when that happens."

"Hold on," my dad said, glancing over to another cell door, "There's someone else down here."

I walked over to the other door and peeked in the opening. Staring up at me from the stone floor was a lynx. "I'll get you out," I said to the cat. But, before I could turn to the keyhole, the lynx in the cell shifted to reveal Drew in its place.

"Don't," she snapped.

I frowned at her. "We're going to escape. I thought that's what you wanted?"

"Of course I do, but, like I told you before, I don't need your help," she snarled, "I've been on my own my whole life. I can get myself out of this hell hole."

I stared at her for a moment, completely shocked. Did she really distrust people that much that she won't even let me unlock her cell door for her?

She sat back down on the cold floor and looked up at me. "I thought you didn't have a lot of time."

Without another look back, I turned, shifting into the black cat again, and raced up the steps after Jet and my dad. Once outside, the three of us stuck to the shadows as much as possible. Because of my current favorable size and color, I was the one who peeked around each corner and gaze the "all clear." We made our way towards the South entrance, not coming across quite as many guards as I expected—hopefully that meant Fallon was proving to be more of a handle than her two guards anticipated and there wasn't someone else creating trouble at this time in the morning. We couldn't afford to have another plan stolen.

My dad and Jet crouched by the wall of the main training center while I snuck around to see if Brad had already executed his part of the plan.

I immediately noticed that the main gate was open. That meant they had heard Brad's distraction.

If there weren't still five guards standing by the gate I would have signaled to make a break for it then and there, but we couldn't risk being seen. We didn't want anyone coming after us before we had made it safely to Brad's car and were on our way home.

I watched as one guard cocked his head to the left: listening. He then beckoned for two guards to follow him outside and around the other side of the wall. I couldn't help but smile at how well things were working so far. We still had to escape.

Sleeking back to my dad and Jet, I shifted into human form once more. "Tell Brad that he needs to amp it up. There are still two guards at the gate."

Jet nodded.

Initially I had doubted Brad's idea for using walkie-talkies stashed in various trees of brush to draw the attention of the guards. But he had insisted that by strategically placing one every hundred feet or so, and turning each to a different channel, that they could give the illusion of someone walking around the edge of the wall. And, depending what the guards heard out of the walkie-talkies depended on quickly they reacted to the possible threat. Brad was supposed to simply talk like he was on an actual hunting trip, but if all the guards didn't respond after that, then he was supposed to actually set off a few gun shots. We were sure that the guards would go running if they heard the sound of guns.

I peeked around the corner and saw the two guards exchange nervous glances before one disappeared into the trees beyond the gate. Only one guard remained. I supposed we could manage to sneak by him, but it wasn't ideal.

But then the last guard did something none of us had expected—he pressed the button to close the gate. My eyes widened as the giant doors before slowly began to come together.

No, no, no.

"We have to make a break for it now," I said, not bothering to keep my voice down. Without another moment's hesitation we rushed forward. There was still at least a fifteen foot gap between the doors…twelve…ten…seven…four…

"Stop!" the last guard shouted.

We ignored him and kept running. Three…we were going to make it.

"Stop, or I sound the alarm!"

I slowed and turned to see the guard still standing beside the controls for the gate, but this time, his hand was hovering over a different button—which, just so happened to be a big, red button—figures. In front of me the doors to the gate sealed shut.

My heart sank. We were so close.

"Hold your arms out and walk back over here," the guard said, rather smugly, "And no shifting."

Slowly, we obliged. In the light the guard was finally able to make out our faces. If he was surprised he didn't show it.

"Well, well, well," he said, glancing between each of us, "What do we have here? A criminal, a savior," the way he said "savior" made me want to throw up, "and a—"

Thunk!

The guard's head smashed into the controls—conveniently reopening the gate for us—and his body crumpled to the ground.

"Gloating is not very attractive you know…especially on you." Fallon ran her fingers over the tops of her knuckles as she smiled down at the unconscious guard.

"Fallon?" I asked incredulously. My body couldn't seem to express the level of surprise and gratefulness at seeing my friend standing before me. "But what happened to the guards chasing you?"

"Like I told you, I know how to make myself invisible," she said pulling a piece of cloth from behind her back, "I thought you might want this."

Taking the dress from her, I pulled it over my head. It did little to ease the cold but it was a nice cover. I grabbed her, pulling her into a hug and breaking out into a smile myself. "Thank you," I whispered in her ear and then let go, "for everything. I'm really going to miss you."

Fallon smiled again, showing her teeth. "Are you crazy?" she demanded. She gestured to the small backpack hanging off her shoulders. "I'm coming with you!"

I just continued smiling as we made a break for the gate and slipped into the partially snowy woods. We probably ran for about a mile, doing our best not to make a distinguishable path through the trees. We didn't suspect we were being followed, but we also didn't want to take the chance.

"Hold up," Jet said suddenly, tilting his head. We slowed to a stop, all quiet, listening for something other than the stirring of animals—well, normal animals.

Then we heard it.

It was soft, almost unnoticeable in the silent trees, but it was recognizable—the pounding of numerous paws on soil.

"They're coming," Fallon whispered—the fear in her voice uncharacteristic. It was only then that I realized she was just as desperate as I was to escape the tribe, if not more.

"This way," Jet said, cutting to the right. Then to Brad, he said, "We're heading west a bit. Meet us further down the road."

We ran faster now that we knew we were being pursued. But our speed didn't seem to matter. In human form we were slower than the guards, and it soon became clear that no matter how fast we ran, they would eventually catch us.

We slowed, ducking behind a set of three large pine trees, as the paws go louder in our ears like some sort of impending doom.

"We could hide," Fallon suggested, glancing around the area.

Jet and I both shook our heads.

"They would sniff us out," my dad said.

"Then what do we do?"

We all exchanged looks. I was at a loss—there was nothing we could do.

Looking around at each of us, my dad spoke carefully, "You three continue heading west. I'll go back east and lead them away."

"No!" I said immediately. He wasn't going to leave us. I wasn't going to lose my dad again.

My dad smiled sadly at me. "Marina, sweetie," he said softly, "It's the only chance you have. I told you you needed to escape. I'm grateful you got me out too, but all I ever wanted was for you to be safe."

"But—"

He kissed the top of my head and the words died in my throat. "Go home," he whispered, "Tell everyone I'm okay and that...I'll come when I can."

Tears lined the crevices of my eyes as he took me in his arms, hugging me tight. I nodded when he pulled away.

"Go," he said a bit more urgently.

Jet took the lead, weaving our way through the trees as my dad headed in the opposite direction. Part of me secretly hoped that my dad's idea didn't work—I didn't want to leave him behind—but I knew that he was right. I couldn't stay in the tribe, and, if they caught me now I would most likely never get the chance to leave again.

The sound of paws behind us grew distant the further and further we went. After about half an hour we slowed, no longer able to hear anyone following us. By now the sun had risen—no doubt people in the tribe would be beginning to wake up, if they hadn't already—and that meant we had less than an hour before they realized we (well, I) were gone and sent a search party after us. Ten to fifteen minutes later, Jet stopped completely, his head swiveling to survey the area.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Fallon asked, leaning against a nearby tree as if it was the only thing keeping her upright.

"Of course," said Jet, his eyes settling on slightly to his left as if he was mentally plotting the path ahead of him, "We have to head downhill more. Come on, it's not much further."

I instinctively sniffed the air but couldn't pick anything up. Had I been in wolf form I would have no doubt been able to pick up Brad's scent.

We continued walking. The air had begun to warm up, however slightly, thanks to the sun but the ground was still frozen and I couldn't feel my feet. It really wasn't long before I spotted a gap in the trees—a gap filled by something large and black—Brad's car.

We stepped out into the clearing, which, I quickly realized existed because someone had made a dirt road. But the road wasn't the first thing I noticed. No, that was Brad.

He looked exactly as he had the day he "kidnapped" me from the adoption agency and taken me for a ride on his jet-ski. His arms were crossed, revealing the toned in his chest and forearms, and he was leaning against the hood of his Charger. His crystalline, blue eyes had honed in on me, staring at me so intently that I couldn't help but squirm on the inside.

Smiling sheepishly at him, I said, "Hey."

Brad didn't respond. I suddenly found myself enveloped in his arms.

"Are you okay?" he asked as I hugged him back, "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

Pulling back, I shook my head. "No, I'm fine."

A noise to my left diverted my attention.

"We should get going," Jet said.

Brad drove and Jet got in on the passenger side while Fallon and I slid in the back. Once we were buckled, Fallon leaned over to me and whispered in my ear, "I understand now," her eyes finding Brad up front, "About not being able to choose. He is hot."

I bit my lip glancing between the two boys in the front. I knew I couldn't lead them both on for much longer—I had to choose soon. But I didn't want to worry about that now. In fact, I didn't want to worry about anything at all.

Turning my head to look behind me, I smiled. We did it. I was finally free of the tribe.

So I promised a couple chapters back that I would announce which characters would be making appearances in this next group. I would like to thank CelticH2O for the submission of Kiara Benson and paigerz54 for Kye Russel. I'm thinking both these characters will first appear in chapter 13 and then play bigger roles in chapters 15, 16, and 17. As before, I hope that I can accurately portray the characters you designed. If there is any aspect of the character you would really like me to include in the story, feel free to message me and I'll do my best to put it in.

Also, if anyone was wondering, this story is going to be much longer than the previous two. I already have more than thirty chapters planned out (including the ones posted), and there's still a bunch of things I want to make happen before I figure out the ending. At the moment, I'm thinking this story will be around forty-five chapters, maybe even fifty, so there's still a long way to go.

Thanks again for the submissions and I hope everyone will continue to stick it out with Marina! :)