Be prepared for a long chapter!

?'S P.O.V

My hand wraps around the throat of the white-coat, cooling to freezing temperatures. He squirms as his throat freezes, his blood turning to ice. He stops moving, and I let go, his frozen body dropping to the ground. A second passes before Erasers flood the room, the tranquilizer guns in their hands going off.

I fall to the ground, next to the dead man. The world fades and I find myself eye to eye with the man. I smile, having finally killed the man who killed my family. My eyes close and I drift away, the darkness welcome and sweet.

…

I wake up in a room, the walls cold gray steel. The room is one the hybrids call "The Arctic" because of the freezing temperatures. Most of the hybrids hate it, and consider it torture. I love it, the cold and silence, the perfect solitude. This silence is broken when the wall opens to become a doorway, and the Erasers throw in a girl. The wall closes, and the girl turns to me. She has brown hair, blue-green eyes, and looks around thirteen or so. I speak my voice rough from disuse.

"Who are you?"

"My names Albany. Who are you?"

"North. Hybrid?"

"Two percent Hummingbird. How about you?"

"Four percent Snow Leopard and two percent Snowy Owl. Abilities?"

"Weak telekinesis."

"Control of cold."

I held back my ability to detect lies, and forced a smile. This Albany was wearing clothes from outside (I guessed she had escaped, but had been captured and brought back), and probably knew more about escaping. She would be a valuable asset.

She smiled back and spoke.

"So, does the cold affect you? I mean, you look like you're warm. I wish I had fur right now."

She was referring to the short but warm layer of fur over my body. It was white, with some black spot things (like a snow leopard). I have cat like ears and a tail, and pads on my hands on feet, plus retractable claws. I also have large white wings with black flecks that I can wrap around myself to stay warm (though I never do, since my fur is good enough).

She shivered and I wrapped her in one wing, her shivers slowly disappearing. She fell asleep after a few minutes, and I sat in the sweet silence.

Albany's P.O.V

I ran, my blood pounding in my ears, the water steadily rising around my ankles. My mind raced, trying to find the way out. I was in a maze, trying to escape before the room filled with water. I turned left, and then right, another right and a left. By now the water was to my waist, and slowed me down greatly.

I took a few more turns and saw the exit ahead. I struggled against the water that was now to my chest. I realized that I wasn't getting anywhere at this rate, and decided to swim. I sucked in a deep breath, and dove under. I swam as fast as I could, drawing closer to the exit hatch. My lungs burned, and I swam to the surface. I gulped in air, and drew one last breath as the water reached the ceiling. I reached the hatch, and wanted to cry. It had three combination locks, each with twenty number combos.

I set to work on the first one, using my telekinesis to try to unlock the inner mechanisms. After a bit it unlocked. I worked on the next one, soon unlocking it. Then I went to the next one. I was about to run out of breath when it popped open. The hatch swung open, and came rushing out with a torrent of water.

I sucked in a breath, and the hatch shut. I knelt on my hands and knees, exhausted from the maze and from using my power. After a minute Erasers came in and carried me to a crate. Silas was sleeping in the crate to my right, and Six was right across from me (also asleep). I sat up the best I could, and looked to my left. North sat there, his (he had a female body, but told me he identified as male) tail flicking away a fly. He had white hair to a bit above his chin, and blue-gray eyes that were cold.

"Hey North."

"Hey Albany. Do you know these people?"

"Yeah, they're my friends. That's Silas and that's Six. Our friend Ash was captured with us, but I haven't seen her since we were grabbed. I'm a bit worried ab"Why?"

"You see, she has these visions slash seizure things, and she had one when we were grabbed, and she hasn't woken up since. Oh, let me tell you about them. Six is two percent Inca Dove, and two percent Aloe Vera. She has healing saliva and visions of the future. Silas is two percent Cheetah, and two percent Little Brown Myotis (it's a type of bat), and I don't know if he has abilities. Ash, who isn't here, is two percent red winged black bird, and can control fire."

I left out her mind reading, since I don't fully trust him yet, and I wanted to have the upper hand just in case. North nodded, and started licking the back of his hand. After a few seconds though he looked up and his ears started twitching.

"Someone's coming, act asleep."

I curled up and half closed my eyes, watching the woman who came in. She was around 5'9", had pitch black hair in a tight bun, terra-cotta skin, and piercing eyes the color of clear jade. She looked to be about forty or so, and had an aura of confidence.

She turned to Six's crate, and motioned for an Eraser to open it. Six stirred and woke up, blinking away the sleep from her eyes. The woman smiled, and spoke.

"Hello Number Six. I am Supreme Director Nina Frey. How was your experience of the outside? Never mind, you might as well save the memories, since you'll never leave here again. Six, you must understand that you are extremely valuable, and to lose you, any of my property, is equivalent to losing thousands of dollars in investments. And I can't afford to lose that, plus, once your abilities are fully developed, I can sell you for double my investment. Now, you're going to come with me, and we'll run some tests honey, and you'll tell me where your friends are hiding."

"I'm not your property to sell, and you won't take me without blood spilling, probably yours. Rot in hell "Miss Supreme dictator" (Six even made little air quotations when she said that), and you're not going to get any information from me."

Six was holding her own well, but I could see she was losing energy, and was about to collapse. Nina chuckled, and motioned to our crates.

"You see, your other friends aren't what I need. I need you, and the one who calls herself Dre. You are the keys to my research, and I'm willing to sacrifice as many of your "friends" to make you talk."

Nina made a motion to the Eraser, who came over to my crate, and opened the door. He grabbed me by my neck and lifted me above the floor, cutting off my air. I struggled against him, kicking and hitting to no avail. Spots danced across my vision, and darkness crept in.

"Please let her go! T-they went west to the coast! I swear, just please let her go."

Nina nodded, and the eraser dropped me. I sucked in air, rubbing my sore and bruising throat. Six looked over at me, her eyes full of guilt. I whispered the best I could with a partially crushed wind pipe. "It's okay". Six shook her head and mouthed "I'm sorry". Then they took her away.

Dre's P.O.V

I ducked into the shadow, slipping into the shadow world. The Erasers ran past, not realizing I had disappeared. The shadow world was where I went when I stepped into the shadows, a strange reflection of our world devoid of color. Here shadows showed as little spots of light, where I could step out through them into our world.

The others were hiding in a cave in the mountains, where I had told them to stay when I heard the Erasers. I had led them away, leading them through the trees. I ran through the shadow world, where I'm faster than normal (I don't really teleport through shadows; I just travel through the shadow world). After a few minutes I reached the cave, where I stepped out of a shadow in the back. Noreen jumped, and cursed under her breath, Bean, who had been sleeping half way on her lap whined at the disturbance to his nap.

"Jesus Dre! I told you not to do that! You're gonna give me a heart attack someday."

"Ugh, calm down Nori wrap. I led the Erasers about five miles away, so we should have enough time to get out of here."

Noreen scowled at her nickname, and went back to drawing. I looked over her shoulder at her work. It was of a woman sitting in a chair, her eyes closed, and her eyes were shadowed with lack of sleep. It was really detailed, and had a sort of aura of sadness, but had under tones of hope and slight anger. I had never seen a piece of art with so much emotion in it, and I was surprised.

"Wow, that's really good. Who is it?"

"It's not that good, I mean, I've seen better. It's my mom. She's in a mental hospital."

"Oh, I'm sorry. "

"Don't be. She's not crazy, well, not that crazy. I mean, wouldn't you have a extreme mental breakdown after finding out that the man you love stole your first born son, injected your daughter with cat DNA in the womb, and then told the police that you had murdered your children, and had you locked away in a mental institute."

"Oh."

She shrugged, and went back to her drawing. Phoenix was playing with a small ball of fire, and Nine was eating a small roasted rabbit. I sat down on the cold stone floor, and closed my eyes. A few seconds later I could hear Raven and Borealis talking.

"Rav, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine Boring. How has being a loser been treating you?"

"Fine, Raving Lunatic. I'm going to go sift through old memories, you're not invited."

"Good, that way I can go sulk in peace, Boring."

Borealis sighed, frustrated at his nickname. Slowly his presence faded, and he disappeared into the corners of my mind that I can't reach. Raven noticed I was there, and spoke.

"Oh, hello Dreadful (Ravens nickname for me). I was just having a conversation with sweet little Boring."

"I heard. Is it true that you are a part of my mind?"

"Shamefully, yes. I've been stuck in your boring little head from birth, and will probably be here until you die. Oh, and I don't know squat about the shadow realm."

"How did you know what I was going to ask?"

"Um, I am a part of your mind, so I can hear your thoughts. Duh."

"Well, thanks for the worlds of helpfulness, and see you later Roadkill (my nickname for her)."

"Ugh, whatever."

I opened my eyes, letting them refocus. Nine sat on a rock, packing his backpack, and humming some tune that we had heard on a radio. Bean was still asleep, but now had taken over Phoenix's lap, who tryed to push him off but failed. I heard a scratching sound, and swung my head around. Noreen had found a piece of wood, and was running her claws along it. I shot her a glare, and looked out of the mouth of the cave. That's when I noticed the Erasers climbing up the side of the mountain.

I showed the others, and we got ready. I hid behind a boulder, and grabbed some rocks from the ground, big ones about the size of a softball. I passed them to the others, and reached into the shadow next to me. It felt like reaching into a spot of wet mud or that goop stuff you can make with borax. I pulled away some of it, shaped it in my hands, and hardened it. I ended up with a two foot long blade thing, and I made a second one and passed it to Albany. Bean ignored us and went back to sleep (I swear that dog would sleep through a hurricane).

We didn't have to wait long for the Erasers, and they were at our doorstep in a few minutes. Five stepped in, not yet morphed. They sniffed the air, seeming to have caught our scent, and started morphing. Their faces elongated, and their teeth sharpened, at some points cutting their lips, blood running down their chins. Then we attacked.

Noreen's P.O.V

When they finished morphing, Dre motioned her hand and we attacked. My nails lengthened and I lunged forward, surprising the Eraser. I swung my hand at him, and he blocked, punching me in the shoulder. I ducked below another blow, and quickly punched him in the gut. He reeled backwards, and stumbled, tripping over a rock. He rolled down the hillside, and I turned to the next one.

After five minutes we had finished them up, and we got ready to go. I slipped my back pack on, wincing as it came to rest on my bruised shoulder, and woke up Bean. We grabbed everything and left, slowly going down the mountain side. Every thirty minutes or so we would hear a helicopter, and we would duck into the tree line, waiting until the sound faded.

After a few hours of walking we reached a highway, and we crossed. On the other side we walked down a hill, down to a rocky beach. We had reached the ocean, and we decided to camp here for the night. We walked along the shore for a while, until we found a cave in the side of a cliff.

I climbed up, my pads gripping to the rock well. It was a rough gray stone, full of handholds and easy to climb. I reached the cave and entered, watching as Dre brought Bean through the shadows up. Phoenix turned on a flashlight, and we walked further in. after about fifty yards it widened out, and split off into other little caves. I slipped into one, and opened up my back pack.

I pulled out my sleeping bag and some other stuff, setting it up. After a few minutes Dre grabbed me for dinner (by grab I mean pop out of the shadows and try to scare me to death).

If you were wondering, dinner is cold pork and beans straight from the can, with a side of Dandelion greens and a can of flat soda we had grabbed from a hot dog cart.

I said goodnight to the others, and went to sleep.

Ash's P.O.V

I hate small spaces. A lot. And this was no excuse, the tiny box I was stuck in. It was about three feet tall and three feet wide, and it sucked. Okay, slow breathing. I remember a kind Eraser from when I was about five, who told me how to ignore the pain from the most recent tests. Breathe slowly, in and out, in and out she would say. Slowly the knot in my stomach faded. I was about to fall asleep when a loud thud startled me awake. A few quieter thuds sounded, and the front of the box slid open.

Fluorescent light spilled through the opening, blinding me. I blinked away the blurriness as I was pulled out. I scowled at Dr. Fleck, who stood on the other side of the room. An Eraser grabbed me, yanking roughly on my left shoulder. I winced at the streak of burning pain from my shoulder, which was sore from being dislocated earlier in the battle (Someone relocated it, and I had passed out).

I struggled in vain, exhausted. The Eraser set me on a gurney, and started wheeling me down a hall. Dr. Fleck walked next to the eraser, humming a jingle from a car insurance commercial. I tried to read his mind, and then I remembered his ability to quench our powers. We went down a few halls, and I stared at the ceiling passing by, trying to memorize all the twists and turns.

I was interrupted by Fleck talking.

"So, I um, was wondering how Nine was doing."

"Why would you care, I mean, you were the one who stole him from his mom and tried to shoot him."

"I took him for his own good! I made him better and yes, it may have been a bumpy road, but in the end he will thank me!"

"Thank you for what? The years of experiments, of needles and tests? Will he thank you for the life you stole from him, from all of us? No. In the end you will find no thanks, only hatred."

By then we were slowing down, and the eraser stopped to punch in a code for a door. I watched, memorizing the numbers. Aaron's face was red, and he exhaled sharply, angry at our conversation.

We entered another white walled room, this one with rows of crates. The Eraser shoved me into one, and I realized I was next to Albany. Aaron told the Eraser something I couldn't hear, and they pulled Silas out of his crate, setting him on the gurney. After they left I turned to Albany.

Her throat was covered in purplish bruises, and she wheezed a bit when she breathed. I gleaned from her mind what had happened while I was gone. So Six was gone, and this Nina lady had taken her.

I reached out with my mind to the other hybrid on the other side of Albany. Their name was North, and they identified as male. They also could tell when someone was lying, and they didn't know about my mind reading. I skimmed their thoughts, then quit after seeing them kill a white-coat.

I was about to wake up Albany when I heard a series of quick pops, which I identified as gunshots. Then I heard a scream, and it was silent again. They must have been terminating failed experiments, which if I could hear it meant we were close to the termination room. The termination room was close to the file room, which was close to the exit, but that was likely blocked after last time..

I curled up, trying not to panic. We were back in the Xeno, and the way we got out last time was pure luck. And with the way things had been working out, we seemed to be out of it. I had been sitting like this for about twenty minutes when two Erasers and a white-coat came in. I tried to struggle as they pulled me out of the crate, but stopped after a bit since the Erasers seemed to not notice.

I pulled a bit of energy from my core and directed it into my hand, creating a small flame. I quickly stuck my hand to the Eraser on my rights ear. After ten seconds of no response I gave up bewildered. The white-coat, a woman with honey blond hair, smirked and turned to me.

"I guess you haven't been introduced to the new generation of Erasers. Meet model A-34 and model MV-62. They have no pain receptors in their brain or nerves, so they will not malfunction when harmed. We also have succeeded with almost completely erasing emotion."

As she said this she smiled, like a child explaining the new toy they had gotten. We eventually stopped in front of a door just like the rest of the doors along the hall. She opened it and they took me over to a menacing metal chair. After strapping me in she pulled out a syringe full of a pink tinged liquid.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to inject you with this. There are no cameras in this room, nor microphones. Electricity free zone."

"Why are you telling me this? Who are you?"

"Just call me Alice, or Dr. Partell. And I'm telling you this because I've known you all your life, and I trust you. I'm going to tell you your past, and you are going to help me find my daughter and help break everyone out of this hell hole."

Oooooo, info dump next chapter! Yay! I'm sorry that its been so long since I updated, I just moved and our new place has no internet so I'm really really sorry. Thank you for reading, and if you like the story, please hit that favorite and follow button!

Luv ya awesome freaks of nature!