Chapter Two: Two More Winged Are Dead
Ten Years Ago. . .
I ran as fast as my feet could carry me. All I could think of was surviving. That is all my parents caught me to do: Survive. If I knew how to survive then I was fine. Nothing else mattered. My parents didn't care about school or if I had any friends. They didn't care if I own the school talent show or if I even had a special talent. It didn't matter if I was allergic to something; I learned to eat the food anyway and tolerate the puffiness. They didn't care if I was the dumbest kid or the brightest student. All that mattered was surviving.
You see, I am one of the only Winged left. Me, my parents and my little sister but she died a few years ago when some adult accidentally saw her wings and shot her. She was only three years old. My parents were devastated and furious. After that, I couldn't go out anywhere. I was locked up at home.
My parents are really paranoid. I had to make sure my wings weren't noticeable or that I was special in the sense that I am not like other humans. I am a descendant of the now pretty much extinct race of humans who used to be gods. I wonder why humans hate us.
My parents also taught me to hate and despise all humans. Being the little stubborn kid that I am, I asked why. I never got an answer. I still don't have an answer. After asking that one time, I gave up. I knew it was a sensitive subject. But, they should have told me. They should have prepared me better. But, of course, they are too worried about surviving when the humans who want me are on my tail. How to run, hide, eat off of scraps and squirrels, how to fight and all that other jazz.
My feet thump against the concrete as I run through the busy city. I could remember that only an hour ago, I was having a peaceful and actually fun family outing with my parents. But they arrived twenty minutes into the movie we decided to go see. They are the people who have been after the Winged or my kind since the beginning. They are the evils who want to experiment on us then kill us. Once they get their hands on one of us, there is no escape. We are done for the minute they even find us.
When they arrived, my parents only said a few words each before taking off and leaving me there to find my own way out. Yeah, that may seem selfish but when they find one of us, that is what we have to be: selfish. It is the only way we can survive. Yeah, my parents care about me but when we are discovered, it is like a button is pushed inside our brains. We immediately shut out everything and focus on two things: getting out and yourself. It's just something that we have learned to accept and do automatically.
Before my mom took off towards the windows, she said, "Survive, darling." and my father said, "Meet us at the bridge."
As they came into the room, I went underneath the seats and my parents took off towards the roof. I heard two gunshots but no cries of pain. I crawled under the seats until I reached the exit. As quiet as I could, I opened the door and started bolting down the street and entered the busy city.
Now, my only thought is to get to the bridge. Make sure parents are alive. You must live. Finally, after sprinting the whole way from the theaters, I come to the park with the bridge. I slow to a walk and try to stay away from the light of the street lamps. Don't be seen. I kneel down and lean against a tree close to the bridge. I don't want to go out until I see my parents. It would just be suicidal and stupid. After a few minutes, I hear the swoops from my parents wings. They both land lightly on the ground and as I am standing up to meet them, dark creatures jump out from the shadows.
I am frozen in place as I watch the creatures bind my parents and I have to fight back tears. One of the shadows pulls out a gun and turns towards another dark figure.
"Should we take them with us or kill them?" My breath freezes as I listen.
"Kill them. They are adults and useless. We know they have a kid. We only need her," Wait… what! They need me? NO, NO, NO. Crap. Crap.
I could tell the two figures speaking are smiling. Before I could blink, two gunshots go off and I have to fight back a scream. I saw my parents slump against the wood of the bridge and could hear the terrifying laughs of the figures as I closed my eyes.
The figures leave and I fall back against the tree, and slide down until I am sitting on the cold grass. Silent tears started to fall down my face as three thoughts ran through my head.
They are after me
I am an orphan
Well, crap.
So? What did you guys think? Ahhh, pour little Maxie! Her parents are dead!
-Kath