Okay, I had to admit, breaking into a house was kind of fun.

I waited until sundown to pick the best house to sneak into. It took me the entire day to watch how the people were acting here, and I noticed that many of them went out for long boat rides off into the distance and far away from their houses. There was one house that seemed quiet throughout most of the day, and didn't have any outside cameras or obvious alarm system. It was a decent looking house, and now I was climbing through one of the back windows.

I tumbled onto the carpet and quickly shut the window behind me, which kicked up a little bit of dust. In fact, the entire house was caked with dust. My heart was racing with excitement and cautiousness, and I tried to keep myself to a crouch just in case anybody was looking in from the outside. When I tumbled in, I ran into a nightstand and froze in fear of somebody hearing me. I stared around the room and out through the door into the main area.

Nothing.

The house was empty.

I let out a shuddering breath and tried to relax. But I had to be on edge just in case.

I also knew I had to move quick.

So first off, food.

I made a beeline for the kitchen and started opening every cabinet and drawer I could find. At first I couldn't find anything, then I saw a jar of peanut butter and chips in a high cabinet. Yes! I tore into the bag without thinking, causing it to explode with chips scattered everywhere on the floor. I didn't care. I shoved handfuls into my mouth, and tasting the saltiness on my lips made me crave even more. I dipped some in peanut butter and managed to finish the bag and jar in minutes.

And I was still hungry.

I checked the fridge, found two cans of diet coke and some frozen food in the freezer. I popped open the cans and started downing them while throwing some frozen food into the microwave. After chugging both cans, and letting out the biggest burps in the world, I grabbed the food and tore into those too. I wasn't for sure what it was, but it tasted amazing.

I ended up laying on a couch after ransacking the rest of the house for food. I burped happily and closed my eyes. When was the last time I had food like this? A yawn escaped from my mouth and I felt my eyes droop. Maybe I should take a nap. Nobody is going to come into this house.

I nodded and turned over on my stomach, relaxing my back and letting my wings unfurl to cover me like a blanket. What if I just lived here? What if I just lived here for the rest of my life? I probably could. But before I could make any decision, I was going to rest up. I closed my eyes and let myself drift off into deep sleep.

The sound of a car door slamming woke me instantly. I scrambled to my feet and stared around the house, realizing I had slept through the entire night. Just outside I could hear voices, so I crouched down and peered at the windows as my heart raced in my chest. Just as I heard the talking, it stopped and I knew something was wrong. I glanced around the house, realizing I literally tore into the place like a rabid raccoon or something. Please tell me raccoons live out here…

A bang on the front door made me jump two feet in the air. Something whistled past my ear at the same time a window shattered and I ducked into the nearest room. I shut the door behind me as quickly and quietly as I could, but it was no use. I heard another crash and what sounded like growling.

The wolves.

They found me.

Stupid stupid stupid! I told myself as I searched the room for some clothes. I shouldn't have taken that nap; I should've got out of here as quickly as I got in. Now I have to pick the best clothes I could without getting myself killed! Or worse.

Suddenly a boot appeared halfway through the door and I let out a small scream. I instantly covered my mouth and shoved what looked like to be leggings on. I squeezed myself into the tiny closet I was searching and slid the door closed just as the man entered the room. I still didn't have a shirt, and it was pitch black except for the faint line of light between the two sliders. Keeping my mouth covered, I peeked through and saw one of the wolf men point a large rifle around the room, taking large steps and breathing heavily.

"I can smell you, you little cat," he snickered as he paced the room. He reached the other side of the room and shot twice underneath the bed, making me jump again and causing a shirt to fall on my shoulder. I couldn't see it, but I knew he heard me because his yellow eyes were staring at the closet now. A big grin appeared on his face and I stepped back further into the closet, letting the clothes envelop me.

Now all I could see was his big hairy chest and I could feel his breath on my hair. I could feel my heart pounding in my ears as the door started to slide open slowly.

"I found you-" I jumped out just as he opened it enough and tackled him to the ground. And I have to tell you, tackling a big guy like him is really difficult. The back of his head collided with the bed frame causing him to crumple to the floor. I tumbled sideways, a shirt in my hand as I scrambled away from him. I heard multiple shouts from the kitchen and the guy groaning in pain. He pointed his gun at me and yelled, "Get her!"

I dodged at the last second, feeling the bullet graze my side before throwing myself out the small window just next to me. I landed on grass, thankfully, but I could feel the glass shards scrape against my skin. I heard a scream down the lake a bit, and it hit me that these guys didn't care what others saw.

All that mattered was me.

Another gunshot seared through the air and into the next home over, causing a family to scream in terror at their kitchen table. Jesus! They really don't care about anybody! I had to get out of there, fast, before somebody got hurt… before I got hurt.

So I took off like the wind, literally, and the world around me became a blur. There was no way for them to catch me at this speed. I curved my way up and away from the lake, and readied my wings to take flight. But as soon as I did, pain tore through me and I stumbled a bit in my step. That could only mean one thing.

My wing wasn't completely healed.

Damn! I thought as I caught myself before face planting in the dirt. Squinting, I saw a chopper far off in the distance, and what looked like to be several black SUVs. It was enough to scare me, so I turned back towards the lake to see even more wolf guys ready to intercept me. Oh hell no. I turned my body at the last second and started running along the lake, feeling hot breath on my heels again. The dogs! And my chest started to heave from lack of oxygen. I wasn't going to win this match, because a lake is a body of water. A round body of water. I glanced back, seeing the danger I was running from and some appearing far up ahead. Screams carried in the air and all I could think about, in that moment, of what would happen to the people there. What did they see? What will iTex do with them? I had to get out of here, and fast. I couldn't fly, and I couldn't outrun them forever. The sun glinted off the lake just at the right moment to catch my eye. Oh yeah.

I ran at full speed towards the body of water and the shouts from the wolf men got lost behind me. They knew that they couldn't get me underwater, unless they were part fish. But I had the upper advantage now. Bullets hurled at me, but I was too quick, and I dove into the water at the last second, feeling it bubble around me as I shifted my breathing as quickly as possible. My heart roared and chest hurt, but I had to control it this time. If I didn't, I could actually die. I swallowed and breathed out as quickly and carefully as possible.

Bullets seared through the water, one nicking my shoulder, telling me to get the heck out of there. But where would I go? This was a lake. They could circle it all they wanted to. This was the most ridiculous idea ever-

I froze when I saw a small fish swim towards me from far in front of me. Fish are rarely seen in lakes, unless it was a big lake. My eyes widened as I waded a little further forward, keeping my breathing steady and seeing an opening in the distance. This lake was bigger than I expected. It was huge. I could get out of here. I kicked and felt another bullet splash into the water, but completely missing me this time. They were stopping. They had to give up. Unless they had some technology to see me underwater, I was clear. I was free, again.

I let out a huge sigh and let my body sink lower into the water, closing my eyes and smiling a bit. I was in the clear, for now, at least. I had a feeling I was going to run into them again, but now that I was in the water, I was okay. The touch of the water through my fingers felt amazing- I glanced at my right hand and saw the shirt that I grabbed from the closet.

Oh god.

It was an orange striped shirt that tied at the left side. The water made it hard to see any other details but I had to admit, it looked horrible. I hated stripes, it was my least favorite pattern. If it was polka dots, I could handle it. But this was all I had.

I pulled it over my head and gagged a little bit. Even though it was tight around the neck, it was a shirt. And that's all that matters. I kicked towards the opening I saw and turned onto my back, wishing to look up out of the water to see if they were still there. No, I don't want to risk it. So I kept below the surface, swimming, breathing, away from those insane freaks.