We left the next day.

I still wasn't completely healed and it hurt to walk, but I couldn't put them at risk even more. By this point, Erasers should have the address and are scouting the area for us. I winced as Mom embraced me, not wanting to let me go. I hugged back, my own tears staining her dress before pulling away and hugging Dad. My face pressed into his shoulder as he petted my hair gingerly.

"Be safe pumpkin," he kissed my forehead.

I pulled back to let Speck hug him as well. He picked her up to hug her better and she bawled. Seeing Speck crying made me cry even more, but I didn't bother to wipe my tears away. She kept her hands around Dad's neck before I had to peel her off of him. She hiccupped and hunched her shoulders, hands covering her eyes. I rubbed her back just as I noticed the time on my phone.

"We have to go," I blubbered, only to be welcomed into family hug. Mom continued to cry into me while Dad rested his head against mine. Speck clung to their clothes like she wasn't going to let go. I closed my eyes, attempting to keep myself from sobbing as well. I had to be strong. I had to. For Speck and me.

Hearing the city bus in the distance broke me from their grasp just enough before Dad hugged me again. "You better come back," he whispered into my ear. My heart leaped in the sorrowful hope.

"I will Dad," I replied, hugging him back.

It took me a while to really start walking towards the bus stop, as my attention was on the two amazing people I called my parents standing in front of the place I used to call home. I put a hand to Speck's shoulder, keeping myself steady as we headed down the sidewalk. My bag was heavy with clothes, snacks, laptop and charger, and other things I kept ready in case something like this happened. I just never thought it would happen so quickly. We continued to glance back at the house as we walked, as we sat down on the bench, and as we climbed in the bus and paid and sat down in our seats. We watched it fade in the distance. It made me even sicker as I had bird vision, making the nostalgia stronger every passing second the house shrunk down to the size of an ant. Then it was gone. The bus turned a corner and it was gone. I stared in hopes of it springing back up again, but everything was replaced by buildings, then houses, then trees. It was gone. They were gone. And we were running, again.

We stayed on the bus until night fell and it came to its last stop. Speck's tears pooled on my shoulder the entire way. I death gripped the railings and seats as I got off, pain shooting through me at every step. My bandages were getting bloodier by the minute. We had to find a place to rest.

Speck hopped out after me, her head down and cheeks still wet. As the bus took off I heard her sob briefly before wrapping her arms around herself. Wincing, I walked over and put an arm around her, which she took as a hug and instantly embraced me. I bit back a whimper as I let her cry into me, clutching my shirt and refusing to let go. I held her to the best of my abilities, fighting back my own tears. It hurt to be away from them, but it was for the best. As much I wanted to stay, or take them with us, it put them too much at risk. We couldn't stop running. Not for a second.

"Come on," I muttered, slithering out of Speck's grip and grabbing her hand. I pulled her with me as she wiped her eyes with her other hand. I could feel her dragging her feet behind her. I knew it hurt, I hurt, but we had to keep moving forward. I wish I could go back. I wish I could stay. But it was impossible.

I didn't know where we were going, but I kept us walking, keeping my emotions in check every time the thought of them came up. I had to move on. It was amazing how long it lasted, and it was great to put my past behind me, but deep down I knew the feeling would never go away. I could never get rid of it, no matter how hard I tried. It ruled me, it defined me. I felt my wings sag a bit, relaxing before we turned onto a street.

People bustled around store-fronts, others strolled under street lights, or leaned against a wall and chatted with friends. I could hear a whole conversation of drunks down the street, in front of a bar, one of them shouting about horrible service. My sadness flipped to anxiety, and I tried to act as normal as I could. But with the bandages wrapped under my shirt, the limp in my step, my eyes red from crying, and a young kid clutching to my hand looking more solemn than anything, we looked more like lost, starving kids. Somebody glanced down the sidewalk towards us.

"You kids okay?" she asked, her hand in what I assumed was her boyfriend's.

I gulped and nodded my head quickly, "We're fine."

She raised a concerned eyebrow but kept walking. I stood watching them wander off, the guy stealing a kiss from her and then turning down a street far ahead. I hung my head. We're not fine. How did I get myself in this mess? I glanced at Speck's face. She didn't look at me. How did I let this happen? To us? I knew it was my fault, all of this. It was all because of me. All I wanted to do was find my parents and my brother.

My heart sank. Of all the things I didn't find, yet I was so happy there. I was hoping I could find him with Mom and Dad, but instead he decided to bail. All he left were traces of him and his team of merry bird mutants. I wish he left something else; maybe a letter? Or a name at least? Mom said they called him James, but I assumed he went by an alias, like me. If only I could've asked those kids on the bus – would they even tell me? They thought I was his family, I looked just like him. I look just like him. Surely somebody in the world will recognize that. But I couldn't just plaster my face on the news saying, "Hi, I'm looking for my lost twin brother who has wings, have you seen him?" Right.

I heard a low groan and paused in my step, glancing back at Speck dragging her feet and arm dangled forward to hold onto me. She wasn't still upset, maybe she was, actually she seemed tired. I turned towards her and brought her into a hug. She didn't protest as I kissed her head, trying to think of where we could crash. I gazed around the dim lit area. There were less people than before, though I could still hear that bar wailing through the night. We were surrounded by businesses, many of which only opened during the day. City blocks didn't sound safe to me, especially with all the back alleys and close quarters. I didn't see any good trees to crash in, let alone I didn't see any since we were downtown. There wasn't a park or anything like it nearby, but the more I thought about it, I really didn't want to sleep outside.

"Come on," I nudged Speck towards the other side of the empty street. We started walking again until I saw what I was looking for. I tugged her along at a quicker pace until I heard her stumble. Closing my eyes, I let out a deep breath before turning and picking her up. She hung limply, drained and ready to sleep. I grunted, pain shooting through me from holding her, but there was no other option. Her head lulled against my shoulder as I walked through some automatic doors.

The man at the desk looked up from the computer to stare curiously at us, "May I help you?"

I walked towards him, still carrying Speck in my arms. I set her down on the floor and she moaned, her fingers moving to grip my pants. "We'd like a room for the night please."

He paused, giving us a good once over before going into the computer. "Double or single?"

"Single," I hoped Speck was okay with that.

"We have," he clicked the mouse. "Two rooms. One on the first floor and one on the third."

"First floor please."

"Alright, I'll just need some identification," he yawned slightly. For a second I panicked, realizing I wasn't eighteen, but remembered that Speck made me a fake ID a while back, just in case, and it was pretty realistic. I had to fish it out of my bag, my face red in embarrassment as I pulled it out and placed it on the counter. He narrowed his eyes at it, which were sagging from lack of sleep. He then typed my information into the computer.

"Here you go," he slid it back to me and I quickly shoved it into my back pocket. "Please sign this, and we accept credit or cash." He pushed a paper towards me with a pen on top and turned the little screen to show the price. I bit back a cringe and fished out the money Dad gave me. It definitely was pricey, the couches in the entrance-way screamed it. But I didn't care; we needed this. I handed him a wad of twenties and scribbled my name on the line. He cashed it in and went to grab our door key. I bent down to pick up Speck, who was already asleep. He came back handing me two plastic keys, "Room 141, down the hallway and on the right. Breakfast is served between 7:30 am and 10 am. You must check out by noon tomorrow." He pushed a sleepy smile, "Have a good night."

"Thank you," I lightly smiled over the throbbing in my gut. I adjusted Speck in my arms and headed towards our room. I made sure to remember the route and surroundings. It was pretty quiet, which set me on edge as I fumbled with opening the door. It was heavy and I had to use my knee to keep it open so I could get inside. The room was small, but the bed was a nice queen size with a nightstand next to it. A small desk and a dresser supporting a TV sat in the middle of the wall, and a closet was tucked next to the full bathroom. I let the door slam behind me, causing Speck to move. I set her down on the bed and slipped her bag off her shoulders. She instantly toppled over, reaching and clasping the sheets beneath her. I set the room keys on the dresser and our bags near the desk. I glanced over and smirked at Speck's attempt to get under the sheets. I rolled them down and helped her underneath them. Her body turned and for a second I thought she woke up but was responded with a soft snore.

I let out a deep sigh and went to the bathroom, my limping not as bad as I quietly closed the door behind me. I turned the sink on and waited for it to get warm. My eyes locked on my reflection in the mirror.

"Why us?" I asked, though all I got was the same words back to me. I looked into my blue eyes, searching for an answer. But again, the mirror did nothing but copy me.

I hung my head.

"Why... me?"

I felt a tear roll down my cheek and hit the steaming water. Gripping the sink I tried to keep myself from punching the glass. I was so sick and tired of this feeling. Being taken by the people I loved, from the place I called home; it was infuriating. I wanted to go to ITex and punch them all in the face. Like I could do that. And I couldn't even be fully happy. Not without James there. I needed to know he was alright. I had to find him. I had to know.

But what about Speck?

She couldn't go through this, not again, and be disappointed in the end. I had to be sure, I had to be absolutely sure we were going to be fine. But could I? I can't predict the future, and I can't protect her from everything. She was a tough kid, very tough in fact; she faced everything that ITex threw at her and grew into a positive, bubbly kid. But this, this broke her heart. Could she go through this again?

I glanced at the bathroom door. We had to at least try. I refused to give up on this. I refused to let Speck give up on this. I'll let her cry this out, but we needed to act soon if I was going to find my brother. Yes, that's my plan. I have to find him, no matter what. I'll tell him how great mom and dad is, and I'll tell him how amazing living in one place feels like, and maybe, just maybe, I'll find a new home with him.

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a/n: Hi readers! I just wanted to let you all know that there are plenty of chapters to come, and Amber's story is NOT ending quite yet. I understand it is slow but trust me, I'm trying to stick to the books' timeline here. You'll see so in the next chapter. I wrote the story long ago and she was already with the Flock by chapter five, but my style isn't like that, but don't fret! She'll be meeting one of Flock members within the next few chapters!

In the meantime, I have provided a list of songs from Amber's playlist!

- Bliss by Muse
- Shades by Yellow Ostrich
- Take Flight by Lindsey Stirling
- Paper Walls by Yellowcard
- Still Breathing by Green Day
- Closer to the Edge by Thirty Seconds to Mars
- Lights and Sounds by Yellowcard
- A Perfect End by Atlas Genius
- Walk on Water by Thirty Seconds to Mars

I'm pretty positive there are a lot more songs by Thirty Seconds to Mars that applies here lol. Feel free to listen to them while reading! A lot of them actually tie into certain plot points whereas some just sound like Amber.

I really appreciate you guys reading my story. I love you all for joining me on this journey! Fugere Librum!