There was a shower of pine needles when I landed. My red t-shirt snagged on a branch which snapped at me as I freed myself from its grip. I groaned.

It had taken me forever to find a shirt that my wings could fit into, and now it had a gaping hole in it. I stuck my finger through the hole and wiggled it around. "Unbelievable," I sighed.

"Oh, don't worry about that! I can make that look good. No worries. Here!."

My face was burning as Nudge left her spot on the ground, flapped towards me, and grabbed my shirt. "Nuh… no!" I nearly pushed her aways, but that would have caused more problems. I think I had caused enough chaos in their group for one day, if I retaliated, I'd probably end up in a morgue. "Thanks for the offer, but it's fine, really."

The girl didn't stop. She twisted the hem of my shirt up and around to make a little knot, just big enough to cover the hole. "You don't need to worry. I'm not going to hurt you, besides it's not like you couldn't stop me if you wanted to. I saw how you went after Iggy, you're not weak. Still, I think Fang, and Max could take you…"

I kept my mouth shut as her mouth kept going. I hadn't been worried about her hurting me. "I just… really don't like being touched."

Nudge put her finger to her chin and cocked her head. "I can't imagine that. I think it must be nice to be able to hold hands, and hug people. It just feels good to belong, you know? You should really consider being extra nice to Max and Iggy. Maybe they'll let you join us. Of course, Fang won't like it, but Max will probably say yes… if you and Iggy start getting along. It's nice to have a family. We could be sisters!"

My heart clenched within me and tears pricked my arms. I didn't want another family. I wanted to take out that damn bird who destroyed mine. My finger nails bore little half-moon indentions into my palms.

Max landed above us, and I couldn't help but wonder if she had taken the long way around. "Right now, the only thing we need to do, is hide. The erasers could be on our trail."

"Eras…ers?" I mumbled bewildered. "Like the things at the end of writing sticks?"

Max turned towards me and raised her eyebrow. "You were the one who told us to fly down. You didn't see the massive dog birds coming towards you?"

"Subduers…"

"What?" The brunette scoffed.

"Subduers… big hairy wolf-like wannabes with an appetite for avian stew?"

Max started laughing, "the scientists in the school in California call them erasers."

The silence between us grew. Was the school the same thing as the lab I came from? A thousand thoughts raced through my mind, but Max was right, we needed to hide. "Where should we go?"

"There's a cave below us. As you said, fly down."

Max flew off, and Nudge followed. I decided to walk. Dropping down from the branches of the pine tree, I folded my wings up and adjusted my shirt, and high wasted jeans. It felt like I had a rock in my sneaker, but, in all honesty, it may have been a piece of the pinecone that had fallen on my shoulder.

I took a deep breath and scanned the area around us. It was beautiful. The blackberry bushes had grown up as thick as walls, and the trees were as tall as houses. I must have gotten lost in thought a moment too long, because I face planted. Rolling over, I blew grass out of my mouth and looked up. Gazzy and Iggy waved at me.

"Consider that, pay back," Gazzy said, a goofy grin smeared on his face.

Iggy extended his hand. "Now, we're even."

I reached up, took his hand, and he pulled me up. "You're tiny to be packing such a punch." He quipped. I tried not to stare at him. He reminded me too much of home.

I snapped my hand back and smiled.

"I guess survival makes even tiny people tough."

Gazzy's smile grew. "Yea! I'm shorter than the rest of the guys, but I'm really strong! I can protect you if you promise to be nice from now on."

I put a hand over my mouth. Nudge and Gazzy were a bit much. I'd never been around anyone like them before. Is there such a thing as too honest?

With a quick nod, I reminded them. "We should get to the cave. This way."

Iggy nodded. I felt him put his hand on my shoulder. "Sorry, I guess I'm not very good at giving directions to blind guys."

"Maybe your not very good at giving directions period," he retorted.

"Keep your hands on me and I'll show you."

Gazzy twisted his face up awkwardly. "Iggy doesn't need he…"

Iggy elbowed him in the gut and Gazzy quieted down. We flew to the cave, Gazzy beside me and Iggy over me, his hand on my back. I tried to ignore it… tried not to think of home…tried not to think of cradling corpses in my arms… tried not to think of my family… tried not to think of the past. I hate being touched.

It was dark and humid when we entered the cave. A little girl with blonde hair played cards with Nudge, while Fang and Max whispered near the entrance. "Honey, I'm home," Iggy sang as we walked in.

I groaned.

I really needed to get away from them.