"Project Seraphim is escaping along with project Masterkey." That announcement had been repeated and blared all over the building. I could hear the pounding of the scientist's feet as they rushed to find us. I smiled at project Masterkey, a gray, male, American shorthair cat who had been given high intelligence and awareness skills. I held him tightly in my arms along with some files as I rushed down the hallways. I stopped at a junction.
"Which way, Holmes?" I panted out.
"Right then go up the stairs. They'll be expecting you to escape through the doors so fewer guards will be near the windows."
"Wouldn't they expect me at the windows, to you know... fly out?"
"No, they don't believe you have to ability to fly long distances."
"But-"
"You are wasting your breath. Just trust me and keep running."
"Whatever you say," I said as I rush down the right hall. The brilliant feline had been given the name Holmes, after Sherlock Holmes. From what I had heard he was a great detective. Heard. That's all I could ever do. I wasn't allowed to read anything ever since the school had cancelled my reading curriculum. This was most likely because the School liked to keep a tight leash on my freedom.
"Heh, too late for that." I thought to myself. The voices started getting louder.
"Up ahead!" Holmes shouted. I saw a set of window's beams of light down the hallways. I ran faster. My lungs ached along with my legs and bare feet, but being so close to freedom gave me the energy to run faster.
A hall door open and I held my breath. Out came three Weres and two Teachers. As soon as they saw us they yelled. One of the Teachers reached for his pocket.
"No!" I thought before letting out a cry. The wail's pitch became higher and louder the longer I held the note. The windows rattled and shattered as the Teachers fell to the floor, gripping their ears. A cry of distress from Holmes stopped me. I forgot that Holmes was also being affected by it. His paws were held by his ears.
"You okay?" I asked as I jumped over the victims. Holmes glared at me furiously shaking his head.
I kick some more glass off the nearest window and climb on the ledge. I open my gray wings.
"NOT ALL SIX!" Holmes warned loudly, his hearing temporarily damaged. "YOU MAY BE ABLE TO FLY BUT YOU AREN'T THAT GOOD!" I frowned and pulled my extra two wings against my back. My muscles tightened and released as I launched myself out into the open air. I started to regret starting off with my wings open when the pressure from the air pulled on them. I forced my wings down and with that I started to glide down a little smoother. I flapped a few times before gaining a rhythm that would propel us forward and keep us up.
Holmes felt like he was getting heavier and the papers started to slip from my grasp. "HOLD THE FIL-GAK!" I choke in the middle of my command. My silencing restriction collar had been activated. I turned to see a Teacher propped against the broken window, holding the controller. Before he can hit another button flapped away as hard and as fast as I could. Holmes seemed to have gotten the idea of what I was trying to say earlier and held the files in his mouth. I kept flying until I felt like we were far enough from the School to be safe. As I lowered myself to a forest like area, I started to lose control of my wings and panic. I flailed my arms as one of my wings closed causing me to flip and crash into the mud. Holmes scrambled out of my arms and sat near my face. I groaned and sat up.
"Blegh," I spat mud out of my mouth and wiped it on the back of my sleeve. I flexed my wings and rolled my shoulders. I winced, soreness in both.
"Note to self, work on landing." I examined myself. I had no physical injuries from my crash except for a few minor scratches on my palms. I stretched out all of my wings. I smoothed them out a bit before pressing them tightly against my back.
Holmes and I stiffened as we heard the sound of barking. I turned my head to the sound. It was coming from where we just came from.
"RUN!" Holmes yelled. I grabbed the files and followed Holmes as we raced through the trees. Luckily, the maze simulation's I had to run through at the School made it easier for me to run quickly and around things. But, the forest wasn't the school. It had a lot more nature. Tree branches would snag my white gown as twigs snapped against my feet. I stumbled over roots that stuck up.
"Hurry!" Holmes exclaimed, looking back at me. He easily jumped over roots and around fallen trees. The barking seemed to get louder and louder.
"This way," Holmes said as he took a sharp left, and I followed. He ran to a lake with a fallen log and that had rotted out at the bottom from water damage. Holmes jumped into the water and climbed onto a rock.
"Down here," he hissed, shaking the water off. I looked around for somewhere to put the files. Growling made me panic and just cover the papers with pine needles and grass. Without a second thought I jumped into the water. It wasn't very deep, but it was very muddy and filled with small bugs and dying leaves. I swam under the log and ducked under the water with only my eyes peering from the top. I moved back into the darkness as I saw clawed feet approaching. The Weres stopped and sniffed the air. They looked around, in the trees and under rock.
"ARRGH!" One growled. He threw a large rock into the pond. "We lost them!" Another Were spoke up.
"Maybe they made a different turn at that split rock. They couldn't have gotten far away."
"Sweep the perimeter, but if you find them bring them back to the lab with ANY force that is necessary." I knew that the any force was actually just bringing us back half dead. There was no way I was going to give them that privilege. I waited until I heard them all leave. Holmes jumped from the rock to the bank easily and scoped out the area.
"They are gone, Her Majesty," he said and I climbed out as well. I glared at him.
"Don't call me that," I signed at him using ASL. When my collar is activated it is my only way to communicate. He tilted his head.
"Well, that's the only name you are called by, so what else should I call you." I remembered how the Weres taunted me with the name after overhearing a sleeping Teacher call me 'Her Majesty the slayer of men." It was a stupid name, but it stuck with me throughout the experiments. Even some of the Teachers called me that or Project Seraphim. Feeling too buried in bad memories, I huffed and looked down at the cat as I picked up the files and we walked back through the forest.
"Well, I gave you a pretty good name. So, why don't you do the same for me?" he stared at me, pondering the amount of power I had just given him. I hoped he wouldn't pick a long name like Mary-Elizabeth von Agatha.
"I'm still used to hearing you be called by your nickname, so any other name just sounds strange. I guess I could start calling you Madge."
"Madge..." I thought. It sounded cool, so I shrugged. "Okay. It works."
"Of course it does. I am the one who made it." I silently laughed at his pridefulness. Holmes dashed ahead, climbed up a tree and jumped down onto my shoulders. It took me a second to adjust to his weight. His fur was soft against my neck and the heat he radiated made me realize how cold I was. My white gown and undergarments were soaking wet with bits of nature clinging to them.
"I need new clothes," I signed. "And it's getting dark. We should find a place to stay." Holmes nods in agreement.
"Agreed. I'm sure we can make a shelter to hide in and a fire to warm your clothes."
"And the files. Let's not forget about them."
"I couldn't if I tried."
As I marched forward Holmes listens out for anything suspicious and I look for a cave or broken log that might be good to serve as a base. Holmes sniffed the air. I took a deep breath as well. We both looked at each other.
"Firewood," Holmes said. I stumble towards the smell, my clothes catching on what seems like every tree and bush in sight. Finally we come to a clearing and see a house. Holmes jumps down.
"Okay, so here's the plan," he started, "I'll find a point of entry and scope out the people there. Then you go in and incapacitate the people and tie them up. Then, we eat, change, and maybe even bathe. But, for now the main priority is getting you clothes and making sure they don't see us." I nod. Holmes runs off through the grass and I creep back into the coverage of the trees. In about twenty minutes Holmes runs back.
"It's a man and a woman. Both are in the living room watching a movie. The best place to come in would probably be the bedroom window. We'll probably have to take them out one at a time. I brought you some rope from the garage and there is ductape in the bed room. Let's go."
The plan went down pretty well. We were able to get in through the bedroom window without any problems. I placed the files down on the dresser and grabbed the duct tape. As we snuck downstairs, the wife (?) went into the kitchen to get some water to go with her popcorn. This gave me the perfect timing to sneak up behind her and put her in a choke hold. She fell unconscious after 20 seconds. Unfortunately, she dropped her glass, alarming the husband and making it harder for me to navigate. I climbed on the counter and grabbed a wine bottle. I hid between the refrigerator and a cupboard. Holmes jumped on top of the fridge. Luckily, when the man creeped in and saw his wife lying out cold on the floor with shatter glass around, he immediately dropped his guard and fell to the floor. I snuck out from my hiding place and smashed the bottle over his head. He collapsed on top of his wife. I carefully climbed off the counter and made sure he was still breathing. I then picked up the man and with much effort dragged him to a chair. As I went to get the wife, Holmes got the ductape for me and some pillowcases. Holmes helped me tear the duct tape as I bound their wrists and legs, and covered their mouths. I placed the pillowcases over their heads and then turned them both so that their backs were to Holmes and me.
I went back upstairs and grabbed the files I had left in the bedroom. I laid them out on the counter for Holmes to look over while I bathed. I went to the bedroom again and looked through the closet. I grabbed a plaid red shirt and jeans I thought might fit me. I went into the bathroom. It was pretty big in comparison to the shower stall I had been given back at the school. It was also far more private. I fiddled with the nozzles until water flowed from the showerhead. The water was very warm and comforting in comparison to the past showers. They were ice cold and felt like being shot with shards of ice. I looked around and saw a bottle of shampoo. I poured a glob of it into my hands and ran it through my pitch black hair. I lathered it in, making sure I got all of the mud out. When I felt like I spent enough time in the shower I stepped out and dried myself off with a towel from the rack. As I pulled the clothes on me looked at my reflection in a frameless mirror. My hair and nails were very long due to the fact that the Teachers made sure sharp things like scissors or nail clippers weren't allowed near me. I spotted a comb and attempted to comb it out, but gave up as soon as the comb began to get tangled. The shirt was a little too big, but I didn't mind. I tied the loose end into a knot and went back downstairs where Holmes was waiting. He sat in the middle of the papers, occasionally shifting one around to get a better look at what it said. Noticing that I had finished with my shower he gestured at a small bag on the floor.
"There's a bag that I put some food in for when we leave. Now, come take a look at these files."
